Cuba: raw rections to design charette - a brief explanation

The point of this blog is to inform and explain about my experience as I felt it to be at the time. I have added text to the blog since returning to the UK and hope this offers a more rounded viewpoint. The point is not to offend or upset people.

I have resisted the huge temptation to edit and select what text I include. What I have done, however, is make additions in italics so it is clear what has been added later.

Cuba: 'This is just about dreaming.'

It’s 7.30am and I’ve just stuck my head out of our 13^th floor balcony. The air is morning fresh but still thick. Later on, the air will become so thick that it may as if a full intake of air is not possible and my skin will feel sticky to touch.

‘Our’ means my Cuban mother (Kristina) and father (Frank) and me, their British daughter. I’m not sure how comfortable I am with this pseudo family set up but it’s how my charette colleagues refer to their home life whilst here.

Conversation with Sylvina who I have been sharing the Casa Particular with this last week. I expressed the feeling that we have not had the chance to talk enough about where we come from and that I would have liked to have heard more about Argentina, her country of residence.

After discussion about the political system and history of Argentina, Sylvina spoke of the ‘disappeared’ writers, artists and musicians. I find it hard to imagine how anyone can think that exterminating people can be the right thing to do. It’s so very hard to comprehend. She suggested I look up ‘Madres de plaza de mayo - Mothers of the May Square’ as this is a campaign that refers to many mothers who have lost there children who would now be about Sylvinas age (37). These people were taken as children, babies even but I do not yet know why. This May Square is the most important square in Argentina.

Re. the charette. I have had more chance to reflect and more opportunity to speak with people around the charette and it’s aims.

Orestes is a great supporter of Julio and that, to me, says something. Orestes is the kindly old gentleman who gave us a tour of Plaza Veija and the rest of the Old Havana. He has a wealth of experience and yesterday, John told me of how Orestes has played an important role in working with the Historical Office in Havana (the exact terminology escapes my memory).

John and I also spoke about the structure of the planning system in Cuba and what he called ‘vertical enterprise’. This is actually a term for profit but the p-word is not politically correct. The system of owning a business is difficult to understand. Even owning a house is complicated by the fact that you are not allowed to sell it. You may only exchange it but of course, property changes hands for money – it’s just not talked about. This seems to be the way with a few things.

The way the government make the money to keep everything very cheap for the Cubans is to tax highly. So the casa particulars are paying a high tax, businesses pay a high tax, employers pay a good amount per hour for their employees but the government shave enough off so the individual is on a very low wage.

Just watching the presentations and I find it hard to understand the point of this charette. No facts or statistics were given to the participants and the person presenting from our group is simply regurgitating what has been said to her by the leader of the charette. Perhaps I have it misunderstood but it seems that there is such little challenging from the Cuban students towards their elders – just simply about asking for more information. I suppose the Cuban students are well aware of the difficulties but there must be recognition that others are not. There has been no opportunity for exploration of the social issues that are faced here and it seems absurd to ignore them. The elephant syndrome.

We are, I fear, creating the vision of those who are leading the charette and I see very little point in that. Infact, we are being used to fulfill their vision and I don’t see any point in that. For a person who has grown up with a regime that they do not like and continue to oppose to then act in a similar way but subversively I feel disappointed but with sympathy rather than complete frustration and anger now.

What I find typical but saddening is that some of these people who lead these events are able to orate well – clearly, using terminology that is pleasing (sustainability – economically, socially, environmentally; ‘make spaces for the people’; ‘social and cultural integration’), and confidently. This is sad because I feel their passion, their zeal and love for the subject has limits that are confined by their own desires and personal aims with lack of consideration for others. There are so many people out there who have ideas and thoughts and opinions but are not able to present them in a way that means people will listen. These orators have honed their presentation skills so their ideas are heard and taken seriously. They are the ultimate car salesmen: honest, endearing, talking sense and saying that together we can achieve goals that are for the greater good. But you need to value individuals and I am amongst several here who have stated the opinion that we do not feel valued. Which is an enormous shame. If a person considers their way to be the right way and does not remain open to ideas and alternative ways of considering a problem or thinking with an open heart, then what hope is there for progression as a society? Surely the views and ideas of people need to be considered and the perspective that another mind can bring should be treated with respect? I think I have a different mentality to other people here.

To me, to encourage and enable people to think, supporting the with this and then to value their contribution is the way forward.

Amazing presentation by the group dealing with Cojima – refreshing, aware and got to grips with their area as best they could in the time they had. I recognize now that I didn’t have the confidence in this activity to suggest very much (such as going out and interacting with the community like this group did) and the language barrier cannot be ignored. It is a failing on my part that I do not speak the language and this has impaired my ability to express my ideas to those I was working with.

Petra - Powerpoint!!!!!! This presentation was very good - I must get a copy

Bakery in Centro – thank god!!! This is what I recognized in the first 3 days – miracle, how this can be ignored I cannot think!!!

Lessons to be learnt

What went well

• The bringing together of different minds with different cultures, experiences and specialisms
• Trying to have a new vision

What was unsuccessful

• The lack of interest in the individual’s experience (no CV was asked for, no profile either)
• The administrative side (see previous list)
• Lack of transparency about where money was being spent
• No clear structure to the days – unclear what was happening and when
• Lack of clarity about the aims or whether we were actually achieving the aims

How we need to move forwards with our charette

• Be clear about the aims – be realistic
• Invite participant and acknowledge their skills and experience
• Have translators if necessary (gauge language levels before the event)
• Visit where we are focusing on

'Everyone is free to make any proposal.

Everyone is free to make comment.

This is just about dreaming.

Who says it is not possible tomorrow.

It is just an idea.

Any ideas to help make a place better.'

12.20pm  Julio Cesar

Cuba: what's wrong with listening?

Feeling spritely this morning after a night embracing the local culture. A few of us are blessed with the ability to feel energized from such occasions whereas the rest of the charrette team are looking rather subdued. They are managing to concentrate despite their heavy heads.

My summary of the charette goes something like this: it would be too easy to dismiss the event as simply a way of creating drawing monkeys and obtain a profit. I do feel that there are individuals who are passionate about the idea of creating a vision for the future. I think that all the participants shared a common goal to learn from one another. Whether that has been achieved to the extent of how it could have been stretched is a point of interest. There has been little dialogue taking place and almost no discussion about the socio-economic problems of Cuba. It feels like an elephant has been sat in the middle of the room for the week. On Monday the elephant was there and a few people tried to point it out and by Tuesday the same people had decided to just get on with the process because you have to make of a situation and experience what you can.

It seems the Cuban participants are more used to this style of working. But for myself, I do not appreciate feeling as though I am back at college. An injustice to my college perhaps: at the time at least I felt there was acknowledgement of me and my ability / potential ability, but I was too immature to make of it what I could. Hindsight.

Obviously (X) just got nervous as came over and asked me whether I wanted to be integrated into the charette by working in another team. Or whether I wanted to continue working with the team I am in. I explained that I do not feel I can contribute any more to the teams as I have tried during the week and feel it has been a stop and starting process and do not feel it has worked. He expressed that he felt it did work and I explained that I meant for me. He appreciated my honesty and asked to know more about the work I am doing. At that point he was called to another person but has not yet come back to me to speak more.

Cuba: visiting Casablanca + currency

Thank god today has been different. I was more or less convinced that the Charette was going to be a wipe out.

We went to Casablanca in the morning and had a look round. We walked through the village from the ferry terminal (an experience in itself) and up to the huge statue of Jesus. From there we walked passed the military buildings and past the guards on duty. Of course, we had to

I have put the frustration of the administrative side of the Charette to the back of my mind for now in order to progress with my ideas and the task in hand. It seems the other people I had spoken to have also done this. A couple have made themselves scare though. I will still, however, address my concerns by writing to INTBAU upon my return to the UK.

I have little idea about what was going through the mind of Audun and Julio when they were organizing this Charrette.

Tonight I will compile some ideas I have had through discussions with John (Pilling) and Esteban. (NB. This didn’t actually happen as planned due to going out with friends – meeting at Hotel Nacionale at first and then going to a restaurant round the corner from our apartments).

A note about Cuban peso convertible (CUC) and Cuban pesos (CU): 1 CUC is worth 24 CU. At Coppelia’s Ice cream parlour a non-Cuban is not allowed inside to eat but must go to the stands that are on the periphery. The ice-cream there is 1 CUC per gram. This means two scoops of ice-cream costs 2,70 CUC. I don’t know what the cost is on the inside but will hopefully be taken inside by a Cuban comrade before I leave. Another instance: at the ferry terminal, we stopped before boarding to pay the fellow and a colleague paid 1 CUC for his boarding. Myself and Carmen got out our money and Marianne stopped us. I had already handed over my 1 CUC and she told that was enough with a few firm words to the ticket man. Marianne explained once we had boarded the tug the currency rate for Cubans and non-Cubans. She feels that the two currencies is barmy (my interpretation of what she said) and that we are taken advantage of. ‘You have paid for 24 people to cross the river’.

Cuba: 'Hey! Go and speak to your guests!'

I am hugely disappointed with the Charette. I do not believe it has been well organised, I do not believe our money has been well spent and I am finding it difficult to justify why I should spend any more time on it.

I feel I have enough to do in terms of my own work and making progress with work at Arc in order for the org to have a secure future with a programme that is of excellent quality.

The lack of diversity and thought put into the organisation of the tour was one thing, but to then go in to a charette where it feels as if I am back at college and the atmosphere feels less than supportive is another. I am unimpressed by the effort that has gone into organising it and feel that there should be the respect that participants have paid to be part of this. I came to the Charette to contribute ideas, to learn from other people, to be part of discussion and

Improvements to be made to the design charette:

• Name badges - a basic requirement of any course but especially with mixed language participants
• Materials – supposed to be provided but there are very few materials available
• Purpose of the charette – to develop new ideas or to create a scheme that fits in with what has already been decided (use a menu)
• Design brief – needs to be in writing for clarity
• Guidelines – need to be provided if they must be adhered to (T1, T2 etc; terminology / vocabulary sheet)
• Support – structure of step-by-step process so the sessions are facilitated clearly and participants can wander away from the structure
• Presentations – names of speakers and brief biographies are very important to give context
• Written materials – must be in the languages of participants (otherwise, there must be criteria for being able speak Spanish / English to join the charette)
• Fee – to go towards materials and transportation costs for Cuban participants (this is inaccurate)

Cuba: what I think it will be like

I think it will be hot with bright sunshine. I think there maybe cockroaches and tarantulas. I expect to see people who look tired and worn through hard work. There will be colonial style buildings as well as Spanish architecture. I imagine there will be fewer shops than I am used to seeing in England and with no international brands. People will look less ‘manufactured’ and an individual more natural beauty will be prevalent. In some areas, the streets will be as dirty as certain city centre lanes in Hull. People will dance whenever the chance. There will also be a more explicit show of emotions, such as on the plane a moment ago (ie. Party atmosphere> friendly chat> outraged upset> anger> convivial chatting again).

The 'whys' and 'what's' about Larks in Flight

Larks in Flight – a more detailed description

I have been part of an Action Research group made up of practitioners across Yorkshire. Since Sept 2009 we have met approximately once a month to discuss the concept of placemaking and to develop our own research projects.

At first, I had little concept of what action research and placemaking were supposed to describe or be. It felt like a term that was wooly and without substance. Through listening, trying to understand some written ideas and by moving forwards with my own thoughts, I have come to the conclusion (at present) that placemaking is, in fact, a term that describes many things that I have been thinking over several years. It joins together the reasons why we create places as we do (economical, geographical, societal, philosophical). The action research aspect is descriptive of a process without the usual tangible outputs that research often has. Although this might not always be the case, however, the emphasis seems to be progression of thought rather than an answer. Through the work I have done my ideas around placemaking have grown and developed so much and involve me questioning my daily routine.

Action Research: Placemaking

My original research roject was about the Arc building and whether it had been a success or not. I had thought that my action research project would consist of gathering hard and soft eviedence about the building from initial concept to the present day. I realised that this would inform the future of not only the Arc building but the design of other sustainable structures. Over the last 6 months there has been, unsurprisingly, little time to dedicate to gathering such information. I had bee concerned that I was not fulfilling the requirements of belonging to this group, or my own ambititions for the project. I had not foreseen the steps I would make in other directions though. As I have already stated: my own life (which is entwined with my artistic outlook) and my work have all been affected deeply by this pursued line of enquiry and the questions that have arisen. So much so that I am going on this trip to Cuba, I am looking at how to continue this interest and what ways it could / should develop longer term and am sat here 37,000 feet above the earth writing this blog.

The Arc building research / questions that have arisen.

What do I intend to do in the future re. the Arc building /placemaking?

As part of the Go Architecture: Networking project we will be working with the participants to undertake participatory research about the Arc building itself. The ‘Good Ideas’ element of these teacher’s networking days involves looking at the design process with a focus on good quality research. The work that the participants do will not only benefit them in that they will have a clearer, deeper understanding of the design process but will contribute to the story of the building and whether or not it is a success.

21.04.10 The Arc building needs a detailed study conducting on it. This work planned as part of the learning programme is a gesture but it really needs a person with the time and access to expertise to undertake a thorough analysis.

How to gauge the success of the Arc building?

In my opinion, the building is a success if it informs future design. A building like this cannot be built without the fact it is an experiment being part of its success: the contribution it makes is not purely in the function it serves at the time, but what it can do for the future of design. This is why it is vital to gather and collate information about it in order to fulfill its potential through dissemination.