Critical Regionalism meets Social Inequity

My critique of the Bronx's Casitas from Tuesday's lecture is not of the goal of the project – it certainly is an example of a successful act of claiming public space in the city for an underserved community. Because the Casitas project was not lead by an architect, I think it's almost unfair for us to use the same lens we would for critiquing Peter Eisenman for example. Instead, I will share a project (lead by an architecture professor) that I think explores a similar problem as the Casitas with a more complete architectural response.

Holyoke Sentencing Enhancement Zoning

At UMass Amherst, the Center for Design Engagement (CDE, similar to Clemson SoA's CRDC) works a lot with the nearby city of Holyoke in the hills of Western Massachusetts. Located on the banks of the Connecticut River, Holyoke developed as a paper mill town. At the turn of the century (1900), Holyoke had the third-largest concentration of Puerto Rican immigrants in the country. By the 1950s, the city experienced another influx of Puerto Ricans, many of who worked on the tobacco farms in the fertile river valley. Today, Puerto Ricans still make up nearly 50% of Holyoke's demographics, the largest Puerto Rican population per capita in the US, outside of Puerto Rico itself. One can assume where this is headed: social injustice and inequity have been derailing the city for decades. Holyoke has been a victim of gerrymandering for years, illustrated by the mapping image that shows zones for “sentencing enhancement” or in other words, when a defendant’s prior convictions can double a prison term. These zones encircle the high concentrations of the LatinX community.

The CDE collaborated with a UMass architecture studio to explore how to punctuate Holyoke with small community centers and affordable housing options for the LatinX community to create a more socially equal city landscape. This specific design studio was rooted in the concept that the architecture should not simply visually resemble the colorful vernacular Puerto Rican architecture, unlike the Bronx Casitas.

Lechonera - Rendering

Instead, by using a Critical Regionalist viewpoint the design process was focused on reinterpreting the spatial qualities of a typical Puerto Rican lechonera in a New England context. The project recognizes that a Lechonera (Latin pig roast restaurant) in Holyoke involves the creation of a space that has strong visual and cultural references, and that acts as both a place to eat and as a place of cultural affirmation. I believe the project is successful in its attempt at Critical Regionalism by designing seamless interior – exterior transitions that allow for flexibility for both the pig roasting line and gathering space for the community.