HOUSING IN CUBA by Mario Coyula
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/dpu-projects/Global_Report/pdfs/Havana.pdf
http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/mellin/articles/coyulahousing.pdf
TENEMENT HOUSING TYPOLOGIES IN HABANA VIEJA AND CENTRO
Ciudadelas consist of a single or double row of rooms built along a long, narrow courtyard. They began as weekday housing for poor single men from rural areas who worked at Havana’s big markets.They usually appear in the inner city, adapting to its narrow, deep lots. A single or double line of rooms, one or two floors; one family per room, develop along a narrow court with collective bathrooms, toilets and kitchens at the bottom. As in cuarterías, most residents end by building their own facilities into their rooms, but worsening natural ventilation and lighting. Both types, cuarterías and ciudaelas, appear mainly in the central city and were the dominant type of housing for the urban poor, with a strong presence of Afro-Cuban religion and culture (especially dance and music), lack of privacy, noise but a strong sense of sollidarity among neighbours. Sometimes the front rooms have direct access from the street (so they are called accesorias) and have slightly better living conditions.
Cuartería is a large former mansion or older hotel or boarding house
subdivided into rooms, one family per room, sometimes with over 60 families. . Residents initially shared common bathrooms, toilets and kitchens, but in time many brought these functions within their own domain, either by addition or subdivision. Generally, these interventions were makeshift and contributed to aggravate natural ventilation and lighting, and also distort the architectural and urban image.
Casa de vecindad is a smaller subdivided house, generally with 12 rooms or less.
Pasajes are a double row of small dwellings (similar to efficiencies) consisting
of a living-dining room, kitchenette, one bedroom, bathroom and a small service courtyard, set along a long, narrow alley usually open to streets at both ends. An improved version of ciudadela, equivalent to an efficiency, where each family has a very small apartment (living-dining, bedroom, bathroom, kitchenette and a minimum laundry court. Units form a single or double row along a narrow central public court, that often opens into two streets. Access to the units is through that court, which in fact perform as an alley.
Solar is the popular term to refer to all forms of buildings subdivided into single-room units, usually with shared services.
Barbacoa is a makeshift loft, usually self-built with scraps of wood and metal. Barbacoas use the traditional high ceilings in old buildings at the central city to create extra livable space. They usually violate many building regulations, are hazardous, hot, uncomfortable and distort the facades and the streetscape.
Casetas are shacks usually built in the flat roofs (azoteas) at the central city. They often start with leftover materials and improve gradually until some become regular dwellings. They have good views and ventilation. But they often violate the codes and the rights of other neighbours, accelerate
leaks from the roofs, and make illegal sewer connections to the rain water collection system.
SOCIAL HOUSING EARLY REVOLUTION
Instituto Nacional de Ahorro y Vivienda, INAV 1959-1971
A housing programme that used National Lottery to finance social housing. INAV built 10,000 good quality dwellings throughout Cuba from 1959-1961, with 6,000 done in Havana. This included the best Cuban social housing complex, the Unidad # 1 at Habana del Este (called afterwards Ciudad Camilo Cienfuegos), that was designated in 1991 as a National Landmark. A fully-equipped and landscaped neighborhood unit for 8,000 with 1306
apartments in four-story walk-ups and eleven-story slabs was designed by a group of young architects and self-taught urban planners (Mario González, Hugo D´Acosta-Calheiros, Mercedes Alvarez, Reynaldo Estévez and others) and built under the direction of Roberto Carrazana.
http://revistainvi.uchile.cl/index.php/INVI/article/view/941/1255
La Pastorita 1959-1962
https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/3768/376846368004.pdf
Unidad Vecinal N1, Habana del Este 1959-1961
http://revistainvi.uchile.cl/index.php/INVI/article/view/941/1255
http://www.revistainvi.uchile.cl/index.php/INVI/article/view/466/443
HOUSING POLICY AND CONSTRUCTION AFTER THE REVOLUTION
http://www.housingfinance.org/uploads/Publicationsmanager/Caribbean_Cuba_HousinginCastrosCuba.pdf
https://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-83582009000300003
THE SOVIET BLOCKS
Housing blocks constructed under the Soviet KPD large concrete panel housing system after the donation of Soviet factories and technological know-how. This programme started in Santiago de Cuba in 1965.
https://www.cca.qc.ca/en/issues/5/journeys-and-translation/1166/how-a-soviet-concrete-panel-housing-system-came-to-cuba-and-chile
https://media.gettyimages.com/videos/soviet-specialists-aid-cuba-with-construction-of-housing-video-id485535426
MICROBRIGADES 1971-1980s
The Microbrigades provided an alternative to the construction of dwellings by State building enterprises that had the advantage of personal motivation. a massive housing program combining active participation of future residents as construction workers with strong State support in building materials and equipment, and technical advice.
In this way, semi-prefabricated buildings were built, with traditional technologies, which did not require highly skilled labour. The population (not necessarily the future inhabitants of the houses) participated in the construction of the buildings, but not in their planning and design. Alamar neighbourhood in Habana del Estehas many examples of this type of housing construction.
