ZABALA, Nicole P.

Subject: Housing
BS Architecture 4-1 Professor: Ar. Melodia Ramos-Sampan
Essay #1
1. Describe Housing that responds to a man’s social, cultural, and psychological needs.
2. Give examples and elaborate on your answers.
3. Why do Filipinos continue to struggle with owning a home? Cite an example.

1. The provision of adequate housing is a necessary element in our lives. And as a

home is a basic need of humans, various housing projects are launched to cover this.
Additionally, it is also considered a right and is included in the Human Rights, the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights that is covered in Article 17 of the Right to Own
Property.
Housing that is socially, culturally, and psychologically responding to man’s needs
are not the only one that provides habitat. It must be well-designed and suited to each
of the factors involved. A socially-sound community enables its inhabitants to
communicate with their neighbors, and have a sense of belonging, and
companionship. The design should not abrupt these connections but rather promote
them. On the other hand, housing that responds to the cultural needs of a man is the
one that promotes a certain way of life, and customs and provides different leisure
activities that enable the creation of a lifestyle. It allows the community to create a
distinguished culture within. And lastly, to cater psychological needs of humans,
housing settlements should somehow be built in a stress-free environment. It should
not only focus on providing a space to live in but provide a space that will offer a
significant influence on the behavior and experiences of its users.

2. The Valenton Housing in France is a social housing project that is built by Gelin-
Lafon Architects in 2013. Its buildings offer different types of flats. This idea will
promote co-existence, and interactions and generate social ties. The architects
designed it to enable the users to create a community within. This covers the cultural
aspect of housing and human needs relations. Additionally, the housing also offers a
courtyard and is crisscrossed by long green expanses that enable social interactions.
Another example is the 45 Housing Units in Nantes, France. Designed by a/LTA
Architects, the housing units are designed to preserve the identity of the site and
provide a relaxing and close-to-earth dwelling. Moreover, as wide spaces, connecting
outside areas, and closeness to the natural environment promote a healthy lifestyle,
these housing units also provide a well-designed environment that is good for the mind.

3. Filipinos continue to struggle with owning a home because of a few reasons. The
most common reason is the income of the workers. There is no evident change in wage
growth. Filipinos continue to choose the affordability that renting a home offers over
owning a home. People choose practicality as they are only restricted and limited to a
number of choices. Even the price of social housing units is expensive due to the rising
prices of daily and basic needs. In addition to this is the rising population. Although
there are housing projects for the Filipino people, these are not affordable to the mass
and would turn up unoccupied. All of this comes down to the economy of the country,
corruption, equality, proper treatment, and reasonable wages for the workers.
References:

45 housing units in Nantes / a/LTA. (2020, November 25).

ArchDaily. https://www.archdaily.com/952021/45-housing-units-in-nantes-a-
lta?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70: Still Working to Ensure Freedom,
Equality and Dignity for All. (n.d.).
https://www.standup4humanrights.org/layout/files/30on30/UDHR70-30on30-
article17-eng.pdf.

Valenton housing / Gelin-Lafon. (2013, November 21).

ArchDaily. https://www.archdaily.com/449885/valenton-housing-gelin-
lafon?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab
Criteria Rating Excellent Very Good Good Fair Poor Score
(%)

Content 50% Answer is appropriate Answer is appropriate Content relates Content partially Content unrelated
to the to the peripherally to the related to to question
question. Content is question. Content question; contains question
factually correct may have one or two significant factual errors.
factual errors

Organization 20% Clear sense of order. Clear sense of order. Logic of argument is There is a Lacks clear
Begins with a thesis Begins with a thesis minimally perceivable. distortion on the organizational
or topic sentence. or topic sentence. Points presented in a organization of plan. Reader is
Supporting points are Supporting points are seemingly random information confused.
presented in a logical presented in a logical fashion, but all support
progression. progression. argument.

Development 20% Develops each point Develops each point Sparse details or Statements are
with many specific with many specific evidence. Question only unsupported by
details. Answers details. Answers partially answered any detail or
question completely. question completely. explanation.
Repetitious,
incoherent,
illogical
development.

Use of 10% Uses technical or Uses technical or Ordinary word choice; Limited
Semantics scientific terminology scientific terminology use of scientific vocabulary; errors
appropriately and appropriately and terminology avoided. impair
correctly. No major correctly. No major Some serious errors (but communication
grammatical or grammatical or they don’t impair
spelling errors. spelling errors. communication).

TOTAL