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The
people of San Juan wished to relocate, as their current settlement,
a tight fabric of boarded walks leading to wooden houses, perched
over the Pacific Ocean, is threatened by seaquake generated tsunamis
(the previous village was destroyed in 1979). The village of San Juan
is an isolated settlement along a coastal forest Accessible only by
boat they are a self sustaining community, Independent of the mainland.
For us this project brought into question the bifurcation of design
and construction, the importance of local resources, skills and materials,
and the idea of a loose fitting design adjustable in its parts. After
studying the existing community we divided the parts of the new one
into houses and the first generation of public buildings (school,
medical center and public offices). We then organized these parts
around several regulating features (main road through the community,
place of public buildings, boardwalks and place of protected lands).
The design was not intended to be a definitive plan but meant to address
priorities and give a basis for direction.
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