Samuel Kalika

Summer 2015

Samuel Kalika is the director and founder of Critical Concrete, a social architecture initiative that tackles the huge issue of housing poverty through hands-on educational programmes.

Critical Concrete is an emerging educational and social initiative that stands out of the regular dynamisms of real estate development and promotes new mechanisms to rehabilitate social housing, and improve public and cultural spaces shared by low-income communities. It advocates a fundamental right to adequate housing, that is often disregarded due to lack of public resources or political regulation. It reflects on increasing popularisation and influx of global capital that causes social polarization, rising rents and cost of living in the city of Porto and beyond. Instead of building for, we build with. The most impactful format that Critical Concrete runs is the annual international practical and theoretical Summer School. Families in-need, students and interdisciplinary group of mentors, researchers and practitioners team-up to demonstrate the collective power capable of changing people’s housing habits.

www.criticalconcrete.com

In cooperation with KAAF Institute, Tehran. For further info visit: www.ka-af.com