Editorial
Articles
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In a recently broadcast episode of current affairs programme De slag om Nederland (The battle for the Netherlands), architect Pi de Bruijn credited the successful rebuilding of the Roombeek neighbourhood in Enschede to the fact that no project developers had been involved. Instead, the homes had come about through private and collective commissioning. In the architect’s view, this method of development had produced an attractive and thriving neighbourhood, which has since become a tourist destination. In other parts of the country too, local governments are now trying to promote the practice of private commissioning. Housing production has fallen dramatically, while sites that were purchased for large sums of money and are ready for building are still awaiting construction plans. Developers and housing associations are bailing out, thus clearing the way for private initiatives, whether individual or collective.
Whether or not this indicates a definitive shift in the Dutch housing market is impossible to say at this point in time. But what we can do is try to assess whether the increase in private initiatives is resulting in the construction of diff erent types of dwellings. Of particular interest here is the practice of collective commissioning, in which the balance between individual requirements and collective interests seems to offer a new principle for housing design.
In a recently broadcast episode of current affairs programme De slag om Nederland (The battle for the Netherlands), architect Pi de Bruijn credited the successful rebuilding of the Roombeek neighbourhood in Enschede to the fact that no project developers had been involved. Instead, the homes had come about through private and collective commissioning. In the architect’s view, this method of development had produced an attractive and thriving neighbourhood, which has since become a tourist destination. In other parts of the country too, local governments are now trying to promote the practice of private commissioning. Housing production has fallen dramatically, while sites that were purchased for large sums of money and are ready for building are still awaiting construction plans. Developers and housing associations are bailing out, thus clearing the way for private initiatives, whether individual or collective.
Whether or not this indicates a definitive shift in the...
In a recently broadcast episode of current affairs programme De slag om Nederland (The battle for the Netherlands), architect Pi de Bruijn credited the successful rebuilding of the Roombeek neighbourhood in Enschede to the fact that no project developers had been involved. Instead, the homes...
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Drive north from Eindhoven’s central station along Montgomerylaan, one of the city’s arterial roads, and after exactly 3 km you will arrive at a shopping centre, named after the district of Woensel. Beyond it lies ’t Hool, a remarkable and exceptionally green residential area designed by the Van den Broek en Bakema office, completed in 1972 so now more than 40 years old. The first thing to catch the eye is the sheer quantity and quality of public green space: large trees, shrubs and plenty of other plants create the impression of an overgrown low-rise enclave. Only on closer inspection does it become apparent just how big the neighbourhood is. Both the low-rises within the landscaping and the high-rises a bit further north are part of the plan. Together they form a coherent architectural and spatial entity.
The neighbourhood boasts a surprisingly wide spectrum of dwellings, including courtyard houses, terraced housing, detached houses and split-level high-rise apartments; a total of 14 types, from subsidized rental to free-market owner-occupied housing. All are built in plain brick and dark painted wood. The neighbourhood’s layout is more or less symmetrical. A green, north-south axis bisects the plan and links the area with the Dinantpark to the north and the shopping centre to the south. Situated on either side of this central green axis are six residential courts. Nine smaller versions of this configuration can be found along the neighbourhood’s eastern and western borders. There are two entrances for motorized traffic: in the north-western and north-eastern corners. The road connecting these two entrances forms a loop providing access to the residential courts.
Drive north from Eindhoven’s central station along Montgomerylaan, one of the city’s arterial roads, and after exactly 3 km you will arrive at a shopping centre, named after the district of Woensel. Beyond it lies ’t Hool, a remarkable and exceptionally green residential area designed by the Van den Broek en Bakema office, completed in 1972 so now more than 40 years old. The first thing to catch the eye is the sheer quantity and quality of public green space: large trees, shrubs and plenty of other plants create the impression of an overgrown low-rise enclave. Only on closer inspection does it become apparent just how big the neighbourhood is. Both the low-rises within the landscaping and the high-rises a bit further north are part of the plan. Together they form a coherent architectural and spatial entity.
The neighbourhood boasts a surprisingly wide spectrum of dwellings, including courtyard houses, terraced housing, detached houses and split-level high-rise...
Drive north from Eindhoven’s central station along Montgomerylaan, one of the city’s arterial roads, and after exactly 3 km you will arrive at a shopping centre, named after the district of Woensel. Beyond it lies ’t Hool, a remarkable and exceptionally green residential area designed by...
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In almost every German city, Baugruppen (building groups) have become a self-evident and accepted part of housing sector output in the last decades. In Berlin in particular, Baugruppen have been responsible for a minor revolution in the development and construction market. The by now more than 150 Baugruppen projects in Berlin appear to be not only a means to ward off the building crisis, but also contribute in architectural and social terms to the diversity and attractiveness of the city. Using the situation in Berlin as an example, insight is given into the spatial aspects that have contributed to the success of the Baugruppen phenomenon.
In almost every German city, Baugruppen (building groups) have become a self-evident and accepted part of housing sector output in the last decades. In Berlin in particular, Baugruppen have been responsible for a minor revolution in the development and construction market. The by now more than 150 Baugruppen projects in Berlin appear to be not only a means to ward off the building crisis, but also contribute in architectural and social terms to the diversity and attractiveness of the city. Using the situation in Berlin as an example, insight is given into the spatial aspects that have contributed to the success of the Baugruppen phenomenon.
In almost every German city, Baugruppen (building groups) have become a self-evident and accepted part of housing sector output in the last decades. In Berlin in particular, Baugruppen have been responsible for a minor revolution in the development and construction market. The by now...
Interviews
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Until a few years ago, it was common practice in the Netherlands for developers to deliver generic products and give most of their attention to production. Of course, there was also a market that accepted this. It made little difference what was produced, for everything sold. Although architects had been expressing an interest in increasing residents’ input in the design of housing with a certain degree of regularity ever since the 1970s, there was little enthusiasm among developers. Helped by the crisis, but also as the consequence of a process of increasing consumer articulation that had begun prior to that, the end-user’s position has grown stronger. In the past years, developers have also shown an increased interest in taking the end-users’ wishes as the starting point, instead of as finishing touches to the work.
Lingotto is an example of a developer that has explored new possibilities in various projects over the last ten years. Since its beginnings in 2000, Lingotto has realized diverse housing projects, primarily new-build. As of five years ago, the company began focusing more expressly on converting school buildings and offices into residential buildings. Because of the crisis, this is increasingly coming into vogue, and it is becoming more and more important to develop distinctive concepts in this regard. The input of the end-user is essential here.
Until a few years ago, it was common practice in the Netherlands for developers to deliver generic products and give most of their attention to production. Of course, there was also a market that accepted this. It made little difference what was produced, for everything sold. Although architects had been expressing an interest in increasing residents’ input in the design of housing with a certain degree of regularity ever since the 1970s, there was little enthusiasm among developers. Helped by the crisis, but also as the consequence of a process of increasing consumer articulation that had begun prior to that, the end-user’s position has grown stronger. In the past years, developers have also shown an increased interest in taking the end-users’ wishes as the starting point, instead of as finishing touches to the work.
Lingotto is an example of a developer that has explored new possibilities in various projects over the last ten years. Since its beginnings in 2000,...
Until a few years ago, it was common practice in the Netherlands for developers to deliver generic products and give most of their attention to production. Of course, there was also a market that accepted this. It made little difference what was produced, for everything sold. Although...
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Since the 1980s, architect Hein de Haan (b. 1943) has been involved in countless housing projects based on collective private commissioning, or CPC. ‘People often ask me how to go about it, and I hand them all sorts of information.’ De Haan is a missionary for CPC. Working out of CASA (Coöperatief Architectenbureau voor de Stadsvernieuwing in Amsterdam), a cooperative architecture firm specialized in urban development, he earned national recognition with Het Kameel (1984-1986), a new building complex comprised of 28 residential/work units in Vlaardingen realized within the sphere of the housing act. ‘This is one of the most true-toform CPC projects because the initiative came entirely from the future residents. They didn’t start looking for a housing corporation until it was being put out to tender. The corporation was not amused at being called in at such a late stage,’ smiles De Haan.
Visiting the Vrijburcht, his most recent CPC project in Amsterdam’s IJburg district, where he also lives and works himself, we spoke with the doyen of collective building in the Netherlands about collective commissioning, Dutch regulations and current limitations.
Since the 1980s, architect Hein de Haan (b. 1943) has been involved in countless housing projects based on collective private commissioning, or CPC. ‘People often ask me how to go about it, and I hand them all sorts of information.’ De Haan is a missionary for CPC. Working out of CASA (Coöperatief Architectenbureau voor de Stadsvernieuwing in Amsterdam), a cooperative architecture firm specialized in urban development, he earned national recognition with Het Kameel (1984-1986), a new building complex comprised of 28 residential/work units in Vlaardingen realized within the sphere of the housing act. ‘This is one of the most true-toform CPC projects because the initiative came entirely from the future residents. They didn’t start looking for a housing corporation until it was being put out to tender. The corporation was not amused at being called in at such a late stage,’ smiles De Haan.
Visiting the Vrijburcht, his most recent CPC project in Amsterdam’s...
Since the 1980s, architect Hein de Haan (b. 1943) has been involved in countless housing projects based on collective private commissioning, or CPC. ‘People often ask me how to go about it, and I hand them all sorts of information.’ De Haan is a missionary for CPC. Working out of CASA...
Case Studies
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The plan documentation of this eighth edition of DASH includes 11 projects that were realized on the basis of collective private commissions. Spread over Europe and North America, the projects provide a panoramic overview of the last 100 years. It shows the results of people’s private initiatives to build their own homes together with associates. The projects often avoid standard housing production in a number of different ways. The motives of the initiators are extremely diverse and never straightforward. Romantic ideals of a life in the countryside can go hand-in-hand with the notion of achieving financial advantage by working as partners.
The plan documentation of this eighth edition of DASH includes 11 projects that were realized on the basis of collective private commissions. Spread over Europe and North America, the projects provide a panoramic overview of the last 100 years. It shows the results of people’s private initiatives to build their own homes together with associates. The projects often avoid standard housing production in a number of different ways. The motives of the initiators are extremely diverse and never straightforward. Romantic ideals of a life in the countryside can go hand-in-hand with the notion of achieving financial advantage by working as partners.
The plan documentation of this eighth edition of DASH includes 11 projects that were realized on the basis of collective private commissions. Spread over Europe and North America, the projects provide a panoramic overview of the last 100 years. It shows the results of people’s private...
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The aim of the Dutch Housing Act of 1902 was to relieve the worst failings in the public housing situation, particularly among the poorest section of the population. This did not mean, however, that improvements were not desired for those who were better situated. For this reason the ‘Amsterdamsche Coöperatieve Woonvereeniging “Samenwerking”’ (‘collaboration’) was founded in 1908. The initiators of this housing corporation were a small group of higher-level civil servants of the City of Amsterdam who intended to build their own homes.
The first two projects realized by ‘Samenwerking’ (in 1910 and 1913, both designed by architect M.J.E. Lippits) were of modest proportions. The ‘third construction’, completed between 1919 and 1922 and designed by architects Lippits and J.C. van Epen, was much larger. It numbered about 800 dwellings housed in six city blocks. The buildings around the Harmoniehof, by Van Epen, form the heart of this third project.
Van Epen’s project consists of two city blocks and eight semi-detached houses arranged around a public garden. The housing blocks, oriented east-west, are long and narrow: 180 by 40 m. The inner space, used as private gardens for the ground-floor apartments, is a mere 12 m wide. As compensation there is an elongated green strip between the two building blocks, closed off at both ends by four substantial townhouses, each consisting of two semi-detached houses. This is the actual Harmoniehof, enclosed by a low steel fence: a public garden with grass, green borders and a central water feature, with four sizable trees at the corners. Outside the fence two wooden benches, with their backs to the street and the houses, look out onto this garden.
The aim of the Dutch Housing Act of 1902 was to relieve the worst failings in the public housing situation, particularly among the poorest section of the population. This did not mean, however, that improvements were not desired for those who were better situated. For this reason the ‘Amsterdamsche Coöperatieve Woonvereeniging “Samenwerking”’ (‘collaboration’) was founded in 1908. The initiators of this housing corporation were a small group of higher-level civil servants of the City of Amsterdam who intended to build their own homes.
The first two projects realized by ‘Samenwerking’ (in 1910 and 1913, both designed by architect M.J.E. Lippits) were of modest proportions. The ‘third construction’, completed between 1919 and 1922 and designed by architects Lippits and J.C. van Epen, was much larger. It numbered about 800 dwellings housed in six city blocks. The buildings around the Harmoniehof, by Van Epen, form the heart of this third project.
...The aim of the Dutch Housing Act of 1902 was to relieve the worst failings in the public housing situation, particularly among the poorest section of the population. This did not mean, however, that improvements were not desired for those who were better situated. For this reason the...
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In the 1940s, David and Priscilla Henken, two young professionals who lived and worked in Manhattan, took the initiative to found a cooperative community in the countryside together with like-minded people, away from busy and densely populated New York City. Their inspiration stemmed from the ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, the author of Walden, Or Life in the Woods, about the power of the individual and the simple life outdoors. A retrospective of the work of Frank Lloyd Wright in the MOMA brought them into contact with his vision and designs for an ideal development model for suburban America – Broadacre City – and his designs for affordable housing: the Usonian Home. In 1944 they formed a cooperative under the name of ‘Usonia’, and the members saved money on a monthly basis to build their own homes outside the city. In 1947 the cooperative acquired a wooded tract of land in Pleasantville in Westchester Country, about 50 km north of New York.
Naturally, Frank Lloyd Wright was asked to design a plan for them. He based his proposal on earlier designs for cooperative housing: Usonia 1 in Lansing, Michigan and two projects near Kalamazoo, also in Michigan. The proposed plan for Usonia Pleasantville followed the pattern of the last two projects. Circular plots fill the available terrain, and the spaces left over between the circles ensure that the houses are separated from each other. Each circle was precisely 1 acre in size (4,047 m2), with room for a single house, which would be based on the by now extremely rich repertoire of Usonian homes. The circles were clustered in groups of five, leaving a sixth circle unbuilt, thereby creating large intermediate spaces and an intact green landscape. There was space here for communal activities such as the inevitable barbecue. In between the circles, meandering roads were made that strengthened the idyllic picture of apparently unspoiled scenery. The cooperative had to overcome a great deal of resistance, in particular with regard to the necessary financing. For instance, at the request of the bank, the plots were later adjusted and extended with parts of the ‘left-over’ spaces. The residents also introduced several communal facilities: play areas, a children’s farm, vegetable gardens, a swimming pool and a community building.
In the 1940s, David and Priscilla Henken, two young professionals who lived and worked in Manhattan, took the initiative to found a cooperative community in the countryside together with like-minded people, away from busy and densely populated New York City. Their inspiration stemmed from the ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, the author of Walden, Or Life in the Woods, about the power of the individual and the simple life outdoors. A retrospective of the work of Frank Lloyd Wright in the MOMA brought them into contact with his vision and designs for an ideal development model for suburban America – Broadacre City – and his designs for affordable housing: the Usonian Home. In 1944 they formed a cooperative under the name of ‘Usonia’, and the members saved money on a monthly basis to build their own homes outside the city. In 1947 the cooperative acquired a wooded tract of land in Pleasantville in Westchester Country, about 50 km north of New York.
...In the 1940s, David and Priscilla Henken, two young professionals who lived and worked in Manhattan, took the initiative to found a cooperative community in the countryside together with like-minded people, away from busy and densely populated New York City. Their inspiration stemmed from the...
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Residential community ‘Thalmatt 1’ is situated on the same wooded ridge of hills north of Bern as the 15-years-older, much better-known Siedlung Halen, and can be considered as a direct sequel to Halen. Both projects were designed by the Swiss architecture collective Atelier 5, whose aim was to develop ‘prototypes for new forms of housing’. Atelier 5 interpreted the new form as a direct dialogue with the work of Le Corbusier, particularly his Unité d’Habitation, the first example of which was completed in Marseille in 1951. As an alternative to the vertical residential block in the city, Atelier 5 investigated the possibilities for dense, urban housing on the ground in an suburban area. Siedlung Halen is generally seen as belonging to the canon of prototypes for a ‘compact low-rise enclave’. In contrast to the more rational design of Halen, which refers to an anonymous target group, the more exuberant Thalmatt 1 displays the influence of a group of client-occupants in the prosperous 1970s.
The small Siedlung Thalmatt 1 (18 houses compared to 78 in Siedlung Halen) was designed and built for a collective of clients who had complete freedom in drawing up the requirements for their homes. The most important task for the architects was the realization of a ‘collective building form’, despite the wide diversity of houses and the unpredictable dynamics during the design process. In order to create a balance between diversity and unity, three means were utilized: a simple use of materials, an elementary language of form and a strong basic structure. The material at Thalmatt 1 consists primarily of grey concrete cast in situ. The entire concentrated building mass is composed of a multiplicity of rectangular elements: shifting square units, skylights, bay windows and terraces. The architectural vocabulary refers clearly to Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation, in the same way that Siedlung Halen does.
Residential community ‘Thalmatt 1’ is situated on the same wooded ridge of hills north of Bern as the 15-years-older, much better-known Siedlung Halen, and can be considered as a direct sequel to Halen. Both projects were designed by the Swiss architecture collective Atelier 5, whose aim was to develop ‘prototypes for new forms of housing’. Atelier 5 interpreted the new form as a direct dialogue with the work of Le Corbusier, particularly his Unité d’Habitation, the first example of which was completed in Marseille in 1951. As an alternative to the vertical residential block in the city, Atelier 5 investigated the possibilities for dense, urban housing on the ground in an suburban area. Siedlung Halen is generally seen as belonging to the canon of prototypes for a ‘compact low-rise enclave’. In contrast to the more rational design of Halen, which refers to an anonymous target group, the more exuberant Thalmatt 1 displays the influence of a group of client-occupants...
Residential community ‘Thalmatt 1’ is situated on the same wooded ridge of hills north of Bern as the 15-years-older, much better-known Siedlung Halen, and can be considered as a direct sequel to Halen. Both projects were designed by the Swiss architecture collective Atelier 5, whose aim...
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Architect/engineer Ricardo Aroca from Madrid realized a number of unusual apartment buildings in the 1970s. The underlying principle was the idea of a vertical shelving rack on which made-to-measure houses could be placed, independently of each other. Each storey provides a free floor slab where every layout is possible. To achieve this, Aroca developed a section in which a concrete table construction spanned an open ground level. On the table, there is a steel frame with four to five floor slabs above each other.
The building, referred to as Arturo Soria, together with the nearby project on the Calle de Angel Munoz, can be seen as a radical, uncompromising elaboration of Aroca’s basic principles. In so doing, it forms one of the most attractive examples of the principle of support and infill in housing, as John Habraken formulated in the early 1960s. Arturo Soria consists of three building volumes in which houses and offices are mixed. The middle building makes a bend to preserve a number of large pine trees. The head of this building contains several open plan office spaces; the tail – beautifully situated between the pines – contains apartments that can be reached via two staircases. The project was designed and built for a collective of clients. The houses, which differ significantly in size and layout, were designed on the basis of the requirements of the clients.
Architect/engineer Ricardo Aroca from Madrid realized a number of unusual apartment buildings in the 1970s. The underlying principle was the idea of a vertical shelving rack on which made-to-measure houses could be placed, independently of each other. Each storey provides a free floor slab where every layout is possible. To achieve this, Aroca developed a section in which a concrete table construction spanned an open ground level. On the table, there is a steel frame with four to five floor slabs above each other.
The building, referred to as Arturo Soria, together with the nearby project on the Calle de Angel Munoz, can be seen as a radical, uncompromising elaboration of Aroca’s basic principles. In so doing, it forms one of the most attractive examples of the principle of support and infill in housing, as John Habraken formulated in the early 1960s. Arturo Soria consists of three building volumes in which houses and offices are mixed. The middle building makes a bend...
Architect/engineer Ricardo Aroca from Madrid realized a number of unusual apartment buildings in the 1970s. The underlying principle was the idea of a vertical shelving rack on which made-to-measure houses could be placed, independently of each other. Each storey provides a free floor slab...
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The project WindSong Cohousing, in a suburb of the town of Langley in the Canadian province of British Columbia, will remind many people of communes from the 1970s. The residents of WindSong collectively work in the vegetable garden, often cook together, are intensely occupied with personal growth and spend at least three hours a month doing chores like picking up trash, cleaning and administrative paperwork.
About 100 people live at WindSong, including singles, senior citizens and families. The initiative for the community began in the early 1990s, from an ecologically inclined ideal of a community that would take decisions collectively about where to live and how to build and maintain its own homes. In 1994 about 20 like-minded people found a woodland site of 2.5 hectares an hour outside of Vancouver, traversed by a stream and inhabited by ospreys, deer and other wild animals.
Getting the project off the ground proved difficult. Not only did the labyrinth of regulations and permits form an obstacle, but it also took a sophisticated information campaign to convince neighbouring residents. Financing also proved tricky: although the costs do not vary significantly from those of regular new-build projects, banks were wary of the principle of a residential commune. In the end the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation supplied the loan.
The project WindSong Cohousing, in a suburb of the town of Langley in the Canadian province of British Columbia, will remind many people of communes from the 1970s. The residents of WindSong collectively work in the vegetable garden, often cook together, are intensely occupied with personal growth and spend at least three hours a month doing chores like picking up trash, cleaning and administrative paperwork.
About 100 people live at WindSong, including singles, senior citizens and families. The initiative for the community began in the early 1990s, from an ecologically inclined ideal of a community that would take decisions collectively about where to live and how to build and maintain its own homes. In 1994 about 20 like-minded people found a woodland site of 2.5 hectares an hour outside of Vancouver, traversed by a stream and inhabited by ospreys, deer and other wild animals.
Getting the project off the ground proved difficult. Not only did the labyrinth of...
The project WindSong Cohousing, in a suburb of the town of Langley in the Canadian province of British Columbia, will remind many people of communes from the 1970s. The residents of WindSong collectively work in the vegetable garden, often cook together, are intensely occupied with personal...
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The Viennese housing project Miss Sargfabrik (2000) is the sequel to a project located nearby (1996), named Sargfabrik. They have a lot in common: bright-orange façades with an unusual programme that includes room, alongside housing, for collective, and in the case of Sargfabrik, public functions. In addition they have the same client: a collective named ‘Verein für integrative Lebensgestaltung’ (association for integrated living). The collective calls itself a ‘Baukünstlerkollektiv’ (architecture collective), and the two architects in it who produced the design have christened their firm after this phenomenon: BKK-3.
Both Sargfabrik and Miss Sargfabrik are grounded in the desire to realize a different kind of housing than was available in Vienna at the time. The uniformity of the modernist doctrine of housing construction was repellent to the clients and the designers. In their view the modernist quest for light, air and space, the segregation of housing, work, transport and leisure, and the search for new forms of housing and society had morphed into a primarily industrial housing production in which the idea was no longer to accommodate individual needs, but to produce large numbers of minimal housing cells.
Miss Sargfabrik is situated at the corner of the Missindorfstrasse and the Fenzlgasse. The bright orange colour and the long strip windows distinguish the building from its surroundings. The short side – the building forms a hook with a long side and a short side – displays the complexity of Miss Sargfabrik: here two strips of fenestration merge into one and all sorts of height variations and split-level cross sections are visible. Miss Sargfabrik does not offer public functions, but it does feature a number of communal facilities for its residents’ collective, such as a library, a laundry, two kitchens and a bar. The various components of the building take complex forms: they are linked by ramps or low-rise stairs and are delineated by walls that angle upwards.
The Viennese housing project Miss Sargfabrik (2000) is the sequel to a project located nearby (1996), named Sargfabrik. They have a lot in common: bright-orange façades with an unusual programme that includes room, alongside housing, for collective, and in the case of Sargfabrik, public functions. In addition they have the same client: a collective named ‘Verein für integrative Lebensgestaltung’ (association for integrated living). The collective calls itself a ‘Baukünstlerkollektiv’ (architecture collective), and the two architects in it who produced the design have christened their firm after this phenomenon: BKK-3.
Both Sargfabrik and Miss Sargfabrik are grounded in the desire to realize a different kind of housing than was available in Vienna at the time. The uniformity of the modernist doctrine of housing construction was repellent to the clients and the designers. In their view the modernist quest for light, air and space, the segregation of housing,...
The Viennese housing project Miss Sargfabrik (2000) is the sequel to a project located nearby (1996), named Sargfabrik. They have a lot in common: bright-orange façades with an unusual programme that includes room, alongside housing, for collective, and in the case of Sargfabrik, public...
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The ‘Egebakken’ complex for senior citizens was initiated around 2000 by five retired couples and friends from the small village of Nødebo, to the north of Copenhagen. They had reached a point where their domestic wishes and requirements had changed significantly: their children had left home so the living space had often become too big, the maintenance of the house and garden cost too much energy and there were limited possibilities for adapting the existing houses for more care.
The couples developed a collective vision of their future living environment and that led to the idea for a large residential collective for active pensioners. The first requirement was a safe and comfortable house based on the ground principles of dwellings suitable for lifelong occupation. The residents also wanted to have easy access to a social network in the vicinity. Architecture firm Tegnestuen Vandkunsten was approached at an early stage, and together, in continuous dialogue, an architectural design was developed for the entire residential community. House buyers had to commit financially in advance and work only started after all the houses had been sold. In 2005, four years after the first initiative was taken, the project was finished.
The ‘Egebakken’ complex for senior citizens was initiated around 2000 by five retired couples and friends from the small village of Nødebo, to the north of Copenhagen. They had reached a point where their domestic wishes and requirements had changed significantly: their children had left home so the living space had often become too big, the maintenance of the house and garden cost too much energy and there were limited possibilities for adapting the existing houses for more care.
The couples developed a collective vision of their future living environment and that led to the idea for a large residential collective for active pensioners. The first requirement was a safe and comfortable house based on the ground principles of dwellings suitable for lifelong occupation. The residents also wanted to have easy access to a social network in the vicinity. Architecture firm Tegnestuen Vandkunsten was approached at an early stage, and together, in continuous dialogue, an...
The ‘Egebakken’ complex for senior citizens was initiated around 2000 by five retired couples and friends from the small village of Nødebo, to the north of Copenhagen. They had reached a point where their domestic wishes and requirements had changed significantly: their children had left...
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In 2000 the City of Amsterdam held a competition for a collective residential building on the south-western point of Steigereiland. Steigereiland is part of the expansion district of IJburg that consists of a series of artificially constructed islands in the IJmeer. The city council had cleared the way for the experiment on Steigereiland, including the provision of many plots for both private individuals and collective commissions. The Vrijburcht foundation was set up especially for the competition and consisted of a group of friends, among whom architect Hein de Haan of CASA architecten. The foundation’s plan was selected for the location. Residential building BO1 in the East Harbour Area of Amsterdam developed earlier by CASA served as an example of their work. Housing association De Key played an important role by standing surety in the development phase and providing continued management of a number of the project’s components.
The development consists of a closed building block surrounding a communal green inner courtyard. All the houses can be accessed from this internal terrain. The broad gallery on the first floor follows the example of the famous Justus van Effen block by architect Brinkman in Rotterdam with its elevated street or deck that forms the second communal external space in addition to the inner court at ground level. The houses on the third and fourth storeys can be reached via stairs from the deck. The deep volume on the waterfront is composed of three apartments on top of each other, which are accessed by means of staircases in light courts in the middle of the volume. These courts are reached from the inner garden via narrow straddling passageways. Hein de Haan designed a basic structure for the houses, which allowed plenty of opportunities for further personal elaboration. There are also a number of care houses in the block. Parking is available in an underground communal parking area.
In 2000 the City of Amsterdam held a competition for a collective residential building on the south-western point of Steigereiland. Steigereiland is part of the expansion district of IJburg that consists of a series of artificially constructed islands in the IJmeer. The city council had cleared the way for the experiment on Steigereiland, including the provision of many plots for both private individuals and collective commissions. The Vrijburcht foundation was set up especially for the competition and consisted of a group of friends, among whom architect Hein de Haan of CASA architecten. The foundation’s plan was selected for the location. Residential building BO1 in the East Harbour Area of Amsterdam developed earlier by CASA served as an example of their work. Housing association De Key played an important role by standing surety in the development phase and providing continued management of a number of the project’s components.
The development consists of a closed...
In 2000 the City of Amsterdam held a competition for a collective residential building on the south-western point of Steigereiland. Steigereiland is part of the expansion district of IJburg that consists of a series of artificially constructed islands in the IJmeer. The city council had...
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Berlin bureau Zanderroth Architekten has realized 45 townhouses in the Prenzlauerberg district for a Baugruppe (building group), arranged in two strips along each side of a communal city garden. The size of the plot in the Zelterstrasse is limited: the south side is protected by a blank fire wall 22 m high and almost 100 m in length; and there is also a fire wall on the east side. The residents can make use of a guest house, a sauna and a roof terrace, complete with summer kitchen and barbecue.
The block on the Zelterstrasse represents a succession of individual houses linked together in a uniform architecture. The house type here is extremely narrow at 3.65 m wide, it contains five levels and can be accessed in three ways: directly from the street, through the parking basement and via the courtyard. The storey height varies from ‘standard’ to 4.20 m and that makes the narrow houses seem much more spacious than they are. The houses on the courtyard have a half-sunken terrace at their disposal. A second exterior space is a patio-like balcony that is screened from the gaze of onlookers by a high wall that provides privacy. A terrace has also been made on the roof. The houses along the Zelterstrasse are split level; in some cases, work spaces can be created on the street.
Berlin bureau Zanderroth Architekten has realized 45 townhouses in the Prenzlauerberg district for a Baugruppe (building group), arranged in two strips along each side of a communal city garden. The size of the plot in the Zelterstrasse is limited: the south side is protected by a blank fire wall 22 m high and almost 100 m in length; and there is also a fire wall on the east side. The residents can make use of a guest house, a sauna and a roof terrace, complete with summer kitchen and barbecue.
The block on the Zelterstrasse represents a succession of individual houses linked together in a uniform architecture. The house type here is extremely narrow at 3.65 m wide, it contains five levels and can be accessed in three ways: directly from the street, through the parking basement and via the courtyard. The storey height varies from ‘standard’ to 4.20 m and that makes the narrow houses seem much more spacious than they are. The houses on the courtyard have a half-sunken...
Berlin bureau Zanderroth Architekten has realized 45 townhouses in the Prenzlauerberg district for a Baugruppe (building group), arranged in two strips along each side of a communal city garden. The size of the plot in the Zelterstrasse is limited: the south side is protected by a blank fire...
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In early 2012, two buildings that at first sight look like individual houses were realized on Elandsstraat in Amsterdam. Behind the façades, there is a collective project in which six families combined forces to realize their individual housing requirements. One of the initiators is Bastiaan Jongerius. Together with neighbours from a previous collective project (a third family quickly joined in as well), he went in search of a suitable site, and found it on Elandsstraat. In order to avoid a public tender, the city council sold the plot, including the contaminated ground and buildings, and subsequently granted a subsidy for the demolition and ground sanitation. Because there was room on the site for six residential units, the collective went in search of three more families, who were found via friends, acquaintances and the children’s school. The ground was split into six titles of joint ownership and each household received the rights to a sixth of the communal garden. The establishment of the ‘Elzes’ association marked the beginning of an intensive process of meetings, division of responsibilities and monitoring of costs; consultancy firm De Regie was called in when necessary. To begin with, the surface area each family needed was determined and what the preferences were for location on the site. The initiators had first choice here. Ultimately the requirements proved to be a good fit and the architect went to work on the design.
Three houses have been realized on the Elandsstraat within two individually designed buildings. The house on the left is narrow; the different living functions are grouped round centrally situated stairs. The broader building on the right consists of two houses, which each utilize part of the ground floor. They are accessed from an alleyway that runs under the building and leads to the communal courtyard. The lowermost house has a kitchen-diner on the ground floor on the Elandstraat; the upper house has a garden room on the courtyard.
In early 2012, two buildings that at first sight look like individual houses were realized on Elandsstraat in Amsterdam. Behind the façades, there is a collective project in which six families combined forces to realize their individual housing requirements. One of the initiators is Bastiaan Jongerius. Together with neighbours from a previous collective project (a third family quickly joined in as well), he went in search of a suitable site, and found it on Elandsstraat. In order to avoid a public tender, the city council sold the plot, including the contaminated ground and buildings, and subsequently granted a subsidy for the demolition and ground sanitation. Because there was room on the site for six residential units, the collective went in search of three more families, who were found via friends, acquaintances and the children’s school. The ground was split into six titles of joint ownership and each household received the rights to a sixth of the communal garden. The...
In early 2012, two buildings that at first sight look like individual houses were realized on Elandsstraat in Amsterdam. Behind the façades, there is a collective project in which six families combined forces to realize their individual housing requirements. One of the initiators is Bastiaan...