The challenges associated with the provision of adequate and affordable housing around the world demand that architects respond with original solutions that challenge traditional building forms, typologies and methods of delivery.

In recognition of this demand, last month’s World Architecture Festival in Berlin chose housing as its thematic focus. The festival made headlines with Patrik Schumacher’s inflammatory keynote speech that called for cities to be turned over entirely to market forces, scrapping social housing and privatizing all public space. The controversy that followed belied the diversity of the discourse on housing at the Festival and the presentation of innovative architectural responses to housing challenges.

The WAF also presented a panel, curated and produced by PLANE–SITE, that brought together the architects of four inventive housing projects. These projects represent a diversity of approaches to similar housing challenges across radically different global contexts. From the redensification of European urban centers to the rapid urbanization of the tropical Asian megacity, these radical housing models challenged existing paradigms in order to advance resident well-being as their principle design concern. In contrast to Schumacher’s divisive speech, the panel illustrated projects that were deliberately designed to promote community life and social interaction between residents – and in some cases also with other citizens in spaces that blur the line between public and private.

Beyond design and construction, the panel presented real, innovative housing projects that are actually now inhabited, exposing the everyday life of the residents. Video portraits prepared in advance supported the architects’ presentations. Drawing from residents’ own voices, the format investigated how the inventive architectural proposals have actually played out in reality.

PLANE–SITE visited each of the projects and interviewed the residents, observing and documenting their lives at home in these experimental projects. Their first hand experiences, unscripted and in their own words, complemented each of the architects’ statements and validated their architectural prototypes.

R50 Cohousing / ifau und Jesko Fezer + Heide von Beckerath (Berlin, Germany)

One of Berlin’s most remarkable Baugruppe projects, R50 embodies the essence of participatory planning and collective decision-making. Guided by the architects, residents chose a unifying balcony that connects all the units on the exterior and creates a wrap-around walkway covering the building. Residents also share a rooftop garden and a double-story common space on the ground floor, which has a semi-public program.

Coop Housing at Spreefeld / Carpaneto Architekten, Fatkoehl Architekten, BARarchitekten (Berlin, Germany)

Located right on the Spree River and open to the public, Spreefeld was developed as a cooperative by a community of people who wanted to live differently. A celebration of communal living, the complex includes “cluster apartments” that are shared by up to 21 people. These units defy conventions of public and private space by adding gradients between the most intimate spaces and the street. On the ground floor are also “option” rooms that were left somewhat unfinished and open-ended, with the intention that they will change over time based on what residents prefer.

Timmerhuis / OMA (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)

One of the newest buildings to mark the growing Rotterdam skyline, Timmerhuis is an unusual residential project that integrates municipal offices with residences and retail. OMA restored an existing government building and added two mountain-like towers, with generous receding terraces where residents enjoy outdoor space. Despite its glossy finish and detailing, the building houses a diverse demographic, including young families and empty-nesters.

SkyVille @ Dawson / WOHA (Singapore)

SkyVille is a progressive housing prototype designed by WOHA Architects for the Singaporean national Housing and Development Board (HDB). Sized to accommodate a burgeoning urban population, the building incorporates clever strategies to “domesticate” the large structure by creating smaller, human-scaled communities. Designed to be high-density and high-amenity, the 960 units are laid out in three tower blocks, naturally ventilated by generous interior airwells. Perhaps the most remarkable feature is the rooftop park on the 47th floor, which is accessible to the public for leisure and recreation.

Credits:

Article Text: Michael Maginness for PLANE–SITE
Videos: Michael Waldrep for PLANE–SITE
WAF Panel Curator & Moderator: Andrés Ramirez for PLANE–SITE

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Courtesy of Utopia Arkitekter

As Gothenburg, Sweden’s urban fabric begins to change, Utopia Arkitekter in collaboration with Gehl Architects and Snohetta have swooped in with a proposed urban plan for the development of Hovås II, located in the south of the city. Their firm’s proposal has won the jury’s acclaim, and they are now moving toward the project’s next phase.

Courtesy of Utopia Arkitekter

Courtesy of Utopia Arkitekter

In our proposal for Hovås, we have expanded on the qualities of Hovås I with its mixed buildings, services and various business facilities, as well as access to nature and recreational areas.

By integrating the second part of the plan with its adjacent first portion, Utopia’s design allows a seamless transition complete with a traffic solution. Showcasing specific qualities inherent to the site will also allow for a vibrant recreational system. (Placing green space in areas that surround the creek contribute to that notion.)  Covering a total area of 79,580 square meters, the plan will include 900 residential units, a library, a cultural center, a cinema, swimming pool and almost 50,000 square meters of retail space. 

Courtesy of Utopia Arkitekter

Utopia’s proposed traffic solutions aim to create a “more coherent neighborhood.” Reducing the width of the motorway zone and fluidly transitioning between Hovås I and II are just part of the team’s overall goal. Hovås borders both the sea and nature areas of its region, the city will develop into a small-scale “mixed-use” city. 

Courtesy of Utopia Arkitekter

We have strived to create a traffic solution that, rather than splitting the community in two, will make the least possible impact on the life quality for the residents. The function of the motorway as a throughway and slip road feeder has been taken into account, while the underpass – Hovås Allé – has been regarded as an important connecting link and access to the urban development.

Courtesy of Utopia Arkitekter

While Hovås I centers on proximity to the sea, Hovås II looks toward the lake and nature reserve, with a small footpath that leads to the lake. Extruding the roundabout from the plan will also provide a cleaner composition within the city. 

Courtesy of Utopia Arkitekter

There is a call for innovation and creative thinking on how the area can evolve further. Social and environmental sustainability over time is desired.

• Architects: Utopia Arkitekter
• Location: 436 50 Hovås, Sweden
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Courtesy of Utopia Arkitekter

News Via: Utopia Arkitekter

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© Roberto Buratta, Paolo Manfroni

• Architects: MMAA
• Location: 19015 Levanto, Province of La Spezia, Italy
• Architect In Charge: Mario Manfroni, Patrizia Burlando
• Design Team: Alessandra Ferrari, Ramona Ribolini, Simone Pastine, Sara Grillo, Francesca Desogus (M.D.Z.)

• Area: 1340.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Roberto Buratta, Paolo Manfroni

• Text: Francesco Pagliari

© Roberto Buratta, Paolo Manfroni

From the architect. The plant is situated on the Ligurian sea (in the eastern section of Liguria) in a highly important touristic and environmental area: the “Cinque Terre”.

© Roberto Buratta, Paolo Manfroni

This project embraces both architecture and landscape to create a water treatment plant for Levanto and Bonassola  that operates on multiple levels and meets numerous needs. 

Conceptual Diagram

On the one hand, there is the technical plant with a clear, standardized and regulated function (i.e. water treatment), but on the other, there is the careful consideration of the impact on the landscape of a unit large enough to incorporate all the required high performance, cutting-edge treatment equipment. 

© Roberto Buratta, Paolo Manfroni

The shift from being merely a functional plant to a high quality, meaningful architectural element is far from automatic. Indeed, it is the design that has to take “control” of the landscape by merging the different needs and requirements to produce such quality architecture.

Sections

The location of this water treatment plant is relatively unique, with the side of a hill sloping down to the beach, the sea below and the former railway tracks (the line was moved) that have been converted into a seafront walk, lined with amenities and shops, to form a genuine gateway to the fabled tourist lands of Cinque Terre. It is a striking backdrop against which to build a water treatment plant that spans four floors (two underground, two aboveground) and houses all of the water treatment equipment and control units.  At the very heart of the project lies the simple idea of reproducing, in a contemporary light, the system of terraced plots that is such a defining feature of the Ligurian landscape.

© Roberto Buratta, Paolo Manfroni

The building nestles on the hill (and is part of a broader scheme to consolidate the slope and reduce the landslide risk) and then moves away from it in a fluid, dynamic volume that unfolds horizontally for the two above-ground floors, reproducing that terraced structure. 

Opposite the first level, accessible by a ramp leading to the road, lies a large yard that provides the space needed for the vehicles and mechanical equipment required for maintenance. The upper terrace is covered by Mediterranean shrubs that blend wonderfully with the top section clad with stone with a cleft finish that recalls the classic walling used for terraces in these lands. This adds harmony and helps link the facility to the hill behind.

© Roberto Buratta, Paolo Manfroni

The middle terrace has greenery that reminds one of a hanging garden, creating a geometrical pattern that contrasts with the sinuous line of the façade. The interaction between the old railway line – now a walkway and powerful element in the landscape – with the terraced architecture of the new water treatment plant creates a clear dynamic perception. 

Site Plan

The doors in the front of the building, in different sizes and with horizontal slats, are functional in origin, but help the overall sense of balance and measure.  The cladding for the external walls of the two above-ground levels – done using elegant, curved horizontal bands – is a defining trait of this design, helping to produce the complex composition of the façade. 

© Roberto Buratta, Paolo Manfroni

In a certain way, the cladding represents the project, with its concept of contemporaneity and control. The local stone (Rosso Levanto and Verde Levanto) has a natural finish and is laid in a rigorous, detailed pattern of large bands separated by colour, producing a different perception depending on whether pedestrians walk here from east or west.

© Roberto Buratta, Paolo Manfroni

This building is all about dynamism and elegance, fluidity and measured composition. It is quality architecture and is definitely far more than a simple functional container; it actively contributes to shaping a concept of landscape wedged between transformation and tradition. 

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Proposed Mies van der Rohe-designed tower block for the Mansion House Square scheme. Image © John Donat / RIBA Collections

Next year the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) will open a seminal new exhibition: Mies van der Rohe & James Stirling: Circling the Square. The show will examine two iconic schemes proposed for the same site in the City of London: Mies van der Rohe’s unrealised Mansion House Square project (developed by Lord Peter Palumbo) and its built successor, James Stirling Michael Wilford & Associates’ No.1 Poultry.

No.1 Poultry / James Stirling & Associates. Image © Janet Hall / RIBA Collections

In the words of the curators, Marie Bak Mortensen and Vicky Wilson, “the design history of the two schemes spans three decades of the mid-20th Century, a highly transitional period in the history of architecture where the movements and influences of pop art, high modernism and postmodernism co-existed and collided.” Presented together for the first time, the exhibition will provide a unique opportunity to compare the design methods of two of the most highly recognized architects of the last century, and to “trace the continuity in purpose and approach that unites two seemingly dissimilar architectural creations.”

The exhibition will be designed by London-based practice Carmody Groarke Architects.

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© Thomas Jantscher

• Architects: Savioz Fabrizzi Architectes
• Location: Praz-de-Fort, 1943 Orsières, Switzerland
• Architect In Charge: Claude Fabrizzi, Laurent Savioz
• Area: 775.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Thomas Jantscher

• Civil Engineering: alpatec sa, martigny
• Heating Engineering: tecsa sa, conthey

© Thomas Jantscher

Built in the second half of the 19th century, the barn was originally situated at the entrance to the village of praz-de-fort in the val d’entremont, and had been abandoned. as part of the conversion process, it was first dismantled and then rebuilt a few kilometres further into the valley, at saleinaz.

© Thomas Jantscher

A new independent structure and an internal skin were constructed inside the envelope formed by the old barn. this separation from the external structure enabled a rich spatial mix to be created via open half-storeys communicating with one another. the dwelling was therefore treated as a single open and continuous space, organised via the differences in level. the bedroom and office, which are the most private spaces, were created in the upper part of the barn, above the living areas and the kitchen.

Floor Plan

As the only existent openings were doors that gave access to the different balconies, these were retained and glazed. the number of additional new openings was minimised, to avoid detracting from the character of the barn while making it more comfortable. the new openings were positioned in such a way as to create a relationship either with the natural surroundings outside or with the original envelope, depending on the position.

© Thomas Jantscher

The external bands formed by the existent ruchines (wheat-drying galleries) have been made slightly more dense with a view to making the outer walls more homogeneous and keeping the barn closer to its original appearance, as well as offering an intimacy for the users of the internal spaces.

© Thomas Jantscher

The base, which has been reconstructed in exposed concrete, recalls the stone used for the original base. this new base is connected to the barn by a band of glazing which is set back from the external wall so as to make it inconspicuous. this band of glazing enables natural light to reach the areas situated in the base.

Section

The new internal skin of the barn consists of oak panels, with the spaces in the base providing a contrast through the use of materials that recall the external stone.

© Thomas Jantscher

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