In 2007 Paris saw the completion of the Quartier Masséna, a district consisting of 17 urban blocks, a park (Jardins Grands Moulins Abbé Pierre) and a number of transformed existing buildings (Bibliothèque des Grands Moulins, Université Paris Diderot and artists’ breeding ground Les Frigos) on its left bank. In his master plan Christian de Portzamparc […]
In Africa, rapid urbanization and explosive economic growth have led to major building activity in almost all areas: infrastructure, government buildings, housing and so on. Arrestingly, the contribution of Chinese companies is very large. It isn’t uncommon for entire cities to be thrown up by Chinese construction companies and a largely Chinese workforce. How is […]
Affordable Housing for Developing Cities In emerging economies all over the world, massive urbanization is leading to an urgent, acute need for affordable housing. Numerous plans and programmes have been developed to meet this demand. The plan documentation of this double issue, DASH – Global Housing, includes 16 projects covering a wide range of approaches […]
Driving east from the southernmost tip of Central Park in New York City, you reach the Queensborough Bridge after about 2.5 km: it connects Manhattan and the borough of Queens. At the foot of the bridge lies New York’s largest social housing project, Queensbridge Houses, built in 1939 and still in use today. The Y-shaped […]
Following the Second World War, the United States faced a huge housing shortage. During the war and the preceding Great Depression of the 1930s, housing production had been reduced to fewer than 100,000 new dwellings per year. The sudden influx of soldiers returning from the war led to an acute housing shortage at the end […]
In 1972, the influential exhibition ‘Italy: The New Domestic Landscape’ was held at the MoMA in New York. Curator Emilio Ambasz assembled 180 household objects and 11 installations by Italian designers in order to investigate the relationship between the designer, the user and (industrialized) society. Italy, which at that time was the leading country in […]
At the 2007 Milan Furniture Fair, the Japanese project developer Mitsui Fudosan presented a concept home called Tsunago, designed by Kengo Kuma. The home showed ideas and concepts that the company wanted to use in apartment buildings for the Japanese market. Tsunago means ‘connect’, and Kuma elaborated on this theme on various levels. A connection […]
Two interviews with directly involved professionals give insight into how the city of Groningen is addressing the current housing needs of young people and students. How can the knowledge that this results in be built upon in the broader sense?
Much like other recent IBA exhibitions, IBA Hamburg 2013 covers a large area, and also touches on a wide range of topics. The activities take place on the river islands of Wilhelmsburg and Veddel. On these Elbeinseln (Elbe islands), with their unique urban, industrial and geographical characteristics, the IBA’s three main themes are addressed: the […]
Between 1960 and 1972 an initiative by five Philips employees developed into a unique residential district of more than 1,000 houses. To this day, ’t Hool embodies the ideals, wishes and ambitions of a new post-war middle class.
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 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 ‘Amster-damsche Coöperatieve Woonvereeniging “Samenwerking”’ (‘collaboration’) was founded […]