Plan Documentation for the New Open Space
The plan documentation for the new open space in the housing ensemble comprises a set of recent projects and some historical reference points. The documentation sets out to facilitate a comparative analysis of the various projects. For this purpose the projects have all been newly drawn and photographed, using both documentation supplied by the architecture offices involved and archival material. The characteristic features and the internal cohesion of the new open space within these developments have been the guiding principle here. The drawing technique is based on the method used in the Atlas of the Dutch Urban Block. The emphasis within this documentation lies on the form and the meaning of the open space within the housing block or ensemble. The principal plan depicts the ground-floor level, showing the interiors of the ground-floor dwellings as well as the design of the new open space. The focus is on the relationship between the dwellings and their place within the development and the relationship between the block structure and the dwelling typology. Both the architectural coherence and the wider context have been mapped. The morphological unity of the projects has been sketched within the wider urban structure to show the relationship with the city.
The set of contemporary residential ensembles comprises the widest possible range of variations on the new open space. The examples in question can be found at very distinct locations: the city centre, special settings such as former industrial sites and outside the city, either as part of Vinex neighbourhoods or in rural areas. This collection also illustrates the differences in density, the mix of target groups, typology and architecture. We look at the following 8 projects:
- De Grote Hof, Pijnacker-Nootdorp – Rapp + Rapp (1998-2006)
- Block 23 IJburg, Amsterdam – various architects: De Architecten Cie., Dick van Gameren architecten, VMX architects (2000-2005)
- Block 24 IJburg, Amsterdam – various architects: Meyer en Van Schooten Architecten, Claus en Kaan architecten, ANA architecten (1999-2005)
- Schuttersveld, Delft – Geurst & Schulze Architecten (2001-2003)
- Monnikhof, Groningen – S333 Architecture + Urbanism (1998-2002)
- Zwanenwoud, Heerenveen – Soeters Van Eldonk Architecten (1998-2002)
- Rietlanden, Amsterdam – Venhoeven CS (1995-2001)
- Mariaplaats, Utrecht – Bob van Reeth AWG (1994-1998)
The characteristics of this collection of contemporary projects are discussed at length in the articles by Karin Theunissen and by Like Bijlsma and Nynke Jutten. The articles are accompanied by analytical drawings that were produced in conjunction with this plan documentation. Each of these series of analytical drawings considers the new open space from different angles. The autonomous series have been printed alongside the texts.
These series of drawings can also be seen as mapping out the sequence from the large scale of the city to the smallest scale of the architectural detail:
1. The new open space within the network of the urban space
2. The new open space within the network of internal spaces in the city
3. The shape of the new open space – two-dimensional
4. The shape of the new open space – three-dimensional
5. The living space and the transitional zone vis-à-vis the new open space
6. The architectural design of the collective elements
7. Formal versus informal: cross sections and views across the new open space and adjacent buildings
The set of recent projects has been supplemented with four historical projects, which have been documented in the same way. They may be seen as epitomizing moments in the debate about the relationship between housing, public space and the city. The four projects are in no way intended to present
an exhaustive overview of the historical experiments with the closed perimeter block and the collective or public space; however, they do provide starting points for the process of identifying the continuity and the differences between past and more recent projects. The following projects are included:
- Het Pentagon, Amsterdam – Theo Bosch and Aldo van Eyck (1975-1983)
- De Kasbah, Hengelo – Piet Blom (1966-1974)
- Veronesestraat, Amsterdam – Bureau Eduard Cuypers, K. van Geijn and H.J.A. Bijlard (1928-1929)
- Tuinwijk-Zuid, Haarlem – J.B. van Loghem (1918-1922)
