Opportunistic Urbanism 2018

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OPP O

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OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM MELBOURNE SCHOOL OF DESIGN Masters of Architecture, Landscape & Urban Design Semester 2 - 2018


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CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 6 INTRODUCTION 7 STUDIO LEADERS 8 WORKSHOPS 9 01 PERSONAL AGENDA 02 MIXED MEDIA DEEP DIVE Themes 18 References 20

04 INTERFACE STUDY 05 SITE ANALYSIS Rotterdam Zoho

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Rotterdam Alexander

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Rotterdam Feijenoord

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Den Haag

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06 PRELIMINARY HYPOTHESIS 07 CONCLUSION

03 EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS EX- Rotaprint

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Holzmarkt 31 Mehr Als Wohnen

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PAKT 43 Circular Buiksloterham

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Zoho 55 Nightingale Village

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Granby Four Streets

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Dedicated to the spirit of understanding the multi-scalar approach to urbanisation, this volume comprises of the efforts and researched pooled in by the students of architecture, urban design and landscape at the University of Melbourne. We would like to thank our tutors, Andy Fergus and Katherine Sundermann for providing us with the platform for discussing and engaging issues- the Dutch way!

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In addition, we would like to thank our studio collaborators in The Netherlands, Deltametropolis Association and TU Delft University for setting up the space and materials for the workshops to enrich our knowledge whilst on site. We hope that this endeavour may generate successful contributions towards the overarching program of “DE STAD VAN DE TOEKOMST.�


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INTRODUCTION The studio Opportunistic Urbanism highlights the “Dutch” approach to building sustainable neighbourhoods on a multi-scalar level. It is comprised of an international travelling component, research and proposed development on three sites within Rotterdam and on one site in The Hague. The studio is structured around the live research brief established between the research organisation, Deltametropolis and the tutors, Andy

and Katherine. The 2018 themes focus on the idea of “De Stad Van De Toekomst” or “The City of the Future.” The studio aims to redevelop underutilised sites within the two Dutch cities and engage discussions about its potential to grow within the context. This is accomplished via an iterative approach to design and by using rules to define the process.

In addition, the studio outcome is supposed to contribute to the Melbourne School of Design (MSD) Melbourne Housing Expo, promoting new ways of thinking about housing and living environments.

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STUDIO LEADERS

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ANDY FERGUS

KATHERINE SUNDERMANN

Urban Designer, City of Melbourne

Associate Director, MGS Architects

Andy Fergus is an Urban Designer in the City of Melbourne, Co-Director of Melbourne Architours, and Nightingale Housing team member. Andy currently works on major projects and the development of design policy in central Melbourne, in addition to small scale personal architectural projects. In urban design and architecture. Andy has experience and interest across all scales of the urban environment and the public, private, and community sectors. Andy is particularly interested in the balance of top-down and bottom-up approaches to urbanism, with a particular focus on enabling alternate development models which are community led, but government supported.

Katherine Sundermann is an Associate Director at MGS Architects, and writer for Architecture Australia and Assemble Papers. She has practiced architecture and urban design in Australia, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. Her recent work includes master planning and strategic studies for university campuses, community infrastructure and urban renewal projects across Melbourne and regional Victoria. She has completed a post-professional Master in Urbanism at TU Delft, focusing on regional design, performative urban design, and collaborative planning. Since returning to Melbourne, Katherine has sought to explore the ‘Dutch approach’ to urbanism in a local context.

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WORKSHOPS LEARNING FROM THE NETHERLANDS Katherine Sundermann Week 1 In her lecture, Katherine compared the Dutch and Melbournian approaches to urban design and planning, and investigated how some of the Dutch strategies could be applied in an Australian context. In Melbourne, some of the present urban development issues we are faced with include the car-centric and monotonous new suburbs, the lack of authenticity of façade focused design solutions and the prominence of the “wedding cake” form. In the Netherlands, there has been more number of experimentation with urban form, from examples such as Studio Ninedot’s “Cityplot” to West 8’s Borneo Sporenburg and the new precinct of Buikslotherham. Katherine explored the planning

techniques each of these examples used as well as the different planning frameworks that have enabled the success of the developments. To summarise, the key elements that were required include: flexible frameworks that are citizen led, a variety of different authors, developers, designers and contractors to ensure variety and difference, and coordination and curation of the various building typologies.

improve the plot ratio. Furthermore, diversity was achieved through having a mix of social and nonsocial housing, engaging several designers and the materiality of the designs.

The Bellfield masterplan in Melbourne was used as an example to demonstrate how various urban design guidelines are utilised. In terms of landscaping, the greenness of the neighbouring park was extended through the suburb, access for pedestrians was encouraged via a network of internal paths, while car parking was minimised to OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

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WHO MAKES THE CITY? Andy Fergus Week 2

In Andy’s talk, he focused on five key themes including identity, the spectrum of housing, underperforming renewal, case studies and opportunities for upscaling. 1.History of identity and density Andy examined the notion of identity throughout history, which was initiated by the need to design for diversity as buildings began to be mass produced. Firstly, there was a graphic approach to creating identity (such as the coloured apartments in Le Corbusier’s Unite d’habitation), followed by the flexibility for residents to adapt the spaces themselves (such as Elemental’s approach to designing housing that allows the inhabitants to add extensions), and finally through providing a flexible framework for individual to create their own identity (such as the Baugruppe procurement and building method). Image > Adaptability > Ownership & opportunity

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2. Spectrum of Housing

4. Case Studies

Different models of development and housing from all parts of the spectrum is needed in order to make the city more diverse, create a socioeconomical mix of residents in the population and to deal with issues of immigration, affordability, changing workforce and ways of working.

A number of case studies throughout cities in Europe are explored that have been procured through a variety of financial models. The commonalities of the various projects included: a clear framework for building, designed with flexibility and construction efficiency in mind and resident involvement throughout the entire process.

Activism + Development = Cocreation (where citizens are initiating and taking part throughout the entire development process) 3. Underperforming Renewal The issue with many renewal projects (such as Docklands in Melbourne) is that they create unattractive outdoor spaces. Andy posed the question, “What are the qualities of older cities that make them so successful?” Many large- scale developments create an urban form that neglects the human scale, thus making the public interface less desirable to use.

5. Opportunities for Upscaling Andy also highlighted opportunities that could be utilised to benefit the entire population, including websites and apps to connect like-minded community groups, platforms for funding and investors.


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CIRCULAR ECONOMY

“What does circular economy mean for cities?” Jana Perkovic Week 3 The workshop conducted with Jana Perkovic consisted of a presentation that aimed to explain the momentum being gained by the Circular Economy Missions in the sphere of research and pilot projects for the EU to reach their goals to recycle materials and thus reduce the impact created by waste on landfills. The presentation was followed by a quick and structured workshop wherein the students were allocated to one of the four sites and using the principles of circular economy, brainstormed ideas to create an equitable environment. Jana spoke about her experience whilst researching in Brussels, Belgium and discussed the importance of various conferences within the EU and also other contributing stakeholder countries to attain the set Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. There was a distinction in the functionality that was proposed between the city and the invested business partners to maximise supply chains and reverse

engineer the life cycle and usability of products and materials. Whilst the principles focused on maximising the integrated benefits of processes and proper resource (natural/artificial) management, the examples contributed to small pilot projects that attempt to bring life to such thoughts.

The workshop that followed was structured to reinforce the idea of circular economy within the context of the four sites and the proposals varied in scale from precinct renewal strategies to more localised ideas to deal with elements like water and the edge of the city.

The “UF002 De Schilde” is an urban farm created in the heart of the Hague. It works on a symbiotic relation wherein the waste generated by the fishes are used to fertilize the vegetables and plantswhich help purify the water instead. Both the end products of the cycle- are consumed by the neighbourhood and sold commercially. Another example is the pilot project ReGen village by the Dutch practice EFFEKT to redefine sustainable living by creating an array of homes and greenhouses- along with community living. Their aim is to blend urban, suburban and rural living in a series of off-grid localities.

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01


PERSONAL AGENDA


WHO WE ARE Masters students with Architecture, Landscape and Urban Design backgrounds explore new ways of thinking about housing and living environment for the 21st Century.

ELLIOT DUNTON My agenda for this studio is to explore a deliberative co-housing typology that embraces diversity & inclusion with an emphasis on shared amenities, public space and street interaction. I am interested in an architecture for the people, one that encourages community and creates a sense of belonging for all.

AUDREY LOPEZ

EMILY THOMAS

I propose to undertake a multi-scalar approach to the problem,

Usually I focus on journeys and the narrative of the people,

from building to the urban setting, from people to the cities.

mapping circulation with detail, however I want to now focus on

I think it would be a challenge on how we can keep the place

key moments of the design at a very zoomed in scale, exploring

identity and character of the Netherlands without limiting it to

how single snapshots are viewed by the inhabitants of the

evolve for the future.

space.

BO XU

HAN CHEN

I would like to focus on creating more welcoming and efficient

[I am to] observe how a variety of people use and influence

public space for people... find the best way to organise the

the design. People is one necessary element in the design,

relation among these living units and the communicating area in

the design is influencing people and people also influence the

order to provide more opportunities for people to share their life.

design. And to find what I am really interested and to make sure what is a good design.

BOB MCDOUGALL

JAIME WAYNE TAM

I would like to explore how both tangible and intangible

I would like to begin with the micro-moments, focusing on

elements could be the starting point for new urban

investigation in human movements, for example, the routine,

developments, not merely elements which are kept or discarded

then test the ideas on urban context aiming in creating

as suits the proposed future character of the area.

communication between human and space and enhancing interactions.

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O1 // PRELIMINARY AGENDA

JINGLE CHEN

SAMUEL JIE ZHAO

Explore how we can design liveable, affordable and high-quality

Seeking a way to bridge different urban language and condition

housing at an urban, precinct and building scale. A place where

that may also have chances to be applied in the place I lived that

a large mix of people of different ages and from different

providing a more livable and comprehend city.

backgrounds can live together harmoniously and form a community.

KARAN CHHIBBER

SHIYU GAO

I want to find an equitable solution for the housing crises that is

Pay attention to multiple and community-oriented lifestyles.

experienced not only by megacities but all developing cities. This

Through the design of public space and from the shared

ethos builds upon having experienced the plight of the homeless

resources to foster a sense of community identity and

and lower to mid income range of people- from a vantage point..

encourage people to take responsibility for the place they live in.

NATALIE KEYNTON

THOMAS MCLAUGHLIN

The design agenda is complex: how to create communities

I would like to test the interplay between these two scales; to

which increase interaction, minimise consumption and protect

create a dialogue between city and person which I believe will

our existing urban fabric?

improve it’s social outcomes as a city continues to grow.

RICHARD MCRAE

JENNY YU HAN HOU

As we move towards an uncertain future, as culture shifts

I am excited to see how the thought of reusing the existing

towards the global, the impacts of technological advances and

urban context and the interaction between humans will affect

climatic changes are yet to be seen - there seems to be added

the way of thinking. And I believe by visiting different places

incentive to look towards a resilient, yet flexible architectural

in the Netherland will open my eyes and also help me to

framework.

understand more about the city.. OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

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MIXED MEDIA DEEP DIVE Research and reviews were conducted on the recurring, key themes that will be explored throughout this semester. The exercise involved a detailed review, summary, presentation and debate on each theme, fostering a culture of collaboration and debate within the classroom.


THEMES

LIVING WITH WATER

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

FUTURE OF EMPLOYMENT

Han & Emily

Thom & Natalie

Jaime & Jenny

The majority of the Netherlands is below sea level meaning they must use adaptive processes to prevent major flood events. Using polders, dikes and water diversion techniques, the Netherlands can adapt to water issues that arise. However, with the sea level rising due to climate change and increased extreme weather events, water management is now more crucial than ever to urban development in all countries, including Melbourne.

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The circular economy has been reimagined as a viable organisational tool for minimising resource consumption in our cities. Operating on the principle of maintaining materials in a reuse cycle for as long as possible, it is proposed that cities and neighbourhoods, such as Buiksloterham, can adopt a local, more sustainable path to densification, renewal and development.

In the urbanisation of developing countries, city councils and developers tend to rezone the city land. While gaining profits from larger high-rise enterprise, some conventional and local culture might be affected in the redevelopment. It is proposed that a thorough analysis on the existing conditions should be made to avoid the loss. De Ceuvel would be a good example showing how a sustainable temporary project works with a low budget and also would provide affordable spaces


O2 // MIXED MEDIA DEEP DIVE

USER LED DEVELOPMENT

AGE FRIENDLY CITIES

CONTROL V. FLEXIBILITY

Karan & Elliot

Shiyu & Jingle

Richard, Sam & Bourne

As the name suggests, User Led Development builds upon the relationship between the group of end users and the collective capital of wealth, knowledge and capability to produce affordable homes. It utilises tools such as community land trusts (CLT) and community interest companies that pool in resources and eliminate the profit margins from a traditional builder development perspective, thereby creating a sustainable model of participation amongst the residents.

‘Intergenerational Care’ (Casey Bryant) and ‘Agefriendly Cities and Neighborhoods’(ARC Linkage Project) explore how urban and architectural design can contribute to addressing issues of the ageing population within a northern European and Australian context. Bryant suggests that a completely different model of care is needed where early child care and aged care are placed in the same facilities, for the benefit of both user groups. The outcome of the ARC Linkage research was to provide flexible, adaptable apartment environments, particularly suited to older Australians.

Rules are all around us, providing guidance for future plans and legibility in understanding the existing built environment. Designers often have a negative perspective of rules, however, the readings encourage us to think of the flexibility rules can enable. When comparing rules from different cities, lessons can be learnt from comparable data helps us understand how the urban environment has been shaped. Rules are not necessarily transferable, arising from unique complexities within each city. It is possible to encourage citizen led, and other forms of bottomup development through the implementation of flexible rules. OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

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REFERENCES Benn, S., & Giurco, D. (2014). Explainer: What is a circular economy? The Conversation, Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/explainer-whatis-the-circular-economy-23298. Bryant, C. (2017) Intergenerational Care: The policies and architectures of intergenerational care in Northern Europe.

INTERFACES Audrey & Bob The texts on interfaces all explore the grey areas of private use within the public realm. It is in the depth of the interface that everyday activities lead to interactions which make the city lively, and as such it is important to design these interfaces in a way which best allows for interaction

City of Melbourne. (2018). The Central Melbourne Design Guide. Retrieved from: https://s3.apsoutheast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp.au.prod.app. com-participate.files/8415/2998/6449/The_ Melbourne_Design_Guide.pdf. Foreground. (2018). Living with Water: Reimagining Australians Temperate Kakadu. Retrieved from: https://www.foreground.com.au/planning/ reimagining-australias-temperate-kakadu/. Gehl, J. (1977). The Interface between Public and Private Territories in Residential Areas. Melbourne: Melbourne University. Gibson, C. R., Crosby, A., Grodach, C., Lyons, C., O’Connor, J., & Gu, X. (2017). Can our cities’ thriving creative precincts be saved from ‘renewal’?. The Conversation. Retrieved from: https://

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O2 // MIXED MEDIA DEEP DIVE

theconversation.com/can-our-cities-thrivingcreative-precincts-be-saved-from-renewal-83042.

must-be-better-ways-to-foster-a-vibrant-streetlife-78338

Hodyl, L. (2015). To investigate Planning Policies that deliver positive social outcomes in hyperdense, high-rise residential environments. Retrieved from: http://apo.org.au/node/52757.

Murray, S., Van Schaik, L., Bertram, N., Lennon, M., Henry, J., Broad, H., Rowe, D., & Murphy, C. (2015) Age Friendly Cities and Neighbourhoods. An Australian research council linkage project.

Hooimeijer, F. (2014). The Making of Polder Cities: A

Narberhaus, M. and Von Mitschke-Collande, J.

Fine Dutch Tradition. Heyningen: Jap Sam Books.

(2017) Circular economy isn’t a magical fix for our environmental woes. The Guardian, Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainablebusiness/2017/jul/14/circular-economynot-magical-fix-environmental-woes-globalcorporations.

Koehler, M. (2017) Building community: The power of smallness. Retrieved from: http://marckoehler. nl/wp-content/uploads/MKA-The-Power-ofSmallness.pdf. Lehnerer, A. (2009). Grand urban rules. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers. Metabolic, Studioninedots, & DELVA Landscape Architects (2014) Circular Buiksloterham: Transitioning Amsterdam to a Circular City. Retrieved from: https://issuu.com/delvalandscape/ docs/circularbuiksloterham_eng_full_repo. Moore, T. (2016) Flat White Urbanism. The Conversation. Retrieved from: https:// theconversation.com/flat-white-urbanism-there-

(2016, August, 4). The city at eye level film: The experience of the pedestrian (video file). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoDQTKsK38/. STIPO, Team Voor Stedelijke Ontwikkeling. (2016, August, 4). The city at eye level film: Good and bad plinths, criteria (video file). Retrieved from: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3lHAIITp24. STIPO, Team Voor Stedelijke Ontwikkeling. (2016, August, 4). The city at eye level film: Case study Zoho Rotterdam (video file). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=mRhmQbLqhTs.

Parvin, A. (2015) Scaling the Citizen Sector. Medium, Retrieved from: https://medium. com/@AlastairParvin/scaling-the-citizen-sector20a20dbb7a4c.

Sundermann, K. (2015) De Ceuvel: From Concept to Community. Retrieved from: http:// assemblepapers.com.au/2015/11/03/de-ceuvelfrom-concept-to-community/.

Ring, K. (2016) Reinventing density: How Baugruppen are pioneering the self-made city. Retrieved from: https://theconversation.com/ reinventing-density-how-baugruppen-arepioneering-the-self-made-city-66488.

Urhan Urban Design (2010). The Spontaneous City. Amsterdam: BIS Publishers.

STIPO, Team Voor Stedelijke Ontwikkeling. OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

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EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS We investigated successful urban renewal precincts and new neighbourhoods around the world (Berlin, Melbourne, Zurich, Liverpool, Antwerp, Amsterdam and Rotterdam) as precedents for this studio. The precincts were analysed in terms of their procurement & financial models, planning framework, land uses and architectural spatial qualities.


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EX- ROTAPRINT

Affordable, Mix use, Non-profit, Heritage Building

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20

50

100 m

(Left) West conner tower of EX-Rotaprint

Location

GottschedstraĂ&#x;e 4, 13357 Berlin, Germany

Use mix

Mainly work, art and community

Plot ratio

1.389:1

GFA (m2)

10,000

Designers

Artists Daniela Brahm, Les Schliesser, Architects Bernard Hummel , Oliver Clemens


Ex-Rotaprint is an urban development model that excludes financial profits through ownership and creates a heterogeneous, open environment for all community groups. The complex is the official manufacturer of the printing press. This project is for people with different backgrounds, especially for the artists and people who work and live in surrounding neighborhoods. The first objective of this project is to preserve of the historical architectural monument. The second is to promote the art and culture.

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Office space


O3 // EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS

Courtyard space

FUNDING

PLANNING FRAMEWORK

Ex-Rotaprint is a non-profit project. Its rental income provides the project costs, such as renovation, building modification, annual ground rent and operational expenses. The Ex-Rotaprint organisation have a heritable building contract with the foundations which own the buildings to prevent the building from selling.

ExRotaprint was challenged to be developed from an ownership model to a commercial complex which suited the reality. A variety of voices was needed to be considered during the intensive discussion. Finally, the project was conceived as a project for realising new social urban development strategies and financially non-profitable.

Studio facade

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O3 // EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS

Studio interior

DESIGN & SPATIAL QUALITIES

LESSONS & OBSERVATIONS

There is a simple, white plaster facade which gives an impression of brightness to neighbours. It is a new structure with new materiality and new technology used to improve spatial qualities in ExRotaprint. Different kinds of studios work together in order to encourage more inspiration and possibilities.

The ways of rethinking and reviving the industrial heritage.

Community engagement

How a non-profit building model can achieve affordable housing and how it operates. The “we’re not in a hurry” attitude towards the design project.

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HOLZMARKT

Holzmarkt, an urban village of creative space for innovation, to live and work. Location

Berlin, Germany

Use mix

Mixed Use Community

Plot ratio

1.2:1

GFA (m2)

14,000

Designers

Holzmarkt + eG, Silvia Carpeneto A Hutten Und Palastea


Holzmarkt is a riverside urban village with a combination of natural, economical and cultural influence of its context. They provide creative space to live with alternative lifestyles and work for everyone to express their creativities. It shows how a city can grow up without losing its soul.

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O3 // EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS

FUNDING

PLANNING FRAMEWORK

Holzmarkt is a non-profitable project that is funded by different partners and memberships and also donations from others. It is partnered with a Swiss pension fund called ‘Abendrot’. Abendrot won the bidding competition and they brought the site over £8.5M and then leased the site back to the Holzmarkt Co-operative Association.

Holzmarkt wants the whole context to be created with a low density, permeability and variety of designs and facades. The whole context is set to be a combination of simple, inexpensive and partially ‘do it yourself’ buildings so that the rooms, buildings and configurations are constantly changing. Therefore the site is gradually growing within an approximate assumption of ten years.

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O3 // EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS

DESIGN & SPATIAL QUALITIES

LESSONS & OBSERVATIONS

This urban village is made of recycled windows, secondhand bricks and scrap woods to create a village that is not only economical but also sustainable. It has a meandering cycling path along the river, which allows you to amble around. The buildings follow a form of ‘halls and huts’ whereby the large halls come together with a selfbuild hut so that they can all be personalised and changeable.

This project disables the mechanisms of the raceto-the-bottom economy and creates affordable urban rent for creative people. In this case, the property developers and urban planners no longer win the bidding competition but a new quarter gets involved and create a village of ‘spree riverbank for all’.

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MEHR ALS WOHNEN ‘More than housing’

Location

Hunziker, Switzerland

Use mix

Not-for-profit Housing Cooperative

Plot ratio

1.5

GFA (m2)

60,000

Designers

Futurafrosch GmbH and Duplex Architekten, Müller Sigrist Architekten, Architekturbüro, Sik AG, Müller Illien Landschaftsarchitekten


In a local 2011 referendum, the people of ZĂźrich voted for 33% of all housing stock in the city to belong to not-for-profit cooperative housing organisations by 2050. A commitment to providing more affordable housing means land must only be developed by the city themselves or given to cooperatives.

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O3 // EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS

FUNDING 70% of funding for Mehr Als Wohnen is funded by specific banks that properly understand the cooperative housing system. A further 6-10% of funding is contributed by future users, paying to join the cooperative. The remainder is through government funding in the form of interest free loans and/or pension fund contributions.

PLANNING FRAMEWORK This project was made possible through a government land transfer to a collective of cooperatives on a long-term lease. A competition was then organised by the cooperatives together with the City of ZĂźrich to establish an urban planning strategy that supported a vision for new types of communal living together.

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O3 // EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS

DESIGN & SPATIAL QUALITIES Mehr Als Wohnen is a large scale cooperative neighbourhood compatible with 2000 watt lowcarbon living. 13 separate 5-6 storey buildings encompass a variety of 450 housing & community spaces that encourage communal living. Simple low-cost prefabricated construction provides the framework for residents to physically & socially personalise their neighbourhood.

LESSONS & OBSERVATIONS The success of this project stems from a continuous participatory process between the clients and architects to ensure the final outcome encourages and embraces social diversity. This neighbourhood seeks to define a new scale for affordable cooperative housing that empowers people to actively participate and shape their community.

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PAKT

Commercial Industrial Project

0

5

10

20

40

Location

Antwerp, Belgium

Use mix

65% Tech/Creative (Startups/Businesses) 25% Food & Beverage (Restaurant/Cafe/Urban Farm) 10% Lifestyle (Gym/Daycare)

Plot ratio

2:1

GFA (m2)

7,000sqm

Designers

Roel Vermeesch (Architect) IsmaĂŻl Yaman, Yusuf Yaman and Stefan Bostoen (Collaborators)

m

Pakt, Courtyard


PAKT not only provides office space for Antwerp’s creative and innovative entrepreneurs. The 1,800sqm rooftop garden enables local residents to rent garden beds to learn about urban farming whilst cultivating their own food. Events spaces are available for hire, workshops and lectures are often held here.

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Pakt, Courtyard


O3 // EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS

Pakt, Roofgarden

FUNDING

PLANNING FRAMEWORK

The Pakt site was purchased privately by Yusuf and Ismaïl Yaman in 2006, initially intended as a speculative real estate development. The Yaman brothers received funding from the City of Antwerp via the City of Antwerp’s Sustainable City Project Fund to transform it into the creative business hub which exists today.

Following the Aalborg Charter (1994), which outlined strategies for cities all over Europe to become more sustainable, the European Sustainable Cities Platform was launched in 2016. This signaled a major shift in political support for sustainable projects across Europe, creating the opportunity for the regeneration of the PAKT site.

Resident is watering the garden she rented from Pakt.

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O3 // EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS

Pakt, Roofgardens

DESIGN & SPATIAL QUALITIES

LESSONS & OBSERVATIONS

PAKT comprises of a series of renovated brick industrial buildings. The buildings vary in height from 1 - 5 storeys and are organised around two main courtyard spaces. Retention of established landscape, and industrial features of the buildings, means the site maintains a unique sense of place.

Apartment development is now the status quo of urban redevelopment as it oft produces the highest yield. Vacant industrial sites are being transformed accordingly. Policy which supports sustainable development encourages diversification of projects across the city.

Pakt, Residents in the roofgarden

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CIRCULAR BUIKSLOTERHAM

A living lab for Circular, Smart, and Bio-based neighbourhood development

(Left) Aerial view of Buiksloterham Plot C

Location

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Use mix

Residential, Office, Retail (Prev. Industrial)

Plot ratio

0.7:1

GFA (m2)

1,048,274m2 (Total): 460,723m2 Housing (329,113 m2free sector, 131,610 m2- social)

Designers

20 companies and groups


The Buiksloterham development will assist in housing Amsterdam’s growing population whilst also creating work opportunities and a vibrant local community. Simultaneously, Buiksloterham is pioneering a circular economy model and innovative planning solutions under its living lab status and hopes to become an inspirational prototype for other cities.

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Self-built neighbourhoods at Bosrankstraat


O3 // EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS

Superlofts Buiksloterham Plot 21

FUNDING

PLANNING FRAMEWORK

The municipality allocated funding to assist cleaning polluted blocks and the creation of public space. They also opened several plots to developers and allocated a large number to self-builders. These plots were sold at discounted rates by the municipality to encourage innovative self-build or cooperative schemes.

The project relied upon its status as a living lab in order to propose a flexible planning framework, creating opportunities for innovation in infrastructure and projects alike. The strict criteria for new developments to be sustainable allowed smaller developers and self-builders to control their own projects within the planning rules creating unique outcomes.

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USE MIX LIVE WORK VISIT FUTURE FUTURE OTHERS 52

0

100

250

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

500m


O3 // EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS

School and care institution at SO The Heldering (lot 4B) Buiksloterham

DESIGN & SPATIAL QUALITIES

LESSONS & OBSERVATIONS

Rules surrounding sustainability have encouraged builders to focus on recycled and re-purposed materials with forethought as to the future life of all materials used. As the self-build participants have an increased sense of ownership, these projects have used better quality materials generating more sustainable outcomes as owners think about the full material life-cycle.

The admirable circular economy and sustainability targets contribute to the success of this neighbourhood as they have been valued and recognised in the planning regulations and living lab status. Moreover, the possibility for alternative funding models and gradual, organic approach to urban renewal has facilitated the creation of a unique, mixed-use development.

Docklands (kavel 12) Buiksloterham

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

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54


ZOHO

Future-proof, Adaptive and Resilient at a Local Level

Het Gebouw, Zoho

Location

Zomerhofkwartier, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Use mix

Residential and commercial mix

Plot ratio

6:1

GFA (m2)

47,000

Designers

STIPO, Basement bv, Dakdokters, Fien Dekker, Binder groenprojecten, Thijsen – den Brok beton, Rotterdam Engineering Bureau, Rien Hilhorst, Studio Bas Sala, Post-Office, 7 seasons, Hofbogen BV., Van Dijk Maasland, GreenSand, Municipal Nursery of Rotterdam, NAS (Nico Adriaanse Stichting)


The Zomerhofkwartier district focuses on becoming climate change resilient with improved public spaces and to increase social activity. It does this by intergrating these climate adaptive elements with the physical structures of the district. Business owners and residents alike are encouraged to get hands on to help develop the urban environment from the bottom-up.

B

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

Community Participation within the Herb Gardens


O3 // EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS

Raingarden as catchment, Zoho

FUNDING

PLANNING FRAMEWORK

The project has been funded collaboratively by local entrepreneurs, residents, De Urbanisten, the district water control board of Schieland and the Krimpenerwaard (HHSK), housing corporation Havensteder and the municipality of Rotterdam. Collaborative funding has allowed for cheaper rent. These users are encouraged to taker ownership of the urban and natural environment by directly taking part in the regeneration.

Zoho’s goals set the planning framework that allow it to adapt:

Rain(a)way tiles, Zoho

11 550 m2 green infrastructure, 10% reduction of nitrogen dioxide air pollution, 100 water barrels, 800 m3 additional water storage capacity, 20% reduction in sewage overflow events, 0.5o Celsius reduction of surface temperature, 250 people involved in climate adaption strategies. OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

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USE MIX LIVE WORK VISIT 58

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O3 // EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS

Polder Roof Water Management

FUNDING

PLANNING FRAMEWORK

While the focus on was on climate adaption, many of the strategies created more inviting public spaces with the use of greenery and water features. The spatial qualities are impacted dramatically by the design renewal creating a greater sense of community.

Adaption is the key lesson Zoho demonstrates as it was used as a laboratory for testing new strategies. The district can influence other urban renewal strategies by taking measures to alter its physical strategies and behaviour to create a climate proof district.

Community Performance

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

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60


NIGHTINGALE VILLAGE

A Triple-Bottom-Line Housing Model for Melbourne

Sketch of the Nightingale Village

Location

Brunswick, Victoria, Australia

Use mix

210 apartments, 8 commercial tenancies

Plot ratio

1:5 approx

GFA (m2)

17,500

Designers

Breathe Architecture, Architecture Architecture, Austin Maynard Architects, Clare Cousins Architects, Hayball, Kennedy Nolan Architects, WOWOWA


The Nightingale Model is a capped profit model- thereby creating a community that takes part in the design and development of the buildings through active participation .Curated by architects, its aim is to deliver affordable housing within each of the seven buildings, thus creating a niche within the Melbourne housing market. The model produces a direct bridge between the designers and the owners- thereby negating the high profit margins conceived in a traditional developer model.

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OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

Nightingale WOWOWA


O3 // EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS

Nightingale Austin Maynard

FUNDING

PLANNING FRAMEWORK

The model works on an initial down payment (roughly 10% of the approximate cost of the apartment) given by the future owners to attain the title of the land. Thus, the client becomes the developer of the land -and in turn contributes by actively participating in the process of designing and delivering the apartment with the architects. The balance is fixed and paid by the owners over a period of time.

Nightingale housing works within the same constraints as other private developments, but with the architect acting as the developer to remove significant costs. The surrounding sites have largely been developed to a similar or greater density. Exemptions were sought from local government to rid the site of minimum parking constraints, and as such there will be no cars on the site.

Nightingale Kennedy Nolan

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

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USE MIX LIVE WORK VISIT 64

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O3 // EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS

DESIGN & SPATIAL QUALITIES

LESSONS & OBSERVATIONS

The spatial qualities of the precinct stem from the division of the site into seven separate buildings of no more than 30 apartments, which is designed to allow separate communities to form. These are each designed by different architects to create distinction, and all are linked by common landscaped pedestrian streets and courtyards.

The nightingale housing model has been designed in a way which is transferable to other contexts. Additionally, they are transparent about the process to allow transference to other contexts, and are experimenting with other housing models within Nightingale. Other similar models are needed to increase the diversity of housing options and residents.

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

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66


GRANBY FOUR STREETS Demolition to Regeneration

(Left) Victorian terrace houses on Cairns Street

Location

Liverpool, UK

Use mix

Residential, Garden, Community Workshop

Plot ratio

1.2 : 1

GFA (m2)

638m2

Designers

Assemble, Granby St CLT


The project is for and initiated by the community of Granby St, turning the derelict area into the diverse and lively neighbourhood that it once was prior to the 1981 riots. The development includes housing for residents and provides a backdrop for community events such as markets & workshops.

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OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

Axonometric of typical refurbished terrace house


O3 // EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS

FUNDING A combination of non-profit, profit and government agencies were utilised to secure the funding for this project. Several developers were bought on board through a community selection process in order to provide multiple development options. Together, they share the financial risk, responsibilities as well as the funds, skills and opportunities.

PLANNING FRAMEWORK A Community Land Trust, a non-profit organisation run by a group of local residents is utilised to provide affordable housing and facilities. By placing the land in a trust, (a legal “asset lock,�) housing prices are permanently fixed and the future development of the land is limited to that which benefits the community. The community has ownership and leases land and building out for various uses. Refurbished interior of the terrace house

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

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USE MIX LIVE WORK VISIT 70

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O3 // EXEMPLARY PRECINCTS

DESIGN & SPATIAL QUALITIES Aside from the continual beautification of the streets by the residences, (including adding greenery, artwork and events that contribute to street presence), the initial project involved the redesign of 10 terraces on Cairns St. The designs preserve the cultural and historical values of the area, maintaining the faรงade, while gutting out and refurbishing the interiors. Custom tiles, door hardware and fireplaces have been produced from the Granby workshop, also a community led initiative.

LESSONS & OBSERVATIONS A group with a common goal is a powerful force. The community initiated the venture, was very involved from the beginning to end and participated in all decision-making processes. There was collaboration between a large variety and number of contributors, and did not involve a large-scale, single solution intervention.

Refurbished interior of the terrace house

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04


INTERFACE STUDY A bike tour was conducted in Fitzroy and Collingwood to study and understand the various strategies in interfaces. Discussions revolved around various spatial techniques used to create opportunities to engage the pedestrian flow with the streetscape, visually, thereby enhancing the quality of life in the neighbourhood. Sketches were made by each student- documenting characteristics that made the building a successful/ unsuccessful project.


“Plants and concrete fence add more life and identity to the corner space and the street. It separates the living room and the walkway and protects the privacy of people who live there. [G1] [G2] [G3] However, it does not block the communication between indoor and outdoor space. Most part of the façade is made of timber and grey brick, it not only enriches the street view but also creates a welcoming atmosphere.” BO, 18-22 JOHN ST, FITZROY

“The house was treated as a sculpture when the architect was finding the alignment of its interior and geometry, while graffiti from the site were used to strengthen its neighbourhood ties. The yellowish graffiti wall and the brick facade had a huge contrast visually. Folding roof and wide glass windows had broken down the bulkiness of the structure, which provided a generous street view while the front window and its exaggerated frame act as an invitation to pedestrians to view the inner activity of the client’s kitchen.” JAIME, 105 ARGYLE ST, FITZROY

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04 // INTERFACE STUDY

“This charming, small cafe in the corner of Johnston and Gore streets has an inviting interface with its almost floor-to-ceiling windows that makes the interior very transparent; you can see the liveliness of the activities of the cafe and at the same time, allows natural surveillance from the inside to the streets. Along Gore Street, the curb extension is maximised to have a picnic table and this small extension with the overgrown plants and canopy tree added a friendly, quaint character for the cafe.”

“The garden is really lovely and small, it sits in front of a heritage residential house. The plants in the garden grow well even in winter, it is obvious that the owner of the house takes care of them. The garden is also very unique that I cannot find gardens around several nearby heritage buildings. The front garden plays an important role for the house, the owners of the house even the surrounding environment.” HAN, 319 FITZROY ST, FITZROY

AUDREY, 240 JOHNSTON ST, FITZROY OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

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A new life has been sensitively inserted into this old brick warehouse in Fitzroy, by modestly responding to and complimenting the existing built fabric. Internally the program has been reconfigured to propose new ways of flexible co-working in a contemporary environment. The existing large front setback from the street is maintained, giving ownership of the street interface to the people that use the building. The blank canvas empowers the people to determine how this space can and should be used, with the ability to adapt and reuse over time. ELLIOT, 77 ARGYLE ST, FITZROY 76

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

“The busy ground level of this residential building contains a high ceiling cafe which directly addresses the street edge with large windows. Customer seating allows for them to sit right against the edge of the street allowing for full transparency into the cafe. The interior cafe space is slightly higher than the street edge indicating a threshold yet still providing full surveillance over the lower part of the street.� THOM, 41 PEEL ST, COLLINGWOOD


04 // INTERFACE STUDY

“Making good use of the existing bones of the Victorian shopfront - pressed tin canopy and tiles the wide footpath allows for the creation of an outdoor room. Inside, a stall riser makes it possible to sit and watch pedestrians pass by. Minor additions, such as the domestic venetian blind give a sense of informality, alluding to the casual setting of the bar and restaurant inside.”

“The success of the Grub street from is coming from the diversity. By removing the original building, Grub Cafe creates a sufficient setback for public space, which is various from surrounding context along the Moor Street, where situated continuously townhouses. This well-decorated street front increases the accessibility of the cafe behind, meanwhile makes the whole block more permeable.”

RICHARD, 149 BRUNSWICK ST, FITZROY

SAM, 87 MOOR ST, FITZROY

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

77


“This apartment was built about 30 years ago. The first thing that attracted me is the large stairs in the middle leading to the first floor, which separates the residents’ entrance from pedestrians who are visiting the ground floor. Then, the scattered balconies on upper floors make the building’s elevation look well arranged, which is not as monotonous as the duplication of those flats with uniform balcony.” SHIYU, 67 VICTORIA ST, FITZROY

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“The sketch illustrates the bold and stark prefabricated facade that is wrapped along the surface of the building- only to be punctuated by a series of irregular fenestrations that populate the exterior. The windows do not relate to either the human scale or that or the mass of the building. The entrance foyer is tucked in -beneath the weight of the bulky super structurewith little spill out space between the building and the streetscape. While the windows in the first four floors experience the blank facade of the neighbouring context- only the penthouses are afforded with a view of the city.” KARAN, 81 ARGYLE ST, FITZROY


04 // INTERFACE STUDY

“When sketching this facade I became aware that there are relatively few textures, leading to an impression of uncleanliness and a missed opportunity to create an engaging interface. The upper floors of this building are quite successful, both in terms of their plan and the patterned facade. However, the lack of diversity at the ground level create a disappointing entranceway where the greys and blacks of the street are softened only by the restaurant furniture and people inside.” NATALIE, 109 WELLINGTON ST, COLLINGWOOD

“I have purposefully omitted one of the large doors on the front in this drawing, to allow a view into the ‘arcade’ to show the complex and layered relationship which is established between the outside and the private tenancy. The tenancy is purposely not entered directly from outside, which serves to enliven the arcade, and create a feeling of publicness, but also a clear separation from the public realm.” BOB, 32 KERR ST, FITZROY

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

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80

“This building in the heart of Collingwood has a café and residential apartments at the floor level. The café’s corner entry is disrupted by a services cupboard on the corner, and highlighted by a change in materiality (from the red brick above to a precast concrete panel). Noted are the relocatable planter boxes on the footpath that shield visitors from the road. The interface between the path and the apartments ends abruptly, with no buffer zone in between. As a result, the residents have chosen to keep their shutters closed.”

“I could remember a lot about this house after the bike tour. Its materials, its form, and everything about it are very different comparing with the buildings on either side. Its ground floor material (timber) creates a warmer feeling for the streetscape. Its set back from the street and also the balcony and floor to ceiling height windows allow more interfaces happening between the occupants and whoever walks by. This house is definitely very successful in being itself and still could bring people together.”

JINGLE, 22 PEEL ST, COLLINGWOOD

JENNY, 50 MOOR ST, FITZROY

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018


04 // INTERFACE STUDY

“The beginning of John Street feels very narrow which is enhanced by the flat and tall faces of the residential buildings. These open immediately onto the footpath, providing no setback for any private space. The footpath is further blocked by bins which are placed on the public street out of necessity.” EMILY, 2-10 JOHN ST, FITZROY

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

81


05


SITE ANALYSIS This section provides the analysis the four 1km x 1 km sites in Rotterdam and Den Haag. Two of the sites, Rotterdam Alexander (site 2) and Den Haag (site 4) form part of the ‘Stad van de Toekomst’ research project. Both these sites are transport hubs but are underperforming and underused and should be reconsidered. The two other sites, Rotterdam Zoho (site 1) and Rotterdam Feijenoord (site 3) are inner urban sites that will see more incremental change.


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“We could use rooftops to store rain water and make them truly green!” “Imagin e rainwat to catch and s t er in ra inbarre ore reuse it ls an to wate r plants d flush to or ilets”


It’s alive! A living experiment and “all of its inhabitants are participating”. Zoho is an inner-city area of Rotterdam which has undergone many changes within its life span. Recently it was left as an abandoned business district affecting its surrounding residential areas. After a collaboration between Havensteder, STIPO and the Municipality of Rotterdam, it has now become an example of ‘slow urbanism’- a redevelopment of this business district with its surrounding residential area. Due to its location and relationship to the city centre it is constantly in a state of flux/ incremental change. This slow urbanism has created a unique relationship between its commercial buildings and public space which has ultimately re-united the people both living and working in the area. Its new identity is that of an urban design experiment and all of its inhabitants are participating.

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O5 // SITE ANALYSIS

ROTTERDAM ZOHO

Airport

Context Map

Central City Key attractions Landscape features Major Train Stations Central Station 24 minutes to Airport 15 minutes to Dordrecht Centraal

Central City

3 minutes to Rotterdam Centraal 11 minutes to Airport 9 minutes to Freeway 3 minutes to Rotterdam Centraal

SCALE 1 : 1000 M OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

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O5 // SITE ANALYSIS

Building Age

< 1800

1800 - 1850

1850 - 1900

1900 - 1930

1930 - 1945

1945 - 1960

1960 - 1975

1975 - 1985

1985 - 1995

1995 - 2005 > 2005 OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

89


Household Types

ROTTERDAM 65+ ZOHO 12%

0-15 13%

45-65 22%

Age ProďŹ le (years old)

15-25 16%

52.0%

One-person household

Demographics

25.0%

Living together without children

12.0%

Living with children

11.0%

Single-parent family

25-45 37%

Average Personal Income

EU 6% Western minorities 11%

Non-western minorities 12%

Native Dutch 32%

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

$689/week 41.0%

Housing Tenure Turkish 11% Moroccan 13%

90

Single house / townhouse

Country of Origin

Netherlands Antilles & Aruba 5% Surinamese 10%

Apartments

442/week

$

Housing Types

19.0%

24.0%

Privately Owned

Rental Property

57.0% Public housing

59.0%


O5 // SITE ANALYSIS

ROTTERDAM ZOHO Use Map

Residential Office & Industry Commercial & Retail Public/Government SCALE 1 : 1000 M OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

91


ROTTERDAM ZOHO Axonometric Site

Zoho consists as majority lower level terrace houses, many of which have been retrofitted as commercial businesses. Buildings with larger footprints are scattered around the site which is mostly covered in non-porous surfaces.


ROTTERDAM ZOHO Typologies

The larger multi-storey residential apartment building sits within a very large and empty site area surrounded by transport infrastructure and a park.

The terrace houses are older buildings which are all clustered around an inner courtyard. The street interface is shaded with trees and filled with tightly packed car parks.

At the street level this building is transparent, predominantly glass which opens onto a wider footpath. The hotel building does have a very different faรงade to the rest of the district, as it is clad very much in glass.


ZOHO, Existing Under-used Infrastructure

ZOHO, Large Public Space


KEY FINDINGS The conducted analysis shows that the ZOHO area has many layers of development over its life-span. Change of its use can be seen in the different building types and the footprints they have. The demographic of people living in this area has also changed drastically- becoming ethnically diverse. Its close proximity to the city centre that this area is always in flux being directly affected by the economy. Solutions for cheaper rent and climate adaption are already in action for the early stages of development for the area. Perhaps the next is to set up a frame work of design for the future changes of the site and to control its rate of change. In doing so, the demographic of people living in the area must be considered and have a hand its development rather than the top down. - Multi-cultural inner-city area ZOHO, Lack of interface along the walkway

- Subject to incremental change over time - Will continue to do so in the future - Old and new buildings- old and new functions


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OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018



Alexanderknoop - ‘from functional knot to beating heart’ Alexanderknoop; the commercial intersection between the suburbs of Oosterflank, Ommoord, Het Lage Land and Zevenkamp within the Prins Alexander municipality is located 8km north-east of Rotterdam centrum. The area serves as the main commercial and transport centre for the municipality of Prins Alexander and is home to the Alexandrium Malls, the largest shopping centre in Rotterdam, headquarters of various international corporations as well as Alexander Station, the main transport hub. Although the site is located in close proximity to amenities, parklands, public transport and employment centres, it fails to function as a cohesive whole. The challenge is to create an attractive, sustainable and inclusive regional centre for the residents of Prins Alexander and Capelle aan den Ijssel.

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OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018


O5 // SITE ANALYSIS

ROTTERDAM ALEXANDER

Airport

Context Map

Central City Key attractions Landscape features Major Train Stations Central Station 14 minutes to Rotterdam Centraal 10 minutes to Gouda Centraal

Central City

16 minutes to Rotterdam Centraal 1 minute to Freeway 27 minutes to Rotterdam Centraal

SCALE 1 : 1000 M OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

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100 OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018


O5 // SITE ANALYSIS

Building Age

< 1800

1800 - 1850

1850 - 1900

1900 - 1930

1930 - 1945

1945 - 1960

1960 - 1975

1975 - 1985

1985 - 1995

1995 - 2005 > 2005 OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 101


ROTTERDAM ALEXANDER Demographics

Household Types 0-12 14%

68+ 17%

13-22 11% 55-67 17%

42.0%

One-person household

24.0%

Living together without children

Age ProďŹ le (years old)

23.0%

Living with children

Single-parent family

10.0%

23-54 41% EU 5%

Average Personal Income

Western minorities 8%

$

Antillean 2% Surinamese 9% Moroccan 3% Turkish 2%

Single house / townhouse

$737/week

Country of Origin

56.0% Native Dutch 65%

Housing Tenure

41.0% 102 OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

Apartments

472/week

Non-western minorities 5%

Housing Types

Privately Owned

14.0% Rental Property

45.0% Public housing

44.0%


O5 // SITE ANALYSIS

ROTTERDAM ALEXANDER Use Map

Residential Office & Industry Commercial & Retail Public/Government SCALE 1 : 1000 M OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 103


ROTTERDAM ALEXANDER Axonometric Site

The selected region in Alexanderknoop shows the high variety of both ages and typologies of buildings. Offices and retailers surround the trains station while the residences are mostly located at the corners of the selected area.


ROTTERDAM ALEXANDER Typologies

The office towers in Alexanderknoop are highly dominated by cars. Most of are highly disconnected from the street front with parking lots acting as a barrier. The selected building uses the entire podium as car parking, pushing the street front up to the first level of the building.

Front and back scenarios are also shown in the apartment buildings. The well-planted street fronts with small yards face South, while the North works as car parking for the residence.

The selected townhouses in Alexanderknoop are set in front of a pond. Every two houses share one lane on the side for the entrance. The setback from the streets creates a front yard space, providing privacy and public interface at the same time.


Alexander metro station entrance

Alexandrium shopping centre


KEY FINDINGS The land use within the site is separated into very distinct zones of residential (to the north and south), a commercial belt following the A20 highway, and the retail zone of the Alexandrium Shopping Centre. All buildings were built post-WWII from the 1960’s onwards. The Alexandrium mall was completed in the 1990’s. In comparison to the other sites located in Rotterdam and den Haag, Alexanderknoop has the highest percentage of native Dutch residents.

Shopping strip in Alexanderknoop


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IT TAKES MORE THAN A PEPERKLIP TO KEEP THIS TOGETHER.


Feijenoord is a district in the south of Nieuwe Maas in Rotterdam. A significant shipbuilding centre in the 19th century, the district is now dominantly inhabited by immigrants, majority of which are non-western and constitute the working-class population. The district has about 74,000 inhabitants in it eight neighbourhoods: Afrikaanderwijk, Bloemhof, Feijenoord, Hillesluis, Katendrecht-Wilhelminapier, Kop van Zuid-Entrepot, Noordereiland and Vreewijk. With a total land area of 6.62 ​​ km², 1.45km² of Feijenoord is water. The northern part of the district is considered a high flood risk area due to it low-lying location and ‘bathtub’ shape. (van Veelen, 2013)

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O5 // SITE ANALYSIS

ROTTERDAM FEIJENOORD

Airport

Context Map

Central City Key attractions Landscape features Major Train Stations Central Station 6 minutes to Rotterdam Centraal 15 minutes to Dordrecht Centraal

Central City

15 minutes to Rotterdam Centraal 5 minutes to Freeway

Kop van Zuid

Feijenoord Stadium

18 minutes to Rotterdam Centraal

SCALE 1 : 1000 M OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 111


112 OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018


O5 // SITE ANALYSIS

Building Age

< 1800

1800 - 1850

1850 - 1900

1900 - 1930

1930 - 1945

1945 - 1960

1960 - 1975

1975 - 1985

1985 - 1995

1995 - 2005 > 2005 OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 113


ROTTERDAM FEIJENOORD Demographics

Household Types 65+ 11%

0-15 18%

42.0%

One-person household

13.0%

Living together without children 45-65 25%

Age ProďŹ le (years old)

15-25 15%

22.0%

Living with children

19.0%

Single-parent family

25-45 31%

Average Personal Income Native Dutch 18%

Turkey 26%

Western minorities 4%

Country of Origin Suriname 11% Netherlands Antilles & Aruba 6%

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Apartments

383/week

$

Single house / townhouse

$597/week

EU 3%

Non-western minorities 13%

Morocco 19%

Housing Types

97.7%

2.3%

Housing Tenure

9.0%

4.0%

Privately Owned

Rental Property

87.0% Public housing


O5 // SITE ANALYSIS

ROTTERDAM FEIJENOORD Use Map

Residential Office and industry Commercial and retail Public Residential Major Road Office & Industry Major Train Line Water

Commercial & Retail Public/Government SCALE 1 : 1000 M OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 115


ROTTERDAM FEIJENOORD Axonometric Site

Because of the demographic of Feijennoord, almost all the buildings are apartments and most of them are ranging 2-11 storeys. There are also different kinds of open spaces and some channels on the site.


ROTTERDAM FEIJENOORD Typologies

Nassauhaven 442, 3071 JK Rotterdam

Damstraat 53, 3071 EA Rotterdam

Lodewijk Pincoffsweg 82, 3071 AS Rotterdam

The first housing typology with a front yard is one of the basic forms in Feijenoord. These front yards separate public space and private space.

The secondly selected housing typology with stores on the ground floor is a traditional one in Feijenoord. There are some backyards on the other side which are insolated by the road.

The thirdly selected housing typology is a high rise apartment with waterbody beside. It is also the largest building in Feijenoord.


Street view of Stootblok

Street view of Louis Pregerkade


KEY FINDINGS Feijenoord has a young population in comparison to the rest of Rotterdam; nearly 90% residents are under 65 years old. There are also many immigrants, most of them have non-western background. Migration into Feijenoord has been ongoing since the 20th century and until now has been flocked by migrants. The average personal income is relatively low and poverty is one of the social problem in Feijenoord. Majority of the housing in the district are lowrent apartments and subsidised by the local government. There are also some public and office buildings but only accounts for a small portion.

Street view of W.G. Witteveenplein


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DEN HAAG the golden stamppot


Located along the north sea cost of The Netherlands, Den Haag is the third largest city in the county and internationally recognized as the seat of the International Court of Justice and Criminal Court. With a metropolitan census of 1 millionthe city is the residence to the royal Dutch family and thus works as the administrative capital to the same.

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O5 // SITE ANALYSIS

DEN HAAG Context Map

PALACE HUIS TEN BOSCH

GEMEENTEMUSEUM PEACE PALACE

NOORDEINDE PALACE

Central City

MAURITSHUIS BINNENHOF

Key attractions

DEN HAAG CENTRAL DEN HAAG LAAN v NOI

Landscape features Major Train Stations DEN HAAG HS

32 minutes to Rotterdam Centraal 50 minutes to Amsterdam Zuid 22 minutes to Delft Station 17 mins to De Pier 25 mins to Vissershaven 5 minutes to Freeway

18 minutes to Rotterdam Centraal SCALE 1 : 1000 M OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 123


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O5 // SITE ANALYSIS

Building Age

< 1800

1800 - 1850

1850 - 1900

1900 - 1930

1930 - 1945

1945 - 1960

1960 - 1975

1975 - 1985

1985 - 1995

1995 - 2005 > 2005 OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 125


DEN HAAG Demographics

0-4 3%

Household Types

5 - 14 4%

80+ 8%

15-19 3%

65-79 9%

72.3%

One-person household

17.9%

Living together without children

45-64 21%

Age ProďŹ le (years old)

6.8%

Living with children

3.0%

Single-parent family 20-44 52%

Average Personal Income Western immigrants 22%

Apartments

582/week Native Dutch 35%

$

Single house / townhouse

$909AUD/week

Country of Origin

96.2%

Non-western immigrants 17%

Antillean 7%

Housing Tenure Turkish 4% Moroccan 7% Surinamese 7%

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Housing Types

45.5% Privately Owned

29.4%

22.6%

Rental Property

Public housing

3.8%


O5 // SITE ANALYSIS

DEN HAAG Use Map

Residential Office and industry Commercial and retail Residential Public Office & Industry Major Road Commercial & Retail Major Train Line Public/Government Water SCALE 1 : 1000 M OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 127


DEN HAAG Axonometric Site

Den Haag is segmented by road and rail infrastructure. The 500sqm site shown consists largely of walk-up row-housing, with heights ranging from 3 - 6 storeys. Green corridors line major streets and rail lines.


DEN HAAG Typologies

Buildings in prominent positions along tram lines, such as this corner site, tend not to utilise their location to the full extent.

Highways and rail infrastructure disconnect many parts of the site. Older areas of the site have well established landscape.

Car parking dominates many of the street sections in the site’s residential areas. Duplicate buildings create areas lacking a sense of identity.


Binckhorst, Den Haag


KEY FINDINGS The site is heavily influenced by the presence of transport-oriented infrastructure to cater to the different modes. Development on the periphery is mostly housing (built in the early and mid-1900’s) and commercial (late 1900’s). Being the third largest city in The Netherlands, The Hague contains majority of native Dutch population and western born immigrants- with nearly half the population being within the age of Being the administrative capital of the country, the citizens enjoy an average salary which is higher than the other three sites- this means there is a higher investment of infrastructure to cater to the public. Stationbuurt, Den Haag

Plans to regenerate the site as a Central Innovation District (CID) affords the government to plan bold moves to rearrange the socio-economic frameworks within the site.


06


PRELIMINARY HYPOTHESIS This exercise outlined each student to come up with a thesis question that would underline the themes the individual project would undertake. This question would build upon the knowledge gained by the previous four weeks and was expected to be site specific to each student. The Thesis questions took on a multi-scalar approach, wherein each student looked from a globalmacro lens, zoomed in to a local lens and zooming in further to the contextual lens. Each scale was expected to deal with a set of themes that would lead to the question outlining the major focus criteria.


Environmental

Economic

Social

Carbon emissions Climate change Flooding / drought

Migration

Pollution Heat island affect

Waste Gig economy / casualisation

Lack of habitat / biodiversity

Climate adaption

Energy transition

Lack of interaction

Automation

Mobility transition

Circular economy

Future of work

Stad van de Toekomst Opportunistic Urbanism 134 OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

Lack of connection to place

Citizen-led housing

Ageing population

Spatial fragmentation Marginisation of first peoples

Design for all ages


O6 // PRELIMINARY HYPOTHESIS

INTRODUCTION This studio aims to engage with the key social and environmental challenges of the 21st century, particularly within the Dutch context. In response to contemporary challenges such as climate change, the Stad van de Toekomst research project has identified four major themes: climate adaption, energy transition, mobilty transition and the circular economy. In order to also engage with a more social dimension to the challenges we face now and in the future, we have added three additional themes: the future of work, citizen-led housing and design for all ages. It is expected that each project should engage with at least one of these themes.

Additionally, there are a number of tools and processes we can draw on that we have called a ‘Dutch approach to urbanism’. While there is not one singular definition of this approach, we will look at the following processes: • Multi-disciplinary approach. • Layer approach. • Working at different scales. • Rules as a design tool. • Iterative approach to design.

We will explore exemplary renewal projects in Australia and Northern Europe in order see how these seven themes are currently being engaged with.

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 135


THESIS STATEMENT Audrey Lopez Gentrification is an enduring global issue often of negative connotation especially as it targets the neighbourhoods of the marginalised and working-class populations. Yet with the growing threat of climate change towards the environment, regeneration is found as a necessary step in order for the built environment to be climate-adaptive and future resilient. As in the case of Feijenoord, Rotterdam, an already established neighbourhoods of people from multicultural backgrounds and low-income

households and with their underutilised public spaces and the climate-change risk location, how can climate-responsive public space regeneration cannot lead to gentrification-led displacement? How can it also be a key tool for placemaking without destroying the authenticity of the place? My thesis then would like to explore on these overarching questions with the goal to improve the social, environmental and locational value of Feijenoord’s public realm for future climate change resilience without resorting to the displacement of

REFERENCES • Amphibious Housing in the Netherlands: Architecture and Urbanism on the Water (2011) – Anne Loes Nillesen, Jeroen Singelenberg • Civic Commons: Reimagining Our Cities’ Public Assets (2016) – Studio Gang • Designed to Scale: Mass participation to build resilient neighbourhoods (2015) – Civic Systems Lab • Living with Diversity in Rotterdam: A Study of Resident Experiences in Highly Diverse 136 OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

the current neighbourhood residents. Furthermore, it would focus on the potentiality of public space regeneration in facilitating social cohesion and inclusion by involving the existing communities in the neighbourhood’s public space regeneration process as active participants and recipients of the redevelopment.

PRECEDENTS Feijenoord (2015) – Fieldwork Inhabitants • Cities for People, Not for Profit: Critical Urban Theory and the Right to the City (2012) – Neil Brenner, Peter Marcuse, & Margit Mayer • Cities for People (2010) – Jan Gehl

• Buiksloterham, Amsterdam, Netherlands • De Ceuvel, Amsterdam, Netherlands • Kolenkit, Amsterdam, Netherlands • Schoonship, Amsterdam, Netherlands • Lyon Confluence, Lyon, France


O6 // PRELIMINARY HYPOTHESIS

THESIS STATEMENT Bo Xu In the context of globalization, immigrants have an important impact on the country’s economy and culture. But for immigrants, they move to a new environment, language, culture, and other factors that make them more difficult to integrate into the local community, they live alone in the apartment and find it difficult to find new jobs. This phenomenon is more common in the Netherlands. In Feyenoord, only 18% are locals, and the majority of the remaining immigrants are from Morocco and Turkey. 97% of the venue is an

REFERENCES • Compendium for the civic economy • Self Made City, Self-Initiated Urban Living and Architectural Interventions, Kristien Ring • Building Community The Power of Smallness, Marc Koehler • The spontaneous city

apartment. High-density apartments make public space, communication space and private space insufficient. At the same time, the green space in the site is mostly untreated wasteland. In addition, the wide roads and canals divide the blocks. This allows multi-ethnic immigrants to have fewer opportunities for communication.

reconnect the blocks? And how could residents reactivate the green space and the public space in the future?

Hypothesis/Research Question: How could use the green space and public space bring more job opportunities to the migrations and

PRECEDENTS • Arcola theatre, an open house for new ideas, London, UK • Le Serpentin Refurbishment / Agence RVA • Superlofts - Marc Koehler Architects • Re-Urbanization of Sapé / Base Urbana + Pessoa Arquitetos • Yagan Square / Lyons Architects + iredale pedersen hook architects + ASPECT Studios • Longnan Jiayuan / GOM Shanghai Gaomu Architectural Design Office OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 137


THESIS STATEMENT Bob McDougall Infrastructural-scale projects have created visible scars across Feijenoord, and other post-industrial sites similarly. Projects like the new rail tunnel (1993), the Peperklip (1983), the Kop van Zuid redevelopment (ongoing), and future projects like the Feyenoord Stadium area redevelopment have very little regard for residents in the area. In the

Given 87% of the housing in the area is socially rented, there is little opportunity for residents themselves to adapt to the new conditions caused by these projects, and as such there is little resilience in the area. How could diverse new infill projects be paired with renovations and repair works to help the community adapt to these new

future, upgrades to water infrastructure to protect from flooding will have the same affect if executed poorly.

conditions. And could the learnings from this inform future infrastructure projects in Feijenoord and beyond?

REFERENCES • Bertrand, N, (2013), Furniture, Structure, Infrastructure • Uitermark, Justus & Duyvendak, Jan & Kleinhans, Reinout. (2007). Gentrification As a Governmental Strategy: Social Control and Social Cohesion in Hoogvliet, Rotterdam. Environment and Planning A. 39. 125-141 • Elsinga, M and Wassenberg, F, (2013), Social Housing in the Netherlands, OTB Research Institute for Housing, Urban and Mobility

138 OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

PRECEDENTS Studies • Hyde, R, (2013), ‘The Community Enabler (Marcus Westbury, Renew Newcastle)’ in Future Practice • Broekmans, T, (2010), The Do-It-Yourself Garden City in Spontaneous City

• DakPark + Bospolder Intermediate Dikes, Steenhuismeurs • 59 dwellings at Neppert Gardens, Lacato& Vassal • New Academic Street Arcades, NMBW Architecture Studio + RMIT Urban Spaces Program, Peter Elliot Architecture & Urban Design • Black Pearl + Klushuis Program • BO01 Malmo • Poortgebouw Rotterdam


O6 // PRELIMINARY HYPOTHESIS

THESIS STATEMENT Elliot Dunton Risk-averse capital is a major driving force behind speculative land development that dominates and defines housing markets worldwide. Topdown quantitive, not qualitative housing supply chains are the mainstream; resulting in many undesirable generic living environments that are not user-focused or sustainable for future growth. Furthermore, generic urban spatial conditions continue to contribute to poorer ethnic & socioeconomic fragmentation.

REFERENCES

The municipality of Den Haag plans for a major urban, economic & social renewal encompassed within a new Central Innovation District (CID). With no room for expansion, the growth will have to occur through the transformation of existing urban structures and house some of the expected 90,000 new residents by 2040.

lessons from deliberative housing models become a tool to guide new civic frameworks within the proposed CID of Den Haag? How can these frameworks be structured to encourage experimentation and diversity whilst also facilitating gradual organic growth across a range of different urban scales?

Bottom-up user-led developments empower citizens and communities with the tools to actively participate in city making, by collaboratively building from qualities and needs. How can

PRECEDENTS

• The Spontaneous City - Urhahn Urban Design

• Cityplot Buiksloterham

• Tactical Urbanism: Short-term action for longterm change - Mike Lyndon & Anthony Garcia

• Baugruppe projects

• The Flexible City: Sustainable solutions for a Europe in transition

• Mehr Als Wohnen - Claudia Thiesen

• Self-made City - Kristien Ring • Central Melbourne Design Guide - City of Melbourne

• Superloft Apartments - Marc Koehler • Barcelona 22@ • Amsterdam Oostenbug - Urhahn Urban Design • Oderberger Str. 56 - BARarchitekten

• Cities for People - Jan Gehl

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 139


THESIS STATEMENT Emily Thomas Since pre-industrial times, average temperatures have risen 0.92 degrees Celsius (NASA). The past ten years have seen consistent and rapid temperature growth which is projected to rise exponentially unless global changes are instigated. The urban heat island effect intensifies the issue, as the mass construction absorbs the heat more

Rotterdam has begun implementing the Rotterdam Climate Change Adaption Strategy which aims to climate proof the city by 2025 (rather than be negatively impacted by climate change, the city aims to benefit from it). Rotterdam’s current plan is to increase the amount of flora in the city and raise awareness about the

readily than natural, porous surfaces. Rotterdam can be up to 8 degrees hotter than the surrounding countryside (Rotterdam Climate Initiative, RCI, 2017).

safety concerns during heat waves. Zoho specifically has introduced more greenery into the district such as their rain and welcome gardens, however their approach is based on

REFERENCES • Rotterdam Climate Initiative. (2017). Rotterdam Climate Change Adaption Strategy. • Kleerekoper, L. (2017). Urban climate design: Improving thermal comfort in Dutch neighbourhoods (Thesis). A+BE Architecture and the Built Environment. Delft University of Technology. • Hatvani-Kovacs, G., Belusko, M., Pockett, J., & Boland, J. (2018). Heat street resistant building design in the Australian context. Energy &

140 OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

public space. Once off the street, residents are expected to adapt to the rising temperatures with active cooling systems. The terrace houses promote individual response to the heat island effect, rather than a community-based response like the gardens and public plans. So how can these strategies be adapted and built upon to respond to heat stress passively, on a private, residential scale?

PRECEDENTS Buildings, 158. 290-299. • Jenson, C., Chu, A., Cadorel, X., & Hes, D., (2017) Living Well – Apartments, Comfort and Resilience in Climate Change. The University of Melbourne: Thrive.

• The Bullitt Centre, Seattle, Washington, Miller Hull Partnership • Tassafaronga Village, Oakland, California, David Baker Architects • Sidwell Friends School, Kieran Timberlake • Gary Corner Youth Centre, Chicago, Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects • Cool 502, Louisville, Kentucky


O6 // PRELIMINARY HYPOTHESIS

THESIS STATEMENT Han Chen Climate change has become one big environmental issue globally, and the consequences caused by this phenomenon include flooding, heavy rainfall, heat wave and new diseases, etc. Water is one significant element in the Dutch life and centrally influence them. Could we use water as one start point to adapt the climate change and the relative environmental issues? Also, could we try to connect the water with social life of local people?

REFERENCES • Rotterdam, from port city to harbor landscape. Paul Meurs

In my opinion, landscape could be one approach to achieve the ambitions. There are harbours and canals on the site, and Nieuwe Mass river goes by the site. They are important waterways, also show the culture and unique characters of the site. Could we try to use more natural and ecological landscape design to defend flooding and manage water, to encounter the needs of local people and enhance the identity of the site? Is it possible for people living with water and engaging the community by water? The water on the site could be considered in a larger Rotterdam water system,

and this changing element needs processes and stages to show its influence.

PRECEDENTS • Tidal park in Rotterdam

• The making of polder cities – a fine Dutch tradition. Fransje Hooimeijer

• The connecting waterscape – the case of Maashaven in Rotterdam. Karlijn Kokhuis, Master thesis, 2013

• Water and the landscape. Grady Clay

• Room for the river, Netherlands

• 20th century garden and landscape architecture in the Netherlands. Gerritjan Deunk

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 141


THESIS STATEMENT Jaime Wayne-Tam A standard grid of the elements for the new city extension of European cities were presented in 1950s by CIAM, which the cities were differentiated by urban functions and separated by highways. In the 21st century urbanisation, the planning approach eventually developed many cities with fragmented contexts, isolation of communities and a discourage on economic growth. Alexanderknoop were developed after 1960, which demonstrated the parallel but separate trajectories from the CIAM implication. The residential area was divided in half by the commercial, industrial,

REFERENCES

public infrastructures and the highways, which the tight planning defined a car-dominating city. Alexander, being the second-tier city in South Holland, embodied the potential in its urban fabric, how can the fragmented city be repaired and put forward residents and their living habits as the source of knowledge for architecture? In contrast to the CIAM approach based on standards, separating functions, begin in shifting from car dominated to pedestrian dominated, the inextricable complexity of urban life and diversity

of functions should be expressed in the urban renewal. Would better connections between daily based functional space and shortened walkable distance tighten the linkage of residents? How could additional walkable connections stitch the existing programs into neighbourhood? How to fit an intimate neighbourhood in mega-city scale? And could this address the existing problem and forms a framework for the future urban renewal?

PRECEDENTS

• City without Ground - Jonathan Solomon

• Holzmarkt, Berlin

• Life between Buildings - Jan Gehl

• Mehr Als Wohnen, Zurich

• Walkable Community - Jeff Speck

• The Highline, USA • Tokyo Underground walkways, Tokyo • Soho Elevated Walkways, Hong Kong

142 OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018


O6 // PRELIMINARY HYPOTHESIS

THESIS STATEMENT Jingle Chen “Most utopias fail to keep space and society simultaneously in mind”1 The post-war modernist approach to urbanplanning has resulted in suburbs that are car-centric, neglect the human-scale, and are physically and socially disconnected. With the rise of the sharing economy and technologies such as the automated vehicle, societal attitudes and patterns towards transport and consumption will change, as will the ways

we live, work, play and travel. Suburban centres such as Alexanderknoop, which comprises almost double the automobile-related infrastructure in comparison to Rotterdam as a whole, must adapt in order to survive and thrive as a city of the future.2 I would like to propose a new community hub for Alexanderknoop; an incubator for creativity and participation, an adaptable mixed-use development that transforms with the future needs of the community. Through utilising a set of urban design rules and repurposing residual typologies of

REFERENCES • Gehl, Jan, Cities for People, Washington DC, USA, Island Press, 2010 • Urhahn, Gert, The Spontaneous City, 2010 • Bergevoet, Tom & van Tuijl, Maarten, The Flexible City: Sustainable Solutions for a Europe in Transition, 2016

modernism (automobile infrastructure, the drive-in shopping mall, the commuter office), the goal is to produce a deliberative development that considers both human and spatial needs.

1

Kevin Lynch, Grounds for Utopia,1987

CBS Data, Car Ownership per Neighbourhood, Also based on aerial measurements of the site, completed in August 2018 2

PRECEDENTS of Urban Form, Cambridge, UK, Polity Press, 2013 • Abrahamson, Mark, Urban Sociology, A Global Introduction, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2014

• Lehnerer, Alex, Grand Urban Rules. Rotterdam: Netherlands, Netherlands Architecture Institute, 2009

• Van-Bemmel Misrachi, Too Much of a Good Thing? The Case of Car Parking in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Wageningen University and Research Centre, 2015

• Tonkiss, Fran, Cities by Design, The Social Life

• NACTO, Blueprint for Autonomous Urbanism

• Oslo- Car Free City Life Project • Pavement to Parks, San Francisco (Creating and testing ideas for new public spaces in San Francisco) • ‘Superblock’ Barcelona • Gensler’s repurposed parking garage • Holzmarkt, Berlin • The High Line, New York • Disused Japanese Overpass • Abandoned Park in Seoul turned into culture hub OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 143


THESIS STATEMENT Karan Chhibber With the rapid pace of urbanization and increasing land values, cities are in the process of transformation to accommodate an influx of populations within its limits. This creates high pressure to extract as much value from available parcels of land, often leading to hurried organic growth within the rigid framework of the city. Such a phenomenon can be seen as an opportunity to explore underutilized parcels- to generate a multifunctional mode of living; within the core of the city. “The limits of urban upgrading are…[that] what is redeveloped is space, the built environment and

REFERENCES

physical amenities rather than people’s capacities or livelihoods.” (Roy, 2005) The quote reaffirms the fact that there is a need to plan towards designing neighborhoods that create a mix of functions. This stands in contrast to the modernist group CIAM’s vision of creating four distinct and monotonously functioning zones of activity, namely- dwelling, recreation, work and transportation. From the perspective of The Hague, the city has planned to create a Central Innovation District (CID) within the city center- by reorganizing land use patterns on reclaimed land

from bold infrastructure moves. This means that the city has an opportunity to create a market for not only housing, but also industries of various scales, extending the business center and urban regeneration via provision of open spaces to give back to the city. However, how does a city reiterate its urban codes to provide a bottom -up approach for such land parcels? What part does user-led groups play in urban regeneration- thereby creating a well-functioning and dependent micro city within the limits?

PRECEDENTS

• The spontaneous city

• Barcelona22@, Barcelona, Spain

• Grand Urban Rules

• Buikslotherham, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

• The Athens Charter (1933)

• Spoorzone Delft, Delft, The Netherlands

• The Quito Papers

• Central Railway Station, Vienna, Austria

• The flexible city

• Euralille, Lille,France • 100 Resilient Cities (The Hague)

144 OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018


O6 // PRELIMINARY HYPOTHESIS

THESIS STATEMENT Natalie Keynton The Athens Charter of 1933 and subsequent work by CIAM defined a new organisational method for cities in which the car was dominant and cities were divided by function. These post-war extensions to many European cities created dysfunctional environments, socially segregated communities and fragmented cities. In Alexanderknoop, where every building is constructed post 1960, a purely residential area is cleaved in two by the motorway and industrial/ commercial strip. Today, Alexander is struggling

REFERENCES

to transform from a ‘functional knot to a beating heart’ due to its lack of economic and social dynamism thanks to its rigid planning.

Alexanderknoop’s status as an emerging city hub provides the perfect testing grounds for a new manifestation of 21st century urbanism.

In order for Alexanderknoop to be a truly successful neighbourhood, it must adapt a collaborative rather than combative approach to urban renewal. The municipality itself has identified that it currently struggles to attract the talent required to successful regenerate the commercial strip and motorway in order to create better connections and increase diversity.

Learning from CIAM, can urban planners make space for citizens to push for better connected, more environmentally responsible, dynamic environments? How could a contemporary manifesto for the development of Alexanderknoop address the issues of today and tomorrow?

PRECEDENTS

• The CIAM discourse on Urbanism 1928 – 1960, Eric Paul Mumford

• Buiksloterham

• The functional city – the CIAM and Cornelis van Eesteren

• Groothandelsgebouw

• Team 10: 1953-81, in search of a utopia of the present

• Zoho, Rotterdam

• Defining urban design: CIAM architects and the formation of a discipline

• Volkskrant building • Lijnbaan • Holzmarkt, Berlin

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 145


THESIS STATEMENT Richard McRae Memorable urban environments are defined by a strong sense of place, yet in today’s increasingly globalised world, major urban renewal projects are often defined by their placelessness. When global capital is solely used to fund urban-scale projects, residents become the beneficiaries of homogeneous, risk adverse, housing types and urban environments. The City of Den Haag has drafted plans to attract high-skill workers and foreign capital through the development of a major innovation precinct in the

REFERENCES

city centre, creating an opportunity for the city to define its own unique character.

innovation precinct, whilst ensuring a positive outcome for housing the city’s future residents?

Without considered planning for the 50,000 additional homes required by 2040, Den Haag will find it difficult to attract the global talent necessary for the functioning the planned innovation precinct - as workers opt for established knowledge and innovation centres elsewhere in Europe, or further afar. How, then, might we utilise a range of funding strategies to encourage place specific urban development, creating a globally competitive

PRECEDENTS

• Junkspace, Rem Koolhaas 2006

• Barcelona 22, Barcelona, Spain

• Through the Binckhorst, Bjorn Konig 2010

• Spoorzone Delft, Delft, Netherlands

• The Global City, Saskia Sassen 2005

• Leopoldstadt, Vienna, Austria

• Looking Backward, Looking Forward: The City Region of the Mid-21st Century, Peter Hall 2011

• Central Railway Station, Vienna, Austria

• What Distinguishes Success among SecondTier Cities?, Ann Markusen 2000

• Central to Eveleigh, Sydney, Australia

• The Spontaneous City, Urhahn 2010 • 100 Resilient Cities (The Hague), 2018

146 OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018

• Barangaroo, Sydney, Australia • Clichy-Batignolles Eco-District, Paris, France


O6 // PRELIMINARY HYPOTHESIS

THESIS STATEMENT Samuel Jie Zhao The re-urbanisation of South Holland represented as a well-connected network of compact cities. Therefore, working as a transportation centre among Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht, Alexanderknoop faces a great opportunity in both residence and commercials in the next couple of decades. However, as an area planned according to the modernism criterion, the zoning was separated, and vehicles profoundly dominated the building typologies in the region, failed in integrate commercials and residence zone as a whole, making the area fragmental, empty, and unfriendly

to pedestrians. Treats the renovation of Alexanderknoop station as a change, therefore, to switch the standard mobility model of “trains-cars-feet” to “trains and feet”. Through various hybrid function of the site surrounding the central station, can we make the community more walkable, attractive and lively, which both suits for residences and commuters? If that, as the portion of cars reduced, how can the existing carparks contribute back to the region? What kind of interface will happen inside and in

REFERENCES

between different communities? How can these hybrid blocks spread out to create an overall scenario?

PRECEDENTS

• Ring, K (2016) Reinventing Density: How Baugruppen are pioneering the Self Made City

• Grant, j. (2008) Planning the Good Community: New Urbanism in Theory and Practice.

• Shinagawa Station, Tokyo

• Rotterdam Alexanderknoop, De Stad van de Toekomst

• Guallart, V. Barcelona 5.0 The Self-Sufficient City

• City of Sea Side, Florida

• Moore, T. (2016) Flat White Urbanism.

• InfraNet Lab/Lateral Office (2011)

• Holtzmark, Berlin • PAKT, Belgium

• Gehl, J (1977) The Interface between Public and Private Territories in Residential Areas. • Kaijima Momoyo, Kuroda Junzo, Tsukamoto Yoshiharu (2015), Made in Tokyo

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 147


THESIS STATEMENT Shiyu Gao Urbanization is an international trend, both in developed and emerging countries. In the past 25 years, the share of the population living in urban areas has steadily grown all over the world, Netherlands is included. This change of social population structure and housing market has led to the gradual emergence of residential differentiation and spatial segregation, and promoting social integration has become one of the main tasks of housing policy. In Zoho, Netherlands, along with the housing

supply marketization process, housing prices is rising, which results many middle-income earners threaten to become stranded: living in the city is increasingly inaccessible for these groups. Their income is too high for social housing, they face fierce competition in the private rental market and they are not always able to afford an owneroccupied property in the city. Facing this challenge, the government encourages to develop diversified and marketed housing concept, and encourages the mixed development of social housing and commercial housing to achieve social integration.

REFERENCES

Hypothesis: • How to introduce a new typology of housing which can help to accommodate the different groups’ demand on limited land? • How to mediate the public and private spaces to connect those groups with various backgrounds and blur their isolations?

PRECEDENTS

• Ring, K (2016) Reinventing Density: How Baugruppen are pioneering the Self Made City https://theconversation.com/reinventingdensity-how-baugruppen-are-pioneering-theself-made-city-66488

• The four key challenges in the housing sector. (An income business systems white paper)

• Social Housing, Mulhouse – Lacaton & Vassal

• Melanie Hekwolter of Hekhuis, Rob Nijskens and Willem Heeringa, The housing market in major Dutch cities

• Ritterstrasse 50, Berlin

• Urhan Urban Design (2010). The Spontaneous City. BIS Publishers. (Manifesto for a spontaneous city)

• Marc Calon, Dutch social housing in a nutshell

• Niklas Maak, Living Complex: From zombie city to the new communal

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• Void Space/Hinged Space Housing • Neue Hamburger Terrasen, Humberg - Lan Architects • Spreefeld Berlin – Carpaneto Architekten + Fatkoehl Architekten + Bararchitekten • Traum House – Germany • Tietgen Dormitory, Copenhagen, Denmark


O6 // PRELIMINARY HYPOTHESIS

THESIS STATEMENT Thomas McLaughlin In the last decade the abandoned business district of Zoho has been revived due to a unique collaboration effort between the Haventeder, Stipo and the municipality of Rotterdam. They have come up with their own brand of ‘slow urbanism’ to regenerate the area without the need of developers. Although this has happened purely out of circumstance and necessity, it has allowed for consideration of public spaces, climate adaptive mechanisms and the cohesion of local residents and business. The problem now is that the area of ZOHO is back on the map and its land is

REFERENCES

increasing in value. This is attracting the attention of traditional urban developers who want to develop the land further. At what point will this rate of urbanism speed up and become a profit-based venture and disregard social and climatic issues? Assuming that traditional development is inevitable for an urban zone like Zoho, perhaps the cooperation and co-habitation of these different approaches to development could make for an interesting framework for sustainable urbanization in the future. In an area which is in a constant

state of development, we need to setup a planning framework which allows for incremental change in a way that the users still have some control of development. To ensure that the bottom-up approach intersects with the top-down approach, how can we establish a theoretical and practical framework to allow for the cooperation of both user-led development as well as traditional development to encourage a diverse outcome urbanization in a dynamic urban area?

PRECEDENTS

• The Flexible City, sustainable solutions for a Europe in transit

• Nightingale project

• The Spontaneous City

• Baugruppe

• The Urbanists - https://theconversation. com/reinventing-density-how-baugruppenare-pioneering-the-self-made-city-66488 -Reinventing density: how baugruppen are pioneering the self-made city

• Ritter strasse 50

• Sudstadt, Tubingen, Germany

• Spreefield

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 149


THESIS STATEMENT Yu Han Hou (Jenny) The public space may solve the global issue of social isolation but the other issue of ‘privatization’ of the public space needs to be concerned as well. The priority reason of keeping the public space should be how to benefit the community by those spaces. Zoho has a lot of under-used public spaces, which are neither green space. They lose the potential to make the area livelier. If they can be changed, a lot of benefits will come along with it. These public spaces will become social-interface open

REFERENCES

spaces, which gather different cultures from both the Dutch and immigrate. To sum up, these spaces possibly become big neighborhood living rooms for the community. If the local council provides a piece of land to each individual user to design and manage his/her ‘own’ part of the public space, what is the possible boundary between the public and private space? Flexibility can be given but limitation makes the consistency. An introduction of a new typology of housing may solve the problem.

Hypothesis/Research Question: How to introduce a new typology of housing that allows flexibility for the users to design the public space together but still keep their own private spaces?

PRECEDENTS

• Public spaces are going private - and our cities will suffer - The Conversation

• De Ceuvel, Amsterdam

• Neighborhood living rooms – we can learn a lot from European town squares - The Conversation

• The High Line, New York

• Public Space / Stewardship Guide http:// publicspacestewardship.org/ • Projects For Public Spaces https://www.pps. org/

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• Holzmarkt, Berlin • People st, Los Angeles • Emmen in Netherlands


O6 // PRELIMINARY HYPOTHESIS

OPPORTUNISTIC URBANISM 2018 151


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CONCLUSION


CONCLUSION As we venture across the world to the Netherlands, we will continue our investigations and further develop our individual theses. We will take what we have learnt here in Melbourne, from the key topics, precedent studies, exercises and site analysis, and combine them with our findings from visiting the sites. By investigating the sites in person, we will able to gain a richer understanding of the history, context and culture of the Netherlands, and continue to the next stage of this studio. Vaarwel Melbourne, tot ziens zuid Holland! Thanks mum! (Katherine) Thanks Dad! (Andy)

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RESOURCES Cover Page: Artwork by Bob McDougall Preface: Photo by Karan Chhibber Section 1 Cover: Collage by Sam Zhao Section 2 Cover: http://cargocollective.com/ thisispaper/zanderroth-architekten-BIGyardZelterstrase-5 Section 3 Cover: Photo from Studio Brief Section 4 Cover: Photo by Bo Xu Section 5 Cover: Artwork by Bob McDougall Section 6 Cover: Photo by Jingle Chen Section 7 Cover: https://en.rotterdam.info/ Conclusion Photo: Collage by Karan Chhibber

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