P I E T B L O M Creating a society by architecture

P I E T B L O M

Creating a society by architecture

Table of Contents: p. 6_Introduction p. 8_Methodology p. 11_Blom and Society: a Derivation

Bastian Schleier

TU Delft

MSc Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences p. 17_The Importance of Context p. 23_The Public Sphere p. 30_Designing a future Dream p. 37_Envisioning possible Kasbahs

Jiaxin Chen

Shi Zeng

Tom Stuiver

Liping Wei

AR1A061

Architectural Design and Research Methods

Positions TEM-1

Tutor: Yagiz Söylev

Bastian Schleier | 5624274

Liping Wei | 5336481

Jiaxin Chen | 5480361

Shi Zeng | 5534739

Tom Stuiver | 4479580 Delft, 2021 p. 44_Conclusion p. 49 _Bibliogrpahy

Piet Blom (1934-1999), full name Pieter, was a Dutch architect famous and infamous for his architecture and architectural views. Blom was originally trained as a carpenter and architectural draftsman, but soon after completing this education he decided to study Architecture at the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam. Here he is taught by among others, Aldo van Eyck, whose configurative style of architecture he adopts and further develops over the years. Van Eyck was famous, among architects, for his structuralist views on society and the role architecture should play within that. An important objective of structuralism was to ‚give space‘ for social structures; a building must be more than just a sum of functions. In this movement, with a humanistic foundation, the human being played a central role and especially his social contacts. To provoke this, the architects of structuralism advocated a multifunctional use of space that would invite many different people to meet.1 This was a direct response to functionalism, which at the time was the most dominant form of architecture in the Netherlands during the reconstruction after the Second World War. The strict separation of functions and overview from functionalism made way for multifunctionality and a lack of clarity.

This structuralist way of thinking also became a dominant factor in the designs and views of Piet Blom. The Kasbah in Hengelo, which was constructed in 1973, was one of the first designs of Blom that was eventually realised. As a case study it gives a great opportunity to get an insight into Blom’s architectural thinking, especially about his views on the connection between the public and private space. Designed as a city roof the project was regarded as an experiment of a new way, of not only housing, but also living together as a community. For Blom it was clear that “Architecture is more than creating a place, as it is more about creating a society.”2

1 Van Gastel, Het stedelijk dak; de geordende kasbah als instrument van herbergzaamheid., https://docplayer. nl/13098860-Hetstedelijk-dak-degeordende-kasbahals-instrument-vanherbergzaamheid. html (June, 2006)

For the course Architectural Design and Research Methods, during the MSc Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences programme at the TU Delft, a group research was initiated to link the assigned case study to the temporal context. The main question within this research is the following:

How did the acceptance of Bloms envisioned society at the Kasbah develop over time and did Piet Bloms participatory concept succeed or is it yet to be revealed in a possible future?

2

I Am An Architect, Piet Blom: Creating a Society, https:// www.penccil. com/gallery.

In the next following essays we will elaborate on five different aspects of the Kasbah and Piet Blom, linking them to this topic of temporalities. From the start we concentrated on individual research on each topic to gain a broad understanding of the case study and its relation to time. In the first chapter some connections between Blom and other architects are made, clarifying Blom’s stance in the architectural debate at the time. By starting at Bloms youth, a deeper understanding of his views on architecture and society will be made possible. The second chapter focuses on the Kasbah within its urban context; what differs the Kasbah from its surroundings and what makes this special when compared to a later design of Blom in the Cube houses. The third chapter describes the social aspects which have been implemented in the context design of the Kasbah; how do these aspects impact space and time? The fourth chapter elaborates the dwelling- and floorplans types which are currently present within the Kasbah, focussing on what aspects Blom implied to make them more time resistant and user friendly. To conclude and create the ability to look ahead, the fifth chapter will guide us to the possible futures of the case study. Using a conceptual toolbox as a methodology, imaginary reassemblies of the project can be thought of, linking a broad research to uncertainty as a factor of temporalities at the Kasbah.