This proclamation comes from the introduction to a publication accompanying the international competition Living in the City - one of many recent competitions, conferences and debates that have reawakened the interest of the public and of" architects alike in the design of high-density housing within the context of the contemporary city. Architects have long been involved in the design of one-off houses, carefully crafted signature works for wealthy individual clients, but the design of multiple housing has only intermittently engaged their attention. In the early twenty-first century, the new interest and motivation to find alternatives to outmoded and unsustainable conventional models for housing is attributed to a whole range of factors - changing demographics, changing work patterns,increased life expectancy, and technological innovations that have resulted in constant connectivity.
As cities have grown, housing has had to be provided to accommodate the increasing population. Driven primarily by the need to provide housing as cheaply and efficiently as possible, the ideas developed by the early Modernists have informed housing schemes worldwide. Today, in the context of a very different urban landscape, architects optimistic about high-density living are revisiting the conventional types and evolving new models.
After an introduction covering the recent development of the apartment block as an urban housing type, this books consists of four chapters devoted to recent examples of urban housing from around the world. The projects are selected for their ability to demonstrate an innovative architectural approach.French examines four formal typologies: terraces and row houses, quadrangles and courtyards, city blocks and infiil, and towers and slabs. Photographs,drawings and specially drawn site plans place each featured project in its surrounding context.
Hilary French, an architect and architectural historian, is Head of the School of Architecture and Design at the Royal College of Art, London. She has written and edited a number of books, including Accommodating Change: Innovation in Housing (2002) and Key Urban Housing of the Twentieth Century (2008).
Introduction
Chapter 1 Terraces and Row Houses
Schieflstaitte Housing Complex
Graz, Austria
Szyszkowitz. Kowalski
Condensed Housing Development
South Biesdorf, Berlin, Germany
Leon Wohlhage Wernik Architekten
Nieuw Terbregge
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Mecanoo
Housing Block 16X68
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Otis a rch itekti
In-between Terrace
Whatcott's Yard, London, UK
Annalie Riches, SiMa UIImayer, Barti
Gariboldo
Stuivesantplein Housing
Tilburg, The Netherlands
Erick van Egeraat
Yoakum Street Town Houses
Houston, Texas, USA
Wittenberg Oberholzer Architects
Housing on the Shore of Lake Gooi
Huizen, The Netherlands
Neutelings Riedijk
Chapter 2 Quadrangles and Courtyards
Westfield Student Village
Queen Mary College, London, UK
Feilden C/egg Bradley Architects
ka Maquinista
Barcelona, Spain
Josep Lluis Mateo -MAP Arquitectos
High Cross Road
London, UK
Walter Menteth Architects
Dwellings for Young People
Leipzig, Germany
H PP Hentrich-Petschnigg & Partner
Town House
Wimbergergasse, Vienna, Austria
Delugan_Meissl Associated
Architects
Mondrian Apartments
Sydney, Australia
Stanisic Associates Architects
Integrated Housing
Ingolstadt, Germany
meek architekten
Harold Way Apartments
Hollywood, California, USA
KoningEizenbergArchitecture
Donnybrook Quarter
London, UK
Peter Be rber Architects
Chapter 3 City Blocks and Infill
Estradenhaus
Berlin, Germany
popp.planungen
Rue Pelleport apartments
Paris, France
Frederic Borel
Alfonso Reyes 58 Apartments
Mexico City, Mexico
Dellekamp Arquitectos
Simmons Hall, MIT
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA,
Steven Holl Architects
Yerba Buena Lofts
San Francisco, California, USA
Stanley Saitowitz Office
Housing in Auwiesen
Winterthur, Switzerland
Kreis Schaad Schaad
D Residential Building
Venice, Italy
Cino Zucchi Architetti
Apartment Building Gasometer B
Vienna, Austria
Coop Himmelb(I)au
CODAN Shinonome Canal Court
Centre Block, Block 1
Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Riken Yamamoto and Field Shop
Schots 1 + 2
Groningen, The Netherlands
S333 Architecture + Urbanism
Chapter 4 Towers and Slab Blocks
173 Perry Street / 165 Charles Street
NewYork, USA
Richard Meier
Contemporaine
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Perkins + Will
Housing Tower
Theresienhohe, Munich, Germany
Steidle + Partner
Flower Tower
Paris, France
Edouard Franfois
Apartments
Maia, Porto, Portugal
Eduardo Souto de Moura
Macquarie Street Apartments
Aurora Place, Sydney, Australia
Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Social Dwellings
Lakua, Vitoria, Spain
Ercilla & Campo Arquitectura
Sejima Wing
Kitagata Apartments,
Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue
Nishizawa/SANAA
Mirador Apartments
Sanchinarro, Madrid, Spain
MVRDV + Blanca Lleo
Footnotes / Selected bibliography
Project Credits
Index
Picture Credits / Acknowledgements