HU041 URBAN NATURE. City of grains

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Alicia McLaughlin
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URBAN NATURE Change For a long period of time our cities have been shaped by tremendous administrative and financial powers, using architectural ideas and urban strategies to create a stage to for

1 URBAN NATURE Change For a long period of time our cities have been shaped by tremendous administrative and financial powers, using architectural ideas and urban strategies to create a stage to for its economic activities to unfold. Following the crash of the capitalist economy in 2008, architecture as an icon of financial authority, has gradually receded from its central role in the city. The state of architecture and urban planning as a a means of orchestrating our daily environments has come to be re-examined. City of grains If our cities can no longer be shaped by these large powers, their future development lies in the hands of more fragmented smaller parties; individual investors, private homeowners, collective initiatives, etc. Developments would no longer be planned top down, but appear more spontaneously. Plots of land would be renewed pieces by piece, like replacing the (dis) functional components of a machine, as wonderfully described by the metabolists in the 60 s and 70 s. This city would not be a city of blocks and walls, but rather a city of grains. As the changes that appear are led by personal demand rather than economic investment alone, the change in the city would be achieved by a quiet accumulation of urban elements rooted in the daily life of its inhabitants. It would bring back the main focus on the people who live in the city and re-introduce spaces on the notion of collective forms of them. It is a slower change, but one with a more grounded, more sustainable base.

Assen The Assen Havenkwartier is dealing with the problematics of restructuring the area in a traditional top down way; the municipality and large developers no longer have the resources to execute

Could a grain development approach turn the fragmented landownership into a possible solution for a currently deadlocked situation?

To successfully enter in to such a process one should understand the existing urban character, the urban nature. Traditional city Capitalist city Metabolist city 2.A. Original builing & plot 2.B.

Option new: group building Urban Nature Each urban environment has an inherent character with natural processes taking places, as does Assen.

For many decades this area could develop seemingly unnoticed in a pocket-corner of the city, with a rather monotonous scale but diverse programme.

Future developments should aim to preserve this nature of the large scale grain and stimulate programmatic diversity to further enhance the areas identity and appeal. 1.

2 Assen The Assen Havenkwartier is dealing with the problematics of restructuring the area in a traditional top down way; the municipality and large developers no longer have the resources to execute the large plans. What further complicates matters is that currently the land is owned by a large number of different landowners. Could a grain development approach turn the fragmented landownership into a possible solution for a currently deadlocked situation? Grain- development pre-suppose existing areas and thus continuous processes without a new beginning or true end. To successfully enter in to such a process one should understand the existing urban character, the urban nature. Traditional city Capitalist city Metabolist city 2.A. Original builing & plot 2.B. Original layout = base for development guidelines maintain 85% of building envelop!!! 2.C. Option new: group building Urban Nature Each urban environment has an inherent character with natural processes taking places, as does Assen. The Havenkwartier occupies a unique location in the city of Assen. For many decades this area could develop seemingly unnoticed in a pocket-corner of the city, with a rather monotonous scale but diverse programme. Looking at the Assen city map one immediately realizes the size of its urban grain is very unique in the city and gives the area its own special character. Future developments should aim to preserve this nature of the large scale grain and stimulate programmatic diversity to further enhance the areas identity and appeal. 1. Tokyo metabolism; example of an organic development of a city district 2. Development guidelines Proposal Starting from the grain-city principle and preservation of the area s urban nature, we propose to either maintain or eventually develop each plot within its plot boundaries. Additional development guidelines would prescribe the future building envelops, but allowing deviations in proportion and programme. Projects like Silo-island and our proposed intervention can serve as catalysts for future developments. More ideas can be presented by architects and planners to show the possibilities of this strategy, like is done on this page. Besides planning and building proojects, developments could be further enhanced by easing regulations, providing expertise and relatively cheap loans to private developers and CPO projects. (See book for additional ideas and scenarios). The Havenkwartier would transform slowly nut surely into a new sustainable living environment for Assen, maintaining its interesting scale and programmatic diversity at all times. City of Assen + site Masterplan proposal 2 of 7

DEVELOPMENT DATA Current Function Plot nr. plot Building area area Nr of Current possible future bldgs Property of: Wholesale Scapino B.V. (wholesale)+ Macintosh 1 21.805 15.

3 DEVELOPMENT DATA Current Function Plot nr. plot Building area area Nr of Current possible future bldgs Property of: Wholesale Scapino B.V. (wholesale)+ Macintosh (retail group) Autoschadeherstel de Vries b.v. (Car Damage Repair) Mattheus Kroon b.v. (construction market) for rent ABL laboratory House House Profile Tyre centre + Logistics NVB Ubbens bouwstoffen (building materials) Houses for rent Avedo.nl (plumbing + heating) Retail Knowledge centre Retail block, large communal garden, mixture of target groups(families & students). Some offices. block,communal garden, mixture of target groups(families, social housing, students). Some offices. Creative housing, room voor new sustainable experiments block,communal garden, mixture of target groups(families, social housing, students). Some offices. CPO Elderly, shared spaces - Sports Hall Retail Combination of housing and bussiness, ground floor facilities with the possibility of living on the second layer. block,communal garden, mixture of target groups(families, social housing, students).some offices. es, Restaurant, shops 1.Current situation with more than 35 different land owners, even more different functions. 2. Before larger developments take place, one could start with smaller initiatives: organizing activities, re-use existing buildings for new programmes, improve connections with the surrounding neighborhoods. 3. Silo island could be cosidered as the first catalyst for the area, according to the municipality program. A new place where art, people and cultural events can be possible in the old shape of the industrial era House Stichting Moskee Al Hussein Noord Puplic Nederlaand (muslim foundation) Function Refat (car repair) Humana (clothing collection point)+ Logistics, Remkes Systeemplafonds(ceiling Paintball Troopers + Advertisement Office + Scapino+ Zorggroep Drenthe Recreational, Commercial, Public function Public Function Cultural activities CPO housing CPO housing, communal housing, Zorggroep Drenthe, Cultural Education Autohandel Amad (car trade) + Bruvo Winkelinrichting B.V. (shop Auto Recycling Assen Oppersma (car)recycling Shift Computers, Auto Gorter B.V., Commercial LMS B.V. Casacom Commercial Multicopy Music and dancing school Boat repair Recreational facilities: Watersports and Restaurant Shops, small businesses Daycare Vacant - - complex (Bedrijfsverzamelgebouw ) Autobedrijf Janssens (car company) Houses Offices Offices Studio for art activities for rent - CPO housing Machinefabriek Rinsma Factory Factory Asser glas en verfhandel (retail glass Retail Offices & paint) ESAM Auto's- Kameleon Printing Offices and appartment housing combined Stichting vrienden van Boeijen Puplic Public Function (foundation) Function Auto Gorter B.V. Offices and appartment housing combined Bakema textielgroothandel (textile Wholesale Wholesale, sheltered wokshop wholesale) + De Drie gebroeders, sheltered workshop Autoschade Boer, Hast Trading VOF Office, Shops and appartment housing combined Bakema textielgroothandel (textile Wholesale Offices, Shops and appartment housing wholesale) combined House Kwikfit (car repair) es Vacant - - New "Urban Nature" Vacant Urban infrastructure, Offices, Commercial and mixed housing 4. A new urban infrastructure would be introduced, most likely after the Silo island development. A group form of housing and working spaces, leasure and art, blending in with the water, the clouds, the environment. 5. From there more and more plots could be redeveloped. Likely they would first concentrate in the central and south part of the area, but eventually spread to all corners. 6. Eventually most properties would develop, but some might remain and even maintain their original function. 3 of 7

4 HU041 DEVELOPMENT ideas shared roof garden start-ups data chip technology new penthouse new art gallery kindergarden floating garden bar and terrace A1 B1 Silo C1 Tunnel connecting district Public plaza D1 Mixed block shared roof terrace A2 Second hand clothes shop B2 Floating restaurant B3 New space cafetaria C2 Student rooms private park stage kindergarden shops A3 Mantain best businesses B4 D2 apartaments offices Boat rental C3 Mixed block music garden shared water terrace shared event space A4 CPO 4.A. Re-use existing structures B5 Public art gallery 4.B. Connect areas, activate areas by adding new small programmes B6 Floating meditation room C4 Elderly co-housing 4.C. New ideas in existing plots & envelops D3 Family houses 4.D. Collective living forms 4 of 7

5 HU041 View from Silo Island site CONCEPT: NEW COLLECTIVITY Group form The new development on the waterfront forms an exception to the overall existing-envelop-strategy of the grain development of the area plan, as it is built on a tabula rasa situation on a currently vacant lot of water, though on all other aspects it reflects the ideas and ambitions from the overall strategy. Van Hobokenstraa A D covered plaza The new development will not exist of a single building, but will rather be like an urban infrastructure, programmatically and spatially rooted in the daily lives of its users. Not a mega-structure, where all functions of the city are housed in a large frame, but rather a group form, an evolving system of generative elments in space, utilizing positive as well as negative spaces. This system of elements may grow gradually over time and can thus anticipate dynamically to the wishes and demands of new users and investors. F I. B II. E H C G J X. VI. III. VII. V. Y K Collective city Havenkanaal One of the main aspirations of the development is to re-introduce collective living forms in the city. The proposal displays a whole array of programmatic and spatial configurations. Built elements are organized as traditional building blocks, with shared interior courtyards, or Corbusian cross configurations and independent villa forms. IV. IX. VIII. These configurations offer different scenario s for people to live together, to meet one another and to interact with their living environments. Different functions are mixed on multiple levels throughout the development; here one can see a proposal, but many different combinations are possible. The water ties all together and serves as a common ground as no boundaries and subdivisions are possible on this fleeing surface. kindergarden gym art gallery restaurant Architecture The surface of the built volumes almost renders them invisible; instead large openings in the volumes, frame public life and expose activities of the people living and working here; they form the real scenery of the project; one could say this is the actual architecture of the site. Start A. Growth garden bar rental boat C. Public propgrams path public space housing office/commerce The large size of the facade openings reminds us of the large scale of the industrial buildings. The buildings themselves are slim though, allowing daylight to enter from multiple directions, in this north-south oriented area. The cross span is on average five meter allowing the interiors of these buildings to be easily divided in multiple ways. B. Program end D. Flexibility 5 of 7

6 HU041 PLANS Collective living The proposed infrastructure is home to various ways of living; whether it is within an enclosed, more traditional courtyard configuration or in a freestanding volume; all inhabitants share certain facilities, certain spaces. These spaces become places to meet, to share stories and exchange ideas, with each other and with other inhabitants of Assen. Many types of programmes, of apartments are possible; from office spaces to restaurants, from single room spaces to family sized apartments on multiple floors. The proposed systems allows for its users to chose the size, layout and function of their individual environment without compromising its larger context. Displays of Urban life Rather than creating a merely visual architectural identity, we provide spaces that are part of the urban environment. Large openings in the buildings, that refer to the industrial scale, frame scenes of urban live; from the interior one can feel part of society, the city and nature at the same time. From the exterior the different interior activities are framed, which form a lively and active visual scenery for the harbor area as a whole. 1.Buoyant Gardens 2.Public Infrastructure 3. Core housing 4. Courtyard housing 5. Linked housing Type J Type Type Type F Young I. Kindergarden garden m2 VII. Sole Room Lobby Rental Office 25 m2 II. Office garden m2 Kindergarden 125 m2 Rental Office Atelier VIII. Garden Bar Type F III. garden m2 Type K Type B A. Apartment -125 m2 B. Duplex - 2x60 m2/floor C. Apartment m2 D. Apartment - 75 m2 E. Working Space / Apartment m2/floor F. Studio Apartment - 50 m2 G. Apartment m2 H. Duplex - 2x60 m2/floor I. Town house - 2x50 m2/floor J. Town house - 2x75 m2/floor K. Town house - 3x25 m2/floor Type D Rental Office 50 m2 V. Flower Island 8.60 m2 Shared Roof Terrace Kitchen Garden Type B X. Public Art Gallery VI. Children s playground 130 m2 Type D Type B Shared Terrace Type C Type IX. Rental Boat types: Type I Gym 125 m2 VI. Restaurant in the water 50 m2 IV. garden m2 Type I Type D 6 of 7

BUILDING materialization New living environments require new ways of building, of smart construction. and durable ideas.

Usually these systems are made of many different components, each with their own properties, requirements and costs.

A type of concrete that is: a. thermally insulating b. has the strength of normal concrete c.

is practically air-tight (energy neutral house!) f. short construction time g.

differently, create a random appearance in total.

7 BUILDING materialization New living environments require new ways of building, of smart construction. and durable ideas. The aim is to achieve an optimum: - structural flexibility - sustainability - architectural transparency - economic feasability. Nowadays there are many buildings systems that can provide us with comfortable climates, spatial flexibility and durabaility. Usually these systems are made of many different components, each with their own properties, requirements and costs. New Material Since a while a new building material is conquering the market: glassfoam concrete. A type of concrete that is: a. thermally insulating b. has the strength of normal concrete c. the aesthehics of robuste concrete d. exists of 2/3 of recycled glass components e. is practically air-tight (energy neutral house!) f. short construction time g. especially suitable for underwater-construction production The design proposal is made of repetive elements that, connected differently, create a random appearance in total. Each inhabitant, owner, could choose his own facade configurations, adjusted to his/her preferences, the interior layout, level of transparency. A kind of special but flexible catalogue housing could be made, wa small local factory, hich would make these kind of innovating building techniques available for a large number of users. Facade catalgoue Exterior view Construction detail Interior view Construction example Sample Technique used for (underwater)walls 7 of 7

BW944. Liège Boogy Woogy

BW944. Liège Boogy Woogy BW9 Liège Boogy Woogy THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE MEUSE AN IDEAL ENVIRONMENT TO WORK The inside of the building block contains the remnants of its old industrial past. In today s knowledge economy the working