CONTENT / The city as any living organism should be looked at not only in a three-dimensional (spatial) context but in a four-dimensional one that takes into account time. The changes taking place in the urban fabric range from the construction of new buildings to the adaptation and the demolition of existing structures. Thus, it is important to consider already at the design stage the possibilities of transforming a building during its lifespan.
The direct participation of future residents is the domain of single-family houses. In contrast, it is difficult to identify the needs, ideas and opinions of future residents of multi-family housing, and the possibility of transforming the space is reduced to changing the partition walls within the occupied apartment. Furthermore, public consultation in the execution of multi-family buildings is fraught with the risk of tailoring the dwelling only to the first occupant.
An approach that addresses these issues is the principle in which the building’s load-bearing elements such as walls, roofs, foundations, staircases and technical infrastructure are made by professionals, while future users influence shaping the internal spatial and functional layout. Such a design methodology is called Open Building and it was created and developed by the Dutch architect prof. John N. Habraken.
The Open Building methodology assumes that the residential environment is divided into two main components. The frame consists of an analysis of the urban layout, the necessary infrastructure and the basic building structure. The second key element is the infill, i.e. the façade and internal spatial layout, which is influenced by the inhabitants or future users of the space (see Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 source: ModRule: A User-Centric Mass Housing Design Platform [Marc Aurel Schnabel, Tian Tian Lo, Yan Gao]
AIMS / The aim of the workshop is to understand the principles of the Open Building design method by personal experience. Through that process participants will gain knowledge of the frame structures, research the context the chosen character, compare different cultural background and various historical periods (i.e. different architectural styles, social relations) and tests the individual/ collective design processes.
More about the Open Building idea can be found in the movie DE DRAGER / A film about Architect John Habraken:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85vhtwRwk9k&t=649s
METHOD / The participants will be gathered into groups of 5 – 8 members from different universities. Each member of the group will choose one given historical character. Next, the group will propose a configuration of the apartments’ design for the characters as a neighbour. At the first stage, individual apartments will be proposed. At the second, the configuration of the apartments will be taken into account.
The design process will include: to get know the chosen character and his/her context, to design a suitable apartment for the character, to agree between the individual designers on the relationship between the apartments in a given structure that meets the Open Building principles.
TECHNIQUE / The presentation of the projects may have a form of sketches, notes, collages, mock-ups, diagrams, CAD drawings, visualisations, animations, videos, and other visual techniques that will support description of the assumed project idea, functioning and materialisation of the architectural building.
The students will get the primary structure (frame) of a multifamily building (in .dwg/PDF file) and will be asked to design the apartments (infill).
The expected drawings include: floor plan of the apartment, section of the apartment, interior/ exterior design, elevations, and plan of the building and landscape.
SCHEDULE / 2-Week Workshop. Weekly 4-hour class arranged with the students:
Introduction / 14 October 2022
Workshop – characters and apartment design / 18 October 2022.
Consultations 20 October 2022.
Final Presentation / 25 October 2022
EVALUATION /
– Quality of the research on the Character’s context.
– Originality of the concepts.
– Cooperation between group members
– Clear and comprehensible project content and presentation.
Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (POLAND) /
Jerzy Łątka (jerzy.latka@pwr.edu.pl)
Agata Jasiołek (jagata.jasiolek@pwr.edu.pl)
Yasar University in Izmir (TURKEY) /
Mauricio Morales-Betran (mauricio.beltran@yasar.edu.tr)