Table Of ContentU R B A N
I N T E N S I T I E S
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PETER G. ROWE
HAR YE KAN
U R
B
A
N
CONTEMPORARY
HOUSING TYPES
AND TERRITORIES
I N
T E N
S
I
T I E S
BIRKHÄUSER
BASEL
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For Layla,
my new companion in life.
P. G. R.
For my parents, sister, and Wayne,
with much love and gratitude.
H. Y. K.
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CONTENTS
7 INTRODUCTION 101 BIG BUILDINGS 195 HOUSING SPECIAL
101 Precedents: From Unités to POPULATIONS
Sprawling Complexes and 196 Precedents: Recent Social,
10 URBAN BLOCK Green Buildings Student, and Elderly
SHAPERS
105 Contemporary Cases: Housing
11 Precedents: From Plan Big Buildings in Urban 203 Contemporary Cases: From
Zuid to the Meander Circumstances Slum Reparation to Co-op
14 Contemporary Cases: 123 Community and Balances Life
Building in Barcelona and Among Residential and 218 Flexibility, Accommodating
Los Angeles Other Factors Change, and Special
36 Convergences and Programming
Contexts 124 INFRA
STRUCTURAL 220 A TURNING POINT
ENGAGEMENTS 221 Constants and Trends
37 HOUSING AND 125 Precedents: Direct 224 Metrics and Measures
LANDSCAPES
Engagements and
38 Precedents: From Active Reifications 226 Selected Projects and
Mergers to Objects of 127 Contemporary Cases: Contextual Connectivity
Contemplation Re-occupation of Urban 229 Units, Types, and Use Mixes
41 Contemporary Cases: Sites by Categories
Houses and New 144 Typal Independence,
Grounds Reciprocity, and Contextual
57 Trends, Consistencies, and Influence 231 Notes
Contexts 235 Index
145 INDIGENOUS 239 About the Authors,
REINTER Acknowledgements,
58 SUPERBLOCK PRETATIONS Credits, Colophon
CONFIGURATIONS
145 Precedents: Codes,
59 Precedents: From Mass Associations, and
Housing to a New Urban Reproductions
Lifestyle 148 Contemporary Cases:
63 Contemporary Cases: References to the Past in
Chinese Superblocks in Beijing and Shanghai
Beijing 164 Contextual Engagements
77 Dimensional Issues, and Differences Between
Strategies, and Domain Form and Figure
Definitions
166 INFILL AND
79 TALL TOWERS PUNTAL
80 Precedents: Early INTERVENTIONS
Beginnings, Mass Provision, 167 Precedents: Infills,
and Dwelling Diversity Unit Ensembles, and
84 Contemporary Intervention Processes
Cases: Expressions of 169 Contemporary Cases:
Sustainability and Variation Single Houses and
100 Balancing Dwelling Ensembles of Units
and Conditions of 194 Animation, Completion,
Variation, Separation, Contradistinction, and
and Resilience Other Outcomes
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I
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T R O
D U C
T I O N
This book deals with housing in the service of creat- the pursuit, for instance, of aspects of good environ-
ing conditions of urban intensity. The projects used mental performance and quality of life. Nevertheless,
as central examples in each chapter date from about density is also simply an outcome of a wider entan-
1990 to the present, with a focus on contemporary glement of market forces, regulatory provisions,
circumstances.1 As used here, ‘urban intensity’ is resource availabilities, locational opportunities, and
to be understood as a function, simultaneously of cultural proclivities.2 That being said, most examples
density, diversity, and connectivity in clearly urban discussed here are either within the bounds of pre-
circumstances. Moreover, it is the interaction among vailing dwelling density in specific locales or some-
these three properties of urbanity that brings vitality, what above those levels, acknowledging, if anything,
vigor, and a certain keenness to the reception of a the virtue of being so, ceteris paribus, from a broader
place, or at least this possibility. Not that constant social perspective.
hub-bub is entirely necessary or even desirable for
dwelling, which must also have its quieter moments, ‘Diversity’ in this context is manifested in several
but some measure of choice in the matter is truly a ways. First, at the level of specific housing complexes,
sine qua non of urban life. More specifically, in this it refers to the additional magnitude and range of
context, ‘density’ refers to dwelling density, although non-residential uses that are included. This appears to
it does not by itself guarantee either dynamism or be warranted from the standpoint of nearby support
healthy intensity in a city. Too much can and does of an urban dwelling lifestyle, as well as employment
result in overcrowding, dilapidation, and eventual and other local benefits of mixed use at a relatively fine
urban decay. Too little often leaves dwelling envi- grain of accommodation. In the service of smaller envi-
ronments entirely bereft of the chance of important ronmental footprints, for instance, there is something
kinds of social interaction and association. Density is to be said in favor of a combination of dwelling density
also sometimes striven for as a good in itself, with var- and a local mixing of use. Second, diversity here refers
ious degrees of it enshrined in urban policies, plans, to variety in the different kinds of dwelling units within
and regulations. Nominally, higher densities, at least a specific housing complex and at the same time variety
up to some point, are often regarded as virtuous in in the provision, or not, of flexibility within those
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units for accommodating different day-to-day, occa- functions and non-residential uses, but also to the
sional, or life-cycle aspects of occupation and use. provision of places and occasions for ‘neighboring’
In principle, anyway, various valences or modes of among dwellers in the same residential environment,
inhabiting dwelling space can be adopted, ranging should that be deemed desirable. Second, it also
through bi-polar dimensions like flexible versus spe- refers to the manner in which complexes are situated
cialized occupation, diverse versus repetitious units, in broader urban contexts, especially with regard to
and emptied-out versus partitioned spaces. Generally wider transportation access, neighborhood commu-
though, recent development in these regards shows nity facilities, stores, public open space amenities,
a trend towards poly-functional space in place of and the like. Again, there is something to be said in
arrangements of particularized mono-functional favor of an urbanity that virtuously combines dwell-
spaces.3 Third, diversity seen here on the demand side ing density and social diversity, or their possibilities,
of housing provision refers to fluctuations and rises, alongside of proximity and access to a range of other
generally, in household formation of different types, available forms of discretionary use and amenity as
pushing the need on the supply side for diversity in well as employment. Measures of such connectivity
unit types, as well as poly-functional arrangements. can vary, but all involve walkable proximities and
numbers, or relative occurrences, of available nearby
In these regards, the First Demographic Transi- non-residential activities, as well as to transit, along
tion, as it is referred to, concerns the original decline with the sheer quality of the walking experience itself.
in fertility and mortality witnessed in Western coun- This, in turn, argues for a degree of embeddedness in
tries from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries a city, or other urban context, and a scale of embed-
onwards and during the second half of the twentieth dedness that is inviting, largely pleasurable, and civic
century elsewhere in the world. The Second Demo- in character.
graphic Transition, by contrast, emerged roughly
from the 1960s onwards in well-developed coun- ‘Housing type’ is used variously in accordance
tries. This was sustained by sub-replacement rates with commonplace descriptors with regard to occu-
of fertility, a multitude of living arrangements, little pancy, massing, and scale, like ‘single-family attached
stationary population, aging effects, rises in divorce dwelling’; ‘mid-density, low-rise dwelling’; ‘high-den-
rates, declines in remarriage, rising cohabitation and sity, high-rise housing’, and so on. It also embraces
extra-marital fertility, declining household sizes, and quasi-architectural designations like ‘row houses’,
rises in individual autonomy alongside of weakening ‘apartment towers’, ‘slab blocks’, and ‘peri meter
social cohesion, especially around traditional families.4 blocks’, pointing to dominant kinds of buildings in
By the 1980s going into the 1990s, all OECD coun- use for housing. Or, it covers descriptors by way of
tries, for instance, experienced radical changes in their building rise and access, like ‘mid-rise, walk-up build-
demographic profiles and living arrangements of their ings’; ‘mid-rise, elevator-served buildings’; ‘high-rise,
populations. This was particularly marked in France, gallery-access structures’, and so on. At root, ‘type’
Germany, and the United Kingdom.5 Statistics show- here is an abstract shorthand designation of bundles
ing the relationship to householder for household of salient features of housing, with regard to discrim-
population in the United States make much the same inable artifactual qualities around which numerous
point from the 1980s onwards, through fairly dramatic examples congeal separately from other groupings.
shifts across the board.6 With some recent stabiliza- In short, ‘housing types’ and ‘typal qualities’ are
tion, this increased diversity nevertheless seems likely broadly recognizable and generally agreed upon
to continue for some time to come. It is also why the without too much confusion.
turning point of 1990, or thereabouts, was chosen for
discussion here of contemporary circumstances. ‘Territory’ is used here in two senses. The first
refers to a particular physical context, environment,
‘Connectivity’, in this context, refers to two or kind of property circumstance like urban blocks,
aspects. The first is proximity and ease of access to superblocks, or sites of former infrastructural engage-
other parts of a housing complex, including support ments such as railroads or port facilities. The second
INTRODUCTION
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refers to a particular sphere of action, as in conserving This is by no means intended to be an exhaustive
indigenous characteristics in housing or taking care list of such regimes but rather one that captures
of a particular population. Also at work is the premise important aspects and directions in contemporary
that territories, in both senses of the term, are shaped housing. Examples are drawn from different cultural
by housing insofar as housing contributes to the settings with emphasis on Europe, North America,
making of a particular territory, as in the shaping of and East Asia, although also including Latin America,
urban blocks and the making of submultiple or infill North Africa, and the Middle East. The centerpieces
arrangements. Conversely, territories are also seen to of each chapter are several contemporary projects.
shape housing in, for instance, the occurrence of tall Also incorporated, however, are discussions of ear-
buildings in places with high land values, or through lier precedents and concepts pertinent to a particu-
both the opportunities and constraints presented by lar category of housing. The periods of these prece-
so-called brownfield sites such as those once used for dents vary. For instance, in discussing infill projects,
infrastructural developments. More important here, the row houses of several American cities date back
however, given the primary focus on ‘urban intensity’, into the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
is the twinning of the two forms of terminology and Big buildings as submultiples, by contrast, are largely
the combination of both housing types and territories. post-World War II phenomena. Tall towers, to take a
This, in turn and in effect, provides a certain focus or third example, date essentially from the early twenti-
specific emphasis to the examples of housing under eth century for housing use, while housing of special
discussion in each chapter. ”Urban Block Shapers”, populations, to take yet another example, dates well
for example, engages with low-to-mid-rise buildings, back into the nineteenth century with almshouses
mostly comprised of housing, deployed in the ser- and the like. In all, 28 specific contemporary proj-
vice of inscribing or otherwise making distinct urban ects are discussed in some detail, within the more
blocks within cities. By contrast, “Indigenous Reinter- general discussion ranging over some 100 examples.
pretations” is about forms of housing that attempt to Graphic presentation, beyond photographic images,
reify local, time-honored layouts and expressive man- consists of contextual depictions of the central case
ners of building in otherwise contemporary urban studies emphasizing various urban dimensions, fol-
circumstances. Such categories, however, are often lowed by data sheets for each that depict critical
far from being exclusionary. There are, for example, dimensional qualities, the diversity of unit types,
rather obvious overlaps among them. The Byker Wall alongside of typical household formations and mix-
in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, for instance, was originally ing of other uses. Internal arrangements within the
about the accommodation of infrastructure but now projects, emphasizing various aspects of function-
is also a ‘big building’ and something of a ‘submul- ality, openness, pre-determination in layout, and so
tiple’ in the language of this volume. Likewise, the on, are also included. Finally, a concluding chapter
superquadra of Brasilia can be viewed as “Superblock re-addresses the issue of urban intensity more gen-
Configurations” and as “Housing and Landscapes”. erally and across all the examples discussed. Pre-
Indeed, in many of the more complex project exam- sentation is also made of other metrics such as den-
ples, several categories of ‘type’ and ‘territory’ are sity to building rise, and diversity in functional use.
invariably engaged. After all, urban intensity can and The claim that contemporary urban housing, seen gen-
must mirror a wide array and ensemble of building erally since 1990 or thereabouts, follows and embod-
and contextual or territorial circumstances, ambiences, ies a turning point in its form, appearance, and urban
and emphases. disposition is also taken up in the affirmative. This is
done through both an examination and discussion
What follows are nine chapters, each dealing with of prevalent trends in contemporary housing seen
a particular typal and territorial category, beginning against more constant features, as well as in an empir-
with “Urban Block Shapers”, “Housing and Land- ically analytical manner using the three measures
scapes”, “Superblock Configurations”, and so on. of urban intensity.
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U R B A N
B
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P
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R
K
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El Silencio
E From antiquity, groupings of buildings have defined rooms and other indoor and outdoor spaces in build-
N
O public spaces. In the context of this book, how- ings. As much as anything, this was driven by tene-
R ever, the term ‘urban block shapers’ fundamentally ment legislation in places like New York City, as well
E
T involves a conscious reciprocity whereby buildings as elsewhere. Somewhat later, prescriptions derived
P
A comprised of an ensemble of units define streets, from the likes of Walter Gropius’ study of zeilenbau or
H
roads, plazas, and most other public spaces of a bar building organizations in 1928 to 1931, also came
C
district plan and are defined by characteristics of into play, focusing on optimal spacing between build-
that plan in turn. Further, these buildings are gen- ings. There, for example, a 27-meter spacing was rec-
erally of two types. The first are linear or sequential ommended between typical walk-up bar buildings on
arrangements sometimes referred to as ‘bar build- the order of 16 meters tall. Parenthetically, this also
ings’ facing, defining, and being defined by streets, corresponded to the desired nominal width of rela-
roads, and other aspects of public infrastructure, tively major streets at the time. In addition, concerns
while the second are ‘perimeter blocks’ comprised for minimal housing space standards were pursued,
of linear arrangements of units defining and being ranging from CIAM’s 14 square meters per person to
defined by streets and public open spaces on one slightly less in some American stipulations.1
side and interior courts and garden spaces on the
other. Certainly during the early days of the mod- A second planning emphasis was on rational lay-
ern era, around the turn into the twentieth century, out and, in particular, a hierarchical arrangement of
the plans to which the urban block shapers conformed streets and other elements of urban vehicular circu-
were influenced by several planning emphases. lation. In addition, by the late nineteenth and early
The first of these involved layout and regulation twentieth centuries, such functional considerations
of light and air requirements for healthy habitation of also became embroidered with well-mannered urban
10
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