Confounded Antwerp/Antwerp Confounded
The Tower of Babel (by Breugel) acts as an anti-fabel, the antithesis of who Antwerp is - the city that has thrived due to the confounding of its languages, and now revels in its amalgamation of architectural forms.
The river, block and plot
You need some context, these are three features of the city. There are thousands more, but these are complex, what is more important comes next.
Do no restrict this to ‘vernacular’
The city of Antwerp, through its many iterations and developments, has predominantly accommodated its population in the terraced house. Though similar in typology, each plot-ed home varies in character, dimension, function, use and ownership. No single plot is the same.
Housing and Housing now
The developments of the 21st century (ironically termed ‘Slow Urbanism’) use a tabula rasa approach, establishing full urban block plans in coordination with the city’s authorities. But if a significant portion of Antwerp’s built context is formed by its residents, what future does a city have if instead generic architectures of dwelling begin to fill the void? The new developments being introduced into the city are dwellings of suffocating restriction. What resilience do these newer structures offer?
The resilience of the plot-ed terrace
The current culture of editing one’s dwelling pronounces the streets of Antwerp. These plots, individual in their figure ground, allow for adaptation internally and the altered expression of the facade.
Alterations over time
A model for continual alteration
To question the current, pan-European, ‘block’ development of Antwerp in the neighbourhoods of Eilandje and Neue Zuid, the thesis poses the question: in a city actively densifying its centre, can a housing model be proposed that allows the population of Antwerp the (same [existing]) ability to adopt and adapt their properties.
and the parts that it considers
BUT with fresh eyes, this looks to be (similarly) too standardised. Lets critique this, what resilience does this have. Then let's move on.
Ruins of Adolescence - Gilles Delalex
The current climate of scarcity has dramatically altered how we review the life of a structure, now we must consider an architecture of adolescent ruins (Delalex), spaces that are not ‘flexible’ but can be lived in and inhabited in various ways (Stewart Brand). With much of Antwerp’s urban fabric still in place more resilient models of alteration and adaptation are required that can manipulate existing structures into habitable spaces whilst retaining their core structure.
Ruined, ruins, and made of ruin - an intelligent ruin - bOb van reeth
If we are to truly consider new methods of construction within the city during this climate of scarcity we must surely begin to retain and reuse whatever resources we have. A portion of the thesis explores the collation of architectural debris and salvage as a public amenity to be incorporated into homes throughout Antwerp. This references the recent project undergone by the Amsterdam government in which they catalogued all architectural debris within the city for residents to use. These collage models, and the drawings to follow explore how the interiors of the plot-ed homes can be occupied differently through the personal and specific use of both permanent and temporary elements such as I-beams or greenhouse glass panelling. They use the same pieces/elements to create two considerably different dwellings.
Salvage and scarcity
Scarcity and salvage
Inside
‘Context as a principle of architecture. Architecture as a principle of context. From one context to the other context. In a different way in the case of architecture.’ - VARIETE/ARCHITECTURE/DESIRE by architecten de vylder vinck taillieu
Outside
‘Context as a principle of architecture. Architecture as a principle of context. From one context to the other context. In a different way in the case of architecture.’ - VARIETE/ARCHITECTURE/DESIRE by architecten de vylder vinck taillieu