Hoogbouw vraagt om interieurstedebouw

Al decennia staren beleidsmakers en stedebouwkundigen zich blind op hoogbouwbeleid door middel van hoogteregulering. Ook al blijft dit vanuit gezondheid en welstand verstandig, dit is een eenzijdige benadering. Zeker nu er steeds meer openbare ruimtes binnen de hoogbouwprojecten ontworpen en gerealiseerd worden, rijst de vraag hoe we voorbij de...

DEMO DOMAIN; for of and by the local people of Europe: Revitalising European Democracies by the re-introduction of Public Sphere in local society.

The binding factor of the European Union's diverse nations is their practice of democracy. However, recently the EU has been dealing with the rising power of populism, increasing polarization and strong bubble forming; all leading to a weakening practice of local, national and union scale democracies. An important factor in this is the lacking...

The past as foundation for a new memory: Architecture as a form-giver of memories

Raising the awareness of history and embedding the past in the present and thus the future is one of the urgent challenges of our time. Architecture can constitute a powerful bridge with the past. A building for the public is proposed, to strengthen the memory of the past while connecting with the present in Prague. Recent political turmoil once...

Victor Gruen: the environmental Heart

Victor Gruen is the pioneer of the regional shopping centre, he is the “Mall Maker”, which, is also the title of a book by M. Jeffrey Hartwick about this Austrian-born architect. Well known for his first commercial projects, which have been copied and analysed worldwide, mostly negatively influencing the structure of cities and societies, Gruen...

Architectural translation of Public Sphere: The Stimulation of Meaningful Encounters between Strangers

Socio-philosophers and architects hold very different views on the definition of the public realm/sphere, resulting in the neglecting of the critique of the first group on the latter. In this paper architectural solutions are discussed on this topic, looking first at what architectural elements stimulate the gathering in public places, secondly...

The Public Parliament - a spatial manifesto for a Binnenhof Redesign

Designers have the ability to organise and shape spaces, to create the decor of life. Besides the contribution to society by giving form to public buildings and spaces, designers also have the responsibility to design for users they don’t directly know. When the design relates to the government, the guarantee of democratic values are at stake....

Reclaiming Istanbul: Reviving the Public Sphere Through Infrastructure

Since the introduction of the coffee houses, Istanbul gained an important element to form a public sphere. These places enhanced the forming of a public opinion which is a crucial aspect of a democratic society. In the Ottoman empire these places were even seen as a nest for the opposition. Nowadays public spaces are threatened by a...

Redeeming the Public

Bangkok living; social networks in a gated urban field

Workshop 1. Session 1.2: Segregation and strategies of gating and withdrawal. Abstract: Over the years, implicitly or explicitly the relationship between spatial form and the social world has been recurrently discussed in urban studies. Recently, this topic again gained relevance through the emerging critical debate on the social consequences of...