High-density, Low-rise - a challenge for Dwelling Landscapes in the Netherlands

Abstract

In the Netherlands, the topics of ‘cluttering’ of the landscape and ‘compact city’ at present guide the search for alternatives to suburban residential areas, which have taken too much space of open land. This paper discusses the very important issue of finding ways to comply with our growing need for urban, high-quality housing environments, meanwhile allowing us to preserve green land and landscapes. Can architects, landscape architects and urban designers secure the landscape to become a main ingredient in their urban densification plans, thus respecting the existing city boundaries and create viable living environments that allow children enough space to explore their free world? We focus on the qualities of a specific typology of dwelling architecture – High-density, Low-rise – as favoured by the city of Groningen by means of their Intense Laagbouw campaign (2008-2009). We describe the Green Dice proposal for intense small-scale housing by Jarmund Vigsnæs Arkitekter (JVA, Oslo) as a project-transcending housing scheme, which allows the landscape to become part of the residential. Moreover, we utilize their approach to this typology-based design assignment to address the topic of Research by Design. A focus on scientific support to project-defining concepts allows architecture to take position where the design – applied as a tool in a research process – is made to a necessary partner for all supporting disciplines, that are instrumental in this process. This Research by Design approach ensures that both ’the building’ and ‘the urban plan’ contribute to a liveable society.