Abstract
Everything relating to dense, urban living is constantly changing; we need to rethink housing and have a second look to past and present urban housing projects, in order to invent a more flexible design approach for now and tomorrow. For example, by designing more communal spaces in apartment blocks, and making socially resilient projects. This paper focuses on massing design for apartment blocks, seeing as a flexible design framework. It examines the first contemporary apartment block, Unite d’ Habitation, under the light of spatial relationships between three basic programmatic areas / elements: Units, Circulation and Communal Spaces. The spatial relationships of the three elements (and impact on human cohabitation) are discussed and connected with theory. For example, the paper examines Communal Spaces in apartment blocks, as Third Places, a term coined by urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg (1982). Oldenburg analyses the benefits that accrue from the utilization and personalization of places outside the workplace and the home. Through these three programmatic areas, found in almost every apartment block, the paper outlines a flexible design model for the massing design phase of any apartment block. The conclusions discuss the spatial qualities of Unite, and pin points why it is a flexible design model.
Presenters
Simos VamvakidisAssistant Professor, Architecture, University of Patras, Greece, Attiki, Greece
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Apartment block design, Flexible Design Model, Human cohabitation, Massing phase
