Samstag, 4. März | 15:15
Housing Projects Europe
The building programme that I would like to address in this talk considers housing, in urban and social terms. Working on housing projects requires complex forms of speculation on the part of the architect. It is not absolutely clear what the precise needs might be for all the future users of an apartment, but equally the wider context in which a building is built invariably changes in time.
Housing forms the largest part of any city in terms of built area, typically comprising of 70% of building volume and land surface covered. It therefore follows that the image and character of a city is determined by the buildings that service housing programmes, and while it is the monuments, museums and exceptional buildings that might offer a postcard image of a city, it is the normative uses (housing and buildings for work related activity) that provide the most tangible impression by way of their numerical superiority.
Many cities in Europe face the need to absorb a growing population. Furthermore the housing needs of contemporary society are ever more divergent and complex. An example of this can be seen in the contemporary occupancy of apartments. Today almost 30% of the population of many cities live on their own for a collection of reasons, and nearly 64% of the population live on their own or with one other person. The pressure this puts on housing is great.
The lecture will draw upon our extensive experience of working on housing projects in different European countries and building cultures and represent concrete and tangible solutions to the contemporary demands of housing.
How can we build in the most sustainable and appropriate manner?
How can we address the changing and future needs of society?
How can a process of densification be effectively managed?
These and any other questions will be addressed in this talk.
J.S.
Jonathan Sergison graduated from the Architectural Association in 1989 and established Sergison Bates architects with Stephen Bates in 1996. In 2010 the practice opened a second studio in Zurich. He has taught at the Architectural Association and was Visiting Professor at ETH Zurich, EPF Lausanne, and the GSD Harvard. Since 2008, he has been a Professor at the Accademia di Architettura in Mendrisio, Switzerland, where he is also director of the Institute of Urban and Landscape Studies.
Wohnüberbauung Seebach, Zürich, Schweiz, 2019
Foto: David Grandorge