Strategic Ambiguity

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Strategic Ambiguity

An Exploration of Housing Flexibility

Melbourne School of Design, Semester 2, 2017

Master of Architecture Studio D: Opportunistic Urbanism

Studio leaders:

Andy Fergus - City of Melbourne

Katherine Sundermann - MGS Architects

Opportunistic Urbanism Studio is a journey, in one sense, as a traveling studio, offering study tours to the cities of South Hollands, in another sense, an exploration of architecture as a progressive agent in the community. The studio is a series of thought simulating workshops, discussions and architecture bike trips, giving a hands-on experience to understand the disparity between architectural theory and reality.

The overall agenda of the studio is to study the impact architecture can have on the community through utilizing current economic and social opportunities. Within the studio requirements, this project explores the idea of housing flexibility, arguing that adaptability is the key characteristic to create a sustainable, economical and user-empowering building. Through observation of buildings in the Netherlands, together with a critical study on different housing typologies, the project advocates for the embracement of ambiguity in design, using indeterminacy as a design strategy. The idea for this project had been rethought and revised many times within 12 weeks of studio work and research under the supervision of Andy Fergus and Katherine Sundermann. The works presented here are the result of critical reviews and discussions with Andy, Katherine and many invited guests and critics both in Melbourne and Rotterdam, as well as constructive contribution from other students throughout the studio time. This work is also possible thanks to the support of family and friends.

A Thesis Statement

Within housing architecture, there is an unceasing conflict between the static character of a building and the dynamic of its inhabitants with their different and ever-changing wishes and demands.

It is possible to resolve this paradox of habitation through exploring the idea of adaptability in design, empowering the users to interpret and reconfigure the space according to their desires. Rather than imposing its narrow unitary vision, architecture should be an agent of changes, offering opportunities the users. By considering adaptability, architecture is also capable of addressing the changes of the current economic, social and demographic structures in a more economical and sustainable manner.

Through adaptability, architecture can become a framework that has the potential to utilize changes and investment as a catalyst to improve the existing living condition.

The Site

Oude Westen is a district located next to Rotterdam Centrum, within walking distance to the Rotterdam Centraal Station. The city of Rotterdam is an international city, with the largest shipping port in Europe and the second most populated city in the Netherlands. From Rotterdam Centraal Station, one can easily get to Schipol International Airport within 30 minutes, to Amsterdam within 45 minutes and to other Dutch cities within two hours of traveling. The station is also connected to the European railway network, allowing one to travel to other international cities such as Brussels, Paris or Berlin within agreeable time. In other words, Oude Westen is a site with great potential, capable of attracting intercity and international workers. In fact, Oude Westen can become a part of the city central district, a new economic hub of Rotterdam.

Oude Westen is a site full of memory, with multiple layers of history. Within its current existing fabric, one can encounter a variety of architecture ranging from eighteenth-century townhouses to 1970s experimental housing estates. The area is relatively dense, with small parks and open space tucked between building blocks.

Surrounding my major shopping districts and within walking distance to Rotterdam Centraal Station, the perimeter of Oude Westen is bustling with shops, restaurants, and activities. However, the vibrancy does not penetrate into its center, the interior streets are small, quiet, dull, uncharacteristic and full of cars despite occasional experimental housing estates dotting along the street. Many of the buildings are slowly deteriorating. The contrast between its strategic location and its existing urban infrastructure is apparent. It is inevitable that sooner or later the urban renewal process will be carried out in the area, allowing the site to reach its potential destiny.

Despite its failing hardware and considerable crime rate, Oude Westen is the site of well-established community with people coming from different cultural backgrounds and income levels. The area is also famous for its bottom-up activisms, with a rich history of groups such as Stitchting Aktiegroep or Leeszaal, organizing various campaigns and services for residents of the area. In fact, it can be argued that diversity and a sense of community are the greatest assets of Oude Westen.

The Building

The Asch Van Wijckschool is one of the center pieces of the urban renewal movement during the 1970s in Oude Westen. During the 1960s, there was a proposal to demolish a large part of Oude Westen and replace it with Modernist mass housing estates. Local residents strongly objected the projects, protesting against the unitary top-down approach from the municipality. Within the 1970s, Stitchting Aktiegroep was formed, organizing protests against the policy, as well as working with the local to create a master plan reflecting the needs of the people. The campaign soon became an exemplary movement of bottom-up activisms in Rotterdam. Many of the current urban features, including open spaces and east-west connection, are the results of this movement. The Asch Van Wijckschool is one of the attempts to experiment with a new way of living, by arranging the apartments facing an interior elevated street.

Despite its initial optimism, the utopian dream has failed to live up to its expectation. The building is now running down, in fact, unattractive, in spite of its central location in the area and its unique design. The elevated street is desolated during the daytime, disconnected from the ground level. The interfaces of the apartments do not respond well to the public realm outside. Moreover, it is questionable whether the design of the individual apartment can keep up with the changing needs of its residents.

The Strategy

The following design strategy is an attempt to reimagine the Asch van Wijckschool building. Within the revised vision for Oude Westen, the building acts as the anchor project. It is located at the center of Oude Westen, surrounded by various open space; it is also the convergence point of the east-west connection. Moreover, its typology offers a potential for a unique living and working experience compared to many other buildings in the area. The positive effect created by the renovation of Asch van Wijckschool might create a ripple effect to the surrounding buildings. In this project, using flexibility strategies to renovate a building, allowing it to adapt to future fluctuations, is argued as a framework capable of attracting potential investment while reserving the existing diversity through user empowerment.