the INCREMENTAL house

So, Copenhagen is considered the happiest city in the world. Why? Well, I have my suspicions that it has something to do with bicycles. And they are everywhere here. One of my happiest times of this trip is being able to hop on a bike and ride around the entire city looking at neighborhoods, buildings, and whatever else may draw my attention. Of course, the city is smaller than, say, Cairo, but there is a bike culture here. During rush hour in the morning, it is bikes that are backing up in the lanes, not so much cars. It is crazy, but beautiful. And, bikes have been innovated to do many other things that cars typically do: move children, goods, and a bit of everything in between. I think a lot of this has to do with innovation and commitment from many levels of society, industry, and government. I hope we can learn from Denmark. The connection to the high price of gas is telling...

“ Christiania is a thermometer for the rest of society. It tries things out, tests them and reveals what is good and useful and what is misguided and does not work. Why not leave it alone to get on with the work, man?" -Ole Kristenson ”This is a themepark, but you have to figure out your own theme.” -Emmerik Warburg I went to Copenhagen to explore Christiana, a unique spot of resistance in the middle of the city that has continued to thrive as a ‘social experiment’ for thirty years. For more background info, see here. My first arrival into Christiana was that of a different place. As soon as cross the threshold of the formed by the old army barracks building on Prissengrade Street, and enter under the sign that says,”Welcome to Christiana,” (on the other it says, “You are now entering the EU”), something shifts. The sounds are different, the sights are different, everything is just a little different. Visually it is a little more chaotic, not too much though. The

All three of the Branner travelers were finally able to cross paths in one place. Good times for sure, and it was great to bond a little bit. Amsterdam offered plenty of places and activities to catch up, and rejuvenate a bit. Asa has since hit the olympics in beijing, and Natalia is floating around between the americas. Okay, so it was as like two months ago. But, I am slowly catching up on my blog, trust me.....

On the way from the Netherlands via Germanay on the way to Denmark , we passed a pretty rural area with large windmills everywhere. They are very elegant. I keep asking myself, why are we in the US not catching on. It is especially pertinent in light of Al Gore’s recent challenge to remove ourselves from any non renewable energy sources in 100 years. Obviously, it is a much more complex issue than I can to delve into here, but it is such a critical one. I remember a German I met in a hostel in Shanghai . He was a salesman for different wind generating technologies. And the new models that he was touting are very elegant. The blades seem to move slow enough to not cause major problems for birds. And for the aesthetic issue, I don’t get it. In fact, for me, it is actually comforting and inspiring to see such structures because it tells me something is being done. Surely, these could become profitable enough to put on agricultural land where wind is prevalent. Pe

So, I am learning a bit about the blog thing. I just found out that you can 'Follow' my blog. I know a lot of people are reading it, but don't really know who. So, if you are reading and checking it out on a somewhat regular basis, please let me know by clicking on the 'Follow this blog' link on the sidebar. Thanks!

Parkrand Wozoco Silodam One of the Dutch architecture firms doing very interesting work these days is MVRDV. Three projects in Amsterdam have drastically rethinking the form, typology, and density of housing.

Diagram courtesy of the Architect One of the projects offering greater consumer choice is the Growth Dwellings by Laura Weeber. Produced as part of the “Bouw Expo 2001” in Almere, these 37 units were commissioned to explore a new type of housing that utilized professional developers, but responded to various needs and wishes of the future owners. It was Weeber’s intention that the design would “ provide enough possibilities to compose different houses for all thinkable lifestyles, it would guarantee privacy and it would generate an architectural form that would hold the whole project together as an entity, no matter the amount of accessories the owners wish add to their house.” Each home is basically a modular design, with a base unit of three segments that can be easily added onto in the front or the back. The original siting is up to the client. The form is striking, and the arched roof ensures a strong visual and formal connection to the entire community, even after a

One of the great leaders and visionaries of the open building movement is the Dutch architect John Habraken. In 1972, he wrote a book called Supports, An Alternative to Mass Housing. In it, he railed against the post war mass housing that had consumed western Europe and much of the world. His alternative was to provide a system of Supports, which people could then infill, which would allow them to have a much greater say in the establishment of their home and community. He describes a support structure as ,” a construction which allows the provision of dwellings which can be built, altered and taken down, independently of the others.” He raises numerous other important points that I find just as important today as they were 35 years ago: “Who is to say how the living patterns of different layers of society will take place in the future? Even within the same income group there are many families and individuals with widely differing backgrounds, ambitions, and living habi

There were many interesting connections that come together in Amsterdam . One of threads that quickly became apparent to me was how squatting (and the ideals and realities they were exposing) in the 80’s and 90’s are now very intertwined with the new lifestyle of modern housing in Amsterdam . For all the information on the squats, I am deeply indebted to David Carr Smith, and his web book: Improvised Houses of Amsterdam and all the wonderful information he has unearthed and communicated. There are three buildings in which I uncovered some interesting relationships. Edelweis The first is Edelweis. This amazing industrial building is on the KMSN island and is surrounded by new buildings and housing, as this part of the Eastern Docklands development in the late 1990’s. As the shipping industry was transformed and the harbor moved to another part of the city, old industrial land was left. This beautiful building would certainly have been destroyed had squatters not occupi

An interesting part of the Dutch landscape that instantly caught my eye was the Volkstuintje . These gardening areas, which are very common to see from the trains, seemed to initially reflect some of the smaller, more chaotic shanties that develop in other parts of the world, as people search for a small space to build a small structure. The notion is similar from a formal view, but in reality fundamentally different. Since most traditional housing had been pretty dense in the cities without much individual space, these spaces allowed people to get away without really getting away. It is an extension of the home, but not physically connected. But, these spaces are highly controlled and regulated, and they cannot be built beyond a certain size, and it is prohibited to spend the night there. I found them fascinating, beautiful, and refreshing….When it comes to the built environment, the Dutch don’t play around. Most of them have sinks, wood stoves, and lounge furniture.

The Netherlands was such a stimulating exploration of architecture and the built environment. Not only are so many of the new buildings pushing the envelope and broadening the discourse on modern architecture, the quality of life there is amazing. Between the trains and bicycles (and infrastructure that beautifully supports both of these), and windmills (new ones), small population and lower densities, it offered a great alternative to the hectic and dense cities of Paris and London . And often times, the built environment is just fun as so many Dutch designers have a habit of thinking outside the box and are able to get the durn things built. In talking with a number of architects, there seem to be a number of factors that make the Netherlands such an interesting place right now in terms of the built environment. First, there has always been a very strict control and monitoring of the built environment. As with Amsterdam , the city has been able to maintain and devel