Sociological Urban Fabric

- Eliezer Yudkowsky  

Stavanger, Norway

(via Roman Hutter | a f a s i a)

VIENNA 2021

(via Andreas Gruber, Gustav Willeit · Kindergarden Enneberg · Divisare)

The Orangery at Calke Abbey

— Alan Watts

— David Harvey, The Right to the City

„Why do we build more than we need?“ is the question Dimitri Minten, Tim Vekemans and their team of RE-ST have been asking themselves for the last decade. In view of already dense cities, climate change and a dire need for resource conservation this question reaches well beyond the sphere of architecture and addresses the core question of how we want to live. With „Zwerfruimte/Wanderspace“, recently published by NAi010 Publishers, RE-ST round up ten years of research and architectural practice and object the seemingly natural growth of the total building stock. Taking the Belgian region of Flanders as backdrop the architects and contributors muse about what they call wander spaces, spaces that are both built and unbuilt, have been produced by us all and are at the same time underused. With the help of their everyday practice the architects demonstrate that the issue very much transcends the narrow space of Flanders and actually can be transposed to the world. Each chapter offers a different perspective on wander spaces and connects the topic with e.g. architectural and general history, its metaphorical appearance in everyday life or, as real-life examples, the projects of RE-ST and in this way visualizes not only the feasiblity of the reuse/ transformation of existing buildings and spaces but also the actual imperative of breaking with linear building practices. With their proposed circular building culture RE-ST instead opt for more sustainability in connection with increased livability, an approach that is not only highly welcome but virtually inescapable. „Zwerfruimte/Wanderspace“ is a very relevant, thought-provoking book that adds an intelligent, multifaceted perspective to the discourse around reuse and sustainability in architecture.

by Neyran Turan

Lees verder

Ian Kitson Landscape architect

A memorial meadow framed by an undulating boardwalk lifted above the undisturbed ground. The site is an unmarked burial ground from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

oudolf private garden by piet oudolf, via Flickr