connecting inside and outside

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birgit JürgenhakeNordic Journal of Architectural researchvolume 19, No 3, 2006, 10 pagesNordic Association for Architectural researchbirgit Jürgenhake, (dipl. ing. architect), Teacher and researcher, university of Technology delft, faculty of architecture, chair architecture dwelling

Abstract:connecting inside and outside in Time-based dwelling.This paper discusses the complex role of the façade as a mediator between private and public space. The façade performs a dual func-tion: it is the face of the residence while, at the same time, it serves as a intermediate space. A dwelling is first and foremost a place of shelter. However, men also has a physical and psychological need of the community. The façade is the element that allows the resident to choose the degree of contact he wants with the world around the dwelling. This article presents a brief overview of the layers in the façade which determine these levels of contact and which make the façade as complex as it is. some historical and recent concepts are discussed within the context of the search for new housing concepts. is it time to re-define the façade as an intermediary between indoors and outdoors and as the face towards the public domain?

Key words:shelter, private, public, intermediate space, spatial layering

Connecting Inside and Outside in Time-Based Dwelling

TOPIC:TIME-BASEDDWELLING

�0 Nordisk Arkitekturforskning 2006: 3

IntroductionDwellingisanactivitythattakesplaceinbothexteriorandinte-riorspaces.Thelinkbetweenthesespacesiscreatedbythemate-rialform.Becausedwellingbeginsoutsideandflowsgraduallyintothehouse,itisnotentirelyclearwhereanarchitectshouldbeginwhendesigningadwelling.Thepointatwhichahomecomestosurrounditsoccupantsasaplaceofprotectionisoneimportantaspectofdwellingdesign.Theskinofthedwelling,morecommonlyknownasthefaçade,andtheroof(whichcanalsobeseenasafaçade)arethepointsatwhichthetransitionfrominteriortoexterior(andviceversa)takesplace.

With their minimal façades and little spatial diversity,today’slargeresidentialareastendtogivetheimpressionthatthefaçadeisanindependentdesignobjectwithverylittlespa-tialdifferentiation.Manymoretypesofmaterialsareavail-ablenowthanwereinthepast,andarchitectsarepreparedtouseanyoftheminanattempttocreateastrikingnewlookfortheirbuildings.Onequestionremains,however:doarchi-tectsconsiderthoseaspectsofthefaçadethatcouldbeofrealvaluetotheoccupants?AccordingtoGonzales,theydonot.

Architecturehaslostthesenseofitssocialambitionandiscon-cernedwithlittlemorethandécor,awardrobe,amarketingprod-uctdesignedwithclearlyidentifiedcommercialtargetsinmind.1

Architectsareresponsiblefordesigningresidentialbuild-ings,however,anditisthereforetimetoreconsiderthefa-çadesofdwellings.

Inadditiontotheneedtore-thinkthefaçade,thethemeoftimehascometoplayaparticularlyimportantroleinthede-signofdwellings.Homesshouldbebettercapableofreactingtochangesinlifestyle.Somearchitectsrecommenddesigninglessinordertooffermore;thisadviceisparticularlyapplicabletogroundplans,whichshouldofferusersagreatdealmorefreedom.Time-baseddwellingsshouldbedesignedtooffertheiroccupantsavarietyofoptions.Re-thinkingthefaçadeinthiscontextshouldbepartofre-thinkingthedwelling.

Itispreciselybecausefaçadeshavebecomesocomplicat-edandcostlythatthoughtshouldbegiventonewdwellingconceptsthatincorporateandintegratethefaçade.Iftimesarelikelytochange,façadesmustbeabletoreact.Becausethefaçadehasbecomesuchahighlydevelopedelement,however,thisaspectofdesigncanpushthelimitsofflexibil-ity.Theconversionofafaçadeisanexpensiveproposition

andonethatisnearlyimpossibletoundertake,ashistoryhas shown. Façades must be capable of accommodatingchangesinuse(e.g.,thespatialrelocationoflivingactivi-ties)withouthavingtoberebuilt.

Themainquestionsofthisarticleareasfollows:Isthereanyrelationshipbetweentime-baseddwellingsandthefa-çadeasaskinbetweenindoorandoutdoorspace?Howcanfaçadesmediatebetweenthe interiorandexterior spacesaccordingtotheoccupant’swishes?Arechanginglifestylesgeneratingnewdemandsinthisregard?

Toinvestigatethesequestions,Iconsideranumberofas-pects.First,Iexplainthemeaningofthefaçadeanditsspa-tialsequences(Section1).Studiesabouttheenvironmentofdwellingshavehelpedtoclarifythesequencesthatextendfromthestreettotheinteriorofthedwelling(Section2).Afterabriefhistoricaloverview(Section3)Idescribeseveralprojectsthatweredesignedastime-baseddwellings(Section4)anddiscussanumberofinterestingmethodsfordesign-ingfaçades,howoccupantsusethemandhowsuchdesignshavefailedinsomeprojects.Iconcludebyaddressingthequestionofhowarchitectscancontributetothethemeoftime-baseddwellingthroughthedesignoffaçades.

�. The façade and its spatial sequencesCloserconsiderationofthefacaderevealsavarietyoffunc-tions.First,thefaçadeisthefaceofabuildingand,aswithanyface,itsaestheticfeaturesareimportant.Afaçade,how-ever,alsoactsasaphysicalfilter(i.e.,acomplexregulatorysystemtomaketheinsideofthebuildingcomfortable)andasocialfilter.Asuccessfuldwellingallowsitsoccupantstoregulateitspsychologicalandsocialfunctions.Thiscombi-nationofaesthetic,physicalandsocialfunctionsmakesthestudyoffaçadesacomplexendeavourthatrequiresbothsociologicalandarchitecturalinsight.

Inthisarticle,therefore,Idistinguishbetweenthefaçadeasa face,aphysicalfilteranda socialfilter,with specialreferencetothesocial-filterfunction.Ifocusonthespatiallayeringandsequencesthatcanbefoundinfaçades,em-phasizingtheirsignificanceinnewconceptsfordwellings.

Layeringinafaçadeinvolvestheadditionofseveralma-teriallayers,relativelyclosetoeachother,toformasingleelement.Inprimitivesocieties,peoplefashionedwallsfortheirdwellingsfromwovenclothandmats(Semper1851,DieVierElementeDerBaukunst,p.57).Later,whenthese

��birgit Jürgenhake: connecting inside and outside in Time-based dwelling

protectiveelementswerereplacedbysolidwalls,thewovenstructurescontinuedtoformanimportantlayer.Theyre-mainedasdecorativeelements,whichwereplacedinfrontofsolidwallsoraspatternspaintedontowalls.Oneresultofthisshiftinmaterialisthattheoriginalclothwallbecameanartificialwall,adecoration(Semper1851).Thisisoneofthefirstexamplesoflayeringwithinanenclosure.

Layeringismorecomplexinmodern-dayarchitecture.Architecturallayeringcanoccurineveryspatialdimension.ThecladdingthatisdescribedbySemperisaspecialkindoflayering,whichreflectsthehistoryoftextilesinwalls.Thelayersinthiscontextareflatelementsthathelptodemar-catespace.Horizontalandverticallayerscanalsoappearalongsideeachother.Architecturallayering,however,cov-ersamuchbroaderspectrum,asitcanalsobeunderstoodinspatialterms.AccordingtoA.C.Schultz,‘Layeringlivesbythepluralityofthesingleelementsandtheirreactiontoeachother’2.Schultz identifies twotypesofarchitecturallayering:material layering (asdefinedabove)and spatiallayering,inwhichdifferentspacesandzones,horizontallyorverticallyadjacentoroverlapping,createanoverallim-

pressionthat ischaracterizedbydepth,dynamismortrans-parency.Althoughspatiallay-ering is applied primarily tointernalspaces,itcanalsobeused in façades, along withmateriallayering.

AsanalysedbyFrancoFo-natti, the Giuliani-FrigerioHouseofTerragniisaclassicexampleofhowspatiallayer-ing can be used in a façade.Thefaçadeisanadditionthatis comprisedofanumberofdifferentlayers.Fonattiiden-tifiesfour:thefirstisthemetalframeon theoutside,whichcreatestheparapetwalls;thesecond layer is comprised ofthebalconies; the third con-sists of the permeable wall;thefourthisformedbywin-dows, sunscreensandsimilar

integratedoraddedelements.Thesematerial layers,andthespaces inbetweenthem,createa senseofdepth.Anobservermustlooktwicetounderstandthis.Thelayersof-fera transitionbetween insideandoutside,betweenthepublicandprivatespaces.Theycanbeseenasacriterionfordesigningandconsideringfaçades.

Spatial layering ina façadecreates sequences (i.e., ar-rangements of spaces, one after another or one next toanother),whichofferresidentsmanyoptionsforusinganenclosure.

Studiesofdwellingsthroughouthistoryhaveshownthatspatiallayeringhasnotalwaysbeenadesigntoolforthefaçadesofdwellings.Façadeshavefluctuatedcontinually(andstilldo)betweenthedesignofamonolithicshellandthatofaspatiallylayeredcocoonthatoffersthissequenceofdifferentspaces.Thesetwoaspectsofdesignhavebecomeatopicofdiscussioninrecentyears.

PeterFaller, aGermanarchitectwho studied thehis-toricaldevelopmentofthedwellingandcompareditwithtime-based concepts, is quite critical of current façadedesign.WithregardtotheconceptsoftheAustrianarchi-tectsRieglerandRiewe,whoclaimtodeveloptime-baseddwellings,Fallerremarksthatthesehouseshavenoexternalspace,notevenaterraceorpatioonthebasement.Fallerbelievesthatpeopledonotwanttobeconfinedwithintheirhomestothisextent.(Faller2002,p.258)

1: franco fonatti: Analysis of the giuliano-frigerio building by g. Terragni

2: Photograph of the giuliano-frigerio building

3: riegler-riewe floor plan in strassgang

4: The façade of strassgang

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Dopeopleinthe21stcenturyreallywanttheirhomestohavesuchspacesasanin-between?AccordingtoPeterSloterdijk

Peoplecreateatmospherebypressingeachother,comingtooclosetoeachother.Youmayneverforgetthatwhatwecallsocietyincludesthephenomenonoftheunwelcomeneigh-bour.…Youshouldwriteinpraiseofisolation.Thiswouldworkonadimensionofthecommunitythatacceptsthatpeoplehaveanever-endingdesireofnon-communication.3

Nowthatsocietyhasbecomesoindividualistic,doweper-hapsneeddwellingsthatareevenmoreeffectiveinisolatingtheiroccupantsfromtheoutsideworld?

Answeringthisquestionrequiresaskingtheoccupantsthemselves.Thisisadifficulttask,anditprovideslittlein-formationaboutthedesiresofoccupantsinthefuture.Onesteptowardsfindingananswer,however,istolearnmoreaboutthevarioussequencesthatextendfromstreettotheinteriorofthehome.MachielvanDorsthasconductedex-tensiveresearchonthedirect livingenvironmentanditsinfluenceonthebehaviourofresidents.

�. Connecting inside and outsideAsarguedbyvanDorst,whohasdevotedagreatdealofresearchtothebuiltenvironment,

Theoccupant’sneedtointeractwithhislivingenvironmentdependsonhowhefeelsorwhatheisdoingatthetime.Adwellingwithinterfacesthatmovefromprivatetopublicscenariosenableshimtoregulatethisinteraction.4

VanDorstsummarizesanumberoffundamentallawsforhumans and their environment (Dorst 2005, p.85). Themostimportantareasfollows:

oHumansconstantlywanttobeabletointerveneintheirenvironment;oHumansstrivetoattaintheirownterritory;oHumansneedcontactwiththenaturalenvironment.

Inanenvironmentalstudy,vanDorstidentifiedanumberof‘privacyzones’thatcreatetransitionsfrompublictoprivate(2005,p.123).Thesezonesarenotalwaysclear-cutorimmedi-atelyrecognizableinspatialterms,buttheyareimplicitlypres-entfortheoccupant.

Itisimportanttonotethatprivacyzonesdonotactsolelyasbarriers;theymustalsoinvitecontactwiththeoutsideworld.VanDorstnoticedthat,whenbasicsecurityisnotguaranteedinresidentialareas,peoplearemorelikelytocreatebarriers,thuslimitingsocialinteraction.Security,inturn,iscloselyre-latedtotheideaofterritory.Peoplefeelaneedtostakeouttheirown‘patches’(Altman1975p.112-120).ThisaspectwasparticularlyprominentinvanDorst’sresearchonneighbour-hoodliveability.AccordingtovanDorst,ifterritorialbordersarereadable,peoplewillmakemuchmoreuseofthezonesinfrontoftheirhousesorapartmentsthantheywouldiftheseboundariesarenotreadable(Dorst2005p.130).Unfortunate-ly,therearenocleardefinitionsfortheconceptofaborderorofitsreadability.

Inastudyof‘livingbetweenhouses’,JanGehlmentionsanumberofelementsthatfunctionasthresholdsandothersthatinviteinteraction(Gehl1978p.50).Theboundarybetweenthetwoisfragile.Largehorizontalandverticaldistancesserveasnatural barriers.Barriers can alsobeperceived in elementsthatarenottransparentandaretoohightolookover.Shortdistancescaninviteinteraction,ascanbenchesorsimilarele-mentsthatareplacedinacommunalorsemi-privatezone.Thenextsectionprovidesanexampleinwhichthewalkwayaccessinahousingprojectinthe1960sproveddisastrous,asnospace

Privacy zones

Public Collectiveoutsidethebuilding

Collectiveinsidethebuilding

Semi-private Privateoutside Privateinside

Street/pavementpublicsquare

DrivewayPavementwithkerbCommunalpark/garden

StairWalkwayCommunalspace

Benchonwalk-waybesidethefrontdoorBenchonpave-ment

EnclosedfrontgardenBalconyPorch

Thedwelling

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wasleftfortheoccupantstoannex,andbecausetheyweretoosmallandtoolong.Peoplefeltanonymous.Twolessonsfromthisexamplearethattheavailabilityofspaceisimportantandthatsuchspaceshouldbevisible.Theawarenessthatsuchele-mentsshouldbeusedintherightwayinordertoachieveasocialzonebetweeninsideandoutsideisalsoimportant.

Takentogether,thestudiesthatarecitedabovesuggestthattransitionsfrompublictoprivateareimportant.Theexactap-pearanceofsequencesisnotdefined;althoughtherearehun-dredsofpossibilities,clearboundariesarenecessary.Oneim-portantdimensioninvolvesofferingresidentspossibilitiesforintervening,changingorusing.Astheenvelopeofthehouse,thefaçadethusmakesitsowncontributiontothiszoneofprivacy.Examplesofhowfaçadeshavebeenintegratedwiththeneedsofpeopleandtheirownkindsofinterventionareinterestinginthisregard,asareexamplesofthedurabilityofsuchfaçades.

Ashistoryclearlyshows,peoplelivebothwithandinfa-çades.Theywishtoexercisecontroloverthistransitionandtheircontactwiththeenvironmentjustasmuchastheywishtocontrolthelight,airandtemperatureintheirhomes.

�. Dwelling concepts and the façade throughout history Thefollowingexamplesarenotintendedtoprovideacompre-hensiveoverviewofthefaçadethroughouthistory.Myintentisrathertoconsiderafewstrikingexamplesoffaçadesandtheircon-tributionstothetransitionfrompublictoprivateinrelationtothediscussionabouttime.Idiscussanumberofexamplesofamoredifferentiatedapproachtofaçadesandstrongerindoor-outdoorties,inadditiontoexamplesofalessdifferentiatedapproach.

OnestrikingexampleisthePlace Royale,whichwasbuiltinParisin1607.Thisfaçadedoesnothaveverymanyspatialse-quences.Itisoneofthefirstmonumentalresidentialcomplexestobedesignedspecificallytocreateanurbanspace.Thefaçade,whichisregardedasacommunalamenity,wasapre-definedele-menttowhicharchitectswererequiredtoadherestrictly.Perhapsthemostfascinatingfeatureaboutthisfaçadeisthatitremainedinplacefornearlyfourhundredyears,evenasthefunctionsandusageschangedbehindthescenes.Inthisrespect,thePlace Royalecanbeseenasaperfectmodelfortime-baseddwellings.

Astudyoftheensembleasawholerevealsthatthefaçadehasdevelopedveryuniformly.Allofthewindows,whichoverlookboththeyardandthesquare,arelargeFrenchwin-dows,neutralandverybeautiful.Uniformwrought-ironbalustradesontheexteriorhavetheeffectofsmallbaskets

andareverytransparent.Anabundance of transparency(e.g., allof theopenings aredoors)isusedtoachievethetransformation from publictoprivate.Inearliertimes,oc-cupantscouldwatchthecer-emoniesthattookplaceinthesquare,evenasthepublicob-servedtheoccupantsfromthesquare.Thedepthofthewin-downichesprovidesenoughspaceforonetostandintheopening and to fit interiorwindowsorcurtains.Becausethereislittlespatialdepth,in-dividualresidentsareabletointervene in their ownpartsoftheenvelope.Thefaçadeissufficientlyneutralforapart-ments, hotels and offices tobe easily secured behind it.The limits in this case arequiteclear:thearcadesonthe

groundfloor,whichareindeedpartofthebuilding,donotbelongtotheresidentsbuttothebusinesses.Theresidentshaveaninformalyardattherear,wheretheentrancetotheapartmentsislocated.

Insomerespects,thisexamplesuggeststhatsequencesandspaceswithinthefaçadecanbeverylimited,andthattheneutralityof theenvelope is thekeytoatime-baseddwelling.While thisdesigndoesoffer considerable free-domforvarioususagesbehindit,weshouldnotforgetthatthisfaçadewasasettingforthePlaceRoyale.Thebackyardofthehouseprovidedthespaceinwhichresidentscouldengageintheactivityofdwellingoutsidewithoutshowingthemselvestothepublic.Inthisrespect,itisimportanttoconsiderotherexamplestodevelopabroaderimpression.

Incontrasttothemonumentalresidentialbuildingsofthe17thand18thcenturies,thehousingofthe19thcenturyleftlittlescopeforaestheticisminspatialsequencesfrominsidetooutside.ThehousingblockintheSpangenareaofRotterdam(designedbyBrinkmanin1919)isanexampleofhowfunctionalismdoesnotnecessarilyleadtoextremely

birgit Jürgenhake: connecting inside and outside in Time-based dwelling

5: Place Royale.

6: façade of the Place Royale


austere housing design. This example illustrates how, asalayerofthefaçade,awalkwaycansupportthe‘flow’oflivingfromoutsidetoinside,andviceversa.Thisprojectrepresentsthefirsttimethatagallerywasbuiltwiththeintentionofbeingastreet,aspacetobeusedcollectively.Atthetimethatitwasbuilt,thestreetwaswideenoughtobetravelledbymilk-deliverywagons.Althoughthesmallprivate balconies of the apartments face this side of thecommunalareaaswell,theyareonotherstoreys,sothattheresidentscandecideforthemselveswhethertheywishtositdirectlyinthecorridorortohavemoreprivacywhilemaintainingcontactwiththecommunalyard.Thegalleryisnotanonymous,asitprovideshangingbasketsinwhichresidentscangrowplants,therebyannexingapartofthegalleryforthemselves.Theentirecomplexwas(andis)thusclosedofffromtherestofthequarter.Thisinturnallowstheresidentstofeelthatthegalleryis,ineffect,theirownprivatestreet.ThiscorrespondscloselytovanDorst’sobser-vationthatopennesstotheoutsidearearequiresatleastabasiclevelofsecurity.Thenextexampleinvolvesawalkwaythatdidnotalwaysmeetthisrequirement.

Thewalkwayaccesstotheubiquitoushigh-riseflatsthatap-pearedthroughoutthe1960sproveddisastrous,leadingtohighlevelsofvandalismandneglect.Suchwalkwayswereminimalandallowednospaceforbenchesorplants.Peoplefeltanonymous.Entirehousingblocks transformed intounpleasantandunsafeareas,andpeoplemovedout.Anin-ternationaldebatearosearoundthelossof(traditionally)humanstylesofliving.Spatialdifferentiationinthefaçadebecameamajorissue.Walkwaysshouldserveasmeetingplacesaswellasameansofaccess,andshouldhavethesame

function as pavements. Balconies, protuberances or ter-raceswereexpectedtocreateasenseofdepthand,asintheotherexamples,tooffersocialcontactzones.Newthemesof‘humanhousing’wereforgedintheworldofarchitec-ture, includingatmosphere,variation, individualismandsmall-scaleconstruction.

ExamplesofhumanhousingcanbefoundalloverEu-rope; some are characterized by participation and oth-ers by mixed functions. TheHaarlemmer Houttuinen arean illustrative example. Thisdevelopment was designedbyHermanHertzberger,whobuiltvarioushousingprojectsin which spatial sequencesweredominantinthefaçade.Intheseprojects,thesupportstructure served as an inde-pendentbasisforcreatingbal-coniesoraccesszones.Thebalustradeswerealsoindepen-dentlayersthathadenoughdepthforflowerboxes.TheselayersareclearlyobservableintheHaarlemmer Houttuinenproject,whichwasbuilt in the 1980s.Similar sequencescanbefoundamongthestructuresofsubsequentdecades,althoughthelaterhousingprojectstendedtowardsasim-plerarchitecturalquality.Simplificationcausedadeclineinspatialdifferentiationinfaçades,evenasitintroducedtransparencywithoutmanyspatialsequences.

IntheCityBuilding,whichwasconstructedinRotterdamin2003,thewideuseofglasscancels out any differentia-tion in the glass façade. Therelationship between insideand outside is purely visual.Theresidentialfunctionisnolonger immediately obviousto the observer. Indeed, thebuilding looks more like anoffice.Thisexampleraisesthequestionofwhetheranindi-vidualisticsocietyneedssuchaneutral,adaptableboxtoinwhichtolive.Investigatorsarebecomingincreasinglyawareofthetimefactorandthe(possibly)differentdesiresoffu-

7: 1919 brinkman, spangen (rotterdam)

8: 1980-82 Hertzberger, Haarlem-mer Houttuinen in Amsterdam

9: rotterdam. city building, 2003, arch. bosch

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tureoccupants.Time-baseddwellingshavebecomearecentthemefordiscussion.Themainquestionwithregardtothefaçadeagainconcernshowarchitectscancontributetothethemeoftime-baseddwellingwhendesigningfaçades.

�. Designing time-based dwellings Howcanaflexible,adaptablebuildingstylebeachieved?Thefollowingparagraphsdiscussanumberofexamples.Structuresthataredesignedtohavebothpermanentandvariablecomponentsinordertoachievesomelevelofflex-ibilityareapparentlythemostcommondesignfortime-baseddwellings.

TheblockofflatsthatweredesignedbyADParchitectsintheHellmutstrasseinZurichhasafixedstructureofsup-portingwalls.Theservicesarelocatedwithinthetransparentcoreofthebuilding;additionalspaceswithinthiszonecanbeusedforsuchelementsasglassscreensandextradoors.

Theroomsarepolyvalent.Theflatshaveawalkway-typeac-cess.Becausebothofthetwomain façades are orientatedtowardssmallstreets,thereisreallynofrontorbackgardensite.Althoughthewalkwayisusedbysixfamilies,thetran-sitionfromoutsidetoinside,

frompublictoprivate,isgradual.Thisfaçadehasfourlay-ers.Thefirstconsistsofacomplexsetofmetalbalustradesforthewalkway/balcony.Thesecondlayerisformedbythewalkwayitself,andthethirdconsistsofpermeablestonewalls.Thefourthlayerismadeupofthedoorsandwin-

dows.ThemaindifferencebetweenthisandtheStrassgangproject(discussedinSection2)isthedepthofthelayeringthatismadebythewalkway,whichcanbeannexedbyeachhouseholdasaprivateareaintheoutdoorspace.Thiswalk-wayisregardedasasemi-privatezone.Becauseeachdwell-ingalsohasitsownbalcony,residentscanchoosewhethertheywantcontactwiththeoutsideworldornot.Interest-ingly,theotherfaçadeisquiteneutral,involvingatypeofglassdoorsandbalustradestocreateFrenchbalconiesthatalsoofferachoicebetweenwatchingandbeingwatched.

The‘NewAustralia’projectthatwasrecentlydeliveredinAmsterdambyDKVarchitectsreactstotheoutsideinacomparableway,butitachievesacertaindegreeofflexibilityinadifferentway.Tocreatefreefloorplans,thearchitectde-signedapartmentsinwhichtheservicecoresarepositionedinthefaçade.Adoublefloormakesitpossibletoconnecttheinteriorplumbingtotheservicecore.Residentsacquireemptyrooms.Thisfaçadewiththeservicecoreisrelativelyclosetothewalkwaythatrunsinfrontofit.Theinside-out-sidetransitiononthisside–whichisalsotheprivateside(thereisacommongarden)–occurswithinatwo-metrezone,whichcanbeusedasaprivatebalconyinadditiontothewalkway.Themainfaçades,whichareorientedtowardstheneighbourhood,arenotactuallythewalkwayfaçades;theyarethefaçadesoftheflexiblerooms,whichareveryneutral.LikethePlaceRoyaleinParis,wherethecommonfaçadeprovidesfreedomforthedwellingsbehindit,thesefaçadesshowminimalbutusefulspatiallayeringbyusingdoorsinplaceofwindowswithbalustersinfrontofthemthroughouttheproject.

The examples that havebeen described above showthat the transition from theinsidetotheoutsidedoesnotnecessarily need to occupymuchdepth.OneimportantfeatureoftheneutralFrenchbalconiesisthattheyaresitu-atedwithinaneighbourhoodinwhichwatchingisconsideredinterestingandinwhichtalkingtopeopleonthestreetispossible.ThefactthatthisisnotalwaysthesamesituationisshownbytheexampleoftheRieglerandRieweprojectinStrassgang,Austria(asdescribedabove).Thedwellingsarestackedintoslabswith


10: The floor plan of Hellmutstrasse in Zurich, AdP arch

11: The hybrid zone of the walkways

12: dkv (2005), New Australia, Amsterdam


somesmallpublicgreeneryonbothsidesandastreetonone side.Thetwomain facadesare identical.Theyhavethreedifferentmateriallayers:themetalrailswiththeslid-ingmetalpanels,whichfunctionassunscreensorprivacybaffle;thepermeableconcretewallsandthewindows;andaparapetwallinfrontofthem.Thismateriallayeringcouldnotbeflatter.Access isprovidedbyone staircase for sixdwellings–again,thebareminimum.Theobserverseesaveryintrovertedbuildingwithasomewhatflexibleelementasametaphorfortheadaptabilityoftherooms.Residentsarenotabletostandeitherinoroutsideofthefaçade,andthereisnotmuchtowatch.

ThegraduationprojectthatwasdesignedbyVincentdeBruijnat theUniversityofDelft (2006)was inspiredbyNewAustralia,butitoffersevenmorefreedom.Theser-vicecoresarepositionedwithinthefaçade,whichcoverstheload-bearingstructureaswell,andadoubleceilingcon-nectstheplumbingtothisservicecore.Thefloorplanisfreeof load-bearingwalls,whichnormallydividespaces intounits.Inthisway,thearchitectoffersanenormousnum-berofsquaremetresthatcanbecomedwellings,ahoteloranofficeattheend.Theservicecoresandthestructureofcolumnsdividethefaçadeintoapatternofequalzones,allofwhichhavethesamedepth.Thisdepthisusedtocreatedifferentoutsidespaces.Allofthefaçadesofferapatternofdifferingspacesinjuxtapositiontoeachother:asmallbalconywith a glass or concrete protrusionor aFrenchbalcony.Mostresidentshavesomeorallofthesefeatures,

whichgivesthemchoices.Thissystemismaintainedevenforspacesinwhichtherearewalkways,offeringspacesthatcanbeannexedbyresidents.Whenconvertingdwellingsintooffices,thewindowareacanalsobeusedforadvertise-ment.Thefaçadeoffersavarietyoftransitionsandtellsthestoryoftheblock–amultifunctionalbuilding.

ThefinalexampleisanillustrationoftheOpenBuildingapproach,whichwasdevelopedinthe1960sbyJohnHab-raken.Thisapproachdeploysaframe-and-infillset-upthatoffersresidentsthefreedomtoshapetheirownhomes.Theexperimentalphaseforthisapproachiscomplete,andex-amplesinJapan,FinlandandtheNetherlandsshowthatitworksandisstillrelevant.TheNext21projectinOsakawas built according to thebasic support-infill principle.Thearchitectdesignedfaçadeelementsthatcanbeeasilymovedaroundtoconvertinternalspaceintoexternalspace,and vice versa. Individual residents decide whether andwheretheyneedterracesandannexes,usingtheexternalspaceforthesepurposes.Thiscreatesexcitingspatialper-spectives;moreexcitingly,theultimateformofthedwellingistrulythebrainchildoftheresident.Thisprojectagree-

13: isometrics of one apartment

14: fragment of the facade 1:50

15: facade 1:200

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ablycombinestheconceptoftime-baseddwellingwiththeaddedbenefitofavariablein-termediatezone.Inaddition,thepermanentdecorativeele-mentsallowthefaçadetora-diateunitydespiteitsvariety.

Taken together, these ex-amples of dwellings that where designed as time-baseddwellingsdemonstratehowtransitionsfrominsidetoout-side(andviceversa)canbeaccomplishedinverydifferentways.Inmostoftheexamples,thefaçadesreflectthefree-domthatthearchitectoffersinthefloorplan.Thisreactiondiffers,however,asdoesthegradeoflivingwithandeveninthefaçade.

�. ConclusionIntheintroductiontothisarticle,Iaskedhowarchitectscouldcontributetothethemeoftime-baseddwellingwhendesigningfaçades.

Thehistoricalexamplesthatarereportedinthispaperandtheanalysisofseveraltime-basedhousingprojectsbothconfirmtheimportanceofthefaçadeasatransitionzonebetweeninteriorandexterior.Thishybridzonehasbeentreatedverydifferentlyindifferentperiods.Althoughmoreresearchisnecessary,onetentativeconclusionisthatinsuf-ficientattentiontothefaçade(asillustratedintherecentpastbytheminimal,anonymouswalkwaysofthehigh-riseflats)canseriouslydecreasetheuser-friendlinessofdwell-ings,anditcanleadtohighlevelsofvandalismandne-glect.

The results of sociological studies suggest that transi-tionsfrompublictoprivateareimportant,butrequireclearboundaries.Oneimportantconsiderationinthisregardistheneedtoofferavarietyofpossibilitiesforintervening,changingorusing.Buildingsthataredesignedinconsid-erationofthishumanneedcanbeexpectedtohavealonglifededicatedtodwelling,fromthestreetintothehouse,accordingtovanDorst’snotionofsustainability.Inotherwords,theterm‘time-baseddwelling’canbeappliedtoamuchwiderspectrum.Amonolithicfaçadethathasnospa-tialsequencesatallcannotofferthesepossibilities.

Afaçadeshouldthereforeofferresidentsavarietyofus-ageoptions(withoutmajorintervention)thatallowtheac-

tivityofdwellingtoextendfrominsidetooutside(andviceversa);itshouldalsomeettheneedthathumanshavetowithdrawfromtheworld.Afaçadethatisdesignedtooffertheseoptionstoitsuserswillnotfallvictimtothetimefac-tor.Designingtime-baseddwellingsrequiresarchitectstodesignfaçadesinadifferent,moreconsciousway.

Notes1 GonzalesX.(2004)Barbie’snewclothes.DensityIV-Densi-

dadIVp.2752 Schultz,A,-C.(1999)‘DerSchichtungsprozessimWerkvon

CarloScarpa’,DissertationTUStuttgartp.53 SloterdijkP.(2004).Archplus169/170.Journalofarchitecture

andtownplanning,p.224 DorstMachielvan(2005)Eenduurzaamleefbarewoonom-

geving,dissertationTUDelft

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connecting inside and outside

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