My final year project looks to the future of the post-war high-rises. Taking the Voorhof district in Delft as a case study, I have developed generally applicable architectural interventions for the sustainable renewal of tall blocks of flats. Built in many European cities in the 1960s to alleviate the housing shortage, this housing form gradually became synonymous with social segregation. It is impossible for residents to identify with its monotonous architecture and the lack of meeting places only strengthens the sense of anonymity. All the seeds of social disruption are here.

As for the immediate vicinity, I sought the solution in tackling the enormous car parks, transforming them into attractive public spaces. This I have done primarily by making them as much public squares as parking facilities and forging links between them and the surrounding neighbourhoods. Lastly, new social spaces such as playgrounds and places to sit are to encourage interaction between residents.

In the block itself, the storeys are to be approached individually. They can each be fitted out to accommodate students, families, offices or commercial companies, depending on local demand. This intervention proceeds from the standard construction of a residential tower block and is therefore applicable everywhere. The basic idea is then to stimulate a sense of community among the users by introducing shared functions and by mixing functions and dwelling types. Examples include terraces for sharing on the storeys devoted to families and a communal roof terrace accessible to all those using the building. A mix of functions is another way to encourage contact. To this end I have placed a child day care centre and a café on the ground floor and a fitness centre on the uppermost storey. The same holds for the mix of dwelling types in the building.

This project deploys a set of architectural interventions to unfurl a new, flexible approach. It offers an enduring alternative to the currently popular short-term solution which relies heavily on security cameras and fences. The principle does need expanding upon and testing further. It has to become part of a multidisciplinary response involving economists, sociologists, politicians and not least the residents themselves.

Place of education: TU Delft
Specialization: architecture
Tutors: Frank Koopman, Janneke Bierman