Open House International

Wilkinson, Nicholas

2005 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-01-2005-B0001

This first issue of 2005 contains a selection of some articles from the recent Open Building conference on Sustainable Environment held in Paris at the CSTB headquarters in September 2004. This issue signals the start of the regular publication of material dealing with Open Building projects either as additional articles in theme issues or as full open building issues twice a year. After more than thirty five years of experience Open Building is a recognizable part of mainstream Architecture in housing and in health care and renovation projects found in many different countries of the world. Open Building projects in general show how users are indispensable decision makers in the design process and act as forces of change and adaptability over time.

Kendall, Stephen

2005 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-01-2005-B0002

With new urgency, governments, private corporations and institutions and private citizens are demanding sustainable new construction, regenerative neighborhoods and building adaptation rather than demolition. These demands are voiced in respect to both immediate and long−term community and individual values and aspirations.

Habraken, N. John

2005 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-01-2005-B0003

In Januari 1699 Jules Hardouin Mansart, Superintendent of Buildings and “Premier Architecte” to Louis-le-Grand, king of France, put his signature to the design for what we now know as the Place Vendome. (fig.1) His design included a monumental façade wall of exquisite proportions in the neo−classical manner. The square, including the façade wall, was subsequently built by the city of Paris on request of the King. But no buildings were behind the façade. The land behind was for sale. In the next decade noblemen, bankers, tax farmers, and other prominent and wealthy citizens who served the king in various administrative and financial functions built their houses there with their own architects. These buildings kept changing and adapting over time. But the façade as Mansart built it is still what we see today.

Geiser, Stefan

2005 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-01-2005-B0004

The west surgery wing of the University Hospital “Insel” in Bern, which was completed in 1971, no longer meets operational requirements. A decision was made in 1995 that it must be completely renovated. The INO renovation project embraces in particular the Intensive care, Emergency and Surgery Centre. The Building Department of the Canton of Bern, which is responsible for overseeing construction work on the Insel hospital, is pursuing an open building method for the INO project to ensure that the “serviced structure” of the building (with main utility infrastructure) will continue to be highly adaptable, and that the components of the building are interchangeable and reusable. Building sections with differing service lives and designated purposes are therefore kept consistently separate in the planning and execution phases. The use of separate (discrete) systems anticipates the long-term life cycle of the building, and thus safeguards its value in terms of future use. Work is divided into discrete system levels: the primary system (building shell) is designed for a service life of 50 to 100 years, the secondary system (fit-out) for 15 to 50 years and the tertiary system (hospital equipment) for 5 to 15 years.The project is currently in the execution phase and is being developed in three stages. The 1st stage, the primary system, was completed at the end of 2002, the other stages have not yet been implemented. The 1st stage of the INO project is to go into operation by 2006 and the 2nd stage by 2009.

Martin-Chavez, Andrea; Andrade, Jorge

2005 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-01-2005-B0005

An International Competition of Architecture, Urban Development and Sustainable Housing, was held in Mexico in 2001. The aim of the contest was to create a vanguard and imaginative urban and architectural design that could accommodate the local regulation, the concept of sustainability and bioclimatic design. The proposed site is located within Guanajuato city’s peripheryFrom a critic review of the finalist projects we concluded that although they were very innovative in bioclimatic design they maintained the concept of prototype at the unit level and groups of prototypes layout in the plot at the urban level. We decided to take the same theme as an academic exercise for the following reasons:The opportunity to design under the same rules but changing the concept of a traditional mass housing complex to a slice of city that transforms itself in time with incremental dwellings.The city of Guanajuato is a colonial city very important for its history, cultural activity and architecture. The urban layout adapts to its rugged surface, which is very similar to the one of the given site.The contest program had a similar objective to that of the academic program of the last year of architecture in our University.From the analysis of Guanajuato City thematic and non thematic elements of the urban tissue and with the aid of the Tissue Model method, students made the urban proposals. The unit proposals were designed with Open Building in mind instead of designing the required prototypes.This article will focus on the tissue model methodology applied, first to formulate the tissue characteristics of downtown Guanajuato, then to develop the urban layout of the new housing complex and finally to develop the agreement documents for the urban design. Some examples of different final urban and support design will be given.

Beisi, Jia

2005 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-01-2005-B0006

Each person in Hong Kong produces three times more waste than that of Singapore. This is because a large portion of the waste in Hong Kong is from the construction sector. Re-decoration work carried out by dwellers in Hong Kong is one of the major sources of the construction and demolition waste. Development of flexible reusable infill systems with high recycling potential is significant. A number of these systems are currently used, mainly in public and commercial buildings. They may have potential to be applied in residential buildings in the future.This paper starts with an introduction to the infill systems applied in open building history. It then points out the need to investigate the development of infill processes by integrating infill products available in the market. The paper further introduces current open building studies on reusability of infill systems and addresses the problem that there is a lack of quantitative information on embodied energy and other environmental impacts of infill systems.In the methodology section the paper describes five types of partition walls selected, ranging from low flexibility to high flexibility. Applying an evaluation model for environmental impact, the paper analyzes embodied energy intensity, and environmental impacts of each partition systems in two simulated situations. One is in a two room unit of a public housing prototype and the other is in private apartment. It concludes that partition walls with higher flexibility are highly intensive in their embodied energy. In other environmental impacts, especially recycling potential, flexible partition wall panels exceed that of conventional block-work partitions. The study will enable more complete information to be obtained concerning the environmental impact of infill components and will assist architects and other building professional wisely apply open building design concepts.

Koester, Robert J.

2005 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-01-2005-B0007

This paper addresses opportunities available for meeting sustainability objectives in building construction by using the conceptual alignments of Open Building and LEED™ Rating. These two systems utilize hierarchical, scalar categorizations to structure issues of design as a set of nested constructs and function as methodologies for affecting both problem definition and the management of strategic design process.Each system addresses the distribution of control in the design decision−making process as a positioning of decisions in space and time. Establishing the correlation of the two systems can facilitate the conversation among all participants involved in the origination, construction, use, and management of buildings−and their systems−as they seek to assure the sustainability of what they design, build, and use.

Leupen, Bernard

2005 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-01-2005-B0008

Houses have an average life span of about a hundred years, whereas households and habitats can change radically and repeatedly during that time. Consequently house designers are faced with the task of giving form to a shelter for dwelling for a period during which the composition of the household and the associated spatial rituals will go through major changes.Taking not the changeable but the permanent as a departure−point opens up new perspectives. The permanent, or durable component of the house, constitutes the frame within which change can take place. This frame defines the space for change. The frame itself is specific and has qualities that determine the architecture for a long period of time. The space inside the frame is general, its use unspecified; this space I have called generic space.In this sense the frame frees other parts of a building. Take, for example, the loadbearing column. It relieves the wall from acting in a loadbearing capacity, it frees the wall. A notion essential to the frame ’s functioning is that of disconnection. The column can free the wall by virtue of the fact that wall and column are not inextricably linked.A building can be separated up into a number of layers that together defines the building as a whole. Accordingly, the building can be regarded as a composition assembled from these layers. Each layer is distinguished from the others by the special role it fulfils. In the frame concept it is assumed that every layer may in principle serve as a frame. Basing my information on texts by Laugier, Semper, Loos, Duffy and Brand, I have made a distinction between the following five layers:Main loadbearing structureSkinSceneryService elementsAccessIn principle I distinguish three categories of changeability: the alterable, the extendable and the polyvalent. These three forms of changeability can be linked with three types of generic space. Should the generic space contain a layer that can be changed then we may describe it as alterable. Should the generic space not be bordered on all sides then it is a question of extendibility. Should the generic space contain no other layers while the generic space invites different uses through its form and dimensions, then we have polyvalence.To explore my concept, I present an overview of every imaginable combination of layers. This catalogue of frames is then divided among four distinct series of combinations. The basic combinations and the combination series, constitute the tools for designing houses that proceed from the frame concept. It was the intention of this study to develop the frame concept and the body of concepts attendant on it. Building upon its predecessors, I developed a stimulating resource for anyone involved in designing houses that are able to accommodate change. The potentials and limitations of the frame concept can be further explored as designing proceeds.

Vink, Jacques

2005 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-01-2005-B0009

Flex−buildings are buildings which are literally designed to change. A flex−building must be able to accept different infills and its users must be able to easily adapt their surroundings.Flexibility is defined as the capacity of a building to undergo modifications and accept changes of function with limited structural interventions. More than 40% of the activities housed in a flex building can continue to function during modification.Studies into flex−buildings (commissioned by the Dutch Government) have elicited a number of insights. These are not hard−and−fast conclusions but more in the region of statements and reminders for those involved with flex−buildings.These studies show that it takes more than civil engineering to successfully realise such buildings. Aspects of use and management are at least as important. Besides, it requires designers who are willing to let go of their design after it is finished. For the result is not a completed ‘architectural’ product but a continually changing object.Following insights (among others) will be illustrated with built and unbuilt projects in the Netherlands.The façade design, for example, figures prominently in designing flexible buildings. It makes special demands on the design’s presentation during the design process, as the building can assume different appearances over time. The double facade is a promising concept that allows for expressive and/or open facades in flexible buildings. It can also help to reduce a building’s energy consumption.Also by deliberately incorporating excessive space and construction a building has the necessary leeway to accommodate future developments. A building’s flexibility is enhanced by oversize in structure as well as space.A big multi−use building in Rotterdam (H. A. Maaskant / W. van Tijen (1951)) and recent projects of RUIMTELAB are presented as case−studies. These are an inspiration for architects and planners looking for design tools to help achieve an open architecture.

Osman, Amira; Lemmer, Catherine

2005 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-01-2005-B0010

The Department of Architecture at the University of Pretoria is working in the South African housing context while gaining knowledge of such issues worldwide. Various innovations are being carried out in terms of housing design and delivery methods in South Africa. Through a methodical approach to design, it is believed that future architects will be able to answer to contextual needs without compromising the high standard of design expected by the Department.This paper evaluates an exercise in open building principles, carried out in 2003, with post−graduate architecture and interior architecture students at the University. The focus was the application of open building principles from the urban design level to that of the building and the residential units. It involved the design of social housing and the upgrading of existing workers’ hostels into family units as well as the provision of social amenities. Students were to design various types of housing, showing alternative ways of ‘living’ and study housing in the area. The project involved close interaction with community representatives.The area of study was located in Soshanguve, a township with predominantly black inhabitants, situated to the northwest of Pretoria. The previous political dispensation designated specific areas on the outskirts of the city as locations for black migrant workers, known as townships. Subsequently these townships have become cities in themselves, housing a large portion of the total population of Pretoria. It is here that there is a need for urban development and social housing.Soshanguve offered an excellent opportunity for learning and the dissemination of good design principles in housing design. A debate on the relevance of open building to South Africa has been initiated. It is concluded that open building systems are an effective tool to achieve diversity and can accommodate for wider sectors of the population.

Lin, Li-Chu

2005 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-01-2005-B0011

The outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Asia and North America has raised much concern from all angles and reflections on nowadays living environment that resulted in public health, especially the high−density urban residential complexes. The so−called community infection at Amoy Gardens apartment in Hong Kong was such a case that is worth further study. However, under the trends of globalization and sustainable development, SARS could be the first alert of unknown outbreak−type fatal epidemic to the coming biomedicine age.Main findings of the investigation in Amoy Gardens by the Department of Health, Hong Kong, which has been mostly corroborated by World Health Organization (WHO), pointed that environmental factors played a major role in this outbreak. They are, in fact, related to community design, building design and facility management. In this respect, open building theory is conceived of ideas for solution. Three directions are discussed in this study: 1) “territorial depth” at urban tissue level and building level, 2) utility lines at building level and infill level, and 3) space layout by zoning at building level.In conclusion, design principles for new buildings are suggested; (1) Creating territorial depths in urban tissue and building complex by hierarchical circulations so as to separate people's daily movement and reduce unnecessary human contacts. In addition, the deeper territory expands, the fewer the dwelling units will be preferred. (2) Planning unit space layout with envelope zone following fluid dynamics and solar control physics so as to avoid gaseous infection to people living in the neighborhood among multi−story buildings. (3) Constructing buildings with open−system interfaces between building level and infill level or between infill elements themselves, so that stopgap renovations could easily be done. (4) Separating service lines between building level and infill level. And locating maintenance shafts at accessible public space

Motooka, Nobuhisa; Murakami, Shin; Tobe, Eiichi

2005 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-01-2005-B0012

Focusing on small houses has become one of the recent trends in housing design in Japan, as has been observed in many house design works. Periodical coverage can tell that the number of such works has clearly been increasing since the 90s, as compared with the 70s and 80s. The trend of small houses was also observed in the 50s. In those postwar years of economic growth, it was driven by the conditions of the time, such as supply and housing shortages and urban centralization. Today’s social conditions are significantly different from those in the 50s, and naturally, the whole concept of small houses has greatly changed from the past.In this research, we evaluate the experiments of small houses, from the view of the idea of sustainability and open building concept. Specifically, the study compares the small houses of the 50s and those after 1990 to examine their differences or similarities in terms of size, structure and building systems. And thus clarify how industrialization and standardization reflect on these experiments.The former period, most were constructed on wood, with traditional construction method. The purpose of design was rather how to adapt the industrialization to the traditional construction and how to realize the modern way of living in the smallest space, than fulfillment of flexibility. Moreover, low cost was also included in the design purpose. In latest examples, the “small” means “small building area” rather than “small space for life and minimal cost for construction” The experimental projects were conducted by the intention exploring new possibilities and diversities of space design, with various highly industrialized materials. The small houses after 1990 can be regarded as experimental efforts to explore new approaches to skeletons within the context of urban tissue.

Brown, Robert; Datta, Ayona; Cruz, Germán T.; Koester, Robert J.; Smith, George R.

2005 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-01-2005-B0013

OWNERSHIP, LEADERSHIP AND TRANSFORMATION CAN WE DO BETTER FOR CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT?CHALLENGE OF SLUMS: GLOBAL REPORT ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS 2003SMALL CHANGE ABOUT THE ART OF PRACTICE AND THE LIMITS OF PLANNING IN CITIESTHE PHILOSOPHYOF SUSTAINABLE DESIGNTHE URBAN HOUSING MANUAL: MAKING REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS WORK FOR THE POOR