City as Loft
Kees Christiaanse
ETH Zürich/KCAP, Zurich, Switzerland
2013
Event
Topic
A desire for urbanity, identity and identification has been a major factor during the last thirty years in stimulating the preservation and conservation of derelict structures dating from the industrial era. Buildings like this have their own specific features and a relationship to history and context, while at the same time being open to current and future needs. The buildings attract involvement by local people and stand out with their qualities of stability and openness. The world ‘loft’ is used to describe these urban qualities: adaptable, flexible and at the same time powerful and authentic spaces in which people can live and work.
Abstract
In their book “City as Loft – Adaptive Reuse as a Resource for Sustainable Urban Development“ Martina Baum and Kees Christiaanse portray 30 converted industrial sites and have experts in theory and practice report on their experience and knowledge.
Links
Kees Christiaanse
Kees Christiaanse is one of the most important city planners in Europe. As a professor of Architecture and Urban Design at ETH Zurich, he teaches sustainable urban planning and investigates urbanisation processes worldwide. KCAP Architects&Planners is an office for architecture, urban design and urban planning, and was founded in Rotterdam in 1989. Over the last 20 years, KCAP has established itself as one of the leading international practices in the fields of architecture and urban planning. KCAP has partner offices in Zurich and Shanghai. Among other things, KCAP has implemented large-scale housing projects in the Netherlands, HafenCity in Hamburg and is currently working on a strategic vision for transforming the Heysel Plateau in Brussels and for Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam.
- Contents
- Event
- Kees Christiaanse
- Gallery