In this issue: Hundertwasser’s virtues hold strong 40 years later, the consequences for non-compliance with ARB and RIBA’s CPD shake-up, Chris Dyson on the restored and reworked historic buildings in Spitalfields’ Norton Folgate scheme, how Tuckey Design Studio has turned a 16th century Somerset wool hall into a recording studio and home, and much more.
The cover of AT334 features the Norton Folgate scheme in London’s Spitalfields where AHMM, Stanton Williams, Morris+Company, and DSDHA have all contributed. (Photo Tim Soar)
Before I read Ian Volner’s review of Hundertwasserhaus (p20) I thought of Friedensreich Hundertwasser’s architecture as somewhere on the spectrum between hippy dippy dopamine and trashy tourist tat. But as the UK gears up for a golden age of social housing it’s perhaps worth reflecting on the lessons to be learnt from Vienna’s most fabled and fantastical social housing project, and from Hundertwasser himself.
Hundertwasserhaus is the product of a social housing system that manages to deliver variety as well as volume. ‘Red Vienna’ styled its public housing as gothic castles, medieval monasteries and art deco dance halls, starting a tradition of idiosyncratic housing that is alive and well today. It never got the Modernist memo that public housing shouldn’t be fun. Hundertwasserhaus reminds us that even the most efficient building programme can still find space for dreamers. Its success as a tourist attraction shows that the ‘Bilbao’ effect is not confined to cultural buildings. That social housing can enrich the city and the economy in unpredictable ways.
Forty years after Hundertwasserhaus opened its doors, we are only just beginning to grapple with the tricky business of quantifying the value of a well-designed environment. But Hundertwasser was already on the case. Take his suggestion that ‘tree tenants’ should be planted inside buildings and held liable for rent. Fanciful, impractical nonsense. But rather more powerful when understood as a visual metaphor for his insistence that “The tree tenant pays rent in a more valuable currency than a human.” In Hundertwasser’s world, a tree pays its way by dispensing beauty, supplying oxygen, regulating climate, absorbing sound, providing screening, hosting butterflies and birds, countering the monotony of modern architecture and lifting the spirits.
In other words, green infrastructure should be framed not as a cost on the balance sheet, but as a souce of value. Value that can be measured not just by its impact on house prices, but in benefits to the environment and to well-being and health. All of a sudden the Hundertwasser philosophy seems less like the ramblings of a madman and more like the wisdom of a prophet.
Inside the November-December 2024 issue of Architecture Today:
Still standing
Ian Volner explains how Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna, designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser and completed in 1985, combines contempt for strait-jacketed Modernism with nostalgia for an imaginary past.
Countdown to compliance
John Ramshaw summarises the ARB and RIBA’s shake-up of CPD, and looks at the consequences for non-compliance.
Building Safety Act in practice
Neal Morgan-Collins from Scott Brownrigg Architects advises practitioners on compliance with the Building Safety Act.
Passivhaus methodology
Greencore Homes’ Ian Pritchett outlines Passivhaus principles and strategies for compliance.
Inclusive, sustainable bathrooms
Gökçe Ötkün and Nicola Friel from VitrA offer expert advice on specifying inclusive and sustainable bathrooms.
Changes to UK planning
Katharine Woods of DP9 explains how changes to UK planning legislation are affecting architects and clients.
Bio-based materials
Ian Pritchett discusses the methodology behind carbon budgets and targets, and the importance of the ‘one planet living’ framework.
Norton Folgate
AHMM has masterplanned the redevelopment of a corner of London’s Spitalfields, combining restored and reworked historic buildings and new buildings by AHMM, Stanton Williams, Morris+Company, and DSDHA. Architect and local resident Chris Dyson reflects on a decade- and-a-half of controversy, collaboration, creativity, and change, and assesses the results.
Wool Hall
Ingrid Petit explains how Tuckey Design Studio has turned a 16th century Somerset wool hall into a recording studio and home, revealing the essence of the historic structure, finding beauty in the mundane, and celebrating the richness of the building’s layered history.
Materials library
George Dawes and Oliver Bindloss explain how Bindloss Dawes’ approach to materiality is being driven by its predominantly rural workload, interest in collaborating with local craftspeople, and desire to produce cost-effective buildings that stand the test of time.
Colour and inclusive design
Dawn Scott, Senior Colour Designer at Dulux Trade, answers readers’ questions on the importance of colour in inclusive design.
Thermal bridges
Matthew Evans, Director of Technical and Regulatory Affairs at Kingspan Insulation, answers readers’ questions on thermal bridges.
Balcony connectors
Leviat’s Nicolas De Vrieze and Nobert Omony answer readers’ questions on balcony connectors.
