B2Ai architects’ Post

Lately I’ve been reflecting on the fate of empty buildings in Rotterdam, for Vers Beton. Many buildings can’t be rented out as housing anymore because of their bad shape. In May this year, the municipality alone owned 152 such buildings. Numbers for housing corporations, who hold a significant part of the city’s building stock, are unknown, let alone those for private landlords. This is a serious issue in a city that grapples with a housing crisis. Only more serious as timelines for renovations get longer with stricter requirements to make the renovated buildings more energy-efficient. Getting permissions and gathering the necessary finances now takes a minimum of five years. Sealed-off doors and metal boards in windows make areas look – and turn – rougher, so the municipality and housing corporations are increasingly looking for alternative solutions to fill up the empty spaces in the meantime. The IJzerblok in Rotterdam-West was a positive story of such a solution: the art academy WDKA, and the housing corporation Woonbron made an informal deal, thanks to which over 90 starting artists got studio spaces for free. Read the story, with a showcase of artworks created in the four-year-long residency, here: https://lnkd.in/e3KCd6_s Recent developments for Stad in de maak, an initiative that offers „vacant property management with a social touch” (it sounds much better in Dutch: „sociaal leegstandbeheer”), are much less positive. The organisation has existed for over 12 years but, with its project in Vlaardingen coming to an end, it hasn’t found any new buildings closeby to Rotterdam so far. I wrote about their issues with finding new spaces, and a tribute to the two-year project in Vlaardingen, here: https://lnkd.in/eHhRiAbE Temporality is an inherent element of any Rotterdam initiative that refuses to be outright commercial. It just so happens that these kinds of initiatives make Rotterdam the place I want to call my chosen home. I melancholically called this series „the summer of goodbyes” and I hope that I soon get to write about some welcomes.

“We are looking for a way to create affordable and sustainable housing in a scalable way. We can achieve that through Optoppen - but we need to ‘industrialise’ and systemise the process, by working with partners collaboratively” 💭 Creative City Solutions’ Thijs Müller, speaking at Houtbouw in May along with Holland Houtland’s Sandra Nap. In his talk, Thijs discussed how Optoppen presents a unique opportunity to regenerate post-wars housing blocks prevalent across Holland, many of which are in need of major maintenance  – and how these flat-roofed buildings can help the country deliver the 100,000 extra housing units identified by Minister for Housing, Hugo de Jonge. Thijs showcased a post-war housing project called Buitenveldert near the central business district in Amsterdam, which has the potential to deliver 490 new homes on top of the existing buildings. Creative City Solutions and the team are developing a systematic approach to avoid reinventing the wheel for each project. This approach enables entire estates to be densified and sustainably renovated simultaneously. It involves assessing the structural integrity of existing buildings, targeting clusters of buildings rather than individual ones, engaging in early planning with municipalities, and involving owners from the outset to educate them about all aspects of the project. Watch the whole talk on Youtube [Dutch, with English subtitles]: https://lnkd.in/eysuxfVs Built by Nature Whitby Wood Mule Studio New Urban Networks EU Holland Houtland Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia Creative City Solutions Rising Tide #optoppen #netherlands #timber #builtenveldert

Thailand's Aluminum Grotto reimagines public space ✨  Imagine a shimmering haven in the heart of bustling Bangkok. Not a fancy mall, but a public space unlike any other: the Aluminum Grotto and Public Ground. This architectural marvel, unveiled in 2024, is a testament to both innovation and tradition.  The Grotto, designed by HAS Design and Research, is a shimmering valley made entirely from hundreds of thousands of aluminum rods! Each rod is meticulously crafted, a nod to the intricate artistry of Thai temples. It's a stunning visual, a shimmering oasis amidst the urban jungle.  ✅ This public haven isn't just about aesthetics or shade. The Grotto is a free space for learning and community building. Think art exhibitions, educational talks, and even casual chats with neighbors. This non-commercial space fosters a sense of connection and intellectual exchange.  What do you think about this project? Let me know in the comments ✍️  #architecture #aluminium #publicspace 

All students and young professionals can submit their thesis!

We are underway to change the 1st year of digital education inside BE (BuiltEnvironment) education at the Hanzehogeschool in Groningen / NL.

🌟 Exciting Announcement for Cities and Municipalities in Flanders!   At SBE, we unite the innovative talents of designers, architects, and engineers to develop compelling and spatially intruiging solutions. Our belief in a layered approach drives us to create technically advanced landscapes that prioritize experiences, contributing to the restoration of our living environment.   Cities and municipalities commonly encounter challenges in achieving climate-resilient and water-robust designs, including: ✔ Modal shift ✔ Greening ✔ De-paving ✔ Enhancing Public Experience   In response, we've put together the 'Inspiration Guide' tailored for cities and municipalities, showcasing the most noteworthy projects from SBE's decade-long expertise in urbanism and infrastructure.   Keen to explore? Request your copy, packed with over 150 pages of inspiration, through this link below.   #TeamSBE #InspirationGuide

Hamburg Central Station-Expanding Capacities Student's project winter semester 2022 University of Stuttgart Students : Aala Abdolaziz & Aris Karara Professors: Prof. Dr. Tjark Siefkes (DLR Institute), Hon.-Prof. Friedrich Grimm (IBK2), Janusch Toepler M.Sc. (KE). In our project to expand the central station of Hamburg, known as the Hamburger Hauptbahnhof, we were suggested to work with visionary technologies such as NGT trains - which require two-story platforms - and multi-elevators - that can move from top to bottom and from left to right. In this context, we have designed a new typology for the organization and traffic flow of a train station. This involves decentralizing passenger flows and distributing them across the entire surrounding area of the station through a system of multi-elevators and sectors. This system, combined with completely free levels in the underground, allows for efficient traffic that is fully adapted to the NGT train, which operates with sectors and carriages. So, we are building the new station underground to enable an efficient traffic matrix. This matrix can expand infinitely in all directions, which is why we have also designed a modular construction that allows for future expansions of the station on the sides and below the station. This also allowed us to completely free the city center area from all congestions associated with the railway tracks and reclaim ample space for public areas in the form of parks, shops, and a botanical garden in the hall of the old station. Thus, a pathway is created throughout the station, connecting the two new parks in the north and south - where the railway tracks used to be - as well as a significant reclamation of open space. The entire expansion takes place underground, without disrupting railway traffic and life on the surface. #unistuttgart #deutschebahn #hamburg #urbandesign #reshbf #ngt #theländ #db

What is it like to study for a master's degree in "Resource-efficient and Sustainable Building" at TUM? In our video, Alina and Lenny discuss their study experiences at the Technical University of Munich. https://lnkd.in/d9Vw7r75 #tum #tumed #tumengineering #ingenieurwesen #mint #studienwahl #studyprogram #Engineering #studium #architecture #architektur #nachhaltigkeit #construction #building

As some of our followers may have noticed if they have visited us in real life, we are currently having a pavilion set up next to our buildings at Katrinebjerg 🏗️ The pavilion, which is a secondhand, high-quality pavilion built with reuse in mind, is going to house teaching facilities and student activities later this year 🎓 If you are curious and would like to read more (unfortunately only in Danish) and see some photos of the move of the pavilion, FEAS has written a short article about it ⬇️ #AU #AUengineering #AUstudents #students #studentlife #greengineering

The importance of improving the spatial quality in #business #parks! On behalf of MooiNL, our experts Gijs de Haan and Juliette B., in collaboration with Felixx Landscape Architects & Planners and Brink | bouw, infra en vastgoed, have developed a handbook for 'Clusters of Large-Scale Business Parks' based on design research. The article below gives you a sneak preview: “The guide gives municipalities, provinces, developers and companies a compact and handy overview of spatial strategies for the development of and transformation to clusters on large-scale business parks with spatial quality." Stay tuned, the guide will be published in March! https://lnkd.in/evq2MJHJ