16/02/2012

Residential Homes and Mass Housing in Czech, Slovakia and Netherlands

An ongoing exhibition BLOCK CITY focused on the theme of mass housing and urban construction enjoys a large number of visitors. The exhibition follows the GREEN ARCHITECTURE II, project, which we presented earlier. Sustainable trends should not apply only to new buildings but also existing buildings and reconstructed objects. In the area of residential buildings play still important role block of flats.
Visualization - Avantgarde reconstruction of block of flats ( Photo: Jana Menšíková)
The exhibition BLOCK CITY is based on a fifteen-year research of Dutch architect Bart Goldhoorn into the possibilities of housing development in the future. His concept of the „Block City“ is a combination of analysed housing complexes of the 1960s and the 1970s as well as the contextual, individual, but also very expensive „Designer City“. Goldhoorn had the opportunity to test this concept in a new town for 40 000 inhabitants south of Moscow. The outcome of his endeavour are four master plans and 150 models of housing blocks created by architects from around the world which are part of a touring exhibition from 2011. The Panelstory Exhibition In the Czech Republic or former Czechoslovakia, the concern is connected with the prefabricated housing estate. The main theme of the exhibition therefore complements the Panelstory WELCOME!,(VITAJTE V PANELSTORY!) exhibition with subtitled Mass housing in Bratislava 1955 - 1995 and approaching 21 settlements in the Slovak capital. The exhibition was prepared by leading Slovak historians of architecture Henrieta Moravčíková, Mária Topolčanská a Peter Szalay. Today will take place a lecture following the exhibiton (7 p.m., Jaroslav Fragner Gallery). Mrs. Moravčíková will introduce her publication Bratislava: Atlas of housing estates. Czech Panel Story In the Czech Republic, one-third of the population is living in prefabricated houses; the total number of apartments in this type of construction is around 1.2 million. Prefab houses are traditionally associated with negative references the previous regime - harsh uniformity, internal structure and thermal-technical properties are often mentioned characteristics. In recent years, a wave of home renovation with an emphasis on energy consumption was carried out. However, many reconstructions were performed with short-term view and a significant reduction in comfort or even hygiene happened. Today's topics associated with the prefabricated houses are therefore increasingly focused on the quality of indoor environment, inadequate ventilation, condensation on windows and molds. Current trends in prefab houses is mapping project performed by EkoWATT. A comprehensive information platform is available on the Internet. For example, the study from Ing. Jana Menšíková brings an unusual view of the possibility of reconstructions in prefabricated buildings - including the concept and terms of sustainable development. Sources: EkoWATT, Galerie Jaroslava Fragnera