Transformation from 'office to dwelling' and 'dwelling to user'

Transformation from 'office to dwelling' and 'dwelling to user'

Kok, W.
Van Luijn, P.L.

Bilow, M. (mentor)
Cuperus, Y. (mentor)
Konstantinou, T. (mentor)

Architecture

Building Technology

Facade Master

2012-02-27

High vacancy rates of offices are a major problem in the Netherlands. Especially since the start of the economic crisis, the number of empty office buildings has increased significantly. The highest vacancy rates can be found in non monumental offices with column structures build from 1960 till 1980. This office vacancy is due to esthetical, technical, energetically and functional decay of the facades, installations and infrastructure. Structural vacancy is not lean because the building area and building are not in use, the fact that the structure can probably last for many more years and the unnecessary losses of energy and money. The vacancy problem is completely strange when looking at the housing demand. To meet the plans of the ministry of housing, in theory every year 80.000 houses must be built. This number is (partly because of the economic situation) far from what is built. These observations are not unnoticed, recently the politics and media have given their attention to this problem. When a vacant building is finally transformed, an import question or comment can be placed; is the transformation not again part of an existing ‘discard’ cycle? If the user can’t perform his activities qualitative or live in the desired comfort and luxury, then there is a discrepancy between the building and the user. The future can’t be predicted, so are we not building new vacancy? Taking this question into account, a new dimension can be added to the vacancy problem: we do not only need to transform from office to dwelling, but also from dwelling to user.

Vacant office buildings
Transformation
Open Building
Integrated Facade- and Climate design
The individual user

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:b51a3f81-a413-4a07-b685-e425345a93b4

2012-03-01

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2012 Kok, W.; Van Luijn, P.L.