Detail from location plan and two storey unit layout
4.6. Sustainable and energy-efficient design
In Section 3.7.3., most methods discussed can be applied to this building type.
Note
One advantage of this enclosed form of housing is that heat loss due to wind cooling is significantly reduced. Solutions for solar energy use are readily available. Positive solar gains can be achieved with windows, and the roof offers space for the placement of solar energy devices. When developed in groups, it is possible to consider energy generation (solar and wind) with the proper orientation of solar panels and/or a communal wind turbine. These developments are less suited to bio mass heating (supply, storage of energy and exhaust flues). The individual installation of heat pumps is not recommended, since the proximity of neighbors might impair efficiency. Heat pump technology might only work when a group of buildings develops its own communal heating plant, which to date has not been attempted in Hungary. (AN)
Energy awareness might also be dependent upon the building’s physical form. For example, in figure 4.18a, the buildings wall-to-floor ratio results in reducing passive heat loss, although only the southern elevation can assists with passive solar gains. In figure 4.18b, the wider elevation is not so efficient regarding passive heat loss, but does offer a better opportunity to utilize direct solar energy gains.
Larger elevations required better insulation and some balance to heat loss problems can be achieved by providing more closed northern elevations.
Housing units covered in this chapter might include passive solar sun rooms, where glazing the courtyard or atrium can improve energy balance issues. (fig. 4.37a)
Two-story homes can have passive solar rooms. (fig. 4.37b)
Contemporary architecture employs glazing as a tool to create enclosed communal spaces (so-called
"covered streets") using passive solar gains. (fig. 4.37c) As environmental and energy-conscious design develops, this solution will probably be applied to low-rise, high-density housing projects.
Figure 4.36. Examples of solar rooms used in low rise, high density housing
Housing
5.1. Preface
In the chapter title, "multi-story" refers to buildings that are a minimum of one level without limit to how many upper floor levels. Previously, discussion covered issues of buildings height. This chapter describes what might be classified as middle- to high-rise buildings, where the top floor level defines actual height.
Previous chapters have discussed other house categories that in some terms overlap with this theme.
Double-story row houses can occupy one site. Here we take a look at multi-unit buildings that are usually accessed by a common hallway, staircases and corridors. Also discussed in this chapter are row houses and how they are placed on a site – the difference being that these house types are not accessed individually, but by various types of enclosed circulation spaces.
Unlike individual family homes, these buildings have a higher build density and vary greatly in their range of build ratios. Build density spans from 2- to 3-story buildings, 2- to 12-unit urban villas or even 10- to 15-story metropolitan housing schemes.
The name "urban villa" refers to free-standing buildings, usually in green suburbs, between 2-and 4-story in size, previously described as "apartment buildings". Apartment buildings, as well as condominiums, used to refer to ownership status or building size. Now these developments could even be mid-rise buildings accommodating multiple apartments. Internationally, literature now refers to this form of housing development as "urban villas", or the German "Stadtvilla".
Multi-story, multi-unit buildings suit a large range of home types – from smaller, one-bedroom studio flats all the way to larger luxury apartments. Social factors also affect the development type. Low income residents might rent social housing, while green suburb apartments might be privately owned by more wealthy members of society.
5.2. Historical overview
Multi-unit apartment buildings started to spread through Europe in the late 19th century due to the industrial revolution. In just decades, the growth of factories in cities attracted mass populations of workers. Development of tenement buildings guaranteed strong equity investments.
Following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and the unification of Buda, Pest and Óbuda, it only took a few decades to establish a new metropolis. It was this era that determined Budapest's current architectural appearance. Older buildings were demolished to make way for newer subdivisions and the subsequent development of newer tenements. Even today, the extent of redevelopment can be seen on the outskirts of Józsefváros or Ferencváros, where some of the original single- and double-story homes remain. They were later replaced by taller buildings enclosing courtyards on two or four sides.
(fig 5.1) Due to housing demand, low incomes and high rent, most of these apartments were relatively small. Wealthier residents (traders and senior officials) sought larger and better homes, which is also reflected in the building plans. The resulting inner courtyard was allocated to smaller, often single-room homes accessed by external walkway; meanwhile, wealthier people could afford the larger, more comfortable homes on the street side. (fig. 5.2) These buildings, developed in closed rows, created a special type of courtyard development. The larger, more comfortable homes had their own private bathrooms, while the smaller apartments shared toilet blocks, often found at the end of corridors. The smaller, single-room apartments often provided shelter for families of 6-8 members. More and more palatial homes took over the front part of the building, often resulting in a lack of quality daylight for those living on the lower floors or at the rear of the courtyard. Similar developments occurred throughout Europe and North America, even though building types varied a little.
Figure 5.1. Pest tenement development from the XIX century
Figure 5.2. Typical tenement development in Erzsébetváros at turn of XIX–XX centuries
After the First World War, new housing types emerged in Europe thanks to German inspiration.
After losing the war, extreme inflation led to a disastrous economic situation where members of the working classes could not afford cooperatives. To alleviate this problem, the social-democratic Weimar government sought foreign investment loans. With these loans, housing estates of homes for low-income families were built on an unprecedented scale: two million housing units in a decade. To achieve this, a pragmatic approach to design was required to fulfill housing market needs. The Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) attitude was adopted. It required simplicity of building materials, low costs and pre-manufactured components. Local government tailored them to low incomes and rents which did not fit the majority’s housing market needs. Theoretically, they had to decide whether these homes complied in terms of purpose and function. For this end, a normative approach was needed to measure home requirements in terms of occupancy, meaning beds per home. The theoretical work that followed resulted in a purposeful development of dimensions and spatial needs to provide homes on a minimum footprint. (fig. 5.3) The "form follows function" principal was established both as architectural and artistic movements (Functionalism). The modern avant-garde of the Weimar republic was consequently established at the Bauhaus School of Art, as well as creative workshops under the spiritual guidance of Walter Gropius.
Figure 5.3. Home plan experiments for tenements in the "Minimalwohnung"
style, 1930. (a.): Duplex arrangement by H. Härig; (b.): Corridor access arrangement by W.Gropius
During this period, prominent architects (Walter Gropius included) designed Berlin's "Siemensstadt"
housing development (fig. 5.4), following the functionalist manifesto for home design (1929). These homes were planned on a strict north-south axis, in parallel rows, providing good daylight and ventilation. These buildings were comprised of two bedroom apartments accessed by a common stair and corridor. The buildings were placed at sufficient intervals to allow daylight even at lower levels, explored in diagrams for buildings of differing heights. (fig 5.5) To do this, the traditional urban fabric was sacrificed to create cleanliness, resulting in the adoption of monotony, with developments simply known as "Siedlung" or settlement.
Figure 5.4. Berlin-Siemensstadt housing estate schematic. 1929. Walter Gropius
Figure 5.5. Walter Gropius schematic for daylighting in regard to building height and site requirements. 1928–31
In Vienna, a "superblock" system was established, bounded on four sides by streets of undivided blocks. Here buildings surrounded one or many courtyards accessed by a frame-like network. This was later developed to increase good ventilation, remove problematic corner flats and open up accessibility.
(fig. 5.7)
Figure 5.6. Development of multi-unit housing in the early XX century
Modern architectural theory spread on a worldwide basis. In 1928, CIAM (Congress Internationaux d'Architecture Modern) was established as an international organization of architects. The Hungarian representative was a former employee of Walter Gropius, Farkas Molnár. Due to Hungary’s having a different economic situation from that in Germany, large housing developments did not occur between the two world wars. A smaller development of linear buildings comprising 818 housing units was established on Budapest's Pongrácz Road (1939-4). The Hungarian Modern Movement was relatively small, but did result in the development of high-quality buildings.
Locally, Western European ideas regarding healthier living started to develop. Although courtyard developments were not halted until the 1940s, tax incentives were offered to develop only on the street side within a 13-15 m build zone. (fig. 5.7) The plots were connected by gardens, separated only by fencing, and provided homes with adequate daylight even to rear-facing rooms. From the 30s onward, multi-unit developments occurred where most buildings had two or three apartments accessed via a central core stairwell. Even though the depth of 13-15 m should have been adequate to provide well-lit rooms in each apartment, developers often created a windowless room in the heart of the apartment known as the hall. (fig. 5.6) This hall was not included for functional reasons. It was included to increase the number of rooms per home, so rent rates could also be raised. Following the First World War, many condominiums were built for private ownership and not for the rental market. To assist in this, a newer homogeneous dwelling form and more single-core buildings were designed.
Figure 5.7. Budapest apartment types in the thirties and forties (after Iván Kotsis)
Following the Second World War, the main task for Europe was to rebuild housing stock from ruins.
Until the 50s, Hungarian development progressed at the same rate as the rest of Europe. This was halted when the Soviet Union enforced the "Social Realism" school of thought in 1951, drawing a line which ended any hope of continued architectural unity.
Universal architecture was greatly influenced by the "Unité d'Habitation" (1947-1952) in Marseilles, designed by Le Corbusier, even as an urban experiment. (Le Corbusier, together with Gropius, developed plans for buildings more than 10 stories in height at the CIAM congress of 1930.) The 12-story building contained 23 housing types, totaling 336 units, following specific spatial arrangements.
The development contained the equivalent of a small village in its structure. The corridors, which Le Corbusier called streets, housed shops, restaurants and service facilities on different floors. The top floor contained a kindergarten. More than one thousand tenants could occupy the same area as 30 traditional homes. This allowed for more green areas to remain undeveloped. "Machine for Living"
was the title applied to this building as it floated like a cruise ship above the ground level, the ground floor not being used for occupancy. This building stood on legs to allow for green areas to exist below the building, following Le Corbusier's theories. (Although this building has been beautifully restored, it demonstrates one of the architect’s omissions. Now the "natural green" area is a crowded car park.) Another "Unité" – namely, the “Interbau” – was developed in West Berlin in 1957. This was the location for an exhibition of international housing by prominent architects.
In the late 40s, mass construction of prefabricated housing began. While "Siedlung" framed-system housing (high-rises) varied somewhat, it was very similar in character and residential patterns. (fig. 5.9) In the early 60s, fragmented, cross-formed plans developed in an attempt to create a richer architectural environment. To create urban diversity, attempts were made to mingle low-rise, high-density buildings with multi-story developments. A well-recognized example was the "Toulouse le Miraille" housing estate by Candilis, Josic and Woods. (fig. 5.10) These experiments in housing did not result in any substantial breakthroughs, the most significant trait being a demonstration of product-oriented mass housing.
Figure 5.8. Roehampton Housing Estate. England. 1951
Figure 5.9. Toulouse de Mirail. Detail from location plan. Candilis, Josic and Woods. 1961
In the 60s, professional interest turned to a new type of terraced housing. Although housing of this type had been developed in 1936 by the Finnish architect Alvar Alto, it took nearly 30 years for the idea to catch on, mostly on hillside developments throughout Germany and Switzerland. As building land costs increased, sloping sites, previously considered undevelopable, became an attractive development
alternative. Large-scale quality terraced housing developments appeared. (fig. 5.11) This type of home was so popular at the time that similar developments occurred on flat sites. (fig. 5.12) One source of inspiration was the Japanese "Metabolism" movement. This involved two parts: first, the fixed structure; second, housing units that could be interchangeable from time to time as required. Large-scale "artificial residential hills" were developed (fig. 5.13), but this trend did not spread significantly.
Towards the end of the 60s professional interest in this type of terraced housing declined, even though some smaller examples continued to emerge from time to time.