
Should we continue thinking in terms of static spaces, robust infrastructure, and large-scale territorial approaches? Are buildings increasingly becoming containers of temporary use instead of symbolic expressions of a static identity? In City Of Permanent Temporality, ZUS calls for a city-making that entwines the constantly changing dynamic nature of cities into its architecture, which tends to be inclined to a static long-term approach. A mindset that leaves things open instead of pinning them down is a prerequisite for a city of permanent temporality. A city that permanently evolves through temporary interventions merges thinking and doing, allowing for better control over its unpredictable.
ZUS came up with a multitude of temporary urban interventions to revitalize vacant buildings and underused spaces surrounding their Luchtsingel project. The catchword here is place-making: a way of giving places meaning through various methods, activating them with new functions and light constructions. Ranging from the reappropriation of vacant office space, and the transformation of a rooftop, the architects found many several ways to temporarily re-use the empty space.
The book succeeds in providing a detailed insight into the rationale of their work approach. Written like journal entries, the authors managed to show that though despite cities becoming more and more flexible and innovation-driven places, urban planners often fail to incorporate these dynamics. This trend is likely to create a mismatch between the built environment and the actual use patterns of the city. Spaces — be they public or private — are being used in a less predictable manner, hence confounding the roles of architects and planners.
City of Permanent Temporality
Authors: Elma van Boxel, Kristian Koreman
Publisher: nai010
Release date: January 2019
Format: 21 × 26 cm
Features: full color, hardcover, 440 pages
Language: English
ISBN: 978-94-6208-220-5
In collaboration with Unlocked, we explore the future of hybrid space and how the cultural sector and events industry can reap the benefits of this new urban frontier in the post-COVID city.
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