ONLINE COMMUNITY BUILDING

The limited availability of affordable and spacious housing in Dutch cities is pushing young families to the suburbs. This has a negative demographical impact on urban areas. The spacious green atmosphere, community spirit and safety are key features of suburban areas and main considerations for people in deciding where to raise their children. By using on- and off-line tools we combine all these specific features and create a appealing family oriented alternative for the suburb right in the heart of the city. We start by setting up an online social network. A virtual space is created where future buyers start their social bonding before they are physically neighbors. Next to the positive effect of social cohesion, the platform also offers low-key user participation possibilities. It allows future buyers to create a house based on their specific needs while keeping close watch on their budget. The future user has a wide range of options for creating a personal space within the frame of a standardized online element catalogue. In the off-line world a collection of these custom fit apartments add up to a number of diverse housing towers on top of a plinth. The various size and specifically height of the retail, office and studio-spaces in this plinth create a wavy collective rooflandscape on which kids can play safely and there is plenty of green for parents to enjoy.

team
Sascha Glasl
Tjeerd Haccou
year
2009