Abstract

Egocity and Wegocity are based on the hypothesis of maximum density achievement and maximum desire fulfilment when designing collective housing. This intensity, when applied to housing, can optimise land use, help combat inequality, and counteract the centrifugal force condemning contemporary urban development to urban sprawl. We asked students to tackle the challenge of converting density into desire by accommodating the users’ needs, yet following a restricted urban envelope that keeps energy consumption and carbon footprint under control. Students developed an innovative game capable of facilitating and visualising a typological puzzle resulting when different clients, cultures, and desires come to live together. Users began to work with and around each other and, somehow, together create something that is even nicer.

Based on the hypothesis of maximum density achievement and maximum desire fulfilment, the subsequent research of The Why Factory explores the potentials of desire-based design processes, capable of introducing the residents' wishes in the construction and adaptation of housing and the city.

“Wegocity” investigates participatory processes applied to housing design. These processes establish a negotiation between the desires of each of the residents of a housing slab and help determine the design of their apartments. To achieve this, “Wegocity” manifests a particular interest in the development of a gaming process. This game leverages the specificities of each resident and transforms them into spatial needs. This way, unexpected housing typologies emerge within a truly human-driven housing architecture.

“Wegocity” will compile the research undertaken by The Why Factory together with students from TU Delft and IIT Chicago, RMIT Melbourne and Bezalel Academy Jerusalem. The research begins with the acknowledgment that even though we have measured and compared almost all that can be quantified (areas, densities, uses, users…), we had avoided getting to the bottom of the matter, to the bottom of the wishing well that housing represents to its residents. We know that the dense city must be built, but while building the city, we cannot forget the desires of every individual and their dream home: the home of the user who will put their name on their letterbox.

How do we make then every dwelling become a desirable home? Students were asked to tackle the challenge of converting density into desire by accommodating the users’ needs, yet following a restricted urban envelope that keeps energy consumption and carbon footprint under control. Students developed an innovative tool (a game) capable of facilitating and visualizing a typological puzzle resulting when different clients, cultures and desires come to live together. The resulting intensity of the proposal is due to the convergence of many interests and the resolution of conflicts. We believe that this intensity, when applied to housing, can optimize land use, help combat inequality and counteract the centrifugal force condemning urban development to urban sprawl.

The Wegocity investigation was followed by the construction of a 1:1 model at the Dutch Design week in Eindhoven and the Shenzhen Biennale in 2017, where it was awarded the Chinese Press Prize. Currently, together with the Illinois Institute of Technology, a prototype of Wegocity made of mobile walls is being developed, and will be presented at the Dutch Design Week in 2018.

Team

Professor Winy Maas
Coordinator Javier Arpa
Instructors The Why Factory Felix Madrazo, Adrien Ravon, Arend van waart
Instructor IIT John Manaves
Instructors RMIT Vivian Mitsogianni, Ben Milbourne
Instructors Bezalel Academy Ifat Finkelman, Deborah Pinto Fdeda

The following students participated in the studios “Transformer”, “EgoCity”, “(W)egoCity” and “(W)ego Hotel” that are part of this investigation.

Students Transformer Xue Fang (Snow Flake), Melissa Wong, Ying Meng (Mandy), Leo Stuckardt, Kelwin Palmer, Ben Phua, Nate Weems, Iraklis Romanopoulos, Xue (Snow) FANG, Ying (Mendy) MENG, Iraklis Romanopoulos, Kar Yuen (Melissa) WONG, Benjamin PHUA, Nate Weems, Izabela Slodka, Barbara Zajac, Brendan Bakker, Phillipa Elliott, Daniel Pulitin, Rui Xuan, Alejandra Martinez, Vladimir Ondejcik, Saba Zahedi Asl, Yi Tang, Louisa Au, Miguel Nicque, Arslane Benamar, Catherina Lee, Dominik Saitl, Federico Gobbato, Hans Vlaskamp, Jordan Yerbury, Lex te Loo, Marine Manchon, Nadia El Hakim, Nicola Campri, Piet de Reuver, Rob Moors, Robbert Verheij, Roxanne Belot, Ruth Hoogenraad, Samantha Chia, Vincent Marchetto, Huihua Chen, Tomas de Loo, Igor de Vetyemy, Alice Guarisco, Maria Laisi, EunYu Lee, Alberto Minero, Lino Moser, Virginia Scapinelli, Stefanie Winter, Julia Ting Yan Mok, Klaas Boersma, Purcy Marte, Robert Pluijmers, Pedro Fulgencio Molina, Aleksander Jensen, Ansis Sinke, Callum Andrews, Gloria Chen, Guendalina Rocchi, Laura Ospina Botero, Maosen Geng, Marie d’Oncieu de la Bâtie, Stavros Gargaretas, Jayson Johnstone.

Students EgoCity Charles Ducerisier, Chun Hoi Hui, Francesco Barone, Félix Borel, Iason Stathatos, Javier López-Menchero, Lucile Dugal, Marek Nosek, Matteo Pavanello, Niels Baljet, Olga Terzi, Prokop Matej, Tarryn Leeferink, Wen Jun Tan, Woo Soojung, Zichen Liu, Loes Thijssen.

Students (W)egoCity Drew Gingrich, Antonia Ramoz Muniz, Agnieszka Rutkowski, Ilyssa Kaserman, Kiara Soto, Marsha Agard, Michelle Boscamp, Nicole Santos, Parnell Tesoro, Patrick Szczecinski, Yilin Guo, Lex te Loo, Chun Hoi Hui, Olga Terzi, Marek Nosek, Lucile Dugal, Niels Baljet.

Students (W)ego Hotel Mordechai Bachar, Rotem Gilboa, Yuval Bar-Adon, Nadav Etkin, Tom Asiskovich, Tamar Ofer, Michael Ifergan, Manor Brown, Stav Dror, Liran Messer, Omry Spasser, Tomer Deren Peretz, Hadassah Lehman Cohen, Shelly Shmulewich Shalev, Whimbrel Wilson, Neal Kaldor, Jarrod Palmier, Dookee Chung, Dasong Wang, William Christian, Temitope Adesina, Jian Yang, Katherine Kai-Cin Jou, Bryan Chung, Laura Szyman, Jiawei WANG, Bradley Mitchell, Philip Chang.