Are you aware, that you have the automatic AI translation feature enabled, which UA-cam introduced recently? If not, the translation is very unhuman and therefore unpleasant to read, especially as there is no way to get the original text to read.
Your links to squarespace don't work, you might want to fix that. Apart from that, I really like the idea of a reintroduction of aesthetics into modern architecture and hope to see more of your videos in the future. Keep up the good work.
The problem isn't mordernism, rather it's the construction of stupid and ugly buildings. I wouldn't have problems if mordern styles of architecture was gently incorporated into our ancient forms of architecture, but these cheap, concrete nonsense they make nowadays honestly makes me want to puke.
I was in Utrecht this summer for work for a few days. You could see the liveability and desirability aspect just walking to lunch. First, that train station is horrible and uncomfortable. But what I really noticed is that looking for a place to have lunch, you'd walk down the street, and one street would be all the old architecture, and it'd be full of people, and literally the next street would be all modernist crap, and no one was there, you'd just see people rushing to get past it as quickly as possible. Then, the next would be old architecture again, and again, full of people and life. It was such an object lesson in how greatly the architecture affects liveability and desirability. But, we live in such stupid times that people are always making excuses for horrible, ugly boxes, and pretending that's the only choice, when it's not. And worse, is some of those truly hideous buildings actually cost far more than a more elegant and beautiful building would be.
THIS! It is really not so hard to see. Let’s build the types of places where people want to stick around, as those are the places where people feel happy and at home. Why is this this so hard to see? Why do I need to make videos about this in the first place 😂 Anyway it is great to read comments from people who have been in Utrecht too :) thanks for watching!
@@guzy1971 Nah, it’s the end of the conversation because there can be no reasoning with cold, emotionless, heartless people who lack even an iota of creativity.
We in Croatia have traditional arhitecture movment its caled Dragodid and its located on Vis iland, and its focused on traditional Dalmatian houses made of stone
As an HVAC engineer/consultant, raised by a buildingprojectmanager with a love for classical architecture. I know a lot of brick patterns by heart. And love the building details on old buildings. It's the details that give buildings character, what makes them beautifull to look at. A nice brick patter, a bit of overhang with seperate potruding supports. An arch in above the windows. I absolutely love this. And it makes me happy to see that it's a growing passion amongst young students. Nest up would be to see how they'll be able to combine new building codes (isolation, ventilation and such) with the old style exterior, without making it all "facade architecture". Keep up this course! Absolutely awesome. And detrimental to getting back to livable cities!
Traditionalists are usually only interested in facadism, their understanding of architecture usually doesn't extend further than "is the facade pretty to me?" By rigidly sticking to classicism you are limiting what can and cannot be built (show me a classical airport) and not exploiting the full potential of modern construction technology.
@@mrglasses8953the modern look is downright ugly, yes their needs to be a balance between old and new. Humans tend to hang out in the older areas built for humans, those places look nice and just feel nice. The older style is nice to be around and is meant for humans, the modern school produces glass and steel with no decoration and no concerns for the people living their.
@@jonathanjones3126 I personally don't like "decoration," especially not on the interior and plenty of modernist buildings are not ugly at all, e.g. Fallingwater or the Kaufmann Desert House. The problem is bad architecture not style.
I don't think they will build the students' designs, but I at least hope other cities will become aware of this issue and not make the same mistakes...
In Detroit we’re tearing out a useless freeway and it inherently creates an amazing opportunity to rebuild a large part of the city that was gutted in the 60’s. But similar to this project in Utrecht, the professional designs for what to build there are abhorrent abominations that will further scar the city.
Except the state wants to replace it with an eight lane surface artery. If they stick to this as their demand it's better to keep the 375 freeway and build a tunnel enclosure over it and fill in the gaps in order to build buildings on top.
If I where king of Latvija I would restrict all urban residential contruction to have to be done in traditional baltic, gothic, jugendstyle, baroq or neo classical. Beauty is very important to me and also keeps people sane. Cities are home to 60% of the population and thus they should feel homey.
@@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714 Construction is not allowed in green belt. And why assume all modernist buildings are ugly? What about say Fallingwater or the Kaufmann Desert house?
@@mrglasses8953 "Construction is not allowed in green belt." Latvija has no such thing anywhere. "And why assume all modernist buildings are ugly?" Im not assuming. I have eyes and judgement, Ive seen them and judged them. "What about say Fallingwater or the Kaufmann Desert house?" Ugly and ugly. The only city with modern achitecture Id ever want to live in is Planeptune, but thats not because of the architecture but rather because its a literal utopia where the governments top priority is keeping the people entertained as they just dont have any problems.
They will, but it will take time. These programmes are very recent, but word is spreading fast, and once politicians see that there is an interest for it, they will follow suit. So far there has been little incentive for them to.build classical, because the loud voices have cone from modernists.
Sadly the people involved in city planning rarely care about beauty and quality of life, neither do building contractors. In Heidelberg, Germany, there were a few neighbourhoods redeveloped recently and guess how they look like...Everything is rectangular, hardly any space between the bland buildings. Where they could spare a little space for a square that is exactly what you get - a square space with a couple of benches...The contrast with what was built even as recently as the 70s and 80s is striking - it is suffocating and depressing, they keep building as if WWII just ended. They did not even plan comfortable roads, because they didn't want those neighbourhoods to feel too urban..oh the irony.
Bahnstadt is awful. Everywhere the same. Look what they build in Karlsruhe behind the main station or what they want to do with the Landratsamt. They just make ugly, embarrassing cities.
I think money is the problem, being a roofer i know when they brought in caramik rooftiles that were close to the price of concrete tiles, the majority of customers decided to go for the more tradicional and worthier look of ceramik tiles instead of standart concrete, and they dident regret it when it was done.
But a lot of "ornamentation" of traditional buildings is not that expensive. Actually in 19th century, most of european town buildings ornamentations ware mass produced in molds. If there was demand I bet we would get a lot of cheap solutions to get the proper result. Beside for example brick based ornamentation - it does not increase material costs that much, it is only about the skill of designer and mason. Last but not least, as mr Krier preaches - vernacular doesn't necessary needs to be extremely ornamented, let's look at traditional town houses in most European cities, they have really minimal ornamentation - like some gentle cornice for horizontal divides, windows with muntins ect. nothing fancy.
@@oliverstrahle they are actually, because in 99% cases designer or investor will not even think about choosing the other style then international modernism.
@@rafap1719 Ornamentation adds to cost, and things like window mullions kill u-values. On commercial real estate it will get cost engineered out 9 times out of 10. The modernist buildings you see also suffer the same fate, as the attention to detail is always lacking vs what is achieved on private housing. Vernacular houses always end up as stupid cartoonish "noddy" housing in the UK, and traditional floor plan layouts don't suit they way people want to live these days - people usually want open plan interiors with the living spaces to the rear with large expanses of glass connecting to the garden.
You guys are doing very important work. I wish you all the best and I hope you will be regarded as the pioneers who brought us back from the dark age of architecture and urban planning.
So happy to see this initiative taking place for young architects, so they get experience the development of true valuable architectural infrastructure - even if is just as an exercise.
This is fantastic news! Keep on the great work! Time to change the world and bring back a more human way of living. Tradition has lots to teach us. Not just architecture, but philosophy of life.
Why do architects and planners keep having the worst ideas ever and thinking people will like them?! It shouldn't be rare or difficult for people to have the idea to build beautiful and aesthetic places.
@@the_aesthetic_city people in my country don't even know buildings can be different from square/rectangle boxes of concrete and glass. It's very, VERY depressing all around everywhere. This is why I plan to move to the Netherlands in the future.
@@ayrton56612 but life in general is so much better, cities are safer, better looking, you don't need a car to go somewhere 1km or less away, etc. Latin America can be very tough to live in.
I recently discovered your channel, you give me hope! I’m one of those students you mentioned that have gotten ridiculed for presenting projects that are “too vernacular”. I’ll definitely be applying to some of the Summer Schools you linked, they even offer scholarships!
Bravo to the students! The students designed a far superior city block than the so called “professional planners” who designed the block like a two year old toddler.
Love the idea but how many homes did these plans involve compared to the 6000 homes of the modernist design? And what effect does this have on the financial feasebility? It will not be cheap to buy out, demolish and sanitize the industrial area.
The modernist plan uses reinforced concrete and PVC materials. None of those materials can last more than 100 years and is not environmentally friendly to produce and dispose of.
Passing over the first question because I that would require work to assess, but on the second, in this instance, given the proximity close to the centre of town, I would highly expect that buyers would be willing to pay a premium for housing in that location (because accessibility is a key driver of housing value) and so in theory the amount that can cost can be offset by the increased selling price. Of course though, the seller wants to make the most money possible, so if they can drive their costs down then they will. IMO this is where municipalities need to have design policies/requirements that push for these aesthetic requirements, although some will argue that stops artistic freedom (or rather that argument will come from many developers because of said profit focus). Another thing to note is that whilst such policies/requirements are possible in this example, in others they will most probably make things financially infeasible, so they can never be a catch all. Which is a danger, because in planning we like to use catch all simplified principles that we apply to everything.
Modern block buildings are also harder to build. They always contain some sort of weird feature that the designers want that looks like it is defying gravity. I can guarantee modern architecture has tons of unnecessary costs.
@@EkoFrankou didn’t even read what they said. if the goal is to build massive amounts of housing, then you want to save money which classical architecture tends to
Terrific videos, I look forward to them. I never thought this common sense change would happen in my life time, May all involved, be successful, These young architects & their ideas are exactly what is needed. Good luck to all.
North Bennett Street School in Boston is also teaching the scale and proportion of classical architecture. Good to see that this is becoming a global movement, but cost will always be a challenge. Beauty costs more right now.
But there is something more humane about using pen and paper. The plans will be digitalised later anyway. I always think in this way about motorcycles. Old machines from 1970s and 80s don't have the performance of new bikes, but there is something that gives them soul. The difference is that these machines were designed by engineers on drawing boards instead of CAD. Same principle applies to buildings.
Thank you for a wonderful channel. It's so encouraging to see these students (especially the very young ones) taking an interest in traditional building methods and beautiful buildings. The course sounds amazing, with the best lecturers. Let's hope this movement will spread, we're so tired of ugly buildings, they're ruining the skyline in so many parts of London, the City, the South Bank, and they don't have any gardens, but a couple of token saplings in their "green" areas, awful. Victorian, Edwardian and 30s houses were considered high density too, yet London isn't building them anymore or in the rare cases when they get built, the gardens are postage-stamp size.
I work at one of the bigger contractors in the Netherlands and I am 1 of those people responsible for creating these modern (sometimes ugly) buildings. I'm very happy with this channel and I watch most videos. As a engineer I would prefer to only build beautiful buildings but sadly I'm also depended on three markets and the creations of architects. So in glad with this knowledge. Currently working on the Binnenhof renovations. So I'm currently working on a building I actually think is amazing. Keep up the good work!
"but sadly I'm also depended on three markets and the creations of architects." City councils in the Netherlands are very often advised by people who wear red shoes, black trousers dito shirts and large fancy looking glasses. Those people see traditional architecture as swearing in a Church. And they seem to keep each other in-check: anyone who dares to design buildings with a traditional look, will be declared outcast and are subsequently being excommunicated. (Thus no more invitations to participate in pitches to design buildings / urbanizations for local governments etc.) So there must be a culture of fear.
@ that too, but there are many reasons why things are the way they are. We have environmental targets, building costs and labour shortage to name just a few. Getting something build is insanely expensive nowadays and it has no use building something if people can’t afford it imo.
@@Asdos. That may be your perspective. For me the cost of a single brick is exactly the same for a traditional building compared to a modernistic building. Environmental targets can IMHO perfectly met in a new building, that looks as if it was made in the 19th century in comparison to a modernistic looking building. Building costs: a good point. But as long as local governments keep the balance of power leaning towards real estate developers - who want to maximise profits - and do not have eye for the overall community interests - how subjective that may be -, nothing will change. Labour shortage: a true issue. However: when a building is being build, it is being build. And it can look nice, traditional or have ugly modernistic look. Nowadays, especially in the Netherlands: we see the mistakes made in the 60's, 70's and 80's of the past century. And we are repeating the same mistakes again. And wen we focus on one of the main issues in the video: virtually all modernistic buildings are interchangable. The same buildings in the Merwede-zone, can be seen in Groningen's plans for 'Suikerzijde' and 'Stadshavens'. And those types of building one can see in Hamburg, Newcastle, Pforzheim and so on. Local residents however have no saying in the way city councils are developing new urbanizations.
@@Asdos. Thanks for giving a snapshot into the world of depressing prison cubes taking over the world ; ) I know nothing at all about building modern buildings. My return question to people who spout the tired (not saying you are here, talking about general conversations I've had), 'but it is too expensive and time!', is: Is concrete not poured into molds? A mold can be any shape. We now live in the most technologically advanced and efficient period ever known human history... what is stopping us? (from thinking outside of the box).
@@the_aesthetic_city everything as cheap as possible. So sad, we used to be a country that built some of the prettiest houses, now we live in drop off boxes.
@@the_aesthetic_city Money. In the case of architects, just earning a living. Understand we don't set out to build ugly buildings, regardless of style, but any detailing that isn't necessary will get value engineered out.
Pretty cool, but is there a focus on trying to compete in terms of profitability? It could be that even the developers and city planers want to build like that but profit is always on top. Unless you make it as or even more profitable to build like this I think it would be pretty hard to change their mind
It's not even profit that's the main issue, it's affordability. Ordinary people simple can't afford to build traditional buildings - unless you go down the American route of completely unauthentic buildings (mcMansions) made with simulated materials and prefabricated elements. The problem I have with this push for new Classical buildings is that it's generally very reactionary and is largely based on style and 'feelings' over substance.
It's hard to compete with bare walls and straight lines on price but frankly this kind of architecture is ideal for elite buildings. The slums that modern buildings replaced were no pretty sight. As a capitalist, I've got no problem with having inequality in building quality as we will never have a truly equal society. At least the poor can see beautiful buildings and be inspired to live there someday.
@@mhug162 The question I have is how does Classicism represent Western culture in 2024? It's part of Western history but, in it purist form, it's not especially reflective of our times. Surely, art and architecture has more significance than pandering to middle-class tastes. There are many mediocre artists creating pretty and thoroughly unimportant artworks that appeal to the masses - but high art cannot be held back by convention and sentimentality.
@@mhug162 I understand the sentiment - and I'm not trying to be snobbish or elitist - but art does reflect the spirit of the times (good and bad). I certainly would agree there is a great deal of superficiality in contemporary art - but isn't that entirely reflective of our contemporary Western values and culture? I can see the appeal of classicism from a purely aesthetic perspective - but, in a way, even that is reduced to little more than a "lifestyle choice" or decor/backdrop to live out a postmodern simulation of real life.
Seriously, what is holding them back to give their flats at nice facade or at least a good looking roof. Glad you're doing what needs to be done to fight these soulless buildings.
Thank you very much for the Portuguese Audio Track, your channel is amazing! Your content attracts me a lot, I like Architecture and Urbanism, your videos are great! I wish there were more videos in Portuguese,Anyway, thank you very much for the translation. 🇧🇷♥️
While those buildings are beautiful, lowering density and the amout of housing will worsen the housing crisis (unless you want urban sprawl). Aren't places like Hong Kong, Lower Manhattan or Singapore full of life because they're dense (plus, the Empire State Building, Woolworth Building and Chrysler Building are super high but also beautiful)? High rises are preferred over four to five-floor houses simply because there are more people today to be housed than there ever were when the latter were preferred. Designing the outsides of those highrises to look like traditional architecture of Utrecht (or any other city of your choice) will very much make them prettier than the boring boxes that the architects envision.
Great job, did you present the outcomes to the city planners and perhaps the mayor? I hope it's picked up and has an impact on future projects, and that this kind of FORWARD thinking spreads everywhere.
The lack of sufficient density kills this scheme. Personally I'm a minimalist, but I don't have a problem with correctly designed traditional architecture - I'm especially fan of English/Scottish Arts and Crafts (CFA Voysey, Lutyens, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.) The problem is small pokey buildings don't address the real problems of modern cities, and by rigidly sticking to traditional form you've painted yourself into a corner. Nor do they address the way people wish to live these days - 90% of my work consists of opening up the house, reorientating the living space towards the private garden, and connecting the interior and exterior spaces. Things that are not features of traditional design. Traditionalists need to be bold and inventive to solve these problems, and you need to utilise modern construction technology to it's full potential, not simply use it to slavishly copy the facades of the past. But that goes against your inherent conservatism. You also have the problem that architects are natural creatives and do not want to just slavishly copy the styles of the past. Saying this, the modern movement is also getting tired at this point, but the underlying construction technologies - reinforced concrete, structural steel, and plate glass ultimately dictates the built form, just as it does for preindustrial architecture. How are you going to incorporate these advancements to your designs? For example, how do you incorporate a frameless glass curtain wall into a traditional building? Or do you think these features and technologies should be ignored/banned? I actually think the work of Frank Lloyd Wright suggests a way forward, especially his mid period work (from Unity Temple in 1908 to Fallingwater in 1937) when he started incorporating modernist forms into his work but still had the holdover of his earlier Prarie style and was playing with vernacular styles. Also, understand that what you are criticising is not architecture, but commercial real estate development. Any architecture was value engineered out of these buildings. But this is a tactic traditionalists use, pick on the worst examples of developer construction and act as if that represents the best of modern architecture, when I suspect that you know full well it doesn't.
5:08 something... i disagree... closed courtyards disconnect the inhabitants from the outside community and is some form of gated community thing... well i guess a middleway would be perfect, if you do courtyards and combine them with Kindergartens, Schools or even retirement homes make them close in the way that people cannot simply enter but safety for inhabitants is still provided, other courtyards could and should be open, part of an overall city greenery, walking paths (desire paths, shortcuts, name it).
There is room for both traditional and modern architecture, to me it’s about a balance and incorporating smart Ecotechnologies into these buildings. I grew up in the 1960s and there was not a problem being unsupervised as a child, in North America we called it free range, kids, we got on our bikes and explored, made games and picked up bottles from the garbage that we would exchange for two cents, If we got enough, we could buy a milkshake which we would all share.
Thank you for adding the audio in Portuguese. During my undergraduate studies at my university, we only learned the basics of architectural history, the main focus, unfortunately, was on modern architecture. I learned more after I graduated than I did at university.
The real reason we dont build like this, is money. Building beautiful things costs more than those cookie cutter blocks with cheap repetitive facades. Greedy developers and contractors only care about hoarding as much money as possible, and they know people will buy those ugly apartment blocks anyway, because scarcity. So they stick to the cheapest, mass produced solution possible. We truly live in a boring capitalist dystopia.
I tend to agree with the stuff you say, but the courtyard argument seems lame. You would prefer to have some kind of gated communities where the children can only play with kids from the same block and be isolated? I think its very feasible to just have them as public spaces and open up the green spaces to more people.
Thank goodness there are designers out there that understand how people interact with beauty! Planers are NOT architects or designers! They are the evil plague that ruins everyone’s lives. Look at the parts of cities we consider beautiful…ALL are old, historic and in scale with everyday lives AND NONE OF THEM WERE SUBJECT TO (modern) PLANNING CONSTRAINTS! One addendum to this … Corbusier (one of the originators of horrific architecture) was NOT an architect… he was a snake oil salesman that traveled from place to place and tricked his way into allowing to ruin people’s cities. Don’t believe me? Just go check.
Although i'm critical of much modernist architecture, i find your movement very ocnservative. I've been to your beloved Brandevoort and also to Op Buuren and this kind of imitation felt like fake Disney to me. China also likes to copy European classic architecture and it usually turns out odd.
This kind of work and content is so important, people need to know they are allowed a say in how their cities look, not just architects that are designing for other architects
Well, he said it, if you don't build high, you cannot accommodate as many people (to live there). Planning is all well and good, but it is a few steps removed from actually building the buildings and getting people to live there. The planners have very little control over the developers and builders who buy the land to make a profit. They could control the whole process in a country like the USSR, but look what happened there. Masterplans are very seldom carried out as intended because the people who really plan our cities and towns are the money men, 'developers'. If the population of Europe or USA or Japan or China or India is to keep on growing so fast, unless you build high, you will cover the countryside with cities and who thinks that is a good idea? Also, how much do little, over decorated buildings cost to erect, the main reason for the plainness of modernism is that it costs less than employing a stone carver to labour over a detail for days and days ... it was the norm to pay serfs virtually nothing at all to do their work 200 years ago when the beautiful ornamented buildings were built - but they lived in poverty, that is socially unacceptable now isn't it? So the best you can achieve is an expensive fake stone made of, well, concrete! There are joys of living in spacious modern rooms and flats, with big windows, it feels superb - and I agree, much of the new blocks are badly designed and cramped - but again, what other system or style or plan provides housing for populations growing 1% per year?
I disagree with public courtyards/parks being a bad choice. Children have safely played in public places for millennia. The real problems are cars and the death of neighborhood community.
I once had a rather heated discussion with an Architecture student who had "bought" the Bauhaus ethic. She was a real disciple, and now 20 years on is responsible for protecting older building in our city. I am worried for our built heritage for, that leopards do not change their spots.
I’m from Utrecht and the whole time I was praying to my hear that the city chose one of the students designs. We need more traditional and cultured architecture!
The graphic at 4:46 makes clear something that I thought but wasn't sure was the case, that "Gentle Density" and "Missing Middle" mean the same thing. I suppose the latter term is highly US-centric (it's *missing* because the vast bulk of our cities' land is zoned for single-family houses and nothing short of a high-rise "luxury" tower block is cost-effective to build in the remaining space).
I studied business in the US but have gone down the urbanist rabbit hole, seeing this makes me wish I had studied architecture. Regardless I will find a way to help bring back beautiful cities, great video Ruben!
Hello everyone, over 60 years we see so called modern plans for building homes. A few times it did work, but mostly not. People do eat and sleep there, but go out to the old centers of cities. O was luckily to have parents who loved history and old architecture. I was 3 years old mostly 4 when we did go out at that time, on a moped that was literally a bicycle with an auxiliary motor, the Solex. We did go out of Amsterdam to Wijk bij Duurstede, on the way stopping by beautiful old buildings and my father told about the time it was built, the style, and all there was to tell. Most modern people don't learn really about history and architecture. In my opinion this isn't right. Were are the old skills of reading, writing and calculating. Why don't know many people about the WWII as example. Groing up with good and mixed education Let see young people a wide spectrum of possibilities. What do you think? Have you all a wonderful day and let's make a better World. Arie the Dutchman.
4 criteria are important : (1) the number of appartments ; (2) the size and quality of appartments ; (3) the access to commodities ; (4) the cost. If its negative on any of them, talking about aesthetic (and so this video) is quite pointless.
so tired of this modern "utopian" slop that are just a bunch of glass and concrete blocks with grass on them "wow so eco-friendly" except they look bland and sterile af, is that what you want to see everyday in the long run?
Merwede reminds me of Nieuw Zuid, which is a new neighborhood full of modern residential blocks and towers. When they initiated the plans in the 90s I was hopeful they would take cues from the 19th-century Zuid district that borders it, but alas.
the first plan is bad, but the students’ plan is no less terrible, architecture must meet the spirit of the times, what the students did is a surrogate, a “Chinese fake” you cannot, in the 21st century, imitate Gothic buildings or, I look at one architect, and he correctly says that new imitations devalue real historical buildings. At the same time, the city does not give anything, only a feeling of plasticity and fakeness
Here in Japan there's a perception that the only kind of building that is efficient is an ugly one, and the only attractive building is one that looks like it came from a future we never get to. Also, trees are dirty snd risky, so they are best kept small and stunted.
closed(private) courtyards were famous in portuguese social houses, unfortunatly a lot of those closed courtyards were used for illegal activities, making the building a fortress. in the end most buildings with private greenery were demolished because of how hard police had it.
I’m from Utrecht and even though i am ok with our ‘new’ trainstation area, i totally agree with this video. It’s one thing to create a hub around a trainstation in the modern style, but residential areas need something else. I hope our municipality will see this too.
Because it's all about money and time, to build cheaper and faster. 30 years to build Plessis-Robinson with buildings having some minimal classic detailing or 5 years to build that...modern crap. I like classic styles and also I like brutalism (as there is a lot of interesting futuristic-like concrete designs, like that from fantastic cosmic movies). If to build some bulding with gothic style (like, let's say, House with Chimaeras in Kyiv) will take about 2 years (and I even don't know how much money and human resource it will need (sculptors, for example). But I'm convinced that facades should be beautiful (to certain degree, like minimalistic detailing and sculpture work should be present). After all every one can ask yourself "What makes Paris or Barcelona or Vienna beatiful?", and there are a lot of other beatiful smaller cities and places.
As much as traditional architecture is good, at the same time just outright opposing modern simplistic architecture is just bad imo just as bad because when done right, modern buildings can look good. The biggest problem with this Utrech modern design really is the chaotic nature of the plan rather than the fact it's modernist design imo, as it's a sheer mess of different heights with no clear unified color scheme which is why it looks so off. If it were more orderly with consistent heights, more uniform and continuous architectural styles for each block, while concentrating the highest towers for example along the water front and having the building height gradually go down while having shorter buildings between the towers on the canal side, you'd get this beautiful consistent gradient of height which would rise and drop like a wave at the canal as if it was the uneven surface of water. My city of Jyväskylä has this former industrial area of Lutakko which saw its redevelopment finished by this decade, and it is a good example of modern acrchitecture that works well and creates a wonderful area. (the most recent development by the piers is not visible on Google Earth though yet). The buildings are mostly blocky with a mix of flat and slightly tilted roofs, while having a color palet of white, red and dark grey. In turn the buildings are arraned in blocks and are spaced out, with plenty of greenery, and the buildings are mostly ordered such that the 5-6 floor buildigns create a u shape taking up most of the blocks and in turn the lake side is lined with high rises in a neat row. Alternatively on the opposite lakefront of Kuokkala across the ridge you have these tiered modern blocky apartments which look very pretty along the coastal pathway, with a dark gery and white color scheme. Frankly the biggest problem of the plan's aesthetic is not that it's modern architecture, but that this architecture is just a mess with no order to it. As much as I love traditional architecture of Paris or medieval cities, similarly I love the simplistic style of modern buildings that are in my city's area of Lutakko and Kokkola, my own apartment block, or the general aesthetic of most of the buildings in the original plan.
@@alehaim if you spend all of your energy fighting against the things you don't want, nothing will change, just the gap becomes bigger. If instead, like here, you invest in creating the things you do want, something new grows.... and the old gradually will die back. Go forth my visionaries!
I'm a classical musician and this bland modernism is what I'm fighting against as well. I've already written about it in my Substack "Romantic Rebellion". Just like in our cities and living spaces, the current mainstream style for playing Romantic era and older music is to play everything in a generic, impersonal, and unemotional way. I'm advocating for a return to older, more humanist values that elevate the spirit and help build connection and reaffirm the importance of communal ritual events. I do this by interpreting the beloved music in more theatrical and dramatic ways, thus creating emotionally ineligible and vibrant performances. Thanks for your videos! They are incredibly inspiring and beautiful. ❤
These boxy designs are inhuman and often depressing but thats not solely an architectural choice, its an Economic one. Traditional architecture is skilled labor intensive and therefore cost prohibitive, in order to stick to the bugets given by clients the most feasible solution is usually a standardized box so thats what designs converge on. Most student projects are far more creative and beautiful than the ones they actually build later in their careers and while that not what we want most people also dont want to pay alot extra for purely aesthetic parts of buildings.
I work in an architectural practice and it's very common for designs to have visual elements added early in the design process and then have them ripped out before the thing is actually built
Head to squarespace.com/theaestheticcity to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code THEAESTHETICCITY
Please consider doing a video explaining economy’s of density in cities
Are you aware, that you have the automatic AI translation feature enabled, which UA-cam introduced recently? If not, the translation is very unhuman and therefore unpleasant to read, especially as there is no way to get the original text to read.
Unpopular opinion: The original was nicer.
Your links to squarespace don't work, you might want to fix that.
Apart from that, I really like the idea of a reintroduction of aesthetics into modern architecture and hope to see more of your videos in the future. Keep up the good work.
A bit disappointed there aren't any efforts to present these results to the public of Utrecht, local newspapers or to local deputies.
We wrote to newspapers with a press release, but no interest :(
@@the_aesthetic_city Hand out flyers or put up posters in local cafes!
Think traditional forms of advertising! Especially near the council offices.
@@the_aesthetic_city old media are all controlled
@@the_aesthetic_city If you have a poster I could put it up in the local cafe I work at.
@@the_aesthetic_cityWhat a surprise 🙈
Let those who seek and create BEAUTY rise!
I wonder how long before people realize that maybe we shouldnt just preserve the old town, maybe we should expand it.
Interesting how people flock to places with good architecture and urbanism but we don't build those places anymore.
Demand is so high, and most architecture firm CEO's don't care/ understand the importance of pretty buildings
Unpopular opinion: The original, meaning the one done by the planner, was nicer.
We’re winning the battle against the modernist architects! ⚔️
Slowly but surely
They're their own first victims, don't forget the human.
Don't forget the human, there is space for everyone.
That is a hard battle my friend..
The problem isn't mordernism, rather it's the construction of stupid and ugly buildings. I wouldn't have problems if mordern styles of architecture was gently incorporated into our ancient forms of architecture, but these cheap, concrete nonsense they make nowadays honestly makes me want to puke.
I was in Utrecht this summer for work for a few days. You could see the liveability and desirability aspect just walking to lunch. First, that train station is horrible and uncomfortable. But what I really noticed is that looking for a place to have lunch, you'd walk down the street, and one street would be all the old architecture, and it'd be full of people, and literally the next street would be all modernist crap, and no one was there, you'd just see people rushing to get past it as quickly as possible. Then, the next would be old architecture again, and again, full of people and life. It was such an object lesson in how greatly the architecture affects liveability and desirability. But, we live in such stupid times that people are always making excuses for horrible, ugly boxes, and pretending that's the only choice, when it's not. And worse, is some of those truly hideous buildings actually cost far more than a more elegant and beautiful building would be.
THIS! It is really not so hard to see. Let’s build the types of places where people want to stick around, as those are the places where people feel happy and at home. Why is this this so hard to see? Why do I need to make videos about this in the first place 😂
Anyway it is great to read comments from people who have been in Utrecht too :) thanks for watching!
@@the_aesthetic_cityThe problem is planners being considered more important than architects, designers and artists.
You’re a populist
End of conversation 😊
@@guzy1971 Nah, it’s the end of the conversation because there can be no reasoning with cold, emotionless, heartless people who lack even an iota of creativity.
We in Croatia have traditional arhitecture movment its caled Dragodid and its located on Vis iland, and its focused on traditional Dalmatian houses made of stone
Isn't it an abandonned settlement of stone houses somewhere? Or is that where it takes its name from?
As an HVAC engineer/consultant, raised by a buildingprojectmanager with a love for classical architecture. I know a lot of brick patterns by heart. And love the building details on old buildings. It's the details that give buildings character, what makes them beautifull to look at. A nice brick patter, a bit of overhang with seperate potruding supports. An arch in above the windows.
I absolutely love this. And it makes me happy to see that it's a growing passion amongst young students.
Nest up would be to see how they'll be able to combine new building codes (isolation, ventilation and such) with the old style exterior, without making it all "facade architecture".
Keep up this course! Absolutely awesome. And detrimental to getting back to livable cities!
Traditionalists are usually only interested in facadism, their understanding of architecture usually doesn't extend further than "is the facade pretty to me?"
By rigidly sticking to classicism you are limiting what can and cannot be built (show me a classical airport) and not exploiting the full potential of modern construction technology.
@@mrglasses8953the modern look is downright ugly, yes their needs to be a balance between old and new. Humans tend to hang out in the older areas built for humans, those places look nice and just feel nice. The older style is nice to be around and is meant for humans, the modern school produces glass and steel with no decoration and no concerns for the people living their.
@@jonathanjones3126 I personally don't like "decoration," especially not on the interior and plenty of modernist buildings are not ugly at all, e.g. Fallingwater or the Kaufmann Desert House.
The problem is bad architecture not style.
i really hope the visions of these students will finally put some reason in the developer's mentality and actually build them
I don't think they will build the students' designs, but I at least hope other cities will become aware of this issue and not make the same mistakes...
In Detroit we’re tearing out a useless freeway and it inherently creates an amazing opportunity to rebuild a large part of the city that was gutted in the 60’s. But similar to this project in Utrecht, the professional designs for what to build there are abhorrent abominations that will further scar the city.
Except the state wants to replace it with an eight lane surface artery. If they stick to this as their demand it's better to keep the 375 freeway and build a tunnel enclosure over it and fill in the gaps in order to build buildings on top.
Modernist architects also tend to blur the lines between urban and rural, which all turns into an ugly mess that nobody likes.
If I where king of Latvija I would restrict all urban residential contruction to have to be done in traditional baltic, gothic, jugendstyle, baroq or neo classical. Beauty is very important to me and also keeps people sane. Cities are home to 60% of the population and thus they should feel homey.
What if I personally don't want a traditional house?
@@mrglasses8953 Go live in a rural area where nobody has to see it.
@@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714 Construction is not allowed in green belt. And why assume all modernist buildings are ugly? What about say Fallingwater or the Kaufmann Desert house?
@@mrglasses8953 "Construction is not allowed in green belt." Latvija has no such thing anywhere.
"And why assume all modernist buildings are ugly?" Im not assuming. I have eyes and judgement, Ive seen them and judged them.
"What about say Fallingwater or the Kaufmann Desert house?" Ugly and ugly.
The only city with modern achitecture Id ever want to live in is Planeptune, but thats not because of the architecture but rather because its a literal utopia where the governments top priority is keeping the people entertained as they just dont have any problems.
Wish initiatives like this could make actual change. Thank you for raising awareness
They will, but it will take time. These programmes are very recent, but word is spreading fast, and once politicians see that there is an interest for it, they will follow suit. So far there has been little incentive for them to.build classical, because the loud voices have cone from modernists.
Sadly the people involved in city planning rarely care about beauty and quality of life, neither do building contractors. In Heidelberg, Germany, there were a few neighbourhoods redeveloped recently and guess how they look like...Everything is rectangular, hardly any space between the bland buildings. Where they could spare a little space for a square that is exactly what you get - a square space with a couple of benches...The contrast with what was built even as recently as the 70s and 80s is striking - it is suffocating and depressing, they keep building as if WWII just ended. They did not even plan comfortable roads, because they didn't want those neighbourhoods to feel too urban..oh the irony.
Are you talking about Bahnstadt?
Bahnstadt is awful. Everywhere the same. Look what they build in Karlsruhe behind the main station or what they want to do with the Landratsamt. They just make ugly, embarrassing cities.
What do you mean with comfortable roads?
I think money is the problem, being a roofer i know when they brought in caramik rooftiles that were close to the price of concrete tiles, the majority of customers decided to go for the more tradicional and worthier look of ceramik tiles instead of standart concrete, and they dident regret it when it was done.
Exactly - it seems incredibly weird to pretend these buildings are designed principally because of 'fashion' in architecture
But a lot of "ornamentation" of traditional buildings is not that expensive. Actually in 19th century, most of european town buildings ornamentations ware mass produced in molds. If there was demand I bet we would get a lot of cheap solutions to get the proper result. Beside for example brick based ornamentation - it does not increase material costs that much, it is only about the skill of designer and mason. Last but not least, as mr Krier preaches - vernacular doesn't necessary needs to be extremely ornamented, let's look at traditional town houses in most European cities, they have really minimal ornamentation - like some gentle cornice for horizontal divides, windows with muntins ect. nothing fancy.
@@oliverstrahle they are actually, because in 99% cases designer or investor will not even think about choosing the other style then international modernism.
@@rafap1719 Ornamentation adds to cost, and things like window mullions kill u-values. On commercial real estate it will get cost engineered out 9 times out of 10.
The modernist buildings you see also suffer the same fate, as the attention to detail is always lacking vs what is achieved on private housing.
Vernacular houses always end up as stupid cartoonish "noddy" housing in the UK, and traditional floor plan layouts don't suit they way people want to live these days - people usually want open plan interiors with the living spaces to the rear with large expanses of glass connecting to the garden.
You guys are doing very important work. I wish you all the best and I hope you will be regarded as the pioneers who brought us back from the dark age of architecture and urban planning.
So happy to see this initiative taking place for young architects, so they get experience the development of true valuable architectural infrastructure - even if is just as an exercise.
This is fantastic news! Keep on the great work! Time to change the world and bring back a more human way of living. Tradition has lots to teach us. Not just architecture, but philosophy of life.
Why do architects and planners keep having the worst ideas ever and thinking people will like them?! It shouldn't be rare or difficult for people to have the idea to build beautiful and aesthetic places.
This!!
@@the_aesthetic_city people in my country don't even know buildings can be different from square/rectangle boxes of concrete and glass. It's very, VERY depressing all around everywhere. This is why I plan to move to the Netherlands in the future.
@@POLARTTYRTM It's not much better here in The Netherlands. There are a few nice projects but most new buildings are still soulless boxes.
@@ayrton56612 but life in general is so much better, cities are safer, better looking, you don't need a car to go somewhere 1km or less away, etc. Latin America can be very tough to live in.
@@POLARTTYRTM Oh yeah in that case it is definitely better. I thought you wanted to move for more inspiring work.
My God, how I love this channel!
I recently discovered your channel, you give me hope! I’m one of those students you mentioned that have gotten ridiculed for presenting projects that are “too vernacular”. I’ll definitely be applying to some of the Summer Schools you linked, they even offer scholarships!
Interesting (mis?) use of the term since something can be both modern and vernacular - the stereotypical '50s diner, for instance.
You are doing great work, thank you.
Doing my best!
Bravo to the students!
The students designed a far superior city block than the so called “professional planners” who designed the block like a two year old toddler.
The students are probably thinking
"Can't wait to show how dumb my professor is"
Even two years old toddler would have done a better job than these so called professional city modernist planner...
@@marcusantoninus1838 They fit less square meters and less green spaces.
@@marcusantoninus1838 Modernist architects represent the decline of technical-creative skillsets all over the West.
@@ligametis So you want a nature band-aid to make up for the ugly and shoddy modernist architecture design?
Love the idea but how many homes did these plans involve compared to the 6000 homes of the modernist design? And what effect does this have on the financial feasebility? It will not be cheap to buy out, demolish and sanitize the industrial area.
The modernist plan uses reinforced concrete and PVC materials. None of those materials can last more than 100 years and is not environmentally friendly to produce and dispose of.
Passing over the first question because I that would require work to assess, but on the second, in this instance, given the proximity close to the centre of town, I would highly expect that buyers would be willing to pay a premium for housing in that location (because accessibility is a key driver of housing value) and so in theory the amount that can cost can be offset by the increased selling price.
Of course though, the seller wants to make the most money possible, so if they can drive their costs down then they will. IMO this is where municipalities need to have design policies/requirements that push for these aesthetic requirements, although some will argue that stops artistic freedom (or rather that argument will come from many developers because of said profit focus).
Another thing to note is that whilst such policies/requirements are possible in this example, in others they will most probably make things financially infeasible, so they can never be a catch all. Which is a danger, because in planning we like to use catch all simplified principles that we apply to everything.
Mental unhealth also costs.
historians of the future will assume a cube-obssessed culture has colonized the entire world.
I was taught that in school? I assumed that to be truth, Squaro de Boxo, great conquistador of the New World.
aliens. lol. Only explanation!
Modern block buildings are also harder to build. They always contain some sort of weird feature that the designers want that looks like it is defying gravity. I can guarantee modern architecture has tons of unnecessary costs.
modern block buildings are meant not to be beautiful, but to end a housing crisis.
@@EkoFrankou didn’t even read what they said. if the goal is to build massive amounts of housing, then you want to save money which classical architecture tends to
Terrific videos, I look forward to them.
I never thought this common sense change would happen in my life time,
May all involved, be successful, These young architects & their ideas are exactly what is needed.
Good luck to all.
North Bennett Street School in Boston is also teaching the scale and proportion of classical architecture. Good to see that this is becoming a global movement, but cost will always be a challenge. Beauty costs more right now.
I have absolutely no problem with using computers and CAD programs. The instrument is not the problem. The mindset is!
But there is something more humane about using pen and paper. The plans will be digitalised later anyway.
I always think in this way about motorcycles. Old machines from 1970s and 80s don't have the performance of new bikes, but there is something that gives them soul. The difference is that these machines were designed by engineers on drawing boards instead of CAD.
Same principle applies to buildings.
Love your work, please make lots more videos.
Will try to make even more even faster!
This will be a revolutionary movement in the coming decade in the whole world
I think so - but we shall see! There are many battles ahead.. it will be hard to change an industry
Thank you for a wonderful channel. It's so encouraging to see these students (especially the very young ones) taking an interest in traditional building methods and beautiful buildings. The course sounds amazing, with the best lecturers. Let's hope this movement will spread, we're so tired of ugly buildings, they're ruining the skyline in so many parts of London, the City, the South Bank, and they don't have any gardens, but a couple of token saplings in their "green" areas, awful. Victorian, Edwardian and 30s houses were considered high density too, yet London isn't building them anymore or in the rare cases when they get built, the gardens are postage-stamp size.
Cool! Very cool R!
The pendulum will swing to new traditional art in general!
Thank you! 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Love it! So beautiful, I Hope you continue your wonderful work, I love this Channel!
Your videos are truly inspiring! Good luck moving forward
Just wish this thinking would spread to Canada.
I agree. We need livable and beautiful cities in Canada. I can’t stand the ugliness.
I work at one of the bigger contractors in the Netherlands and I am 1 of those people responsible for creating these modern (sometimes ugly) buildings.
I'm very happy with this channel and I watch most videos. As a engineer I would prefer to only build beautiful buildings but sadly I'm also depended on three markets and the creations of architects. So in glad with this knowledge.
Currently working on the Binnenhof renovations. So I'm currently working on a building I actually think is amazing.
Keep up the good work!
"but sadly I'm also depended on three markets and the creations of architects." City councils in the Netherlands are very often advised by people who wear red shoes, black trousers dito shirts and large fancy looking glasses. Those people see traditional architecture as swearing in a Church. And they seem to keep each other in-check: anyone who dares to design buildings with a traditional look, will be declared outcast and are subsequently being excommunicated. (Thus no more invitations to participate in pitches to design buildings / urbanizations for local governments etc.) So there must be a culture of fear.
@ that too, but there are many reasons why things are the way they are.
We have environmental targets, building costs and labour shortage to name just a few.
Getting something build is insanely expensive nowadays and it has no use building something if people can’t afford it imo.
@@Asdos. That may be your perspective. For me the cost of a single brick is exactly the same for a traditional building compared to a modernistic building. Environmental targets can IMHO perfectly met in a new building, that looks as if it was made in the 19th century in comparison to a modernistic looking building. Building costs: a good point. But as long as local governments keep the balance of power leaning towards real estate developers - who want to maximise profits - and do not have eye for the overall community interests - how subjective that may be -, nothing will change. Labour shortage: a true issue. However: when a building is being build, it is being build. And it can look nice, traditional or have ugly modernistic look. Nowadays, especially in the Netherlands: we see the mistakes made in the 60's, 70's and 80's of the past century. And we are repeating the same mistakes again. And wen we focus on one of the main issues in the video: virtually all modernistic buildings are interchangable. The same buildings in the Merwede-zone, can be seen in Groningen's plans for 'Suikerzijde' and 'Stadshavens'. And those types of building one can see in Hamburg, Newcastle, Pforzheim and so on. Local residents however have no saying in the way city councils are developing new urbanizations.
@@Asdos. Thanks for giving a snapshot into the world of depressing prison cubes taking over the world ; ) I know nothing at all about building modern buildings. My return question to people who spout the tired (not saying you are here, talking about general conversations I've had), 'but it is too expensive and time!', is: Is concrete not poured into molds? A mold can be any shape. We now live in the most technologically advanced and efficient period ever known human history... what is stopping us? (from thinking outside of the box).
Please repair the cities in West-Germany. Essen and Cologne are ugly as hell.
"Futuristic" vs Futureproof
Thanks for the work you do 🧡🧡💚
Love this! Keep going!
the modern urge to build awful buildings needs to be studied
It should indeed be studied - what's going on in these people's minds
@@the_aesthetic_city everything as cheap as possible. So sad, we used to be a country that built some of the prettiest houses, now we live in drop off boxes.
@@the_aesthetic_city GDP per capita and shit is prolly first and foremost for them.
@@the_aesthetic_city Money. In the case of architects, just earning a living.
Understand we don't set out to build ugly buildings, regardless of style, but any detailing that isn't necessary will get value engineered out.
Pretty cool, but is there a focus on trying to compete in terms of profitability? It could be that even the developers and city planers want to build like that but profit is always on top. Unless you make it as or even more profitable to build like this I think it would be pretty hard to change their mind
It's not even profit that's the main issue, it's affordability. Ordinary people simple can't afford to build traditional buildings - unless you go down the American route of completely unauthentic buildings (mcMansions) made with simulated materials and prefabricated elements. The problem I have with this push for new Classical buildings is that it's generally very reactionary and is largely based on style and 'feelings' over substance.
It's hard to compete with bare walls and straight lines on price but frankly this kind of architecture is ideal for elite buildings. The slums that modern buildings replaced were no pretty sight. As a capitalist, I've got no problem with having inequality in building quality as we will never have a truly equal society. At least the poor can see beautiful buildings and be inspired to live there someday.
@@mhug162 The question I have is how does Classicism represent Western culture in 2024? It's part of Western history but, in it purist form, it's not especially reflective of our times. Surely, art and architecture has more significance than pandering to middle-class tastes. There are many mediocre artists creating pretty and thoroughly unimportant artworks that appeal to the masses - but high art cannot be held back by convention and sentimentality.
@@modfusMiddle class taste meaning rejecting urinals and paint splots as art? yeah, sign me up
@@mhug162 I understand the sentiment - and I'm not trying to be snobbish or elitist - but art does reflect the spirit of the times (good and bad). I certainly would agree there is a great deal of superficiality in contemporary art - but isn't that entirely reflective of our contemporary Western values and culture? I can see the appeal of classicism from a purely aesthetic perspective - but, in a way, even that is reduced to little more than a "lifestyle choice" or decor/backdrop to live out a postmodern simulation of real life.
The youth was always the driving force ⚔️🏡
Seriously, what is holding them back to give their flats at nice facade or at least a good looking roof. Glad you're doing what needs to be done to fight these soulless buildings.
Based students
we have never been more back
Beauty should be the only way 😊
If you don't have to pay for the bricks and the roof...
Thank you very much for the Portuguese Audio Track, your channel is amazing! Your content attracts me a lot, I like Architecture and Urbanism, your videos are great! I wish there were more videos in Portuguese,Anyway, thank you very much for the translation. 🇧🇷♥️
Please consider doing a video explaining economy’s of density in cities
While those buildings are beautiful, lowering density and the amout of housing will worsen the housing crisis (unless you want urban sprawl). Aren't places like Hong Kong, Lower Manhattan or Singapore full of life because they're dense (plus, the Empire State Building, Woolworth Building and Chrysler Building are super high but also beautiful)?
High rises are preferred over four to five-floor houses simply because there are more people today to be housed than there ever were when the latter were preferred.
Designing the outsides of those highrises to look like traditional architecture of Utrecht (or any other city of your choice) will very much make them prettier than the boring boxes that the architects envision.
All fine if you ignore boring topics like funding and affordability.
Great job, did you present the outcomes to the city planners and perhaps the mayor? I hope it's picked up and has an impact on future projects, and that this kind of FORWARD thinking spreads everywhere.
The lack of sufficient density kills this scheme.
Personally I'm a minimalist, but I don't have a problem with correctly designed traditional architecture - I'm especially fan of English/Scottish Arts and Crafts (CFA Voysey, Lutyens, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.) The problem is small pokey buildings don't address the real problems of modern cities, and by rigidly sticking to traditional form you've painted yourself into a corner. Nor do they address the way people wish to live these days - 90% of my work consists of opening up the house, reorientating the living space towards the private garden, and connecting the interior and exterior spaces. Things that are not features of traditional design.
Traditionalists need to be bold and inventive to solve these problems, and you need to utilise modern construction technology to it's full potential, not simply use it to slavishly copy the facades of the past. But that goes against your inherent conservatism.
You also have the problem that architects are natural creatives and do not want to just slavishly copy the styles of the past. Saying this, the modern movement is also getting tired at this point, but the underlying construction technologies - reinforced concrete, structural steel, and plate glass ultimately dictates the built form, just as it does for preindustrial architecture. How are you going to incorporate these advancements to your designs? For example, how do you incorporate a frameless glass curtain wall into a traditional building? Or do you think these features and technologies should be ignored/banned?
I actually think the work of Frank Lloyd Wright suggests a way forward, especially his mid period work (from Unity Temple in 1908 to Fallingwater in 1937) when he started incorporating modernist forms into his work but still had the holdover of his earlier Prarie style and was playing with vernacular styles.
Also, understand that what you are criticising is not architecture, but commercial real estate development. Any architecture was value engineered out of these buildings. But this is a tactic traditionalists use, pick on the worst examples of developer construction and act as if that represents the best of modern architecture, when I suspect that you know full well it doesn't.
5:08 something... i disagree... closed courtyards disconnect the inhabitants from the outside community and is some form of gated community thing... well i guess a middleway would be perfect, if you do courtyards and combine them with Kindergartens, Schools or even retirement homes make them close in the way that people cannot simply enter but safety for inhabitants is still provided, other courtyards could and should be open, part of an overall city greenery, walking paths (desire paths, shortcuts, name it).
You really are God’s architect on earth. Keep the movement strong like you are always doing.
There is room for both traditional and modern architecture, to me it’s about a balance and incorporating smart Ecotechnologies into these buildings. I grew up in the 1960s and there was not a problem being unsupervised as a child, in North America we called it free range, kids, we got on our bikes and explored, made games and picked up bottles from the garbage that we would exchange for two cents, If we got enough, we could buy a milkshake which we would all share.
There were no mass immigration issues back then, where was trust between people, you just can't do that nowadays in eastern europe.
Noise is a real problem with enclosed courtyards
A few trees help a lot, also I think these courtyards are meant to be big, not small echo chambers
Street noise is a huge problem if you don't have courtyards at all
What kind of noise is the problem?
@@Asbjoern drunk people partying until 2 AM
@@09conrado Modern windows dosent really let that much noise in. But i understand your problem.
What a fantastic idea. Great video. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thank you for adding the audio in Portuguese. During my undergraduate studies at my university, we only learned the basics of architectural history, the main focus, unfortunately, was on modern architecture. I learned more after I graduated than I did at university.
so proud of them! sending love from the US
The real reason we dont build like this, is money. Building beautiful things costs more than those cookie cutter blocks with cheap repetitive facades. Greedy developers and contractors only care about hoarding as much money as possible, and they know people will buy those ugly apartment blocks anyway, because scarcity. So they stick to the cheapest, mass produced solution possible. We truly live in a boring capitalist dystopia.
Past industrialists at least had stylish dwellings built to the workforce. Now paperpushers do the bare minimum.
I tend to agree with the stuff you say, but the courtyard argument seems lame. You would prefer to have some kind of gated communities where the children can only play with kids from the same block and be isolated? I think its very feasible to just have them as public spaces and open up the green spaces to more people.
Great job!
Thank goodness there are designers out there that understand how people interact with beauty! Planers are NOT architects or designers! They are the evil plague that ruins everyone’s lives. Look at the parts of cities we consider beautiful…ALL are old, historic and in scale with everyday lives AND NONE OF THEM WERE SUBJECT TO (modern) PLANNING CONSTRAINTS! One addendum to this … Corbusier (one of the originators of horrific architecture) was NOT an architect… he was a snake oil salesman that traveled from place to place and tricked his way into allowing to ruin people’s cities. Don’t believe me? Just go check.
He was probably funded by the concrete lobby??
That is some seriously talented students, very impressed! Love it! 👍🏻👌🏻👏🏻😍🥰
5:15 I am so happy you pushed back on this "everything must be accessible" fetish. Society seems to hate children, families and public safety.
Great video! 😊
Is this whole video an ad?
Although i'm critical of much modernist architecture, i find your movement very ocnservative. I've been to your beloved Brandevoort and also to Op Buuren and this kind of imitation felt like fake Disney to me. China also likes to copy European classic architecture and it usually turns out odd.
Traditionalists are deviod of creativity, and cannot see past the facade. Their entire movement is nothing more than facadism.
This kind of work and content is so important, people need to know they are allowed a say in how their cities look, not just architects that are designing for other architects
The students’ plans are amazing!
Well, he said it, if you don't build high, you cannot accommodate as many people (to live there). Planning is all well and good, but it is a few steps removed from actually building the buildings and getting people to live there. The planners have very little control over the developers and builders who buy the land to make a profit. They could control the whole process in a country like the USSR, but look what happened there. Masterplans are very seldom carried out as intended because the people who really plan our cities and towns are the money men, 'developers'.
If the population of Europe or USA or Japan or China or India is to keep on growing so fast, unless you build high, you will cover the countryside with cities and who thinks that is a good idea?
Also, how much do little, over decorated buildings cost to erect, the main reason for the plainness of modernism is that it costs less than employing a stone carver to labour over a detail for days and days ... it was the norm to pay serfs virtually nothing at all to do their work 200 years ago when the beautiful ornamented buildings were built - but they lived in poverty, that is socially unacceptable now isn't it? So the best you can achieve is an expensive fake stone made of, well, concrete!
There are joys of living in spacious modern rooms and flats, with big windows, it feels superb - and I agree, much of the new blocks are badly designed and cramped - but again, what other system or style or plan provides housing for populations growing 1% per year?
I disagree with public courtyards/parks being a bad choice. Children have safely played in public places for millennia. The real problems are cars and the death of neighborhood community.
I once had a rather heated discussion with an Architecture student who had "bought" the Bauhaus ethic. She was a real disciple, and now 20 years on is responsible for protecting older building in our city. I am worried for our built heritage for, that leopards do not change their spots.
Keep up the good work! I hope one day traditional urban and architecture design will be competing and winning official contests for new developments.
Inspiring! Good to see that there is hope.
I’m from Utrecht and the whole time I was praying to my hear that the city chose one of the students designs. We need more traditional and cultured architecture!
The graphic at 4:46 makes clear something that I thought but wasn't sure was the case, that "Gentle Density" and "Missing Middle" mean the same thing. I suppose the latter term is highly US-centric (it's *missing* because the vast bulk of our cities' land is zoned for single-family houses and nothing short of a high-rise "luxury" tower block is cost-effective to build in the remaining space).
I studied business in the US but have gone down the urbanist rabbit hole, seeing this makes me wish I had studied architecture. Regardless I will find a way to help bring back beautiful cities, great video Ruben!
Waow! Please come to Copenhagen!
¡ Luchemos por una arquitectura y un urbanismo bellos !
The problem with those modern tower housing blocks is that if they're neither public housing nor subsidized they will all be luxury flats.
When you do your online course ,i will definetely buy it.keep up the good work
I would like to see experiences of this kind also in Italy.
Hello everyone, over 60 years we see so called modern plans for building homes. A few times it did work, but mostly not. People do eat and sleep there, but go out to the old centers of cities. O was luckily to have parents who loved history and old architecture. I was 3 years old mostly 4 when we did go out at that time, on a moped that was literally a bicycle with an auxiliary motor, the Solex. We did go out of Amsterdam to Wijk bij Duurstede, on the way stopping by beautiful old buildings and my father told about the time it was built, the style, and all there was to tell. Most modern people don't learn really about history and architecture. In my opinion this isn't right. Were are the old skills of reading, writing and calculating. Why don't know many people about the WWII as example. Groing up with good and mixed education Let see young people a wide spectrum of possibilities. What do you think? Have you all a wonderful day and let's make a better World. Arie the Dutchman.
4 criteria are important : (1) the number of appartments ; (2) the size and quality of appartments ; (3) the access to commodities ; (4) the cost. If its negative on any of them, talking about aesthetic (and so this video) is quite pointless.
so tired of this modern "utopian" slop that are just a bunch of glass and concrete blocks with grass on them "wow so eco-friendly" except they look bland and sterile af, is that what you want to see everyday in the long run?
Yup exactly! The eco-washing is strong here. Yes greenery is good, but there’s more to building cities than sticking trees on buildings
This is so inspiring - thank you
Merwede reminds me of Nieuw Zuid, which is a new neighborhood full of modern residential blocks and towers. When they initiated the plans in the 90s I was hopeful they would take cues from the 19th-century Zuid district that borders it, but alas.
the first plan is bad, but the students’ plan is no less terrible, architecture must meet the spirit of the times, what the students did is a surrogate, a “Chinese fake” you cannot, in the 21st century, imitate Gothic buildings or, I look at one architect, and he correctly says that new imitations devalue real historical buildings. At the same time, the city does not give anything, only a feeling of plasticity and fakeness
The spirit of the 2020s is still ugly Bauhaus buildings from the 1920s?
@@tomthomson7367 Things have developed since the days of the Bauhaus.
This guy has never stepped into an Architecture class.
Here in Japan there's a perception that the only kind of building that is efficient is an ugly one, and the only attractive building is one that looks like it came from a future we never get to. Also, trees are dirty snd risky, so they are best kept small and stunted.
closed(private) courtyards were famous in portuguese social houses, unfortunatly a lot of those closed courtyards were used for illegal activities, making the building a fortress. in the end most buildings with private greenery were demolished because of how hard police had it.
I’m from Utrecht and even though i am ok with our ‘new’ trainstation area, i totally agree with this video. It’s one thing to create a hub around a trainstation in the modern style, but residential areas need something else. I hope our municipality will see this too.
Because it's all about money and time, to build cheaper and faster. 30 years to build Plessis-Robinson with buildings having some minimal classic detailing or 5 years to build that...modern crap. I like classic styles and also I like brutalism (as there is a lot of interesting futuristic-like concrete designs, like that from fantastic cosmic movies). If to build some bulding with gothic style (like, let's say, House with Chimaeras in Kyiv) will take about 2 years (and I even don't know how much money and human resource it will need (sculptors, for example). But I'm convinced that facades should be beautiful (to certain degree, like minimalistic detailing and sculpture work should be present). After all every one can ask yourself "What makes Paris or Barcelona or Vienna beatiful?", and there are a lot of other beatiful smaller cities and places.
This is truely amazing. Make Europe's Citys great again!
As much as traditional architecture is good, at the same time just outright opposing modern simplistic architecture is just bad imo just as bad because when done right, modern buildings can look good.
The biggest problem with this Utrech modern design really is the chaotic nature of the plan rather than the fact it's modernist design imo, as it's a sheer mess of different heights with no clear unified color scheme which is why it looks so off. If it were more orderly with consistent heights, more uniform and continuous architectural styles for each block, while concentrating the highest towers for example along the water front and having the building height gradually go down while having shorter buildings between the towers on the canal side, you'd get this beautiful consistent gradient of height which would rise and drop like a wave at the canal as if it was the uneven surface of water.
My city of Jyväskylä has this former industrial area of Lutakko which saw its redevelopment finished by this decade, and it is a good example of modern acrchitecture that works well and creates a wonderful area. (the most recent development by the piers is not visible on Google Earth though yet). The buildings are mostly blocky with a mix of flat and slightly tilted roofs, while having a color palet of white, red and dark grey. In turn the buildings are arraned in blocks and are spaced out, with plenty of greenery, and the buildings are mostly ordered such that the 5-6 floor buildigns create a u shape taking up most of the blocks and in turn the lake side is lined with high rises in a neat row. Alternatively on the opposite lakefront of Kuokkala across the ridge you have these tiered modern blocky apartments which look very pretty along the coastal pathway, with a dark gery and white color scheme.
Frankly the biggest problem of the plan's aesthetic is not that it's modern architecture, but that this architecture is just a mess with no order to it. As much as I love traditional architecture of Paris or medieval cities, similarly I love the simplistic style of modern buildings that are in my city's area of Lutakko and Kokkola, my own apartment block, or the general aesthetic of most of the buildings in the original plan.
@@alehaim if you spend all of your energy fighting against the things you don't want, nothing will change, just the gap becomes bigger. If instead, like here, you invest in creating the things you do want, something new grows.... and the old gradually will die back. Go forth my visionaries!
Awesome work.
Grüße aus Deutschland
I'm a classical musician and this bland modernism is what I'm fighting against as well. I've already written about it in my Substack "Romantic Rebellion". Just like in our cities and living spaces, the current mainstream style for playing Romantic era and older music is to play everything in a generic, impersonal, and unemotional way. I'm advocating for a return to older, more humanist values that elevate the spirit and help build connection and reaffirm the importance of communal ritual events. I do this by interpreting the beloved music in more theatrical and dramatic ways, thus creating emotionally ineligible and vibrant performances.
Thanks for your videos! They are incredibly inspiring and beautiful. ❤
Just do what London does have 500,000 of the exact same house in a row 😅
These boxy designs are inhuman and often depressing but thats not solely an architectural choice, its an Economic one. Traditional architecture is skilled labor intensive and therefore cost prohibitive, in order to stick to the bugets given by clients the most feasible solution is usually a standardized box so thats what designs converge on.
Most student projects are far more creative and beautiful than the ones they actually build later in their careers and while that not what we want most people also dont want to pay alot extra for purely aesthetic parts of buildings.
I work in an architectural practice and it's very common for designs to have visual elements added early in the design process and then have them ripped out before the thing is actually built