City as a lab neru 2013s

E
NU
R
CITY AS A LAB

NERU MAG
Eindhoven 2013

Introduction
Foreword by Cees Donkers
The Crew
Happy New People by Elena Karkh

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Dacha Project. The reuse of wooden frames
Geestenberg
First steps
Concept A.1
Concept A.2
Concept A.3
Concept B
Concept C
Concept D

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From commune to community. Cross-generational project
Foreword by Cees Donkers
Research
House Commune
Kommunalka
Experience
?
Location
Meaning of the school
Way of living
Why 60plus/30minus community?
Translation Concept A
Translation Concept B
Concepts of the old school building reuse

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Extra activities
Lively cities workshop
Plakken in doornakkers
Shadow city project
Colophon

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INT RO DUC T IO N

The Moscow Design Act in August 2010 was the start of the cooperation between Russia and Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
The modest presentation of Dutch Design during that exhibition caused a chain of new connections between Russian cities
like Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Perm, Chelyabinsk, Petrozavotsk, Tyumen, Krasnoyarsk, St Petersburg and of course Moscow and Eindhoven. The White Tower in Yekaterinburg and the
project YEK2.0 with Russian students became a sort of an icon
for the love from both sides for closer collaboration, urban research and design and exchange of knowledge in workshops,
(Skype) lectures and internships in Eindhoven.
During the first Ural Biennial September 2010, after a lecture
about the transformation process in Eindhoven caused by the
loss of the Philips ‘making industry’ during the nineties, students gave their ideas about transformation subjects in their
own city in a three day’s workshop. More Russian cities and
Universities were interested in this way of research-education.
Novosibirsk organized a conference with an exhibition about
student work but also the architectural transformation and
re-use of old factories from Philips in Eindhoven and the lessons taken from that process. In October 2012 the first Brabant Biennial was organized in Eindhoven as part of the Dutch
Design Week and the first group of Russian students came to
Eindhoven to take part in the preparation of common results
and to experience these cultural vibes. The YEK2.0 studies and
the NERU Magazine were published and a great exhibition
was shown in the Catharina Church in the heart of the city.
Since then there is a ‘Russian house’ for students and tutors to
live during internships in a neighborhood called Doornakkers
where practical urban studies can be made. The Social Housing
Company WOONBEDRIJF and the City Department are partners in this collaboration and research.
After three years of starting up his process more results will
be presented and discussed at the Netherlands-Russia (NERU)
Conference 17 and 18th of October 2013 and the NERU Exhibition in the White Lady building (Library) in Eindhoven. This
will be a ‘prelude’ or ‘teaser’ to the Dutch Design Week from
18-28th of October.

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During the spring and summer of 2013 students and professionals from Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Perm and Tyumen in
Russia and Zurich (Switzerland) studied on two subjects: the
re-use of wooden window frames from the Geestenberg neighborhood for the design of Datcha’s and the social design project
called 60+/30- about the revaluation of the community thinking for different generations as a medicine for mutual care.
This ‘summer course’ was made possible by the 2 partners City

INT RO DUC T IO N

Department and Woonbedrijf and the architect Marc van der
Linden (VDLP-architects) for the frame project. These two practical subjects made it possible to get some experience in the
Dutch way of work and to contribute to creative and nowadays
solutions. Both are about a re-use society in which there is no or less money to spend, shrinking cities and a new student generation that is communicating all over the world while working
on creative expectations of the future. The two projects shows
free thinking in ‘out of the box‘ ideas. The Dacha’s are meant
for free gardening objects to store but also live in community
gardening areas. Especially in the Geestenberg neighborhood
they can be used as a solution for the common green area in
the center of this neighborhood. This area was designed in the
seventies and meant to share several private gardens into one
community garden. During the last 40 years it was not used
this way anymore. By proposing this new use and connection
from private to common area the old wooden frames can have
a new function in revaluation of the old thoughts. By doing this
it can also be a sign for a new generation and their evaluation
of the community concepts from the seventies.
Also the ‘school project’ is about new concepts for living together. Like in a very small village people will live together in
an old and empty school, church or office and share the care
for each other in different generations. After analysis of the
new society in which there seems to be no money anymore
to buy your own house and no jobs to start with after your
graduation these new generations comes up with very creative
ideas to step into a new world. Different concepts were made
to solve this problem. One of them is to share an empty building to make a new balance between private and common use
of interior space. At the same time the care for each other can
be a factor to activate this new balance. Young people, starting
up their life with jobs but also with a family and after a while
little children can use the capacity of an older generation to fill
in their free time to cherish and care for the children. At the
same time the younger people can take care for the older ones
for technical support in a changing ‘internet’ society or service
in the care for daily living. This idea is worked out for the re-use
of the Franciscus school in Doornakkers.
So it is about more social design thinking on a larger and more
abstract scale to share new concepts for social behavior and
way of life for a new generation in a nearby future. It is a very
interesting theme for dialogue on the 18th of October.

5

I want to thank all the students and professionals who took
part in these projects. They really made it possible to show
how international collaboration can start and contribute to a

mutual learning process and translation into a better society.
I enjoy this way of work very much and may be the most because of the aspect of human energy that is in it. THNX!
27th September 2013
Cees Donkers

INT RO DUC T IO N

THE
CREW
Daria Chetvernya
Occupation: 4th year student of Architecture at Ural State
Academy of Architecture and Arts
Location: Yekaterinburg, Russia
Elena Gokh
Occupation: 6th year student of Architecture and urbanism at
South Ural State University
Location: Magadan, Russia
Darya Grigoryeva
Occupation: 6th year student of Landscape architecture and
urbanism at South Ural State University
Location: Chelyabinsk, Russia
Elena Karkh
Occupation: 2nd year Master‘s student of Financial Economics
at Research University Higher School of
Economics
Location: Moscow-Perm, Russia

Sophie Steinemann
Occupation: 2nd year student of Industrial design at
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern
Switzerland FHNW
Location: Basel, Switzerland
Igor Tarnovsky
Emilia Sokhoshko
Occupation: assistant professor at Tyumen State University of
Architecture and Civil engineering.
Location: Tyumen, Russia
Anna Medvedeva

Victoria Khokhlova

Pinaeva Mariya

Dmitry Kovalev
Occupation: graduate student of Architecture at South Ural
State University, Archstroyproject Architect
Location: Kurgan, Russia

Novikova Anastasia

Egor Papulov

Pirogova Nataliya

Vladislav Pankin
Occupation: graduate student of Design of architectural
environment at Tyumen State University of
Architecture and Civil engineering

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Iaroslava Nesterenko
Occupation: 4th year student of Architecture at Ural State
Academy of Architecture and Arts
Location: Yekaterinburg, Russia

I NT RODUC T I ON

Perm
Moscow

Chelyabinsk
Tyumen
Kurgan

Eindhoven
Basel

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Basel - Eindhoven
Moscow - Eindhoven
Perm - Eindhoven
Chelyabinsk - Eindhoven
Yekaterinburg -Eindhoven
Tyumen - Eindhoven
Kurgan - Eindhoven

Yekaterinburg

[456km]
[2160km]
[3269km]
[3658km]
[3683km]
[3873km]
[3911km]

INT RO DUC T IO N

HAPPY NEW
PEOPLE
Introduction
Initially, I would love to underline that this article is not about
science, it is only about what I have heard, learned and seen
from people, from regular people like you and me. During
the internship in Eindhoven, I realized how interesting it is to
communicate with right people and to ask the right questions.
Through such communications the name of the article was invented. We went to IQ cafe meeting and started to get involved
with new people. We were very excited about open opportunities and one person mentioned that all new people are really
inspired and passionate. Consequently, it was settled that we
invite only happy new people for participation in further meetings. You should see how easy it was to invent, as it did not require any special actions from my side, it was only about being
involved. This example brightly illustrates how you can meet
inspiring people and start to realize the most important values
in the society - the drivers of future changes.
Yesterday

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The strongest impression that pushed me to learn and explore everything as deep as possible appeared in the very
first days in Eindhoven. On the way from Dusseldorf airport to
Eindhoven our coach Cees Donkers was telling me the stories
about historical aspects of their society and about Eindhoven
New Born. The most important part, of course, was Eindhoven
development after the Phillips decision to move to the lower
costs countries, which dramatically changed city’s perspectives. Firstly, it seems natural that the city understands the limitations of industrial economy and is ready to take a new step.
However, nobody has asked people about whether they are
ready to change their regular lifestyle and habits. They are obviously fine with the way they live and do not really care about
new development because «better future» usually provides
only panic and chaos in the beginning. However, when you
meet the today Eindhoven you can never assume the existence
of unemployment and uncertainty problems. hAfter visiting
High Tech campus, you see that it is a perfectly fit postindustrial city and because of that strong impression not always think
about the background. Definitely, this solution resolving unemployment problems compels you to discover its basics and
methods. This place tells you that there is much more to learn
and experience in Eindhoven rather than just visiting futuristic
places. It is often in life when you think that someone’s life is
perfect but you never know about the price paid for reaching
that success. The main point is that the Dutch meet very strong
challenge. According to historical examples, we know that the

greater challenge you get the greater results you can gain out
of it. Comparing it to surfing, we can say that industrial wave is
gone and you are not able to control the power of nature, so
you should accept the challenge, catch another one and surf
on it. That is the only way how you can move faster and survive. This solution has something deeper insight than a strong
economical foundation…
Today
Let’s assume now that you are a student who has just graduated from Technical University of Eindhoven and is ready to
work on the most famous Philips site of your city. You are sure
that you are employed because you are brilliant. However, occasionally this site is moved to the lower cost-countries supported by bad economic situation and you are not needed
anymore. It is obvious that you are in trouble. What are you
going to do in this situation? Definitely, if you want to fit and
go on with time, you should create something different, something brand new. For most people it seems that everything is
already invented and there is nothing to do anymore. However, the most important invention is peoples’ mind and it is
endless, it hides the whole new industry inside – Industry of
Thinking. Here the empty factory is not only the place, making
people suffer; it is a new opportunity to help people. Because
when the life gives you lemon you can simply make lemonade.
People have discovered a new area and performed the crucial
project at that time: reuse of that factory – «White Lady». It
has built a solid foundation for creative ideas in Eindhoven as
well as become the symbol of historical importance. In spite
of the fact that it was the beginning of the new reuse era, it
helped people to reach the new level of open possibilities. It
is not only reuse of site, it is reuse of mind! Along the time, if
you are smart enough to make value almost out of nowhere,
you can also realize that you are not the smartest person in
the world. Here is the most important breakeven point when
society is well-developed in terms of individuals and is ready
to communicate effectively. The main tools to handle pessimistic situation came from necessity: in values of support, sharing knowledge and creativity of new generation. That is what
I called a more conceptual and complicated solution to problems connected with transitive period. Moreover, every developed value is brightly presented in society and supported by
examples. In this atmosphere the group of young designers is
motivated to organize the pilot project in the church, which is
about to be demolished, for their studio where they can work
and live together. Additionally, it is a signal for talented neighbors and other citizens to participate or to follow up. Projecting

INT RO DUC T IO N

this situation on the very simple dimension we can say that
if you are in the situation of uncertainty and not sure about
the outcome, do you really want to start? On the other hand,
when you are surrounded by successful examples and at the
same time feel passion and support, you can go with a flow
and do not scare to accept risk. It seems that you have invisible
an instruction that manages your way. There is a number of socially important projects in Eindhoven now but for me the top
one is Collaboration O. where all creative people started their
business based on support and uniqueness of physical space.
My point is that it is crucial for the reason that it shows young
people their strength when they join each other, listen each
other and the most importantly understand each other. The
efficient relations are the greatest strength of the New Generation. Comparing to Russia, firstly it seems impossible to implement this philosophy there, but it is not. In spite of the fact that
institutions cannot be modified and developed in one day, we
can undertake the initial steps in order to create the wave of
new projects. Firstly, it is important to show that initiative goes
from native people and to prove that we are ready for changes.
Because in this case nobody can argue that it does not fit in
our culture and economy. If we contribute knowledge and become more experienced in this area we will be more valuable
and able to start making instructions for our country. From this
point, I would say that the project performed by my colleagues
from Russia contributes a lot for Eindhoven and for Russia as
well. Firstly, they fit in Eindhoven nature by saving the historical objects and supporting the idea of sharing knowledge by
community creation. Moreover, since nobody forced citizen of
Eindhoven to reach that philosophy, these new projects will be
very nice supportive instruments for its realization. As for us,
we can learn, experience and collaborate!
Tomorrow

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I do not argue that it is a perfect world when everything is for
free and you can just use it. People around you are ready to
help but the same you do. When you go to the public organizations (Library and Social Housing) you meet open doors but
only in case if you open yours with new ideas. Such open-minded people inspire you to follow them. It is somewhere in the air
and it works. But the question still exists whether everyone can
see that and feels? Sometimes people need a bit more in order
to discover the opportunities. That is why it is very important
to perform clarifying events and make people involved there.
Summing up, we can say that only self-sufficient people can
communicate efficiently with each other. Firstly you should discover yourself and be confident with your own in order to be

ready for sharing. People where compelled by circumstances
to perform changes but they were not compelled to choose
the methods. There is a balance between ideals and individuals.
I would love to underline that this is a social innovation because your initial goals were modified and it changed the
people. People became warmer and their new values partially
replace materialism. Here you are not by your own after graduation, you should only spend some time for discovering opportunities. Always discover yourself, because every such project
is just another brick in the Falling Walls of Individualistic Behavior!
Elena Karkh

Geestenberg.
Perhaps the best preserved ‘bloemkoolwijk’ of Netherlands.
Think: 70s, system, residential areas and ties. Think: Karregat.
A revolutionary 70’s community center, designed by architect
Frank Klingeren. Think: together, public and collective. Tenants
and owner-occupiers. A mixed neighborhood, a lively district,
where one of five houses belongs to an entrepreneur. Think:
Living Company, the owner of about half of the homes in this
neighborhood. The special power of the Geestenberg lies in
the combination of the strong distinctive architecture and the
strong social character of the district. Personal contact along
power, collective values. They are becoming more important
again in the year of 2013. And they harmonize perfectly with
the values and design principles of the seventies.
The district is part of sustainable maintenance plan for the 269
apartments of Woonbedrijf. A maintenance mainly according
to its original architectural idea. The large majority of residents
chose to bring back the original colors, the outer edge of the
district is the light gray, and in the heart of the district is dark
grey. The color for the frames is also selected collectively by
residents for off-white. The work began in september of 2013,
one house takes a work of few days. Thus, in six stages and in
eighteen months all houses will be ready. In addition to new
windows and facades, the houses get a complete new roof and
a new ventilation system. Besides this maintenance process,
there is equally good energy and sustainability in the social
structure; residents get involved in the life of their neighbourhood again: the Expedition Geestenberg.

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DACHA PROJ EC T.
T HE RE US E O F WO O DE N F RAM ES

DACHA PROJECT.
THE REUSE OF WOODEN
FRAMES

DACHA PROJ EC T.

Expedition Geestenberg.

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To ensure that the entire area remains physically and socially
attractive to current and future residents, Woonbedrijf with
residents started the Expedition Geestenberg in 2012. A process for tenants and owner-occupiers to put together the
neighborhood development. Dozens of residents divided into
four different expedition groups out there. In their own neighborhood and along inspiring places in the city.

Team
Daria Grigorieva
Egor Papulov
Igor Tarnovsky
Vladislav Pankin
Victoria Khokhlova

Dacha is a traditional country house for Russia. It is normally
built of wood with pitched roof. The surrounding area is mostly
used to grow vegetables fruits and plants. Also there is always
a spot where people have rest, hangout with friends, make
barbeque.The idea of all concepts is to apply this in Eindhoven
concerning all the possible differenciesin culture and way of
life. When we did our research the first thing we thought about
was how to organize the whole space of community garden.
So we came up with several possible solutions for the whole
space:
1. The traditional solution.
The whole space is divided into individual areas with pavilions
on them.
2.The common space.
The whole site is given to a community needs and is shared by
all residents.
3.The combination of previous two.
Here the site is divided into private spaces but there is still
shared space in the middle.
During our meetinds and discussions we have worked out several possible functions:
-library
-garden
-place to cook
-seats to meet
-place to sleep
-storage
-exhibition
-greenhouse
The project goals:
-functionality
-siplicity
-modularity
-interactivity
-changeability

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DACHA PROJ EC T.

FIRST
STEPS

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DACHA PROJ EC T.

The ‘Dacha’ Pavilion.
The goal of this proposal is to give people in the neighbourhood some space in their garden where they can spend their
free time relaxing in a nature but also protected from weather
conditions. The supporting structure is made entirely of reused window frames. Window openings are filled with different types of materials to form picturesque composition. The
idea was to form standard modules and make them different
by customizing each of them. People can use pavillions for different purposes depending on their taste and their needs. All
the pavilions can be connected by additional module made of
frames as pergola.

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DACHA PROJ EC T.

CONCEPT A.1

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VARIATION
CROSS SECTION

V_1

V_2

V_3

V_4

DACHA PROJ EC T.

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DACHA PROJ EC T.

CONCEPT A.2

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VARIATION
CROSS SECTION

V_2

V_3

V_4

DACHA PROJ EC T.

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DACHA PROJ EC T.

CONCEPT A.3

DACHA PROJ EC T.
SECTION 1-1

PERSPECTIVE VIEW 1

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PERSPECTIVE VIEW 2

SECTION 2-2

The ‘Greenhouse’ pavilion
The structure of the pavilion is formed by reused wooden
window frames with regular greed. The space itself is open
and ventilated from two sides and from another two sides it
is closed by greenhouses. The idea on one hand was to give
people a nice greenhouse where they can grow vegetables
and fruits and on another hand to form shade in summer with
plants to give people some privacy when they need it. Another
goal of this project was to save the heat during the winter with
double glass walls.

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DACHA PROJ EC T.

CONCEPT B

DACHA PROJ EC T.
SECTION 1-1

SECTION 2-2

AXONOMETRIC VIEW

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

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AERATION SCHEME

‘Gryadka’
People normally spend a lot of time taking care of their garden.
The idea is to use window frame to regularize the site. By putting the frames in different combinations horizontally a person
gets wooden paths (space in between the frames) and regularized beds for flowers and vegetables and also the possibility to
store the yield. As there are window frames of different types
we can combine them in many ways which makes it possible to
apply this idea to garden of any shape.

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DACHA PROJ EC T.

CONCEPT C

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CROSS SECTION

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

PERSPECTIVE VIEW
DACHA PROJ EC T.

Labyrinth
The idea of labyrinth is to create a common space for a neighbourhood using window frames as frames to display something and also to organize the site by combining labyrinth and
the park. The window openings can be filled up with different
materials in order to make the experience of being inside of
the labyrinth interesting and exciting.
Possible fillings for the window openings:
-mirror
-pergola
-chalkboard
-artwork
-stencil glass

PERSPECTIVE VIEW

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DACHA PROJ EC T.

CONCEPT D

FUNCTIONAL SCHEME
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
MODEL PHOTO
DACHA PROJ EC T.

At the end of the sixties from the last century a big cultural
change occurred in Europe. Started by new music in the beginning of this decade the wish for freedom of thinking became
stronger and was heard in popsongs. During my student time
end of these sixties I experienced the ‘explosion’ of this change
in the cultural revolution (May ’68). Started by students in the
big European cities, this wave of a new way of life and society
came in my Technical University in the city of Eindhoven during the spring and summer of ’70. A huge change in education
at the fresh started Faculty of Architecture and Urban Design
at the TU/e was caused by 2nd and 3rd year students, from
formal lessons into more useful practical society questions in
project education, done by students themselves. In the society
this change appeared in new music, films about this freedom
of mind and sexual behavior, lots of experiments on different
fields. The famous ‘key’ party’s for instance led to a lot of divorced marriages. In architecture this change was shown in a
new neighborhood called Geestenberg. Free forms of industrial housing in ‘boxes’ with more attention to the individual
expression and public space. No or less room for cars but
more for bicycles, pedestrians, public space and green areas.
A new way of urban life was discovered. This new urban design showed the new rules for society at that time: room for
individual expression. No row houses anymore but accent on
individual exploration in architecture but also for personal development for man and woman.
The Fransciscus School in Doornakkers became empty in the
summer of 2013. In the policy of the owner, the City Department, this school should be demolished and the free site could
be filled in with new housing project. But the city learned about
her new identity during the last 20 years. The empty Philips
Factories were re-used and have led to a new awareness about
urban transformation. More in particular that re-use of old
architecture could keep and maintain the right atmosphere in
the neighborhood. Examples of this new climate were there
already in this part of Eindhoven. For instance the re-use of an
old and empty factory called ‘Sectie-C’ gave new impulses to
the neighborhood and its inhabitants. Collaboration-O is situated within this Sectie-C complex and is formed with 10 young
entrepreneurs who take care about each other and formed
a real new collaboration. That is why the empty school was
named as a chance for developing and testing concepts for
new urban life. The ‘City as a laboratory’ course from the Brabant Academy, started already in 2003 as a new impulse from
City Department and Technical University, formed the base for
this research. The ‘school project’ was defined together with
the Social Housing Company Woonbedrijf and City Department and is about new concepts for living together. Like in a

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CROS S- GE NE RAT IO NAL PROJ EC T.
F ROM COM M UNE TO CO M M UNIT Y

FROM COMMUNE
TO COMMUNITY.
CROSS-GENERATIONAL PROJECT


very small village people will live together in an old and empty
school, church or office and share the care for each other in different generations. After the analysis by students of the actual
new society in which there seems to be no money anymore
to buy your own house and no jobs to start with after your
graduation these new generations comes up with very creative
ideas to step into a new world. Different concepts were made
to solve this problem. One of them is to share an empty building to make a new balance between private and common use
of interior space. At the same time the care for each other can
be a factor to activate this new balance. Young people, starting
up their life with jobs but also with a family and after a while
little children can use the capacity of an older generation to fill
in their free time to cherish and care for the children. At the
same time the younger people can take care for the older ones
for technical support in a changing ‘internet’ society or service
in the care for daily living. This idea is worked out for the re-use
of the Franciscus school in Doornakkers.

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The fact that this research is done in a neighborhood that was
known as an experimental society in the seventies is no coincidence. It leads to the comparing analysis of the social situation
in the seventies and nowadays. Moreover the international aspect of the Russian collaboration makes it even more interesting to compare the communes from Europe in the seventies
and the ‘forced’ communes in the Soviet age with the idealistic ideas of living together from this generation. It seems to
me that the actual economic situation can help in this sense
that young people have to choose clearly for their future. The
cannot copy the way of life of their parents but have to find
new ways of dealing with the actual situation with no or few
jobs and no more or too expensive new build housing. A social research can lead to a new urban development and use.
In the pilot the Dreams of this young people were Dared by
them to translate them into Do-actions. The Dream Dare DO
(DDD)-project in Yekaterinburg has led to a concrete translation that can be worked out tomorrow. The school is empty,
there is a small budget from the Social Housing Company to
change the interior to make it fit or suitable for a new social experiment called 60+/30-. Two generations, living together under one roof and sharing more then only the stairs or hallway
to get to the own private apartment or room. In the worked
out floor plan there is only a small room for private use like a
bedroom and bathroom for each person. The rest of the former classrooms are used for common space like living, library,
computer or television room, dining room, kitchen, children
room. ‘From commune to community’ is the theme in which
this new ideals will be announced and talked about during the
NERU-Conference.

So it is about more social design thinking on a larger and more
abstract scale to share new concepts for social behavior and
way of life for a new generation in a nearby future. It is a very
interesting theme for dialogue on the 18th of October.
27th September 2013
Cees Donkers

Team

Commune

Victoria Khokhlova
Sophie Steinemann

A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, properties, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. For many
communes, core principles have become as important as the
communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living. Andrew Jacobs from The
New York Times wrote that, contrary to popular misconceptions, “most communes of the ‘90s are not free-love refuges
for flower children, but well-ordered, financially solvent cooperatives where pragmatics, not psychedelics, rule the day.”
There are many contemporary intentional communities all
over the world, a list of which can be found at the Fellowship
for Intentional Community.
Categorization of communities
Benjamin Zablocki categorized communities this way:
•Alternative-family communities
•Cooperative communities
•Countercultural communities
•Egalitarian communities
•Political communities
•Psychological communities (based on mystical or gestalt principles)
•Rehabilitational communities (see Synanon)
•Religious communities
•Spiritual communities
•Experimental communities

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RESEARCH


Communes around the world

The central characteristics of communes, or core principles
that define communes, have been expressed in various forms
over the years. Before 1840 such communities were known
as “communist and socialist settlements”; by 1860, they were
also called “communitarian” and by around 1920 the term “intentional community” had been added to the vernacular of
some theorists. At the beginning of the 1970s, “The New Communes” author Ron E. Roberts classified communes as a subclass of a larger category of Utopias. He listed three main characteristics. Communes of this period tended to develop their
own characteristics of theory though, so while many strived for
variously expressed forms of egalitarianism Roberts’ list should
never be read as typical. Roberts’ three listed items were: first,
egalitarianism - that communes specifically rejected hierarchy
or graduations of social status as being necessary to social order. Second, human scale - that members of some communes
considered as the scale of society, as it was then organised as
being too industrialised (or factory sized) and therefore unsympathetic to human dimensions. And the third, the conscious
anti-bureaucracy of the communes. Twenty five years later, Dr.
Bill Metcalf, in his book “Shared Visions, Shared Lives” defined
communes with the following core principles: the importance
of the group as opposition to the nuclear family unit; a “common purse”, a collective household, group decision making in
general and intimate affairs; sharing everyday life and facilities.
A commune is an idealised form of family, a new sort of “primary group” (generally with fewer than 20 people, although
again there are outstanding examples of much larger communes or communes that experienced episodes with much
larger populations). Commune members have emotional
bonds to the whole group rather than to any sub-group, and
the commune is experienced with emotions which go beyond
just social collectivity.

With the simple definition of a commune as an intentional
community with 100% income sharing, the online directory of
the FIC lists 186 communes world wide (17 Aug 2011). Many
cultures naturally practice communal living, and wouldn’t designate their way of life as a planned ‘commune’ per se, though
their living situation may have many characteristics of a commune.

35

Core principles of communes

The word “commune” (kommuna) became a regular part of the
Soviet lexicon right after the October Revolution. “House Commune” or Communal Dwelling (dom-kommuna) designated a
structure or cluster of them designed for collective and communal life. Some of the first projects for commune-housing were
very ambitious (Leonid Vesnin’s Moscow housing ensemble of
1922): a dozen buildings, including club, bath-house, technical
shack, daycare and kindergardens, and residential buildings,
with a large play area between them. It was in fact what we
call a “garden court apartment complex,” spacious and selfsufficient, with common services including a place for socializing. Other buildings were designed based more on real-life
experience. House Commune usually consisted of a long block
of apartments (sometimes with a penthouse and roof garden),
connected by an enclosed bridge to a block of collective facilities. As advertised by the architects, the apartments were to
form an intervention into the everyday life of the inhabitants.
By offering Communal facilities such as kitchens, creches and
laundry as part of the block, the tenants were encouraged into
a more socialist and, by taking women out of their traditional
roles, feminist way of life. The structure was thus to act as a ‘social condenser’ by including within it a library and gymnasium.
The Narkomfin Building is a block of flats in Moscow, Russia,
designed by Moisei Ginzburg with Ignaty Milinis for workers at
the Commissariat of Finance (shortened to Narkomfin). It was
an opportunity for architects to try out many of the theories
advanced by the Constructivist OSA group in the course of the
1920s on architectural form and communal living. The avantgarde community (notably, Ginzburg and Konstantin Melnikov)
designed such model units, relying on vertical separation of
bedroom (top level) and combined kitchen and living room
(lower level). Ilya Golosov implemented these cells for his Collective House in Ivanovo; Pavel Gofman for communal housing in Saratov. Apartments were graded by how far along they
were to being ‘fully collectivised’, ranging from rooms with
their own kitchens to apartments purely for sleep and study.
Most of the units belong to “Cell K” type (with double-height
living room) and “Cell F” connecting to an outdoor gallery. The
most interesting social issue about commune houses was that
of the kitchen and the family. It is a singular fact that to this
day the individual kitchen is the strongest symbol of a nuclear
family (as it once was its main meeting place). Classical House
Commune theory had always made the collectivized kitchen
its central tenet: to save costs, promote eating together, and
rescue housewives from the slavery of kitchen life.

36


HOUSE COMMUNE


“House Commune”-“socialism in one building”
-communalizing services,
-release women/men from repetitive domestic work
-raise national labor productivity
-promote a spirit of communism
-allowing some privacy as well
-“de-familization”
-separation of children from parents

V. Kuzmin “Problems of the Scientific Organization of Everyday
Life” Kuzmin offered a “graph of life” — not as an enforceable
regulation (“man is not an automaton”) but as a guide for joining architectural design with the daily life in a communal situation.

37

10:00 P.M.
6:00 A.M.
6:05 A.M.
6:15 A.M.
6:20 A.M.
6:25 A.M.
6:28 A.M.
6:43 A.M.
6:45 A.M.
6:50 A.M.
7:00 A.M.
3:00 P.M.
3:10 P.M.
3:17 P.M.
3:25 P.M.
3:55 P.M.
3:58 P.M.
4:58 P.M.
5:08 P.M.
5:10 P.M.
5:25 P.M.
9:25 P.M.
9:50 P.M.
10:00 P.M.

Lights out. Eight hours of sleep.
Calisthenics — 5 min.
Toilet — 10 min.
Shower (optional — 5 min.)
Dress — 5 min.
To the dining room — 3 min.
Breakfast — 15 min.
To the cloakrooms — 2 min.
Put on outdoor clothing — 5 min.
To the mine — 10 min.
Work in the mine — 8 hours.
To the commune — 10 min.
Take off outdoor clothing — 7 min.
Wash — 8 min.
Dinner — 30 min.
To the rest room for free hour — 3 min.
Free time.
Toilet and change — 10 min.
To the dining room — 2 min.
Tea — 15 min.
Cultural development. Gymnastics.
Alloted time: four hours.
Dining room, supper, eat — 25 min.
Prepare to retire — 10 min.

A communal apartment or ” kommunalka” appeared in the Soviet Union following the Russian revolution. Communal apartments emerged as a response to the housing crisis in urban
areas and were a product of the “new collective vision of the
future”. A communal apartment was typically shared between
two to seven families, and it revolutionary “united different
social groups in one physical space.” Each family had its own
room, which served as a living room, dining room, and bedroom for the entire family. The hallways, kitchen, bathroom
and telephone were shared among all the residents. The communal apartment was the predominant form of housing in the
USSR for generations, and still exist in “the most fashionable
central districts of large Russian cities.”
Space in communal apartments was divided into common
spaces and private rooms “mathematically or bureaucratically,” with little to no attention paid to the physical space of
the existing structures. Residents were meant to share some
rooms, but even these spaces could be divided. For example,
each family might have their own kitchen table, gas burner,
doorbell, and even light switch, preferring to walk down the
hall to use their light switch to turn on the bathroom lights
rather than using a closer switch belonging to another resident. Furthermore, the hallways were often poorly lit, because
each family had control of one of the lights hanging in the corridor, and would only turn it on for their own benefit. Though
communal apartments were relatively small, residents had to
wait at times to use the bathroom or kitchen sink. The kitchen
was the primary place the residents interacted with one another and scheduling shared responsibilities. Wary of theft,
residents rarely left groceries in the kitchen unless they put
locks on the kitchen cabinets. However, they often stored their
toiletries in the kitchen as opposed to the bathroom, because
other residents could more easily use things left unattended
in the bathroom. Laundry was left to dry in both the kitchen
and the bathroom. The communal apartment was the only living accommodation in the Soviet Union where the residents
had “no particular reason to be living together.” Other forms
of communal living were based around type of work or other
commonalities, but the communal apartment residents were
placed together by a governing body. These residents had little
commitment to communal living or to each other. In spite of
the haphazard nature of their cohabitation, residents had to
navigate communal living, which required share responsibilities and reliance on one another. Spying was especially prevalent in the communal apartment, because of the extremely
close quarters people lived in. It was not unusual for a neighbor
to look or listen into another resident’s room or the common
room and to gossip about others. Furthermore, the commu-

38


KOMMUNALKA


nal apartment was “a breeding ground of police informants,”
people were encouraged to denounce their neighbors, and
often did so to ensure safety for themselves or to gain their
neighbor’s room for themselves after they had them evicted
or imprisoned.
In spite of all these challenges, many former residents of communal apartments look back fondly on the sense of family they
had with their neighbors. When asked which she would prefer,
one woman who lived her whole life in a communal apartment
in St. Petersburg said: “It’s better to live in a communal apartment, a large one, in a historic Petersburg district, than in a private housing complex. In a housing complex there’s some kind
of disconnection, life is more boring... Everybody is on their
own. And here we’re like one big family. If someone is in trouble, it gets shared. Or a joy, you share that too... It works out
very well. ”The Russian poet and Nobel Prize winner Joseph
Brodsky, who grew up in a communal apartment in Leningrad,
wrote: “For all of the despicable aspects of this mode of existence, a communal apartment has its redeeming side as well.
It bares life to its basics, it strips off any illusions about human
nature.”
Valentina Baskina grew up in a large communal apartment in
the center of Moscow, in the 1930s. Her entire family lived,
ate and slept in one room. “I don’t remember that we visited each other or made some communal food. No, each family lived their own life, but it was very peaceful. Every family
had children, so children became “a communal responsibility.”
With friend of mine I spent a lot of daytimes sitting on top of
a large dresser in corridor and playing imaginary games. My
mother worked as a truck driver, so she had to leave me at
home by myself. When I got married, my husband moved in
with my family. We shared the room with my older brother,
two younger sisters, mother, and grandmother. It was not comfortable. But nevertheless we lived and enjoyed. And we didn’t
feel it as a problem, because we couldn’t compare it.”

39

Moscow architect Andrei Barbje grew up in a large apartment
that had belonged to his great-grandfather before the Revolution. “I remember my parents actively disliked living in the
communal apartment, but I didn’t mind it when I was young .
Everyone in our kommunalka did their best to get along, by following an elaborate system of rules. For instance, there was an
unspoken order of people who went to wash in the morning,
based on what time they had to get to work. The communal
kitchen had four stoves, and each family used two burners. But
if someone was having dinner guests, they could always ask
to borrow one or two burners. No one ate in the kitchen; they

took the food back their room. They also kept refrigerators in
their room. Still, we all celebrated the holidays together. There
was a ritual: We’d visit each other’s rooms, and sit for half an
hour or so. It was always customary when you visited to bring a
small gift, so it was all very friendly. And even now, some years
later, before I do something, I always think about whether this
will bother someone else. It’s about self control, and learning
to take responsibility for your actions from a very young age,
simply because you’re surrounded by so many people.”


EXPERIENCE

Luca Paroni

Maria Chernaya

I live in a small studio with my own bathroom and I share the
kitchen with 5 other people. The building where I live is owned
by a company called Vestide that has an agreement with the
University, so the fee I pay for the flat, located in the city centre
and really closed to the University, is not that high. This campus
is for PHD, PDeng, PostDoc students or company employees
(like me) only.

My experience is related only to those communities that exist
in some way apart, but inside they were created to become a
counterweight space for attempts to build an alternative lifestyle. In case of the community, I mean, of course, the punk
scene in which prevails the idea of mutual support - at least in
theory, although in practice it is more complicated. This “family”, where people help each other and inspire new businesses.
You have to do everything on your own, but there are always
people to support you. So the Commune was for me something idealized during my teenagerhood. Later I realized that
this form of being seemed to me a bit unhealthy, when some
time passes and people start to fight because of women or the
distribution of responsibilities. I’m more into modern city commune without any ideas -I call this any apartment, where several people or families live, most of my friends co-exist in this
way. They may be all from the same party or all of them do not
eat meat, but no sectarianism, which I strongly object. I had an
unusual experience when I was a child.I lived in an eco-commune for a month. It was a huge area, there was one man who
was a manager, and a few women who were in a very unclear
relationships with him, including his wife, who was totally out
of her mind. They were often visited by lunatics of all kinds- to
learn the wisdom, because these people were trying to build a
noosphere, isolated from the wicked world, considered their
land abnormal point. They also restored the ecosystem on the
road, kept a luxurious garden, a vegetable garden and apiary.
I was 13 when I lived there,I was on the vacation but every
day I worked from 8 am -only women worked in the commune
and the man wrote the article. My father was a friend of this
man, and took me there because there was nature, forest and
two rivers. It was really cool. Nowadays I miss our urban yard
culture. I’m from the province, my home was next to the railroad. This co-op house in which everyone were united by one
thing - the camps in the Komi Republic. So, everyone knew
each other. I arranged exhibitions and performances with all
the kids at home, we called everyone - it was okay to ring on
the door and call to someone to come. On New Years eve we
exchanged with candies. We took out to the yard inflatable
pool for children and a tape recorder. Right beside we dried
laundry. Grandmother sang songs on the bench, looked after
us. This is almost gone, but a special spirit is still there. I think
it may be a commune.

40

So, I don’t really have roommates but only people who share
the kitchen with me, sometimes we barely see each other but
its OK for me. I like to have my privacy. Rooms are well furnished, so there have been no need to buy extra stuffs. The lack
of space in the apartment always push me to furnish my room
carefully. So, I need to think twice, before buying new sofa or
chair. When I lived in Milan, I used to share an apartment with
my classmate. In Milan, usually people search for an apartment
by themself, so in this case they have to deal with the owners
of the flats avoiding having an agreement with a company like
Vestide. I was lucky to find the people who agreed to sign an official contract with me, telling that I’ve rented the flat. Unfortunately, it is not that common in Milan, so people end up living
in the flats having so called ‘black contract’. In this case people
have no guarantee for the period of time they can stay in the
flat and also the price they need to pay. Politecnico di Milano,
University where I study, recently trying to change the situation, providing students with the apartments with fare prices.

41



?

Questionnaire
1. How do you understand term “community” ?
2. Can you imagine your living in a commune house?
3. How much private space do you need to feel yourself comfortable - in square meters, furniture etc.
4. Are you ready to share some house space with others? And
what rooms could it be - kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, working space, etc ? And which rooms should be just your private?
5. With whom could you share a house - friends, relatives, others? what age? what profession? how many people could you
live with?
6. How long could you stay in this house? in which period of
your live / till which period of your live?
7. What reasons could make you live in a such house ? maybe
it’s cause of real need to share, or if you need somebody’s care
and attention, or some financial situation, or something else?

Luca
R&D Engineer, Eindhoven, Netherlands
28
Single

Commune – society which is united by common opinions and
interests. I’m not sure whether it is possible to call our home
“commune”. Four generations under one roof, where the only
shared interest – upbringing of children and mutual support
of middle and senior generations. As a private I need minimum of 50 m2. Bedroom, kitchen, living room, working space..
everything you can’t imagine yourself without. I could share
bedroom just with my husband. And I could live together with
closest relatives, in our house there are 8 of them. All of my
life, depending on possibilities and appropriateness. And the
main reasons for me are care and mutual help.

I see commune as a place where you live with other people
sharing common space, tools and where you make decisions
and look for a solutions together about the place you are living.
I imagine it like a big house, with a lot of rooms, with a lot of
people all busy doing something. I would like to have quite a
big place only for myself, even if I live in a common space. The
private place, where I can do whatever I want and spend some
time all on my own. I’m already to live in a place where I share
the kitchen. I don’t know exactly what I would share more. I
could live with 20 – 30 people in one house (with friends or
people with a similar background or in general with students).
Perhaps I could stay in commune house up to the time I feel
like changing my life because of personal reasons. I would like
to live there in reason to save some money and use what I save
to travel when I can.

42

Alena
Architect
34
Married


Erik
Student in software development
26
In couple

I need to have not less private space then a do now. I mean
family space should remain the same. I’m ready to share more
common areas with other people. For instance: library or a
yard. Of course common interests are important. But actually
I think I’m not a commune type of person. I think commune is
totally not for everyone. Well, maybe for many people but not
for a long time. It might be interesting while you are young and
interested in something. When you are a grown up with a family and a lot of work private space becomes more important
than permanent opportunity to communicate with congenial
souls. But maybe in 30 years it’s very possible - then you need
less private space.

“Community” : just à group of people. “Commune” : people living in a particular area with something in common. Yes , I could
live in commune house. I need something like 15 m²private
space with : bed , desk , computer , wardrobe, shower and WC.
And I can share all house space and all the rooms except my
working space. It’s comfortable for me to share a space with:
my family /girlfriend/friends (of all ages), don’t care of their
profession, with maximum of 4 people in the house. if it’s my
family (my wife with children) so it is for all my life , if it’s my
friends/or parents just during my studies. There is no particular reason which could make me live in a such house , it’s just
live’s circumstances , and it’s normal for human to live in social
groups ,it’s not an obligation.

Roman
Designer
32
In couple

Sylvie
Student
22
Single

It’s not really good for me to share a living or working space
with somebody. It could be quite ok if I was a student, but
for sure just if there were not a lot of roommates. From the
other hand, it could be comfortable if every person had a private room. A necessary minimum of private space is needed
but it all depends on the situation, for instance, if there are
people who are involved in similar kind of activities and share
the same values it might be enough to have just a standard
working space, but if they are not then it’s necessary to have a
private room. I could share a house with people only of my age
or older. I can’t stand people younger than me, I know it from
my experience. I wouldn’t like to share bedroom and working
space, the rest is ok. But still it depends on the situation and
people around me.

Community is a group of persons linked for a reason. Yes, I can
imagine my living in a commune house. I need 15m2 approximately for my private space, a desk, bed etc. I could share with
others everything except bedroom. Friends could be as neighbors, or strangers but with a selection. In ages about 25-35.
I could live with anybody but not a no active person. I don’t
know for how long, it depending on my future.

43

Mikhail
Head of fleet management
36
Married, has a 4-year old child

Artem
Engineer at the automatization technologies institute
24
Single

For me commune is a group of people that live together based
on collective property. And community is a group of people
that have similar interests. With getting older a person changes his or her views. When I was a student I would love to live
in a commune. It could have helped to develop my communicational and psychological skills. Being able to catch people’s
moods and deal with them is a very useful skill. Now I have a
small child and for this period I would never agree in circumstances like this. In a birth house there were just three of us
young mothers and it was horrible. Too much noise and children crying. Moreover when there is a small child in a house
you need to be able to control the level of noise, the penetration of side sounds, sanitary norms and so on. It is impossible
in a commune. Maybe when he is a bit elder I would consider
an option of living in a commune, but at a condition that there
will be kids of his age. It’s useful for kids because they start to
learn from each other and a child being busy might make his
mothers’ life much easier. And of course you may leave your
child with another parent to be taken care of. It is kind of a
kindergarten with big number of nannies. I think it is acceptable. I would call my private space several things. A bedroom
where I could also put a working space. (no less than 16 m2 for
all). A bathroom which might be not very spacious but private.
Maybe a small kitchen 6-8 square meters. Where a person can
be alone for a while. A small oven, small fridge and zone with
sofa. The rooms I am ready to share: laundry room; storage
room; well-equipped kitchen for an opportunity to cook different complicated dishes; living room, well-equipped and ready
to receive a certain amount of guests, with good sound system and a TV. In conclusion I’m gonna sum everything up. Such
communes might be a good thing if the residents are precisely
selected by certain uniting criteria. Such as: temperament,
level of emotionality, preferences, horoscope, interests (for
instance a hunter might be not a very good match for animal
defender). To avoid conflicts of interests, the main thing is for
people to be united by similar parameters to lower the level of
discomfort. However this kind of living is both financial benefit
and a lot of care and support.

Well, since it’s been in a very long time since I’m in a sort of
musical community, I can say that the most relevant community in my understanding is an association of people with common interests, who develop their ideas, mutually help each
other in this, and so on. Well, they might have totally opposite opinions on something, but in the community we’re still
talking about the commonality.Commune probably implies a
closer relationship between its participants. Accommodation
“under one roof”. With common “economy” roughly speaking )
For me, this is not a problem. Especially if it is interesting,
people who are nice to me, who we share a lot with. Personal
space: a small room — maximum. With a bed. It is desirable
to share toilet and bathroom not with a million people, but at
least one for two or three rooms, it’s based on the harsh realities. ) ) This is pretty much it. But I’m not very representative,
I have a distorted perception of reality, after seven years in a
dorm ) Well the commune house is all about the interests but
the interests tend to change. And I see myself in this homes as
long as it keeps me interested. Untill I have no family, no children. I think when I do it will be too much for everyone: for me
and for the kids and the neighbors)

44

Karolina
Government and municipal management
27
Divorced


Sergei
Artist
50
Divorced

This is a very interesting question because my idea of communes and community suddenly brightened for me right after
it - I have not thought about it before. Let’s start with the fact
that I probably would not have started to live in a commune.
But if that happened, I would like to have my personal space,
a room and a chair in a common room. My own locker in the
kitchen and in the bathroom. So that I could mourn for a stupid
music in my own corner if I need. But the other day - to arrange
the whole commune crazy celebration, because when there
are many people, and you have a space, you can do incredible
things. I miss our urban yard culture. I’m from the province, my
home was next to the railroad. This co-op house in which everyone were united by one thing - the camps in the Komi Republic. So, everyone knew each other. I arranged exhibitions and
performances with all the kids at home, we called everyone - it
was okay to ring on the door and call to someone to come. And
in the new year we did exchange of candies. We took out to
the yard inflatable pool for children, a tape recorder. Right beside we dried laundry. Grandmother sang songs on the bench,
looked after us. This is almost gone, but a special spirit is still
there. I think it may be a commune.

I used to work in a workshop 5m2 for five years, and it was
enough for me. It would be even fine for the rest of my life if
there also be some room of 5m2 for relax. Now I am living in
90m2 and I can’t cope with this space properly, it tends to become messy. Although from time to time, when there is some
big project spacious house comes in handy. Even pre-raphaelites were dreaming of their own home-commune for artists,
but only for themselves by the way. Generally speaking it is
hard to live in a commune, as well as in “communal flat” or
dormitory as I used to live. Living in a commune means that all
its members live as a family with some special rules, and you
either follow them or you are out. For me commune is like a
beehive. But if you look at them patiently you would see difference between them and us. Bees are all equal more or less,
they live for one purpose, whereas people would be tear apart
all the time by their temperament and inner diversity and complexity. I guess, people could live together if they share common interests, profound deep matters that concern them, not
superficial one. Although, even in this case they ought to be
some rules, which people should follow.

45

Marie
Journalist, writer, graphic designer
23
Single

The St. Francis School was founded as a girls school by the
sisters of the convent in the Limburg Heythuyzen. In 1966 the
sisters and parents from the district formed a private school
board. In 1968 the school became a mixed school. The school
was formed in 1985 from the nursery and primary school.
From 1966 to 2002 the school was led by director Guy van der
Horst. He left a big mark on the history of the school. In 2000
The St. Francis School joined the Protestant Catholic Education
Foundation. Before that it was the only primary school in Eindhoven with its own management, which is very uncommon
for our region. The last director, Miriam Smisek, said that the
school was or fifty years of existence, but was very forwardlooking. In 2008 the school merged with the primary Tongelaar,
which is also in the district. That would be the new school that
would become part of the center to be built in neighborhood
Tongelrese Akkers.

PLANS OF OLD SCHOOL BUILDING

46


LOCATION

47


The school. A place to aquire and transfer knowledge.Why to
reuse the Franscicus school? The Fransciscus school is not just
any empty and unused building but it is also in good repair. A
school or rather a class is also kind of a community: sharing
and learning in and as a group, is essential. In this sense the
school seems to be the perfect place to realize this kind of project. Qualification, socialisation and identification are terms to
define the meaning of a school, but also became important for
our undersanding of a community in general.
Qualification
Preparing for professional life, private life and social functions.
The older generation can share their knowledge with younger
people that are trying to start up their professional life.
Socialisation
Transfer of a certain social behaviour and fundamental values
of society. The „community members“ can share their values in
an active way and initiate a change in society.
Identification
Self-identification within a society.

50


MEANING OF
THE SCHOOL

With a critical eye we look back in time and learn from past experiences, like the ‘kommunalkas’ and the ‘hippy comunities’.
This knowledge can be used to create new ways of living in a
developed society. ‘Community’ becomes the keyword in our
research in understanding now a days needs of the people. It
describes a growing mentality of cooperation and a strong desire for sharing and exchange. In this concept of ‘new living’ we
show the results of our research on the basis of two different
approaches.

COMMUNITY

WHY?

CARE

51

-being an active part of society
-the future
-being independent & responsible
-themselves
-other people

SHARE
-property & possessions
-knowledge
-interests & ideas
-resources
-time


WAY OF LIVING

Situation
-People want to share and discover new ways of living
-People are ready to live in a community
-People in need
-Lonely
-Divorce
-Lack of time
-Integration
-Financical Situation
-Generation gap in the future (many old people)

Solution
Can complete each others needs because of different living environment and needs:
-Give each other a company
-Donate time (child care)
-Share knowledge
-Pass of traditions
-Share resources (cooking, cleaning)

52


WHY
60PLUS
30MINUS
COMMUNITY ?

KNOWLEDGE

EXPERIENCE

TRADITIONS

COMPANY

CARE

SKILLS

TIME

MOOD

KNOWLEDGE

EXPERIENCE

TRADITIONS

COMPANY

CARE

SKILLS

TIME

MOOD

60+

53

30-

“Community Housing”
Similar to a student housing.
Private living space with individual or shared bath and small
kitchen + one big community room
- shared kitchen space with a big dinning table
- living space with corner and library
- entertainment corner [ kicker, board games]
- laundry room
- shared garden
Private space:
For one resident - 27,5 m2
in total - 17 private rooms
Community space:
65 m2 in the first floor
92 m2 in the second floor

Conclusion:
+ easy & pragmatic solution
- not for “growing” a new community
more like a usual student housing
people don’t really share, but just coexist in one house
most of time people stay in their rooms
idea is not innovative

54


TRANSLATION
CONCEPT A

‘Cube’
Separate unit with bathroom,
kitchen and cupboards.

3600

3200

3200

3200

3500

3500

3600

3200

4800
3500
1400

1400
2700

2700

2800

4800
3500
5700

55

2800

5700

COMMUNITY ROOM


TRANSLATION
CONCEPT B
Private space is limited. But there is a very big shared space
where the residents can find private moments. Every resident has got just small bedroom (about 6-10 m2) as private
and bathroom (shared or not). This is how every person in the
house provided with minimal private space to stay alone if it is
necessary, to storage all the possessions and to organize it in
personal way. All the other rooms in the house are semi-public,
they “work” for all the commune’s residents. People share a
big kitchen with dinning room, living room with TV corner, gardens, library, work spaces, nap room, children’s room, laundry.
All this rooms connected with the main axis, so people meet
each other when they move through all the shared rooms by
the way to their own bedroom. The idea is to leave the decision how to organize the shared space to the community.
Every resident has the responsibility for the shared space in
front of his own room. So together with neighbor he become
the “owner” of semi-private space in commune house. They
make decisions about organizing this space mutually. The same
way they decide if they want to “invite” house’s community to
come in to their room or not. In this way residents have got a
feeling like they are “owners” of this space and can do with this
room whatever they want. This is how there are a lot of different spaces with strong individuality in one house. At the same
time everybody feels a bit like a “guest” in neighbor’s semiprivate space. Residents have an opportunity to regulate space
around. They can expand their semi-private space or reduce it
at all for some periods.

INVERT SHARED AND PRIVATE SPACE

Concept A

56

Concept B

SEMI-PUBLIC
PRIVATE

PRIVATE

SEMI-PRIVATE
SEMI-PUBLIC

PRIVATE

PRIVATE

SEMI-PRIVATE
SEMI-PUBLIC

PRIVATE

PRIVATE

SEMI-PRIVATE
SEMI-PUBLIC

PRIVATE

PRIVATE

SEMI-PRIVATE
SEMI-PUBLIC

PRIVATE

SEMI-PRIVATE
SEMI-PUBLIC

PRIVATE

12

13

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

14
12

12

13

14

15

17

18

19

20

21

16

13

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

14

15

16

17

18

19

8

9

6

7

4

5

11

10

3

1

2

20

11

9

10

7

8

5

6

4

2

3

21

11

9

10

7

8

6

57

11

10

8

9

6

7

4

1

Deviding shared space into semi-private parts. Option 2

4

Deviding shared space into semi-private parts. Option 1

5

2

3

1

Partial invertation shared space into private space

5

3

1

2

The main axis throw the joint shared space


Spaces in the commune house


74 M2
38 M2

58

Use corridor for private space, but place a new wall to extend the
private space. This extra-space expands bathroom and also functions
as a place to store all the goods and chattels.

BEDROOM 6,45-9,6 M2
PRIVATE BATHROOM 3,25 M2

BEDROOM 17,7 M2
PRIVATE BATHROOM 4,75

BEDROOM 6,75 M2
SHARED BATHROOM 4,25 M2

BEDROOM 7,8 -11,8 M2
+ EXTRA SPACE - 3,5 -5,5 M2
PRIVATE BATHROOM 3,2-4,2 M2

BEDROOM 6,0 M2
+ EXTRA SPACE - 2,4 M2

59

BEDROOM 6,8 M2
+ EXTRA SPACE - 3,4 M2


FLEXIBILITY
TRANSFORMATION
RECOMBINATION
Options with swivel walls

60

Variations of organizing
shared bathroom and kitchen

61

AXONOMETRIC VIEW OF THE
HOUSE COMMUNE

62


DAILY ROUTES OF COMMUNES
RESIDENTS

63


SEMI-PUBLIC SPACE IN THE
COMMUNE HOUSE

Team
Emilia Sochoshko
Anna Medvedeva

“Woonbedrijf” is one in the largest housing companies in the
Netherlands and specialized in rent, sale, building and reusing
of living houses. Soon this company will have an old school
building in their property and they want to turn it into living
houses/apartments. Our task was to make a few proposals for
reuse of this old building.
So we developed two different options for this building:
-A hostel for students
-A house for family
Option for students
In our opinion every young person wants to spend time with
his friends. Because a lot of students come from abroad to
study at TU/e or Design Academy and they feel lonely in a new
city. So we wanted to create comfortable conditions for studing, relaxing, preparing food and have fun together. That’s why
in our options we tried to connect all the functions together.
Apartment for family. The first idea was to divide a building in
to different apartments. The entrance of each on the first floor
will be from the street side. The most successful in our opinion is the option with flexible walls. With the help of that the
owner could create absolutely different space in their house.
The second idea is to create a townhouse. So we divide a building into new sections and each apartment will have two floors.
There are also different plan options.

64

CONCE PTS O F T HE
OLD S C HO O L B UIL DING RE US E

CONCEPTS OF
THE OLD SCHOOL
BUILDING REUSE

65

CONCE PTS O F T HE
OLD S C HO O L B UIL DING RE US E

E X T RA AC T IVIT IES

EXTRA ACTIVITIES
LIVELY CITIES WORKSHOP
North West European Lively cities placemaking tour.

66

We had a chance to work for a short brainstorming session in
collaboration with Dutch students. During the workshop we
had several Placemaking sessions about the Sint Joseph site
at the city of Eindhoven. We worked together with Dutch students, residents and local architects. Different groups had to
answer questions about subjects like visibility, identity, variation and flexibility of functions and time. First groups went
out to check the location with a local guy. He gave us more
information about the buildings present on the site of St. Joseph: what functions they have and how they influence the
surrounding open spaces. Finally the different groups gave a
presentation containing their concepts for a better place.


PLAKKEN IN
DOORNAKKERS

68

In one of the last days of summer we were invited to be a part of
a creative action in the square of the old Tongelaar School. Children and adults from all over the neighborhood built houses with
cardboard, packing materials and tape. With Elena Lovich, Marijke
Spekman and Mini Smulders they taped a big map of the neighborhood on the floor in school yard and put there new houses,
factories and other buildings made of reused materials. Local businessman acted as a sponsor of this event and all the participants
tried biological bread from neighbor bakery and fruits from turkish
shop.


SHADOW CITY PROJECT

69

Sunlight and shadows are the materials in a public space installation by Izabela Boloz in the picturesque district of Østerbro
in Copenhagen. Shadow City comes alive with the rising sun,
casting shadows of house facades across a 100 meter wall on
the Sortedam Lake. A playful image of a city appears, inspired
by the history of Copenhagen, and changes as it slowly moves
across the wall with the changing position of the sun.

CO LO PHO N

COLOPHON
This publication is produced in the collaboration
with the municipality of Eindhoven
Printed by Repro of the municipality of Eindhoven
Organization
Cees Donkers
Cooperation
Koj Koning
Ellis Kluijt
Jan van de Ven
Yolanda van Els
Editing
Victoria Khokhlova
Graphic Design
Michael Skachkov
The Netherlands
Eindhoven
2013

70

Eindhoven

City as a lab neru 2013s

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