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DBOOK: Density, Data, Diagrams, Dwellings, edited
by Javier Mozas & Aurora Fernandez Per
a+t architecture publishers, 2007
Collections of contemporary architecture
tend to ignore the means of their making, even though some
are obviously compiled of the architect's own project descriptions
and imagery, while others go the extra effort to create
original descriptions and use unique illustrations for publicatiton.
This impressive compendium of 64 recent multi-family residential
projects is the best of both of these methods, and it isn't
shy about that fact. At the outset the editors even show
the reader a completed form returned by one of the featured
architects, addressing the data statistics that shape much
of the book, from its ordering to its appearance.
Each project includes an abundance
of graphic
information (PDF link): diagrams illustrating density,
population, income and function; site and urban-scale imagery;
scale plot plans with open space ratios; plans; photographs
and more; all in a consistent format that allows for comparison
on the part of the reader. Additionally each architect contributes
a description that is accompanied by an editor's note, in
many cases the latter relating the project to the wider
aims of the book. Lastly, a survey filled out by the architect
illustrates the level of sustainability in the project or,
in some cases, the unwillingness of the architect to participate
in the survey. Ordered from lowest to highest residential
density, the book concludes with details from some of the
projects and a thematic analysis of all 64 projects* in
the different realms of density, from the building to the
city level.
Like Density
and Density Projects, DBOOK aims to
"promote the compact development of urban settlements."
This goal is illustrated via the data visualizations already
described, but the importance of context on such a consideration
only comes across in two pieces of data: district and city
density (though one does see how the projects do impact
their surroundings via the introduction of uses like retail
and schools). Combined with the aerial views and site plans
, one achieves a small glimpse of how each project fits
into the surrounding fabric, but not enough to grasp how
density equates with quality of life. This is a paradox
of focusing on data in architecture: where does data give
way to more subjective, intangible measures? How is one
persuaded by arguments for density when the benefits of
density (proximity to shopping, recreation, work, public
transporation, people, and a diversity of such things) are
not present in the data? It's a minor criticism for an ambitious
book that finds merit in an attribute of diverse and sustainable
cities.
*All but ten of the projects are
in Europe, with a few previously featured on my daily and
weekly web pages: Seewurfel
by Camenzid Evolution, Londres-Villaroel
Building Complex by Coll-Leclerc Arquitectos, Moriyama
House by Ryue Nishizawa, Accordia
in Cambridge by Feilen Clegg Bradley, and Bikuben
Student Residence by aart a/s.
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