Desgin

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Buildingblock

Within an integrated regenerative housing system, the question is no longer how to design a single dwelling, but how to design a system capable of learning, adapting, and sustaining itself across generations. The “building block” emerges from this challenge as a multifunctional modular unit, a spatial and constructive element conceived not as a fixed product, but as a durable, reconfigurable component within a dynamic architectural framework. Positioned at the intersection of circularity, open-building principles, and participatory design, the ‘bouwsteen’ functions as the fundamental particle from which resilient, inclusive, and climate-conscious housing environments can be assembled.

Developed within a three-dimensional grid, the ‘bouwsteen’ operates according to the logic of Brand’s shearing layers, where each material, spatial, and technical layer evolves at its own tempo. This layered autonomy allows the unit to grow and transform over time—supporting programmatic shifts, demographic transitions, and future technological integrations without compromising the building’s structure or the resident’s agency. In this sense, the system does not merely accommodate change; it anticipates it. The BOUWSTEEN becomes a chassis for living architecture: an adaptable framework that can be upgraded, densified, personalized, and disassembled in response to environmental pressures and social needs.

Central to the unit’s regenerative potential is its standardised dimensional strategy, rooted in both proportional clarity and circular construction logic. Drawing from Neufert’s conventions and Dutch regulatory benchmarks, dimensions are organised around modules divisible by 180, 300, 600, 900, 1200, 1500, 1800, 2100, and up to 3600 mm. This rhythmic proportional vocabulary establishes a shared syntax across components and building layers, enabling architects, builders, and residents to work within a coherent and predictable geometric language. For participatory housing processes, this clarity is not merely beneficial—it is essential, providing a structure that is legible, buildable, and conducive to co-design.

At the heart of the system lies the 3600 × 3600 mm interior grid, a spatial cell from which an extensive repertoire of living scenarios can be composed. Each unit functions like a multidirectional hinge: robust enough to provide structural and acoustic performance, yet open enough to invite variation in inhabitant-led layouts. Surrounding this inhabitable cell is a 300 mm peripheral zone, dedicated to load-bearing components, building services, and dwelling-separating elements. This margin establishes a technical buffer that preserves the independence of each shearing layer, allowing services, partitions, and interior arrangements to operate freely without constraining the structure itself.

Vertical organisation reinforces this logic. An interior height of 2700 mm responds simultaneously to human comfort, regulatory requirements, and the proportional strategy of the system. The 500 mm dwelling-separating floor, functioning as a hollow-floor assembly, enables fully independent routing of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems—supporting both modularity and future reparability. Together, these dimensions define a building block that is precise yet permissive, capable of hosting a multiplicity of domestic or communal uses.

Dwellings

Using the Buildingblock, any living scenario can be translated into a tailored living plan, enabling each dwelling to take shape as a unique response to the needs, aspirations, and rhythms of its inhabitants. To support this, participation processes are organised through a uniform, transparent strategy. Future residents are selected according to social housing waiting lists and begin by articulating their household’s living scenario ~ a description of spatial needs, patterns of use, and personal preferences. Based on this input, a standardised living plan is assigned, calibrated to accommodate their functional requirements. From there, the inherent flexibility of the Buildingblock invites residents to adjust, refine, and personalise the plan: configuring interior partitions, selecting façade variations, arranging service zones, or modifying spatial adjacencies. An architect then reviews and validates these proposals, ensuring technical feasibility, safety, and integration within the collective system.

Once occupied, these dwellings retain the capacity to evolve. Thanks to the Buildingblock’s demountable box-in-box assembly, its hollow-floor service zone, adaptable utilities, flexible interior panels, and furniture that can be configured in endless assemblies, together with reconfigurable façade elements, each unit can expand, shrink, be restructured, or be entirely reconfigured as households grow, age, reorganise, or make way for new occupants. In this way, the dwelling is never a fixed outcome but a continuously adaptable organism ~ capable of supporting life as it changes, and capable of renewing itself for generations to come.

Implementation

The Building Block can be applied to single-family villas, courtyard housing, and hybrid mid- and high-rise towers. Each layer is predesigned according to one unified grid. This enables residential buildings to be developed efficiently while responding precisely to contextual limitations and forming unique spatial and structural configurations. Because CLT is lightweight, the system can also extend existing buildings with minimal structural intervention. In every application, it activates underutilised urban land and transforms residual space into socially meaningful housing environments.

This universality is crucial in the Dutch context. Climate neutrality targets demand low-emission construction. Demographic pressure increases the need for housing. At the same time, the EU’s No Net Land Take policy requires cities to densify within their existing boundaries. Growth must occur inward, not outward. The system responds to this condition by offering a flexible and scalable strategy for inner-city intensification.

In this implementation, the grid is assembled around a concrete plinth and core. The combination of modular timber structure of the Building Blocks with a hybrid concrete core demonstrates how high-density housing can remain circular, low-emission, and adaptable over time.

The selected site reflects this ambition. Several residential proposals have failed due to the presence of a metro tunnel, which limits the buildable footprint and challenges financial feasibility. As an underutilised plot with limited social and ecological value, it becomes an ideal testing ground. Here, the system proves how overlooked urban fragments can evolve into regenerative and future-proof neighbourhoods.

1. Embedding the WBS50 grid into the urban condition
The WBS50 grid is first positioned within the existing urban fabric. It aligns with surrounding streets, parcels, and infrastructural logic. This establishes a coherent structural and spatial framework that connects the project to its context.

2. Extrusion to the maximum building envelope
The grid is then extruded vertically to the maximum permitted height. This defines the primary volumetric capacity of the tower and unlocks the full densification potential of the site.

3. Hybrid structure: plinth and core
A concrete plinth forms the base of the building. It is designed to cantilever where necessary, accommodating the constraints imposed by the metro tunnel below. A central concrete core acts as the logistical backbone. It stabilises the glulam superstructure and concentrates vertical circulation and services. A gallery system connects the residential units efficiently and ensures accessible movement throughout the tower.

4. Volume sculpting through environmental analysis
Shadow-casting simulations inform the shaping of the volume. The mass is carefully adjusted to optimise daylight access for both residents and the surrounding urban context. Environmental performance guides formal decisions.

5. Setbacks as opportunities for community space
Strategic setbacks are introduced within the extruded volume. These create terraces and shared amenities at different heights. The façade becomes active and layered. Collective outdoor spaces stimulate interaction and strengthen the social fabric of the building.

6. Diverse living typologies
Within the sculpted volume, a wide range of residential units is interwoven. Different sizes and configurations support varied household types. This diversity fosters social resilience and reinforces the building’s role as a vertical neighbourhood.

Narative

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