DETAIL 9.2015 -Concept

From the editorial DETAIL 9.2015

Urban Housing

The congenial character of lively old city areas depends not least on their mixture of small-scale housing and commercial uses. That the same can apply to new developments is illustrated by the examples in this issue of DETAIL, where many functions are integrated in the housing structures, from shops and cafes to community spaces. In Zurich, the Kalkbreite cooperative was realized as a high-density urbane housing scheme with a 40 per cent commercial content (page 868). In Berlin, a private client has created a mix of housing and culture (page 832), and in Vienna, a construction group has joined forces to implement community life according to its own precepts (page 854).