Living Tomorrow
Start date: Dec 1, 2011,
Due to rapid social change in Europe, many of the dwelling models that had been developed over the past two centuries now seem outdated. Well into the 20th century, residential planning was concerned primarily with the building of homes for inhabitants who, within a family structure, often lived and worked in one location for their entire lives. However, radical changes in employment (restructuring of working conditions, increasing flexibility, etc.), in social relations (changing gender roles, tendency towards growing individualisation, etc.), in demographic development (birth rate, migration, life expectancy, etc.) as well as within the family unit (single parents, one-person households, patchwork families, etc.) have led to the creation of new living arrangements in Europe. These have resulted in changing living needs which in turn require new housing forms and typologies. Despite having already been discussed for several years, satisfactory solutions to these transformations and their consequences are still rarely to be found. Moreover, the debate on how housing models and architecture can function in a globalised 21st century (in their concrete, material forms as well as in their impact on the appearance of urban conglomerates) is still in its infancy.What contribution can architecture, design, applied arts and urban planning make to contemporary housing policies that take into account these changing needs?This core question is the starting point for the planned interdisciplinary project LIVING TOMORROW (architecture, interior design, city planning etc.), which, through analysis of and reflection on various European living environments, seeks to supply initial answers to and visions for these challenges.