Dutch Dwellings: The Architecture of Housing

Dick van Gameren, a partner with the renowned Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo, has engaged in housing design for the past twenty-five years through his work as an architect as well as in his research and teaching at TU Delft’s Global Housing Study Center. In this book, he presents around forty of his own projects in this field, through concise texts and photographs with explanatory captions as well as plans and drawings. The projects are grouped to illustrate seven specific aspects of housing design: Streets and Squares, Courtyards and Patios, Gardens, Halls, the Fireplace, Walls, and Roofs. Together, they constitute a multifaceted catalog of housing typologies.

In four supplementary essays, van Gameren explores evolutions in residential architecture in the Netherlands. He positions his own concepts in the context of these developments and expands on what he considers the key factors of good housing design. He places particular focus on affordable housing, a pressing issue in so many countries and metropolitan areas around the world.

Dutch Dwellings is an inspiring read for anyone involved in housing design today.