Bakemabuurt, Amsterdam. Una demolizione controversa

Bakema’s slabs are beautiful.They provided a clever solution to a real problem. We have to transform and adapt them to a program that is completely alien compared to that for which they were intended, adapting them to a new constellation of de- sires.Yet, notwithstanding the wish for transformation, it is not possible to believe that these houses could transmute into something other from what they are now, that social housing could be converted into up-market suburban neighbourhoods, magically altering the assets of the residents as well. The requested housing density leaves no space for trees, hillocks, or gently meandering roads, and there will be no rise in property prices. Here, operation aurum ex stercore will not work. It is difficult to suppose a radical transformation of the area without presupposing a concurrent reworking of the entire city in which the area is inserted. Ultimately, it is simply a case of moving apartment residents into the most autonomous houses, and believing that this will be enough to improve the overall conditions of the residents. We ask ourselves what sense our work can have under these conditions. Can we propose a subdivision of lots capable of producing a city setting? Can we somehow defend Bakema’s building? And, what are the margins to search for beauty?