Hageneiland

The wave of building and settlement in suburbs has flooded all states in Europe. In the Netherlands, this trend can be encountered, for example, in the satellite of The Hague - in Ypenburg. On the drained territory, new residential neighborhoods have been created or are being created. In Ypenburg, it is possible to observe and personally experience various examples of housing solutions - block schemes with residential courtyards, row housing, or solitary point structures.
The MVRDV studio approached its contribution to Ypenburg as a geometric play of 119 row houses, which are randomly grouped together. The groups of houses are treated with a single material that completely envelops the archetypal client form of the dwelling. Brick, metal, wooden, plastic, and cement board houses are composed in rows in such a way that they do not tire the viewer with a stereotypical rhythm, but rather create pleasant nooks and situations. Each of the houses has a mini garden with a polycarbonate house behind it.
This type of complex is, unlike the Borneo peninsula, difficult to apply in any environment other than the Dutch. A generous division of residential intimacy with the surroundings, a microenvironment for living, and a connection with water channels... What strikes me about the complex is the solution for parking cars on the outskirts of the estate. Personally, I would expect a deeper expression from MVRDV of the phenomenon of life in Hageneiland. The car is a necessity in the life of suburban society. Aaron Betsky, in his texts, draws a parallel between Corbusier and MVRDV, but Corbu much more aptly demonstrated the role of mobility of builders in Villa Savoye. The people in Hageneiland have no choice but to awkwardly carry their purchases in plastic bags from hypermarkets from parking lots to their houses on foot. Absolute safety and tranquility for young Dutch people in this case have given way to the comfort of consumption. Perhaps today's phenomenon is not the car, but the mobile phone or mobile internet connection. God knows what Maas is thinking, but anyway, MVRDV received a prestigious award from the Netherlands Institute for Architecture for the complex of 119 houses in Hageneiland.