The culture of living closer together

Contributor: Katherine Sundermann

Katherine Sundermann is an urban designer and planner with an architectural background. She is interested in the intersection of design and politics and the future of urban areas. Having lived and worked in the Netherlands, she now works as an urban designer at MGS Architects.

Blueprint City

From Berlin to Melbourne: Residents Shaping their Cities

More apartments are currently constructed in Melbourne than detached houses – but how can we account for their quality? Using the ‘Baugruppen’ of Berlin as inspiration, Katherine Sundermann considers a paradigm shift towards involving residents in the development of their homes, adding prospects of affordability, quality and self-expression to future multi-residential projects.

Assemblage

New Collectivities: MVRDV

As co-founder of Dutch architectural office MVRDV, Nathalie de Vries has continued to push the organisation in search of a humanist, hybrid approach to creating liveable spaces. Considering the city as inherently constructed, MVRDV's approach remains provocative as it re-imagines our cities moving into the future.

Blueprint City

De Ceuvel: from concept to community

In Amsterdam, second-hand houseboats are practically free – no one wants them. Katherine Sundermann speaks to space&matter’s Sascha Glasl, whose collaborative De Ceuvel project has transformed a former shipyard in Amsterdam’s north into a sustainable cultural community.