Page 109 - Vertical City
P. 109
WHERE AND HOW? 109
and modernist dogma, could also easily be restructured
and transformed to (finally) benefit from the advantages
of vertical construction.
It would be best if the height of these constructions
were, on this occasion, substantially increased, which
raises questions as to the re-implantation of numerous
small regional airports. 3
In addition to industrial and railway wastelands, there
are also the vast residential suburbs and their very low
population densities, which were developed from the
1950s on.
They are, in time, financially unsustainable both for
the community and for the residents themselves. They
create social isolation of the same nature of our present
high-rise buildings.
But what about the lifespan of existing cities or their
neighborhoods at the scale of centuries? What is the
lifespan of their ordinary constructions and networks?
For most of our ancient European cities, excluding
exceptional sites and buildings (10% of the city), it is rea-
sonable to consider that the remaining constructions
(90%) have been extensively renovated at a rate of 1,1%
to 1,6% per year: this means the cities, excluding listed
historical monuments, have been “rebuilt” in the past
60 to 90 years 4.
3 The vertical development of Antwerp is thus limited by air traffic at
the small airport at Deurne.
4 Brussels is illustrative of this. Statistics relative to building permits
(which are only available through the “Institut National des Statis-
tiques” from 1996, while data has been collected since 1962!) show
