Michiel Brinkman, The Spangen Quarter, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1919

About the Architect :

Michiel Brinkman (December 16 1873 – February 19, 1925) was a Dutch architect and founder of an architectural firm in Rotterdam. Later this office would gain international fame by his successors J.A. Brinkman, L. C. van der Vlugt, J.H. van den Broek and Jaap Bakema.

About the House :
The Spangen Quarter is the first modern example of a multi-level block that has gallery access to the upper level. It was designed by architect Michiel Brinkman (J.A. Brinkman’s father) in 1918 under the commission of the Rotterdam City Housing Services, as middle class social housing for civil servants and factory workers. The block consists of both perimeter and central units that form two interior courtyards. The access to the dwellings is made from the semi-public courtyards. The first and second levels are accessible directly from the ground. Above, the quarter’s most significant element, a gallery walkway over one kilometre long and varying from 2.3 to 3.3 metres wide, allows residents to reach the third-storey apartments. Spangen Quarter is made of concrete and brick. Details such as the composition of the windows and the built-in flower boxes of the gallery give the project a dynamic and energetic ambience. Superfluous ornamentation or materialistic expression is unnecessary.

Selected links :

•http://www.hiddenarchitecture.net/2015/02/spangen-quarter-housing.html