ClickNL Payoff

Jump to

GoCI: Collaboration for Impact

Identical Strangers

The documentary Identical Strangers (2018) tells the tragic story of a social science experiment in postwar New York in which newborn triplets were separated and placed for adoption with poor or wealthy families. In the documentary, you see how triplets encounter each other later in life - and from there unravel the web of the social experiment to which they were subjected. The brothers immediately become a media sensation, as they share many similarities despite their very different upbringings. They are strangers to each other, yet somehow identical. They are identical strangers.

Much less gruesome is the similar situation in our post-war housing stock. A significant number of houses were built between about 1965 and 1990. This was a time of enormous housing shortage, but also a time of a new industrial way of building. Parts of houses were made in the factory and assembled on the building site. This allowed for cost-efficient construction and reduced the need for skilled labor. Architectural firms worked closely with construction companies and contractors to build this way. As a result, many houses look alike, inside and out. But who, where and when built them is largely unknown. Hypothetically, hundreds of thousands of houses could be "identical strangers.

Project: identical strangers

Using an archival survey to map who, what and where was built is too labor-intensive and time-consuming. Therefore, the "Identical Strangers" project is investigating whether you can use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to inventory this housing stock. For this purpose, an alternative data set is being created -using Google Streetview image recognition- and patterns in identical buildings are being named. Architects from design firms from the years 1965-1990 are also interviewed. In this way, the predictability of the AI is increased.

  • Identical Strangers

  • Hopefully results

    This project involves exploratory research. It is not certain that you can use AI to inventory a housing stock. However, if this does succeed, the scale of sustainability can be enormous. Until now, it has been necessary to discover which materials have been used for each house or apartment. If you know the similarities, you can make dozens, perhaps hundreds of homes sustainable in the same way.

Collaboration
Frank Suurbroek, Professor of Spatial Urban Transformation, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences: "One new thing for me is working with a demolition company. We are working with GP Groot, one of the leaders in 'circular demolition', and as a result we are learning more about what to look out for. For example, what we can ask for in our interviews about the construction and materials used."

"The great thing about such a short-term project is: you can really experiment and take on the challenge of seeking the promise with lots of different disciplines. The KIEM-GoCI scheme is an innovation engine that allows you to quickly and effectively drill enough depth to discover the potential of new solution directions. Because you can't force innovation, but you can try to develop it. You have to be able to walk uncertain paths."

Partners project

  • KIEM GoCI
  • NADR
  • Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA)
  • Chair of Spatial Urban Transformation (Bouwtransformatie) in collaboration with the Chair of Responsible IT
  • Frank Suurenbroek, Maarten Groen, Nanda Piersma, Esther Kreiland, Sara Duister, Lyske Gais de Bildt
  • IMOSS Urban design, landscape and outdoor space
  • GP Groot

Source article: Collaboration For Impact (online magazine), Mariek Hillhorst and Frank Suurenbroek (professor of Spatial Urban Transformation)

Collaboration for Impact

In cooperation with the innovation program GoCI (an initiative of CLICKNL and National Regieorgaan Praktijkgericht Onderzoek SIA) and NADR (Network Applied Design Research), the digital magazine 'Collaboration for Impact' has been launched. This magazine provides a glimpse into all GoCI projects in 32 articles. The project 'Identical Strangers' is one of them.

Would you like to know more about this project, and to discover the other 31 projects? Go to the online magazine