ABSTRACT
This chapter frames the investigation of complex housing by addressing key concepts and approaches such as case study method, space syntax, gamma analysis, density, and typology. To reveal the design principles that generate Dutch complex housing, eight examples were chosen to analyze in depth, with the goal of understanding the commonalities of planning, design construction, and maintenance of dense housing in the Netherlands. Focusing on eight cases rather than addressing Dutch housing and urbanism broadly, the study examines the projects as actually designed and implemented. The case study methodology is a normative architectural research practice. Space syntax is a broad category of diagram-based analysis that derives from linguistics as applied to the study of urban patterns and architecture. In the Netherlands, projects include both automobile and bicycle parking as well as storage for residents. The most common form of housing massing is the slab, generally a rectangular form of building created by placing units side by side along a street.
