This portfolio documents the narrative and technological ambition of a theoretical design project situated in Hanoi, Vietnam. Complementing the design thesis, this document expands on first semester reasearch which lead to the creation of a notion of oasis Department of Architecture & Built Environment University of Westminster May 2020
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Contents
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DS22 Brief
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Project 01 / Group Work Device: Frequencies
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Field Trip: Hanoi
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Project 02 / The Monastic City 'Heroic Mothers'
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Is the Monastery the Answer?
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Moments Throught the Monastic City
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Heroic Mothers : A Reflective Conclusion
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Introduction Vietnam as a Fragmented Landscape
Vietnam is a country with a turbulent past, subject to early 20th century French colonialism and more recent contesting eastern and western powers, it becomes a territory for examination for DS 22’s investigations. Sharing borders between south east Asian economic powerhouses such as Thailand, Cambodia and south China, it has been subject to a transformation of economic and political status in the late 20th century causing a shift in its sociodemographic construct. This study has then focused on and analysed two distinct territories within Vietnam, each containing different architectonic characteristics, the rural typologies of the Central Highlands framed within Part 1, the creation of a device, and the urban typologies of Hanoi, framed within Part 2, the emergence of a design intervention aimed to stitch back together a specific fragmented landscape. This interim portfolio will reveal the research and proposals generated for part 1 and part 2.
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Project 01 / Part 1 Group Work Device: Frequencies
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Notion of Oasis Giving a Voice to the Unheard
Frequency Transmissions as the basis for the Device
Given the concept of Oasis as ‘a space of refuge in a harsh surrounding’, as a group we focused our attention towards identifying the impacts of censorship within the Vietnamese one party communist state. Censorship, in its widest sense, was the line of departure in which we deplored the development of a resilient landscape for ‘giving a voice to the unheard’. In understanding censorship within Vietnam, we discovered a number of accounts of people that had been imprisoned due to voiced opinions which contradicted the views of the government in power.
Although censorship in its widest forms occur globally, we were driven to create a deeper understanding of censorship and how it had changed the socio-political environment within Vietnam. In this process, we unearthed a contemporary sensitive demographic issue, in which a select population, now known as the Montagnards (French for mountain people) were effectively being censored from the rest of the country due to their alliance to the south and the American forces during the Vietnam war of 1959 until the mid-1970’s. Opposite Page: Concept drawing of the Device placing the Central Highlands as the territory for frequencies voicing the unheard narratives of the Montgnard population
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Montagnards The People of the Mountain
In this context of socio-censorship, we turned our attention to blurring the lines of censorship in Vietnam as an act of resilience to provide a territory, whether physical or solely audible, in which the marginalised narrative of Montagnards would be brought to light, in the hope of a change of direction for the future generations of the citizens of Vietnam, and perhaps to the rest of the marginalised populations across the world. The name Montagnard has been given to the population which has been marginalised and transplanted to the mountainous region of the
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Central Highlands of Vietnam. The exodus of this people group is enforced by the Vietnamese government as a punishment for treason given their affiliation to the American backed forces of the South during the Vietnam War. Montagnards living in four provinces in the Central Highlands about 150 miles south of Hanoi. The Montagnards make up about 15% of Vietnam’s 90 million people and 70% of its poor. They come from a variety of tribes and speak numerous native languages.
KOM TUN PROVINCE
GAI LAI PROVINCE
DAK LAK PROVINCE
DAK NONG PROVINCE
LAM DONG PROVINCE
CENTRAL HIGHLANDS NARRATIVE MAP
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Device Concept and Manifesto DEVICE :
Uncensored Frequencies
FUNCTION :
An resilient device to generate audible transmissions of the unheard and marginalised and expose hidden layers within the land.
CONCEPT:
Utilising the censored climate of Vietnam’s single party state, the device aims to perform a spatially hidden and uncensored audible transmission that will require the user to use various tools provided by the device to read the landscape and follow instructions to understand the device. The device is to bringforth confusion by creating a series of visible and invisible, highlighting the complexity and history of the land. Using the historical and current knowledge of the loudspeakers of the Vietnam War, previously used as warning signals of impending aerial strikes and now used as the fastest channel to dismantle information politically, The device will propose to create a frequency generated through narrating the untold stories of the montgards in the Central highlands, giving them a voice to express, communiticate and practices their tradiitons in an uncensored manner while mapping their ever changing boundries. The use of anaglyph lenses will be to reveal the 'hidden' collective oasis areas within the landscape, represented by the 'transmitters'. The hidden landscape will be represented through mixed visual CMYK mapping technique exposing the case of invisible and visible- ' censored and uncensored'. The user will be invited to view the landscape using anaglyph lenses secured on a spatial grid. Adjusting the lenses to deconstruct the hidden layers of the landscape and isolateing particular information which wouldve otherwise been difficult to see. The lenses allow them to perceive alternative visions of the urban realm revealing various clue on how to navigate the site. The resilient device provides frequencies allowing the narration of the unheard to tell untold stories, communitcation and proetection within the communities
RESILIENCE OR
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OASIS :
Resilience operating as an invisible Oasis
DIMENSIONS:
1600mm x 500mm x 1000mm
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Device Precedents
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' Untitled ' Shipla Gupta
' In Your Tongue I Cannot Hide ' Shipla Gupta
A mechanical residential gate, the type installed in front of private driveways for seclusion and safety. This one, however, with its exaggerated spikes and protruding metal frame, swings back and forth of its own accord, hitting the gallery wall aggressively – and eventually cracking and breaking it. Gupta relates the strange central shape in the metalwork both to the outline of a territory and ‘a hole in a brain’, giving the gate a hauntingly anthropomorphic quality.
The sound installation gives voice to 100 poets who have been jailed for their writing or beliefs. Visitors will encounter 100 microphones suspended over metal rods, each piercing a verse of poetry. Each microphone in turn recites a fragment of the poets’ words, spoken first by a single voice then echoed by a chorus which shifts across space. It incorporates a strong spatial dimension, unfolding a soundscape which cannot be experienced from a single standpoint, but which requires the visitor to move through the space, to actively listen.
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' Eavesdropping ' - LTL Architects
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! t" t" i i The idea of the device is to listen-in to private! conversations, calling this a transgression into public consciousness. The seats are facing a low volume speaker within an enclosed area. The microphone is then moved across the gallery through a motorised pulley system picking up conversations.
Our concept stemming from this is to create uncensored information where people can listen into, defying what is forced upon them from the government.
' Floating Lanterns ' Louise Yeung, Anthony Lau, Denis Tsang Since ancient times, flying paper laterns have been used as warning signs for floods. The device is placed around the city where when a certain water theshold is passed, the device will rise up and serve as a warning. By creating a functional device, it allows the device to be useful and not just something that highlights apparant issues.
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Materiality Specification
FREQUENCY TRANSMITTERS:
Deconstructed Radio Components Electrical Wire and Clips Speakers For sound Emission and Story Telling Batteries Found Materials Copper Rods Circuit Motors Circuit Speed Control Regulator Stainless steel: Nuts and Bolts, Wire
LANDSCAPE:
Plaster Base - Inverted Contour Bowl Acrylic gears Electrical Wire Acrylic Circut Board 20lb Fishing Line Wire Metal Rings Copper Rod Deconstructed Gear Motor 3D Printed Signal Stands Batteries Welded Metal Frame
LENSES:
Dismantled Camera Lenses at varying sizes Metalic Camera Frame Supports Clear Acrylic Lense Coloured Acetate Film UV Lights
MAPPING:
CMYK Colour Mapping Invisible Ink Pen Mapping UV Lights Hidden Elevated Laser Cut Villages Spatial Copper Grid Welded Metal Frame
ADDITIONAL
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Stools For Obsevation and Interaction
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Conceptual Functions
'Elevated Woven Topography'
[1]
'Frequency Transmitters'
[2]
'Hidden Mapping'
[3]
Stainless steel antenna Re-purposed metal contact ring Crocodile Clips
We envisioned the device to obtain a composition of layers which would represent certain aspects of the fragmented landscape of which we wanted to exaggerate and expose. Each of the layers, broken down by the images above would be combined to create an encrypted and blurred version of the central highlands. The use of a series of lenses would be incorporated to be used as a tool for searching for the Montagnard narratives.
Electrical wire Metal rod support for contact ring
As an initial move we sough to construct a series of transmitters which would emit a radio transmission which could be â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;pluggedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; into to provide an audible voice narrating the stories of the marginalised population. The transmitters would take a subservient role to the lens as a method of searching for the narratives.
12V DC Circuit Motor Crocodile Clips Rotation Cord 12V Alkaline Battery Re-purposed metal support stand Early Transmitter Design
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'Lens Viewfinders'
[4]
'Movement and Trails'
[5]
'Inverted Landscape'
[6]
Transmitters Cultural + Political Layering
'Topographical Landscape'
Early Device Design
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Lens Development We sought to explore the operation of the lens through sketches and methods of production. Using the concept of coloured filters, we found success in exploring how light and colour could filter out printed images. We also explored how the lenses could operate as moving objects, allowing multiple views of hidden landscape and tested the soldering of components of an SLR camera to copper rods as a way of making the lenses.
Fragmented Camera Lens Precedent
Lens Viewfinder
Fixed pivot lenses
Moving pivot lenses
Pivoting Coloured Lenses Vibrating Mental Antenna
Coloured Lenses
Topographical Landscape
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Device Development Axo
Lens Viewfinder Sketch
Scale of Soldered Lense
Coloured Filter Tests Over a Narrative Image
Soldered Lens Holders
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Layer Hierarchy
After reviewing the components of the device which we had selected, we decided to begin the process of understanding the layers relationship to each other. We wanted to create a composition in which the narratives of the Montagnards would be difficult to find as a way of symbolising the inability of their voice to be heard within the communist state. We placed an emphasis on creating a wire landscape which could move vertically through a series of mechanical gears. We 3-D modelled the device as an initial attempt to understand the size and scale of the device as a whole and how the different components would operate to create a hierarchy of visibility. Certain decisions were taken regarding the plaster materiality of the base and the composition of copper rods to maintain the moveable landscape. As well as an initial aluminium frame which would support the device and act as a rail for the moving lenses.
Mechanical Vert Copper Rods
Woven Copper 3D Printed End
1.5mm Diamete
3D Printed Base 150mm
Clear Acrylic La
Acrylic Mechani vertical moveme 150mm
Population Den
Black Card Roa
Topography Pla
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150mm x 150mm Block Testing Vertical Composition (Map Showing Position of Fragment)
Lenses and Steel 'Flexible' Frame
Topographical Wire Landscape
Metal Rod Transmitters
3D Printed Rod Stands
Mechanical Gears
Steel Support Frame
tical Movement of
r Wire Landscape Joints
Clear Acrylic
er Copper Rods
Hidden Neighbourhood 'CMYK' Routes
e Joints
ayer
ical Gears creating a ent
Plaster Cast Inversed Topographical Landscape
nisty Map on Acetate
ad Map
Plaster Cast Support
aster Cast
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Process and Testing (150mm² Prototype)
Taking the 3d model made in the previous page, we took the drawings to the test and manufactured a 1500mm x 1500mm x 4000mm segment of the device to the desired finished scale as a means to test the functions and manufacturing times for each of the components. We as a group individuals focused our attentions to different parts of the segment, where I was able to create 3-D printed joint components for the copper rods to be fixed to the acrylic sheet as well as the inverted topographical plaster base and the mechanical landscape. The image to the right shows the finished test segment and how the layers operate with one another. We found particular success in the view through the lens and the relationship between the acrylic, black card representing routes within the central highlands and the plaster base.
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Narrative Mapping To develop the composition of the device we decided to take an outline map of the central highlands as a literal â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;baseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for the form of the device, in which we separated the four different provinces of the highlands to exemplify and heighten the fractures within the landscape. Given the success of the coloured filters during the early testing stage we incorporated the pictorial narratives of the Montagnards in accordance to their location on the map.
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The image below shows the placement of the images on the device, where blue represents the architectural characteristics of the villages and vernacular buildings and red represents the social characteristics such as social ties, demographics, traditions and rituals. The image on the right shows the desired intent between the lens and the hidden filtered narrative images of the Montagnards.
Montagnard Narratives Overlayed on to the Map of the Central Highlands (Blue represents architectural characteristics and Red shows social qualities)
Lens as a 'Narrative Scanning' Tool
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Final Design Having taken all the design iterations, tests and a revised layer hierarchy we developed a final device proposition which attempted to optimise the relationship between the coloured filters and lenses over the radio frequency transmissions. Although the transmissions were not present in the final device the symbolism of the audible frequencies remained in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;transmitter stationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; represented as copper rod pillars. The transmitters were kept to continue the concept of resilience, in which we imaged a landscape which would strategically place the transmission posts as sources of audible
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sound waves throughout the central highlands as an intervention to raise awareness of the Montagnards or even act as sound signals alerting imminent police raids. The device, having utilised the highlands as the contours and basis for the form provided a sense of geographical presence as opposed to an imaginary realm. The lenses were developed further to sit into the landscape of single perforated and slidable rails which removed the need for an obstructive rigid aluminium frame.
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Aluminium lens rail
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Lens Component with Colour Filter
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Copper and Acrylic 'Transmitter'
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Topographical wire landscape
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Copper Rods supporting wire landscape
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Central Highlands plaster base
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Coloured Montagnard Narrative Images
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Black Card Highlands Routes
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Hexagonal acrylic support grid
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Device Photographs
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To position the device as an interactive exhibition piece, a copper and acrylic stand was created at a height of 1m to allow the viewer to perceive the device from above, with the intent of revealing the ‘hidden’ layers from above and from the angled lens ‘viewfinders’.
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Re-Mapping the Central Highlands
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Having interrogated the central highlands as a territory for resilience, where the device acts as a voice for the unheard narratives of its marginalised population, it presented an opportunity to re-think and re-imagine the landscape of the highlands. The drawing above is an attempt to re-draw the fractured landscape proposing an intervention
where transmission posts are set up to project broadcasts of the narratives and put in place an imagined infrastructure which transforms the mountainous region as a permanent home for the marginalised and transient Montagnard population. In this map a speculative realm is imagined where the Montagnards have a claim to an established settlement instead of being hidden in the shadows.
Hexagonal grid deliniating connections between communities or social groupings Transmitter and Broadcasting radius
Copper Rod locations identifying infrastructure insertion points Established transient routes Lens viewfinders as tools of 'hidden' or 'censored' narrative identification
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Towards a Notion of Oasis "Our lives were like many others - everything including food was limited, buying through ration stamps. Over time, people - well, generally speaking, nobody can stay in a difficult situation forever, how can you withstand it, it is not sustainable. China and Vietnam were in conflict, well I suppose War Is not the right word, but after Vietnam’s break with China, the Hoa people were forced to leave. Separation was not un common, some were able to leave with their families - I was not so fortunate. In any case, If you had the opportunity to leave, it doesn’t guarantee anything either - we weren’t sure if even 90% of those who left would make it alive, or if they were caught. But that was the risk that you had to take"
ANONYMOUS PRIMARY SOURCE TRANSLATION OF RECORDING OF NARRATIVE OF LIFE DURING THE WAR .
The device provides a foundation into the wider investigation of fractures within the Vietnamese landscape and has informed the developments of Part 2 in a suggestive manner. The notion of resilience has been extracted from the Device, demonstrating how through harsh circumstances, although in a politically sensitive subject such as the censorship of the Montagnards, can provide a basis for a demographic to bounce back from the crisis it faces and empower its community and identity. The drawing opposite is a representation of the
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population and story of a marginalised population and how through perception (symbolised by lenses) one can begin to unearth the reality of the circumstances of society from the established authorities, social structures and economic forces. The drawing shows a written narrative in Vietnamese (translated to english above) describing life during the Vietnam War. The source remains anonymous and was recorded from contacts within our device group.
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Field Trip : Hanoi To broaden our research strategy, we as a studio travelled to Hanoi for a period of 10 days in November 2019. The field trip was an opportunity for us to immerse ourselves into the Vietnamese culture and observe narratives, political and architectonic territories to enhance our development and response to the creation of an oasis as part 2 of our design project.
Please click on the link below for an audible presentation of the following section: vimeo.com/ TheMonasticCity/ Part2
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Hanoi - The City of Peace The following timeline attempts to depict the conditions and circumstances of which the city of Hanoi and Vietnam had encountered in the past 1000 years. It provides a glimpse into the damage and political interventions which have shaped Hanoi to be as it is now. Known as the City of Peace by the locals, the city far from having a peaceful history, now presents itself as a beacon of hope and prosperity which is clearly emphasised in the late 20th century in the introduction of neocommunist market driven policies inducing an increase in private investment and making Vietnam an economic powerhouse in south east Asia.
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City Analysis
Hanoi is home to approximately 7.7million residents, and in 2010 it expanded its administrative boundary in light of increased economic growth. The city is diverse in its architectural strata, containing visible layers from its previous Chinese, Japanese and French occupants. The face of the city is constantly changing and faces incremental pressure from economic forces, resembling the globalisation that has occurred in Ho Chi Minh city to the south of Vietnam. The city boasts in its trade heritage, known for its ancient quarter where streets were historically identified according to their individual production of goods, the vibrancy of trade has been significantly modified and adjusted to meet the needs and impact of tourism. The ancient quarter however, is only a thin slice of the whole City, and its peri-urban confines have developed an alternative character than its core, placing an emphasis on density and housing it poses a different threat to the streetscape. Hanoi combined with trade, a lake heritage, the contestation of public space and urban typologies, provides a fertile ground for a strategic intervention to stitch back together its forgotten and damaged qualities through the concept of resilience as an oasis.
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Re-Drawing Hanoi
In our visit to Hanoi we were able to be part of a workshop session with local students of the RMIT University. The sessions were aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the social and urban issues present in the city and speculating over current solutions and proposing new alternatives. As part of the workshop we were able to ask the students to narrate their perieved version of Hanoi, individual to their lifestyle and interaction with the City, in which we re-drew Hanoi according to those conditions.
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'RE-DRAWING HANOI' WITH RMIT UNIVERSITY STUDENT - RAPID WORKSHOP SKETCH
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A Visual Catalogue of Hanoi's Urban Conditions
Hanoiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tropical climate, urban fabric and social conditions project the city to celebrate the intensity of life lived on the streets. Hanoi is a city of production and trade, where each inch of public space is contested by the different occupants, ranging from roving street vendors, to motorcyclists, restauranteurs, market stalls and barber shops. The complexity of the layers of Hanoi are demonstrated through its constant production, particularly in the informal sector.
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'Decades of Hunger' (1955 - 1979) : Rooftops as a solution to famine During the decades of war, between 1950â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and 1980â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Vietnam faced an unprecedented famine, in which the government supplied rationed food to households. Approximately 13 kilos of food was given a month to an individual household, including baseline crops such as rice, maize, and cassava. These quantities were insufficient to feed one person, especially during times of hard labour. To mitigate and resolve the effects of the famine during the war, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh residents began a movement in the late 60â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, where the rooftops of tube houses were utilised as small spaces of agricultural production. Families sacrificed a percentage of government crops in the hope of growing more for their own.
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Hanoi is home to approximately 15,000 street vendors â&#x20AC;&#x201D; most of them female migrants Due to the high density of the urban fabric of Hanoi, sidewalks have become spaces of trade which have become occupied by the one of the most contested populations in Hanoi â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the migrant roving street vendors. The majority of vendors in Hanoi are women, who buy, trade and sell goods from their rural villages and make up a large percentage of the informal economy in Hanoi. The women are critically important to the cultural heritage of the city, and therefore they have become the primary focus of this design thesis and will be explored in detail in the next section.
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Project 02 :
"Thành Phố Tu Viện" (The Monastic City)
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'HEROIC MOTHERS'
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The Identity of Women in Vietnam : 'Heroic Mothers'
'Grow Soya Beans'
'Save the Country, Save the Youth'
In a visit to the Vietamese Womens Museum in Hanoi, the posters above were illustrated in an exhibition titled 'Heroic Mothers'. The posters above depict the identity of women in Vietnam during the War placing an emphasis on the role of women as critical to the growth and prosperity of the nation, yet its appears as if this message has not changed but it is not being rewarded in the manner that it should.
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'Protect and take Ownership in your Village'
The posters speak volumes about the domestic, labour and fighting responsabilities that women were expected to fulfil during the decades of war. Much of these responsabilities never faded away, instead they appear to have remained as a fundemental social structure within Hanoi, and the rest of Vietnam.
'Fight For Our Future'
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The Identity of Women in Vietnam : Mother Goddess Worship 'Dao Mau'
" A Female deity who protects.."
Vietnamese culture upholds the Mother Goddess as a native religion, known as ‘Dao Mao’, which places a female identity as a supreme deity who has been re-incarnated as four Mother Goddesses - Heaven, Earth, Water and Mountains. Mother Goddess is worshipped in palaces, pagodas, temples and small household altars. Mother Goddess worshippers consider her to be the mother of everyone who always protects and supports them giving them ‘good luck, strength and faith to overcome natural calamities, misfortune, and ailments giving them a peaceful and prosperous life’. The proposals will seek to utilise the symbolism of the Dao Mao Worship as a narrative to uphold the role of women in Vietnam.
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Narrative of the Tradeswomen
" They are an emblematic
representation of the responsabilities and duties which are still expected and pressed upon women in Vietnam."
Drawing observations from the identity of women from the ‘Heroic Mothers’ exhibition and the ‘Dao Mao’ Mother Goddess folk religion, the tradeswomen of Hanoi are an emblematic representation of the responsibilities and duties which are still expected and pressed upon women in Vietnam, in particularly women from rural backgrounds. The majority of tradeswomen in Hanoi come from the rural villages near the Hoa northern districts, who migrate in cyclical periods in relation to harvest and sowing periods, and whilst doing so they leave behind their families for extended periods of time. Tradeswomen are forced to leave their rural villages due to the lack of employment opportunities for women, and therefore travel to Hanoi in search of a higher income than they would earn farming. The majority of the tradeswomen are the sole earners in their household and huge expectations are placed upon them to sustain the survival of their rural families.
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Identifying a Fractured Landscape: The Preservation of Hanoi's Tradeswomen
" Police harassment intensify the circumstances, as the traders have no alternative options "
Since 1 July 2008 street vendors have been banned from 62 selected streets and 48 public spaces. Vendors commuting from Hanoi’s peripheral urban locales view the City’s streets as one of their only alternative livelihood means. Street vendors in Hanoi are overwhelmingly women and most of which continue to operate on blocks of banned vending streets. This movement of trade and pursuit for survival generates the notion that these tradeswomen are in search for the entitlement of a small slice of public space within the delirious metropolis. The current condition proves to place a hostile restriction on the identity of the tradeswomen and their interaction to the city. Besides their trading locations, their other imprint on the city, outside of working hours (tendency to be from
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4am to 8pm) resides in the shared boarding houses spread across the city. Due to low wages, averaging below 200,000 dong (£6.70) per day, tradeswomen are obliged to share accommodation with fellow traders to keep costs down, paying 8,000 dong (£0.27) a night. Police pursuits intensify the circumstances, where informal mobile traders are chased and forced out of banned areas, at times, through brutal force. The pursuits reveal the importance to remain in the city, as many traders continue to be harassed on a daily basis as they have no alternative options and are confronted with the reality of sustaining their family in their rural or peripheral urban settings.
Diagram of Roads Banned for Street Vendors in Hanoi since 2008
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Circular Migration : A Tradeswoman's Journey Between the Rural and the City
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Street Vending and Rurality
"They live in crowded rooming houses that offer little more than a small space of flooring to sleep on. They get up early in the morning, often around 2 or 3am, go to the market. Purchase their goods, and walk long distances with heavy loads that reach 35kg. They work in an almost constant state of fear of being stopped by the police and are generally viewed as country folk or peasants, considered subaltern members of Hanoi's society" Excerpt from 'Women on the Move: Hanoi's Migrant Roving Street Vendors', R. Jensen, 2013
The diagram on the previous page illustrates the reality of the migration patterns which many of the tradeswomen face. Their migration routine focuses on the migration back to the rural villages during the sowing and harvest months in the north region of Vietnam (September to October for Harvest and February to September for Sowing). For each of these periods the tradeswomen would be expected to travel back to their rural villages in a period of 2-3 weeks to work in the fields and most importantly visit their family and children.
The diagram also demonstrates the cyclical pattern of the daily life of the traders when they are operating in Hanoi, starting working hours at 2am and spending long and poorly paid trading hours. The tradeswomen face hardship, however, their circular migration in and out of the city enables them to maintain their inherent rural identity. This rurality is a key element in the development of the project, and as will be shown, becomes a focal point of the celebration of an agricultural identity.
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'Ca Dao' A Vietnamese Folk 'Unaccompanied Song'
The little palm nuts are streaked by veins. I am close to home now, but soon, I will be far away. I married you when I was thirteen. By eighteen, I already had five children. I'll have to sell four or five baskets Of threshed rice, kilos of cotton. We'll eat less. This bitter berry I'll suck without complaints, lest everyone laughs. The water flows, yet grief won't wash away. The grass smells sweet, yet hearts won't feel assuaged. We say goodbye - we part, halting at each step.
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In Praise of Post-Colonial Traditionalism
" A visual comparison
between Mexican and Vietnamese post-colonial rural traditions
"
'Los Rivales', Diego Rivera, 1931 In observing the rurality of the tradeswomen, the project takes a theoretical standpoint celebrating rural traditions derived from the effects of colonialism. A connection between my Mexican heritage and my observations of Hanoi and the roving street vendors has been identified through Diego Rivera’s Los Rivales painting of 1931. Los Rivales is a vibrant composition which illustrates the traditional annual celebration known as ‘Las Velas’ (The Candles) which takes place in the rural region of Oaxaca during the month of May as a celebration of post-colonial culture, where women wear embroidered huipiles or blouses, attractive gold jewellery and their hair pulled into moños (buns) and, enaguas or skirts in bright colours, of which the painting clearly frames the women in the midst of colourful and traditional Mexican elements. The celebration of rural traditionalism of the tradeswomen is one that has been sought after as the project has developed.
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Celebrating the Collective Experience of Everyday Life
" The project positions itself
to enhance and celebrate the duties of the traders as part of a ritual, married to the theme of 'Heroic Mothers' and the upheld identity of women found in the Mother Goddess Religion"
'Woman Playing the Lute' Mai Trung Hu, 1980 In understanding the intensity of the conditions in which the street vendors face, the concept of oasis can be seen as a celebration of their everyday activities and role within the City of Hanoi. Mai Trung Hu’s painting, ‘Women Playing the Lute’ carefully depicts this celebration of social conditions within Vietnamese Culture which is sought after by the design project. The conditions of the tradeswomen are part of their livelihood and their responsibility to maintain their families, therefore the project positions itself to enhance and to celebrate those duties as part of a ritual, married to the theme of ‘heroic mothers’ and the upheld identity of women found in the ‘Mother Goddess’ folk religion.
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In search of a New Urban Typology
Taking the complexity of the tradeswomenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s livelihood, the role of women in Vietnamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s societal structure, the celebration of post-colonial rurality and tradition, and the Mother Goddess religion as a programmatic function, the project calls for the exploration of a new urban typology which can convincingly address the issues presented in the previous pages of research. Thus, the monastery typology has been explored and identified as a plausible solution and opportunity to enhance and celebrate the livelihoods of the traders and their identities.
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Theoretical Framework Is the Monastery the Answer?
TRADESWOMEN RURAL IDENTITY
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MOTHER GODDESS WORSHIP
MONASTERY TYPOLOGY
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"A fully lived space, a simultaneously real-andimagined, actual-andvirtual locus of structured individuality and collective experience of everyday life"
- Edward W. Soja, Thirdspace Theory
By placing the monastery at the forefront of architectural discussion as a solution to the issues identified within Hanoiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tradeswomen, third space theory has emerged enforced the idea of social-reproduction. Third space theory, is known as a radically different way of looking at, interpreting and acting to change the embracing spatially of human life. Therefore as the question, Is the Monastery the answer? is posed, third space asks the question of how a new architectural typology can be created to give meaning to physical space by social activity and the individuality of how each person or user experiences a building in another way. In this section, the monastery will be explored as a typology of production, contemplation and of refuge, but the project will seek to provide a third space for the tradeswomen as a space of social reproduction ( conversation, knowledge sharing and oasis) which is not currently existent as one space within Hanoiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban grain due to the intensity and density of the City.
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An Exploration into the Monastery Typology
" The process of reverting the
monastery from the rural back to the urban " To combine the rural and mother goddess traditions, the monastery typology has been explored as an architectural visual and programmatic form. The monastery typology across religions and denominations have indicated a multi-functional, self sustained and isolated collection of communities typically situated within rural confines. The project however will place an emphasis on reverting the monastery typology from the rural back into the urban. Forms as such as the Cell houses surrounding a main cloister at the Emma Monastery in Florence, and the combination of religious practice and production at St. Galls have provided a basis for the project to create an urban monastic typology set within Hanoiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dense urban fabric.
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CHURCH
St Johns Abbey Mustair Tsukakhang Monastery
SPATIAL CONNECTION BETWEEN COURTYARD AND TEMPLE
BARNS AND GRANARIES
Roche Abbey
Charterhouse of Noneque
INDIVIDUAL CELL HOUSES AROUND CLOISTER
Chapterhouse Ema
GUESTHOUSES
Padise Monastery
SMALLER COURTYARDS
St Galls Monastery
INVERTED COURTYARD
Tabo Monastery
HEALTH AND EDUCATION
BREW HOUSES
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Mother Goddess Temples
The typologies of the Mother Goddess have been analysed from photographs and have provided insight into the arrangement of forms of their individual functions. Their characteristics of the temples have been dissected to attempt to gain an understanding of their form and rituals. The shrines located at the forefront of the temples act as a location of offerings and prayers, whilst the internal focus on the intimacy of the deities which are worshipped. Viewpoints of the deities are not permissible from the exterior so therefore a gates or partitions are placed to prevent any view being obtained from the outside. This is yet to be introduced to the following schemes but serve as a basis for future designs, specifically when contemplating intimate temples as spaces of oasis.
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Exploration of an Urban Monastic Typology responding to the different conditions within Hanoi's Fabric
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Underpinned by the architectonic and programmatic characteristics of the monastery typology, the project has explored the different spatial conditions within Hanoiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban grain at a strategic level, where each intervention would respond to its content differently. Each of the interventions on this page are demonstrated as conceptual interventions, where the interventions would be spread across the city to form a network of monasteries
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INFILL COURTYARD INTERSTITIAL STREET OCCUPATION
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FRAGMENTED TUBE HOUSES
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WOMENS MUSEUM EXTENSION
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LINERAR POCKET INFILL
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OFF STREET INFILL
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GA HANOI TRAIN STATION COURTYARDS
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ROOF TOP OCCUPATION
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FRAGMENTED COURTYARD
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TUBE HOUSE OCCUPATION
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RAISED STREET
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PRIVATE ROOFTOP GARDENS
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SEPARATED PODS
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HALF COURTYARD
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Manifesto: A Monastic Intervention
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Reclaim the social identity of the vendor to the city through a monastic Intervention
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Secure and improve the territorial and socioeconomic hierarchy of the tradeswoman
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Radical transformation of home beyond shelter
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Shared ownership of collective and flexible sub-letting of property to enhance rural and urban migration patterns
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Reduction of working hours and diversification of Income
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Re-production of rural trade heritage and expansion of trade boundaries
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The Manifesto Re-drawn
" The shared ownership of
collectives aims to blur the boundaries between their migratory commute from their rural peripheries to the city
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"
A series of collective interventions are proposed to alleviate and enhance the quality of life of the tradeswomen who have been displaced geographically and marginalised socioeconomically. The interventions will go beyond the notion of shelter and will generate a new typology to combine the Mother Goddess monastery as a repose function with a complex responsive urbanism which will open up public functions within the collectives to the rest of Hanoi.
To generate an alternative income, their shared ownership of the collectives will enable them to rent out their permanent accommodation space to students, commuters or tourists. That means that when the tradeswomen are away in their rural homes, they are less concerned about not gaining any income when they are away from the City. This shared ownership of the collectives aims to blur the existing limitations between their commute from the rural peripheries to the City.
Tradeswomen will inhabit the monastic collectives during their migratory working length of stay within the City, varying according to their needs, and will obtain the right over time to become stakeholders in the shared ownership of the collectives.
It hopes to encourage a reduction of longer periods away from family, reduce working hours and to increase and diversify their source of income.
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EXISTING TUBE HOUSE
Manifesto Design Intent
PROPOSED INTERVENTIONS
WOVEN SECOND SKIN DAYLIGHT
AGRICULTURAL LAND
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As the proposal sets out to reintroduce the monastery back to the urban from the rural, the project seeks to utilise the existing dense conditions of Hanoi’s tube houses to create parasitical and rooftop interventions with programmatic functions which follow the research carried out on existing monastery precedents. The concept section shows how the scheme proposes to create a new layer on top of the tube houses and will utilise vertical ‘surgical’ interstitial spaces.
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EXISTING TUBE HOUSE BUILDING REFECTORY + COMMUNAL KITCHEN
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ROOF CHICKEN FARM
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TEA ROOM + LIBRARY
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GARDEN ROOFS & FACADE - TEA LEAF FARMING
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SEASONAL RENTABLE ACCOMODATION
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MOTHER GODDESS TEMPLE + SPACES OF SECLUSION
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OCCUPATION OF EXISTING BUILDING LEVEL
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PUBLIC GROUND LEVEL MARKET
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PRIVATE 'COURTYARD' FOR TRADESWOMEN SPACE FOR INFORMAL SOCIAL ACTIVITY
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FIXED SINGLE UNIT ACCOMODATION FOR TRADESWOMEN
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HIDDEN ACCESS THROUGH EXISTING BUILDING FABRIC - BIKE AND GOODS STORAGE
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CONCEPT SECTION
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PROGRAMMATIC SECTION
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Strategic Interventions at a City Wide Scale
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Strategic Interventions Axonometric
" The positions of the sites selected will stimulate the expansion of existing trade boundaries"
The project at a strategic scale, will utilise different sites spread across Hanoi were each of the interventions will adapt to its immediate environment. The site chosen for the exploration of one of these interventions is placed within the Ngoc Ha district which is highlighted in a white circle. The position of the site selected lends itself to expand the already existing trade boundaries found in Hanoiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s old quarter. The chosen site will be theoretically and programmatically linked to a network of 5 different monastic interventions placed at strategic locations, for example, adjacent to Hanoiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main railway station (Ga Hanoi) and another site located next to the Vietnamese Womens Museum.
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The Real and Imagined
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As the project and the concept of a new roofscape emerged, the proposal sought to understand and critique how the monastery would interact with the existing density of tube houses and how it could re-imagine itself as a new landscape, adopting and changing the language of the existing. This drawing was created as an imagined interpretation of a new urban monastic landscape placed upon the intensity of architectural language and social activity of Hanoi.
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Strategic Composition Layers
" Existing buildings would be repurposed, removed or reintegrated into a parasitical collective of buildings surrounding a cloister or courtyard
"
Reflecting on the qualities of the real and imagined elevation, the proposal sought to create a new layer on the roofscape of the existing tube house fabric, where existing buildings would be repurposed, removed or re-integrated into a parasitical collective of buildings surrounding a cloister or courtyard. The drawing on this page illustrates the compositional layers of how the new proposal could be created with the existing fabric as part of its design intent.
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PROPOSAL TO CREATE A NEW FABRIC LAYER ON TOP OF EXISTING ROOF LINES
TEMPLES INSERTED AS SPACES OF CONTEMPLATION WITHIN THE MONASTIC COMPLEX
ELEVATED COURTYARD TO REMOVE THE PROPOSAL OFF THE STREET AND PROVIDE A SECLUDED AND HIDDEN ENVIRONMENT
A PERCENTAGE OF EXISTING BUILDINGS WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO THE COMPLEX TO PROVIDE HIDDEN ACCESS AND INCREASED FLOOR SPACE IN TIGHT SPACES.
THE PROPOSAL SETS OUT TO USE THE EXISTING TUBE HOUSE FABRIC OF THE CITY BY UTILISING THE INTERSTITIAL COURTYARD SPACES AS THE SITES FOR AN INTERVENTION
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Early Concept Drawings " To merge the rurality of
the tradeswomen and Mother Goddess traditions, temples and agricultural rooftops were integrated as critical functions of the design process "
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To inform the design iterations, the following concept sketches were developed to explore a design rationale based on the integration of existing conditions and how the new proposal could emerge. Sectional studies show how the proposal developed the idea of a courtyard as a collective space of social productivity and of repose. To merge the rurality of the tradeswomen and the Mother Goddess traditions, temples and agricultural rooftops were integrated as integral parts of the design process.
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" How the monastery could
be concealed as a strategy to place an emphasis on the creation of a space of refuge and contemplation, away from the intensity of the street " This drawing was created as an exploration to illustrate how the existing tube houses could be repurposed to integrate the existing uses of its residents but to also integrate the new uses of the monastery. The drawing also shows the emergence of a language dedicated to representing the rural identity of the tradeswomen through the materiality of the tradeswomen. The materiality in this drawing shows how the monastery could be concealed as a strategy to create an emphasis a space of refuge and oasis, away from the intensity of the street.
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A New Agricultural Roofscape The intervention developed a scale which would occupy the rooftops of a neighbourhood of tube houses. Since the project obtained a horizontal dominance it gave the building forms and language scope to extend further across the neighbourhood, creating more agricultural land from the existing flat rooftops of tube houses. The project developed a language of having a blurred connection between the external and internal, creating an almost fortress like relationship between the street and the monastery.
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Early Massing Drawing
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Early site massing drawings developed the holistic language of the project further by exploring the vertical components where the courtyard became the focal point. The massing drawing began to explore how the early conceptual building could begin to be occupied and how it would relate to the existing tube houses.
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Physical Model Photographs
The physical model that was created at an early stage helped to develop the project spatially and compositionally. The model was done as a drawing technique to explore how the rooftop components would relate to the scale of the existing buildings. Through this iterative process of model making the project was influenced and enhanced spatially, and an architectural language began to emerge.
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The model was abstractly detailed in such a way to represent certain materiality that reflected a composition of layers and of vertical elements. The model helped to develop the idea of a secondary skin which would help mitigate the tropical climatic conditions of Hanoi. Different secondary skins were placed surrounding a courtyard to place an emphasis on the celebration and social productivity that would happen in the central courtyard space.
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" The model helped to
break down the monastery into fragments, each with individual programmatic functions "
This photograph of the model clearly demonstrates how the project began to expand horizontally on the rooftops, and how the composition of elements placed a certain level of intensity surrounding the courtyard. This model also helped to understand how the monastery could begin to be broken down into fragments, each with individual programmatic functions.
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Notational Site Plan
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COOKING COURTYARD MEDITATION
Fragment 01: Granary
PEANUTS COMMUNAL KITCHENS SOYA BEANS WHEAT CASAVA RICE PLANTAIN MINT CORIANDER BATHING HOUSE CELL ROOMS PRAYER SHRINES CRAFT WORKSHOP
" Each of the fragments
represents specific functions which allow the monastery to operate as a collective, self-sustained and secluded community for the tradeswomen"
LIBRARY ALOTMENTS TOOL SHEDS BANANA LEAF RENTABLE ACCOMODATION TAI CHI CHICKENS GRANARY
The fragments have individual agricultural crops that are produced and are stored in the Granary fragment. The role of this fragment is to preserve and monitor the production of agricultural crops from all the monastery and the collective rooftops. A shrine is placed within this fragment as a space of meditation and thanksgiving for the production of crops of which the tradeswomen will use to offer up sacrifices and goods as is practiced in Mother Goddess traditions. The text on the right shows what functions and agricultural production operates in this specific fragment.
BAMBOO TEA ROOMS GREEN BEANS SPINACH WEAVING BASKETS HARVEST STORAGE COMPOST CHARCOAL STOVES REFECTORY
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SOWING
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COOKING COURTYARD MEDITATION
Fragment 02: Refectory
PEANUTS COMMUNAL KITCHENS SOYA BEANS WHEAT CASAVA RICE PLANTAIN MINT CORIANDER BATHING HOUSE CELL ROOMS PRAYER SHRINES CRAFT WORKSHOP
" All agricultural produce
is used internally in the monastery as well as sold as goods by the tradeswomen during their working hours"
LIBRARY ALOTMENTS TOOL SHEDS BANANA LEAF RENTABLE ACCOMODATION TAI CHI CHICKENS
The proposal draws precedent from the traditional functions of the monasteries explored, and therefore a refectory fragment has been determined as a hub for the collective use of communal kitchens, cooking courtyards and a communal dining space. All of the fragments have agricultural production rooftop spaces; however, this fragment focuses on the production of chickens and crops that are cultivated amongst them. Agricultural produce is used internally in the monastery as well as sold as goods by the tradeswomen during their working hours.
GRANARY BAMBOO TEA ROOMS GREEN BEANS SPINACH WEAVING BASKETS HARVEST STORAGE COMPOST CHARCOAL STOVES REFECTORY
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SOWING
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COOKING COURTYARD MEDITATION
Fragment 03: Meditation
PEANUTS COMMUNAL KITCHENS SOYA BEANS WHEAT CASAVA RICE PLANTAIN MINT CORIANDER BATHING HOUSE CELL ROOMS PRAYER SHRINES CRAFT WORKSHOP
" The shrine acts as a
thirds pace space of offering and of prayer, giving the tradeswomen a place of spiritual connection where they can perform Mother Goddess practices" To reflect the emphasis placed on the Mother Goddess traditions adopted by the project, the meditation fragment is a hub of contemplation and of repose, giving priority to prayers and offerings made by the tradeswomen. This is manifested as an architectural monument reflected in the form on a shrine. The shrine acts as a thirds pace space of offering and of prayer, giving the tradeswomen a place of spiritual connection where they can perform Mother Goddess practices. The shrine is not limited to the meditation fragment, as there are three located in the project and are used as a way to create legibility across the site.
LIBRARY ALOTMENTS TOOL SHEDS BANANA LEAF RENTABLE ACCOMODATION TAI CHI CHICKENS GRANARY BAMBOO GARDENS TEA ROOMS GREEN BEANS SPINACH WEAVING BASKETS HARVEST STORAGE COMPOST CHARCOAL STOVES REFECTORY
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SOWING
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COOKING COURTYARD MEDITATION
Fragment 04: Library
PEANUTS COMMUNAL KITCHENS SOYA BEANS WHEAT CASAVA RICE PLANTAIN MINT CORIANDER BATHING HOUSE CELL ROOMS PRAYER SHRINES CRAFT WORKSHOP
" The library places an
emphasis on the collective learning of tradeswomen and their social ties with one another, it acts as a place of social re-production"
LIBRARY ALOTMENTS TOOL SHEDS BANANA LEAF RENTABLE ACCOMODATION TAI CHI CHICKENS GRANARY BAMBOO GARDENS
To enrich and enhance the livelihoods of the traders, the library fragment offers a space of intellectual and social activity, where traders can connect as a collective and share experiences and learn new and different skills from a collection of books and resources. The library places an emphasis on the collective learning of tradeswomen and their social ties with one another, it acts as a place of social re-production.
TEA ROOMS GREEN BEANS SPINACH WEAVING BASKETS HARVEST STORAGE COMPOST CHARCOAL STOVES REFECTORY
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SOWING
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COOKING COURTYARD MEDITATION
Fragment 05: Artisan
PEANUTS COMMUNAL KITCHENS SOYA BEANS WHEAT CASAVA RICE PLANTAIN MINT CORIANDER BATHING HOUSE CELL ROOMS PRAYER SHRINES CRAFT WORKSHOP
" The artisan fragment
provides the tradeswomen with the ability to share their skill base and to teach one another new artisanal crafts which they can collectively sell on the street."
LIBRARY ALOTMENTS TOOL SHEDS BANANA LEAF RENTABLE ACCOMODATION TAI CHI CHICKENS GRANARY BAMBOO GARDENS
The artisan fragment provides the tradeswomen with the ability to share their skill base and to teach one another new artisanal crafts which they can collectively sell on the street. The hub places an emphasis on the production of sellable goods and acts as an alternative source of income for the tradeswomen as they will able to manufacture different goods in the craft workshops.
TEA ROOMS GREEN BEANS SPINACH WEAVING BASKETS HARVEST STORAGE COMPOST CHARCOAL STOVES REFECTORY
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SOWING
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Floor Plans
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Ground Floor Plan
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Typical Floor Plan
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Top Floor Plan
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Rural Material Precedents
5.
1.
2.
1 - 4. Fernando Lapposse, Totomoxtle. 5. Vietnamese Palm Cladding 6. Vietnamese Villagers. Harvesting Crops, Vietnamese Womens Museum. 7. Studio Morrison, 'Mother' Wicker Installation. 8. Climbing Frame Library, Farming Architects, Vietnam 9. Banana Leaf Wrapping 10. Traditional Basket Weaving 11.Heather and Ivan Morrison, Im So Sorry Goodbye Project 12. Beng Chu Cafe with Contemporary Vietnamese Features. 13. Red House, Studio TAA. 14. Chicken House, A playground for Children and Chickens, Tropical Space Architects
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9. 13.
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Rurality through Materiality
" The scheme proposes to
use agricultural by-products of the production of the monastery, such as banana leaves, to create a secondary building skin using traditional Vietnamese weaving techniques." The narrative of agricultural production and the rural identity of the traders has informed the materiality of the project. The scheme proposes to use agricultural by-products of the agricultural production of the monastery, such as banana leaves, to create a secondary building skin using traditional Vietnamese weaving techniques. The project sets out to engineered bamboo as a method to create bespoke laminated frames as a primary structure. In the following pages, a small fragment of the building proposal has been zoomed in and explored in detail to illustrate the composition and materiality that the project will envelop.
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MOTHER GODDESS TEMPLE FLAGS
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ROOF CLAY SHINGLES
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ENGINEERED BAMBOO STRUCTURAL FRAME
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BAMBOO SCRIMBER JOISTS
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CLAY TILE SHUTTERS
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REPURPOSED WOOD WINDOW SHUTTERS
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BASKET AND GOODS STORAGE
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BANANA LEAF SKIN
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Detailed Fragment (Section A-A)
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Upper Level Details
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1. Banana Leaf Skin 2. Secondary E. Bamboo Joists for Secondary Skin 3. Rotational Cultivation Door (E. Bamboo and irrigation channels) 4. Cable Ties for Secondary Skin 5. Agricultural Floor Build Up (Soil, Substrate, Water Retention Layer, Vapour Barrier, Foil) 6. Prefab E.Bamboo Primary Structure 7. Clay tiles and Steel Fixings 8. Mechanically Openable Roof Brise-Soleil 9. E. Bamboo Secondary Structure Joists 10. E.Bamboo Veneer
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Existing and New Proposal Connection + Roof Structure 6
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1. E. Bamboo and Steel Connection 2. Sliding Wardrobe and Door (Laminated Bamboo). 3. Internal Floor Build Up ( Upper Level) 4. E.Bamboo Staircase 5. Steel Connector with Bolts to the Existing Tube House Slab 6. Opening for Glass Sky Light 7. E. Bamboo Battens 8. E.Bamboo Veneer 9. E. Bamboo Prefabricated Primary Structure 10. Agricultural Floor Build Up
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1. Prefab E.Bamboo Sturcture for Skin 2. Banana Leaf Tiles 3. Steel Cables + E.Bamboo Battens 4. Flip Up Bed and bamboo window shutters 5. Clay Tile Ventilation Openings 6. Prefab E.Bamboo Primary Structure 7. Steel Angled Connectors 8. UHPC Wall 9. UHPC Foundation 10. UHPC Pile
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Exploded Axonometric of Building Components
"...To create a symbiotic
structure, independent from the existing tube houses...... whilst allowing connections between the existing and proposed, allowing access to the monastery for tube house residents "
To understand and explore the projects technological and structural ambition, a small fragment of the proposal has been taken and developed in detail. Several connections have been highlighted and have been zoomed in to understand material explorations, detailing, specification, manufacture and assembly procedures. It is important to understand that the projects intentions are to create a symbiotic structure which is independent from the existing tube house structures. That being noted, there are specific connections and interactions between the proposed and existing buildings (with regards to the local residentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s access to the monastery) which may require physical connections between the buildings.
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PRIMARY ENGINEERED BAMBOO FRAME
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ENGINEERED BAMBOO JOISTS
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CABLE TIES FOR SECONDARY SKIN
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BANANA LEAF TILES
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ENGINEERED BAMBOO FRAME FOR SECONDARY SKIN
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STEEL AND CONCRETE ANCHOR
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UHPC PILES AND FOUNDATION SLABS
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EXISTING TUBE HOUSE STRUCTURE
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DOUBLE ENGINEERED BAMBOO AND STEEL CONNECTION
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INTERNAL LAMINATED BAMBOO PARTITIONS
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CLAY ROOF TILES
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FLOOR BUILD UP (MATERIAL DEPENDENT ON LOCATION)
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(Section B-B)
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"The building sets out
to respond to the cyclical migration patterns of the tradeswomen, by providing the single accommodation units for rent whilst the traders are back in their rural villages "
This section cuts across the north and south elements of the monastery and shows the relationship between the existing and the new monastic layer. The following page illustrates how the building sets out to respond to the cyclical migration patterns of the tradeswomen, by providing the single accommodation units for rent whilst the traders are back in their rural villages during harvest and sowing periods. This flexibility of use allows for an increased and alternative source of income for the traders, giving them more socio-economic stability
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Flexible & Rentable Accomodation Units
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Moments Throughout the Monastic City
The following section covers a range of drawings with different techniques reflecting back on the livelihood of the traders, as well as the architectural language that has developed from the design process of the monastic city. The moments taken from the building are mixed in abstraction and realism to provide an overview of the spatial and theoretical qualities of the building as well as the functions that occur throughout the monastery.
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Abstract Facade Painting
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Drawing precedent from Peter Salter, this abstract illustration carries the weight of the conceptual, real and imagined qualities of the proposal that were conceived from the beginning. The intensity of life in Hanoi has been crucial in the development of the Monastery, as it sought to create a subtle pause in the intensity of the street. The Monastery acts as an oasis in contrast to the inherent fast paced lifestyle of Hanoi
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Concealing the Monastery : A Fortress of Agricultural Production
As the project developed, it became more and more evident that the monastery became a fortress of agricultural production and of exclusivity for the tradeswomen. Therefore, as a design intervention, the project needed to be concealed and revealed at different strategic locations throughout the project. The development of a secondary skin with agricultural by-products produced an opportunity for a faรงade system to be developed which deals with climatic conditions but also visually protects the monastery from exterior street views.
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Celebrating a Rural Identity
The rurality of the tradeswomen has been reflected by the agricultural production emphasis placed in the monastery. Its connection through rurality through programmatic functions and materiality has enabled the project to celebrate the post-colonial conditions of the traders and their experience of everyday life. The monastery provides an architectural intervention which restores the identity of the traders back to the city whilst retaining their rural heritage.
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Production as an Oasis The rooftops of the monastery allow the change in perception of production from a routine mandatory survival instinct, to an individual experience of farming and ownership of allotments. Through the monastic agricultural rooftops, the project takes the standpoint of introducing production as an experiential oasis based on the existing livelihoods and vending rituals of the traders. The oasis is found in enabling production, not in disabling it.
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The Temple Shrines : Spaces of Meditation and Prayer
The shrines throughout the monastery make a physical and intangible connection between the third space spiritual and ritual functions of the monastery and of the Mother Goddess Folk religion. By inserting the shrines, the monastery creates a sense of place, inseparable from the traditions and customs of Vietnam. By doing so the project grounds itself fundamentally to its context, and the livelihood of the traders, to produce a unique scheme which cannot be justified anywhere else in the world.
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A Symbiotic Connection Between the Rural and the Uban
The connection and separation from the existing tube house structures creates a symbiotic relationship between the rural and the urban. The monastery represents an inherent rural narrative, which has been placed back into an urban setting. This theoretical approach, lends itself to the idea that the rural and the urban are inseparable and cannot function without one another, which is clearly evident in the migratory patterns of the tradeswomen.
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A New Monastic & Agricultural Roofscape
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Heroic Mothers : A Reflective Conclusion
The tradeswomen, and ultimately, the identity of women in Vietnam have been at the forefront of the proposal. Through interrogating the monastery typology as an adequate architectural intervention to resolve and mitigate the issues faced by the tradeswomen, an oasis has been identified. The lives of the tradeswomen are extremely complex, and they are defined by their determination to ensure the survival of their families, with such a task at hand, the women have become an emblematic symbol of the responsibilities and duties that are expected from them by the social structures of Vietnam. In response to these duties, through the urbanisation of the monastery typology, the project has found that an oasis can be found in production, in particular, agricultural production. The traders, through most of their lives have developed a ritual of rural to urban migration, long trading hours and extremely hard work. It is in this work in which they find a rare trans-urban and rural identity, formed by the rights to obtain a portion of the city, they pride themselves in the work that they do, for what it means to them, their family and their children. Therefore, the project has simply enhanced their livelihoods, to celebrate the rituals of trading, of post-colonial traditions found in Mother Goddess worship, to support and uphold the identity of women in Vietnam, where an oasis can be found in the enabling of production, and not in the disabling of it.
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