defying ‘no good spaces

‘no good spaces’

Using Rights to the City by David Harvey as a theoretical framework, the project lay claim to no good spaces in Singapore. As a summative to the personal project, the project will lay claims on no good spaces and defy against the dictated what can one call their own.

What if people are given the rights to lay claims and defy against the dictated what can one call their own?

‘What kind of city we want cannot be divorced from the question of what kind of people we want to be.’

david harvey, rights to the city

Spatial inequality was a result of commodification and capitalism; unequal amount of qualities or resources depending on the area or location. It is a right to change ourselves by changing the city; thus the intervention. In David Harvey’s concept, establishing democratic management over its urban deployment constitutes the right to the city. Quoting him, ‘What kind of city we want cannot be divorced from the question of what kind of people we want to be.’

people are given the rights to lay claims and defy against tated what can one call their own?

p1 - p3

How can our relationship with space be fostered?

In Kengo Kuma’s Studies in Organics he refers to us humans as ‘organisms’.

In my intepretation, we organisms (humans) seek shelter. Buildings exist as a shelters (homes) but also in our urban landscape as a point we ‘enter’ and ‘leave’. Such relationships of organisms entering and leaving the shelter can be quite monotonous. If we seek to shelter, how can our relationship with space be fostered?

humans

‘apertures of inhabitation’

buildings

urban landscape

organism seeking shelter place of ‘enter’ and ‘leave’

How can our relationship with space be fostered?

Site observations; Double volume space at corridor Leftover space + miss opportunity typology Distanced from the ‘rest’ Exclusive (soloist) - ‘landed in the skies’ Unfamiliar - not like the typical hdb community vibes Way more personalization of space Plants as ornament and personalization In-between the average incomed and wealthy

exclusive unfamiliar

precious / not precious spaces

planned / unplanned

By superimposing the outcomes of project one and two, it display the qualities of the hdb maisonette. In project one, I explored a leftover space that resulted in-between two buildings. In project two, I seek the relationship between nature and space under the bridge through the play of natural occurences. Project three holds the qualities of both; a narrow corridor space with opportunity for vertical exploration, and a space that is precious and possibly reveals a lot more opportunities, but merely overlooked.

neglected(?) leftover + miss opportunity typology

windows

sunlight

elevation

In the movie Parasite, the director used three elements in cinematography to portray his vision of works. I used the three elements to study the typological differences between a standard hdb, a hdb maisonette and a landed property.

inside

What defines ‘inside’ and ‘outside’?

private - bedroom

Stripping away the relevancy of the movie to social class status, I was particularly interested in ‘windows’. Windows are like the eyes of our homes. In a hdb maisonette, the ‘field of view’ makes it rather unusual due to the double volume space in the corridor. What is an inside space, and what is an outside space? semi private - dining

Field of view (FOV) is the open observable area a person can see through his or her eyes or via an optical device. On the left shows an illustration of FOV in a elevation and plan view. inside outside outside

House without Depth / Atelier Bow-Wow Jalousie House / Limdim House Studio House N / Sou Fujimoto Moriyama House / Ryue Nishizawa

Location; vietnam Principle use; residential Stage; built size; 300m2 Location; vietnam Principle use; residential Stage; built size; Location; japan Principle use; residential Stage; built size; 150m2 Location; japan Principle use; residential Stage; built size; 290.07m2 (site area), 130.06m2 (built area), 263.08m2 (total area)

Riverbend / Davis Brody Bond Maisonette (site) / HDB

Location; new york city Principle use; mix-use Stage; built size; Location; singapore Principle use; residential Stage; built size; 1.8 x 5.2 x 43m (single level)

The case studies were analysized using simple box diagrams in sectional elevations. The boxes demarcate the smaller spaces in the architecture. These small spaces forms interstitial spaces within. The smaller spaces demarcated by plane areas creates interstitial spaces that give opportunities for unformatted inhabitations. This breaks down how interstitial spaces can blur the boundaries of the inside and outside by the use of simple planes.

inside

private - bedroom

semi private - dining

inside outside outside

inside

no good space outside

inside + outside + no good space

The perimeter of inside and outside is ambiguous; does the corridor fit into an inside or outside boundary? can the boundary of an inside, outside and a no good space be blurred?

What are the possibilities within a hdb maisonette corridor space?

site; 1.8 x 5.2 x 43.495m double volume corridor space

The collage sums up the ideal intervention to be designed; interstitial spaces in the back the familiarity of hdb living.

The collage sums up the ideal intervention to be designed; interstitial spaces in the double volumed corridor, bringing back the familiarity of hdb living.

The makings of concept models allow me to understand that fundamentally what I needed are solely planes. Using that as a singular element, it can produce many possibilities. plane

transparency

porosity

‘Planes’ were used to explore the various concept models. Planes as a singular element give opportunities for expansion. With transparency and porosity on planes, it allows for expansion in the space while retaining the spatial quality of the the site.

to edit; The concept model gives its user spatial exploration at various heights, however, i’ll need to take into consideration of height limitations. to edit; The translucent mesh from ground to ceiling creates a dividen within the ground surface. The design will be raised so that the intervention can be non-evasive.

multiple permutations of the concept models imposed into the hdb maisonette gives an array of intensity to defiance; the scale of defiance is then dependent on its user.

to edit; As a large drapery, I’d need to take into consideration the material choice and porosity of it. to edit; The scale of each individual cube is amended to 350mm 20mm steel poles. The thickness aims to give the intervention a sort of lightness, while the dimensions of the individual cube gives variety and expansion to the user. to edit; The perforated openings punched into the surface allows light to pass through. The openings can be more strategic.

By having multiple permutations imposed into the hdb maisonette, it permits us to lay claims and re(order) what is dicated to be called our own.

A collage and sticker illustration of the intervention at site gives a kind of reject and repel to what is at present; a sort of overthrow of what is dictated.

Made out of steel mesh, the structure can maintain its shape even with constant input of pressure. the mesh facade can be used as a shade from the harsh natural lights, but also potentially as a habitat for plants to climb. Within the intervention, it allows spontaneous conversations.

The topography of the elements is a potential social space, where the walls, parapet and ‘roof’ are dictated by its user.

20mm steel poles in 350mm latticcework pattern formation, it seems to lower down out of the ceiling like a matrix. Like a transparent terrain in the sky, the structure is broken to allow people access as well as to generate different uses around, below and on it. It allows all sort of inhabitations from humans to pets, and anything in-between.

A simple cube, scaled to the human body, is repeated to build a form that exists between the organic and the abstract, to create an ambiguous structure that will blur the boundaries between interior and exterior.

This variant is an attempt to challenge the conventional schemes of the domestic spatial design by proposing a scheme that redefines public and private space; its design places an emphasis on the relationships between the public and private spaces. The facade-like unit strategically placed at the side, so they never directly face each other, which create a sense of privacy.

There are no walls to mark the transitions between the corrdior spaces throughout, creating an interesting dynamic relationship the exterior and interior.

Made from a large translucent fabric, the curtain for the façade covers a ‘window’ of W5 x H4m, giving privacy to the residents with low degree of defiance. The drapery opens like a stage curtain when pulled. This movement changes the quality of light and thus the character of the corrdior space.

The double volumed space in the corridor can appear like a tower, or a castled private space depending whether the drapery is drawn or open, blurring the boundaries between the outside and inside.

In reality, we organisms (humans) seek shelter. Buildings exist as a shelters (homes) but also in our urban landscape as a point we ‘enter’ and ‘leave’. Such relationships of organisms entering and leaving the shelter can be quite monotonous. If we seek to shelter, why are spaces not reordered to suit us.

re(order)

To re(order) is to simply arrange something again (or) differently.

The desire to lay claims and to defy the dictated should be called by ourselves. The rights to people is when we come to fill in the spaces, on our own accord.

re(order)

The desire to lay claims and to defy the dictated should be called by ourselves. Why are we not using such spaces when it is apparent they they are opportunities? The rights to people is when we come to fill in the spaces, on our accord.

To re(order) is to simply arrange something again (or) differently.

no good spaces

in-betweens + neg otiable + re(order)

unscripted inhabitations

Building a house / space is not all about money. To build a good living space, you need to put in thought. How you spend your money is an important question to answer, but what matters more in my opinion is the value and quality of it. Living in a city like Singapore, you do not need everything at home. The city compensates what you do not have. Living in a city, is living with changes and new experiences. Like our spaces, it should be evolving.

I hope we can understand that the perception of scale does not equate to its (our) actual physical scale, as the sense of space is not directly convertible to numbers. So, ‘how many square meters’ should not be the sole consideration.