From Autocracy to Autonomy A Pa r a m e t r i c A p p r o a c h t o S l u m U p - g r a d a t i o n o f D h a k a Although slums are common phenomena in all the developing countries around the world, each slum has its own characteristics. Thus, no one solution can be put to solve all the generalized problems of the slums, as there is none, although, if analyzed deeply, some of the problems could be traced to a common problem. Therefore, a changable system has to be generated so that when faced with a unique situation, the system can adapt itself to that specific time and place, along wih the possibility of adding or subtracting bits of the solution in accordance to that situation, hence the parametric approach is selected, as “Parametric design is a process based on algorithmic thinking that enables the expression of parameters and rules that, together, define, encode and clarify the relationship between design intent and design response.�. Therefore, if the organic growth of slum can be related to the growth of a phylum, and each slum a different species, genetic algorithm can be used in order to optimize the relationship between the power of its own morphogenesis, and design rationales, in a symbiotic partnership for form finding process.
2600 Persons Bangladesh
5,31,000 Persons per sq miles A small portion of the photographs taken for the thesis from different slums , showing variety in nature although situated in a very close proximity. (in here, photographs contain Vashantek, Kamnrangir Char and Maniknagar Slum)
Slums of Bangladesh
Housing Delivery Systems in Bangladesh & The Areas This Thesis Covers Public Housing Subsystem
Private Housing Subsystem
Public SItes and Service Housing Subsystem
Private Formal Subsystem
Development AUthorities SIte and Service Scheme
Private Informal Subsystem
Co Operative Housing Subsystem
Slum Subsystem
Squatter Housing Subsystem Source: Addressing the Urban Poverty Agenda in Bangladesh: Critical Issues and the 1995 Survey Findings, Edited by Nazrul Islam, Nurul Huda, Francis B. Narayan, Pradumna B. Rana
Low Income
Regular
Purbachal Project (4.3%)
Low Income
Regular
Uttara 3rd Phase (7.5%)
Low Income
Regular
Jhilmil Project (1.2%)
The reason behind this project is quite obvious from the three diagrams above, as it seems that the supply and demand rate of informal settlements, or otherwise put, low income housing, is somewhat inversely related. But as it is a sensitive issue, one might wonder if low income housing should be promoted. The permanent answer to that question is decentralization may eradicate the need of marginal living. But the current economic condition of Bangladesh can not stop the migration to the capital. Therefore, slums can be thought as a kind of platform, that will give a person a shelter for a period while he may upgrade him/herself to the next economic level. Thus, the need of slum can not be nullified. Thus, the necessity of this project, where the challenge of the existings slums of Dhaka are to meet the population prediction for at least next fifty years, as well as providing with the autonomous life the dwellers deserve.
Mapping the Site Existing Funded Row Housing
High rise Extended units: Household Recycling Commercial
Existing/ Potential Macro Service Points
Private Households
Shop Fronts Mixed Use
Mapping a slum is a complex process, and to do it properly, it requires a community involvement. The main reason behind the complexity is that there is usually no defined zoning, and the grain inside a slum is usually quite mixed-up. There is very little difference between designed and self-built, as almost every establishment goes through user initiated transformation. There are bustling bazars, lively cul-de-sac, service points where women of the community spends copious amount of time due to their household chores as well as community engagement, and even recycling areas. The mapping shows that the slum grows in a shrub like manner, taking the designed roads as its support and growing in an organic manner. Edge of this organic growths are usually met with sharp edge of the “designed” city, where there are usually walls. But where it can, as resilient as it is, grows to become an interactive extension, and connects its inside activities to the outside world, sometimes with a grocery market or sometimes with a recycling hub, making them significant income source. It is important to understand this complex granular relationship of slums anatomy, as if one mechanism stops working, a slum may face its biggest existential problem : Gentrification.
The rough edge of the slum: where it is ended with a wall, and forced to be a backside: an image of society’s neglect.
A grocery market at the entry edge of the slum, selling the products of inside vegetable gardes, meat from the samll farms of the slums and fishes from nearby waterbody.
Although there is no dedicated place for playing games, the many edged surfaces create the open window of imagination, as well as interactive community engagement, where no child is left alone.
Variation Overload: A stable inside the living unit!
Previously designed road network works as commercial network of the inside, almost all the units are shop units in the two sides of main pucca roads.
Invasion from unplanned Upgradation: Government-built highrise, where there should have been a service point.
An image of an existing service point, providing with common bath and common washing zone, an example of difference of life of a slum dweller and a citizen.
Playing beside workstation, whenever leisure gives opportunity. The involvement is quite large, showing the output of a strong community.
Cul de sacs are occupied by women of the community, privacy letting them be at home, making the places interactive
Complexity has its problems, as user initiated transformation can create its own monsters, turning living units into recycling, making a hierarchy of power through annexation.
Service is not always sufficient, therefore a paid service point outside the slum, at the opposite end of dividation road.
2006
A speculative prediction of how the slum may change from existing to user intiated transformation, basd upon the facts and case studies of user initiated transformation history of different slums like Bastuhara project. User initiated transformation might be the only thing common amongst all the slums through the whole world, hence the organic growth of a slum. But if not controlled properly, and given some designed direction, it can be its own reason to take a slum to a dead end, making it impossible for a dweller to live a life inside a slum.
Even though service points are sometimes provided by the goverment,they are not always used, sometimes due to unwareness, sometimes due to non-maintainance, and sometimes due to their non-optimized location
2010
Like all the slums of Dhaka city, Dhalpur City Palli slum is also facing urban aggression. A comparative image of 2006 and 2010, showing the land area of the slum has decreased due to various government and non-government so called “development”.
The Problem With Slums D e r i v i n g D e s i g n Pa r a m e t e r s A slum may have many problems, but the one threatens it the most is Gentrification. Almost in all the scenarios, problem regarding slums leads to gentrification, may it be uncontrolled user initiated transforomation, unplanned upgradation, or evacuation/eviction. Therefore, if the path to gentrification can be stopped, it can be said that prolem regarding slums will reduce remarkably. The diagram shows exactly which point in the case of Bangladesh may need intervention, and defines what an architect’s role can be, from a designer’s point of view. From there, some design rationales are extracted, and then the process of how the solutions can be parametrized so that they can meet different variables and act accordingly is tried to be derived.
Mexicali: A Failure due to not respecting the inhabitant’s social value
New Gourna: A disappointment due to super imposing form over need
Habitat 67: Becoming an icon makes a place costly
BRP and Dhalpur Housing: Local low income housing proposals that are already turning to Gentrification
Eviction Rent
Service Cost
Current Proposal
BRP
High rise Buildings
Informal Settlement
Mexicali
Rehabilitation
Change of Situation
Collapse of Social Structure New Gourna
Gentrification User Initiated Transformation Bastuhara Housing
Quinta Monro y
Up-gradation
Habitat 67
KIP
Better Living Environment
Absence of Constraint
Expansion to Create Rentable Space
Home Enterprise
Recycling
Facility to Generate Income
Home-Based Income Generation BRP
Location
Limiting Vertical Expansion
Setting up Policies to Sustain Social Pattern
Least Demolition
Scope for User Initiated Transformation
Hybridization of Road Network
Growth Pattern Derivation Accordingly
Close to Workplace
Land Value
Involuntary Displacement
Growth Pattern Derivation Accordingly
Macro Service Points
Setting up the Constraints
Service Constraints
User Initiated Transformation Constraints
Micro Service Points
Growth Pattern Derivation in accordance to Function
Road Network for Maximum Efficiency
Optimizing Road Network I n R e l a t i o n t o S e r v i c e Po i n t s
In order to sustain social pattern and optimizing constraint policies, a minimum demolition of the existing units alongside the usage of macro service point is required. Therefore, a hybridization of road network is required, where a system will ensure all these optimizations,as well as can be changed according to change of situation.
Case Study: Fujian Tulou, showing the optimum walking distance for macro service point for a unit on 3rd floor
Example of Voronoi in nature, Service Rearranging in Macro Service Point and its efficiency
Then voronoi pattern was applied for achieving greater efficiency. First the Service points were at the center of the voronoi, and then to achieve even greater efficiency and functionality, they were put to convergence points. Thus, with a very little modification or replacement, and only 20% of building demolition, the center line of new main road network was derived.
A 36 m walking distance from the nearest water source to a 4 storied building was set standard for the catchment area of service points from this case study, and then different methods were applied for optimization of road network
The primary road network was then given depth and fillet radius from the standard of fire safety.
First an analysis is done on existing road network. The result was a total of 29 service points were needed, where there was only room for 13, some of which are already working, and others have potential cause for demolition
Secondary road ntwork is derived from depthmap analysis, the most likely paths that are to be walked on by the users are highlited, and then soft paved, so that even in case of heavy rain, the paths will not become muddy
Macro Service Neighborhood Gathering Point
Shop-front
Section AA: Shop-front Activities
Section BB: Inner Road Activities
C
A A
B Section CC: Macro Service Point and Neighborhood Gathering Area Activities
C B
Women empowerment is vital for slum up-gradation, and the nodes and service points should be the place for them to unite and share
Macro Service Points are the common places which provide facilities for cloth washing and cooking, and in time, may become a place for sharing ideas, and in the long run, women empowerment. A service point is also necessary to stop the main enemy of a slum: Gentrification, as even though the living environment may improve, a Middle class citizen will not prefer a common place for these services, whereas slum dwellers are already well equipped oin using these types of facilities.
Vertical Growth Pattern Derivation
Optimization Using Cellular Automata Vertical growth limit was set the 4 stories due to the importance of connection to the ground for the dwellers. Then the method Cellular Automata (CA) was used in 3rd space, in order to derive what was “good” for the living environment. In this specific scenario,, achieving density, as well as court to court connection and proper wind ventilation was set as parameters for “good” John COnway’s Game of Life: The Basis of Cellular Automata
Vertical growth limit was set the 4 stories due to the importance of connection to the ground for the dwellers. Then the method Cellular Automata (CA) was used in 3rd space, in order to derive what was “good” for the living environment. In this specific scenario,, achieving density, as well as court to court connection and proper wind ventilation was set as parameters for “good”
Grid Derived from basic Modified needs CA rules
Phasing
Vertical expansion grid for phasing
Derived vertically expanded units
Traced Co-ordinate for r the chunk selected to test vertical expansion
Rule of Loneliness : A cell dies if surrounding no. of living cells does not fill up a certain number (in this case, less than 2)
Rule of Overcrowding : A cell dies if surrounding no. of living cells cross a certain number(in this case,over 3)
Rule of Regeneration : A cell grows if surrounding no. of living cells are a certain number(in this case, 3)
Script used for Cellular Automata (Powered by Morphcode Rabbit)
A sample chunk with 273 units after demolition was taken for simulations. Growth Rule was set 2(a new cell will grow in the upper floor if the floor below has 2 adjacent units) due to the fact that a certain density had to be achieved.
Rule of Survival : A cell remains unchanged if surrounding no. of living cells are a certain number(in this case, 2)
Growth Rule: 2, Survival Rule: 2,3,4,5 Initial Units : 273 Units after expansion: 1012
Growth Rule: 2, Survival Rule: 2,3,4,5,6 Initial Units : 273 Units after expansion: 1118
Growth Rule: 2, Survival Rule: 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 Initial Units : 273 Units after expansion: 1386
First, serial numbers were applied for survival rules. It was very clear that if serial numbers were applied, introvert courtyards were generated and court to court connection as well as thorough wind ventilation was absent
Growth Rule: 2, Survival Rule: 2,4,6,8 Initial Units : 273 Units after expansion: 855
Growth Rule: 2; Survival Rule: 1, 3, 5, 7 Initial Units: 273; Units after Expansion : 888
Growth Rule: 2; Survival Rule: 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 Initial Units: 273 Units after Expansion : 1025
Growth Rule: 2, Survival Rule: 2,3,5,7,8 Initial Units : 273 Units after expansion: 1027
Growth Rule: 4 Survival Rule: 4,5,6,7
A Secondary Cellular Automata was run in order to derive position of micro service points(bathrooms and toilets), that will be used and shared by maximum 4 families. Thus, the growth rule is set to 4, and the survival rules are set to 4-7, as below 4 will be a wastage.
Ground Floor
1st Floor
2nd Floor
3rd Floor
Plans showing connectivity and circulation over different levels
Primary Road Network
+ Phase 01: After Demolition due to Primary Road Network
+ Secondary Road Network: The Hybrid
Autonomy comes from freedom of use and choice. Materialistic approach of each individual is different, thus, in a provided growth pattern, the filler will provide a variety.
Pavement Widths in terms of Activities and Service
Units After Completion of All Phases
A slum, although may be a transient housing, should provide hopes and dreams to each individual
3rd Floor
Initial living area=263388.1 sft Area after demolition=241800 sft Area acquired after 4th phase vertical expansion =823365sft Existing population= 10983 (data source: slum census 2015)