Reframing Bandung

Reframing BaNdung Modular social Housing Project Arianne Prashinta // 19090121 // 10610560 MA Architecture and Urbanism STUDIO B+C

Copyright 2020 Manchester, England United Kingdom MANCHESTER SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE MAnchester Metropolitan University University of Manchester Arianne prashinta MA Architecture and Urbanism

Contents

INTRODUCTION

Design Process

Location and background

Project

Challenges and problem statement

site analysis

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I want to first and foremost give thanks to God who have given me the strength and ability to finish this project on time. I also would like to give thanks to my family and friends who have given me unlimited support during the hardest time of finishing this project under quarantine and lockdown situation in Manchester.

Lastly, thankyou to my tutor, Yun Wu who have helped me this far.

Bandung City Map courtesy of Dutchcolonialheritage.nl

“As an architect you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown.”

– Norman Foster Having lived in Indonesia for all my life, I understand one thing, Indonesia is in need of a change. The kind of changes can depend to the one answering the question and as for me, this project is dedicated for that change.

If you ask me to describe Indonesia in one word, that word will be paradox. Paradox is defined as two seemingly absurd statements or propositions that appear to be true; statements such as,

climate change movements in Indonesia are done by foreigners,

the worst case of flooding happens during the dry seasons,

the very group of people who demand improvements, reject the changes,

and many more...

The problems in Kampung Kota have been discussed since the colonial era despite not having any concrete solution until today. There aren’t many approach that can be taken due to the contraints with the law and government actions, however it is always challenging to be able to imagine how will we live together in the future and what can be done from an architectural point of view. The solution presented in this Design Thesis serves as a purpose of re-imagining a solution to a type of space that we see everyday and realize that that very space can be improved in ways that are minimally invasive or changing the living pattern of the people in the area. In a way, the major approach of this design is heavier on the social and political aspect compared to creative and expressive design that is potentially alien to the area.

This phenomenon, Kampung Kota is also a paradox in Indonesian urban development.

The term Kampung can be understood as village and Kota can be translated as city. If you combine the two together, the definition can be confusing, should it be translated as City with Village-like properties or Village with City-like properties? The term itself recieve recognition in the later years in Indonesia translating as Urban Village, the existence of Village-like community within a big, usually metropolitan cities in Indonesia.

Ironically, Kampung Kota has existed since as early as the Dutch colonial era, but the issue of it being a hindrance and a problem to the community did not arise until the late 1990s. As the city grow bigger and more modern, this sub-unit failed to keep up with the growth and changes resulting in many of the areas to have poor sanitation facilites, unclear pathways and many illegal settlements.

Introduction

First road in Java was built between Jakarta, Bogor, Cianjur, and Bandung

Birth of Art Deco in Bandung

Bandung became the Municipality of West Java

Groote Post-Weg or translated as The Great Post Road was established, connecting the whole Java Island

Bandung Lautan Api or translated as Bandung the Sea of Fire

1946

1945

1909

1870s

1808

1786

I N D O N E S I A N INDEPENDENCE

BANDUNG TIMELINE and brief history

2000s

The population of Bandung keeps rising through the year making Bandung the fourth most populated city in Indonesia

1955

1940 1960

Bandung gain massive increase in population turning it into Metropolitan area

With over 2.5 million people living in the city, Bandung is now Indonesia’s fourth largest metropolitan area. The city is famous for its tourism, historical landmarks, culinary, and realtively cold weather.

Pronounced as Paris van Java or the Paris of Java, Bandung has always been well known for its beauty and scenic city scapes.

The nickname was given during the Dutch colonial era to help attract people, mostly tourists to visit Bandung. As a city, Bandung has always been designed as a recreational place, providing visitors with attractions and pristine weather. As time progress, Bandung get a lot bigger in scale, however since the city was never designed to sustain the volume it has today, overcrowding became something unavoidable.

Bandung became the host for Konferensi Asia Afrika, first world conference for colored people

Location and background

1.

The city of Bandung was established on late 1700 to early 1800 as the leisure place for high ranking Dutch colonials. The topographic location of Bandung which is relatively higher at 761m above sea level compared to its neighboring cities such as Jakarta, Bogor, and Tangerang.

2.

The streets of Bandung were designed to have narrower roads, only to sustain basic transportation needs. Some main roads are wider than the others thus creating the main axis of the city.

Smaller parts of the city often does not support four wheeled vehicle.

The map was from 1928, showing the region of the city of Bandung before the city expanded into a metropolitan.

3.

Urban progression

Present day Bandung is divided into 8 major subregion known as SWK. The regions were divided based on regional rules set by the government with the center of the rule located in the middle of the city. The most densely populated areas are the ones located on the East and Centre part of the city.

City Centre

The city centre of Bandung is located in between 4 sub-regions making it an ideal location for government functions.

East

Location and background

Although the building density in the region is categorised as high, the level of people/resident density is above the normal level. Each house can be occupied by 2-3 household

With 2-3 households living under the same roof, intimacy became a big issue to the space.

Intimacy Issue

People Density

Challenges and problem statement

In the deeper regions of the area, there are little to no roads. Navigating through these areas can only be done by foot or motorcycle and people can easily get lost.

Unclear Pathways

Due to past governmental rules, many of the residents were did not own the land they lived in for decades, making them illegal ly living in the areas.

Illegal Land Use

Due to the density of the area, not many open spaces are available for the people to enjoy or even as mitigation areas.

Lack of Public Space

The Indonesian government planned on relocating the majority of the people living in the slum areas to help better the city wide environment, however from the evidences of the past relocations done by the government, the relocations were done forcefully, without enough prior notice or consent, and the compensation given were below the promised value.

2.580.000 People (Total Bandung Population) Out of personal experience of living in the city, the site was a natural choice since it is located at one of the most crowded part of the city. The site economically strategic and surrounded by many shopping districts, however, the accessibility of the site is very low making it hard to reach or even navigate around. The closest proper road has no direct access to the site.

420 People It is quite hard to select a particular boundary around the site since there are no proper boundary or even block division in the area, so the “island� around the river is chosen to represent the area. With the approximate of 2:1 household to house ratio, the estimate population of the island is around 420 people (1 household is callculated as 4 people while 2 household living together is callculated as 6 people, thus making it 70HH x 6 = 420)

Site selection, analysis and observation

Current River Condition

Pathway/Access

Housing Condition

commercial area green space high density residential area

Inter community solidarity

Densely packed

Neighborhood closely related

Hygiene problems

Sharing culture

No trash solution

No traffic means less likely for the area to be congested

Government laws on gentrifiying the slum areas

More pedestrian usage Communal functions

places

Flooding

for

certain

Upcoming 2020 river rejuvenation is ongoing Potential for fresher air

Site selection, analysis and observation

1.

Learning from the steps done by the Indonesian government, the relocation and redevelopment tend to not being done in a way that is humane to the residents of the area. People tend to be forcefully relocated to social housing located quite far from their actual homes. People will have to readjust with new neighborhood, living conditions and patterns, and sometimes new means of providing for the family.

PRoject phasing

Phase 1: 11 Houses - 22 Households - 66 people

Design Approach

Phase 2: 28 Houses - 56Households - 168 people

Phase 3: 31 Houses - 62Households - 186 people

Activities

Room Requirement

Wake Up Eat - Cook Bath Laundry

Studio Bed Room Bath Room Kitchen

Wake Up Eat - Cook Bath Laundry Quality Time

1 Bed Room Bath Room Kitchen Living Room

2.

The living pattern of the residents varies depending on the type of family living in the area. According to an interview conducted in 2015 by a local university, the demographic data of the people can be divided into 4 major groups. The division determines mostly on the sizing and the type of housing needed by each group of people.

Another important information to be considered is that people living in the area tend to be related to one another meaning that families from suburbs or other smaller town tend to relocate to these areas to live and work in the city or in short, familial urbanisation. This caused further problem for the relocation done by the government.

Demographic reading Wake Up Eat - Cook Bath Laundry Quality Time School

2 Bed Rooms Bath Room Kitchen Living Room Study Room

Wake Up Eat - Cook Bath Laundry Quality Time School Socializing

3 Bed Rooms Bath Room Kitchen Living Room Study Room Play Area

Design precedent

ELEMENTAL / QUINTA MONROY ALEJANDRO ARAVENA The project was designed back in 2003 by architect Alejandro Aravena in demand of social housing in Cuba. The design acts as a single standing house which provided the resident a space to grow and expand their living quarter accoding to necessity.

MODULAR $8000 HOUSE TATIANA BILBAO Tatiana Bilbao designed the project as a solution to Mexico’s affordable housing crisis. Her standardised module-like house can be added and customised according to the necessity of the owner. The flexibility of the model allows people to also use the structure for busines pursposes.

COMPARISON The government solution offers only a single type of housing with no extra room to add or expand. If the owner decide that they want to have a bigger home, they will have to relocate.

The design is rigid and tightly spaced. (since the pandemic, spacing was added into the consideration of the housing design) Shared open space, no personal open space for each household.

Design precedent in comparison to government solution

Initial design solution

Modular design with room for improvement and expansion.

Project New Take on Social housing

Dividing the area by grid. To keep the random pattern existing in the area, the grid will have occasional empty spaces dedicated for mitigation and public space.

Accessibility is an issue to the area so 3 main entry point will be made in addition. Apart from access, proper green space is not available to the area. It will be added in the random openings and transtitional spaces.

Site plan

Phase 1 Green House / Public Space Phase 2

Pathway around the island

Example of Random Openings on the grid

Modular Design The project is making a creative interpretation of rigid modularity where the rooms are designed based on modules.

3 Modules are created based on ratio:

Bedroom

1x1 Modules which is 3.6m x 3.6m 1x 1/2 Modules which is 3.6m x 1.8m 1x 2 Modules which are 3.6m x 7.2m

Living Room and Kitchen

Bedroom

1 x 1/2 Module

1 x 1 Module

1 x 2 Module

Expansion variation possibilities

Variation 1

Variation 2

Variation 3

Variation 4

The river area which is currently being revitalised is utilised as access as well as public space.

The bridge will use bamboo since the material is permeable and natural. The utilisation of Bamboo as structure and decoration is not uncommon in Indonesia thus making it a great potential for the local creators to help contribute to the creation of the area.

Recycled bamboo scaffolding for public space and structure aids such as the accessibility section of the modules.

Bamboo scaffolding is very commonly used in Indonesia and can easily be obtained although maintenance might be required from time to time.

Section GH

Green House

Green Space