KL Urban Commons - A Master Thesis by Charlene Chan

KL URBAN COMMONS the many small things

the next big thing.......

will be many small things

t a b l e

o f

c o n t e n t s

Abstract

01 An Introduction on Kuala Lumpur

‘It all began with tin mining’

02 Photographic analysis along Klang R. ‘A walk along where it all began’

03 The Doughnut Effect ‘The empty ring in the middle’ The Doughnut Effect Living Connectivity A Typical Young Malaysian

04 Introduction of a Collaborative Network Leaping with applications

05 Rethinking Urban Commons Urban Scale Sharing Space Overall Site Analysis ‘The role as an architect’ – The in-between ‘Spaces for community sharing’ – Under the bridge ‘Matthew wants to cook’ – The Abandoned Shoplot ‘An urban future vision’ – Along the River Banks

‘

An Overall Vision

9 14

33 35 59 61 65 80 82 99 100

108 112 114 138 160 186 208

ABSTRACT

‘Giant historical shift are sometimes symbolized by minute changes in everyday behaviour.’1 – Alvin Toffler Cultures and habits are the product of its people, through a certain period of time. As Alvin Toffler puts it, we are moving to the third wave of economics, and the third wave is inevitable to the era we are living in right now – the age of shared information. This technological shift some refer to as the ‘third world industrial revolution’. Architecture and the society cannot be detached from these economic and social conditions. Since the 1990s, technology has allowed for virtual platform to emerge. The public now shares its data and information. How will we extract such value and make it useful for architecture, how do we adjust our own profession to the conjuncture of a networked society? The internet has given space to a digitally networked society, enabling citizens to play an active role in building collaborative systems. Sharing applications like Airbnb, BlablaCar, Wikihouse or Opendesk are created due to the network era we are living in, and based on virtual trust, we share many personal things in life, in trade financially and also an exchange of ideas and values. Jeremy Riffkin argues that the rise of the sharing economic model induced by the digitalization of energy, communication and transport has already transformed society and would take us towards a higher efficiency and lower ecological footprint2. Constitutionally, when talking about concepts related to community affairs, understanding the notion of public is necessary. How can we empower people with tools that can give them the capacity to build and transform the shared spaces in the city, transforming the virtual common value to an urban common ground? This set of methodology encourages the potential of public resources to redesign average public amenities, infrastructure, public spaces, or perhaps to rethink new sprout of project initiatives. In the context of Malaysia, from ranging to ecological problems such as the constant occurrence of flash flood, to daily infrastructural issues related to the city dwellers, such as the lack of walkability within the city, these problems have been lingering and increased for the longest period of time. These issues should have been solved a long time ago, however, most planned implementations have

failed. Perhaps it’s time we implement a new methodology, e.g., allowing for the participation of the public. What benefits such participation may offer, my thesis will explore. Obviously, the public will bring with them a completely different set of values about the place that they want to live in. Sequentially, the argument for initiating creative commons is a social one. Globally, the fastest and efficiently growing cities are not developer masterplans, but cities made by the informal communities. And if we are serious about addressing big challenges, such as urbanisation and climate change, we will need to develop micro, low-cost, highperformance, and sustainable design solutions and to share them in the creative commons, where they can be diffused fast, and become, literally, ‘common knowledge’ to all subsequent generations. The sharing idea is not new, in fact it is the opposite of new. Yet being able to bring out its full value requires the consolidation of a web connection and the users, working smarter together. Linux pioneer Linus Torvalds, ‘Be lazy like a fox.’ Don’t reinvent the wheel with every project: take what already works and tweak it to work with the needs of the context. The network allows decentralised, emergent production of homes, energy, public realms, infrastructure and basically bringing it down to suit specifically the everyday living of the community with each of the unique context given. Urban commons is just an example of an alternative solution in Kuala Lumpur’s context, to what collective network could bring about. If the similar could be applied in informal housing, mobility within the city or even bluegreen infrastructures, what then would be the physical changes the city would go through? Perhaps then it would be true to say,

“The next big thing… will be many small things.”

1. Toffler, Alvin. 1980. The Third Wave. 1st ed. United States: Bantam Books. 2. Rifkin, Jeremy. 2018. “The Rise Of The Internet Of Things And The Race To A Zero Marginal Cost Society”. Huffpost. https://www. huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-rifkin/internet-of-things_b_8306112.html.

AN INTRODUCTION ON KUALA LUMPUR

The city got its name literally from the ‘muddy estuary’

The view of Kuala Lumpurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skyline from Bukit Ampang lookout point, with street vendors operating during the night. image source: photographed by author

1.11AN INTRODUCTION TO KUALA LUMPUR

As of 2010, Kuala Lumpur urban area was the eighth largest in the region, larger than Jakarta, Manila and Seoul, with a growth rate of 1.2%, lower than cities in the region of East Asia. Being the only global city in Malaysia, it covers an area of 243 km2 (94 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 1.73 million as of 2016.1 As an overall of Kuala Lumpur city centre and its suburbs, named the Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, has an urban agglomeration of 7.25 million people as of 2017.2

KUALA LUMPUR country: Malaysia climate: tropical wet and dry climate population: 7.25 million life expectancy: 74.8 years3 population of urbanization: 71% internet usage percentage: 78.7%4 project tags: urban commons, network sharing spaces project area: kuala lumpur historical city centre 1. “Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur”. Department of Statistics, Malaysia. Accessed 18 June 2018. https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/ index.php?r=column/cone&menu_id=bjRlZXVGdnBueDJKY1BPWEFPRlhIdz09 2. Kuala Lumpur Population 2017. World Population Review. Accessed 12.11.2017. http://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/ kuala-lumpur-population/ 3. Department of Statistics, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur @ a Glance. Accessed 18 June 2018. https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index. php?r=column/cone&menu_id=bjRlZXVGdnBueDJKY1BPWEFPRlhIdz09 4. UN World Urbanization Prospects & Internet Usage Data. Accessed 24 February 2018. http://www.internetworldstats.com/asia.htm

01.1

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;IT ALL BEGAN WITH TIN MININGâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC; The history of Kuala Lumpur began when Raja Abdullah, Chief of Klang opened up Klang Valley for tin prospects. The river was once where people gathered and the main source of water supply. KL was later governed by Yap Ah Loy, which contributed to many parts of the development of the 19th century.

1212

A collage illustration of the Tin Mining Industry in the 18th century in Kuala Lumpur

Map of kuala lumpur in context to the klang river. Source: Cadmapper, edited and redrawn by author (Nov 2017)

Map of kuala lumpur in context to the klang river. Source: The secret atlas of greater kuala lumpur, edited and redrawn by author (Feb 2017)

Morphological Changes Of The City Along the River Just like any other cities, Kuala Lumpur’s growth of the city is along the river as well. Figure ground mapping of growth of suburbans, with Masjid Jamek being the historical core of downtown Kuala Lumpur (KL), there were explosive growth of suburban townships in Klang

1970

The foundation stone of the mosque was laid on 23 March 1908, and completed the year after, 1909. The site had originally been a Malay cemetery that was relocated to Jalan Ampang in order to build the mosque.

1980

Moghul architecture: Masjid Jamek, Kuala Lumpur’s oldest mosque at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers. It was built in 1907 and officially opened by the Sultan of Selangor on Dec 23, 1909.

(Top) Figure-Ground Diagram showing the urban sprawl from the city to the suburban year 1970-2000 Source: Redrawn by author based on ‘The greater atlas of Kuala Lumpur’ [Feb 2017]

Valley. KL grew from the river banks of Klang and Gombak River. Developement has sprawled in the 2000â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and only selected pockets of government & royal grounds are spared.

1990

An image of the Sultan Abdul Samad building back in the late 1980â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Less than 25 years later, and KL had exploded in size and scale.

2000

The same view in the late 1990, where modern transportation and high influx of people have begun to sprung.

Photos of KL through the years Source: KL through the years, http://www.expatgo.com/my/2016/12/01/kl-years-photos-city-1800s/ (Feb 2018) Historical Constrction Work, https://www.thestar.com.my/news/community/2014/10/28/

Figure-Ground Diagram showing the comparison changes of KL in the year 1984 and 2016 Source: Map edited by Author based on â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The greater atlas of Kuala Lumpurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; [Feb 2017]

What is Greater Kuala Lumpur? The definition of the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley Region is taken from the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). Greater KL comprises Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and all districts in Selangor with the exception of Kuala Langat, Kuala Selangor, Sabak Bernam and Hulu Selangor.

1,723

MBSJ

142 89

MPAJ PP MDSP

population 000â&#x20AC;&#x2122;people (>) 1500

MBSA

MPS

583 577 559 528 MPSJ

MPKJ

MPK

DBKL

747 743

700

500

100

Population demographics of suburban the greater KL

Source: redrawn by author based on department of statistics of Malaysia, https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/, accessed [Feb 2017]

Since 1980 (the first census after the creation of the new territory), the city has experienced a population increase of 77 percent. Yet, the suburbs and exurbs have grown 280 percent and have added nearly six times the population increase of the city. This general distribution of growth continued over the past decade, with the suburbs attracting

83 percent of the new population, while the city of Kuala Lumpur received

percent of the growth.

Data Source: THE EVOLVING URBAN FORM: KUALA LUMPUR, http://www.newgeography.com/content/003395-the-evolving-urban-form-kualalumpur. Accessed 27 MArch 2018 Photo Source: izuddin-helmi-adna @ unsplash, https://unsplash.com/search/photos/kuala-lumpur

22 Map shows the historical core of KL, and the division of areas Source: redrawn by author based on department of statistics of Malaysia, https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/, accessed [Feb 2017]

What if the future Kl has gone through city scale revitalization project to make the city more livable? The visions are assumed to have been in check with reality in this proposal.

Along Klang River

in the historic core of kuala lumpur What exciting new opprtunities Kuala Lumpur would have to offer when the city is clean and pedestrian friendly?

PHOTOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS along klang river

From one confluence to the other (Klang River to Gombak River)

02.1 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;A WALK WHERE IT ALL BEGANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Along Klang River

in the historic core of kuala lumpur

putra world trade centre

shopping and conference districts

bandaraya

administrative area of kuala lumpur

dang wangi

intersection between transportation lines, crowded with hotels and offices

The section is a continuation to analyse the key activities and distinct site features. A photographic walk is being conducted to further understand the context of KL today. From site of opportunities, to activities happening, and to new interventions carried out, elements are being identified to understand how people are reacting to the different elements, resulting in different activities. This photographic analysis is useful in identifying spaces of opportunity for future intervention according the distinct context of the site with each user a different category. The historical core of Kuala Lumpur is divided into 6 main areas based on the main activities and function of each area, shown in the graph on the left.

masjid india

indian populated area, mainly trading of crafts, clothes

heritage area

monumental and heritage area, with banking and offices

chinatown

food and retail, mainly chinese populated trading

(Left) Distance of areas by foot in KL Historical Core Source: drawn by author, based on time and distance of Google Maps.

Along Klang River

Petaling (Chinatown) District

Chinatown has been the vibrant area where initially many chinese workers from China came when there was job opprtunities here during the tin mining area opened up by Yap Ah Loy, the tin mining chief back then. The original Chinatown was centered around Jalan Tun H.S.Lee (High Street). This street was more busy han the other streets because geographically it was higher and less prone to floods. A great civil war erupted in the 1870, many buildings were destroyed or severely damaged. Yap Ah Loy manage to persuade the residence to start growing rice and opend a Tapioca Mill. Chinatown is fondly called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Chee Cheong Kaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in Cantonese which means Strach Factory Street.

chinatown (Top) Informal coverage of chinatown area as indicated in the map Source: drawn by author, based on Google Maps. Data source: Petaling Street, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petaling_Street. Accessed 18 June 2018

image reference: photographed by author

Initiatives are bring taken by ThinkCity to create small pocket parks named parklets, to promote the usage and idea to convert exisitng parking lots into shared public spaces, encouraging to public to travel into the city by public or private shared transportation.

image reference: photographed by author

One of the entry points to Jalan Panggong, a small beautiful cultural alley, decorated with red chinese lanterns, becoming the attraction of many tourist. In the photo, cultural sighting such as the red alter and the burning potare part of embedded religious setting. Sightings of restaurants preperation of meals (cleaning, washing) are done at the backalley, extending the informal boundary of the shoplot.

Petaling (Chinatown) District 36

image reference: photographed by author

The distinct entrance of Jalan Panggong, hung with lanternsand decorated with wall mural. A self-built eatery is seated in between two shoplots, taking the place of the alley way. The alley way leads to an internal courtyard formed by the shoplots surronding it.

Along Klang River Heritage Area

In this particular area, the Jamek mosque is situated at the heart of the confluence of Klang and Gombak, making it an iconic place for views. Other iconic heritage building include the Sultan Abdul Samad building, the textile museum, the art gallery, the Royal Selangor cricket field and the federation square. This area has particularly a lot of events right beside the federation field and is usually crowded on weekends morning with racing events and exhibitions

heritage area (Top) Informal coverage of KLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heritage area as indicated in the map Source: drawn by author, based on Google Maps. Data source: Heritage Walk KL, http://www.visitkl.gov.my/visitklv2/index.php?r=column/ cthree&id=51&place_id=706. Accessed 23 June 2018

image reference: photographed by author

Revitalization of the back alley behind the busy street of Jalan Tun H.S.Lee carried out by ThinkCity, in effort to promote the usage of back alleys as public space. One of the initiative that brought about a positive response from the public. Just by simple interventions of painting the roads and putting about furniture would change the looks and perception of the public towards dodgy back alleys and safety issues.

image reference: photographed by author

During the day of the operation of a restaurant along Jalan Tun H.S.Lee, seating positions are on a flexible basis, where in the photo they have used the planting areas, due to the coolness from the tree on a scorching day. These boundaries are not kept at an armâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s distance, but instead fine to use according to the needs and context of the site.

Jamek Mosque District 40

image reference: photographed by author

Once a plot of land left unattended now has transformed to be a pocket park that is surrounded by the shop lots, forming a more cooling space for public seating. Installations are also put up to raise certain awareness and pathways are well paved and maintained to ensure a comfortable walk in the small area. Imagine what if a whole lot of the area of a place has such comfortable feature?

Along Klang River Masjid India

Being one of the older streets around KL, it is filled with a mix of old pre-war shop lots and modern buildings. They are great places to purchase fabric goods and cheap finds, and many of them are family run businesses that have been around for years. ‘Masjid India’ literally translates to ‘Indian Mosque’ because this area is distinctly marked with an Indian-Muslim accent, with colourful combination of products. The pre-war shophouse sell a profusion of authentic Indian items such as traditional costumes in vibrant hues, indian delicacies as well as beautifully crafted ornaments and accessories.

masjid india (Top) Informal coverage of masjid india area as indicated in the map Source: drawn by author, based on Google Maps. Data source: Jalan Masjid India, http://www.visitkl.gov.my/visitklv2/index.php?r=column/cthree&id=112&place_ id=971 Accessed 24 April 2018

image reference: photographed by author

The only pedestrain crossing bridge connecting both ends of the river. on one side is the main road and on the other is the residential vicinity of Masjid India. The bridge is also recently built, for the covinience of the residentials on the other end. Housing in that area are smaller and more congested as a whole.

Along Klang River

Bandaraya District

‘Bandaraya’ stands for administrativerelated issues, and this area is mainly for such because of the position of the city council in the vicinity as well as other governmental buildings along the street of Jalan Raja Laut. The pension fund organization, the national bank are all located along this stretch, that the nearest LRT station is named as the ‘national bank’ stop.

bandaraya (Top) Informal coverage of bandaraya area as indicated in the map Source: drawn by author, based on Google Maps.

image reference: photographed by author

Gombak river runs through this section of the area as it is located more towards the left side of the map. But even so, there are still presence of squatters in the bridge at the far end midpoint, just as the picture shows. Perhaps a revitalization of the river would promote a better living for the squatters.

Along Klang River Dang Wangi

Formally known as Campbell Road, it is situation at the north eastern side of the map. Dangi Wangi LRT station is one of the prominent and bigger stations because it has more interchanges of LRT lines, and also to the monorail station which many citizens are taking to get across within the city itself. No proper shelters were initially provided for the route between the stations; in the mid-2000s, canopies along sidewalks were erected between the stations. An overhead footbridge directly in front of the Dang Wangi station, which crosses Jalan Ampang and includes escalators, was also constructed around the time.

dang wangi (Top) Informal coverage of dang wangi area as indicated in the map Source: drawn by author, based on Google Maps. Data source: Dang Wangi LRT, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dang_Wangi_LRT_station. Accessed 16 June 2018

image reference: photographed by author

The width of the road is at a very comfortable distance to carry out interventions and for the walking of pedestrain pathways. Overlooking the river bank, it is one of a good potential spots for public seatings and sharing spaces.

image reference: photographed by author

The condition of the river banks are left unattended that moss and shurbs are growing over it. A foul smell is also emitted from the river. The cleaning project should include this part of the river but perhaps this area faces both the back of office buildings and shoplots, rubbish and waste are easily thrown out.

Dang Wangi District 48

image reference: photographed by author

Squatters spotted under the bridge, hanging their clothes and cardboard and cloth as their sleeping places. Perhaps a regeneration fo the river should also come with a solution to address the relocation of these squatters.

Along Klang River

Putra World Trade Centre

Known for its trading and exhibition hot spot, PWTC is definitely one of the pit stops for major exhibitions and events held at an international level. Getting to PWTC is very convenient as there are railway stations nearby, which is the PWTC LRT station on the Ampang Line, and the Putra Komuter station. Otherwise, RapidKL bus terminal is also just around the corner. This area is also one of the proposed nodes for the river of life project, as the confluence of Gombak River and Batu River meets. it is one good spot for potentialnode intervention.

putra world trade centre (Top) Informal coverage of PWTC business area as indicated in the map Source: drawn by author, based on Google Maps. Data source: PWTC, http://kuala-lumpur.attractionsinmalaysia.com/Putra-World-Trade-Centre.php, Accessed 24 JMay 2018

image reference: photographed by author

The confluence of Gombak and Batu river lies the beautification project carried out by the River of Life (ROL). By revitalizing this spot, both the confluence can have a connection through their river banks along a stretch of 3.5km.

image reference: photographed by author

The pedestrain bridge is made in collaoration between one huge private neterprise, sunway and the government. On their proposal, sunway has already decided to create walkways and staircases down to the banks to allow public access for futures uses. This idea should really be thought about for an urban vision of the city involving the blue element.

Putra World Trade Centre District 52

image reference: photographed by author

Eatery and stalls is and always will be a part of Malaysian Culture, even in the midst of skyscrappers, heavy concrete shopping malls and bridges,these stalls would still find a way around to carry out their business as usual and people would naturally be drawn to these stalls and vendors.

When the morning rises

in the historic core of kuala lumpur

The bustle of KL is very much felt during the day, but once evening 830 - 9pm comes, the city soon then becomes a ghost town especially during the weekdays. Masjid Jamek LRT station

Jalan Tun HS Lee image reference: Jonah Sia @ Poskod.my (https://poskod.my/features/the-city-doth-sleeps/)

When the night falls

in the historic core of kuala lumpur

When it comes to the twilight times, KL becomes significantly quiet and certain busiest places throughout the day becomes desserted at night. Masjid Jamek LRT station Vibrant as it is during the day but quiet when it starts to hit 9- 10pm

Jalan Tun HS Lee The intersection of Jalan Pudu and Jalan H.S. Lee is one of the places in the city where thousands of people pass through each day. However, this place starts buzzing again with activities as early as 6am when the early commuters start their daily journey to work in the city image reference: Jonah Sia @ Poskod.my (https://poskod.my/features/the-city-doth-sleeps/)

THE DOUGHNUT EFFECT

03.1

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;THE EMPTY RING IN THE MIDDLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;

THE DOUGHNUT EFFECT Often used in the context of cities, especially in developed nations such as the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. But just like the actual doughnut is different depending whether you are eating it in Britain or the US, the doughnut effect has grown to have a slightly different meaning, depending on the city.

The definition The doughnut effect refers to a development where the city centre becomes more hollow or empty5, as businesses and people move into the outskirt of the city. This is the most commonly used definition of the doughnut effect, with cities like Houston in the US being a prime example of a doughnut effect.6 The effect was first discussed in the 1960s, as the changing society meant changes in city structure. As cities develop and grow, the inner parts of the city become extremely crowded. Finding affordable and larger housing becomes a challenge and the population often starts to move towards the outer skirts of the city. As the population becomes more concentrated to the outskirts of the city, businesses often tend to follow. This creates the doughnut effect: concentrating the population and the businesses as a ring around the big city while leaving the centre of the city empty.

5. Lexicon, definition of doughnut effect. http://lexicon.ft.com/Term?term=doughnut-effect. Accessed 5 May 18 6. Martin, Doughnut Effect. https://www.cleverism.com/lexicon/doughnut-effect/. Accessed 5 May 2018

In the Context of Malaysia More recently, the doughnut effect has been used in a slightly different context, often called as the British doughnut effect. The British doughnuts typically don’t have a hollow centre but instead have a splash of the jam in the middle. In terms of the doughnut effect and cities, this represents the recent development where finances start flowing back to the city centre. But this financial injection often happens in an uneven manner and, therefore, the newly improved city centre is surrounded by neglected areas. The British city of Birmingham is often mentioned in the context of this new doughnut effect3. The first effects of the doughnut effect are similar in both instances, with the exception of the financial development starting to flow back towards the city centre in the British doughnut effect.

Figure Illustrating the push effect out of the city, causing the doughnut effect and rising of suburbans.

Suburbans such as Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya has grown and develope to a state that the residence living there would not step into the congested city centre if it weren’t for work or necessary errands to run.

Source: Illustrated by author

7. Britain’s Urban Crisis. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jan/20/justin-welby-britain-urban-crisiscities-abandoned-hopeless. Accessed 5 May 2018.

Out of the

55000

of professionals blue/white collars

only

11000

are residence residing in kl

(Top Left) Map of Greater KL (Right) Figure ground diagram showing the position of commercial and residential in the historic 60 centre of kuala lumpur Source: drawn by author

a great number of offices compared to residential

The Doughnut Effect A study recently conducted by ThinkCity (2014) in the historic core of Kuala Lumpur shows that there is a high amount of 55000 people working in the area, but only 11000 are residents living in the city, and a large percentage of which, are migrant workers8. This affects the balance of activities, communities and commerce within the core of the city, that is only one fifth of the percentage of people working in the city. Kuala Lumpur no doubt becomes a ghost town at night, and the life of the city is only at posh places for the highly affordable category of citizens. The theory suggested by Brand9, regarding the relationship between the urban pull and the rural push stands to the issue Kuala Lumpur is facing. People tend to come and work in the city but leave back to the suburbs after dawn.

Causes of the doughnut effect In summary, the doughnut effect are caused by mainly a few pressing issues of the city: expensive cost of living in the city centre (food, accomodation, entertainment etc) distinct lack of housing solutions for middle class white collar workers safety issues within the city deterring the migrant community and homeless citizens

8. The Case for Couumunal Living, Maya Tan, Thnk Urban, Think City. https://thinkcity.com.my/channel_post/ communal-living/ Lasr Accessed 25.6.2018 9. Steward Brand, Save the Slums, https://www.wired.com/2009/09/ff-smartlist-brand/. Last Accessed 24 May 2018.

(Right) Chart shows the percentage differences between each of the category, in division of KL and its historic centre Source: drawn by author, information by city council kuala lumpur. http://www.dbkl.gov.my/pskl2020/ english/land_use_and_development_strategy/index.htm. Accessed 16 May 2018

(Top) Chart graph shows the breakdown of age range in the working class in KL Source: drawn by author, information by world population reviw. http://worldpopulationreview.com/ world-cities/kuala-lumpur-population/. Accessed 16 May 2018

Direct effects of the doughnut problem to the city Effects of urban sprawl can be devastating or subtle in and around large, medium-sized, and small cities, and even small towns.

Automobile Dependant Transportation Travelling from the suburban to the urban is always a distance, having your own vehicle is necessary. Because of this, the traffic congestion phenomena is rapidly increasing.

Unbalanced Growth in the City Lack of maintenance and renewal investments in downtown areas, urban neighborhoods, and the inner ring of suburbs around a central city, resulting in gradual declines of areas where street and utility infrastructure already exists

Safety Issues in the Ghost Town The night hours in the city becomes quiet and deserted, a higher chance of crime to happen to the remaining unguarded residential

Concentration of Poverty Concentration of community poverty leading to an even more bleak future and desperate choices

Effects of Urban Sprawl: Costs, Health, Environment Source: information by world population reviw. https://www.useful-community-development.org/ effects-of-urban-sprawl.html. Accessed 16 May 2018

Diagram shows the travel distance between each district of Greater KL to the city centre Source: drawn by author, information by Google Maps

Distance to Suburbans As the city grew, suburbans are getting more and more developed and many choose to dwell in the suburbans and yet work within the city. The usual transportation mode within the city is through cars, and motorcycles as well as light rail transit. The distance(km) from Kuala Lumpur City Centre to:

Ampang Jaya

Petaling Jaya

Subang Jaya

Kajang

Shah Alam

Selayang

Klang

Sepang

Despite the distance and time travelled, many working professionals make a daily travel basis from Klang to Kuala Lumpur (40km) which would take about 40-50 minutes at non-peak hours and 2-3 hours during peak hours.

琀礀瀀椀挀愀氀昀爀椀搀愀礀

The traffic conditions Traffic congestions usually occur before and after working hours, mainly from 7-10, and the later from 4-9 on a weekday (friday).

0700 - 1000

1600-2100

smooth / clear traffic slight congestions / slowstop heavy traffic / complete standstill Peak hours are predominantly after working hours, where a usual vehicle would take about 2-5 hours to leave the city centre back to the suburban. One of the cause of the traffic congestion is the amount of cars on the road and the lack of affordability to live closer to work among the working professionals. 30 minutes

琀礀瀀椀挀愀氀昀爀椀搀愀礀

(Top) Maps showing taffic conditions throughout a typical Friday on an average. (Bottom) Maps illustrating the possible distance travel by car from the city centre in the given time. Source: drawn by author, information by Google Maps

60 minutes

90 minutes

AVERAGE MEAN TIME OF TRAFFIC PEAK HOURS

selayang 60 min

kuala lumpur city centre 60 min shah alam 100 min 120 min

80 min ampang jaya

petaling jaya 100 min kajang 90 min subang jaya

klang 180 min sepang

total time added 790 min

How much time are we stucked in traffic? Based on analysis, the average time taken to commute to and from Kuala Lumpur differs greatly when there is a traffic congestion, and when traffic is smooth. It is also noticed that typical Malaysians spend a total of xx% of their time on the roads just commuting from one place to another! Diagram illustrating the difference between smooth traffic and congested traffic Source: drawn by author, information by Google Maps

AVERAGE MEAN TIME OF TRAFFIC NON PEAK HOURS

selayang 30 min

kuala lumpur city centre 25 min shah alam 30 min 50 min

25 min ampang jaya

petaling jaya 30 min kajang 25 min subang jaya

klang 60 min sepang

total time added 275 min

What could we actually do with all these time? Based on analysis, the average time taken to commute to and from Kuala Lumpur differs greatly when there is a traffic congestion, and when traffic is smooth. It is also noticed that typical Malaysians spend a total of xx% of their time on the roads just commuting from one place to another!

Average TIme Spent Being stuck in traffic jams are not something new to Malaysians.

㈀㐀

According to a research done by ThinkCity, young executives commute anywhere between 2-5 hours a day to study or work in the city, depeding on where they live and the conditions of the road. The diagrams below shows an average time spent in traffic jams, per day for 5 days a week/hours. ㈀

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day

3.5

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㄀㐀

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㈀

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month

17.5

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year

910

= 38

days 1 month 8 days

Young executives commute anywhere between 2-5 hours a day to study or work in the city. image source: unsplash.com by Izuddin Helmi Adnan

Daily Timeline of a Young Professional An analysis on the average time spent for a young professional working in downtown Kuala Lumpur and commuting through driving within 24 hours.

Pie chart showing hours spent on different activities on an average basis on a weekday, for a young professional.

0.45 purchasing goods & services 0.50 household activities 0.55 social media / phone / mail 1.0 personal care / prepping

7.0 sleeping

1.5 leisure & sports

1.5 socializing

2.5 eating & drinking

3.0 commuting in transport 6.0 working / work-related

0.45 0.50 0.55

1.0

purchasing goods & services household activities social media / phone / mail

personal care / prepping 1.5

leisure and sports 1.5

socializing 2.5 eating & drinking 3.0 commuting in transport

6.0 working / work-related

7.0 sleeping Bar chart scale comparison of different activities in 24 hours

Pie Chart and Bar Chart representing the average hours per day spent by Men and Women Source: drawn by author, information by BLS, Zero Hedge

Personal Spaces The necessities of a person is typically illustrated below. Some are shared spaces, some are personal spaces. Spaces that are shared includes living, cooking, skills sports, and sometimes even personal hobbies. These are communual spaces where interaction happens.

What If. We explore on the idea of bringing an unusual communual space of interaction to an urban fabric?

the kitchen 79

A Typical Young Malaysian The food culture is embedded in the Malaysian Culture. Raging from 24 hours eateries to a variety of food to enjoy, Malaysians take their food very seriously.

‘Makan’ Places

‘Lepak’ Places

‘Makan; is the term to eat, in Malay. When we say, ‘Jom Makan’, it means let’s go and have a something to eat. Eating is something that can happen throughout the 24 hours of the day and it’s not a strange phenomenon. It is in our culture to have meals at formal or informal eating places.

“Lepak’ is the term to hang around or gather around, in Malay. When we say, ‘Jom Lepak’, what it really means is that let’s meet up and hangout, usually over informal eating places like mamak, cafes and hawker stalls. Gathering and meeting up with close friends and family over food late nights or mornings are the typical activities in a Malaysian Culture.

to eat

to relaxing and bond

What if.

could happen in one single place

across spots in the city for people to mingle and to stay on after working hours / weekends?

image reference: photographed by Joshua Anand @ Unsplash

Noodle Stall Shoplot @ Jalan Alor Jalan Alor hawker street is famous for a variety of local chinese dishes, where tourist from all over the place and locals would dine in at night to enjoy their dinner. The cooling night makes it suitable for outdoor seatings, and these kind of stalls are usually run by family business, thus highly valued in Malaysian context.

The Formal â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Makanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Places

image reference: photographed by ajpscs @ flickr

image reference: photographed by author

Food Stalls @ Ampang Lookout Point Best known for the night view of KL’s skyline you can get while having a late night meal, with the breeze of the wind and the hot drink you’ve just ordered. Opens from 10pm onwards till 4am, peak hours are usually from 11pm or 12am onwards.

The informal ‘makan’ places

image reference: photographed by Amir Rashid @ https://www.timeout.com/kuala-lumpur/restaurants-and-cafes/the-burger-shop-ss15

Food Truck @ SS15 Adi Burger has been around since 1997. Most of the residence residing nearby have grown up with this being their de facto neighbourhood burger stall, late nights hanging about chomping on a burger with a can of soft drink in the other hand.

image reference: photographed by Farah D. @ http://www.friedchillies.com/site/detail/nasi-lemak-bumbung

Alleyway ‘Mamak’ @ SS2 This alleyway ‘mamak’, which means muslim-indian food sells one of Malaysia’s favourite ‘Nasi Lemak’ (coconut rice with fried chicken). Business usually starts about 6pm and ends around 2am. Crowds usually start flocking in by 7pm. Seats are always outdoors, yet rainy days doesnt demotivate the customers for a take-away.

The informal ‘makan’ places

image reference: photographed by author

Night Market @ Kampung Baru Night Markets are one of the most essential trading of food, goods and conversations in Malaysia. Food sold in night markets are usually light and suitable for a take away or finger foods. Night markets are usually temporay structures and operate once a week.

88 Source: Drawn by author

What if. Cooking together in urban kitchens in spots in the city fabric could be a new injection of activity that could retain the working professionals and local community to mingle around after working hours?

U R B A N

K I T C H E N S

The world wide web full of thing that may inspire, digital information traveling down a wire. Living in a society of free communication and instant information, we are a generation moving into the age of shared information. I book flights and schedule meetings over the skyscanner, I call for a ride with grab or uber to commute to meet my friends I’ve known from the virtual. I’ve just booked my vacation and experience through airbnb and my accountings are automatically done through splitwise. There is nothing I can find that cannot be done through apps and websites. We’ve replaced “Once upon a time” with “I once read online”. The Internet has made our world like a small village. …….. Undeniably, today we live on the world. Wide. Web.

introduction to a

collaborative network

’LEAPING WITH APPLICATIONS‘

04.1

How has sharing changed with the presence of virtual commons?

The Internet has given space to a digitally networked society, enabling citizens to plan an active role in the process of economy. The Collaborative economy is formed based on sharing underutilized assets in the virtual platform, bringing it to the physical realm. Jeremy Riffkin argues that the rise of the sharing economic model induced by the digitalization of energy, communication and transport has already transformed society and would take us towards a higher efficiency and lower ecological footprint. In today’s virtual network, many platforms are being created to achieve a similar goal of convenience, whether it is made for monetary purposes or non-profit purposes. Platforms such as Airbnb, Uber or Splitwise run on

Virtual Realm

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the empowerment of ordinary people, building peer-to-peer relationships, sharing and collaborating among each other. A reduction in cost and an increase in flexibility and convenience are some of the benefits of these platforms. However, there are critics to these applications where it is based on the unequal access for low-income and the minorities that do not have access to it. Nevertheless, the potential in this new global exchange system is undeniable and, as collectively as it was born, the sophistication of it is at the click of our mouse. It probably is a matter of how far are we willing to get involved in a change that has already started. As Alvin Toffler states, “The prosumer has been brought back to the centre of economic action.”

Physical Realm

Understanding Applications Many applications are being used in our soceity today, we can no longer leave our phones and the web behind. How has our life changed with the presence of these applications? Let’s take a look at the transformation of a simple transportation system.

Private Transport Service Provider the traditional

the present

the up-rising

Taxi

Grabcar

Blablacar

provides a ride chargeable to passengers according to the meter rates.

a peer-to-peer ridesharing transportation platform, where drivers are engaged part or full time to provide rides based on distance or time.

carpooling system where it connects everyday car-drivers and passengers that are willing to travel together between similar destinations and share the cost of the journey.

“this is a business”

“this is a business or a part-time income generator while meeting new people”

“this is a sharing carpooling app to minimize cost of the driver while meeting new people”

motivation

taxi

grab

blablacar

work in return for monetary value as a job

work in return for monetary value as a job/ supplementary income

to carpool to the same destination, with shared cost of travel

business-to-peer

peer-to-peer

full time

full time & part time

flexible schedule/anytime

phone call, webpage

application

25-30% gross fare income given to taxi company

25% fare income given to uber from drivers

10% of fare the driver set given to blablacar

structure

drivers

means

fees

whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the difference? 100

Can we used the creative commons we have shared to create a physical urban common that is lacking in the community?

The only difference between times back in the 20th century and the 21st century is that today, we have the internet. But with the internet, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a huge difference. It allows decentralised, emergent production of homes, energy, workspaces, infrastructure and even decentralised finance to match, or even outperform centralising, alienating industrial structures. Because of our technology and sharing system today, community building is being made possible. Many with a bit, and when they do, they bring with them a completely different set of values about the place that they want to live. And it raises really interesting questions about, how will we plan cities? How will finance development? How will we sell design services? What would it mean for democratic societies to offer their citizens a right to build? And perhaps in the 21st century, perhaps cities could be developed by the citizens.10

10. Parvin, Alastair. 2013. Architecture For The People By The People. Video. Long Beach, California: TEDtalks.

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Can we bring the virtual meeting point to a physical shared space?

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rethinking urban commons

A new injection of urban shared spaces within the city fabric

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05.1

URBAN SCALE SHARING SPACES

The fact that we have the internet today changes the type of things we are able to share. What was before something exclusive to a certain household can now be a shared item to people halfway across the globe. Take an example of a simple small cosy bedroom that was once only for the Mullerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family in the UK is now shared with Ben and Lisa from Australia, just because it is being part of the net (Airbnb). What would this mean if this set of sharing could be taken from private asset to public amenities? Could we bring sharing to an urban scale in the city?

human scale items bed / lamp / books

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architectural unit scale

bedroom / living room / bathroom

architectural unit scale house / villa / apartment

urban scale

playground / open field / parks / bus stops / buildings / community ground

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05.2

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KUALA LUMPUR AS AN OVERALL

How about rethinking a set of urban elements that could collectively be produced, consumed or financed? What if places like parks, street walks, unused spaces in the city could be act upon by the collective? People need a set of new activities on a daily basis, some sort of a production and sharing base model. The production needs space to take place, tools to craft, materials to shape and knowledge of things to produce it. A simple corner of the city built with the voice of the collective could be a new awakening model that challenges the traditional system.

What then, would be the physical consequence of the city?

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An Overview on Kuala Lumpur An overview on the sites chosen for each distinct area, with the exisiting conditions illustrated and explained.

Jalan Panggong, Chinatown Jalan Bentong, Jamek Mosque Jalan Tun HS Lee, Market Square Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, Central Market

If loud entrance attracts attention, how can a quiet residual space embrace its users?

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How do we extend the vibrant life of a main street over a bigger coverage than just that one long stretch of street?

How do we reconnect a disconnected river?

What is the next life of dilapidated shop houses? Can revival proceed through refurbishment?

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Intervention One ”The Role as an Architect” Location: Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur THE IN-BETWEEN ALLEY

“ N e w

I d e a s

n e e d

O l d

-Jane Jacobs

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S p a c e s ”

Meet Chee Meng This is a story about the community of Chinatown. Chee Meng & his friends have been living in Jalan Petaling for almost half a decade. They were residing here even before the independence of Malaysia. Jalan Petaling is mainly the street people usually call ‘Chinatown’, where Chee Meng works as a hawker for a living.

“The role of an architect” Chee Meng he rarely catches up with his friends at the main Pataling Street, instead they usually sit by the backalley of Jalan Panggong. The back alley of Jalan Panggong is a narrow alleyway, just the size of two cars and there is a small informal coffeeshop where the locals would start to gather in the late afternoon. The narrow alleyway where the informal coffeeshop sits leads to a plot of land (internal courtyard) surrounded by the blocks of shoplots, it is not well-maintained but nevertheless the locals would still place their motorbikes and furniture there. He loves this area, but he also finds that this alleyway and the courtyard at the back could be revitalized to a better potential. He always wishes he could sit at a quiet higher ground, with his friends while chatting about everything under the sun, occasionally reading his newspapers or simply his favourite book.

And that, is when he and his friends decided to do something about it – to find an architect to think about solutions to revitalize the area for the local community itself. Upon discussions, the idea of levelling up and creating a Japanese teahouse sort of idea came about. Instead of sitting on the street level, they now can enjoy the convenience of sitting on the roof level. The cleaning and reorganization of the courtyard to be a community garden would run simultaneously with the teahouse, by the effort of the local Chinatown committee and the residence there. And basically the role of the architect here, is to provide a vision for the site with rich cultural context, facilitating the progress with participatory effort from the local.

It’s a project about them.

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map indicating the context of the project site, highlighted in colours and explained.

traffic police station includes housing within the compound

cultural centres informal cultural alley community plot greenspace cafes

klang river on going river regeneration project

pasar seni lrt sation one of the main interchange station

petaling street walkway main street of chinatown, sheltered for about 300m walkway

teahouse shoplots thriving business within the area

modern refurbishment cafe from old shoplots within the area

site context In-between cultural alley @ Jalan Panggung Light rail transit passes through the site with a stop 2 minutes walking distance to central market

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located between the vicinity of petaling area (chinatown)

sketch section of the in between alley

alleyway

courtyard

tourist cultural visit

local community courtyard

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Streetways becomes seatings for hawker business during the day, where the local community takes over the residual spaces on streets. image source: jalan panggong @ google maps

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image reference: instagram @ syuhaidazain

During the day, the vendors and hawkers continue their routine as per usual, going about with their business. Locals are usually spotted during the afternoon-evening for a gathering, retaining the local essence of the community.

site analysis Chinatown @ Jalan Panggong

Distinct site features

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image reference: instagram @ syuhaidazain

Tables and chairs are of temporary configuration, used as and when needed but left just by the side of the street as the community. It is used for the customers of the hawkers that are vending in that alleyway.

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community teahouse sketch idea

a passage way to the community courtyard

in-between alley The location of this site is located at the edge of chinatown, with many locals residing in shoplots, where they would carry out their busines on the ground floor and live on the first. This are has business but yet retains the locality of it as residence would still minggle around in the evening. The site is of walking distance to chinatown but at the edge to one of the main highways of kl.

Urban configuration: In between two shoplots, courtyard forms a closed loop from the shoplots Surface (m2): 30 Width (m): 30 Length (m): 30

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core idea urban kitchens

structural element

hierarchy of spaces

injection of culture

Lightweight timber structures will be used to form the teahouses that connects to the rooftop of the adjecent building.

The japanese teahouse on the upper levels are meant for the community, while the ground floor is meant for the public.

Students and the community could participate in the donation and reading of books to enhance the reading culture

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Intervention One

in-between alley

PETALING COMMUNITY TEAHOUSE

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A vision of the transformation of the additional vertically stacked teahouse and community library

petaling community teahouse collaborative effort of:

Petaling Area Household Commitee

A very localize project, involving the participatory effort from the community, from idea pitching and feedbacks to construction of the project with local contractors, builders and suppliers. Funded by the community and also financial support from ThinkCity, as well as certain NGOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

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What If. Petaling Household Commitee revitalize the exisitng alleyway and the courtyard park, bringing about new shared space for the locals?

Shoplots with residential on the second floor

Indication on the location of the places that influence the user group in the vicinity

Local Community

pitching of idea

discussion / round table

collaborative building

Cafe and bars

Guesthouses

Youth

Visitors Tourist

idea generation and vision pitched by the architect

feedbacks given suiting the needs of the community

collaborative effort with local specialist and work labour by the community

utilization by community

Can the effort of the community bring about a better change in the area, setting a benchmark for localise participatory projects? 124

How does the creative common platform work? In the case of Petaling, the digital app exist for the benefit of the public. When they too want to experience the Japanese Teahouse, they can make a booking through the application and have the place on the rooftop to experience the sight and taste of the local tea.

Check Availability

Select desired hours of booking community kitchen unit

Book the available tearoom with a small fee with the community page

community teahouse

community library

Experience guided by a local commitee member

Common kitchen available for prepping

Enjoy the tea and the bonding session in the sharing space!

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Back Alley

Chee Meng just came back from his work and is now heading to the teahouse, as his wife enters from the back with her groceries.

Ground Floor Plan

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Plans & surrounding context

Courtyard

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First Floor Plan

The idea of stacking up vertically means smaller floor area but more of them for different activities, There are activities for having tea, seatings to chat, library for reading for the community. Spaces are flexible and can have the freedom to change functions.

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Second Floor Plan

Third Floor Plan

Plans of remaining floors

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Axonometric view Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s evening and Chee Meng & his friends are meeting up from their respective places.

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Sectional Perspective showing activities within the intervention Activites such as cooking within the existing structure and the outdoor kitchen promotes cooking together as an activity.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Role of an Architectâ&#x20AC;? The project took about 3 months to complete, with a week to week effort from the locals. The ground floor of the project is catered for the public, but higher floors are meant for the locals, or students in the area with the interest of reading books from the community open library next to the teahouse. The project also revitalized the rooftop beside, where is connects and becomes sitting grounds as well. This project actually drawed in many attention from the people and the media, that a collective effort could actually be possible in the Malaysian Context, and still working in the best suitable way to cater for the specific needs of the targeted users.

3:25PM Chee Meng just cleaned up his stall at Jalan Petaling and is about to head to the teahouse, where he plans to relax, talk about his day and everything else with his friends while drinking his tea in his newly constructed teahouse.

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A Vision of the Petaling Community Teahouse

p e ta l i n g co m m u n i t y te a h o u s e

t h e e n d

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Intervention Two ”Spaces for community sharing” Location: Central Market, Kuala Lumpur UNDER THE BRIDGE

“First life, then spaces, then buildings - the other way around never works” -Jan Gehl

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Meet Alice This is a tea enthusiasist in the city Alice is a big enthusiast for traditional Chinese tea. She works for the national post office as an administration staff. She usually packs her lunch and has her lunch outdoors as she feels the office too stuffy and congested to take a break.

“Sharing space as a community space” Occasionally, Alice meets up with her peers after work over some Chinese tea in one of the dedicated tea merchant shops. They are all of walking distance from her workplace. Plus, it is too congested to head home right after work if she knocks of slightly later as traffic starts piling up very fast after 5. Alice has always loved the location of her workplace because being a tea enthusiast, she is able to easily get her supply of teabags. What’s lacking right now is just outdoor spots to enjoy her tea, rather than the same old indoor seating setting in the tea merchant’s shops. Sometimes she thinks to herself, how nice it would be to have a small pergola, overlooking the clean river, with Chinese tea on one hand, biscuit on the other, while laughter’s of her peers fills the air. Afterall, this is her city.

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map indicating the context of the project site, highlighted in colours and explained.

public workplaces national posr office and semiprivate organization

green beautified pedestrian central market

traditional arts & craft market

kasturi walk

traditional informal arts and craft alleyshaded walkway

klang river river banks slowly being cleared of rubbish starting this stretch

pasar seni lrt sation

one of the main interchange station

petaling street walkway main street of chinatown, sheltered for about 300m walkway

teahouse shoplots

thriving business within the area

site context Central Market @ Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock Light rail transit passes through the site with a stop 2 minutes walking distance to central market

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kasturi heritage walk

located between the vicinity of petaling area and masjid jamek alleyway

klang river

colonial area buildings

pedestrian underway

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Underused spaces under the bridge prosess opprtunities for sharing spaces, with regeneration projects around the site, it now serves as public seating areas image source: jalan tun tan cheng lock @ google maps

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image reference: photographed by author

Proper seating features being provided under the bridge, and its being utilised by the public good. Greeneries are also being allocated and planted for shading and cooling purposes.

site analysis Central Market @ Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock

Distinct site features

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image reference: photographed by author

Green paved pathways are being provided, leading to the site, next to Central Market, becoming a potential good spot for sharing spaces. Covered pedestrain walkways are also being provided in case of rain or shine.

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micro tearoom sketch idea

bamboo forest in the midst of a cup of tea

under the bridge (train track) The location of this site is located at the heart of the cultural district in the city centre. With the rich culture of the art and craft market and Chinatown, business and tourist activities are blooming in the area. The site is of walking distance to both central market and chinatown street.

Urban configuration: Attached to an infrastructure Surface (m2): 20 Width (m): 4 Length (m): 5

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core idea urban kitchens

landscape additions to site

supplementary site specific

gathering & sharing spaces

Lightweight bamboo plants lightens the structure of the heavy concrete mass above.

Japanese Tearooms proposed due to the numerous number of tea shops in the area.

A distinguish yet unified boundary between the public and the semiprivate spaces, by playing with the levellings

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Intervention Two

under the bridge

THE TIMBER MICRO TEAROOM

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A vision of the transformation of the alleyway, adding spaces over the existing structure

micro tearoom

collaborative effort of: ThinkCity

A community-focused urban regeneration organisation that aims to create more liveable, resilient and people-centric cities. wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Berhad (investment company of the government). They have been carrying out small scale regeneration projects throughout the city, such as pocket parks and repainted back alley.

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What If. ThinkCity rejuvenates the space under the bridge into semi-public micro tea-room, allowing the community with the designated member of a public application to use the space?

Post Office, Working Office Complex

Indication on the location of the places that influence the user group in the vicinity

Blue/White Collar Workers

building of lightweight structure

planting (collaborative based)

Pasar Seni LRT Station

Guesthouses

Travellers Passerbys

Visitors Tourist

idea generation and vision pitched by the architect

feedbacks given suiting the needs of the community

collaborative effort with local specialist and work labour by the community

utilization by community

Can the effort of the community bring about a better change in the area, setting a benchmark for localise participatory projects?

148

How does the creative common platform work? A digital and virtual platform allows users to gain access to the availability of each Micro - Tearoom. Users can then conduct their booking via the application and scan the bar code with the security lock of the door to access the venue.

Check Availability Scroll Tea Stores nearby & types of teas/snacks sold Purchase

Application allows for users to be registered to be able to enjoy the facilities used. A small maintenance fee will be deducted from the user per transaction.

Delivery by Third Party Select desired hours of booking

community kitchen unit

community teahouse

Book the available tearoom with a small fee

Scan to enter the place Common kitchen available for prepping

Enjoy the tea and the bonding session in the sharing space!

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Ground Floor Plan

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First Floor Plan

Alice just got off from work and is heading to the micro tearoom to meet up with her friends.

Plans & surrounding context

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Her friends have just arrived and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re heading up to the tearoom with their pot of tea in the evening.

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Axonometric view

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Sectional Perspective showing activities within the intervention The space above becomes a semiprivate space while the ground floor is kept public with seatings.

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“Sharing space as a community space” Alice noticed ThinkCity is starting to put up banners that they will be carrying out a project under the bridge, parasiting the huge columns. Her curiosity grew and not long after to her delight, they were building what she hoped for all this while! There is this new initiative to create sharing spaces within the community, and because of this unique site, it would be meant for somewhat like a Japanese tearoom, even well! All she had to do is download this new application, be a subscriber and she would be able to book and get the latest updates on news in the neighbourhood through that application, which is by the collective effort. She had successfully manage to book the next slot of the tearoom for the next two hours, while waiting for the jam hours to be over.

5:28PM 2 more minutes till 1730, Alice can’t wait to cross the bridge across her workplace and get together with her peers over a cup of tea, a biscuit, and many laughters.

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A vision of the light weight structured micro tearoom, with public space at the bottom, and semi-private on the top

t h e m i c ro te a ro o m

t h e e n d

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Intervention Three ”Let’s do something new on a Friday night” Location: Medan Pasar, Kuala Lumpur THE ABANDONED SHOPLOT

“Every product bought by a consumer has a precise story to tell” -Carlo Ratti

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Meet Rafizi This is a story about a working class individual in the city centre. It’s Friday and Rafizi is starting to feel restless after lunch. He is already thinking where to head to after working hours. On usual days, he hangs out with his friends after work at some bar/café or dessert shops after dinner. Occasionally he heads home to rest for the day as well.

”Let’s do something new on a Friday night” Rafizi is one of the many white collar individuals working in a prestigious bank in the city centre, with Masjid Jamek being the area where heritage buildings and banks are the most highly populated here. If you ask him, he actually likes the area he is working in, especially with the convenience of getting hawker food during lunchtime and the beautification of the area by the Klang River project. Masjid Jamek is vibrant and an interesting fusion of culture. The only downside of the area is that it soon becomes a soulless place during the nights, especially on Friday nights when everyone seems to be rushing out of the city causing massive jams. As he cracks his mind coming up with a decision on the meeting venue with his friends tonight, he thinks of the recipe suitable for a gathering of 4-5 people he saw a few days ago. You see, Rafizi loves to cook, but

the size of his house would not allow for a bigger group gathering. ‘

how nice would it be if I could cook a meal for my friends with that recipe’, he thought to himself. Rafizi is also one of the many that lives about 45 minutes away from his workplace, and one of the many causing and caught in the traffic routine hours. It would be such a hassle for everyone to meet in his small studio unit in the suburban, barely enough to fit 4-5 person. But on the bright side, he heard there is an upcoming urban kitchen project that is going to be introduced by ThinkCity on an abandoned building along Jalan Tun HS Lee, and of course he’s really looking forward to that and how it would change the way he gathers with his friends.

Finally, an urban kitchen.

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map indicating the context of the project site, highlighted in colours and explained.

heritage buildings includes sultan abdul samad , museums and administrative convert buildings

shopping & entertainment banking sector

nearly all banks are located within this area

public square

most prominent and used public square in the city

klang river on going river regeneration project

central market traditional arts & craft market

religious centres historical mosque and chinese temples

graffiti backalley potential spot for regeneraion

city bus terminal station buses from, to and within KL interchange here

site context abandoned shoplot @ Jalan Tun HS Lee public square (medan pasar) becomes the gathering spot for many activities, 3 minutes walk to Masjid Jamek

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public square

located in the vicinity of medan pasar & masjid jamek (confluence of the river)

back alley

main road

sketch section of the in between alley

graffiti alley

five foot pedestrian walkway friendly walkway

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Abandoned buildings left sitting amidst the busy main banking street,with the opprtunity of renovating it to become a pivot point for the users. mage source: jalan tun hs lee @ google maps

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image reference: photographed by author

Medan Pasar (Market Square) has been a prominent feature of the area, where market stalls would be in trading every Tuesday evening. Seatings and greeneries allows users to take a rest at the area

site analysis Medan Pasar @ Jalan Tun HS Lee

Distinct site features

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image reference: photographed by author

Traffic congestion has been one of an unevitable phenomena in the are due to the high density of professionals, especially in the banking sector. Pedestrain pathways are not being followed by the users due to the constant slow traffic congestion.

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urban infill sketch idea

the urban infill opens up both ways from the mainroad to the back alley

abandoned shoplot The location of this site is located at the edge of chinatown, with many locals residing in shoplots, where they would carry out their busines on the ground floor and live on the first. This are has business but yet retains the locality of it as residence would still minggle around in the evening. The site is of walking distance to chinatown but at the edge to one of the main highways of kl. Urban configuration:

Vernacular colonial era shophouse

Surface (m2): Width (m): Length (m):

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30 30 30

core idea urban kitchens

Fluid side buffer greenways

preservation of shoplot facade

layers of programmes

Lightweight timber structures will be used to form the teahouses that connects to the rooftop of the adjecent building.

Facade of the shoplot is being kept original while the spaces and structure are being modified.

Various programmes such as urban kitchens, digital supermarket and robotic arm restaurant would be injected into the project.

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Intervention Three

abandoned shoplot

THE URBAN INFILL MARKET

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A vision of the refurbishment of the exisiting abandoned shoplot coverted into an urban infill kitchen, supermarket and privately owned restaurant, yet keeping the fludity of pathway from the front main road to the back alley.

the urban infill market collaborative effort of: ThinkCity Tesco

A medium scale project, involving public organizations to private enterprises. Different levels have different functions but the ground floor of the proposal is kept freely movable and fluid. The digital supermarket and the robot restaurant are on the second and third floor respectively.

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What If. ThinkCity and Tesco joined venture to carry out a project for the public good and also the benefit of the organization by refurbishing an abandoned building to a public space on ground floor and private on the remaining?

Banks

Indication on the location of the places that influence the user group in the vicinity

White Collar Workers

Shops & Services Heritage Buildings

Blue Collar Workers

Visitors Tourist

ThinkCity & Jusco would join in collaboration to provide different layers of programme

collaboration and join venture

refurbishment

separation of hierarchy

refurbishment carried out, ground floor opened up for public fluidity

different layers of programme; urban kitchens, digital supermarket and eatery

utilization by community

Can the effort of the organizations and enterprise bring about a new injection of activities that could spark the interest of the public to gather? 170

How does the creative common platform work? A digital and virtual platform allows users to gain access to the availability of the urban infill kitchens, from different scales (2-6 person) suited for different users & occasions.

Urban Kitchens

Digital Supermarket

Check Availability Scroll groceries available with information shown

The application also allows for purchasing of grocery items from the application, and the choice of delivery to the kitchen or to the user within a given radius of vicinity. The information of the products are also shown on each of them items purchased.

Make informed decisions on purchase Purchase using application

restaurant eatery

public kitchen unit

Delivery by Third Party or send to the urban kitchen when booking supermarket grocery

Select desired hours of booking Book the available kitchen with a small fee

Scan to enter the place

Fully equip kitchen available for cooking and dining

Enjoy the food with guided recipe and a good dining area!

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Backalley Ground Floor Plan

Plans & surrounding context Rafizi is heading to the urban infill kitchen after his work, preparing to get some groceries the floor above

Main Road

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First Floor Plan

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Second Floor Plan

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Axonometric view Rafiziâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s friends meets up with him in the restaurant before heading to the urban infill kitchen to cook a meal together.

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First Floor: DIGITAL SUPERMARKET collaboration with Tesco The Vision

“Today, this information reaches the consumer in a fragmented way. But in the near future, we will be able to discover everything there is to know about the apple we are looking at: the tree it grew on, the CO2 it produced, the chemical treatments it received, and its journey to the supermarket shelf.”11 - Carlo Ratti The digital supermarket studies the exploration of how data can promote more informed – and hopefully more sustainable – consumption patterns among consumers. It incorporates facilities such as interactive food tables, smart shelves and real time data visualizations, which will inform shoppers about the origins and characteristics of particular foodstuffs,promoting more informed consumption habits. At the Supermarket of the Future, more than 6,000 products are displayed on large interactive tables. As a shopper puts her hand close to a product, extra information about the food appears on a suspended digital mirror above – as in seamless augmented reality. Through these “augmented labels”, each product can communicate its nutritional properties, its origin, the presence of allergens, waste disposal instructions, correlated products and promotions and other

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data, potentially encouraging a stronger use of fresh, local products, and even new social links among people. Using Xbox Kinect technology, customers simply point to learn more about particular foods, their nutritional information, and how and where they were grown and harvested.

After all, every product has a story.

11. Carlo Ratti, Supermarket of the Future, http://www.carloratti.com/project/supermarket-of-the-future/. Accessed 24 May 2018

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Sectional Perspective showing activities within the intervention The ground floor opens up the main road to the backalley, with smaller scale kitchens. The second floor is a digital supermarket idea and the third floor is a bar and restaurant.

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”Let’s do something new on a Friday night” Fast forward 6 months later when the urban kitchen project by ThinkCity, Jusco and a private company is completed, indeed it really changed the way Rafizi gathers with his friends these days. After working hours, instead of being stucked in the traffic, he is just walking distance away from the kitchen and grocery he has ordered and booked where he starts cooking, a de=stressing activity for him after a long day. With the convenience of the application, he can just order the grocery from the grocery store upstairs, and they would prepare it even before he reaches. The grocery is especially informative and he on some days he would drop by just to get his groceries before leaving home. The café/restaurant at the third floor is also a great place to be in the evenings with his friends, especially when there’s such an interesting robot cooking for you. The injection of this project brought back some vibrancy to the place even after working hours.

5:28PM Rafizi’s face suddenly lightens up, when he scrolls though a recipe that caught his attention. He decided, he’s going to cook ayam masak merah with nasi lemak tonight.

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A vision of the refurbished shoplot, opening up the main road to the backalley

t h e u r b a n i n f i l l m a r ke t

t h e e n d

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Intervention Four “A future urban vision” Location: Klang River, Masjid Jamek THE RIVER BANKS

“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” -Jane Jacobs

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Meet Sulaiman & Jocelyn This is a story about an urban vision of the city. Sulaiman and Jocelyn are urban planners working in the town planning department (DBKL). In fact, a few projects have been going on in the city recently, bringing about an obvious change in how people respond to the project. To Sulaiman’s surprise as he was heading back home one day, he found the migrants and the locals sitting about in the same area on the seatings provided. It has never been so for quite some time, imagine how shocked and delighted he was! Bring about a good project, and people would respond well.

”A Future Urban Vision for the city” That is why upon seeing the projects that have been completed in punctual points within the vicinity of Medan Pasar and Petaling that have been receiving great response by the public, they’re starting to discuss on the expedition of the idea of this urban kitchens. And this time, a visionary one, by acting upon the completion of the cleaning and beautification of the river. The on-going river project is estimated to complete by 2020, and by then presumably the river would be cleaner with paved projects. However there isn’t any bigger scale infrastructural/ landscaping going on yet upon completion, and perhaps this might be one of the proposals that could make the area more vibrant throughout a longer span of timeline. People are responding well to the idea of cooking together as a means of gathering/bonding, not just to counter being stuck in traffic, but also as

a bonding activity over the weekends or in the afternoon on a rest day. It seems that people are coming back into the city on weekends to run a series of errands, and this made into their list of programmes for the day. This idea could be brought to a bigger urban scale level whereby the river banks becomes the pilot point where the life of the city could start from. Imagine if the urban kitchens are being built and the community citizens uses the kitchens, creating not only more job opportunities but allows for more room of opportunities. Maybe one day the river could be a new mode of transportation and small scale trading for fresh goods, just like how it was back in the old days where everything binds back to the river as the spine of the city, how visionary would that be!

What is then, the future of shared spaces in KL?

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map indicating the context of the project site, highlighted in colours and explained.

heritage buildings includes sultan abdul samad , museums and administrative convert buildings

shopping & entertainment banking sector

nearly all banks are located within this area

public square

most prominent and used public square in the city

klang river on going river regeneration project

central market traditional arts & craft market

religious centres historical mosque and chinese temples

empty plot (undeveloped land) becomes an eyesore and a messy plot for the site

city bus terminal station buses from, to and within KL interchange here

site context river bank @ near masjid jamek confluence walkway provided from the lrt all the way to the confluence of the river (masjid jamek)

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located in the vicinity of medan pasar & masjid jamek (confluence of the river)

sketch section of the river banks

constrcution site (on-going project)

klang river

river banks

pedestrian walkway

central market (side profile)

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Condition of the river banks leading to the confluence (masjid jamek), where river beautification and repair works are on-going image source: photographed by author

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image reference: photographed by author

Walkways with good maintenance are being provided by the local authority of KL, from the LRT station of Pasar Seni to the bridge just before Masjid Jamek.Walkway leads to a viewdeck where it is the point the LRT goes from above ground to underground.

site analysis Klang River towards Masjid Jamek @ Jalan Benteng

Distinct site features

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image reference: photographed by author

Public seatings being provided for the convinience of the people, because of the river regeneration project. Seatings are provided facing the river, suitable for

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floating kitchens sketch idea

floating communual kitchen hut

klang river banks The location of this site along the walk from Pasar Seni LRT station to Masjid Jamek. An empty undeveloped land is on one side, and central market on the other. This river bank has the potential to connect both the sites, and make the undeveloped land more vibrant for further developement. The site is of walking distance to the heritage building area, the central market and the edge of Chinatown.

Urban configuration:

along the banks of the river

Surface (m2): Width (m): Length (m):

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30 30 30

core idea urban kitchens

bridging the gap

supplementary site specific

gathering & sharing spaces

Lightweight timber structures will be used to form the teahouses that connects to the rooftop of the adjecent building.

Japanese tearooms and reading corners are encourged due to the high amount of youth in the area.

Levelling splits the hierarchy of the proposal, where the locals have the benefit for the higher platforms.

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Intervention Four

river banks

THE FLOATING KITCHENS

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A vision of the implementation of urban kitchens along the river banks, by providing simple kitchen structures and seatings along the water.

the floating kitchens collaborative effort of:

City Council Kuala Lumpur ThinkCity

An larger urban scale project, involving acting on the completion of the on-going revier cleaning & beautification project. City Council has taken the initiative to expand on the idea of urban kitchens to promote its citizen to remain in the city for a longer period of time, revitalizing the activities of the city.

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What If. KL City Council acted upon the completion of the river cleaning project by introducing urban kitchens as community sharing spaces within the city fabric?

White Collar Workers

Indication on the location of the places that influence the user group in the vicinity

Blue Collar Workers

Visitors Tourist

Artist & Craft Makers

Heritage Building Staffs

cleaning & beautification of river idea generation and vision pitched by the architect

surveys and feedback from public

building of floating kitchens

collaboration between dbkl and organizations

utilization by community

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feedbacks given suiting the needs of the community

collaborative effort with local specialist and work labour by the community

How does the creative common platform work? A digital and virtual platform allows users to gain access to the availability of each floating kitchen. Users can then conduct their booking via the application and scan the bar code with the security lock of the door to access the venue.

Floating Kitchens

Digital Supermarket

Boat Sellers

Scroll groceries available with information shown

Fresh catches available for sale

Make informed decisions on purchase

Purchase

Check Availability

Application allows for users to be registered to be able to enjoy the facilities used. A small maintenance fee will be deducted from the user per transaction.

Purchase using application

Physically present to choose and collect

Delivery or send to the floating kitchen when booking floating kitchen units

floating baking units

Select desired hours of booking Book the available kitchen with a small fee

Scan to enter the place public gathering seatings along river banks

Fully equip kitchen available for cooking and baking

Enjoy the food with guided recipe and a good dining area!

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Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been two months since the floating kitchens are built, Sulaiman, Jocelyn and two others decided to pay a visit to it.

Plans & surrounding context

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Axonometric view The river now seems so much more vibrant, with activities going on up the platform and down at the banks

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Sectional Perspective showing activities within the intervention Floating kitchen units have two different types of cooking and baking, depending on the needs of the users. Both have similar space and space for gathering.

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Can the effort of the town council retain citizens within the city centre while providing new injection of setting in spaces?

â&#x20AC;?A Future Urban Vision for the cityâ&#x20AC;? Of course, both the public and private sectors need to work on these things concurrently, not one at a time. All these elements have to come together, to bring about a wholeness in the results that the city council hopes for. If that would ever be possible, KL would be interesting and hopefully enough to attract its citizens back to the city to simply enjoy it. More pilot projects would have to run concurrently and this could be one good proposal that proved to work, and then maybe an even bigger scale vision of various projects could aid in the revitalization of the city.

This, is just the start of how we can look at sharing spaces in cities.

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A vision of the floating kirchens along the river banks as idividual but overall interconnected units

t h e f lo a t i n g k i tc h e n s

t h e e n d

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AN OVERALL VISION FOR THE CITY The proposal of urban kitchens in spots in the city encourages citizens to stay back after working hours, making the city vibrant for a longer period of time throughout the week, reducing the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ghost townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; phenomena Kuala Lumpur city is experiencing.

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The sharing idea is not new, in fact it is the opposite of new. Yet being able to bring out its full value requires the consolidation of a web connection and the users, working smarter together. Take what already works and tweak it to work with the needs of the context, and in this case, creating urban kitchens. Urban commons is an example of an alternative solution to address the doughnut effect phenomena in Kuala Lumpur’s context, and what changes a collective network could bring about. If the similar could be applied in informal housing, mobility within the city or even blue-green infrastructures, what then would be the physical changes the city would go through? Perhaps then it would be true to say,

“The next big thing… will be many small things.”

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

“About Wikihouse Foundation”. 2018. Wikihouse. https://wikihouse.cc/about. Campos, Arruda. 2000. “Urban Public Spaces: A Study Of The Relation Between Spatial Configuration And Use Patterns”. Doctoral thesis, University of London (UCL). Campos, Arruda. 2000. “Urban Public Spaces: A Study Of The Relation Between Spatial Configuration And Use Patterns”. Doctoral thesis, University of London (UCL). Cox, Wendell. “The Evolving Urban Form: Kuala Lumpur.” Eyes From the Street – The Neighbourhood Fabric That Matters | Newgeography.com. Accessed June 25, 2018. http://www.newgeography.com/content/003395the-evolving-urban-form-kuala-lumpur. Dapaah, Kwame Addae. 1999. “Utilization Of Urban Residential Land: A Case Study Of Singapore”. Doctor Thesis, National University of Singapore. Eliot, George. 2016. The Mill On The Floss. New York: Open Road Integrated Media. Florida, Richard. 2012. The Rise Of The Creative Class. 2nd ed. New York: Basic Books, Perseus Book Group. Gehl, Jan, and Jo Koch. 2011. Life Between Buildings. Washington, DC [etc.]: Island Press. Hartmann, Gunnar. 2015. Redesign. Ebook. Berlin: DIA Architecture School, Anhalt University. https://issuu.com/dialive/docs/redesign.

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Hertzberger, Herman. 1991. Lessons For Students In Architecture. 1st ed. Rotterdam: Uitgeverij 010. Jacobs, Jane. 1961. The Death And Life Of Great American Cities. New York: Vintage Books. Lim, Jeffrey. 2016. Improving The Streets Of Downtown Kuala Lumpur. Ebook. 1st ed. Kuala Lumpur: ThinkCity. https://isd25.wordpress.com/. Lyn, Koh Cha-. The Secret Atlas of Greater Kuala Lumpur. THINK CITY, 2017. Martin. “Doughnut Effect.” Cleverism. Accessed June 25, 2018. https://www. cleverism.com/lexicon/doughnut-effect. Neuwirth, Robert. 2006. Shadow Cities. New York: Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group). Parvin, Alastair. 2013. Architecture For The People By The People. Video. Long Beach, California: TEDtalks. Rifkin, Jeremy. 2018. “The Rise Of The Internet Of Things And The Race To A Zero Marginal Cost Society”. Huffpost. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ jeremy-rifkin/internet-of-things_b_8306112.html. Rifkin, Jeremy. 2015. Zero Marginal Cost Society. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

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Saunders, Doug. 2012. Arrival City. New York: Vintage Books, a Division of Random House, Inc. Seng Fatt, Wong. 2011. Walkability And Community Identity In The City Centre Of Kuala Lumpur. Ebook. 1st ed. Melbourne: University of Melbourne, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning. https://books.google.de/books/about/ Walkability_and_Community_Identity_in_th.html?id=8kssuAAACAAJ&redir_ esc=y. Speck, Jeff. 2013. Walkable City. New York: North Point Press. Steward, Brand. 1994. How Buildings Learn. 1st ed. New York: Penguin Books. Toffler, Alvin. 1980. The Third Wave. 1st ed. United States: Bantam Books.

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Thesis Design Studio 2017-18 Studio Master Gunnar Hartmann Second Thesis Advisor Joris Fach Printing Kopie Und Druck, Dessau Copyright the author, photographers and designers ÂŠ 2018

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VIRTUAL COMMONS

sharing homes

sharing traffic information

unused field plot sharing car rides hibernation sharing lifestyles problem: ground for insects, attracting the homeless, lack of recreational space in the neighbourhood

With the internet today, it is possible to share any and every aspect of your life, in trade for personal gains or the gains of the public.

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virtual common what if there was a virtual platform where everyone could share ideas and initiatives to work on an urban scale?

Design templates are created using a Google Sketchup plug-in

Print templates with CNC machine

urban commons what if everyone shared responsibility and initiative for a common usage?

Final step - the structure is then ready for insulation, cladding, sealing and wiring

Cladding is screwed onto the assembled frame

what if everyone had a piece? 217

set of possibilities what then, are the set of possibilities everyone might have in mind? facilities

workout

skate

playground

structure

greenhouse

pergola

wooden deck

amenities

recycle bins

dog pit

benches

plants

trees

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vegetables

bushes

Many with a bit, and when they do, they bring with them a completely different set of values about the place that they want to live.

I hope my neighbourhood provides me with the sport facility that I need so I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to head to the gym to carry out simple cardio excercise

I just want a good playground for both my children to enjoy themselves, without worrying about their safety

for me, I just want a good park where I can take an evening stroll with my dog

that is where ideas from the collective sprout

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