(2020) Thesis Design Portfolio

CITY AS ECOSYSTEMS, ARCHITECTURE AS SCAFFOLD CITY AS ECOSYSTEMS, ARCHITECTURE AS SCAFFOLD CITY AS ECOSYSTEMS, ARCHITECTURE AS SCAFFOLD

The city and its architecture serving as a scaffold to regenerate ecosystems and to empower stewardship for social and urban resilience in future urban neighbourhoods

The city and its architecture serving as a scaffold regenerate ecosystems and to empower stewardship for social and urban resilience in future urban neighbourhoods

The city and its architecture serving as a scaffold to regenerate ecosystems and to empower stewardship for social and urban resilience in future urban neighbourhoods

ISSUE TWO

ISSUE TWO

By Chen Candice Thesis Supervisor Associate Professor Mr Fung John Chye

Chen Candice By Chen Candice Thesis Supervisor

Associate Professor Mr Fung John Chye

By Chen Candice Thesis Supervisor Associate Professor Mr Fung John Chye

Certified by:

The city and its architecture serving as a scaffold to regenerate ecosystems and to empower stewardship for social and urban resilience in future urban neighbourhoods

City as Ecosystem, Architecture as Scaffold by Chen Ting Yan, Candice A0138725Y

Architectural Design Report submitted to the Department of Architecture in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of

MASTERS OF ARCHITECTURE At the National University of Singapore 2nd May 2020

Signature of Author: CHEN TING YAN, CANDICE

Department of Architecture Associate Professor Mr Fung John Chye Architectural Design Report

CITY AS ECOSYSTEMS

Design Strategies

Homeostasis Living | Biophilic Design | Stewardships

pg.05

ARCHITECTURE AS SCAFFOLD

Architecture Typologies

The Emergent | The Canopy | The Undergrowth The Estuaries The Coral Lagoon

Design Booklet • • • • • • • •

Appendix Preliminary Research & Drawings

pg.55 pg.132

CITY AS ECOSYSTEMS

• • • •

Climate-induced changes are predominantly a resultant of: a) urbanisation from intense human activities that damage the natural ecosystems; b) top-down national policies that disempower community engagement and affect the fostering of social resilience and; c) the city and its functions that dominates the natural ecosystem which causes irreversible damage.

HOMEOSTASIS LIVING

The proposal of a new paradigm of homeostatic architecture is to achieve a system of dynamic equilibrium between the community, the neighbourhood and ecosystems to attain climate resilience. The ‘Natural Relation’ between architecture and its inhabitants is lost through the homogenized experience in every identical neighbourhood that does little other than perpetuating the notion of placelessness and a lack of ownership (Habraken, 2000).

Apart from theoretical studies of homeostasis in architecture and ecosystems, research and projects in Singapore has also shown the possibility of coexistence of natural habitats and species and people with a common urban space. Such as the “Grow-a-Reef Garden” also demonstrates the viability of regeneration of the natural ecosystems by enhancing the marine biodiversity for tidal habitats in the waters surrounding Sister’s Island.

BIOPHILIC DESIGN

Biophilic design embodies the elements of environmental features, natural shapes and forms, natural patterns and processes, light and space, place-based relationships and finally, human-nature relationships. The prevailing architectural designs are lacking in the aspects of place-based and human-nature relationships. The fifth element — place-based relationship, refers to an effective connection of the community and culture with ecology in a geographical context where people establish control and ownership of a place (Kellert and Calabrese, 2008). Place-based relationships consist of eleven attributes as follows: geographic; historic; ecological and cultural connections to place; indigenous materials; landscape orientation; landscape features that define building forms; landscape ecology; integration of culture and ecology; spirit of place; and avoiding the issue of placelessness.

STEWARDSHIP ROLES & PLACEMAKING

The significance of community empowerment is an essential in dense urban neighbourhoods, by allowing people to be more sustainable in two situations: a) communities to become less reliant on additional services and support; and b) communities to be more enticing as places to stay and live with (Kearns, 2016). The pursuit of community empowerment through the model framework might result in one or more of these three predicted outcomes: a) a shift in power and control towards the community; b) identifiable participation in decision-making; and c) monitoring processes; —all practical changes essential to meet a community’s needs and aspirations in fast-paced urban living. Community empowerment can be fostered through the concept of stewardship by allocating responsibilities to individuals and communities according to their capacity to spark either intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.

ARCHITECTURE

AS SCAFFOLD

Architecture typologies designed are; a) The Emergent, b) The Canopy, c) The Undergrowth, d) The Estuaries and e) The Coral Lagoon, to illustrate the key design strategies of; a) homeostasis living, b) biophilic design and c) empowerment of stewardship roles for the regeneration of ecosystems and empowerment of socialurban resilience. The masterplan investigation serves to define the contextual backdrop for the architectural thesis to be developed: Architecture as Scaffold. Greater Southern Waterfront was the given site with the premise of this project stretching from Pasir Panjang to Marina East, which will be transformed into a new major gateway and location for urban living along Singapore’s southern coast. Through the site analysis the Keppel Terminal (105 ha) and Brani Terminal (84 ha) were studied for threats and opportunities that were hypothesized to best illustrate the thesis proposal of ‘City as Ecosystem, Architecture as Scaffold’ to combat climate-induced changes

THE EMERGENT

The emergent is the key typology that connects the car-lite town through autonomous transport & monorail systems. It is the main source of solar and waste collection through solar panels and anarobic digestors that generates electricity and biogas to be distributed to other around the neighbourhood through other typologies, which provides electricity and biogas for cooking. Through organic waste collection, it prompts users of this mixed use space of commercial, offices and educational programs to take on stewardship roles of waste sorting.

Other stewardship roles incorporated for a more self-sufficient and efficient neighbourhood are: aeroponic farming of herbs and vegetable along the naturally ventilated steel frame structure and poultry farm and production line, where both creates jobs and food security for the community. The architecture also incorporates an aviary deck above the biogas tank for birds to seek shelter and food in, providing a homeostasis living between people and biodiversities. Ecologically wise, a central green park is integrated within the core as a structure to purify air around the neighbourhood through the lush greeneries.

THE CANOPY

The canopy typology works as a connected system of fours, which activates as a canopy protection for the neighbourhood during extreme heat and rain. Stewards are able to activate the canopy through the hanging cables that will roll out the tensile fabric from the highest connection point of the four canopy structute. Additionally, these cables also doubles up as a water collection scaffold in our humid climate, which will be collected through condensation, stored within the towers for water purification and distributed around the neighbourhood for various usage. Community housing for the elderly are also integrated within the canopy typology.

Jobs and stewardship roles are also introduced in the canopy typology, by which the community are able to take on roles in the community kitchen, food preparation, storage and production line. Through the horizontal paternoster system, it connects the canopy and the emergent. As for the vertical system, the ground area are retained for urban farming, where the harvested crops are transported upwards through the paternoster lifts to be stored within the canopy typology. Urban bee farming are also integrated within the farming area that serves as a pollinators to the crops and fruit trees.

THE UNDERGROWTH

The undergrowth is an architecture scaffold for a homeostasis living for both human and biodiversity such as birds, butterflies, squirrels and more. The truss frame structure that supports each housing levels provides inhabitation spaces that can be filled with undisturbed lush greenery that provides a source of food and shelter for the biodiversity. On top of that, it creates a new housing typology that provides a land in the sky typology for each housing level, where every inhabitant gets to play stewardship roles for self-sufficiency of food through cultivation of vegetables, herbs and fruits, either in their own private gardens located right outside of their units or in the communal edible gardens. By doing so, it helps to improve the environment for both humans and biodiversity. The typology also minimize impacts on the ground with only four 3m wide structure, with a total of 45,000 housholds.

THE ESTUARIES

Serves as a communal rejuvenating and retreat for physical and mental wellness. Visitors and neighbours of the community are able to get involved in aeroponic herbs cultivation, herbal baths and herbal meals. Other systems include: collection of solar energy, water desalination and reverse osmosis to power microclimate spaces.

THE CORAL LAGOON

The coral lagoon serves as a series of chalet housing that provides a waterfront living experience for everyone. This typology floats with only 2 monolite suction caisson piling piled to the seabed, which response to the rising sea levels that also helps to minimize coastal damage as compared to land reclamation works. The coral lagoon typology also doubles up as a scaffold for the regeneration of marine habitat, with coral incubators integrated 1m below the surface of sea level surface for corals to grow on its structure that mimics the nook and crannies of natural seabeds. Other programs include aquaculture, seafood market and watersports that creates ecotourism, jobs and stewardship roles for the neighbours to take on while providing for a homeostasis living for both human and the marine biodiversity.