Bismi-llahi r-rahmani r-rahim “In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate�
RESURGENCE by CM Ayesha Suha
A thesis book for the Final Architectural Project submitted to the Department of Architecture, School of Architecture, Art, and Design, American University in Dubai In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Architecture Fall 2020
Copyright Š 2020 by CM Ayesha Suha All rights reserved
Approval of the Thesis Book for Final Architectural Project Department of Architecture, School of Architecture, Art, and Design, American University in Dubai
ABSTRACT
RESURGENCE Repopularizing Old Dubai
Student Signature:
Professor Name: Abdellatif A Qamhaieh Date Professor Signature:
Resurgence is about de-segregating old Dubai and re-popularizing Old Dubai. This work tries to reverse the neighborhood decline by bringing back the Emiratis to their ancestral home and all segments of society by mixing all societal classes. Along with changing times, a lot of these middle-class families moved out of the area. The aim here is to rehabilitate the area to blend with the existing culture and Heritage, bring back Emiratis, reverse the cycle, and balance sustainable living demographics. After all, the UAE is where culture meets, even with changing times
DEDICATION I dedicate this book to my parents, C.M Ibrahim my father and P.P Shaheela my mother, for always believing in their daughter.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to thank almighty Allah (swt) for his grace in accomplishing this thesis book. I am also thankful to my studio professor Abdellatif Qamhaieh from the core of my heart for his kind support, guidance, constructive supervision, instructions, advice, for motivating me and encouraging me in this entire process. I want to thank my whole CMI familymy parents, sisters, brother, brother-in-laws, and my adorable nephews and niece for their constant love and support. Last but not least, my friends especially Jov, Dish, and Mehak for taking every leap with me (JDM). Hiba and Meera for all their love.
Introduction
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Decline
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9
9.1
2.1
Definition
2.2
Decline in Dubai
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Resurgence
3.1
Definition
3.2
Resurgence in Dubai
9.2
Dubai & Contrast
4.1
Dubai Then
4.2
Dubai Now
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Neighborhood Evolution.
5.1
Distinct Development Pattern
5.2
1980s & Present Neighborhoods
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Neighborhood Decline.
6.2
Urban Village MM Residential Tower [Beirut, Lebanon] The Museum Hotel [Antakya, Turkey]
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The Water House at South Bund [Shanghai, China]
9.5
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House For Architectural Heritage [Al-Muharraq, Bahrain]
9.6
Dafang Creative Village [Ganzhou, China]
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Program Development
10.1
Case Studies Program
10.2
Derived Program
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Site Analysis
11.1
Introduction
How and Why?
11.2
Context Analysis
6.3
Social Issues.
11.3
Site Selection
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Housing
7.1
Built Landscape: Traditional
7.2
Built Landscape: Contemporary
6.1
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8.1
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What is it?
Resurging Community Resurgence in Architecture Co-Relates to Resurgence in Communities
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[Ganzhou, China]
9.3
3
Case Studies
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Concept Finding
12.1
Concept 1
12.2
Concept 2
12.3
Concept 3
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CONENT
TABLE OF
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INTRODUCTION
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With changing times and progression taking place, Dubai has been dispersed into segmented fragments. Dubai has now been divided into two parts: Old Dubai and New Dubai. UAE consists of only about 20% of Emiratis, making it home to one of the world’s highest migrants. 28% and 12% of the total population are Indian and Pakistani expatriate groups in the country, and they are the largest (Snoj, 2010). With Urban growth, Old Dubai has been consumed by working-class and low-income families and individuals. At this point, not enhancing and reversing the neighborhood decline will make Old Dubai indeed a lost Arabian land to the Emiratis.
Being an ancestral land with cultural value, Old Dubai holds the memories of an era that pre-date the Emirates’ federation. Moreover, even though Dubai is home to Emiratis, there are barely any Emiratis in Old Dubai. If we go around this place, all we will notice is low-income housing, tourism centers, abandoned office buildings, devalued parking lots, and much more.
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What happened is that people got wealthy, they bought cars, and it is evident that neighborhoods like Old Dubai did not match their lifestyle since it was not accommodating enough. So as time passed by, people changed and moved to better porch areas. New buildings came up in a new location, to name a few, Jumeirah, Za’abeel, Khawaneej, Al-Barsha, and people kept moving on, thus making older areas less critical. In this process, Dubai got divided into, places for the wealthy and affluent, and the other mainly known as Old Dubai, for the low income and needy. In Arab nations, the urban fabric of old cities has drastically shifted for the past few decades. In the area, medieval Islamic towns had an endogenous urban fabric that displayed a high degree of national solidarity and unification. However, these cities’ new urban fabric does not show any ethnic identity, cohesion, or solidarity (Alawadi & Benkraouda, 2019). In this thesis I am trying to prove that Resurgence in Architecture Co-Relates to Resurgence in Communities.
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DECLINE
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“Nothing stands still - everything is being born, growing, dying - the very instant a thing reaches its height, it begins to decline - the law of rhythm is in constant operations” -(Initiates, 1998)
Decline noun
de·cline | \ di-klīn, dē- also dē-klīn \ Definition of decline : the period during which something is deteriorating or approaching its end (Webster.Merriam, 1597)
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2.2 Decline in Dubai Dubai downtown and some favorite neighborhoods are flourishing, the overwhelming majority of urban communities in Old Dubai are getting worse, and there is a noticeable yet possibly reversible decline. Not enough people link the dots between the pitiful and deteriorating condition of many urban communities in Old Dubai.
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Urban environments are being reworked and developed at an enormous pace and scale, which regularly precludes forethought and justification. In Dubai, for example, various mega-scale developments were built in record time without integration into the prevailing urban fabric. Examining Dubai’s urban growth is, at the same time, astonishing. Urbanization and growth have worked rapidly for Dubai simultaneously. With this tremendous growth and consolidation of mega-scale urbanism, the working class’s scale has skyrocketed, resulting in massive social-cultural transformation and challenges, particularly in Dubai’s central districts. This particular part of Dubai has seen a significant neighborhood decline and causes concern (Elsheshtawy, 2010)
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According to Alawadi (2014), since its founding, Dubai has attracted a wide range of immigrants, primarily from Persia, the Indian sub-continent, and the Philippines. According to Al Qassemi, Emiratis are a ‘shrinking minority’ whose national identity is drastically insecure due to many expatriates. Dubai claims to be the urbanized and most industrialized city of the UAE and claims to be the highest percentage of expatriates to nationals any country has ever seen. As the immigrant community has increased, concerns about the working-class community’s size, whose members live in the city’s old districts, and work in the service and retail sectors. To improve their family’s living standards, many have left their home countries, their families, their spouses, their kids just to seek work in Dubai (Alawadi, 2014).
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When we see Dubai, we see it as a city of sophistication and distinguish the people accordingly. When a tourist visits Dubai, the first thing they wish to see is the Culturally known Old Dubai and the vast Heritage it has to offer. However, how the same neighborhood is declining in the manner of living is disregarded. It is merely known as a ‘Tourist Destination.’
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The decline of Old Dubai neighborhoods is becoming less important in the lives of Emiratis in general. For various reasons, initially, it was the mobility of urban society. Later, under the influence of globalization, the further internationalization of the economy, and the rapid development of the Internet and social media, the locals became less important than the expatriates who have now become the dominant discourse.
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3
RESURGENCE
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“A warrior confronts colonialism with the truth to regenerate authenticity and recreate a life worth living and principles worth dying for. The struggle is to restore connections severed by the colonial
machine. The victory is an integrated personality, a cohesive community, and the restoration of respectful and harmonious relationships”
(Alfred. Taiaaiake, 1990)
Resurgence noun
re·sur·gence | \ ri-ser-jen(t)s \ Definition of resurgence : a rising again into life, activity, or prominence (Merriam, 1798)
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3.2 Resurgence in Dubai With Dubai’s ever-growing Map and the Map's constant rewriting, it shows a great deal of the rapid revolutionary resurgence in Dubai. Projects in Dubai are focused on the identification of numerous multi-billion dollar drives to develop itself as a center for leisure, services, and trade in the Gulf. According to the author Elshestawy, the creation of Dubai included an increasingly ‘strong’ architectural style. Moreover, this can be seen from the colossal success of famous attraction icons such as the Palm Islands, The Burj Al Arab, Burj Khalifa, Golf Estates, and many more (Elsheshtawy, 2010). With the changing skylines, the city is changing due to the numerous projects along the highway stretches. As a result, to provide increased sources of revenue or rather an attempt for the future is how these rapid developments have emerged. Let us just say a constant resurgence of sophisticated areas to attract more multi-billion dollar projects. Figure 1:Dubai Evolution: Then And Now
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4
DUBAI & CONTRAST
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“The urban history of towns and cities is more than a history of concrete objects. It is constantly transformed into an entire system of signification. The image of the city extends beyond the city itself to its articulation, in precise and distinctive ways, to the abstract concept of the state, government, society, and economic activities� (Chaudhari. K.N, 1990)
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A Visual History 4.1 Dubai Then: Neighborhoods In The Past Every city has a struggling past and to study the growth of Dubai. We must take a look at how Dubai came into existence as a booming city. In the 1800s, the Maktoum family, the new rulers of Dubai, were part of the ‘Wave of Refugees’ who had chosen to distinguish themselves from Abu Dhabi. Then they took Dubai as their homeland. In the 1800s, economic exchange increased, with income generation through mercantile activities in the Souq and fishing and pearling, resulting in greater urbanization prosperity.
Around the end of the eighteenth century, the population was assessed to be around three thousand. To the east of the Al Fahidi Fort, mixed descent merchants were given land to build their own houses. The district became known as Bastakiya because many of the settlers came from Bastak, part of the sub-province of Lâr in the province of Fârs (Iran) (Elsheshtawy, 2010).
Figure 2: Map of Dubai, 1822
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Traditionally, the reigning sheik lived here, and the late Sheik Saeed’s house is still standing. Shindagha was possibly the site of the original village of Bani Yas. The two main sections – Deira and Bur Dubai – were linked by Ferries. During the unique development phases and the pearl industry's upcoming success, Dubai's urban-type has reacted to different migrants and demographics. Due to this, from a single unit from Al-Fahidi to a group of housing units, Dubai transformed.
Figure 3: Al Fahidi Fort 1960s
When Dubai came to be known back in the 1990s, it was divided into mainly three regions. Based on community factors, namely, residential, commercial, and governmental. The Creek was divided into two, Deira on the Eastside, known for commercial affairs, and Bur Dubai, known for governmental affairs on the west. In between the sea near the Creek was the third piece of land called Shindhaga, which was for residential use, and between this piece of land was a stretch called Ghubaiba.
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Figure 4: Old Dubai 1960s
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Figure 2: Map of Old Dubai
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In the post-oil-discovery period, around the 1960s, many laborers visited Dubai for a short work period time. It was thought that accommodation for these low-wage workers had to be separated because introducing many bachelors into established societies was frowned upon and considered unacceptable (Pacione, 2005). Dubai’s population alarmingly constituted almost 50% of Immigrant labor (Alawadi, 2014). Though they had no political power within Dubai’s civil society, these workers still had a cultural impact. According to Elsheshtawy, the influx of these ‘foreigners’ strengthened locals' identity concerning the immigrants, creating a sense of nationalism. Also, ‘Dubayyans’ perceived themselves as superior to the northern sheikhdoms (Ras al Khaimah, Ajman, Um al Quwain) due to their economic privilege (Elsheshtawy, 2004).
Figure 5, 6: Date seller, 1950s, Pearlers rowing
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Figure 7, 8: Kids in Old Dubai neighborhood 1950s Dows in Dubai Creek, 1950s
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Figure 9,10 :Traders in Old Dubai, 1950s
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Figure 11, 12: Traders in Dubai, 1950s Dubai Creek, 1950s
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Figure 13, 14 :Old Dubai 1950s
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Figure 15,16 : Old Dubai 1950s
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Figure 17, 18 :Old Dubai 1950s
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The government then had to intervene and take necessary steps to develop housings for the residents, and that is when in 1968, they implemented the ‘National Housing Scheme.’ During this time, there came into existence two new areas, namely Karama and Satwa. These areas were required for those expatriate workers who were needed for projects envisaged by Sheikh Rashid. He realized they were going to need accommodation, which was in short supply at the time.
To that end, with a substantial portion of the development being deliberately built as low-income homes, for the first time, buildings getting water directly piped in and supplied with electricity. Most of this housing remains today with rents at prices well below the market rate. However, most of the buildings have either been demolished or are being torn down. The entire Satwa area was expected to be razed but spared, at least for the time being, due to the recession that hit late 2008 (Ali, 2010).
Figure 19, 20 :Old Dubai 1950s
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Figure 21, 22: Old Dubai 1960s Men gather in al-Naif souq, one of the oldest traditional markets in Dubai
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Figure 23, 24: Old Dubai 1960s The Clocktower roundabout in the neighbourhood of Deira
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Figure 25: Old Dubai 1960s Shoppers flood the walkways of an open market in Deira
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Figure 26, 27 : Old Dubai 1960s-An open market in downtown Dubai Bur Dubai - the historical heart of the city, translated as ‘mainland Dubai’
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Figure 28,29 :Dubai 1960s
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Figure 30,31 :Dubai 1960s
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Figure 32,33, : Dubai 1970s
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Figure 34,35 : Dubai 1970s
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Figure 36, 37 : Dubai 1970s
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Figure 38,39: Dubai 1970s
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With this intervention of subsidizing plots for the city’s citizens and focusing on their welfare did Dubai a great deal and completely altered Dubai's housing landscape. This was the beginning of Dubai’s suburban growth and sprawl. As various economic policies were placed in motion in the 1990s (Davidson, 2008), successful entrepreneurial operations attracted and sustained many knowledgeable based workers and business people. After the 1970s, housing patterns had an impact on the new migrant populations and changed accordingly. Migrants, who came in, had various backgrounds and expertise, which helped in the construction industry (Kathiravelu, 2016).
Figure 40: Burj-Al-Arab 1990s
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“A major metropolis was and is being constructed by a nouveau riche tribal village whose goal is to make Dubai as a world-class city, . . . everything is new. . . . Dubai has passed into its latest phase of mega-development; a phase that is difficult to pin down with one label but that might find its home with the notion of “supermodernism.” . . . Much of the city’s architecture seems to fall into the category of non-place [which has] established a new sort of authenticity; . . . it destabilizes our understanding of authenticity” (Kanna, 2011)
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4.2 Dubai Now:
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Seemingly never-ending construction, extravagant consumerist excess, cloudnine skyscrapers, brightly lit streets, glass-covered mall shells- this is where the 1970s oil boom took Dubai and allowed it to become what it is today. Dubai’s acknowledgment comes from a multitude of building projects.
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In 2002, non-citizens could own properties, and it would entirely be issued in their names—a big draw for expatriates and a significant construction boom for the city. According to Syed, Dubai has been a paradise for architects and developers (Ali, 2010). Almost any feasible project could be built, and almost any grand idea would become an icon. From being built to near completion, buildings have taken over the once upon time desert land. What has brought Dubai success is its nearly unprecedented speed and scale.
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New Dubai extends from the west wall of skyscrapers on Sheik Zayed Road to the newly developed desert. This portion of the metropolis started to take shape in the mid-1990s. It includes large shopping centers, luxury suburban enclaves, and reclaimed land ventures. Its colossal enclaves and bold homes seem to symbolize an innovative vision and futuristic orientation for the town, in the apparent and explicit evaluation of what they call the neo-orthodox discourses of a pre-lapsarian village (Ali, 2010).
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Four decades later, from an old desert town of 59,000 people in 1967 to about 1,250,000 in 2005, Dubai developed. Newly affluent Emiratis in the 1970s, in the neighborhoods of Deira, (Bur) Dubai, and Shindagha, migrated out of their former population centers or their ancestral lands around the Khor Dubai river into modern villas farther from the village core. Like their village counterparts, these compounds tended to be structured on family and tribal lines. At this point, Old Dubai still retains some public and informal areas, such as very well-kept, friendly parks and a variety of labyrinthine spice, gold, and fish aswâq (markets), which are practically non-existent in New Dubai.
The new construction in New Dubai appears to be enormous, gated, mixed, commercial, and luxury residential properties. These do not restrict themselves to the parastatals of Maktoum, such as the media and Internet cities, the Saif Al-Ghurair Emirates Majid Al-Futtaim Market, the restored Burjuman Shopping Centre, the Arabian Ranches, the Emirates Hills, the Dubai Golf Villas, the Atlantis Palm Island, and the Dubai Mall (Ali, 2010). 80
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5 NEIGHBORHOOD EVOLUTION
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5.1 To understand Dubai as a diverse neighborhood city, we first analyze the places closer and see their potential and see the daily life (Elsheshtawy. Yasser, 2008). Various multi-ethnic populations and why they are in such stem places are significant because they were mostly groups of lower-socio economic backgrounds or wage earners and were segregated from society’s higher-income segments.
Figure 41: Distinct Development in Dubai
The city’s land-use strategy concerning its native local population is another factor because it has contributed to the construction boom and urban sprawl and divided people, which links this to the housing policy. There are two different housing types: one for the expatriates –(Arabic words: Wafidoon) and locals (Muwatinoon). Spaces allotted for each of them within the city is separate, increasing the spatial division between different ethnic groups. Locals have also said that the reason for leaving the area is that they have been driven out because of Indians and Pakistanis’ rising occupancies. These locals migrated to regions like Barsha, Mizhar 1, and 2, Khawaneej, which once were just desert enclaves (Elsheshtawy. Yasser, 2008). 84
Dubai’s earlier neighborhoods were distinguished by various factors: compactness, diversity, and pedestrian friendliness. The problem with communities formed after the 1980s appears to be sparse, massive, extended, and focus on adapting to fit cars. Negative social and environmental issues have not yet stopped Dubai’s low-density theory of community. 85
5.2 Over the years, Dubai has seen multiple histories of urban fabric trends, and about seven distinct trends have been identified. In each time frame, variables such as governmental policies, socio-economic environment, and other accompanying factors are predominant. These trends have been categorized by population, affordability, and housing. The patterns are shown in the figure with aerial photographs, ground diagrams, and street networks for each of them (Khanal, Asim ; Almulla, Ahmed ; Alawadi, 2018).
Figure 42: Collage Showing 7 Distinct Development Pattern Source: Figure by Khaled Alawadi
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Figure 43 : Site Photos Source: Figure by Khaled Alawadi
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According to researches, suburban areas are economically, culturally, and socially suitable for contemporary societies. However, this suburban living pattern poses a planning challenge since it prioritizes social needs before the environmental requirements (Elsheshtawy. Yasser, 2008).
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NEIGHBORHOOD DECLINE
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6.1 What is Neighborhood Decline? With the evolution of new suburban neighborhoods, we have seen considerable degradation in older communities or increased neighborhood decline. Neighborhood decline, defined by a famous Economist Boustan is a sociological process by which a part of a functioning city, fails and falls into decrepitude and disrepair (Boustan, 2010). It might highlight deindustrialization, deurbanization, financial rebuilding, high neighborhood joblessness, expanded neediness, divided families, low expectations for everyday comforts, political disappointment, and a forsaken cityscape, known as greenfield or urban prairie (Boustan, 2010).
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While I walked through the busy streets of Old Dubai, I could not notice how different the people, the atmosphere in this place was, instead of how opposite it is from New Dubai. The contrast speaks for itself from small Karak cafeterias to the air-conditioned glass boxed cafes of City Walk. “There is an absence of a genuine ‘urban realm’ in the conventional sense, discouraging emotional attachment, to the place.” (Chang, 2003)
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6.2 Why and How?
Almost half of Dubai's metropolitan area has been transformed into low-density suburbs. Suburbs play both a consolidative and a vital role in the development of UAE national space. They are a real example of class and cultural lamination that distinguishes Dubai as a co-existing city. Rapid suburbaniza-
As cities modernize, western societies often lose connections to their neighborhoods. Conclusions from famous philosophers and sociologists such as Georg Simmel, Karl Max, and Max Weber state that, with fewer links, more urban and industrial impact society’s and neighborhood’s quantity and quality decline. Simmel’s (2000) observation that one is always lost and lonely in a metropolitan crowd emphasizes alienation in a lost community. Moreover, what is worse is the effect of loss of neighborhood or decline in community connections, which affects an entire urban system and can be harmful to children and families (Simmel, 2000).
Neighborhoods decline when owners cannot afford to hold their property up. Rising renter populations may be less committed to the neighborhood. Low economic levels mean that the ability to pay for housing may be decreased. Moreover, crime prevention planning discusses neighborhood decline.
tion and the emergence of new neighborhoods have contributed to "splitting urbanism," a disconnect between physicality, the environment, and humanity. Claims that in these isolated, clustered, low-density suburbs, human life, street spontaneity is lost or sidelined. The urban fabric of the old towns has drastically changed. However, these cities' new urban fabric does not show any cultural identity, continuity, or unity. Working-class and low-income families and individuals are consuming old Dubai. Not enhancing and reversing the neighborhood decline will make Old Dubai a lost Arabian land to the Emiratis. With the spread of suburban areas, older areas are eventually termed and seen as segmented fragments (Graham, 2011).
“Communities are deteriorating because they are no longer able to attract property owners who are involved and have sufficient income.”
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6.3 Social Issues
Visser and Ronald recently pointed out that “without a qualitative explanation of how, where and with whom individuals establish and maintain social connections, we can hardly know the relative value of the residential environment for their lives” (Visser & Ronald, 2014)
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Cultural DisintegrationDubai being home to almost residents from about two hundred countries, yet there are boundaries between various nationalities, particularly between local and expatriate, i.e., the muwatin and wafid. One of the significant challenges facing planners is integration between these multiple sub-groups, writes Yasser Elsheshtawy. He says planners must avoid turning Dubai into a ‘city of walls’ in other cities (Elsheshtawy, 2010).
Social DeclineWith the influx of low-income housing, low-income individuals, the area has not had an upgradation. Furthermore, this reduces the chance of modernizing and culturally integrating people in that particular area. Social deterioration concerns transitions are taking place within the tenant community. Factors such as damage, vacancies, hygiene, and low neighborhood engagement tarnish neighborhood attractiveness and reduce residents in that area. Growing mobility is proportional to the attractiveness of the neighborhood. Porcher neighborhood, higher is the turnover rate, and better is the image of the area. In either case, the downward spiral tends to reinforce one another. This leads to further polarization between various divisions and categories of people (Peter, Sommerville). 97
FragmentationWith wealthy and affluent individuals living in their suburban accommodations, the older areas are neglected. Creating unbalanced demography and divides the city into two parts. One for the rich and one for the poor. A fragment has a distinctive physical character and a different social and economic climate. Fragmentation of the urban fabric presents two issues: First of all, the historic urban center is losing its geographical, cultural, and financial content. Second, the urban fabric of the new urban sprawl shows uncontrolled urban growth.
Social Mis-TrustAccording to an article by the European Journal of Housing Policy, residents move to ‘better areas’ when they mistrusted their neighbors. According to Peter's study, it led to a cycle of deterioration in communities where little investment had been made. When we compare the people living in the area and the people moving out, the people moving out were younger, in good health, and knowledgeable. This created a need for strategies to draw people back to the neighborhood (Peter, Sommerville). 98
It is essential to estimate Dubai's population to understand Urban density and, accordingly, its expansion. According to the Dubai Economic Council or DEC, in the 2005 census, Dubai accounted for 32 percent of the 4.104 million UAE population (Al Awad, 2008). As of 2019, the Dubai Statistics Center accounted for Dubai’s population alone as 3.331 million (Government, 2019).
Figure 43
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7 HOUSING
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According to Alawadi, Dubai’s built environment is home to over 56 percent of its developed land. Economy, culture, and the government have influenced Dubai’s housing policies to a great extent (Alawadi, 2018).On the one hand, gated communities or individual dwellings have been occupied by higher-income families. On the other hand, dormitories and declining neighborhoods have been densely occupied by low-income workers. Similarly, local high-income citizens live in low-rise individual housing neighborhoods precisely planned and subsidized for Emiratis (Alawadi & Dooling, 2016).
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“Dubai’s political boundary contains 4150 sq.km of land, 1565 sq.km, 38% of which designates for development” (Pacione, 2005). As we read earlier, the Dubai government allocates land to its citizens as part of their sustainable planning policy with a no-interest mortgage. These residential lands are usually neighborhoods with remote territories and are suburban types. It is crucial to know the housing policy framework to understand the housing trend in Dubai. Moreover, one key element of this framework shows the segregation of citizens and non-citizen residential districts. ‘ The People’s House’: ‘Sha’biyaat’ is a dense, conventional fabric locally known developed through the 1960s and then reemerged with scattered patterns during the 1980s and left a mark.
During the 1990 economic boom, national housing policies and trends started changing. According to Alawadi, Traditional houses cost less and were easy to maintain, and above all, they were modest and similar to look. As time passed, people’s tastes changed, and so did their notion of housing designs and community concept. The significant shift, where native-born communities abandoned the density and connectivity concept and developed and moved to a new housing morphology, lead to massive urban sprawl. Multi-lane highways with smaller asymmetrical street grids took over traditional grid pattern streets of the 1960s and 1970s. This not only increased the density of areas, but it caused chaos, disintegration, and inconvenience (Alawadi & Benkraouda, 2019).
According to Peter, Dubai neighborhoods have been adopting the North American way of community growth. They have replaced individuality over the community, isolation over togetherness, and above all, single-family over multi-family. The difference between the old neighborhoods and the newfangled neighborhood was that the old one was quite densely populated and was acquainted with closely packed homes that were approximately 50x50 ft. In comparison, the newfangled or modish homes were large, approximately 100x150ft (Peter, Sommerville, 2009). 103
Figure 44: Alawadi’s Article - Different neighborhood densities with average plot sizes & approximate built-up . (l) Older neighborhoods are characterized with mixed-use buildings more than one floor situated at the corners of urban blocks (marked in blue). Avg. lot size=50’x50’.
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Figure 45: Alawadi’s Article -Different neighborhood densities with average lot sizes&approximate built-up . (ll&lll) Newer Neighborhoods purely residential. Avg. Plot size= 150’x100’ in the late 1980s and now 100’x100)
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7.1 Built Landscape: Traditional
When we compare traditional and contemporary landscapes, there is a great deal of difference between them, architecturally and spatially. Sha’abiyat is locally known as dense conventional traditional fabric or the ‘The People’s House.’ Due to conventional grid patterns, they maintained high street grid connectivity around these sha’abiyats, leading to pedestrian-oriented routes and alleyways, well-connected corridors, mixed-use functions, and easy accessibility. Traditional neighborhoods focused on environmental needs and community needs, highlighting the importance of togetherness, family clustering, and bonding. The emphasized the need for a healthy resident-community link would prove the overall integration of housing, work, and leisure (Peter, Sommerville, 2009).
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Figure 46,47,48,49: -Images from the late 1960s showing the final stages of constructing a Sha‘bī house. Figure 50:-Reconstruction of the Halcrow Sha‘bī housing model floorplan.
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As time passed, the densely mixed neighborhood, which did not distinguish between zoning services, such as Commercial, Residential, Administrative, etc., started differentiating and segregating such land areas. The interconnected grid structure was broken down and replaced with irregular block configurations, chaotic alleyways, and interloped streets. As times passed, they were harsher changes, from multiple-family dwellings under one roof to fragmented fenced single-family dwellings. Prototypes were houses changed drastically. Courtyards were not mandatory, or even if used, they used a linear type of courtyard.
Ultimately, the traditional house’s architecture was relatively cheap, straightforward, simple, and related to its environment: the streets and alleyways. The architecture was very homogeneous and of a similar scale. Building types did not reflect distinctions in rank in any social hierarchy; instead, houses could hardly be differentiated from one another (Peter, Sommerville, 2009).
Figure 51, 52: A National (Sha’abi) House in Al Maqam District in Al Ain. Photography by Yasser Elsheshtawy.
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7.2 Built Landscape: Contemporary The suburbs, which originated in the 1980s and have grown exponentially, contrast sharply with conventional forms of urbanism. This neighborhood form varies from the previous ones, which have been distinguished by compactness. There was a new demand for low-density housing in the 1980s in Dubai. As times passed, like several North American cities, suburban residential projects were highly encouraged by the Dubai government. As demand grew for such contemporary residential projects, there was a decline in land use (Benkrauda, 2019).
In the 1980s, as Dubai grew, so did its contemporary housing landscape. People moved from mixeduse housing to single dwellings. Plot size grew, and dominated neighborhoods, community involvement stopped. Inter-loop curved streets, large compound plots, empty alleyways, and car parks took the lead in re-shaping neighborhoods.
Figure 53: Suburban Landscape served by massive streets.
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Modern homes lack privacy, and as for traditional communities, internal centered courtyards were a symbol of privacy. As Gabriel says, “Massive, individually constructed villas have been built on massive plots of land�(Gabriel.Erhad, 1987). In contemporary architecture, there are no significant variations. Conceptually, most homes are similar and segregated from the street and outside life. In a typical modern house, the villa is centrally located, away from the street, and guarded by concrete walls not more than seven feet.
Even though houses have high fencing and are relatively distant from neighbors, privacy is not guaranteed in these suburban neighborhoods: because land plots are usually open and compactness is limited, residents can easily see into the yards of their neighbors through their windows (Alawadi, 2018).
Figure 54: Suburban Landscape served by massive streets.
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Built Landscape: Traditional
Built Landscape: Contemporary
Figure 55: Spatial evolution of Traditional Housing neighborhoods. Interconnected blocks & street systems replaced by newer semi-gridded patterns. Short, ordered, regular grid transformed into an irregular block structure, straight-lined loops, fewer connecting streets .
Figure 56: Segmented forms of Suburban Neighborhoods. Street Patterns feature loops, curves, long urban blocks, and discontinuous networks.
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1950s
2007 1970s
2014
Figure 57: Segmented forms of Housing with their plans
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8
RESURGING COMMUNITY
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“Previous generations of architects thought of how architecture could interpret the world, but I think now is the time to think of how architecture can change the world. We architects can assume that role and make a real difference in how people live and behave� (Mazzanti, 2011)
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8.1 Resurgence in Architecture Co-Relates to Resurgence in Communities Why are people drawn to sophisticated city hotspots and not to the city’s old towns? Especially Architects, urban planners, and residents. The reason being: cities, they offer employment, comfort, community, vibrancy, and rich history. Moreover, the metropolitan narrative is not all about development and vitality. Economic issues, the displacement of commercial centers, and demographic changes in the community will contribute to the abandonment and eventual deterioration of once viable and prominent buildings, not to mention the areas where they are located.
‘Building For Belonging’
Integrating Nature into Dense Living
By 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population is projected to live in cities. Getting more urban dwellers may be a boost to human growth, Samuel says. He says building for belonging can mean building communities for various aspects of people’s lives. People want to feel a sense of place that binds them to their societies. He adds that this could mean open, safe alternatives to private cars, from walkable communities to bike lanes to buses. The goal must be to create for belonging, urban spaces, and urban spaces that allow for “miraculous moments” of interpersonal interaction (Samuel, 2015).
FIGURE 58
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WHAT MAKES A GREAT PLACE?
FIGURE 59 Source: Place Making
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As both an overarching idea and a hands-on approach for improving a neighborhood, resurgence inspires people to reimagine and reinvent spaces in any neighborhood collectively. We are strengthening the connection between people and the places they share, by the process of a resurgence, which we can shape our public realm to maximize shared value. This being said, neighborhood decline is reversible. Architects can bring life back to the old and re-popularize old neighborhoods. This can happen by focusing on current infrastructure and conservation and architecture to encourage economic growth and cultural development. Neighborhood revitalization aims to improve communities, making sure they have a lasting impact on the people living there.
126
As architects, we can recognize the power of the place, show the value of uniqueness no matter how old the neighborhoods are. Strive to create a unique identity for the neighborhoods based on the location, cultural significance, and, of course, their desires as community residents. 127
Case studies essentially give one a better understanding of examples of EXECUTED SOLUTIONS for a project similar to that one is about to create. It helps to conceive the design better. It understands what works, what does not. Helps us study the DESIGN PHILOSOPHY of the architect and do a DETAILED ANALYSIS. By doing so, we get a clear picture of the PROS and CONS of the design that might affect our design.
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CASE STUDIES
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9.1 URBAN VILLAGE
Architects: TEAM_BLDG
Category=Residential+Density+Revival Area: 6000 m² Year: 2019 Location: Guangzhou, China
FIGURE 60
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DESIGN STRATEGY
As the front connects the city with the urban village, how the transformed facade increases the degree of integration to link with the city and maintains cohesion with the community is critical for the facade reconstruction.
FIGURE 61
- Guangzhou is the only first-tier city where many urban villages still exist in the city center. Most of the residential buildings they live in are dilapidated, facing the urgent need to be improved. The renovation project is located in a wellknown urban village and is the matchbox type corridor houses built in the 1950s and 1960s.
The project eliminates the old and filthy picture of the urban village and creates the long-rented apartment brand’s benchmark reputation by transforming the facade. Meanwhile, the interior space must be enhanced to meet living convenience and use public space to carry-out events and enhance contact with the city. FIGURE 62
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DETAILS
FIGURE 64
FIGURE 63
134
FIGURE 65
135
DETAILS
FIGURE 66
136
FIGURE 67
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DETAILS
FIGURE 68 FIGURE 69
FIGURE 70
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DETAILS
FIGURE 72
FLOOR TO CEILING DETAIL
FACADE DETAIL
FLOOR TO WINDOW DETAIL
FIGURE 71
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FIGURE 73
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The transformed facade increases the degree of integration to link with the city and maintains cohesion with the community. This is one of the critical demands for facade reconstruction. Wavy punched aluminum plates were chosen to wrap the façade extending from the atrium’s two ends to the exterior. The design starts with the central courtyard to clean the yard’s original structures and sort out the air conditioning and various lines and pipes to ensure the courtyard’s openness and comfort. According to local conditions, the public space surrounded by the original building’s main three-dimensional dynamic lines should be made full use of. This has to be done to ensure that the new residents’ lingering in the central yard and staggered floor corridor create an impressive visual interior facade.
(Source- Archdaily)
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FIGURE 74
FIGURE 75
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ZONING
LEVEL 3-LEVEL 9
ZONES SPACE VERTICAL CIRCULATION HORIZONTAL CIRCULATION SLEEP AREA
144
AREA 55.0 m² 90.0 m² 15.0 m²
TOILET
6.0 m²
KITCHEN
7.0 m²
BALCONY
6.0 m²
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LEVEL 2- STANDARD
ZONING
ZONES SPACE VERTICAL CIRCULATION HORIZONTAL CIRCULATION SLEEP AREA
146
AREA 75.0 m² 120.0 m² 15.0 m²
TOILET
6.0 m²
KITCHEN
7.0 m²
BALCONY
6.0 m²
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9.2 MM RESIDENTIAL TOWER
Architects: Anastasia Elrouss Architects Category= Urban Density+Vertical Green City Area: 900 m² Location: Beirut, Lebanon Year: 2018
FIGURE 76
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DESIGN STRATEGY
FIGURE 77
MM Residential Building is a “vertical green landmark with a unified structure whose multi-layered façades act as a protective translucent shell vis-à-vis the street and the surrounding buildings.” Offering residential solutions while giving residents a new way to inhabit the urban environment, the project “soars from the ground up as a single structural vertical planted element, extending out of the busy city life.”
150
The pilot project aims to blur the limits between the diverse communities in the broad urban context to allow more unity between people besides their cultural, political, religious, and economic belonging.
FIGURE 78
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DETAILS
DETAILS
Different configurations of apartments can be integrated into the volume, giving every resident the possibility to customize his own living space with internal wooden partitions. Inspired by the Lebanese extended family culture and the idea of a vertical village, the custom-made housing system does not propose a plan. Instead, it creates a volume, allowing social and economic vertical diversity.
With a reinforced concrete façade, the plans and sections represent the central core structural feature. The internal partitions are wooden panels that generate several essential, duplex, or triplex formation scenarios over time. A central vertical staircase, with vertical gardens around it serving as a green buffer and a meeting place for the house’s occupants, is fully opened.
FIGURE 79
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DETAILS
FIGURE 82
FIGURE 81
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DETAILS
(Source- Archdaily)
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FIGURE 83,84
ENVIRONMENTAL SECTION
Easy, cost-efficient, scalable, and contextual, with the installation of vertical ecological gardens, the MM Residential Building responds to its surroundings while criticizing its neighborhood. The structure’s four façades carry pocket field gardens and linear planting terraces. These spaces serve as buffer zones for private internal spaces and establish direct contact with the Chyah area, which is very congested.
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SPATIAL ANALYSIS
ZONES SPACE
AREA
MAIDS ROOM
20.0 m² 10.0 m²
GUEST TOILET
7.0 m²
BALCONY/ URBAN FARM
60.0 m²
BEDROOM
60.0 m²
KITCHEN
13.0 m²
TOTAL
120 m²
LIVING ROOM
FIGURE 85,86
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9.3 THE MUSEUM HOTEL
Architects: EAA - Emre Arolat Architecture Category=Hospitality+Heritage+Revival Location: Antakya, Turkey Area: 34000 m² Year: 2019
81 FIGURE 87
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FIGURE 88
The project sought to meet two main objectives: to represent the fantastic layers of civilizations unprecedentedly, composed of a hotel’s function. The second was to use modern technologies along with more traditional materials in the interiors.
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DESIGN STRATEGY
Museum Hotel Antakya is a 199-room hotel on a site of archaeological findings. The hotel draws on the tensioned relationship of Archaeology and Architecture by intertwining the ancient and the modern. There are 66 composite columns, 120 cm in diameter, interconnected into a steel grid to lift the hotel’s rooms and common areas off the ground. The protective glass wall at the ground level was designed to harness the local prevailing winds and dust, keeping the archaeological findings safe.
FIGURE 89
163
The building can be considered at four different layers; the first is open-air museum parkour at a level closest to the findings. The second is the hotel’s common public areas; the lobby and the restaurant hovering over a scenery of the archaeological findings. The third level is a cluster of prefab modules of hotel rooms and an open-air circulation that keeps the beholder’s eye on the exquisite landscape of mosaics all the time.
DETAILS
(Source- Archdaily)
FIGURE 90
164
FIGURE 91,92
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DETAILS SECTION
FIGURE 93
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FIGURE 94
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9.4 THE WATERHOUSE AT SOUTH BUND
Architects: Neri&Hu Design and Research Office Category=Hospitality+Density+Revival Location: Shanghai, China Area: 800 m² Year: 2010
FIGURE 95
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DESIGN STRATEGY
FIGURE 96
Located by the new Cool Docks development on the South Bund District of Shanghai, the Waterhouse is a four-story, 19-room boutique hotel built into an existing three-story Japanese Army headquarters building from the 1930s. The boutique hotel fronts the Huangpu River and looks across at the gleaming Pudong skyline. The architectural concept behind Neri&Hu’s renovation rests on a clear contrast of what is old and new. The original concrete building has been restored while new additions built over the existing structure were made using Cor-Ten steel, reflecting the industrial past of this working dock by the Huangpu River (Archdaily) 170
FIGURE 97
171
DESIGN STRATEGY
FIGURE 98 81
172
FIGURE 99
173
DETAILS FIRST FLOOR PLAN
FIGURE 101
SECOND FLOOR PLAN
FIGURE 100
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FIGURE 102
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DETAILS
EAST WING SECTION
FIGURE 103
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FIGURE 104
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ZONING
FIGURE 105
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FIGURE 106
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ZONING
FIGURE 107
The public spaces allow one to peek into private rooms. The private spaces invite one to look out at the public arenas, such as the large vertical room window above the reception desk and the corridor windows overlooking the dining room.
These visual connections of unexpected spaces bring an element of surprise and force the hotel guests to confront the local Shanghai urban condition where visual corridors and adjacencies in tight nong-tang’s define the unique spatial flavor of the city. (Source- Archdaily) FIGURE 105
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9.5 HOUSE FOR ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE Architects: Leopold Banchini, Noura Al Sayeh Category= Cultural Centre+Old vs New Area: m² Year: 2017 Location: Al-Muharraq, Bahrain
FIGURE 108
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FIGURE 109
The house for Architectural Heritage houses the archival collection of sketches and drawings by the architect John Yarwood and serves as an exhibition space for architecture exhibition. The project is conceived as a beam structure that frames the two neighboring buildings’ existing adjacent walls, serving as a showcase for the city’s architectural Heritage, the old and the new. FIGURE 110
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DETAILS GROUND FLOOR PLAN
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
FIGURE 111
FIGURE 112
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DETAILS SECTION A
SECTION B FIGURE 114
The building is an intrinsic expression of the plot’s urban condition, offering an x-ray view into the urban form of the city and revealing the different phases of construction that the city has witnessed. The two main facades contain two sliding doors that can be lifted within the beam’s height, opening the exhibition space to the streets and transforming the building into a public passage. The exhibition space becomes one with the street encouraging more public participation.
ELEVATION
FIGURE 113
188
FIGURE 115
Through its architectural conception, the project addresses the challenges of creating cultural spaces that hold a more participatory approach to local communities. Providing a space that can be opened entirely on to the streets, in a neighborhood that houses communities that often feel excluded, the project attempts to provide a new exhibition typology. (Source- Archdaily)
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9.6 DAFANG CREATIVE VILLAGE
FIGURE 116
Architects: NEXT Architects
Category: Cultural Centre+Heritage+Resurgence Area: 48000 m² Year: 2020 Location: Dafang, Ganzhou, China
190
FIGURE 117
191
DESIGN STRATEGY
DAFANG VILLAGE
Dafang village has over 900 years of history but had been abandoned for over ten years. Next, architects designed a flexible and attractive environment for Chinese and Dutch artists to interact and exhibit locally. The whole village, including its architecture and landscape, becomes an interactive environment that is continuously reinventing itself.
192
FIGURE 118
The inspiration and shape for the unique roof come from a century-old camphor tree outside the village, whose lofty canopy for decades provided a gathering space for the villagers. The camphor hall dissolves in the fabric of the village and provides a shaded collective space. The design strategy is based on the Jinxi governments ‘wish for Dutchness to revitalize Dafang’s design strategy: ‘adapt to newness.’
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DETAILS DETAIL GROUND FLOOR PLAN
CIRCULATION
TOILETS
LIBRARY
DETAIL TOWER FLOOR PLAN
FIGURE 119 194
FIGURE 120
195
FIGURE 121
The watchtower is embraced as the ‘Wandering Tower,’ reminiscing the famous Chinese poet Li Bai about people waiting for loved ones to return to their hometowns. The hall is built on the former site of a courtyard building destroyed during the cultural revolution and provided views about the rural landscape towards the horizon’s mountains.
Holland-Dafang Creative Village is an inspiring example of a multidisciplinary collaboration between Chinese and Dutch architects, designers, and artists. Artists are allowed to react to the village structures: to add, change, and transform their context. For example, the public hall floor has been painted in a Mondrian-like pattern by a Chinese artist. Dutch artist Herman Lamers has installed an airplane in an old house called ‘The Dream.’ (Source- Archdaily)
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FIGURE 122
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10 PROGRAM
DEVELOPMENT
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Programming can be defined as the research and decision-making process that helps identify the work scope to be designed and performed. This chapter provides a summary of the various case study programs. This, in turn, helps us understand and formalize the PROGRAMS, SPATIAL ORGANIZATION, and RELATIONSHIPS between various functions to determine what is required for this thesis project.
199
PROGRAM Proposed Program CASE
200
RESIDENTIAL SOCIAL SPACE CULTURE
REFLECTION
ACTIVATION
LIVING
STUDY 1 DAFANG VILLAGE
Kitchen Rest Area Toillet Balcony 1 Bedroom 2 Bedroom Lobby Lounge Courtyard Restaurant Library Circulation Spa Staff Office Meeting Room Gym Multipurpose-oom Prayer Room Urban Farm Exhibition Space Museum Majlis
m² 6.91 15.3 5.96 6.34
CASE STUDY 2 MM TOWERS
m² 10 14 sq.m 7 35 60 120 40
55
149
50 30 40 35 35
CASE STUDY 3 MUSEUM HOTEL
m² 250
140 45 110 500 800 1000 900 500 14,700 2400 100 437 950
CASE STUDY 4 CASE STUDY 5 WATER BUND HOUSE OF ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE
PROJECT PROGRAM
130
120 45 8 10 50 100 65 65 100 80 120
1 2 25 20 20 15 1 1 1 2 1
80 20 60 40 45 55 70 200
1 3 1 1 1 1 30 1
m²
140 35 44 65 65.5 45 145 115 287 80 45
m²
5
95 220 1050
127.2
AREA
COUNT
TOTAL AREA
m²
m²
150 1 TOTAL
120 90 200 200 1000 1500 65 65 100 175 120 1528.75 80 60 60 40 45 95 2100 200 150 7643.75
201
lobby reception storage retail restaurant w/c prayer ro0m library exhibition gym cafe kitchen balcony courtyard bedroom lounge multi-room offices clinic urban farm staff room
RELATIONSHIP MATRIX
This project aims to create a new typology of the building that improves the quality of the place and the people living there and attract the locals back to their ancestral land. To do this, we have to combine three typologies- REFLECT, ACTIVATE, and LIVE. Reflect stands for preserving the culture that is the souq. Activate is the link between reflection and live where people connect, socialize and bond. Whereas live is the part where people unwind and relax. These three typologies balance the demographics of this area and hence enhance the quality of this place
lobby reception storage retail restaurant w/c prayer ro0m library exhibition gym cafe kitchen balcony courtyard bedroom lounge multi-room offices clinic urban farm staff room
must have possible nice to have
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SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS
ENTER
STAFF ROOM SECURITY
SPA COURTYARD
DINE
HEALTH
LOBBY SLEEP RECEPTION
URBAN FARMING
REST
CAFE
BALCONY EXHIBITION
SOCIALISE
KITCHEN
RESTAURANT
204
MULTIPURPOSE ROOM
LIBRARY 205
PUBLIC VS PRIVATE PROGRAM BREAKDOWN
C I L B U P E I T MA EV S I R P E T A V I R P 206
ENTER SECURITY
LOBBY RECEPTION STAFF ROOM COURTYARD
SOCIALISE DINE RESTAURANT CAFE EXHIBITION HEALTH SPA GYM MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM
URBAN FARMING REST
LIBRARY BALCONY SLEEP KITCHEN
207
An architectural site analysis will look at SITE LOCATION, SIZE, ZONING, TRAFFIC & CLIMATE. Understanding the context of a site is key to enabling the designer to WEAVE the new design with the site’s existing fabric. It allows us to understand the existing OPPORTUNITIES, or PROBLEMS in a site, and make informed decisions on responding to our findings. This response could be that the designed building reflects the surrounding context and is designed to sympathize or turn away or eliminate certain unwanted site conditions.
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SITE ANALYSIS
209
MASTER PLAN
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211
FIGURE GROUND
212
213
MAJOR & MINOR ROADS + TRANSPORTATION
214
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PEDESTRIAN NODES
PEDESTRAIN PATHWAYS PEDESTRIAN PATHS
216
217
BUILDING FUNCTIONS Hotel
218
Utility
Public Space
Commercial
Housing
Religious
Administrative
219
BUILDING HEIGHTS
220
G+4
G+10
G+21
221
222
WIND DIAGRAM
SUN DIAGRAM
The wind rose for Dubai shows how many hours per year the wind blows from the indicated direction. The strongest wind blows from the North-West direction.
Reading sun path diagrams can tell us a lot about how the sun will impact our site and building throughout the year. It will also tell us how long the shade will occur.
The diagram for Dubai shows the days per month during which the wind reaches a certain speed. An interesting example is the Tibetan Plateau, where the monsoon creates steady, strong winds from December to April and calm winds from June to October.
The maximum temperature diagram for Dubai displays how many days per month reach certain temperatures. Dubai, one of the hottest cities on earth, has almost none days below 40°C in July.
223
CULTURAL
224
CHARACTERISTICS
225
FIGURE 124
SITE SELECTION 226
11.3
227
LOCATION
A
Choosing, a location on the site, plays an integral part since it influences the project’s shaping. The location tells us the population, the density, the class, the commercial environment, amenities, and various other factors crucial for the project build.
C
B
SITE A Area- 7887.64 sq.m. Between a dense environment. This site has empty voids and commercial units in it.
228
D
SITE C Area- 5783.62 sq.m. This site is right amidst the dense urban square. It makes it right in between various commercial, residential and mixed-use zones. This site is also a bus station
SITE B
SITE D
Area- 8115.39 sq.m.
Area- 7769.36 sq.m.
Being at the edge of the Creek, this site holds commercial zones and empty parking lots.
This plot sits right at the entrance towards the Souq. It currently holds a building only for parking.
229
TRANSPORTATION TRANSPORTATION The site with the most accessible transThe site with the most accessible transportation is advantageous to the people portation is advantageous to the people dwelling there. These sites have been dwelling there. These sites have been surrounded by various means of transsurrounded by various means of transportation, making it accessible by pedesportation, making it accessible by pedestrians. trians.
230
The nearest Metro line is Al Ras Metro The nearest Metro line is Al Ras Metro station; the nearest Bus station is Al Ras station; the nearest Bus station is Al Ras Bus Station and Deira Old Souq Bus Bus Station and Deira Old Souq Bus stop. The nearest marine transportation stop. The nearest marine transportation is Old Souq Abra station. is Old Souq Abra station.
231
ACCESSIBILITY Likewise, it is hard for cars to access dense neighborhoods, so the nearest road accessibility is crucial in site selection.
With the dense neighborhood in mind and the mixed zones, people around prefer walking to avoid getting stuck in traffic. Thus it is essential to analyze the most accessible pedestrian routes around.
232
SITE A This plot has direct access to Al Khor Street and Baniyas Road, making it easily accessible. Moreover, it is quite pedestrian-friendly as well, easily accessible from inside and outside the Souq.
SITE C This plot has only one direct interior road access. Making it a bit congested. This road is the Al Sabkha road.
SITE B This plot has direct access to Al Khor Street and Baniyas Road, making it easily accessible. Moreover, as far as pedestrian routes are concerned, there are plenty of nodes.
SITE D This plot has direct access to Baniyas Road, making it accessible. However, the problem is that the direct accessibility produces congestion and noise at the same time. On the other hand, it is pedestrian-friendly since it has direct access to the 233 market.
SITE IDENTITY The famous surroundings around it identify a site’s virtue. People remember places by the influence the neighborhood around has.
234
For example, Deira is known for the Creek and souqs; Al-Karama is known for its residential hub and the multicultural families staying there; Sheikh Zayed Road is known for its high-rise stretch.
SITE A This plot’s unique identity is being amidst its culture, i.e., the Souq. The other aspect is a partial view from the North West side towards the Creek.
SITE C This plot does not have a unique identity, only that it is amidst a dense neighborhood with mixed zones and is a bus station
SITE B This plot’s unique identity is being close to its culture, i.e., the House of Heritage. The other aspect is the view of Creek from the south till the complete Westside.
SITE D This plot’s unique identity faces the Creek (its front facade, i.e., the south elevation).
235
PARKING AVAILABILITY Old Dubai is known for its lack of parking spaces and how congested it is for vehicles. A neighborhood attracts people based on the availability of necessary amenities such as parking. So it is imperative to analyze the parking spots available near the site.
236
SITE A This plot has access to RTA car parking right in front of it.
SITE C This plot has access to shared car parking, approximately 10 m away from it.
SITE B This plot has access to car parking on the two adjacent sides.
SITE D This plot has access to shared car parking right adjacent to each other.
237
FINAL SITE SELECTION The final site is selected based on the various analyzed factors discussed above. We rate them on a scale of 1 to 3, 3 being the highest satisfaction score to compare the four potential sites. Analyzing the score, the site with the highest points is selected and further worked upon.
1
238
2
3
CRITERIA
SITE A
SITE B
SITE C
SITE D
location
3
3
1
3
proximity to 2 transportation road & pedes3 trian access site identity 2
2
1
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
parking availability architecture potential TOTAL
3
3
2
3
3
2
2
3
16
15
9
15
239
SELECTED SITE
240
After analysing the sites based on the criterias, Site A is the most apt site and has been chosen for this project.
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SITE SURROUNDING
FIGURE 125
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243
FIGURE 126
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245
FIGURE 127
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247
248
FIGURE 128
249
FIGURE 129
250
251
A concept is an IDEA, a THEORY or NOTION, but in architecture we could also describe a concept as ‘AN APPROACH’ to the design. When we think of architectural concepts, we think of an abstract idea, one that is unchanging throughout the design process. This is not necessarily the case, a concept can be linked to many factors, and can evolve as the design grows. Architectural concepts are the designers way of RESPONDING to the design situation presented to them. They are a means of translating the NON-PHYSICAL design problem into the PHYSICAL BUILDING product. Every project will have critical issues, central themes or problem essences, and the general issues of designing a building can be approached in a number of ways.
252
12
CONCEPTS
253
INSPIRATION
FIGURE 123
254
255
FIGURE 131
BUILDING PRIORITIES 256
BUILDING PRIORITIES 257
Views From Site
258
259
C O N C E P T S
FIGURE 132
260
261
CONCEPT ANALYSIS
262
FIGURE 133
263
Draw a mass Outlining the site area. And extrude it. FIGURE 134
Make a void in the central space for the main courtyard. Since the inspiration comes from bastakiya plans and elevations, make voids for windows and smaller courtyards.
To blend with the three concepts of activation, living, and reflection. I have given openings to let people through the central courtyard from the souq
264
Bastak is a concept inspired by bastakiya plans, elevations, and central courtyard spaces. This entire concept is focused on mixing the three concepts of activating, live, and reflect with the central courtyard focusing on activation where people meet after they come through the souq that is they reflect part. Furthermore, to unwind, they disperse towards the live area.
7
BASTAK 265
Draw a mass enclosing the area. And Divide it, keeping in mind the existing Sikka openings.
FIGURE 135
After the division to connect the souq to the buildings and open an activation ground, sink the central part. This now becomes a mutual gathering space.
Offset the divided rectangles to have platforms for green spaces.
266
Triangulation is a concept which merges with steps and levels. This concept’s main agenda is to divide the central and core structure, becoming a public square. The central sunken area merges with the souqs, so it REFLECTS the culture into the concept. The Central area acts as a point of activation since it becomes a gathering point for people. The main triangulated stepped masses are the living areas where people come to unwind and relax.
8
TRIANGULATE
267
Extrude a mass outlining the chosen area and the existing buildings.
FIGURE 136
Make voids for courtyards, keeping in mind the existing buildings used.
Pixilate the remaining area in a grid sequence and divide the entire mass, keeping the existing Sikkas in mind.
268
Pixilate is a concept which focuses on the human scale aspect by blending in the ideas of reflection, activation, and life. This concept plays with different vertical levels to give the users a feel of the surrounding buildings. In this area, there is a variation of buildings used. Individual buildings are demolished, whereas specific structures of existing buildings are used. The Path to the souq entrance is elevated and opened to the activation part, where people meet and greet, and then either they disperse to their living quarters or enjoy the various activation parts.
9
PIXILATE
269
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LIST OF FIGURES Figure1: Dubai:Then & Now Source: https://scoopempire.com/dubai-photos-now/ Figure 2: Map of Dubai, 1822 Source: https://scoopempire.com/dubai-photos-now/ Figure 3: Al Fahidi Fort 1960s Source: https://scoopempire.com/dubai-photos-now/ Figure 4: Old Dubai 1960s Source: https://scoopempire.com/dubai-photos-now/ Figure 5, 6: Date seller, 1950s, Pearlers rowing Source: https://scoopempire.com/dubai-photos-now/ Figure 7, 8, 9,10, 11, 12 :Traders in Old Dubai, 1950s Source: https://scoopempire.com/dubai-photos-now/ Figure 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,18, 19, 20 : Old Dubai 1950s Source: https://scoopempire.com/dubai-photos-now/ Figure 15,16 : Old Dubai 1950s Source: https://scoopempire.com/dubai-photos-now/ Figure 21, 22Old Dubai 1960s Men gather in al-Naif souq, oldest traditional markets in Dubai Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ Figure 23, 24: Old Dubai 1960s-Group of Bedouin playing music The Clocktower roundabout in the neighbourhood of Deira Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ Figure 25: Old Dubai 1960s Shoppers flood the walkways of an open market in Deira Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ Figure 26, 27 : Old Dubai 1960s- open market in downtown Dubai Bur Dubai - historical heart of the city, ‘mainland Dubai’ 28,29,30,31 :Dubai 1960s Source: https:https://scoopempire.com/dubai-photos-now/ 32,33,34,35 : Dubai 1970s Source: https:https:https://www.agda.ae/en Figure 36, 37, 38, 39: Dubai 1970s Source: https:https://scoopempire.com/dubai-photos-now/ Figure 36-39Dubai 1970s Source: https:https://scoopempire.com/dubai-photos-now/
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Figure 40: Burj-Al-Arab 1990s Source: https:https://scoopempire.com/dubai-photos-now/ Figure 41: Distinct Development in Dubai Source: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/cities Figure 42, 43: Collage Showing 7 Distinct Development Pattern Source: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/cities Figure 44: Different neighborhood densities with average plot sizes & approximate built-up. Source: https://us.sagepub.com Figure 45: Different neighborhood densities with average lot sizes & approximate built-up . Source: https://us.sagepub.com
Figure 108-115: House for Architectural Heritage https://www.archdaily.com/908265/house-for-architectural-heritage-noura-al-sayeh-and-leopold-banchini-architects Figure 116-122: Dafang Creative Village https://www.archdaily.com/ Figure 123: Inspiration Source: Author Figure 124: Inspiration Source: Author
Figure 46,47,48: -Images from the late 1960s showing the final stages of constructing a Sha‘bi house.
Figure 125: Site Analysis Pictures Source: Author
Figure 49:-Reconstruction of the Halcrow Sha‘bi housing model floorplan. Source: https://journals.openedition.org/cy/4185
Figure 126: Deira:Site Source: Author
Figure 50, 51, 52: A National (Sha’abi) House- Photography by Yasser Elsheshtawy. Source: https://www.harpersbazaararabia.com Figure 53,54 : Suburban Landscape served by massive streets. Large Detached, private dwellings enclosed by 7ft. high fence. Source: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/ Figure 55,56: Spatial evolution of Traditional Housing neighborhoods. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/ Figure 57: Segmented forms of Suburban Neighborhoods. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/ Figure 58,59: Place Making. https://www.pps.org/article/what-is-placemaking Figure 60 to 75 : The Urban Village_team_bldg https://www.archdaily.com/939215/the-village-team-bldg?ad_ source=search&ad_medium=search_result_projects Figure 76 to 86 : MM Residential Tower https://www.anastasiaelrouss.com/projects/2018/mm-residential-building-chiyah-lebanon Figure 87 to 94 :Museum Hotel https://www.archdaily.com/923490/the-museum-hotel-antakya-emre-arolat-architects?ad_source=search&ad_medium=search_result_ projects
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Figure 95- 107: The Water House at South Bund https://www.archdaily.com/263158/the-waterhouse-at-southbund-neri-hu
Figure 127: Deira:Site Source: Author Figure 128: Deira:Site Source: Author Figure 129: Deira:Site Source: Author Figure 130: Collage Figure 131: Building Priority Source: Author Figure 132: Concepts Source: Author Figure 133: Concept Analysis Source: Author Figure 134: Concept Source: Author Figure 135: Concept Source: Author Figure 136: Concept Source: Author
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ayesha.suha39@gmal.com cmi_architizer
The Author: C.M Ayesha Suha from Bangalore, India, is currently a 5th-year architecture student residing in the United Arab Emirates. She endeavors to finish her master's in urban housing along with interior architecture. In 2017 she established an online-based startup of scarves in Dubai, UAE. With her love for photography and management, she aspires to capture and nurture every step in her future pursuits.