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Chapter 04 Contextual Manisfestation & Design Aspiration
Contextual Manifestation & Design Apiration
Figure 4.1: Site plan
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Figure 4.2: Railway protection zone
4.1 Selected site
The 2.2 acre selected site located within the local neighbourhood which is also between the urban riverwalk and the local community of Chow Kit. The underused land, which is mainly served for the elevated LRT line and outdoor car park, had segregated the urban connection of the local community and urban fabric. The urban “leftover” spaces created less human activity and reduced the sense of community and place of the local neighbourhood.
The railway protection zone that crossed over the major land area had limited the development of the surrounding area. Due to the environmental design limitation, the surrounding neighbourhood and community are mainly affected and causing an inactive social environment with a low sense of community. The building mass is formed based on the local neighbourhood’s visual permeability and the urban networking to reconstruct the underused land become high sociability and accessibility social space. Along with the linear social space, various urban nodes and shared plaza are formed to function as informal social space for the local community.
4.2 Urban fabric discontinuity
The surrounding context remarked the youth’s daily social trail which offers recreational (urban park) and entertainment outlet (Sunway Putra Mall). However, the transportation corridor disrupt the social continuity and caused the fragmented neighborhoods. The location of the selected site mark as their daily pass by place is playing an important role in their daily social environment.
Figure 4.3: Site Photos
Figure 4.4: Contextual relationship
Figure 4.5: Urban “leftover” space as border vacuum
Figure 4.6: Jane Jacobs. An American-Canadian journalist, author, theorist, and activist who influenced urban studies.
Figure 4.7: The Death and Life of Great American Cities, 1961
4.3 Urban “leftover” space as Border Vacuum
In The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jacobs defined a border as the perimeter of a large single-use territory or corridor often a transportation corridor(Jacobs, J. 1961). Roads and railroad tracks are the most common examples; in addition to highways, vacuum-inducing transportation infrastructure includes parking lots, arterial roads, sunken and elevated corridors, all of which all tend to produce wasted space that seals off pedestrians.
The urban border is easily perceived as a negative space which affect the urban regeneration to vitalize the existing communities and new communities. Transportation corridors like railroads ;imited opportunities for crossing them to get from one district to another. The crossings are often unpleasant or perceived to be dangerous that they discourage casual crossing. Many corridors thus tend to disrupt the continuity of the urban fabric, and the resulting fragmented and isolated neighborhoods can lose their economic and social connections with the rest of the city.
Intersecting of axis and visual permeability Establishing visual continuity & surveillance
Reimagine context movement pattern Adjoining pocket space increase sociability
Linear datum in forming quality social space
Figure 4.8: Conceptual development sketches. Adjacent space & in-between social space
Figure 4.9: Idea resolution sketch
Figure 4.10: Youth’s social environments interpretation
4.4 Concept abstraction: Mutation
Mutation as a theoretical concept in evaluating the socioecological framework to reinterpret the position of urban “leftover” space in our urban development. The idea aims to use the socio-ecological approach and youth’s social environment interpretation to perceive the urban “leftover” space as a youth’s active social environments in bridging the relationship with the general public.
4.4.1 The presence of youth and the absence of public
Translating the intangible activities and sense of place to various form of lines and shapes to break down the sense of border which created by the existing railway structure in the local community. The contextual and architectural manisfestation tend to manipulate the intangible social environments that occurred in youth’s daily activities. The intangible spatial essence is more vital to be investigated in forming the sociocultural impacts to solve the issues of urban “leftover” space. The architectural exploration aims to rearrange the territorial position of urban “leftover” space in forming a new relationship between the youth and the urban “leftover” space.
Mutation 01
Figure 4.11: Conceptual massing model - Mutation 01
Figure 4.12: “Leftover” space as transitional space
Figure 4.13: Accessibility aspect in youth’s social environment
4.4.2 Mutation 01: Making the Visible
Intuitive exploration through studying the intangible impact towards the urban leftover site by connecting adjacent site context. Translating the form of intangible elements into the geographical and spatial texture in exploring the environmental possibilities.
The ‘street’ acts as a transitional space where movement creates the potential for social interaction. (Audibert, D. K. J. 2015)
Accessibility relates to the public space design’s ability to serve and allocate the people and youth’s static activities within the local community networking.
Social Structure environment - Developing relationship integration - Public space is able to promote participation of all young people and earning the community’s respect.
Community environment - Promoting social interaction Capability of public space in encouraging youth involvment at all levels of community activities.
Mutation 02
Figure 4.14: Conceptual massing model - Mutation 02
Figure 4.15: “Leftover” space as social space
Figure 4.16: Sociability aspect in youth’s social environment
4.4.3 Mutation 02: Urban border deconstruct
Due to the land limitation, higher building mass will create the perception that is out of human scale, it reduces the sense of welcoming. The deconstruct approach intends to expose the internal accessibility and functionality to create connection to the urban “leftover” site.
The ‘street’ acts as a transitional space where movement creates the potential for social interaction. (Audibert, D. K. J. 2015)
Sociability aspect in youth’s social environment
Sociability can measured through the public space’s capacity to serve the static activities between the general public and youth.
Peer Networks - Elevating self-development Public space to offer opportunities for youth to make own decisions & cope with the consequences.
Individual - Building self-awareness Developing public space with educational impact in addressing issues perceived as important by young people.
Mutation 03
Figure 4.17: Conceptual massing model - Mutation 03
Figure 4.18: Youth’s social environments as living orhanism
Figure 4.19: Spatial experience and patterns as living organism
4.4.4 Mutation 03: Spatial pattern organism
The spatial investigation tends to adapt the youth as an unpredicted character who is changing and transforming all the time. The spatial planning and manisfestation is needed to adapt the characteristics in changing the spatial experience and functionality according to the time zonning framework of youth. Therefore, a space design for youth is needed to carry out the multifunctionality and creativity to accommodate the needs of youth.
The transitional space as the social Space
Spaces could be experienced through different functionality and time zoning. The social meeting spaces is vital to accommodate different scale of social interaction which reflects the creativity and potential of youth involvements with the public.
Spatial motion interpretation
The socio-ecological approach as the spatial design generator to create the motion of the space planning in reflecting the development of youth with their needed social environment.
