Maker Time
Fu Yat Him, Horta
Saturday Afternoon Hong Kong University Fall 2018 UID 3035422374 Instructor: Espen Vatn and Andrea Pinochet
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PROJECT STATEMENT Reappropriate the labour intensive industry through remodeling the production ecology The project is inspired by the precedent study Duval Factory designed by Le Corbusier in 1947. It was a textitle factory designed with Modulor proportion system, which have taken labour working condition into significant consideration.
Therefore, the more urgent question to ask today is how to reposition human labour in the production ecology prior to simply asking how to improve working condition. The project examine the role of architecture in helping to reappropriate the labour intensive manufacturing industry in Hong Kong. Instead of a nostalgic way of simply bring back the old industry, the project questioned the production ecology used to be and attempted to remodel it to a competitive one with the new factory architecture type. Thereby, the blue-collar workers can better sustain in the competitive age of Industry 4.0.
However, in the age of global competition and automation, the importance of human labour has been endangered. It resulted in crisis of job instability and insecurity for the blue-collar workers world wide. Suggested by econmist Guy Standing, the phenomenon has plunged more people into the dangerous social class ‘Precariat’ , which may result in social instability.
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Statement Diagram Job instability in the Tertiary Time
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Case Study Duval Factory
Architect......................................... Le Corbusier Location...............................................Saint-DiĂŠ Year.............................................................1947 Program.......................................Textile Factory Area.................................................... 3500 sqm Structure.....................................Concrete frame Color..........................................Beige and White
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0
Site plan
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50m
Model 1:150
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22300
78975
0
Ground Floor Plan
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5m
0
Typical Plan
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5m
22300 3000
6000
3000
6100
4200
3750
4300
2975
2975
3400
1000
0
Section
9
5m
0
Elevation
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5m
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Studio Project Maker Time Watch Making Cluster in Hong Kong
Location.................Tsuen Wan N.T., Hong Kong Program.................................................. Factroy Area.................................................... 8000 sqm Structure.....................................Concrete frame Color....................................................... Various
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Asia Financial Crisis
1998
Annouced of Blueprint for hi-tech industry
2000 2003
Cyber-boom Founding of ASTRI Cyberport built
2004
Science Park built
2008
Global Financial Crisis
2009
CE annouced Six Industry
2015
Founding of Innovation and Technology Bureau
2017
Speed up R&D contribution to 1.5% GDP in 5 years
Population of Education attainment
1997
20% Primary 47% Secondary 33% University
The reindustrialization policy initiated by HK government in 2018 tend to promote the high-tech industry, yet this was not the first attempt in promoting the growth of technology sector. From 1998-2017, through various campaign, policy and infrastructure provision, the high-tech industry is still insignificant in its economic contribution. Part of the reason can be explained by the education attainment of general population. Two-third of population in the city receive only Secondary education. They are incapable to contribute in this advance technology sectors and they can work in service sector which is quite vulnerable to external market economy. Back then, these blue-collar workers did enjoyed a stable life on the production line. They have standard working procedure and labour hour, and they have specific skill of making a real products. Yet, most of their job no longer survive when facing the regional competition and automation. Instead of simply heading to high-tech industry, there is an also urgency to recreate job security and stability to these bluecollar workers.
Urgency: The security and stability of Blue-collar worker in Hong Kong
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Average exporting price (usd)/unit
15%
Exporting to EU
16%
15% Exporting to US
Exporting to Switzerland
17%
Exporting to CN
9%
Exporting to JP
2nd
708 JP
World Exporter
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FRAGMENTATION OF PRODUCTION LINE watchcases and strap manufacturer movement blank assembler international brand proxy HK Brand headquater Handmade watches studio regular watch exhibition
Currently, watch and clock industry can still survive in Hong Kong in a certain degree due to the prestige of assemble quality. Hong Kong is the World Second large exporter of watch. However, the export price per unit is a lot lower than Japan and Switzerland. Therefore, it has potential to expand but there is a need to remodel the industry.
Opportunity: Expanding the watch and clock making industry for better survival
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One Factory Full Production
ODM Design/ OEM Assemble
Urban production cluster
SCATTERED LOCATION OF MANUFACTURER
DESIGN PARTS SUPPLY
LABOUR INPUT
PROFIT SHARING
BRAND MARKETING
ASSEMBLY
INCOME INEQUALITY OF OEM PRODUCTION MODE
When questioning how expensive a consumer product like a watch can be, labouring cost usually occupy only a small portion over the marketing cost and profit. In Hong Kong, the old labour intensive industry in the 1980s are mainly OEM/ODM model, the general factory are small holdings and they were rather assisting international luxury brand to handle part of the assemble job which could only share a little portion of profit. Definitely, the model was problematic in such an expensive city. There is an imbalance between input and gainings of the workers. Considering the architectural type of the old factory building in Hong Kong, it actually trigger the phenomenon of the low value gained in Hong Kong production. Different small holdings along the production line are hidden around the generic blocks in the city, it could hardly establish communication and trust between the production line and potential customer. A cluster of the parts making is needed to facilitate the sector’s agglomeration.
Architectural Problem: Utilitarian model of factory building for OEM assemblage
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ted truc ons Rec e c Offi
Site
Re c Of onst fice ru
The Mills
cte
d
Renovation industrial space in Hong Kong are mainly the transformation of industrial building to commercial building. However, there is a new trend of rehablitating traditional industry in satellite town Tsuen Wan, where the district is established as a relative balanced development of working and living quarters as compare to older industrial districts in Cheung Sha Wan or Kwun Tong. “The Mills� is a recent completed project which promote the textile industry in Hong Kong. It has included garment design offices and garment recycling services into the program. If we rehabitate watch making industry in the area, the two nodes could potentially form a incubator of promoting the traditional industry.
Site Location
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CHAI WAN KOK COOKED FOOD MARKET, TSUEN WAN The site is currently occupied by temporary structure of the cooked food market. These cooked food market is selling cheap lunches to the workers from surrounding factories and offices, and considered as the canteen for grassroot working class.
Current Site Condition
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CENTRED BY RESIDENTIAL SECTORS The site is centred by the residential sector in Tsuen Wan, where it has potential connection with external visitors.
CONJUNCTION OF ELEVATED HIGHWAY
The site is surrounded by elevated highway, which formal expression could establish a better image to the watch-maker. Mapping Analysis
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Site Plan
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My initial design intent is to unpack the hidden parts assemble company in the typical giant industrial block into a more visible one. The early attempt is use a thin tall tower type to achieve one company- one floor model, yet the verticality of design does not really help to much on communication between firms. Therefore, I decide to organize the production chains on the same level which I call a village cluster. Factories of different parts making are placed at the same level, but the units are teared apart from a single building into a scattered plan. On the one hand it functionally allows every units to increase the frontage parameter that give more access to natural light as worker prefer. More importantly, it increases the visibility of an unknown firm to the whole industrial cluster. Linking up by the circulation bridge and the wall building which programed for machinery productions and back of house, the encounter space offers more potential cooperation and agglomeration between the small parts-making holding. By such operation, the ground level can be emptied as a community square where people can freely walk in and customize making their watch through the shop. Hence, a network of watch making, from design, production to sale can be happened within the same cluster. A fully Hong Kong made and branded watch become possible which transform the old OEM model.
Conceptual Massing 1:500- Urban Production Village
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To the worker, the compound would naturally become time transparent where workers can notice the moments happening inside the compound. Who start to work, when everyone are getting down for lunch and tea break, and the moment who is going off to works by the external staircases. The changes and transparency of activities itself has become an alarm in reminding people the concept of time stability in the industrial past.
Idea Model- A factory of time Transperancy
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Final Model 1:150
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Space Study
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Ground Floor Plan
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Typical Plan
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+10.062 Encountering corridor
+6.037 Assemble Factories/ Design office
+6.037 service core /Automated Production
+3.500 Workshop for customiztion
+0.000 Shops
-4.025 Exhibition/ Conference Centre
-4.025 canteen
Section
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Transverse
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Elevation
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Axonometric
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External Perspective
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At the age of industrial 4.0, we are not only moving to high-tech, but also shifting the mode of production on small batch consumer product over mass production by flexible fabrication technology. Factories no longer require an extensive large and deep floor plate on production, but a more accessible space to the sector chains and consumer to fit the demand of individual characterized products. The setting of village ecology of the design would allow the labour manufacturing industry and small enterprise to be rehabilitated in the city.
Concluding Statement
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