Mapping the Suzhou Creek: City and the Memory of the Future PhD Architecture / Urban Design Research Proposal Irwan Soetikno ishenstudio@yahoo.com
PhD Architecture / Urban Design Research Proposal Irwan Soetikno ishenstudio@yahoo.com
Title of proposed research topic/ title:
Mapping the Suzhou Creek: City and Memory of the Future Keywords: Mapping, Suzhou Creek, Phenomenology, Memory, Asian Urbanism Introduction / Background: A sixteen-year-old girl in her desperation after being kidnaped by the man she fell in love with—for a ransom—jumped off the bridge into the Suzhou River at its confluence to the Shanghai Huangpu River. Her body was never found and she was believed to turn into mermaid. As the dark and smelly water of the post-industrial water flowing toward the east, sometimes the mermaid was seen along the river bank. (Suzhou River, 2000) 1
The poetic memory, hope, and fantasy of Suzhou Creek as depicted in movie Suzhou River, has become essential aspect of Shanghai imageability and history. The moving water of territory with average width of 50m and 126 km long has recorded a long story of people who make a living and spent their entire life benefitted from it. Scattered across this territory are the chaotic and ruined architectural artifact of factories and abandoned warehouses. Through more than a decade of political, social and unprecedented economy change and development, the river and its bank have experienced changing landscape following the rapid transformation of Shanghai urbanization. In the current context of Shanghai economic development, Suzhou Creek has become an important urban landscape and corridor of the city which suffer pollution, decaying river bank and dis-integration from the urban fabric. Various policies and programs have been undertaken to mitigate these issues and to develop Suzhou Creek during post-industrialization. Many researches from academic and private institution have also been carried to help resolve its regeneration and development. This proposed research; Mapping of the Suzhou Creek will investigate the creek as an urban landscape territory from the unique reading, from perspective of phenomenology and urban design theory. With the medium of photography as the tool of observation, I attempt to unfold the story of creek in the complex confluence of space and time in the current Shanghai metropolis. This finding is expected to offer a new vision for the future development of Shanghai Urban development. 1 Suzhou River (苏州河, 2000) is a tragic love story movie set in contemporary Shanghai, directed by Lou Ye. The film has won several awards and nomination including the prestigious Tiger Award at International Film Festival Rotterdam, 2000.
Aims and objectives of the research: This research re-evaluates the underlying question of the image of the city and sense of place, as pioneered by Kevin Lynch. It also employs the ‘theory of mapping’ from the visual study and phenomenology. I believe that the decaying urban landscape along the Suzhou Creek with sophisticated history has rich potential for the urban development; beyond formal physical & economic development to benefit the people. It also offers cultural and transcendental dimension which contribute to define the identity and image of the city. This project is significant to provide a new cultural and creative perspective which will contribute to the rigid and complex urban planning, policy and decision making process for future development of Suzhou Creek and Shanghai.
Previous Related Research: Mnemonic Practice: Hybrid Urban Village As Reconstruction of Memory of Places (Master Thesis at Tsinghua University, Beijing) Selected for International Urban Design Conference: Designing Places, University of Nottingham, UK 2012; Presented and Published at Urban Design Conference: Future Cities in Asia, Seoul 2012; Upcoming Publication by Beijing Planning Review 2013.
Suzhou Creek and Shanghai Urban Redevelopment (by author)
Confluence of Suzhou Creek and Huangpu River (by author)
River & Border (by author)
Urban Village along the border (by author)
Historical Site along the ‘political border’ (by author)
Historical Site along the ‘political border’ (by author)
Proposed Design Intervention (by author)
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irwan soetikno
Irwan Soetikno is an urban designer at RTKL International with extensive experiences across Asia. Previously he was appointed as an architectural & landscape designer in well-known design practices; British Alsop Architect (SMC ALSOP, Singapore) and Japanese HMA Architects, Shanghai. His design work have traversed multidisciplinary boundary of art, architecture, landscape and urban design. With strong interest in design theory and contemporary practice, he is committed to push the theoretical knowledge into practice, and cultivate a critical academic research for design practice. His research paper has been selected for international urban design conference and his photography works has been published and exhibited in China, Singapore, Indonesia, US and Germany. His design interest includes Housing, Hybrid Buildings, & Urban Design.
Education M.Arch (EPMA / English Program Master of Architecture), 2010-2012 Tsinghua University, School of Architecture, Beijing, China Chinese Intermediate, 2005-2006 Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China B.Arch Eng, 1997-2001 Parahyangan Catholic University, Bandung, Indonesia
Professional Experiences Urban Designer, RTKL International, Beijing, 2012-now Haikou Xiuying Port Harbor Urban Regeneration, Hainan, China Architectural Designer, SPARCH / SMC ALSOP, Singapore, 2007-2010 Project Sugarcane competition, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority Office Competition, Hyderabad, India Guangzhou East Office Tower competition, Guangzhou, China Space Station 1&2, Hyderabad, India Architectural Designer, Andy Fisher Workshop, Singapore, 2006-2007 Condominium, 150,000 sqft, Baner, Puna, India Master plan, harbor - Port Louis, Mauritius Master plan, 32 acre mix-development, Airport Road, Puna, India Private villa, 2 acre, Bangalore, India Architect, HMA Architects & Designers, Shanghai, 2005-2006 X2 – IT Centre, Shanghai, China Zhongkai Residential, Nanchang, China
www.ishenstudio.com
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Soho Island Residential, Suzhou, China Landscape Designer, LandArt (Shanghai), Shanghai, 2002-2005 Peace Garden Residential, Shanghai, China Narada Housing, Suzhou, China Bi ling wan Residential, Shanghai, China Junior Architect, GRK- Urban Revitalization Group, Bandung, Indonesia 2001-2002
Proceeding Conference (Mnemonic Practice: Hybrid Urban Village as Reconstruction of Memory of Places); Urban Design Asia (October 2012), Seoul, South Korea. (Myth & The City: Dissolution of Mythical Traditional Environment); International Urban Design Conference, Design Places ( April 2012), University of Nottingham, UK.
Publication (Mnemonic Practice: Hybrid Urban Village as Reconstruction of Memory of Places); Beijing Planning Review, January 2013. Photography, accompanying articles; The use of the old buildings, the war of space; DI Architecture & Design Magazine, Shanghai, China (no 119, 2005 08 25) Stones and stone architecture design in China; DI Architecture & Design Magazine, Shanghai, China (no 118, 2005 06 25)
Awards / Exhibition Beijing Government Scholarship 2011 Research Assistantship, Tsinghua University, School of Architecture, 2010-2012 INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, US 2005 Honorable mention for non-professional architecture category SALON FOTO INDONESIA (SFI) XXVI , 2005 Awarded bronze medal for color prints category Exhibitions: SFI Exhibition in Batam, Indonesia SFI Exhibition in Ministry of International Cultural & Art (MICA), Singapore CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION IN CHINA, 2005 (WANG XIAO HUI - BASF) Selected work published on exhibition catalogue in 2005 CHINA PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST "SQUARE OF THE CITY", 2005 Selected work Best Employee of the Year, (LandArt Shanghai, 2004)
www.ishenstudio.com
ishenstudio@yahoo.com