Tiles of Cau Mau
Red and yellow cast benches can be found on the sidewalks and inside the homes of Ca Mau. The benches are manufactured by the government and purchased by politicians as gifts to their areas in the city they represent. Each bench prominently displays the name of the politician to solicit the votes and appreciation of residents. The benches are placed both on the public street and in the private courtyard, creating confusion between spaces which may be either restricted or accessible to the average pedestrian.
The majority of sidewalks in Ca Mau are not cast in large panel of concrete. Rather, the city’s sidewalks are made of small square ceramic tiles ranging in size from 24 cm to 40 cm. There are 12 different types of tiles that over the last 10 years have replaced the brick sidewalks. The tiles were adopted because they require less labor to maintain and replace than the brick. The sidewalk tiles are mass produced, affordable and portable. Today, few regions in the city still use brick paving.
In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy leaves her mundane black and white existence for the Technicolor world of Oz, following the path of the yellow brick road in her ruby red slippers in order to reach the Emerald city. The yellow brick is both an extension to and signifier of the Emerald city. Its consistent size and prominent color becomes a repeated landmark that Dorothy is able to read and follow to her destination. Like Fido, it is her constant companion throughout the trip. The moments when Dorothy ventures astray from the yellow brink road results in dramatic situations that threaten the course her journey.
The first production to showcase color film in a theater, the Wizard of Oz uses the newfound medium to convey subtle concepts and meanings. Various critical interpretations of the symbolism of the yellow brick road have been offered. One reading of the yellow brick road draws an analogy between Dorothy’s journey and the failure of certain aspects of capitalist culture. In 1964, Henry Littlefield published an article that compared the yellow bricks from the book to the gold standard adopted by the US in the late 19th century as a way of critiquing the government’s monetary policy.
As in the book and the movie, the brick roads of Ca Mau are predominantly red and yellow. The colors of the tiles are to some degree propaganda. They remind pedestrians of the far-reaching influence and authority of the communist government. From a less critical point of view, they instill a feeling of national pride. Red and yellow tiles clearly mark party territory, surrounding schools, government buildings and other semi public spaces. Whether the sidewalk tiles generate fear, pride, or fail to illicit any reaction, their presence represents a uniform logic that assembles the different zones of the city.
The street tile provides a sense of continuity to the city, establishing the spatial and bureaucratic edge of urbanism and landscape. By standing on the sidewalk tile, the pedestrian places them self within the domain of the city. Portions of Ca Mau can be grouped and dated through an analysis of the types and patterns of tile. Certain tiles correspond with certain periods or urban renewal or redevelopment from as recent as 2012 to before 2000.
Color
Scale - 1:12,500
Scale - 1:12,500
Scale - 1:12,500
Scale - 1:12,500
Scale - 1:12,500
Scale - 1:12,500
Scale - 1:12,500
Scale - 1:12,500
Scale - 1:12,500
Scale - 1:12,500
Scale - 1:12,500
Scale - 1:12,500
In rural zones, the sidewalk tile is a signifier of areas in the process of development or which anticipate further growth. Where sidewalk tiles appear, urbanization soon follows. The sidewalk tile aids in generating a unique district identity, giving neighborhoods an identifiable pattern.
Wear
Non-Biased Symmetry Rotationally-Biased Symmetry Linearly-Biased Symmetry Linearly/Rotationally-Biased Symmetry
Dark Grey, Light Grey
40 cm x 40 cm x 5 cm
2 Years
Dark Dark Grey, Grey, Light Light Grey Grey
40 40 cm cm xx 40 40 cm cm xx 55 cm cm
22 Years Years
Dark Grey, Light Grey
40 cm x 40 cm x 5 cm
2 Years
Dark DarkGrey, Grey,Light LightGrey Grey
40 40cm cmxx40 40cm cmxx55cm cm
Years 22Years
Red, Yellow
30 cm x 30 cm x 5 cm
10 Years
Red, Yellow, White, Green
30 cm x 30 cm x 5 cm
5 Years
Red, Yellow
30 cm x 30 cm x 5 cm
5 Years
Red, Yellow
30 cm x 30 cm x 5 cm
5 Years
Red, Yellow, White
30 cm x 30 cm x 5 cm
5 Years
Red, Yellow, Grey
30 cm x 30 cm x 5 cm
5 Years
Red, Yellow 22.5 cm x 22.5 cm x 5 cm 5 Years
The sidewalk tile is representative of public space. Its various forms and manipulations suggest different hierarchies of access between spaces clearly public and those more ambiguous in their ownership. Although the sidewalk tile is employed by the government as top down approach to create traversable public zones, the individual tiles are repurposed by residents. The sidewalk is shifted, dismantled, stepped and ramped in order to accommodate a variety of informal needs and uses.
Dirt
The existence of either steps or ramps refers to two very different conditions of access. By using the ramp, one is able to easily navigate the elevation change between the sidewalk and home to park their motorbike inside. On the other hand, the presence of stairs suggests that is exclusive to the pedestrian and prevents access to the home from motorbike. The sidewalk does not belong exclusively to the pedestrian. It hosts outdoor seating for cafes, open air markets, food trucks, cane juice stands, and parking for motorbikes. The curb between street and sidewalk is never a hard edge. It is always sloped to allow access by motorbike.
Leaves
At times the tiles transition between more defined thresholds to suggest communal use in spaces that otherwise appear inaccessible to the general public. Since the application of sidewalk tiles create continuity between street and interior, the boundaries between housing, retail and the public way are made more ambiguous. Tile steps bring people into the shops. Tile ramps allow motorbikes to be parked inside the living room of homes. Tile planters retain dirt for trees.
Grass
Street Food
Seating Area
Laundry
Foliage
Cafe
Street Vendor
Street Vendor
Street Edge
Street Edge
Street Food
Driveway
Street Food
Street Food
Foliage
Foliage
Courtyard
Entrance
Entrance
Entrance
Courtyard
Foliage
Where does the yellow tile road lead?
It might just lead to somewhere over the rainbow.