Jingpa, urban spaces of generosity in thimphu, bhutan reflection paper by Juan

JINGPA URBAN SPACES OF GENEROSITY IN THIMPHU, BHUTAN planning and design strategy for a materialised sense of inclusion in a vertical country Juan Thibaut de MaisiĂ¨res / Master Thesis Project guided by Marc Dujardin / Academic year 2018 / KULeuven Faculty of Architecture, campus Gent, Belgium

Jingpa, Urban Spaces of Generosity

JINGPA URBAN SPACES OF GENEROSITY IN THIMPHU, BHUTAN planning and design strategy for a materialised sense of inclusion in a vertical country Juan Thibaut de MaisiĂ¨res / Master Thesis Project / Academic year 2018 / KULeuven Faculty of Architecture, campus Gent, Belgium

Jingpa, Urban Spaces of Generosity

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Jingpa, Urban Spaces of Generosity

TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement

Research matrix

Abstract

PART 1 : CHALLENGES FOR THE INSTANT CITY

1.1 The institutional promises of urban happiness

1.2 Thimphu, A city up to its social ambition

1.3 A new story to tell

PART 2 : 4 PLANNING AND DESIGN STRATEGIC INTENTIONS

Intention 1 : Revive ecological corridors for new mobility patterns

Intention 2 : Bridge islands of the urban archipelago

Intention 3 : transform vertical movement into opportunities for a vibrant public space

Intention 4 : stimulate participation in the creation of inclusive neighbourhoods PART 3 : MATERIALISING THE URBAN GENEROSITY Chapter 1 : Inclusion

1.1 inclusive islands within An exclusive physical context

1.2 inclusive Affordances and the ‘culturisation’ of disability

1.3 Ability Bhutan Society (ABS)

1.4 The case of Luzern

Chapter 2 : sense of a place

2.1 Natural elements

2.2 Understandable and recognisable forms

2.3 Protect and being protected

2.4 Multi-sensorial experience

Chapter 3 : social affordances

3.1 Thimphu’s growing pains

3.2 Celebrating the diversity of users

3.3 Celebrating the diversity of usages

3.4 Trusted strangers - RAAAF Architects

3.5 The rural farmhouse for a sense of community

Chapter 4 : meshwork

4.1 Topographic nodes and the opportunity f rom the terrain

4.2 Urban archipelago and strategic interventions

4.3 New mobility patterns

4.4 diversty within unity

PART 4 : NEW STORIES FOR INCLUSIVE NEIGHBOURHOODS

Jingpa, Urban Spaces of Generosity

RESEARCH MATRIX

POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT OR URBAN STRATEGY OR POROSITY OR LANDSCAPE URBANISM AND INCLUSION OR UNIVERSAL DESIGN OR DISABILITY OR IMPAIRMENT AND HAPPINESS OR GENEROSITY OR AFFORDANCE AND SOCIO-CULTURAL PRACTICES OR BHUTAN OR HIMALAYA OR DIVERSITY

ABSTRACT

Jingpa is a research by design aiming at building more generous urban spaces in seemingly inhospitable landscapes. Generosity in an urban context associates INCLUSION, AFFORDANCE, and HAPPINESS. As an intern, I had the chance to work in the Ministry of Works and Human Settlements of Bhutan for one month in Thimphu, the capital city. I became sensitive to the mixed quality of public space in the city partly due to the difficult mountainous terrain and the lack of urban planners. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to meet Bhutanese workers in support structures for people with disabilities (namely Ability Bhutan Society), which inspired me to reflect further on the connections between urban design and the quality of an accessible and inclusive public life. Thimphu suffers from a public space that rejects and segregate, but in the same time there is a strong willingness to base the urban development on Gross National Happiness, which makes this case interesting for urban planners and architects. My research includes an intercultural approach of inclusive societies and their happiness. I tend to demonstrate that a high level of inclusion is a key factor to create happy public spaces that foster human connections.

PART 1 Jingpa, Urban Spaces of Generosity

Welcome, dear reader, into the world I have been exploring for the last 12 months. Starting as an intern in the Ministry of Works and Human Settlements (MoWHS) in Thimphu, Bhutan, I have been researching and designing on inclusion from the very beginning of this adventure. As a starter, the following pages will guide you through the challenges faced today by the Bhutanese people, whose rich culture and heritage deserve a promising future... Introduction.

CHALLENGES FOR THE INSTANT CITY

THE CALL FOR A NEW URBAN COHERENCE

Jingpa, Urban Spaces of Generosity

PART 1 : CHALLENGES FOR THE INSTANT CITY THE CALL FOR A NEW URBAN COHERENCE

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> The effect of the instant city

has left a high potential for urban porosity that just needs to be activated (plan 1.500 hand drawing, by the author)

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25m

2339

2328

2326

2324

2320

2316

Part 1 : The institutional urban happiness

1.1 THE INSTITUTIONAL PROMISES OF URBAN HAPPINESS Between societal needs and national program «The most important psychological effect of the city is the way in which it moderates our relationships with other people»1

The semantic field of Happiness has been hardly associated to design and urban strategies. Most probably because the word reflects something untouchable, undefined, and too wide to be linked with the so called “scientific” and very serious world of urban planning. Institutions and politics have been hesitant to use it, perhaps frightened to be considered over-sensitive or even related to rhetoric speeches and cheap advertisement. If enlighten and modern visionaries were not scared to use a generous and generic language to illustrate their dreams, we felt during the last decades a global unease to speak frankly about visions on urbanism and its impact on human beings. One cannot help but consider the lack of vision behind. 1 C. Montgomery, Happy cities

The vision is coming back. Nowadays, we can feel a fresh vibe of urban planning, more concerned by the effects of good or bad development strategies, and more connected to the human in its centre. West-

2 OPHI, Bhutan Gross National Happiness index, University of Oxford, http://ophi.org.uk/ policy/national-policy/gross-national-happiness-index/, cons. 12-04-18

ern thinkers and designers like Jan Gehl or Charles Montgomery are building this new vision. The picture shows the transformation of car-oriented streets into generous pedestrian squares, concrete walls into green façades, dark industrial harbours into bright and vibrant public spaces along the water, highways into bicycle lanes, … After a numb period in the history of urban planning, we feel a global move towards the creation of dynamic hubs for social fulfilment: the city becomes the place fostering the blossoming of beings rather than this “post-industrial prison”. The new vision is human centred, how can it be otherwise? Happiness is not exclusive to western thinkers and designers. Way before Charles Montgomery, a small country in the Himalaya, named Bhutan, was building the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH). Since 1972 and the coronation of the 4th king of Bhutan, the country has been developing along the principles of GNH. Based on the idea that the happiness of its inhabitants can qualify the wealth of the country, GNH strives for an integrated approach on sustainable development in which the notions of progress go along with non-economic aspects of wellbeing2.

At all levels of decision making, policies,

and future planification, the actors of development

Part 1 : The institutional urban happiness

must keep in mind the guidelines of GNH, written in the national constitution since 2008. We can read: “The State shall strive to promote those conditions that will enable the pursuit of Gross National Happiness.”3

This national ambition sets a range of guidelines to foster development with values.

1.2 THIMPHU, A CITY UP TO ITS SOCIAL AMBITION Urban issues are not left aside. It is challenging to relate an urban strategy to a holistic approach on human wellbeing, and to base a critical development upon this generous concept. Yet, by making this choice, Bhutan becomes the first country to express so clearly its ambition… and not an easy one. Cities around the world are often considered to have negative impacts on human wellbeing and social health, and Thimphu must face the same challenges. The GNH index mentions clearly the negative effects of urbanisation on wellbeing, and addresses particularly the following issues : traffic congestion; inadequate green spaces; lack of pedestrian streets; urban sprawl.

It is interesting to note that people living in rural areas have been automatically classified as “sufficient” in the index. It clearly shows the global awareness

3 The constitution of the Kingdom

of Bhutan, Article 9, Principles of state policy, paragraph 2, p.18 4 Karma Ura, Sabina Alkire, Tshoki Zangmo, Karma Wangdi, A short guide to Gross National Happiness, ed. by The centre for Bhutan Studies, p.32 Urban issues

of risks on human wellbeing implied by urbanisation. Since 2002, the city has been developing along the principles of a “structure plan” (Thimphu Structure Plan – TSP). The 200 pages book is the result of a collaboration between urban planners and policy makers, and an attempt to translate the concept of GNH into urban forms. (reference needed) Even though the plan struggles to be as nurturing as it attempted to be, it already shows an ambition. The present paper will shortly expose its deflections later, but let’s recognise the positive attitude in the first instance. 1.3 A NEW STORY TO TELL To lead the present paper in this way, I identified two main research questions: > How can we design happy urban spaces that generate inclusion and foster human connections in vertical dense environments? > Beyond Universal Design, what are the intersections between our «culture of disability» and urban design?

My research includes an intercultural approach of inclusive societies and their happiness.

PART 2 Jingpa, Urban Spaces of Generosity

The research on Thimphu case study leads this paper towards new planning and design strategic interventions. The following pages summarise these into 4 main chapters. In a context-specific way of thinking, the questions are asked at a regional and national scale, answered with local qualities. The non-defined architecture and the new definition of public domain arise from those essential intentions.

4 PLANNING AND DESIGN STRATEGIC INTENTIONS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT

Jingpa, Urban Spaces of Generosity

PART 2 : 4 PLANNING AND DESIGN STRATEGIC INTENTIONS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT

The present paper is more than an architectural research. Its manufacturing process has happened synchronously with a planning and design strategy for the city of Thimphu. Therefore, this book is the output of a ‘research by design’ and ‘design by research’, and both will be discussed along hand in hand. While ‘Part 1’ built an introduction to the quality of urban settlements in Bhutan and placed the ideological framework of this thesis, ‘Part 2’ will briefly expose the planning and design strategy of the intervention itself. The choices that were made are all backed by a certain reading of the physical, socio-cultural, and ecological context. They are all arising from the early decision to define and materialise the concept of Generosity, and will be largely exposed in ‘Part 3’ under the form of ‘building elements’. To introduce this methodological structure, the following pages will act as an executive summary, describing the main intentions behind the strategy. From mapping to sketching, these intentions will allow the reader to understand the bigger picture behind architectural choices. This holistic approach is an attempt to build a system-integrated research from which emerges a well-geared design strategy.

1 These ambitions are based on global aspirations for more inclusive spaces, recently formulated in the UIA Awards, ”Friendly and Inclusive Spaces” 2017.

Part 2 : Planning and design strategic intentions

INTENTION 1 : REVIVE ECOLOGICAL CORRIDORS FOR NEW MOBILITY PATTERNS The urbanisation of Thimphu sets a new step in the history of Bhutan. It is not more than a 50 years story that begins with the first importation of cars and construction of roads that condensed very rapidly the scattered Himalayan landscape, not easily adaptable to an object that needs straight and flat surfaces. If this new mobility system has built connections between remote regions, has fostered trade and exchanges, and has created a certain comfort, we can’t help but see the damages generated. Its glorification has created a meagre public space, surfaces that segregate and exclude. Thimphu needs to move towards a new mobility ecosystem less

> Natural forces have shaped the

based on cars and more human centred1. Therefore,

valley and left powerful lines in the landscape (hand drawing, by the

the intention behind the project is to valorise the natural

author)

flows and lines in the landscape to celebrate the great quality of a walkable, runnable, cyclable, wheelchair-able, … green city. Water streams, large forests, mountain paths have been transformed in cities to become concrete drains and asphalt linear roads. The planning strategy intends to revive these natural elements, and use their traces as structural corridors for new mobility patterns in the urban landscape.

1 The Thimphu Structure Plan (TSP) comissionned in 2002 already expressed this necessity for the growing city. Despite the efforts of the skilled urban planners and architects at the time, the city hasn’t yet respond to its ambition. Reasons are numerous, as discussed in Manka Bajaj’s thesis Thimphu’s growing pains.

Part 2 : Planning and design strategic intentions

INTENTION 2 : BRIDGE ISLANDS OF THE URBAN ARCHIPELAGO By analysing the physical context of Bhutan, one can easily identify a very scattered landscape that has created pockets of life in valleys separated by great inhospitable mountainous passes and peaks. These islands have been separated for millennia before the new mobility systems were developed. Similarly, the urban context faces the same situation of isolated islands in an archipelago. As Thimphu has been developed in a valley with a challenging topography, the project highlights places where a generous piece of land could be flattened with minor effort, and to group the vertical movements in ‘urban elevators’ at very strategic points. The generous space that was left to a few isolated islands of the archipelago, extends all of a sudden to a large ‘meshwork’ of accessible and connected pockets of life. The potential of these spikes is to bridge places and expand infinitely the possibilities of movement in the city. To identify the different islands of the archipelago, the analysis looks at the potential inclusion of spaces and maps them into categories. For instance, the clock-tower square was identified as a high potential inclusive space, so was the Bus Terminal area. In between, one strategic intervention could bridge them and expand consequently the possibilities of movement in the city.

> Corridors and spikes in the city

create the meshwork of the urban archipelago (plan of the core area, by the author)

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Part 2 : Planning and design strategic intentions

INTENTION 3 : TRANSFORM VERTICAL MOVEMENT INTO OPPORTUNITIES FOR A VIBRANT PUBLIC SPACE Vertical movement in Thimphu has been for long associated to a difficulty or even a discontinuity in the urban tissue. Evidences of unplanned designs are obvious in the streetscape: they all accentuate the feeling of inhospitable public space and exclude a large part of the population from the public life. Nevertheless, vertical movements are also great opportunities for viewpoints, fresh air circulation, diverse sequences in the experience of the city, and density of public facilities. Therefore, the intention is to upgrade them and bring them to life. By reusing existing structures that already have this potential or by building new ones, the project strives for the creation of places where vertical physical movement becomes an opportunity for socio-cultural elevation. While using the urban elevator, one has access to a great range of services (bars, concerts, commercial areas, dances, street art, …) The vertical movement,

> New structures are possibilities

to transform the current painful vertical movement into a joyfull socio-cultural elevation. (Conceptual section, by the author)

which is currently a pain for the citizens, becomes an opportunity for a rich and generous public life. Intervenrich landscape of social affordances, and they foster hu-

1 Jingpa is word in Dzongkha, the national language of Bhutan. It means “generosity”, or “donation”.

man connections between diverse and rich subcultures.

2 other reference

tions are named Jingpa1: they are inclusive, they offer a

Part 2 : Planning and design strategic intentions

INTENTION 4 : STIMULATE PARTICIPATION IN THE CREATION OF INCLUSIVE NEIGHBOURHOODS Inclusion is a matter of society, and it works only if every layer takes part. Jingpa’s could initially be public interventions to improve the quality of a neighbourhood node, but it is meant to surpass the limitation of government programs and agenda. Private owners or investors could see the interest of revitalising a building to improve its social, commercial, and economical value. Partly subsidized by the government, the Jingpa concept could be spread in the city and generate great improvement of existing buildings into accessible and generous dwellings, commerces, galleries, or restaurants. The present paper presents two strategies in detail: »» Pilot projects They are new urban forms born from a public initiative in collaboration with connected private owners. »» Jingpa awards They are revalued existing buildings privately or publicly owned, reorganised to fit a new function or better serve the current one. Jingpa awards are publicly rewarded for their inclusive qualities and become examples of collective efforts to make Thimphu fully accessible for everyone.

One by one, Jingpaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s will arise from the great partnership between public ad private energies. (Evolutive concept, by the author)

Jingpa is a research by design aiming at building ingly

generous

inhospitable

urban

spaces

landscapes.

seem-

Generosi-

ty in an urban context associates INCLUSION, PERCEPTION, AFFORDANCES, and MESHWORK. With the ambition to take part in a global effort for designing friendly and inclusive cities, the project: - is based on research elements; - contributes to improved quality of life by proposing a user centred design. The research recognises and celebrates the rich diversity of human beings, and proposes a built environment that foster human exchanges in their full potential; - can be applied widely, in mountainous cities at its dawn, and ultimately in a broader context. More than a prototype, the research is a context-specific way of thinking that addresses questions at a global scale, and answers with local qualities.

PART 3 Jingpa, Urban Spaces of Generosity

To materialise a concept in an architecture and a planning strategy, I will organise my thoughts in five essential elements. They represent the substantial components identified for the creation of urban spaces of generosity and they support any drawing you will find in the present paper.

MATERIALISING THE URBAN GENEROSITY

A CONCEPT INTO ARCHITECTURAL FORMS

Jingpa, Urban Spaces of Generosity

PART 3 : MATERIALISING THE URBAN GENEROSITY A CONCEPT INTO ARCHITECTURAL FORMS

Jingpa is a word in Dzongkha, the national language of Bhutan. It means “generosity”, or “donation” as a disinterested action. The title of the present research paper associates this concept with a physical element: the (public) space in the city. The intention behind it is to materialise a concept already rooted in a strong sense of community and a substantial cultural identity, but a concept that finds no translation in the newly built environment of that same community. The Bhutanese people has kept for millennia its ability to safeguard its socio-cultural essence considerably based on family’s and village community’s mutual care, goods and facilities pooling, and positive relationships with their socio-cultural and ecological environment. Nevertheless, one can easily observe the struggle to adapt its built environment to newly introduced living patterns, without jeopardising the global effort for the safeguarding of these essential values. The Jingpa’s are attempts to translate them into

> New structures are possibilities

to transform the current painful vertical movement into a joyful socio-cultural elevation. (Conceptual section, by the author)

new urban forms. They celebrate the richness of a people that has cultivated for years the sense of community and mutual care, but softly loses it in a non-adapted environment: Thimphu and the Bhutanese city.

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Part 3 : Materialising the urban Generosity

CHAPTER 1 : INCLUSION First element materialising the concept of Generosity Inclusion is often related in the Western world to Universal Design (UD) concepts. These interests for ‘design for all’, or ‘inclusive design’ is born with a shift in mentalities from a medical model of handicap towards a socio-cultural approach to it. Universal Design is a wonderful starting point to understand and react with the interdependency between a design and the ‘affordances’ 1 generated, which are inherently related to the ability of the user to react with it. Nevertheless, the socio-cultural layer integrated here pushes me to transcend UD principles, and leave behind my preconceptions on disability as one westerner can perceive it. Our natural environment has given us a very generous and inclusive setting in terms of terrain and topography, on top of which we created barriers, restrictions and hurdles. In the Himalayas, the natural environment already sets a difficult starting point for an inclusive society. In this context, technical devices are part of the solution, but certainly not the only one. Inclusion is a matter of community’s involvement and mutual care that is an opportunity for our future designs. I believe that a high level of inclusion is a key factor to create happy public spaces that foster human connections.

1 The notion of ‘affordance’ will

be further discussed along the paper. Its presence here reveals affinities with the work of RAAAF Architects which have been partners of the arCsus research group.

Part 3 : Materialising the urban Generosity

1.1 INCLUSIVE ISLANDS WITHIN AN EXCLUSIVE PHYSICAL CONTEXT Bhutan is a vertical country. It could be called as a “giant staircase”1 starting in the plains of Assam and Bengal at less than 160m above sea-level, up to the highest peaks of the Himalayas range, all contained in 180km. As an intern, I had the chance to work in this context, in the Ministry of Works and Human Settlements of Bhutan for one month. I became sensitive to the mixed quality of public space in the city partly due to the difficult mountainous terrain and the lack of urban planners. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to meet Bhutanese workers in support structures for people with disabilities, which inspired me to reflect further on the issue. Thimphu suffers from a public space that rejects and segregate. Nevertheless, one can identify gentle spots. By mapping them, I came to a description of an urban archipelago. Certain spots are easily connectable with each others and could become parts of an accessible ‘meshwork’. All of a sudden, the set of affordances increases drastically. If the possibilities for a differently able person was limited to the services offered in one

> Mapping the inclusion allows

us to identify gentle spots in the landscape with a high potential of generosity. (Plan Core area, by the author)

island of the archipelago, one Jingpa broaden his/her field of action to the services of other islands. Furthermore, the Jingpa’s themselves are ‘service’ areas, places to feel safe and at ease in a sometimes messy city.

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Part 3 : Materialising the urban Generosity

1.2 INCLUSIVE AFFORDANCES AND THE ‘CULTURISATION’ OF DISABILITY “Affordances are the possibilities for action provided by the environment (Gibson 1979; Chemero 2003; Rietveld and Kiverstein 2014).”1 Within the framework of this paper, I will use this definition to appreciate the quality of an environment considering its ability to create social interaction thanks to its inclusive features. Since affordances are inherently related to the ability of a user to react with his/her environment, they have a great conceptual potential when we address the issues of inclusion in architectural and urban design. The socio-material environment of a context like many spaces of Thimphu offers an extremely reduced set of possibilities for differently able people, and even reinforce the sense of disability. By discussing inclusion within the framework of ‘affordances’, my interest lies in the possibility to create material environments that generates inclusion. Design can support patterns that can be engaged by a consequent population.2

Nepal, when wheelchair has no legitimacy (Picture, anonymous)

of inclusive behaviours by creating affordances

v UK, changing place (Picture, closmat®)

Our western perception of disability seems inclusively based on the question of self-sufficiency and independence. No doubt it is one of the predominant aspiration for the majority of individuals in Europe, and

1 E. Rietveld, Trusted strangers: social affordances for social cohesion, p.2 2 idem, p.3

Part 3 : Materialising the urban Generosity

not surprisingly a frustration for those who can’t achieve it because of medical or even economical and social issues. Therefore, the principles of Universal Design are oriented towards the accessibility of spaces to ensure the independence of differently able people. In Bhutan, independence would be hardly achieved, and one can rightly doubt about the necessity to reach this goal in such a socio-cultural and physical context. A relative self-sufficiency should obviously be attained, as it is a blessing for individual’s sense of dignity. Yet, independence can also mean individualism: an ‘adequate’ concept for some western societies, but easily transformable into isolation in others. The sense of mutual care in the heart of Bhutanese communities and families is a strong asset for this high potential inclusive society. In a mountainous environment where wheelchairs have less potential, making ramps and other urban designs is of minor relevance. More essential becomes the creation of spaces that generate mutual care and patterns of inclusive behaviours. A Jingpa is a place that has the ability to subtly support inclusive socio-cultural practices in a society. 1.3 ABILITY BHUTAN SOCIETY (ABS) The impulse behind this thesis was a dual inspiration. The first came from the sensitivity of my promoter Marc Dujardin, whose life has been shaped by questions

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and challenges arising from experiences with differently able people. The second one is the meeting of Ability Bhutan Society, and its representative Beda Giri. ABS is a public benefit organisation supporting differently able people and their family in Bhutan. The organisation believes in an inclusive society at all levels, a mutual care and support for those in need. 1.4 THE CASE OF LUZERN

Part 3 : Materialising the urban Generosity

CHAPTER 2 : SENSE OF A PLACE Second element materialising the concept of Generosity The experience of a generous space is a multi-sensorial one. A â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;multi-sensorial experienceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; stimulates all the senses of an individual and allows people with impairment to enjoy the place in another way. Elements like smells, colours, sounds, tastes, shade and light, warmth and coldness, are shaping the generous landscape. Above all the senses, one unifies and allows users to feel the space as a coherent socio-cultural experience: the sense of a place. The Bhutanese Genius Loci lies in two different layers. Firstly, at the very large scale of the Buddhist spiritual world, Bhutan belongs to a network of temples in the whole Himalayas range. This transcendental dimension is consciously or not present in any place in the country. Religion and spirituality play a fundamental role in the Bhutanese building and dwelling culture.

River (chuzom) Wangchuk

At the scale of the Bhutanese valleys, the settlements borrow the natural landscape to install a hierarchy of the space, offer perspectives, landmarks, and orientation points in an inhospitable terrain. The sense of a place is a rich system of protecting and protected interconnected elements: from the mountain pass

Dzong Tashichho dzong

In Bhutan, the sense of a place is a complex organisation of protecting and protected typo-morphological elements in the landscape (hand drawing, by the author)

Stupa Mountain pass Shrine Buddha point Shrine (Chรถrten) Memorial chรถrten

Hermitage (Tsamkhang) Phadjoding

Temple (Lakhang) Zangdok Pelri

Monastery (Gompa) Phadjoding

Part 3 : Materialising the urban Generosity

and its prayer flags, to the hermitage (tsamkhang), the monastery (gompa and dzong), the watchtower (ta dzong), the village temples (lakhangs), the shrines (chĂśrten), and the river (chuzom). In complementarity with these elements, the interventions are also part of the morpho-typological palette. Jingpaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s borrow the terrain at strategical points, and therefore accentuate and reveal qualities of the natural environment. Being part of the morpho-typological palette of urban forms, they are integrated in the landscape and experienced as recognisable elements of the built environment. To specify the contextual framework creating a sense of a place in the Bhutanese valley, the following paragraphs will identify essential elements on which the design strategy is based.

2.1 NATURAL ELEMENTS It would be simplistic to attribute the cultural reverence for nature to its religious roots alone, but none can deny the devoted respect induced by the bhuddist philosophy predominant in Bhutanese mentalities. Inherently, the cultural consciousness of natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fragility and the resulting national choices lead the country to a position of global archetype for ecological preservation programs. At the scale of individu-

> The valley of Thimphu has been shaped by streams and rivers. These natural elements are currently under the form of concrete drainage system. What if we bring them back to life as blue corridors? (Picture and collage, by the author)

1 JICA, p. 38 2 http://www.wwfbhutan.org. bt/_what_we_do/forests/

Part 3 : Materialising the urban Generosity

als and their communities, the reverence for all living things creates a general nature-friendly environment. »» Water The natural Himalayan lanscape is entirely shaped by streams, rivers, lakes, paddy fields and marshes. Bhutan has four major river bassins: Am Mo Chhu (in Paro valley), Wang Chhu (flowing in Thimphu), Puna-Tsang Chhu and Drangme Chhu(in the East)1. To inhabit this landscape, water bodies were extremely generous and auspicious places to settle down for a nomad community. Along a stream, or at the confluence of two rivers, human settlements in Bhutan have conquered with humility these natural beauties. The example of the dzongs is clear in that sense: water has always been a respectture. More recently in the history, the hydropower development confirms the nation’s dependancy on water. »» Forest Bhutan is the first carbon negative country in the world: it stores the CO2 of its adjacent countries into the great systems in the South. The government has even written in its constitution its ambition to keep 70% of its surface forest covered. A national program has planned a Bhutan Biological Conservation Complex, a network of protected areas and natural corridors through the country. 2

> Semtokha Dzong shares the same situation features, looking at all Thimphu valley from its high position.

Tashichhodzong lies along the Wangchhu river (Satelite analysis, by

pine tree forests of the North, and the lush jungle eco-

Punakha Dzong has been built at the confluent of two rivers: the Mho Chhu (the mother river) and the Pho Chhu (the father river).

ed and honoured natural element in the Bhutanese cul-

the author based on google earth)

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Part 3 : Materialising the urban Generosity

»» Natural elements vs instant densification Nevertheless, the development of concentrated human settlements has changed the relationship between natural elements and the human communities. Water is a particularly sensitive element to look at. To absorb the urban growth and the concretisation of the soil, water in the city has become a controlled non-natural element. The drains were originally natural streams, green lines in the landscape coming from the mountains above and given by mother nature to irrigate the paddy fields in the valley. Thimphu is expanding and being densified drastically. Various studies show that a rate of 5% growth will lead the city to host more than 230.000 people in 2027 (reference year for the Thimphu structure plan) while the population was around 43.000 people in 2000, and less than 10.000 in the early 1950’s when the king Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (1952-1972) made Thimphu the permanent capital city . This ‘instant city’ effect (described as such by Marc Dujardin) has brought many difficulties for a young urban infrastructure that was not ready to serve such a big population growth. Sewage, drains, water tanks and treatment plants, solid waste dumping areas… if new urban settlements can adapt themselves, infrastructures in the core area have been suffering from overloaded capacities and cannot absorb the population growth and the increasing load of liquid and solid waste generated by the city. Thimphu is suf-

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focating without adapted installations, and it is common to observe the symptoms in the streets. Because of the overwhelmed waste management, garbage is disposed uncontrollably in the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s left-over spaces. During the rainy season, the wild waste dumping clogs the drains which overflow easily and damage the road and built infrastructure. Many private rain water pipes are going into the sewage and provoke its overflow as well. Even the quality of drinking water is jeopardised because of the non-adapted water treatment plants capacity. Despite all this, the city is not planning to stop its growth, and development must carry on. There is a necessity for urban planners and real estate investors to tackle these issues quickly. The present paper aims at defining the issues concerning urban infrastructure and understanding how development should take them into account. Urban infrastructure is not only seen as a development-related issue; it is at first a human device to control natural elements such as water and has socio-cultural impacts.

Part 3 : Materialising the urban Generosity

2.2 UNDERSTANDABLE AND RECOGNISABLE FORMS Loribus sitio optiore di doloribus sanda consequi re nis etur, et aceatur, officip idebit, consequat quae nonsed qui autem acescim agnatis im idignam, inusam re pra inveliquide velluptatium qui deliquam aut officia veliquam, quatur? Dus, iducite mporest, ium eleseris secturescium volenis doloriasit autas as doluptatio et et fugitiis natur? Mentumqui none periandusam, sandi unt omnit a quis molorum accatureheni dolorem oluptat usantes tiisinusa et voluptam ex et porio que porum il ipsum re sus sunt quiberitat autem ventiur? Accus, sum am ernatur simolup tiusand elestem es molore volupta quibus doloreprem et aut es re nonsequaesed moloreperum vel mod eos aciatem poreped et aceatio reruptaque endant aut quae pa conseni musanim Lhuntse Dzong

agnatque peribus qui beremque volorpor sed ea dolupti aborum facit ligenis eatet accum qui aut vendel-

> Punakha Dzong

lo magnihicium arum iur? Quis eossumqui remquiae

Tashichhodzong

culparc hillab in natem endant. erum vel mod eos aci-

(hand drawings, by the author)

atem poreped et aceatio reruptaque endant aut quae pa conseni musanim agnatque peribus qui beremque volorpor sed ea dolupti aborum facit ligenis eat Occatiandam quid quibus et eos ditat ab ium qui to.

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Part 3 : Materialising the urban Generosity

CHAPTER 3 : SOCIAL AFFORDANCES Third element materialising the concept of Generosity Generosity has something to do with social interaction and conviviality. By moving to the city, individuals from rural areas are mostly looking for economical opportunities, but also have in mind the social stimulation that a dense settlement could possibly provide. Far from the familial cluster of villages, dense settlements are the promises for anonymity and blossoming of individuals freed from direct social stress and overwhelming external control. Unfortunately, anonymity goes along with isolation and loss of identity when the built environment doesn’t give the space for these identities to express themselves. Badly geared architecture and urban design generate an imprisonment of suffocating individuals who don’t recognise themselves in this habitat. The diversity of socio-cultural backgrounds goes along with a variety of ‘ways of life’. A generous urban space celebrate this variety of socio-cultural practices by proposing a ‘rich landscape of affordances’1 allowing all users to engage with it. Jingpa’s are places that foster human connections and generate a healthy social life.

New layers of mobility translate new layers of socio-cultural practices (picture of a model, by the author)

Part 3 : Materialising the urban Generosity

3.1 THIMPHU’S GROWING PAINS Despite the ambition to achieve sufficiency in all GNH indexes concerning urban issues, one cannot help but address the lack of positive results in the happy development of Thimphu, particularly concerning its related social issues. The ‘instant city’1 seems to already suffocate from a non-controlled densification. Real estate has ruled the building market, compressed the public life in residual or non-fitting spaces, without taking care of collective infrastructure, water flows, sewage networks, or pedestrian paths. Consequently, it appears that urban development has not yet fulfil its function of health and wealth generator, already suggested in the Thimphu Structure Plan2. The promises of happiness nowadays inherent to the Bhutanese culture should push developers to strive for quality for the commons. Up to now, substantial issues show its failure. The importation of “artificial” urban forms and designs results in a growing gap between features of the environment and the abilities of Bhutanese people to react and engage with these features. Similarly, the generalisation of forms induce the same distance between non-concerned users and their environment. This paper has not the ambition to discuss the reasons of the TSP failures in that sense – one can find more related inklings in the great Manka Bajaj’s the-

> Thimphu has exploded from a 10.000 inhabitants settlement to a 120.000 inhabitants city in 50 years time (aerial picture Thimphu valley, Jim Block)

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Part 3 : Materialising the urban Generosity

sis Thimphu’s growing pains1 – but will rather focus on opportunities for the design strategy itself. 3.2 CELEBRATING THE DIVERSITY OF USERS Thimphu is a city of migrants. Only 30% of its inhabitants were born there. The cultural (and ethnic) diversity is immense. The project aims to support and bring to light this richness by creating inclusive places that connect people. Jingpa’s are new public domains inviting people from different socio-cultural backgrounds to sincerely meet. They attempt to answer the need for cultural expression and recognition in a city that tends to smoother or even suppress them. 3.3 CELEBRATING THE DIVERSITY OF USAGES

> Graphs showing the rich diver-

sity of people in the city (Graphic analysis, source: Bhutan housing census 2005, drawing by the author)

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Part 3 : Materialising the urban Generosity

3.4 TRUSTED STRANGERS - RAAAF ARCHITECTS RAAAF architects are known for their interdisciplinary approach, combining a philosophical research with architecture and urban design. This leads to extremely well referenced and integrated creations in the existing tissue, together with a strong critical approach on notions like ‘public domain’. Created for the harbour of Amsterdam, NAP is an urban park made of 24 barges representing and mixing sub-cultures. The proposal is a celebration to the richness of diversity, and a new definition of public space based on the richest landscape of affordances as possible. Born from “the societal urgency of taking care of public domain”1, the project and its related research discuss the roles familiarity and trust play in the creation of vibrant public spaces. Trusted strangers is an engaged architectural manifesto reflecting on social cohesion in culturally diverse environment. 3.5 THE RURAL FARMHOUSE FOR A SENSE OF COMMUNITY

> Celebration of diversity in a new

definition of public domain. (urban section, New Amsterdam Park (NAP) Trusted Subcultures, RAAAF)

Re sus sunt quiberitat autem ventiur? Accus, sum am ernatur simolup tiusand elestem es molore volupta quibus doloreprem et aut es re nonsequaesed

1 Trusted strangers, p.4 2 deuxième note de bas de page mystérieuse

Part 3 : Materialising the urban Generosity

CHAPTER 4 : MESHWORK Fourth element materialising the concept of Generosity As Jingpa’s are strategic interventions, they intervene in the large picture of inclusive urban tissues. A Jingpa alone can’t be. It is connected to others to create a meshwork.

4.1 TOPOGRAPHIC NODES AND THE OPPORTUNITY FROM THE TERRAIN

4.2 URBAN ARCHIPELAGO AND STRATEGIC INTERVENTIONS Re sus sunt quiberitat autem ventiur? Accus, sum am ernatur simolup tiusand elestem es molore volupta quibus doloreprem et aut es re nonsequaesed moloreperum vel mod eos aciatem poreped et aceatio reruptaque endant aut quae pa conseni musanim agnatque peribus qui beremque volorpor sed ea dolupti aborum facit ligenis eatet accum qui aut vendello magnihicium arum iur? Quis eossumqui remquiae culparc hillab in natem endant. erum vel mod eos aciatem poreped et aceatio reruptaque endant aut quae pa conseni musanim agnatque peribus qui berem-

> The topography of the Bhutanese valleys creates challenges... and opportunities (satellite image of Thimphu valley, by the author based on google earth images)

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The vertical city Thimphu Thromde

Part 3 : Materialising the urban Generosity

4.3 NEW MOBILITY PATTERNS Loribus sitio optiore di doloribus sanda consequi re nis etur, et aceatur, officip idebit, consequat quae nonsed qui autem acescim agnatis im idignam, inusam re pra inveliquide velluptatium qui deliquam aut officia veliquam, quatur? Dus, iducite mporest, ium eleseris secturescium volenis doloriasit autas as doluptatio et et fugitiis natur? Mentumqui none periandusam, sandi unt omnit a quis molorum accatureheni dolorem oluptat usantes tiisinusa et voluptam ex et porio que porum il ipsum re sus sunt quiberitat autem ventiur? Accus, sum am ernatur simolup tiusand elestem es molore volupta quibus doloreprem et aut es re nonsequaesed moloreperum vel mod eos aciatem poreped et aceatio reruptaque endant aut quae pa conseni musanim agnatque peribus qui beremque volorpor sed ea dolupti aborum facit ligenis eatet accum qui aut vendello magnihicium arum iur? Quis eossumqui remquiae culparc hillab in natem endant. erum vel mod eos aci-

> Perpendicular to the main roads and commercial streets, a new layer of pedestrian access and sequences is taking over the city (bird view, by the author)

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Part 3 : Materialising the urban Generosity

4.4 DIVERSITY WITHIN UNITY Loribus sitio optiore di doloribus sanda consequi re nis etur, et aceatur, officip idebit, consequat quae nonsed qui autem acescim agnatis im idignam, inusam re pra inveliquide velluptatium qui deliquam aut officia veliquam, quatur? Dus, iducite mporest, ium eleseris secturescium volenis doloriasit autas as doluptatio et et fugitiis natur? Mentumqui none periandusam, sandi unt omnit a quis molorum accatureheni dolorem oluptat usantes tiisinusa et voluptam ex et porio que porum il ipsum re sus sunt quiberitat autem ventiur? Accus, sum am ernatur simolup tiusand elestem es molore volupta quibus doloreprem et aut es re nonsequaesed moloreperum vel mod eos aciatem poreped et aceatio reruptaque endant aut quae pa conseni musanim agnatque peribus qui beremque volorpor sed ea dolupti aborum facit ligenis eatet accum qui aut vendello magnihicium arum iur? Quis eossumqui remquiae culparc hillab in natem endant. erum vel mod eos aciatem poreped et aceatio reruptaque endant aut quae pa conseni musanim agnatque peribus qui beremque volorpor sed ea dolupti aborum facit ligenis eat Occatiandam quid quibus et eos ditat ab ium qui to.

The newly built road infrastructure has changed the life of isolated valleys by connecting disparate islands of the mountainous archipelago (satellite analysis with angle, by the author based on google earth images)

Jingpa, Urban Spaces of Generosity

PART 4 Jingpa, Urban Spaces of Generosity

NEW STORIES FOR INCLUSIVE NEIGHBOURHOODS

URBAN INCLUSION IS A PARTICIPATORY PROCESS

Jingpa, Urban Spaces of Generosity

PART 4 : NEW STORIES FOR INCLUSIVE NEIGHBOURHOODS URBAN INCLUSION IS A PARTICIPATORY PROCESS

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Part 4 : New stories for inclusive neighbourhoods

4.1 EVOLUTIVE CONCEPT Loribus sitio optiore di doloribus sanda consequi re nis etur, et aceatur, officip idebit, consequat quae nonsed qui autem acescim agnatis im idignam, inusam re pra inveliquide velluptatium qui deliquam aut officia veliquam, quatur? Dus, iducite mporest, ium eleseris secturescium »» Thimphu 2020 - Pilot project Loribus sitio optiore di doloribus sanda consequi re nis etur, et aceatur, officip idebit, consequat quae nonsed qui autem acescim agnatis im idignam, inusam re pra inveliquide velluptatium qui deliquam aut officia veliquam, quatur? Dus, iducite mporest, ium eleseris secturescium volenis doloriasit autas as doluptatio et et fugitiis natur? Mentumqui none periandusam, sandi unt omnit a quis molorum accatureheni dolorem oluptat usantes tiisinusa et voluptam ex et porio que porum il ipsum

»» Thimphu 2030 - Jingpa award Loribus sitio optiore di doloribus sanda consequi re nis etur, et aceatur, officip idebit, consequat quae nonsed qui autem acescim agnatis im idignam, inusam re pra inveliquide velluptatium qui deliquam aut officia veliquam, quatur? Dus, iducite mporest, ium eleseris secturescium

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Part 4 : New stories for inclusive neighbourhoods