A LIVING ENVIRONMENT BASED ON SELF-ORGANIZATION I LIKE HOW THEY USE THIS GARDEN NICE SKILL!
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Thesis Book CHOW KA LOK, Tim (1155101313) Thesis Advisor: Prof. VAN AMEIJDE, Jeroen The Chinese University of Hong Kong | MArch 2 2018 - 2019
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RESIDENTIAL
RESIDENTIAL CORE
ADAPTIVE ECOLOGIES:
Acknowledgement First and foremost, I have to thank my research supervisors, Prof. VAN AMEIJDE, Jeroen. Without his assistance and dedicated involvement in every step throughout the process, this thesis would have never been accomplished. I would like to thank you very much for your support and understanding this year.
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Abstract Keyword: generative urbanism, self-organization, circulation system, housing, freedom of choice, appropriation
This thesis introduces a new living environment based on data-driven generative processes. It focuses on circulation as a driver for community life, freedom of choice, appropriation and adaptation over-time. This system acts as the bottom-up space-making process that is continuously made and re-made by the inhabitant’s decision and flexibly inhabited over the existing cities that can respond to different situations. The investigation is on the interplay between strategic limitations set by the architect (as a process designer) and the opportunities for participation by the residents and thus to create chances for freedom of choice and individualization of individuals. Therefore, more diverse results will better suit to inhabitants needs than a conventional top-down housing project where the architect and developer decide every last detail for the residents. Through combining the theory of space syntax and the simple idea of the network - as a predictor of movement patterns. It forms the foundation for the data-driven process of generating a new circulation system with freedom of choice, appropriation, and adaptation - a new notion of what housing ought to be in the current society. Main research question - How can the architect design an open-ended system that allows inhabitants participating in their living environment in this ever-changing community?
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CONTENTS LITERATURE REVIEW
ANALYSIS
8
Research framework
68
12
Housing as a process
16
Built environment as a system of control Low living quality in Hong Kong Housing development in Hong Kong Idea of Ville Radieuse Panopticon A City is not a tree
34
Changes in society of Hong Kong The period of Post-industrial society Demographic change in Hong Kong
42
Society as Freedom New babylon Self-governing community - Jane Jacobs Mat urbanism Interwovenness of spaces and uses Space syntax - science-based, human-focused approach The access tree diagram
58
Overview on idea of self-organization
Our planned everyday life - configuration analysis Mark I Building Wo Che Estate Hung Fuk Estate Habitat 67 Cube House Idea of integration - AIT Building
DESIGN TESTING 110
Design testing 0.1 - Semester one
124
Design testing 0.2 - Semester two
190
Design testing 0.3 - Semester two
208
Design testing 0.4 - Semester two (Final Review)
Topic
Adaptive Ecologies - A living environment based on self-organization
Research question
Investgation/ Methodology
Community level - Freetown Christiania - Spatial City (theoretical case) - Space under a vehicular flyover in Mei Foo
How can the architect design an open-ended system that allows inhabitants participating in their living environment in this ever-changing community?
Literature Review
Housing as a process
A standardized living environment in Hong Kong - Low living quality in Hong Kong - Housing development over the past 50 years - Limitations in current design guideline
Architecture/ space - Capsule Tower - Metastadt - Quinta Monroy
Reflects the problem of standard, top-down housing nowadays
Configuration analysis of housing projects Our “planned” everyday life
Unresponsive housing design Top-down approach counter to the meaning of housing - as a process
- Mark I housing - Wo Che Estate - Hung Fuk Estate - Habitat 67 - Kubuswoningen (Cube House)
Social Engineering | Planned daily routine - Ville Radieuse The power of control and its influence in our living environment - Panopticon
CONTROL & LIMITATIONS -
Built environment as a system of control
- Circulation structure - Human behavior - Network diagram
Architectural history The power of control
The hierarchical network and ‘lively’ complex network
Design/Testing process The Period of Post-industrial society - Job nature - Education Maker movement | Entrepreneur | Individuality
Evolving living environment with freedom of choice
A living system - Circulation system - Massing distribution - Flexibility of movement and activity overtime - Social ecologies - Multi-layered relationship - Quality of space - sunlight | people’s choices
Changes in society in Hong Kong - Family structure
Changes in Hong Kong society
Overview of the self-organizing cases -
Differentiation in current society
Fixed (Architect) | Free (Market)
Outcome
Complied with Hong Kong Housing
Reviewing the idea of evolving environment in architectural history
Qualities of scenarios over-time HYPOTHETICAL SOLUTION
SOCIETY AS FREEDOM Towards a time-based, self-organizated living environment
Pursuing the freedom through networking - New babylon Self-governing community - Jane Jacobs Mat urbanism interwovenness of spaces and uses - Jaap Bakema Space syntax - tools The access tree diagram
Collective negotiation in self-organized living environment
0011
Housing as a process Housing should be treated as a verbal entity, as a process to human ends rather than as a packaged product, that decision-making power must give to the hands of the users themselves. In current society, the design of housing does not treat as a process that inhabitants can involve in it. Until now, our society always show the mismatches between people’s needs and the standard top-down housings. The standards are not only something which can achieve with available resources but, instead of representing the inhabitant ought notion of what housing to be. Can our living environment further work as a process that curated by architect/ planner and different results can make by the preference of inhabitants themselves?
“If housing is treated as a verbal entity, as a means to human ends, as an activity or process rather than as a manufactured and packaged product, decision-making power must, of necessity, remain in the hands of the users themselves� John Turner (1972)
001 Informal developments on the waterfront in Freetown Christiania, Copenhagen 1. Turner, J. (1972). Freedom to build; dweller control of the housing process. New York, Macmillan
015
BUILT ENVIRONMENT AS A SYSTEM OF CONTROL
Hong Kong - a standardized living environment emerged from housing design Low quality of life in Hong Kong According to Mercer, one of the world’s largest human resource consulting firms, Hong Kong ranks 71 on the Quality of Living Index 2018 that the aspects of Qualityof-life, in general, became more and more undesirable. Mercer had analyzed living conditions according to several factors such as housing service, public services, and transportation, recreation, education and limitation on personal freedom. In Hong Kong, only 24.1% of the 1,110km2 of land is built up, and 6.9% is residential use, this situation is leading to high density and efficiency housing design in Hong Kong. Besides, it also leads to low average living space 13.3m2 per person that made a low quality of life.
Mercer evaluates local living conditions in more than 450 cities surveyed worldwide. Living conditions are analyzed according to 39 factors, grouped in 10 categories: •
Political and social environment (political stability, crime, law enforcement, etc.).
•
Economic environment (currency exchange regulations, banking services).
•
Socio-cultural environment (media availability and censorship, limitations on personal freedom).
•
Medical and health considerations (medical supplies and services, infectious diseases, sewage, waste disposal, air pollution, etc.).
•
Schools and education (standards and availability of international schools).
•
Public services and transportation (electricity, water, public transportation, traffic congestion, etc.).
•
Recreation (restaurants, theatres, cinemas, sports and leisure, etc.).
•
Consumer goods (availability of food/daily consumption items, cars, etc.).
•
Housing (rental housing, household appliances, furniture, maintenance services).
•
Natural environment (climate, record of natural disasters).
The scores attributed to each factor, which are weighted to reflect their importance to expatriates, permit objective city-to-city comparisons. The result is a Quality of Living index that compares relative differences between any two locations evaluated. For the indices to be used effectively, Mercer has created a grid that enables users to link the resulting index to a quality of living allowance amount by recommending a percentage value in relation to the index.
002 Map of Hong Kong 2. 2018 Quality of Living Rankings, Mercer https://www.mercer.com/newsroom/2018-quality-of-living-survey.html 3. Planning Data, Land Utilization in Hong Kong 2014, Hong Kong Government, Accessed December 19, 2018. http://www.pland.gov.hk/pland_en/info_ serv/statistic/landu.html.
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003 Homogeneous Public Housing in Hong Kong
Housing development over the past 50 years Due to the lack of buildable land, Hong Kong’s housing has relied on a highly standardized design for the past years, it standardizes processes and minimizes costs at the same time. Therefore, the housing design in Hong Kong became uniform and repetitive. As the inhabitants of Hong Kong, our choice is only within a repetition of the housing. In some sense, it represents the forces of believing in land scarcity and thus created a standardized living environment that dominates Hong Kong nowadays. 004 Homogeneous Public Housing in Hong Kong
021
“Architecture should only provide a framework, in which the inhabitants might construct their homes according to their needs and ideas, free from any paternalism by a master builder.”
Yona Friedman (19)
005 Misunderstanding between inhabitant, designer and builder, Yona Friedman 1967
1. The mistake in translating, which I did not discover until I used my house 2. The builder misunderstood me, the result is that my house has no door to the garden. 3. The architect translated our ideas into idea of his own. 4. Each of us had his own ideas about how to live – but the architect designed the apartment for “average man”.
023
First generation of social housing After the catastrophe in Shek Kip Mei in 1950s, the first generation of standardized public housing is started to introduce in Hong Kong – from Mark I to Mark VI block. Mark I blocks consisted of six to seven-storey as the resettlement blocks to accommodate a large number of people in the shortest time. It became the first vertical housing prototype, and most flats (11.15m2) can house five adults, each resident occupied an average of only 2.23m2. Between 1954 and 1964, the Government constructed more than 140 Mark I blocks on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon and the squatters on urban areas were replaced by resettlement housings. The first Mark II blocks were built in Tung Tau Tsuen in early 1961. They were seven or eight-storey buildings, and each of flat had 28.8m2 with a kitchen, water taps, and a balcony. Constructed from 1964, The Mark III to VI buildings were sixteen storeys with lifts, private balcony, running water and a bathroom, the average unit floor area was extended to maximum 21 m2. Started from Mark II, the housings were built higher and considered more on personal living space, rather than merely accommodated a large number of people in the shortest time. 4
006 Squatter huts in Hong Kong
Shared toilet & washing area
Squatters Before the 1950s, people lived in squatter huts which constructed by scrap wood, corrugated steel and other materials that found in the site. These makeshift dwellings arose on open areas across Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. By 1949, over 300,000 people were crammed into these makeshift squatter huts and usually 4 or 5 families shared each one. There were no running water or electricity, nor any cooking or sanitation facilities. The flimsy roofs let in water when it rained, and huts on low-lying land were sometimes flooded. The use of oil and firewood for cooking and lighting made fires during dry weather. Unfortunately, these makeshift and unorganized dwellings caused a fire in Shek Kip Mei. 4
Flat
Shared bathroom
007 Resettlement housings in Hong Kong
Information on exhibition in Hong Kong Housing Authority
025
007 New Town development in Hong Kong - Tin Shui Wai
Universal design & Resident Participation In the 1990s, Hong Kong Housing Authority has adopted the concept of “Universal Design” in public housing as a people-oriented design guideline and encouraged resident’s participation. “Universal Design” means designing our living environments and facilities that address the needs of residents at every stage of their lives. It involves the interior design of the flats and the overall planning of estates. The alternative layout also proposed for a large family, and it was a tradition in Hong Kong for younger and older generations to live together. To facilitate independence and privacy, the appropriate separation between them is essential. Therefore, the adjustable furniture and movable partitions are recommended for increasing adaptability of the interior layout. Also, the height of the door thresholds and the design and locations of light switches and electrical sockets are carefully arranged to cater to the needs of different groups of people. In 1990s, in order to identify more clearly the housing need of the community, the formal participation of resident representatives (Estate Management Advisory Committee Scheme) was involved in discussions and assessment about estate management, maintenance, improvement works and performance of service contractor, residents can play a practical role in improving their living environment after the completion of housing. Unfortunately, “Universal Design” and participation are the strategies that set up in more than 20 years ago, it does not fit the current society which has large changes in more than 20 years - changes of family structure, job nature and higher demand for individuality.
2/3 Br flat
L
1 Br flat
D+K Old generation
Young generation
008 Floor plan of Harmony block
Old generation
Prefabricated housing The higher level of efficiency and standardization housing was slowly emerging from “The Tenyear Plan” which announced in 1972. The essence of the plan was to build fast, build well and above all keep on the building which had a far-reaching effect on public housing development. Through reorganizing the public housing divisions, redeveloping the resettlement estates and developing the new town and commercial facilities, the Housing Authority built more than 200,000 flats for one million people. Moreover, with the first of it completed in 1992, the Harmony block laid a strong foundation of standardized housing for the future with its extensive use of precast building components such as façade, staircases, wall panels, and semi-finished slabs. 4
Young generation
L
009 Movable patition for family flat in Universal design
010 Configurational design for family flat in Universal design
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Le Corbusier’s plan has a clear division of zoning, and the city is segregated into commercial, business, entertainment, and residential areas. The business district was located in the center, the center of this district was the main transportation deck, and every resident came from the surrounding housing districts via a system of trains – everyone is having the same routine for work. This kind of centralized planning is the attempt to control social behavior, the pyramid of natural hierarchies was intended to give the human structure of the organization, organize them in hierarchy. 5 Similar to Hong Kong’s situation, the prefabricated housing towers would serve as the vertical living environment which separated from the other districts such as the work place. The people flow between the pedestrian and residential building is being limited as there is only one access for 2,700 residents of each tower. The idea of Ville Radieuse would not provide residents with a better lifestyle but would contribute to form a better society. It was allowing the city to function as a “living machine.” This principle had an extensive influence on modern urban planning and led to the development of new high-density housing typologies.5
011 Ville Radieuse, Le corbusier
CONTROL - Built environment as a system of control Social Engineering | Planned daily routine - Ville Radieuse “The city of today is a dying thing because its planning is not in the proportion of geometrical one fourth. The result of a true geometrical lay-out is repetition, the result of repetition is a standard. The perfect form.” Le Corbusier (1925)
According to Le Corbusier, Ville Radieuse could increase the urban capacity and improve the urban environment and the efficiency of the city. The basic strategy was to create vertical architecture and leave open space in between for people to use and enjoy. The remaining horizontal areas would serve as traffic corridors and public landscapes. Everything in the Ville Radieuse was given the established routes at certain levels and symmetrical and standardized - to have higher efficiency and to control over the planning easily. 5 Corbusier L. (1967). The Radiant City: Elements of a Doctrine of Urbanism to be Used as the Basis of Our Machine-Age Civilization. Orion Press, Miami
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It came to be used extensively in military barracks, hospitals, schools, factories, offices, and hence became a crucial aspect of social structure in modern societies at that time. It is indicating membership of a homogeneous social body and playing a part in classification and hierarchization of people; everyone is organized in the hierarchy as similar as Ville Radieuse. To distinguish the differences of the individual, the fixed rule is set up for the measurement of social body – opposition to the idea of freedom and individualization that this thesis believes in it. Panopticism which named after the panopticon building describes a disciplinary mechanism used in various aspects of society, and thus formed a “disciplinary society.” It is used to help the empowered control populations and modify people behaviors by the systematic order, and such an idea is apparent in the current society. For Foucault, the real danger was not that the social order represses individuals but that they are “carefully fabricated in it.” When we look back at our living environment in Hong Kong, the repetitive order is controlling and limiting our behavior somehow, singular choice made everyone acting like the same person who are following the same routine every day – became a “fabricated person.” Through introducing a new mode of living, can we get rid of the control and limitation of uniform housing design, pursuing a community that having more possibilities on freedom of choice, individualization and customization?
012 Michel Foucault and Panopticon 013 Eastern State Penitentiary (1836)
014 Harmony block (1990s)
The power of control and its influence in our living environment – Panopticism In view of Hong Kong society, citizens accept the housing problems as normal – this is related to the sociological theory - Normalization. It refers to social processes through which ideas and actions come to be seen as ‘normal’ and become ‘natural’ in everyday life. As Foucault used the term, normalization was one of an ensemble of tactics for exerting the maximum social control with the minimum force, which Foucault calls “disciplinary power.” Disciplinary power emerged in the effect of Panopticon - a prison and function as the system of control designed by Jeremy Bentham in the late 18th century. The design is to allow all inmates to be observed by a single watchman without letting the inmates know whether they are being watched or not effectively regulate their behavior. Simon, Jonathan. (1996). ‘Discipline and Punish’: The birth of a middle-range research strategy.(‘Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison,’ Michael Foucault). Contemporary Sociology, 25(3), 316.
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A City is Not a Tree – the hierarchical network and ‘lively’ complex network To understand the organization of the city which is directly influencing people’s behavior, it is necessary to look at its ordering structure and connection. The network diagram provides a conceptual way to think about how a large collection of local systems makes up a global system of our city before considering any physical elements. In A City is Not a Tree, Alexander discussed the ordering principles which are the “tree” and the “semi-lattice” structure. The simplicity of tree structure is comparable to the compulsive desire for order that insists perfectly straight and symmetric. As Alexander stated, the tree structure is dominating our planned urban city, in some sense, the city with tree structure is separating the physical and social parts and activities. “Tree” is erasing the humanity and richness of the living city (where overlap and connection are much reduced) for the conceptual simplicity (accessible to the human mind) which benefits only designers and developers. It is also crippling the complexity and diversity in the living environment that should exist. In contrast, the semi-lattice structure gives a clear representation of the rich potential of such overlaps. It is not only about the overlap which makes the distinction between them, more importantly, but the semi-lattice is also potentially a much more complex and subtle structure. The overlapping characteristic generates an increased number of connections and choices – supporting a diverse range of experiences and needs in our living environment. Alexander describes the conjunction on a street corner of a drug store, a traffic light system, a newspaper rack, and people work together to create an interactive social economy in the urban living experience (people buy a newspaper from the rack in front of drug store while they are waiting to cross the street). Therefore, the rack, the traffic light, and the sidewalk between them form the fixed part of the system, in which the changing parts of the system - people, newspapers, money, and electrical impulses can work together as a system. According to the mechanism on the street, it could say that our living environment as a semi-lattice structure provides more opportunities for the social economy. As a designer, we should rethink the design process and consider how the global system is containing different local systems that allow inhabitant choose to participate in, rather than simplifying the relationship and organization of the activities in a city as what Le Corbusier did in Ville Radieuse. 015 Semi-lattice structure (left) and Tree structure (right)
Christopher A. (1967). A CITY IS NOT A TREE. Ekistics.
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CHANGES IN SOCIETY OF HONG KONG
The Period of Post-Industrial Society There are several changes in society that indicate the needs for questioning the current trend of new town developments in Hong Kong – in the period of post-industrial society nowadays. Since the factories were relocated to the mainland china in the 1980s, Hong Kong is shifted from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy – From Industrial Society to Post-industrial Society. Daniel Bell describes several features of a post-industrial society. The below factors characterize postindustrial societies -
The essence of a post-industrial society is defined by the ability to control information by knowledge. The education becomes more oriented towards producing people capable of answering the need for self-actualization, creativity, and self-expression, successive generations become more endowed with the ability to contribute to and perpetuate such industries. In Hong Kong, we all knew that the current society that was having the more significant opportunities and easier access to information comes the chance to connect information, people, and tools as well as reevaluating the conception of architecture. Therefore, it is the time to reconsider our standard housing with the combination of information, knowledge, and participation that promoting freedom of individuals.
- From the production of goods to the production of services, with very few firms directly manufacturing any products. - The replacement of manual laborers with professional workers—such as computer engineers, doctors, and bankers. - The replacement of practical knowledge with theoretical knowledge. - Greater attention is paid to the theoretical and ethical implications of new technologies, which helps society avoid some of the negative features of introducing new technologies. - The development of newer scientific disciplines—such as those that involve new forms of information technology, cybernetics, or artificial intelligence. - A stronger emphasis on the university and polytechnic institutes, which produce graduates who can create and guide the new technologies crucial to a postindustrial society.
016 Architecture in the digital age Bell, D. (1973). The coming of post-industrial society; a venture in social forecasting. New York: Basic Books.
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Changes in society in Hong Kong
100 6 persons household
The important indication of the period of post-industrial society in Hong Kong is the large changes in demography. Nowadays, more complex family structures and lifestyles have emerged in Hong Kong, it calls for a need of reconsidering the quality and requirement for our living environment. The homogeneous housing models are no longer an adequate reflection of the quality of living in this post-industrial society. First of all, family structure is constantly changing since the 1960s, a family with two persons is increased, and the reduction of the nuclear family leads to more even distribution of difference. One-person households and couple households are increased, and the traditional nuclear family is decreased by about 4.6% from the year of 2006 to 2016.
80 5 persons household
60
4 persons household
40
Education and job nature are closely related to the essence of post-industrial society and people’s lifestyle. In 2016, manufacturing jobs have reduced while professional and service industries continue to grow. With comparing the difference between 2006 and 2016, more individuals are attaining higher levels of education – 10% growth of reaching post-secondary education which in turn stimulates the economy and technological innovation. More people value the freedom to choose lifestyles associated with knowledge.
3 persons household
2 persons household
20
1 person household
0 1961
1971
1976
1981
1986
1991
1996
2001
2006
2011
2016
018 Proportion of domestic households by household size 100
8.8%
3.8% 8.5%
6.8% 18.9% 19.4%
80 Manufacturing
Construction
100
8.8% 10.2%
60 8.2%
Import/export, wholesale and retail trades
80
Transportation, storage, postal and courier service
8.1% 3.6% 6.5%
3.3%
Accommodation and food services
60
5.7%
40
14.3%
Information and communication
12.5%
40
Post-Secondary school or above
Financing and insurance 15.1% 12.9%
20
Real estate, professional and business services
20
Secondary school
0
Primary school or below
Public administration, education, human health and social work
0 2006
11.4%
11.7%
1.0%
0.6%
2016
Miscellaneous social and personal services
2006
2016
Others
019 Proportion of population by educational attainment
017 Proportion of working population by industry
041
Differentiation of Individuals
Non - nuclear family
Nuclear family
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SOCIETY AS FREEDOM CASES OF TIMEBASED URBANISM
Pursuing the freedom through networking - New Babylon New Babylon is an ideal society that proposing the new human beings as homo ludens. It emphasizes democracy for human through promoting freedom in time, space and movement for their life - reconsider their normal life with work to a nomadic life of creativity through a designed circulation with sectors - “Babylonian network.” This social model is not composed of the “zones” with the defined program as in the typical city but is organized according to the individual and collective decisions on movement and relation with each other, therefore the circulation network is the primary driver for their daily encountering. Also, it is not a fixed environment, the chain-like network that can extend in every direction over the city. Within the “Babylonian network,” the essential elements in New Babylon is divided into sectors that were consisting the spaces for living, learning, and playing/working. The sectors are autonomous units of construction, which nevertheless intercommunicate within as a continuous network. In contrast to the hierarchical organization of human in Ville radieuse, the culture of New Babylon emerged from the collective activity and movement, every human engaged in a dynamic relationship with his surroundings that will depend on the decisions making by him spontaneously - the whole society is creating by the inhabitants themselves.
020 The chain like “Babylonian network” over the city Wigley M. (1998). Constant's New Babylon: The Hyper-architecture of Desire. Rotterdam : Witte de With, Center for Contemporary Art : 010 Publisher.
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Self-governing community “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”
Jane Jacobs (1961)
Jane Jacobs, her attack on the principles that have shaped modern, orthodox city planning. How cities work in real life is the only way to learn what principles of planning and what practices in rebuilding can promote social and economic vitality in cities. The planning should be based on close observation of what is already going on rather than on a wholesale effort to replace that life with one conforming to a theoretical plan. She concerns the natural order that emerges from decentralized planning: sidewalk ballets that help keep streets safe and socialize children, diverse residential and commercial uses, and selfgoverning communities. These spontaneous orders are, in the words of Scottish philosopher Adam Ferguson, “the result of human action, but not the execution of any human design.” By allowing individuals to freely organize themselves in relation to one another, natural urban orders emerge without any central planning. Certainly it is not the case that all decentralized planning results in such orders. But as Jacobs points out, centralized urban planning, as it exists today, often hurts rather than helps.
As Jacobs saw it, the fundamental problem that all great cities solve is how to get very large numbers of strangers with vastly different beliefs, knowledge, and tastes to live peacefully together. Great cities harness the diverse “locality knowledge” of each of its individual inhabitants. What planners typically failed to see is that safe and lively urban life is largely the unplanned outcome of informal contact in public spaces. Jacobs agrued that under the right conditions, large numbers of people will choose to use public spaces—e.g. sidewalks and plazas—throughout the day and night, providing “eyes on the street” that informally monitor and constrain bad behavior. Safe, interesting public spaces attract people, who in turn attract even more people, making the spaces more interesting, and so on. In contrast, the new ‘rational’ housing projects were empty of life around the buildings for most of the day. The basketball courts and the lovely green parks were unsupervised because there was no one around, since the businesses that might have provided “eyes on the sidewalk” had all been zoned out of the development. The tenement mother had formerly had lived no further above the street than the fourth floor of an “inadequate” walkup, from the window of which she could supervise her children’s play. But after receiving the “help” of modernist urban planners, she found herself living in a thirtieth-floor, modern apartment. From such a distance, she could not possibly regulate what her children were up to, and, therefore, she, if responsible, couldnot allow them to spend time in those “common” areas. Rationalist planners were not unaware of the need for community spaces, but they failed to realize that a community cannot flourish faced only with the stark binary choice of either all private or all public space. Their basic approach to planning and their concept of the “rational” neighborhood or city, blinded them to the fine-structure of social life and the intricacies of interaction in public space, making it unlikely that they would anticipate to the deleterious effects of their interventions. They failed to look outside their “guidebooks.” Therefore, Constructivist rationalism tends to produce these negative unintended consequences because the attempt to solve urban problems using a pre-determined “answer sheet” will eventually confront the unpredictable complexity and messiness of the real social order. By their nature, constructivist designs tend to be static and so cannot easily evolve and adapt to unforeseen and often rapid changes in technology, tastes, resources, and demographics.
021 Imformal activity at the street
Jacobs, J. (1961). The death and life of great American cities. New York: Vintage Books.
049
From Cell to Cluster The cell — an individual building or space that accommodates human activities — was organized through the ‘from cell to cluster’ principle, which separated the urban tissue into its smallest components, cells, and reassembled them so as to establish intricate spatial variation between private and public space. From Cluster to Stem In contrast to standardized architecture that ignores the particularities of its location and uses, they argued that architectural order should derive from comunity hierarchies and contextual associations. The system of relationships and patterns of encounter, which the cells and stems of the cluster generate, provide the spatial framework for these hierarchies and associations. From Stem to Mat where multiple parallel stems start forming a network of covered passages that link various dwelling types and activities in a loosly defined grid.
Mat urbanism One of the most representative precedent of evolving environment is Mat building and Alison Smithson described mat-building as “it can epitomize the anonymous collective and the individual gains new freedoms of action through a new shuffled order, based on interconnection, close knit patterns of association and possibilities for growth, diminution and change.” Team 10 argued for a greater individual focus that modern urbanism could express a higher degree of particularity and identity. Instead of a static architectural approach, matbuilding is a generative structure that formed by the specific patterns of human association. The proposed systems are supporting a range of functions over time and adaptation, they are not only a three-dimensional environment but include a time dimension.
022 Mat concept - from Cell to Cluster, to Stem, to Mat Smithson and Smithson,
Also, the mat building would foster community and develop a natural relationship to their environment – towards an ecological concept of urbanism which dealing with the problem of ‘habitat’ in current society. By rethinking the relationships between social life and mechanization, they searched for new patterns from individual space to overall urban network.
Smithson, A., & Smithson, Peter. (2001). The charged void : Architecture. New York: Monacelli Press.
051
Mat urbanism The other case is Free University building by Candilis-Josic-Woods (1963). In the Free University, the main concepts of stem and web seem to blend together into a coherent whole, known as a mat-building, but also inspiring a birth of another conceptual organizational principle named by Candilis-Josic-Woods as the “groundscraper�. The Free University has a ground that is mediated by ramps and staircases, primary and secondary streets, ambitiously dense program, constant perceptual connectivity with the outside, roof access to the green roof and the growth along the east-west axis that connects with the original university buildings from the 1948. All these elements attest to the groundscraper organization system that persisted and managed to preserve the integrated model of low-rise densification that would foster human mobility, activity and interaction. Also, the building is a continuously expanding fabric that has a density of activities equivalent to the city center but feels like an open field that during its building process brought many disciplines together and questioned architectural and urban rules. Free University building is an open-ended grid system accommodating omni-directional growth in three dimensions where individuals and groups may determine desirable relationships. Woods made a socio-political agenda that to make possible an open society through human activity and interaction, facilitated by free pedestrian circulation.
023 Mat concept - from Cell to Cluster, to Stem, to Mat Smithson and Smithson, Feld, G., & Architectural Association. (1999). Free University, Berlin : Candilis, Josic, Woods, Schiedhelm (Exemplary projects ; 3). London: Architectural Association.
053
Jaap Bakema - Interwovenness of spaces and uses Bakema seemed to embrace the competition and the challenging of his propositions. To him, contestation and critique were part of the discursive game, completely in line with a Popperian understanding of what an open society stands for. A comparison of the design production of those years reveals quite a few parallels. Bakema’s diagram of future urbanization and the interweaving of public and private functions, for example, is reminiscent of Constant’s project. Both men assumed that land should be fully collectivized in order to maximize modernization and freedom, a socialist ideal that was shattered in 1977 when the centre-left coalition government led by the socialdemocrat Joop den Uyl foundered on a new law that would have allowed the government to acquire agricultural land cheaply for the construction of new housing projects.
Dirk Van Den Heuvel Ed. (2018), Jaap Bakema And The Open Society. Archis: Netherlands
024 Jaap Bakema - ‘interwovenness of spaces and uses’
055
Space Syntax - science-based, human-focused approach Integration Integration is a normalised measure of distance from any a space of origin to all others in a system. In general, it calculates how close the origin space is to all other spaces, and can be seen as the measure of relative asymmetry (or relative depth). Hillier, B. & Hanson, J. (1984), The Social Logic of Space, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. pp.108-109
Integration
It’s widely accepted that there is a relation between the spatial configuration and the likelihood of encounters, this relation is called natural movement (Hillier, 1996). Natural movement is “ the proportion of movement on each line that is determined by the structure of the urban grid itself rather than by the presence of specific attractors or magnets.” (Hillier, 1996: 120). Even though, integration of an urban plan is purely spatial analysis, it has proved a strong predictor of movement patterns, both pedestrian and vehicular (Hillier, 2004). If the integration values of an area have been measured; and a street survey of counting the number of people who are passed when an observer walks 100m/ min. has been carried out, then the usage and pattern of movement can be predicted, as streets from which other streets can be accessed with minimum intervening lines attract more people. Thus, attract retail and other land uses that rely on the volume of pedestrian traffic, and consequently the volumes of both pedestrian and uses are multiplied, as the allocated functions then increase the importance of the location itself and attract other functions, this phenomena is what Hillier has called Multiplier effect (Hillier,1996). This indicates that the pattern of movement is a function of its pattern of integration (Hillier et al., 1983). This principle of predicting movement pattern and usage could be used as an evaluative tool in design and redevelopment of urban areas. Figure 3.13. shows a scattergram between encounters on the horizontal axe against integration on the vertical.
Encounters
Maximum depth (least integrated)
Minimum depth (most integrated)
integrated
Integration - Encounters
segregated
025 Integration of axis lines in Brasília Hillier, B. (1996). Space is the machine : A configurational theory of architecture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
057
The access tree diagram for midtown Manhattan The Access Tree is a principle for dealing with several functional problems of the CBD. In general it is a way to plan for efficient circulation, enchanced job choice and the great social interaction which is a requirement of an office center. Also, it demonstrates the relationships among various modes of transportation within the center, proposing grade separations which favor pedestrian paths and the linkages between the essentially horizontal public transportation systems and the vertical circulation in private buildings. (Regional Plan Association 1969,31)
026 The access tree for Midtown Manhattan
Multilevel Metropolis: On the radical origins and mundane deployment of the urban skyway� in Places Journal.
059
CASES BASED ON THE IDEA OF SELF-ORGANIZATION
Freetown Christiania
The Spatial City / Yona Friedman
1. An autonomous anarchist district
1. Suspended space-deck system containing cells was multiple and changeable configurations of its elements
2. Customized their buildings under the ethos of ‘architecture without architects’. 3. Cultural democracy (acceptance of drug addicts into society)
2. Architecture without architect – residents are able to build (conceptually) 3. Elevated space that allow it to inhabit over the existing city 4. City dwellers give decision to their environment rather than architect
063
Space under a vehicular flyover in Mei Foo
Nakagin Capsule Tower / Kisho Kurokawa
1. The activities in public space that are self-organized by NGO and citizens
1. Product of Metabolism
2. Its emptiness allows different forms of activity over-time
2. megastructures with organic biological growth of units
3. Make use of the abounded space and connected with the city
3. movable modules allow architecture of sustainability and recycleability (ideally)
4. Free access – draw participation of all citizens
4. Failed in reality - all the capsules from the bottom to the top of the building - no enough space to change and move
065
Metastadt / Richard J. Dietrich
Quinta Monroy / ELEMENTAL
1. All elements are independent – easy to move
1. Half architect, half resident’s decision
2. The space frame structure itself is bolted to allow easy assembly and disassembly.
2. Providing different phases for expansion
3. Decision making by future occupants - adjustment of unit size, changes in number of rooms and size, functional relation between rooms, position and size of balconies, number and size of windows, and the position of wet areas and kitchens
3. The freedom given by architect helps social economy – value of expanded house increased 4. Greater freedom to personalize the layout and facade
067
The role of architect
Hong Kong Conventional Housing
Elemental, Quinta Monroy Self-building cases
Completed house
Design criteria
Produce a set of drawing
Workshop
INHABITANTS
drawings
ARCHITECT set up criteria
ARCHITECT
Initial House
Educated inhabitants move in
Temporary camp
Workshop
personalize within a framework provided Interim house
Extension Completes initial volume Remove particleboard
Renovate
Fill the void Customization Layout, Facade,etc.
INHABITANTS
personalize within a framework provided Completed house
CONTROL
MAXIMIZING FREEDOM
069
OUR “PLANNED” EVERYDAY LIFE Configuration study of housing project Limitation vs Freedom of individuals
The approach of this thesis is to explore the possibilities in creating a living environment based on self-organization. After reviewing the history of freedom in architecture and urbanism, it is necessary to look at the circulation network that is a primary element in regulating people’s encountering and activities. Also, the majority of architectural settings is about the circulation patterns that can be constructed from various geometric rules. By studying the circulation system, the network and activities of housing in Hong Kong and overseas, it can understand how the people’s behavior and circulation worked together in real life. Also, this study can provide the hints for designing a circulation system that supports the different usages over-time based on individual and collective preference.
Mark I Housing Location: Shek Kip Mei Year: 1953 Number of flat: ~420
Shared Bathroom All residents need to use shared bathroom at the middle of the building.
Communal corridor The corridor is not only served as a circulation, but also for people cooking, playing and chatting.
Area of flat: 120ft2
Combined flat
Single flat The single flat is a open plan for living, dining and sleeping purpose. It is for 6-10 or more residents.
Max. resident: 10 or more
By combining two single flat, the flat becomes larger and reduce the connection to the overall network.
Major circulation Area of flat: 240ft2 Max. resident: >10
The major circulation is four staircase which located at the corner.
Access to the street
Analysis
At G/F, residents can access to the street from their flat directly. Area of flat: 120ft
2
Max. resident: 10 or more
As shown as red, the people movement is gathered from both sides of the block containing residential flats to the middle space. The vertical circulations at four corners which vacated the central part for communal use and the shared facilities such as toilet and bathroom for all residents on each floor. It is not merely about the clustering of programs, but more about the circulation system as a key allowing the mechanism of this kind of usage and social interaction.
Washing area All residents need to wash their clothes and get water from the washing area.
Area of flat: 240ft2 Max. resident: >10
Combined flat By combining two single flat, the flat becomes larger and reduce the connection to the overall network.
075
Bath/ Toilet
Living/ Dining
Private
Bedroom
Bath/ Toilet Corridor+Kitchen Corridor+Kitchen
L / D/ Washing B
Cooking along corridor
Bath/ Toilet Washing
Public
Washing
Staircase
Cooking along corridor
Living/Dining/Bedroom Bath/ Toilet
Cooking along corridor
Number of space: 5 Number of link: 5
Path - Everyday needs
Staircase
Washing
Cooking along corridor Living unit
Washing area
The single flat is a open plan for living, dining and sleeping purpose. It is for 6-10 or more residents.
All residents need to wash their clothes and Due to the lack of space in the flat, residents Residents gather and play along the get water from the washing area. cook along corridor, the corridor became corridor. multi-usage space.
Cooking along corridor
Activities along corridor
077
Open space (1/F)
Elevated circulation
Wo Che Estate Location: ShaTin, New Territories Year: 1977 Number of flat: ~18,168
Everyday items
Footbridge is a major circulation for all residents in this estate. It connects residential blocks and ShaTin station.
The open space at the upper floor is frequently used by the residents
~250 shops -> 18,168 residents
Wo Che plaza contains the shops that can fulfill everyday needs of resident.
Vacant Open space Because of the elevated circulation, open spaces at G/F are hardly used.
Site Observation: 19 October (Fri) 7:30-8:30 15:00-17:00
Number of flat: 714 Max. resident: 2,856
Number of flat: 714 Max. resident: 2,856
Number of flat: 714 Max. resident: 2,856
Number of flat: 714 Max. resident: 2,856
Number of flat: 168 Max. resident: 1,176
Number of flat: 714 Max. resident: 2,856
Number of flat: 360
Analysis
Max. resident: 3,240
Wo Che Estate consists of 13 residential blocks, around 30,000 residents. The circulation system is separating pedestrians and vehicles at different levels, for the elevated circulation footbridge is connecting to all residential blocks, shopping mall, Ground floor circulation parks and a path to Shatin MTR station. Elevated circulation
As shown as the red arrow, the people movement is pushing towards to Shatin direction, and everyone is using the same Bus stop path to their destination. It is an efficient way to bring all residents from their flat to MTR station without crashing with space time, (Elevated) vehicles, but atOpen the same residents are losing their choices and this circulation system is difficult to adapt for different social situations over-time Open space (Ground)
Ground floor circulation
Number of flat: 168 Max. resident: 1,176
Elevated circulation Bus stop Open space (Elevated) Open space (Ground)
081
To ShaTin Bath Ma
jor
Toilet
Residential block
rou
te
Kitchen Living/ Dining/ Bedroom
Circulation
Shopping mall
Bedroom
Open space
Private
Bath/ Toilet
Living/ Dining
Residential block
Kitchen
Corridor
Public
Shopping mall Circulation
Number of space: 4 Number of link: 5
Number of flat 34 Number of link: 35
Open space
Wo Che Estate - Community Network Number of choice for each residential block: 1-2 Residential block: 16 Number of resident: >27,500 Number of links: 34
Light well
1/F entrance (From footbridge)
The light well provides visibility for every floor, all residents are able to see each other from different floors.
The entrance from footbridge is the highest Every floor is the same principle on arrang- As all living facilities are planned in a flat, traffic zone that serving most of the resident ing flats and circulation. It leads to anonym- corridor is only serverd as circulation. . ity of all residents.
Repetition of floor
Corridor
083
Analysis Although more shops located in Shatin, Wo Che has only one shopping mall and few small shops. Under the site observation, most of the residents are buying foods (especially breakfast) and living goods there. In response to the government’s intention “fulfillment of everyday needs,” it is no doubt that this system can satisfy the “needs,” but cannot satisfy people’s “desire” under the restricted freedom of circulation system. For the open space, the people gather only along the main circulation and the planned area, the rest of spaces are hardly used. In some sense, the circulation is not only controlling the movement, but also affecting the behavior in the surroundings.
2. Sitting space Residents sit in the mainstream — allow them to look at the people flow.
1. Forced circulation An efficient (only one) way to get to the MTR station, all residents follow this routine.
3. Empty park at G/F The separation between footbridge and G/F - park at G/F is hardly used.
Resident 1501
1. Get out from the flat
2. Take lift To Sha Tin To Housing estate
3. Walk on the footbridge
To Sha Tin
>10 ppl staying per 30 min 5~10 ppl staying per 30 min 2-4 ppl staying per 30 min <2 ppl staying per 30 min
4. Walk on the footbridge (To ShaTin) 085
Hung Fuk Estate Location: Tuen Mun, New Territories Year: 2015 Number of flat: ~6,190
Insufficient shop Hung Fuk plaza only contains few type of shop, there is no furniture, electronic shop - cannot fulfill the needs of residents.
Segregated parks There are many parks located at G/F, but most of them are dead end space and hardly used by residents.
Number of flat: 688 Max. resident: 2,388
Number of flat: 688 Max. resident: 2,388
Analysis The circulation system in Hung Fuk Estate consists of the zigzag-like covered walkway that connects all residential blocks, and narrow paths connect to the open spaces. It seems a complicated network with many choices, but due to the convenience of the covered walkway, everyone is only walking along the main circulation, and hardly used those other landscape paths and the parks. All shops for residents are located at the same place (near the entrance), it is even more controlled routine than Wo Che Estate.
Number of flat: 688 Max. resident: 2,388
Number of flat: 688 Max. resident: 2,388
With the success of making daily life efficient, the residents are also losing more opportunities for encountering, interaction and certainly this circulation system cannot support the complexity of the activities and the diversity the life should have. Landscape path The extra landscape paths that connected to different parks are hardly used - due to convenience of covered walkway
Number of flat: 688 Max. resident: 2,388
To lightrail station
Covered walkway The main circulation that connects all residential blocks, the fastest way to get to the transportation point.
Circulation Transportation
Bus terminal
Open space 089
To lightrail M
Residential block
aj or ro ut e
Bedroom
Shopping mall Bath/ Toilet
Living/ Dining
Kitchen
Circulation Bedroom
Private
jor
Ma
Open space
te
rou
Bath/ Toilet
Living/ Dining
To Bus terminal
Kitchen
Corridor
Residential block
Public
Shopping mall Circulation
Number of space: 4 Number of link: 5
Number of flat 28 Number of link: 37
Open space
Hung Fuk Estate - Community Network Number of choice for each residential block: 1-2 Residential block: 16 Number of resident: >27,500 Number of links: 34
Repetitive facade
Enclosed corridor
From the view of outside, the repetitive facade is creating a sense of anonymity for residents.
The enclosed corridor disconnects the visu- Normally, this type of housing does not have A clear division for living room, this space al field and linkage of every floor. a clear disvision for bedroom, the residents normally served for watching TV only. are able to arrange by themselves.
Flexible sleeping space
Living space
091
093
Habitat 67
Major corridor The corridor is located at every third floor - connect all the units at that floors.
Location: MontrĂŠal, Canada Year: 1967 Number of flat: 158
Outdoor terrace Every story of each unit is having one private outdoor terrace that allows resident looking around outside.
Number of storey: 2 Number of resident: 2 - 6 Number of storey: 2 Number of resident: 2 - 6
Number of storey: 2 Number of resident: 2 - 6
Analysis The circulation system of habitat 67 consists of a primary horizontal path and the secondary paths to each multilevel flat. With the various entrances, the privacy and public zones are being flexible; residents can choose their way based on the different degree of privacy. As there are different types of living unit in this project, it supposed to have various kinds of the resident lived together. Therefore, it is potentially successful to mix diversity of people and encourage different activities through the circulation system.
Open space
Circulation Open space at G/F
097
Entry
to upper level Bed room
Dining Kitchen
Multi-storey residential unit
Living
Toilet/ bath Outdoor terrace
Bedroom
Living Outdoor terrace
Bed room
Circulation Major ro
ute
Toilet/ bath
Kitchen
Dining
To the city Private
Public Entry Stair
Bed room
Dining Living
Toilet/ bath
Kitchen
Bed room
Open space
Outdoor terrace
Living Outdoor terrace
Bed room Toilet/ bath
Multi-level residential unit
Kitchen
Dining
Private
Circulation Vertical Circulation
Number of space: 13 Number of link: 15
Number of flat 25 Number of link: 35
Open space
Habitat 67 - Community Network (Single level) Number of choice for each residential block: 1-3 Residential block: 158 Number of resident: >580 Number of links: 34
Ground floor platform
Communal corridor
Large platform at G/F connects all lowest unit and surroundings, several entrances are provided for residents.
Communal corridors are located at every Each storey contains all living facilities, so Every story of each unit is having one third storey, it served as circulation and the multi-storey flat is able to divide two private outdoor terrace that allows resident looking around outside. leisure space at the same time. different living system at one module.
Multi-storey flat
Outdoor terrace
099
Kubuswoningen (Cube Houses)
Community center Multi-storey flat Courtyard
Location: Rotterdam, Holland Year: 1984 Number of flat: 40
Number of storey: 3 Number of resident: 2 - 4
Path to the city Number of storey: 3 Number of resident: 2 - 4
Elevated platform
Analysis The decentralized circulation offers a great variety of choice for residents, and it also forms a series of the courtyard in between residential flats. Various courtyards integrated with the circulation system, all of them can see from each of the residential units, and thus forms the safe public spaces and a self-governing community.
Number of storey: 3 Number of resident: 2 - 4
Circulation
0103
Courtyard
Large courtyard
Circulation
Major r
oute
Multi-level residential unit
Open space
To the city (G/F)
Community center/ shop
To the city (G/F)
Community center/ shop
Multi-level residential unit Community center/ shop Circulation
Number of flat 40 Number of link: 105
Open space (Courtyard)
Cube Houses - Community Network Number of choice for each residential block: 2 Residential block: 16 Number of resident: >27,500 Number of links: 34
Walkway
Courtyard
The walkway with different paths connects all residential units and courtyard. The unit at upper floor is able to see people on the walkway.
Different scaled courtyards are formed by As the courtyard open to the public 24 The windows are oriented to upper and lower residential units. Under the supervision hours, it encourage the social interaction area, resident can see the surroundings at by different units, the courtyard can be within this living district. anytime. self-governed.
Social interaction
Visual field of the flat
105
Courtyard Storage
Entry
Public
Stair
Kitchen
Kitchen BathToilet Living/dining
Stair
Living/ Dining
Bath/ Toilet
Courtyard
Bedroom
Bedroom
Stair
Bedroom
Bedroom
Resident 15
2. Different choices within a group of residential flat
1. Get out from the flat Courtyard
Loft
To the city
Loft
Courtyard
Private 3. Different experience along the way to the city
4. Pass through the courtyard
107
Network comparison
To lightrail Residential block
Residential block
To ShaTin Ma
jor
Shopping mall
rou
te
Circulation
Shopping mall
Circulation
Open space
jor
Ma
Open space
te
rou
To Bus terminal
Habitat 67
Cube Houses
to upper level
Multi-level residential unit
ute
On the other hand, Habitat 67 has the largest circulation node as well, but as mentioned above, it is good for mixing different types of residential unit. Cube house shows a most complicated network among four cases, the size and number of circulation and open space (courtyard) nodes are almost equal â&#x20AC;&#x201C; erasing the dominated space. It also shows the potential that diversity of activities and interaction can take places in this form of the network through its number of choices (link) and spaces (node).
Hung Fuk Estate
te ou rr ajo M
The simplicity of the network diagram of Wo Che and Hung Fuk shows in reality that the circulation system limits the usage of inhabitants and there are only a few choices for their everyday life. By looking at the size of the node (represents its connectivity), both of them have one dominating circulation node (efficient path), and the rest of spaces are not well-connected and thus forming a centralized network.
Wo Che Estate
Major ro
Analysis
Multi-storey
Open space
Circulation
residential unit
Major ro
ute
To the city
To the city (G/F)
Open space
To the city (G/F)
109
Integration in AIT building
Integration in AIT building (Reconfigured)
3. Library Low integration
3. Library most segregated space STRONGER FOCUS WHILE READING & STUDYING!
CONCENTRATION PRIVACY QUIET
2. Studio space
5/F
Mid integration
4/F
2. Studio space
5/F
CONCENTRATION PRIVACY INTERACTION
became more integrated BETTER CHANCE FOR SHARING YOUR WORKS!
4/F
3/F
3/F
2/F
Additional bridge
2/F
in front of studio entrances
1. Atrium
1. G/F space
High integration SPONTANEOUS INTERACTION ENCOUNTERS
Higher integration ANOTHER COMMUNAL SPACE IS RISING!
1/F
G/F
1/F
G/F
4. Zone corridor became integrated
4. Zone
IT'S OK TO JOIN US WITH RESPECTFUL MANNER NOW!
Low integration CONCENTRATION PRIVACY QUIET
Additional stair from G/F - 1/F
integrated
segregated
integrated
segregated
1. Atrium/ staircase
2. Studio space
3. Library
4. Zone A-F
1. More integrated space at G/F
2. Studio - more "open" for people
3. Library - more privacy
4. Zone
The most integrated (red) space in AIT building, it provides most social opportunity and the best place to gather people as it is well-connected with other spaces.
It maintains privacy which represented in its integration as a semi-integrated space. It is good for concentration, discussion and working.
The most segregated (blue) space provides the good quality for reading, studying as well as concentrating in a quiet space.
Zone A-F have capable opportunity (segregated) for holding some private events such as group discussion, seminar.
After adding two linkage, spaces at G/F are good for social interaction now and became the second communal space - more choices for people.
The additional bridge is forming convenient connections from other spaces to studio space. More people get to there - good for exchanging knowledge.
The integration is diffused to the spaces with additional linkages, the library is more isolated, became a very private space.
The stranger can access to all zones directly through the new staircase - spatially start to invite them to observe the activities inside the zone.
DESIGN TESTING 0.1 Semester one Circulation system Massing distribution
Circulation Structure testing
Combined shortest paths
Attraction points
Access to each all of attraction points People Density | Clustering
Attraction points are mainly transportation services such as MTR station, bus stop, etc.
Main circulation
Community Services Program Distribution Social Interaction
Attraction
200m
Attraction
200m
Attraction
Attraction
Situation 1
Option 1
Option 1
Option 1
10x10m Urban Grid Attraction
Attraction
Attraction
Situation 2
Simplfied Urban Grid for major circulation
Option 2
Option 2
Option 2
Attraction
Attraction
Situation 3
Option 3
Option 3
Option 3 115
General rule for growth
Zone I (Public)
Spatial flexibility
Zone II (Semi-Public)
Potential programs: Open space, market, shops
Functional flexibility
Potential programs: Small Open space. shops, co-working, coliving space, transition space
Privacy
Size: 10x10m, 10x5m, 5x5m (each)
Social Interaction
Rule for growth: Grow from public space
Size: 20x20m, 40x40m
Growth of Zone I (Public facilities) Architect
Growth of Zone II (Semi-public facilities) Resident, architect, market
Rule for growth: Grow from Intersection points
Growth of Zone III (Residential core) Architect, market
Zone III (Private)
Spatial flexibility
Residential core
Functional flexibility
Potential programs: Residential core
Privacy
Size: 10x10m
Social Interaction
Rule for growth: 2 steps from circulation (each step = 10m)
Design process test 0.1
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Programs grow from intersection
Create extra circulation by taking the rest of path which generated from shortest path
Arrange semi-public space
Distribute residential blocks
117
Flexibility of movement and activity overtime
Gather in public spaces
To transportation points
During the festival such as Mid-Autumn Festival, all residents can choose which public space they want to go.
For the movement of going for work, it will mainly flow from residential core to all transportation points.
One of the essences of this thesis is to create a system that can support different needs over-time. Fig.26 shows the changes of people movement and occupation of space according to different needs, such as all public spaces can being occupied during the festival, and the most efficient path would serve for the working time.
Situation 1_Go for work/back from work
Situation 2_Mid-Autumn Festival
Residents use the fastest way to get to the transportation points, inner circulations become fewer density
When there is a festival, there are different open spaces for people activity - the circuation encourages people to choose their way as well as providing various social interaction.
Space for large event When there is large event, the larger public space is able to house more residents
Movement along studio The movement of artist/ working people is along the co-working space/ studio
Situation 3_Large event at public space
Situation 4_Artist studio/ Co-working
The largest open space that allows a large group of activity and brings all residents together - mix of people
The co-working space and artist studio along the circulation that encourages people moving linear like walking at the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Streetâ&#x20AC;? The importance of creating street life can be referred to Jane Jacobs
119
Design process test 0.1
Main circulation
Height: 90m (~30-storey) Housing type: Public Housing
The first part of the testing focuses primarily on the circulation system and clustering of public spaces and residential towers. Based on situation one, the system is mainly dealing with four attractions, and the circulation is overlapping all possible shortest paths from each of all points rather than providing one efficient path. Therefore, various choices of routine with different degrees of interaction are formed.
2nd circulation Generate from the possible path from each of all points, 2 nd circulation provides more freedom for people movement.
The main circulations are generating from the principle of shortest paths from each of all points.
Public space public spaces are growing from the intersection point, acting as a community surface.
Height: 90m (~30-storey) Housing type: Public Housing
Loop circulation Loop circulation is formed by integrating 1st and 2nd circulation system, provide extra connectivity and potential for people encountering.
Semi public space
Shared
Private
42%
58%
It includes small Open space. shops, co-working, co-living space, transition space
Residential entry Entrances to residential are placed along the circulation.
Percentage of circulation Circulation 22%
Void 32%
Solid 46%
Number of choices Number of residential core: 5 Average number of choice for residents from residential block to attraction point: 3
121
Social Ecologies The programs for public and semi-public space are mainly park, artist studio, market, co-working and living space. It forms a social ecology that involving making, living, selling and learning and it is facilitated by free circulation.
Circulation Structure | Activity clustering
Life Achievement Temporary resident co-living artist studio Permanent resident co-working Small business
support local business
Wisdom Creativity Spontaneity Problem solving Pursuit of Truth
Achieving: Confidence, success, Co-living space Temporary residents
ethics, self-esteem
Viusal connection Enrich experience Alternative circulation Open for public Flexible semipublic space
Small business/ co-working space
Cultivating Family, friendship, intimacy
Courtyard self-governing space
Savoring food, music, art, nature
Security Co-living space Temporary residents
Social ecologies
123
Multi-layered circulation structure | community A
In Hong Kong, we must consider a three-dimensional circulation system. In the precedent study, Wo Che and Hung Fuk have disconnected the relationship between ground, footbridge and residential level somehow. In this testing, public spaces are arranged both at the highest and lowest level, transited by a series of semi-public spaces and residential area is arranged at the mid-level â&#x20AC;&#x201C; mixing them by the multi-layered circulation system.
B
C
C
A
Highest level
B
Semi-public space
C
Mid level (Private)
Public space
C
Residential space (entrance)
A
E
Mid level (Private) Residential space
Lowest level (G/F) Public space
E
D
(entrance)
C
C
B
Highest level Public space
A
D
Semi-public space
E
Lowest level (G/F) Public space
D
Semi-public space
B
B
Semi-public space
A
D
Lowest level (G/F) Public space
E
125
DESIGN TESTING 0.2 Semester two Circulation system Accessibility and Visibility analysis of overall system
Typology of network
A
B
A
B
Linear circulation Loop
B A
A
B
C
Loop
Tree (hierarchical) network
A
Adding redundancy to a loop network
A
B
C
D
B
Multiple linear circulations with loops
The network typologies were drawn based on the logic of spatial graphs from Hillier, B., & Hanson, J. (1984). The social logic of space. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hanson, J. (1998). Decoding homes and houses. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press.
129
Evaluate network by calculating the number of choice and integration
F
B
D A
H
I
C
E
G Network
Divides into segments
1
D
1 2
H Choice: 3
F
Choice: 4
2
3
B
3
D
Fewest total depth Most integrated
A
H
I
4 C
E Most total depth Most segregated integrated
G Choice (Freedom / Control)
Integration (Prediction of usage and pattern of movement)
segregated
F
Step 3 F
Step 2 Step 1
B
G D
C
Step 2 E
H
I
B
H
Step 1
A Total depth of segment A: 10
I
A C
D
E
G Total depth of segment G: 15
131
Integration - Additional ring at the mid point of original ring
Choice
B A C
In general, it calculates how close
The integration is diffused to all directions
The whole structure became segregated
The structure is more segregated by adding more layers of tree
Fewest choice for the whole series of tree structure
integrated
segregated
More choices have been created by adding more layers
many choices(>5)
few choices(1)
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Integration - Additional ring at the mid point of original ring
A
Choice
B
In general, it calculates how close
In general, it calculates how close
Additional ring at the middle point of single side of original structure
Same logic - the integration will be diffused
Additional ring at the middle point of all sides of original structure
Same logic - the integration will be diffused and the overall network became segregated.
integrated
segregated
More choices at the center of â&#x20AC;&#x153;ringâ&#x20AC;?
Same result with the first network
All the intersections are having 5 or more choices
The additional small rings are having 5 or more choices
many choices(>5)
few choices(1)
135
Integration - Additional ring at the mid point of original ring
A
Choice
B
by adding one ring, the integration is slightly reduced
by adding more rings, the integration is also reduced
The integration became very low, both local and global
This network is suitable for creating the community life that required more privacy
integrated
segregated
The ring is separating people in two different routes
Became isolated with the overall network
Few choices as there is no connection going through the rings
This typology is quite control, as the choice is restricted
many choices(>5)
few choices(1)
137
Integration - Subdivison of rectangle
A
Choice
B
By subdividing the ring, it allows the lines interconnected
The integration is being diffused, but the overall network is still integrated
The focus of integration is moving to the local level
Same effect with the previous one and the subdivision is good for creating locally integrated space
integrated
segregated
The choice is concentrated at the middle of network
The part of subdivision is having equal choice now
Many choices are creating for the micro community
Many choices are creating for the micro community
many choices(>5)
few choices(1)
139
Integration - Subdivison of rectangle
A
Choice
B
The integration for the ring witrhout exit is at the medium level
By subdividing the ring, the integration is increased
The integration is focus at the middle
The corner segments are less integrated, suitable for creating private activity
integrated
segregated
No choice for a single ring structure
The choices have been introduced by dividing a ring
The choice for corner segments are restricted
The central rings are having equal degree of freedom
many choices(>5)
few choices(1)
141
Integration - Subdivison of rectangle A
B
C
D
Choice
The middle part is strongly integrated
The middle part is strongly integrated and diffused to both sides
Almost all segments are integrated
Similar effect with the previous network, the whole network is integrated except those exit
integrated
segregated
The middle part offers more choices than the rest of segment
By dividing the ring on both sides, the whole network is having more selections
Similar effect with the second network
Almost the whole network is having high degree of freedom
many choices(>5)
few choices(1)
143
Natural movement - Patterns of movement Natural movement, a theory within space syntax, refers to the ability of street layout itself to predict pedestrian movement (Hillier et al., 1993). The theory posits that more integrated streets, which are likely to be more accessible from other streets, will draw more pedestrians.
145
Network - integration & architectural elements
3m
6m 6m
9m 9m
6m
3m
6m
3m Segregated
6m
9m Integrated 147
Typology of surface within network system
Intersection - community surface As the intersection is peak of connectivity that can ensure the fluid movement of people, it is good to be community surface for public space.
Intersection
Privacy
High connectivity Mixing of people
Social Interaction
In-between space
Privacy
Passing by
Social Interaction
Type of intersection In order to form the community surface in the point with high connectivity, only intersection with 3, 4 or more segments will count for forming community surface.
Dead-end space
Privacy
Low connectivity Invitied guests
Social Interaction
4 segments
3 segments 149
Sliding panels - reconfiguring the network over-time + Alterative route + Diversion + Changed networkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s properties
Integration based on original network
Integration after disconnecting part of connection
Integration after disconnecting part of connection
151
Vertical circulation
Attraction point
Attraction point
Level 3
Level 2
Level 1
Attraction point
Attraction point 1. 3D shortest paths 2. more symmetric = less hierarchy = more freedom = vertical circulation 153
Option 0.2 High level Mid level Low level
High level
Mid level
Low level
155
Freedom of choice
Residential Cores & connections
Residential block
High level Mid level Low level
Evaluation
Total points for sliding panel : 145 (for self-organizing) Number of segment in public space: 40 Number of segment for residential entrance: 48 157
Community life over time
High level
Mid level
Low level
Original
Reconfigured
Festival at middle level 159
Community life over time
Peak hour - Go for work
Rooftop Live 161
3d shortest path - generates vertical circulation
Attraction point
Attraction point
Attraction point
Level 3 Level 2 Level 1
Attraction point
Attraction point
Attraction point
163
Option 0.2 High level
Mid level
Low level
High level
Mid level
Low level
165
Accessibility
167
Visibility
169
Visibility_circulation based on integration
171
Visibility_circulation based on integration + shortest path
173
Visibility_circulation based on integration + shortest path + surface
175
Visibility_circulation based on integration + shortest path + surface (offset)
177
Accessibility
179
Visibility_circulation based on integration + shortest path
181
Visibility_circulation based on integration + shortest path + surface
183
Visibility_circulation based on integration + shortest path + surface (offset)
185
187
189
191
DESIGN TESTING 0.3 Semester two Circulation system Distribution of massing
Degree of closure
Intersection
5% closure
Extrovert
In-between
15% closure
Dead-end
25% closure
35% closure
45% closure
55% closure
65% closure
75% closure
85% closure
95% closure
Introvert 195
Typology of surface within network system Position of surface (Accessibility) 1 step = 10m
(based on the 10x10m grid) 3 steps
2 steps
1 step
2-step
5% of the frontage
15% of the frontage
25% of the frontage
35% of the frontage
45% of the frontage
55% of the frontage
65% of the frontage
75% of the frontage
85% of the frontage
95% of the frontage
width = 5% of the frontage
width = 15% of the frontage
width = 25% of the frontage
width = 35% of the frontage
width = 45% of the frontage
55% of the frontage
width = 65% of the frontage
width = 75% of the frontage
width = 85% of the frontage
width = 95% of the frontage
(highest privacy)
3-step
(lowest privacy)
Width of passage (Accessibility)
(highest privacy)
(lowest privacy)
Visibility
(lowest visibility)
(highest visibility)
197
Typology of surface within network system Size of surface (Number of people)
10x10m (~10ppl)
20x20m
30x30m
40x40m
50x50m (~250ppl)
0.5m
1m
1.5m
2m
2.5m
3m
3.5m
4m
4.5m
5m
(intimate activity)
(large social group)
Height of vertical element
Height of horizontal element
-0.5m
-1.5m
-2.5m
+0.5m
+1.5m
+2.5m
199
WALL SYSTEM - DIVIDING SPACE Massing system Option 1
Multi-level study CIRCULATION SYSTEM Sunlight
TEST!
Visual integration
Option 2
TEST!
integrated
Transofromation of circulation system (based on predicted human movement)
segregated
Option 3
Original circulation
+ Integration
+ Shortest path
Circulation system (based on predicted movement)
201
Circulation system
CIRCULATION SYSTEM
WALL SYSTEM - GENERATE VOLUME
203
WALL SYSTEM - GENERATE VOLUME Massing system
FORMATION OF MASSING
SEMI PRIVATE
PRIVATE
OPEN
ENCLOSED
PUBLIC
PUBLIC
PUBLIC
PRIVATE
SEMI PRIVATE
205
HOUSING SYSTEM VERSION 0.1
Integrated living system
FIXED Large volume Fixed programs Enclosed | Introvert
EXIT - to BUS STOP
Good for large shops for residents EAT SHOP
RESIDENTIAL CORE
EXIT - to MTR
EXIT - to MTR
0m
25
0m
25
FREEDOM
FORMATION OF MASSING
EXIT - to MINIBUS STOP
Free movement Free activities
Good for causal activities: EAT PLAY CHAT EXCHANGE WALK
Open | Extrovert
OPEN
ENCLOSED
207
Different usage over time
event for residents InformalInformal event for residents Informal event for residents
Large volume for residents Large volume for residents Large volume for residents
209
DESIGN TESTING 0.4 Semester two Final Review Circulation system Distribution of massing Possible usage of massing Accessibility and Visibility analysis of overall system Connections to site
Formation of circulation system
Connections to site
Shortest path 1
Shortest path 2
Shortest path 3
Combining shortest paths (redundancy)
Shortest path 4
Shortest path 5
Shortest path 6
Integration of segments (Foorbridge level)
Integration of segments (Lower level)
Circulation system based on the degree of integration
Circulation system based on the degree of integration 213
Design process - residential towers and social platform
Core
Social platform
Modifying the size based on degree of integration
Cutting out the volume
Maximizing the river view for residential towers
Different types of space can be considered in â&#x20AC;&#x153;social platformâ&#x20AC;?
215
Massing development
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Cutting the central massing (most integrated space) based on winter sunllight
Larger opening for winter sunlight
Adding planes at the intersection of paths
Integrated living system 217
FLAT TYPE:
HARMONY X FLAT TYPE: TYPICAL 1-6 PERSON FLAT HOME OFFICE ARTIST STUDIO
RESIDENTIAL CORE
HARMONY X
PUBLIC HOUSING
TYPICAL FLAT AREA: 20 - 50m2 TARGET USERS: TYPICAL 1-6 PERSON FLAT HOME OFFICE ARTIST STUDIO
RESIDENTIAL CORE
TYPICAL 1-6 PERSON FLAT HOME OFFICE ARTIST STUDIO
TYPICAL FLAT AREA: 20 - 50m2 TARGET USERS: TYPICAL 1-6 PERSON FLAT HOME OFFICE ARTIST STUDIO
I LIKE HOW THEY USE THIS GARDEN NICE SKILL!
LET'S JOIN TOGETHER !
I LIKE HOW THEY USE THIS GARDEN
CAN YOU TEACH ME THIS DANCE?
WE CAN PARTICIPATE IN THIS EVENT
RESIDENTIAL CORE
PUBLIC HOUSING
RESIDENTIAL CORE
RESIDENTIAL CORE
RESIDENTIAL CORE
Democratic living environment - A circulation system with freedom of choice
RESIDENTIA
RESIDENTIAL CO
I LIKE HOW THEY USE THIS GARDEN
LET'S JOIN TOGETHER !
I LIKE HOW THEY USE THIS GARDEN NICE SKILL!
CAN YOU TEACH ME THIS DANCE?
WE CAN PARTICIPATE IN THIS EVENT
LET'S JOIN TOGETHER !
CAN YOU TEACH ME THIS DANCE?
WE CAN PARTICIPATE IN THIS EVENT
TO LUNG WAH HOTEL
NATURAL MOVEMENT Based on the theory of natural movement by Bill Hillier (1993), It posits that more integrated streets, which are likely to be more accessible from other streets, will draw more pedestrians.
WALK RELIEVE
Quiet outdoor corridor The more segregated path became a quiet outdoor corridor, which is suitable for - sidewalk - thinking
Residential Core (Entrance)
LIVE
The entrance is placed all direction, more choices for residents who are getting out from their flat.
Pocket space with different depths
TO SHATIN MTR
Spaces with different depth offers different visibility (privacy) for residents.
STUDY EAT DRINK RELAX
TO FOTAN MTR, WO CHE ESTATE
Social space with good sunlight By cutting the mass based on winter sunlight, it forms the social space with good sunlight for residents.
BUY SELL EXCHANGE MAKE
PLAY PERFORM RELAX EXCHANGE
Most integrated Art + Market + Shop The mass close to the most integrated path could considered as a shops with more publicness such as artist studio, open market and shop.
Community surfaces (Ball game, Performance, Relaxing, etc.)
RELAX PERFORM EXCHANGE EAT DRINK PLAY
PLAY PERFORM RELAX EXCHANGE
The intersection space can act as a communal space for the people coming from all directions.
Social platform It serves diverse activities over-time, the platform with different levels also allow interesting visibility and connectivity
Open entrance By using the strategy of cutting mass at the entrance, the space is having more capacity to serve more people who gather in there.
TO SPORT CENTRE 0
TO PARK
10
50
12:45 PM - LUNCH TIME Different types of pocket space
Workers are having lunch in pocket spaces, so that the density of people will concentrate in the area of pocket spaces.
park cafe, restaurant study room co-working space
Due to the office hours, the usage of large public space will be reduced in that time.
High traffic space became quiet transforms to open but quiet space residents enjoy the sunlight without too much distraction
Social platform is not necessary to be opened at that time
0
10
50
10:30 PM MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Hong Kong people like to hang out with their lanterns in the parks as well as moon watching in open space.
Space for playing lanterns This type of intersection space allows small group of people hanging out with their lantern.
Open for the public The cut-out massing at the entrance is a strategy that draws the public to join the event.
Moon watching Moon watching is a tradition of Chinese culture in Mid-Autumn Festival. A largest open space with big steps allow people to do moon watching.
0
10
50
Connectivity and Visibility analysis of overall system
Connectivity (Choice)
Connectivity (Choice)
Visual integration
Visual integration
229
Pocket space - customize the space
Public space - hold events by the residents
Private corridor - get personal space
City view
Neighborhood view
OPENNESS OF THE FACADE
Mountain view
RIVER VIEW
River view
NEIGHBORHOOD VIEW
Generative facade design
Facade module - face A & B
243
245
247
249
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Today the intersections of information, life and matter display complexities that suggest the possibility of a much deeper synthesis. Within this context, however, architecture is being forced to radically refactor its response to new social and cultural challenges and an accelerated process of urbanization.â&#x20AC;? Theodore Spyropoulos (2013)
251