Illegal Taipei
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awards: 14th Contest Xella / human Pavilion at the ZOO / price of medial partners and visitors of the exhibition and mayors Revit Open / Singles / Special awards
Ing. arch. Martina Svobodová born: 11. 01. 1987 / Prague, Czech republic adress: Jiřího Mašína 1432, Prague 5, 156 00 e-mail: martinasvobodovamail@gmail.com tel.: +420 775 235 432
education: 2014–2015 Working exchange programme Netherlands: 2006- 2013: FA CTU Prague / Msc. / Architecture and Urbanism 2011- 2012: CHU Hsinchu, Taiwan / 2 semester of exchange programme 2002- 2006: Gymnasy Na Pražačce / the branch of art exhibitions: 2008 14th Contest Xella / Human Pavilion at the ZOO / Troja palace 2009 Proposals of churches / Hungarian Institute / Prague 2011 ANASTOMIS / DOX gallery / Prague 2012 Revit Open / Singles / Prague 2013 Architecture diplomas / CTU 2013 Young architecture award / Prague 2013 POKOJE / Old town, Prague working experience: Barcode Architects(Rotterdam, NL) Matt flowers design/ Interior design studio Acad.arch. Libor Fránek atelier VV H3T architects ALT architects languages: english / good french / beginner chinese / mildly advanced softwares: Autodesk AutoCAD / 3ds Max(Vray) Adobe CS (Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign) Rhinoceros Graphisoft ArchiCAD Sketch Up MS Office
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LANGUAGE EXPERIENCES: Czech natal French very advanced English advanced
CV - Julie Hrnčířová adress: Lupáčova 9, 13000, Praha date of birth: 18. 03. 1992 tel: 00420 775 615 311 email: julie.hrncirova@seznam.cz
EDUCATIONS: 2011 - 2015 Faculty of Art and Design at Ústí nad Labem, specialization in photography and video 2014 Exchange at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, specialization in Photography 2013 Erasmus at National School of Fine Art of Nancy in France 2007 - 2011 School of Applied Arts in Prague, specialization in Graphics design WORK EXPERIENCES: 2012 - 2015 Shooting pictures for: production company Unit+Sofa, (http://www.unitsofa.cz) film production company Bionaut, (http://www.bionaut.cz) festival of film Fresh Film Fest in Prague (in 2013, 2014), (http://www.freshfilmfest.cz) festival of design DesignSupermarket in Prague (in 2012, 2013, 2014), (http://www.designsupermarket.cz ) Signal Festival of lightsin Prague, (in 2014), (http://www.signalfestival.cz) music clubs Neone and Meet Factory in Prague, (http://www.klubneone.cz, http://www.meetfactory.cz) and for Lunchmeat festival in Prague, (http:// lunchmeat.cz/) artistic collaboration with the Czech music band Ille, 2014 (photo reportage) photo reportage for a magazine Dolce Vita, 2014 (http://www.dolcevita.cz) artistic collaboration with the band Please the Trees and Tvrdý/Havelka, 2015 (shooting pictures of the concerts, portraits and promo pictures for their new album)
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CV - Štěpán Marko adress: Vonroušova 1215, 16300, Praha date of birth: 21. 06. 1986 tel: 00420 777 024 480 email: mail@stepanmarko.com
EDUCATIONS: 2010 – 2014 Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design [typography], Prague 2006 – 2009 Higher graphic school [graphic design], Prague 2002 – 2006 Secondary School of Applied Arts [polygraphy], Prague WORK EXPERIENCES: 2009 – 2010 EURO magazine [graphic], Prague 2010 – now Freelancer of graphic design 2011 – now Cooperation with KIV. Gallery LANGUAGE EXPERIENCES: Czech natal English normal awards: Most beautiful Czech books 2013 Most beautiful Czech books 2014
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Martina Svobodova (architect)
in informal urbanism further by attending workshops and conferences such as the ‚Informal Urbanism‘organised by the Faculty of Architecture, TU Delft, in December 2014. All of this lead me to the decision to get involved even more, and to push this interest of mine in my next research project in which I could research this phenomenon in depth. Hence I am applying for this residency, as an opportunity that would allow me to explore this problem in one of it´s loci, that is directly in Taipei. The Treasure Hill artist village itself is an example of an informal settlement which is carrying the memories, stories and traditions of the past generations.
*11.1.1987 Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech rep. Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning http://issuu.com/martyynasvobodova/docs/portfolio
My name is Martina Svobodova, I am 28 years old graduated architect with 3 years of working experience in Prague and Rotterdam. During my studies in Prague, I have spent 1 year as an exchange student in Taiwan. Ever since my experience of living in one of the most highly-dense Asian metropolis I got interested in the contemporary urbanism of cities similar in scale and nature to Taipei. I am especially concerned about the notorious by-products of unprecedented development and fast growing population. I am coming from Czech Republic. Similarly to the 130 years old Taipei, my hometown Prague has its own story of rapid population growth in the 19th century. However in present days Prague has one of the strictest regulations that try to keep the appearance of buildings and city panorama intact. This extreme contrast to the environment that I originate from is one but not nearly the only reason why I am fascinated with high speed of evolution of young Asian metropolis such as Taipei. From an outsider‘s point of view it seems to be an organic, wild and spontaneous organism which is a direct reaction to human needs. The phenomenon that is directly linked to such a rapid growth is the illegal dwelling settlements. During my study exchange I have been dealing precisely with this topic. I have come across this issue of informal urbanism for the first time through graduation projects of my Taiwanese classmates. It has been an inspiration for my future research interests in architecture ever since. I have also had a chance to visit an illustrative installation of Hsieh Ying-Chun’s - illegal architecture at the Urban Core area of Taipei and MVRDV exhibition of Vertical village (2012) both of which were closely linked with this topic. During my internship in the Netherlands, I have been pursuing this interest
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Informal Urbanism-Illegal structures of Taipei High-density cities often generate informal urbanism. Among them Taipei can prove to be an extremely fruitful location to be studied and explored through my research project. As the capital city of Taiwan with population of more than 2.5 million people (4 million total in agglomeration of New Taipei City), Taipei became the 40th most populous metropolis in the world with a rapid speed of expansion as a result of its swift economic growth. The expansion of the city has affected the surroundings deeply. Increasing urbanization and densification during last decades caused a rapid construction of gargantuan buildings such as vertical towers or infrastructural projects. The City form is a newcomer to the unurbanized rural environment. In contrast to the European cities that have evolved gradually over the centuries, Taipei is a young city that transformed into the modern metropolis quickly, on an area that previously belonged to village development. Massive blocks replaced traditional low, small scale, light architecture and typical individual urbanism of family houses. These original occupants of the land now seem to create a secondary layer of the city in the form of illegal dwellings. They “parasite” on the “official” city as a source of the electricity and water.
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Although on the one hand this phenomenon occurs as a result of problems such as overpopulation, lack of space, inaccessibility of rental prices and the absence of regulation, on the other hand it also creates unique urban identity and a sense of place. It transforms modern urban landscape into colourful mosaic of metal roofs on the tops of existing housing or adjacent to legal buildings. It is a complex of non-organized systems in which patterns overlap and intersect in unexpected ways. Such compound of this this mosaic and the giant skyscrapers is ever so characteristic for the Taipei´s panorama. Because it is a form of cultural heritage referring to the traditional way of living, as well because these structures create homes for thousands of people, this layer of the city cannot and should not be denied nor eradicated. Such a position is also supported by the current political representation which does not try to ‘solve’ this situation and instead tolerates illegal additions except those that directly endanger public safety. Because of all of these reasons I would like to explore how to react and respond to this situation properly in a contemporary manner, and how to co-exist and work with this phenomenon in the future regarding both the values and threats that informal urbanism represents.
Research and methodology
to use design to improve urban live . According to that, following my research results, my aim is to create an adequate contemporary form of architectural design that would respond to the following questions:
In order to research this issue more in depth I would like to explore the current situation at the local level by a survey of selected sites. I am also very interested in the communities that occupy these plots and I aim to get a full picture by interviews with representatives of these communities, local urban planners and professionals who have experience with informal urbanism, as well as sociologists and anthropologists, acting in the local conditions. I would like to analyse and map these specific locations and developments, the real estate market, the political and social background and the legislative framework in order to find a general answer, or at least a direction, to questions such as how to ensure ecological and social sustainability, how to keep safety during the weather fluctuations and fire, how to ensure the accessibility, hygienic conditions, price affordability and flexibility of additions.
Outputs of the research My research output will consist of a publication that will depict the contemporary situation of the informal urbanism in Taipei. It will consists of the stories of the local people, photo documentary of their dwelling and life in the illegal structures, the facts and data analysis that I obtain in my research, e.g. categorization of the constructions, connections between lifestyle in illegal structures and religion, social status, most frequently used materials etc. Furthermore, Taipei was chosen to be the design capital city of 2016 in order to show people how
•• How and where should we accommodate the next generations while the city and its population is constantly growing? How to slow down the process of horizontal expansion of the city? •• Can we create a legal general framework for the secondary layer with basic rules, regulations and limits that would still enable the inhabitants to implement their dwellings, and by doing so, express their individuality?
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•• How to define the public spaces in these structures? How to create communications and social infrastructure that would be used and respected by the inhabitants? And how to keep them public, accessible and free of building-up additions? Is such a flexible definition of public space a way to ensure safer conditions in the city? •• Can we solve the problem of informal urbanism by ‘urban acupuncture’ instead of huge master plans that cost a lot of money and increase bureaucracy? •• How to bring back the traditional village lifestyle within the facilities and appearance of a big city? •• Is it not an outdated approach to necessarily link the informal to poor, since the middle class families and even high income individuals increasingly move to the informal settlements?
Cooperation I have decided to cooperate on the final outputs of the project (especially on the publication) with two Czech artists. I am confident that their skills will enrich my research with photographs, graphic and typography that will make the final product, the publication, a complete artwork, that is attractive and accessible also to the general public. Thanks to their participation I can represent the topic in a full, artistic and professional manner.
Julie Hrnčířová (photographer)
Štěpán Marko (graphic designer)
*18. 3. 1992 University of Jan Evangelista Purkyně in Ústí nad labem (Czech rep.), Faculty of Art and Design – Photography and Digital Media
*21. 6. 1986 UMPRUM –Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, studio Type design and Typography, department Graphics
Julia Hrnčířová is a talented young photographer based in Prague. One of her latest projects deals with photo mapping of different ways of alternative forms of housing in the Czech Republic. For instance the cycle of pictures called “ Living close to water “ is monitoring different groups of people, which have decided to step aside from the ordinary city structures and instead create their homes in the informal conditions, on the water. At the expense of privacy they chose free form housing in houseboats and community life surrounded by the river. Julie’s projects includes fragments of architecture, mapping of material forms as well as explorations of the social background of community life. They often describe the life stories of the portrayed people. Thanks to these and other experiences I am confident Julie will be a valuable member of my team. Julie Hrncirova will cooperate on the categorization of individual structures, especially on their survey and mapping. She is looking at these dwellings as artistic objects that reflect the individual expression and personality of their creators. Gradually, with photographic medium she will try to map the variability of materials, details of architectural design, living conditions, habits and residents themselves. She is working primarily with digital colour photography for the mapping and her dominant artistic technique is that of the analogue photography. Julie’s photographs shall be a crucial component of the final publication which would help to explain the theme to the general public.
Štepán is a graphic designer from Prague. He worked closely with Federico Diaz at his Supermedia. In his work he is especially interested in the relation of the content and its typographic representation. Often in the past his projects included cross disciplinary teamwork which has offered new insights to his own discipline of graphic design. For Stepan Type design is not only the medium carrying the content but simultaneously an illustration and graphic representation of the given topic. In book design he focuses on the flexibility of layout, micro typography and technologic possibilities of book production. The in-depth knowledge of the printing and publishing technology is always a constituent part of every of Stepan graphic designs. The author is currently cooperation with several Czech educational institutions such as Film and Tv School of Academy of Performing Arts In Prague, FAMU.
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