LOCAL CODE T GROVE COCONU
The Constitution of a City at 12.4634° S, 130.8456° E 8.1504’’ E 12° 23’ 22.6104’’ S, 130° 51’
M e g a n T s i n Ye e , V o o
PREFACE This local code is a guidance on how to build a city that unlocks the prison suburbia of Darwin. The design of the city begins by discovering a suburb named Rapid Creek with a few interesting phenomena. As shown in the predator view on the first page, the ‘Café Central Darwin’ and ‘Darwin Beachside Accommodation’ are closely integrated with the residential area. Which makes one to question whether the urban planning of the suburb is not well planned or are the residents living in that suburb comfortable with their private space closely integrated with the public space? The colors are coded to observe the transition of the edge condition. Dark cobalt blue represents public spaces, pagoda orange represents the semi-public and the dark red and yellow is private spaces. These phenomena in the predator view are taken and put into the script. The result of the script creates some interesting moments that generates a new urban outcomes to the city of Darwin. Policies were written to be implemented into a new vision of the city of Darwin named Coconut Grove. It is divided into four elements which are the maze, the house, the carpets and the housecafe. The local code offers a city that embraces the chaos and confusion created by the fences, the houses as well as the carpets. The city of maze acknowledges the mess by not changing them but instead adapting to them. It creates a symbiotic relationship in which the living cells invade on this plot of landscapes, but in order to survive, it has to adapt to Coconut Grove’s local code. The living cells have to negotiate itself into this new environment by being submissive to the maze and the carpets. The maze is used to determined the ownership of the land whereas the pathways are used to be intersected into these new spaces. The main intention of the carpets is to allow the multiplication of a new type of cells as well as blurring the lines between the public and private. Therefore, this creates confusion as passerbys cross by each region. This code is written to break away from the conventional architectural design, to imagine a new city via a building code, a regulatory prescription that usually limits our creative intentions. It is written in the belief that by acknowledging the chaos, rather than restraining it, it can open more opportunities for a new typology and a better way of living, creating a randomised city with moments of peculiarity. This is not a description to design a single city but an infinity. This is the first iterations of the code, there will be no final version.
PREDATOR VIEW
LOCAL CODE
CONTENTS I
The Civil Rights of Residents
II
The Maze
II - 1 II - 2 II - 3 II - 4 II - 5 II - 6
Division Laneway Opening The Intersection Access Criss-Cross
III
Cells
III - 1 III - 2
Multiple Dwellings Courtyard
IV
Ownership of Land
IV - 1 IV - 2 IV - 3
Occupation of Cells Public and Private Spaces Carpets
V
Cafes/Restaurant/Retail Shop
V-1
HouseCafe
SECTION I
THE CIVIL RIGHTS OF RESIDENTS
[I - 1]
The Civil Rights of Residents
[I - 1.1]
The right to a city that embraces the chaos and confusion.
[I - 1.2]
The right to privacy.
[I - 1.3]
The right to free movement throughout the city.
[I - 1.4]
The right to non-participation in social activities.
[I - 1.5]
The right to engage with its community.
[I - 1.6]
The right to the ownership of land.
[I - 1.7]
The right to live in a walkable city where people can live without cars.
[I - 1.8]
The right to live in a walkable city that offers all the basic amenities that the neighborhood needs.
SECTION II
THE MAZE
[II - 1]
Division
[II - 1.1]
The fence occupied by the suburb shall be known as the maze.
[II - 1.2]
The maze acts as a division to the suburb.
[II - 1.3]
The maze is divided into 90% continuity and 10% discontinuity.
[II - 1.4]
The maze is used as a seperative boundaries between spaces as well as cells.
[II - 1.5]
The minimum height for the maze is 1 meter and maximum height is 2.5 meter.
[II - 1.6]
The maze is used to define the ownership of land and to create new spaces for the interior of the cells.
[II - 2]
Laneway
[II - 2.1]
The 90% continuity of the maze will form pathways and laneways that guide people to certain dwellings and public areas.
[II - 2.2]
The maze creates laneways for people to loiter and act as a short cut to places.
[II - 3]
Opening
[II - 3.1]
The 10% discontinuity of the maze will form openings for entrances to cells, commercial areas or public areas as well as large open spaces.
[II - 3.2]
The maze shall create openings if carpets cut through them to allow unobstructed circulation of movements.
[II - 4]
The Intersection
[II - 4.1]
When a maze intersect into the interior of the cell, the occupier has the ownership to the new space. The previous space of the cell need to make used of the new boundary space created by the maze. The space shall be created for a new function. For an example, the enclose living area becomes an open living space when the fences intersect into the cells, forcing the space to engage with the outdoor.
[II - 4.2]
The maze intersecting the interior of the cell forms a relationship between the exterior and the interior. This promotes the spilling of the internal functions on to the street.
[II - 4.3]
The maze creates a new front yard for the terrace house which previously has no outdoor spaces.
[II - 4.4]
All the cells need to allow the maze to intersect through them.
[II - 5]
Access
[II - 5.1]
At least one opening is to be created if more than two mazes intersect into the cell with each other.
[II - 5.2]
The size of the opening need to be at least 2 meter high and 1 meter wide.
[II - 5.3]
The maze segregates the cell into different parts and create opportunities for the cell to have a variety of entrances and exits.
[II - 6]
Criss-Cross
[II - 6.1]
The enclosure formed by the intersection of the maze are to be used to lock certain spaces of the cells together.
[II - 6.2]
Two different spaces from two different cells becomes one cell with two spaces when the maze lock them together. This result in multiplication of cells, from two cells to three cells.
SECTION III
CELLS
[III - 1]
Multiple Dwellings
[III - 1.1]
The houses in the suburbs shall be known as cells.
[III - 1.2]
The cells are allowed to be combined or stacked on top of each other.
[III - 1.3]
What appears to be 1 building can actually be occupied by 10 dwellers.
[III - 2]
Courtyard
[III - 2.1]
If the integration of cells resulted an opening space in the middle of the multiple dwellings, the space need to be used as a courtyard. The courtyard can only be used between the dwellers themselves.
[III - 2.2]
All the cells need to be submissive to the pathways and the fences, allowing these elements to make changes into the cells.
SECTION IV
OWNERSHIP OF LAND
[IV - 1]
Occupation of Cells
[IV - 1.1]
Cells above the ground level does not necessarily mean that they occupy the land below.
[IV - 1.2]
Only living cells are allowed to be built above ground level.
[IV - 1.3]
Despite the dark red carpet is a private region, the owner needs to share its land with the public if the dark blue cobalt or pagoda orange are located inside the boundaries of these maze.
[IV - 2]
Public and Private Spaces
[IV - 2.1]
The area occupied by the suburb is to be divided as follows: - 50% is color coded as black to represent the living cells. - 15% is color coded as dark cobalt blue to represent the public spaces. - 10% is color coded as pagoda orange to represent semi public spaces. - 4% is color coded as dark red to represent private spaces. - 20% is color coded as white to represent restricted areas or zones for future development.
[IV - 2.2]
70% of the pathway is to be continuous and 30% is not continuous.
[IV - 2.3]
The hard and soft edges of the fractured pathways are to be embrace and not to be modified.
[IV - 2.4]
The dark cobalt blue regions are allowed to overlap the pagoda orange regions, and the pagoda orange regions are allowed to overlap the dark red regions.
[IV - 2.5]
The dark cobalt blue is the public realm which is accessible to the public. These spaces include the main road, piazza, green areas, public open spaces, park and organized recreation.
[IV - 2.6]
The pagoda orange is the semi-public realm. These spaces include bicycle storage, meeting space, community garden, community kitchen, community hall and parking spaces.
[IV - 2.7]
The dark red is the private realm. These spaces include private garden, backyard, front yard and car shed.
[IV - 2.8]
The occupier has the right to free movement throughout the suburb. There are no rules traveling from different zone. However, the occupier cannot travel through white region as they are restricted area.
[IV - 2.9]
Only the mazes are allowed to determined the ownership of land, pathways are only to be used to determined the used of space.
[IV - 3]
Carpets
[IV - 3.1]
All pathways shall be known as carpets.
[IV - 3.2]
Dark cobalt blue and pagoda orange carpets are allow to intersect through the cells and public buildings.
[IV - 3.3]
Dark red carpets can either be used to cut through the facade of the cells or ceilings as skylights. These decisions can only be made by the owner of the land and the occupier of the house.
[IV - 3.4]
The intention of these intersections of carpets to the living cells and the public buildings are to allow: - multiplications of cells and public buildings. - blurring the boundaries between public and private.
SECTION V
CAFES/RESTAURANT/RETAIL SHOP
[V - 1]
HouseCafe
[V - 1.1]
Public spaces should be situated at least 1 km from the living cells. This helps to reduce the distance for people to travel for goods and services and thus creates a walkable city.
[V - 1.2]
If living cells are integrated with a cafe, it should be consider as one cell and known as a Housecafe.
[V - 1.3]
The living cells are closely integrated with the cafe, this creates a unique combination of private residence and public space where ‘café’ and ‘living’ are brought together in a single building.
[V - 1.4]
In order to enter the public space, customers need to pass through the occupier’s living space.