RETURNING TO THE BLOCK Solutions for a Glaswegian City Typology Siyuan Ye 19088282 ysiyuansean@gmail.com
Mentors
David Chandler, Jim Dyson, Eamonn Canniffe, Dominic Sagar, David Johnson, Yun Wu, Antonio Blanco Pastor, Claudio Molina Camacho, Curtis Martyn, Demetra Kourri, Julie Fitzpatrick, Mazin Al-Saffar, Tamara Salinas Cohn
MA Architecture and Urbanism 2019/2020 Manchester School of Architecture 1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Thanks for the precious opportunity to make me a part of MA Architecture and Urbanism program in Manchester School of Architecture. I would like to express my gratitude to all the staff members of MSA MAA&U. The completion of this project is inseparable f rom the guidance and endorsement of a variety of tutors and colleagues. This work is dedicated to all of you who had assisted me and those who are committed to making the world better. Appreciate your support and effort. Siyuan Ye Manchester, United Kingdom, August 2020
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CONTENTS
01 Introduction
03 Urban Lab
Project brief Background
Proposal/new policies for Glasgow a. Concept b. “Superblock� strategy for Glasgow c. New plan
New block concept
02 Urban Research
a. Ideal block b. Practical module
"When Glasgow meets Barcelona" a. Why Barcelona & Glasgow? b. Approaches and strategies
04 Application
Case study - Barcelona
a. Creda's plan b. What the grid block brings? c. Superblock
Core area in central Glasgow a. Site analysis b. Master plan c. Superblock d. Osmosis & parasite modules e. Renderings & images f. Positive impact locally & Globally
Research of Glasgow
a. City vision b. Block & architecture research c. Summary
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01 Introduction Glasgow is the most populous city in Scotland, and the third most populous city in the United Kingdom, as of the 2019 estimated city population of 611,748. It is situated on the River Clyde in the country's West Central Lowlands and the fifth most visited city in the UK. Glasgow was the "Second City of the British Empire" for much of the Victorian era and Edwardian period. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the population and economy of Glasgow and the surrounding region expanded rapidly to become one of the world's pre-eminent centres of chemicals, textiles and engineering; most notably in the shipbuilding and marine engineering industry, which produced many innovative and famous vessels. However, with the two world wars and the reconstruction of global political and economic power, Britain's global status has relatively declined, Glasgow has also begun to enter a recession, and its status in international competition has plummeted. In order to solve the problem of long-term urban depression caused by the transformation of industrial structure, urban renewal planning has begun to become an essential task of the government.
people returning to the city centre, is one of the main issues that need to be resolved in the urban renewal of the central Glasgow.
Project brief
With reflections on the sudden Covid-19 in 2020, the project carried out an urban experiment, rethinking the blocks in central Glasgow in the context of the digital future. Process a. Urban Research "When Glasgow meets Barcelona" -- Study the block of Barcelona and Glasgow The first is the study of cases and experiences. Here the author chooses Barcelona, a city that is worth learning f rom a place that is facing the urban renewal of solidified neighbourhoods. Then, with the experience of Barcelona, the author conducted in-depth research on Glasgow. b. Urban Lab Put forward some conceptual block models and policies, and extract some simplified spatial modules on this basis.
In general, the focus of the urban renewal of Glasgow before the 1980s was to solve the problem of social housing caused by industrial decline. As a result, a large number of overcrowded and dilapidated urban residential buildings were removed and replaced by a large number of high-density social residential buildings. By 1980, about 60% of low-income residents were placed in government housing (Booth and Boyle, 1993). At the same time, the vigorous "New Town Movement" and "Urban Decentralisation" policies have also moved some residents to suburban new towns. Although the new houses and the environment of the new town are much improved f rom the original old town, the city itself is not much improved. As Castells (1993) said, when people living in the suburbs and new cities find that there are not enough public facilities and life there is boring, especially the younger generation, they slowly re-recognize the charm of life in the city centre. They began to return to the city centre from garden houses in the suburbs.
c. Application Apply the results from the urban lab in central Glasgow to create "happy space", in order to explore the practical feasibility of these modules facing various situations of Glasgow.
Today's Glasgow city centre is full of grid-like blocks interwoven and spliced by different building types. These solidif ied and high-density blocks hinder the process of urban renewal to some extent. How to alleviate the legacy of the "New Town Movement" and the urban dissolution policy, and create living conditions of high-density blocks for 5
Background Lessons from COVID-19 The coronavirus has turned the world outside our door into a wilderness. For the control of infectious diseases that use air as a transmission medium, it seems that only spatial isolation is the best prevention and control method. However, what we may overlook is that from the information and management of the epidemic to the transformation of working methods, the unprecedented global quarantine in 2020 cannot be achieved without the Internet. The application of the Internet may trigger the differentiation of architecture into three directions in future -- spectacle architecture, inf rastructure and residence. They are speculations on the three aspects of human existence.
a. Active points - Spectacle architecture for
people to visit physically
First of all, the Internet has in fact replaced an essential function of public buildings, that is, the communication between people, providing a place for the occurrence and exchange of information. Victor Hugo (Victor Hugo) once asserted that printing would kill the building (edifice), but today, radical changes in electronic technology have also accomplished this task. The screen takes over the tasks previously carried by the physical space. "Check-in" public places will become a staged spectacle appreciation of screen media. The presence of architecture is no longer the presence at the same time and space but is expressed in the "narrative" of various media.
b. Inf rastructure architecture - Functional
space related to the living maintenance, production, information and material exchange The second is infrastructure construction. It does not mean bridges, roads and bridges, but a purely functional space related to life body maintenance, production, information and material flow. (eg. ports, airports, hospitals, distribution centers, data rooms, factories, agricultural planting facilities, 6
livestock breeding facilities, etc.)Inf rastructure construction is the basis and underlying agreement to maintain the eff iciency and civilization of human society. The most important task for architects is to build the f ramework of humanmade environments based on the understanding of technological philosophy.
c. Residential architecture - Physical shut-ins and virtual sociability coincide.
Finally, as long as human beings cannot abandon the bondage of the body, the living space will always exist. However, the attributes of residence have undergone drastic changes. The application of the Internet makes people do not need to have direct contact with the outside world, and physical autism and virtual social interaction coincide. The exchange of information is still the core of the organization of the family space, but it has shifted f rom bonf ire talks, radio and satellite TV to LCD screens that rely on optical f ibre as the basis for interaction. The exponential growth of bandwidth has allowed us to experience a qualitative change in the dimensions of information transmission within 20 years, f rom text, images, to video. This makes work no longer something that can only be done in an office building, and residence no longer only accommodates functional spaces. Through the pieces of electronic screens, the capital simulacra in the digital age are not only a place of public consumption but also a complicated spatial penetration of private territory: residence becomes a landscape. There has never been an era in which residential space is so dependent on highly technical inf rastructure, statically having high-f requency connections with the outside world. There has never been an era when WiFi and charging have become as essential as air and water. These changes have already arrived even without this epidemic. With the exchange of information as the centre, housing will be more complex and ambiguous in the foreseeable future.
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02 Urban Research
"When Glasgow meets Barcelona" a. Why Barcelona & Glasgow? b. Approaches and strategies
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"When Glasgow meets Barcelona" Why Barcelona & Glasgow? The Eixample area in Barcelona is worth learning from a city that is facing the urban renewal of solidified neighborhoods. And Barcelona has some notable achievements in block renewal, so the author choose it as the main case study and learn the lessons. Here are some similarities between the two cities. a. Grid urban structures b. Smiliar typology (Architecture & Space) c. Historical monument & City memories
Barcelona
Glasgow
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String model connecting the active points in Barcelona
Hybrid model of the conceptual block with elements from Barcelona & Glasgow
Approaches and Strategies Exchange <--> Paradigm Research on Barcelona & Glasgow and find out the essence of these two morphology and enhance them to study what the exchange could become. Design parentage: Glasgow & Barcelona(family) --> my thesis/design(child) a. Barcelona as "father" --> Understand what's good & bad about Barcelona. b. Apply these lessons to Glasgow city grids plane and sectionally / program uses(function) / strategies / public space treatments and compositions. c. Come up with a new type of city grids and urban morphology or policies as the "son", which is resemble or related to some parts of Barcelona and some parts of Glasgow. d. The "son" can be place in either glasgow or barcelona and will still be making a major breakthrough and dynamic. 10
02 Urban Research
Case Study - Barcelona a. Creda's plan b. What the grid block brings? c. Superblock
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Creda's Plan In 1860, a new plan for Barcelona, submitted by engineer Ildefons Cerda, was approved by the Madrid government and soon put into practice. The Cerda plan, based on the physical geography of Barcelona, redefines the future boundaries of the city. At that time, Cerda predicted that a new high-speed transportation would help people travel in the future and conceived the structure of roads that future cities would need.Within this scope, the city is divided into units of 133m x 133m, with 20m wide city-level roads between the units. At the same time, two 50-meter-wide diagonal avenues were set up. The Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes at the intersection of the avenues serves as the core of the future city, and a railway station is set up nearby. For not obstructing the sight when the "new transportation" turns, the four corners of each unit are cut away by 45 degrees. (Fig.5) The plan divides the city into two parts, each has 20 x 20 squares and equipped with a hospital, a large park and other service facilities. The 400 squares are divided equally into four blocks, each with inf rastructure like schools and civic centres. (Michael Neuman, 2011) This homogeneous grid-like urban structure became the symbol of the Eixample area. (Eric Jenkins, 2008) Source: Barcelona: Block City, Yuwei Wang
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Ideal vs Reality In Cerda's plan, entire city is elevated on the ground floor and has a low building density. There is an open garden in the middle of the courtyard with plenty of sunlight and fresh air. The streets are covered with green trees, and there will never be crowded and dirty urban space. In practice, however, Cerda's idea of low-density Spaces gradually collapsed. The planning decrees for urban expansion control are adjusted at regular intervals to allow more dense development of the neighbourhoods, so the construction density of Eixample area has gradually increased.(MonclĂşs F. , 2015) Although the new area has relieved the population pressure and improved environment of the old town to a large extent, the explosive population growth has indeed challenged the original plan again and again, which makes the plan in sharp contrast to the actual urban construction density of Barcelona. Even though all the restriction factors have been integrated, the density and shape of the neighbourhood are different from Cerda's original conception.(Wynn M. , 1979) Source: Barcelona city council
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What the grid block brings? Traffic
Eixample area is densely covered by motorway. Pedestrian roads are few, and most are sidewalks or internal roads.The width of the street is limited to three sizes of 20, 40, and 60 meters, and pedestrians can walk on both sides of the street. Except for the diagonal streets which are formed to simplify traffic and compromise the old roads, the streets are perpendicular to each other. The 45-degree chamfered corner at the intersection mentioned above can further speed up the traff ic and people passing corners. This kind of road system does greatly facilitate vehicle traff ic. On the one hand, the straight-line roads f rom point to point dramatically shortens the travel time. On the other hand, the large-scale streets with pedestrian and vehicle diversions and the chamfering corner of intersections further increase the speed of traffic. As a result, the internal circulation of the city is accelerated, and traff ic jams are reduced. Besides, the extra space created by the chamfer not only improves the visibility of the intersection but also provides a small public area that can be developed.
Ecomony & Immigrants
The eff icient transportation network also attracts much investment f rom the surrounding remote areas, making Eixample the most economically active area in Barcelona.
Source: Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (linara.salikhova, 2020)
Unemployment & Crime
However, the homogenized "utopia" is gradually defeated by the population pressure in reality. The increasing local and foreign populations, while bringing labour, are also increasing the density of living within the block. These oversaturated immigrants have led to rising unemployment and crime rates to some extent.
Source: GeographyFieldwork.com 15
Superblock Noise pollution of the block facing the street is increasing day by day with the continuous growth of traffic flow. Salvador Rueda, Barcelona’s resident urban visionary and head of the Urban Ecology Agency of Barcelona, was on the city council in the mid-1980s, directing its environmental work, when he designed a study of the noise in Barcelona. He wanted to see what it would take to get it down to the internationally recommended level of around 65 decibels. The results were stark: On a through street, a street connecting two destinations, with speed limits above 20 kilometers per hour or so, it is impossible. Cars driving that fast are simply too loud. To live with a humane level of noise, residents of the city must be liberated from automobile through traffic. The basic idea of a superblock is to delineate a large area of roughly three-by-three blocks as shared-use space, with bicyclists, pedestrians, and people who simply want to sit at picnic tables in the street given equal priority to cars. Nonresident automobile through traffic is excluded. The long-term vision — which seems ambitious now but must have seemed downright fantastical in the 1980s — is to get everyone in a superblock, so everyone has access to green and public spaces and everyone lives with a tolerable level of noise. Thus would Cerdà’s egalitarian vision finally be fulfilled.
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02 Urban Research
Research of Glasgow a. City vision b. Block & architecture research c. Summary
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City vision "People make Glasgow" Urban development concept
Business and investment “I’m a business and would like to use the space on the pavement” “I’m an investor and want to see what Glasgow has to offer.”
Resident “I live in the city centre and want to make my neighbourhood cleaner, safer and greener.” “How do I get home after a late night out?”
Artist or Community Group “I’m an artist or a community group. I want to do an event or installation in an empty space.”
Visitor “I’m a visitor and I want to explore the city centre.” "Where is the nearest public toilet in the city centre?" “How do I get home after a late night out?” 18
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Visiting + Walking + Observation Route 1: Nightview of Main Pedestrian Street and Normal Roads Route 2: Daytime Walk & High Street Route 3: “Study” Walk Route 4: From the centre to southern Glasgow 20
Landmark
Different situation of inner path light, environment, road surface...
Route 1: Nightview of Main Pedestrian Street and Normal Roads
Buchanan Galleries
vs
The Glasgow royal concert hall
Transportation
Priority to walker & bike
Light
Few lights from the upper floor of the construction.
Car
More than half of the road is pedestrian-friendly.
vs
Subway
Bus Main pedestrian street 21
Normal roads
Route 2: Daytime Walk & High Street
Road composition
The road system is mainly set up for motor vehicles and lacks walk-f riendly spaces (independent bicycle lanes). Pedestrians have to share a small space with bicycles.
Function
Rely on vehicles
The functions of most buildings are commercial and office.
The massive ground parking spaces waste land resources to a large extent.
Landmark
Riverside area
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Route 3: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Studyâ&#x20AC;? Walk
Landmark
Education resources The university of Glasgow Glasgow school of art ...
Car park
Public & green space
Large-scale ground parking place (eg. park circus)
There is almost no public green space in the central Glasgow, and there is a large park in the western Glasgow called Kevingrove.
Residence Residential areas gradually appeared outside the central city, and most of them were outside the circle motorway which surrounding the central Glasgow.
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Route 4: From the centre to southern Glasgow
Active point & Landmark Modern gallery Lighthouse ...
Main pedestrian street in centre
Residence
Open area
When I cross the Clyde River and arrive the southern city outside the central Glasgow, I gradually encounter some residential areas, most of which have low building density.
George square
Ways people relax with open spaces
Walking bridge connecting the centre and southern Glasgow
Riverside in southern Glasgow
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Block & Architecture Research Uses of Public Area
Basements & windows and steps
Car park, distribution boxes, infrastructure, garbage collection points...
Outside the block
High buildings with wide gap (courtyard)
Different heights with normal gap (path+car park)
High buildings with narrow gap
Block composition Most of the high-rise in centre are commercial/off ice buildings. And there are two main types of old house along the street. The f irst type is mainly used for offices, which located in centre. The second one is for residences or offices with retailing on the ground floor, which are more common in the surrounding areas.
Basements & windows and steps Retailing, garden, storage...
Mismatches in Glasgow Mixed Styles & String Courses
New & Old
Combined entablatures & cornices
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Different materials in one building
Summary Issue & hypothesis After visiting, I found residence is pretty less in centre than surroundings of Glasgow. It is like the central Glasgow is mostly full of office or commerce and isolated by the surrounding motorway. As shown in photos, the number of vehicles going out of the central Glasgow (on the rightmost lane of surrounding motorway) increases significantly at night. Also, by interview, a professor of Glasgow School of Art chooses one-day return by train to his settlement in Edinburgh. So I suppose that many people who work in central Glasgow do not live here and most of them choose one-day return by car or train to their settlements in surrounding districts or countries, even like Edinburgh.
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Supporting urban analysis Mansions
Cottages
Housing tenements
Tenements flats
Corporate housing
Corporation Housing at Birgidale Road, Castlemilk, 1958 Shawfield Mansion,1711
"the Wimpey House" Corporation Housing at Milton, 1949
Tenements, Dennistoun Glasgow, start 20th century Old college buildings on High Street (built in 1790), 1960
Village of Govan, 1840
History of housing typologies in Glasgow
"Type P1 flat" Corporation Housing at Maukinfauld Road, Braidfauld, 1949
Backlands, 154 Crookston Street, 1920 Govan ferry, 1757
St Vincent Street, 1828
According to the urban development history of Glasgow, in 1980, about 60% of low-income residents were placed in government housing (Booth and Boyle, 1993). At the same time, the vigorous "New Town Movement" and urban decentralisation policies also moved some residents to suburban new cities. To some extent, the historical problems have led to the current over-disparity in population in central Glasgow. Tenements flats
Housing tenements
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Corporate housing
Public Buildings
Education
Surrounding Infrastructure & Services The basic facilities and services for living in the centre are not as good as the surrounding areas.
Source: Glasgow city council
Health and Social Care Service
Demography & Residence The residential density in the city center is lower than that in the surrounding areas, and the daytime population density in the center differs greatly from the actual residential population density.
Source: Glasgow city council 28
Inner-city Subway Partick
Hillhead
Kelvinhall
Kelvinbridge St. George's Cross
Partick Cowcaddens
Kelvingrove Lawn Bowls Centre
Queen Street
Buchanan Street
Govan
Central SECC Precinct
Ibrox
Cessnock
St. Enoch Kinning Park
Ibrox Stadium
Shields Road
West Street
Bridge Street
Source:pindarcreative.co.uk
Traffic Network The transportation network between Glasgow and surrounding areas and cities is relatively complete, but the transportation system in the city center is relatively simple.
Source: Glasgow city council 29
SWOT Analysis
Strength
Urban traffic Public Transportation Education Active points Galleries Tourism / Landmarks Basements
Opportunities
Glasgow inter-urben links Pedestrian space Path of block Riverside area Land-use Mismatch between buildings
Glasgow
With Barclona?
Road composition Inner-city subway Night living experience Green
Weakness
Heavily rely on vehicles Residence Population loss Uses of public area Connection between areas
Threats
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Population Block function Traffic & Connection Uses of Public area & Green Active points/Exhibition place ...
03 Urban Lab
Proposal for Glasgow a. Concept b. “Superblock” strategy for Glasgow c. New plan
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Concept How to create connections between central and surrounding area in Glasgow? How to recover the number of residents and the living condition for people in central Glasgow? "Osmosis" By "osmosis" plans between different areas in Glasgow, to make the whole city work tightly.
"The vision is to create a vibrant, playful, liveable city centre."
"Osmosis" example in a boundray area
Source: MVRDV
Conceptual Plan of "Osmosis" 32
"Superblock" Strategy for Glasgow Scale Why the scale of superblock in Barcelona is 3x3,(not 2x2 or 4x4 or 4x2)? Which scale is suitable to Glasgow?
After some researches on "why superblock is 3x3,(not 2x2 or 4x4 or 4x2).", author concluded that the reason is traffic generally. The 3x3 scale is suitable for both pedestrians and cyclists. No matter where in the superblock, people can easily reach their destination by means of public transportation or other f riendly-travel services that are reasonably distributed in the area. "These networks def ine some sectors where cars can continue circulating normally and large interstitial pedestrian areas where they can only move in a more restricted, slower, and more respectful fashion." "The inner streets of the "superblock", which are twenty metres wide, previously allowed five metres either side for footpaths and ten metres of roadâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;three lanes and parking spaceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;for cars. After the intervention, motorised traffic has only one lane and is obliged to make a ninety-degree turn at each crossroads. This means that, in each street section, 75% of the surface, once occupied by cars, has been freed and, at each crossroads, typically with 45 degree chamfered corners, the surface gained is 2,000 square metres. The plan allows guaranteed access for vehicles to all the buildings within the pedestrianised zone but they will be obliged to move more slowly and taking a more roundabout route." "Essentially, a superblock is a mini neighborhood around which traffic flows, delineated by a 3x3 block. Streets were identified that had to channel road traffic and public transport, with changes made in several sections of the other streets, changes of direction for traffic and the introduction of physical obstacles to access points to limit access to private transport. The project focused on returning the city to the citizens, overcoming the current dichotomy between the driver and the pedestrian." 33
Glasgow
Barcelona
Scale for Glasgow
Laboratory
To find out which scale is suitable to Glasgow, author did a laboratory in new morphology by mixing the typical blocks from two cities. By comparing the two current scales, personal view is that 4x4 is might be a good choice for Glasgow. So the author start to consider and design more details based on the new 4x4 superblock.
New Plan With the lessons from Barcelona, the author put forward a new general plan for the future central Glasgow.
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03 Urban Lab
New Block Concept a. Ideal block b. Practical module
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Ideal Block Typology Specific
Coherent
? Morphology
Typology deduce a. Function b. Public Space - car park? High-rise or courtyard? how to combine? c. Plane and Section - coherent or specific?
Function study case - Insula
pavilion
street
Source: Leslie Martin “Urban Space & Structures”
Built potential of “court” is the best one in these there prototypes. 36
court
Typology deduce One typical formation of the block in Glasgow
Combined with the city vision, the author found that although the prototype of the block in Glasgow include courtyard, the actual usage is quite limited, most of which are occupied by vehicles or infrastructure. To think outside the box, the author envisioned an idealized empty block and summarized the common points of the existing blocks. Combined with the concept of sb, an idealized block model was created.
Existing housing typologies in Glasgow & common points (pathway, unit, courtyard...)
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When the new typology meets "Superblock"
->
+
Transportation network First public transport point Second public transport point
"Osmosis" Single unit can become the a bit larger neighbourhood (living units --> living groups; office & commerce units --> office & commercegroups) When these different groups meet, together with various flexible/supportive units, it might form a kind of "osmosis" phenomena.
Mainly for living units Flexible units(culture, education, sport, retailing...) Mainly for office & commerce units
Put the new conceptual idea in the real Glasgow
Supportive units(infrastructure, flexible landscape/construction...)
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Long-term residence
Currently study Prepare to work
Co-living place with services & Temporary accommodation
Student & Graduate
Retailing Cafe & Bar Resturant
Own an apartment (Commuting time < 1h) No houses or live far (commuting time > 1h)
Office area Co-working space
Single youth
Study area Education services
Own houses (Commuting time < 1h) No houses or live far (commuting time > 1h)
Social space
People who have families
Work reasons (commuting time > 1h)
Sports Gym
Live close to children (commuting time > 1h)
Commerce Leisure Cultural place
Seniority
Travel
Green space
Temporary work Medical service Security system
Visitor
Transportation Parking
Design for who?
Accessible facilities 39
Composition Office
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House
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Urban Hub
"Osmosis"
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3
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2 2 2
1 1 1 1 1 G G
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Intention & Sketches
Courtyard in air
Accessible entrance of the block with slope
Open space
Accessible entrance of the block with slope Green terrace Connection between neighbourhoods & Green wall
Connection between neighbourhoods & Green wall 41
Practical Module Inspiration On the basis of idealized blocks, the author began to think about how to design in accordance with local actual conditions. Since the blocks in central Glasgow are almost mature, their building density is high and there is less space for new construction in the process of urban regeneration. Is it possible to create some flexible and permeable modules which can be changed according to the specif ic block conditions? Through some case studies, the author was inspired and conducted some experiments on block remake.
Concept The original block may be divided into different units, and then reshaped according to specific needs through changes in scale. The unit or unit combination after remodeling can be used as an external form or as a part of the internal structure of the building. In this way, while preserving the sense of the original block, the block can be updated more flexibly. 42
Block Lab
Simplify
Remake
Original
Break and keep the court
Module
Optinal type Green & Terrace
Ground area
Flexible unit group
When simplified concept meets the block
changeable formation, function, material...
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Osmosisâ&#x20AC;?
Shared space module
Vertical green in a building/module Social/leisure/sports... Multifunctional place 43
“Lockdown” Multi-level & personal space created in original building Source: arch.magnus
Source: Green dream, Emre Kacar & Pinar Kacar
Private/semi-private with shared posibility, social in a safe and cozy way Source: “quantine”, Felicia Chiao Source: eyecandyillustration.com
Proposal for future life Lessons from COVID-19 a. Active points Spectacle architecture for people to visit physically. b. Infrastructure architecture Functional space related to the living maintenance, production, information and material exchange. c. Residential architecture Physical shut-ins and virtual sociability coincide.
No matter what happens, the author hopes that future architectures can provide a variety of alternative and safe lifestyles for everyone. “Osmosis” multifunctional architecture 44
Where to apply?
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04 Application
Core Area in Central Glasgow a. Site analysis b. Master plan c. Superblock d. Osmosis & parasite modules e. Renderings & images
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office & commerce centre In the heart of Glasgow Surrounded by various resources Close to the main pedestrian street Mostly office/commercial retail & basically no housing The mature blocks have relatively high building density with no more new space. 47
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Queen Street Station Glasgow School of Art
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Function
St Enoch Centre Car Park
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George Square
S
Gallery of Modern Art
Commercial
The Lighthouse
Office Central Station
Hotel/accommodation Culture
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Remake Proposal
Empty space / underdeveloped buildings
Retain the exterior & transform the interior
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Master Plan
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Architecture units Bicycle lane
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Pendestrian-friendly zone Motorway
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The establishment of vehicle lanes avoids liner roads as much as possible. While ensuring accessibility, it separates the flow of vehicles and people and returns the street space to the people to the greatest extent.
There is a main station in the center of each superblock, and four secondary stations are set at the surrounding key intersections. At present, the main station can serve the subway or rail transit and the secondary station can serve the shared bike point, bus, taxi or tram.
Superblock
In addition, the author believes that in the future, the entire superblock may evolve into a essential node of a large-scale transportation system, so the primary site and secondary site are preset in advance.
In superblock, bicycle traffic is quite accessible, and the street space is used to create pedestrian-f riendly public area to the greatest extent.
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3.2 m
3m
3m
4m
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5m
2.5 m
2.5 m
3.4 m
3.4 m
6m
5m
2.5 m
3m
3.4 m
3.2 m
3m
4m
Module
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New inside structure with original ext New built
"Parasite" & "Osmosis"
Open space 55
terior
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Osmosis & Parasite Modules 72
Flexiblility Units can be flexibly formed into a module according to needs. Here are five types of modules formed by different unit combinations according to the number of households. The flexibility of the module refers not only to the variability in form and area, but also to the versatility (residential, commercial/off ice, public space, coworke/colive...) and the selectivity of materials ( wood, concrete, glass, steel, emerging materials...), even in the author’s vision, the hybrid block form can be flexibly adjusted according to the development needs of a period, and gradually renew the original block through “parasitic” and “osmosis” methods.
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Superblock centre While returning street space back to pedestrians, it creates vertical green and multi-functional public areas, which injecting "green" vitality into central Glasgow.
Source: Ka.Han
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Hybrid Block Selectable materials and functions provide more possibilities for the development of the block. A variety of hybrid blocks evolved through a unit prototype which adapted to local conditions retains the commonality and meanwhile is full of individuality.
Source: Muse LAB
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05 Positive impact locally & Globally
Local impact
a. Maximize the return of street space to people b. Increase the available space of the future city & Bring a happier life experience c. Attract mutually the populations between central and surrounding d. Create living possibilities and develop the conditions for future telecommuting/learning Superior resources (geographical location + co-living/co-work in centre + supporting facilities) e. Alleviate central Glasgow's great disparity in population movement in the morning and evening
Global impact
a. It is common to see some cities' development are slow down by demode grid blocks. To find how to adjust these blocks with changeable units to cope with future development. b. Lessons from Covid-19 Combined with the digital development of future cities, physical shut-ins and virtual sociability occur simultaneously. (social security distance, telecommuting, future transportation...) c. The project aims to develop more possibilities of future cities and wider realistic feasibility through the changeable modules, providing a choice not only for Glasgow but also for some cities around the world that are undergoing block urban regeneration with old block replacement.
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"I hope these clever 'parasites' can make the world better in a gentle way."
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Bibiography
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