Asian urban developments by noemie benoit

Asian urban developments A study of vernacular designs as sustainable model History thesis NoĂŠmie Benoit 153566

Tutor : Charlotte Van Wijk History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Abstract - introduction

described and analysed by other studies specifically into their local environment, these vernacular patterns present similar qualities and high differentiations examined here.

Figure 1. World map. Area of study.

These last decades, the rapid urban growth and the explosion of city planning in Asian metropolis has been a well-known process as a controversial discussion. The city has been needed more housing, more density, new forms of buildings, to host contemporary functions. The governments have thus decided to erase lots of vernacular fabrics to build new ones. However, the consideration of the traditional dwellings patterns as a historical heritage has been dismissed for building a lot and, Western standards. From my Western point of view, conservation has a very high value and meaning into urban development. This study is thus directed from the perspective that growth step-by-step from previous building achievements through vernacular fabrics, is writing a stable and sustainable development. The comparative observation between three Asian vernacular fabrics, the hutongs of Beijing, the shop-houses of Singapore and the kampongs of Kuching is chosen to enlighten their coherent bioclimatic model and socio-economic model inherited from evolution. Usually

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Therefore, the first part of this report looks at the vernacular fabric and typology as a bioclimatic model. In terms of organisation, the three fabrics observe the same scheme that deals with the same conditions ; orientation for taking advantage or being protected of the sun light and for being protected of the wind or using it for ventilation. For their structure and forms, each of the examples shows a specific strategy in their building layout ; the courtyard for the siheyan, the air wells for the shop-house and the permeable construction of the Malay house for playing with the roughness of their specific climates. While for their materials, there are two main aspects : the high thermal mass materials for the main structures and the low-thermal mass materials for the other parts of the building envelopes while the kampong is a completely lightweight model behaving like its surrounding environment. The second part of the survey presents how the vernacular design with its main characteristic quoted below is in close relationship with its socioeconomic pattern to shape a perfect sustainable model.

Firstly, the importance of social gathering space structure is observed. Secondly, the vernacular fabric is supporting the stability of the local economy, providing opportunities for small-scale economies. Thirdly, the typologies developed from trials and errors, answering to changing needs. However, they seem difficultly able to absorb more in density and sanitary systems or in other cases, to maintain their logics within the globalization impacting local economy. To end this research, I will discuss a series of examples illustrating two strategies of evolutions from vernacular patterns ; refurbishment and density transformations. These two approaches could be combined and inspiring each other to preserve the heritage from the tradition and the importance of identity. Keeping the bioclimatic models as basic design principles maintains the fundamental aspect of sustainability in our societies ; keeping an ecological balance for our future generations to have the possibility to meet their needs too.

Keywords bioclimatic, vernacular, sustainability, hutong, siheyuan, shophouse, kampong, Malay house, socio-economic model

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Outline Abstract (introduction) Keywords Outline

p 2-3 p3 p5

Section One – Scope of study Context Methodology & contribution to the field Definition of vernacular design, bioclimatic design & sustainability Case studies presentation

p 6-17 p6 p7 p 8-11 p 12-19

Section Two – Beijing hutongs & siheyuan / Singapore shophouses / Malaysia kampongs The vernacular fabric & typology as bioclimatic model Urban fabric – organization Architectural form – structure & form Architectural form - materials The vernacular design as sustainable socio-economic model Spatial social organization Spatial economy related On-time process

p 20-57

Section Three – Vernacular models for evolution Discussion on density and refurbishment strategies

p 58-71 p 58-71

Conclusion Credits of Images Bibliography

p 72-73 p 74-75 p 76-83

p 20-25 p 26-31 p 32-37 p 38-43 p 44-49 p 50-57

Figure 2. Singapore. Groupwork analysis of the Chinatown. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Section One - Scope of study

Context

This last decade, the Asian cities have know an amazingly huge and fast urban growth and economic increase leading to massive movements of population from rural areas to the cities. However, every city is dealing with its urban fabric and/or architectural heritage with different attitudes. While Beijing has made erasing its vernacular ‘hutongs’ neighborhoods without any conservation considerations, Singapore has seen its shophouses’ fabric knowing touristic refurbishment despite of lots of demolitions. Besides these global cities where the urban growth is sudden and extreme, medium-size Asian cities like Kuching in Malaysia (Borneo island) are growing slowlier yet without real control. Consequently, the city center attains now the traditional fishermen villages, the kampongs, which become suburbs and remember the Western’s ones with their multiple single houses. The new modern needs makes governments applying urban policies to reconsider the stock of housing quickly and efficiently. However, till today, it is made at the expense of the vernacular structures – urban fabric and architecture forms – that constituted the heritage of the centuries of history both for climatic adaptation than for cultural means.

These currents urban mechanisms are in this study observed from my Western point of view. Here lies a difficulty and a challenge for the understanding, the interpretation and the assumptions that I can make.

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Taking the case of China where the political system has remained the same over centuries, time and cultural artefacts are considered the same because of this political continuity. Thus, the conservation of a patrimony is different from my perspective of Western observer. While after destruction of some hutongs, Beijing begins to understand that they could make money of the vernacular fabric, their will to build it again seemed not disturbing neither their value of authenticity. Here again, the relationship between history and present are different than mine. Moreover, in countries like Malaysia and especially its island of Borneo, the economy has spectacularly increased with the palm oil plantations this last decade. Therefore, while the kampongs have always been synonymous of rough lifestyles for people, the urban and architectural developments of the kampongs and of the traditional Malay houses are considered as a social achievement and the resemblance to the Western suburbs as a success. However, these last years, in certain cities, like Singapore or even Malacca, other trends of refurbishment have been developed in a consideration

that is much closer to the look I could have in the Asian world. In my opinion, these attitudes in front of architectural renewals are questionable. I consider these fabrics as cultural witnesses rich of histories and great artefacts to learn smart design and to go beyond tradition. Conservation is, for my part, being taught with trials and previous achievements in order to evolve for not ending with a mummification of the past. In that scope, I believe fundamental a step-by-step progression from prior designs. This study is based on literature on vernacular architectures and on urban problematics of development yet new tendencies and proposals for the reinterpretation of vernacular fabrics. Though, the existing studies that I found are very much focused on either one vernacular style in a precise city or region or on urban development going along with policies. By examining these cases, it appears that current urban economic trends and the look on tradition are similar in the different Asian cities with more or less intensity. However, only few of them are having comparative study on vernacular fabrics of different areas. As well as their sustainable character in terms of bioclimastism and socio-economic structure as a whole. This could illustrate also the distance and the difficulty to reconnect the political and economic spheres with the design nowadays.

For this analysis, I have been chosen three case studies that have been personally fascinating me since a certain time, yet these cases are reacting to the quite similar climatic constraints, which was an ideal base for the comparative examination.

Section One - Scope of study

Methodology & contribution to the field

The first location has been the hutongs (urban alleys) and siheyuan (houses on a courtyard) of Beijing that the Western world has heard about the polemic in the media before the Olympic Games that have seen the destruction of lots of them. Even if I have not been there personally, the stories and studies have been numerous and diverse since then, constituting interesting materials for this study. I have been linking it with my design studio in Singapore two years ago and the knowledge and understanding I have from the urban study I did. The third location investigated is the Malay kampongs of Kuching in Borneo (Malaysia), which were also the object of a personal study trip with locals. These experiences have constituted amazing lessons of urbanism and architecture, yet of understanding of Asian urban and cultural trends. As result of colonization, the Western model impacted but still remained everyday visible. Also, I find extremely important to consider the diversity of their vernacular forms and their urban heritages that made their richness and stability to the environment yet socioeconomically.

Figure 6

Figure 3. Beijing. Demolition of an hutong area. Figure 4. Singapore skyline : shop-houses fabric and skyscrapers. Figure 5. Kuching. Flooding in a modern neighborhood. Figure 6. NoĂŠmie (the author) taking pictures in Singapore.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Section One - Scope of study

Definition of vernacular design, bioclimatic design & sustainability At the outset, defining vernacular design, bioclimatic design and sustainable design is necessary to understand why these specific fabrics ; hutongs, siheyuans, shophouses and kampongs are interesting to observe together.

Vernacular

comes from the Latin word ‘vernaculus’, translated by ‘native domestic, indigenous’, therefore, it could mean ‘native science of buildings’. According to Paul Oliver in Built to meet needs (2006 : 64) , “the term vernacular generally refers to language or dialect of the people”. Vernacular architecture is usually self-built (the help from family, clan or builders in the tribe is used), yet the builder is also the user. Ronald W Brunskill (2000 : 25) has defined vernacular architecture as “buildings designed by an amateur without any training in design ; the individual will have been guided by a series of conventions built up in his locality, paying little attention to what may be fashionable”. No professionals are involved to ‘think’ the design ; “architecture without architects” to quote the title of Bernard Rudolsky’s famous book. The process of building is not self-conscious in that sense.

Figure 7. Dogo vernacular architecture near Bandiagara. Mali.

Moreover, this architecture “is built to meet specific needs, accommodating the values, economies and ways of living of the cultures that produce them” describes Oliver in Built to Meet Needs (2006 : 30).Building is

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

not planned to follow a trend neither for an aesthetic performance but it is functional, therefore being quite minimal and essential. Consequently, the architecture are human in scale. Besides, traditional fabric, in any place, is not the result of a one-time effort but it is the culmination of hundreds years of intuitive understanding in response to a particular situation or different needs through trial and error. Vernacular buildings are constantly evolving over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which they exist. Vernacular architecture embodies experiences of generations through the methods of adaptation and adjustment to fulfil the needs of a society in a special context. Therefore the manifestation of these experiences is based on knowledge of traditional practices and techniques with a high regard for craftsmanship and quality. Vernacular architecture is influenced mainly by the location, the regional climate, the culture, the historical context and is more prominent in case of extreme conditions according to Helena Coch in Bioclimatism in Vernacular Architecture (1998 : 68). Buildings are consequently born out of local building materials and techniques, moreover comprises a long-lasting process of experimentation of human. Thus, they are ecologically apt and fitting well the local climate, flora, fauna and ways of life.

Section One - Scope of study

Definition of vernacular design, bioclimatic design & sustainability That is how the typical vernacular forms of building are those that have existed in the region in their basic forms, as per the requirement in a particular geographical environment : a sloping roof surface to bear the rainfall or a circular house form to combat cyclonic winds or a thick flat mud roof that keeps out the heat of the sun or an inner courtyard which is the open space used in varied ways in South Asia for example. James Wines (Green architecture, 2000 : 140) admires the “the masterful fusion of buildings with context, the consummate invention with local materials, the innovative uses of technology, and imaginative conversion of all those factors into art” claims that the beauty of vernacular besides religious and civic celebration is a result of “lack of fossil-fuel driven machinery, the three unavailability of industrially manufactured building products and the inherent appeal of hand-made architecture”. Many vernacular housing environments employ passive technology that was developed for such purposes as safety, hygiene, health or comfort using the limited technical resources available in the days before modern technology existed. Vernacular architecture around the world is impressively rich with ingenious techniques early dwellers used to protect themselves from the diverse weather conditions they were subject to.

The vernacular construction also demonstrates the achievements and limitations of the technology and available resources. Vernacular dwellings were also the place of interaction between the society and the economy, which gave their owners the resources to carry out the work and which could deliver the materials and labour to the site. Man as a master designer in the spontaneous settlements has created his own environment adapting himself to different conditions to build his own vernacular form. Mikiyas Tadesse (2008 : 298) discusses this aspect in the following terms: “The structures can be seen as feats of skill and craftsmanship, telling us about the training, specialization, mobility and organization of carpenters, and their links with other crafts and relationships with employers.” Oliver also adds (2006 : 40) : “Every man in the rural society is a designer and a builder. His challenge is the balance of model (traditional form), material (available local materials) and user, the latter usually himself”. Vernacular architecture is always a response to tradition and culture of its time. Relationships between built form and the daily lives of members of a respective culture are very important in traditional fabrics. These are expressed by traditions that act through the architecture as systems of collective control on the society. Vernacular architecture both facilitates and creates social norms of behaviour by the members

Figure 8. Vernacular roof typologies in different climates.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Section One - Scope of study

Definition of vernacular design, bioclimatic design & sustainability of that society. It reflects the pulse of the society, environment action, life style of inhabitants and their aesthetic value as well as their building technology. Maturity over time made this process evolutionary and therefore, sustainable. I would add that Vernacular Architecture is a commitment to the use of least industrially processed materials.

‘Bioclimatic design’ seeks to adapt

the buildings to the special climatic and environmental conditions of each region. The bioclimatic approach examines the building as a whole, from the early stage of its conception, as a place of energy interchange between inside and outside space. The main objectives are to save energy and to provide thermal comfort for the residents through natural lighting, cooling-ventilation, sun protection and exploitation of solar energy. Andreadaki-Chronaki (Bioclimatic architecture, passive solar systems, 1985) defends that the relation thus established tends to restore the equilibrium between manmade construction and nature, considering climatic variation as an advantage for man.

Figure 9. Global climate zones. Figure 10. Victor Olgyay's schematic bioclimatic index.

The strategy of bioclimatic design implies the use of passive systems, which are integrated in the design, aiming to take advantage of environmental resources (sun, wind, vegetation, water, land, sky) for heating, cooling and lighting.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Systems operate without any mechanical parts or additional power supply and warm and cool buildings naturally. This perception is a comprehensive approach to energy conservation, which usually requires high class insulation as well as a healthy ventilation system, that should be able to prevent the heat loss and increasing the energy efficiency. The bioclimatic design of a building involves the coexistence and combined operation of all these systems, in order to combine their benefits throughout the year. Finally, ‘sustainable design’ is identified as the state of being able to maintain its own condition. According to the 1987 United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development with the Brundtland report, “sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” It contains two key concepts : the concept of ‘needs’, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given ; and the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization. In that sense, sustainability is discussed with reference to the exploitation of the surrounding natural resources without destroying the ecological

Section One - Scope of study

Definition of vernacular design, bioclimatic design & sustainability balance, according to Richard Hyde. This state is accompanied by a world riding on renewable resources and which does not waste matter as with energy conservation. The state of sustainability aims to be part of the natural world and not be dependent on it. In addition, sustainability in the built environment can be observed in those buildings, which have been here for many decades and even centuries. Thus, sustainable development occurs from the existing human settlements and their social values and needs and evolves from them. Embedding the traditional knowledge of place shows the importance of socio-cultural factors in the definition of sustainability. These dimensions, with historical and economic aspects added, ensure that the basic conditions for human life to flourish exist within society, defends Dominique Hes (Sustainability for learning environments, 2009 : 123). Consequently, sustainability requires harmony with local economies and data supporting biological diversity in order to sustain each human society and the world as vast ecosystem in which we are a specie among others. Detailing these three designations demonstrates their overlappings and their parallels. While sustainable design strategies, in order to achieve a low footprint on the natural world, use passive systems and low-tech systems to offer a great human comfort

borrowed to bioclimatic design, vernacular architecture offer smart solutions having matured for centuries to resolve climatic issues correlated to socio-economic societies. However, vernacular architecture is extremely culture related yet bioclimatic is system thought, and nowadays the significance into a local context looses value and sense with the globalization. Sustainability would propose a vision combining these elements. Being able to sustain ourselves in one place is first of all, about inheriting from a tradition having reacted smartly and economically to changing lifestyles or/and climate changes. Secondly, using a technological vision on the world allowing us to go with natural elements is interesting in order to balance our footprint on natural environment in order to sustain our needs for generations. The real challenge of sustainability nowadays is to be context related ; every place has a different vision because of the climatic, geographic, social, economic and historical position. With the examination of these case studies, the question is how to meet our contemporary needs with design by learning from the vernacular tradition without compromising the needs of the future generations.

Figure 11. Brickworks, local economy. Chad. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

The cases chosen for this study are the hutongs and siheyuans in Beijing, the shophouses in Singapore and the Malay kampongs in Kuching. This brief presentation explains the climatic and geographic location of these vernacular fabrics, their historical background and their current economies. These premises are essential to understand issues raised by their value and conservation discussed in this study. Beijing is the capital of the Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Republic of China and has a recorded history of 3,000 yearsâ&#x20AC;Ś The metropolis was founded in the 13th century. The Ming Emperors built the Imperial Palace, known today as Forbidden City, and peerless Temple of Heaven. Beijing remained the capital from the Qing dynasty, until the early 20th century. And in 1949, Mao Zedong declared a new era in Chinese history and declared Beijing capital of the new Republic. His government has been famous for its authoritarian control over the nation and his Communist regime. This period has witnessed a fast urban development of the metropolitan agrarian peripheries into suburbs for residential and commercial purposes and the roads networks have been hugely expanded.

Figure 12

Figure 13 History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Nowadays, Beijing is amongst the most developed cities in China with tertiary industry after having been the first postindustrial city. The centre capital hosts therefore quantity of headquarters while major industrial areas occupy the

Section One - Scope of study

Case studies presentation outskirts and the interior lands of the country offer territory for agriculture. The development of Beijing continues to proceed to a vast expansion, which has created a multitude of problems for the city, like air pollution, quality of water supply, cost of basic services (electricity and gas), etc. The population of Beijing stands today around 18.5 million people, which supports the idea that urban growth is problematic and a challenge. Beijing observes a continental monsoon type occurring in the temperate zone. The city is at a relatively short distance from the sea, the air circulation in the region is mainly from the northwest throughout the year. The climate is thus humid tropical, characterized by hot and humid summers due to East Asian monsoon, and generally cold, windy and dry winters that reflect the influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone. Local topography has a great effect on the climate. Because it lies in a lowland area and is protected by mountains, the city is a little warmer in winter than other areas of China located at the same latitude. Spring can bear witness to sandstorms blowing in from the Mongolian steppe, accompanied by rapidly warming, but generally dry conditions. Autumn, like spring, sees little rain but is crisp and short. Dust erosion of deserts in Northern and

North-western China results in seasonal dust storms that plague the city. The Beijing Weather Modification Office sometimes artificially induces rainfall to fight such storms and mitigate their effects. Characteristics : January averages -3.7°C July averages 26.2°C Annual precipitation around 570 mm (Summer months) Extremes ranged from -27.4°C to 42.6°C The vernacular fabric studied is the traditional neighbourhood’s one, mostly situated in the old city-center, around the Forbidden city. The Beijing Hutong (lane) is an ancient city alley. Lanes are passageways formed by many closely arranged quadrangles (Siheyuan, facing houses on a courtyard) of different sizes. As a cultural scene peculiar to Beijing, from the time of its birth, the hutong has acted as the witness of the age-long history of Beijing. Surrounding the Forbidden City, many were built during the Yuan (1279-1638), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

Figure 12. Beijing. Metropolitan scale aerial view. Forbidden city and hutong fabrics. contrast between new buildings area and traditional neighbourhoods. Figure 13. Beijing. Neighbourhood scale aerial view. Hutong fabric. Figure 14. Beijing. Hutong alley with biker. Figure 15. Beijing. Aerial axonometric view of a siheyuan typology. A courtyard and four houses around.

Figure 14. Figure 15.

BEIJING

HUTONGS & SIHEYUANS

Today, siheyuans and hutongs are rapidly disappearing as entire city blocks of hutongs are leveled and replaced with high-rise buildings that government and developers are building to answer to the huge urban growth of the capital. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Singapore is a city-state at the South of the Malay Peninsula and at the East side of the Straights of Malacca. This position is responsible of its growth from a fishermen village the global city of today. The colonization era, led by the British was the beginning of an economy shift. The farmland and rainforest constituting the island landscape became urbanized more and more to shape a place entirely built-up at the exceptions today of its surrounding small islands. The city has seen its population growing since few centuries uniquely with waves of migrants from China, Malaysia and India while European colonists have been always a minority. The cityscape reflects these influences as well as in its economy. From its position, Singapore has always constituted a major port for trading between West and East. Its leader role as worldwide financial pole today is inherited from these ancient networks.

Figure 16

Figure 17

Since its independence in 1963, Singapore has been leaded by a severe security government with the higher rate of death punishment considering its population in the world. As Rem Koolhaas has mentioned the ‘tabula rasa’ for discussing the Singaporean methodology of making urbanity, the challenge today has been to urbanize more and better regarding last pieces of traditional fabrics like the shophouses or more recently, the HDB,

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

witness of the densification epoch of these last decades. Singapore lies between Malaysia and Indonesia and is often described as a gently undulating central plateau that contains water catchments and natural reserves. There is a small cluster of hills at the centre, and mangrove swamps along the coast. Over the years Singapore’s landscape has changed due to urbanization. The hilly central region has been levelled, mangrove swamps have been drained and filled, and the islets have been enlarged to set up industrial estates. Three main water reservoirs and their catchments area is what is left of the rainforests and occupies the central region of the city-state. Due to its Southeast Asian location, Singapore is characterized by a hot and humid climate. Situated just 1 degree North of the Equator, the place enjoys a tropical/equatorial climate. The island does not have distinct seasons like summer, spring, etc. The weather is warm and humid all year round. Rainfall is almost an everyday phenomenon, even during the nonmonsoon period. Rain is experienced in the afternoons and early evenings. There are two main monsoon seasons : Northeast Monsoon Season (December-March) and the Southwest Monsoon Season (June-September). The Southwest Monsoon Season experiences showers and thunderstorm activity between predawn to midday.

However, thunderstorms usually last for less than 30 minutes, usually quite refreshing yet very heavy.

Relative humidity : 84.2% Average year of rain fall 2342.2 mm

‘Sumatra squalls’ are common during this period. These are a line of thunderstorms that develop at night over Sumatra, move to the west coast of Peninsula of Malaysia and hit Singapore during the early morning hours. Heavy rain persists for 1-2 hours, followed by cloudy conditions and light rain until afternoon. This season also experiences spells of dry weather. Sometimes Singapore is engulfed in a smoke haze – the haze is caused by smoke from forest fires in Indonesia that is carried to Singapore by the Southeast or Southwest winds.

The typology studied here is the shophouse remaining in several neighbourhoods of the city center, like the Chinatown. This fabric, inherited from Southern Chinese urban shops, was built between 1840 and 1960 as a result from diverse migrations of people from all over Asia, immigrants, colonialists and traders.

Unfortunately, high level of humidity is something you will need to battle with in Singapore. It varies from more than 90% in the morning and falls to around 60% in the mid-afternoon, when it is not raining. It is not uncommon to find humidity levels touching a whopping 100% on rainy days. In short, Singapore has a constantly hot, constantly humid, wet climate with high solar radiation and low wind speeds, where the roof surfaces and east/west facades will receive most solar energy. Characteristics Minimum temperature 23-26°C Maximum temperature 31-34°C Thunderstorms occur on 40% of all days.

The shophouse is a business place with living quarters on the upper floors. The fabric of shophouse is constituted by rowhouses offering the five-foot way on the façade. This continuous protected path links the houses together. Lots of them have been demolished and replaced by HDB and highrise dwellings. Today, the remaining shophouses are used for tourism business, hotels or restaurants. It is mummified and very much only dedicated to this activity.

SINGAPORE SHOP-HOUSES

Figure 18. Figure 19.

Figure 16. Singapore. Metropolitan scale aerial view : detail with coast and Chinatown neighbourhood. Figure 17. Singapore. Chinatown area. Figure 18. Singapore. Aerial view of shop-houses plot. Figure 19. Singapore. Shop-houses facades. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Figure 20. Singapore timeline. Networks, economies, social-ethnics compositions, morphologies, typologies and public space study on time.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Kuching is the capital and the most populous city of East Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is the largest city on the island of Borneo, and the fourth largest city in Malaysia. Sarawak was part of the Sultanate of Brunei before being ceded to the British adventurer James Brooke, who ruled it as his personal kingdom called the Brooke administration until 1941 when the Japanese occupied Sarawak during the War. After the War, The Brookes gave the Sarawak to the British Crown and in 1963, passed to the Federation of Malaysia. The island became prosperous and peaceful under Brooke government. The city was much improved through its building and roads network at that moment. The town experienced rapid development since late nineties because of its growing economic power as major city. With the exportation economies of the palm oil plantation, rice, and others, the urban development has been accelerated. Kuching has been populated by waves of migrants like Singapore, especially Chinese and Malays. Indigenous tribes are also populating the island and can be found in villages, kampongs on the coast or in the interior lands of Sarawak. The earlier settlements were fishermen villages and indigenous communities disseminated in Sarawak.

Figure 21

Kuching has a tropical rainforest climate, moderately hot but very History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

humid and receives heavy rainfall. This climate is the same than Singapore one. Kuching is situated at the banks of the Sarawak Riber on the Northwestern part of the island of Borneo and is consequently characterized by a uniform temperature and pressure because of this maritime exposure. Kuching is the wettest populated area in Malaysia wth an average of 247 rainy days per year. The sunshine and solar radiation are abundant. It is however rare to have a clear day even in periods of severe drought. The city receives only 5 hours of sunshine per day on average and 3.7 hours in the month of January. The wettest times are during the Northeast Monsoon months of November till February and the dry season starts from June till August. The temperature stays constant throughout the year if it is not affected by the heavy rain and strong winds during the early hours of the morning, which could bring the temperature down. The temperature could rise to 38°C under rare cases due to the haze caused by open burning from Indonesia during the dry season. Chracteristics : Average annual rainfall 4200 mm T°C 19°C to 36°C Average T°C 23°C early hours 33°C mid afternoon Maximum 42°C during dry season due to the humidity

The traditional fishermen villages, the kampongs, composed by Malay houses, are the object of the third case study. This typology is the result of centuries of evolution and could be found much earlier than the arrival of the British in Sarawak in 1827. This fabric is consequently a rural one. In our case, the focus is the kampongs of Jalan Haji Taha, which are part today of the near outskirts of Kuching. Despite of an administration scripting a smart city growth, the quest of this country running still on agrarian economy is the one known few decades ago in our societies. New economies are developing themselves, shopping malls, tourism activities are running the new contours of the city. The urban development is roughly planned. The expansion, spread at the fringes of Kuching, meets the old settlements without special attention. The traditional kampongs are transformed when not levelled and rebuilt as modern house plots. The sequence studied demonstrates the reaching boundaries between rural vernacular fabric and urban suburb dwellings.

Figure 22.

KUCHING Figure 23. Figure 24.

KAMPONGS

Figure 21. Kuching. Metropolitan scale aerial view : the center city and the kampongs. Figure 22. Kuching. Flooded kampongs. Figure 23. Kuching. Kampong Jalan Haji Taha with the new canal to avoid flooding. Figure 24. Kuching. Houses and path into the kampong. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Section Two - Beijing hutongs & siheyuan / Singapore shop-houses / Malaysia kampongs

The vernacular fabric & typology as bioclimatic model The ‘Hutongs’ correspond to the Urban fabric - organisation Beijing old city alleys running from West to East and North to South. The area of hutongs is characterized by a layer of one storey courtyard houses and narrow lanes. The name ‘hutong’ is said being borrowed from Mongolian word “well”, which corresponds with the city’s old tradition of planning the blocks and houses around numerous wells. They structured the old neighbourhoods and are characterized by their grey walls tightening the dwellings units composed of houses facing a courtyard (siheyuan). Between every two city-gates, there are 22 Hutongs, and the distance between Hutongs is 50 bu, about 79 meters. According to urban historian Hou Renzhi (1979), the size of the house plots was not related to the size and location of the neighbourhood, but to the arrangement of Hutong. In older dynasties, for an easier social control, the neighbourhoods used to be closed blocks falling in the grid of the street system. Developed from the wallenclosed neighbourhood blocks, Beijing for the first time adopted officially an open network system in its neighbourhood design, with the major streets determine the neighbourhood blocks, in which lanes and alleys give access to every house.

Figure 25

Like the city itself, the orientation of the house and the site of the gate have been conformed with the long developed Feng-shui system. This fundamental Eastern system is based History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

on astronomy and geography laws and is common use in the Asian region. This low-density organization is a strategy for a good ventilation of the area and the way to catch maximum of sunlight during sunny days. Even in winter, if the weather is fine, the Hutongs will be filled with sunlight. Moreover, the fact that all housing units and the yard are entirely closed towards north helps to protect them from the cold winter winds. Although the houses and streets are densely structured, trees have been always highly valued in Chinese city design. Hutongs over 4 meters all have lines of trees on both sides. They also protect the city from sandstorms and winter winds. The blocks developed a mixed land use with a wide range of variations of courtyard houses for different functions including residences of different ranks, shops, offices, temples, warehouses. Therefore, hutongs and courtyard houses form an integrated system of order and flexibility being able to shelter intimately the inhabited enclosures of the siheyuan. The traditional pattern respecting the Feng shui tradition is also a strategy performing with sun and wind to offer a maximum of comfort into the courtyard houses.

Figure 26.

Figure 27.

Figure 28.

Figure 25. Beijing. Characteristic network of streets and public open space. Figure 26. Beijing. Hutong street and the grey and closed walls Figure 27. Beijing. Hutong street. Figure 28. Beijing. A gate of a siheyuan. Figure 29. Beijing. The low-density fabric of the hutongs.

Figure 29.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

The vernacular fabric & typology as bioclimatic model The traditional Singapore shopUrban fabric - organisation houses are organised in a row-house typology. The streets run from NorthSouth and the narrow facades are on the West and East side of the building. They form rows with regular facades, fire walls and adherence to street alignment. The long and narrow building plots follow elegantly the topography, offering interesting variations of horizons within the city. Shop-houses are generally low-rise buildings. They have a minimum of one floor but shop-houses with two storeys are abundant, while three storey are typically present in more prosperous and densely built up central areas. The shop-house is both shop on the ground floor and residence on the upper floors.

Figure 30.

up to 65m

Figure 31.

Figure 32.

The typology was adapted to include the typical five-foot way, covered by living space. The additional living space created was one way to address the dense living conditions in Singapore. To meet the increased need in housing, landowners built taller shop-houses with ingenious ways of adapting to the tropical climate. This five-foot way is a continuous covered pedestrian walkway linking the front of these shop-houses. Intended to protect from sun and daily heavy rainfalls the pedestrians, this feature evolved into a covered entrance portico, verandah for the shops. Walking down the street one perceives the latitude, feeling the variations in light and temperature

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

from the cool covered walkway to the hot street. The height of the pilaster at the verandah-way was also increased to fit into the scale of a wider road. These cantilevered porches therefore tempering the tropical climate, make this urban typology dealing with the thermal comfort of pedestrians directly in the public domain.

Figure 30. Singapore. Row shop-houses following the curve of the topography. Figure 31. Singapore. Chinatown. Aerial view of deep plots. Figure 32. Singapore. Shop-house typology axonometry, plans and section. Figure 33. Singapore. Shop-houses bioclimatic principles. Figure 34. Singapore. The five-footway protecting either from the heavy rainfalls or from the very hot sun.

Figure 33.

Figure 34. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

The vernacular fabric & typology as bioclimatic model The kampong Urban fabric - organisation associated with

house is usually Malay life. The greatest aspect of the traditional construction is the fact that the buildings are elevated on stilts. It has been an unique solution to the damp and marshy terrain of Southeast Asia, as Kuching is a remarkable example with its proximity to the estuary and the high risks of flood (few meters sometimes) due to yearly monsoons. This strategy illustrates well the vernacular feature very respectful of nature and reflecting the climatic feature of the traditional settlement. The raised floor is a pragmatic solution to the constant need of ventilation craved in the tropical heat and to the levels of safety necessary for rural dwellings. As velocity of wind increases with altitude, the house, particularly at body level ensures the capture of winds of higher velocity. House that is built on stilts also ensures full capture of ventilation as it allows avoidance on ground cover plant, which restricts the air movement. The site surroundings are a key element in this vernacular design. Building on stilts is therefore a fundamental aspect of sustainability.

Figure 35.

200 ft 100 m

This low-density fabric shows another criteria, which is its loose and informal organisation. The random arrangement of houses may look haphazard to many observers but the strategy aims for a distribution that blend houses, trees, compounds and paths with the surroundings.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

This moreover ensures that the wind velocity in the houses in the latter path of the wind will not be reduced. Another aspect of this typology is its orientation. Traditional Malay houses are often oriented to face Mecca for religious reasons but however, this EastWest axis minimizes areas exposed to solar radiation and suits the wind patterns in Malaysia (North-East and South-West).

These three fabrics observe similar schemes that deals with the same conditions : orientation for taking advantage of the sun light or to be protected from it and for being protected from the wind yet profiting of it for ventilation. However, the vernacular solutions differ : for the urban fabrics, hutongs and siheyuan play in a grid, shop-houses in row and for the rural settlements, kampongs are more dealing with houses random dissemination. The surroundings are inviting to different vernacular structures, more or less light and repetitive. In conclusion, the vernacular urban organisation in itself is a bioclimatic model inherited from specific climatic settings. However, even these personal characteristics, it is interesting to observe forms following similar strategies yet materializing them differently.

Figure 36.

Figure 37.

Figure 38.

Figure 39.

Figure 35. Kuching. Jalan Haji Taha kampong map at the outskirt of the city. Random arrnagement of the houses. Figure 36. Jalan Haji Taha kampong. Houses above the floodable terrain, on stilts. Figure 37.Jalan Haji Taha kampong. Paths on stilts linking houses together. Figure 38. Jalan Haji Taha kampong. Raised houses above humid ground. Figure 39. Jalan Haji Taha kampong. Idem. Figure 40. Jalan Haji Taha kampong. Stilts and foundations visible.

Figure 40.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

The vernacular fabric & typology as bioclimatic model As observed below, Architectural form – structure & form vernacular fabrics treat

the three of sun and wind protection or/and gain. The traditional adaptation focuses on passive strategies to take benefit of the climate and in the same time, for offering visual comfort and living conditions for human.

Main room Sub-courtyard East-side room Courtyard

Screen Main gate

West side room

Corridor

Figure 40.

Sub-gate Front room Figure 41. Figure 42.

The siheyuan means the ‘courtyard’. One courtyard house consists of one storey housing unit (four houses), which are grouped around one, two or more courtyards. This dwelling part is closed towards the outside and the whole complex is accessed through a single gate in the Southeast corner. The buildings receive consequently different amounts of sunlight. The Northernmost house receives the most amount of sun, thus serving as the bedroom of the siheyuan owner. The Eastern and Western buildings receive less, and consequently serve as guestrooms. The Southernmost room, opposite the owner’s house, receives the least sunlight, and usually functions as the quarters for service staff. Decorated passages connect the Northern, Eastern and Western buildings. These passages serve as shelters from sunshine during the day, and provide a cool place to appreciate the view of the courtyard at night. Northwestern walls are usually higher than the other walls to protect the courtyard from the harsh winds blowing across Northern China in the

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

winter. Moreover, the traditional roofs are the typical pitched roofs with overhanging eaves. The eaves curve downward so that rainwater flows along them rather than dropping straight down into the water feature in the courtyard, so as to conserve rainwater hence provide moisture and maintain a comfortable micro-climate. This ridge design provides shade from the sun. This helps the room to escape direct exposure to sunshine in the summer while retaining warmth in the winter. The glare associated with the low angle sun is dealt with the lattice screen windows, doors and trees. Besides, the open space of the courtyard creates a pressure differential. This space therefore improves ventilation, which can provide a fresh air supply, cool down the internal spaces and take away the heat stored in the thermal mass. There is no opening in any external wall. The only open connection to external space is the door, which is usually heavy and solid, not allowing air to pass through. It is also good for security as well as protection against dust in springtime and snowstorms in winter. Openings from the rooms are all towards the courtyard, which constitutes a small micro-climate much better than outdoors. More than two third of the inner facades are opened towards the courtyard for ventilation.

Figure 45.

Normally the courtyard contains a pond with water or a well, which supports the daily use of the family. The well also serves as a rainwater collection system due to the lack of water distribution in the city. Besides, in this hot and dry area, any water increases the moisture in the air and serve as evaporative cooling, thus creating a more comfortable environment. In Chinese, the ‘home’ word is translated by 家园, 家庭. The first character means the house where one lives in, the second can be explained as a garden, a yard. It suggests an ideal living place is a built structure plus nature, to be more exact is having nature inside the home. The vegetation open space, planted by every family can also purify air, create shading with their high trees and reduce the glare for the occupants of the yard in summertime when the foliage is dense. It creates a dense canopy above the maze of lanes and houses and filters the unpleasant Northern winds.

Figure 43. Figure 46.

Figure 44.

Figure 41. Beijing. Siheyuan axonometry showing the organisation. Figure 42. Beijing. Houses around a courtyard form the siheyuan typology. Figure 43. Beijing. Pitched roofs. Figure 44. Beijing. The courtyard as micro-climate. Figure 45. Beijing. Pitched roofs and sizes. Figure 46. Beijing. The courtyard as micro-climate. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

The vernacular fabric & typology as bioclimatic model The layout of the shop-houses buildings Architectural form â&#x20AC;&#x201C; structure & form covers the entire lot area, leading to buildings that are deep and narrow in plan. The long plots raise consequently issues in ventilating and natural lighting of the internal areas of theses houses. The bioclimatic passive systems will have to block the solar radiation heating the building, allowing natural ventilation to penetrate the building and blocking rainwater to enter the building. The elongated shop-house proposes in that sense a succession of interior courtyard and lightwells. This typology was built before the introduction of a domestic water network and the courtyards and air wells were providing the first source of water for the use of the dwelling. The run-off water from the roof is thus harvested in the courtyard and therefore with evaporative cooling and air movements participates for refreshing the habitation.

Figure 47.

Figure 48.

As a solution to the daily scorching sun and torrential storms in the tropical climate of Singapore, pitched roofs with deep overhangs to provide shade to the interior areas and steeply pitched to assist quick rainwater run offs are common. The same strategy is used previously in the Beijing siheyuans. The long roof eaves forbid thus directly the direct penetration of sunlight but create radiant heat into indoor spaces. The use of a jack roof combined with a lack of a flat horizontal ceiling in History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

the room below helps dissipating the raising hot air through a stack effect. And a raised mini-gable at the peak of the roof increased airflow, system also used with the siheyuan. Besides, operable louvered shutters are used. They can be adjusted to allow airflow while limiting the sunlight penetration. Permanent openings, on both internal and external walls, are located above windows and at high levels to encourage the flows of air at all times. Glass is only used on for some infill panels in windows to allow a maximum air to pass through every opening. The shutters, grills and lattice of the faĂ§ade increase ventilation while assuring privacy.

Figure 49.

Figure 47. Singapore. Axonometry and interior plan of the shop-house. Figure 48. Singapore. Diagram of air movements in the shop-house typology. Figure 49-50. Shop-house from inside, the air well brings light. Figure 51-53. In the deep plot, the patio is considered as a room. Figure 52. The traditional craftsworks of the balustrades, ceilings, windows participate to air movements. Figure 54. Shop-house plan with serie of patios.

Figure 54. air well

air well

Figure 50.

Figure 52.

up to 65m

air well

5-footway Figure 51.

Figure 53. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

ground floor

first floor

The vernacular fabric & typology as bioclimatic model Since many early Malay settlements Architectural form – structure & form were built along rivers and the coastline, the raised floor construction is an ideal solution for dealing with ground dampness in the hot and humid tropical climate and with the heavy rains that frequently resulted in flash floods. To achieve thermal comfort in that context, the challenge is the dissipation of the solar heat gained by the building and the human body by ventilation and evaporative cooling. The passive system of ventilation in this traditional house if the combination of three approaches : the ventilation from the top, the bottom and at body level (cross-ventilation). Figure 55.

Figure 56.

The elongated open plans of the traditional house allow passage of air, assuring cross ventilation is achieved. This aspect of the building layout shows the ventilation is fundamental in these vernacular challenges. Minimal partitions participate to good air circulation within the internal part of the house. Walls are kept low to reduce the vertical areas of the house exposed to solar radiation. The task of shading is therefore easier to achieve. The large overhangs of the roof provide then good shading and protection against driving rain. While the gable end ‘tebar layar’ of the roof is used to trap and direct air to ventilate the roof space. Ventilation joints ‘patah’ is another creative ventilation device used to ventilate the roof, which directly participates to cool the house. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

The raised floor system also allows the house to catch winds of a higher velocity and sometimes to allow ventilation directly through cracks in the floor. Moreover, lots of full length and openable windows and doors are the principal elements for ventilation at body level. Windows can be left opened even when it is raining because of the large roof. Even decorative elements are also specifically designed to allow air passage into the interior part of the house. In addition, the Malay house is multifunctional and the use of spaces changes at different times of the day and year. With these vernacular techniques, winds are encouraged to flow through the house. The random arrangement of the kampong dwellings and the careful planting and selection of trees ensure that winds are not blocked for the houses in the latter path of the wind. The kampong is hence heavily shaded with trees and covered with vegetation. This sets the house in a cooler environment, with vegetation not absorbing and not storing heat yet reradiating it into the surroundings. From a distance, the Malay house seems to merge naturally with its environment. And glare, which can be a major source of stress at this latitude is controlled in this vernacular typology. The exclusion of open skies and bright areas from the visual field, the low

positioned windows kept opened and the non-reflective character of the vegetal surroundings insure it. It results a psychological effect of coolness from these passive devices minimizing glaring light and maximizing ventilation.

These three examples demonstrate the low-tech climatic adaptation that characterizes the bioclimatic approach. Each one of them shows a specific strategy in their building layout, the courtyard for the siheyan, the air wells for the shop-house and the permeable construction of the Malay house for playing with roughness of the specific climates. Their different architectural solutions contribute to the passive design system for energy-saving domestic use. Their behaviors reflect also their relationship with the surroundings ; the siheyuans and shophouses dealing with a urban context use volumes/voids solutions while the kampongs distinguish themselves by blending with their surroundings by their position yet their materials as the follow section demonstrates.

Figure 55. Malay house sketch : a bioclimatic structure. Figure 56. Malay house section. Air movements. Figure 57. Maludam kampong : the surrounding vegetation protects the houses. Figure 58. Jalan Haji Taha kampong : air able to circulate under, around, through the house. Figure 59. Jalan Haji Taha kampong : the vegetation takes part of the bioclimatic model of the kampong. Figure 57.

Figure 58.

Figure 59. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

The vernacular fabric & typology as bioclimatic model The choice of materials in these Architectural form – materials three vernacular typologies is again an indicator of energy exchange between the indoor-outdoor climates. In this interface, the materials play the role of either absorbing heat and conserving it for wintertime or being as permeable as possible for maintaining a great human comfort temperature. The compact form of the siheyuans is set up with heavy external walls protecting the dwellings from the cold and strong winter winds and the spring storms occurring in North China. These walls are built in heavy grey brick, made from rammed earth, with timber beams and frames ; a double skin of brick and a timber structure within the wall makes the wall very thick at least 30 cm until 50 cm. Timber and clay can be easily found in the region, and the brick is the typical blue Canton brick (tradition Chinese grey brick) soft and very porous. This construction increases the thermal mass of the external walls, maintaining then a stable and comfortable indoor environment. The stone floor and the roof reinforce this thermal mass system.

Figure 60.

The wooden roof structure is also covered with a thick layer of clay, together with straw and with two layers of grey, half round pantiles. It is usually 30 cm thick. This layer in biodegradable materials, as well as the brick walls, is still allowing the rooms to breathe in summer. And the stone floor is directly connected to the shaded ground that acts as a large History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

radiant cooling device. Consequently, the fluctuations of temperatures during the day or during the year are absorbed by the high thermal mass of the courtyard house unit. Moreover, the courtyard shaded by trees and thus kept cool, can further cool down during the night, store the coolness and release it slowly during daytime towards the inside. All living rooms of the courtyard typology were equipped with a “kang”, a brick pedestal working like a hypocaust system. The ‘kang’ serves as the main living area in winter. Not only do people sleep on top of it during night, but also most all of the daily indoor activities take place on it. The kang works like a radiant heating system with a large area of low surface temperature. Since the perceived temperature by human beings is the sum of radiant temperature and air temperature, the latter one can be kept quite low, thus reducing heat losses through high temperature differences. In this way, the energy consumption of the houses is kept low in winter. However, the windows design strategy is following other principles. Two thirds of the facades facing the courtyard are made of fine openable wooden screens. Each room’s opening is to the inside, towards the private courtyard, even though the glazing area is still

small. A large part of the window panel is blocked by a lattice screen, which is filled with thick transparent paper in winter period. It also helps to reduce glare. In springtime the paper will be rolled up, opening up the room inside to fresh air outdoors, and in wintertime additional external shutters can also be fitted inside the window frame. Finally, windows have wide eaves, which can protect them from heavy rain and block out midday sunshine in summer but still allow sun penetration into rooms.

Figure 63.

Figure 64.

Figure 61.

Figure 62.

Figure 65.

Figure 66.

Figure 60. Beijing. The traditional bricks of the hutongs walls. Figure 61. Beijing. A kang in a siheyuan. Figure 62. Beijing. The stone of the floor. Figure 63. Beijing. The pitched roofs. Figure 64. Beijing. The half round pantiles of the roof. Figure 65. Beijing. Some traditional pantiles. Figure 66. Beijing. The roof structure layers. Figure 67. Beijing. The courtyard, the interior facades

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Figure 67.

The vernacular fabric & typology as bioclimatic model The shop-house observes a strategy Architectural form â&#x20AC;&#x201C; materials for building materials very similar to the Chinese one. As this typology was also primarily exported from Southeast China, maybe they were some parallels. However, these materials were chosen because they were locally available. The main structure is thus constructed of brick, timber and concrete. The brick load bearing walls present a certain thickness as well as the nature of the material helping delay radiant heat to transfer into interior areas. A number of reasons have been given for the narrow widths of these buildings. One reason relates to taxes because the idea that buildings were historically taxed according to street frontage rather than total area, thereby created an economic motivation to build narrow and deeply. Another reason is building technology : the timber beams that carried the roof and floor loads of these structures were supported by masonry party wals. The extent of frontage was therefore affected by the structural span of the timber used. So, these structural timbers span from brick wall to brick wall leaving the facades free for maximum ventilation.

Figure 68.

Figure 69.

On the ground floor, unglazed red tiles (Canton tiles) were used, or sometimes Italian tiles for wealthy merchants, but the floor was frequently left-un-tiled, with exposed rammed earth. As for the roof, clay is an ideal material as it is not a conductor of

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

heat. with its high thermal mass yet its biodegradable aspect, it keeps the house cooler yet lets it respiring. Finally, the elaborated wooden shutters, grills, and cast iron lattice of the house facades and the minimal use of glass are participating to the permeability of the envelope. These elements remember the elegance and lightness of the siheyuan openings.

Figure 71.

Figure 72.

Figure 70.

Figure 68. Singapore. The row organisation with the 2 brick load bearing walls separating roofs. Figure 69. Singapore. Idem from the aerial view. Figure 70. Singapore. Facade of a shop-house with all the elements participating to the climate regulation. Figure 71. Singapore. Facades with wooden shutters, grills playing as bioclimatic devices. Figure 72. Singapore. Materials viewed from the air well space. Wooden beams, bricks for walls, tiles on the ground and wooden permeable shutters. Figure 73. Singapore. The interior of a shophouse. Traditional massive wooden furnitures. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Figure 73.

The vernacular fabric & typology as bioclimatic model The traditional Malay house is a timber Architectural form – materials house raised on stilts as seen in the previous section. It is basically a post-and-lintel structure with wooden or bamboo walls and thatched roof. The materials used are grass thatched roofing are waterproof and do not absorb heat. The local thatch is the attap, a thatch made from nipah and other palm trees woven together. The lightweight construction of the Malay house with minimum mass and much voids, using low-thermal capacity and high-insulation materials, is most appropriate for thermal comfort in our climate. The wood, bamboo and attap used have good insulating properties and they retain or conduct little heat into the building. The surelevated building layout protects the dwelling from insects and other pests. Moreover, aromatic fires lit beneath and are used to fumigate the house against mosquitoes during the evening. The selection of the material is typical, they select material that can die. Wood has spirit and can die. The notion of authenticity in architecture is different in Southeast Asia than in Europe. Things are not cast in stone or in concrete, but in something that can evolve. Figure 74.

One of the characteristics of the vernacular approach is the deep understanding and respect for nature. A comprehensive knowledge History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

of nature’s ways and ecological balance was prevalent in traditional societies as the villagers relied heavily on nature for most of their resources. Their food, medicines, and building and household materials were obtained directly from the natural environment. That’s how the Malay style house uses natural materials to their full potential. Using the surrounding trees and ground cover for solar shading and wind breaks, their building materials come from the near surroundings. Here, the subsistence production goes much further than food. “Houses and shacks are often put together or improved from waste materials, roads are built, clothing is produced in the home, wells are sunk and water fetched, firewood is collected from garbage and household tools are also produced domestically” (Evers and Korff, 2000:22). In the most elegant examples of these houses, the entire panelling is woven and replenished, demonstrating the constant attention paid by rural fold to the care of their dwelling spaces. In this kampong fabric, it is the responsibility of the community to train the next generation of craftsmen.

The bioclimatic characteristics of these three fabrics have two main aspects ; the high thermal mass materials for the main structures and the low-thermal

mass materials for the other parts of the building envelopes. In the case of the kampong, which is a rural fabric, the typology is completely light and permeable, mimicking the surroundings to behave so and in the same time protecting the dwelling from risks of leak, floods and heat. The context provides materials and settings allowing inspiring specific building layouts. Finally, these principles underline also the long lifespan objective and a certain flexibility of space.

Figure 79.

The socio-economic pattern issued from these vernacular fabrics are in close relationship with these main characteristics described below. The choices made for the organization, the structure, form and materials have been matured during centuries and the on-time process is extremely important for this study.

Figure 74. The external environment of the Malay house. Figure 75. The traditional constructive elements/ layers of the Malay house. Figure 76. Maludam kampong. The surroundings participate directly to the construction. Figure 77-80. Maludam kampong. The open roof of the traditional Malay house (this one is a new one within this kampong). Figure 78. Jalan Haji Taha kampong. Wooden walls carved from increasing airflow. Figure 79. Jalan Haji Taha kampong. The plantations on the damp ground constitute a source of food for the community. Figure 81. Kuching. Traditional carved wood works.

Figure 76.

Figure 75.

Figure 77.

Figure 80.

Figure 78.

Figure 81.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

The vernacular design as socio-economic model However, reducing the vernacular Spatial social organization fabric to only their form is simplistic. Every type evolves over decades and centuries to mature the design. Therefore the socio-economic perspective plays a main role in the fabrication of these traditional forms. Being a passageway by nature, the hutong has gone far beyond its old transportation function, becoming a unique element in Beijing’s traditional neighbourhood. The hutong is not spacious, but diverse type of activities can happen in it. When people say Beijing’s folk culture is Hutong culture, it is not too much exaggerated.

Figure 82.

Figure 83. Figure 82-83. Beijing. Doors of the siheyuan on the alley. Privacy and welcoming. Figure 84-85. Beijing. Courtyards, source of activities and extensive meeting rooms of the houses.

Figure 84.

Figure 85.

A typical hutong block has three main characteristics ; the accessibility to both main streets and to individual dwellings, the mixed and use by ordinary houses as well as shops, temples, offices and mansions, and the integrated system of alleys and courtyard houses. With these elements, the hutong offers its residents a quiet and safe living environment yet a close knitted social network (Qian). The countless square units of the hutongs, like the cells of an organism, contain the traditional way of living and fill the city with life. The siheyuan layout first of all an enclosure where a screen wall surrounds the housing unit and therefore, outsiders cannot see directly into the courtyard. The building is divided into three or five rooms, which are arranged according to certain rules. The room po-

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

sitioned to the North and facing South gets the maximum possible sunshine in winter, and the eaves provide a pleasant shade in summer when the sun is high. This is then the main part of the house and would traditionally have accommodated the head of the family. The rooms adjoining this main part, facing East and West and situated on each side of the court, are constructed to accommodate married children and their families. They are called the “side houses” and are the quarters of the younger generations or less important members of the family. The room facing North is known as the ‘opposite house’ and would generally be where the servants lived or where the family would gather to relax, eat or study. From the name of a hutong, one can guess its origin, find its location, or trace its historical, commercial or cultural backgrounds. The streets and alleys provide ambiguous nodes for congregation ; the intersections with lower timber structures (like free standing arches, fences or simply brick walls and timber gates), the shop fronts at the street sides, the space in front of public courtyard houses like temples, and of course the streets and alleys themselves. The space gradually transforms itself from public to semi-public to private. This kind of design satisfies the psychology of being both integrated and detached to the city life. The lack of privacy actually brings

Figure 87.

people together. It is common to see people talking over lunch or dinner. You can almost always find elderly playing cards or checkers throughout the day with the music of caged songbirds in the background. People living in siheyuan area still practice traditional methods of leisure and recreation such as playing Chinese chess, doing the Yangko dance and visiting the temple fair. It is called that neighbours live in each other’s pockets. Hutong people would say, “ Far relatives are not as good as close neighbors”. These outdoor activities are important to people’s social life. No matter how small is the outdoor space in the yard, flowers, birds and goldfish are always having their place there too. It is a friendly environment connecting people. The rhythm and atmosphere inside the hutongs encourage relaxed communications. Older people and kids will have a sense of safety and belonging living in such atmosphere, and they on the other hand add such feeling into the hutong life. The past, through the aged doors and walls, keeps inspiring the young people who live inside. Surprisingly, many young people do enjoy living inside the hutongs.

to the degree of meaning, vibrancy, tenderness and colour that they command in the minds of the writers. For centuries, communal lifestyles have dominated. The main attraction of that is a friendly atmosphere of interpersonal communication. People are used to live very close to each other and encouraged to do things as groups. The hutong is thus a multifunctional space, contributing to the diversity of the community life. Figure 86. Beijing. Shop-house street with its shops. Figure 87. Beijing. The birds and old people of the neighbourhood, traditional practices... Figure 88-89. Beijing. Old people playing Chinese chess. Figure 90. Beijing. The bicycle life of the hutong. Figure 91. Beijing. The secured hutong street for children playing outdoor. Figure 86.

Figure 88. Figure 88.

Figure 90.

Figure 89.

Figure 91.

Hutongs have long held a special place in the heart of many Beijingers. Many locals can wistfully recall their hutong childhood with nostalgia and hutongs have been romanticised in China’s numerous great novels, operas, plays and films ; a testimony History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

The vernacular design as socio-economic model Spatial social organization The same

Figure 92.

phenomenon is observed with the shop-house typology. From its basic function, the house itself contains on the upper floor a residence and on its lower floor a shop. While interior tiny courtyards constitute fresh wells that people like to enjoy, meet and talk in that space, the main characteristic of the shophouse is the dialogue between the shop and the street.

The five-footway constitutes another step between the inside and the street. The boundaries between public and private are blurred by this sheltered passageway. The life activity, the continuum of the architectural structure and the resident-shopkeepers are intrinsically linked.

More generally, space occupied by the former contains a semi-public function. In that sense, shop-houses are integral to a way of life in which activity spills out to the streets from small-scale workplaces, businesses, shops, hotels, cafes and residences.

Figure 93.

Figure 94.

The five-footway is the space where street life and business activities are meeting. The life of the street thrives, surrounded by day markets, street hawkers, seasonal parades and celebrations. Coming to the five-footway, this last one transforms itself and hosts people gathering, bargaining and meeting. As a result, under the porches of this continuous protected walkway, happen lots of activities. The family life spills out into the walkway and comes to evening to eat, exercise or play sport. The place is transformed everyday depending on the moments, in extended living-room, temple, badminton court, eating stall and/or workshop.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Figure 92. Singapore. The five-footway, gathering people while temperatures are rising... Figure 93. Singapore. The five-footway for a small pause or a seat. Figure 94. Singapore. The five-footway for playing traditional board games and grabbing the pdestrian to stop one minute. Figure 95. Singapore. The five-footway : the shop keeper waiting for the client. Figure 96. Singapore. The five-footway, show window of the commerce. Figure 97. Singapore. The five-footway, extension of the shop. Figure 98. Singapore. The five-footway as a living room. Figure 99-100. Singapore. Kampong Glam. The evening sees new appropriation of the fivefootway and the shop-houses are the stage of young talents. Figure 101. Singapore. Kampong Glam. The evening, the five-footway as an extended room for bars, young people investing the five-footway for waterpipe activity.

Figure 95.

Figure 99.

Figure 97.

Figure 96.

Figure 98.

Figure 100.

Figure 101.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

The vernacular design as socio-economic model Spatial social organization The kampong is exacerbating these social qualities that vernacular fabric offers. One of the most congenial of the traditional Malay house is its openness. This typology has at least two entrances by steps, the main entrance at the front for visitors and males and the one at the back mostly for women and children. At the entrances of most of the dwellings, stairs lead up to a covered porch, ‘the anjung’. It acts as a good transition space between the public and the private domains. The anjung also acts as an important focal point for the entrance. Unfamiliar visitors and guests are entertained here. It is also the favourite place for the house occupants to rest, chat and watch the goings-on and passers-by in the village. From the entrance porch, one enters into the hanging verandah, the ‘serambi gantung’, also place where most guests are entertained.

Figure 101.

Figure 102.

Figure 103.

Figure 104.

The house is divided into areas, rather than rooms, for various social and household activities. A noticeable feature in the traditional habitation is the absence of portions or solid ceiling-height walls separating the three main areas – the veranda, main house and kitchen, which are formed by slight floor level changes and the positioning of doorways to separate the different areas. The kitchen, the ‘dupur’ is always situated at the back of the house, and is on the lowest floor level.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Preparation of food, cooking, eating and washing are all done there. The womenfolk also often group there to chat. Each house is inhabited by an extended family and the houses in each village are organised in reciprocal clusters projecting the spirit of community that binds village life. There is no clear geometric order in the layout of the kampong. Instead, the layout is determined by the social relationships and the culture and lifestyle of the villagers. House sites are traditionally selected by observation and religious rituals. They are spaced far apart for future expansion, tree planting and privacy. Adequate privacy is provided by the dark interiors and the distance between the houses in most cases. Few obstructive physical barriers are used to demarcate territories. Instead, very subtle and unobstructive markings are used. Fallen coconut tree trunks and a cleanly swept compound can already define a house compound. Kitchen, gardens, fruit trees, chickens and other local production abound, and activities overlay each other. In the kampong, the definition of public and private areas is non-existent, unclear, highly permeable or overlaps. Even the boundaries of the kampong are largely indistinct. Although not much importance is attached to the demarcation of house territories, much importance is attached to the

usufructuary rights to the fruit trees and coconut trees. Social interaction is maximised by the free-flowing, open and unobstructive public-private areas. Paths link the village, leading from one house to another, winding through the houses and leading to other parts of the village. Paths are unclear as many of them merge into sandy open compounds of houses. Children can play safely anywhere in the kampong. Generally, the kampong is under a huge canopy of coconut and other trees, which keeps the place well shaded and allows use of the open compounds even during hot afternoons. The random layout, the natural setting, the use of local building materials and the lack of physical barriers give to the kampong an informal and welcoming atmosphere, inducing intimate social relations. Moreover, the traditional dwelling reflects also the creative and aesthetic skills of the Malays. As a result, this vernacular environment is a direct expression of the culture and needs of the users.

This observation of the vernacular pattern shows their importance in terms of social gathering space structure. The identity and collectiveness characterising these traditional forms

is the base of the culture and expression of local people. It gives value to the habitat and city and offers security and care between people. This following section demonstrates how this traditional form impacts as well the local economic structure.

Figure 105.

Figure 106. Figure 109.

Figure 102. Diagram. Use of interior space in the Malay house. Figure 103-104. Maludam kampong. A space not partitioned, place of different activities. The visitor is allowed inside after a while (the case of NoĂŠmie in the 2nd picture). Figure 105. Jalan Haji Taha kampong. Prrivate houses and collective space merge together. Figure 106. Same location. The porch is the balcony on collective life, it allows to see everything around, to see without interfering. Figure 107. Maludam kampong. The balcony space is also a room for drying clothes. Figure 108. Jalan Haji Taha kampong. Drying clothes or showing its personal items to collective space is common and accepted. Figure 109. Jalan Haji Taha kampong. This familiarity between private and collective sphere makes the kampong very familiar and welcome. Figure 110. Maludam kampong. The suspended paths are small-scale ways of moving between houses, the fabric is very linked in its form.

Figure 107.

Figure 108.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Figure 110.

The vernacular design as socio-economic model More than providing a social pattern, Spatial economy related the vernacular fabric is supporting the stability of the local economy. Smaller than nowadays, the economic model was completely in adequacy with local needs.

Figure 111.

To begin with the hutongs, the traditional environment is designer in a functional way yet is able to regulate the transportation, which is one of its main characteristics. Beijing’s street network “potentially fosters a pedestrian friendly, traffic-calming residential environment” (Wu, 1999, 78) yet with convenient access to every level of city life.

Figure 112.

Figure 113.

Figure 114.

Figure 115.

There are also recyclers gathering and selling scrap material to junk dealers, often wheelbarrows or on bicycles as well as pushcart entrepreneurs providing seasonal goods and services. They offer fruits and vegetables after crops are picked, clothing as winter approaches, and read paper and fireworks to celebrate the New Year. Some sharpen knives and scissors while others visit as handy persons offering repair services. And, although livestock are no longer allowed to be sold slaughtered in the hutong, there are butchers and markets. Additionally, there is some small-scale manufacturing, which completes the wide range of enterprise. Every hutong neighborhood has in its middle a farmer market. Among dozens of markets the farmer market is always indispensable for the hutong

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

life, because it is not only the shopping place where the food is fresh and cheap but also a meeting place in the neighborhood, where you can chat and bargain with the vendors. Moreover, thousands of small shops are crowded with private services like barber for example. A commercial and social diversity in the hutong area is a tremendous fortune in the development of Beijing’s economy and cultural life. As for the transportation pattern, most hutong areas are located in the centre of Beijing, and there are good pedestrian linkages to bus stops, so it is convenient to access all public transports. Bicycle is the main tool within the hutong. The back seat of bicycles can be used to carry another person or goods. If adding an extra small seat in front of the main seat, people can carry their kids in the bicycle too. The narrow, turned, rouged and rough hutong prevent the intrusion of vehicles. For the more the lack of parking space is another factor that keeps car far away. This is a sustainable mode of functioning for the city, allowing better safety for residents especially children and elderly.

Figure 117.

Figure 116.

Figure 118. Figure 111. Beijing. One of the thousands food shop in the hutong streets, living from the hutong life. Figure 112. Beijing. Shop of the hutong. Figure 113. Beijing. Small jobs like this one, repairing bicycles play in the micro-economy of the hutong. Figure 114. Recycling is also integrated part of the hutong economy and offers local jobs. Figure 115. Beijing. Cleaning the tiny streets is still done at the human scale, providing jobs, activity and security. Figure 116. Beijing. The food peddlers are one of the traditional ways to feed ourselves int he hutong life. Figure 117. Beijing. All the commerce is operated per bikes. Figure 118. Beijing. Businesses are familial and local-scale related, providing a dense economic network. Figure 119. Beijing. The night, the hutongs keep their spirit with lasting bicycles and people gathering in the streets. Figure 120. Beijing. Transport is also per foot. Here, coming back from the market, the fish arrives on the table directly. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Figure 119.

Figure 120.

The vernacular design as socio-economic model The shop-house presents similar charSpatial economy related acteristics for the small-scale moving economies. First of all, streets are known by the trades they housed ; there were centers for activities like fish selling, tinsmithing and stone cutting. Some ethnic traders remain in premises occupied by their forefathers. Shop-house neighbourhoods still center around mosques or clan temples built one hundred years ago. There, the stories of immigration, economic success and accommodation among diverse cultures can be found. The shop-house provides a neutral envelope that accommodated numerous activities, expanding the window of economic opportunity for native traders. Brothels, opium, dens, gambling houses and secret societies were as much at home in the native landscape of the shop-houses as the commercial and residential spaces. Perhaps it is for these very reasons that the shop-houses neighbourhoods became the primary site of urban gentrification during the 1990s.

Figure 121.

Figure 122.

Figure 123.

The shop-house was historically a shop, it could just as easily be a food and beverage outlet as a coffee shop or a bar, than a service provider like a clinic or barber, or an industrial activity, cottage industry or auto workshop or even a community space like a school or a clan association. Residential spaces are meant to accommodate one or more families, or serve as a dormitory for single

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

workers. Popular belief holds that shop-houses were initially occupied by single families, with their private living areas in one space and the more public family business in another. However, it is possible that the two spaces were usually used by unrelated persons or groups, who may be tenants or resident owners. The position of the shop and residential space depends on the number of floors of the shop-house. A single storey shop-house tends to include residential space behind the shop, while residential spaces in shop-houses of two or more storeys are typically located above the shop. The shop-house typology with its combination of business and home has allowed for trade to continue without incurring many of the costs of doing business today. With the owner always nearby, security is not a problem, hours can be flexible, child care is inhouse, the workforce can be expanded with family members when required, and food and drink are always close at hand. This proximity between residence and work is very economical and the entire city is impacted by this organisation. The presence of hawkers and stalls vendors in the near five-footway is allowing a direct contact between the shop businesses and the street economy. This sheltered passageway is the favourite place of these itinerant

hawkers that installs themselves or their pushcart for selling fruits, vegetables, prepared food, goods or services to the pedestrians going from one point to another. In that sense, the shop-houses fabric is similar to the hutongs where this micro-economy is one of the basic of the local diversity and economy. Moreover, the adjacent streets to the five-footway (also above the shop or behind) host other small-scale workshops, businesses and residences able to supply the front shop-houses. Other pushcart workers are collecting materials or garbage to sort stuff. In that sense, the vernacular fabric is in truth supporting the local economy and moreover, by linking it to the social and bioclimatic patterns.

Figure 121. Singapore. Familial shop-house. Figure 122. Singapore. Shop + house, opening largely on the five-footway. Figure 123. Singapore. Adjacent streets with other small businesses. Figure 124. Singapore. Recycling jobs. Figure 125-126-127. Singapore. Old peddlers selling coffee, tea, food, small services. Unfortunately, they disappear more and more with the disappearance and transformation of the fabric. Figure 128. Five-footway, extension of the shop, attractive show-window. Figure 129. Five-footway, catching again the attention of the pedestrians going to buy then. Figure 130. Singapore. Little India. Sunday market night. While the five-footway become a market, shops are completely using them for stalls, men drift in the street to gather.

Figure 124.

Figure 125. Figure 128.

Figure 129.

Figure 126.

Figure 127.

Figure 130.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

The vernacular design as socio-economic model However, the kampong presents anSpatial economy related other kind of model in that perspective because of its rural character.

Figure 131.

Figure 132.

The village is a rural settlement sustained traditionally by subsistence activities like padi-growing, fishing and other agricultural practices. Attap and mat-weaving, drying, rice-pounding and carpentry are some common work activities carried out in the house compound. Another semi-private space commonly used for wok is the open bottom of the stilted Malay house. Besides being a popular workplace and chatting place, it is also used to store padi, fuel (firewood, coconut fronds, etc), building materials, implements for planting padi, the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;kaki lesongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (a large pounder operated by leg-power), bicycles and even cars. The kampongs are a bit isolated from the economy of the larger city. It seems to run on a subsistence economy in which everything produced is also consumed by the producers. Consequently, there is no such thing as market economy in which all goods and services are distributed solely through market outlets. The kampongs are very small entities in that sense and the place of the kampong in the urban economy is deeply problematic.

Figure 133.

Running still on agrarian model economy for most of them, the kampongs are also a very economical model. One of its strength is the popularity of this house form among the poorer

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

villagers and those who build houses themselves. More than being affordable, it is simple to build. Moreover, its light and efficient structure enables people to extend it when needed. It is like that, that nowadays the kampong houses are incorporating small businesses or small offices in their lower part (part previously below the house) and the typology supports another kind of economic activity, more correlated to the urban economy.

This observation of economy related to fabric is underlining the importance of small-scale businesses connected to the diversity of lives. Indirectly, the vernacular pattern offers opportunities to support a certain cohesion within people and within the local trade of goods and services. However, this remark could also be true for every traditional fabric. And the question nowadays would be how to maintain these stable local economies with tourism or global economies. By looking at the concern of time, it would be interesting to watch how a socio-economic model emerged from culture time maturity.

Figure 134.

Figure 137.

Figure 135.

Figure 131-132. Maludam kampong. Food shops for the use of the village. Figure 133. Maludam kampong. The porches and wooden decks in and between houses serve also for preparing food for selling during the afternoon or for the extent family. Figure 134. Jalan Haji Taha kampong. The lower ground hosts chicken etc to nourrish the family. Figure 135. Maludam kampong. The space around the house serves in this case for drying some chips made of fish. Fishermen villages prepare it for the surrounding towns at maximum. Figure 136. The lower part of the house serves to store stuff. Figure 137-138. Jalan Haji Taha kampong. The surroundings spaces serve to grow plants for direct consumption or house materials use.

Figure 136.

Figure 138. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

The vernacular design as socio-economic model The traditional fabrics were born along On-time process decades and centuries. It gives them sense into their context yet their rightness as they are evolved and mature design having used people hands, people minds and participation. The typologies developed from trials and errors, answering to changing needs. This possibility of adaptation step-bystep is very typical to these traditional forms and makes them therefore meaningful for people. Figure 141.

The best development of a city always grows from its own past, especially when the past is expressive in narrating its stories. Understanding the city as a whole is not to turn everything back to its original stage, but to always have this urban texture and the unique image of the city in mind, to achieve a spatial harmony, a “growing wholeness” (A, Christopher, 1987, 15).

Figure 139.

Figure 140.

For the case of Beijing, as early as the 11th century BC, the book of Zhou Li has already specified the proper layout of a royal capital in its Record of Constructions : the city should be laid out in squares and rectangular align with the four directions of the earth, the city should face the brightness of the South, the inner organization of the city should reflect the order of the universe with every social function having its proper place, court in the centre, markets behind ; temple for ancestors on the left, the main street layout and the hierarchical access leading from the most public to the most private… Developed from the wall-enclosed History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

neighbourhood blocks before Tang Dynasty, Yuan Beijing (1271-1368) for the first time adopted officially an open network system in its neighbourhood design, with the major streets determine the neighbourhood blocks, in which lanes and alleys give access to every house. Beijing was at that moment designed and constructed in the shape of a square on a strategically and geometrically important point representing the central power on earth. The planned entity stood solid and intact through 800 years as the ultimate example of Chinese ancient urban planning, the crystallization of Chinese philosophy and cosmology. The Yuan government issued a strict code concerning size of allotment for the houses according to the rank and status of the residents. It was recorded in the Yuan Emperor Shizu Biography that “each unit was 8 mu (4,320 square meters, a typical plot measures 73 by 60 meters). Where the allotment was greater than 8 mu in size, or the household was not able to make full use of the allotment, the extra space had to be given to commoners who could then build their own houses.” The blocks developed a mixed land use with a wide range of variations of courtyard houses for different functions including residences of different ranks, shops, offices, temples, warehouses. The courtyard house with its inwardness, multi-standards, could satisfy the needs of owners and users of various social status and income levels.

Later, neighbourhoods were opened gradually. The city became a large field of networks, a continuing, connecting space open to all members of the population, channelling through all form of social cultural activities. A more free flow of the population started to pollute the strict hierarchy created by walls and divisions. The Hutong-courtyard neighbourhoods became actually very much less differentiating. After the middle of the 19th century, more intensive interaction happened with the western world. Thus, the inflow of a more modernized living style started finding its way into the courtyard, from the utilization of electricity, the emergence of toilet of modern style and the new ways of heating. This is the period within which the new infrastructures started to be fixed into the courtyard. Such small scale and light renovation of the courtyard and the inflow of more people signified the start of an intensive mutation of the courtyards in Beijing. In the first decades of 1900s, the majority of the courtyards still maintained an integrated spatial structure, though most where shared among multiple households. The start of the Cultural Revolution in 1949 played a disastrous role for the courtyards. The urgent need to improve people’s living condition and settling as much population in the capital as possible constituted a fracture into the vernacular process. After 1949, the courtyard houses were redistributed, people of different professions and incomes even live in the

same courtyard house. The derelict courtyards, having already lost their spatial order due to the self-help housing activities of the residents, were dismantled on a large scale. For the government, fixing new infrastructure and the more frequent maintenance requirements meant nothing but huge burden.

Figure 142.

The rush for renovating the city in the past decades signs the disintegration of the original urban fabric to see flourishing new high-rise buildings, which had have nothing inherited from the traditional way of building the city. Nowadays, the last hutong neighbourhoods have remained virtually micro-societies. With their different histories, interesting names and all dramatic shapes and sizes, living or walking around Hutongs stays a real experience. According to Kevin Lynch, every city possesses a certain degree of ‘imageability’, an essential quality derived from a series of recognizable and memorable images of a city.

Figure 139. Beijing. A closed neighbourhood during Tang dynasty. Chinese Ancient urban planning. Figure 140. Beijing. The North-South spatial hierarchy in the city design. Figure 141. Beijing. The West-East spatial hierarchy in the city design. Figure 142. Beijing. Aerial view with additions in courtyard typologies. Figure 143. Comparative study courtyard space. Figure 144-145. People in new Modern places Figure 146. Man in demolished hutongs...

Figure 144.

Through the network of paths, edges, nodes, districts and landmarks, the city could be transformed into a mental map, the more legible the map is, the stronger and more vivid impressions the city gives the observer. And a highly imageable city would be wellformed and attractive, which paraphrase nicely the hutongs and their meaning into the heart of Beijiners as well as tourists.

Figure 145.

Figure 143. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Figure 146.

The vernacular design as socio-economic model When colonization arrived in Asia, On-time process it brought along a whole new set of cultural imports, both Western and non-Western to be absorbed. Singapore, developed in the typical dualistic pattern of a colonial city, with a European half and a native half, the latter, already virtually a separate Chinatown populated by immigrant Chinese who migrated to seek their fortunes in Raffles’ new trading post. A new architectural typology was thus necessary to solve the housing and commercial needs of these new immigrants. With ancestral roots in Southern China, these migrant Chinese workers brought along with them the ‘blueprints’ of the Southern Chinese urban shop dwellings in these 1800s. The original building typology evolved into a distinctive Singapore shop-house in order to adapt and suit the local hot and humid climate. Inventing ingenious ways to provide the thermal comfort for the dweller, these shop-houses succeeded to assimilate process of change and different culture influences.

Figure 147.

The immigrant Chinese with a long urban tradition began constructing the attached dwellings at their arrival. They also introduced the courtyard plan, the rounded gable ends and the fan-shaped ventilation wells. From the Malay culture, came the carved timber panels and fretworks. The traditional Malay house itself became a source of inspiration for the newly arrived immigrants in History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

response to local climatic conditions particularly in transforming the idea of the porch with the hometown Chinese arcades to create the verandahway. Thus evolved the continuous, covered walkway. From the Indians came the sturdy construction techniques including a hard-wearing plaster, and finally, the Europeans introduced the Palladian building model for the migrants to imitate with fancy French windows and decorative plasterwork. Even the Indian immigrants and the Chinese shopkeepers notice that business is improved when protection is offered from the elements, Raffles could see the need for regulating the irregularity, in 1822, he directed the building committee in the new city to regulate that “all houses constructed of brick or tile should have a uniform type of front, each having a verandah of a certain depth, open at all times as a continuous and covered passage on each side of the street.” The new law allowed property owners to extend their upper floors over the verandahway. Street after street of two or three storeys shop-houses generate a profusion of complementary architectural elements. An eclectic mixing of styles derives from the history of the city as a trading centre, overrun by waves of immigrants, colonialists and traders. All have left their marks, which have been integrated into the local vernacular. Three distinct shop-house typologies

can be observed with two transitional typologies. Simple and austere, the “Early” shop-house typology describes shop-houses built before the 1900s. The second distinct typology describes shop-houses built between 1900 and 1940. “Chinese Baroque” best describes this typology adorned with highly ornate classical elements as well as various ethnic elements. A “First transitional” shophouse typology occurring in the early 1900s meanwhile bridges these two radically different typologies. The third distinct “Art Deco” typology occurred between 1940-1960 and featured shophouses with borrowed vocabulary from ocean liners and airplanes. Again, a “Second Transitional” typology bridges this distinctive design from its predecessors. Today’s business is displayed through a medley of signs from yesterday’s crafts. Moreover, over more than a century later, shop-houses have succeeded in standing the test of time. Many are being used in their original state without the aid of additional mechanical means other than a ceiling fan to assist the cooling of its internal spaces. Nowadays, the shop-houses have seen their air wells being used for enlarging rooms and gaining interior space while the exterior walls have witnessed the additions of air conditioners in quantity. Designed solely for air conditioning, these shophouses relegated the need for tropical living considerations, which had

characterized shop-house designs up until this time. This first wave of modernist thinking marked the first instance of global Western ideology taking precedent over the rational of tropical architecture. High-rise buildings took over the traditional vernacular neighbourhood and tried to keep certain bioclimatic principles of the shop-houses fabric. However, their social-economic structure has been completely lost and the city in itself lost a heritage still visible nowadays in some traditional areas. Moreover, the last parts of this fabric are being museified for touristic purposes and the remaining shophouses serve as tourist shops, hotels, restaurants or other related activities or businesses. The creative and collective community of the metropolis has slowly disappeared to offer a panorama of housing with loneliness.

Figure 148.

Figure 149.

Figure 147. Evolution of the shop-house and facade compositional study of the shop-house. Figure 148. Singapore. HDB modern buildings. Figure 149. Singapore. Shop-houses modern needs of air-conditioning. Figure 150. Singapore. Modern buildings in the back while traditional shop-houses in the front. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Figure 150.

The vernacular design as socio-economic model The traditional Malay On-time process been designed over Figure 151.

kampong has centuries and has witnessed decades of adaptation and reconstruction in front of the local temperamental environment.

the house to grow slowly and does not create heavy financial burdens on the users by allowing them to build according to their financial resources over time.

The Malay house caters well to the varied needs of the users. Its design flexibility is clearly expressed in its addition system. This is basically a system in which new extensions are added onto the basic core house. The new parts may be built as extensions at various stages and times as and when the need arises, for instance when the family grows in size. The system grew out of the needs, means, constraints and socioeconomic contexts of the users. It is a very well developed and sophisticated system based on addition principles, which are sound in design, construction and aesthetics, and causes minimal disruption to the original house.

The house evolution emerges usually in two stages : one is the extension of the main house, and the other is the formation of the house compound. However, the extension of the main house is usually limited to the 16column house (three-span in width), with few cases of 20-column houses (four-span in width), whereas the later houses are enlarged by increasing the sub-houses in the back of the main house. This transformation, from main house to compound house, became the turning point of Malay House evolution.

Figure 152.

Figure 151. Traditional Malay house. Common additions sequences. Figure 152. Traditional Malay house. Other additional possibilities.

The traditional Malay house is set in a rural setting where the main economic activities of the people are farming and fishing. The seasonal patterns of work leave much spare time to the villagers during the off-seasons for house building, mending nets and boats, making household implements and doing other pat-time economic activities. The additional system of dwelling is well suited for this seasonal pattern of work. Thus allow the house to be built up gradually at a pace controlled by the users. The addition system allows

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

However, the kampong is undergoing major changes and is faced with constant threats to its continued existence. Economic and sociocultural values promoted by modern development are making a strong impact on the Malay house forms. The status of the kampong house is being lowered, vulgarised and replaced by modern house forms. Appropriate local building materials and the coherent and holistic design principles of the traditional dwelling are being replaced and disintegrated by Modern influences. While house forms should change to fit the changing needs of the users, modern changes in the Malay house forms are disruptive and

< Evolutive kampong house with storage space or room under the house and with concrete floor.

v Evolutive Malay house double storeys but still on the same damp terrain.

Figure 153.

Original old kampong house.

Figure 156-157.

Figure 154.

Kampong house being restored.

Traditional house with lower part transformed in storage and closed by biodegradable materials. Traditional house with lower part closed as a room but still conected to a wooden path above ground.

Figure 155.

Traditional house disconnected from the kampong but on stilts. Figure 158.

Figure 159-162.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Figure 163-165.

The vernacular design as socio-economic model inappropriate because such changes On-time process are often imposed from external sources and are not understood by the local communities. These changes are often irrelevant to and disregard local and socio-economic, cultural and environmental conditions. A major cause of this problem is the erosion of confidence in local indigenous technologies and products as a result of Western-style models of development. Modern sciences and technologies are often overglorified by the mass media and the Westerneducated elites of the country. In the case of the Malay house and wooden houses in general, their status is lowered by the overglorification of the Western-style houseforms and modern building materials.

Figure 166-167.

Modern concrete individual Malay houses one-storey or two-storeys on the ground that is flooded during heavy monsoons.

Figure 168-169.

Modern concrete Malay row-houses two-storeys with complete closure from the street.

There are also other reasons for the decline of this vernacular pattern. First, the Malaysian timber industry is heavily export-oriented. This has affected the quality, quantity and cost of timber available for the local market. The export-oriented timber industry has pushed up local timber prices and since most of the highquality timbers are exported, the local market is deprived of high-quality hardwoods. Secondly, the strict laws to control fires have deterred the building of timber houses in the urban areas. Timber houses are considered a fire risk even it is proved that they perform better than steel or concrete in a strong fire.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Another point is the vulgarisation of the Malay house. The vernacular architecture has been brought down to the most simplistic and vulgarised form, just as a decorative piece, denying it of its deeper significance and used, and putting it completely out of context. What such buildings have popularised among the Malays are in fact pseudo-tradition house forms, which have funny-shaped and inefficient roof forms and the inefficient use of modern materials for the kampong houses. The use of modern materials like zinc, asbestos, cement, bricks and louver windows has significantly changed forms. It also allowed the creation of complicated hybrid roofs, which are difficult to be roofed by attap. These modern roofing materials are unsuitable for the houses because of their high thermal conductivity and the no-ceiling Malay typology. The use of cement and bricks has had a good impact by creating easily maintained surfaces in the wet areas and the kitchen. But this has also significantly changed the typology ; the kitchens have been dropped from the raised platforms on stilts to the ground level. This has created new additions and changed the scale of the building. Sometimes, the stilted open bottom of the house is raised and closed with cement, bricks and louver windows. This creates a space, which

usually used as a hall, making the Malay house a two-storey building with a very low ground floor. Such extensions change the proportions, scale and character of the house, creating a more solid-looking house, uncharacteristic of the light and airy traditional house and being flooded at every monsoon. Building materials, which were once freely available, have to be brought at a very high cost today and from a farer location while it was on-site or close to previously. Attap, which was once the main roofing material, is today becoming scarce. So too are bamboo, the nibong tree and other trees, which supply free timber for building the houses. This dependence on modern materials has increased the tendency of forgetting the vernacular fabric. The general lack of appreciation of the kampong dwelling by the younger generation and the lack of rural labour are additional factors causing the erosion of the vernacular pattern. the carpenters, wood-carvers, attapweavers and other artisans involved in the building construction are therefore dying breed. The local economy is thus impacted and being lost. Unless there are positive steps taken to lift the status of the traditional Malay house and to provide a climate conducive to the building of the house, it is bound for extinction in the near future despite its superior

design principles and suitability to our environmental, economic and sociocultural needs. However I could find some people having been studied abroad or running large businesses into the city and still living the kampong because of their emotional attachmentâ&#x20AC;Ś

The on-time process is emphasizing the culture-related aspect observed previously, linking both social and economy but also raising issues in nowadays globalization context and urban densification. The traditional vernacular fabrics tend to touch certain limits while meeting the fast-emerging urban contemporary needs. They seem difficultly able to absorb more in density and sanitary systems or in other cases, to maintain their logics within the globalizedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ones impacting local economy.

Figure 166-167. Kuching. Modern concrete individual Malay houses one-storey or two-storeys on the ground that is flooded during heavy monsoons. Figure 168-169. Kuching. Modern concrete Malay row-houses two-storeys with complete closure from the street. Figure 170-171. Kuching. New modern Westernized outskirts districts. Aerial views.

Figure 170.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Figure 171.

Section Three â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Vernacular models for evolution

Discussion on density and refurbishment strategies The study of these three vernacular fabrics demonstrates the correlation between the maturity of a design, which fits into a local climatic and geographic context as well as into local social and economic realities.

Figure 172.

The on-time process narrates the adaptation and the flexibility that these traditional forms have been witnessed since they were born. These characteristics of bioclimatic and socio-economic model are even the foundations of the culture of these territories. Nowadays, these fabrics have seen different kinds of evolution ; the hutongs, a chaotic congestion within the siheyuans blocks ; the shophouses, a mummification with tourism and the kampong, an obsolescence due to global economies. Moreover, the Western model exported in these countries is impacting a vernacular evolution that is not really happening. The challenge in this context of globalization and worldwide exchanges is also about maintaining and taking care of social networks and local economies able to sustain the city as a risk cover for life. Moreover, the interesting point is to answer to the modern needs and lifestyles while keeping the smartness of construction, authenticity and participation design that makes the vernacular having high value and identity for people. At the moment, the main issues into the city is the need of density,

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

sanitary system networks and flexibility between residence and business purposes. These fabrics do answer to these questions in their scale yet this scale is too small for contemporary needs. So, the main question is about density. Different projects having passed into my hands retained my attention on two different strategies : the refurbishment and the densification of the typology. For this reason, I have selected few examples within these two strategies that can illustrate the kind of renewal design positions. These proposals could be realized nowadays for reactivating and reconsidering the fabrics with all their richness. Their common point is that they are all evolved from the traditional pattern yet they see it from different perspectives. For the hutong vernacular fabric, there are the projects of : Hon Chung Lee with Transforming Space in the Old City of Beijing with a special mention to MAD with the reactivation of the ancient hutong fabric with bubbles and MUTOPIA and Tang Chun Kit with the vertical hutong and high-rise hutong new typologies. For the shop-house, I propose the project of Vertical shop-houses in the Chinatown that I did while working there, as a reinterpretation of the low-density vernacular fabric and a mention to some refurbished shophouses adapted to modern lifestyles and a special mention for ALL(Zone)

refurbishment of two shop-houses (not operated nevertheless in Singapore but Bangkok on a similar shop-house typology). With this project, even its location is different, the strategy of refurbishment is a great example for the shop-house fabric. The kampong will end this discussion with the idea of its prefabricated modular possibilities as a model in itself, developed by Lim Jee Yuan in his book : The traditional Malay house : Rediscovering Malaysia’s Indigenous Shelter system.

The academic project of Hun Chung Lee at the Massachussets Institute of Technology in 2007 is a great illustration of how can the thought of modernization of the hutongs can be conducted today. Even this example is an academic reflection, it reflects entirely the richness of the architectural writing and the possibilities of transformation. This project demonstrates one approach of transformation, yet every site has a different situation and therefore should be treated and transformed differently. The fabric is a form of urban life, interactivity, and social phenomena, the fabric is like the root of a tree. There is an old Chinese saying, “If one forgets one’s root, one loses one’s identity.” The design of its urban form has to undergo an active process of transformation.

Figure 173.

Figure 172, Beijing. Vertical Hutong concept by MUTOPIA. Figure 173. Singapore. Shop-house versus skyscraper. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Discussion on density and refurbishment strategies Figure 174.

Through a site analysis and the design process, Hun Chung Lee has chosen five ideas to develop to approach transformation with the focus of interactivity : the adaptative wall, the generative process, the differentiating space, the platforming and the overlapping networks. Throughout Chinese history, the main function of a wall has been to protect. Yet, its gigantic monolithic form creates high contrast with the urban fabric and does not weave into it. Adaptive wall is an architectural intervention that serves to protect ; at the same time, its gesture must adapt and react to the gesture of the fabric as well as integrate with it and allow growth. The wall and the fabric weave thus together to form a unified network structure. The elevated path of the wall serves to regenerate relationships between streets. Leung Sichengâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing shows to Hun Chung Lee a possible way to rehabilitate an old city wall in Beijing. The wall would have allowed public access and the use for other things such as recreation. The generative process has been conducted by Scarpaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work, that often shows time and the consciousness of change through a generative process, traces after traces of drawings that refine his work into vigor. This is what is intriguing about generative process : it is like searching for a form that is already there, but not yet revealed. A generative process

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

is used to get a feel for the site and to organize a new form that will harmonize traces of the living pattern, slowly transformed through time, and holding a strong identity and memory of the site. Platforming is an idea for generating interactivity in vertical dimensions. It allows various forms of circulations, such as direct and indirect access to units from the courtyard to upper level platforms. These platforms are semi-public ; yet there are encouraged to be used as greenery spaces. Platforming also creates setbacks for angled sunlight to get into the inner space. This exercise explores overlapping networks that will generate crossing and hierarchical spaces. To conclude, this project enlights different evolutive possibilities of the hutong fabric in order to write another layer of architecture and history from the previous one. Preservation in Chinese tradition is interpreted at different levels. Preservation can be a process of relocating or reorienting a building to engage change through time. Preservation therefore is an active process of transformation that must address the existing fabric and become a form that harmonizes with the old form.

Figure 175.

Figure 174, Beijing. Design principles : adaptative wall, elevated path and platforming. By Hun Chung Lee. Figure 175. Timing refurbishment. And sections on the new neighbourhood proposal. Figure 176. Views and atmosphere within the project. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Figure 176.

Discussion on density and refurbishment strategies MAD in its position is shier yet very subtle. The reactivation of the ancient vernacular hutong features metallic bubbles scattered over the neighbourhoods. “Future of Hutongs” is a consideration about the selfperpetuating degradation of the city’s urban tissue requiring a change in the living conditions of local residents. The position is not to call for large scale construction but to occur at a small scale fitting well the fabric.

Figure 177.

The hutong bubbles, inserted into the hutongs, function like magnets, attracting new people, activities, and resources to reactivate entire neighborhoods. They exist in symbiosis with the old housing. Fueled by the energy they helped to renew, the bubbles multiply and morph to provide for the community’s various needs, thereby allowing local residents to continue living in these old neighborhoods. Hutong Bubble 32 provides a toilet and a staircase that extends onto a roof terrace for a newly renovated courtyard house. Its shiny exterior renders it an alien creature, and yet at the same time, reflects the surrounding wood, brick, and greenery. The real dream, however, is for the hutong bubble to link this culturally rich city to each individual’s vision of a better Beijing.

Figure 178.

As a result, the reflection brings the designer to think about its focus : perhaps we should shift our gaze away

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

from the attraction of new monuments and focus on the everyday lives of the city’s residents.

Figure 179.

Figure 180.

Figure 181.

Figure 182.

Figure 177. Beijing. Hutong bubble model. Figure 178. Beijing. View on a courtyard with a hutong bubble realized. Figure 179-182. The courtyard and the bubble. Play of materials, reflects and allowing ascension on roof space. Figure 183.The hutong bubble from the alleys.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Figure 183.

Discussion on density and refurbishment strategies As huge areas of Beijing are being densely urbanised, it is important to also rehabilitate the hutong model to suit this need of density within the city core while keeping authenticity within the contemporary buildings. The projects presented here are in resonance with this experiment strategy. Their approaches is similar yet the design, different. Instead of choosing one of them, I would like to show together the horizons of reinterpretation that they allow. The concept of the siheyuanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quadrangle is used here to operate the high-rise building just like a vertical little village. The vertical model combines the rational efficiency of the modern high-rise with the social intensity of the life in the historical hutong within a new sustainable hybrid structure reinventing both typologies.

Figure 184.

Figure 185.

Figure 186. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

The Vertical Hutong displays the programmatic and spatial diversity of a city, with each program unit organised as a mini-neighbourhood revolving around its own tempered green courtyard space. The social interaction within the frame of each unit is at a scale larger than the scale of the single apartment, yet small than the scale of the block. This series of microenvironments encourage social exchange locally as the Hutong skyscraper promotes the family to still live together. This last design aims to utilize the hutong as bioclimatic model for the high-rise typology.

The project is therefore in harmony with the surrounding environment. However, the declination of siheyuans courtyards and the hutongs passageways is the main exercise here to create multiple sizes, outdoor recreational areas and being supported with passive systems. Figure 188.

Figure 189.

Figure 184, Beijing. Vertical hutong 3D perspective. MUTOPIA project. Figure 185. Inside 3D view : atmosphere and life of the traditional hutong. Figure 186. Pictures from the model with all the different courtyards proposed in the Vertical Hutong. Figure 187. Beijing. Hutong skyscraper. City view. Figure 188. Interior view of the Hutong skyscraper. Same courtyard, alleys and space morphology than in the old fabric. Figure 189. Proposed reconfiguration and evolution from the traditional typology.

Figure 187. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

CONCEPT_SITE Discussion on density and refurbishment strategies The shop-houses lacking of active renewal today in terms of social and economic supports is here the main focus. In the Suspended shop-houses as well as in the refurbishment by All(Zone), the projects experience each one a typology’s transformation.

5 1

Site plan

Figure 190.

Site plan_drift route

Figure 191.

Suspended shop-houses is a building of commercial businesses at the ground floor, housing in the upper levels and offices on the front. This new programmatic organization is written thanks to the verticalization of the shop-houses yet the modernization of the city’s content. The building complex takes part of the urban promenade already suggested in the Chinatown by a green park, an associations complex, a new planned library of the new masterplan and the divers worship places of the neighbourhood. This project aims to create a permeable place inviting passers-by to drift into the building and climb along the footbridges. The design experiences the vernacular structure of the shop-houses in a vertical way. Circulations and voids sculpted places to rest, places of activities and involved to develop the shop-house typology in different sequences. Resulting from cutting logics, the architecture is a story of masses and 2 tensed threads seeming suspended. From shophouse street The consequent complexity is both vertical, horizontal and diagonal for expressing the hybrid program and diversifying practices of moving in

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

the building. People therefore spend time protected from the sun or rain yet opened to wind and views to temples or touristic places around. Concerned by the old age average population of the Chinatown, the project attracts new users by hosting various collective spaces for activities, rest or services for both young and old inhabitants. Suspended Shop-houses is the result of a models’ experimentation, which begins from fundamental perspectives from the public space around to the interior core of the building. The successive parameters as green slits, collective floor, fivefootways, patios added variations to shape an interesting living environment. The concern of the cultural practices allows to rewrite complexity and the suspended shop-houses gives new views to develop density in a traditional urban structure. The experimentation is at that point not an ended project and would need further steps to be completely shaped. Materiality is missing as the process did not include a deep work on the facades and that misses today to support the valuable insertion of the project in the site.

3 From the temple entrance

DESIGN

Roof openings

Variations of roofs

Aerial view

Top floor axonometry

Volumes_voids

Solar panels_water storage implementation

Unit detail Ancient terra cotta

KITCHEN

BATH

ROOM

FFW Wooden floor

KITCHEN

ROOM

LIVING

ROOM

BATH

ROOM

LIBRARY

Wooden floor

ROOM

KITCHEN

LIVING

Concrete floor

Section detail top floors Garden

Corridor house_sequence of volumes

Materials

KITCHEN BAR

BATH CELLAR

ROOM

LIBRARY

OFFICE

LIVING

FFW

KITCHEN

BAR

House typologies

STORAGE_DRESSING

Inhabitant typologies

Plan typology unit XL

Basic variations of the shophouse type

Secondary variations with roof various heights

type family flat urban flat 2 floors collective spaces close

Five Foot Way Basic type of shophouse 2 patios

XXL

Family 8-9 people 130 m2

Bedroom

Kitchen Second basic type of shophouse 1 patio

XXL

Bathroom Living-room XL

K_B_p_R_R_p_R_L_FFW

R_Rx2_p_Bx2_K_FFW

Family 4-5 people 100 m2

L type house family flat loft

+ corridor + digged wall

L_R_p_R_B_K_FFW + corridor + digged wall

L_Rx2_p_K_B_Rx3_FFW

K_p_R_R_p_L_FFW + corridor + digged wall

L_Rx2_p_R_B_Kx2_FFW + water storage

Family 2-3 people 60 m2

S type atelier flat 2 floors

M R_R_p_B_K_FFW + corridor + digged wall K_Bx2_p_Rx2_Rx2_p_R_Lx2_FFW + water storage

XS 1 people 25 m2

type studio XS

Figure 192.

Figure 190, Singapore. Suspended shop-houses. Map with the cultural route and the building site. Figure 191. An aerial view on the new densified shop-house fabric. Figure 192. Densifying the shop-house typology : proposals of variations and morphology. Figure 193. Interior of the block : five-footway suspended and small paths, shadowed places, collective space, a lot of diferent opportunities to invest.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Figure 193.

Discussion on density and refurbishment strategies The transformation project of All(Zone) is on two slices of existent shop-house instead of one. The refurbishment aims to activate the urban fabric for its materialization aspect as well as its socio-economic pattern. It is for this reason that every floor is transformed into a working-living unit, a new typology for a small business or live-in studio. This small-scale or acupuncture strategy is very much fitting the previous reasonings of this study about the local economy and small craftsmanship businesses inherited from Southeast Asian cultures.

Figure 195.

Figure 194.

Figure 196.

Figure 197.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

The materialization is inspired from the old fabric yet is using modern materials and improve their expression. The local concrete blocks, which is very easy to make, can be designed in several shapes and forms and inspired the designers. The addition parts are the new facades on both front and back made out of the prefabricated concrete blocks ; the most common and cheapest construction materials found in the market today there ; which is also acting as a sun shading, a curtain for privacy as well as thief protection device. The facades also create â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;a breathing spaceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, the space between the big windows and concrete blocks, for smoking, relaxing in the outdoor, plantings as well as air condensing units and service. Moreover, metal mesh screens are used as walls and flooring for these

in-between spaces. Also the light and shadow casting on the shape of the blocks change all day long. This experiment on vernacular typology is a new iteration of live/work spaces for designers and artists for example. All(Zone) defends that this project is “an attempt to give a tool for the local to understand how the world is changing through the lenses of knowledge and data so that you could come up with business strength”. This transformation strategy is offering a great flexibility of use to fit the contemporary needs and lifestyles. The respect of bioclimatic aspects of the initial typology is kept and declined through other modern materials. The vernacular fabric constitutes an uptodate base for evolution.

Figure 194, Refurbished shop-houses from (All) zone. Facade by night, light concrete fabric. Figure 195. By daylight, color variations remembering multiple influences on this typology over decades. Figure 196. Different patterns. Figure 197. Patterns inherited from local craftsmenship traditions. Figure 198-199, Suspended patios Figure 200-201. Air wells, new modernized functions and same biocimatic principles applied.

Figure 198.

Figure 199.

Figure 200.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Figure 201.

Discussion on density and refurbishment strategies The further proposal is about the kampong pattern. These ideas come from the book of Lim Jee Yuan, Rediscovering Malaysia’s Indigenous Shelter. This example was chosen to end this study because its reflection inspires a new vision for vernacular small-scales fabric and local versus global economies. It is a daring perspective yet inspired by the flexibility of the traditional Malay house. First, instead of focusing only or mainly on modern Western-style housing forms, the authorities should look at the traditional and vernacular shelter systems as providing a major part of their solution for housing scarcity to overcome. Secondly, the Malay house shows that local people, through generations of experience, can design and have build houseforms that are suited to their climatic, geographical, social and cultural conditions. Thirdly, it does not require the commercial enterprise or professional architectural skills of the modern and expensive housing industry to provide housing for the masses. The vernacular dwelling has been built by ordinary members of the local communities, using skills passed on through generations, cooperative labour of the community, and the use of local and mainly natural materials in the vicinity.

Figure 202.

The vernacular model is a readymade low-cost housing solution, not only appropriate to the local needs

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

and rural areas in Malaysia, but offers significant ideas for housing the poor not only in the country but in Southeast Asia or in other countries in the Third World. This, however, goes unrecognised by the authorities which actually promote other systems of low-cost housing that are less appropriate to the users’ needs and local conditions. Though, the vernacular dwelling as a modular housing system can be thought as a prefabricated pattern. It can lead to the development of an industrialised prefabricated housing prototype, which will save labour and provide a more efficient delivery system. The image of the Malay house needs to be built up so that the users themselves can regain their confidence in the houses they construct and live in. In that sense, reading the sophisticated building system to develop a prototype for such approaches of modern needs is a way to make the vernacular construction attractive again. It would stimulate the craftsmanship and the younger generations to cooperate for updating the fabric. Updating the vernacular to the current urban needs of housing and to the current global trades connects the local economies and ‘savoir-faire’ with the larger networks. Although the use of appropriate building materials like wood and thatch for house building may not

be suitable for high-density living in the urban areas, wooden houses and lightweight construction can be promoted in the suburban areas in the housing estates where densities are not so high. Measures must be taken to renew natural resources by setting up of forest reserves for building materials all over the country. However, research should be undertaken to improve their durability and quality. New indigenous materials and new designs should also be developed to supplement and stimulate the indigenous materials industry. In this vein of development, the governments promote timber houses and timber as a building material. By being promoted, the traditional vernacular regains value and identity for the locals. This example of development inspired by either Malaysian context and Western logics can be a vector of activation of the local economy into the Southeast Asian region. These hybrid ideas give birth to another look on traditional craftsmanship and update way of participating to the local society today. Moreover, linking the vernacular tradition to the socio-economic development is really an interesting and challenging sustainable development.

Figure 203. Ă 204.

With these series of examples, the attention is kept on updating traditional fabrics to modern living conditions but also to propose new models needed by the fast growth of the cities of these last decades. These two approaches need to be combined and to inspire each other to preserve the heritage from the tradition and the identity of people. Moreover, the perspective on vernacular transformations linked to socio-economic growth is a primordial point. Keeping the bioclimatic models as basic design principles maintains the fundamental aspect of sustainability in our societies ; keeping the ecological balance for future generations to meet their needs too.

Figure 202. Kuching. Modern rowh-houses with try of traditional roof adatation. Figure 203. Study model of traditional Malay house. Figure 204. Wood for exportation : potential also for local economy and material research.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Conclusion

on time.

Sustainable design strategies, in order to achieve a low footprint on the natural world, use passive systems and low-tech systems to offer a great human comfort borrowed to bioclimatic design.

Figure 205.

In this manner, the hutongs, shophouses and kampongs mainly play with the sun and the wind. Their lowdensity is an advantage for being well-ventilated and taking light easily. The grid of the hutong facilitates the wind protection and thus protects the siheyuan courtyard unit. The row shop-houses follows the streets network to articulate the five-footway, covered pedestrian path, protecting it from the sun and heavy rainfalls. And the air wells inside the shop-house provide light and air movements. The Malay kampong with its houses random arrangement is kind of blending with its surroundings and agrees the same lightweight and permeability as vegetation for its ventilation. Therefore, the choice made of high or low thermal mass materials to deal with sun and wind makes these traditional fabrics flexible and reliable History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

By observation, these vernacular architectures offer smart solutions having matured for centuries to resolve climatic and socio-economic issues correlated to the different societies. For that reason, the spatial structure emphasizes the social gathering activities and moments. The collectiveness dimension is also supporting the identity and cultural expression of the community. As a result, security and care are supported by the vernacular fabrics. Moreover, the traditional designs are related tightly to the local economy. It enlightens the link between smallscale businesses and the diversity of lives into the city. This aspect is very imperative today to make the urban ecosystems more stable : maintaining local economies together with global economies. This is important while vernacular architecture is extremely culture related yet bioclimatic is system thought, and nowadays the significance into a local context looses value and sense with the globalization. However, the traditional fabrics tend to attain certain limits to absorb the recent spectacular urban growths. The new emerging needs question the low-density and un-technological systems of these vernacular patterns. With the series of projects presented in the discussion, it can be seen, nevertheless, that it is still possible,

challenging and relevant to maintain evolutive processes of design inherited from vernacular forms. Refurbishment and densification of the models are two examples of contemporary transformation. Keeping the bioclimatic maturation models as basic design principles maintains the fundamental aspect of sustainability. Being able to sustain ourselves in one place is first of all, about inheriting from a tradition having reacted smartly and economically to changing lifestyles or/and climate changes. Consequently, the challenge today in every situation is on people lives and ways of living/inhabiting the city merging with the surrounding environment.

Figure 205. Singapore. Demolished shop-house and construction site... Back : Modern high-rise buildings. Figure 206. Beijing. The life in the hutong. Memory, love and stories...

Figure 206. History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Credits of images Figure 1. By Author. Figure 2. By SIN studio DSD 2009. Figure 3. By Oafalkingbridge Flickr.com Figure 4. By SIN studio DSD 09. Figure 5. By MKL, blog. http://da-sblog.blogspot. com/2009/01/kuching-flood-day-2-12012009. html Figure 6. By Peter de Ruijter. Figure 7. By Yann Arthus-Bertrand. http://www. yannarthusbertrand2.org Figure 8. Hendrichs, Dirk, Daniels Klaus. Plus minus 20/40 latitute, sustainable building design in tropical and subtropical regions. (London, 2007) Figure 9. The Politics of the Third Development. http://gap.allegheny.edu/employee/M/ mmaniate/ps245/ Figure 10. Olgyay, Victor. Design with climate : Bioclimatic approach to architectural regionalism. (Princeton University Press, 1969) Figure 11. By Yann Arthus-Bertrand. http://www. yannarthusbertrand2.org Figure 12. Beijing. www.google.com Figure 13. Beijing. www.google.com Figure 14. By Beepbeep_car on Flickr.com Figure 15. Historic hutongs and siheyuans. http://www.chinese-architecture.info/PEKING/ PE-017.htm Figure 16. Singapore. www.google.com Figure 17. Singapore. www.google.com Figure 18. By SIN studio DSD 2009. Figure 19. By author. Figure 20. Singapore timeline. By SIN studio DSD 2009. Figure 21. Kuching. www.google.com Figure 22. By Bernama http://thestar.com.my/ news/story.asp?sec=nation&file=/2011/1/13/ nation/7787438 Figure 23. By author. Figure 24. By author. Figure 25. By Lee, Hon Chung. Transforming Space in the Old City of Beijing. (Master thesis, Massachussetts Institute of Technology, 2007) http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/38879

Figure 26. By Benoist on Flickr.com. Figure 27. By the Shane Watson on Flickr.com. Figure 28. By the Shane Watson on Flickr.com. Figure 29. By Guang Niu on Getty Images. Figure 30. By author. Figure 31. By SIN studio DSD 2009. Figure 32. Yeang, Ken. Tropical urban regionalism (Singapore, 1987). Figure 33. Idem. Figure 34. By author. Figure 35. By author. Figure 36-40. Jalan Haji Taha kampong. By author. Figure 41. Wu, L. Rehabilitating the old city of Beijing. (Vancouver, 1999). Figure 42. By Wo Shing Au on Flickr.com. Figure 43. By Benoist on Flickr.com. Figure 44. By Phil Dodd on Flickr.com. Figure 45. Fenglun, H. Sustainable features in traditional dwellings. (Economic Information Daily, Beijing, 2005) Figure 46. By Phil Dodd on Flickr.com. Figure 47. By Penny Gurstein. Figure 48. McKinnon Kelly, Roeker, Inge. Urban acupuncture : A methodology for the sustainable rehabilitation of "society buildings" in Vancouver's Chinatown into contemporary housing. (CMHC, 2006). Figure 49-53. By author. Figure 54. Chen, V. F. The Encyclopedia of Malaysia: Architecture (Kuala Lumpur, Times Publication, 1999). Figure 55. By Yuan, Lim Jee. Indigenous and traditional knowledge and practices, The Malay house : rediscovering Malaysia’s Indigenous shelter system. (A world in cities, 2008) http://idl-bnc.idrc.ca/dspace/bitstream/10625/24868/1/110780.pdf Figure 56. Idem. Figure 57-59. By author. Figure 60. By Thomas Roetting on Flickr.com. Figure 61. By Muench, Barbara. The traditional Beijing courtyard house : Assessment of its environmental performance under changing historic circumstances. (The 21rst Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture. Eindhoven,

2004) http://www.arct.cam.ac.uk/PLEA/ConferenceResources/PLEA2004/Proceedings/ p0838final.pdf Figure 62. http://www.traveljournals.net/pictures/222464.html Figure 63. By Phil Dodd on Flickr.com. Figure 64. By China photos (Getty images), life. com. Figure 65. http://www.traveljournals.net/pictures/222458.html Figure 66. Li, Qian. Environmental Design strategies for vernacular courtyard dwellings in North China. (2nd Research Student Conference, Welsh School of Architecture Cardiff University, 2006) http://www.cf.ac.uk/archi/PGR%20proceedings.pdf#page=53 Figure 67. Beijing. The courtyard, the interior facades. Flickr.com Figure 68-69. By author. Figure 70. Li, Tze Ling. A study of Ethnic Influence on the facades of Colonial shop-houses in Singapore. (Journal of Asian Architecture and building Engineering, 2007) http://joi.jlc.jst. go.jp/JST.JSTAGE/jaabe/6.41?from=Google Figure 71-73. By author. Figure 74. By Yuan, Lim Jee. Indigenous and traditional knowledge and practices, The Malay house : rediscovering Malaysia’s Indigenous shelter system. (A world in cities, 2008) http://idl-bnc.idrc.ca/dspace/bitstream/10625/24868/1/110780.pdf Figure 75. By Chen, Yao-Ru, Ariffin, Syed Iskandar and Wang, Ming-Hung. The typological Rule System of Malay House in Peninsula Malaysia. (Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 2008) http://joi.jlc.jst.go.jp/JST. JSTAGE/jaabe/7.247?from=Google Figure 76-79. Maludam kampong. Jalan Haji Taha kampong. By author. Figure 81. http://www.hbp.usm.my/malayarchi/ Figure 82-83. By Phil Dodd on Flickr.com. Figure 84-85. Same source. Figure 86. By BeepBeepCar on Flickr.com. Figure 87. By Chien-Min Chung, Changing places.For www.times.com Figure 88-89. By Giulia (Chollus) on Flickr.com. Figure 90. By jam_232 on Flickr.com. Figure 91. By Jan Hansen on Flickr.com.

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Figure 92-101. By author. Figure 102. By Yuan, Lim Jee. Indigenous and traditional knowledge and practices, The Malay house : rediscovering Malaysia’s Indigenous shelter system. (A world in cities, 2008) http://idl-bnc.idrc.ca/dspace/bitstream/10625/24868/1/110780.pdf Figure 103-110. By author. Figure 111-112. By Adamandsonunlimited on Flickr.com. Figure 113. Flickr.com. Figure 114. Flickr.com. Figure 115. By Kaela Mei Shing Gawin on Flickr. com. Figure 116. By Adam Jadczak on Flickr.com. Figure 117. By Jan Hansen on Flickr.com. Figure 118. Flickr.com. Figure 119. Flickr.com. Figure 120. www.chinavine.ucf.edu Figure 121-124. By author. Figure 125-126-127. By Terence Ong on Flickr. com. Figure 128-130 By author. Figure 131-138. By author. Figure 139-141. Wang, Guixiang. Research on the development of Chinese capitals. (Quighua University, n)10, 1988) Figure 142. By Janet Moldstad on www.blc.edu Figure 143. By Muench, Barbara. The traditional Beijing courtyard house : Assessment of its environmental performance under changing historic circumstances. (The 21rst Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture. Eindhoven, 2004) http://www.arct.cam.ac.uk/PLEA/ConferenceResources/PLEA2004/Proceedings/ p0838final.pdf Figure 144-146. "Changing places" by ChienMin Chung for www.time.com Figure 147. McKinnon Kelly, Roeker, Inge. Urban acupuncture : A methodology for the sustainable rehabilitation of "society buildings" in Vancouver's Chinatown into contemporary housing. (CMHC, 2006). Figure 148-150. By author. Figure 151. By Yuan, Lim Jee. Indigenous and traditional knowledge and practices, The Ma-

lay house : rediscovering Malaysia’s Indigenous shelter system. (A world in cities, 2008) http://idl-bnc.idrc.ca/dspace/bitstream/10625/24868/1/110780.pdf Figure 152. Chen, Yao-Ru, Ariffin, Syed Iskandar and Wang, Ming-Hung. The typological Rule System of Malay House in Peninsula Malaysia. (Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 2008) http://joi.jlc.jst.go.jp/JST.JSTAGE/ jaabe/7.247?from=Google

Figure 204. Wood for exportation. http://www. royresearch.com/ Figure 205. By SIN studio DSD 2009. Figure 206. By Norberto Cuenca on Flickr.com. Bibliography figures. By author.

Figure 153-169. By Sofie Dubbers, Alvin Tan & author. Figure 170-171. Kuching. www.google.com Figure 172. MUTOPIA, Urban focused design. Vertical Hutong. 2009. http://mutopia.dk/projects/urban/vertical-hutong/ Figure 173. By SIN studio DSD 2009. Figure 174-176. Lee, Hon Chung. Transforming Space in the Old City of Beijing. (Master thesis, Massachussetts Institute of Technology, 2007) http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/38879 Figure 177-183. Saieh, Nico. Beijing Hutong Bubble/MAD. February 2010. http://www.archdaily.com/50931/beijing-hutong-bubble-mad/ Figure 184-186. MUTOPIA, Urban focused design. Vertical Hutong. 2009. http://mutopia.dk/ projects/urban/vertical-hutong/ Figure 187-189. By Kit, Tang Chun, Hutong skyscraper in Beijing. June 2010. http://www. evolo.us/architecture/hutong-skyscraper-inbeijing/ Figure 190-193. By Noémie Benoit for Delft School of Design SINGAPORE 2009, TU Delft. Figure 194-199. All(zone) new(zone). The Headquarters. http://blogzone-allzone.blogspot. com/2009/12/49-allzone-newzone-headquaters.html Figure 202. Sinar Serapi Homes Real Estate. Kuching. http://www.mm2h-visa.com/ sinarserapihomes.htm Figure 203. By the World Heritage Office Penang. http://www.penangheritagecity.com/ world-heritage-office.html History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Bibliography Vernacular, bioclimatic & sustainability definition Almusaed, Amjad and Almssas, Assad. Bioclimatic interpretation over vernacular houses from historical city Basrah. (The 23rd Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Geneva, Switzerland, 2006) http://www.unige.ch/cuepe/html/plea2006/Vol1/PLEA2006_PAPER242.pdf Brunkill, Ronald W. Vernacular architecture, an illustrated Handbook 4th edition. (Faber & Faber, 2000) Chronaki, Andreadaki. Bioclimatic design and Passive solar systems. (University Studio Press, Thessaloniki, 1985) Coch, Helena. Bioclimatism in vernacular architecture. (Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2, 1998) Dwyer, Denis John. People and Housing in Third World Cities : Perspectives on the problem of spontaneous settlements. (Longman, 1979) Heal, Amanda, Paradise, Caroline and Forster, Wayne. The Vernacular as a model for sustainable design. (The 23rd Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Geneva, Switzerland, 2006) http://www.unige.ch/cuepe/html/plea2006/Vol2/PLEA2006_PAPER896.pdf Hes, Dominique. Sustainability for learning environments. (RAIA Melbourne, 2009) Hyde, Richard. Innovative Designs for Warm climates (Earthscan, 2007) Jideofor Anselm, Akubue. Building with Nature (Ecological Principles in Building Design). (Asian Network for Scientific Information, Journal of Applied Sciences 2006) http://scialert.net/pdfs/jas/2006/958-963.pdf Linam Jr, John E. Machiya and Transition, A study of Developmental Vernacular Architecture. (Master thesis, Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute , Blacksburg, 1999) http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-121999-224250/

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Ly, Phuong and Birkeland, Janis and Demirbilek, Nur. Applying environmentally responsive characteristics of vernacular architecture to sustainable housing in Vietnam. (The second International Conference on sustainable Architecture and Urban development - SAUD 2010 – Ammam, Jordan. 2010) http://eprints.qut.edu.au Naciri, Nisrine. Sustainable features of the vernacular architecture. A case study of climatic controls in the hot-arid regions of the Middle Eastern. (2007) https://kepler.njit.edu/ARCH583663-101-F07/Assignment%201/Naciri,%20Nisrine/Vernacular%20informs%20Sustainable.pdf Olgyay, Victor. Design with climate : Bioclimatic approach to architectural regionalism. (Princeton University Press, 1969) Oliver, Paul. Built to meet needs : cultural issues in vernacular architecture. (Architectural Press, 2006) Oliver, Paul. Encyclopedia of Architecture of the World (Cambridge, 1997). Prodromou, M.K. Vernacular architecture : a lesson in sustainable housing. The case of the Cycladic islands. (University of Technology of Delft, 2008) Rao, Srinivas and Schierle, GG. Sustainability : The Essence of Vernacular. http://www.usc.edu/dept/ architecture/mbs/struct/papers/GGS-Rau.pdf Rapoport, Amos. House, Form and Culture (Prentice Hall, 1969) Rapoport, Amos. Defining Vernacular Design” in Vernacular Architecture. (Grower Publishing Co, 1990) Rudolsky, Bernard. Architecture without Architects : a short introdution to non-pedigreed architecture. (Academy Edition, London 1974) Sundarraja, MC., Radhakrishnan S., Shanthi Priya, R. Understanding Vernacular Architecture as a tool for sustainable built environment. (10th National Conference on Technological Trends, 2009) http://kbase.cet.ac.in:8180/jspui/handle/123456789/539 History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Bibliography Tadesse, Mikiyas. Learning from Vernacular architecture in Techniques and technologies for sustainability by Adrian Atkinson. (Berlin, 2008) Taha, Elhag. Sustainability in the rural Built Environment : Vernacular Architecture of the Gezira Area/ Sudan. (University of Newcastle, 2005) https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/dspace/handle/10443/683 Vanegas, Jorge, DuBose, Jennifer and Pearee, Annie. Sustainable Technologis for the Building Construction Industry (1995) http://web.mac.com/urbangenesis/iWeb/Products/Publications_files/DGEPaper-CP001.pdf Wines, James. Green Architecture. (Taschen, 2000)

Case study : Hutongs & Siheyuan, Beijing, China Abramson, Daniel. Beijing’s Preservation Policy and the Fate of the Siheyuan. (Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review, Volume XIII, 2001) http://iaste.berkeley.edu/pdfs/13.1b-Fall01abramson-sml.pdf Collins, Michael. Protecting the Ancient Alleys of Beijing. (Contemporary Review, 2005) Huijuan, Lu. A comparative study of neighbourhoods in the housing transition in Beijing, China. (Master thesis, Division of Urban Studies/built Environment Analysis, Stockholm, 2004) http://www.infra.kth.se/bba/MASTER%20THESISES/msc%20thesis%20Lu.pdf Li, Qian. Environmental Design strategies for vernacular courtyard dwellings in North China. (2nd Research Student Conference, Welsh School of Architecture Cardiff University, 2006) http://www.cf.ac.uk/archi/PGR%20proceedings.pdf#page=53 Li, Xie. Adaptive Reuse in Beijing’s traditional Neighbourhoods. (Master thesis, Brandenburg University of Technology, Cottbus, 2005) http://www-docs.tu-cottbus.de/alumniplus/public/files/master_theses/Xie_Li.pdf 78

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Lian, Eileen. Hutongs provide Peek into Beijing’s Past. (The Dress Circle, 2006) Lu, Shanshan. The Past, contemporary and future utility of Beijing courtyards. (Master thesis, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2010) https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/handle/2142/16776 Lynch, Kevin. The Image of the City. (MIT Press, Cambridge, 1960) http://interactive2.usc.edu/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Image_of_the_City.pdf Marquand, Robert. Why old Beijing’s crumbling courtyards face extinction. (The Christian Science Monitor, 2001) http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/0314/p12s1.html Meyer, Michael. Death and Life of Old Beijing. (Architectural Record, 2008) http://archrecord.construction.com/features/beijing/deathandlife/oldbeijing-1.asp Meyer, Michael. The last days of olda Beijing : Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a city transformed. (Walker, New York, 2009) Muench, Barbara. The traditional Beijing courtyard house : Assessment of its environmental performance under changing historic circumstances. (The 21rst Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture. Eindhoven, 2004) http://www.arct.cam.ac.uk/PLEA/ConferenceResources/PLEA2004/Proceedings/p0838final.pdf Qian, Fengqi. Protecting the Spirit of the hutong : A case study of Nanchizi Precinct, Beijing. (16th Scientific Symposium of ICOMOS, 2008) http://www.international.icomos.org/quebec2008/cd/toindex/77_pdf/77-BCkP-152.pdf Sorking, Michael. Learning from the hutong of Beijing and lilong of Shanghai. (Architectural Record, 2008) The Beijing hutongs. Chinavine. http://www.chinavine.ucf.edu/beijing/hutong/

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Bibliography Case study : Shophouses, Singapore, Singapore De Ruijter, Peter. Sustainable Bioclimatic Design in Singapore. (University of Technology of Delft, 2009) Hashim, Helena A. and Ghafar, Norafida A. Exploring Historical shop-house and Townhouse vernacular Architectural design and elements as a solution for successful passive low energy housing. (22nd International conference on Passive and low energy architecture, Beirut, 2005) http://eprints.um.edu.my/83/ Li, Tze Ling. A study of Ethnic Influence on the facades of Colonial shop-houses in Singapore. (Journal of Asian Architecture and building Engineering, 2007) http://joi.jlc.jst.go.jp/JST.JSTAGE/jaabe/6.41?from=Google Renovation does and don’t’s materials. Penang shophouses. http://penangshophouse.blogspot.com/2010/04/renovation-does-donts-materials.html Tantow, David. Globalisation, identity and heritage tourism : a case study of Singapore’s Kampong Glam. (National University of Singapore, 2009) https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/17741 Tusa Fels, Patricia. Conserving the shophouse City. (Penang, International Conference 2002) http://www.penangstory.net.my/docs/Abs-PatriciaFels.doc Weather and Climate in Singapore. Guideme Singapore. http://www.guidemesingapore.com/relocation/introduction/climate-in-singapore Widodo, Johannes. Modernism in Singapore. (Docomomo n°29, 2002) Yin, Lee Ho. Pre-war Tong Lau : A Hong-Kong shop-house typology. (University of Hong Kong, 2010) http://heritageworldmedia.com/downloads/pdfs/Hoyin%20Tong%20Lau.pdf

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Case study : Kampongs, Kuching, Malaysia Bunnell, Tim. Kampung rules : Landscape and the contested government of Urban ( e) Malayness. (Urban studies, 2002) http://usj.sagepub.com/content/39/9/1685.short Chen, Yao-Ru, Ariffin, Syed Iskandar and Wang, Ming-Hung. The typological Rule System of Malay House in Peninsula Malaysia. (Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 2008) http://joi.jlc.jst.go.jp/JST.JSTAGE/jaabe/7.247?from=Google Ismail, Zulkilfi and Ahmad, Adbullag Sani. Modularity concept in traditional Malay house (MLH) in Malaysia. (International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 2009) http://www.fab.utm.my/download/ConferenceSemiar/ICCI2006S5PP24.pdf King, Ross. Kampung space, and Putrajaya. (Housing symposium, High Commission for the Developmen of Arriyadh, 2008) http://ipac.kacst.edu.sa/eDoc/2007/165348_1.pdf Nordin, Tajul Edrus, Husin, Husrul Nizam and Kamal, Kamarul Syahril. Climatic design Feature in the traditional Malay house for ventilation purpose. (International seminar Malay architecture as ligua franca, University of Technology MARA, Jakarta, 2005) http://buildingconservation.blogspot.com/2007/03/proceedings-international-seminar-malay.html Tahir, M, Usman, IMS, Che_ani, AI, Surat, M, Abdullah, NAG, Nor MFI ND. Reinventing the traditional Malay architecture : creating a socially sustainable and responsive community in Malaysia through the introduction of the raised floor innovation. (University Kebangsaan, Malaysia, 2008) http://www.wseas.us/e-library/conferences/2009/vouliagmeni/EELA/EELA-44.pdf Widodo, Johannes. Morphogenesis and layering of Southeast Asian Coastal Cities. (Urban reconceptions, SEAGA Conference, 2006) http://www.nus.edu.sg/dpr/hssconf/documents/Johannes%20Widodo%20paper.pdf Yuan, Lim Jee. Indigenous and traditional knowledge and practices, The Malay house : rediscovering Malaysiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Indigenous shelter system. (A world in cities, 2008) http://idl-bnc.idrc.ca/dspace/bitstream/10625/24868/1/110780.pdf

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - NoĂŠmie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

Bibliography Discussion All(zone) new(zone). The Headquarters. http://blogzone-allzone.blogspot.com/2009/12/49-allzone-newzone-headquaters.html Kit, Tang Chun, Hutong skyscraper in Beijing. June 2010. http://www.evolo.us/architecture/hutong-skyscraper-in-beijing/ Lee, Hon Chung. Transforming Space in the Old City of Beijing. (Master thesis, Massachussetts Institute of Technology, 2007) http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/38879 MUTOPIA, Urban focused design. Vertical Hutong. 2009. http://mutopia.dk/projects/urban/vertical-hutong/ Rosenberg, Andrew. Shophouse Transformation All(zone). January 2011. http://www.archdaily.com/105334/shophouse-transformation-allzone/ Saieh, Nico. Beijing Hutong Bubble/MAD. February 2010. http://www.archdaily.com/50931/beijing-hutong-bubble-mad/ Yuan, Lim Jee. Indigenous and traditional knowledge and practices, The Malay house : rediscovering Malaysia’s Indigenous shelter system. (A world in cities, 2008) http://idl-bnc.idrc.ca/dspace/bitstream/10625/24868/1/110780.pdf

Noémie Benoit noemie.benoit@gmail.com 82

History thesis - Asian urban development : a study of vernacular designs as sustainable model March 2011 - Noémie Benoit 1535366 - Delft University of Technology

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