6. PRODUCTIVE LANDSCAPES

This section summarizes four studios on the productive potential of everyday landscapes – from food to raw materials.

AY 09/10-2 LA4702 Studio

Needle in a Haystack Gardens: Baseco

Tutors: Rekittke Joerg, Hwang Yun Hye

(With support from Gawad Kalinga)

Key Themes

Ecosystem service potential of urban landscapes; Productive design strategies for informal settlements; Involvement of communities in design and maintenance of public spaces; Fostering social inclusion and livelihood opportunities; Agro-ecological design strategies

Students: Cai Hanwei Leonard, Lum Qin Jie Geraldine, Yue Zi En Jonathan, Carelnina Shiela, Hoo Xin Yu, Zhang Fan, Xu Jing Yi, Tang Yin Yi Rachel, Tai Shijie, Yung Tsui Suen Yvonne, Cheng Chu Jie, Toh

Chong Ji, Chua Yong Kiat, Tan Yit Chuan, Tan Yi Wei

AY 2013 Special semester

Cambodia Edible Schoolyard

Tutor: Hwang Yun Hye

(With support from SMILE, Envirospace, and PSE)

Students: Chow Zhaoyu Jaden, Loh Peiqi, Goh Weixiang, Uraiwan Songmunstapon, Xu Haohui, Hu Zhijie, Xu Kaiming, Wan Jing, Feng Yuanqiu, Kow Xiao Jun, Zhang Shangyu

AY 17/18-2 LA4702

Productive Landscapes: Hebbal, Bangalore, India

Tutor: Diehl Jessica Ann

Students: Nur Azilla Bte Nazli, Gao Chenchen, Wang Hanfeng, Fan Lei Helen, Kong Lingchang, Xu Linxin, Yong Keng-Whye Raymond, Yao Haomu, Lam Si Yun Swan, Kuan Wai Tuck Victor, Liu Xiaolei, Xu Yuexin, Wang Zhe

AY 18/19-2 LA4702

Landscape of Necessity: Yelahanka, Bangalore, India

Tutor: Diehl Jessica Ann

Students: Vinamra Agarwal, Bao Lixia, Chen Beifei, Dong Yitong, Jiang Jiahang, Eingeel Jafar Khan, Li Ziheng, Toh Zi Gui, Shanika Tuinder, Yu Xi, Radha Waykool

Cambodia Edible Schoolyard (AY 2013 Special Term): An important stage of the design process is the iterative activity of idea generation, review and feedback, and design improvement. The short timeframe of Studio 2013 motivated students to generate sketches to gain feedback and iterate quickly.

The proportion of the world’s population living in urban areas is increasing dramatically. As of 2007, more people lived in urban than rural areas. It is predicted that by 2030, the worldwide population of urban dwellers will be nearly five billion, with approximately 92% residing in developing countries, mainly because of rural to urban migration. Consequently, cities are under pressure to meet growing populations’ need for access to safe housing, job opportunities, healthy food, and unpolluted living environments. Yet at the same time, rapid urbanization has resulted in disrupted and disconnected urban ecosystems (water, agriculture, flora and fauna), with detrimental impacts on the health and wellbeing of urban citizens, particularly disadvantaged groups. The key issues are: food accessibility and quality; associated environmental issues (e.g. water quality, waste recycling, environmental pollution); consumption patterns and food culture; participatory design and landscape stewardship.

In response to the issue of lack of community spaces and places to grow food, four design studios and one special semester project between 2010 and 2019 studied the potential for productive landscapes to provide social, ecological and economic benefits to local communities. Looking at three slum locations in Manila, Philippines, namely Baseco, Espiritu Santo and Bagong Silang, the first studio (MLA’10) aimed to generate realistic strategies for garden and structure design to improve environmental living conditions and provide long-term economic profit. Within a short six-week timeframe, the special semester project at PSE school on the western fringe of Phnom Pehn, Cambodia (MLA’14), implemented design proposals for vegetable gardens designed to meet 30% of the annual vegetable consumption. Finally, the historic “Garden City” of Bangalore, India, faces severe water scarcity and loss of rural agricultural land due to urbanization and climate change; two studios (MLA’19 and MLA’20) focused on older unplanned settlements on the peri-urban fridge of the city.

Common questions investigated were the following: How can landscape architects adopt grassroots approaches to sensitively intervene in places beyond the reach of formal city planning? Can multi-functional landscapes be designed to beautify, purify and produce for communities? How can agro-ecological systems be integrated into landscape design? Beyond a single growing season, can designers be responsive to community needs such that the community appropriates and maintains the landscape to meet current and future needs? Can landscapes have a meaningful impact on urban food security at the community level?

Each studio began with a conceptual and technical understanding of agro-ecology and productive urban landscapes through readings, lectures, and guest speakers. Intensive fieldwork during overseas site visits captured spatial characteristics and enabled students to meet, interact with, and learn from the local community groups. Students collected a variety of data to understand ecological, social, economic, and built infrastructure conditions. Because the aim for designed landscapes was to produce food for consumption, sun, soil and water quality were investigated, as well as social conditions for long-term maintenance. The second half of each studio focused on development of feasible social and economic strategies and calculation of possible quantities and varieties of food. Final designs ranged from small scale container interventions to large scale productive blue-green infrastructure. The special semester project (MLA’14) condensed the process into six weeks and finished with a built project.

PRODUCTIVE END WALLS by Cai Leonard (MLA’10) tackles economic and spatial constraints in low-cost housing sites by generating “arable land” from under-utilized end walls. Through analyzing how villagers cultivate plants in unimaginable spots, this wall farming system integrates the villagers’ creativity as an essential component in unlocking the full potential of end-walls.

As part of a neighbourhood scale intervention in Hebbal, India, Kuan Victor (MLA’19) designed a master plan using the concept of transcending physical, social and psychological boundaries.

Having identified water pollution and trash in the open canal and a lack of public space for resident’s activities and children’s play, Wang Hanfeng’s (MLA’19) project was to transform the original canal into a vital and vigorous public space for people to do activities with cleaner water. This perspective shows filtration as the first of a series of landscapes to purify, enhance interaction, and ultimate utilize the canal as a community amenity.

As part of the Special Semestr project, MLA’14 documented the facade of the residential units at GK Tripura. Residents made used of their garden plots to grow productive vegetation for their consumption.

Related Outcomes

Student Awards

2019 SILA Student Design Awards, Best Design Showcase (Honourable Mention), Productive Landscape A Framework for Women Empowerment, Bao Li Xia (MLA’20)

2010 SILA Student Design Awards, Gold Award & Best Research Award, Productive End Wall, Leonard Cai (MLA’10)

2010 SILA Student Design Awards, Gold Award, Productive Landscape for an Urban Village in Metro Manila, Tan Yit Chuan (MLA’10)

2010 SILA Student Design Awards, Bronze Award & Best Research Award, Backyard +++ (Research Entry), Tai Shi Jie (MLA’10)

PUBLISHED PAPERS

Diehl, J.A. (2019). A foodscape geo-narrative in an unplanned settlement in Bangalore, India: spatial visualization of in/formal spaces and habits. presented at the International Society of Participatory Mapping (ISPM) conference 17-19 June, 2019. Helsinki, Finland.

Diehl, J.A. and K.W. Yong (2018). Active learning in a participatory design studio: Enabling students to reach out to communities. Paper presented at Great Asian Streets Symposium / Pacific Rim Community Design Network / Structures for Inclusion December 14-16, 2018. Singapore.

STUDIO BOOKS

Diehl, J.A. (Editor), 2019, MLA studio: Landscape of necessity [electronic resource]: Re-envisioning productive urban landscape: A community based design studio in Yelahanka, Bangalore, India, CASA, NUS, ISBN 9789811418785

Diehl, J.A. (Editor), 2018, MLA studio: Grow Hebbal [electronic resource]: A community-based design studio in Hebbal, Bangalore, India - envisioning productive urban landscapes, CASA, NUS, ISBN 9789811190797

Hwang, Y.H. (Editor), 2013, PSE Logbook https://www.google.com/maps/search/taiwan/@29.368509,113.1191393,846m/data=!3m1!1e3