10. LANDSCAPE AS NECESSITY

The four design studios here challenge participants to consider how landscape architects may engage in socio-economically vulnerable communities to mitigate the effects of natural disasters, supplement livelihoods and nurture a more liveable environment.

AY 12/13-2 LA4702

Flood-Resilient GK Community, Manila

Tutor: Hwang Yun Hye

(With collaboration with Gawad Kalinga)

Key Themes

Maximizing landscape productivity; Creating disaster-resilient communities; Developing tactical strategies to revitalize economically vulnerable urban settlements; Minimizing ecological vulnerabilities

Students: Sandilya Atreyee, Chen Jiahui, Cheong Wan Ying, Lee Xiao Ling Lynn, Li Jinmu, Patil Mayura

AY 13/14-2 LA4702

BASECO 2014 Urban Revitalization Strategies, Manila

Tutor: Hwang Yun Hye

(With collaboration with Urban Poor Association and Gawad Kalinga)

Students: Chow Zhaoyu Jaden, Feng Yuanqiu, Goh Weixiang, Hu Zhijie, Kow Xiao Jun, Loh Pei Qi, Wan Jing, Uraiwan Songmustaporn, Xu Haohui, Xu Lanjun, Xu Yan, Zhang Shangyu

AY 14/15-2 LA4702

Urban Revitalization Strategies for a Low-Income Community in San Jose del Monte

Tutor: Hwang Yun Hye

(With collaboration with EnPraxis, City of San Jose Del Monte)

Students: Agarwal Anushree, Chen Anzhuo, Cheok Zhi Ning, Lim Li Xuan Cherlyn, Amonkar Deepika Nihar, Liu Yuehua, Pang Yu Rong, Poh Qiying, Sun Yunzi, Tan Li Wen Ashley, Tao Yibei, Yuan Yishuai

AY 18/19-2 LA4702

Envisioning a Water Resilient Hebbal Kempapura, Bangalore

Tutor: Hwang Yun Hye

Students: Mitali Kumar, Sim Rui Jia Elsa, Dai Yuke, Yang Xiaowen, Tang Mengjiao, Zhang Qinqin, Muhammad Rahmat Bin Khairudin, Molina Isabel Villegas, Chen Nan, Manasi Venkatesh Prabhudesai, Chan Wing Fai, Liu Ye, Hou Yanru

The Landscape of Necessity studios paid attention to the radical role of landscape architects in issues of everyday landscapes in rapidly growing cities, especially those that confront low income urban residents experiencing environmental disasters, pollution, unemployment, crime, health issues, and social inequity on a daily basis. In compact tropical cities where land is overpopulated because of massive urban development, disrupted and disconnected urban ecosystems are major issues. Although the increasing numbers of urban poor are generating international attention, a common practice of design interventions is to draw on globally developed “universal” approaches that exclude the poor. However, landscape architectural intervention must become a necessity, not a luxury.

REMEDIATING BASECO’S COASTAL LANDSCAPE by Goh Weixiang and Xu Lanjun’s (MLA’15) dealt with a significant amount of solid waste deposited along the coastal area of Baseco. The aim was to revitalize the coastal community through mangrove planting and derived community activity to contribute to the ecology and economy of this low income settlement.

The studios focused on the following questions: What do communities in the midst of socioeconomic crisis need in everyday life? Beyond basic shelter, what can make low-income communities move forward incrementally toward a self-sustained everyday life in the long run? Can landscape architects manage complex problems of communities in environmentally vulnerable areas with a lack of land resources and limited social and economic opportunities?

Can proposed design and management strategies enhance the quality of living and ameliorate the quality of the environment in the “global city” era? How should landscapes be considered in fast-growing high-dense development, and will the incisiveness/ importance of the poorer city dwellers grow? The series of studios began with an understanding of the need to make everyday landscapes more resilient to environmental change and healthier and more inclusive places to live for the urban poor.

DOMESTICATED LANDSCAPE by Feng Yuanqiu and Hu Zhijie (MLA’15) explored site-sensitive infrastructure systems and optimum spatial configurations to create liveable environments while coping with existing mechanisms of high-density slum dwellings.

REVITALISING WITH WATER, Design strategies of the studio team (MLA’14) included softening the river edge to increase room for water, increasing accessibility to the recreational areas, retrofitting streetscape and flood mitigation infrastructure, adapting to floods and improving the quality of water for everyday usage.

DROP BY DROP – EVERY DROP COUNTS by Molina Isabel Villegas, Chen Nan, and Manasi Prabhudesai (MLA’20) proposed rainwater harvesting and wastewater recycling system in the household, community and neighbourhood. By reconnecting the age-old relationship with water resources and eco-friendly practices, this project minimized the dependency on the urban water supply to create a self-reliant neighbourhood.

Baseco studio tackled 57 hectares of reclaimed land off Manila Bay. It is home to 50,000 urban poor immigrants, including slum relocation sites funded by various local non-profit NGOs (MLA’15). Situated in the lowest topographical point in east-northern Manila, GK Brookside village is another slum relocation area where people are struggling with frequent and severe floods (MLA’14). Situated 45 km from Metro Manila and home to numerous relocation projects, San Jose del Monte (SJDM) faces overwhelming population growth and a lack of economic opportunities (MLA’16). Finally, Bangalore studio (MLA’20) focused on Hebbal Kempapura district on the periphery of Bangalore; it has a series of water related crises including water shortages, improper drainage systems, and polluted lakes.

Each studio comprised four phases: preliminary research, on-site fieldwork, scoping design tasks, and design development. The first two to three weeks of each studio was dedicated to gathering tangible and intangible information on the site at multiple scales before going to the site as a team. The second phase was intensive fieldwork usually guided by local stakeholders, including government agencies, managers in NGOs, community leader groups, and resident volunteers. With their help, sub-groups of students conducted onsite mapping, took measurements, and held interviews to determinethe demands of the chosen community. The third stage was to propose individual/small group projects by identifying site-specific topics and design sites based on the synthesis of accumulated materials from the previous two stages. Finally, each student delivered a set of design proposals and sequential planning of construction and management envisioning better working, living and playing environments in the long run.

Private

Chatting, Relaxing, Leisure farming

TOWERVILLE’S BANTAY ILOG by Lim Cherlyn, Liu Yuehua and Sun Yunzi (MLA’16) proposed revitalising the watercourse by softening the edge of a riverside village while empowering economic activities along the slope areas and harnessing household scale-expansion for productive outdoor spaces.

Street

Social spaces, Small shops, Children play space

Related Outcomes

STUDENT DISSERTATION

Riverside

Riverfront lookout, Chatting and relaxing space, leisure farming

Deepika Amonkar, The interrelationship between social inequity and the inequities of green space distribution in Mumbai, 2015–2016

Student Awards

2014 SILA Student Design Awards Outstanding Contextual Analysis and Investigations (Bronze), Living with Water: Flood Resilience Community in GK Brookside, Sandilya Atreyee, Li Jinmu, Lee Lynn (MLA’14)

2014 SILA Student Design Awards, Best Design Showcase (Gold) &Innovative Construction Award (Gold), Remediating Baseco’s Coast by Engaging Community In Contribution to Mangrove Ecology, Goh Wei Xiang, Xu Lanjun (MLA’15)

2014 APR-IFLA Merit Award, Living with water: flood resilience community in GK Brookside, Atreyee Sandilya, Lee Lynn, Lee Jinmu

PUBLISHED PAPERS

Hwang, Y.H. and Feng, Y., 2019. 12 years after: lessons from incremental changes in open spaces in a slum-upgrading project. Landscape Research , pp.1-16.

Hwang, Y. H., Nasution, I., Amonkar, D., Hahs, A., Less greenery for the poor? Social inequity and green space distribution in tropical Asian megacities, Journal of Cities (Under revision)

Studio Books

Hwang, Y. H. (Editor), 2019, Landscape of necessity: water resilient Bangalore, CASA, NUS, ISBN 9789811418563

Hwang, Y. H. (Editor), 2016, Landscape as necessity 04, CASA, NUS, ISBN 9789810999605

Hwang, Y. H. (Editor), 2015, Landscape of necessity 03: urban revitalization strategies for a low-income community in San Jose del Monte, CASA, NUS, ISBN 978-981-09-5748-3.

Hwang, Y. H. and Oscar (Editor), 2014, BASECO 2014: urban revitalization strategies for low-income communities in Manila, CASA, NUS, ISBN 978-981-09-1542-1

Hwang, Y. H. (Editor), 2013, MLA studio: Landscape of necessity 01: design strategies for a flood resilient low income community, CASA, NUS, ISBN 978-981-07-6777-8]