NUS DoA M.ARCH1 OPTIONS STUDIO - TROPICAL MARKETPLACES (2020/2021)

YEAR 4 OPTIONS STUDIO COMPILATION OF SELECTED WORKS

2020/2021 M.ARCH 1 STUDIO FLORIAN HEINZELMANN (DR)

TROPICAL MARKETPLACES

IMAGE CREDIT: JONATHAN CHUA AND JEREMY SEAH

MASTERS DESIGN PROJECTS INTERESTS Masters Design Projects include those explored in two Options Design Research Studios (M.Arch 1), the Advanced Architecture Studio and the Thesis project in M.Arch 2. All studios may explore issues relevant to the interests of the Research Clusters, adjunct teachers and professors in practice. Students are encouraged to capitalise on faculty expertise in widening the scope of investigations which collectively strengthen the Thesis Project in M.Arch 2.

Essential and Elective modules are useful in underpinning your Masters studio investigations.

Although Options Design Research studios may be varied in content and method, students are advised to be selective and to use them as ‘learning runways’ to identify a Thesis topic and to apply accumulated knowledge there. The Advanced Architecture Studio preceding the Thesis may be used to explore thesis drivers in greater detail and focus.

It is expected that the Thesis project will be the most comprehensive and extensive study of all the Masters Design Projects. _______________________________________________________________________________________

DESIGN AS INQUIRY Masters projects can be research investigations where design forms a principal mode of inquiry.

Methods can be heuristic or empirical or in mixed modes of inquiry.

There are a number of research methods in design investigations leading to different outcomes but they are by no means exhaustive: • • • • •

textual/graphic analysis of theoretical concepts with investigations drawn from critical discourse using text references, works of art/representation quantitative analysis to verify qualitative hypotheses with simulation, physical experiment, prototype testing and mixed methods scenario-driven speculative design to suggest solutions to emergent need. The process in itself is a new way of seeing/thinking which generates many solutions. One version of a solution may be articulated spatially and in full materiality new research knowledge is interpreted in architecture as a new way of thinking/making/ experiencing existing practices, processes or existing technologies are applied to design and which produce ‘unprecedented’ outcomes

PROJECT ATTRIBUTES A good Masters project is one where: • • • •

the research process informs design strategy which can be followed through a coherent sequential process of explorations or iterations the research generates an underlying order giving rise to a number of architectural or urban propositions the research or issues engaged with, give rise to new solutions through design, some of which are singular, permutable or recombinant it addresses the contextual specificities of site, material, spatial, culture and program

and all of the above are communicated through architectural drawings, well-crafted models and annotations which curate a design process and outcome(s) that can be understood without a verbal presentation by the author Beyond a commitment to individual academic portfolios, Masters projects play an important role in characterising the discursive ethos of a design school. It is important that you do your best. _______________________________________________________________________________________

RESEARCH CLUSTERS RESEARCH FOCUS At DOA, our advanced research delves into critical issues of architecture today and tomorrow.

In particular, we anticipate and observe new demands and novel forms of buildings, cities, environments, and nature that are emergingthroughout Asia and the equatorial region. DOA research clusters coalesce creative practice, technology, urbanism, landscape, preservation, and the specific expertise of our faculty members into a productive synergy and alignment between teaching and research.

The following five clusters drive the M Arch I Design Research Studio Options sequence, the M Arch II Design Thesis and the graduate level elective offering across our Master of Architecture programme. These are nonetheless included in the BA Arch programme booklet so that students may understand the various research interests of their faculty. _______________________________________________________________________________________

I. RESEARCH BY DESIGN The Research by Design (RxD) cluster develops translational research approaches through creative practice. It emphasises the importance of rigorously engaging critical and creative practice in making, writing, and thinking in architecture. RxD strives for innovation and influence in the built environment through its research outcomes. To date, a number of these outcomes have won awards and made considerable impact.

RxD focuses on design in Asia and around the equator, and on research into contemporary concerns as well as the identification of speculative future directions. Members work in a range of design modes from sole authorships to collaborative and interdisciplinary configurations.

As a group, RxD leverages its combined creative expertise, teaching within design studios and graduate elective modules. Research outcomes include leading buildings, texts, exhibitions, installations, films, drawings, photographs, and object-making, alongside design monographs, edited volumes, and research papers. RxD’s commitment towards integrative and translational creative practices empowers design research with intellectual and critical bearings, for a discipline in transformation.

II. HISTORY, THEORY AND CRITICISM The History, Theory and Criticism cluster develops critical capacities to examine questions of built environmental production and consumption within the historical and contemporary milieu.

Taking architecture and urbanism in Asia as a primary focus, members work in interdisciplinary and transnational modes. Our members conduct research into a wide range of topics against the context of colonial/postcolonial and modern/postmodern Asian contexts, teaching these with the aim of encouraging historical literacy and consciousness in students, to enable them to understand how the present is historically sedimented. Besides teaching, members also publish widely and in diverse forms, organise and participate in major conferences and workshops, curate key exhibitions, and advise both governmental and non-governmental organisations in related fields around the world.

III. TECHNOLOGIES The Technologies cluster investigates environmentally performative or sustainable building forms and systems, and generative-evaluative processes for designing liveable environments.

It employs traditional and emerging technologies that contribute to a new understanding of the human ecosystem, and emerging computational methods and techniques for discovering the relationships betweenform and performance.

Members investigate the relationship between human and natural landscapes, at every scale, from the building component scale to the urban scale. Special emphasis is placed on the examination of high-density Asian cities, and on application of design and building technologies in a tropical context.

IV. URBANISM The Urbanism cluster aims to contribute towards development of sustainable resilient models and innovative advanced urban strategies to cope with various environmental, social, economic and technological challenges facing Asian cities today and in the future. The starting point for this research is a comprehensive understanding of the complexity and distinctive characters of emerging urbanism in the region. Against this backdrop, members investigate emergent urban design issues related to community and participation; conservation and regeneration; ageing and healthcare; well-being and built form; modelling and big data; and resilience and informality.

These issues are examined from multiple perspectives and through both inter-disciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborations, in order to question conventional norms and conceptions and establish new visions for a progressive and human-centric sustainable urban future.

V. LANDSCAPE STUDIES The Landscape Studies cluster undertakes research to generate new knowledge of landscapes as socio-ecological systems, and promotes the use of knowledge in governance systems and landscape design to improve the well-being of humans and enhance the ecological integrity of the environment. The geographic focus is primarily high-density urban regions in Asia; however members of the cluster also work in the transitional zones within the rural-urban continuum, where urban regions are expanding at a rapid rate and encroaching into rural landscapes.

The overall research approach is both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary. The cluster looks not only at advancing theoretical concepts and knowledge, but also applying the knowledge in practice and public policy, to shape the environment. Areas of research span a wide spectrum of the socioecological dimensions of landscape: from landscape science and landscape management, to design research and sociobehavioural studies.

STUDIO FLORIAN HEINZELMANN

TROPICAL MARKETPLACES Markets are an essential part of Southeast Asian culture and lifestyle. From Singaporean hawker centers to Indonesian pasar tradisional, traditional markets in the region have a number of things in common. Often, they are semi-outdoor spaces, covered by a large roof housing various stalls underneath.

This studio examines the roof as a distinct typology and its performative aspects from various perspectives. In its simplest form, a roof protects from sun and rain, but it has potential to be much more. A roof’s performative aspects can range from supporting communal activity, to presenting an organizational principle structuring functions and circulation, to constituting cultural aspects of representation and displaying advanced microclimatic, engineering, and environmental elements.

Students will explore these ideas with reference to case studies of markets and roofs. For instance, they will be invited to thiznk about Markthal in Rotterdam by MVRDV as a thick roof layered over a market floor housed underneath. What else could be layered, embedded, or integrated underneath, inside or on top of the market’s roof? And how would this building prompt us to rethink the roof as urban typology?

Florian Heinzelmann (DR) Visiting Senior Fellow

ATTACHMENT ARCHITECTURE RIFQI ASHRAF AND SYAZWAN MENZIESZ

Attachment Architecture Group 1: Rifqi Ashraf & Syazwan Menzies

This project aims to develop the existing hawker typology present in Singapore through the creation of attachment on three distinct layers. In doing so, it also breaks the sterile and utilitarian notion of current hawker centres borne out of the need for efficiency. The counter proposal of bamboo construction was explored and utilised in a modular fashion to provide a more ecologically sustainable model that does not sacrifice efficiency. The three aforementioned layers were created in response to the same number of categories that various issues were grouped into. Economic attachment looks at how the introduction of another group at risk besides the hawkers can result in the success of both two birds with one stone. The urban attachment argues that the hawker centre and wet market should be seen as more than just a pit stop to procure produce. By its nature, it should interact and serve the surrounding community more. Lastly, memory attachment seeks to transform the notion of the wet market from one with negative connotations to a space where fond memories may be created, linking people to this typology through psychoge-

Creating urban attachment of the users via tying in the market to the urban context by introducing communal programmes and space.

Plazas, void-decks and time based street dining allow for more fluid interactions with the context

To introduce programmes that foster bonds and attract younger generation to create memory attachments to the space. This gives them incentive to hang out in the market spaces whilst breaking the negative perceptions of such spaces

Creating economic attachments through the creation of vendor exclusive spaces, providing a platform for collaboration between budding street vendors and expericed hawkers

wet market (memory attachment)

The first storey is a continues network of wet market stalls, interspersed with mini gathering and resting spaces.

Communal activities to give new meaning to the definition of market are inserted and at times, meet the stalls resulting in a new synergy of play and wet market

vendor exclusive space + hawker stalls

perimeter dining

sandpit pocket

vendor exclusive space (economic attachment)

sandpit pocket (memory attachment) seating // night market stalls

central play area

elderly area

connection to existing shops

wet market to flea market

Above, hawker stalls front dining substructures that can be adapted to house night market vendors who peddle street food. This proximity, combined with a space reserved for both venfors only, encourage collaboration and sharing of knowledge between the old and young

perimeter dining

time based street dining

vendor exclusive space + hawker stalls

wet market stalls

time based street dining (urban attachment)

hawker + night market (economic attachment) seating // night market stalls

central play area

bamboo planter

main entrance

THE HAWKER CAMPUS JONATHAN CHUA AND JEREMY SEAH

Video of Section

WEST COAST BIOTAPE DERRICK CHUA AND TAN JIAN HAO

West Coast Biotope Group 3: Derrick Chua & Tan Jian Hao

West Coast Biotope

by Derrick & Jian Hao

The project stems from the opportunity of providing experiences beyond the sales of the market/hawker typology by promoting inter-generation and community connections and becoming an extension of the existing nearby parks.

While not of the conventional building, the project takes on the bottom-up approach by exploring the interweaving of architecture functions, landscape and systems with a modular system. With the layering of landscape at the forefront, the study of plants species and their performances informs the design of planter modules which is assigned to activities and hence programmes tied to the various generation and communities.

Guided by these programmes and planning parameters, the experimentation of clustering and stacking of modules would allow for the building to grow into one that creates a highly biophilic experience for its users, enhancing the existing urban fabric.

Purposeful Landscape

Urban Mapping with Primary Schools and Urban Green Connections

The study of potential new target groups and the possibility of expanding with urban green connections.

Layering Programmes

Exploration of inter-generation programmes distributed across levels.

Design Concept

Hawker Water Cycle and Integration with Landscape

Plant Palette

The study of plant species to inform the design of modules.

Module Types and Permutations A bottom-up approach.

Module Build Up Massing Diagram 1

Landmark Module Location in Relation to Circulation

1a

1b

1c

Module Configurations Courtyard types and Clusters

2

Interweaving Landscape Into Clusters of Modules

3

Integrating of Landscape with Modules

4

Urban furniture Modules

5

6

Pixelation of Landscape at First Storey and Module Configurations at Third Storey

7

8

Plant Types at Third Storey

9

10

Connectors of Upper deck and Roof Modules

11

Plant Types at Roof Level

Circulation Diagram

Systems Diagram

Third Storey

Third Storey

Second Storey

Second Storey

First Storey

First Storey

Third Storey

Second Storey

First Storey

Landscape As Wayfinder

Outdoor Seating

Wet Market Interspace

Elevated Part of Different Levels

Perfomative Landscape

Urban Furniture

Details

Detail A

Detail B

Section BB Detail B Detail A

YEAR 4 OPTIONS STUDIO COMPILATION OF SELECTED WORKS

2020/2021 M.ARCH 1 STUDIO FLORIAN HEINZELMANN (DR)

IMAGE CREDIT: DERRICK CHUA AND TAN JIAN HAO