可居性边缘：在王府井大街上演绎当 代生活方式的建筑 Habitable Edge: Architecture for Contemporary Lifestyle at Historical Wangfujing Area, Beijing (申请清华大学建筑学硕士学位论文)
培 养 单 位 : 建 筑 学 院 学 科: 建 筑 学 研 究 生 : 叶婉宜 指 导 教 师 : 张利教授
二○一二年五月
关于论文使用授权的说明
关于论文使用授权的说明
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中文题要
中文摘要 追求更完善的公共空间是城市发展永恒不变的主题。王府井大街，北京 城最拥挤的公共场所之一，日均人流量达 600,000 人，在周末更多达 1,200,000 人。然而，因为大型复合商场的增长，胡同的拆迁，这个地区正逐渐失去它的 城市独特性。在这个城市里，大型复合商场的模式成为提供城市公共空间的新 潮流。同时，北京的传统公共空间——胡同， 正面临这种现象的威胁。人们仍 然可以在繁华的王府井和热闹的旅游景点的阴影下发现破败的胡同，残存的青 砖墙。 然而，一些胡同还幸存在现代化的石灰森林中。究竟，胡同能与现代城 市体块共存吗？ 这篇论文的主题就是探讨北京的城市公共空间。 通过分析亚洲城市公共 空间的意义，在北京城探索体现现代日常生活方式的地方，获得可居性边缘的 方案。 胡同内的小型公共空间已不能满足现代化的需求， 然像三里屯这些经 过改良的公共空间也不能达到真正的平衡. 通过观察原居民的社会活动得出， 可居性边缘项目旨在设计一个拥有多功能的公共空间的方案。而且作为北京城 具有连续性的城市休闲空间模块，可居性边缘将会提供一个北京式的生活模式。 工业发展多数时候不认同城市的微观发展。不过，可居性边缘项目将倡导未开 发区的可持续发展，无论从微观层面到宏观层面。 论文开始会指出现在北京公共空间设计的缺陷，如存在于一些公园甚至 人民广场， 接着介绍一些新的公共空间如何满足容纳增长的人口密度的需求。 然而，一些空间并不得到充分的利用甚至影响了人们的日常生活， 以至只有少 部分人愿意到这些地方居住。究竟哪一种空间形式能充分体现北京的生活模式？ 究竟哪一种空间设计才是能帮助人们展现自我，促进交流，宣扬当地文化的理 想模式？ 论文也简要的介绍了人们的消费文化及商场，公园，博物馆，休憩用地， 和其他公共设施如何面对消费对象的需要。 建筑也是人们和媒体的消费对象。 建筑所要传达的就是文化的本质， 尽管有时候它被忽略或隐藏在其他事物下。 虽然这个项目选择北京王府井大街作为调研对象去分析大体块和小体块 的建筑关系，但是它也可以作为 1）一个通过可居性边缘的设计提高公共空间的 利用率的初步实验； 2）一个关于去帮助为了提高经济效益而陷入两难局面的 城市平行商业发展和遗迹迁拆的关系的可行解决方案；3）一个用最少的建筑手 法达到提供微观建筑发展基础的最大效益经济的干预； 4）一个通过有效活动
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中文题要
利用巨型建筑垂直空间的解决方案； 5）一个用最少和合理的建筑手法去约束 和联结地方的空间性和功能性的可持续发展模式。 更多的是，该方案可以成为 一个初步的系统，以解决现代建筑和历史胡同僵持不前互相对立的邻里关系。
关键词：王府井， 可居性边缘， 微观城市规划， 公共空间， 生活模式， 胡 同生存
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Abstract
ABSTRACT There is a constant need of better public space in Beijing. Wangfujing Street, containing 600,000 people during the weekdays and up to 1,200,000 people during the weekends, has gradually loosened its identity because of demolition of hutongs and replacement of shopping malls. Shopping malls has become a new trend of public space. Meanwhile, Hutongs, Beijing’s typical social space, has to suffer from this phenomenon. Ruin of hutongs and surviving walls can still be found In Wangfujing and other touristy spots. Some hutongs still exist behind building blocks. Can hutong’s life integrate with urban blocking? The subject of the thesis is Beijing’s urban public space. The analysis is discovering significance of public space and micro pattern in Asian Cities. The outcome is to draw a scheme for Habitable Edge which offers universal place making for daily human pattern within Beijing’s area. Small public spaces at tiny alleys like hutongs cannot satisfy the need in this modernization and updated public spaces like Sanlitun Village fail to manage the balance once hutongs could achieve. Deriving from social activities within former inhabitants, Habitable Edge aims to provide option of design solution to initiate more functional yet contemporary public space. Habitable Edge as continual module of small urban spot is expected to supply necessities of Beijing’s way of living. Industrialization and technology sometimes disregard city’s micro system. Habitable Edge intends to occupying undeveloped spaces sustainably, ranging from small to big project. This thesis starts out with identifying flaws in the current Beijing’s public spaces like parks and people’s square. There are several new kind of common spaces introduced to the city to facilitate the density. However, some of the spaces are not used effectively and demolish the original ideas of Beijing’s public life. Only some people can or are willing to inhabited new space. What kind of space that can accommodate Beijing’s activities? Explicitly, what is the ideal public space for citizens to socialize and to entertain themselves and for visitors to interact with locals and learn the culture of Beijing? The thesis also briefly includes culture of consumerism. Malls, park, museum, open spaces, and other public facilities are faced by the need of consuming object. Architecture is also consumed by people and media as an object. The essence of culture is the meaning of architecture we want to convey and sometimes, this significance is neglected or hidden behind other objects.
iv
Abstract
While this study has selected the Wangfujing Street of Beijing as an investigative model to elaborate between the bigness and the smallness, it also serves as 1) a preliminary examination into improving the efficiency of public space in the city through Habitable Edge; 2) a possible model for addressing problems faced by cities who are trapped in the dilemma of improving the efficiency of the city and demolishing historical sites valuable to the heritage or economic viability of the city; 3) an economical design intervention where minimum architecture operation is the base of the micro architecture’s strategy; 4) a solution of efficiency of in between space by providing connection thru activities in which big monolith buildings cannot reach; and 5) a sustainable model which requires minimum and reasonable space to bound and tighten the area spatially and functionally. Furthermore, the strategy can become an initial system to solve the stagnancy between modern buildings and forgotten hutongs in one neighborhood.
Keywords: Wangfujing, Habitable Edge, Micro Urbanism, Public Space, lifestyle, Hutong’s Life
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Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
关于论文使用授权的说明………………………………………………………….………….i Statement on Thesis Usage Authorization.………………………………………………….…..i 中文摘要……..………………………………………………………………………………....ii Abstract….……………………………………………………………………………….…….iv 1. Introduction………….……………………………………………………………….……....1 1.1 Background….……………………………………………………………….….....1 1.2 Statement of Intent…..……………………………………………………………..5 1.2.1 Rethinking Internal Order………..………………………………….......5 1.2.2 Rethinking Urbanism……..……………………………………………..7 1.3 Methodology……………………..…………………………………………...…..11 1.4 Proposal……………………..…………………………………………………….12 1.5 Target Groups………………..……………………………………………………13 2. Issues and Analysis ……………..…………………………………………………………..14 2.1 Current Condition of Public Space in Beijing…………….………………………14 2.1.1 Beijing Central Park……..……………………………………………..14 2.1.2 Tiananmen Square………..…………………………………………….15 2.1.3 Nanluoguxiang Street………..…………………………………………16 2.1.4 Wangfujing Street………….…………………………………………..17 2.1.4.1 Urban Blocking………….…………………………………..20 2.1.4.2 Cultural Convention of Public Space….…………………….25 2.1.4.3 Dilemma of Heritage………………….……………………..29 2.1.4.4 New Proposal for Wangfujing Street….…………………….32 2.1.5 Conclusion……………..……………………………………………….34 2.2 Public Space in Other Asian Cities…….…………………………………………35
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Table of Contents
2.2.1 Bundaran Hotel Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia – The City of Transformation…………………………………………………………35 2.2.2 Fa Yuen Street, Mongkok, Hong Kong – The City of Sense……....…..41 2.2.3 Food Center, Singapore – The city with Balance….…………...………48 2.2.4 Conclusion……………………………………….……………………..53 2.3 Micro Scale: The Forgotten Pattern………………………………………………56 2.3.1 New Proposed BIAD’s Building……….………………………………57 2.3.2 Paradigm Studies……………..………………………………………...58 2.3.2.1 Bernard Tschumi Manhattan Transcripts……..……………..58 2.3.2.2 Gordon Matta- Clark Conical Intersect………..…………….60 2.3.3 Micro Scale Contribution in Western and Asian Cities……..…………62 2.3.3.1 Time Square, New York – Minimum Public Zone……..…...62 2.3.3.2 Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan – Compat and Layer…..…………...68 2.3.3.3 Hybrid Kampung Public space, Malang, Indonesia…..……..74 2.4 Conclusion………………………………………..……………………………….77 3. Thesis Design……………………..………………………………………………………...78 3.1 Site Analysis…………………...………………………………………………….78 3.1.1 Introduction of Beijing Wangfujing……...…………………………….80 3.1.2 Micro Site Analysis………...…………………………………………..80 3.1.2.1 The Hutong Wall……...……………………………………..80 3.1.2.2 Edge…………...……………………………………………..82 3.1.3 Macro Site Analysis…...…………………………………………….....83 3.2 Architectural Strategy………………...…………………..…………….…………85 3.2.1 Urbanism…………...………………………………………….……….85 3.2.1.1 Micro Urbanism……...…………………………….………..85 3.2.1.2 Fine- Grained Urbanism…………………………….……….86 3.2.2 Hutong………………………………………………………………….87
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Table of Contents
3.2.2.1 Hutong Characteristics………………………………………88 3.2.2.2 Hutong Transportation………………………………………90 3.2.2.3 Horizon of Activities………………………………………..91 3.2.2.4 Role of Architecture?.............................................................93 3.3 Architectural Intervention………………………………………………………..94 3.3.1 Habitable Edge Concept……..…………………………………………94 3.3.2 Public Zone 1……..……………………………………..……………100 3.3.2.1 Process and Limitations…………..………………….…….100 3.3.2.2 Plans, Sections, and Elevations……...……………………..101 3.3.2.3 Perspectives………………………………...………………106 3.3.2.4 Details and Materials……………………………………….110 3.3.3 Public Zone 2………...……………………………………………….112 3.3.3.1 Process and Limitations………………...………………….112 3.3.3.2 Plans, Sections, and Elevations…………………………….113 3.3.3.4 Perspectives…………………….…………………………..118 3.3.3.4 Details and Materials………………………………………120 3.3.4 New Master Plan…………….………………………………………..121 3.3.4.1 Pieces, Replication, and System………..…………………..121 4. Conclusion……………………..…………………………………………………………..123 5. Reference………………..…………………………………………………………………124 致谢/ Acknowledgements………………..…………………………………………………..126 声明………………..…………………………………………………………………………127 Resume………………...……………………………………………………………………..128
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Chapter 1. Introduction
1. INTRODUCTION 1.1
Background
Fig. 1.1.1 Rapid grow of population causing concern, especially in demand of land and public space.
Population growth is a major issue for every country. Many ways have been promoted to avoid overpopulation such as birth control, contraception, living education, and family planning. China, the world’s most populous country, occupies 19.5% world’s population with the total of 1,339,724,852 people in November 2010 (Figure 1.1.2).1 Although regulation has been made to control population, sadly, density is still a major issue for every country especially in China and India. It happens because lands are limited and human population always increases.
1
http://www.chinafinancialdaily.com/
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Chapter 1. Introduction
Fig. 1.1.2 China as the world’s most populous country.
In America, the force to accommodate density was challenged by designing tall buildings, towers, malls, and everything in large scale to accommodate people. The architectural forms were usually uniform massive blocks which were hoped to create a city. Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao, a big stand- alone building, has been able to attract people for activities and revitalize the economy of the city.
Fig. 1.1.3 Built- up area is important to be measured for density purpose.
In 1999 the administrative area of Beijing (measured in square kilometers as 16,801 km2) was 11 times larger than its built-up area (1,576 km2) (Figure 1.1.3).2 Government conduct the land use in China. To deal with land shortage and the need of extra public space and housing, extensive squares and malls are built like in 2
Angel, Shlomo. (2011). Making Room for a Planet of Cities. Cambridge: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
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Chapter 1. Introduction
Wangfujing and XiDan. The cases in Beijing now try to go with the success of Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao (Figure 1.1.4).
Fig. 1.1.4 Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao, reviving the economy of the city of Bilbao.
The first purpose- built Pedestrian Street in Rotterdam, Lijnbaan Street, opened in 1953, was influenced by the idea of Monumentality (Figure 1.1.5). The plan was committed to the functionalist idea of Le Corbusier and the urban development of Lijnbaan Street shifted from human friendly scale into well- designed high rise building blocks after the post- war era. Lijnbaan Street became the international example of the city of future without realizing there is a missing link between buildings and human. The idea of Lijnbaan Horizontal Street was destroyed by the implication of modernity and later, all the development of pedestrian streets in the world was much influenced by the growing of vertical city. Couple years after the era of Monumentality came awareness of green zone and sustainability. It does try to balance between buildings and greenery but it is still doesn’t provide a link between human and buildings. Humans do not appear in their depictions of urban life.
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Chapter 1. Introduction
Fig. 1.1.5 Lijnbaan Street, Rotterdam, 1953.The first built pedestrian street.
Moreover, it is difficult to consider that a mere conformity to the employment of big monolithic buildings to solve density problem or to force effectiveness of land use can be equated with moving towards a sustainable or a better future when millions of dollars need to be generated to fund such massive and higher technological breakthroughs. While, I am not against investing for more efficient and advance purposes, the need for thoughtful and thorough planning rather than simply reacting to the given conditions ought to be supported as well. Many people support pattern of sustainability. As such, we were unfortunately trapped and blinded in solely accepting our dependence big buildings as the primary means to achieve higher density. As a UK House of Commons report concluded, also summarizing the research: "The proposition that big buildings are necessary to prevent suburban sprawl is impossible to sustain. They do not necessarily achieve higher densities than low-rise development and in some cases are a less-efficient use of space than alternatives.�3 Indeed, the efficient placement of people and their activities is important. A dense downtown, far away from a dense bedroom community, may actually be worse, from a carbon point of view, than a less dense mix of the two. Other than increasingly high embodied energy of steel and concrete per floor area with increasing height, the challenge of maintenance and repair in some cases require high energy and cost. In the case of Beijing city, the inefficiency of gigantic outdoor public space attached aside the monolith architecture. 3
Sixteenth report of Session. (2002) [PDF file]. . Tall buildings: Report and Proceedings of the House of Commons Transport, Local Government and the Regions Committee. Retrieved from http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmtlgr/482/482.pdf
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Chapter 1. Introduction
Nowadays, people try to trace the influence of modern thinking. Many of us working in the disciplines of urbanism and architecture feel that it is time to drastically change the way we design and build our environment. This resolution comes after a century of modernist top-down and energy-wasteful planning. Europe has started an urban reformation by demolish gigantic buildings and replace with human scale buildings.4 We are now again in an era full of potential changes, and the word “urbanism” and “sustainability” have caught on to our lifestyle. However, New Urbanism, still, “is a form of centrally-planned, large-scale development, instead of allowing the initiative for construction to be taken by the final users themselves".5 For urban planners and architects of the era, implementation of “city as a machine” that guaranteed the Modernist transformation of cities would have been as equally exciting and mind boggling as how urbanism is going to be with analyzing of basic human activities and needs to us now. In this paper, what I hope to contribute towards architecture and urban planning theorizing is that urbanism should not simply be a grandeur luxury open space or big monolith building to the need to be urban, but an alternative mindset in responding to it via a novel interpretation of human activities and local needs that creates new potential for the city and a new urban culture.
1.2 Statement of Intent 1.2.1 Rethinking Internal Order The discussion of sustainable urbanism in the present capitalist society is associated with reference to the production and consumption of space. The market seems to be doing a satisfactory job in providing “sustainable design” in the name of green buildings, but often it ignores everyday human experience and disregards the importance of everyday human actions in sustainable development. There is a two-fold gap between the production and consumption of sustainable design. First, the design profession is engaged predominantly in the realm of iconic green architecture. Second, the everyday spaces produced for consumption and use by people are not necessarily designed or worse, poorly designed. The disconcerting fact is that architects and designers continually have less and less of a role in the production of such sustainable urban places. The profession has retracted from designing places sustainable for people and their everyday needs. This stance is a primary reason behind the diminishing role of designers in our everyday life. Within the constraints of economic interest and political control, human experience, use, and relations are sometimes neglected. An emphasis of internal order of human activities within 4
Salingaros, Nikos A. (2010) [PDF file]. P2P Urbanism. Retrieved from http://zeta.math.utsa.edu/~yxk833/P2PURBANISM.pdf
5
Ibid.
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Chapter 1. Introduction
architecture, as demonstrated by this paper, is critical to restoring the role of responsive urban design in sustainable urbanism. The Mumbai Studio Project of In- Between Architecture inspired me as I am interested in the study of activities in between wall and edge of wall. Their project explores the unwanted architecture which always appears among buildings in the center of the city. In the case of Mumbai Studio, it explores life which happens in a tight alley (Figure 1.2.1.1).6 The purpose of this studio is not to copy literally this kind of dwelling or public space. Rather, the project tries to capture the solemnness and calmness quality of life behind the architecture.7 They are a series of intimately proportioned spaces that are able to adapt to personal and emotional needs (Figure 1.2.1.1). The structure is ambiguous, creating an abstraction of the relationship between artificiality and nature. As Zevi stated, the origin of modern architecture is essentially in functionalism. Whether or not there is an evolution of functional architecture today into organic architecture, we are convinced that functionalism is the root of modern architecture, and not the trends toward neoclassical stylization, nor the provincialism of the minor styles.8
Fig. 1.2.1.1 Mumbai Studio Project- In Between Architecture, 2010. Left: current condition of in betweenMonolith building in Mumbai. Middle: setting of moods of the space. Right: elegant use of space.
In conclusion, the architectural intention of this thesis aims to investigate the potential of an intervention in Beijing that will go beyond addressing problems associated with its sustainable urban planning, by providing a spatial interpretation of a concept that can serve as an investigative tool on the boundaries between bigness and smallness from wall to wall, which are all grounded in the bigger ideal of sustainability.
6
Studio Mumbai Architects. (2010). In Between Architecture. Retrieved from http://www.studiomumbai.com/vam_more.html 7 8
Ibid. Zevi, bruno. (1950). Towards an Organic Architecture. London: Faber & Faber.
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Chapter 1. Introduction
1.2.2 Rethinking Urbanism A deep understanding of “urban design” is not debated as much as “sustainability”. People may want to live in cities for better protection, or for the construction of public projects, or for a better needs availability. Urbanism is always being part of urban design. The most-cited definition of the term urban design is from N.J. Habraken under his book “The Structure of the Ordinary, Form, and Control in the Built Environment: “… physical order, territorial order, and cultural order as the three underlying orders in any urban structure. These three orders establish an urban design framework that addresses the heterogeneity, complexity, and contradictions of the urban context.”9 The proposed framework can be derived from two conceptual structures critical to urban design and planning: “orders” and “place.” Urban design can also be perceived as understanding complex relationships of politics, economics, sociology, behavior, and environment embedded in the urban context. Some of those issues have addressed this post-modern urban problem by studying environment and human behavior, celebrating the market driven quotidian and everyday needs, examining economic-political nexus as a growth machine, or embracing diversity in grassroots level participation towards communicative action. In the prevalent paradigm of urban design pedagogy, urban designers are primarily trained as architects, planners or engineers, each having one’s own design bias. Architects see design as formal orientation in space. Planners conceive design as regulatory framework and implementation of policies reflecting social and economic values. Engineers understand design as efficiency in production. This eclectic approach of urban design creates a partitioned education model with conflicts and contradictions. Urban design is defined in multiple ways depending on who defines it. This has created a contradiction, as architects and designers have been unable to reconcile their need to address everyday life with a wish to engage abstract concepts. Vitruvius famously opened the first treatise on architecture with the statement that “architecture requires the interaction between practice or fabric and reasoning or ratio.”10 However, since the 20th centuries, so far, has been the domination of both practice and reasoning by established architectural firms and central planners. The urban planning and architecture building blocks are, for most of the time, take the advantage of the conventional methodology and planned to satisfy certain class of people. The question we should pose ourselves would then be: are the techniques and ideas we are using today for urban and city planning still in conjunction with the needs of our societies? 9
Habraken, N. J. (1998). The Structure of the Ordinary: Form and Control in the Built Environment. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. 10
Vitruvius. (1935). Writing the Body of Architecture. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
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Chapter 1. Introduction
Grid plan has been used back since c.2600bc in Indus Valley (Figure 1.2.2.1).11 China has used grid plan since 15th century BC.12 Guidelines put into written form in the Kaogongji (The Records of Examination of Craftsman) during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) stated: "A capital city should be square on plan. Three gates on each side of the perimeter lead into the nine main streets that crisscross the city and define its gridpattern. And for its layout the city should have the Royal Court situated in the south, the Marketplace in the north, the Imperial Ancestral Temple in the east and the Altar to the Gods of Land and Grain in the west." 13 Xi’an is one of the cities in China which has developed grid plan since the 1st century (Figure 1.2.2.2).14 The rectangular grid was by far the most prevalent design, with examples in China, India, Rome and Greece.15 Grid plans has been applied in North America to show organization and strength of economy. From that, social order such as civic, religious, and governmental are rooted in the city planning.
Fig. 1.2.2.2 Xi’an, 2200 years ago- showing grid pattern already existed in China since early day. Fig. 1.2.2.1 Indus Valley, c. 2600bc.Regular grid of street.
11
http://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Grid_plan
12
Ibid.
13
Ibid.
14
Ibid.
15
Kostof, S. (1991). The City Shaped: Urban Patterns and Meanings through History. London: Bulonch Press.
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Chapter 1. Introduction
Grid plan has been a subject of contradiction since modern movement. Despite the cost, grid system could work very well in ancient area because there were very little of automobile dominating the street and it was very worthy for guarding the city from its enemy. Nowadays, social networking and street playing degraded as traffic increased on a street. Another principal disadvantage of the rectangular grid is the difficulty of diagonal movements, which make up a large proportion of urban trips. As the result, there are plenty of left over spaces and those places are subject to becoming slum areas. Those places are often the place between the streets and the buildings. We have very limited land area land nowadays and different social hierarchies need to be satisfied. Top- down method has many advantages: we can manage a big picture, an order, a networking, a scale, and a size of a city. However, from top- down method we also overlook smaller scale, details, and in- between space. Moreover, we overlook what people need in size and space. Although looking for detail is not part of urban design, but a lot of positions of major buildings and big public space are based on the master plan blocking. Therefore, it gives little chance to actually link the civilization to the object. So what can be done to improve the condition of current urban planning? Galina Tachieva proposes some ideas to repair the urban sprawls around global.16 As “the leader of the CNU (Congress for the New Urbanism) Sprawl Retrofit Initiative, a founding member of the Congress for European Urbanism, and a board member of the New Urban Guild Foundation,” 17 her works are always linked to current economic, social, and political condition. She proposed an idea of “Occupying Sprawl!”18 Various activities happen in Wall Street and it stimulate her to revitalize empty or abandoned spaces.19 Small spaces can mean so much for many people. Unproductive spaces can be occupied for more functional purpose. It will mean a lot to communities.
Fig. 1.2.2.3 occupying the edge at Wall Street Area, New York, 2011. Transforming parking lot and empty space into more useful programs.
16
http://galinatachieva.posterous.com/ Ibid. 18 Ibid. 19 Ibid. 17
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Chapter 1. Introduction
Plan drawings, other than trying to identify distance from one place to another, are not what common people perceive in real life. We see things in section and perspective. Most of the time urban planners don’t pay attention to the city scale from sections or perspective point of view. Another urban research project, challenge the “by- product” 20 of Tokyo, was done by RMIT students in Tokyo, 2003. In these investigations, Students are assigned to analyze contradiction of Tokyo’s urban space. Small things from Signage to infrastructure are examined to find a force in the overall positioning. Raveling unseen phenomenon of the contradiction is the challenge of the research (Figure 1.2.2.4). It is worth exploring the structure because Tokyo is one of the busiest cities in the world with many skyscrapers and many of the micro urbanism and essential urban conditions have been forgotten easily. This research is very functional to remind planners what is the convenient way to design for people’s comfort.
Fig. 1.2.2.4 By- Product Project, Tokyo, 2003. The analysis reveals the unseen relationship of byproduct architecture.
20
http://architecture.rmit.edu.au/Projects/By_Product_Tokyo.php
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Chapter 1. Introduction
In a similar line of thought, this thesis thus ambitiously hopes to take on the challenges put forth by these two inspirational projects and to further the rethinking and reevaluation of the current typology of architect and urbanism under the bigger notion of urbanism.
1.3 Methodology The methodology adopted in this research is embedded in a series of fieldtrips research and feedback from consulting tutors, professionals, and locals. It will start with a series of agendas as listed below: 1) Identifying effectiveness usage of space problem by studying current public space condition in Beijing. 2) Comparison studies of streets with similar urban contextual issues as Beijing in several other cities. 3) Investigation of the typology of minimum and effective architecture for public purpose for an understanding on the possibility of prototypical modification in accommodating future public spot requirements.
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Chapter 1. Introduction
1.4 Proposal The primary research identifies problem of Wangfujing Street as a Monolith City which is without the collaborations among everyday life, architecture, and urbanism (Figure 1.4.2). Wangfujing Street is defined as an area bounded by Wusi Rd and Dongsi on the North and Chang’an East Rd on the South. The total length of the street is about 810 meters and the width is about 20 meters .
Fig. 1.4.1 Wangfujing’s Area of study.
This proposal aims to achieve urban objective and architecture objective of improving the experience of its users in Wangfujing in micro scale through the implementation of Habitable Edge. The micro site will be the spot between wall of hutongs or wall of monolith building and the Wangfujing Street. Starting from the old hutong wall between Daruanfu Hutong and Datianshui Hutong on Wangfujing Street, a series of micro public spot will be arranged as an attempt to improve the public function architecturally. Through this attempt to tackle a challenging problem in Wangfujing, this proposal will also be used to serve as a meaningful investigation that carries the potential to be integrated into the current space of other part of Beijing or other cities at the numerous public hotspots.
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Chapter 1. Introduction
Fig. 1.4.2 Transformation of Beijing from a Linear City to a Monolith City.
1.5 Target Groups The target users are determined via an analysis of different group of people occupying the street. Different kind of activities can happen on the site for different range of age and each group can watch other groups intimately. The groups are: 1. Children 2. Man 3. Woman 4. Elderly 5. Tourist 6. Local
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2. ISSUES AND ANALYSIS 2.1 Current Condition of Public Space in Beijing 2.1.1 Beijing Central Park
Fig. 2.1.2.1 Zhong Shan Park, 1914
The earliest public park, located in Beijing, is Zhong Shan Park and it opened in 1914 (Figure 2.1.2.1). The park was initially enclosed as a palace during the Qing Dynasty. Later, the park is opened until now for leisure. Many parks have similar background as Zhong Shan Park and open for public nowadays. Sculptures and important treasures from other palaces have been moved to the park to attract tourists. Those objects are inserted to the park as a display and sign of public open space. Architecturally, can a place attract activities and be an effective public space if a building is a box filled with icon and symbol? Does inserting object to a space activate and prove a place is public?
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Chapter 2. Issues and Analysis
2.1.2 Tiananmen Square
Fig. 2.1.1.1 Tiananmen Square, 1954, was formed for political gathering.
Tiananmen Square is a big open space and it has been under transformation for an even bigger space. It is a symbol of economy strength and power of China. As the biggest square in the world, the square has been used for special event or event related to politic and economy. Gigantic scale of Monument of People’s Heroes (Figure 2.1.1.2) is located right across the Tiananmen Square. The square and monument come together and create a feel of grandeur and prosper of Beijing City and China.
Fig. 2.1.1.2 Monument to the People’s Heroes, 1958, is a symbol of bigness and authority.
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Fig. 2.1.1.3 Scale of Tiananmen Square.
The bigness of the square is important representative for the city and for tourist. However, is it practicable to improve the square’s inefficient openness? Each activity in Tiananmen Square is separated from the other and it is hard to be seen in a big distance (Figure 2.1.1.3). Is there any way to provide a least possible architecture solution to the square? 2.1.3 Nanluoguxiang Street
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Fig. 2.1.3.1 Nanluoguxiang map and section, depicting Beijing unique type of public space.
Nanluoguxiang is a preserved hutong in Beijing with plenty of activities which attract tourists and locals. The length of the street is about 700 Meters with 700 years history (Figure 2.1.3.1). Hutong is Beijing’s unique intimate public space which is fast removed from the center of the city. Other than westernize area such as boulevards and squares, hutong is another type of public space that hasn’t been tackle effectively in modernization. Sizes of hutongs are different from one another. Each has its own community which marks typical culture. Activities, outdoor space, and architecture are in human scale so that everything is interwoven together. What is sad is the order and layer of hutong are slowly vanished from time to time. Rapid urban constructions have loosened a link between past and present in hutong. Instead of destroying hutong, can the colorful life and activities of hutongs bring a new idea in architecture for Beijing’s modernity?
2.1.4 Wangfujing Street Wangfujing is named after a well which helped and gave life to hutongs and prince residents nearby. From the influence of developers, nowadays, it is more modernize than what it was like. The street is full of block buildings functioned as malls or office superblock. The meaning of Wangfujing has a historical site is weaken
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by the appearance of building blocks and demolition of hutongs. The street has been widened from time to time. Open door policy has brought changed the Beijing’s skyline. Not only newer buildings are tall but also have grandeur open space. Figure 2.1.4.1 shows pictures of Bird Nest, CCTV Tower, and Water Cube. The enormous open space surrounded those iconic buildings. Figure 2.1.4.2 and figure 2.1.4.3 depicts the current condition in Wangfujing regarding the scale. The first picture shows the hutong traditional shops which still exist in the alley of Wangfujing with the wall attached to new commercial buildings. The second picture shows the outsize of the street. Therefore, incoherent scale of public area occurs in Beijing.
Fig. 2.1.4.1 Countless new buildings in Beijing produce inefficient open spaces.
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Fig. 2.1.4.2 hutong shops which still survive in the alley of Wangfujing.
Fig. 2.1.4.3 Urban disconnection in Wangfujing Street- big open square which lacks of function. 19
Chapter 2. Issues and Analysis
Many iconic towers, big scale squares and plaza have been designed and put in Beijing Land to become a Mega City and to invite investors in the last twenty years. The government plans to link Beijing and Tianjin in a big infrastructure to strengthen economic power. Meaning of architecture is consumed by public. Do malls something we want to consume behind architecture? If malls and tower blocks are unavoidable, is there anything architecture could do to supply sufficient outdoor space? 2.1.4.1 Urban Blocking
Fig. 2.1.4.1.1 Grid planning of Beijing City and itsNorth- South axis.
Habitation of Beijing has started 3000 years ago from Jin to Qing Period (Figure 2.1.4.1.1).21 Dadu period is known as a precedent of Beijing today. The site of Beijing was chosen based on its strategic military and food availability- flat city surrounded by hills, montains, and water (Figure 2.1.4.1.2).22 The urban design of Beijing is based on the Dadu in 13th century.23 Therefore, Beijing has been one of the old centrally planned city with blocking. In Chun Qiu period, the principles requested a grid rectangle plan surrounded by shops, houses, and temples with twelve doors facing 21
http://www.tibetheritagefund.org/media/download/hutong_study.pdf Ibid. 23 Ibid. 22
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all directions (Figure 2.1.4.1.3).24 This planning have been updated in a similar form until Qing Dynasty (Figure 2.1.4.1.4).25
Fig. 2.1.4.1.2 Setting of Beijing City: guarded by hills along with water.
Fig. 2.1.4.1.3 Rectangular grid palace, later followed by hutongs planning.
24 25
http://www.tibetheritagefund.org/media/download/hutong_study.pdf Ibid.
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Fig. 2.1.4.1.4 Beijing City’s grid enlarged over time.
Rectangular grid has the pattern if Beijing City. “Intended to serve as a monumental avenue with sites for governmental and ministerial headquarters, the intersection with Beijing’s north-south axis, running through the Forbidden City, Tiananmen and Qianmen, formed the axis mundi of the People’s Republic of China” (Figure 2.1.4.1.1).26 Looking at the New York latest endless grid, starting from lower Manhattan, Beijing seems to have a kind of Manhattan greatest grid (Figure 2.1.4.1.5).Manhattan was really a big city plan. The plan lies from North to South crossing hills and slopes. Detail calculations have been done to calculate everything from big blocks to small parks. However, New York City is only 200 years of history and it was built from the wilderness of nature. The planner gave a thoughtful planning of the city from the building to the human. On the other hand, Beijing has a long and culturally rich history imbued within its urban fabric and hutong lifestyle that simply could not allow human or public space as a priority in urban planning.
26
Rowe, Peter G. (2011). Emergent Architectural Territories in East Asian Cities. Basel: Birkhauser gmbh. Chapter 2.
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Fig. 2.1.4.1.5 Manhattan Grid, designed meticulously from big street to its alley.
The combination of these phenomenon result in a wasted land between the urban block (Figure 2.1.4.1.6). The figure ground study of Wangfujing reflects the disadvantage of urban blocking (Figure 2.1.4.1.7). Many square meters are simply wasted because of the lack of attention and collaboration between urban fabric, history, and city planning. Moreover, the blocking zone only encourages shopping malls development and increase exclusiveness of each building. The grid plan of Manhattan originally only encouraged monolithic buildings but later, the careful division of the grid creates small alleys and it brings a life of vibrant human scale neighborhood. Taken for example in Wangfujing, the alley streets only being used for locals or migrant workers for most of the time although there are some small alleys connect to Wangfujing Street. Those small alleys are more for private use instead of being an
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urban connector or another type of Beijing modern lifestyle (Figure 2.1.4.1.6). Unfortunately, the development of hutongs is forgotten because the government pays too much attention on larger scale buildings.
Fig. 2.1.4.1.6 Urban blocking which only encourages monolith buildings.
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Fig. 2.1.4.1.7 The edge of shopping malls could have been used for architecture.
2.1.4.2 Cultural Convention of Public Space
Hutong is the earliest Beijingers public space. Various activities can be found in small alleys. Everybody feels free and intimate to interact with each other (Figure 2.1.4.2.1). After demolishing hutong’s life, comes a different type of public space, a big open space. The Wall Street in New York is a spacious public space and almost every day people take advantage of it by gathering, putting on a circus show, singing, and protesting after one another (Figure 2.1.4.2.2). The width of Wall Street is about 15 meters, approximately 3 meters less than Wangfujing Street. However, the street is always full of people and the space becomes a practical space. It is the place to exchange people’s opinion, meet friends, and enjoy abundant activities. In China, we barely see show on streets by talented locals whereas in Western countries that is pretty common. The citizen doesn’t have a culture to gather around in a big public space just for fun or even for demonstrating. In Western cities, more open space supposes to accommodate more density. But it is not the case of Beijing City (Figure 2.1.4.2.3). Beijing’s life is hidden behind big open space.
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Fig. 2.1.4.2.1 Colorful activities of hutong’s public space, which replaced by squares and plazas.
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Fig. 2.1.4.2.2 Various activities can happen in big open space in New York City.
Fig. 2.1.4.2.3 more open space supposes to accommodate more density. But it is not the case of Beijing City.
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The rise of consumerism in China has been taken advantage by putting commercial activities here and there to encourage shopping and to raise revenues. It is also another attempt to shift Beijing’s original public space into indoor shopping malls (Figure 2.1.4.2.4). As a result, activities have to happen inside buildings. Other than full of people buying stuffs, the urge of intimate and casual public spaces is apparent in, for example, Wangfujing Bookstore. People sit down around the books and make themselves comfortable (Figure 2.1.4.2.5). Different type of public space serves different continent. Could there be a universal idea of public space?
Figure 2.1.4.2.4 Shops as a consequence of consumerism, leaving outdoor space of Wangfujing for different class of people.
Fig. 2.1.4.2.5 An urge for intimate and casual public space in Wangfujing Bookstore.
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2.1.4.3 Dilemma of Heritage
Fig. 2.1.4.3.1 Famous as a historical street, Wangfujing has been under a major change and slowly lost its historical value.
Wangfujing is famous as the commercial area with hundreds of long history. Medias and advertisement promotes Wangfujing as a very suitable tourist spot because it has many Chinese tradition and culture retained on the street (Figure 2.1.4.3.1). However, it is nothing as much tradition as the modernity. Indeed, lots of the prominent features are western brands (Figure 2.1.4.3.2). It is one of the biggest trade commodities of a long history but the malling are very dominant along the street and it only attract foreigners or tour groups. Locals shop elsewhere at small alleys near the Wangfujing Street. Very few people walk on the street if the malls are closed. Here is again the consumerism issue and lack of appropriate outdoor public space. Therefore, what attract people to Wangfujing is mostly for shopping rather than for historical tour. Adding shopping malls may increase the crowd of Wangfujing but the stuffs consumed are, sadly, not as cultural as expected.
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Fig. 2.1.4.3.2 Western brands and fast foods are all over Wangfujing main street.
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Fig. 2.1.4.3.3 Dilemma of heritage. Keeping or destroying?
Another aspect of Wangfujing’s dilemma is whether it should destroy heritages or keep and preserve it. Destroying malls can be a difficult task since long planning and construction need to be done. Nevertheless, Europe, the pioneer of all this idea of monumentality, is daring enough to destroy some malls for humanity purpose. In China, the idea of preservation is quite new. Walk through Rome, and the city is like a museum where you can see the passage of time. But history in China has been rewritten over and over again. There’s a constant pushing forward. Old china has a tradition of destroy the old buildings for the its new palace. Like in Wangfujing, buildings and brands are confused with western style (Figure 2.1.4.3.3). The trend of hutongs had gone and most of those that distract the grandeur of Wangfujing Street were already demolished. Where do people live whose hutongs are gone? The future of Wangfujing is another problem. Wangfujing Street has to compete with some new developing areas such as Financial District, Central Business District, and Olympic Green. CBD already moves forward to creating a low carbon master plan for its extension while the development Wangfujing is not as booming as CBD and other new area (Figure 2.1.4.3.4). What it seems like to me is Wangfujing is trying to become another CBD which may ruin its historical value.
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Fig. 2.1.4.3.4 Booming development in Beijing CBD. Is Wangfujing gonna catch up and ruin another historical site?
2.1.4.4 New Proposal for Wangfujing Street
Wangfujing Commercial Street may be extended, spreading its glamour south to Qinian Dajie according to a Beijing Times report. The government revealed that they were working on the overall district development plan for the next 20 years, which included the plan to extend Wangfujing. Wangfujing Commercial Street, if extended to Qinian Dajie, would be 3,000 meters long. Taijichang Dajie, the future of Wangfujing Street, is narrow, and it has history, so as Qinian Dajie. If they are going to connect Wangfujing and Qinian Dajie together, they may have to widen the latter.
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What is worst is that the widening may lead to demolition of the buildings on that street. Some of them have more than 100 years of history, and it would be such a pity to tear them down. Extending Wangfujing Street might mean inviting more customers to the shops and malls. However, it will be Wangfujing dilemma all over again. This plan is really unnecessary because it will just increase traffic by keeping in mind that, first, unreasonable width of the street itself. Second, it doesn’t accommodate density (Figure 2.1.4.4.1). People are rather passing by than sitting enjoying scenery at Wangfujing Street. Coming to Wangfujing is always just for commercial and business purpose. The area has become too commercial and people choose elsewhere for relaxing after a long day.
Fig. 2.1.4.4.1 New proposal for Wangfujing Street will increase traffic and only accommodate certain group.
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2.1.5 Conclusion
General lack of Wangfujing Street is its bigness of the street doesn’t accommodate people’s daily activities. The development of shopping malls has shifted Wangfujing, once a Linear City, to a Monolith City. Urban blocking and consumerism keep the excitement to build highly interiorized shopping malls. As a result, hutong, an original Beijing’s public space, suffers. The street loses its historical value day by day. Wangfujing Street nowadays is just for mall shoppers and it excludes certain people. Square, plaza, and big open space are not suitable for Beijing. Beijing is in a move for a new type of public space.
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2.2 Public Space in Other Asian Cities
While looking at resolving urban design issues faced by Wangfujing Area, it is important to understand the problems faced by the public space’s of other cities and to reference their solutions as precedence studies. The case studies here have been selected based on their status as cosmopolitan cities with high urban density, high GDP ranking and the well-known efficiency of their land use. For a more comprehensive study, the cities have been chosen for the difference in planning strategy for its historical public space. 2.2.1 Jakarta, Indonesia – The City of Transformation Population: 9,580,000 Density: 14,476/km2 Built- up area: 6,500 km2
Fig. 2.2.1.1 Jakarta’s tangled web of highway and the location of Bundaran Hotel Indonesia (HI).
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Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 18,000 island. It has 33 provinces and is the world's fourth most populous country. Jakarta is its capital city, located in Java island, and is the biggest city in south east Asia regional.27 Besides having many kampoeng (informal urban village) reside the city, the center of the city has changed over time according to its regime. Traffic is a really big problem in the city nowadays, however, in Jakarta, traffic can be part of its public space (Figure 2.2.1.2). The city is chosen because of its idealism of public space once was the same as the one in Beijing. Jakarta’s Bundaran Hotel Indonesia (Hotel Indonesia Roundabout) is the most important spot in the city and its transformation and struggle as a public space are something Beijing can learn of (Figure 2.2.1.3).
Fig. 2.2.1.2 Traffic, highway, apartments, and malls are coloring Jakarta City.
27
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia
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Fig. 2.2.1.3 Bundaran HI before and after 1962.
“Built up Jakarta as beautiful as possible, build it as spectacularly as possible, so that this city, which has become the center of the struggle of the Indonesian people, will be an inspiration and beacon to the whole struggling mankind and to all the emerging forces. If Egypt was able to construct Cairo as its capital, Italy is Rome, France its Paris and Brazil its Brasilia, then Indonesia must also proudly present Djakarta as the portal of the country.”28 Soekarno, 1962. Transformation of Djakarta Raya “Look at New York and Moscow, look at any state capital, East and West it makes no matter, and you will always find the centers of nations’ greatness in the form of nuildings, material buildings to be proud of.”29 Soekarno, 1962. Transformation of Djakarta Raya Jakarta has undergone meaningful renewal since Hinduism to Dutch conolization. Soekarno, the first president of Indonesia, was also an architect. He wanted to create his own meaningful architecture and refused to follow Dutch or any foreign idea. He came up with an idea of centerpiece as Jakarta’s city identity.30 He designed Bundaran Hotel Indonesia (Hotel Indonesia Roundabout), with its big scale of 100 meters diameter (Figure 2.2.1.4). Same as Tiananmen Square, he designed parks and square in a big scale. Bundaran Hotel Indonesia(HI) was a symbol of authority and pride. The function is to gather citizens and mass media to meet him or to listen to his speech.
28
Soekarno. (1962). Transformation of Djakarta Raya in Indonesia 1962. Republic of Indonesia: Deparment of Foreign Affairs. 29 Ibid. 30 Ibid.
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Fig. 2.2.1.4 Section of Bundaran HI.
Soeharto, the second president, deserted Soekarno architecture idea of big open square or roundabout. Soeharto transformed Jakarta City to a capitalist city. He promoted infrastructures, malls, miniature parks, and housing at the city and changed function of existing public squares to malls (Figure 2.2.1.5).
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.
Fig. 2.2.1.5 Rapid modernization in Jakarta after 1965.
Bundaran HI is a sample of conflict and transformation of important public space in Indonesia. During Soekarno’s regulation, it was used as a landmark and for his political authority. Other than that, it couldn’t be used for activities. During Soeharto era, Bundaran HI was surrounded by luxurious hotels followed by upscale shopping center. The area of Bundaran HI has shifted from nationalism to capitalism. Under his 32 years regime, Bundaran HI was basically dormant outdoor space until 1997 economic crisis. The crisis transformed Bundaran HI radically to be the people’s place. Until now, almost everyday people come there to protest like in the Wall Street, New York. After his fall down, Bundaran HI was renovated to discourage people gathering. The surface is now covered with water from the fountain. The intention was to make the space unreachable by human (Figure 2.2.1.6). Later, the surrounding surface of Bundaran HI has become even more consumerist – more upscale shops, hotels, and restaurants are built and still on going now (Figure 2.2.1.7). Although the Bundaran HI is a massive fountain, people still come there and stand on the fountain to demonstrate and express their thought (Figure 2.2.1.8).
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Fig. 2.2.1.6 Before and after: transforming Bundaran HI into untouchable space.
Fig. 2.2.1.7 Capitalism and consumerism.
Bundaran HI has become a realization of contradiction public space. It is a center of consumerism, traffic, political demonstrators, pedestrians, and government’s income. “Spatial contradictions express conflict between three forces; it is only in space that such conflicts come effectively into a play and in doing so they become contradiction of space”.31 The struggle and transformation of Bundaran HI through different regime has, gradually, changed its function from exclusive usage into public space. The struggle reflects the need of ideal public space in Jakarta. There are still many parts of Jakarta require transformation or new minimum and ideal public space for daily activities.
31
Lefebvre, H. (1991). The production of Space. Oxford: Blackwell.
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Fig. 2.2.1.8 Spatial contradiction in Bundaran HI.
2.2.2 Fa Yuen Street,Mongkok, Hong Kong – The City of Sense Population: 6,111,909 Density: 53,050/km2 Built- up area: 97 km2
Hong Kong is the highest density compared to its low built- up area among Beijing, Jakarta, and Singapore. Among those four cities, Hong Kong is the one that really has land shortage issue. Luckily, Hong Kong urban planners have innovated in the creation of an orderly, attractive and economically viable high density urban development, especially in providing public space. Providing public space is expensive for city like Hong Kong. Nevertheless, Hong Kong has its own way to define public space. The sense of public space plays an important role in Hong Kong as a gesture of invitation. To cope with the overwhelming car traffic, the land shortage, and the need to recover pedestrian zone of the city, the term of Privately Owned Public Space was invented in 1960s in New York City.32 “Privately Owned refers to the legal status of the land and/or building on or in which the public space is located. “Public Space” means a physical place located on private property to which the owner has granted legally binding rights of access and use to members of the public. Ownership continues to reside with the private owner, public space may be thought of as an easement held by the public on the owner’s property.”33 Hong Kong follows this Privately Owned Public Space too after New York. This kind of public space would help to improve the high dense condition and address the 32
Kayden, Jerold S. (2000). Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 33 Ibid.
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shortage of public space in Hong Kong. As return of provision of public space to the city, a building can go taller by approximately two to five floors. For examples, the public space in Times Square situated at the Causeway Bay, added 3000 m2 plaza and widen the street. Therefore, the building can get 120,000 m2 taller space (Figure 2.2.2.1).34 For many part of Hong Kong, the public space is not like Times Square in Causeway Bay. The life and activities in smaller scale public spaces attract more tourist than shopping malls. Taken Fa Yuen Street as a case study, it is one of the most attractive types of place in Hong Kong (Figure 2.2.2.2). The length of the street is about 1,000 meters and the crowded part is about 300 meters at the north. Common narrow street can be found anywhere in Hong Kong, which is about 10 meters wide (including pavement). Overall tallness of the surrounding is almost all the same- 28 meters.
30 meters Fig. 2.2.2.1 Times Square extension of outdoor public space.
34
http://newurbanquestion.ifou.org/proceedings/5%20The%20Transformation%20of%20Urban%20Form/full%20papers/d0 56_luk_winglun_Revised.pdf
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Fig. 2.2.2.2 Fa Yuen Street, typical spontaneity and legally public space.
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Fa Yuen Street is located at Mongkok, an area which thousands of activities happen. The first obvious thing noticed on Fa Yuen Street is the intermediate space between formal and informal structure (Figure 2.2.2.3). The entire owner of property extends their products to the street as welcoming gesture. Although cantilever building style provide shade and make people feel cozy to walk by and shop, extending the shop to the street indeed invite more people to slow down (Figure 2.2.2.4). In this intermediate space, the property owners use idea of sight, taste, smell, touch, hearing, and movement to run their business (Figure 2.2.2.5). Even though polarization in Hong Kong between rich and poor, west and east, and old and new happen, sense of friendly environment, smell and crowd of market that invite people to feel easy and cozy to be part of it.
Fig. 2.2.2.3 Intermediate space between formal and informal.
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The Fa Yuen Street- kind of situations can be found everywhere in Hong Kong (Figure 2.2.2.6). Extending shops out of their boundaries reflect the need of ideal public space. It distracts housing owners on the above floors. However, in this spontaneous urban chaos, government decided to licensed them and be part of city’s tradition and identity now.
Fig. 2.2.2.4 Availability of extended shops invites people and tourists to slow down,
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Fig. 2.2.2.5 Sight, taste, smell, touch, hearing, and movement.
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Fig. 2.2.2.6 Fa Yuen Street type can be found everywhere in Hong Kong.
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2.2.3 Food Center, Singapore – The City with Balance Population: 5,183,700 Density: 7,315/km2 Built- up area: 245 km2
Fig. 2.2.3.1 Singapore Island with its approximate Food Center.
Singapore is a famous as a trading island and it is the most urbanized city in South- East Asia. The whole country is covered with greenery and it is very highly urbanized. Therefore, the city invites many expats and they feel comfortable living in Singapore because the city is very multicultural. Having English, Malay, Chinese, and Tamil as official languages, the city accepts multicultural life and try to do its best to accommodate all races. The city is chosen as a case study because under its rapid urbanization and changing pattern in a short period of time, Singapore can still balance the development of both big buildings and small scale public spaces (figure 2.2.3.2). The city knows which one is part of its multicultural culture that has to be survived. Food center is the culture of Singapore since 1819 and it has been under major change from time to time for the better and hygienic life. 35
35
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_centre
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Fig. 2.2.3.2 Highly urbanized condition in Singapore.
To Singaporean, there is no hierarchical pattern on street. Street is being used as much as for life. Since British Colonization in 1819, hawkers, which later were given more organized space to sell food, have been part of Singapore development agenda. The earliest hawkers was at Wayang Street and it has been there as early as Raffles (British) came to colonize (Figure 2.2.3.3). At the early stage, it was an illegal way to sell food. Rather than destroying them, the government accepts the existence of hawkers and gives them a better place to sell, which is called food center now. Food center has become a new type of public space in Singapore (Figure 2.2.3.4).
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Fig. 2.2.3.3 Top: earliest hawker at Wayang Street. Bottom: Section showing hawkers get special site to sell on the gated pavement.
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Fig. 2.2.3.4 Old Airport Road Food Center, Singporean style of public space.
The transition from hawkers to food center is important as it legalize illegality. Starting from nomadic hawkers, it was upgraded to a non-permanent sheltered space. Later it was given a formal name called Hawker Center. It was more permanent open air shelter in metal structure. Over the time, Hawker Center has become a desirable public space. It becomes nowadays Food Center. Telok Ayer Food Center, Rasa Singapura, Wayang Street, and Laguna Park are an example of different style of food center. Some of them decide to stay in its old fashion of hawker styles; some of them decorate their food center in vernacular architecture style to invite more tourists (Figure 2.2.3.5). Nevertheless, all of their styles still mimic Singaporean culture in the architecture style or the service given. Today there are about hundreds food centers in Singapore and more of street hawkers within 700 km2 size of Singapore Island (Figure 2.2.3.1). As a modern city in an island, the problem of accommodating or destroying the old is major because the need for spaces for more high technology buildings. Singapore is different. It values its new as much as the old ones. Nowadays, food center is a meeting point, a cultural place, a food place, and a public space to its citizens, expats, and tourists. Nowadays, we can find food centers or food stalls everywhere and this street food has merged to the city.
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Fig. 2.2.3.5 Process toward food center.
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2.1.5 Conclusion Data of Beijing: Population: 10,123,000 Density: 7,400/km2 Built- up area: 1,576 km2
Fig. 2.1.5.1 Built- up area per person comparison among Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, and Jakarta.
Rather than copying from Western idea about public space, why don’t we create suitable public space for Beijing? In other word, public space doesn’t have to be plaza, park, pedestrian’s street, or a square. In my opinion, people can create their public space under minimum condition and be comfortable with it. Regardless its low number of density, Beijing still has a good number of builtup area among the rest of the cities of the case study (Figure 2.1.5.1). Consequently, Beijing has chances to develop its own unique public space. There is something we can
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learn from each city’s public space- control over public space regarding its tradition. Jakarta always has a big planning for big scale public space like mall, theme park, fountain, and square. However, the establishment forgets about the need of urban cultural public space. As a capital city, Jakarta has hidden its cultural human scale public space and replaced with new modernize public space. Occupying the Bundaran HI is a spontaneous reaction of in a need of public space. Controlling and banning from usage of historical public space happens in many recreational spaces in Jakarta. From Hong Kong, we learn about controlling public space without planning and accepting the tradition. Without planning, small streets can bring alive their culture way of selling stuffs as much as mallings. In Singapore, the raise of high rise buildings, modernize squares, and cultural public spaces are balance. The city formalizes informality and makes a unique type of Singaporean pubic space. Singapore accepts its cultural diversity, improves the standard of the public space, and takes a good control over big and small scale projects. Generally, public space in Asian cities has an overpower elaboration on big buildings and squares, which almost forget their small scale cultural public space. Jakarta and Hong Kong are in a need of a more authentic yet habitable public space. Dilemma of keeping or destroying old historical space is general issue every Asian city is facing.
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Quality of Public Space’s Comparison
Cities
Fig. 2.1.5.2 Quality of public space’s comparison in Asian Cities.
Ideas or concept behind each city’s public spaces are important to be understood for application. From Figure 2.1.5.2 we deduct that Beijing Wangfujing has an average area per person. It means Comfortable zone are still under control and distance between people are not less than personal zone which is 4.5 meter. Regardless its high population, Beijing is still going a good job in maintaining personal zone because a lot of public spaces are monumentality. What need to do is to take a look at its forgotten unique public space. Therefore, Singapore is a good case study to follow because regardless its highly urbanized buildings, its public spaces are still maintained from big to small scale. It is one of the cities that put effort and realize that cultural identity is worth being shown off to public. Despite the fact that land is expensive, Having good enough size of public space like Singapore is better than parking lots which can be find everywhere at ex hutongs area in Beijing. What is sustainable is if we can develop a system of this kind of peculiar public space rather than start over again in every project.
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2.3 Micro Scale: The Forgotten Pattern The micro scale section will investigate the forgotten pattern of architecture that could help to contribute towards the objectives listed to provide a better public place for human activities in Wangfujing. One problem of professional architecture is, that it thinks too much of a building. Providing shelter, which is close to our simple and trivial life, is more fundamental than architecture. For one place, humanity is more important than building while simple handicraft is more important than technology. If we look around Wangfujing Street, we see formal shops, shopping malls, bookstores, office blocks, hotels, old Western Church, and parking lots. Other than office workers during the day, most people come simply for shopping. All buildings are isolated from the streets. Without the shops, the street is empty. We should bring back the meaning of Wangfujing Street as a historical realm and encourage Beijing real life rather than copying other style. Beijing always destroys hutongs because of the mindset that hutongs can’t exist and fit in modern era. Instead of making beneficial addition of hutongs, simply demolish hutongs complex were seems to be Beijing city planning solution (Figure 2.3.1). In addition, younger peoples obviously feel disconcert to live in hutongs because of its poor conditions. Therefore, it is not that the citizen has changed their lifestyle. It is the city planners and developers who have forced us to change. Hutong is always connected to the street and to each other buildings, not like big monolith buildings we find in Wangfujing Street. Moreover, the internal order of hutongs is important to activate the life of hutong itself. It is what we should remind in Beijing- the value of Hutong’s internal order. This hutong’s internal order revival can trigger off the meaning of Wangfujing. The new architectural intervention should hence seek to provide not just another conventional definition of public space or isolated buildings but a vibrant field of public activities and urban space. The proposal will inject the meaning back in Wangfujing without taking advantage of consumerism lifestyle which sometimes is too formal and benefits certain people.
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Fig. 2.3.1 Internal pattern of hutongs that was fast forgotten.
2.3.1 New Proposed Latitude Studio with BIAD’s Building New Proposed Latitude Studio with BIAD’s building at Wanfujing Street is again, another monumental building (Figure 2.3.1.1). “The program is with the objective to create an interior space, a surprising interior world that would become an extension of the existing urban scenario. Furthermore, a system of void spaces introduces a spatial configuration that brings daylight into the cube, and views from/to the surroundings. It has been used the entire client’s requirement in order to not only give an outstanding commercial solution, but creating a real icon in Wangfujing street.”36 The outcome of the project still is an individualistic building and only indulges certain people who love luxury. Furthermore, the idea of glowing and blurring, which were thought to be Chinese tradition of latern, have formerly used in Western countries. The word “luminosity” has been created in Western and it is more of a generic idea rather than Chinese trademark. Hence, a deep understanding of Chinese culture is needed before we make assumption what Chinese tradition is. 36
ArchShowCase. (2011). Wangfujing street in Beijing,China in Latitude Studio with BIAD. Retrieved from http://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/arch-showcase/2011/05/19/wangfujing-street-in-beijingchina-in-latitude-studio-with-biad/
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Fig. 2.3.1.1 New proposed urban center in Wangfujing can’t represent Chinese tradition.
`
2.3.2 Paradigm Studies 2.3.2.1 Bernard Tschumi Manhattan Transcripts Bernard Tschumi is an architect, writer, and educator. He went to Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and graduated in architecture in 1969. Tschumi has taught at Portsmouth Polytechnic in Portsmouth, UK, the Architectural Association in London, the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York, Princeton University, the Cooper Union in New York and Columbia University where he was Dean of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation from 1988 to 2003. 37
37
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Tschumi
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Fig. 2.3.2.2.1 The Manhattan Transcripts – Finding disjunction between space, object, and event.
In 1981 he made The Manhattan Transcripts, a sequence of drawings evolved from montage techniques taken from film and techniques of the nouveau roman. In this theoretical project, Bernard Tschumi argues that “the disjunction between spaces and their use, objects and events, being and meaning is no accident today. But when this disjunction becomes an architectural confrontation, a new relation of pleasure and violence inevitably occurs.” 38 “They found the Transcripts by accident ... a lifetime's worth of urban pleasures - pleasures that they had no intention of giving up. So when she threatened to run and tell the authorities, they had no alternative but to stop her. And that's when the second accident occurred ... the accident of murder ... They had to get out of the 38
Tschumi, Bernard. (1994). The Manhattan Transcript. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
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Park - quick. And the only thing which could help them was Architecture, beautiful trusting Architecture that they had used before, but never so cruelly or so selfishly ...�39 Figure 2.3.2.2.1 is the example of the Manhattan Transcripts diagram. The photos the scene we can physically see, the plans are how we perceive a space, and the diagrams are the special interrelation we can put into drawing. In my point of view, this approach showing that we cannot just think architecture is a building. Architecture will degenerate if we only care about building. Instead, we can treat architecture as a catalyst of activities. Applying to Beijing case, the question is how can architecture be the energy to generate activities instead of just an indoor building? Inspired by Manhattan Transcript, my intention is to treat architecture not only as a building but also as a program activator like what outdoor public place can do. 2.3.2.2 Gordon Matta- Clark Conical Intersect
Fig. 2.3.2.1.1 Connical Intersect- question on value in urban renovation.
39
Tschumi, Bernard. (1994). The Manhattan Transcript. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
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Born in artist’s family, Gordon Matta- Clark graduated from architecture school in Cornel University.40 During his life, he practiced architecture differently. After spending a year in Paris during student strike in 1968, his direction of architecture moved to Situationists and he was influenced by Guy Debord, French deconstructionist philosopher.41 His work is mostly related to cutting buildings. His famous creation was Conical Intersect during Paris Biennale in 1975 (Figure 2.3.2.1.1). In that time, some houses were demolished to build Georges Pompidou Center. In the meantime, he created art work in between two demolished houses. The result is a big hole between two walls. He implied the meaning of architecture behind urban reformation and deconstruction. Applying to current Beijing condition, hutongs, a deep Beijing’s life culture, have been replaced with building blocks and some of them remain a ruin. If destroying is unavoidable, can the process be breaking down but creating a new space in a meanwhile? Place between buildings blocks can mean more than a void. The void can be set up to connect building blocks or to display values which are not visible in buildings.
Fig. 2.3.2.1.2 The void demolishes and create urban fabric at the same time. 40
Jenkins, Bruce. (2011). Gordan Matta- Clark: Conical Intersect. New York: Afterall.
41
Ibid.
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2.3.3 Micro Scale Contribution in Western and Asian Cities Western cities have undergone realization on micro scale development in this Twentieth Centuries. Asian cities also have many interesting micro scale elements in which many scholars and emerging architects try to pose out. The case studies are about how to improve function of almost forgotten space or unwanted architecture. The case studies are also about how to maximize space in between architecture. Spaces between architecture can become problematic and shanty if not taking cared. 2.3.3.1 Time Square, New York – Minimum Public Zone Population: 8,363,710 Density: 10,452/km2 Built- up area: 3,859 km2
Fig. 2.3.3.1.1 Location of Time Square, New York.
The densest city in United States is in New York. New York is an important city for economy and financial development. “New York City is notable among American cities for its high use of mass transit, most of which runs 24 hours per day, and for the overall density and diversity of its population. In 2005, nearly 170 languages were spoken in the city and 36% of its population was born outside the United States.The city is sometimes referred to as The City that Never Sleeps”.42
42
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York
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Times Square is a major intersection in New York City that was named after Times Building, where The New York Times was formerly headquartered. Times Square is located at Broadway and Seventh Avenue and extends from West 42nd to West 47th. Like city squares in many other major cities around the world, Times Square has become an illustrious landmark and a symbol of New York City. “There are about 1.5 million pedestrian daily, 150 million commuters annually, 35 million tourists annually, over 1000 hours of annual broadcasting, global branding location, and over one billion impressions on New Year’s Eve at Times Square.”43 The length of the street is about 410 meters and the width of the street is about 15 meters (Figure 2.3.3.1.1). The area along the street consists of shopping malls and high rise buildings, ranges from 40 meters to 200 meters tall. The function of the square varies from business purpose, shopping area, a hub of entertainment, a home to famous Broadway theaters, motels, upscale hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, bars, music venues, to quality shops (Figure 2.3.3.1.2). The planning of the street is very direct and easy to read because all the shops and main doors are located on the main street.
Fig. 2.3.3.1.2 The city that never sleeps.
43
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York
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The city of New York was originally planned for pedestrian: “Los Angeles is laid out according to the progressive ideals of the decongested metropolis, planned for the efficient movement of trolleys cars, and, later, automobiles whereas New York’s grid is for pedestrians and horses.”44 Later, the success of automotive and machine use has brought New York City from pedestrian city to car city. Same problem as Beijing, The New York City has to adapt to that change. The difference is that New York doesn’t have as deep culture as Beijing. Consequently, the city changes from time to time and it means modernization to the world. What is more, the Manhattan grid is design from big scale to a meticulous scale for pedestrians. Hence, car and pedestrian traffic are manageable. To cope with traffic and the need of public zone, the term Privately Owned Public Space was invented in this city. The invention of this policy is based on the principles of light and air on the ground level and control overall bulk mass. It aimed at creating better and instant public spaces integrated with the urban development so as to improve the pedestrian experience. This model is a result of cooperation between public and private.45 The relevant policy was set up to balance the interests between the developers and the public when the power was shifting to the corporations during the rapid economic growth in 1980s. Through establishing the policy regarding Privately Owned Public Space, corporations are encouraged to take up its social responsibility to contribute to the city development (Figure 2.3.3.1.3).
44
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York Kayden, Jerold S. (2000). Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 45
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Fig. 2.3.3.1.3 Privately Owned Public Space.
Another way to increase public zone is by cutting off the width of some major streets. In Times Square and surrounding streets, rather than closing off the street for walking, the planner made a necessary human zone in a minimum area by narrowing down the width of the street by 8 meters- it used to be around 24 meters. So, it is still car predominantly with a minimum comfortable zone for pedestrian (Figure 2.3.3.1.4). The human friendly zone, in Broadway for example, was designed carefully so that the feeling of urban scale is really there (Figure 2.3.3.1.5).
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Fig. 2.3.3.1.4 Providing minimum comfortable public zone.
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Fig. 2.3.3.1.5 Micro scale development in every corner of New York’s major street.
New York City is an excellent case study in that it is one with the most skyscrapers and the one with the realization of forgotten pattern of human scale public space among tall buildings. What is great is the Times Square can still fit for people from different origin without changing its meaning. Car on the street, people on the road, shoppers, food stall, coffee place, and many others generate the success of Times Square as a public space for many public activities. All of these atmosphere make locals and tourist don’t want to travel elsewhere.
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2.3.3.2 Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan – Compact and Layer Population: 8,795,000 Density: 14,254/km2 Built- up area: 2,564 km2
Shinjuku is chosen as the central research because of its various redevelopment from small to large scale. Shinjuku has 60,690 m2 area of station.46 In East Shinjuku typically (Figure 2.3.3.2.1). We want to learn how the Japanese make use every single space smartly given the compactness of the city. Figure 2.3.3.2.2 shows distinctive conditions we may find in Tokyo such as super kiosk, vendor machines everywhere, and pocket plaza.
46
http://architecture.rmit.edu.au/Projects/By_Product_Tokyo.php
.
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Fig. 2.3.3.2.1 Location of East Shinjuku.
Fig. 2.3.3.2.2 Micro detail in Japan, which is often vanished in design process.
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Entertainment is a traditional focus of East Shinjuku. The widest street is about 18 meters. The average tallness of buildings on main street is about 60 meters. The street is very packed and every Milimeters count in Shinjuku’s daily activities (Figure 2.3.3.2.3). The permanent elements such as sign board, plaza, and vending machine collaborate dynamically with non- permanent elements like table and chair.
Fig. 2.3.3.2.3 Layer of micro scale in small alleys: karaoke, comic store, restaurant, bar, vendor machine.
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Fig. 2.3.3.2.4 Location of the study: Signage, yatai, and underground corridor.
Figure 2.3.3.2.4 depicts the locations and typical situations which can only be found in Japan. In every corner of Shinjuku, various activities and small architecture elements can be seen. All of the elements are put together smoothly from top of building block to ground, creating another layer of space (Figure 2.3.3.2.5).
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Fig. 2.3.3.2.5 The spontaneous labeling of buildings, signage, and vendors have made secondary layer of Tokyo. The secondary layers become permanent over time. This notion is almost forgotten in architecture. Section: Typical alley in East Shinjuku.
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Fig. 2.3.3.2.6 retails, kiosk, vending machines, recycle trash, and many other things can be found at every corner of the city. Sum up of micro scale architecture brings power in making a city.
Figure 2.3.3.2.6 shows an intricate underground street of Shinjuku Station. Every space in between wall is occupied with activities. Almost every corner is a program activator in Shinjuku. The land shortage and density issues really challenge Japan to tackle the real future of urban city. The spontaneity of micro scale placement in the city has created a unique atmosphere.
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2.3.3.3 Hybrid Kampung Public space, Malang, Indonesia
Indonesia is one of the most populous countries. Quality of life has been under degradation as a result of the high population. Malang is a developing city in East Java with its constant need for better dwelling and public space. Same as hutongs, Indonesia has this kind of village where locals and migrant workers come from. The banks of Brantas River in Malang have become a place for living and it is not in a good condition. From time to time this place has become more and more dense. Therefore “kampung�, or informal urban villages has no space for social interaction.47 Architects start to pay intention to kampung design. Architect Irwan Yudha proposed a new living paradigm of urban village and sustained the social order of the village. The solution is to add another level of public space for interaction and activities. It seems as a simple notion yet can be easily applied from small to big sector in sustainable level (Figure 2.3.3.3.1). The project won the First Prize in UIA2011 Tokyo, the 24th World Congress of Architecture. For many time, kampung is put to the last. Although it is not there yet, however, it is a preliminary step for Indonesia to start putting effort on its unique cultural identity. Four things can be grasped from this project. First, there is still a way to upgrade hutongs and make them as a comfortable zone like the elevated public space in kampung project. Second, the way the kampung redeveloped shows that kampung can still fit in this modernization era so do hutongs. Third, the redevelopment of the 47
Akmal, Imelda. (2011). Indonesian Architects. Jakarta: Imaji.
.
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kampung public space based on its micro urbanism and material such as activities, vegetation pot, water basket, public toilet, wooden chair, information sign, etc. (Figure 2.3.3.3.2). Therefore, its maturation based on trivial things of the kampung. The same concept can also be applied in Wangfujing. Lastly, hutongs life and activities can still exist in Wangfujing if we provide a better condition to occupy.
Fig. 2.3.3.3.1 Improving condition of kampung by providing public space can become a desirable public space in the city for the future.
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Fig. 2.3.3.3.2 Micro urbanism is part of the design process.
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2.4 Conclusion From New York City, we catch about its intermediate zone which becomes a unique place on its own. It is freestanding and it supports the pedestrian’s need. From Tokyo, we grasp about an idea of insertion and overlapping to cover any dead end or unserviceable spots. Small little pieces like vending machine, newspaper box, recycle box, food stand, signage, and shop enclose Tokyo streetscape. From Malang, we learn about preserving and improving kampung by providing standard public space which are built from local materials with thoughtful consideration about their daily activities. These hybrid and micro space case studies can help Beijing in couple ways. In Wangfujing, instead of closing the whole street for pedestrian, we can open half for cars and half for public space to maximize function of the street. We can also inserting many micro scale activities and permanent kiosk along the pavements to bring life of the street. Lastly, reminisces of hutong’s life is important for Wangfujing to show that hutong is a typical Beijing’s public space. Plaza, big square, and malls are not sufficient to deal with Beijing’s life. The city has innumerable alleys which can be developed in the future. The meaning of architecture has been consumed as part of consumerism. By bringing back life of hutong, symbol of history of Wangfujing should also be consumed in the users. A function of a space cannot be fixed but element of architecture such as material, texture, and details can support the usage.
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3. THESIS DESIGN 3.1 Site Analysis 3.1.1 Introduction of Beijing Wangfujing Beijing’s Wangfujing is located on the central of the city. Wangfujing Street is defined as an area bounded by Wusi Rd and Dongsi on the North and Chang’an East Rd on the South. The total length of the street is about 810 meters and the width is about 20 meters. The subway station is located at the South end of the Street in Oriental Plaza. The name of Wangfujing came from a well full of sweet water which was found while ten princess residence were built in Qing Dynasty. In 1903, Dong'an market was formed. Since then, there have been commercial activities in this place. The important commercial buildings there are Dong’an Plaza, Lotte Plaza, and Oriental Plaza. There are also a couple hotels such as Prime Hotel, Hyatt, SunWorld Hotel, and Hilton Hotel. There are quite a lot of hutongs which still exist behind Wangfujing Street (Figure 3.1.1.1). The map diagram shows the location of subway station, bus stop, prominent buildings, well, and hutongs within five minutes walking distance in radius of 400 meters.
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Fig. 3.1.1.1 Mapping of the reminding hutongs, subway station, prominent buildings, and bus stop within five minutes walking.
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3.1.2 Micro Site Analysis 3.1.2.1 The Hutong Wall Some part of hutong walls still survive. Some of them are visible and the rest are hidden right behind temporary shopping buildings (Figure 3.1.2.1.1). Somehow, Wangfujing faรงade has a tendency to cover up old Beijing with something more modern and luxury. Even the hutong wall itself, one of the oldest walls on the street faรงade, is put aside. By bringing back the atmosphere of Hutongs, Wangfujing Street can bring back its meaning and still grow into a public space with its historical atmosphere rather than keep layering old structure with new one.
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Fig. 3.1.2.1.1 Hutong walls on Wangfujing Facade
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3.1.2.2 Edge The 20 meter wide of Wangfujing Street without enough public accommodation makes the street as an open big square with no function. Moreover, the creation of mallings results in an edge between Wangfujing Street (Figure 3.1.2.2.1). Each building on the street is tall and it is an edge for people on street. We are faced by stair once we enter buildings (Figure 3.1.2.2.2). Therefore, it is a sign of exclusiveness and consumerism. Activities inside malls are very individualistic and there is no relation to the outside.
Fig. 3.1.2.2.1 Building as an edge of the street.
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Fig. 3.1.2.2.2 Stair separates buildings and street.
3.1.3 Macro Site Analysis The primary research identifies problem of Wangfujing Street as an Monolith City which is without the collaborations among everyday life, architecture, and urbanism (Figure 3.1.3.1). Beijing Wangfujing has changed from Linear City which featured hutongs to Monolith City. Each building is very individual and the activities aren’t collaborating with architecture and urbanism (Figure 3.1.3.2). Is it the mirror of Beijing’s life culture?
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Fig. 3.1.3.2 Plan showing separation among buildings.
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3.2 Architectural Strategy 3.2.1 Urbanism 3.2.1.1 Micro Urbanism “Mic.ro: Extremely small in scale or scope. adj: (m kr ) Ur.ban.ism: The culture or way of life of city dwellers”.48 n : (ûr b -n z m)
Having people gathering, city, and buildings only create settlement but not city. A building can have big elements that grow into a city and small elements- kitchen, storages, toilet, slide, and many others which can be urbanite. To me, the micro side is very important urban notion for city like Beijing. Moreover, notion of micro urbanism can work both for its small dimension and big scale (Figure 3.2.1.1.1). This is an attempt to learn from internal system of local habitation.
Fig. 3.2.1.1.1 Line of dry clothes can been seen easily at hutongs. 48
.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com
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3.2.1.2 Fine- Grained Urbanism The role of architects is to bring to the streets the “visceral, intellectual, and physical experience that demands descriptive words such as amazement, wonder, poetic revelation; words not found in planning documents.”49 Steven Holl Beijing has developed a big master plan in a big city planning over years. The city demands a growth of precious little space and let’s not waste valuable architecture site that lacks of desire to fulfill our hope of what Beijing can be. At city scale, planners can control the quality of pedestrian spaces. However, it is architecture that shapes public space to serve pedestrian urbanism desire in its own fine grain quality. If we want Wangfujing Street to be memorable in the mind of locals and travelers, we must have an urban place that brings fine grained experience, not just a few tourist icons and floor space to sell. This fine grain theory can create more passageway and place to wonder and sense around in between architecture.
Fig. 3.2.1.2.1 Fine grained urbanism abstraction.
49
Holl, Steven. (2009). Urbanisms; Working with Doubt. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. pp. 17.
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3.2.2 Hutong Hutong once was an important passage way. Hutong consist of alleys with activities in different dimension. Therefore, in the future, hutongs can be transformed into new urban network that shows the real Beijing’s public space. Density is an issue in Beijing. The micro space of hutongs can help to succeed the effectiveness of public space where big monolith public space can no more accomplish. Beijing has to pay attention to the physical and functional change in scale of bigness and smallness.
3
Fig. 3.2.2.1 Can bigness and smallness elaborate together in a city?
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3.2.2.1 Hutong Characteristics Architecture and city can work together in hutong. Taken Dacaochang Hutong as example, figure 3.2.2.1.1 shows the relationship that happens between architecture and city. Figure 3.2.2.1.2 shows different group of people and activities which can be easily found in hutong.
Fig. 3.2.2.1.1 relationship between architecture and city in hutong.
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Fig. 3.2.2.1.2 activities and groups of people in hutong
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3.2.2.2 Hutong Transportation Cars and city vehicles gradually occupy hutong. Therefore, hutong is gradually growing and compromising with the modernity. The problem is the size of hutong can no longer accommodate this change.
Fig. 3.2.2.2.1 cars start to dominating hutongs.
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3.2.2.3 Horizon of Activities The diagram figure 3.2.2.3.1 and figure 3.2.2.3.2 shows a different approach of architecture process. It starts with an analysis of social activities in relation to the height.
Fig. 3.2.2.3.1 Horizon Vs. micro social activities, original horizontal lines of hutong, and existing condition of openings.
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Fig. 3.2.2.3.2 hutong’s horizon line.
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3.2.2.4 Role of Architecture? What can architecture do to make hutong’s life alive in this era as a type of Beijing’s public space? Can architecture do something with the leftover of hutong’s wall on Wangfujing Street?
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3.3 Architectural Intervention 3.3.1 Habitable Edge Concept “Occupying edge; making place by generating at a micro scale then accumulating at a macro scale. “ Stephanie Jahja “To yield is to be preserved whole. To be bent is to become straight. To be hollow is to be renewed. To be in want is to possess. To have plenty is to be confused.”51 Lao Tzu, Chapter 22 Same as the philosophy of Matta- Clark’s Connical Intersect, as Lao Tzu said, the hollow is to be renewed. What can architecture do to fill in the void after destroying precious urban culture in Wangfujing Street? The concept of Habitable Edge is generated from investigation hutong’s life in millimeter scale and its accumulation in meter and kilometer scale. Later, the idea and the constraint are adapted to the Habitable Edge in Wangfujing Street.
Fig. 3.3.1.1 left: current condition of Wangfujing Street. Right: habitating the edge. 51
http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/
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Fig. 3.3.1.2 From tectonic to urban degree.
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Fig. 3.3.1.3 Unit in relation to activities.
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Fig. 3.3.1.4 Adaption to different space.
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Fig. 3.3.1.5 Habitable Edge Concept.
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3.3.2 Public Zone 1 3.3.2.1 Process and Limitations
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3.3.3 Public Zone 2 3.3.3.1 Process and Limitation
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3.3.4 New Master Plan 3.3.4.1 Pieces, Replication, and System This intimate small scale project can be easily built to fulfill the need of public space. In the future, this type of public space will create a new layer of urban fabric- a unique Beijing’s culture public space.
Fig. 3.3.4.1.1 Bringing a new layer of urban spot to improve current condition of city structure.
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Section drawing
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4. CONCLUSION Micro elements are often forgotten in architecture design process. Industrialization and technologies have been focusing on large scale planning and big industry sectors. Shopping malls, towers, superblocks, and big plaza are the big sectors which are being exposed in major spots as objects to be consumed. This is the result of machinery assembly that focuses on grandeur massive scale but not human scale. Wangfujing’s type of street are scattered in majority city in China: Shanghai has its Nanjing Street, Tianjin has its Binjiangdao Street, and Xiamen has its Zhongshan Street. The bigness of those public streets lacks of intimate places- human scale place for watching each other and doing social interaction. Habitable Edge concept proposes another type of solution. Learning from micro pattern, the intervention can work together with the big scale buildings. Rather than breaking down existing urban structure and malls, issue of gap between big and small, old and new, and tradition and modern can be solved. Architecture is not only a building but also a program activator. Micro size intervention can be a simple yet powerful step to improve present- day urban blocking without changing everything. The target of the future is to scatter this new type of unique urban scale module in Beijing and to apply in other Asian and Western Cities with their own distinctive urban life in similar conception.
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Chapter 5. Reference
5. REFERENCE Angel, Shlomo. (2011). Making Room for a Planet of Cities. Cambridge: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. ArchShowCase. (2011). Wangfujing street in Beijing,China in Latitude Studio with BIAD. Retrieved from http://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/archshowcase/2011/05/19/wangfujing-street-in-beijingchina-in-latitude-studio-with-biad/ Bertram, Nigel, Shane Murray, and Marika Neustupny. (2003). By-Product-Tokyo. Melbourne: Bambra Press. Bianchini, Franco, and Michael Parkinson. (1993). Cultural Policy and Urban Regeneration: The West European Experience. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Bureau of the Census. (2011). [Text info]. Population Division in 2012. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov Chi, Ti-Nan. (2001). Micro Urbanism. Retrieved from http://www.chitinan.net/english/Tactics.asp Deutsche, Rosalym. (1996). Evictions: Art and Spatial Politics. Chicago, IL: Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press. Glassie, Henry. (2000). Vernacular Architecture. Indiana: Indiana University Press. Habraken, N. J. (1998). The Structure of the Ordinary: Form and Control in the Built Environment. Mass: The MIT Press. pp. 10-12. Holl, Steven. (2009). Urbanisms; Working with Doubt. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. pp. 17. Kayden, Jerold S. (2000). Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Kostof, S. (1991). The City Shaped: Urban Patterns and Meanings through History. London: Bulonch Press. Lefebvre, H. (1991). The production of Space. Oxford: Blackwell. New Urbanism. (2011). Congress for the New Urbanism. Retrieved fromhttp://www.cnu.org/occupysprawl Sixteenth report of Session. (2002) [PDF file]. . Tall buildings: Report and Proceedings of the House of Commons Transport, Local Government and the Regions Committee. Retrieved from http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmtlgr/482/482.pdf
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Salingaros, Nikos A. (2010) [PDF file]. P2P Urbanism. Retrieved from http://zeta.math.utsa.edu/~yxk833/P2PURBANISM.pdf Studio Mumbai Architects. (2010). In Between Architecture. Retrieved from http://www.studiomumbai.com/vam_more.html Tschumi, Bernard. (1994). The Manhattan Transcript. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Varnelis, K. (2008). Introduction Networkd Ecologies: The Infrastructural City,Networked Ecologies in Los Angeles. Barcelona: Actar Venturi, Robert. (1996). Iconography and Electronics Upon a Generic Architecture: A view from the Drafting Room. Mass: The MIT Press. Vitruvius. (1935). Writing the Body of Architecture. Mass: The MIT Press. Zevi, bruno. (1950). Towards an Organic Architecture. London: Faber & Faber.
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致谢/ Acknowledgements
致谢/ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people without with this thesis would not been possible. First and foremost I would like to acknowledge my deepest appreciation to Prof. Zhang Li for sharing his generous idea and offered invaluable assistance, support and guidance that would make it possible for the successful completion of my thesis. I would also like to thank my Studio Professors; Prof. Li Xiao Dong, Prof. Alex Tzonis, Prof. Amy Lelyveld, Prof. Ron Henderson, Prof. Zou Tao, Prof. Zhang Yue, and Prof. Thomas Herzog. Your teachings have been a valuable knowledge during the course of my postgraduate studies. Special thanks go to, my colleagues at EPMA 2010 for sharing the same dreams & offering continuous support. Special mention to Irwan Soektikno for being a close mentor, giving advices, and for being always available. Also, thanks to Hua Xiao Bing and Jason Wang for being supportive friends during my study. I would like to convey thanks to my friends Dilan Huang, Wilson Wong, Yulius Susanto, and Juano Ongkowidjojo for technical support. For the authors of the books I referenced, thank you for being source of inspirations for learning. Also, thanks to good people in Microsoft, Adobe, and Google for providing excellent software that assist me in the completion of my design. To my “sisters”, Stella Gunawan, Karina Purnomo, and Stephanie Sulistian, thank you for providing me with refreshing distraction. I want to express my love and gratitude to my parents, Fennadi Jahja and Lim Yu Jam, and my brother, Patrick Jahja for their understanding and endless love and support during my education. Special thanks to special someone, Carlous Wikarsa for the unceasing support and all the comfort. At last, thanks to Tsinghua University for providing an outstanding learning field.
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声 明/Personal Statement
声 明/Personal Statement 本人郑重声明：所呈交的学位论文，是本人在导师指导下，独立进行研 究工作所取得的成果。尽我所知，除文中已经注明引用的内容外，本学位论文 的研究成果不包含任何他人享有著作权的内容。对本论文所涉及的研究工作做 出贡献的其他个人和集体，均已在文中以明确方式表明。 The author asseverates: this thesis was prepared solely by myself under instruction of my thesis advisor. To my knowledge, except for documents cited in the thesis, the research results do not contain any achievements of any others who have claimed copyrights. To contributions made by relevant individuals and organizations in the completion of the thesis, I have clearly acknowledged all their efforts.
签 名： Signature:
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日 期： Date:
Resume
RESUME BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Full Name:
First Name: Stephanie Last Name: Jahja
Gender:
Female
Nationality:
Indonesia
Date of Birth:
06/05/1988
EDUCATION: 2010- Present: Professional Master Degree in Architecture at Tsinghua University, Beijing 2006- 2010: Bachelor of Arts Degree in Architecture at University of Washington, Seattle, USA WORKING EXPERIENCE: Jun 2011- August 2011: PTI Architects (Jakarta), Indonesia [Internship] Jul 2009- Sept 2009: PT Harba Primaperkasa, Jakarta, Indonesia [Internship] August 2007- Sept 2007: HMP Architects Jakarta, Indonesia [Internship]
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