CPULs as new urban identity

Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes (CPULs) as New Urban Identity –Intervention in Beijing’s Green Belt, Caochangdi Village as a Case Study

Candidate Diana Castillo Advisor: Zhang Li EPMA Thesis 11th Dic 2012

Urbanization phenomena has colonized

productive landscapes where farm

land and nature areas have been replaced by dense cityscapes. As a result, not only has reduced

production capacity of the area but it has also displaced the

identity of a community.

Beijing’s rapid urban growth .

Beijing, for instance with a rapid urban growth has brought new challenges to face

FACTS

Loss of farmland

Deterioration of the urban environment

Shortage of arable land and water.

BEIJING’S GREEN MASTER PLAN

Beijing People’s Government developed measures in the green belt in order to preserve ecological areas, applying urbanization control that protect farm areas and offering rural access to people from the metropolitan area.

Caochangdi public space / landscape

Urban Affectation upon Beijing’s Green belt

Caochangdi

Settlement in the Green belt

These ecological principals, However, it has been colonized by dense cityscapes.

FACTSLow Environment quality Lack of community identity

Caochangdi area

5th – 6th ring – Beijing map

Caochangdi, for instance Is part of the Green belt Area , Located between 5th and 6th ring road. Even though it has strong background of farming land, the current space is totally covered by concrete and its residents, which most of them are migrants from rural areas, don’t have any memory of it.

Therefore, there is an existing gap between the planning documents for urban ecological projection and zone’s reality.

Environment and identity in the urban landscape

From Private to public realm Transition

Genius loci Flowchart Chinese traditional garden

In order to think about the space in Caochangdi there are two parameters to consider 1. Environment and identity in the urban landscape, in which is considered the meaningful elements that allow the performance of the space.

And consequently the contemporaneity issue of loss of place, by lack of stimuli resulting in alienated places

“Play Time”

- 建外SOHO

Urban Alienation

Loss of place

daily life by repetition in an uniformed and replicated environment with a complete lack of orientation and characterization

Social and community sentiment

Residents build, shape and make unique and useful the place

And 2. Social and community sentiment , since Places are behavioral settings within a spatial context which are defined by actors, their activities and the physical elements that support these activities, which in turn allow these actors to interact with others.

Besides the level of Social cohesion is contemplated at the time to analyze the quality of live of a settlement. There are 5 conditions to consider

Social cohesion Material conditions : employment, health, education and housing

Passive social relationship: Active social relationships:

feel safe in a society , respect, tolerance

networks which allow the interactions between individuals

and communities

Social inclusion: represents the dynamic of integration of

people through the society

Social equality: level of fairness or disparity in access to opportunities

The new Plaza !!!

Hence, In Caochangdi the public realm that is the principal scenario to bring together meanings and create identity is almost missing since open spaces lack of stimuli And don’t provide the capacity of gathering which defined the social cohesion on the other.

Thus, the integration of the space of Caochangdi to green belts have to provide stimuli to the users and inhabitant in order to improve their urban experience, which in turn will contribute to constructions of linkages

among people

and place, place and environment, environment and productivity.

On the other hand having in mind social approach, are considered the 5 statements of

social cohesion.

Continuous productive urban landscapes CPULs cover this requirements to build community and place.

Continuous productive urban landscapes CPULS Urban Agriculture + connectivity to Public space

Continuous productive urban landscapes CPULS

CPULs is a strategy that combine urban agriculture and the dynamic of public space, connecting physical and social aspects in a place, besides helps to conserve the agriculture heritage of people and place.

However, the space condition and lack of land in Caochangdi make think that urban agriculture is not a viable solution.

Middlesbrough, England – CPULs project

Therefore there are some case studies that help me to understand about the benefits of implement Urban agriculture

Environmental improvement

Social cohesion

Education and Culture of farming

And Having in mind the different parts that fill the system

Composting

Places to rent for farming

seedling

Demonstrative units Training – community events

Along the options to make it possible without land for farming

PROPOSAL - SITE

Architectural strategy to solve the issue: Urban Agriculture within CPULs as a new form of open space

Caochagndi’s surroundings are a combination of uses, from industrial to educational ones, new development of residence in high raise buildings and golf courts. Green areas or farming are becoming limited.

Caochangdi village urban analysis There are around 1100 permanent residents, 2000 who work but do not live in the village and 4000 temporary residents. land use is distributed in a 40% to residence, 25% to art galleries, 20% to industry, 5% education and a 10% to open spaces. In the residence area, there is already a network connecting neighborhood’s access, centers, and community hubs. Thus, the lecture of the place based in its flows, connections and places where people gather are the key to design the guidelines for CPULs’ master plan.

Parts of CPULs system, spatial components

In order to illustrate projects approach it will be developed: The North West access, adjacent to 5th Ring Road – Display center The North West alley (West-East direction) – Continues Productive structures Central Junction of neighborhood – Junction area And main hub – Hybrid Zone

Parts of CPULs system, spatial components

MATERIALIZING

Materializing CPULs, formal design project

Caochangdi never stays static, there is a constant mutation in its existing structures.

Therefore scaffolding structures are part of landscape’s dynamic. As a result, this can be interpreted as a symbol of progress and change.

Parts to use as a structure

Scaffolding structure so, offers the possibility of adaptability and assembly. Besides, these structures are part of people daily live and can colonize the village without being invasive as well as give a new meaning to build landscape. On the other hand, design can be modulated, structures are easy of assembly, fast and secure.

CPULs proposal

The identification of the spatial components of the system is demarcated by Important access, alleys with a High people’s flow, their junctions and with plazas or open spaces. The result will be the creation of formal links among these places through the structure built by scaffolding.

In this way, the evaluative criteria of CPULs structure that consist in Spatiality, community use and environment are putting into practice in each of the spaces in order to reach quality results in social and spatial levels.

Thus ,The North West access, adjacent to 5th Ring Road will be one of the

Display centers.

This will be the first impression arriving to the village, are places in which part of the community has the possibility of gathering

Access, Display Park

Next to the display center is The North West alley, Continues

productive

structures are the productive centers of the place since they are seedling’s production and small plants in order to pass them on to the farming areas such as terraces or the Hybrid center.

Taking the original way of farming of locals, CPULs translate this into a infrastructure. In this way there are 3 ways to participate, the public one on .

ground level with the street containers, the private one on facade and in terrace that allow the place to rent to public. Besides the system permits the addition or subtraction of modules in order to respect residents desires.

Alleys, Continues Productive structure

Drip Irrigation system is divided in 1 Water tank that irrigates the modules in facade using gravity and 1 tank that irrigates the terrace using an air pump to pump water up. Each tank has a capacity of 840 liters, that respond to 1 month of irrigation. The fertilization is doing by a venturi injector that injects the dosis to the sub mainline.

Environmental response follow the principal of protection for openings against summer sunlight but allowing winter sunlight go in. The structure is adapted to the faรงade facing south.

Junction areas, are Structures which are coming from the alleys and meet each other.

Here the structure will conserve the same shape, but it will integrate a place to

vendors

street

Junction areas

And finally ‌ Hubs, Hybrid Zone

the

As well as the rest of the project, Hybrid building responds to CPULs’s criteria to locate it within the existing space. Thus, sunlight, winds, people flows, traffic approach are part of the conception of the building’s boundaries. Is located in a existing open space that nobody use since doesn’t have any connection with the residence area.

The building will be the “head quarters� to the community and urban agriculture. This structure combines the necessary activities to involve the community. The building will be developed in 2 stages.

Stage 1

will start with the basic element of training and community engagement. 1st floor will be open to public in which could be found a display scenery, the faรงade could be open to expand the space, behind of this will be located a space multi purposes that will share activities with training farming. On the other side of the complex the commercial area will develop along the space and its performance will be indoors in winter time.

In this way, the building open its doors to the community, creating a public scenario that will work as a display center of products, plants an different productions of the center. As well as is open to the community activities.

The building respond to the environment taking advantage of natural light and natural ventilation, The roof is made up by gutters connected to water tanks in order to harvest rainwater as the rest of project works.

The farming platform will get a capacity of 320 vegetables. The green house offers its service to people of metropolitan area that is seeking to get fresh and trusty food suply. The containers could be rented or depending the necessities of the center can be for academic purposes

The second stage will be developed as long as the project requires more space for farming. In this way, the building could be extended along the green belt to integrate other communities to the CPULs strategy.