architectural portfolio 04

architectural portfolio d.

- A0111169M -

balestier . PLAY architectural portfolio d.

undergraduate year two semester two in academic year 14/15 department of architecture, national university of singapore

semesteral project 08 12 january 2015 - 14 april 2015

1. UNTELL TO RET ELL s site studies on [Balestier] 01 Reading place and placelessness 09 Uncovering site context 11 Balestier in 50

2. ETER NAL BANQUET s curating a fiction 15 The basis of ceramics 17 The spectator and the spectacle 19 An eternity

3. A PU B L IC R EA L M s translation into building 25 Celebrating a programmatic disjuncture 35 The cone and balestier - modelling a social gel 41 Structural configuration 43 The Folly

4. B LOW IT U P s on materiality and language 51 An organic spatial relationship 55 Outside-In, Inside-Out 61 Re-establishing the eternal banquet

1. UNTELL TO RET ELL s site studies on [Balestier] 120115 - 290115 / The project commenced with an understanding of site context beyond our assumptions of Balestier. We hope to present the other story of this site where its characters, plots and conflicts are inspected through descriptive and analytical mappings. Throughout this discourse, contradictions and co-existence of the past and present in Balestier is apparent.

It has also observed that time is a transcendent force dominating its setting; which serves as a backdrop against the narrative of Balestier.

Following chapter demonstrates a personal understanding of Balestier’s site context.

“il n’y a pas de hors-texte”

”there is no outside text” -Jacque Derrida

01 | 02

BUILDING AGE

ROOFSCAPE

URBAN LANDSCAPE

PAT H S

S PAT I A L PAT T E R N S

S PAT I A L N E G OT I AT I O N S

Reading Place and Placelessness /

Balestier has been a test-bed for Singapore’s urban development. These investigations uncovered what contributed to Balestier’s evolution, its urban complexity and its resultant sense of place which we experience today. A majority of older buildings situate along the main road while relatively newer buildings sprout behind them. Witnesses to a changing era and echoing a sense of nostalgia, these older buildings bear different appearances from the modern buildings. Their co-existence is further exemplified by the street sections. It gives an interesting sense of place, and allow one to ponder upon the notion of time and it’s relativity.

UNTELL TO RETELL

N

03 | 04

UNTELL TO RETELL

SECTION A-A

SECTION B-B

05 | 06

UNTELL TO RETELL

SECTION C-C

SECTION D-D

07 | 08

UNTELL TO RETELL

SECTION E-E

SECTION F-F

09 | 10

JALAN RAMA RAMA

JALAN KEMAMAN

BOON TECK ROAD

BALESTIER

JALAN AMPAS

A-A

B-B TA B A N ROA D

BHAMO ROAD M A N D A L AY ROA D

PROME ROAD

Uncovering Site Context / Street elevation from the 1950s and 2015 are overlaid. We observe from the street frontage that some buildings along the main road survived Singapore’s rapid urbanisation and development while new buildings sprout and tower behind them. This has

UNTELL TO RETELL

A-A

ROAD

WHAMPOA DRIVE

K I M K E AT ROA D

B-B

AVA R O A D BALESTIER ROAD

MA PEGU ROAD

resulted in an incongruous mix of different buildings that seemingly have a fragmented relationship with each other.

11 | 12

Balestier In 50 - Up Up Beyond / The tension on site would be accentuated but yet celebrated with time. As Singapore moves towards its 100th anniversary, open spaces and networks would be established on elevated ground while utilising the roofscape. Previous leftover awkward alleys would be reoccupied and turn Balestier into a dense urban scape - eliminating potential social vices.

UNTELL TO RETELL

Balestier In 50 - Street Elevation 2060s /

As an extension to the previous projection using Balestier’s street elevation, this development expounds on the opportunities underground. While surface environment evolves with a continued eclectic mix of buildings that reflects different eras, the disjuncture in Balestier’s physicality is negotiated with an integrated underground network that connects the 2 sides of the street together.

2. ETER NAL BANQUET s curating a fiction 020215 - 230215 / A set of Asian ceramics is curated. Oftentimes treated as glorified art pieces due to their romanticised history, the original utility of these ceramics is forgotten.

Therefore, expounding on the durable functionality of ceramics and its timelessness, a banquet is imagined as a reminder of its everlasting and important roles in the multidimensional aspects of our civilisation. This curatorial narrative is construed in line with Balestier’s characteristics where time is relative.

A celebration shall be thrown... and perhaps it will never end

15 | 16

G L O B A L O RG A N I S AT I O N

L O C A L O RG A N I S AT I O N

RITUALS

TA S T E O F A B U N D A N C E

The Basis of Ceramics / 09: Rules and rituals for a Banquet are established as the basis for the curatorship. / 10: Top portion shortlists the ceramics which are constant throughout the Banquet; whereas bottom half arranges the functional pieces according to the courses.

ETERNAL BANQUET

【宾主】

Host’s ware are usually modest, to show their great hospitality. Ming white porcelain, characterised by their craftsmanship, (lightly brushed intricate motifs, unperceived from far).

【茶酒】

Tea and wine is constantly served throughout the banquet

【品锅】

Kamcheng anchors the course, they are the heart of every meal. Selected by its size and capacity in relativity to the course size.

0.

1.

2-3.

4-5.

6.

7.

8.

0. Ornaments【摆饰】 1. Appetizers【冷盘】 European made dishes, relatively smaller in sizes juxtaposed with eclectic Peranakan plate.

2-5. Main Dishes 【主菜】 Food ranges from meat, seafood, abalone, vegetables to exotic hunts.

Pieces here is an eclectic mix of China made plates for various clientele.

6. Soup 【汤】 Served as a buffer after the heavy meal. Bowl styles juxtapose each other.

7. Starch Based【米饭】 Tang Dynasty Bowls: An Abundance + Hospitality Etiquette - Easy filling starch-based food are reserved to the last so as to allow guests to enjoy the main dishes to their maximum.

8. Dessert 【甜点】 Gourmet dessert served at the end. Usually sweet and in small portions.

17 | 18

C U R ATO R I A L P L A N D E V E L O P M E N T

The Spectator and The Spectacle / The essence of the Eternal Banquet lies in its ”diners“. It is

not the food, but the idea of an abundance where people gather and feast. It facilitates as a social gel - the plan thus has to rethink visitors’ interactions with the ceramic pieces as the people become part of the spectacle instead of consuming the pieces as mere exhibits.

ETERNAL BANQUET

Once the parameters are set, spatial experimentation is modelled. The geometry of a cone is adopted as an operative device to allow a central lightness in a radial organisation like a banquet - channeling light from the top. Ceramic pieces are arrayed on thin stilts to place further emphasis on lightness and spectator’s interactions.

19 | 20

An Eternity / The ceramic pieces are arranged according to the rules and rituals of a banquet. The individual functions and hierarchy are juxtaposed and set against the spatial layout of a banquet.

Inner most ring forms a visual mass from the 50 000 Tang Dynasty bowls (course 7).

ETERNAL BANQUET

21 | 22

An Eternity /

The eternity is evoked though a circular geometry. Pockets of spaces (private cabins) are created evenly and equally around the central circle to establish a visual monotony and

ETERNAL BANQUET

C U R ATO R I A L P L A N

boundless vista. Central lightness is brought forward as an important operative device which is manifested in a radial ceramic arrangement and a central cone roof.

3. A PU B L IC R EA L M s translation into building 230215 - 300315 / The design concept sets to translate the Eternal Banquet into an utilitarian building based on the site study of Balestier. A ceramics school and gallery is proposed on a 2254 m2 carpark outside Whompoa Market.

Site studies has shown a great physical and social fragmentation. A conventional school and gallery would only widen the programmatic disjuncture between building and site.

How do we then engage the architectural intervention intimately with the people and the immediate site? How can an art school and gallery be truly beneficial to the demographics of Balestier and the public? How can this at the same time expound on the design opportunities of the Eternal Banquet?

25 | 26

Celebrating A Progammatic Disjuncture /

We question the suitability of a ceramic school and gallery in Balestier. Site studies shown the need for both green and public spaces in reaction to the site’s spatial fragmentation. Therefore, design intention began with a gesture of returning

A PUBLIC REALM

GROUNDSCAPE PLAN

the ground to the public - to transform the existing carpark into a public social gel. The Eternal Banquet takes the central stage on site with programmes fitting themselves around the central cone in response to various site elements.

27 | 28

Celebrating A Progammatic Disjuncture - Processing Masses / Translating from the Eternal Banquet narrative, process models study the three dimensional response to physical site, context and programmatic requirements.

A PUBLIC REALM

Given the underground nature of the intervention, challenges are posed in terms of its ground perception and formal language.

29 | 30

Celebrating A Progammatic Disjuncture - Spatial Refinement / Once a parti is established, spaces, physical dimensions and anthropometry are refined. The cone tectonic transforms itself into an operative atrium. The re-modelling of the ground is further landscaped anthropometrically.

A PUBLIC REALM

31 | 32

Celebrating A Progammatic Disjuncture / The first design strategy is to connect Whompoa Market to Balestier. It forms a visual connection on the ground that translates into a delayed momentous route which coils around the central cone underground.

A PUBLIC REALM

Temporary public gallery reacts to Whompoa road by creating a welcoming corner condition leading to the carpark’s new configuration.

33 | 34

Celebrating A Progammatic Disjuncture /

The ceramics school adapts to the spatial characteristics of the back alleys at Kim Keat. These back alleys are quiet and semi-public/ private where people smoke, chat and relax.

A PUBLIC REALM

An intimate secondary double-volume secondary entrance is established where firing kilns are located and students could retreat.

35 | 36

The Cone + Balestier - Modelling a Social Gel / As

established earlier, design intention aims to return the ground to public. The existing carpark transforms into an open green public space. Even though main programmes are tucked underground, the building opens out at various

A PUBLIC REALM

instances which shapes the ground profile and landscape. This is exemplified by the cone’s exposed tip of which rises up from the ground; uplifting surfaces for entrances + openings and exposing the structural system which radiates out from the cone.

37 | 38

A PUBLIC REALM

39 | 40

SECTION A-A

A PUBLIC REALM

SECTION B-B

41 | 42

Structural Configuration /

The cone takes central importance with programmes attached around it.

Emphasizing on lightness from the Eternal Banquet, skeletal light beams radiates and grows out from the thick concrete cone as an architectural expression. The structural system is configured by the various programmes which is a reflection of the various site instances.

A PUBLIC REALM

EXPLODED AXONOMETRY

43 | 44

The Folly / The groundscape condition gives people a glimpse of the spaces tucked underground.

The structural system exposes itself on the ground and forms a surface folly condition. Design oportunities rise to take advatage of the exposed structures to allow for programmatic plasticity

A PUBLIC REALM

and spatial appropriation. It thus forms a dynamic ground for a social cohesion - where playgrounds form arond the center. A “rooftop”/ “ground” cafe is also located, leading directly down to the lecture halls and temporary gallery.

45 | 46

A PUBLIC REALM

47 | 48

A PUBLIC REALM

4. B LOW IT U P s on materiality and language 300315 - 140415 / This design stage entails synthesizing the programmes, Eternal Banquet and Balestier studies into a palpable experience.

Form, Space, Experience are to be coherent and reflective of one another in respect to its use and the place.

Materiality and language is the designer’s palatte towards achieving the initial building design intentions and concepts. It should provide original solutions towards pragmatic issues without reducing and diluting ideas to conventions.

51 | 52

An Organic Spatial Relationship / Spatial

relationships are examined on a larger scale. A quarter of the building is extracted - The temporary gallery, cafe, lecture hall and 1/4 of the atria.

B LOW I T U P

53 | 54

An Organic Spatial Relationship / There

is a great interplay of spaces. The central atrium space is accentuated by re-arranging the ceramic pieces and configuring artificial lighting from the

B LOW I T U P

D E TA I L E D S E C T I O N

structural system. As structures grows our from the main cone, transitional spaces at the ramp is dramatised by extending the beam upwards to form the balustrade.

55 | 56

Outside-In, Inside-Out / The structural system is a congruous whole that gels the exterior and interior as a single entity. The beams radiate out organically from the central cone to house the programmes. From the exterior folly condition, it extends inwards to create artificial lighting for the Eternal Banquet exhibition. The cone’s geometry brings forth a variety of lighting intensity - natural light diffuses and gets darker towards the end.

B LOW I T U P

57 | 58

B LOW I T U P

59 | 60

Outside-In, Inside-Out / Water Troubles: Torrential rain is frequent on site. Water would gather on the occulus glass. Thus, taking advantage of the design concept, exposed beams transform into gutters where water would flow out in a radial manner.

B LOW I T U P

S E L E C T E D C O N S T RU C T I O N D E TA I L S

The structural lightness is further accentuated by the apertures on the cone where beams are supported by hidden fasteners.

61 | 62

Re-establishing Eternal Banquet / The arrangement of the Eternal Banquet correspond to the structure which is further emphasized by the occulus secondary structure. Artificial spot lighting reaches down from the structural system to strengthen the relationship of the permanent exhibition to the exterior. The atrium is dramatised by the mass of Tang Dynasty Bowls while radiating stiles arrangement corresponds to the structure and contributes to the spatial perception from the transitional ramp space.

B LOW I T U P

63 | 64

End Note The project began with a close reading of the site context which was followed by a translation of a curatorial document into an architectural intervention. Design parameters are set according to the curatorial juxtaposed on site. The resulting disjuncture thus gave opportunities for design opportunities which is later translatable into a coherent language and site suitability.

This design exercise is an extension to the previous semester’s abstraction-translation from intangible to tangible. The building is interwoven into the complexity of the urban context. This intervention hence demands a holistic resolution of urban issues, spatial tensions et cetera.

It is therefore paramount that designers know how to hold on to the original ideas and keep the overarching design concept clear throughout. No doubt the design process is long and tedious, but this clarity guides the design process and opens up opportunities for original problem resolutions. At the end, it is an important soft skill which we have to develop as budding architects - to keep the authenticity of design undiluted throughout the challenge filled process. d.

T OWA R D S A C L A R I T Y

- F O R YO U R C O N S I D E R AT I O N -

architectural portfolio d.

The fourth architectural portfolio by A0111169M - LIN Derong under tutelage of WONG Chia Yeen, Esther submitted for design 04 on 270415, in undergraduate year 2 AY14/15 department of architecture, national university of singapore, 2015