Tai O Fishermen village Analysis

Tai O fishermen community

Tai O fishermen community

Culture

People

Plants / Animal

Fishermen Sellers Retired Children

Domestic / wild Environment

Boats Sampan Fishing boat

Streets Main streets Passages Backstreets Dead ends

Bridges Movable Fix

Gathering / meeting spaces Work spaces Leisure spaces

Houses Openings Faรงade Inside

Spiritual life Cultural life

Objects and textures Transformation / uses Transport Materials

People

Boats Sampan A sampan is a relatively flat bottomed Chinese wooden boat. Some sampans include a small shelter on board, and may be used as a permanent habitation on inland waters. Sampans are generally used for transportation in coastal areas or rivers, and are often used as traditional fishing boats. It is unusual for a sampan to sail far from land as they do not have the means to survive rough weather.

The word «sampan» comes from the original Cantonese term for the boats, literally meaning «three planks». The name referred to the hull design, which consists of a flat bottom (made from one plank) joined to two sides (the other two planks). The design closely resembles Western hard chine boats like the scow or punt.

Three planks boat

Sampans may be propelled by poles, oars or may be fitted with outboard motors. 1

BED

W.C.

The rear part is for accomodation, storage and the toilets. The living space is very limited compared to traditionnal house.

1

wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampan

The front part of the ship is very important for the fisherman.

They altar their gods as the front where the gods lead theur journey in the dangerous sea. All the visitors visit the family from the front part where it is also a place for dinning and meeting other people.

Streets

Mainstreets with shops

Mainstreets

We can observe different kind of street : main one are on the land, wider and with concrete floor. We can see a drain to collect the water. They are borded by shops and housing. From these streets start other passages going between the houses and reach back streets. Back streets can be either in concret or in wood. In the Tai O village, we can also observe a lot of street finishing into dead ends.

Backstreet along the water

Passage between houses

Bridges

Two main kind of bridges exist in Tai O : - Movable bridges on main water channel to allow bigger boats to get through - Wooden fix bridges in arch or flat, high enough above water to let small boats goes under.

Gathering / meeting spaces

Houses

Houses are built with the same technics used for boats : wooden structures protected by metal sheets and painted.

They have the particularity of not being oriented : no front or back is prefered. Just one side is the entrance from the street and the other access to the water.

Open on the outside Close intimate space

2.5m 1

2

5m 4

3

6

1. Strage 2. Sleeping 3. Dining and living 4. Kitchen 5. Sampan 6. Open space for storing gasoline and fresh water

Culture

We can see many temple while walking the streets, from a two room building to a simple altar. The Dragon Boat Water Parade of Tai O os also a major cultural event. Related to the religion, it is also a sportive competition and a team work all along the year.

Plants / Animal

Objects and textures

Mathilde Gattegno Sylvia Young Bosen Zhang

October 2016 Floatting settlement