CONVERGENT COMMUNITIES | UPCYCLED URBANISM Siteless/Universal, Anywhere in the World
Academic Design Project Final Year Undergraduate Studio 5 Sep 2020 - Dec 2020
Community is best defined as a place where there is a sense of belonging and connection.
However, as more towns and cities are being urbanised and embracing multiculturalism, this sense of belonging becomes a luxury for a majority of inhabitants in addition to other living factors such as privacy and comfort, as well as use of high-end materials in housing and lifestyle. Convergent Communities | Upcycled Urbanism is a speculative social and urban design protoype comprising a creative hub (Confluence) and housing complexes (Capsules of Convergence), both of which aim to create resilient communities by tackling urban loneliness. Confluence is a creative district converging arts and different cultures, designed with the aim of creating a sense of place and belonging in community through art + design, and maximising reuse and upcycling of reclaimed/unwanted materials in not only architectural and landscape design but also as an unusual medium for artists/creatives to explore and use in their projects and exhibitions. This creative hub embraces porosity in design and aims to blur the line between the building, the housing complexes and the landscape, offering outdoor spaces or ‘plazas’ not only as social nodes but also for accommodating ephemeral events and functions such as urban farming and public art. Capsules of Convergence is a housing prototype designed to tackle unaffordable housing within limited site footprint, ideally targeting students including researchers and artists-in-residence. Each living ‘capsule’ is 10 m x 10 m and has a unique location as well as its own courtyard, which can be multipurpose. Residents here are encouraged to be self-sufficient and develop entrepreneurial skills by having the opportunity to launch their own start-ups, such as cafe or coworking spaces, at the ground level which primarily serves as a communal space.
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