I designed a public toilet for South Kensington Exhibition Road, which has a high pedestrian flow but lacks convenient restrooms and rest areas. I aim to design an environmentally friendly public resting space as a street landmark without affecting pedestrians. During research, I found that many users think using the toilet requires privacy. To help users create a sense of security, space partitions and materials are used to avoid the sight of others. Overall, my design is a toilet with mycelium bricks as walls and green plants covering the roof. There are three spaces inside to meet different needs.
Surrounding Building Research
South Kensington attracts many tourists every year. Therefore, I started from South Kensington subway and followed the exhibition road, recording attractions along the way from a tourist's perspective.
Exhibition road is after the great exhibition of 1851, a road connecting with several major museums and academic establishments. A pedestrian priority street with a great cultural importance. So want to use part of the public toilet as a public rest space and place posters to introduce the exhibitions and history in the surrounding museums.
Site Analysis
"Service radius", which means pedestrians within this radius will choose to use this public facility. <Standards for the installation of urban sanitation facilities> points out that the radius of a public toilet in a busy city is 150-250m. The spots in the top layer are the public toilets near the site. Most public toilets require pedestrians to enter the building. The only public toilet on the roadside was small and black, which make people afraid to use it.
Green spaces are beneficial to human physical and spiritual health. Unfortunately, most green space is far away from the Exhibition road or are not open public spaces. So I started to think about whether we could combine design with green spaces.
Exhibition road is a busy street. It connects many attractions, among which the three marked museums are the destinations of many pedestrain. Through my observation, the station is far from the museums, so lots of the tourists will stop and rest through their way to museums.
According to traffic flow, Kensington station has the largest passenger flow, followed by Exhibition Road near Cormwell Road. The Exhibition Road connects to Kensington station‘s exit, with shops and pubs, and its users are mainly tourists. In addition, this road is a special pedestrian street, so that choose it as my site.
Analyzing the space in the toilet
As a sensitive persosn, when I use the public restroom, I feel I'm enveloped in sight and I can hear everything. They both vague the toilet space's boundary and give a sence of loss initimity. When I entered the cubicle, the blur shadow from the gaps make me feel urgency.
A reasonable use of partitions can effectively give users a sense of security. Separating areas by different funtions, and close the cubicle, vision was blocked and sound muffled.
A public toilet is a public facility open to everyone. Many people believe that using the toilet is private, but as a public toilet it includes many public uses, such as: resting, etc. When people use this public facility, the privacy and experience of the space is particularly important.
of people
The light through the door
The light through the door
The sight while waiting Public space and private behaviour
The trajectory
using a standard toilet
Buildings account for 39% of global carbon emissions. Innovative alternatives are crucial. Mycelium bricks, made from fungal mycelium and agricultural waste like corn stalks and sawdust, offer a sustainable alternative. Grown at room temperature without high-energy processing, they are fully biodegradable and return to the soil at the end of their life, embodying a true cradle-to-cradle design. Mycelium bricks present an eco-friendly substitute for plastics, foams, and traditional fired bricks.
Design for exterior, the grasscarpet descends along the roof and forms a roof above the negative space. The grass roof can serve as a landscape and provide privacy in the negative space.
The toilet provides three green spaces with different levels of privacy for users. The green space in the toilet offers the best concealment and information from the nearby museum. One in the negative space is a semi-public area. It blocks pedestrian sight, but users can still see outside. And the large lawn is a public rest area.
The concept of my toilet design is an environmentally friendly and inclusive public toilet that can be used by all people. So for the selection of materialMycelium brick, a biodegradable material that is durable, naturally fireproof, and can be easily formed into any shape. In addition, it does not require additional coating, so the exterior wall will be completely bare, which is also a way to promote green environmental protection.
Imitation ceramic
Through studying the materials used in Pascal Leboucq’s “The grown pavilion”, realized the properties of mycelium bricks as an environmentally friendly material. “Maison de Verre” uses translucent glass bricks as walls to filter light and increase the privacy of the space.
I decided to design four spaces: one for breastfeeding mothers, a wheelchair toilet, and a standard toilet. By reading Document M, I know the various size requirements for disable toilets. I realized that for toilets with special needs, function needs to be paid more attention to
Indoor Visualization
designed disabled furniture according to document m. Considering the need for grip and the height of the wheelchair, added holding areas to the handrails, which have different material that is eazier to grip. For the elderly, a handle that can be move was added to the toilet. At last, in the breastfeeding room, the small sofa can provide a confutable space for mothers.
redesigned the furniture used in the wheelchair toilet, added hooks at the lower part, changed the material of the grip, increased resistance, and improved safety and comfort.
Construction Research
1:10 at A4
Mycelium brick
Composition: Chopped flax, mycelium
Size: L 22.0 cm x W 11.0 cm x H 7.0 cm
Timber
Size: L 45cm x W 4cm x H 7cm
Plasterboard
Size: L 4.5 x W 1.4cm x H 3m
1:1200 at A1
Toilet height: 3m highest part of the grassland: 0.4m
(I appreciate being selected to participate in the Toronto/Melbourne/London design festival.)
This project is a re-creation of my undergraduate project. The original site was located in the South Kensington tunnel. Under my re-creation, the site was moved from underground to the above-ground section of the same road.
The reason is that the renovation of the National History Museum garden, which is about to be completed, has solved the problems of toilets, light and greenery in the tunnel. The garden is open every day and does not charge admission. Near the entrance of the connecting tunnel, there are multiple toilets and rest areas. The windows previously blocked by construction have also been reopened to provide green and bright light to the tunnel.
On the other hand, the new site on the ground level, as an alternative route to the museums, requires a convenient public toilet for visitors to use, with more green plants and comfortable rest areas.
Bird Forest
focused on studying the coexistence of humans and animals in urban ecology. How should humans, as owners of urban space, get along with animals? The impact of animals and ecosystems on urban relics and humans, and how urban parks help animals survive in the city. Adaptability and utilization of urban resources are used to determine whether birds can interact with humans in the park. Based on this classification, different areas are designed based on the boundaries between birds and humans.
Ladywell Fields is a park that has been renovated twice. They set "Providing a living environment for animals" as a goal. Unfortunately, Ladywell has never been able to maintain the number of species. I chose to solve this problem with small, long-term installations with environmentally friendly materials and conducting periodic maintenance.
Site Analysis
Urbanization is often accompanied by increased population and buildings, which destroys the original environment and creates artificial ecosystems. A lack of animals affects ecological balance and basic health, so studying their needs in cities is significant.
Animals show different trends after contact with urban environments. In urban ecology, animals in cities can be divided into three types: urban exploiters, urban adapters and urban avoiders. Urban adaptors are species found in urban fringes. They depend on natural resources but can take advantage of human subsidies...(Sarah, 2012)
Therefore, as the only sub-natural area in the city, the urban park needs to provide suitable habitats for urban adaptors to maintain the urban ecosystem.
This map records the animals I encountered when I visited Ladywell Fields. Most of the species in the park are birds. Since I did not observe large groups of nests during the inspection, I can conclude that these birds are not permanently based in one place. Moreover, no fish can be seen living in the river due to its low water level. In conclusion, The park does not have a complete food chain, and the number of species is small on average, disproportionate to the size of Ladywell fields.
Animal Research
Since urban avoiders actively avoid cities, I will analyse the five bird species in the park, whether they are urban avoiders or exploiters.
The probability of appearing
As the number of participants increases, more residents notice birds' needs and importance. (hillyfields.blogspot.com.n.d.)
making fatballs for birds sold some 'merch' observing / recording birds listening to songs (birds)
I noticed that there is a blog dedicated to the recording of birds in the community. They organize birdwatches annually, record the number of birds, sell bird-related books, make feeders, etc. According to the records, most of the participants are families with children. This kind of activity has important educational significance for kids.
Whom? Families with Children
Through studying the birdwatch activity, set the target audience of the human area to families. Firstly, it is located close to residential areas, which favours residents. Secondly, in my observation, the entertainment facilities for children in Ladywell fields are concentrated in the northern fields, mainly playgrounds and ball games brought by kids. For parents who bring their children to the southern fields, their purpose is more to let their children have more contact with nature, which is good for health and can train their ability.
Audience Research
This map records birds and families' routine in Ladywell Fields. Due to the concentration of people in the northern field, only groups of urban exploiters appear there. In my observation, families who come to the southern fields focus on the interaction between nature and children, but because there is a lack of rest areas, such families cannot play in this area for a long time.
Sections of Key Points
The coexistence area, is where humans and animals coexist but do not disturb each other. The bridge allows people to overlook the entire area from above.
The bird refuge, some urban adapters still rely on some natural environment, so humans are prohibited from using this area.
Animal Only Area
Ladywell Fields is home to many ducks, and the river is shallow. So designed two artificial islands as bird refugees, inspired by The Bird Palace. The islands ensure the distance between birds and tourists while providing an observation platform, as well as rain shelter areas and nests for ducks and birds.
Bamboo is a fast-growing, renewable material that absorbs more CO2 than trees and has a low environmental impact. Compared to wood, bamboo matures much faster and regenerates without replanting. For birds, bamboo is strong enough to support their weight— unlike metal, which is energy-intensive and less sustainable.
In the design, was inspired by the Dragon Mountain Landmark Pavilion. The forest-like stainless steel poles interspersed with flat mirrors reminded me of dew on leaves. The bird-grip areas are on the top of the pole, and the "treetop" below is a rainwater storage device. In addition, designed the seats based on the heights of children and parents.
Coexistence Area
Bridge
This observation area is built on a bridge, ensuring that human routes do not interfere with the bird-only area. The sturdy bridge can also accommodate bicycles. I also set up a rain shelter and rest area on the bridge. The Bicycle Bridge across the Sava River inspired the design.
Sugarcret is a low-carbon building material made from sugarcane waste and mineral binders. Lighter and faster to cure than concrete, it uses up to 90% less steel, has only 15–20% of concrete’s carbon footprint, and is reusable, fire-resistant, and ideal for modular construction.
Animal Only Area
The target group is timid urban adaptors, so I chose to set the site in a clearing in the forest. The area includes a bird tower and a feeding and water storage device. The mid-air bridge allows people to overlook the habitat. This design combination is a reference to the seed garden.
Matter of Rest
This project includes two parts: an individual design based on my research and understanding of the client’s space and a group project responding to the client’s needs.
Part 2: Three in One Product design (Group)
We focused on sustainability and modularity. Starting from the café, we reused coffee grounds to create a multi-functional product—a pot that also works as a lampshade, using a shared mold to ensure consistency and flexibility. In the team, I mainly focused on the primary research and drawing and developing our design, and also helped with the coffee ground experiment.
Name: Charlie
Job: Yoga coach
Location: Bussey Building, A4
Use of sustainable materials such as hardwood floors and bamboo lamp shades, reducing harmful emissions and prioritising an eco-friendly footprint.
Modular items (e.g., plant pots, lampshades, a bowl, and a box) that enhance design flexibility, reduce waste, and speed up production. Effective lighting control to set moods for different times of day, promoting both energetic and calming experiences in the studio.
Part 2 Site: Three in One
Part 1: Meditation Puzzle
Outdoor Yoga Space Design (Individual)
designed a movable garden—a flexible outdoor yoga platform that adapts to limited space. Inspired by Yogarise’s rooftop yoga at the Bussey Building, aimed to create a more accessible and calming yoga area in the small garden near the building. As an introvert, I value privacy during yoga, so designed a “private space within a public area”, using modular platforms and Zen garden elements to bring peace and a connection to nature.
Part1Site:MeditationPuzzle
Yogarise Peckham
Site Research
Concept Collage
decided to include zen garden in the project. I extracted the elements of the arc pattern from the zen garden. The wave-like arc reminds me of the meridian of the leaf. The shape of the leaves reminds me of a flat boat with a similar shape.
In Buddhism, leaves and boats have the same meaning, they represent the reflection on life on the road of practice, the purpose of this reflection is similar to the relaxation of the spirit.
Exploring the Movement of the Puzzle
This is a rough paper model showing how seperate my puzzle in the initial plan.
1:50 using A4 paper
Calulating the size of my initial cutting plan
In my initial vision, the width of the pieces are the same, they are all 2m, which is slightly larger than the size of a single yoga mat. But forgot that due to the curved design, the length of the pieces are different, which make the pieces on both sides of the puzzle too small to use.
So I started experimenting with different sized pieces on paper and how they looked.
Playing and experimenting with movable pieces
Exploring the Size of the Puzzle
By deleating the zen-garden, the size of each puzzle become deferent. The four end-pieces have the smallest size among all.
2.5m on the two end,than 1.8m for each piece
The first cutting plan failed, the main reason is that the size of the two ends is too small.
Due to the curved design, the ends on both sides cannot be used to place yoga mats, so designed it as a meditation area and a self-study area. After calculations, I got two options to try.
With 2.5m on either side of the puzzle, they can be used as seats.
garden
envision all the pieces to have a straight edge so they can be easily joined together. Turn out, I forgot that the zen garden is curved.
Solar lights and birdbath are evenly distributed on the zen garden. Due to its narrow size and its functions: decoration, feeding and lighting, it does not require much movement. So I think it is more reasonable to split the zen garden into two part.
zen
After confirming the size of each piece(puzzle), I decided to make a physical model. aim for this model to intuitively show the difference between the three different height pieces of the puzzle.
I made small balls out of clay to act as wheels, and since all the original detachable wheels in the yard were mostly 10cm, decided to use this size directly as the wheels for the puzzle.
The scale used for this model is 1:50 on A4. After finished one piece, I found that the model of this size was smaller than I imagined, and the small plant pot and birdbath made could not fit in. Therefore, the main purpose of this model is to show the feasibility of the movable puzzle.
Further Study of model - Movement
After I tried to collage model, realized that the focus of my meditation puzzle should still be on the interaction between the puzzle and people. So after the tutorial, I simplified the physical model again.
simplified the two materials: wood and gravel into quartz sand and wood chips to make models. After a second simplification, decided to use cardboard for the remaining pieces. The physical model brings me more possibilities for permutations and combinations, and I even added movable blocks in the yard to it.
Analysis the Space
and
After observation, we found that there are just two green plants in the social space of Yogarise. We think that in such a sports environment, plants can improve the quality of the environment while having a positive effect on the human spirit. I found that most yoga studios have scented or essential oil candles. This keeps students focused to a certain extent and makes them more relaxed, thereby reducing stress.
Light in Space
Plant
Space
Second part-inside the Yogarise
Yogarise has four areas: changing room, yoga room, social area and coffee shop. The floors of most rooms are long wooden floors, which are environmentally friendly and can be reused.
Texture and Clay Cycle of Production -Coffee Bean
Our team found that Yogarise is pretty sustainable. Therefore, we decided to use the by-product produced in coffee making as a material to achieve recycle.
During the discussion, the team members gave many interesting ideas for reusing coffee waste, such as: making soap and using it in the coffee shop; making a shelf or bag to store coffee beans; or making candles for lighting
The final product is brown with a coffee aroma. Katye first tried to make a protruding texture on it but found that because our pot is hand-made, it is too thin to make a three-dimensional texture.
We designed a hole in the bottom of the pot to allow water to flow through. But later we gave up this plan, because such potted plants are not easy to take care of. We think that simple and easy-to-care plants such as cacti are suitable for public spaces.
However, this design gave us inspiration, the bulb can be placed in the hole at the bottom and used as a lampshade. So that, candles can be used as a tool to add atmosphere, or as a backup light source.
Final Plan of Pot
Product application
This project proposes a hybrid model of urban farming and co-living in response to increasing urban population, inequality, vacant land, and environmental stress. Set on an underused site in Peckham, it reimagines neglected space as a productive, community-rooted ecosystem for food cultivation, shared living, and ecological learning.
Urban farming offers a way to provide fresh, healthy food, promote local self-sufficiency, and reduce energy consumption from long-distance transportation. Its modular and seasonal nature allows flexible integration into dense urban settings—on rooftops, empty lots, and street edges. The co-living component, inspired by Sun & Co. and WWOOF, blends long-term residence with shortterm volunteering. It fosters interaction among locals, visitors, and residents through shared tasks such as farming, cooking, and maintenance—creating a rhythm of collaboration and care Rather than presenting a fixed architectural solution, this project functions as a self-organising and adaptable framework, shaped by collective participation and ecological reciprocity. It offers a replicable prototype for future cities, where underused land becomes a platform for regenerative living and social resilience.
URBAN HABITAT
This project adopts a vertical farming system within a compact greenhouse, maximizing food production in limited urban space. The modular planting strategy enables seasonal rotation, efficient resource use, and can be easily implemented or scaled across different sites—making it accessible and replicable in dense urban environments.
The greenhouse envelope uses a layered cladding system, with ETFE on the upper canopy and glass on the lower facade. ETFE’s lightweight and high light transmittance reduce the need for structural support and artificial lighting, while its thermal properties help regulate internal temperatures year-round. Its self-cleaning surface and long lifespan minimize maintenance and operational costs. At ground level, the use of glass enhances wind resistance and public visibility, supporting both durability and human interaction. By placing each material where it performs best, the design balances efficiency, transparency, and cost-effectiveness.
The greenhouse supports not only food production, but also education, social interaction, and passive climate control—framing architecture as a low-impact, regenerative system for urban resilience.
Urban farm Green space
Most of them are small livestock farms, and the only two that do are allotment only.
Urban farming offers multiple benefits for cities. It transforms urban green spaces into edible landscapes, contributing to local food production and enhancing food security and self-sufficiency. These spaces also serve as platforms for education and community engagement, making it easier to organize agricultural and food-related learning activities where residents can directly participate and reconnect with nature. Additionally, urban farming is highly adaptable—it can be implemented on rooftops, vacant lots, and street corners, and seamlessly integrated into high-density urban areas through modular and flexible designs that adjust with the seasons.
When went to measure the Safehouse, closely observed the texture of the surrounding walls and also noticed the direction of sunlight throughout the day. These observations led me to consider incorporating the open space next to the Safehouse as part of the greenhouse in my design.
Audience Research
Inspired by Sun & Co. and WWOOF, this project combines coliving and volunteering to connect visitors, long-term residents, and the local community. It includes a greenhouse open to locals, a co-living space for long-term stays, and a volunteer program for guests, blending urban farming, learning, and shared living.
How space in used:
Kitchen/Dining Area – Shared for cooking, meals, and socializing.
Farming – Community-driven urban agriculture for fresh produce.
Laundry – Communal washing & drying facilities.
Work Space – A quiet, shared area for remote work or study.
Bathroom – En-suite facilities for hygiene needs.
Bedroom – Private or semi-private sleeping quarters.
Time and space diagram-bottom half repersent the use of the space from the volunteers, another half is how the communities utilize the space.
Sun & Co. WWOOF
I’m a digital nomad, working remotely as a designer. A few months ago, settled at Safehouse—a co-living apartment connected to an urban greenhouse.
volunteer here a few hours a day—harvesting, seeding, and guiding visitors through vertical planting systems. In return, I eat fresh, organic produce grown just meters away.
Most afternoons, I work from a shared table inside the greenhouse, surrounded by plants and sunlight. It’s a quiet, focused space, with fast Wi-Fi and the steady rhythm of growth.
As cities become denser, believe urban farming must become an integral part of everyday life. It shortens supply chains, reduces emissions, and brings fresh food closer to the people who need it.
Compared to traditional farming, this work is calm and accessible. It keeps me active—watering greens, checking fish tanks, carrying mushrooms—reminding me that a meaningful life can be both simple and grounded.
High-Wire Cultivation System
A high-wire cultivation system for fruiting vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers. Plants are supported by vertical strings suspended from an overhead steel frame, allowing them to grow upward with minimal ground footprint. This setup simplifies harvesting and improves air circulation and light access.
Aquaponic Loop Bed
An integrated aquaponics system combining fish and plant cultivation. Water from fish tanks circulates through grow beds, where leafy crops absorb nutrients filtered by bio-organisms— creating a self-sustaining, soil-less ecosystem.
A compact vertical system designed for leafy greens such as lettuce, kale, and arugula. Multiple horizontal layers allow high-density hydroponic cultivation using artificial lighting and nutrientcontrolled irrigation. This system optimizes space, reduces manual labor, and ensures clean, soil-free growth.
A multi-tiered system for mushroom cultivation, using trays filled with organic substrate. The dark, humid conditions support crops like oyster, enoki, and shiitake mushrooms in a lowlight, quiet zone of the greenhouse.
frame
Mushroom Shelf Unit Shelving
Plastic growing boxes
Moist substrate
Multi-Layer Hydroponic Rack System
PVC trays
Crop Rotation Map
Zone 1 utilises elevated hanging cultivation for leafy greens like Lettuce, Kale, and Spinach, staggered mainly from spring to winter, with growth durations ranging from 2 to 3 months.
Zone 2 features multi-layer hydroponic and aeroponic racks growing fruiting crops such as Tomato, Cucumber, and Eggplant, primarily from spring through late summer, with growth periods between 6 and 8 months.
Zone 3 supports aquaponic systems cultivating herbs and water spinach during spring to autumn, with shorter growth cycles around 2 to 2.5 months. This zone also includes fish species like Tilapia and Carp, with a cultivation cycle of 6 to 12 months
Zone 4 is dedicated to the cultivation of mushrooms like Oyster, Shiitake, and Enoki, allowing year-round production with crop cycles between 3 and 4 months.
This crop rotation plan organises planting and aquaculture across four distinct zones with tailored cultivation methods to optimise growth cycles throughout the year.
This seasonal rotation strategy integrates plant and fish production to effectively reduce the spread of plant diseases and maintain the health of the cultivation systems, ensuring optimised resource use and continuous harvests.
This diagram shows how passive systems—sunlight, airflow, and rainwater—are harnessed to regulate climate and support year-round growing. Waste is recycled into resources, creating a closed-loop system where architecture and ecology work as one.
Invisible citiesValdrada
"Invisible Cities" is a novella by Italo Calvino. By using Marco Polo as the narrator, the novel tells the stories of 55 cities. These cities reflect the dilemma and conflict between people and space in different social backgrounds through their environment, space, and stories between residents.
The cities in this novel are all imaginary. As Polo says, "To distinguish the characteristics of other cities, I must always start from a major city that is always hidden behind. For me, that city is Venice." "Every time I describe a city I am saying something about Venice.” (Calvino, 1974)
He exaggerated the characteristics of the cities he observed and integrated them into these 55 cities. Depending on which angle one views the city from, the results will vary, as different people pay attention to different aspects based on their experiences and knowledge. These fictional cities and themes represent the author's "angle" and
In the chapter "Cities and Eyes," I analyze and model the city of "Valdrada" to discuss the unique socio-cultural and spatial relationships within Southeast Asian cities.
"City and Eyes" mainly explores "ideas of sight, surveillance and control" (Mahon, 2023) and Valdrada is discussing the theme of seeing and being watched.
I believe residents are the microcosm of the city, so I analyze human behaviour first to understand the city.
The residents in Valdrada are both observers and the observed. They gaze at their own reflections on the lake, and they also change their behaviour according to the reflections.
In philosophy, what is observed is called the "object" and the "subject" is the observer. In the city of Valdrada, the object is each inhabitant.
"To gaze implies more than to look at – it signs a psychological
relationship of power, in which the gazer is superior to the object of the gaze." (Schroeder, 1998) “The individual that the gaze is applied to then begins to view themselves in the thirdparty view of that objectifying gaze.” (Calogero; TantleffDunn; Thompson,2011) Therefore, Polo mentioned that "it is not so much their copulating or murdering that matters as the copulating or murdering of the images, limpid and cold in the mirror." (Calvino, 1974) Additionally, this theory led me to choose the main concept of "reflection"——the world in the mirror, which is more important than the model of the city.
The mirror is objective, it reflects everything, but people only selectively accept what they want to see. The inhabitants are concerned only with their own reflections. I think these residents may have narcissistic tendencies, they are self-centred, arrogant and lack empathy. This reminds me of objects distorting state after being refracted by a mirror.
Being watched by countless eyes, made me feel scared and anxious. Valdrada seems to be transparent, people have no personal space, and no privacy. Such a scene reminds me of Hong Kong's Kowloon Walled City - a small and chaotic "city".
With the war and political factors, Kowloon Walled City became an unmanaged enclave. Homeless people, refugees, criminals, addicts and other marginalized groups gathered here, creating an extremely crowded slum.
Most people learn about Kowloon Walled City through movies and news, which usually leaves people with a limited and prejudiced perception. It's similar to observing a city from a third-party perspective through a kaleidoscope; what people see is the consequence of being mirrored multiple times.
Jackie Pullinger is an English Protestant Christian missionary who came to Hong Kong and founded St. Stephen's Society in the Walled City. She mainly works with drug addicts, youths and gang members in the city. She described Kowloon Walled City in this way: " … However, corruption was rampant; young girls were sold to brothers; triad gangs ruled; and there were over 40 opium and heroin dens. One toilet for up to 100,000 people in 6 acres, outside which they piled the dead addicts at once."
(St. Stephen’s Society ,2023) A cage in a group-rented house was what she knew about the city. All things are shared, and no one has personal space. It is hopeless and depressing.
As Chen Peiran, the owner of the medicine store, said in an interview: "Although many people have committed crimes and hid in the Walled City, they will not harm the residents of the city... Neighbours have a good relationship; we all jointly supervise and maintain law and order in the Walled City." (Suo,2021)
Mr. Chen claims to be a normal resident—someone who own a room on the upper floor of a building. They do not intersect with the residents wandering on the ground floor. They create a second layer of space between buildings and connect the city through windows, roofs, and walls. These residents think the city is united and warm.
After the 1960s, more and more people moved into this "independent city," the urban space was maximized, and modular structures were added to the original buildings.
The picture shows the foundation of the buildings in the Walled City. This foundation looks ridiculous, it has no support for the building. So, the building is easy to tilt, but because the buildings are densely packed together in the city, they gained extra support.
Kowloon Walled City is anarchistic buildings that reflect social class and suffering. Its bottom is silt, those hopeless mires with no way out, and above it is green shoots trying to grow upward. It is also the epitome of Hong Kong, where the rich live on the top of the hill and the poor suffering in limited spaces at the foot of the mountain.
Such a metaphor reminds me of Japan's Nakagin Capsule Tower and metabolism architecture. It seems Valdrada is similar to the Walled City after studying it. Similarly, Valdrada is a growing green plant from its reflection. It is alive on the shore, but silent in its reflection.
A one-story frame structure was initially constructed using wooden strips to imitate the buildings found in the Kowloon Walled City. I wanted to create a chaotic, upwardgrowing atmosphere by stacking all the floors together.
Unfortunately, due to the demolition of the Walled City, I have not found authoritative measurement data, so the rough model has no scale.
While making the frame, I started thinking about how to put mirrors in the city, I tried using mirrored paper instead of wooden strips. After replacing the wooden strips, the frame is closed, which does not meet my idea of Valdrada being transparent and having no privacy.I made simple kaleidoscopes from rolls, PVC and mirror paper. To verify its effect, I collage different coloured papers to observe the reflection of the mirror. When working with the kaleidoscope, I found that coloured paper was reflected multiple times to create patterns that matched my idea of things being distorted.
Nakagin Capsule Tower was built in 1972. It consists of two connected buildings with 11 and 13 floors.
A movable city was created by Kisho Kurokawa by building a stable frame and adding movable cabins. There are 140 capsules in total, and each capsule is only 10 square metres. Nakagin Capsule Tower is a utopian building, but because of realistic constraints, Kisho Kurokawa was not able to achieve the movable and replaceable concept he envisioned.
The design of the tower began with the post-war reconstruction of Japan. Architects propose a new urban form: cities and buildings are not static entities but are constantly changing. Metabolism architecture is a building that follows the cycle of nature, which is related to Shinchintaisha, the Japanese term for metabolism.
Conceptually, the "standardised space" of the capsule means removing the individuality of the space. In the architect's description, he
mentioned letting the residents customize their own space in pure white, but the capsule's prefabricated assembly controls the scale of the space, which limits each resident's individuality.
All the furniture in the cabin is closely connected to the space, making me feel oppressed and bound. The building and its inhabitants form a relationship of controlling and being controlled. The cabin appears in the form of a "closed box", which reflects the designer's understanding of the Japanese social environment at that time: only necessary living equipment is required, and a small round window allows interaction with the outer environment.
According to one of the last residents of the tower, Cosplaykoechan, a DJ, she likes the futuristic sense of the building, and she feels that the interior is very new. (Kahan, 2022) From the feelings of the residents, it can be found that people pay more attention to the concept and appearance of the building, andthey are obsessed with the idea behind the building.
The building in Valdrada is transparent and surrounded by walls. Residents trap themselves in boxes, and their relationship with the surrounding environment is rigid, but I can feel the sense of power from the building. The stacked houses are like leaves, growing upwards. This is similar to how I felt about the Nakagin Capsule Tower. Therefore, I added the architectural form of "constructing a single building like a city through units" into the model.
According to colour psychology, I add coloured paper to the capsule to show the residents' emotions. But because the coloured paper is relatively thin, I changed it to mirror-coloured paper.
I stacked the capsules randomly, trying to find a suitable shape. After continuous experimentation, I think that "can be stacked freely" is just a display of the vitality of the city.
As a cylindrical kaleidoscope
wouldn't fit my model, I incorporated the prism into a frame that acts as both a part of the model as well as a thirdperson view.
Nakagin Capsule Tower is the reference for my model’s scale, I set the cabin data as 8, 4.2, and 5cm(1:50). I put different shapes of mirrors in the frame to represent the ubiquitous prying, showing the plight of the residents who have no privacy. In addition, I also wanted to show the characters of the inhabitants. So, I put a
When I was looking at the model, I was fascinated by the reflection(on black PVC). Dark reflections in the water are more appealing to me than brightly coloured cities on the coast. At that moment, I seemed to be transformed into Valdrada on the shore, I stared at myself in the water like the narcissus from Greek mythology.
minifigure of the same scale in the model.
My tutor compared this phenomenon to the Greek mythology character Narcissus, as we discussed the model's reflection in tutor meeting.
As a hunter from Boeotia, Narcissus was famous for his beauty, but he rejected all courtships and eventually became infatuated with his own reflection in a pool of water and gazed at it until he died. Upon his death, a narcissus sprouted.
I have told many tutors about my idea and reference, but due to different backgrounds, they cannot understand my interpretation of the city of Valdrada without understanding the cities and social environment in Southeast Asia.
Kowloon Walled City is a narcissus flower. The buildings in the walled city are clustered together, blocking the entry of sunlight. Only the roofs receive sunlight, making it the most important public space for residents. The lower levels were occupied by the homeless and gangs, shaping the city into a flower growing upward from the mud.
Narcissus fell in love with an unreachable reflection, symbolizing an obsession with fantasy and idealism—a trait mirrored in the Nakagin Capsule Tower. Born from futuristic dreams, the building gradually lost itself in formal selfadmiration. Its designers prioritized conceptual purity over practical human needs, revealing a kind of architectural narcissism.
As Calvino writes, “The two Valdradas live for each other, their eyes interlocked; but there is no love between them” (Calvino, 1974, pp.54). The city is a “Narcissus,” but its residents are narcissistic—they judge what they see in the reflection rather than engage with it. Like Narcissus, they cannot truly connect with the object of their affection, reflecting self-isolation, difficulty in human communication, and a cold, distant relationship between people and the cities they inhabit.
There is collectivism in society, we obey the group. Many people have “child ego state”, people lack recognition, and they are easily influenced by others' words. From another perspective, Valdrada‘s residents' gaze at reflection, is also a manifestation of a lack of self-confidence. Bibliography
