Week 4 Shaping urban identities in a globalising word

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THOUGHTS

Every morphological layer of urban forms add character and value to the

environemnt improving the authenticity and place identity

They determine the movement pattern of the environment and also the

functions of each type of area

Involving people in the design process can potentially add more character to the private and semi private spaces i.e community gardens, urban farms, roof top gardens.

W7 Morphology: Hong Kong

The main focus is about the shop houses that make up the major morphological setup of Hongkong. This building typology that serves both as a residence and commercial activities, with styles of roofed terraces and covered continous walkways. This is commonly found in neighbouring south east Asian regions such as Bangkok, singapore, Jakarta and Penang. The upcoming morphological studies underline how urban forms have evolved over the years out of many factors such as problems with hygiene, different collonial times and changes in occupation and economy. Urban morphology investigates urban forms, streets, and open spaces from both cultural and philosophical perspectives.

IMPORTANCE

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A LOOK AT MARYLEBONE, LONDON

Shop house section in Penang (Fadzil, 2011)

Inner street pedestrianised within a perimeter block with commercial activities on the outer edge (marketplace)

These streets mainly exist for pedestrain and bike movement

Buildings orientate to form active frontages

Back alley for ventilation and for daily chores such as washing and drainage. Presently it becomes hard to maintain and service owing to narrow widths

SHOP HOUSES

Being a flexible live work environment with shops on the groundfloor. All buildings fronts onto the main street. Typology was formed before the wide spread adoption of motorised vehicles, more complex block forms inner street. This may be due to irregular plots layouts.

Modular typology forming rationalised grid structure onnects back to the city. However narrow service alleyways lack green space / public realm. This may evolve in the future depending upon improvements in environmental qualtiies.

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Buildings orientate to form active frontage Perimeter block Being a flexible live-work environment with shops on the groundfloor. All buildings fronts onto the main street The street is always active and very convivial.

Highly efficiency, supporting high density. Separation between shop and apartments entrance provides greater flexibility The effectiveness of 2m ventilation strip is doubtful. The perimeter block itself blocks most of the wind and daylight. This can affect the wellbeing

Shop house evolution (Wong, 2021))

W8 Morphology: Ahmedabad, India

The main focus is about Gurukul, walled city and Paldi that make up the urban morphology of Ahmedabad, a historic and heritage city in India. WALLED CITY

Commercial and mixed-used plots located along primary and secondary routes, mostly within perimeter of the site.

Institutions located further within the

wall and act as architectural landmark

for tourists. They are primarily utilised by locals.

Difficult to navigate as a visitor due to narrow, winding streets.

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WALLED CITY

Highly concentrated, fine grain Less legibility, high permeability

Large numbers of mix use and commercial along main arterial routes

Residential units (centered)

Primary, secondary, tertiary routes with decreasing widths

More pedestrian and bike suitability within the community