Heidi Au-Yeung_Y5 |Unit 14 | Bartlett School of Architecture

-

HEIDI AU-YEUNG YEAR 5

UNIT

Y5 HAY

INTERSTITIAL PLAY

@unit14_ucl

All work produced by Unit 14 Cover design by Charlie Harris www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/architecture Copyright 2019 The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

@unit14_ucl

HEIDI AU-YEUNG YEAR 5 Y5 HAY

heidiauyeung@gmail.com heidiauyeung.com @heidi_a.y

INTERSTITIAL PLAY

RECONSTRUCTING THE HONG KONG COAST. Hong Kong

I

nterstitial Play proposes a new typology of urban

expansion as a critique of Hong Kong’s current sea reclamation methods, easing the acute land shortage and creating a new threshold to the city.

transport and cultural infrastructure.

Interstitial Play, is a new vernacular achieved through reclamation, celebrating the local, spatial and visual culture of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is a city that has lived under a countdown of its status, its current ‘Special Administrative Region status ceases in 2047, placing the city in political instability due to an assumed disappearance of identity experienced

by Hong Kong-ers. Yet this project argues that the conflict is not so much the disappearance and preservation of an identity, but rather how Hong Kong will continue to construct and reconstruct its identity and appearance to remain distinct as ‘Asia’s World City’.

Furthermore, this project proposes an alternative to recent proposals to construct a new artificial island to accommodate for the city’s needs. Not only should existing infrastructure networks drive the city’s reclamation, but current infrastructural space could be reclaimed for the city’s growth. As such, Interstitial Play is the play of the space in-between the city and sea, transforming the current highways into a new civic space connecting the city back to its waterfront.

The project is situated at the foot of Hong Kong’s iconic skyline, juxtaposing a top down enforced identity with local identity, reinventing the skyline image of the city. The new urban landscape emulates the mountainous terrain of Hong Kong geography, using the oblique to multiply occupiable space to capture the multilayered nature of the city and allowing a diverse range of local activities to be interwoven together. From the racecourse to the marina, tramway to the parks, local markets to theatre spaces, the project seeks to integrate

F R A G M E N T

S E C T I O N

0 1

Section showing the connection between the existing IFC with the proposal

FRAGMENT SECTION 01

Section showing the connection between the existing IFC with the proposal

F R A G M E N T

S E C T I O N

0 1

Section showing the connection between the existing IFC with the proposal

FRAGMENT SECTION 01

Section showing connection between the proposal and harbour.

F R A G M E N T

S E C T I O N

0 2

Section showing connection between the proposal and harbour.

3

I N T E R S T I T I A L

P L A Y

R E C O N S T R U C T I N G T H E H O N G K O N G C O A S T.

UNIT FOURTEEN H E I D I A U Y E U N G YAT N I N G

4

5

O V E R

The project situates itself w between the city fabric and connection to

6

V I E W

within the interstitial space d the coast, creating a new o the harbour.

7

G L O B A L CITIES INDEX

This map zooms into in Asia the region with the greatest growth in the past few decades and where most of the worlds population live. All the major cities are identifiable as nodes on the map of internet sumarine cables.

The Global Cities Index ranks cities based on their business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience and political engagement.

9. BEIJING 87. TIANJIN

12. SEOUL 50. OSAKA

88. NANJING 89. CHENGDU

19. SHANGHAI

58. NEW DELHI 71. GUANGZHOU 79. SHENZHEN

45. TAIPEI

5. HONG KONG 91. KOLKATA

Whilst Hong Kong does not have a choice to refuse integration with the Pearl River Delta. The key issue here is how to handle and regulate the integration process so we can maximise benefits and reduce negative impacts.

52. MUMBAI

64. MANILA 82. CHENNAI

43. BANGKOK

80. HO CHI MINH

45. KUALA LUMPUR

7. SINGAPORE Singapore has grown by around 25 per cent through aggressive reclamation since gaining independence in 1965.

59. JAKARTA

1. NEW YORK 2. LONDON 3. PARIS 4. TOKYO 5. HONG KONG

G L O B A L

C I T I E S

Hong Kong is a Special Adminstrative Region of China, a gateway to a population of 1.4 billion people with 6 landing stations receiving 24 submarine cables with the financial services industry being the largest customer base of data centre providers.

8

In 2018 Global Cities Report, Hong Kong is ranked fifth most influential city in the world, competing with multiple neighbouring cities including Shanghai, Singapore and Seoul. To maintain its autonomy, Hong Kong must increase its competitiveness as a city.

4. TOKYO Tokyo is still the world’s largest city with 37 million inhabitants, but it’s growth has plateaued and is projected to begin declining around 2020

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

5

4

ONE CITY

M U LT I P LY 0 1

M U LT I P LY 0 2

1 Identifying the centre of the city and its boundaries.

1 One complete city developed

1 One complete city developed

2 Identify main axis of infrastructure and road

2 Join with other city along main route whilst

2 Join with other city along main route whilst

3 Creating sub roads connecting the main roads.

maintaining access from both ends

maintaining access from both ends

4 Densification of areas along infrastructure routes.

3 Merge with third city

3 Merge with third city

5 Incremental densification of the city over time.

4 Merge with fourth city

4 Merge with fourth city

C I T Y

G R O W T H

An abstract study of how the unit city can grow and adapt according to population changes. Diagrams show how a unit of the city ‘block’ grows: key roads and infrastructure organised in a radial pattern and attracting the nesting of other programs in between the key paths as the city grows and densifiies.

9

PROGRAM <TemporaryCity>: initialization; \begin{company} \define{staff} if {administration}:{finance} {communication}hired continue {softprepartion} else continue hiring. end.

BERLIN GERMANY

LONDON, UK

MOSCOW, RUSSIA

softpreparation; \define{location}{00.00°N,00.00°E} \define{theme} \begin{event management plan} \submit{management plan} = council while council process do keep planning; do host small events; do continue promotion; if {council approved} go to next step; else edit and resubmit end. \invite{performing artists} if accepted Go to next step; else Res end. \hire{contractors} \promote{online}:facebook, twitter,website,instagram \begin{selling tickets}:online if {sold out} arrange logistics; finalise info pack; else continue publicity end. end. \date{event<30days}{DD,MM,YY} \distribute{informationpack}

ST PETERSBERG, RUSSIA

ROME, ITALY

MILAN, ITALY

loading; in:[tempteam;contrators] ; \clear{site} if animals; go relocate; else flatten ground; \deliver{material}:fence \install {infrastructure}:water,power; \construct {fence} \define {zones} \construct {stage}{stalls} \arrival {team} : steward,security,staff; \rehearsal{performances} end. processing [guests]; \check {guests arrival}= security; \monitor {zone density} if too dense; go relocate; else continue; end. \manage {facilities}: toilet,shower,waste \monitor {event} if emergency contact First Aid else contact state support end.

PARIS, FRANCE

MADRID, SPAIN

MEXICO CITY

finishing; in:[tempteam;contrators; volunteers] ; \clear{site} if belonging report lost and found; else recycle; end. \deconstruct {infrastructure}:water,power; \deconstruct {fence} \return{material}:fence \departure {team} : steward,security,staff; end.

reviewing; in:[permstaff] ; \begin {financial accounts} if profit; donate; else invest; end. \review {event} if incident propose new else continue report end. end. \submit {report}=council. end. // res.

NEW YORK, USA

LAS VEGAS, USA

DUBAI, UAE

U R B A N

P A T T E R N S

Each city is defined by multipled grids, yet when zoomed out they form a centre from which key roads branch out.

The psuedo code speculates on how the unit city can grow and adapt according to population changes.

10

PSUEDOCODE

C I T Y

G R O W T H

Abstract speculation on the multiplication of cities.

11

22.3964° N

N GUA DON

G AN GU ZH OU

FO S

HA

N

SHENZHEN

114.1095° E

ZHUHAI HK SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION MACAU

SCALE 1:400 000

P E A R L

R I V E R

D E LT A

Hong Kong has been a contested territory. Originally a fishing village, transformed into a British Colony. It sits at the edge of the Pearl River Delta, an area with the most concentrated urban development in the past decade. Its population growth coupled with urban sprawl is transforming it into a megapolis to become the world’s largest urban area.

China’s ‘Great Bay Plan’ merges the nine cities of the Pearl River Delta’s – Shenzhen, Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, and Guangzhou, Foshan and Zhaoqing in the centre which Beijing wants to integrate into a dynamic tech and business hub.

As Hong Kong returns to China in 2047, it is threatened to become part of this megapolis, losing its unique identity and ceasing to exist in the map.

12

SEE BOOKLET

FISHING VILLAGE

1500

European ships began arriving along China’s southern coast.

CANTON PORT

1600

In 1684, China reopened its doors to trade with the outside world, impacting global commerce. Canton quickly emerged as one of the few ports in the world where everyone was welcomed and had access to everything including tea, silk, and porcelain.

1700 1800

By early 19th Centruy, trade of Chinese goods became lucrative for British merchants yet Chinese would not buy British products in return and only sold their goods in exchange for silver, resulting in large amounts of silver were leaving Britain.

Consequently, British merchants began to smuggle Indian opium into China illegally, by 1839, opium sales to China paid for the entire tea trade.

1840

O P I U M WA R June 1840 A British force of 4,000 blockades Canton.

Negotiations break down and the British fleet attacks Canton and occupies the city’s forts.

1841

BRITISH COLONY January 1841 A draft treaty, the Convention of Chuen Pi, which cedes Hong Kong to the British.

January 26, 1841: The British raise their flag at Possession Point on Hong Kong island. Five months later, British officials began selling plots of land and the colonization of Hong Kong began.

1842

1900 REPUBLIC OF CHINA

P O P U L AT I O N F L U X POPULATION (MILLIONS)

August 29, 1842 The Treaty of Nanking is signed, abolishing the monopoly system of trade and opens five Chinese coastal ports to British trade: Canton, Amoy (Xiamen), Fuzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai.

1

1912

4

5

6

7

8

1850

1860 1870

1914

Hong Kong, amongst multiple cities in Guangzhou becomes a safe haven as Japanese invade China. Pushing HK’s population to 1.5 million in 1939.

WW2

3

1840

China’s modern founder, leads a nationalist revolt that eventually toppled the Qing government and establishes the Republic of China in 1912.

WW1

2

1941

JA PA N E S E O C C U PAT I O N

1880

1939 1945

1900 FAMINE IN CHINA

1890 1900

Hours after the Pearl Harbor attack, Japanese troops attack Hong Kong from the north.

Allied forces withdraw from New Territories and Kowloon to HK Island.

Hong Kong’s population grows due to the waves of immigrants fleeing conflict and famine in China.

1910 1920 1930

1937

1940

December, 1945 Japanese surrender and Hong Kong is returned to being a British Colony.

SINO-JAPANESE WAR Hong Kong becomes a refuge for thousands of mainland Chinese fleeing the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War

1950 1960

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

1949

1953

AN

Mao’s CCP wins the civil war and seals the border between China and the New Territories.

CHINESE CULTURAL REVOLUTION

1970

‘MADE IN HK’ ECONOMIC

1941

BOOM

1966

1979

ASIAN TIGER

YEAR

1945 CHINESE CIVIL WAR

1980

Chinese civil war led to 1.5 million fleeing south to Hong Kong between 1945-1950

Hong Kong’s became a key trading port -established as an “Asian Tiger” as U.S. lifts trade sanctionso on China, one of the region’s economic powerhouses based on hightechnology industries.

Britain and China begin talks on the future of Hong Kong.

1982

SINO–BRITISH J O I N T DECLARATION

1984

1980

TIANANMEN PROTEST

1989 TIANANMEN PROTEST

I N T E R N A T I O N A

More than 100,000 leave Hong Kong following Tiananmen Square incident, creating major brain drain.

FINANCIAL C E N T R E

1990

Britain said that it would grant British citizenship to only 225,000 Hong Kong Chinese before the 1997 handover.

Hong Kong joins the world’s top 10 economies to become an international financial centre.

1990

Britain and China sign Joint Declaration on the conditions under which Hong Kong will revert to Chinese rule in 1997.

1997

1990 HANDOVER

Beijing formally ratifies Hong Kong’s posthandover mini-constitution or Basic Law.

During the 1990s, about 60,000 of Hong Kong’s most successful professionals move overseas (mainly to Canada and Australia).

S P E C I A L

A D M I N I S T R AT I V E R E G I O N

1989

2000

1999 ECONOMIC CRISES

Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China ‘One Country Two System’

The massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square leads to calls for the introduction of further democratic safeguards in Hong Kong.

1998

JAPANESE OCCUPATION As Japan occupies Hong Kong and resulting food shortages impel many residents to return to mainland China.

The population drops from 1.6m in 1941 to 650,000 by the end of WWII.

Immigrants from China create booming textile and light manufacturing industries; ‘Made in Hong Kong’ goods are exported all over the world between 1950 - 1970.

Hong Kong’s slow economic recovery slowly takes hold. In an ironic reversal of history, many locals start looking for work on the mainland.

The Asian financial crisis

2003 SARS

2000

The SARS epidemic led many expats to leave.

2010

2003

The SARS virus epidemic causes, killing 774 lives between Nov 2002 - Jul 2003.

2014

Y E L L O W UMBRELLA MOVEMENT Tens of thousands people took to the streets and OCCUPIED CENTRAL in protest for Hong Kong’s democracy.

-50000

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

NET MIGRATION

2047

?

H I S T O R Y An overview of Hong Kong’s history, transforming from a fishing village to a model metropolitan with a fluctuating population accodring to the opportunities Hong Kong presents to its inhabitants.

SEE BOOKLET

13

PROTEST FOR INDEPENDENCE

14

Beginning with the anti-Article 23 protest in 2003, the patriotism debate in 2003–2004, and the cultural heritage protection campaigns of 2004–2010, Hong Kong-ers have increasingly attempted to assert themselves as a distinct civic and cultural community differing from the mainland Chinese, escalating into the Umbrella Movement in 2014 where more than 100,000 people took to the streets in protest for Hong Kong’s political autonomy from the central government .

LAND

S H O R TA G E

Hong Kong needs an additional 4,800 hectares of land by 2046. Of this area, 3,600 hectares have already been committed and planned, with the search still on for a remaining 1,200 hectares.

NEW

L A N TA U

A new artificial island has been proposed in Lantau to create a new ‘hub’ providing 2,200 hectares of land. Aside from environmental concerns, the reclamation works and provision of the necessary infrastructure will make the land produced too expensive to provide affordable housing, and the process will take too long.

SEA

R E C L A M AT I O N

Since 1840 2290 hectares has been reclaimed from the Victoria Harbour. Between between 2005 and 2013, only 92 hectares of land were reclaimed, compared with 1,164 hectares between 1985 and 1994.

R E C L A I M I N G THE HARBOUR? Traditionally Hong Kong has expanded by reclaiming from Victoria Harbour. If the whole harbour was reclaimed, 1560 hectares will be available.

OFFSET THE COAST? If we offset the reclaimed coastline by 200m, we could provide 1252 hectares of land, extending each district in an existing network of infrastructure.

L A N D

S H O R T A G E

Hong Kong’s urbanism is unique to its geography, defined by the mountainous terrain and coast line. This has also produced an accute land shortage, needing 4,800 hectares of land by 2046.

15

1840

1850

1860

1870

1880

1890

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

1950

1960

1970

2000

2010

V I C T O R I A H A R B O U R R E C L A M AT I O N

16

Reclamation has been carried out incrementally eversince being a colony to meet the growing land demands, espcecially for the purpose of constructing infrastructure: for new highways, airport.

CURRENT

TRADITIONAL

F U L LY D R E D G E D S E A W A L L

SEM I DR EDG ED SE AWALL

NON-DR EDG ED SE AWALL

B O R E D P I L E F O U N D AT I O N

C A I S S O N F O U N D AT I O N

NON-DR EDG ED SE AWALL WI TH SHEETPILE

DEEP CEMENT MIXING G R O U N D F O U N D AT I O N

R E C L A M A T I O N

M E T H O D S

A study of the develpoment and typologies of sea reclamation methods.

17

INDUSTRY

T Y P H O O N S H E LT E R

STONECUTTER CONTAINER TERMINAL

TAI MEI TUK RESEVOIR

TKO TYPHOON SHELTER WONG CHUK HANG TYPHOON SHELTER

HIGH ISLAND DAM

TKO JUNK BAY

LAMMA POWER PLANT

TKO INDUSTRY DISTRICT

ABERDEEN

SHA TIN SEWAGE PLANT

TSING YI SHIPPING DOCK

PLOVER COVE

C O A S T A L

18

F L O AT I N G F I S H FA R M

C O N D I T I O N S

Hong Kongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urbanism is unique to its geography, defined by the mountainous terrain and coast line. This has also produced an accute land shortage, needing 4,800 hectares of land by 2046.

TU 11 data centres

CONTAINER PORT

AINER PO RT CONT

TERMINAL 8

UTES SHIP RO

ER

TO OT

O ST TE

ISL TLYING HER OU

PUBLIC CARGO WORKING AREA

IP

SH

H OT

AR PE

A ELT

RD

IVE

LR

IN IES CIT

TERMINAL 7

CHINESE NAVAL BASE

U RO

STONE CUTTERS ISLAND

ANDS

SEWAGE TREATMENT

MARINE POLICE BASE

Victoria Peak

W

ES TE

VICTORIA PEAK

RN

HA

RB

OU

RT

UN

NE

W

L

LOON CULTURA OW LD TK IST ES

WHOLESALE MARKET

CT

ICT

AL - BUSINESS DIS NTR CE TR I

The West Kowloon Cultural District is a growing arts and cultural hub with performance and exhibition centres, green NEW YAU MA TEI open spaces, and a waterfront promenade TYPHOON SHELTER

Central was the City of Victoria, heart of the British Colony. It is now the Central Busines District of Hong Kong, the home of law firms and banks. But it is the heart of Hong Kong’s nightlife.

CITY HALL

SHA TSUI TSIM

CENTRAL GOV. OFFICE

Tsim Sha Tsui on the tip of the Kowloon Peninsula pointing towards Victoria Harbour, opposite Central. It is a tourist and shopping hub with Nathan Road running down its centre and connecting to the rest of Kowloon. It’s a district that encapsulates all the extremes of Hong Kong. Chanel and Gucci sit just a few hundred metres from a local street markets.

HK CONVENTION EXHIBITION CENTER

1844: The Happy Valley horse race track is built.

EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DEPOT

- EAST ISLAND C OR BAY RI RY AR

Kowloon Walled City

R DO

QU

CAUSEWAY BAY TYPHOON SHELTER

The coast is bordered by the East Island Corridor highway making the waterfront inacessible to the public.

TO KWA WAN TYPHOON SHELTER

K CRUISE TERMIN AL I TA KA SHA TIN 3 data centres

KWUN TONG TYPHOON SHELTER

The former airport of Hong Kong has been transformed into a cruise terminal accommodating two mega cruise ships of up to 220,000 tonnes with a public rooftoop garden.

N ER

ST EA RB

HA

SAN PO KONG 5 data centres

RT OU L NE UN

SHAU KEI WAN TYPHOON SHELTER

SAU MAU PING QUARRY MINE

KWUN TONG INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT

V I C T O R I A

H A R B O U R

In January 1841, a Royal Naval ship docked in what was then known simply as Hong Kong Harbour. Queen Victoria’s loyal servants ran up the Union Jack and, a decade later, renamed the harbour after their monarch.

Victoria Harbour is the face image of Hong Kong, an area which developed into special trade port.

LOHAS PARK 6 data centres

19

ELEVATED WALKWAY SYSTEM Hong Kong has an intensive elevated walkway system developed by the British Urban Planning Department.

ROAD NETWORK The test illustrates how the coast is least accesible, separated by large development schemes.

UNDERGROUND The two shores are connected by multiple tunnels including the cross harbour tunnels for vehicles and the MTR, underground rail system.

S PA C E S Y N TA X A preliminary study of the connectivity across the two coasts of the harbourthrough space syntax. The ground level test demonstrates how the coast is inaccessible and most activity takes place in the inner city.

20

INDUSTRY SPECIFIC TRANSPORT SPECIFIC

TRANSPORT SPECIFIC ORIGINAL

WEST KOWLOON DISTRICT Land reclaimed for specifically for new road network.

Residential and Cultural program added ontop.

URBAN GRID EXTENSION MONG KOK Land reclaimed according to existing urban grid, grid continues into new land.

NEW GRID WAN CHAI A new urban grid applied to reclaimed land, plots of land organised according to shape of reclaimed land.

PUBLIC SPACE CAUSEWAY BAY The previous typhoon shelter was reclaimed to create public space. (The project took place in 1952, when the Hong Kong Jockey Club made a donation of HK$2.5 million to the Government for the reclamation of the Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter on the condition that the area would be retained as an open space for the benefit of the community.)

REVERSE GRID WAN CHAI Urban grid applied to newly reclaimed land extended back into the oexisting coast.

INFRASTRUCTURE SPECIFIC KAI TAK AIRPORT Land reclaimed according to the need of the airport runway .

JUXTAPOSED EXPANDED GRID

KWUN TONG No relationship between the existing fabric and that of the reclaimed land - due to topology of land.

INDUSTRY SPECIFIC

U R B A N PAT T E R N S Overlaying the road pattern with the plots of reclaimed land to understand the relationship between road planning and reclamation. The original coastline has been completely erased in the process of urbanisation.

21

SCALE 1:10000

SCALE 1:10000

CORRIDOR LINK

FREE SPACE

LYRIC THEATRE

FOUND SPACE

VIADUCTS

PALACE MUSEUM

XIQU THEATRE

MARATHON

FOUND SPACE

M+ MUSEUM

M + PAVILLION

FOUND SPACE

TRANSPORT LINKS

1960 / 1980

1990 / 2008

ISLAND EASTERN CORRIDOR LINK

WEST KOWLOON CULTURAL DISTRICT

After World War II, the Eastern District of Hong Kong Island developed rapidly. As a result, the major thoroughfare in the area, King’s Road, became very congested andthe proposal for an expressway built along the northeastern shore of Hong Kong Island was made in 1968. The expressway was built between 1981 and 1989 with multiple sections built as viaducts along Victoria Harbour. It leaves the shore inaccessible by public although the undercroft space could be used.

The reclamation took place in 1990s as part of the Hong Kong Airport Core Programme - 334 hectares of new land between Yau Ma Tei and Lai Chi Kok. The Cultural District was proposed in 2008, located at the southern tip of the reclamation area with an area of 40 hectares, to be developed into a world-class integrated low-density district comprising local and traditional as well as international and modern elements.

I N F R A S T R U C T U R E R E C L A M AT I O N

22

The development of transport infrastructure drove most of Hong Kong’s land reclamation projects despite the waterfront being the most valuable asset of a city.

Being the flattest land available, the sea has been reclaimed for projects such as the Island Eastern Corridor Link, sacrificing the coast for the purpose of efficiency and produces negative space. More recent reclamation demonstrates possiblity to integrate between transport and cultural infrastructure of a city.

RECLAIMED INFRASTRUCTURE The figure-ground map of the city reveals the patterns of incremental reclamation through the year, exposing large patches of empty space If this space was ‘reclaimed’, combined with an extension of the coastline by 120m would provide the suffice area of 1200 ha that Hong Kong is currently needing.

23

E X T E N D I N G

P A T T E R N S

Removing the roads and coastline to read the existing fabric as a single entity, allowing the speculation of the extension of the urban fabric into the harbour.

24

E X T E N D I N G

N E T W O R K S

Removing the coastline to read the existing fabric as a single entity to review the existing axis of the cities and speculate the extension of the urban fabric into the harbour.

25

O V E R V I E W SCALE 1:10 000

26

ICC

A 118-storey, 484 m commercial skyscraper completed in 2010 built on top of Kowloon Station. It was the 4th tallest building in the world when constructed.

KAI TAK

Kai Tak International Airport was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998.

KOWLOON

EAST KOWLOON

The original cultural waterfront of Hong Kongo comprised of the Cultural Center, Art Museum and Space Museum.

CRUISE TERMINAL

Cruise docks here during the day and leaves for international waters during night where gambling is permitted.

WKCD

The West Kowloon Cultural District is a development project that aims to form an international-grade arts and culture hub on an area of land in West Kowloon, Hong Kong that was originally reclaimed in the 1990s as part of the Airport Core Programme.

VICTORIA HABOUR

CENTRAL PIERS

Ferry services connecting to outlying islands of Hong Kong including Lamma Island and Lantau Island.

IFC

With a height of 387.6 m the Two International Financial Center is the second tallest building of HK sitting on top of multiple underground railway including the airport express. The land was reclaimed as part of the Airport Core Programme in the 1990s.

MACAU FERRY

The Cotai Water Jet service runs up to 35 times per day, with each ferry journey lasting 1 hour.

CITY HALL

Opened in 1962, the Hong Kong City Hall is the first multi-purpose cultural complex ever built for the community of Hong Kong.

JARDINE HOUSE

When completed in 1973, it became the tallest building in not just Hong Kong, but all of Asia, and held the title for seven years until it was surpassed in Singapore.

THE CENTRE

Sleek, steel skyscraper, 73 stories high, known for its futuristic lobby and colorful neon lights.

CENTRAL

CENTRAL MARKET

The influx of Chinese artisans and food traders in the beginning of the colony called for the need of market place. The Central Market was formally opened to the south of its present site on 10th June 1842

HSBC

An architectural icon of HK, the first building of its size constructed entirely of structural steel, is the headquaters of HSBC.

MID LEVEL ESCALATORS

The longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world., covering 800 metres in distance and traverses an elevation of over 135 metres from bottom to top.

SOHO LAN KWAI FONG

A set of small streets in Central which was dedicated to hawkers before the Second World War, but underwent a renaissance in the mid1980 and the centre of Hong Kongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s night life with more than 90 bars.

C I T Y

O F

D E N S I T Y

The harbour has undergone many changes through the years as land is incrementally reclaimed from both coasts reclaimed to accomodate the growing urban needs of the city. Nonetheless, it remains to be the heart of Hong Kong.

27

D I S / A P P E A R A N C E

28

This thesis explores the physical appearance of landmass paralleled by the assumed disappearance of identity experienced by Hong Kong. It highlights the relationship between the tangible city and intangible identity, and attempts to uncover the role the built environment plays in the construct of a city â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s identity within the context of Hong Kong.

1860

1880

1890

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

1950

1960

1970

1985

1990

2000

2010

02 04

12 11

03

08

06

07

05

09 10

01

CURRENT 01 02 03 04 05 06

HONG KONG CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRE CENTRAL PLAZA HOPEWELL CENTRE BANK OF CHINA TOWER HSBC MAIN BUILDING EXCHANGE SQUARE

07 08 09 10 11 12

THE CENTER HONG KONG ACADEMY FOR PERFORMING ARTS THE CHINESE PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY FORCES HQ CITY HALL JARDINE HOUSE TWO INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CENTRE

S K Y L I N E A catalogue of Hong Kong’s skyline image since the 1840s - the skyline has constantly evolved, reinventing itself. Little trace of its colonial past could be read as more profitable and prominent buildings replaces older buildings. Each tower is a ‘metaphor of modernity ’, granting the city an automatic status as a global city competing in the world economy.

29

BRAND HONG KONG LOGO

HONG KONG PLANNING BOARD

G L O B A L

I D E N T I T Y

The skyline has not only become the backdrop of every touristâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photo, the postcard image which dominates any Google search result of Hong Kong, but also an image by which the world recognizes Hong Kong.

30

CENTRAL

SKYLINE

IMAGE

This is the most iconic image of Hong Kong publicised over the media and in films. From afar, the changes of the shore could not be recognised

CENTRAL

PLAN

An aerial image of the skyline exposes the highways that line the shore of Central - wasting the most valuable asset of the city.

C E N T R A L WA T E R F R O N T This whole area has been reclaimed through the years. The most recent reclamation was part of the Airport Core Programme and to accomodate for the Western Island Corridor Link and CentralWan Chai Bypass, blocking off prime land for public use.

S I T E

:

C E N T R A L

Central, the financial district and global image of Hong Kong, is built upon reclaimed land constructed for the Airport Core Program. This project situates itself in this node of the city, reclaiming nfrastructural space to integrate new program into the existing network and revive the coast.

31

I N T E R S T I T I A L

S P A C E

The land inbetween the urban fabric and the coast is currently dedicated to transport infrastructure highways and piers to outlying islands.

32

I N T E R S T I T I A L

P L A Y

Reconstructing the Hong Kong Coast. Aerial view of the intervention, an undulating landscape replacing existing highways on the coast of the city.

33

BEIJING

SHANGHAI

CHONGQING

TIANJIN

GUANGZHOU

SHENZHEN

CHENGDU

HONG KONG

S K Y L I N E S

34

As neighbouring Chinese cities have adopted the capitalistic mindset embedded in Hong Kong and gained economy prosperity, not only has the mainland Chinese lifestyle become more similar to the lifestyle of Hong Kong-ers but the skyline of Chinese cities have increasingly become denser, taller and more iconic, making Hong Kongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skyline less legible and imageable in comparison.

35

36

37

T H E PAW N

TA I K O O

HSBC

WAN CH AI

L AG U N A CI T Y

BANK OF CHINA

N G A U TA U K O K

LU N G P OON C O U R T

K11

CIT Y OONE

CENTRAL PLAZA

T Y P O L O G I E S A catalogue of Hong Kong vernacular architecture.

Ackbar Abbas identifies three types of architecture in

38

Hong Kong : ‘Merely Local – the vernacular, placeless, iconic multination office buildings with no memories, and the anonymous – nondescript commercial and residential blocks that seem to replicate themselves endlessly’

M E I H O F L AT

PA R K C E N T R A L

IFC

CHI FU

JARDINE HOUSE

ICC

SUNSCREEN

CLOTHES HANGING TO DRY

1

2

AIR CONDITIONING UNITS

3

BILLBOARDS

4

CANTILEVERED EDGE SHELTERING PATH

5

OPEN SHOPS

6

H O N G

K O N G

S T R E E T S

In the dense and highly competitve streets of Hong Kong, enthusiastic businessmen have reshaped the streets with a myriad of illegally erected billboards suspended from building walls. Not only are they eager invitations to customers and indicator of the activities inside its building, they are the place makers and icons of Hong Kong.

SEE BOOKLET

39

I T I S A N A D V E R T I S M E N T. I T I S A C R A F T. I T I S THE STREETSCAPE. In the dense and highly competitve streets of Hong Kong, enthusiastic businessmen have reshaped the streets of Hong Kong with signboards that extend from walls of building, by however many rods and cables it takes for them to hang in a visible gap. From traditional characters painted onto white backing boards to the glowing neon tubes, that lights up the city at night, these signboards not only represent an enthusiastic invitation to customers or the activities within the building it is hanging from, they are the place makers of Hong Kong.

It is spontaneous. It is illegal. It is dissappearing. With every new business on the street, a proud signboard would be erected onto the walls its building without rule or regulation,. Like parasites, these signboards filled the city throughout the 1900s as Hong Kong's economy began to rise, visually demonstrating the boom of Hong Kong's business.

As businesses leave and come, these signboards would then become abandoned, like a grave to the shop that once existed whilst new signboards continue to squeeze in between the gaps. With years of weathering, the signboards the signboards have become a memoir to the energy of the once thriving local buisinesses, but also a public safety concern of the city as the steel structure that once held them rusts and the neon lights cease to glow.

Whilst regulations have been introduced to new signboards that will be erected, more have been removed with 4,500 signboards being removed in a single year. And as As international investment floodedd in, skyscrapers with clinical curtain walls began to rise on the other side of the city - these signboards are dissapearing from the streets of Hong Kong, changing the identity,

T H R E E G E N E R AT I O N S O F B I L L B O A R D S

8

7

SCALE 1:50 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

40

H O R I Z O N TA L B E A M CROSS BRACING R E PA R I N G L A D D E R BASE FRAME GLASS NEON TUBES SUPPORTING NAILS S P R AY PA I N T E D S H E E T M E TA L S H E E T M E TA L B A S E VERTICAL SUPPORT

B E C O M I N G

H I S T O R Y

As businesses come and go, the billboards become a grave to the shop that once existed, whilst new ones continue to squeeze in between the gaps. Aside from the lack of regulation when they were erected, with years of weathering, the billboards have become an issue of public safety as the steel structure that once held them rusts and the neon lights cease to glow.

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

N AT H A N R O A D Neon lights on the streets

SYD MEAD Concept drawing for Blade Runner

BLADE RUNNER ( 1982 )

BLADE RUNNER ( 1982 )

GHOST IN THE SHELL ( 2017 )

HONG KONG Henessy Road Photoshopped

V I S U A L

C U LT U R E

The overload of spontaneously constructed neon light billboards defined the old Hong Kong visual culture, inspiring cyberpunk art and films. As the city ‘cleans up’ with tightened planning regulations, photographers and artists seek to recreate the intensity and atmosphere of old Hong Kong streets, portraying the city in a semifictional light.

41

11

01 12

02

13

14

03

15

16

04

17

05

18

06 07 19 08 09

20

10

21

22

23 33 24

25

34 26

35 27

36 28 37 29

38 30 39

SPORTS 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

31

40 32

41

MUSEUM 44

47

42 46 45 43

HAPPY VALLEY RACECOURSE HK STADIUM WAN CHAI SPORTS GROUND VICTORIA PARK MUNICIPAL SERVICES BUILDING LAN KWAI FONG BARS MUNICIPAL SERVICES BUILDING POOL MUNICIPAL SERVICES BUILDING SPORTS CENTRE

48

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

PMQ HONG KONG ART CENTRE WEST KOWLOON CULTURAL DISTRICT HONG KONG ART MUSEUM TEAWARE MUSEUM CENTRAL LIBRARY METHODIST CHURCH FRINGE CLUB MONG KOK STREET MARKET CENTRAL PIER

MALLS 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

TIMES SQAUARE ISQUARE MALL HYSAN MALL SOGO MALL CHONG KING MANSIONS IFC MALL CENTRAL MARKET 1888 MALL WAN CHAI MARKET HARBOUR CRUISE TERMINAL PACIFIC PLACE TST SOGO

ARTS

MARKETS

33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

HONG KONG EXHIBITION CENTRE ACADEMY OF PERFORMING ARTS HONG KONG ARTS CENTRE HONG KONG CULTURAL CENTRE WKCD MUSEUMS CITY HALL SCIENCE MUSEUMS EVENT SPACE

CENTRAL MARKET LEI YUEN STREET CAUSEWAY BAY MARKET CENTRAL MARKET LKF STREETS MONG KOK LADIES MARKET WAN CHAI MARKET TOY STREET

C ATA LO G U E O F P U B L I C S PA C E S Scale 1.5000 A Catalogue of key public spaces along the Harbour.

42

S E E B O O K L ESEE T - BOOKLET S PAT I A L C U LT U R E

HISTORY 1846

FIRST HORSE RACE

1884

HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB

1931

H A P P Y VA L L E Y R A C E C O U R S E

1946

Held at Happy Valley, Horse Racing was introduced by the British Colony as an etlitist social scene.

Held at Happy Valley, Horse Racing was introduced by the British Colony as an etlitist social scene.

1911

Permanent stands built

H K J C E S TA B L I S H E D AS CHARITY All profits ‘from betting go to help ‘Rebuild Society’ from schools to sports and recreation centres.

1971

RACING TURNS PROFESSIONAL

1973

NIGHT RACING BEGINS

1978

SHA TIN RACECOURSE OPENS

1999

H O S T S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R A C E

2008

O LY M P I C GA M E S E Q U E ST R I A N

2018

CONGHUA RACECOURSE

1970

2019

WEEKEND FIXTURES

NIGHT FIXTURES

H A P P Y W E D N E S D AY

C U LT U R E

馬 舞 “THE THE

照 照

跑 跳

SAME HORSERACING, SAME DANCING” - Deng Xiaoping during the 1997 Handover

CHARITY It delivered a record HK$1.22 billion in prize money in 2018, each race attracting HK$138.8 million (US$17.86 million), more than any other track in the world.

It is Hong Kong’s largest taxpayer, giving the government 72.5 cents on every dollar of its winnings in taxes with all profits have gone towards funding social projects:

SHA TIN RACECOURSE

H A P P Y VA L L E Y

CAPACITY: 85,000 PEOPLE ALL WEATHER TRACK : 1.5KM TURF TRACK :1.9KM

CAPACITY: 55,000 PEOPLE TRACK : 1.4KM

WEEKEND RACES

HAPPY WEDNESDAYS

H O R S E

PUBLIC CLINICS (1950) RECLAIMING VICTORIA PARK (1957) FUNDING SWIMMING POOLS (1960) YOUTH PROGRAMME (1969) RECREATION FACILITIES (1970) HONG KONG ART FESTIVAL (1973) OCEAN PARK (1977) HK SPORTS INSTITUTE (1982) HK ACADEMY FOR PERFORMING ARTS (1985) RENNOVATE KOWLOON PARK (1989) JOCKEY CLUB TI-L COLLEGE (1989) HKUST (1991) HONG KONG PARK (1991) HK STADIUM (1994) PUBLIC GOLF COURSE (1995) SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME (1998) GIANT PANDA HABITAT (1999) AGEING CENTRE (2000)

LEARNING FUND (2003) CENTRE FOR HEALTH PROTECTION (2004) COMMUNITY PROJECT GRANT (2005) YOUTH ENHANCEMENT SCHEME (2005) READ & WRITE (2006) CADENZA (2006) CENTRAL POLICE REVITALISATION PROJECT (2007) SPORTS MEDICINE CENTRE (2007) ENVIRONMENT PROEJCT (2008) CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (2008) EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND (2010) REYCLING CAMPAIGN (2010) YOUTH FOOTBALL (2012) CLIMATE CHANGE MUSEUM (2014) INNOVATION TOWER (2014)

R A C I N G

The Hong Kong Jockey Club is one of the most treasured—and lucrative—legacies of Britain’s colonial rule over the city. It’s history signifying the meeting of East and West culture and social class being broken.

As a charity it has contributed to the construction of the Hong Kong society from physical structures to programmes. This project will be its next initiative.

43

CITY OFFICES

BUS

RESTAURANT

CAR

SHOPS

MTR

CENTRAL WALKWAY

STANDS

STABLES

SCENIC ROUTE STORAGE

BETTING FACILITIES OFFICES

GROOMING FACILITIES

DIRECT WALKWAY TO OCEAN

REFRESHMENT

OFFICE

EQUINE POOL

PADDOCK

LIVE SCREEN

JOCKEY CHANGING RACE TRACKS ROOM WEIGHING ROOM

RACE GATES

TOILET

SERVICES REFUEL REFUSE

CLUB

OPEN SPACE

WATERSCAPE

WATERSCAPE

YACHT

PIERS

SEA

P R O G R A M The public and private progam are weaved together with the aim create a dynamic route to bring people to the shore.

44

MARKET SPACES

45

ICC

KOWLOON

MTR

TSUEN

WAN

V I C TOR I A H ABO U R

IFC

AIRPORT EXPRESS

OUTLYING ISLAND FERRY

E XCHANGE SQUARE MACAU FERRY TERMINAL JARDINE HOUSE

THE L ANDMARK

IFC I

SHUN TAK CENTRE

HANG SENG BANK

SS T

RAN

S IT

Y WA R A IL

CENTRAL MARKE T

CENTRAL BUILDING ALE XANDER HOUSE

EL EVAT ED

MA

WA LKWA Y

MTR ISL AND LINE

HONG KONG is a city built on an intricate network of elevated bridges and submerged CENTRAL

tunnels, aerial walkways and suspended passages. The platforms of transport hubs meld into labyrinthine malls, which in turn bleed into office lobbies. Branches of stairs and escalators continuously connect onwards and upwards , to the extent that you're never quite sure what altitude you might be at, how far from the street you have risen â&#x20AC;&#x201C; or if, in fact, there was even a street to

C O N N E C T E D

C I T Y

Hong Kong was a test ground of urban typologies by the British Empire. It is a city connected in multiple layers with a network of walkways connecting mountain to sea, surface and underground. The red pathway is the elevated walkway, blue is the underground railway.

Connected buildings are highlighted to illustrate how this series of interconnected spaces becomes one continuous space, a city within the city.

46

SEE BOOKLET

begin with.

- Oliver Wainwright

47

48

ORIGINAL COASTCOAST ORIGINAL

MID LEVELS RESIDENTIAL AREA LAN KWAI FONG

MID LEVELS RESIDENTIAL AREA

LAN KWAI FONG

ChinaChina Building 19851985 Building

ELEVATED WALKWAY

ELEVATED WALKWAY

Entertainment Building 19931993 Entertainment Building

Yip Fung building 19671967 Yip Fung building

DukeDuke Wellington HouseHouse 19681968 Wellington

GuilarGuilar HouseHouse 19601960

California TowerTower 20142014 California

Ho Lee building 19771977 HoCommercial Lee Commercial building

Yau Shun building 19771977 Yau Shun building

LKF Tower 20042004 LKF Tower

The Centrium, 19991999 The Centrium,

UniversalTrade Centre 19921992 UniversalTrade Centre

Robinson Heights 120m120m Robinson Heights

Roc Ye Court Roc Ye Court 19901990

Tycoon CourtCourt 19941994 Tycoon

Botanic Terrace 19711971 Botanic Terrace

MID LEVELS RESIDENTIAL AREA

MID LEVELS RESIDENTIAL AREA

Section cutting through the way which activates pocket neat

S E C T I

Section cutting through the dicating connection

S E C T I

Lyndhurst 19691969 Lyndhurst

Cheung Fai 1979 Cheung Fai 1979

On Lok 19651965 OnMansion Lok Mansion

Kinwick House 19941994 Kinwick House

Chiu Chiu Man Man House House

Staunton House Staunton House

Kam Kam Tong Tong House House

Ichang House Ichang House

Baptist Church 20152015 Baptist Church

ShellyShelly CourtCourt 19931993

WiseWise Mansion 19581958 Mansion

Vantage CourtCourt Vantage

GranGran Panorama 19951995 Panorama

e city ’s financial centre, inn across IFC to LKF.

O N

IFC MALL AIRPORT EXPRESS STATION IFC MALL

CURRENT CURRENT COASTCOAST

CENTRAL MTR STATION

2000 2000

CENTRAL MTR STATION

1990 1990

IFC 2003 IFC 2003

Exchange Square Exchange Square 19881988

WorldWorld WideWide HouseHouse 19801980

CURRENT CURRENT COASTCOAST

1990 1990

1960 1960

1840 1840

ORIGINAL ORIGINAL COASTCOAST

0 1

1960 1960

1880 1880

1840 1840

Tak Shing Tak Shing 19591959

O N Seasons Four Four Seasons HotelHotel 20052005

One1999 IFC 1999 One IFC

Builidng HangHang Seng Seng Builidng 19911991

Central Market Central Market 19391939

Wing’s Building Wing’s Building 19611961

Cochrane Commercial House Cochrane Commercial House 19741974

Khuan Ying Commercial Khuan Ying Commercial 19821982

Cheung Commercial Cheung Hing Hing Commercial 19761976

CENTRAL MARKET FERRY PIER TO OUTLYING ISLANDS

CENTRAL MARKET FERRY PIER TO OUTLYING ISLANDS

e mid level escalator walkts of spaces above and beth it.

FERRY PIER TO TST

AIRPORT EXPRESS STATION

FERRY PIER TO TST

0 2

49

CONDITION 01

G R O U N D T O WA T E R

CONDITION 02

WA L K WA Y T O WA T E R

CONDITION 03

T O W E R T O WA T E R

CONDITION 04

P O D I U M T O WA T E R

INTERVENTION A preliminary study of the intervention the project needs to make to enhance the accssibility from the harbour to the city.

50

51

52

53

PLANES

ENCLOSURES

P L AT E S E X P LO R AT I O N S Investigations into various methods of overlaying planes at different levels and orientations, their intersection and the enclosure of spaces between multiple levels.

54

I T E R A T I O N

O F

S E C T I O N S

Iterations developing a multilayered space with pockets of opening whilst connecting the spaces of the two ends.

55

SE C T I O N I T E R AT I O N S Iterations of different connection routes to the water from the city

56

SE C T I O N I T E R AT I O N S An aerial view of the iterative sections to illustrate the dissolving of the coast.

57

Architecture of Oblique tilts the ground in order to revolutionize the old paradigm of the vertical wall. By being inclined, the wall becomes experiencable, transforming how the

body physically experience a space -

the slope implies an effort to climb up and a speed to climb down; this way the body cannot abstract itself from the space and feel the degrees of inclination.

ARCHITECTURE OF OBLIQUE The Oblique Function was first developed in the 60â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

by Architecture Principe (Claude Parent & Paul Virilio).

It has been adopted into the project to continue the langauge of steep slopes of the Hong Kong landsacpe, but also to multiply program and space offered to the city.

58

S K AT E PA R K

PA R K

CLIMBING

P L AY G R O U N D

STEPS

ROOM

BLOCK

BALCONIES

WINDOWS

SHADING

A LT E R N AT E

S E AT I N G

STRUCTURAL

WAT E R M A N A G E M E N T

COAST

WAT E R C H A N N E L

S T E P P I N G T O WAT E R

ENTRANCE

T H E AT R E

CINEMA

STRUCTRUE

SHADING

MARKET

OBLIQUE TYPOLOGY A series exploring the typlogy of spaces and functions activated by the use of the oblique.

59

SE C T I O N I T E R AT I O N Three iterations of how the intervention meets the ground plane, podium and tower.

60

MODEL Experimenting with form, light and shadow.

61

01

TWO STRIPS CONNECTING TO SEA

03

CONNECTING ‘BRIDGES’ BETWEEN TWO STRIPS AT MULTIPLE LEVEL

05

CONNECTING THE GROUND PLANE OF THE TWO STRIPS

02

CONNECTING THE GROUND PLANE OF THE TWO STRIPS

04

BREAKING UP THE MASS OF CONNECTING BRIDGES TO CREATE CONTINUOUS SPACES

06

EXTENDING BOTH BUILDING AND LANDSCAPE

07 A MULTILAYERED LANDSCAPE

D E S I G N

D E V E L O P M E N T

Development of the connection between the sections, creating connected paths infused with program whilst offering pockets of open spaces and water.

62

63

64

65

A B S T R AC T E X P LO R AT I O N An abstract study of how the same language oft the section could be translated into and continued in the hoizontal axis.

66

67

68

69

I T E R AT I O N O F SPACE S Sketches exploring the enclosed space of the project and plan.

70

0

1 3

4

5 2

QU

EE

Nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

RO

6

AD

8 11 9

12

7

13

10 14

15 16

00

PMQ

04

A refurbished police quarter into art centre.

01

TAI KWUN

03

05

HANG SENG BANK

06

IFC I

Open bars and restaurants.

07

IFC II

THE CENTRE

08

EXCHANGE SQUARE

JARDINE HOUSE

13

THE CENOTAPH

14

CAR PARK

15

CITY HALL MEMORIAL GARDEN

16

CITY HALL

Listed heritage

10

Bank headquarters

LKF

Iconic skyscraper for offices.

09

Under refurbishment, part of elevated walkway system.

Refurbisment of historic Central Police Station into

02

CENTRAL MARKET

GENERAL POST Listed heritage

11

HSBC TOWER

12

COURT OF FINAL APPEAL

Iconic skyscraper

S I T E SCALE 1:2500 The site is situated at the fringe of a web of cultural sites in Central. The project will act as an extension to this network, bringing culture to the coast.

71

I T E R AT I O N O F P L A N S Development of plan arrangements.

72

R O O F N

P L A N

SCALE 1:2000

73

G R O U N D

F L O O R

SCALE 1:2000

74

P L A N

03

02

01 TRANSPORT

EXTENSION

LANDSCAPE

Push existing highways underground

Extending the urban favric of Hong Kong

Creating an urban landscape along the waterfront

06

05

04 MARINA

OBLIQUE

INTERLOCK

Kandscape morphology for creation of marina.

oblique inclines created as an enhanced urban landscape

Horse Racecourse woven into the landscape

09

08

07 PODIUM

GREEN

PIER

Threshold between city and landscape

Maximise Green area along oblique

Docked Boats along pier

D E S I G N

G E N E S I S

An overview of the project interventions.

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

All work produced by Unit 14 Unit book design by Charlie Harris www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/architecture Copyright 2019 The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmited in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retreival system without permission in writing from the publisher.

92

UNIT @unit14_ucl

93

M O D E R N C O U R A G E

2019

A

t the center of Unit 14’s academic exploration lies Buckminster Fuller’s ideal of the ‘The Comprehensive Designer’, a master-builder that follows Renaissance principles and a holistic approach. Fuller referred to this ideal of the designer as somebody who is capable of comprehending the ‘integrateable significance’ of specialised findings and is able to realise and coordinate the commonwealth potentials of these discoveries while not disappearing into a career of expertise. Like Fuller, we are opportunists in search of new ideas and their benefits via architectural synthesis. As such Unit 14 is a test bed for exploration and innovation, examining the role of the architect in an environment of continuous change. We are in search of the new, leveraging technologies, workflows and modes of production seen in disciplines outside our own. We test ideas systematically by means of digital as well as physical drawings, models and prototypes. Our work evolves around technological speculation with a research-driven core, generating momentum through astute synthesis. Our propositions are ultimately made through the design of buildings and through the in-depth consideration of structural formation and tectonic constituents. This, coupled with a strong research ethos, will generate new and unprecedented, viable and spectacular proposals. They will be beautiful because of their intelligence - extraordinary findings and the artful integration of those into architecture.

Inspired by the audacity of the modernist mind the unit’s work aspires to reinstate the designer’s engagement with all aspects of our profession.

Observation and re-examination of every aspect of current civilizatory development enables to project near future scenarios and positions the work as avant garde in the process of designing a comprehensive vision for the future.

Societical, technological, cultural, economic as well as political developments propel the investigations with a deep understanding of how they interlink to shape strategies and astute synthesis to determine a design approach.

We believe in the multi-objectivity of our design process, where the negotiation of the different objectives becomes a great source of architectural novelty and authorship. We will fight charlatanism with the aid of practical experimentation, scientific knowledge and technology. We find out about how human endeavour, deep desire and visionary thought interrelate as well as advance cultural and technological means while driving civilisation as a highly developed organisation. The underlying principle and observation of our investigations will be that futurist speculation inspires and ultimately brings about significant change. Supported by competent research the work is the search for modernist courage aiming to amplify found nuclei into imaginative tales with architectural visions fuelled by speculation.

Thanks to: RSHP, Zaha Hadid Architects, DKFS Architects, Heatherwick Studio, Amanda Levete Architects, Seth Stein Architects, Cundal Engineering, DaeWha Kang Design, Uni Stuttgart ITKE

UNIT 14 @unit14_ucl

All work produced by Unit 14 Unit book design by Charlie Harris www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/architecture Copyright 2019 The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmited in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retreival system without permission in writing from the publisher.