Modern apartments are small, dense and crowded. I argued that spaces in modern apartment are defined only by functions, whereas in my case study, the “Machiya House”, spaces are defined by properties such as brightness, materiality, privacy, and naturalness.
In this phase I proposed a manipulation toolset that comcerns the properties in Machiya house which aims to be applied not only to existing crappy apartment but can also be applied to create a new apartment building. With the goal to create a multiplicity of environments, less concerning the function in a limited space, therefore, adapting the the properties of the machiya house.
The project is a fiction speculated on evolution in traditional ecological knowledge. That local values and wisdom prove to be instrumental for future forest resource and conservation management.
Sarawak state, Borneo island 2078. one of the world’s richest, oldest ecosystem is on the verge of collapsing. Since 1970, Unstoppable deforestation for oil palm production contributed extensive damage to biodiversity, especially to the Dayak native tribal people. Agricultural plantations has covered more than 80% of the Borneo island. Left only the sacred forest that the Dayak preserve since their ancestor.
In regards to the condition, The Iban Dayak or Sea Nomads developed a massive reforestation strategy to return their natural capital as they move and heal the damages place along the path, transforming their rituals, economy, and politics as well as maintain their distinct native culture.
A new system has been speculated that puts the local communities forward as central actors of future forest management plans.The traditional knowledge in ecology of the Dayaks communities in Borneo island offers an interesting example of the interrelation between agricultural food production, forest management and local culture. Balancing natural production and with human consumption.
The story will be told through the journal of Robert Jelenggai, a journalist and resident of Sarawak state who decided to join the indigenous tribe’s project to share out their story and his personal thoughts.
Notes of Robert Jalenggai
Note #1 The false model of nature
Kuching city 2078
I was publishing my journal on my ecology blog when the news alert snapped me out. It headlines “ After waiting for a century, Dayaks finally get their own land rights and plan to claim the native forest back!”
I read the whole article further
The Government made huge profits from selling off their land to the oil palm industry. One who have protested may have been arrested and imprisoned. Most of them decided to move into the city for better economic and social connection instead of fighting.
Since 2050, the discovery in the toxic-saturated fat in palm oil has gradually made the world to stop consuming products from the industry.
Gradual unprofitable outcome makes developers started to close down the production and abandoned the land leaving behind an immense waste.
The land was left abandoned and still belongs to the state
However, The Dayak fought over longstanded political disputes and crack the case. Even though they finally get their land back, it had been destroyed. So They claim to rebuild their community and regrow back their forest land.
Note #2 The Dayaks revolution
I called local environmental NGO to get in contact with the village chief.
The man who answered the phone called himself Mr. Bun. I told him about my interest to write an article about the project - he decided to meet me on that day evening.
At the cafe, a Dayak man appeared wearing his traditional costume. His body was adorned with tattoos. After exchanging our greetings, he gave me this handout and explain about the following planned strategies:
“Transporting along the water bodies, we will move in a certain agricultural territory.
Within 5 years that piece of land will be rejuvenated - the seedlings will be planted before moving to a new plot, allowing natural resilience to function. The cycle repeats like this within 40 years anticipation”
Concerning building urgency, we created sets of deployable devices made from local materials.”
The rest of is about recovery methods….
we appointed the time and location to meet on the next morning.
Note #3 Outside the city
I was waiting at the port as Mr. Bun appeared with his longboat. The Dayak lives a primitive life in remote regions with only little technology. The village is reachable only by boat. Once he was ready, I hopped on the boat as we sailed offshore.
The longboat drifted along the water. We passed a 200-year-old village that has recently been burn as a reforesting method
“In our traditional nomadic lifestyle, once the land is fully harvested and exhausted we will burn it before we move on. It is the method most call slash and burn. The layer of ash provides the newly-cleared land with a nutrient-rich layer to help fertilize soil and returning that area a new forest.
We return what we take from nature. This is the rule.”
I started to see the change in landscape - ubiquitous palm forests, familiar yet alienated. It was a large abandoned plantation with a dystopian air. People will never notice unless they come to this other side and see.
After 5 hours of sailing, we arrived at the village.
Note #4 Arriving at the longhouse
The house front oriented eastward, facing the direction of the river.
They build the house platforms over the hexagonal planting pattern of the palm trees. The house stilt on the palm trunk and its spiky stems seems to prevent small animals from entering. Underneath the platform lies ferns, bamboo shoots, hearts and pits from numerous palms. It might be foraged from the surrounded plantation.
Some new villager just arrived. They are adding their dwelling unit at tailside of the house. The brought the deployable shelter and set it up among the beheaded palm trees. The shelter can be adjusted to the irregularity of the ground. They can decide how much span the arch would go to form up their space. If the family has many member the bigger arch should be implemented.
I saw people hanging around outside the outdoor gallery They are drying rice, pepper, other crops, as well as their clothes. On another corner, people are processing the leaves from lying canopy into palm mesh and thatch for covering their roof
140 Residents of 25 families reside within the community. Each unit of apartment is semi-detached to one another to form a longhouse pattern.
The house was beautifully ornate hanging with vines and plants
“By tradition we will have The family pillar erected during the longhouse construction. These idea of possession of main family element also transfer to the shelter unit. Apart from the fact that we craft our own boundary as well as decorate it. It is the sense of belonging to the social system.”
Note #5 Utilization in agriculture
The wind was soothing. The air was of a freshness I have never breathed before.Mr. Bun gave me a short tour of the new forest, where I saw some 500 different tree saplings.
We stood on a special tract of land which is reserved for the community to get natural supplies of wood, other wild plants necessary for building houses, boats, coffins and other living purposes.
Mr.Bun says that every Dayaks all have their individual land carved out of the jungle, hidden away, for doing their own jobs.
He brought me to his farm plot to explain about how each thing functioned.
“Listen Rob, we are all disgusted by palm trees but they give us an abundant of resources.”
“This is a small scale utilization of co2 called slash and char.”
“ Here and there, are recyclable biomass sources. We cut the stem out and burn it in the kiln to make biochar. After mixing with the local soil, it will amend and upgrade the properties of the forest ground. This is where magic happens.”
The co2 that escapes will be collected and kept by the collector, which will benefit seedling photosynthesis and can be converted to bioelectricity. That cute little balloon show that there still burn inside.Watch it carefully!“
Instead of releasing co2 into the sky, They captured in the land instead. This way i think we can mitigate global warming quite well.
Hey Rob, you know We aim to plant billion of saplings each cycle and this is how we gonna produce those saplings.
Overthere is the hydroponic seedling nursery supported by energyless ramp water pump, which pumps rainwater from the collector there. Nothing to worry about though, our annual rainfall rate is 80%!”
after 3 month of monitoring, The seedling will be ready to use in the replanting phase later in October.
We use Drone in Artificial regeneration using aerial dispersing of seeds and machine planting distributing each species specifically on essential forest type.
By that, we will later on have bunch typologies of foraging jungle. Macro-ecosystem.
Note #6 Don’t disturb the sacred place!
That noon , I was assigned to find my own farming plot. I wandered through the forest like before. The air was still breezy, the flowers waved softly.
I walked pass dense group of bamboo with a bush of artificial, decorative flowers. On top, a large totem is erected. As i rushed pass,I found the large pine grove which i thought would be nice for clearing. Using this device, i fall them easily.
When i was about to cut another tree, a man shout from the another side of the grove.
“Stop!! You can’t cut down the tree in sacred forest! Don’t you see totems that mark the entrance of the forest of our parents and ancestor!
I told him sorry and said that i was new here.
“ Among our tribe, ‘sacred forests’ have been preserved since our ancestor‘s time. As us, Dayaks always rely on the existence of the forest, we believed in maintaining balance and harmony with nature.”
Looks like I’ve wandered too far from our village territory.
Back in the longhouse gallery, Mr. Bun told the shaman to give remedial offerings to the god and spirit and said to follow him to do so.
We went back into the forest. It was already dark on the way.. I noticed the light glowed out from between the blades of the palm trees. It’s a huge structure standing tall in the middle of a clearing.
“Do you hear that sound? Rob. It’s the sound of Bornean nature. Borneon musicians used to play in the dark, when the jungle was at its loudest. The wind chimes was installed on top of the tower to mimic the sounds of nature symphony and rhythm.
It is called the Ranyai tower symbolized the traditional artificial tree called Ranyai tree, the tree of life. Traditionally, it was bearing gifts hanging from its ‘branches’ symbolizing a fruitful harvest.
Here we are also conducting the ceremonial performances during ritual festivals (Gawai)
You wonder how do we live without seeing any energy generator?
Inside the coverage, the gravity-powered generator was installed. The water reservoir on top collects decent amount of rainwater refilled and looped containers that falling down by its mass. It activate the generator which sending energy to the battery at ground.
Also the on top of it lies the space for placing offering which is Banyan berries. Actually, we used it to attract birds into the area increasing the dispersal rate.”
The tower for them is not just a physical structure standing
But rather a medium that connect two pallarell world of cosmos.
And By recreating those ritual and physical world overtime, Their vernacular architecture is not limited to the past but instead is a dynamic process of development.
He then instructed me about Iban spiritual content.
Two superimposed realities categorize our phenomenal experiences. A wide-awake reality of living organism and a dream reality in which the souls, the spirits, and gods interact..
The ritual performed in reality produces consequences within the phenomenal worlds we evoke.
“ We have a set of customary rules. These rules shape the way cosmologic system would be formed and harmonized. If that harmony was disturbed, we have to make a proper propitiation.
“We return what we take from nature.”
It was already dark when We arrived at the home in evening The sky casted a soft twilight. People hung implements and the family supplies on the ceilings and started to light the fire. It emitted a different shade of color. Taking a good look at it, it’s vinegar that’s in the bulb. They use biochemical substance in vinegar to glow the light without electricity. People say that it was light from spirits that occupy the attic space like we humans live at middle level.
as families return from their fields, the gallery area becomes a common workplace where ceremonial blankets and baskets are woven, wood carved, tools repaired, and families exchange news.
I sleep in Mr.Bun apartment that night. He tied the fabric partition on it was their traditional blankets. There are holes and gap everywhere but it was organized in a pattern. He chat with his neighbor, hands things back and forth.
I never noticed that the room is meant to be porous. I asked him why dont he fix those holes on partition
He said that neighbor will dislike me for fixing the wall.
“Here, the good wall will make bad neighbor.” he explained.
The wall in longhouse are called dog wall separating the gallery and the private apartment. It got its named from the fact its low and open that dog and cats can climb on. This shared wall fostering an uninterrupted sociability from one end to the other.
The rough permeability of the partitions allows flow of both sound and light between all the apartments that together constitute a longhouse. The presence of companions was shown by the glow of their lights as well. If a light is not showing in any apartment, its absence is an immediate source of concern.
I noticed that the community despite having hierarchy and rank, it seems very egalitarian.
Note #7 The house must have holes
Working stage has passed. It’s only weeks ahead to the time of the gawai dayak!
People start to gather the food rice wine and material for the big festival at the end of working phase. The village will celebrate under their Ranyai tree.
And the celebration started
The space turn into a party floor. People enjoy the lighting and beauty of the culture. We drank our famous rice wine while the adults sharing traditional stories. The dayaks perform their traditional dance along with band harmonizing traditional music with nature
I can see the stars shining. Oh Earth, they’re spinning! They’re dancing…people start to hang foods and light up everything as they celebrate along throughout the whole week!
Festive week has end. It signifies that the cycle was completed. Most of forest ground are now replanted. There are about billion sapling and seedlings dispersed around Miri now.
Mr bun said
“We have one last thing to do the longhouse then we are ready to move on, Rob. “
After we fold the shelter back. We burn the dwelling platform to let the nutrient sink into the ground.
Around the dwelling area, we use the last portion of biochar around land along with pouring mineral salt medium.
“It’s the afterlife of the space. The space will turn into mineral licking site which will attract animal into the area after we left. They will have a bunch of food from the regrowth forest as well as their habitat.
Remember the rule that we have to give back what we take from nature.
I never see the dismantled longhouse before. The spanned arch was folded back into a box-like structure. One family are putting it on their longboat. We watch the house burn pieces by pieces as we sail off the spot to complete another mission of rejuvenation.
Note #8 The Gawai Dayaks
Many season have passed, It’s been 10 years now that i’ve live with the Iban in the forest. The nomad green revolution spread throughout the island. The forest strat to flourish along the path again.
My article spread to the ngo. Now there are some campaigns to brings about
avoiding the concentric urban expansion.
Government develop the strategy to redistributing urban area out of the crowded city into the forest part.
New generation of people have the potential to reconstruct communities with provided source for sustainable living. The role of hunter and gatherer has returned.
I was sent back to Miri to monitor the ongoing situation in replantation zone.
The sun was starting to set. I was on the watchtower, stand still, looking out to the creamish sky above the huge forest land.
The landscape was just amazing - at this side of paradise.
Conclusion
In this exaggeration of modern-day impact of oil palm industry, a new system has been speculated that puts the local communities forward as central actors of future forest management plans.
The traditional knowledge in ecology of the Dayaks communities in Borneo island offers an interesting example of the interrelation between agricultural food production, forest management and local culture.
Balancing natural production along with human consumption
Religious values and practices attached to the environment, customary system, rules, and beliefs helps establish and sustain the Dayak world as a social system and maintain a harmonious relationship with the community, nature, and the supernatural world.
While addressing trends that are moving forward using regrowth material instead of processed one, It promotes and enhance a sustainable forestry development, generating green jobs, and preserving Borneo’s natural capital.
The redistribution of people and natural resource allowing the reappropriation of the agriculture activities and clean energy supply to be implemented.
Now Growing of megacities shows that we still heading toward dystopia future. You can decide which side(alternatives) is paradise
Embrace the artificiality or belong with nature or balancing both of them.
This phase this the final of the residential project in Djerba Island by bringing all
the main idea of the traditional Djerba house and redesign it in a bigger scale.
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The atmospheric picture is to show how the building design fit properly in the site that I choose.
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This interior atmospheric show the threshold of a courtyard and the resident meeting spot. Emphasizing a concept of every program are all connected to a courtyard.
After studying the tuareg way of life, plenty of incredible rituals, oral traditions, hierarchy and beautifull music, I became interested in the process of settling down. In 1965 Mauritania was composed of 75.5% of nomads. Today they only represent 5% of the global population.
What happened and what are the challenges related to this phenomenon?
Geopolitical conflicts and big droughts have led to a massive sedentarization in Nouakchott, the capital city of Mauritania. The city founded 60 years ago experienced a huge urban explosion.
Half of the townsfolf live in illegal areas named Gazra or Kebbé. The idea of buying a piece of land does not make much sens from a traditional nomads point of view. However, we distinguish 3 major types of habitat; the tent, the mbâr and the solid house.
The tent is nowaday a strong symbol of the nomadic identity.
The project
To answer these problems of urban sprawl and massive nomads settlement I would like to set up to set up light structure on exitinh houses or on new constructions. The tuareg have a tradition of strong social hierarchy. That is why the goal of this proposal is to be scalable in their openness to the outside and the community. With several possible configuration.
The structure can be easily dismantled and set up on another solid house. A way to keep the mobility as a possible way of life in the city.
Structural elements
Traditional tuareg weaving of mats is a ritual facilitated by sedentarization. It takes two to three week for a group of women to make a mat without any loom. They put themselves in line and weave by spreading the rows from right to left.
Home is the most happiest place for many people. 95 percent answer they feel happy when they are home but when i look at my condominium or typical condominium in Thailand .there are no space to make people to create relationship and preference for for happiness . Spaces are disconnected between floor and room and there are a lot of private space in the condominium
Because of limit of spaces in the capital city which make residence like that occurred
Can we maintain the a number of people in residence and what make us happy which is relationship and preference
So i create residence and space where connected people by reducing some of private space and transform the excess to be public spaces
I introduced the tetris house
Begin with smallest unit for 2 persons
Which has 2 bedroom stacking and connected with sharing toilet and shower
And then link 4 unit with sharing kitchen and transform 2 unit on center to be couple room and create small sharing kitchen to connect another unit and family unit then ,add dining rooms and living room to connect every unit together and flip all blocks to be one cluster , slide some bedroom to assemble space , connect cluster in horizontal and vertical way, transform excess space to be public space
“If we talk about Halong Bay the first topic will be how beautiful of the bay and the fresh seafood. While there are other things that we forgot to think or talk about as the lives underwater and the effect when there are over population in bay.”
These days, Halong bay has the problem of the pollution of smell and waste from the density of people visit the bay while there are others as the marine lives and wild animal in the bay.
According to the density of the bay can divide two big types which are the live on the surface of water and under the water. The way they divide two type is the house of the local people which combine both to types living together.
Following the those ideas - unique landscape and the density of Halong bay, I choose to design the space which combine the marine live and human by starting from way of copy the mountain to create the similar shape and keep the landscape.
While the scape is design as the modularity space as the plan of platform is the geometry shape for connect the structure .
As the various distance between walls, therefore the space will divide to be to the small space in the big space, it means that when we stay in one room we can see other rooms.
As we talk about the space to divide the population. While the two spaces are share the benefit. For example, human space can share the light to underwater while the marine life help the human to do not go out to catch fish for sell.
To construct the space is concern about the weight which use the recycle plastic which connect by the heat gun and can screw as the normal material. Moreover, the surface of the space is the tiles.
As the structure should be floating as the vernacular architecture, therefore the system of the floating is we use the melt plastic to be small rock for adding underwater to support the structure.
As the idea to have the marine live habitats, therefore I stared from the habitat of fish and other marine life is the coral reef and the sand. This to create the community for the marine life.
“The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.”
- Aristotle
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Seeing these two groups of people with their super extreme lifestyle, I extracted their stuff to find out the different and the same between each social.
the door and boundary were used to separate each groups.
Ground floor
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Inside
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Courtyard
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Sky dining
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Front facade allow the outsider to see life inside the building.
Escape the past into the future. Escape disaster into peace.
Did you know that 71% of the earth’s surface is water-covered, and the oceans hold about 96.5% of all earth’s water. With human’s population increasing, it is possible for human to stretch out and live in water.
Let’s take, Ganvie Stilt Village ― one of Africa’s famous tourist attraction, as an example.
The villagers in Ganvie have been living on the water for centuries. Houses are standing on stilts and villagers used pirogues as their main transportation. Their income also came mostly from the use of water through farming and fishing.
To give another example, let’s come to somewhere nearer to us ― Khlong Bangkok Noi, Thailand.
Dwellers by Khlong Bangkok Noi have been there for centuries, similar to Ganvie Stilt Village. Houses were passed down from generations to generations, no matter what circumstances occurred, many still chose to live continue on and live here.
I’ve went to interviewed some of the dwellers around there about their lifestyle and relationships towards water.
From researching about Khlong Bangkok Noi and hearing the feedbacks, I became interested in the idea of water, I started researching and surveyed people around me about how they encounter water and how water surrounds their life. From this research, I collected informations and put it into a book of water analysis called The Water Library.
Now I’ve realized that water has been affected by us, humans, so much. The climate have been changing rapidly, water has also been polluted so much that it is hard to use without any processing. I’ve seen many reports that in the near future, many cities would drown from the result of global warming.
― Amphibious Living
I’ve brought this idea to design an amphibious living for the future where our world would sunk into the depth of darkness.
Inspired by an oil rig, this self-sustainable amphibious building can stand tall in the midst of submerge buildings of the past, in the ocean around the world, using four metal adjustable leg structures. This building supports up to 75 people per building.
Each building has its own water treatment plant, a coarse filter is also constructed in order to filter the wastewater for both recycling and letting water back out into the ocean. Near the water treatment plant their is also a platform to connect between the water treatment plant and the building, this platform becomes like a gathering space for socializing and interactions between dwellers on this buildings while coming to gather water, and also for dwellers from other buildings who came to visit and dock their boats or ships here.
An underwater farm grows on the structure of the building, dwellers can dive into collect sea plants for consuming or selling even dive in the water just for entertainment, or they can wait for when the structure elevates so they can go to the roof of each floor and gather the sea plants. This would deepen the relationship between human and water.
Not only does it has an underwater farm but each building also contain farms on the rooftop, on the third floor’s rooftop is an animal farm, on the second floor’s rooftop is a crop farm and on the first floor’s rooftop is a fish farm.
Each buildings are categorized into ‘guilds’, for example, one building will have one guild, and that guild could be fishermen or oil rig workers or mineral mining workers or carpenter and so on. Building with guild such as oil rig workers would have an oil rig mining machine in order to mine for oil in the sea.
The floors can be elevated to escape the rise of water, it is also a mobile structure, where it can be move to a more shallow water, incase of times when water can rise too high.
Incase of when emergency situations can happen, such as rapid rising of water due to extreme weather or unexpected events. Water can flow in and out of the lowest floor due to how each floor is designed to be open and have minimum walls, mainly just ones that will protect dwellers’ room.
The rooftop is designed to receive ventilations and light from here because in order to be able to receive water into the building, there is no windows on the wall so it is moved onto the roof where there is windows for receiving light and a small air ventilator.
In conclusion, this project is just a concept idea of what could’ve happened in the future if things still continue to be like this in our world. If we each could help our world even just a little bit and care more about the water, we could possibly have a better future.
After application of domestic device on a real case, which is the modification of a Hakka grandma’s house. Further to the project, I’ve explore potential collective space within the Talad-noi area, thus making proposals of collective prototype using local material. Despite the differences in circumstances of context between taladnoi and Fujian, I seek to design a collective space that will respond to a similar function with the center courtyard of the Hakka house, Tulou.
Relational Mapping
Understanding throughout this process that is true that points that I was receiving since the beginning is not so unique but were extremely real, the community are very bonded everybody knows each other even when they are living in different villages, spaces and moments related to gathering and communal, educational value in very high, even more that typical Chinese family. That would acted at the level of collective and as a level of private.
Context analysis reflected on potential collective space within the area. The area highlighted in red is where the community used it as a gathering space, or even an area for outdoor activity engaging interaction within the community. Spotting this fact, I further took to develop more in the scale of a communal space, designing prototype inconsideration of availability of material.
Collective Communal Space Proposal
Bonding
Sharing
Strengthen Hakka Values
Constructed of scaffolding a common material within the area, I took the existed scaffolding made some modification enable to serve variety of functions. I’ve designed in total 5 different prototypes of this unit. (vertical unit, reference back to the uses of space within the Hakka Fujian house)
The function are as listed:
Dinning
Cooking
Relaxing
Dinning Unit: small
Dinning area for a small group of people, privacy provided.
Dinning Unit: extendable
Dinning area for a large group of people, extendable joinery provided for more connections with other dinning units.
Kitchen Unit: Common cooking
Providing communal kitchen with utensil that is most suitable for cooking Hakka cuisine, grinder, pot-stove and hydrophobic garden for self sufficient vegetable supply.
Kitchen Unit: alternative cooking energy
Solar cooking station, using alternative energy for outdoor cooking relating to Hakka resource management strategy.
Relaxing Unit: multi functional
This unit can serve as a common area, multi-functional. Can be use as relaxing area for leisure activities, it can also be used as a studying space. There is also a staged area, for a small performance or speech.
MOASIS - The compound is designed to adapt with the aerodynamic property in order to create the sustainable village for Ethiopian Farmer in the Northern region of the capital city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The design is aimed to use the human footprint to interplay with the nature whereas the human existence is benefiting the nature rather than ruining the environment.
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Context - Site analysis
The site is located in the Northern region of the capital city with the access to the city’s infrastructure along with the possible site of farmland that will convert into the step terrace to increase the yield and water capacity. The design will use the wind diagram of the context to generate form and arrangement to design the compound
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Discovery of form - 15 Degree was chosen
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Arrangement of the individual compound into the collective level to define the program according to wind pattern
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Individual unit and programs
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The concept diagram of using aerodynamic or wind in order to find the strategy to recover the soil condition and preventing soil erosion according to the wind.
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The water harvesting system within the compound is designed with the combination of rain harvesting and fog catcher, where the fog catcher is inspired from the aircraft spoilers in which will trigger or activate when the dwelling is contacted by wind.
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The MOASIS is designed with the concern of the afterlife of the compound in 2 case scenarios, abandon case and move out case.
In this phase I further develop the modern tribal housing, focusing on the original soninke lifestyle. I didn’t design this to make them modernize but I just design this to let them be themselves in a proper formal housing - all activities such proframs/activities such as the public center courtyard and the Soninke wall pattern where all used in this new housing.
This housing is special as it involve more than one tribe which normally African tribe view other tribes as enemy however throughout this project I research the points that could make the other tribes I focus the “Bedouin” and the “Soninke” to co-live together.
Site Analysis
The site I choose to locate my tribal housing is at the Eastern region of Mauritiana’s capitol “Nouakchott” in which the eastern side of this capital is considered to be a “kebbe” area or in simple words a displacement of different desert tribes because of the border of this eastern nouakchott is connected to the Sahara desert. ** In this plate I collage the atmospheric respresentation of how the kebbe area looks like.
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Tribe Analysis
In this plate i analyse the tribe which is the target that I design this housing for which are the “Soninke” which is my original vernacular and the “Bedouin” which is a desert tribe i choose to co-live with Soninke. **This plate shows the diagram of each tribes the Soninke- are ethnic farmers that grow crops and harvest for living, they have formal mud brick houses to block strong sunlight and the womens paint wall house in order to indicate each families identity. The Bedouins- are Sahara nomadic hunter tribe who wanders around hunting for a living they dont have formal housing as they lifestyle as a nomadic tribe and camels are their main transportation and food source.
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Tribe Trading Diagram
So as I said these African tribes all view other tribes as enemies so what I do is I list out the characteristics of each tribes and see what they can provide to each other. Normally speaking it would always benefit if a Hunter and a farmer coeexist together. For examples, the soninke can provide crops and formal housing to the bedouins and the bedouins from the other hand can hunt and provide protection to the Soninke’s.
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Location
This is the axonometric representation of where my structure is located it is located in the east nouakchott as I said. And throughout the Structure there is two types of wall patterns one indicates the Soninke and the other indicated the Bedouin.
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Section & Elevation
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Axonometric Perspective
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Communal space Analysis
Throughout my housing there are public spaces such as the public courtyard and the singing pavilion which I took directly from the original soninke Architecture. The courtyard is where the soninke’s raise animals, grow crops and meetups. so there are several type of courtyard here, the shared courtyard is where i put in space benefiting both soninke and bedouins, the bedouin courtyard mostly has space for raising small animals and big animal such as camels. Also the Singing pavillion is where tribe members could come and sing for celebration and relaxation the earthen mud concrete material is used for good storing of sound.
Phase 4: Cultivating the value of natural resource
The O2 SCH project cultivating people to have an awareness about using thing in their daily life. How to make something more effective than it use to be. The system have started in the School first as I believe that children will be a good medium to the Community and Home.
As I have seen how Madagascar people consume natural resources without concerning. The effect of natural disaster and decreasing of diversity become a big wonder of what will happen in the future.
(Kindergarten 3-6years old) Raise resource awareness among children . This is the device that intertwined in to children activity in school. For example, children draws and writ a lot in a days so I created device of stationary station which allow to teach children where paper or pencil came from and the benefit of nature.
After children learn the origin of items, now I want to extend intention to be more practical and provoke children about the knowledge in their class.
(Kindergarten,Primary,Secondary 3-18)
Aim: Cultivating the value of natural resource and how to manage it as a complete system by designing waste management stations for school system
Each station performed differently for differently level of children.
After they have earned skill from school, they would be able to transit the knowledge to parents and further to their community
O2 SCH: This floating platform is a space performed as a show case space for children to appreciate what they have learned and support their knowledge. It is also a connector between school and community where people could come and exchange their ideas together and create a new invention.
Anyone can enter this platform. It’s aim is to support children and exchanging knowledge about resource and realize on what resources do they have. Their are many area that people can do and activity like workshop space, gardening, installation.
Sign to platform: their is a yellow painted floor with a logo on it where you can follow and easily to approach this space.
People in the community can drop anything that they won’t use any more or any waste to Drop Here station. Student will bring all those to the space and recreate some new invention. Older people who feel boring to stay home they can come here and enjoy the activities.Furthermore, they can use their skill and transfer to children or children can add some techniques they have learned in school and brainstorm to make something benefit for the community.
“HOMESLICE” where people have more but pay less through sharing
After analyzing the program in the house, what can we share? and who can we share with? and sliced it in 3 categories in phase 3. This phase focus on people activity in the space, especially sharing.
Interactive participation design input
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Start with making interactive participation in plan drawing to see how people act to the rules and how they occupied the space.
From the interactive participation we can see that in every house they need similar thing for example dining table, working table or garden from this we can see that what can we shared to create more space.
1st floor plan
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1.5 floor plan
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This zoom in animation show how people personalized the space in 10 years after move in.
This drawing show the size of different unit compare to the storage size in the same scale. Started from community, cluster, family and individual.
Cluster storage
store the item that can be shared in the cluster.For example kitchen equipment.
Family storage
store the item that can be shared in the family
for example everyday use items.
individual storage
store the item that not want to share with anyone or need to ask for permission before sharing.
It has never been clearer than now that we must “stay with
the trouble” and actively seek possibilities for
recuperation even as we are anxiously learning the great
depths of the climate-related troubles we face.
What is Chthulucene?
Chthulucene is a term created by Donna Haraway, that propose an alternative interpretation of what we commonly know as Anthropocene. Unlike the dominant interpretation of Anthropocene discourse, DH sustains that human beings are not the only important actors involved to heal our precarious times.
The Chthulucene gives importance to the ongoing multispecies stories, to propose and imagine new ecosystemic futures where connections between human and non humans are all knitted.
The damage of “Garden of Eden”
In the land of Mesopotamia, where Tigris and Euphrates meets, there is one of the most fertile land in the middle east known as the “Garden of Eden”, located in southern Iraq. This land is the cradle of civilization for the “Marsh Arabs”, where water is significantly important in their daily lives . “Water” is used for many purposes- as transportation, to tend animals, and to grow plants. And because it’s the land between two rivers, there is occasional flooding, meaning that the land is abundant in water all year round. Reed & mud, is the main material that can be found in the area. Locals benefit from this versatile material, allowing them to make many things, such as, pottery, musical instruments, toys, and architecture. Other local material like wool, is also used to produce the traditional wedding marsh blankets. Animals which can be found in the area are Marshland-based animals, such as, water buffalos, sheeps, water birds, and fish. These animals are vital for the locals; where out of the marshland, camels can be found as a mode of transportation. In terms of architecture, reed is used to construct houses. Reeds are bundled into an arch, while a form of woven reeds mat is used to cover the arch, while a fence is constructed in the final step. Mudhif, my case study, is the one that serves as a convention hall for holy activities and a gathering space, interconnected with other buildings in the community. The social structure of the community is defined by where dirt is piled on top of another- this means that water level creates the land for buildings to be constructed on. Reeds are woven to create the pattern that indicated specific tribes, which is similar to the traditional islamic patterns, which moreover allowes for light and ventilation. The traditional wool wedding carpet made by mothers and given to their son or spouse during marriage, has patterns of nature mixed with imageries depicting the local way of life, such as floral, fauna, and human interactions.
In 1992, the gulf war occurred in Iraq. Saddam Hussein, the prime minister at that time, had ordered the drainage of water out of the marshland by cutting five canals through the Tigris-Euphrates. At this point, all the water was drained off to the sea turning the land into a salty desert. In the early 2000s, a group of Marsh Arabs returned to their homeland and tried to dig canals and demolished the dam in order to gain back water, however only 30% of the area has been re-flooded, and unfortunately, only 15% is considered a true wetland.
“It has never been clearer than now that we must “stay with the trouble” and actively seek possibilities for recuperation even as we are anxiously learn the great depths of any climate-related troubles we are facing now or may face in the future.”
“Water” as a complex agent
I formed the imageries of my project by using the concept of “string figure” which are ‘interconnected, unbreakable, network, complexity’ that link human and non-human together by means of technology in order to find new ways of living, dealing, and dying within. From this, I started looking into the process of constructing unnaturally natural machinery. As a result of decades of dry desert topography, hydrogen sulfide has been produced under-land. “Water” which is the ‘complex agent’ of my project, has turned into brackish water, generating many organic matter. Mud is dry and has started to decay. I classified the marshland into 2 parts : waterfront and wetland, and started to design based on users usage and applying the potential of working with a phytoremediation process to remediate power in the affected area.
This synthesis form manipulation is derived from the the old construction method of bundling reed. With gravity in consideration, the structure also proves to be functional and appealing to original folkloric patterns aesthetics.
Unnaturally Natural
To “Revive”, I consider the aspect of housing along with general transformation reflecting on water and environment restoration that aims to accommodate while dealing with water fluctuation in the present to the future, while cleaning and generating water experiences for the users.
The alignment of the system started from the water picking up from the polluted marshes into a preserved water butt on each island. The water is then used as a flush water to tend animals. It also passes through a series of wetlands cells, to become cleaner water shower. The water runs into the biofilter dome, before arriving at the residential unit, which by now, the water is at it’s cleanest. The cycle then revives again at the reserved water butt. These artificial islands that can be constructed with CFW plastic matrix, a floating plastic that is mostly used as a platform of artificially-constructed wetlands, while steel mechanic parts help rise the land up. The plastic are perforated into patterns that allows plant to grow over in time, creating the transition for the artifacts above.
Communal Space
This shows a possible variation of composition for the city, in which the one in the upper part is the waterfront, while the cities are located on the marshland
Reserved Water-Butt
The enclosure and form of each spaces create a variation of microclimate from water, sun and ventilation.
Water Closet
Some are closed up with shading so water cannot evaporate. Some of them are open, so that the water can be sprayed out.
Cosy Enclosure
Bio-fil-ter Dome
Dry Enclosure
the interior partitions made of reeds or other growing material.
Water & Fire Experiences
Biophilic Materials
biophilia (litteraly love for nature) is human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature.
One of the main artifacts of the healing garden island is a biophilia-filtering machine, which works with one main water pipe, linking the processes of shooting/filtering/dripping/decomposing/releasing. Shooting: shoot water by using water turbine to help while the turbine is a treatment itself. Filtering: filter oxygen to water and absorb organic compound by using aquatic plant. Dripping: increase energy of water by using lg seaweed and duckweed to decompose organic matter. Decomposing, a continuation from the process earlier which absorbs nitrogen and phosphorus, the cause of waste water and eventually releasing it back to nature. This process allows for the restoration of nature, functioning and working by itself overtime, with the tower adds a layer to mimic and check the quality of water daily. The structure is made by a method of old bundled reed with water pipe, where underneath, it stands on the constructed wetland or decomposing layer.
Once the reed grows, it will create live patterns when tied to an existing structure. This method links to the ancient days of how when the reed is weakened, Marsh Arabs use new piled reeds tied with an existing structure for support. The form of the dome is also inspired by the old arch bundled form mixed with a more contemporary Islamic art.34. This biofilic sensation of materials inspired me to create ornamentally functional membrane by organizing the growth of roots into patters.
A patterned plate made out of barley and wheat has been added to the layers in the reed bundled house, to reflect the vegetation that has been growing in the land before, reimagining the old “Eden”. Once the rice has grown and has been collected, the root will shape into the pattern plate, resulting in a new roof pattern mat to cover the dome. This acts as a bypass infrastructure- a machine that creates humanity, absorbing light from plants to be used throughout the year.
The leg of the dome can be adjusted to varying heights, in order to detect occasional flood and water levels that may increase in the future.
Healing the gardens of Eden
This innovative, sufficient alternative can possibly revive the marshland back to the eden it once was overtime. By staying with the trouble, this resulted in a series of speculative creation of an artificially natural landscape of unnatural healing was imaginated.
“STAYING WITH THE TROUBLE, LIVING KIN IN THE CTHULUCENIC GARDEN OF EDEN”
HYPERSPACE, uncage the ultimate experience of the users through the combination of element of complexity caged in a box defining architecture as an interior, room which is brought to you by the measuring technologies and algorithm that analyse your traits.
Architecture Lobotomy
This project phase about architecture ‘Lobotomy’, defining architecture as an interior of the building. Tearing apart from the typical hotel that we actually see and experienced. Focusing on the form experimentation and arrangement in relation with the combination of each element studied in the previous phase to create the new unique experience that could suite specific type of users. Using several technologies as a way to measure people’s physical and mental state that relate to specific room combination type that allow a person to be themselves to the extreme.
Contextual Map Of Las Vegas
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Las Vegas, the city of complexity and hyper-real. Since Vegas is the tourist city having people coming from all places around the world..Here i map a portion of the strips showing element of complexity such as lighting and shape of the building, interestingly, even though each building are different in size, and lighting system on the exterior, the facade, is of the same GRID system which which is some time boring but what is interesting about each of them is the activity that people do inside the building.
System Of Combination, Measurement, And The Sequence Of Spaces
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In the hotel here, each room is all unique and different from each other through the use of set of combination system by assigning a number for each specific element in each categories therefore it could form an set of thousands of combination to suit specific people who has specific data analysed when pass through each spaces of the lobby area using technology method and instrument to detect the person’s reaction and values towards something that they are experiencing. The technology involves.... face detection camera through micro expressions the determine person’s emotions, Thermal scanner to detect person internal temperature, Pupil scanner the see how much the eye pupil dilate, and heart rate measurement to see how fast or slow the heart beat when a person see or experienced something.
Measured Element and Methodology
This video clip show the element that are being measured, how is it being measured, using several technologies and technique focusing on this couple as an example to collect the specific data value that when analyse, match with the set of room combination.
Process Of Form Extraction and Development
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The form of the building came from the experiment on the idea of sharing and material deformation and its result. Where for example, somebody else’s wall could be someone floor or ceiling.
Stuffing balloons with different material that have different texture and deformation property when poured the plaster on and then carved out the balloons, it leaves behind the void of different shape and size and some of them with the bumpy or smooth or rough texture.
Plan and Section
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The result of the model experiment is then being translated into the actual building, putting structures that hold and support each chambers.Assigning each rooms with sets of combinations that suits or follow the rules and category of classification.The building is divided into 3 zones, the public community space, the normal hotel room, and the hyperspace chambers The plan shows both the hotel room floor, and the public community floor.
Exterior Experience
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The top image show the building from the exterior where the building is similar to other building in terms of rectangular form but the glass curtain wall facade is what making tit different, looking at the bottom image show the irregular window shape that patches along the plain facade showing some identity of the interior parts.
Interior
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- The top left image is the public shared floor space of interaction, events, concert, etc. Locating in different floor of the building same interest.
- The bottom left image show the normal hotel room input with the combination of colour, material, texture, lighting
- The top and bottom right image show the example the the set of combination code for example ‘the cool mysterious greenish blue cave like bedroom of non-uniform shape on the west side of the building” and “ the relaxing comfortable pink fluffy bedroom of curvy shape on the east side of the building.
Model
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Example of the hyperspace room, in this case it would be the white comfortable fluffy bedroom
In Chinese culture, there are two concepts of copy. Fangzhipin and Fuzhipin. where Fangzhipin is imitations that can clearly see the difference between an original and a copy, but Fuzhipin on the other hand is where the copy is an exact replica and for the Chinese, both the original and the copy has the same value. However, in some cultures, they can never see it this way, for some people, Fuzhipin is almost an act of insult.
Where you “Chinatownise” something , an object, an architectural element in such a way using chinatown commonalities to relate to an existing structure or creation. As if it is almost overwhelming to perceive but at the same time you recognise and familiarise with it so much.
It’s ironic. Provoking varying viewpoints and how these “cliches” affect people’s lives and emotions as a whole.
“ The final design of the project that is about the device that can be adaptable and use in different ways both during dry and flooding season according to the site “Petch Fortress” that need to be protect from flooding and continually keep the space for tourist attraction at the same time”
Ayutthaya is one of the most popular historical place and tourist attraction in Thailands that is located on the an island surrounding by 3 rivers but the rivers are not connected by naturally but by man in order to create water fortress to protect the city from intruders and attackers in the past until nowadays. The after effect by connecting the rivers together is the increasing of water level which created seasonal flooding in Ayutthaya which at raining season.
“The water that was used to protect now it is the main danger”
The site that the project which focused on is one of the lowest area of ayutthaya that flooding often is Petch Fortress that is located near the confluence of 2 rivers “Paksak and Chao Praya river”.The site was used to be a fortress that protect the city from attackers but now it is a historical place and tourist attraction that becomes much more popular due to the Thai soap opera “Love Destiny” that on air last year that story took place Ayutthaya as well as Petch Fortress.
“The charts show the human behavior in Petch Fortress after the Love destiny on air there are more people are visited the site then before on air”
There are 4 famous spots for taking photos compared with the level of water
In order to keep the site for tourist attraction and protect from flooding at the same time I decide to design a device that can be adaptable and use differently between during dry and flooding season
Starting with dry season - the set of devices located around the riverside in order to not disturb the existing site. The purpose of the devices allow people to use them as sun shelter to protect them from hot climate
The device has a variable form: triangular in shape when closed, they can be transformed into many structures by folding up the the outer sheets in order to creates new more space for people to do activities - finding new spot for taking photo and picnic
During flooding season - The purpose of the set of devices is to protect the site from flooding by closing all the outer sheets in order to block water and not allow flood to invade the land and still allow people to visit the site
But at the specific moment that level of water is uncontrollable - the set of devices no more total protection from water but they allow water invade the land by unlocking the connection between support column and the whole structure and allows device itself to be float and adapt into floating platform
The floating platform can allow people to travel freely during flooding season to do different activities such as for people take shootings also with water
The idea about water wheel that inspired from water turbine in Thailand is allow to create controllable movement for platform
There are 2 types of water wheel - small and big wheel that can be overlap each other in order to decrease amount space for placing
Simulated Event - Taking photo
The another function of the big wheel is can be transformed into a bridge in order to create a connecting between another platform which the purpose is to create a collective floating platform or pavilion which can provide new habitat for local people to escape flood and for tourists to keep Ayutthaya to have tourist attraction during flooding
By connecting another platform together can create a many configuration of collective floating platform
As the shape of the device is triangular in order to balance the whole structure on water but due to the shape it is limit amount of space to access especially on the upper level in order to solve this problem the outer sheet on the upper level can be extend and able to connect with another sheet of another platform this can provides more space and creates connection between upper level
