Urbanising the edge 06/2007
Graduation project for the MsC Architecture at TU Delft
The inspiration for my final project comes from the initiativeness of Beijing residents who can do business with almost anything. The proposition is to create an alternative expansion of the city. One, which engages the residents in a more active relationship with each other and their surroundings. This comes as a reaction against the static, repetitive and clinical high rise being built in Beijing. The proposal allows different levels of initiative and adaptability of spaces, corresponding to the dynamic economical relations that Beijing’s residents experience. It also reinterprets the urban hierarchy of the old town of Beijing: private, comunal, public. The selected site is on the edge of the city, just outside the 4th ring road. It is a place, where the expanding city meets the reality of village life.
The project proposal is based on the logic of creating different sort of communities that can make use of each other's activities and most importantly creating buildings of various spatial qualities appropriate for the activities of each group. There are 3 groups present in this project: the street, the court and the tower communities. The street community is mainly related to commercial street activities, the court community offers services less dependent on direct street access and uses the court to create a sense of belonging and the tower community is the one that profits from being detached from the ground. Thus the block is composed of 3 typological groups: FLAC (FLexible ACtive) units, FLEPA (FLExible PAssive) dwellings and FIXPA (FIXed PAssive) dwellings .
section of beijing
location on beijing map
project area
street community
court community
tower community
model
model
typologies
plan of the court spaces
plan of the second level street
section
court view
view of the second level street
view of a public roof garden