Urban Politics
Shilin, Taipei, night market area
Photomontage and render of the TPAC with the night market area to the right
Photo Credit: OMA/Artefactory Lab
Research and design
We will empirically investigate and document the (cultural) resources in the Shilin district and analyze the stakeholders involved in their planning, delivery and daily use. By interrogating whom they benefit and whom they exclude, students will propose an alternative cultural master plan. These themes will be developed into a critical position towards culture-led redevelopment that will form the basis for a design proposal for a complex cultural building. This proposal will aim to rebalance stakeholder interests with opportunities for local communities that could impact the urban transformation and future development of the city.
Urban imaginary
In the climate in which iconic architecture is often used for branding purposes, we will pay particular attention to the urban imaginaries that different parties create for the city, or how the developments are being represented. What (visual) language is used? How do different parties ‘sell’ their ideas? And how do local users picture their city?
International Collaborations
The studio will aim to incorporate a series of interviews and workshops with a wide range of stakeholders, during both the research and design phases, to create a comprehensive understanding of different perspectives in urban design and architecture.
The studio has a partnership with the Manchester School of Architecture of the United Kingdom, undertaking a project in Mayfield, Manchester, for which we plan shared lectures and a virtual workshop (TBC).
Studio Activites
> Site Visit to Graham Street Wetmarket
> Workshop with Esther
> Mid-term Review (Semester 1)
Cultural Policies in Hong Kong
Tung Chung Extension Area reclamation site
Cultural Infrastructure in new New Towns
Within this framework, the studio will focus on cultural facilities and their function within a community. We will consider the status of cultural infrastructure as an indicator of urban political relationships due to its public status and review how cultural development was addressed in urban policies over time. Older New Towns in Hong Kong were designed around a ‘cultural and commercial center’, but the new New Towns seem to be practically void of cultural venues. To create a conceptual frame, we will look at critical literature from the fields of Political Economy and Social Sciences and take a close look at relevant case studies.
Following a research-by-design process, we will look in detail at the status of cultural facilities in Tung Chung, a new town that is currently under development. Taking the current Outline Zoning Plan for the Tung Chung Extension area as a base, the studio will begin with a strategic research phase and then develop a series of visionary scenarios to reframe the approach for cultural development within this newly developed area that is currently being reclaimed. These collaborative exercises will form the master plan within which several projects will be developed into studio projects.
Throughout the studio, we will aim to answer the following questions: What are the status and the role of cultural infrastructure in Hong Kong, and how do New Towns fit in? How can we (re)formulate the needs for cultural infrastructure for a New Town, so that it is representative of the needs and desires of a wide array of stakeholders? What are the opportunities of cultural buildings within such an expansion? And how can this be formulated as a design?