LRobjecti

OBJECTIVES

SITE AND PROGRAM

This studio investigates Hong Kong with a special concern on issues of density and sustainability.
With finite agricultural land resources, a reconfiguring economic infrastructure, and a massive migratory movement, the Pearl River delta region forces Hong Kong SAR into (another) redefinition.

To directly witness and experience the ever-changing nature of the city, the studio travels for 5 weeks in Hong Kong and to a lesser extend across Mainland China. Our aim is to initiate a process of inquiry of the multiple conditions that shape the city, its built environment and open environment.

The Studio is primarily a stage for experiencing a different place and culture. Beyond being simple tourists, the studio, through both its analysis work and its design work is a mean of inquiry of the reality of the city. This experience will also certainly have the longer term consequences of enabling us to revisit our understanding of our base-town Chicago.
We believe the discovery will operate in both direction.

The studio is also a laboratory to engage specific issues, in particular, density and scale as they are culturally informed

To enable the students to investigate
different means of achieving the required high
density, several urban sites have been selected
in
MongKok
a district of Kowloon
which has been developed mainly after WW1

The sites are flat urban infills situated at the crossing of Nathan Road, Lai Chi Kok Road and
Nullah Road
(which orientation non-compliant with the city grid corresponds to a now canalized and covered stream
collecting rainwater from the neighboring
slopes of Beacon Hill and Lion Rock)

The studio's 4 sites
are approximately 750 M2

The studio program is mixed-use comprising
Habitations (temporary and permanent)
Workplace
Shopping/Retails/Restaurant
for a total of approx. 15 000M2
depending of the site itself
Also contains Parking
Exteriors Spaces and a small Public Program

METHOD

Parallel to gathering data on Hong Kong and its general context, such as climatic data among others, the studio first engages a series of non site-specific exercises as to increase our awareness of the underlying factors shaping the place

• Analysis of the skins

of contemporary buildings:

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showing a concern for how the building behaves under its specific environmental and cultural conditions. Exemplify the potential of a holistic approach to design,

• Block densities testing

using simplified fabrics at 3 built scales:

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low-rise (1-3 stories), mid/low rise (4-7 stories), and mid/high rise (10-30 stories). Students explore designs by groups and individually. They assess and compare their performance in terms of density, solar access, and natural ventilations of habitation units.
introduce a reflection on program and mixity of uses as carrying tremendous potential for a 'good city life', and also providing opportunity for high density.

• Design strategies

definition:

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collection in a diagrammatic form of design strategies coherent with the local environmental conditions.
Solar control in the form of protective devices and careful orientation. Wind control to increase natural ventilation in buildings.

• CFD visualizations

carried out to increase insights

into how the designs performs regarding natural ventilation. Also geared toward identifying potential problematic local situation due to excessive wind accelaration under normal wind conditions.