Wednesday, March 6, 13 the Kampung
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the Kampung the Block the Unit Wednesday, March 6, 13 the Kampung /etymology dictionary/ "inhabited place larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town," from Old French village "houses and other buildings in a group" (usually smaller than a town), from Latin villaticum "farmstead" (with outbuildings), noun use of neuter sing. of villaticus "having to do with a farmstead or villa," from villa "country house" (see villa). Village idiot is recorded from 1907. /wikipedia/ In Malaysia, the term kampung (sometimes spelling kampong) in the English language has been defined specifically as "a Malay hamlet or village in a Malay-speaking country". In other words, a kampung is defined today as a village in Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. In Malaysia, a kampung is determined as a locality with 10,000 or fewer people. Since historical times, every Malay village came under the leadership of a penghulu (village chief), who has the power to hear civil matters in his village (see Courts of Malaysia for more details). A Malay village typically contains a "masjid" (mosque) or "surau" (Muslim chapel), paddy fields and Malay houses on stilts. Malay and Indonesian villagers practice the culture of helping one another as a community, which is better known as "joint bearing of burdens" (gotong royong), as well as being family-oriented (especially the concept of respecting one's family [particularly the parents and elders]), courtesy and believing in God ("Tuhan") as paramount to everything else. It is common to see a cemetery near the mosque, as all Muslims in the Malay or Indonesian village want to be prayed for, and to receive Allah's blessings in the afterlife. While in Sarawak and East Kalimantan, some villages are called 'long', primarily inhabited by the Orang Ulu. Singapore also follows the Malaysian kampung. However, there are only a few kampung villages remaining, mostly on islands surrounding Singapore such as Pulau Ubin. In the past, there were many kampung villages in Singapore but now there aren't many on the mainland. The term "kampung", sometimes spelled "kampong" is one of many Malay words to have entered common usage in Malaysia and Singapore. Locally, the term is frequently used to refer to one's hometown. Wednesday, March 6, 13 the Slum /etymology dictionary/ 1845, from back slum "back alley, street of poor people" (1825), originally a slang word meaning "room," especially "back room" (1812), of unknown origin. Go slumming is from 1884, pastime popularized by East End novels. /wikipedia/ A slum, as defined by the United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing, squalor, and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the developing world between 1990 and 2005. However, due to rising population, and the rise especially in urban populations, the number of slum dwellers is rising. One billion people worldwide live in slums and the figure is projected to grow to 2 billion by 2030. The term has traditionally referred to housing areas that were once relatively affluent but which deteriorated as the original dwellers moved on to newer and better parts of the city, but has come to include the vast informal settlements found in cities in the developing world. Many shanty town dwellers vigorously oppose the description of their communities as 'slums' arguing that this results in them being pathologised and then, often, subject to threats of evictions. Many academics have vigorously criticized UN-Habitat and the World Bank arguing that their 'Cities Without Slums' Campaign has led directly to a massive increase in forced evictions. Although their characteristics vary between geographic regions, they are usually inhabited by the very poor or socially disadvantaged. Slum buildings vary from simple shacks to permanent and well-maintained structures. Most slums lack clean water, electricity, sanitation and other basic services. The rising phenomenon of slum tourism has western tourists paying to take guided tours of slums. This tourism niche is operating in almost all major slums around the world, including in Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro, Kibera, and Jakarta. Wednesday, March 6, 13 the Block semi-private housing The edge condition of the Kampung in response to the river is defined by the block, which itself consists of a combination and assemblage of units. It represents roughly one hectare of surface area that could house up to 500 units. This is the scale at which the systemic organization of the city happens, whether for rainwater collection and storage as for water treatment and garbage. Each student will be asked to reflect on the Kampung block as a key to environmental sanitation and sustainability in the Kampung. The place and role of the river at the scale of the block will be of critical importance in succeeding with these remedial measures. The understanding of terrain in terms of water and topography will inform the design of the block. This is first and foremost an exercise in modulation of architecture and site planning elaborated through the understanding of water, vegetation and topography. In order to work on a new block typology for the Kampung, students will need to transform the existing structure depending on location, level and circulation patterns. The block will need to take into consideration both the adaptation of architectural solutions and prototypes to a given cultural and “natural” situation where the river’s temperament will come into play. In turn the block will also need to respond to its urban location in terms of services and connections. The block study will require several architectonic and topological guidelines following: - Landscape: topology, the river system and vegetation; - Building densities and typologies, common space and networks; - Infrastructure: transport, hydrology and services. Wednesday, March 6, 13 the Unit private house The Kampung is structured in terms of roughly 250 living units per hectare at the present time. Can the footprint of the Kampung unit dwelling be used as such to attain a higher density or must it be transformed? What can be the minimal unit size, and how can it be combined to make up larger units? The constraint of the unit will in fact be dictated by the river landscape and its flood levels. Students will be asked to consider three conditions: normal flooding, high flooding and extreme flooding. Depending on the location and level under study, the approach to designing the unit may change. The goal of the unit design is to find means of accepting the flood as a natural phenomenon. In turn this will inform strategies to improve the adjacent landscape, to adapt it and to make it evolve into a new environmental paradigm. Different unit scenarios and typologies may emerge from the studio depending on the way dynamic forces such as water, vegetation and location are staged together and interact with each other. The unit study will require several tectonic and topological guidelines following: - Landscape: topography, water and gardens; - Dwelling density and typology, common spaces and connections; - Collection, sanitation and services. Wednesday, March 6, 13 Houses on stilts Wednesday, March 6, 13.