Historic Core

Guangzhou's historic core has been continuously inhabited for 2,200 years.Typically in areas like Xiguan, in the Liwan District, the historic lineage of the city is perceptible. With todays redevelopment, the Office, retail, and residential towers that sprout up in Guangzhou's the city centre  tends to use more of a plot-by-plot rather than a tabula rasa (Blank slate)  demolition approach. The result, is an ongoing densification and renewal resulting in a diverse mix of buildings that will help retain the rich urban fabric.

Despite these new developments, cars account for less than 1% of trips in Xiguan. Car useage are so low because of the lack of space for driving and parking. (Estimated 274 street segments and alleys in a 0.7km2 area in Xiguan). Xiguan is than mainly made up of dense and intricate networks of pedestrian alleyways, which is rich in cultural, commercial, architectural and social features.

Socialist-Era Housing Areas

Several districts of Guangzhou are upgrading public spaces and walkways, and installing ground-level shops in previously walled-off apartments built primarily in the 1980s and 1990s. The result is a largely pedestrianised urban environment in a carfree urban oaises. The main opposition to this carfree urban revitalisation has come from city planning officials, who object to the change in use of the ground-level apartments from residential to commercial space.

Urban Villages

Guangzhou's 138 "urban villages" are overbuilt, extremely dense areas of informal housing formed when farmland surrounding an agricultural village was converted to urban use and absorbed into the expanding city. The villagers are now wealthy absentee landlords, with villages occupied by migrants from other cities. Housing conditions are crowded and often unpleasant, but the villages nevertheless have some positive characteristics. Car ownership is virtually non-existent, because cars cannot enter the narrow streets. And since a citywide ban on motorcycles came into effect in January 2007, the street-life in the labyrinthine alleyways has become even more vibrant.

Transit System

The different kinds of neighbourhoods in Guangzhou, rely almost wholly on buses for longer trips, and the city has some of the world's highest bus passenger flows. Bus speeds, however, are declining: now down to 11km/h or slower on many main roads. The new BRT (Bus rapid transit)  system will remedy the problem of low bus speeds and  improve conditions for bus passengers.

Guangzhou Bus Map

Guangzhou Subway Map

Parking

One of the main reasons car use is so low is the low availability and high cost of parking. The ratio of new apartments to parking spaces of around 3:1 for newer areas in the periphery often exceeds 8:1 in built-up areas, so availability of parking spaces is low. Meanwhile monthly parking charges are capped at 400 yuan (US$60), so developers prefer to sell rather than rent out the parking spaces.

New Developments

Guangzhou's newer high-rise apartment developments contribute to a sterile streetscape, facilitate automobile use, and penalise those on foot.

 News

-RMB 1.9 billion to be invested to build 15,000 parking spaces along metro lines.

• eliminate off-street parking requirements, so that parking becomes 'unbundled' from other real estate
  
• price on-street parking to ensure a few vacancies and eliminate cruising for parking
• return the street-parking revenue to local benefit districts.

The Futurist Infrastructure is a critique on the functionality of urban planning, which drives urban regeneration and re-densification by introducing new public spaces. This new typology of vertical urban fabric combines transportation nodes, types of open spaces, built volumes and circulatory branching models to exploit the layered growth of future cities that are prone to extreme flooding. The strategy used to re-densify an existing city is to create centralized public spaces by stealing corner spaces that will re-introduce new public activities. The circulatory network has a reversed hierarchy, where pedestrians are placed before vehicles and transportation. The local roads will reflect the 'Traditional High Street' by being of a greater width with no boundaries between pedestrians and vehicles, and the extreme curvature of roads will create constricting sightlines for drivers so as to naturally control vehicle speed limits. Within the city plan, certain tiles will be selected based on the differentiation of spaces  and the complexity of social network that can reside. These tiles will then be the bases of new landmarks that can be further captured and contained by inducing structural elements to form a massive glass inclosure. The result of this treatment to each selected space will be a series of buildings that will reflect the area and the public activity of each community.

(A brief history of horizontality, Kazys Varnelis, 29 May, 2005. http://varnelis.net/articles/horizontality)

All major high rise developments have come to an end. The government will inject $63 billion into the economy because of the pullouts in developments and the money will be used to renew the city's infrastructure. In Obama's inaugural address, he states that we are now in the age of infrastructure.

(Goodbye, icons; hello, infrastructure: Obama inaugurates a new era of architecture, Blair Kamin, 24, Jan, 2009. http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2009/01/goodbye-icons-hello-infrastructure-obama-inaugurates-a-new-era-of-architecture-.html)

Capitalism has devoured the arts, the culture and the life in which we have been living so naively. It sits to exploit our desires by stating false rebellions in music, fashion and design, so as to re-fashion its own exsistance. It has merged into our cultural industry for limitless production and ravaged with late capitalism to produce postmodernism.

Praise the Enragès!

Viva La Revolution!

The skylines ripped the heavens with new symbols of economy, only to be punished by planes of retribution.  Where are these vertical impediments of communication that monumentalize our economy with office planning?  The sense of unmistakeable change quivers the metropolis as the insurance company ventures below the fifteenth floor, forcing the facades of postmodernism out to suburban realms.

Death to the towers!

Death to the architectural icon!

Disrupted by intimidation, capitalism congregates its losses and resumes with invisibility. Hidden under the networks and databases of the economy, it sustains as recession.  Our new president cries "hope," to lay new foundations for growth and announce "The age of infrastructure" with the faith of $63 billion.

The prophecy rings true, on "Fluidity" and programming, the "No-Stop-City" can now serve under the neutral field of identity and amoralism.  The era of the architectural spectacle has passed, for the new monument is now in infrastructure.

Death to Form!

Death to the Façade!

The new avant-garde is in the immaterial; objects turn to programs and the private becomes public.  Spatial circuits negotiate rhythm between the connections of industry, finance and design, and the global economy will be networked into cities that will reflect both interactions and dependencies. The topographic representation of these new networks might not be the best solution to encourage its global relationship but it will satisfy certain aspects of distribution and transport routes.

Death to the rigid grid!

Death to block planning!

Latent between the internal and the external, capitalism redefines itself by taking new forms of urbanization, spreading with density and linking itself with real estate, the new spatial organization of both structure and infrastructure will be merged with existing buildings. Class segregation will continue to accommodate the expanding professional class, but visually the buildings will reconcile in the past and the future. This plague of homogeneous structures will weave in and out of buildings to impose ecological principles into space, and will be devoted to material systems.

This new infrastructural building will erect within the existing city as a second grid, layering itself vertically to provide mediation between the new and the old, the soft and hard spaces. It is structurally independent in nature, yet it will provide structural support to existing buildings. Its task is not only to preserve the existing façade and maintain the integrity of the city's cultural heritage, but also to redefine the gridded network to a new soft city. Like Capitalism, it hides tamely within the urban social network, only to peak through the gaps of transitional space to reveal as the bonding agent of time.

Appearance of proposed structure in relation to existing buildings.

In pertaining to the process of my re-brief, I will continue to re-define modern styling by supplementing it with contemporary culture. My projection on the future of architectural styles will be the result of imposing automotive styling techniques, concepts and ideas of geometry onto architecture.

Formal technique

These techniques are defined in the overall shape definition by structural feature, detail definition by detail feature, analysis of reflection lines, identification and manipulation of Aesthetic Key Lines (AKLs) and phases of semantic modelling which is a mathematical technique to ensure the flow and proportion of shape. These sculpting techniques will be both finishes and structures. The definition of each structure will be based on span, loading and support, and the decorative elements will be fused to the structure adding to the integrity of its performance. These structural elements will flow continuously through column to beam, where partitions will be clad when needed. 

The Aesthetics of Asymmetry

The geometrical design of the car 'cube' was based on the original concept of a pair of sunglasses.  This concept later evolved into a bulldog wearing sunglasses in order to give the design a little more charm.  The odd shape of this iconic car addresses the situation where cars have to frequently back up on tight roads. The designer decided to cut the rear windows asymmetrically to expand the rear view, giving its drivers greater confidence.  Nissan justified this new concept to western cultures by comparing the horse-drawn carriage with the Japanese oxcart. The oxcart was square and was a slower means of transportation but it had the priority of comfort and relaxation. This contemporary interpretation was based on the idea of tension-releasing slow cars from Japan.

I wish to introduce this play in geometry by re-defining the line of site in architecture and discarding the traditional ideals of symmetrical window arrangements that give the façade balance in aesthetics.  

Interior concept

Nissan designers recently conducted an investigation on defining lifestyle in developing their new car 'Teana'. They gave 30 prospective customers disposable cameras and asked them to take pictures of their favourite items in their homes.  When analyzing these pictures, Nissan concluded that consumers were very conscious of modern design and themed their interior modern living.

Unattainable lightness

The idea of 'Unattainable Lightness' was inspired by both Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye with its characteristic combination of steel and glass, and Zaha Hadid whose work originated from the process of structural calculation made possible through technological innovations. Nissan translated these ideas into their interior by;

- using wave-like curves that will add a calming or soothing feeling to its space

- creating an airy feel with their panels by letting pads float above the instrument panels and doors

- achieving lightness through emphasis on giving the interior certain depth

- focusing on eliminating unnecessary elements in the cabin

- extending the armrest and joining it to the seating surface to give the seating cushion and armrest the look and feel of a real sofa

Perceived quality

- providing the same degree of softness regardless of their material; everything that should be hard feels hard and everything which should feel soft is soft.

- reducing dividing lines on panels

Interior colour

- using lighter or darker colours to give interior a free-floating feel and making everything feel lighter

Smart textiles

Smart textiles are able to sense stimuli from the environment, to react to them and to adapt to them by integrating functionalities in the textile structure. The stimulus as well as the response can have an electrical, thermal, chemical, magnetic or other origin. These textiles serve as 5 basic functions, sensors, data processing, actuators, storage and communication. In cars these textiles are usually used in interior spaces. I wish to also incorporate these fabrics in my canopy designs.

Proposal

I propose to design a formula-one race track that is similar in size and in function to that of the new Yas Marina Circuit in Adu Dhabi. The Yas Island is 25kmsq; a manmade Island that was designed to be the dream entertainment destination. The island is a host to exclusive theme parks, hotels, residential areas and beaches. The circuit itself has 21 corners, 4 grand stands, underground pit lanes, team buildings behind pit buildings, media centre, dragster track, VIP tower and Ferrari building.

Seating capacity - 41,093

Area - 161.9 ha

Length - 5.5 km

I wish to design my circuit in the same prestige as the Yas Marina Circuit in India for their 2011 opening race.  The design of this new Circuit will not be culturally influenced by its location and will be a new reflection on modern architecture and a monument to automotive racing.

Intro:

In my re-brief for the Palace of Soviets competition, I inserted the futurist ideals of architecture onto all existing categories of styles within the competition. This implementation of futurism will spawn a new generation of avant-garde style which will challenge all existing styles here after. The Futurist movement is consistent to the historic timeline of pre-revolution Russia, which began in 1912. The strategy of altering the competition will allow me to maintain the integrity of the futurist movement by retaining all the historic styles that influenced Russia up till the second world war. This new avant-garde style will then, inheritably maintain some classical influences.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------                       

Blueprints by the Future.

Then Future came forth and said, Speak to me Style.

And he answered and said:

"In the days foreseen, your insertion of ideals in architecture has spread through all existing expressions of me. For, with your presence spawns a new generation of avant-garde styles, plotting to maintain my integrity by retaining all my history.

I then, reborn, will inheritably hold scars of classicism."

To this, Future responds:

"Anti-historicism is of a long horizontal line, depicting speed, motion and urgency. Thus violence and technology are the only themes that
can truly redefine themselves.

For I am like any novelty, having never been recognized by my shape, dynamic lines or even my presence in materials. I can only be seen as I come approaching, portrayed in such visions as that of
Sant'Elia's."

Plate 1

Plate 2 & 3

Future continues:

"With the emergence of a new style, I am moved to impress my aesthetics and ideologies upon constructivism, modernism, rationalism and Neo-Gothic.  With just basic architectural elements, my expression occurs only to come to terms with its influences.

I came here today to reinterpret buildings by redefining circulation and the play of space. Here I have stood to suit the density of nations, as you suggest for greater spans and more structures consisting of glass.  You, as the industrial style defined in architectural elements, fill space with imperial and military might. Your height and expressions of movement, flow like crisp edges that rip through time like a sun dial, casting shadows over each open space. Together we can speed past the orthodoxy of monotonous life to find magnificence within our own destiny."

Design discription plate 2: From the constructivists, the VOPRA team of Alabyan, Karra, Mordvinov, Revyakin and Simbirtsev's first round entry building presents, the main hall with a pivot. The composition was cited and organized so that all the congress delegates' seats faced the main square. Here, demonstrators could move towards them when the glass front partition was opened. The design of the building was already
very modern and bold to feature a globe structure behind 2 huge open gates.  The refinement of the 3 main columns was sufficient enough to create further input onto an already simple scheme. Each column was treated as an individual building. The accentuation of the column was with the use of 2 circular columns , were the recess between the thinner columns serves as glass facade that allows the inner lifts to face the exterior landscape as it carries its passengers to the top sky bridges that is connected to the main dome. The horse shoe glass atrium on the roof, services as a look
out deck, accenting the columns to a higher level.

Original VOPRA 1st entry

Plate3

Design discription plate 3: From the Rationalists entry, the ARU team, consisting of Nikolai Beseda, Georgy Krutikov, Vitaly Lavrov and Valentin Popov. Their building's main component was an accommodation made up of a large rectangular hall capable of holding 15,000 people and was arranged so that it could open to the demonstration area or provide access to it.To maintain the porosity of the design. Sky bridges were used to accentuate the void areas. A large tube face facade is sandwich between 2 glass facades, as the base straddles over the heavy traffic entrance. The cubistic geometry for the smaller building on the left, acts like gates to divide the people along the massive court area. The building on the right has a facade with industrial definitions. Chimney like structures that feeds into the sky, stripping the heavy mass blocks into open voids.

Original ARU entry

Style nervously ponders into the abyss and questions:

"But where is our value in all this?  Am I merely an act of discipline that can be revised to suit the needs of men?"

Future smiles with relation and thus answers:

"I stand here only to express time, a time beyond your presence. I seek your friendship to hasten evolution, while our value is demised in history. Together, we can span the bridges of functionalism into artistry. Your birth has gained a close following of disciples, rationalism, constructionalism and modernism as such, but what has become of you now? Torn by idiosyncrasies of time and ideas, you find only the abstractions of yourself. A personality that varies to individual control and a life that divides into the expression of mediums used.  Your value as such, is of less response to the world as mine is of classicism."

Plate 4

Design discription plate 4: BORIS IOFAN's winning entry, which sided in the category of the traditionalist, was revised to be an imperial building. The classical base commemorates communism with its statues, carrying with it bold large blocks that in frames and slits the lower part of the building. It also exposes the inner building core to the outside, serving more as an exterior public access and circulation as it connects itself to the exterior and the main entrance. As the building stretches vertically. A more modern and futuristic characteristics emerge. Multiple lifts are located along the side of the building, connecting itself to the main building with large span bridges. The statue of Lenin, is held securely between 2 pillars, with a backdrop of glass facades. The 2 narrow strips of glass along the 2 pillars protrude eagerly off the columns surface, acting like flag poles to decorate Lenin's triumph.

original Boris Iofan winning entry


Future continues:

"Our unity explores the essence of humanity, a character that speeds forward without acknowledging what is in front or behind them. It is their urgency that fuels our existence. Functionalism is a necessity we grew up with, for the practicality of men. We have endured the objectivity of functionalism and now it's time to be more. Together, we have the time and space to abuse the objective set by man and clear the paths for subjectivity which nurtures art
and technology, for I stand for everything infinite and you lack the confidence
to consolidate your ideals."

Plate 5

Manifesto

Future continues:

"In the subjective, we find the essences of beauty, an aestatic ruled not by practicality or history. It is the demure of cultural evolution that sits to be refined by time and technology. Iconicity does not need to be a reflection of the past; it is an entity that has been so reinterpreted that it can hold cultural values of the now.

Evolution is my motion, time is my infinity and the urgency is in my people. Here we can stand for something for today and not yesterday or any day past. Our mark in existence is to share the time spent in minutes with each other in defining the new and not revising the old. This is the value we can share, and this is where our existence is not defined by human intervention but by human nature."