expansion

rethink
the expansion phenomenon
as the second layer
of the city
expansion
rethink the expansion
phenomenon as the
second layer of the city

Yuan Chun Liu

Under the instruction

of Barend Koolhaas
Anne Hoogewoning
Louise Schouwenberg

Mater Thesis
2017-2018
 Content

p.7 Introduction

Taiwan and the West

Expansion as a Reaction

p.14 Expansion

a Long Story Short

Groundless Ownership

Expansion Epiphany

Anatomy of an Expansion

A thought or two on the Issue

p.29 The Metabolists

Open Building

p.38 Conclusion
 Taipei is a city full of informal self-
build spaces. People are used to apply
light materials to build light weight
structures to expand their space.
These kind of self-build structures are
mainly attached to existing houses for
domestic purpose, and some of them
occupy public space, such as pedestri-
an paths or streets in the form of mar-
kets. These expansions of the existing
buildings are built with the technique
of a temporary structure, but usually
they last for a longer time. In the ma-
jority of the cases they stay more than
ten years and are used as permanent
spaces. These informal structures are
spread all over the city. A big part of
the activities of the city take place in
this kind of expansion spaces, for in-
stance markets, shops or even temples.
Hence I could say that this sponta-
neous way of creating new spaces is
deeply rooted in people’s mentality,
culture and the city.
Methodology: I am going to investi-
gate the principle and the background
of the expansion phenomenon in Tai-
wan and observe different types of
expansions in Taipei, in terms of how
they’re being used, how it changes the
use of the space and the purpose of ex-
panding, by documenting and inter-
viewing on site in Taipei. Finally, I am
going to study and analyze two cases
dealing with the concept and method
about adaptable houses and compare
with expansions in Taiwan. At the end
I reflect on how can I use them for fur-
ther project development.
Introduction
1 The Analyzation and Practice of
the Expansion Culture in Taiwan,
Yong Ling, Zeng, 2009
6 7
This phenomena dates since 1950s.
After the government of China at that
time lost the civil war and escaped
to Taiwan, a lot of immigrants came
with the government. The population
suddenly was growing rapidly in this
small island. Cheap and fast build con-
structions then became the solution
for the huge demand of accommoda-
tion at that time. Until today, creating
extra space for living, has gradually
become a habit of Taiwanese people.1
The economic condition nowadays
has become much wealthier compared
to that of 1950’s, and the emerging of
high rise building changed the situa-
tion. There is no longer an urgent de-
mand for spaces. However people are
still expanding their private spaces for
different purposes, for e.g. building a
pigeon shelter on top of the house for
pigeon’s racing, or small studios on the
rooftop to rent out, or enclosing the
balcony for the sake of enlarging the
interior space. Therefore it has gradu-
ally manifested itself in an expansion
culture in Taiwan.
This way of expanding space by the us-
ers themselves, with purely individual
purpose is usually clearly coming with
a lack of concern toward the surround-
ings. When it collectively happens in
a city, the density of these informal
structures grow into a heavy pressure
for the public space. Driven by these
circumstances, the government has
already started taking action by de-
molishing these private spaces. Hence
this phenomenon of expansion turns
into a tension tango between private
and public. As a designer it would be
interesting for me to think about an al-
ternative solution to this issue. For this
reason I would like to explore different
strategies on how to turn them around
in a positive way.
1
 Taiwan and
the West
In the recent years, cities in Taiwan
started learning the way of organiz-
ing, programing and the aesthetics
of the Western. However, there is a
difference between them in terms of
lifestyle and way of living. When the
government tries to learn from anoth-
er culture with a clearly lack of explo-
ration of itself, then this kind of devel-
opment usually turns into a repression
to its own context. If we compare with
the example of western cities which
are mostly more organized, Taipei
then definitely is a city of more disor-
der. It is a city where people are high-
ly involved within its development
through all these informal spaces. The
appearance of the city becomes the re-
flection of the people themselves.

8 9
 Expansion
as a Reaction
What fascinates me the most is the
idea of people starting building extra
space for their living needs, as a reac-
tion to the given architecture. Archi-
tects usually, in a representative way
design or indicate how users should
live according to their design. How-
ever the users take over as individu-
als and appropriate it with their own
lifestyle and way of living. When the
architecture can not fit or satisfy the
users, they start to react. This is ex-
actly what the expansion is for me: a
direct reaction of the user.

“Suburban man falling asleep near his lawn-

mower, pulling a section of his Sunday paper
over his head, thus re-enacts the birth of archi-
tecture.” - Bernard Rudofsky2
Like in the case of vernacular architecture, Bernard
Rudofsky explains it through the following analogy: “Sub-
urban man falling asleep near his lawnmower, pulling a
section of his Sunday paper over his head, thus re-enacts
the birth of architecture.”2 Obviously the vernacular de-
sign is more instinctive and impulsive then the modern
form of architecture. It addresses direct needs and re-
sponds for example to issues like the climatic change and
human needs by manipulating immediate place.

It is the same as the expansion which is built by a sim-

2 Architecture Without Architects,
Bernard Rudofsky, 1964
ple and instinctual approach towards solving problems,
addressing on a one to one the need of the inhabitant.
Therefore the expansion here becomes the materialization
of the users’ demands. It would be interesting for me to
explore what can I learn from it and employ it as a meth-
odology that adapt the existing space to different needs.

10 11
It addresses direct needs and responds
for example to issues like the climat-
ic change and human needs by ma-
nipulating immediate place. It is the
same as the expansion which is built
by a simple and instinctual approach
towards solving problems, addressing
on a one to one the need of the inhabi-
tant. Therefore the expansion here be-
comes the materialization of the users’
demands. It would be interesting for
me to explore what can I learn from
it and employ it as a methodology that
adapt the existing space to different
needs.

In addition, the expansions are at- Having said this, I am interested in

tached to the existing building as a
second touch to the architecture of the
resident. And because of the density of
the city, the expansions are connected
to one another in certain level. It cre-
ates a kind of intimacy between these
informal spaces, due to the distance.
It shapes a massive continuous struc-
ture, which stands as a second layer of
the city. I see this constellation with a
lot of potential. I would like to explore
a possible strategy to connect these
informal spaces or reorganize them
so that they create a new possibility of
the city.
Moreover, the city stands as a place for
gathering a great number of people
and hosting plenty of different activ-
ity. The city itself it has its complexi-
ty. Therefore it would be important
to consider how the self-build spaces
communicate and negotiate in the city
and do not threaten each other and the
public?
thinking about a possible strategy for
a public space which is created by a
group of self-build expansion, that
could maintain a certain level of in-
dividuality. Hence my question is if
it can be possible to design a public
space and at the same time to preserve
the level of individuality in that same
space. As John Habraken argued that
: “Housing must always recognize two
domains of action: the action of the
community and that of the individu-
al inhabitant. When the inhabitant is
excluded, the result is uniformity and
rigidity. When only the individual
takes action, the result may be chaos
and conflict. This formulation of a
necessary balance of control had im-
plications for all parties in the housing
process, including architects.”3 How to
create the balance between individu-
al inhabitant and community in this
case, will be one of the task to figure
out.

3 Supports: An Alternative to Mass

Housing, John Habraken, 1972

12
Expansion
a Long Story
Short
To understand the phenomenon of il-
legal expansions, we have to go back
to when it started blooming in the city,
in the 1960s. The third world coun-
tries of that time were going through
a rapid economic development, where
numerous people from the village
moved to the city to seek working
opportunities. This lead to a rapidly
growing urbanization. It caused lack
of accommodation, due to the in-
crease of population. In many cities
of South America, Korea, Taiwan and
Hong Kong, a lot of illegal expansions
emerged. However, in the early days,
most of the governments weren’t able
to respond to the demands of housing,
so they adopted to a tolerant policy to-
wards the illegal constructions.4
Nowadays the situation in Taiwan
has changed. The economy has been
wealthier and gradually it has been
recognized as a developed country.5
The government started regulating the
informal spaces of the city by a series
of urban renewal projects. However
the attitude of how government deals
with the illegal expansions is still con-
tradictory and blurry. As an example,
below is the official definition of the
illegal expansion based on the govern-
ment’s criteria:
14
“The expansion of the rooftop: The
protrusions of the rooftop such as
public facilities or stairwell are legal if
it takes place less than one eighth of
the top floor area.”
“The expansion of the balcony: It
is allowed to build a shelter for the
balcony. If the residence takes off
the wall of the balcony to use it as an
interior space it might be recognized
as an illegal expansion.”
“The expansion of the window: If the
user builds a shelter for the window
it might be recognized as an illegal
expansion.
“All kinds of expansions which are
built before 1995 will be recognized
as legal structure.”
picture form Lainmoon,
dwelling and dying on the river
4 Reconsideration of Illegal Expansion Com-
5 The Exploration and Practice of Taiwan Ex-
15
These vague definitions of the illegal
expansions and regulations provide a
grey area for people to build. There-
fore people in Taiwan always find a
way to build, if the regulation doesn’t
claim that it is not possible to do it.
Furthermore, the expansion spaces
are already deeply rooted in any kind
of field of the country and political-
ly speaking, most of the politicians
do not want to disappoint their sup-
porters. Therefore, it is hard for the
government to create the regulation
regrind it or eradicate these informal
spaces. In this situation, the illegal ex-
pansions keep growing in every kind
of way through playing with this grey
area. People use to expand the interior
horizontally toward to the city to get
more space in the air. In the 1950s, due
to the lack of land, people at that time
started building their house above the
river. The houses were supported in
the air by the wooden stakes. Till now,
people are still getting space form the
air for example to build a shelter, to
increase the window, to expand the
space, or to cover the balcony to in-
crease the interior space.
munity, Huang Li Ling, 2015
pansion Phenomenon, Liau, Ying Jie, 2009
Groundless
Ownership
It is interesting to see that people tend
to build these informal spaces with-
out a ground land. A reason is that
it is a place with blurred ownership.
Therefore these attachments of the
building that go through the facade
extend to the city. It would be inter-
esting to think about the ownership
of the facade. The facade has been just
a layer of the building which defines
and divides the ownership between
the private and public. And as a mat-
ter of fact based on the regulation, the
ownership of the facade belongs to the
residents of the whole building. When
the residents want to make changes to
the facade, they need the agreement of
all the others. But somehow in most of
the cases it only happened when they
want to rent it for big advertisements
which will cover most of the building.
The residents mostly are fine with oth-
ers to build their expansion for private
use such as the one for their windows
or balconies.
16
It became a consensus of the people
of the house and the city. People then
create their own rule or way of defin-
ing the ownership of the public sphere.
And this consensus has been mani-
fested in several different cases. In the
night market for example, the ven-
dors extent their territory toward the
streets. They put the tables or chairs
on the street to serve the guests. While
people are sitting and eating on the
street, pedestrian and cars are going
through this mingled space. Every dif-
ferent thing works perfectly together
on this street by the understandment
between the users. Here the consensus
between people works as a rule be-
yond the regulation. This culture and
people create this environment which
allows the informal spaces to bloom in
this city.
17
Expansion
Epiphany
The expansions in Taiwan are mani-
fested in many different forms.

The rooftop expansion is one of the

most common type in Taiwan. I could
say it is somehow the consequence of
the subtropical weather and the cre-
ativity of the people. Around nine-
ty percent of building in Taiwan are
built of reinforced concrete, due to the
earthquake issue in Taiwan. However,
when the reinforced concrete need is
being exposed under the sun and the
heavy rain as well, the thermal expan-
sion and contraction usually, damage
the concrete and cause many leaking
problems, and gradually it damages
the metal structure of the building.

Then building a shelter by corrugated

metal roofing sheet with metal frame-
work on the rooftop, becomes the
most efficient solution to protect the
rooftop from the harsh climate. And
since it is cheaper, the material is easy
to get and it can be constructed very
fast. So, this is the original purpose of
these rooftop expansions and how it
starts.

18 19
Somehow the unique perception of
public realm of Taiwanese makes this
kind of space go crazy. Before 1995,
when there wasn’t a regulation for de-
fending the public and private realm,6
in general, people used to recognize
the rooftop as a belonging of the res-
ident of the top floor of the building.
In this situation, these covered rooftop
space, gradually become the extended
living space of the inhabitant on the
top floor, for example using it as the
clothesline area or small garden and
so on. Moreover, people just start to
build extra rooms on the rooftop. In
the 1970’s, due to the demands of ac-
commodation and the raise of housing
prices,7 this kind of cheap construct-
ed space, then becomes a convenient
space to rent out, due to its affordable
price for the young generation. There-
fore these kind of public spaces, be-
come a seducing profitable space for
the unofficial owner. Moreover, the
arrangement of the expansion eventu-
ally evolved into an extreme layout to
maximize the profit of the space.
6 7 The Urban Aesthetics of Taiwan,
20
This type of layout is called “Yafung”
which is generally for single ten-
ants. The floor is divided into sev-
eral rooms. The difference between
“Yafung” and studio is that it is only a
room with toilet and kitchen, so there kitchen
is no repeated facilities in one floor.
Through this way it is possible to max-
imize the number of rooms. And it is room room
not the same concept as an apartment
neither. There is no living room, the bathroom
bathroom and the kitchen are usual-
ly in the hallway between rooms, and room
room
there are many “Yafung” that do not
even provide kitchen. It provides the
facility for only basic needs for living.
balcony
It shows the possibility of a lifestyle of
sharing facility with other individuals,
and a way of using space efficiently.
Chen Zi Hong, 2013 ya fung
21
In addition, there is a living model
which is analogous to the living pat-
tern of “Yafung”; the “Kommunalka” toilet
in Russia. “Kommunalka” is the com-
munal house which emerged as a re-
sponse to a housing shortage in urban kitchen
- bathroom
thorities of that time, divided up the
apartment of the wealthy citizens into
kitchen
smaller units in oder to accommodate
more people in the same space. Typ- room
ically, it is shared from two to seven room
families. Each family has its own room,
- room
ing room, and bedroom. And all the room
residents of the entire apartment share kitchen
the use of the hallways, the communal
room
room
- room room
hold facilities, the common space be-
comes the place where people meet. bathroom
room
Residents usually meet in the kitchen
while cooking and washing dishes. room
room
room
resolve issues and discuss the behavior
room
of individual residents who might be
balcony
causing trouble or living an unaccept- room

here are generally able to get along

In it together: How communal apartments
and help one another. It has become a shaped the outlook of generations, Russia
unique lifestyle in Russia. Until nowa- Beyond, 2015,
days, there is still people who lives in
this way, and mainly for young gener- retrieved from: https://www.rbth.com/
society/2015/01/05/in_it_together_how_
- communal_apartments_shaped_the_out-
look_of_generati_41877.html

On the other hand, “Yafung” in Tai-

wan is mainly renovated by individ-
uals. But the strategy of dividing and
using the space is pretty much close to room room room
the “Kommunalka” which is basically
shaped to maximize the usage of the
space. Moreover, “Kommunalka” was
developed in a bigger scale in oder to
host more people and families. Peo-
ple here have more shared common
spaces and it causes more interaction
kommunalka ya fung
between people and the more possibil-
ities of activities.

20 21
 clothesline
Anatomy of
an Expansion
The rooftop expansions are built as a
complete space that could function in-
dependently by itself. The other types
of expansions are more partially, for
example the expansion of the window kitchen
or the balcony.
From the interviews with the residents
of three different apartments which
were expanded couple years ago, I
got the information about the pur-
pose of expanding the house and how
it changes their living pattern. At the
end, I categorized the expansions that
I documented into three types.
The typical layout of the apartment in
Taiwan, consists of a working balcony
on the backside of the house which is
the space for laundry and clothesline.
And it is very common that the resi-
dent offset and cover the open part
of the balcony to create an extra plat-
form. In this way, it turns the balcony
into an indoor space to controlling the
climate. Therefore the resident doesn’t
need to worry about the weather for
the clothesline anymore.
22
clothesline
kitchen
original
expanded
This addition space, then becomes
the space for clothesline and free
the hallway of the balcony using
it more efficiently. Generally the
kitchen will be placed next to the
“working” balcony. When the bal-
cony becomes an indoor space.
The new platform of balcony could
also use as cupboard for the kitch-
en. In this case, it breaks the bound-
ary between the balcony and the
kitchen to become one big sharing
space. In this condition it provides
a certain level of flexibility in this
two different spaces. So, the space
is allowed to extend to one another
based on different need in different
moment.
23
A Thought
or two on
cupboard
the Issue
And there are strict regulations for the
building enclosure ratio and its height,
to ensure that the streets have enough
daylight. Theoretically, going through
the negotiation with the neighbours
and being qualified with the regula-
tion will take a very long process and
not really easy. Despite this, the num-
ber of expansions keeps on increasing
every year.
It might be because the Taiwanese
have their own perception of the pub-
lic realm. In the early time, people got
accustomed to use or occupy the pub-
lic space for personal use, due to the
lack of accommodation in that period.
I could say that, the universalness of
the expansions is that it actually op-
erates by the consensus of the percep-
tion of the public space between peo-
ple, but not the rule of government.
Mostly, people won’t have problems
when their neighbors are expanding
the house, therefore reporting to the
government didn’t happen very often.
The diversity and the richness of the
appearance of city becomes the reflec-
tion of people themselves.
 original

balcony
A Thought
Anatomy of or two on
an Expansion the Issue
The rooftop expansions are built as a
complete space that could function in- And there are strict regulations for the
dependently by itself. The other types building enclosure ratio and its height,
of expansions are more partially, for to ensure that the streets have enough
example the expansion of the window daylight. Theoretically, going through
bedroom
or the balcony. the negotiation with the neighbours
bedroom and being qualified with the regula-
From the interviews with the residents tion will take a very long process and
of three different apartments which not really easy. Despite this, the num-
were expanded couple years ago, I got ber of expansions keeps on increasing
the information about the purpose every year.
original
of expanding the house and how it
changes their living pattern. And at It might
There is another type ofbe because the Taiwanese
the end, I categorized the expansions have their
small expansion whichown perception of the pub-
that I documented into three types. is a simplelicoffset
realm.theIn the early time, people got
window of theaccustomed
room to to use or occupy the pub-
The typical layout of the apartment in incase a tinylic space
extra for personal use, due to the
space
Taiwan, consists of a working balcony above thelackwindow.
of accommodation in that period.
on the backside of the house which Theis other way of partially extend- I could
This tiny extra say that, the universalness of
space
the space for laundry and clothesline.
ing the indoor space is to incase the doesn’t maketheanexpansions
actual is that it actually op-
And it is very common that the front
resi- balcony into the living room or eratesofbythe
physical change the consensus of the percep-
dent offset and cover the open bedroom.
part This simple change could room. Throughtion of
an the
in-public space between peo-
of the balcony to create an extra also
plat-affect the living pattern of the in- ple, but not
terview I conducted in the rule of government.
form. In this way, it turns the balcony
habitant. The extra space gives more Taipei with Mostly,
the owner people won’t have problems
into an indoor space to controllingfunctions
the for the room. The bedroom whenhouses
of one of these their neighbors are expanding
climate. Therefore the resident doesn’t
is no longer just a space for sleeping, the house,
hosting expansions, he therefore reporting to the
need to worry about the weatherbut forcould also functions as a reading claimed thatgovernment
the aim of didn’t happen very often.
the clothesline anymore. room or a lounge, so the users are the above The diversity and the richness of the
mentioned
spending more time in their bed- expanding appearance
gesture is of city becomes the reflec-
room. to make thetion of people
spaces feel themselves.
more spacious.

24 25
 expanded

reading room
new platform

bedroom

bedroom

expanded

- small expansion which

ing the indoor space is to incase the
front balcony into the living room or window of the room to
incase a tiny extra space
- above the window.

doesn’t make an actual

is no longer just a space for sleeping, physical change of the
but could also functions as a reading -
room or a lounge, so the users are terview I conducted in
spending more time in their bed- Taipei with the owner
room. of one of these houses
hosting expansions, he
claimed that the aim of
the above mentioned
expanding gesture is
to make the spaces feel
more spacious.

24 25
 balcony I find it interesting how people expand
their own space even in a very limit- A Thought
Anatomy of ed scale, but still being able to change
the way how space functions, and
or two on
an Expansion
moreover change the way they live.

the Issue
Through analyzing how they rearrange
the space, we can also understand the
actual need of indoor and outdoor
space. When the users extend their in-
The rooftop expansions are built as a terior toward the city and incase these
complete space that could function in- additional spaces, they are losing the And there are strict regulations for the
dependently by itself. The other types exterior of the house at the same time. building enclosure ratio and its height,
of expansions are more partially, for It shows that the exterior space is not to ensure that the streets have enough
example the expansion of the window that valuable for many people who are daylight. Theoretically, going through
or the balcony. living in the city in Taiwan. People the negotiation with the neighbours
bedroom prefer the interior space which allows and being qualified with the regula-
From the interviews with the residents them to escape from the unpleasant tion will take a very long process and
of three different apartments which weather of outdoor. not really easy. Despite this, the num-
were expanded couple years ago, I got ber of expansions keeps on increasing
the information about the purpose Moreover, the position of the resi- every year.
original
of expanding the house and how it dents is also very interesting. In the
changes their living pattern. And at interviews I conducted, most of the It might be because the Taiwanese
the end, I categorized the expansions residences are bothered and kept on have their own perception of the pub-
that I documented into three types. criticizing that the expansions cre- lic realm. In the early time, people got
ate a chaotic aesthetic of the city. For accustomed to use or occupy the pub-
The typical layout of the apartment in them, these kind of informal struc- lic space for personal use, due to the
Taiwan, consists of a working balcony tures are acting as the negative impact lack of accommodation in that period.
on the backside of the house which Theis other way of partially extend- of the public, since they are still doing I could say that, the universalness of
the space for laundry and clothesline.
ing the indoor space is to incase the it as individuals. This paradox clear- the expansions is that it actually op-
And it is very common that the front
resi- balcony into the living room or ly shows the needs and the desire of erates by the consensus of the percep-
dent offset and cover the open bedroom.
part This simple change could more space of the domestic life. tion of the public space between peo-
of the balcony to create an extra also
plat-affect the living pattern of the in- ple, but not the rule of government.
form. In this way, it turns the balcony
habitant. The extra space gives more In addition, based on the regulations, Mostly, people won’t have problems
into an indoor space to controllingfunctions
the for the room. The bedroom the facade, rooftop and the basement when their neighbors are expanding
climate. Therefore the resident doesn’t
is no longer just a space for sleeping, of the buildings belong to all the res- the house, therefore reporting to the
need to worry about the weatherbut forcould also functions as a reading idents of it. To build these informal government didn’t happen very often.
the clothesline anymore. room or a lounge, so the users are structures which will change the ex- The diversity and the richness of the
spending more time in their bed- terior of the architecture, requires the appearance of city becomes the reflec-
room. agreement of all the inhabitants. tion of people themselves.

26 27

Sky House, Kiyonori Kikutake, 1958
10 Project Japan. Metabolism Talks,
Rem Koolhaas, 2011
28
The Metabolists
In the 60’s, Japan was facing the
same issue like Taiwan. After world
war two the economic growth led
as well population grow rapidly, and
therefore the way of how urban being
developed was also changing. When
the country was facing a change, 10
on contrary to Taiwan, people were
trying to find solutions by themselves
which eventually became an expan-
sion culture. Japanese were experi-
menting a new strategy from groups
of architects. And one of the actions
was the Metabolism movement.
After the war, these Metabolist Japa-
nese architects realized that to com-
pete with the rapidly developing soci-
ety, the architecture of that time was
lacking flexibility and adaptability
to follow the changes. It wasn’t able
to respond to the issue of the urgent
demands of accommodation of that
time. Moreover, they got the aware-
ness that how influential the technol-
ogy is to human’s live and how fast it
would evolve. They published a man-
ifesto that time, aiming to develop a
new type of architecture which as an
organism, will react to the change of
the environment to catch up the rapid
changing society.
29
“Contrary to the architecture of the past,
contemporary architecture must be capable
of responding to the changing needs of the
contemporary era.” – Kiyonori Kikutake

In theory, Metabolism is about ex-

ploring reconstructing, proliferation
and the mobility within the building.
Among the other Metabolism proj-
ects, the Sky House designed Kiyono-
ri Kikutake is the case that developed
with the basis of human life.

The Sky House is Kiyonori Kikutake’s

first project which he designed for his
family. Like the idea of Metabolism,
the building was created by a main
structure with changeable elements.
The only fixed element are the living
room and bed the room. And the fa- "move-net" system of Sky House,
Kiyonori Kikutake, 1958
cility with water such as kitchen, bath
room and the toilet are modularized 11 Project Japan. Metabolism Talks,
as moveable units. He call these unit Rem Koolhaas, 2011
“move-net”.11 When the unite is out
of date it could be changed easily.
Furthermore, he believes that the
space for children should be able to
adapt with the growth of them and
the possibility that kids will move
out eventually. So, the concept of the
move-net is not only being used for
the facilities, but also for the chil-
dren’s room.

30 31
Moreover, the core of the architecture
is a square floor without orientation
and without defined interior and ex-
terior. This un-oriented space gives
the space a high level of adaptabil-
ity for the environment. The house
is located in Bunkyo area of Tokyo
where it had a beautiful view. How-
ever, in the late 1960’s, due to the new
highway being built , it brought the
problem of noise. Plus the develop-
ment of the area that time, the high
rises was raised in the east-side of the
house. So now the west side of the
house is closed, on contrary, the east
side which was the closed part of the
house is now opened. It shows how
the house is adapting with the change
of the environment.

The Sky House itself is a system

which is built up with a framework
and replaceable unit. It shows the
possibility of a higher flexibility with-
in the expansion. The difference with
the move-net of Sky House is that
the expansion as an attachment has
low degree of flexibility. If we see the
building itself as the framework and
systematising these attachment, we
could make the expansion easier to
be changed and then through it, to
raise the adaptability of the house to
the environment and user’s life. Sky House, Kiyonori Kikutake, 1958
Project Japan. Metabolism Talks,
Rem Koolhaas, 2011

32 33
 Open building
To some extent, I could say that the
expansion space is the outcome of an
adaptation of the architecture to how
residents want to live. If we see the
structures as different layers, we could
say that the main structure of archi-
tecture is the first layer and the expan-
sion which is attached on the existing
structure later on, as the second layer.
Their attribute and life-cycle have an
essentially difference.
Stewart Brand publish the book “How
Buildings Learn” in 1994 which intro-
duced the concept of "shearing layers
of change”.12 He made a diagram of
concentrated houses in different lay-
ers, the layers are moving around each
other at different speeds to show the
idea. He explains that different parts of
buildings have different rates of devel-
oping, causing buildings to constantly
change and evolve. There are six layers
which are:
34
“Site - This is the geographical setting, Space plan - The interior layout -
the urban location, and the legally where walls, ceilings, floors, and
defined lot, whose boundaries and doors go. Turbulent commercial
context outlast generations of ephem- space can change every 3 years or so;
eral buildings. exceptionally quiet homes might wait
30 years.
Structure - The foundation and
load-bearing elements are perilous Stuff - chairs, desk, phones, pictures;
and expensive to change, so people kitchen appliance, lamps, hair brush-
don’t. These are the building. Struc- es; all the things that twitch around
ture life ranges from 30 to 300 years mail to monthly. Furniture is called
(but few buildings make it past 60, for mobile in Italian for good reason. “13
“12
other reasons).
Skin - Exterior surface now change
every 20 years or so, to keep up with
fashion or technology, or for whole-
sale repair. Recent focus on energy
costs has led to re-engineered Skin
that are air-tight and better-insulated.
Service - These are the working
guts of a building: communications
wiring, electrical writing, plumbing
,sprinkler system, HVAC ( heating,
ventilating and air conditioning),
and moving parts like elevators and
escalators. They wear out or obsolesce
every 7 to 15 years. Many buildings
are demolished early if their outdated
systems are too deeply embedded to
replace easily.
The Shearing layers concept views
buildings as a set of components that
evolve in different timescales.
12 How Buildings Learn, Stewart Brand,
1994
13 Supports: An Alternative to Mass
Housing, John Habraken, 1972
35
 As Stewart Brand interprets, the dif-
ferent layers have different purpose
and way of using, so they might need
to being being changed with different
frequency, for example, to change the
partition for a different arrangement
of the house, but the main structure of
the building will stay the same.
John Habraken later on applied this
Six's concept into his open house
idea as a methodology for creating
an house that is able to be used effi-
ciently.14 The Open Built house has
the structure which is able to stay for
centuries, while the infill (partitions)
can be changed for the emerge of
needs over time. The Open Building
is finding a method to arrange and
combine services to minimize the
conflict between them. The systems of
the buildings are organized into lay-
ers with different lifespans. Through
clearly stating the interfaces between
them, these detached systems can be
changed over time without changing
or compromising the main structure
Next 21 in Osaka, A residential project designed designed by 13 different architects with a system
of the building. It creates a house that
of rules, while the exterior, structure, interior finishes, and mechanical systems were designed
as independent systems. Because of this each unit has a level of autonomy that allows its user to is flexible and cost efficient.
make changes.
14 Supports: An Alternative to Mass Housing. John Habraken. 1972
36
People change the way of using space
over time, because of the growth of the
facility, the way of living is changing,
users are changing. In this case the
expansions becomes the alternative
way of applying the adaptability for
buildings. Moreover, the expansion it-
self is like a micro house and in many
cases, one building could be attached
by many expansions. In this condition
the expansions have a certain level of
interactivity and have the possibility
to work as a collective. If we see these
collective of a building as a unit and
deconstruct them into different layers,
and analyze these layers to explore the
common ground which the expan-
sions could share with each other and
create scenarios that the expansion
could cooperate and communicate.
Through this way we can give the
group the flexibility that allows it to be
able to change over time and reduce
the space they need to give more space
for the city.
37
Conclusion
The expansion nowadays is a conse-
quence evolved by many unpredict-
able factors. Spatially it grows on the
existing structure in many different
condition. The limitation presented
in every case create a variety of ex-
pansions. The informal rule based on
the negotiation, makes these informal
spaces able to grow in the city. And at
the same time, while it provides a cer-
tain level of freedom for constructing,
it also causes some surprising out-
comes.
Taiwanese has an open attitude to-
wards new things, that’s why it pro-
vides an adaptable environment for
expansion to bloom. The city itself is
like a lab that many different unpre-
dictable experiments take place, and
it accumulates many different results.
And by a learning approach from
the results, the experiments keep on
evolving. This unpredictability has
pushed a verity of the result. As stated
above, this is exactly the point I am in-
terested in exploring through a design
proposal, by pushing even more the
limits of adaptability and changeabil-
ity in time and space.
In my opinion, the richness of the
quality of space and the variety of spa-
tial arrangements observed from this
expansions is to not be neglected from
the perspective of our profession, even
though in some of the cases, they came
as a result of a reaction towards the
initial layout. Since in most of cases,
the way we learn to design inevitably
builds up a set of rules and standards
that find it hard to follow with the pace
of lifestyle changes. Therefore it is of
enormous relevance to celebrate this
phenomena and through a humble
attitude learn from it and the imagina-
tion that these spaces offer.
38
drawing from Housing Contemporary Forms of Life,
The City as a Project, The Berlage Center for Advanced
Studies in Architecture and Urban Design, 2013
The density of the city causes the
continuity and intimacy between these
spontaneous spaces. Spatially, it creates
the opportunity of these individual
spaces to work together, and it turns
them into a bigger scale as collective
spaces.
Like the case of “Kommunalka”, it
provides a more rich environment.
Through combining it with the case
studies strategy of providing a skele-
ton for ongoing changeability through
time and needs, I think that it could
be a possibility to turn both individ-
ual and public space positive to one
another. Based on my representa-
tive drawings of specific case studies
which I intentionally preselected and
observed in Taipei, I came to the con-
clusion that there is a possibility to
subtract elements from it that I as a
designer can use as a basis and consid-
er as standards to project scenarios of
an ongoing infill design from the in-
habitants.
And last but not least, to answer to my
wondering regarding the legal frame-
work where this phenomena stand on,
I am convinced that there is space to
combine the level of negotiation be-
tween the users that this expansions
already take from, with the very inter-
esting vague terrain of governmental
rules and the endless interpretations
that spark from this grey area.
Therefore, from this research I go on
experimenting in terms of design with
strategies in two parallel lines, the
scale of the domestic shelter - by in-
vestigating the possibilities of change-
ability inside the house unit; and the
city level - by delving into public space
and the protocol of how to regulate
these expansions without hurting (in-
terfering) the informal existing system
based on negotiation.
39
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