Dense Living Urban Structures PDF

Dense Living Urban Structure
Selected Papers of the

International Conference on Open Building
Edited by: Dr. JIA Beisi
23-26 October 2003

Faculty of Architecture
The University of Hong Kong
Hosted and Organized by
Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong
Sponsored by
Department of Architecture, the University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong Institute of Architecture (HKIA)
Graduate School of Architecture. Nanjing University, China
Organizing Committee
Prof. Chau Kwong Wing, Dean, Faculty of Architecture

Prof. David Lung Ping Department of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong
Yee,
Mr. Wong Wah Sang, Vice President of Hong Kong Institute of Architects
Dr. Stephen Kendall, Ball State University, USA
Scientific Committee and Reviewers
Prof. Lee Jaehoon, Department of Architecture, Dankook University, South Korea

Prof. Nicholas Wilkinson, Director and chief editor of Open House International, UK
Prof. Richard J B Frewer, Department of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong
Mr. Seiichi Fukao, Department of Architecture, Tokyo Metropolitan University,
Japan
Dr. Tomonari Yashiro, Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, Japan
Mr. Ype Cuperus, Managing Director of OBOM Research Group, The Delft
University of Technology, Holland
CIB W104 Coordinators
Prof. Ulpu Tiuri Helsinki University of Technology, Finland

Dr. Stephen Kendall Building Futures Institute, Ball State University, USA
Academic Secretary
Dr. Jia Beisi

Department of Architecture
Secretary Assistants
Mr. Y.W. Kwok

Ms. Freda Y.L. Fung
Ms. Shirley S.L. Hung
Ms. He Junyan, Jessica
Ms. Jiang Changyun, Lily
Mr. Liang Changqing
Ms. Chen Haiyan
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O 2003 Department of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Keynote Addresses
Building by Baumschlager & Eberle

Dietmur EBERLE
T h e Architecture - from Concentrates

Gary CHANG
Prospect of Open Building
Jiasheng BAO
Making Urban Fabric Fine Grained
N. Jone HABRAKEN
Open Building in Knowledge Based Economy
Tomonari YASHIRO
Panel I: Open Building Design 43
Typical Plan Types of Flexible Housing - Based on the Analysis of Variation Trends 45
Bora LEE, HyunSoo LEE and SooAm KIM
The Data Structure of Unit Analysis for Capacity Design Methodology
Cheng-Tah LIN, Ming-Hung WANG
Urban Housing in New Zealand: Designing for Flexibility in Medium Density Housing 61
David TURNER
Versatile Space: The Trend to Multi-functional Space And Design Strategy

Huile LI
On Housing Flexibility and Expandability: A Combined Design and Construction

System
Jin-Ho PARK and Jack SINDENER
Dwelling in Shenzhen: Re-inhabiting the Modified Cruciform Tower Block

Nancy Margaret SANDERS
Preliminary research on the infill design for environmental performance: Case study on 96
bathroom-unit products
Shih-flung YANG, Tomonari YASHIRO, Kenji NISHIMOTO, and Yong'i HAN
Open Building in Health Care Architecture: The Case of the I N 0 Project in Bern,
Switzerland
Stephen KENDAL L
Panel 11: Ecological Design and Living Environment
Analysis on Shunde Biguiyuan Phenomena

Minzhi LIN, Jiang FENG, and Hui LIU
Other Urbanisms and New Public Space: Emerging Notions of Place and the Public
Realm in Greater Hong Kong
Robert M M C L E O D
Healthy High-rise: Ventilation Issues and Innovations

William SEMPLE
Ecological Transformation of the urban planning method in Hong Kong

Wei ZHU
Panel 111: Sustainable Development and Urban Renewal 151
A Comparative Sustainability Assessment of Standard Housing Blocks in Hong 153

Kong and Proposed Integer Concept Tower Alternative
Alex A M TO and Richard FRE WER
Thought on the Renewal Mode in the Old City in Wuhan: Comparison of studies of
two sample zones in Wuhan and the thought about it
Bo YANG
Urban Mining: The City as a Source for Re-usable Building Materials

Chia-Liang WENG and Tomonari YASHIRO
Urban Discontinuity and Redevelopment of Mega-Scale Projects

Joseph Francis WONG
The Configurable Urban Sustainability: In what ways a morphological or

configurational approach contributes to our understanding of urban sustainability
Scient. Akkelies VAN NES
The Soft Urban Machine: Space-Time and the Production of Urban Place
Stephen READ
How Can We Make Hong Kong's Urban Form More Sustainable? : From Perceptions 2 14
to Reality
Sujata S. GOVADA, Mee Kam NG, and Peter HILLS
Urban Revitalization in Social Transition The Case of West Yuehu Area Conservation 225
and Renewal Project, Ningbo, China
Tariq Mahbub KHAN, Zinnatun NAHID and WeiDONG
Open Space Study of The Industrial Area Along The Grand Canal In Hangzhou 235
Xiaoyu YING
Panel IV: Open Building Implementation and Practice
Three Attempts to Mobilize High Rise Housing Interiors

Beisi JIA and Ada, Ho Yin WONG
Symphony - A flexible system for sustainable building
Hun if HOSEINI, Gudni J~HANNESSON and Kjartan GUDMUNDSSON
Control Over the Index of Urban Residential Density
Jing JIANG and DING Wowlo
Regeneration with Dwelling Unit Enlargement of Public Housing in Japan
Kozo KADOWAKI, Seiichi FUKAO and Tsuyoshi ARAHIRA
Building Systems Integration for Flexible Configuration, Easy Maintenance, and
Sustainable Construction: Open Building Implementation in the CMLF Project in
Taiwan
Kung-Jen TCr
Experiment of Housing Refurbishment with the Concept of Levels: Initiative Case Study
on Ruyi Residential Quarter in Nanjing
Li BAO and Ying HE
Mass Customization in Housing: an Open Building1 Lean Construction Study
Ype CUPERUS
Structural Flexibility With Frame System for Adaptable Housing
Zhaoru LIU & Zhongyu AN
List of Contributors
O l ~ c ~Building
r Intcrnalional ('onfcrcocc. 0clol)cr- 23-20, 1003
PREFACE
In the light of sustainable development, the merits and problems of compact cities are
being investigated in line with concepts of energy, environmental quality and efficiency.
Throughout its history, Hong Kong has developed a unique urban pattern characterized by a
mixture of functions at high density. The significance of urban dynamism remains an undiscovered
treasure underlying the success of Hong Kong. High density implies that a low amount of
undeveloped land is converted to urban development. This is favorable for the maintenance of
local biodiversity and biological resources. A high population density also implies low transport
requirements because of shorter travel distances, and high feasibility of public and non-motorized
modes, both leading to lower energy use. In residential space, high-density dwellings are smaller
than dwellings in low-density areas. This also implies lower energy and materials use for the
construction, adaptation and maintenance of buildings. High density attracts mixed land use. Thus,
residents living in, or close to, the central areas have easy access to the various urban facilities,
economic and cultural opportunities. However, high density also brings many problems. Noise,
pollution, traffic congestion, lack of open communal space, and small living spaces are typical
indications of a low quality of living in high-density cities.
Unlike other industrial cities in modem times, Hong Kong's manufacturing industry ended
after a brief life span of only 30 or 40 years. When mainland China opened its doors in 1979, local
industries moved north to exploit cheaper land and labor. The financial and service sectors were
left to transform Hong Kong into a post-industrial society over the next decade, and with it came a
period of unprecedented economic growth. But at the end of 1997, the Asian economic crisis
tremendously impacted Hong Kong's property market.
These experiences teach us that in a rapidly changing economy, it is nearly impossible to

predict accurately the characteristics of users and their requirements far in advance, under any
situation. The dilemma is that on the one hand, we demand long life spans for urban and building
structures, and we expect that these structures retain and even gain value over time. On the other
hand, urban and building structures must accommodate change and adjustment and be designed for
conversion into different functions in their life spans.
Architectural solutions to these issues in Hong Kong are still far from successful. It might
be because traditional architecture and urban design manifestos are actually handicapped when
urban density reaches such a high level. For instance, classical discourse treated architecture as
static monuments erected independently on the ground. Buildings at high density, except a few
very tall ones, cannot function as monuments because they are simply invisible in narrow and dark
streets. Secondly, modernism in architecture is deeply rooted in the classification and segregation
of functions. Yet, high density prefers a highly dynamic mixture of functions providing an
impetus for fine-grained change and growth in urban structure. Thirdly, New Urbanism longs for
pleasant streets and plaza within a human scale, yet in high-rise and high density Hong Kong,
these elements almost evaporate, or change relationships. Other elements, such as elevated
highways, underground passages, and pedestrian bridges connecting air-conditioned atriums
become dominant urban elements.
When buildings become taller and accommodations are elevated in the sky, streets and
squares on the ground tend to loose their traditional scale, shape and activity. When high-rise
buildings are compacted together, organizing concepts such as form, space and function that
modern architecture addresses become less significant, while the interrelations in multiple
directions and levels among the buildings are intensified. When the high-density built complexes
are built in the context of rapid transformation of social, technical equipment, economic systems
and multifold cultural exchanges, the static portion of the built form needs to particularly
accommodating.
Architecture under these conditions needs to be structuring yet open, strong and resilient,
lovable and able to absorb decentralized decision-making. It needs to set the stage for fine-grained
cultivation by many parties not part of the initial design and construction process, and by users.
The buildings need to function as stable, serviced structures and service channels supporting the
intensive flows of users and energy, with diverse and frequent changes of demands and interests.
The goal of design should become a best effort to structure the initial conditions and the dynamics
necessary to stimulate a self-organized evolution. We need architecture without static and isolated
buildings.
With these notes in mind, this conference brought researchers, intellectuals and
practitioners worldwide to Hong Kong to contribute questions and insights, and to share their
experiences on the platform of "Open Building 2003 Hong Kong", bearing in mind that there is no
single disciplinary solution to the urban complexes of the 21 srt century. The papers submitted and
the discussions stimulated help to address several questions:
- What are leading approaches to seeking a balance between high-density environments

and an appropriate quality of life?
- How can buildings become "accommodating", thus effectively responding to change of

social and economical circumstances while remaining vital parts of an urban fabric?
- How can large interventions nevertheless be or becomehe-grained in time?
- What skills and attitudes need to be cultivated - inside and outside the universities - to
allow environmental design professionals to provide sensible guidance under these
circumstances?
- What building strategies, economic models and management systems can be developed
or harnessed to meet these new challenges?
Joint paper by Dr. Stephen Kendall and Stefan Geiser discusses the extent to which open
building and lean construction principles are being applied to the design and construction of a large
medical building, and comments on the rationale for adopting open building methods more
broadly. While a paper by Shih-Hung YANG, Tomonari YASHIRO, Kenji NISHIMOTO, and
Yongji HAN focus on smallest scale, and try to apply the 'Design for Environment' (DfE) idea to a
defined field of architecture in order to improve the resource efficiency for better environmental
performance. They select the bathroom-unit as subject. Haile LI from Chongqing, China introduces
the idea of versatile space to respond the rapid change of social and economical circumstances in
high-density urban areas. Cheng-Tah LIN, Ming-Hung WANG of Taiwan explore a capacity
design methodology aided by CAAD system for the built environment which relies on two
important concepts: the separation of support and infill; and the use of level, the fundamental
concepts in Habraken's theory. In a paper "Typical Plan Types of Flexible Housing" Bora LEE,
HyunSoo LEE and SooAm KIM identified typical plan types for flexible housing based on the
generalized variation trends. Kung-Jen TU presented the 'open building' implementation results in
the Construction and Material Laboratory Facility (CMLF) Pro-iect in Taiwan, which delivered
three benefits: flexible configuration, easy maintenance, and sustainable construction. The housing
industry in the Netherlands is gradually shifting from sellers to a buyers market. Ype CUPERUS
reports on the findings of a study on mass customised housing in the Netherlands and analyzed the
fact that lean Construction principles were translated to be applied on mass customised housing.
On the other hand, in Japan there is growing demand for renovation of the deteriorating housing
estates built in the mass-housing era reported by Kozo KADOWAKI, Seiichi FUKAO and
Tsuyoshi ARAHIRA. Similarly, Li BAO and Ying HE form Nanjing, China, reported an
experiment of application of the Open Building concept of levels on refurbishment of a typical
housing estate in Nanjing. Zhaoru LIU & Zhongyu AN form Shanghai addressed the structural
issues of flexible housing. They attempt to introduce two new building systems, "collecting-
column system" and "cable-strained slab system" which was regarded as an improvement of the
structural flexibility of framework and a modular design leading to high-efficiency construction.
Hanif HOSEINI, Gudni JOHANNESSON and Kjartan GUDMUNDSSON discussed that the use
of multi-floor vertical lightweight building elements offers fast assembly and dismounting and
which can be reused or recycled.
Many papers emphases on density related issues. A thesis by Jing JIANG and Wowo
DING tries to explain the relationship between residential density and living quality through the
investigation in several residential areas. Nancy Margaret SANDERS studied high rise tower in
Shenzhen. Alex AMATO, Richard FREWER and Steven HUMPHREY comparatively assessed
three Hong Kong 40-storey residential tower types. They found out that longevity is important and
the Integer Concept Tower (ICT) based on green design concepts was best perfonner over all the
indicators in the 75-year life assessment. Another Hong Kong paper by Joseph Francis WONG
examines the problems associated with the redevelopment of mega-scale "podium type" building
developments.
Some papers focus on sustainable development issues. Netherlands researcher Akkelies

VAN NES says a lack of well-defined concepts is one of the problems many authors face when
making proposals on how sustainable development in cities can be understood and achieved. A
group of local researchers, Sujata S. GOVADA, Mee Kam NG, and Peter HILLS find that there
are several priorities of all the stakeholders that are not adequately addressed. They pointed out
Hong Kong should develop sustainable goal oriented strategies through community empowerment
and participation that reflect people's priorities.
Some papers give a broader discussion on the urban problems. Tariq Mahbub KHAN,
Zinnatun NAHID and Wei DONG tried to find a way to preserve the historical identity and
traditional values while improving the living environment to meet the needs of modem inhabitants.
Xiaoyu YING from Honzhou investigates a possibility of re-developing that industrial area into
open space will be examined in this article. Hong Kong issues have been among the hottest topics
even by outsiders. Wei ZHU from Zhejiang pointed out that four types of ecological
transformation in Hong Kong is critically required: from physical space requirements to life quality
requirements; from pollution handling to psychophysilogical requirements; from urban virescence
requirements to ecology serving function; from appearance oriented urban beautification to process
oriented psychophysiological health of the civilian and urban sustainable developments. Finally the
author and Ada WONG, a young graduate of the Department of Architecture (HKU) presented
three experiments with implementing operable flexibility in high density housing in Hong Kong.
Most interesting papers and speeches are still come from distinguished keynote speakers:
Prof. N. John Habraken, Prof. Bao Jiasheng, Dr. W S Wong, Prof. Tomonari Yashiro, Mr. Gary
Chang and Prof. Dietmar Eberle. The latter two presented new approaches of openness with their
large amount of outstanding and edge-cutting design works.
Sincerely thanks to Ms Chen Haiyan for helping me formatting all the papers. Many
thanks to Miss Jessica Junyan He, Ms. Freda Fung, Ms. Shirley Hung, Mr. Y W Kwok, Miss Lily
Chnagyun Jiang and Mr Liang Changqing for their assistant.
JIA Beisi
Associate Professor
KEYNOTE ADDRESSES

Dietmar EBERLE
Department ofArchitecture, Swiss Federal Institute of technology (Zurich)
The Architecture - from Concentrates

Gar?; CHANG
Architect Director of EDGE (HK) Ltd.

N. Jone HABRAKEN
Professor Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Apeldoorn, the
Netherlands)

Jiasheng BAO
Professor, Graduate School of Architecture, Nanjing University, China

Tomonari YASHIRO
Professor, Institute oj'lndustrial Science, University of' Tohyo, Japan
Dietmar EBERLE
Department of Architecture,
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich
1 ACHSLENGUT
Achslengut Residential Project, Second Segment in St.Gallen, Switzerland

(Figure 1-6)
This project is characterised by a very specific history: B&E were asked to participate in
the planning after the project had already been awarded to a Swiss architecture office. However,
the construction plan for the entire project had been defined by this time. Therefore, the first
construction segment was completed according to previously established wing depth and length
parametres. Finally, a change in the construction plans was agreed on after all. Hence the second
segment is a radically different, much more useful urban structure. They are housing "dots",
compact structures with interior access and projecting balcony zones. The placement of the
buildings is important: it is a composition based on the view of Lake Constance.
Glass sliding elements are located in front of the apartments, some are transparent, some
aren't. This allows for ideal regulation of two things: spacing and interior view problems between
the residential buildings. If, for example, someone slides two such panels in front of the bedroom,
nobody can look inside, the tenant's privacy is protected. On the other hand, the individual
turbulences of use on the balconies that often disturb public spaces are concealed this way. Thus a
clear separation between public and private interests was achieved with these simple means.
The residents make use of the possibilities this faqade solution offers in a very matter-of-
fact fashion. It should be noted that the specific geometric appearance of these residential
buildings is not affected by the individual behavioural patterns of the tenants. They are never really
closed nor ever really open. This was intended from the beginning and it is what makes this
project's architectural design so special. Somehow, it stands up to everyday use with complete
ease.
Figure I Figure 17
7
Figure 3 Figure 4
F i ~ u r e5 Figure 6
2. MEGAHALL
Mega Hall for Beijing, China

(Figure 7- 10)
Bauherr I client Beijing Modern Hong Yun Real Estate Dev. Co, Ltd
Planung I planning Baumschlager Eberle Anstalt
Projektleitung I project architect Christian Tabernigg
Mitarbeiter I assistance Stefan Beck, Sabrina Contratto, Marc Fisler, Alexia Monauni,
Marlies Sofia
Haustechnik Konzept I mechanical engineer KellerTechnologies
Grundstiicksflache I site area 10.240 m2
Bebaute Flache ( built up area 4.430 m2
Nutzflache ( floor area 1 00.000 m2
Umbauter Raum I building volume 260.000 m3
Planungsbeginn I commencement of planning Juli 1 July 2002
Baubeginn 1 commencement of work Juni I June 2003
Fertigstellung ( completion Juni I June 2005
Gefordert: drei Hochhauser von grorjer stadtischer Dichte, die an einem neuen
Verkehrsknotenpunkt, am Rand der Innenstadt von Peking errichtet werden. Das Areal
umfaat eine ganze Reihe von Neubauten. Die drei Tiirrne von B&E - hohenmal3ig
differenziert von knapp 100 bis knapp 80 Meter - beinhalten in einer horizontal
geschichteten Zone Shopping und Dienstleistungen, dariiber Wohnungen. Besonderes
Augenmerk wurde der Gebaudetechnologie gewidmet. Peking leidet unvergleichbar
starker unter der Umweitbelastung als jede europaische Stadt. Darauf wurde bei der
Planung besonders geachtet - diese spezifische Qualifikation des Biiros war wohl auch ein
Gmnd fur die Beauftragung von B&E.
Program: three high-rise buildings providing great urban density are to be built for
a new traffic hub at the edge of Beijing's inner city. The space comprises a number of new
buildings. The three B&E towers, of differing heights (approx 100 to 80 metres tall) offer
horizontally layered shopping zones and service areas with apartments above these
sections. Special attention was given to the building equipment and technology. Beijing is
under a much greater environmental strain than any European city. This aspect was given
particular importance during planning - this specific qualification was also presumably the
reason for which B&E was hired.
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9 Figure 10
3. MUNICH RE
Munchener Ruck
(Figure 1 1 -22)
"Building in the fabric" or "reconstruction" are inadequate to describe the complexity of

the challenge faced here. After all, Sud I is likely to set a precedent in environmental and aesthetic
terms as well logistically and conceptually. Baumschlager and Eberle have transformed fortress-
like facades and a veritable fox's den in the heart of Munich into a modern office building that
blends in self-confident manner into the old neighbourhood that surrounds it. They have turned a
monolithic late 1960s block that stood right next to Munchener Riick's headquarters in Schwabing
just a stone's throw away from the English Garden into a finely structured ensemble. Hidden away
behind the ingenious double faqade are modern offices and a new space continuum, light and
generous, which incites views and establishes a relationship with the environment.
The architects were obliged to meet a large number of specifications. Apart from the load-
bearing structure they had to re-use 50% of the building mass and considerably reduce emissions
in what is a residential neighbourhood. In the period from October 1999 to January 2001, when the
new faqade became visible, Baumschlager and Eberle reformulated the area as a sequence of
staggered structures that pick up and re-conceptualise the street space. On the inside, Sud 1 opens
up onto to a courtyard with a shielded park, water and gravel paths beneath maple trees.
Visitors enter the building through a spacious lobby that is 55 metres long, seven metres wide and
six metres tall. It is fitted with Canadian maple like a precious intarsia, yet it is light and airy - a
prelude that is followed by spacious corridors, light wells and long visual axes. In order to fit the
cell offices into the rigid support grid pattern of the previous building Baumschlager and Eberle
devised a flexible system of partition walls that can be adapted to cater for various specifications.
Translucent when facing the corridor and in the form of integrated shear walls between the offices,
they are characteristic of the open structures needed for modem office operations. Forming a
counterpoint to them is the attic floor with its free geometry. The conference and meeting rooms
here are largely invisible from the street and they afford views over Munich across to the
headquarters of Miinchener Ruck and the English Garden, where the shimmering green faqade
finds its real counterpart.
Figure I I Figure 12 Figure 13

Figure 14 Figure 15 Figure 16
Figure 17 Figure 18 F i ~ u r e19
Figure 20
SCHOOL MAEDER
ECOLOGICAL MIDDLE SCHOOL MADER, 1998
(Figure 23-30)
Since a couple of years Mader, originally a poor village close to the border to Switzerland,
is longing to achieve the status of an ,,ecological Community". The urban planning concept
comprises a sequence of public squares and connecting paths. This net, in favour of pedestrian
traffic, becomes more dense around the new center, where one finds all scholastic and cultural
amenities, among them, the community center designed by Baumschlager and Eberle in 1995. The
new building of the ,,Eco-Middle-School" upgraded the center of town tremendously. The
positioning of the two volumes, which are separated above ground, generated not only two new
exterior spaces (public plaza and the school's courtyard) but also defined clear edges.
Both volumes, the above ground four story school building and the flat double-gymnasium
(lowered by one third into the ground), are compact and thus minimize the use of surfaces and
energy. The design orients itself to the close relationships between form, function, economy and
ecology. The on all sides double layer of the facade of the school building consists of a wood and
glass construction, which is wrapped by ventilated, scaled glass panels. Depending upon the
position of the sun, the various conditions of transparency change the appearance of the building:
From dematerialization caused by raking light to becoming a mirror of the surroundings. Extensive
glazing of the facades, in conjunction with a central light well and clerestory windows in the
interior walls made of wood; enable natural lighting of the floors, despite the ground floor area of
approximately 80 by 80 feet. On each regular floor, seven peripheral classrooms group around a
generous, central recess space. Ecological approach, economy and quality of space formed a
synthesis in this building.
Figure 26
Figure 29
5. WOHNEN AM LOHBACH
Lohbach Residential Project in Innsbruck, Austria

(Figure 3 1-35)
The first construction phase of a relatively densely set residential project disposed of a
large green area. Next to it lie residential buildings that are heterogeneous in urban and formal
terms and a university area dating back to the sixties.
Economically and ecologically optimised residential construction was required here. Thus
the decision to build cube-like structures with interior access and a projecting balcony zone that
can be closed off from the outside with copper sun protecting elements. The urban project that
results from this concept and its cube-like shape looks similar to a random chess board pattern,
seemingly. In reality the alignment of the individual structures, the views around and through the
project were carefully composed. This was also the case with the spaces between the buildings: the
open spaces - including small gardens in front of the ground level apartments - make it easy to
forget the density of construction.
Figzrre 34 Figzrre 35
The apartments vary greatly. What is important is: the sun protection elements offered are
used continuously by the residents. Hence the copper cubes envisioned by the architects are really
there and the only openings are those created by residents who have their shutters open. This
interplay between (primarily) closed and (partly) open surfaces is extremely appealing.
There is a second important element: the houses may have been optimised as much as
possible on the outside, but the basic principles of residential construction were adhered to
completely. This is especially the case in terms of access, which was made possible by a truly
attractive hall featuring natural light and glass floor paneling that allows light to reach the lower
level and the subterreanean garage.
Finally, there is a third element: all the ecological possibilities allowed by today's
technology were applied to these houses. These include solar energy panels, heat recovery plants
and rain water use. Thus practically everything that can be achieved without high tech - was
-
achieved.
This solution won international awards. The price per square meter ratio is unique. The
residents appreciate this fact.
The Architecture - from Concentrates
Gary CHANG
Architect, Director of EDGE (HK) Ltd.
"Those who jail to re-read are obliged to read the same story everywhere. " - Roland Barthes
"The .stamp o f the deJinitive is avoided. No situation appears intended forever, noJigure suggests
its 'thus not and otherwise. ' This is how architecture, the most binding part of the communal
rhvthm, comes into being here. " - Asja Lacis and Walter Benjamin
THE ARCHITECTURE
Everything follows from this principle: that the intention of the architecture deals not with
its physical dimension but with the matrix of possibilities within. As such it is always a tendency
to the attempt to approximate infinity of the intensity1 density, or the Concentration, that prevails
within ("Concentration" here encompasses both the idea of density that generally refers to the
quantity of events within the physical dimension, and the idea of intensity that points to the
quantity of events within a timeframe).
Succeeding the Change - Choice - Connection - Co-existence (the "4C's" represents
the four categories of events that characterize the intensification phenomena) discussion on the
urban dynamics, Concentration presents a way of describing the intensity1 density that exists
within the architecture. It is an attempt to refocus our discussion from abstract hypotheses and
grandiose strategies to concrete details that create our daily experience, and to our sense of being
in a city. It is about a way of looking at and adapting what is there already.
A Concentrated architecture is one that embodies a high "concentration" of the 4C's: the
natural response to the competition for available resources. There are many details to observe in
the locals and in its various kinds of architecture and structure. The projects and patterns raised in
the present discussion are part of the answer to maximizing what is available for more
possibilities: how to turn the liabilities common to many local structures into assets.
The Foyer, Broadway Cinematheque, (300sqm), Hong Kong

(Figure 1-2)
One thing to be seen in the cinematheque is that there is a strong sense of unfinishedness
and fragmentation. The idea behind the project comes from the culture of setup-pulldown adopted
by the typical roadside stalls in the Temple Street, as well as other parts of the Yaumatei
neighnbourhood. It is common sense that the more deeply etched the details are, the more resistant
to removal and changes they will be. Thus we can see the cinematic adaptation of urban elements
like bare concrete walls, appendant plastic and metal structures, additive (and therefore easily
removable) metal window cages coated in protective green paint, all of which can easily be found
in 24-hour evolving urban environment nearby. These typically "intermediate" elements reflect the
attempt to re-present new connotations of the urban neighbourhood, at the same time suggesting a
possible answer to revitalizing the architecture by enhancing its readiness to changes.
Figure I Figure 2
Suitcase House Hotel in Badaling Shuiguan, ( ~ w s q m )Beijlng

,
Instead of projecting fake domesticity to house travelers in fixed standardized rooms (as
reflected in most hotel typology), the Suitcase House Hotel is designed to address the unexpected
guest structures, programmes and relationships even within a one-night stay.
A box of programmes to mimic a flexible household landscape with mixed-use space. To
consolidate space under one roof but multiple layers. By examining the entire architecture, a new
option is proposed for a more productive use of space than a conventional household landscape
that has many inflexible and thus inefficient rooms and is not big enough to carry such wasted
space. And since the household may switch the functions around the hours, the household
landscape needs to be flexible enough to accommodate constant changes. For a family, the house
may be best used as a huge living room, with the bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and storage
concealed under the pneumatically operated floor panels during daytime. But imagine a huge rave
party. You can simply hide all the partitions to generate a whole 44m by 5m dance floor. Or a
house party with different chambers for tea, music, movie, tete-a-tete, or even sauna and
meditation. While this transformable space could become a huge room for conference, seminar,
workshop or performance, you can also devise up to 7 guest rooms for people staying over for the
night. Whatever the rundown of the day is, the privation of space is only limited by your
imagination.
Gifu Kitagata Housing, (10 units, 60sqm), GIFU

(Figure 3-4)
In the Gifu project, we are commissioned to create a non-linear public housing space from
10 randomly chosen apartments within the megastructure. As one among other viable solutions, it
is proposed that a shared urban community between different apartments to create as a closely-knit
configuration for the urban allegory of the village. The circulation routes, storage space and
laundry areas are used as the physical and communal connections. These free zones of undefined
ownership become "baits" for the inhabitants to gain extra space, more light and better ventilation.
By enhancing the idea of sharing resources, this colonization of spaces tends to break the isolation
of social housing and creates various types and sizes of communal space for the inhabitants to
meet one another, hang out, team up and exchange conversation: a modem envision of the
traditional neighbourhood. Such flexibility can also be extended to the idea of subletting and
combining different units in response to the size of the families. On top of the idea of shared
resources, the alternating U-shape units aim at establishing a myriad of possibilities which in turn
increases the Concentration within the structure. Such communal space ultimately leads to the
genuine public space of the housing scheme, blurring the boundary between the private garden and
the public space. As a result, the design as a whole attempt to rethink how housing units and shared
spaces function spatially, and on a macro perspective, how the identity of a locale is defined.
Figure 3 Figure 4
Gary's Apartment, 33sqm, Hong Kong

(Figure 5-6)
The tiny apartment is made into a machine for compact living. Instead of subdividing the
limited space into different cells, the apartment is designed as one room. All the mundane
necessities of bachelor life - books, CDs, clothing, pictures, stereo, videos - are organized in clear
strata and stacked on a factory shelving system and hidden discreetly behind floating white
curtains. The central space becomes the actual space for living / working / eating / meditating1
sleeping I chatting / dressing 1 reading. Infinite combinations of lighting expand the possible
ambience to be created in a home environment.
The main aperture of the front window offers different "views" to the world beyond -
whether the actual view out of the window, or "through" the large-scale movie screen to the
fantasy world of Hollywood, the real world of news, or the electronic world of Internet. Like a
changeable theatre set, it is a stage for the concentrated lifestyle under an extreme urban situation.
Figure 6
Figure 5
Office Cabanas, Office of Ogilvy & Mather, (2.4sqm), Hong Kong

(Figure 7-8)
Contemporary issues are addressed in a design, which explores how one piece of furniture
can accommodate the needs of public and personal space in an office. Inspired from the traditional
street market with the appropriation of the mechanism of the cabana, the open and close situation
creates the flexible office room in its minimum size. Each purpose-built, de-mountable module
provides a semi-private enclosure with independent service supports and storage. With an
incorporated workbench, privacy can be achieved by working within the module. When more
interaction is required, the rollout desk can be moved outside the module and serve as an informal
meeting place for co-workers, clients and consultants to gather around. The module thus suggests
a new workstyle where the line between public and private fluctuates. To reduce costs, the five
separate components are pre-fabricated off site in multiplication. Dimensioned to fit in typical
commercial building elevators, they can be quickly assembled on site. Permeable strips of
polycarbonate reduce the solidity of the unit making circulation behind and around less oppressive
than between conventional office cubicles.
Figure 7 Figure 8
Installation of a 32-cage neighborhood, 7th International (Biennial)

Exhibition of Architectnre, (2sqm), VENICE
(Figure 9- 10)
If a compact office room takes only 2.4 sqm, a living space may get even smaller. Our
installation in Venice presents the most congested way of living. Each mesh-covered cage,
measured by l m by 2m, is a single room for an individual. It is a container for all his belongings
and even himself locked up entirely. An apartment of 70 sqm packed with some 70 rental cages
forms a closely tied community within. Knowing the fact that some residents have been staying
there for 30 years, this voluntary prison has become the permanent homes for these alienated grass
roots.
Figure 9 Figure 10
Light Hotel, (0.08sqm)
(Figure 1 1 -1 2)
Light is a material for urban architecture. Analogized to the ever-changing urban

lightscape, the LIGHT HOTEL is the light with configurations ad infiniturn. Taking the form of a
circular tower stacked with a set of slotted rings, it houses a maximum variety of ways for
illumination through the choice of light intensity, level of light and directlindirect light source. All
can achieve just by turning the rings. Totally responsible to the preference of the user, it provides
as many combinations of light source as one's imagination goes.
Figure I I Figure 12
Kung Fu Tea Set, Tea & Coffee Tower for Alessi, (0.04sqm)
(Figure 13- 14)
The design of the Kung Fu Tea Set originates from how dim-sums, Chinese hors
d'oeuvres, are arranged and displayed. Baskets of dim-sum are piled up in the middle of the
restaurant, often in a congested situations, like a mind-game as the food inside the baskets are not
fully exposed in view. The whole process of eating becomes a vigorous exercise in fighting
against tight space within the micro-environment of the restaurant, and then of table, in optimal
efficiency of vertical organization and growth. It's all about our notion of a non-visual pragmatism
of Change, Choice, Co-existence and Connection.
Figure 13 Figure 14
The collage of dim-sum baskets is literally transformed to become our Kung Fu Tea Set.
Made of Italian sterling silver and Chinese Red Clay from Yixing, the tea set is composed of a
group of cylindrical units, each of them taking care of one particular element in the traditional
brewing of Chinese Kung Fu tea. Different elements for various functions can be piled up
according to different situations, resembling the same high-density arrangement of the dim-sum
basket towers. This configuration is again a take on the active intervention by the user (drinker) to
meet one's own habit of tea making. While having potentials for growth to include even elements
for other uses, the tea set eventually becomes a totem for the micro domestic landscape.
On its way of leading to an answer to the struggle for space, thinking and acting within the
context of concentrated architecture means accepting and af'firming the limitations and instability
that bring about it. While sourced from the intelligence that is exhibited -in many scenarios of
common sense, the resulting concentration at the same time is a source for creativity that can be
expressed in every area of life and every field of knowledge. As such, architecture is simply one
tool. Interestingly, while the principle of concentrated architecture is developed from the locality,
the same pattern can be repeated globally and goes beyond the idea of architecture itself. The
imagination is set from the ideals that have been affixed on our minds for so long by rationalizing
the manifest of disorder into a plurality of possibilities.
Professor Jiasheng Bao
The Graduate School of Architecture, Nanjing University
1. INTRODUCTION
I began to study Professor N. John Habraken's S. A. R theory in the end of 1970s.
Fortunately, When I was a visiting scholar of P. R. China to visit Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (M.1.T) in United States and met Professor N. John Habraken in early 1980s. After I
learned and communited quintessence of Housing Design theory from SAR perspective, the Open
Building thought attracts me deeply and becomes my major academic research perspective in.
twenty years after. I continually prospect in this perspective that I study from Open House and
Open Building to Sustainable Development Architecture. We follow principle of theory& practice
and study & teaching to prospect deeply benefits in theoretic study, also, we processe productive
practice and talented education during in this perspective.
In study and practice perspectives, we consistent complete processes from theoretic study
and experiment of housing to study-applicabled and project-promotived at the end of theory-
introspective experiments. During in this process, we prospected supporting housing, high effect of
spatial Housing, steeped type building, high floor supporting housing and eco-architecture that
those prospects were practiced in real engineering. In combination of research and teaching, we
educated lot of students on Master and Doctoral degrees and accomplished research theses on topic
of Open Building thought; meanwhile, those students participated in projects, which are related
Open building thought. Especially, those doctoral dissertations represent many related theses on
Open Building studies, such as " Methodology of Open Building Design Theory", "Openly
Architectural Process" and "Studies on Openable Elementary School Planning and Design" etc.
In order to continue study Open Building, I founded the Center of Open Building Research
& Development (COBRD) in Southeast University, 1992. I established the Graduate School of
Architecture and Center of Open Building in Nanjing University after I leaved Southeast
University in 2000. For smoothly combination between research and practice, I founded Jian Xue
Architecture Institute, Open Building Center of Engineering Design Institute and Nanjing Open
Building Design Consultant company to continue rich study and practice on Open Building.
2. PROSPECT PROCESS
2.1. Experimental engineering of Supporting Housing in Wu Xi

In early 1980s, we applied SAR Theory in the first project in China and we developed
study experiment of "Supporting Housing". We constructed and completed eight unit housings for
Supporting Housing experiment through hardship process in Wu Xi. The total building area is
12100sq. m. that it provides 2 17 resident units. Conclusively, this experiment gained four benefits
from prospect, such as:
1. Applied SAR in housing design theory to separate housing into support and detachable
units. Household could design and construct detachable units from selected support
unit; this process provides suitable and consummate housing. It creates a new aspect
for household practice housing construction to input distinct accommodative. alterable
and suitable housing.
2. Under the perspective of architectural industrialization, to adopt method of unit design
for exploring and practicing a new aspect of housing diversification.
3. To use housing spatial form of traditional courtyard stepped type building to compose
Chinese traditional housing from with modern living style. It doesn't only explore
modern housing of local characteristic but it does change malpractice of stereotyped
housing in China.
4. To adopt spatial system of outdoor from public space, transformed public space and
private space process aggregative arrangements, it breaks typical planning method of
rows- columns stereotype.
2.2. Discovery of High Effect Spatial Housing
The high effect of spatial housing is a new type of open housing. It succeeds supporting
housing to be a major study in recent ten years. It organizes three-dimensional organism and
compaction for each using space in internal housing. It creates high use effects in a limited area of
internal housing. Furthermore, it changes monotonous space of traditional housing to present
multi-compound space. The High Effect Spatial Housing reaches new perspectives from base of
Supporting Housing theory and practice, it represents in those aspects such as:
I. Design of supporting unit injects more activities for dividual interior space of housing.
It breaks two-dimension plane boundaries into three-dimension spatial orders.
2. Detachable design does not only be a role for platform of divided space but it
combines with interior design of furniture to reduce investment amount, when it
utilizes effective internal space.
3. The design of high effect of spatial housing makes congregate and multi-use methods
to raise effectiveness of spatial monotonous from internal spatial effect of housing
currently. It adopts method of restructure entirety to apply the upper interior space of
housing and set suitable function that function appear often as types of closets.
Various users could select different detachable material, type, color and style for their
favors. The detachable can be divided space and furniture. Also, its design and
placement could be in service range for interior environmental design and internal
decoration. The role between supporting unit and detachable unit provides rich
creations for architect, interior designer and household.
Prospect of high effect of spatial housing is through theoretical study, project design,
model study, experimental housing and applied engineering. After design project completed
and qualified model study, it was called for technological meeting under the support of city
government. Then, we built experimental housing under the assistance from the Nanjing wood
mill, after we were obtained qualification from meeting. After gaining social approval, we
completed demonstrative engineering on designs and constructions in Nanjing, Suzhou,
Tiangjing and Zhengzhou .The practice progress shown as below:
1. Project design.
2. Model study.
a.) The model study of single unit.
b.) The model study of lower floor.
c.) The model study of multi-floors.
d.) The cluster model study.
3. Experimental engineering Experimental housing of high effect spatial of the Nanjing
wood mill.
4. Applied engineering.
2.3. Practice cases
a. High Effect Spatial Housing of Nanjing Daily Newspaper office on Rongzhuang Street.
This project uses original three workplaces to apply design principle of high effect of
spatial housing and methodology to rebuild resident housing. Original factory building
was a framework structure, those floors' high are 3.8m, 4m and 4.2m, the depth is
12m that spatial uses exists rich potentialities. According to the design model of high
effect housing, the factory framework would shift to be supporting unit. The first
work in design progress modifies appropriate supporting unit. Continually, supporting
unit was suitable restructured in second time. According to each area demand of
housing unit, we design one workplace for each housing. Inside space of housing unit
compounds and crosses spatial arrangements that it increases 75% using area. It gains
seventy-five resident housing units after rebuilding three workplaces in this project
that new resident housing project adds another extra fourty-seven units. AS results, it
shows highly effects in this project.
b. Nanjing Xviadatang High Effect Spatial Housing.
This housing adopts 2:3 variated planks method of spatial arrangement. Each unit
owns two workplace, two floor high of major workplace corresponds sub-workplace is
to be three floors that the major workplace high3.6m and sub-workplace high is 2.4m.
The building using area is higher 50 % than ordinary building, building size for two
bedrooms & two living rooms area equals to using effects for four bedroom & four
living rooms.
c. High Effect housing of Zhengzhou Planning Bureau.
This housing uses 4:3variated planks method of spatial arrangement. Each of floors
high is 2.4m and 3.2m, high of room space is dependent on its size. Both fixable using
on floor highI1livingroom and floor low (kitchen and washroom) brings effective
spatial uses in orders.
2.4. Stepped type housing

In order to provide each household well environment and increase privatized outdoor for
each household, we used a matrix from supporting housing of Wu Xi for processing a new
combination to design level setbacks that it reflected each housing plane is upper floor's plate roof
and sky garden to be a stepped type housing housing. The faculty apartment of the Nanjing
Chinese Medical University follows this concept to be built in the end of 1980s. It is a five floor
high resident apartment that it practices each housing unit owns well indoor and outdoor privatized
environment and household could arrangement own housing. According to simiIar concept, we
processed similar prospect in design of high level housing and practiced stepped type housing high
effect space of high level housing at a civil servant community.
2.5. High Floor Supporting Housing

To start at housing experiment of high floor support unit base, we explore high floor
support unit housing in the 1990s. According to the concept of open housing to build a 26 floor
high supporting unit housing, which is the Nanjing Zhongnan building and build in 1996 for set
those removed residents (their housing were dismantled). This building was separated apart of
function for removed resident houses and commercial unit for sales. Due to part of housing be set
for removed residents, therefore, floor area exists obviously differences from 20-301 per unit to
60-8011 per unit. Therefore, we adopted design method of supporting unit and connect with real
condition in China to set relative fixed between kitchen and washroom for arrangement of
unchangeable space. Also, other spaces combines with supporting wall to be arranged as widely
open space, it creates flexibilities of space uses. Those units in this building were completed sold
in half year after it completed construction. " I want to thank you so much!" manager of
Development Company said to me. I said " why'?" He said, " It is so easy to be rechange from
sales agent's point of view" It proofs Open housing contains competitive advantages in market.
3. Discovery of Open Building
From supporting housing as open housing thought, we developed this thought to be

applied in kinds of building designs in early 1990s. It is called" The open house to open building".
Hence, we follow design principle and design method of open building to practice in building
design, such as library. office building and school building.
3.1. Design of Open Library

The design engineering of Shenzhen High Technology College Library followed design
principle of open building to build a college library and gained approved society and market. We
divided building space into two parts, which contains changeable and fixed spaces. Changeable
space is called as serviced space and operates for kinds of room functions, such as reading room,
book storage room and office. Fixed space is named as service space and includes vertical and
horizontal communicative space that it sets various equipments and washrooms. We treat service
space as a fixed space and view serviced space as a changeable space for gaining flexibility and
spatial comprisal in building functions. Both " service space" and " serviced space" have to
concern those principles, which are list as below, in design process:
1. The " serviced space" should be designed as continued large space and adopt column
network design of model network because this kind of space exists often uncertainty
elements.
2. The" serviced space" isn't counted room on design but it follows functional " area"
concept to design. It doesn't follow one by one design method to design reading room
but it designs under reading area concepts. Each reading area is a continued open
space that it makes flexibility arrangement for further uses.
3. The'' service area" has to follow related "design principle", "study reasonable
number" and " reasonable plane position" to suit fire emergency demands. Position of
service space is located near serviced area, or arranged between two serviced areas in
order to raising effects of service using. However, service area should not be set in
serviced area to avoid missed arrangement of spatial position to cause discontinued
and incomplete in serviced space.
4. The" service area" and " Serviced area" should adopt uniform column network, the
size of column network should concern demand of using function in different floor
(include basement floors). It has to choose coordinate between columns and size of
column network to coordinate column network between reading room, book storage
room and garage.
3.2. Open Office Building - Design of Nanjing Jiaotong Building

Nanjing Jiaotong building is located in city center area. It exists limited site area but
demand large building area, therefore, we design a 26 floor high building. The function is
uncertainly in design process. When office leader is changed; design is changed. The design work
processed four years that office leader changed three times and each new office leader asked
various function. At the first time, office leader asked function to build a continued educational
building for different continue educations with living service space but the continued education
didn't necessary demand such large space. Another new office leader asked design for a
comprehensive functional building, apart of building be office and another part of place for
apartment. However, the third new office leader didn't agree building function for apartment in
city center but he did determine that building function should be office or hotel. When office
I%osl)cct ol' 0pc.n Huileling
leader changed their minds, they found us to readjust project in order to adapt new functional
demand. Because we considered uncertainly function when we started to design that building,
therefore, we applied design principle of open building to adopt flexibility design strategy to suit
different office leaders' requirements. As result, they were satisfactions on our designs. During in
design process of this building, we treaded uncertainly space as changeable space (serviced space),
we tried enlarging its size in opened, continued and completed, also, we selected suitable various
functional arrangements between columns and column network. Meanwhile, we treated service
space to be core unit of high level building to centralize arranged at aside or comer in serviced
space, also, we reserved vertical tunnel at appropriate location to satisfy completed and continued
space under required condition of fire emergency. Furthermore, we provided maximum flexibility
and comprisal for building space.
After building was constructed and entered market, building functions major on office
and bank; part of building is continued education. Each user satisfies its fixable functions.
4. Discovery of sustainable development Building
Sustainable development building follow " 3R" principles, which are Reuse, Reduce and
Repetition" and be called characteristic of open building suits. Reuse in means applied sustainable
functions. Therefore, "open building to sustainable development building: is third phase for our
study. We accomplished an eco-resident community study and design in this level. This eco-
resident community follows ecology planning principle and design, all of houses tracks open
housing concept to design also. It includes our prospects on supporting housing, high effect of
spatial housing, stepped type housing and other applied eco-design principles and designs before.
They included vertically ventilative structures, using of underground water, applied solar energy,
solar energy water heater and entirety building.
5. CONCLUSION
1. Open building has great vitalities that it should be an important aspect in the 21" century. It
does not only apply to housing only but for any kinds of architecture, which means it suits
lower, multiple, and high levels buildings. It represents personalized, humanized,
democratized and diversified architectures. Meanwhile, open building develops, extends, and
applies forceful industrialization of architecture. Consequentially, it promotes architectural
developments.
2. Open building is the best style to practice sustainable architecture development. It encourages
and promises sustainable function of architectural uses. Specially, the imformation age causes
creations of new type of architecture in change of living pattern, family office (SOHO) and
others.Ingeniously,conceptsfor creations and origin spaces are flexibilities and movabilities, it
could be various shaped, szied,attituded switches, moreover, it could be office, retailstore,
factory, and spatial combination of living-work. The high effect of spatial building of open
building is the best idea spatial form of the finest building. At same time, high effect of spatial
using of open building results using area is larger than building area that it is a typical building
form on restrained, high effect space and preserve savable land. Therefore, it is the finest form
in sustainable developments.
3. Especially high effect of spatial building would provide an aspect for urban renewal, reform of
old housing. Those old buildings do not revitalize from open building only. At same time, it
benefits protection of architectural culture on extension and development and provide
economical aspect on reform of old building and urban renewal.
4. The development of open building has to trend professional and cooperative perspectives.
Architect should cooperate with merchant to explore new structure system for creating new
structure of supporting unit. Meanwhile. both of them should cooperate and develop new
detachable units for making industrialized, marketable and commercialized productions of
detachable units to provide conveniences on user practice and creation. AS result, it will
continually create powerful, material and technologic bases to extend popular and
developmental open building.
A Research Agenda
N. John HABRAKEN
Professor of Architecture Emeritus
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract: Open Building as an international network of practitioners, researchers, and educators

has been operating for quite some time.
Open Building as a design approach demands skills and knowledge so far not sought in
conventional architecture. Acceptance of this approach opens the way to new design skills and
methods as well as new environmental knowledge. This, in turn, implies an new research agenda
specifically geared to architectural design.
Keywords: Architectural design, Open building, Design Methodology, Architectural

Research.
1. INTRODUCTION
The concept of Open Building implies the separation of the so called 'Base Building' from
the interior 'Fit-Out'. This separation allows each dwelling unit to be designed individually and to
change independent of other units in the same building. The result is a fine grained organization of
the large building. Kendall and Teicher give a comprehensive overview of the Open Building
projects worldwide (Kendall and Teicher 1999). Since then, other projects have been completed.
To explain the concept, two projects are briefly shown. One is relatively recent and the other is one
of the first executed.
The Next21 project in Osaka, ( fig.1) intended to suggest the apartment house of the
future, was experimental in many ways. It is also an Open Building project. Prof. Utida, leader of
the design team, called it a three dimensional urban design. Consistent with that view, thirteen
different architects offices were invited to design the individual dwellings inside the base building
(Utida et.al. 1994.)
The Molenvliet project (fig. 2) was the first base building project in the Netherlands.
Architect Frans van der Werf treated it as part of an urban fabrc that could be continued on an
urban scale, consisting of public and private courtyards formed by the base building and connected
to one another and to the major streets where cars could be parked. In this base building tenants
could design and change their individual units. This process has been supported to this day by the
housing corporation which owns the project. (v.d.Werf and Froyen. 1980)
The Open Building approach can be considered a general model for fine grained urban
fabric in contemporary environment. As such it is worth while to compare this new approach to
the making of architecture in general and consider where professional ways of working need to be
changed.
Figzrre 1. Next21 project Osaka Figure 2. Molenvliet project, Papendrecht
2 RETURN OF THE FINE GRAINED FABRIC

Open building may sound revolutionary in its demand on adaptability and flexibility, but
in a more historic perspective it can be seen as a return to age old qualities that got lost in Modem
times. Densely packed urban fabric is often found in historic examples, but it was always fine
grained: such fabrics consisted of many small living cells that could change, adapt, disappear and
appear on their own. When we look at air survey pictures of the city of Amsterdam, for instance,
we see how the famous seventeenth century canals are truly monumental in size in their geometric
layout, but this large scale urban structure is balanced by the many individual houses that form the
urban spaces, making it a fine-grained living fabric. Step by step, as the city continued to grow
from the late nineteenth century on until now, we see a coarsening of the fabric. Eventually, the
smallest exchangeable unit - the living cell, if you like - is not a single house but a large apartment
building. This trend has been universal, and as a consequence, our contemporary cities are coarse
grained and inflexible. In a culture where commercial, political, and educational efforts are
focused on the individual as a free agent, expected to act and choose for himlherself, the built
environment is an anomaly, unable to respond to the variable and energetic small scale life of the
occupant.
The Open Building network advocates to give large buildings and large projects a fine
grained quality responsive to the needs of the individual inhabitant. Where the historic dense fabric
used to be a horizontal distribution o f autonomous living cells, the contemporary high density city
fabric must distribute those cells also vertically.
Obviously, technical problems must be solved to achieve this. Contemporary dwellings
and work places are complex machines full of piping and wiring that provide energy, heating,
ventilation, and cooling, and various means of communication. But in our day and age this need
not be a barrier. In fact, progress is already made in this regard under the pressure of real life
demands. The large commercial office tower today is a flexible structure. Owners lease entire
floors and let the occupant company bring in its own contractor to fit out floor plans designed by a
specialized interior designer. In the same way, we find the shopping mall to be a virtual Open
Building project where retail space is fitted out individually. The Open Building movement has
concentrated largely on residential buildings of which 1 have just shown a few examples.
The real barriers to making the Open Building approach a common practice are not
technical. They have to do with the fact that, as professionals, we lack familiarity with the
properties of fine grained high density urban environments. Our tradition as professional
architects, engineers, and managers, is with the monumental building: the castle, the palace, the
temple, the church, and the mosque and perhaps also the large mansion for the rich client. We have
not learned to see our products as living entities subject to internal change over time. That static
view is becoming increasingly counter productive. We now begin to suspect that everyday
environment is too complex, too dynamic, and too much rooted in social and cultural habits to be a
mere professional invention or to be determined by static programming. The large building is not,
in fact, a building in the traditional sense, but a piece of urban fabric to be cultivated. Our making
and designing must be geared to that cultivation. A new professional attitude must be developed.
Here lies the challenge Open Building is posing.
3 THREE AREAS OF CONFLICT
To support this statement, I will mention three aspects where our traditional ideology is in
conflict with the reality of everyday living environment.
3.1. Change and Permanence

Firstly, everyday environment is about change and transformation as much as about
permanence. The base building is relatively permanent precisely because the interior fit-out can
change. For the same token, in an urban structure of streets the building is the changeable part and
the street system is more permanent. Thus environment exists by virtue of change organized in a
hierarchical fashion. Time is the essential fourth dimension needed for environmental
sustainability. But time is the traditional enemy of architecture. Architecture is meant to endure. It
is the stone placed in the running stream. When we speak of environmental fabric, we speak of that
stream.
3.2. Centralized Design Control

Secondly, we have been taught to seek centralized design control . The great masters like
Le Corbusier, Mies von der Rohe, Walter Gropius, and Frank Lloyd wright sought to design not
just the building, but also the chair in it and everything between. They lived in a period of renewal
and revolution in which it could be believed that good architecture demanded such total control.
And because their works are so beautiful and seductive we still feel that it should be our privilege
to work that way. We resist distribution of design control. But in practice, expertise of
environmental design is distributed. We distinguish between furniture designers, interior designers,
architects, urban designers, and landscape architects, as well as, today, planners and industrial
designers. This distinction of expertise reflects the distribution of design control that comes natural
with environmental form. The separation of base building design from fit-out design as advocated
by Open Building introduces a new layer in that hierarchy in response to the increased size of the
contemporary building.
Distribution of design control does not figure in architectural theory, it is not discussed as
such in professional circles, nor taught in professional schools. But it is a fact of life. The issue of
design distribution goes even further than the distinction between different kinds of expertise.
Within the confines of a single expertise design tasks now demand groups of individuals
subdividing among themselves the work for the large job. Of the many bright and talented students
that graduate from our schools, only very few will ever do an entire building in their life. They will
do what we still feel to be 'partial design'. They work in larger teams, or manage such teams, or
become consultants on specific aspects of design. In addition, consultants like the structural
engineer, the experts in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, and in various utility systems, as
well as those specialized in acoustics and lighting, are also involved in making design decisions.
Moreover architecture has become more and more a matter of composition of industrial systems
and these systems, in turn, are the products of industrial designers. The latter have an increasing
influence on the look and feel of environmental form. In short, everyday environment thrives on a
dynamic distribution of design control. Indeed, the concept of 'a building' is become outdated:
more and more. As designers, we operate in a continuum of environmental form in which we do
our bit.
3.3. Shared values

Finally, good environment, as we still admire in historic examples, is coherent. Buildings
adhere to a same typology, we see the same patterns consistently applied, and we recognize a
certain systemic way of working in all instances. In other words, to collectively produce a good
environment, it is important to know what we have in common, and what values we share.
Sharing values is not what the architect is taught in school. We operate in an ideology of self
expression following the superficial idea that good architecture must always be original and
different. Of course, to be different, there must be something that is normal. So what is shared is as
important as what is individual. Already in the seventies, dean Lawrence Anderson of MIT was
heard to sigh: "Too bad no one wants to design a background building". We just do not know
anymore how to talk about what we have in common. Here too, Open Building points in the right
direction. To make a higher level structure, we must consider what is shared on the lower level.
Our design must contain and represent what many lower level designs will have in common.
4 A RESEARCH AGENDA
The three issues of conflict between environmental reality and professional ideology have
a direct impact on the way we design. There is a common aspect: All three demand that designers
coordinate what they do with others.
Sharing values demands that we have ways to establish what our designs must have in
common: it is the basis for all coordination.
The distribution of design responsibility clearly demands ways in which designers can
define design tasks and in which they can handle the interface: setting clear boundaries within
which they can carry their own responsibilities.
Change and permanence, relates to both sharing of values and the separation of tasks.
Values must be embedded in specific forms with their own life span of longer or shorter duration.
These forms, in turn, assume a distribution of design control compatible with them.
4.1. Coordination and Methodology

In all cases, we have to do with questions of design coordination in one way or another.
Design coordination, in turn, calls for design methodology. In a culture where design is only seen
as an individual problem of self expression and in which we assume each must handle form in his
or her own way, design as a problem of coordination is seldom discussed and design methods are
considered unnecessary constraints to the individual's creative freedom. Consequently design
methodology is unknown in our present culture. But this neglect is based on a misunderstanding.
Good methods respect the creative act as inscrutable. When we design we must have our own
domain of control. But where what we do connects to the work of others, we want that exchange to
be effective and efficient. That is where method comes in.
4.2. Capacity
When the separation of base building from fit-out was first proposed by SAR ( the office
of architect's research in the Netherlands) a new interface between designers a new interface was
called for and that is what our methodological research focused on. For instance, the designer of a
base building cannot just show a few floor plans to justify his proposal. He must find out what
range of possible plans - given certain requirements and values - might be possible in the proposed
base building. This is now known as the problem of capacity. When we walk into an empty room,
we may say: "this could be a bedroom, but it might also be a study, or perhaps a play room for the
children". By saying this we indicate the capacity of the room for holding lower level designs. In
the same way an urban designer, who decides about house lots and street widths, will ask himself
what kind of houses could be built if the lots have certain dimensions. Or he may consider what
ways there are to park cars in a given street-width, and how trees might be planted in it. In all
those cases the designer does not determine the lower level design decisions, but must have a fair
idea as to the range of solutions possible within what he proposes.
4.3. Positioning
The physical interface between the base building and the fit-out system need to be
organized too. Modular grids are commonly used to locate the position of columns, walls, floors
and other parts of buildings. Such locations can be subject to agreements and rules. SAR proposed
the establishment of position rules for the placement of parts. To do so we suggested a grid of
alternating narrow and wide bands. The advantage of such band grids is that they allow for easier
and more varied position rules compared to single line grids. The position rules we suggested
were such that elements of the fit-out system would always meet the base building in the narrow
bands of the grid. This constrained the margin of interface to a technically feasible range while
leaving free each party to dimension its own.
4.4. Zones
Positioning objects in space is of prime importance for all environmental designing and it
is once again surprising how little it is discussed in practice if at all, and how underdeveloped our
ways of handling grids are in general. In our research we also made a link between positioning
and the question of capacity. We found that variations of floor plans in a given context are seldom
random, because culture is not random. People seldom will choose, for instance, to make a
bedroom without a window, while bathrooms and kitchens, on the other hand, are often placed in
the middle of a building. This led us to the concept of zones, whereby zones behind facades and
those internal could be distinguished. We also defined zones for public and private use as well as
for inside or outside use. Zones allowed us to equate a base building floor with a particular zoning
distribution and this, in turn, indicated where certain functions of the dwelling might be located.
We found that each dwelling type had its own characteristic zone distribution. With the help of
such zonings and assumptions for positioning of functions, it would be possible to quickly
generate a series of possible 'basic variants' that gave a good idea of the capacity of the base
building for holding dwellings within the assumed values. With zones mediating between the two
levels of intervention, it was possible to efficiently evaluate the relation between floor plan values
and base building capacity and to tinker with either the values or the base building to arrive at a
desired solution.
In a later stage we used the concept of zoning also in urban design. Here the zones
indicated areas to be built or to be left open and capacity of an urban design to hold certain
architectural solutions could be studied by varying either the urban design or the assumed building
typology.
4.5. A Knowledge base

Methodology is not the only area of research, however, that will help us to deal with
present environmental reality. Looking at historic evidence we already saw that the balance
between change and permanence is central to the health and sustainability of environmental fabric.
In all sciences, the key to an understanding of physical phenomena, including those of living
things, lies in their patterns of transformation. We discover intrinsic laws by looking at such
transformations. Environmental form, in all its varied manifestations throughout history, follows
certain constant laws and principles that can be discovered by looking carefully at patterns of
transformation. I followed this approach in my recently published book "The Structure of the
Ordinary" in which I suggest three orders of control - morphological, territorial, and cultural - that
each in a different way, frame environmental form. The book is only a first attempt, but may
demonstrate that here too is an area of research and inquiry of great importance that has been
hardly explored. Conventional environmental form is to the architectural profession what the
human body is for the medical doctor. We need to study it to make our intervention beneficial and
to render environment healthy.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Donald Schon has argued, that each profession, the medical doctor, as much as the
engineer, the lawyer, and the architect, must have a certain artistry to be a good professional.
(Schon 1987.) The architect need not be reminded of that. Nonetheless, if creativity is an essential
ingredient for all professional expertise, it is, by itself, not enough to define a profession's
expertise. A profession needs to have a specific domain of knowledge to be identified by. It also
must have the specific skills needed to intervene successfully in that domain. For the contemporary
architect that domain is everyday environment in its full complexity.
I have mentioned two large areas of inquiry that relate exactly to these two conditions for
true professionalism: one having to do with design methodology, the other with our knowledge of
environmental form. The study and development of methods pertains to the design skills we need
to do our bit in a larger field of interventions. The study of environment as an autonomous and
living organism following its own laws, must provide us the knowledge base on which our design
acts must rest. The two together suggest a domain of knowledge and skills particular to the
architectural design profession.
I have tried to show that research along the lines of the Open Building approach is relevant
for the architectural profession at large. With the appropriate skills and knowledge our profession
will be better equipped for the reality of the large project and the increasing distribution of design
control in contemporary practice. More importantly, it can contribute greatly to the creation of
urban fabric of a fine grained quality which is compatible with the large project, making it more
resilient to change and more responsive to human life.
We are, of course, only scratching the surface of what is to be done. The field is wide
open. We find ourselves an entirely new, and truly architectural research agenda
REFERENCES
Kendall. S., and J. Teicher. 1999. Residential Open Building, London and New York: E.&F.N.
Spon.
Schon, D.A., 1987. Educating the Reflective Practitioner, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Utida.Y, and K. Tatsumi, S. Chicazumi, S. Fukao, M. Takada . 1994. Next21, Special issue of SD
(Space Design) No.25. Tokyo: Kajima Institute Publshing.
Van der Werf. F, with H-P Froyen. 1980. Molenvliet Wi1gendonk:Experirnental Housing Project,
Papendrecht, the Netherlands. In: Haward Architectural Review 1, 161-169. Cambridge, MA,
The MIT press.
Tomonari YASHIRO
Institute oflndustrial Science
Universi@of Tokyo
1. INTRODUCTION
By rapid evolution of IT and growing concern to global sustainability, economy system is

now shifting from product based economy to knowledge based economy. In product based
economy, peopIe focuses on owning goods, while in knowIedge based economy people put more
concern on quality of life by using what we have more effectively. The shift are generating
fundamental change in expectations, patterns of behaviour, the way we work and our use of space.
The place to live and the place to work requires to be more open, flexible and interactive. The
context of the dramatic shift of economy has profound relevance to open building approach.
However, in reality, open building approach has limited presence in built environment. Why? It is
a critical question that the group of 'CIB-W104 open building implementation' needs to prepare
pragmatic answer (not the theoretical answer). Through the illustration of the case study being
done by the author, the paper tries to prepare answer from the aspect of potential of fundamental
change of building related industry.
2. OVERVIEW OF POTENTIAL OF OPEN BUILDING

APPROACH
Open building approach (OB) has following potential to enhance sustainability of
buildings in developed, industrializing and developing countries.
2.1. Potential of OB in developed countries - Refurbishment of existing buildings

In most of developed countries, less-expanding or declining populations restrict the
increase of quantitative demand for floor areas of buildings. However, qualitative demand for built
environment is being changed by ever-going economic and social transformations. Considering the
magnitude of resource use in construction related activities in developed countries, it is essential to
avoid repetition of demolish-and-new-build as the method to adapt changing qualitative demand.
Open building approach could be alternative, systematized, and efficient method of refurbishment
to adjust existing buildings to changing qualitative demand by continual replacement of 'infill' or
'fit-outs'.
In western and eastern European countries, there are several examples where running
down housing estates have been regenerated using open building approach that combines;
- rehabilitation of 'supports' by landlords and 'urban tissue' by local authorities
including improvement of energy efficiency, amenity and capacity to change
- promotion of re-fitting of dwelling units by inducing various forms of commitment by
residents
The examples demonstrates open building approach could improve sustainability of the
estates by generating self-governed mechanism of continual transformation to maintain
serviceability under the partnerships of disentangled multi-stakeholders.
2.2. Potential of OB in industrializing countries - Upgradeable buildings

Innovative technology today could be out of date in a short period time. In order to make
buildings serviceable in the circumstance of rapid innovation, buildings need to be upgradeable. In
some industrialized countries and industrializing countries, huge amount of new buildings are
being constructed by economic growth. However, because of pressure to rapid construction by
minimum cost, certain amount of new built buildings embodies entangled combination of elements
that could be obstructive factor to upgrade the buildings. It means that huge amount buildings
being constructed in industrializing countries with poor energy efficiency and considerable
environmental impacts have the risk to be technologically deteriorated in future. If demolish-and-
new-build method should be used as a solution to deterioration or if they are left in poor
environmental performance, it could generate crisis to global sustainability because of huge
amount of resource and energy use, waste production, and environmental impacts. In order to
mitigate the probable risk, it is essential to introduce the idea of 'upgradeable buildings' based on
the idea of open building approach in currently industrializing countries. 'Upgradeable buildings'
can be used for longer period time by inducing innovation over time.Japan has experienced the
problems by less-upgradeable buildings in rapid economic growth age. Eventually in Japan, there
are several challenging examples to construct upgradeable buildings. .
Figure 1 Example of upgradeable building

Kugahara Housing Project by ARXarchitects and associates Tokyo
Vacant skeleton is supplied for rent to the tenants who construct the infill by themselves as their own
propert.
2.3. Potential of OB in developing countries - Partnership-based growing buildings
In mega cities in developing countries, informal construction activities have considerable
roles to provide shelters as an access to basic human need. However, in many of mega cities, the
roles by informal sectors are underestimated by formal sectors. Eventually, investments by formal
sectors and those by informal sectors are fragmented in spite of limited available resources for
investment. In order to utilize limited resources efficiently, 'partnership-based growing building'
based on open building approach need to be introduced to supply quality shelters for as much
people as possible. In the framework of 'partnership-based growing building', formal sectors focus
their investment on 'urban tissue' and 'support' level while inform sectors are responsible to install
'infill' by utilizing self-help activities. Because of adaptable nature of open building approach,
'partnership-based growing building' can replace or add 'infill' and some parts of 'supports' and
'urban tissue' in future, respecting on socio-economic changes and innovation. The approach gives
people hopeful prospect by demonstrating 'growing' of building in transparent process.
Infill
~uppcrt
I rnrn~rnumfunct~t~on
rn8nnmwn slructurr
baslo functR~on lnnovat~vefunetlon
besic slructure intiovat~vestructur~
Urban T~ssue m~narnumserv~ce ad-on space arnentty development
Figure 2 Partnership-based growing buildings for developing countries

using open building approach
3. WHY INDUSTRIAL DRIVING FORCE?

Though open building approach has potential to enhance sustainable built environment in
knowledge based economy, there is a serious lack of scenario to driving force that could be the
device of delivering open building in different contexts. Here it emerges the need to prepare new
paradigms of building industry that could be the industrial driving force to disseminate open
building approach as generic building method.
The possible paradigms shift can be termed as 'from product provider' to 'service
provider'. Figure3 illustrates the idea of product provider and service provider. Product provider is
the form of most of building related sectors. Product provider gets the revenue by providing
'products' (= buildings etc.) to customers. In most of cases, building related product providers
submit bill of quantities to customers to prove the appropriateness of price of buildings. Larger
quantity of resource input brings larger revenue to product providers. In another word, the decrease
of quantity of sold products results in the reduction of the revenue of product providers. Thus, the
nature of product provider has weak incentive to dematerialization. Alternatively, the nature of
service provider illustrated below has incentive to dematerialization. Service provider gets the
revenue by providing services to customers; here services involve benefits from function,
performance and psychological perception embodied with buildings. Prices of services are
correlated with the quantity and the quality of services including magnitude of customers'
satisfaction and degree of expertise to realize services.
I-1
Resource
Budget
Equipment
Human resource
Information ,
- e
Product provider
Conventional construction industry
Building
Occupants
Owner
h
Knowledge I Know-how I System
1
Building
Service Provider
Customer
Owner
a
By-products IEnvironmental Impacts
By-products I Environmental impacts
Figzrre 3 Product provider vs Service Provider
For service provider, building is a device for supplying services. It does not matter for
customers whether the devices are brand new buildings or existing buildings, if the quality of
supplied services is acceptable compared with price. For service provider, the quantity of resource
input to building is a cost for supplying services. Thus, less resource input to devices of services
could bring larger profit to service provider. Business model of service provider has potential to
promote dematerialization of building related economic activities.
The transition from product provider to service provider is revolutionary change in
building industry. Revolution needs driving force. Different from political revolution, the most
effective driving force for industrial revolution is real examples that are successful enough to give
impacts on holistic range of economic entities including fabricators, retailers, professions,
investors, governmental agencies and citizens. This is the motivation why the authors initiated the
new business model development project in domestic industrial contexts.
4. CASE STUDY - LEASING OF PREFABRICATED INFILL

COMPONENTS
4.1. Contexts and motivation

Reality and sate of art of off-site made infill components' fabricators are typical product
provider. The revenue of fabricators depends on how many products are sold. They do not involve
in the process of whole range of product life; in most of cases their task is completed when they
sell their product to contractors, builders and end users through retailing agents
However, because of the following contexts in Japan, the authors judged that the leasing
business of infill (= fit outs) components has certain seeds to generate sufficient feasibility and
could be effective demonstration of service provider business model.
First, infill components' industry is powerful in terms of market share and innovation
ability. Infill of contemporary Japanese buildings are, in a sense, assemblies of off-site made
modules and equipments such as kitchen sets, 'bath units', sanitary equipments etc. Like
automobile industry, the industry continuously supplies innovated and upgraded products
compared with previous years. Growing new-build market over the last thirty years formed the
basis of R&D investment.
Second, however, fabricators of off-site made infill components are seeking seriously new
business area, especially in works to existing buildings because new-build market is apparently
shrinking in Japan.
Third, current social and economic circumstances accelerate the transition of requirement
by building occupants and residents. It is quite probable that installed infill (fit outs) one year ago
need to be replaced to meet to the changing requirements. The idea of adaptable building, where
base building is stable over time while infill (fit outs) are replaced frequently respecting on
changing requirements by occupants and residents, is getting status of architectural paradigms of
this century. Economically and socially serviceable life of infill components are getting shorter and
shorter to the level almost equal to house automation devices like refrigerators, television, and
washing machine etc. Change of requirements are not only caused by circumstantial conditions but
also by continuous upgrading innovation of infill components like new electronic devices generate
new demand change.
Fourth, however, frequent replacement of installed infill components has risk to increase
waste production without measures of reuse and/or recycling. Fabricators of off-site made
components are feeling pressure from the principle of EPR (extended producer's responsibility),
though at present products' lives are still believed to be 'too long' to make sense of EPR, while in
reality, above mentioned rapid change of requirements are making them not too long. The crud-sac
to introduce measures for reuse and recycling is that most of off-site made modules and
equipments available now in marketplace in Japan are too complicated and hybrid assembly of
different kinds of materials. The state of art of off-site made infill components is too far from the
policy of DFX (Design for X: X = environment, disassembly, remanufacturing, recycling etc.)
4.2. Potential benefit

Figure 4 illustrates the diagram of material flow of leasing business model compared with
conventional product providing business model. In conventional business model as product
provider, products are handled in one way flow from production, usage to disposal. By contrast, in
leasing business model, products are returned to the supplier from the site of previous customer
and re-manufactured for the succeeding customer. Eventually material flow draws closed loop.
In leasing business, customers pay fee to serviceability of products, not to the products
itself. Thus, here, customers pay fee to the function and amenity derived from the usage of kitchen
sets, 'bath units' and sanitary equipments etc. Here infill components are only 'devices' for service
provisions. Thus, repetitive use of 'devices' reduces the cost for transaction procedure of business.
Eventually leasing business is expected to have incentive to 'device' suppliers to create
repetitively usable method of infill components as is illustrated in Figure 5. Leasing business
model embodies the incentive to establish closed loop of material flow that is termed as
'inverse supply chain'.
Conventional SUDD~V
CMaln
Manufacturer Traderj
Production
Disposal
,n
Su~ply$ Inverse su~plychain bv Leasinq 8 Rentin
Residents
Re-collection
Figure4 Diagram o f material flow of conventional supply chain and inverse supply chain
by leasing business model
Figure5 Dzagrarn oj re-assembling of leased components
By enhancing leasing business as package of long term maintenance and upgrading

service, occupants and residents can enjoy assured quality of service embodied with functions and
performance of components for duration of contract. Though there is a risk for suppliers' side on
future expense for maintenance and repair, still it could be also beneficial for suppliers because of
potential to increase business opportunities respecting on the circumstances of accelerated change
of requirements together with the need of minimization of wastes from business processes.
4.3. Key technologies being developed

Based on the judgment on seeds in the industry and demonstrative significance, the
authors called for member of informal research group to make feasible study of leasing business of
off-site made infill components. Academics and practitioner-researchers in the industry joined the
group. After six months' study, the group made research proposal to the research fund from the
government. The proposal was successful; the project titled as 'Morphological technology
development for redefinition of improved urban amenity' was started in August 2001.
The research project identifies and focuses on the following key technologies to enhance
the feasibility of the business model.
- Contract model based on service level agreement.
- Integrated IT tools to manage business operation
- Prototype of demountable infill components
4.3.1 Contract model based on service level agreement.

Adverse and conflict relation between suppliers and customers degrade the feasibility of
leasing business. So far there does not exist any agreed framework and yardstick in terms of
quantification of 'services' that give basis of payment. Thus, it is a key issue to create contract
model usable as templates in actual business practice. In the research project, contract model is
being developed respecting on the following precedents.
- Performance based contract in building practice
- SLA (Service Level Agreement) disseminated in information & communication service
industry that give clear definition of the scope and level of services provided by
suppliers
4.3.2 Integrated IT tools for business operation.

Running leasing business requires continual exchange of various information between
customers and supplier as well as within suppliers' organization. The exchanged information
involves those relating to contracting, design, fabrication, installation, logistics, maintenance and
replacement etc. Those information need to keep consistency over time and accessible any time
from any authorized agents within suppliers' organization and stakeholders. Thus, it tools together
with operating process design is a key issue to make the leasing feasible. In the research project,
fundamental framework of information operation is being designed together with protocols and
format of database.
4.3.3 Prototype of demountable infill components

Repetitive use of infill components is a key issue for enhance eco-efficiency and resource
productivity of the leasing business. However, as it is already mentioned, mainstream of off-site
made infill components are hybrid and complicated assembly of unnecessarily various materials
and elements with poor standardization in terms of shape, size and interfaces. The state of art of
'devices' for the leasing business stands on the opposite position against DFX (Design For X)
policy. There is a need of demonstration of what is demountable infill component. In the research
project, prototype of demountable infill components is being developed based on DFX policy.
4.4. Organization for all-in-one

Magnitude of added value of infill components' leasing business model depends on degree
of customers' satisfaction, but not the quantity of material resource input. Performance and
function of infill components as 'device' correlates to the customers' satisfaction, but those are
significant elements of customers' satisfaction. What customer feels if poor maintenance and
operating service are supplied? How customer reacts to poor coordination of services that enforce
customer frequent search of directory of services and contact? Organization to supply lease
services to customer needs to be capable of integration and coordination of services including
design integration of services, well managed installation and removal of 'devices', well
customized operating services over time etc.
spc
Provision of Packaqed Design professions
Service 4
Construction
Design1 lnstallationl Leasing management
Construction Management
Maintenance IMonitoring 4 Maintenance
Contractual management
customer
Figure 6 Diagram o f organization,for all-in-one service
Core source of added value in leasing business is good quality infill components as well as
integrated and coordinated finance, information, design and management. Here 'all-in-one' is
significant criteria for better customers' satisfaction, while very few firms and organization can
involve whole range of required resources to all-in-one service. The model of alliance organization
emerges where a kind of SPC (Special Purpose Company) stands on the center of alliance. For
customer, SPC is a single responsible body in terms design of infill, delivery and installation of
'devices', maintenance and upgrading (if requested) and so on, while SPC outsource necessary
resources from circles of alliance of firms, organizations, investors, and professions. Core function
of SPC is integration and coordination.
4.5. Mocking up experiments

Figure 7 illustrates the composition of mocking up experiments. Here infill is divided into
two layers. One is the lower system where pipes and wires are installed under the floor panels. The
layer is called as interior infrastructure; domestic law probably identifies the layer as fixed
property. The other is upper system composed of leased modules and equipments. These are
expected to have movable property status and to be treated independent property from fixed
property in domestic law, which gives SPC the basis of calling for investors to the leasing business
under the assurance of certain mortgage. The result of mocking up experiments shows the
verification of the diagram illustrated in Figure 4. However, the experiments also left the lessons
that suggests the serious need of buildability in site. The projects is now move on to the second
year. Te problems identified in the experiments are now being solved in the framework of
academic-industry partnership.
Leased
lnfill Components
Figure 7 Diagram of'mock up experiments
4.6 Higashi-Nihonbashi demonstration project

In order to demonstrate the potential of service provider model to refurbishment of
declining existing building, infill system being developed by the author has been installed to the
vacant floor to the existing office building for rent in Hihashi-Nihonbashi district in Tokyo where
vacant floors are increasing.
Figure8 illustrates the schematice plan of demonstration project. The floors are composed
of three movable module boxes. By installing movable boxes, it is expected that the building and
suurrounding area could be regeneratede by inducing knowledge based small/medium sized
venture businesses and people who wishes to live in traditional downrown Tokyo.
Figure 8 Higashi-Nihonbashi Project
Demonstration how open building approach with new busines model has potential to regenerate exiting
buildings to adapting to local visions and needs
The demonstration is giving impacts on not only coventional building sectors, but on local
authorities, urban designers, policy makers, investors and banking facilities, building owners and
general public, because the stakeholders feel the following potential of the approach;
building which is less attractive for conventional investors can be regenerated using
project finance approach because the new business model is a enabler to separate
fainancial stakeholders of infill and those of base building
the space generated by new business model can be flexible and adaptable to changing
requirements that reduce the risk for various stakeholders over time
new business model could be the facilitator of mix-used compact urban district that
enhance sustainable community by which various fusion of knowledge and creation of
something could be genarated because of incresing opportunity of meeting different
people.
5. CONCLUDING COMMENTS
The development of new business model with the concept of 'service provider' are now
becoming industrial deriving force to realize the potential of open building approach in the context
of the shift from product based economy to knowledge based economy.
If the benefit of open building approach with new emerging business model could be
demonstrated, various stakeholders could have clear understanding what open building approach
could realize and what should be done to enhance the potential in local contexts. There have been
number of 'chicken and eggs' debates in terms of dissemination of open building approach such as
'legal barriers constrains dissemination'. However, the research project illustrated in the paper
suggests that the demonstration of benefit of open building generate holistic and concurrent
approach by inducing various stakeholders beyond the trap of 'chicken and egg'. The development
of new business model based on new industrial paradigms is the possible driving force for creating
next generation of open building approach in knowledge based economy.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The research project presented in the paper is support by 'Subsidy to innovative
technology development' from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology, Japanese government.
REFERENCES
P. Hawken, et.al., 2000, Natural Capitalism: Creating the next industrial evolution, Little, Brown and
Company
Lifset, R., 2000, Moving from Product to services, Journal of lndustrial Eclology, Vo.4 no. 1, pp 1-pp2
Ryan, C., 2000, Dematerializing Consumption through Service Substitution is a Design Challenge,
Journal of Industrial Eclology, Vo.4 no. 1, pp3-pp6
Yashiro, T., 2000. From product provider to service provider - Relevant industrial change for
sustainable building implementation f international conference sustainable building 2000, 22-25
October 2000, Maastricht, The Netherlands, Aeneas Technical publishers (ISBN: 90-75365-36-5),
pp79-8 1
Yashiro, T. and Murata, T., 200 1. "Life Cycle Value Index" for Industry Ecology in Housing. Proc. of
Second International Symposium on Environmentally Conscious Design and Inverse Manufacturing
(EcoDesign 200 l), IEEE Computer Society, pp892-pp894
Yashiro, T and Nishimoto, K., 2002, Leasing of infill components - New business model development
for dematerialization of building related industry, Proc.of International Symposium of Sustainable
Building 2002, Oslo.
PANEL I: OPEN BUILDING DESIGN
Typical Plan Types of Flexible Housing - Based on the Analysis of Variation

Trends
Bora LEE, HyunSoo LEE and SooAm KIM
The Data Structure of Unit Analysis for Capacity Design Methodology

Cheng-Tah LIN, Ming-Hung HANG
Urban Housing in New Zealand: Designing for Flexibility in Medium Density 61-67
Housing
David TURNER
Versatile Space: The Trend to Multi-functional Space And Design Strategy 68-75
Haile LI
On Housing Flexibility and Expandability: A Combined Design and Construction 76-83

System
Dwelling in Shenzhen: Re-inhabiting the Modified Cruciform Tower Block 84-95

Preliminary research on the infill design for environmental performance: Case 96- 105
study on bathroom-unit products
Shih-Hung YANG, Tomonari YASHIRO, Kenji NISHIMOTO, and Yongii HAN
Open Building in Health Care Architecture: The Case of the I N 0 Project in Bern, 106-1 14
Switzerland
Stephen KENDALL
Typical Plan Types of Flexible Housing
Based on the Analysis of Variation Trends
Bora LEE and HyunSoo LEE
Department of Housing & Interior Design,
Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
SooAm KIM
Building Standard and System Group, Building Research Division,
Korea Institute of Construction Technology
Abstract: This research aims at suggesting suitable plantypes for flexible housing based the
distinctive characteristics of the flexible aparttnent unit plans in Korea identified through the
diachronic analysis of the variation trends. This study performs space analysis using the Space
Syntax Model by quantifying the interrelationships among the spatial units each of which are
designed to satisfy specific needs of residents. In this paper, 256 flexible unit plans are
investigated to analyze the variation trends in flexible housing unit design. This study also
identifies typical plan types for flexible housing based on the generalized variation trends.
Keywords: Flexible unit planning, Variation trends, Space Syntax Model, Typical plan types
1. INTRODUCTION
Residential needs frequently change according to the occupants' life cycles and their
various life styles. However, standardized and mass-produced conventional housings are not
flexible enough to satisfy residents' such demands. One of the ways to satisfy dynamic residential
needs is to explore a flexible housing concept. Prefabrication may be considered for this purpose.
Constructing an entire house through prefabrication is ideal but it practically is not feasible
because of high construction cost and increased maintenance efforts. It is therefore necessary to
analyze unit plan variation trends to identify multiple resident's needs to adapt the spaces in a
house, accordingly. To identify more economical and rational residential unit plan variations, it is
indispensable to know the set of spaces needed to be frequently adapted by the residents.
The major goal of this research is to generalize the direction for the flexible floor planning
based on the adaptation tendency in contemporary Korean residential unit plans.
2. RESEARCH SCOPE AND METHOD
Significant numbers of cases are explored to analyze the trends in residential floor plan
variations. The flexible apartment housing units studied in this research are limited to the interior
spaces designed to be reorganized or the ones having at least more than one spatially controllable
area between a bedroom and the other. These spaces are normally constructed with bearing wall
structure, bearing wall plus column structure, beam and column structure, or flat slab structure for
the division, removal or shifting of spaces with non-bearing wall, sliding door, or furniture-type
wall. From the perspective of geographical distribution and construction year (the first year of
actual dwelling), the investigated flexible unit plans have been constructed or will be constructed
around Seoul metropolitan area during 1991 - 2005 period. Those housing units selected are
introducing various flexible floor-planning features. As a result, total 256 cases are collected for
the survey from various sources such as apartment floor plan brochures, catalogues, and web sites
of the leading Korean construction companies.
Flexible types, characteristics, and design trends are extracted from the collected cases
based on a group of selection criteria such as area, front bay number, and the year of construction.
As for area criterion, 60m1, 85m2, 102m2, 135m1, 165m2,and 180m2or more are considered. This
research compared and analyzed the integration values for both before and after the floor plan
variations along with the calculations of the frequencies and percentages of such variations. As a
consequence, this research was able to produce a set of generalized typical plan types insightful for
the flexible housing in the future.
3. OUTCOME OF THE ANAYSIS
3.1. Overview of the Collected Cases

The magnitudes of flexible apartment housing constructions in Korea mapped onto time
dimension show that the highest distribution is 34.4% (88 cases) in 2002. Significant portion of the
examined cases, 63.7% (163 cases), were constructed during 2001-2003 period. Interestingly, the
instances have increased rapidly since 2000 compared to 1990's and the un-built cases whose
points of construction are after the year 2003 will be continuously constructed in the future,
therefore, this tendency will likely be maintained.
The frequencies of the collected flexible unit plan cases classified by area are in the
decreasing order of 135m2(94cases), 165mZ(71cases), and 102m2(55cases). 85.9% (220 cases) of
the collected flexible unit plan cases are below 85m2 and only small portion of the cases show
180m2or more.
The cross-analysis based on the year of construction and unit area reveals another
interesting observation. The apartment units having the area of 165m2 and 102mz were dominant
compared to the other unit sizes before and after 1994. In the mean time, the units with the area of
135mZhave increased rapidly before and after 2002 so that it became the most prevalent apartment
unit type followed by the units the sizes of which are 1 65m2and 102mZas is shown in Figure 1.
40
+above1 €?Us sr more
35 +165s3
30
I 355 3
:25 1 025
t20 -8553
LL
Year o f c o n s t m c t b n
Figure I Distribution o f the Cases Based on Year o f Construction and Area

3.2. Characteristic Features of the Surveyed Flexible Unit Plans
Table 1 shows flexible unit plan diagrams obtained from the survey. The diagrams are
constructed based on the number and frequencies of variations as well as the bays in which
variations are occurred.
Table 1 Major Variation Types
Nurnbcr o f Plan Type FrrqurncyIBa~ Numbel o f Plan Type FrequrncylBay
Variation Variation
107 cases
3 cases appear
appear in 2,3,4 2
in 4bays
bays
87 cases
2 cases appear
appear in 2,3,4
in 4bays
bays
30 cases
appear in
4 2 cases appear
in 3bays
4bays
5 cases appear 1 case appears

in 2,3 bays in 4bays

in 3 bays in 4bays

in 4 bays in 3,4bays
R,R
- * .E " Bedroom Variation between Bedroom and
Bedroom
L-Living Room
R-R
<R, Ri R, L> K-Kitchen Partition between Bedroom and
D-Dining Room Bedroom
3 cases appear
T-Toilet
in 5 bays RR
B-Bath Room
Without Partition between
d-Dress Room
M-Multi Room Bedroom and Bedroom
E- Entrance
<R,w R,L>-
Variation between Bedroom and
Bedroom and variation between
Bedroom and Living room
I > pic:ll lJIl;1n I > pcs ot Plcxiblc I l o ~ i s i ~ l gB;~\ecl
: orr I I t l . \11;1l\%is of' \ ariation I rend\
3.3. Relational Analysis of the Flexible Floor Types by Area and Bay
One of the characteristic features of the concurrent Korean residential unit plans is that
there is a preferred typical unit proportion which usually is a rectangular form whose width is
wider than its depth. The reason for this is that the construction companies focus on specific floor
plans to attract customers by providing unique apartment units which have many bays (the number
of bedrooms or living rooms adjacent to the front balcony) because more bays suggests better view
and more daylight from outside. Hence, the preference profile shown by the frequencies for the
different number of rooms close to front bay is more distinctive than that differentiated by the area
since the major way of performing flexible planning is to transform the rooms adjacent to the front
bay in most flexible apartment housing projects investigated (Figure 2).
Figure 2 Flexible Unit Planning Distributions Based on Area (le3) and Front Bay (right)
Frequency analysis of the flexible spaces classified by the area shows that the variation
between a bedroom and a kitchen or the variation between a bedroom and a living room addresses
4 cases each and those cases appeared mostly as 60m2 type. 5 out of 7cases of 85m2 type are
coupled with the variation between a bedroom and a living room. Variations happen not just
between a bedroom and a living room; they are also performed between a bedroom and a kitchen
and are implemented for the design of 3 bedrooms of 3LDK or for making a bedroom larger
among a living room, a kitchen, or a dinning room of 2LDK.
The variation that happens between a bedroom and a living room addresses 34 (61.8%) out
of 55 cases of 102m2 type and the variation between a bedroom and another bedroom is
represented in 14 cases. As the size of the bedroom adjacent to front area decreases due to a
limited front area in 4 LDK, the choice of variation among 4 LDK, a large living room and 3 LDK,
or a large bedroom and 3 LDK is occurred.
Each of R, L type and R, R type takes 33 out of 94 cases in 135m2category; R, R, L type
takes 21 cases; R, R type takes 31 cases (43.7%); R, L type takes 24 cases; R, R, L type takes 6
among 71 cases that are classified as 1651-11' type; R, R type and R, L type take 7 among 17 cases
of over 180m2type.
For the floor unit plan having more than 135m2, it is important to make a large living
room, however, it seems that the bedroom size is important matter ensuring more than 3 bedrooms.
In general, as the area increases, the variation between a kitchen and a bedroom, the variation
between a living room and the bedroom adjacent to the living room, and then the variation
between a bedroom and an adjacent bedroom appear. It is found that the variation is directed to
primarily control the size of the bedroom (Figure 3).
Figure 3 Diagrammatized Flexible Unit Plan Types Based on Area
As for the relationship between flexible unit types and the number of bays, the flexible
planning between a bedroom and a living room generally happens in 3 bays, and the flexible
planning between a bedroom and the other bedrooms marks the maximum frequency in 4 bays.
There is also a variation among bedrooms and a living room in 4 bays (Figure 4).
Figure 4 Diagrammatized Flexible Unit Plan Types Based on Front Bay
3.4. Differentiation of Flexible Spaces Based on Diachronic Flow

Among 14 types of flexible apartment unit plans as are shown in Table 1, the main
variation types identified are showing changes between bedroom and living room (R, L type),
bedroom and bedroom(R1R type), and bedroom and living room(R, R, L type).
The variation between bedroom and living room is continuously distributed from 1991 to
2005 except 1997 and this type of variation is evenly distributed across all area types, relatively.
The same tendency is expected to be continued until 2005 as the flexible planning of bedroom and
another bedroom(R, R) has appeared in 165m2 since 1999, 135m2 since 1995, and 1 02m2 since
2001. It is also expected to be continued until 2005 that the flexible planning among a bedroom,
another bedroom, and living room has appeared in 135m2since 2001.
The R, L type unit plan appeared first, followed by R, R type, then R, R, L type has
emerged since 2000 which became one of the domineering types in apartment unit design.
Mixed flexible planning has evolved with various flexible planning since 2000 (Figure 5).
Variation between
I ! a-;
LMI
public spaces
Figure 5 Spatial Diferentiations of the Flexible Housing Unit Plans

If a flexible space is classified in terms of a private space (bedroom, dress room, or study
room) and a public space (living room, kitchen, or multi-room), the major variation type is the
variation between private and public. The variation is also increased as time passes. The newer
types, <R,R, L/R,d, R>, <R,R,L/R,d>, and <R,L,FUR,K>, are developed from the initial types,
<R,R> and <R,L>. Therefore, it can be said that complex types tends to be developed from initial
simple variation types, which causes flexible spaces to be increased in number, gradually.
4. INTEGRATION VALUE ANALYSIS BASED ON THE SPACE

SYNTAX MODEL
4.1 Flexible Space Analysis Based on Space Syntax

Based on the number of spaces divided by the unit plan variation, integration value change
of a varied plan can be derived as follows:
[(spaces after integration offlexible unit plan - spaces before integration offlexible unit plan)]
XIOO%
As a space changes in flexible apartment unit guided by the formula described above, the
results of integration values calculated for various flexible floor plans can be shown as Figure 6. In
this figure, R-L-FUR-K indicates that the plan has variations among front side bedroom, living
room, and another bedroom plus the variations between rear side bedroom and kitchen. R-L-R/RK
is the same as R-L-FUR-K except the one unified space created through removing a non-bearing
wall between the bedroom and the kitchen, RK. In this representation, slash (I) signifies the
division of a variation case.
As for the apartment units that modify interior partitions, the integration value generally
decreases by removing partitions, namely, the residents' approaches to each room or space become
easy.
As for the flexible planning characterized by the variation between bedroom and living
room which has emerged since 1991, integration value difference is about 5% for most variations
between bedroom and living room.
However, as time passes, the partitions among bedroom, living room, and another
bedroom were disappearing to enlarge living room and the partition between kitchen and the
bedroom next to the kitchen was removed for making the kitchen bigger in type RLRIRK. With
this trend, the maximum integration value difference became 20% in flexible unit planning and it
has continuously increased until now. As for the relationship between front bay and integration
value, front bay makes integration value difference increased.
Similar to the relationship between front bay and flexible space examined above, the more
the number of variable bay increases, the more flexible unit planning methods become. Thus, the
integration value differences get large.
Generally, integration value has difference based on the number and the types of spaces
such as private or public flexible spaces. In other words, the number and type of a flexible space
control integration.
Figure 6 Changes in Global Integration Value
As the ways of making flexible plans and the number of spaces that come from such
operations increase, it became possible to experience various spatial cognitions even within
restricted housing units. At the same time, there has been little change for the integration value
differences throughout time dimension while such differences are obvious depending on the
changes in flexible unit plan types and the front bay.
4.2 Case Analysis of Flexible Unit Plans through Space Syntax

Figure7 shows the space analysis value obtained by the Pesh program. It also shows
integration values represented by various colors based on the <RLR/RK> type flexible planning
and the maximum integration value difference as well. Existing apartment housing unit mainly
holds a living in master bedroom and living room.
It is also examined that red and yellow, illustrating high integration value, are master
bedroom (Rl) and living room (L) in flexible apartment housing unit plan, likewise. Also
<RLRIRK> type in Figure7 shows the maximum integration value difference ranging from
0.699(h) to 0.878(a) which is calculated through the quantitative analysis of Space Syntax.
<R-L-RIR-K> type
I n mmm
'. ,
c) <R-LWR-K> d) <R-LWR-K> e) <R-L-WRK>

Integration VaIue 0.812 Integration Value 0.742 Integration Value 0.832
f) <RL-WRK> g ) <R-LWRK> h) <RLR/RK>

1 Integration Value 0.767 1nteGation Value 0.742 Integration Value 0.699 1
Figure 7 The Convex lntegration Distributions o f Each Floor Considered Separately
5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
As one of the outcomes of this research, the characteristics of Korean flexible apartment
housing can be described that it is a generally tendency to change interior walls to achieve unit
plan variation(s) while maintaining the overall shape of existing apartment unit.
It turned out to be that a strong conceptual background for systematic flexible unit
planning does not exist. There also is little attention to the un-varied (fixed) spaces. Generally, unit
variation is presented as optional space layouts when occupants move into a new apartment house
but that cannot fully accommodate the changes and the varieties of life during the entire occupancy
period.
1. Based on the survey, 14 types of flexible spaces can be suggested.
2. Based on the frequency analysis, the migration of variation types for the surveyed
flexible floor plans can be categorized into the variation from R, L type to R, R type and
that from R, R type to R, R, L type.
3. Flexible planning types have a definite configuration in relation with front bay rather
than area.
4. Since 2000, diversified types of variable floor plan systems have emerged and they have
been developed as complex types which are connected to the back and front of a unit
plan. Among these various flexible unit plans and diversified types of spatial
organization, the mainstream are the types that have been conceived and evolved from
the flexible unit planning operated between private and public spaces such as bedroom
and living room.
5. The change of Space Syntax value caused by variable planning shows an increase. As
for the tendency of variable planning based on Space Syntax, the integration value was
changed by about 5% in the early of 1990 and recently the maximum of the change
value for <R, L, FUR, K> type is about 20%.
Based on the result, to correspond to the need for resource saving and to provide various
spatial cognitions with residents, a typical flexible plan type tends to have:
1) Variations between private and public spaces

2) Larger number of the spaces affected by the variation
3) Higher integration value difference calculated before and after the variation
For example, in <R, L, FUR, K> type, the number of spaces affected by the variation,
placed with non-bearing wall, is two, the variation is the type between private space (bedroom)
and public space (living room and kitchen) and the global integration value is the highest of all
variation types. Therefore, this type makes it possible to recognize more diversified spatial
cognitions than others. Namely, this type could be more desirable to design a flexible unit plan
than others in the future.
The research result presents both stimulating and useful information applicable to the other
flexible housing unit plan design and construction. We believe the quantitative analysis using
Space Syntax Model is also insightful to offer a set of numerical data for the development of better
flexible housing unit plans.
REFERENCES
HyunSoo LEE. 1996. Design Principles for Flexible House Plan Corresponding to Resource
Saving, The Korean Housing Association. Vol. 1.
SooAm KIM. 1992. A Study on the Architectural Planning of the Flexible Unit Plan in Apartment
Housing, ph. D. Thesis: Hanyang Univ.
Bora LEE. 2002. A Study on the Flexible Unit Planning according to the Family Life-cycle in
Apartment Housing, Master's Thesis: Chonbuk National Univ.
N.J.Habraken.1976. Variations: The Systematic Design of Supports, Laboratory of Architecture

and Planning at MIT.
Kendall Stephen. 1999. Residential open buildings, E&FN Spon.
Hanson, J. 1998. Decoding Homes and Houses, Cambridge University, UK.

I'he D a t a S t r a c t u r r ol' I nit anal?si$ for ( i~p;~cit!I)c+ig~i1lclhodolog.1
The Data Structure of Unit Analysis

for Capacity Design Methodology
Cheng-Tah LIN, Ming-Hung WANG
National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
Abstract: The capacity design methodology for the built environment relies on two important
concepts: the separation of support and infill; and the use of levels. Unit analysis is to explore
the valid arrangements and dimensions of units. According to the methodology, it is the tool
to find the probable form of infill. These units could be filled in a support structure, which is
the spatial form derived from a specific type. For example, in building plan level, the units
could be bedroom, kitchen, living room, and courtyard of the 'San-Ho-Yuan' type, one kind of
the Chinese traditional vernacular houses. In urban tissue level, the units may include row
houses, detached houses, apartment, green, and access to the house. Capacity design method
explores the variations of a type with the flexibility of infill and support. These analytic
operations define the core of a method-specific design assistant: a CAAD system in which the
methodology is embedded into its design process. Each analysis comprises several operations
that depend on the specific content at each level. As the first step toward building this
method-specific CAAD system, the data structure for a generic unit analysis that is applicable
at the different environmental levels will be proposed.
Keywords: Environmental Level, Capacity Design Methodology, CAAD, Design Theory
1. INTRODUCTION
The capacity design methodology for the built environment relies on two important
concepts:
The separation of support and infill; and
The use of levels.
The concepts are taken from Open Building, a design theory and method developed in
Holland in the early 1960s. Originally known as the SAR methodology, it is characterized as being
a rigorous way of dealing with the issues of design flexibility and design variations.
A central problem in spatial design is one of determining the capacity of a proposed
structure to accommodate its lower level configurations, for example, the relationships between a
room and its hmiture; a house and its rooms; a block and the houses that constitute the block, and
so on. As a disciplined way of exploring this problem, a capacity methodology has been developed
in which is defined a set of unified analyses that are generally applicable to design at all physical
levels.
These include:
(1) Type analysis specifies the common spatial feature of a specific built form and provides the
knowledge base for the methodology. It defines the design domains when applying the
specific method. Type refers to the spatial form rather than the functionality. Thus, the
Chinese traditional vernacular house, 'San-Ho-Yuan', is a type at the building plan level;
I 1ir I);I~;I Sfr~~rtrlrr
of I nil anal;,\h for ( apttcil;, I)cb\igr~ \Icrhodolog\
equally, the Islamic urban fabric is a type at the urban tissue level. For our environmental
design system, type analysis is the first step for the following analyses.
(2) Unit analysis explores valid arrangements and dimensions of a specific form for the type
chosen.
(3) Zoning and sector analyses perform studies for a series of proposed lengths and widths in
accommodating different unit layouts.
(4) Structure analysis examines valid locations of structural elements for floor plan variations.
(5) Facility analysis tests the capacity of the structure with respect to the layout of the supply
systems.
These six analytic operations define the core of a method-specific design assistant: a
CAAD system in which the methodology is embedded into its design process. Table 1 shows the
relations between the six operations and the concepts of support and infill. Each analysis
comprises several operations that depend on the specific content at each level. As the first step
toward building this method-specific CAAD system, operations for a generic unit analysis that is
applicable at the different environmental levels will be proposed.
Table 1: Concepts of the design method and applicable analysis
Concept Support: Support: infill

spatial form material
Operation Zoning analysis Structure analysis
Sector analysis Facility analysis Unit analysis
2. TYPE
The idea of type in capacity design methodology includes three viewpoints (Wang et al.
200 1 ):
(1) Type is a cultural product, a result of social agreements, which reflect collective values.
For example, a house form should support family ethics as well as activities of local
economy.
(2) Type is a spatial structure. For example, there are space units, like living room, kitchen,
bedrooms, and courtyard in one type of house, which are arranged by specific spatial
relations that give the structure to the building type.
(3) The third point sees type as an image characterized by some features shared by the instance
buildings of the type. Type is about commonality, not individuality.
The observations of type define the infill units and the support structures, which are the ground to
explore the potential configuration for flexibility by the methodology (Figure 1).
From the object viewpoint, a type is composed of one of more units, and support (Figure 2).
Likewise, a unit is one of the arrangements of elements that are developed according to the
scenario which establishing the spatial relations.
I Ilt. 1)al:l Strecturc of I nit \i\ li)r ( i ~ p a ~ i ll) jo # i g ~\let
;III:I~> i hodology
I Level
I+
Building Plansl-l
Urban Tissue.. . Representing in Type Capacity Design Variations of Type
Figure 1. Capaciv Design Methodology and Type
Level
drawlnfill( )
, I..' I
Unit
Level
-------- Type is composed of one of more units,
and support (not shown). And, the unit is
one of the arrangements of elements that
are developed according to the scenario.
4
t Element
Level Predicate
Figure 2. Data model o f type

3. UNIT ANALYSIS
The aggregation of units makes up the infill. For instance, in building plan level, the units
could be bedroom, kitchen, living room, and courtyard of the 'San-Ho-Yuan' type, one kind of the
Chinese traditional vernacular houses. The purpose of unit analysis is to find the valid dimensions
of infill of a specific type. Similarly, the unit consists of several elements and the spatial relations
between them. For example, in building level, the bedroom is one of the units. In the bedroom,
there are several articles of furniture, which are arranged by spatial relations, like 'nearby',
'opposite to', and 'adjacent', etc. Such relations are derived from functional requirements of the
space unit. Therefore, the selected elements with corresponding relations will decide the
dimensions of the unit.
3.1. Element Identification
The first step of unit analysis is element identification. The elements could be physical
objects, like furniture, as well as space, like Public Park. In building elevation level, the elements
include even the reference lines relating to human body scale for fenestration. We use an element
table of the unit to store the information which including the dimensions and an indicator to the
drawing file (Figure 3).
other attributes of the element with

various specifications.
Figure 3. An element table of bedroom
3.2. Arrangement Scenario

The scenario of arrangement consists of predicates which describing the spatial relation of
elements (Figure 4). The relation set may include 'adjacent', 'neutral', 'opposite', and 'overlap' etc.
Likewise, the constraint set may contain 'have to', 'might', and 'avoid' to indicate the different
degree of preference. Thus, the predicate can be expressed as: P: {element-1, element-2,
constraint, relation). Based on the different scenarios, we can get the valid configurations of one
unit. Also, we will have many layout configurations by selecting the different specification of
elements in one scenario. Figure 5 shows three possible units consist of one or more elements
individually in urban tissue level, and the bedroom in building plan level.
table of elements in bedroom
KI Predicate
bed closet ........
Requirements: Bed and bedside cabinet have to adjoin

Align the two clothes closets.
bedside
cabinet
66
I Constraint Relation
I
I
adjacent
have to
There are one or more predicates in a scenario. b might
neutral
opposite
Predicate: {element (n) .. element (n), constrain, relation} avoid
overlap
the (n) indicates the amount of the element align
Figure 4. Predicate and scenario
urban tissue level:
elements
element element
(building)
0
(building)
0
(building)
building plan level:

-
un~t.bedroom I
, T31 I I1 -
elements:
Q -- --
r-,) -
- -
&I I I I
0 I -0 I > L' 0
created by dijjerent scenarios

Figure 5. Examples oj'unit.~
3.3. Variation Development
The third step of unit analysis is to develop the variations of one unit. To achieve the goal,
there are three ways suggested in the design-assistant system. First, the generative mechanism can
generate the layouts as we input the elements and the scenario. The second way is searching in a
case-base library and fetching the suitable ones while viewing the scenario as a map. The third one
is the system will validate the designer's plans by using the scenario as a checklist.
3.4. Dimensional Observation
I I table of units of one type I

unit-I unit-2 ........ unit-n
m rn m
/' ( / link to the table of variations
table of variations of one unit L
-
(unit)
var-I var-2 ........
r L-
link to the drawing file
files
,--'
/ Variation
send the variation data to table
generate layout
do1getElement /or search & fetch
. getscenarlo
makevariations
A
Scenario
table of elements in one unit
-
elem-1 elern-2 ........
k Id -
--
Predicate
spec-1
-
I
(element)
spec-n
Drawing
I
Figure 6. The structure of tables
The table of variations of one unit will be established to store the valid dimensions, which
were produced at the previous stage (Figure 6).
I h t ~I1;it:r Slractlrrr of Itnit :r~i:tl?sisfor ( apacit? 1)csigli \lclt~odolog?
After finishing the analysis of every unit, the information will be put into a table of units
of one type. The tables that were created during the analytic operations are used to be the working
buffers to keep the unit objects and the drawing files being generic.
4. CONCLUSION
As the first step toward building the method-specific CAAD system, a design assistant,
this research aims at the data structure of infill for different environmental levels. In order to
construct a helpful assistant that knows the design operations of the specific methodology, the
following three major missions need the further discussions in detail.
(1) To build a designer friendly interface, the state machine models which model the
behavioral of a system in response to internal or external events should be considered
from the designer's viewpoints rather than the automation of system.
(2) The data structure of support, which includes the spatial form, i.e. zone and sector, as
well as physical objects is the other decisive character of this design methodology for
testing the capacity.
(3) The ways to modify or alter the parameters and assignments of the system by the
designer's decisions are important as well as to develop a set of generic algorithms for
different environmental levels.
REFERENCES
Habraken, 1V. J. 1971. Supports: An Alternative to Mass Housing, London, England: The
Architectural Press.
Habraken, N. J. 1998. The Structure of the Ordinary, Cambridge, United States: The MIT Press
Wang, M.H. 1991. The Design of an Expert Assistant to the Capacity Design Methodology,
Proceedings of the IV-ICCCBE '91 Conference, Tokyo
Wang, M.H. 1993. Capacit~,Design: Theory and Methods, Tainan, Taiwan: The HD Press.
(Chinese)
Wang, M.H. et al. 2001. Factor), Villa: The Emergence of A Type, Taipei, Taiwan: The Garden
City Publishing Ltd.
Urban Housing in New Zealand:
Designing for Flexibility in Medium Density Housing
David TURNER
School o f Architecture
Unitec Institute of Technology Auckland New Zealand
Abstract: New Zealand, and the city of Auckland in particular, are experiencing a wave of
medium density housing. This is encouraged by regional planning strategies to increase urban
densities in traditionally low density areas, in response to recent and predicted rates of
population growth. The response to the demand for this housing form, it is argued, is
influenced in particular by the existing small scale construction industry in New Zealand, and
by the impact on designers of the 1992 Resource Management Act. Paradoxically, in cities
where social traditions are based on a low density suburban environment, characterised by
high levels of car ownership and poor local amenity provision, there also exists a relatively
high level of opportunity for 'customising' architecture. The paper argues that the latter is the
least recognised, and perhaps the most significant omission from the design brief for a typical
higher density development. After exploring the continuing relevance of housing research and
experience of developing mass housing in the Netherlands, the paper focuses on three
Auckland housing developments to illustrate the typically configurative and formalist
approach to architecture influencing these developments.
Key Word: flexibility, medium density urban housing, New Zealand
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. The Context for new 'Mass' Housing in Auckland
Research in the field of urban housing, in particular regarding design criteria for higher
density urban housing is a relatively new discovery for the New Zealand building industry.
New Zealand has never had to face the task of re-housing an existing large urban
population, nor have we needed to re-order our cities to absorb mass immigration from a large
rural population.
Of the main urban centres, only Auckland has a population of more than one million
people. However, with recent high levels of growth in the city, mass housing has become an issue
that has begun to introduce architects, planning authorities and the construction industry to some
of the realities of designing and building houses in relatively large numbers. Population growth in
Auckland has averaged 2.5% per year for the last 25 years, a rate that is expected to continue, to
double the size of the city to approximately 2 million people during the next 40 years (Williams
1998). Auckland's growth rate exceeds that of New Zealand as a whole, and also exceeds growth
rates in all other urban centres.
The Auckland Regional Council has responded to predictions of continuing high growth
by adopting strategic policies that now limit peripheral development, primarily of housing, and
which require 70% of new housing to be located within the existing city boundary. The new
policies dictate higher densities generally in the city, to raise average net residential density in the
suburbs from 7 dwellings per hectare to about 12 - 15 dph. The proposals for parts of Auckland
identified as Strategic Growth Areas encourage developments at medium density, approximately
35 - 45 dph, and allow higher densities of up to 150 dph, at various node points and along
transportation routes throughout the connurbation.
Medium and higher density housing is defined in this context as 'mass housing' in the
sense that the client is anonymous, and housing in which designers and builders are dealing with
the 'architecture of large numbers'. At varying levels of density, urban housing is a well-
established typology in other countries, but it is a new and radically different proposition to most
NZ architects, and almost unknown to our building industry.
1.2. The Context in Planning and Construction

The adopted planning strategies have started to generate examples of a housing form that
is different from all that has preceded it in concept, construction, social possibility, and in
architectural form. A brief description of the housing supply system in New Zealand helps to
explain why this is the case.
Traditionally, housing has been supplied by numerous small construction companies each
contributing a small number of houses annually, with a few larger contractors operating at a level
of production that might be recognised elsewhere as equivalent to 'commercial house-building'
concerns. A development of more than 80 units is rare even in Auckland: in the highly fragmented
industry operating at small scale, large housing projects are rarely considered or attempted.
Housing is mostly supplied through a network of small builders each with an output of less than
one house per month. Only 4 building companies in New Zealand produce more than 250 houses
per year, and only one of these produces more than 500 units (Stevens 2003).
Almost one third of new houses are built by their owners acting either as contractors, or
project managing their construction. Of the 23,600 new houses completed during the last year,
nearly 7,000 were built in this way. Less than 40% of the total of new houses were produced by
companies building more than 12 units each year (Stevens 2003).
Consistent with this pattern of direct involvement in building, the residential property
profile is dominated by a high level of freehold ownership (70%). According to industry research,
the 'home improvement / DIY market' affects 60% of homeowners, and contributes $6bn to the
economy, or 5% of the GDP (NFO and Zealand 2001) The main part of this expenditure is directed
towards house building, as well as maintenance, improvement and repair.
An equally significant part of the background is the legislative environment. Coinciding
with rapid urban expansion in Auckland after 1990 was the introduction, in 1992, of the Resource
Management Act, under which design control ceased to exist except in historic areas. Consents for
development under this Act are determined by environmental impact alone. Explicit sustainable
objectives are a pre-requisite for all applications, with design criteria replaced by a tacit acceptance
of the principle that design is essentially a matter for commercial marketing strategies.
The architecture of the new urban environment is evolutionary, and sometimes
experimental, rather than prescriptive, and is characterised by pragmatic decision-taking, that is, a
cautious, market-oriented approach that simultaneously liberates design and discourages
innovation. Radical constraints prevail; sustainable design initiatives, with a small number of
interesting exceptions, are limited to those demanded by the New Zealand Building Code.
In the context of the urbanisation of Auckland, and the industry that provides housing, the
new medium density typology may be called 'mass housing'. Research studies have been initiated
by government and industry to examine the impact of mass housing, and to explore its
possibilities.
1.3. Areas of Interest for Research

First, in the observation that Auckland has become a city of high tnobility, fragmented
work and social patterns, it can be stated that Auckland is now developing a similar urban
morphology to other Australasian cities. In comparison with other cities in New Zealand, the
public transport systems are not well used in Auckland, because they do not, and probably cannot
provide the degree of mobility and convenience offered by the alternative, the privately owned car.
The level of ownership of private vehicles consequently exceeds national averages, and has also
increased disproportionately to population growth since 1980 (Williams 1998). Site planning in
medium density housing, however, assumes less reliance on private transport, the focus of site
strategies being directed to other issues. (King et al. 1996; Judd 1993; Llewelyn-Davies; ed. team:
Walton).
Secondly, an important part of Auckland's identity is formed by the established social
customs of the community. The new housing typology proposes a transition from a low density
suburban culture to a significantly different urban environment, imposing many adjustments on
traditions that are spatially as well as socially constructed. For the broader implications of this
issue, sociological studies undertaken on some of the early medium density developments in
Auckland confirm that, amongst residents, the new environment is satisfactory or acceptable, with
dissatisfaction confined to parking arrangements, and management of their development.
(Research Solutions 2000; Dixon and Dupuis 2003).
In the architecture of medium density housing in New Zealand, particular attention needs
to be paid to the habit of constant modification and renewal of the dwelling. This is regarded as an
important aspect of the existing suburban housing culture: high levels of reinvestment in property
by this process are reflected in the figures already cited for the informal element of the building
industry.
A key area of research interest therefore addresses the question of constraints placed on
this activity when a more compact, higher density housing model is being considered.
2. SELECTED LITERATURE REVIEW
Housing research in Britain, together with the comprehensive critique following the
collapse of the Ronan Point tower in 1966 is also an important path to consider. In the UK, the
decline in state directed housing from about 1980 carries with it warnings in so far as the absence
of formal standards for design, and their replacement by an assumption of an "intelligent" market
place, has created a great divergence of design quality. The most recent evidence of variability in
housing design in the UK is found in the current report of the Commission for Architecture and the
Built Environment on the value of housing design and layout. (CABE 2003). We may also look to
Australia for models that have immediate relevance to our house building traditions, as well as our
climate, and the emergence of a post colonial suburban culture.
For the perception that the architecture of large numbers is, in the first place, a human and
theoretical problem, rather than a technical and functional one, the research initiated in Holland in
the 1960s needs to be considered in more detail.
2.1. Research in the Netherlands: SAR

Housing research that recognises the significance of occupant participation is considered
to relate directly to Auckland's emergent position. When Habraken said in 196 1: "The
contemporary town-dweller is a nomad who moves from place to place without taking part in the
growth of his environment ... " (Bosma, van Hoogstraten, and Vos 2000) and, in 1998: ". .. the
social spaces in which urbanites move are distributed over a much greater part of the urban field
than one's own neighbourhood and the city centre" (cited in Bosma, 2000 p.320) he presciently
described the universal occupant of the post industrial city. These two statements - separated by 37
years - each predict a city in which the urban traditions are challenged, displaced, and the
conventions re-shaped to match the organised, highly mobile lives lived by its citizens.
The body of theory established by Habraken and the SAR Foundation resonates with the
new conditions emerging in Auckland: the city itself is the platform, rather than the problem
solving and industry oriented theory that typifies English contemporaries of the SAR. The place of
technology is secondary to the interests of the occupant.
In his essays entitled "The Appearance of Form", published first in 1985, a study is made
of a spatial design methodology; here, Habraken examines the relationship of fine detail in the
urban environment to systems that control both detail and the urban development of a city. The
theme is further explored in "The Structure oj'the Ordinaly ". Both of these texts develop the
position that ". .. it is wrong to assert that art and architecture are matters of self-expression. . . . A
good designer makes a building that is autonomous; it is distinct from the person." (cited in
Bosma, 2000 p. 306).
These texts, and the earlier "Transjormations of the Site'', published in 1983, establish the
reality of living in cities with an abstract notion of 'site' as a compound: of place, configured form,
and social activity, referred to by Bosma as "a consensus of preferences." (Bosma 2000). The
"natural relationship" first discussed in "Supports" (Bosma 2000) is seen as a possibility in the
communal act of the city, more clearly apparent in the present context than might have been
foreseen by the original perception.
Other architects prominent in the Modern Movement drew on the mixed vernacular
architecture of the ordinary, but few resisted the opportunity to experiment with formalist
derivations - Corbusier, for instance, with traditional architecture of the Mediterranean, and the
Dogon influences, resulting from an African visit by Aldo van Eyck. In subsuming the
configurative surface, the principle at the core is left unrecognised: that all the dimensions of
Habraken's 'site' are present in such examples of the vernacular, including the power of
morphological control, and the ability of the occupant to create, occupy, and modify.
Habraken anticipated, even in the early period of the SAR, that without the occupant's
participation, the position of power remained with the architect as a conceptually separate, and
separated determinant, "ever seeking new forms of expression and customarily inclined to
exaggeration" in this direction (Bosma 2000 p. 94 ).
He might have had in mind some of the 'mass housing' then on the drawing boards of City
Council Architects in Sheffield, Glasgow and elsewhere across the North Sea. In the UK,
standardised and hopelessly inflexible unit plans of the great majority of 'mass housing' resisted
any of Habraken's "stubborn desire for variety" by a combination of architecture, low cost
construction, and complete power over the rules of occupation.
The 'neutral' act of design identified by Habraken is less evident in other literature of the
period. Theories of mass housing were central to the interests of many architects involved in the
CIAM, and its breakaway group Team 10, including leading figures in Dutch architecture, and
Habraken's contemporaries. The common positioning of the architect in design of mass housing is
summarised in the Team 10 Primer, represented by Aldo van Eyck's influential view, when he
proposed that in a city embracing a hierarchy of superimposed 'configurative' systems, "The finer
grained systems - those which embrace the multiplied dwelling and its extensions - should reflect
the qualities of ascending repetitive configurative stages." (Smithson 1966)(Team 10 Primer 1966
p. 22).
It is apparent from this statement that for van Eyck and Team 10, the influence of the
architect is not subordinate to any other role, and that the overall ordering of urban space is also to
be within the domain of the architect's design. However, the 32 point "Criteria for Mass Housing"
devised by Alison and Peter Smithson in the form of a questionnaire is less determinist. (Smithson
1966).
The Dutch journal Forum provided an outlet for new ideas, with an issue edited by
J.P.Bakema dedicated to the theme of the anonymous client. In his account of Bakema's own
contribution in this issue, Francis Strauven describes Bakema's understanding of Habraken's
proposition, "Supports ", in generally enthusiastic terms (Strauven 1998).
Bakema accepts the principal thinking of "Supports " - the idea of separating the structure,
provided by the community, from the "individual detachable units" constructed by the individual,
as the activity of participation through which much greater influence on the detail of the dwelling
is under the control of the occupant; such housing could " in (its) turn, make architecture the
expression in space of the variations in human behaviour." (cited in Strauven, 1998 p 367)
2.2. Critique of British and Dutch Housing Strategies

The work of the SAR was not fully endorsed by the architectural establishment in Holland,
and did not escape the general criticism of municipal and state housing of the early 1970s. In the
UK critics of both modernism generally, and state-funded ('mass') housing, writing in the
influential magazine New Society, suggested that a Non-Plan solution - the total absence of
planning control - could not be less damaging to Britain's cities than the existing system. (Banham
et al. 1969). Others advocated community participation, self-build, and "notions of do-it-yourself
... under the banner of 'adhocism', as a means of stressing the sense of spontaneity, invention and
creativity evinced in such 'bricolaged' work" (Hughes and Sadler 2000).
Reactions in the Netherlands were similar, suggesting that the proposition that a housing
system in which all future possibilities for alteration were anticipated and planned for by the
architect could not be considered democratic, or even practical (Bosma 2000).
3. URBAN HOUSING EXAMPLES

Three New projects in the Auckland City Region
Habraken's original proposition, from the publication of "Supports" through to the work
of the SAR in the 1980s can now be seen to embrace a more comprehensive idea of architecture in
the urban context. His belief, that "the problem (of housing) lies ... with the circumstances that
lead to architecture," and his conviction that housing "is not about form, but about the process that
leads to the act of dwelling", continues to have relevance in the Auckland process of change.
(Bosma 2000 p.105). When Habraken made this statement it is unlikely that problems of the
design of urban housing in a low density Australasian city were part of his thinking.
A medium density model that offers the opportunity to change, improve, enlarge or
reconfigure, and thus, to validate the act of dwelling is elusive. The Beaumont Quarter
development is a typical example of the new model for housing in Auckland. (Figure 1) The
architects are the Netherlands based Studio 333. The main contractor is not a house-building
company, and the project involves 78 houses and apartments at a density of 80 dph. in a central
city location. A second phase of the development, not yet scheduled for construction consists of a
further 80 dwellings.
This project is a combination of apartments, townhouses, and livelwork units with a small
allocation of commercial space (Figure 2) in a conventional spatial arrangement. Parking is partly
accommodated in an underground garage with 30% provided adjacent to houses. All units except 6
of the apartments are entered from the public street or footpath.
It is clear that the architecture is firmly fixed in modernist design of the early 20thC., with
minimal gestures towards traditions of domestic architecture in New Zealand (Figure 2). An
emphasis on security, seldom an issue in the suburbs, is also clear: this seems to be a statement of
reassurance to owners, as much as a deterrent to intruders. External spaces are fixed by the layout,
public space, and small but adequate private yards and patios. Neither buildings nor site layout
appear to offer the possibility of changing the configuration of the unit, which would, in any event,
also be opposed by the management of the development.
A second example is the redevelopment of industrial land at Ambrico Place, adjacent to
one of the suburban shopping centres at New Lynn, where approximately 400 houses have been
approved in 9 separate sub-divisions, the largest of which is 80 townhouses on the south-east
comer of the site. (Figure 3). This part of the development was completed in 2000, has a net
residential density of 37 dph, some public open space, a footpath system arranged with the
roadways, and a majority of two storey units with an extra floor at strategic points of the layout.
Parking is immediately adjacent to the house entry in all cases. All sub-divisions on this site are
designed to the same density including two smaller projects (Figure 4) by different developers. As
in the case of the first scheme illustrated, and despite taking account of lower density in this
development, neither site planning nor unit designs provide significant or planned opportunity for
alterations, partly because the conceptual design imposes a finite identity on each part of the sub-
division.
The third development at Caspian Close. New Lynn, built in 1995, consists of 36 identical
3 bed-roomed units built around a small cul de sac close to the town centre (Figure 5). All houses
are on separate sites, similar to an ordinary suburban layout, but at a density of 33 dph. the
development qualifies as medium density at the lower end of the scale. The development has no
management body. The houses (Figure 6) are reminiscent of the simple cabins of early
settlements, and also resemble the Levittown developments in the USA. In a conventional
critique, there will be questions relating to many issues of design, including the principles of the
site layout, 'front' door positions, and the formal qualities of architecture regarded as necessary for
urban housing.
For these reasons this project does not meet the medium density housing advisory
standards of the City Planning Department, but it holds self-evident promise of improvements by
the owners themselves (Figure 7). An extension on the public side of the unit in this image is
already under construction, and other modifications are observed in the replacement of doors,
additions of fences, and enclosure of some car ports. The development appears to provide a
framework for change; it is in fact conspicuously devoid of 'architecture' and without changes
imported by the occupants it will continue to be so.
4. CONCLUSIONS
Medium density housing will be normalised as a housing choice amongst Auckland's next
one million citizens, as a result of planning strategies already in place. The research process has a
significant role in the analysis and commentary on the developing body of experience gained from
the first manifestations of higher density housing design. Invited to comment on the tenant's
modifications to his first large scale housing project at Pessac, Le Corbusier admitted that "it is
always life that is right and the architect who is wrong." (Boudon, 1972). The tradition of
incremental renewal, which is identified above as an established and vital force in New Zealand's
housing culture, is not only a function of the opportunity afforded by timber construction, low
density, and a benign climate, but is based on the desire to participate in the act of dwelling.
The architect's neutral role in the ordinary architecture of urban housing, clarified by the
work of Habraken and the SAR, will be to provide the framework that does not anticipate, and the
critique that does not condemn. Further research in this field will attempt to define such a
framework related to density and construction systems, and also examine alternative management
process in order to develop an open system for New Zealand cities.
REFERENCES
Banham, R , P Barker, P Hall, and C Price. 1969. Non-Plan: an experiment in Freedom.

New Society No. 338:435-443.
Bosma, Koos, Dorine van Hoogstraten, and Martijn Vos, eds. 2000. Housing for the
miIIions
John Habraken and the SAR (1960-2000). Rotterdam, Netherlands: NAI Publishers.
Boudon, Philippe. 1972. Lived-in Architecture: Le Corbusier's Pessac revisited.
Translated by G. Onn. London
Cambridge Mass.,: Lund Humphries & MIT Press.
CABE. 2003. the value of housing design and layout. London: Commission for
Architecture and the Built Environment.
Dixon, J, and A Dupuis. 2003. Bodybuilding in Auckland: Bodies Corporate & Intensive
Housing. Paper read at Urbanism Downunder: Transforming Cities in Australia and New
Zealand, at Auckland.
Hughes, J, and S Sadler. 2000. Non-plan: Essays on freedom participation and change in
modern Architecture and Urbanism. Oxford: Architectural Press.
Judd, B. 1993. Designed for Urban Living: Recent Medium Density group Housing in
Australia. Canberra: The Royal Australian Institute of Architects.
King, S , D Rudder, D Prasad, and J Ballinger. 1996. Site Planning in Australia. Sydney:
Australian Government Publishing Service.
Llewelyn-Davies; ed. team: Walton, David, Lally, Matthew, Septiana, Harini; & Alan
Baxter & Associates: Taylor, David, Thorne, Robert, & Cameron, Andrew., ed. 2000. The
Urban Design Compendium. London: English Partnerships.
NFO, Acumen, and New Zealand. 200 1. Future Drivers for the housing market. Auckland:
NFO WorldGroup NZ Ltd.
Research Solutions. 2000. Building a Better Future
Intensification review: ARC Residential Research Monitoring Programme
Stage 1: Community Perceptions & Attitudes. Auckland.
Smithson, A, ed. 1966. Team X Primer: Team 10.
Stevens, T F. 2003. New House Analysis 2002-2003. Auckland.
Strauven, F. 1998. Aldo van Eyck The Shape of Relativity. Translated by V . J. Joseph.
Amsterdam: Architectura & Natura. Original edition, Dutch edition entitled Aldo van
Eyck: relativiteit en verbeelding 1994.
Williams, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment: J Morgan. 1998. The Cities
and their People. New Zealand's Urban Environment. Wellington: Parliamentary
Commissioner for the Environment.
Versatile Space:
The Trend to Multi-functional Space And Design Strategy
Haile LI
Chongqing University, Chongqing
Abstract: This paper introduces the idea of versatile space to respond the rapid change of social
and economical circumstances in high-density urban areas. The origins of versatile space are
illuminated. And the measures to facilitate versatile space are reached by analyzing the factors
involved in the function-space relation.
Keywords: versatile spaces, high-density area, design strategy
1. INTRODUCTION
With the rapid change of social and economical circumstances in high-density urban areas,
the requirements of urban and building space are changed quickly. In their life spans, the urban
and building structures must accommodate change and adjustment, and be prepared for conversion
into different functions without rebuilding the structure because of the limited space resources and
high cost. Thus versatile space has its role to make a solution.
2. VERSATILE SPACE
2.1. Space and Function

A space is the opposite of an entity. Outside of an entity, there is the space, which is
invisible and untouchable. And space is also something.formed in the relationship between an
entity and the one who,feels it (Ashihara Yoshinobu 1989). Laozi, the ancient Chinese philosopher,
mentioned in his work Duo De Jing that when muking a vessel by clay, whczt we really need is the
emptiness.formed by the vessel. Having x'indows and doors on the wall to shape a room, what we
realfv need is the emptiness in the room. That is to say the value of a building lies in the emptiness
enclosed by the walls, not the walls themselves. The emptiness inside the building is SPACE.
Various materials are used to enclose a space to accommodate some activities. FUNCTION
is the activity accommodated by a space.
In a building, function represents content, while space represents form. There is a certain
relationship between them: content decides form; form affects content.
2.2. Versatile Space

Versatile space, which is multi-functional, is the opposite of unitary space. Versatile space
accommodates diverse functions, while unitary space is only suitable for a particular one.
3. ORIGINS
3.1. The Doubt of Modernism

Function zoning is one of the basis principles of Modernism. In the early days of
Modernism, the method of function-zoning helped cities out of chaos. But it was doubted later due
to its ignorance of the diversity of city life, increasing social cost and large energy consuming. In
the smaller scale of urban fabric and buildings, too strict zoning disrupts the linkage between
functions, prevents people from communication, and increases transportation and energy
consumption.
Form follows function is another basis principle of Modernism. The principle was
prevailing the whole world from 1930s to 1950s. However as the development of architecture,
Modernism was facing challenges, as well as the principle of form follows function. Function may
have some impact to form. But there is no one-to-one relationship between form and function. A
given form could accommodate various functions, while a given function could be expressed as
various forms.
3.2. Commercialization
The development of architecture is always affected by economic factors. As the fast
change of the market, it becomes very difficult to predict the requirement of the potential user for a
space. Buildings that designed as commodities have to respond to the change simultaneously.
That's where versatile space is needed.
3.3. Digitization
In the digitized society, cities based on information technology are no longer constrained
by forms, and cities might develop towards low rise and dispersed structure. Because of the fast
and convenient information transportation, some functions used to require a large space are
dispersed, which makes the space be able to accommodate various dispersed functions. Banks,
used to occupy prominent buildings in the city, are changed into ATMs on the streets. The process
of digitization eliminates space and time, and makes function more adaptable. Versatile space is
becoming possible.
3.4. Sustainable Development

To tear down a building whose structure does not expire, or inadequate usage of a space is
a waste of resources. One important character of a sustainable city and building is to be energy and
resource saving. Versatile space could help to develop a sustainable city and building.
3.5. A Thought of Chaos

Through the development of civilization, there is always a trend to eliminate uncertainty
by conquering and controlling the nature. This attempt is actually an illusion. The theory of chaos
deems that we could never predict, dominate or control the chaotic systems. It is wiser to contain
than to resist the uncertainty of life. Space should not be dominated by determinism. The functions
a space needs to contain in the life span may change many times. Architects should design the
space to maximize the possibilities of change, so that the space could be more adaptable to
maintain valuable all through the life span.
4. SIGNIFICANCE
4.1. Adaptability
Adaptability is the potential of a system to harmonize with the environment. The
adaptability of a space is the potential to change or adjust the elements constructing the space to
respond the changing environment.
Unitary space could not accommodate new functions by maintaining its own characters,
and it could not provide the possibility to change or adjust some part of it. A unitary space loses its
value when hnction changes.
Versatile space, which is more adaptable than unitary space, could accommodate new
functions with or without changing.
4.2. Resources Saving

Various functions could take place in a versatile space simultaneously or successively. No
extra spaces are required. This is a way to save resources.
4.3. Communication
Modernism emphasizes function zoning. The communication between functions is
inconvenient as different functions occurred in different spaces. Versatile space contains different
functions, the communication between which is promoted.
In the open office with low partitions, employees from different sections work in the same
space, communication is more convenient than in conventional separated office rooms. The public
space in a community or in a building would be more attractive when the space is designed as a
versatile space, as various activities are facilitated.
4.4. Humanization
Rationalism, which promotes rationality while demotes contingency, is the rule western
architects followed all the way through Classicalism, Revivalism, Functionalism to Modernism.
But Rationalism regards human as machine and ignored the nature of humanbeings.
As versatile space could be occupied in various ways, the creation of human is largely
encouraged and people could make the space the way he likes. Versatile space makes it possible
for different functions occurring in the same space to encourage undesigned communication,
therefore make the space more vivid and interesting, more humanized, and more organic.
5. STRATEGIES
To analyze the factors of a space reacting with function could provide strategies to
facilitate the possibility of change. Function has certain relation with three factors of a space: size,
shape and quality (Peng Yigang 1983). And for the function occurs in a series of spaces, linkage
between them plays an important role.
5.1. Size
To contain certain function, a space requires a certain size. And to contain various
functions, the size of a space should be proper for all of the functions.
Versatile space contains functions requiring similar size. A proper size and the guidance of
versatile space design could be found out by listing the size each hnction requiring. Take an
ordinary apartment for example, a room with the size of 15-200 is not only proper to be a living-
room but also a master bedroom. So, this room has the character of a versatile space. The size of a
space in a residential area facilitating activities of both old people for practicing Taiji and children
for playing also makes the space versatile.
The spaces mentioned above don't require size change to contain different functions.
Sometimes the size of a space might need to be changed to do so. Smaller office rooms could be
shaped by adding some partitions to an open office. And in an apartment, two smaller bedrooms
could be formed by adding a wall in the middle of a specially designed bigger one.
5.2. Shape
A space also needs to have some certain shape to contain certain function. Ancient Greek
theatres are fan-shaped, ancient Roman arenas are elliptic, and the rooms for practicing musical
instruments in a school are trapeziform.
Versatile space could satisfy functions requiring similar shapes without changing itself. A
mezzo shape should be chosen to make a space versatile. The hall in a cinema or a theatre requires
similar shape. But it's still different because of their visual an auditory characters: cinema hall is
longer while theatre hall wider. If a hall in a community center is expected to be both a cinema and
a theatre, a mezzo long-and-wide proportion should be chosen to make the space versatile.
Versatile space also could change its shape to contain different functions. The request for
shape both before and after change should be considered in the design process. There is still an
example in office building. The wall between two office rooms is movable. With the wall, the
shapes of the two rooms are proper for official business. Without the wall, the shape of the united
room is suitable for a long table to make a meeting room.
5.3. Quality
Quality is another important factor of space-function relation. The quality of a space
concerns lighting, ventilation, sunshine, temperature and so on.
Versatile space contains functions requiring similar space qualities. For functions of office
business, dwelling, dining and so on, if the quality of a space is proper for one of them, it's
suitable for the others.
Versatile space could also change some of its qualities to content different functions. A
bedroom and a living room may have different request for natural light. To make a room versatile,
the outer wall could be designed to be able to adjust natural light.
5.4. Linkage
Some function occurs in a single space, while some needs a series of spaces. Different
function may require different linkage of the spaces. Versatile space could accommodate different
functions by changing the linkage of a series of spaces. There are different ways to partition a big
building plan: partitioning the plan into closed rooms connecting by a corridor for office business,
or partitioning the plan into a series of rooms connecting one by one for exhibition. As the linkage
is different, the function is different. To provide the possibility of linkage change is the way to
make a space versatile.
6. MEASURES
6.1. Neutralization
Neutralization means a space is designed for some different functions not a particular one.
Neutralised space could contain any one of the considered functions without any change. The size,
shape, quality and linkage of space all could be designed neutralised. By analyzing the considered
functions, a table could be formed to choose proper parameters to be the design guidance. Take a
space in an office building for instance, the functions considered include formal meeting for 10
persons, offering the employees lunch and coffee space, resting and communication. A table is
formed according to these functions. (Table 1)
Table 1 Function Analyses for Neutralization
Factors Formal Meeting for 10 Lunch and Coffee Space Resting and Communication
Size
Shape Rectangle No particular request No particular request
Quality Natural or artificial lighting Natural lighting and ventilation Natural lighting and ventilation
Nice outside view
Linkage Connecting to the public space Connecting to the public space Connecting to the public space
and the service room and the outdoor space
A design guidance for the space could be reached by analyzing the table: areal5 sq. m.,
net height 3m, rectangle, natural ventilation and lighting, connecting to the public space and
service room, with a nice view and access to the outdoor space.
6.2. Homogenization
Homogenization means in some particular range, the space has the same or similar
characters, facilitating the exchange of functions.
The spaces of traditional Chinese architecture are typical homogenized spaces. A room
supported by wood frame is the fundamental unit of traditional Chinese architecture. These
-
fundamental units make uu buildings of similar size and
shape, and courtyards of various sizes connect these
buildings together to make the urban fabric. Each room is a
similar rectangle space facing the courtyard. Only the
locality is different. Thus the room in traditional Chinese
building is not named after function but locality.
The domino system promoted by Le Corbusier
might be the beginning of modem homogenized space. The
spaces, formed by regular column matrix, have the similar
or same quality. It is possible to partition the space in
various ways.
If the domino system plan is big enough, the quality
of spaces inside would be different: the spaces near the
outer wall may have good quality of natural lighting and
ventilation, while the rest don't have that quality. The
concept of void would be useful to maintain a large plan
homogenized. To create void is to make some holes in a
large plan. Central Beheer designed by Herman Hertzberger
is a good example for void. The structure of the building is
formed by the main frame of 9mX9m and secondary frame
of stripes 3m by width. Courtyards are created within the
structure to make every point in the plan fell the nature. So
there are unnumbered possibilities to arrange functions.
Void also could be introduced to high-rise
buildings. T.R. Hamzah & Yeang make some aerial
Figure 2 Plan o f Central Beheer gardensin ecological high-rise building to facilitate the
access to nature in higher parts as the ground floor.
The spaces in high-rise building are also homogenized.
6.3. Multi-linkage
Multi-linkage refers that there are different ways to link the
spaces involved. Multi-linkage makes versatile space in two
situations: the linkage between spaces is changed to facilitate new
nA functions, or the space has convenient linkage to other spaces to
make easy access to encourage various activities.
To change the linkage, some physical change should be
made, but the change could be restricted in a small extend. Take a
room in an apartment for example. The small room between two
bigger ones could open doors on three of the walls. Open the door to
the bedroom, the small room turns into a walk-in closet; open to the
living room, a studio; and open to the corridor, a small bedroom.
The linkage to three spaces makes the small room a versatile space.
Conventional linkage to the other spaces makes a public
space versatile. Because of the conventional linkage to the other
parts of the building and the treads in it, the hall of Apollo School in
Amsterdam is very attractive for the children. The most important
one in the linkages is the access to nature. Sunshine and fresh air
encourage children's activities.
Figure 3 Multi-linkage o f a
room
Figure 4 The Hall in Apollo School, Amsterdam
6.4. Hierarchical levels

Versatile space facilitates new functions with or without physical changes. In most cases,
to facilitate new functions doesn't require the change of the whole structure. But to alter or replace
building parts is difficult, because the change or adjustment would affect other parts, and require
the other parts to be removed or taken away and rebuilt. These building parts might be under
control of different parties, and these parties also need to correspond. There are friction and
conflict in the process of change or adjustment, which Stephen Kendall called "building
entanglement".
Hierarchical levels could be employed to
avoid the entanglement when the building or
structure is too complex to be under the
responsibility of only one party, or when many
different parties each desire to have control of some
part of the whole. Thus levels such as the following
emerge Stephen Kendall2002:
Urban Structure (the larger scale ordering of
land uses and transportation arteries)
Urban Fabric (Neighborhood)
Base Building (the shared parts of multi- Figure 5 Hierarchical levels of Next
tenant buildings) 21, 6-16 Shimizudani, Tennoji-ku,
Fit-out (partitions, some mechanical Osaka City, Japan
equipment)
Furniture and Equipment
Each level concerns not only physical parts
of a building or structure but also social force,
equipment and construction skill etc. Each level is
restricted by the next higher level above, while sets
conditions for the next lower level. The levels work
in a hierarchical way. The adjustment and change in
each level doesn't affect the higher one. Thus parts
of the building or structure could be altered to
facilitate new functions. The higher level provides
various ~ossibilitiesof change " for the lower level.
while minimizes the impact to the other parts. Figure 6 Next 21, 6-16 Shimizudani,
Tennoji-ku, Osaka City, Japan
7. CONCLUSION
The implications of versatile space are significant. Versatile space makes a solution to
design building and structure adaptable to respond the rapid change of social and economical
circumstances in high-density areas.
The theory of versatile space is originated from the doubt of some principles of
modernism, such as function-zoning and form follows ,function. And it is also originated from
commercialization and digitization. Commercialization requires timely changing of the spaces
according to the market, and digitization makes function more adaptable to the space.
Size, shape, quality and linkage are the basic factors involved in space-function relation.
Based on the analyses of the factors, measures to facilitate a versatile space emerge:
Neutralization, (A space is designed for some different functions not a particular one.)
Homogenization, (In some particular range, the space has the same or similar characters.)
Multi-linkage, (There are different ways to link the spaces involved.)
Hierarchical levels, (The levels of a structure is designed to work in a hierarchical way.)
REFERENCE
Stephen Kendall 2002 The Building and Fit-out: Principles for 21.'' Century Building
Maintenance and Management
http://www.bsu.edu/cap/programsfbfi/OpenBuilding/openbuilding.htm
Stephen Kendall 2002 An Open Building Industry: Making Agile Buildings That Achieve
Performance For Clients
http://www.bsu.edu/cap/programsfbfi/OpenBuilding/openbuilding.htm
On Housing Flexibility and Expandability:
A Combined Design and Construction System
School of Architecture
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Abstract: This paper focuses on housing flexibility and expandability in the generation of
housing design and variations, particularly in the work of Rudolph M. Schindler. His ideas
for modular planning and construction were developed during the depression of the 19301s,at
an appropriate time to help meet the needs for low-cost and adaptable shelter in the United
States. One of Schindler's un-built housing designs, the so-called Schindler Shelter, is
described as a prototype applicable to discussions today. Schindler's integrated design and
construction system is described for its role in the development of the Schindler Shelter. The
paper concludes with an interactive computer model, based upon the studies and analyses of
the Schindler Shelter, for flexible and expandable housing designs. The model may be unique
as a basis for offering a supplementary option in combination with existing network
capabilities, allowing homebuyers to change, modify, and manipulate the layout of preset
floor plans, in real-time on the Internet.
Keywords: housing flexibility, Schindler, panel-post construction, and user interface model
1. INTRODUCTION
The aim of both homebuilders and homebuyers has always been that of a balance between
mass-customization housing and individualized privately designed homes. To this end, architects
and homebuilders have sought to develop strategies and methodologies that allow minimal
prototypes to adapt to changing needs over time (Habraken 1976). There have been some fertile
periods in the United States when flexible and expandable housing designs were developed to
facilitate simple changes and additions to the original basic units. Such a time was depression-era
California.
1.1. Rudolph Schindler and Depression-era California

California in the 1930's was a reception area for many disadvantaged migrants who were
fleeing depression-hit industrial areas and drought-hit rural areas of the mid-western United States.
Between 1933 and 1939 over 600,000 migrants entered the state (Starr 1996). At the beginning of
the decade, in both rural and urbanizing California, there was a largely unmet need for inexpensive
shelter, quickly erectable. At the lowest level, that of migrant farm-workers, dormitory style
buildings, designed by Farm Security Administration architects, were hastily raised and situated in
towns planned by young architects, landscape architects, and planners who later became the core
of environmental professionals during California's post World War I1 boom years.
Coincident to this demand, the architect Rudolph M. Schindler was ready with concepts
for rapidly erectable module-based houses. Schindler, raised and trained as an architect in Vienna,
had come to the United States just before World War I, working with Frank Lloyd Wright in
Chicago, Wisconsin and then California (McCoy 1960). Wright gave him wide latitude, as he
himself was busy with projects in Japan, and Schindler used the opportunity to develop his own
theories of spatial continuity and post-panel construction.
Using his 4-foot (1.2 12 meters) grid called Reference Frames in Space (Schindler, 1946),
Schindler developed several basic plan types and full home designs. From these studies, he
created prefabricated elements from which most any plan could be created. With nearly continuous
clerestory windows because of a low nailing plate line, the sense of spatial continuity and openness
he had brought from his years with Wright allowed for a flowing environment within constraints
of low cost and rapid erection time (McCoy 1960).
1.2. The Continuing Need for Flexible and Expandable Prototypes

As the world urbanizes, the great migration from rural areas can be likened to that of the
west coast United States in the 1930's. While much of Asia has relied on large-scale concrete and
steel technologies, the imperatives of use of lightweight and sustainable material selection is
making it sensible to re-examine the searches for appropriate concepts of industrialized
construction developed in various parts of the world from 1930 to 1960. Many of these concepts
have already been institutionalized and absorbed into common practices of large homebuilders in
the United States. In the free market, the demand for construction and plan layout variability has
grown, changing almost as rapidly as clothing fashion. The range of prototypes is wide because of
the market demands.
Housing prototypes also vary depending on the size and scale of the homebuilder. Each
homebuilder has his own unit prototypes associated with his own individual construction systems.
Homebuilders modify prototypes to meet specific legal requirements, construction systems, local
ordinances and, of course, market preferences. On the whole, homebuilders provide a few different
types housing designs for different homebuyers. Homebuilders also have the assurance of a
product built to closer tolerances, thereby reducing move-in time from start to finish, as well as
cost savings through less waste using appropriate construction systems. Homebuilders become
aware of the client's needs for flexible and expandable housing designs to adapt to new, different,
or changing opportunities. Although basic housing unit spaces are almost as unchangeable as they
are necessary, it could be worse if the minimum design is fixed without consideration of one who
lives in the house or future needs.
This study re-examines Rudolph Schindler's work on a project which came to be known as
the Schindler Shelter, as an important point in the development of prototypes. It is further used as
the basis for development of an interactive Internet model for user-developed housing designs as
extensions of the original modular layout.
2. THE SCHINDLER HOUSING PROTOTYPE
One of the finest prototypes to come out of California, one of R.M. Schindler's un-built
housing units, is the so-called Schindler Shelter. This prototype is the subject of the discussion
below. The project is a prime example of flexibility and expandability, since it illustrates how a
variety of designs may be produced as an outcome of using a combined design and construction
system.
In 1933, Schindler advocated a housing system that involved into an integrated
construction system and systematic design strategies. For Schindler, compositional method and
construction systems are closely related: the compositional method is a vehicle to organize space
and space forms. The construction system is a technical support to realize the space form, "an
integral part of the conception of a building." Both functioned as indispensable components of his
'Space Architecture' throughout his lifelong practice. Schindler writes, "I have tried to experiment
always with new materials and techniques." The development of new construction methods was
essential for Schindler because conventional or standard construction systems were, at times, not
always suitable for the execution of the new concept of space architecture. Schindler was always
technically innovative, pushing methods of construction beyond conventional wisdom. These ideas
are clearly reflected in his housing design.
Schindler developed the Schindler Shelter project from 1933 to 1942 although it was never
built. The project was intended to provide urban dwellers with an opportunity to attain economic
security as well as comfortable suburban shelter within somewhat limited means. Schindler
presented a concept, which addressed flexibility of the floor plan, expandability for the changing
needs of a growing family, minimum maintenance, low cost, and new construction methods (Smith
2001). In the concept Schindler intended to demonstrate a variety of optimal space layouts and
multiple unit orientations, with the integration of both systematic composition and construction
techniques. Although the development of the project spanned more than ten years, and a series of
shelter plans underwent a variety of spatial transformations, they all share common compositional
principles and construction techniques. Schindler created four basic types of shelter plans for Shell
Construction [Fig. 11 and another four basic schemes using Panel Post Construction [Fig. 21.
*---;%
--- - ,4,i{f,>*,%
'la -1
Figure I The Schindler Shelter with the Shell Construction system, four diffrent prototypes, including 3, 4,
4% and 5 room tjpes.
Although the designs appear different, the two construction systems share fundamental
principles in floor plan organization. First, each unit is arranged with a central hall. The kitchen,
bathroom and laundry are grouped as a unit to concentrate the plumbing system into a single wall.
By grouping in this way, supply lines, waste branches and soil pipes are simple and short, so that
plumbing stack will be saved. This centralized plumbing system allows economic maintenance
access for cleaning and repairing. The laundry area is provided in an open porch, affording an
excellent means of open-air drying. The remaining rooms are distributed along closet partitions:
one for the living room and another two for bedrooms. The main entrance to the house is adjacent
to the living room. A door in the living room and child's room is made to be accessible to the
garden. Finally, the garage is a separate unit, which can be added to any side of the house. The
garage is large enough to serve as a workshop and storage room. Garage doorways can front the
street or side of the house, allowing different types of driveways. The rooftop of the garage
provides space for sunbathing.
Figure 2 The Schindler Shelter with the Panel Post Construction svstern, four different prototypes
2.1 Modular Planning and Symmetry Transformations

Two significant underlying compositional methods involved in the generation of the
Schindler Shelter are the modular idea and symmetry.
First of all, a modular system prevails in an attempt to minimize building costs, as well as
to execute simple but accurate construction. This leads to various advantages, including
standardization of many building components for mass production in manufacturing, and
optimization of floor plans. Schindler proposed his own modular system called "Reference Frames
in Space" in 1946. Schindler recommended 48 inches (4 feet) as the basic unit, to be used with
simple multiples and with 112, 113, and 114 subdivisions. Among the subdivisions, with only a few
exceptions, 113 and 114 are used for vertical modules in his works. This single unit module with its
multiples and subdivisions form the basis of all dimensions of rooms. The reasons for his using
this system are twofold. First, all locations and sizes of the parts with respect to the whole are
precisely identified during the construction process. Thus, no obscure or arbitrarily unrelated
measurements are involved in the unit system. Second, the unit grid system offers the means to
visualize 'space forms' in three dimensions. He argued, " .. . And last, but most important [part of
the unit system] for the 'space architect,' must be a unit which [the architect] can carry palpably in
his mind in order to be able to deal with space forms easily but accurately in his imagination."
With Schindler's system, symmetrical operations are extensively used in his housing
designs as underlying principles of spatial composition (Park 2000, forthcoming). Although never
written, his conspicuous application of the symmetry idea overlaying a 48-inch unit system is
remarkably consistent and worthy of investigation. While bilateral symmetry in architecture,
which refers to such operations as reflection, is the most often encountered concept of symmetry in
the classical period, Schindler explored symmetries other than traditional bilateralism in housing
designs. In particular, Euclidian transformations with xy-Cartesian coordinates are broadly used
for the generation of variations. The transformations include rotation, reflection, translation, and
glide reflection (March and Steadman 1971).
The Schindler Shelter designs achieve a level of quality in their variations, retaining their
principal uniformity while enabling a variety of exterior appearances via garage location. That is
the novelty of the Schindler Shelter. Schindler used both the 5-foot unit system for basic schemes
with the Shell Construction and 4-foot unit system for basic schemes with the Panel Post
Construction. His employment of different unit grids stems from the different construction
systems. The variations of the Schindler Shelter are also derived from symmetry transformations
where each basic room type is rotated and reflected, and then a garage attached to a side of the unit
in a number of ways. Schindler provides only a few examples of the layouts he developed.
Potentially, an exhaustive number of plans could be generated as a complete map of probable
designs. We test the possible variations in the next section.
2.2. Construction Method
The housing designs compatible with industrial construction system is considered the only
way to take advantage of technology in the housing production process. The integration of design
and construction process makes it possible to produce a variety of housing design options.
Schindler uses two different construction techniques for the development of the Schindler
Shelter: The Shell Construction method (Goss 1933) and the Panel Post Construction method.
Schindler employed the Shell Construction system developed by Neal Garrett. It consists of a
hollow reinforced double-wall for walls, floors, and roof. Based on light metal forms, wire mesh,
and cement plaster, two slabs (each one-inch thick) are made to form double wall panels. These
two panels are connected and braced by a steel truss-like system spaced 16 inches apart. Thus, it
forms panels16 inches wide and 6 feet long, weighing 12 pounds each. Although light and thin,
these double walls are strong enough that they work as structural members. By a series of erected
courses of walls, cement mortar is sprayed on the outer surface to produce a bearing surface.
Subsequently, the whole house becomes a monolithic shell of one material and structure without
any joints, resulting in a uniform building.
Unlike Shell Construction, the Panel Post Construction system is a full-fledged
prefabrication for mass-production. Schindler himself developed the system. The system embodies
principles of what Schindler envisioned, namely, flexibility, affordability, expandability,
demountability, and sustainability. All prefabrication of building components is made in an off-site
factory. The structural system is fabricated with nine modular components, namely: floor panel,
post, vent board, base, roof panel, wall panel, sash panel, door panel, end-rafter, and fascia. All
components are regulated with regard to his 4-foot unit module and sub-modules (12", 18", and
24"). When all components are delivered on site, they are assembled to become a home.
Assemblage of components is easy and simple; altering or replacing components is much the
same. It does not require a highly skilled work force nor special machinery, even less a heavy mill.
The construction system is a kit-of-parts solution to the affordable housing problem. Partitions and
walls can be made of cheap material, like plywood, boards, metals, etc., since they form a non-load
bearing structural system. Posts carry all structural loads. The posts are designed as a cross-shape
and erected at standard distances, so that panels are inserted into the grooves of the post, side by
side. The system of post joint is designed to permit joining of panels in four-side joints (Sarnitz
1988).
Figure 3 R. M. Schindler, Partial section/component model of the Panel Post Construction System
80
3. JAVA APPLET HOUSING MODEL
The housing industry has begun to harness the benefits of information technology through
the numerous building industry manufacturers that maintain a web presence, the value of e-
commerce transacted on the web, and the amount of marketing dollars spent on the web. Web
marketing experts expect this number to grow rapidly as both sellers and buyers realize how much
detailed information is available to them online. The Internet becomes the place where
homebuyers first look to buy and sell their homes. Thus, e-commerce becomes an undeniable
current and future venue for the housing industry.
Although there has been phenomenal growth in commercial presence of the housing
industry on the Internet, exploitation of online user interactive housing design capabilities in the
housing industry is still in their infancy. Currently, therefore, we are developing a user interface
housing online model employing a Java Applet technology that allows users to modify and change
unit plans for their needs from a distance rather than manufacturers offering preset or fixed designs
on the Internet. It will also provide a new paradigm to directly contact to homebuilders and
customers. This process will also accelerate and improve the pre-construction design processes.
The Java applet is the graphical component of a user interface in a web browser. Basically,
a java-enabled model can be built on Java's applet technology that allows users to explore new
designs in the Web browser. It provides graphical user-oriented interface components for
displaying and interacting, designing with an object-oriented model loaded in the applet. The
following figure shows a snap shot of our implementation of a Java based interface for dynamic
retrieval of a set of housing design in plan.
3.1. Model Control Structure

The user interface java model interacts with the user through a set of buttons to turn the
control system on and off, switch between control modes, and single-step through the operation
sequence. The initial layout of the java applet model is composed of a simple unit plan in a
window with a panel of buttons on the lower and upper regions. The upper buttons allow users to
adjust the parameters including unit prototypes, total area square footage, scaling transformations,
and 3D "VRNIL" model. The lower buttons modify the position of the objects based on Euclidian
transformations. "Rotate Clockwise" and "Rotate Counter Clockwise7' transform the number of
cyclic rotations, "Mirror Vertical" and "Mirror Horizontal" apply horizontal and vertical
reflections respectively. Translate "up," "down," "left," and "right" shifts the position of the
garage. Translation buttons allow a selected object (either the house or the garage) to move
according to the underlying grid system. The applet ensures that the transformation is always
properly moved based on the given grid. Thus, each increment is based on the house unit module,
which is 5-foot grid.
3.2. Operation Sequence

The main structure of this java model is a sequence of states representing the sequence of
operations that must be performed. There are a few steps that users should follow to create a
successful design. First, users should select the unit type that they want or a garage. There are five
room type options. In the applet canvas, two major components of the unit plan are illustrated: a
house and a garage. When users drag the mouse and select a unit, the unit will be highlighted in a
blue color. This means that the unit is selected to be transformed and modified. The unit may be
selected from standard plans, customized, or designed to fit users' needs. Users also select each
room for the individual expansions. Garage is colored with green. If reset command is selected, the
current working unit is reset to its home position.
Users click on one of the objects in the window and select a transformation button to
change the position of the object. They can then transform the object by choosing the definition of
symmetric transformations using the "Reflect," "Mirror," and "Translation" toggle button. To
manipulate the three-dimensional appearance of each design, the applet also provides a series of
pre-built 3D VRML models stored on the server. Users can explore 3D models of each housing
design by zooming, tilting, rotating, and panning the 3D model in the network environment.
Using this model we provide the capabilities for building 2D design models which
encompass all possible user selections. After transformations, users can toggle the scale button to
alter the size of rooms in two dimensions. The scaling button works after users finish the basic
transformation. With the entrance hall area set in the middle of each unit, each room extends its
dimensions in two directions.
Figure 4 Java applet model structure
4. CONCLUSIONS
R. M. Schindler's work in the early part of the 20th Century has been shown to have
applicability today, in the development of usable housing prototypes, which can demonstrate
flexibility and expandability. More than many such prototypes, his are comprehensive, containing
both design and construction methods in a unified manner, conscious always of achieving spatial
grace at modest cost.
The Schindler Shelter prototype, with its many variations, is particularly suited to the new
form of delivery of housing options to consumers, that of the Internet. In these studies, we have
introduced an interactive model system. This system is currently being developed as a 2D and 3D
interactive system where a 3D real-time model that is designed and displayed on the user's screen,
using real-time rather than a pre-built Java 3D model, is stored on the server. When the users'
designs and changes are completed in the 2D model, 3D Java models are automatically created on
the user's screen.
The data for making 3D housing prototypes have been carefully prepared in accordance
with the basic unit typology of Schindler and its variation capabilities. On the basis of the Java-
based interface floor plans, a user can retrieve a variety of the 3D models depending on how the
user manipulates the given data selection. In addition, the 2D and 3D models will be integrated
with a multitude of spatial referenced data, including materials, colors, texture, etc. Further
investigation will set up an information database that will provide all the detailed information and
options for the network user. The ongoing research also includes setting up information database
model where the net clients can transmit the entire inventory, the ordering, the shipping, the
payments, and so on. The 2D and 3D model will be integrated with a multitude of spatial
referenced data.
Schindler himself, part of a generation of California architects with European roots,
working in a city where romantic craftsman bungalows were often themselves built from
prefabricated kits bought from catalogues, would likely be pleased to find his work alive and
accessible to ordinary people in a new technological format.
REFERENCES
Goss, L. 1933. "The Garrett plastered House - A Frameless, Reinforced Unit," Progressive
Contractor, July 1933.
Habraken N.J. et al. 1976. Variations: The Systematic Design of Supports, Cambridge: The MIT
Laboratory of Architecture and Planning.
March, L. and P. Steadman, P. 1971. The Geometry of Environment: An introduction to spatial

organization in design, London: RIBA Publications Limited.
McCoy, E. 1960. Five California Architects, Reinhold Book Corporation, reprinted in 1987, Los
Angeles: Hennesey & Ingalls, Inc.
Park, J. 2000, "Subsymmetry Analysis of Architectural Designs: Some Examples," Environment

(2nd Planning B: Planning and Design, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 121 - 136.
Park, J. (Forthcoming), "Symmetry and Subsymmetry of Form-Making: The Schindler Shelter,"

Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 2004.
Samitz, A. 1988. R.M. Schindler, architect (1887-1953): a pupil of Otto Wagner, between
international style and space architecture, New York: Rizzoli.
Schindler, R.M. 1946. "Reference Frames in Space," Architect and Engineer, Vol. 165, pp. 10,40,
44-45.
Smith, E, et al. 2001. The Architecture of R.M. Schindler. Los Angeles: The Museum of
Contemporary Art.
Starr, K. 1996. Endangered Dreams: The Great Depression in California, New York: Oxford
University Press.
thc Slodificd Cruciform T'orrer Bloclt
L ) M c I I I I I ~ in Shenzliea: Re-ir~l~ahiting
Dwelling in Shenzhen:
Re-inhabiting the Modified Cruciform Tower Block

School of Architecture, University of Florida
Abstract: The ubiquitous "new town" speculative cruciform tower block, proliferating
throughout south China, and specifically through the greater New Territories-Shenzhen
continuum, is often criticized for its inflexible organization and for lacking the tangible,
experiential qualities that humanize the densest parts of old Hong Kong and Kowloon. The
Dwelling in Shenzhen Project offers a micro-strategy for intervention and spatial re-
engagement within the specific type. The project acknowledges the economic and material
reality of speculative high-rise building while engaging traditions of craft, culture and place
making. It also acknowledges the societal embraces of high technology and fluctuating
narratives of home through material innovation and appliances of contemplation/convenience in
the vertical habitat of the tower.
This paper will discuss a project developed for two traveling executives,
multinational "floaters", living and working part time in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone of
the PRC as a base to conduct business in China. The Project addresses the migratory and
drifting nature of people and place in China, shifts conventions of social hierarchy in the
domestic realm, seeks means of inter-Asia economic exchange vis-a-vis construction and craft,
proposes a measured response and critique of banal development practices, maintains a
contemporary dialogue with traditions and cultural memory, and ultimately challenges the way
the region builds.
Keywords: Shenzhen; High-rise; Habitation; Hybrid programming; Vertical density;

Pre-assemblage.
1. DENSITY/REPETITION/EXTRUSION- Operating within the Paradox of

Taller-Density
How we build and how people live are inseparable folds of dense vertical urbanism. A
critically dense place is more immediate, that is, more immediately in front of you, coming up
behind you, and circling in on you. It's not on the television, and it's not in the imagination. It's
just right there, vitalizing everyday existing. In this way, density forgives planning, with the
immediate being tangible, collapsed with, and connected to you, where a plan remains distant and
removed. Verticality, if isolated and separate from density, yields the disconnected and dispirited
condition of vertical sprawl. It is the opposite of dense urbanism in that it is too planning-
dependent.
Lessons from the recent past have taught us that verticality without density can equal
isolation and sparseness of human interaction and cultural life. Hong Kong and Shenzhen are
uniquely defined as both critically vertical and critically dense. There is no taller-dense place in
existence. Verticality, if it is part and parcel of a kind of phenomenal density, can reach a condition
of urban parallax - the shift of experience that occurs when vertical perception replaces movement
previously dictated by the horizontal stases of the ground.i We need statistics that superimpose
density and tallness in order to quantify vertical urbanism in Hong Kong and Shenzhen in a way
that is accurate to the phenomenon. We don't yet have hybrid-statistics for the phenomenon II~
taller-density.
[Verticality Stats + Density Stats = Hybrid Stats for the Phenomenon of Taller-Density]
(Fig. I)
When a place of unsurpassed taller-density also hosts another critical situation - the
extreme of constant and dizzying economic-driven transformation and expansion - then the
prospects of this conference of "opening the building" and puncturing the box (which in Hong
Kong and Shenzhen's prolific residential cruciform tower is in fact 'life-in-a-box') might call for
approaches of diverse modes of immediate incision operating at a source which is refracted
everywhere in the atmosphere of airborne vertical urbanism. It calls for and excites the possibility
of the micro project, the small intervention, or the domestic inversion that slices through the
floating terrain of the cruciform box-unit to allow glimmers of light and beauty to radiate from the
spatial and phenomenal paradox of taller-density. And it evokes the challenge of making the taller-
dense city, like the dense city, more radiant and more irnrnediate.(Fig.2)
The cruciform high rise, a repetitive and extruded shape that might be induced to aspire
toward a new horizon on the terrain of urban parallax, is the predominant paradox within taller-
denseness that offers internal sites of vertical and horizontal incising not foreseen by its
developers. One such 'site' within the ubiquitous type is the vertical air passage used to fulfill code
requirements for basic ventilation of bathrooms, kitchens, and maid's rooms, and typically
decorated with a strangely beautiful tangle of plumbing lines and air conditioning equipment.
(Fig.22) It is a light well and a breezeway animated with clotheslines and the sounds and odors of
cooking. Usually seen as the unprivileged, utilitarian zone for second class citizens - housewives,
amahs, and maids - the service slot offers opportunities increasingly celebrated by a younger
generation of inhabitants who are opening up their living spaces and seeking dissolutions of the
formalities of Eastern modes of dwelling without the loss of cultural identity. Traditionally bleak,
isolated, and under-represented in the planning of the unit, this urban spatial incision can re-
emerge as fluid in-between space, weaving the internal private narrative of the unit to the shared
and deep infrastructural logic of the building site and community within, rendering the act of
dwelling in the taller-dense context more immediate, more experiential, and less alienating.
In this micro-project, our contribution to puncturing the box actually represents something
like halfofse~~eral millionth of the infinitely repetitive sites of the cruciform tower block dwelling
in the greater Hong Kong-Shenzhen region. In multiple clusters rising more than 50 stories, with
eight dwelling units on a floor, a single cruciform complex such as Park Central has a few
thousand of these micro-sites. Hong Kong and Shenzhen have millions and they are really all
exactly the same. The New Territorieslshenzhen continuum is something like the 2200-acre
underground fungus Armillaria ostoyae in Oregon, the largest known living thing." The fungus is
technically a clone, like the cruciform tower, extending from a single individual. Like the fungus,
the New Territorieslshenzhen continuum constitutes a single continuous site-organism. Few
people would ever notice the fungus organism. It is the same for the vertical sprawl continuum. It
escapes our notice because it spreads out and lacks the phenomenal immediacy and human scale of
more familiar forms of density.
This lack of continuity in Hong Kong and Shenzhen's new town Cartesian-urbanism
attracts criticism for lacking the more familiar kind of beauty of denser parts of old Hong Kong
and Kowloon. Density there is understood in itself as being beautiful, diverse, complex, intricate,
and immediate. Taller-density is not as obviously so. Abutments, connections, and layers of
multiple activities that render meaningful human associations are lacking. Millions of people live
together yet apart in a perceptually sparse-density. It has a kind of paradoxical congested
emptiness that is yet to be tapped.
Figure 1 : Measuring Vertical Density Figure 2; NPM'Territory - Spaces in-Between 6-v Author
by Author + JD Carling
2. CONTEXT: SPEC~LATI~N+PRCILIFERATION+PROPAGANDA
The relentlessly uniform housing context in Hong Kong over the last two decades has
evolved out of a tripartite combination of speculation on the cruciform tower economic model;
prolijeration of the cruciform typological model; and advertising propaganda relating to the
cruciform tower and podium-city lifestyle.
2.1. Speculation Scenario

The phenomenon of super-speculation stems from policies of land development, but is
also tied to specifics of the tower-type itself. The modification of the cruciform tower over time
has been a drive toward increasing the peripheral surface area within as compact a plan as
possible. This increases the quantity and the compaction of units and increases open views, which
are highly marketable. Large revenues and returns to both government and private developers are
generated, and in this sense the type has been a very egalitarian construct. Extruded up to fifty
stories into the air, they instantly concretize into built form a planning logic of minimized building
cost and maximized real estate potential, while solving population and environmental issues.
2.2. Growth, Expansion, Speed

The prolifimtion phenomena stems from the cruciform tower's ability as a type to satisfy
demands of growth at great speed and efficiency. Existing construction is typical of southern
China's rapidly developing cities: poured-in-place reinforced concrete high-rise construction with
exposed concrete beams and the typical proliferation of extruded bay windows - a developer
response to maximizing code allowances. But the on-going econolnic slowdown together with the
expanding population brings the possibility for new and more varied typologies, including
adaptive re-use of existing non-residential buildings."'
2.3. Camouflaging and Tattooing the Cruciform Tower Block

Although much academic work has been done to promote varied options recently,
developers are not jumping at the chance. Instead, they seem to be staying the course of the
cruciform model, only radically camouflaging it with innovative property-propaganda. Outside of
the super-speculation scenario of past decades, we find the model still persists, having perhaps
been stamped so many times onto the landscape and into the consciousness of people that other
realities are simply not easily imagined. (Fig.3)
I)\velling in Shen/hen: He-ioltabiting thc \lodifirrl C'rociforn~'Towt~rI3l0cli
Figure 3: Yoho Town advertisement with NSEW Cartesian tattoo.
The Privileged Few

Property advertising in Hong Kong and Shenzhen can be called propaganda because it is
selling you exactly the opposite of what it is, and because it is so obviously a reverse fabrication.
Traditionally, advertising propaganda for new housing in Hong Kong has been so incredibly
obvious (and not even remotely believable) that it is impossible that the unanimous popularity of
the adopted type has anything to do with its content. In the super-speculation-scenario of the past
two decades, it has been a choice of profit, not of lifestyle, if it has been a choice at all.
A prestigious development in Hong Kong called The Belchers advertises the motto on its
website, "a rare privilege for the precious few."(Fig.4) But actually several thousand 'privileged
few' people will live here in exactly the same model as every other extruded Cartesian box
stamped from Hong Kong to the New Territories to the border of Shenzhen and beyond. The
'podium-scape' on which the towers sit is a prolific type in and of itself, and also serves to
camouflage the uniform repetition of the towers and to bedazzle you into thinking the whole
development is actually a unique and special place. Never following the Cartesian geometry of the
tower bases, the podium-scape is always the opposite and belies it with meandering landscape
patterns. (Fig.5)
Figure 4: developer's website Fig. 5: crzrc~formtowers camozrjlaged in the podium.
Border Billboards
Crossing the border to Shenzhen, the advertising stays the same, yet seriously changes its
significance in a very different condition of humanity on the Chinese side of the border. Pamphlets
handed out in the train station and billboards lining the river as you approach the SEZ (Fig. 6)
belie the realities instantly facing you on streets and inside buildings. In Shenzhen, the shiny new
cruciform tower block really is for the privileged few, it actually does provide, for the moment at
least, an oasis from the desperate life around it, and signifies in a very profound way a yearning for
not just material things but for vertical refuge from crime, congestion, sickness, and heat.
Figure 6: Property billboards on the Shenzhen side o f Lo Wu border-bridge
Yoho Irony
Back in Hong Kong there is an ambitious advertising campaign called Yoho (young home) Town
that takes desperate measures to convince a newly wary wave of home seekers that they are
actually getting a new lifestyle in the compendium habitat of the cruciform tower and the planned
podium city that it sits on. The ad campaign is all over Hong Kong, stamped on the tram, on the
Internet, and in brochures in trendy restaurants. The images are fun and style-conscious, telling
you that Yoho Town is totally different for Hong Kong, and will have you living in a fresh new
way. Flip to the site, building, and unit plans as well as the renderings and models of the
development and it is 100% status-quo compendium cruciform tower habitat.(Fig.7,8)
Figure 7: Yoho advertising campaign selling a new way of living. Figure 8: Yoho status quo
3. ORIGINS
When looked at in relation to east and west, an interesting history surrounds the perception
of the tower type. Although it doesn't lessen the overt fraudulence of the advertising or the fatigue
of the tower's repetition, it sheds light on how a fixed type can be vastly re-interpreted in different
cultures. Both criticize it for being compartmentalized and inflexible and for neglecting the
pedestrian ground plane. But in contrast with the United States, Hong Kong does not associate it
with stigmatizing social and economic status. Rather, these sprawling vertical monoliths are
representative of high standards of living and achievement. In the densely populated regions of
Hong Kong and Shenzhen, they also offer real solutions to environmental land use issues and
economies. Although criticized from beyond as homogenous vertical sprawl, they are also simply
called home by millions of people and offer them amenities, conveniences and access to light,
fresh air and very beautiful (although vertiginous and random) views. (Fig. 10)
3.1. From Six-story One-room Gallery Slabs to Fifty-story Mock Palaces

In a span of only a few decades, the tower blocks have provided improvements over
cramped living conditions still fresh in the memories of two generations of people. In 1954 Hong
Kong established a resettlement department to replace thousands of squatter communities,
populated by post-war Chinese immigrants, with base-minimal housing. The Housing Authority
was also formed, and tens of thousands of people were accommodated in the 6-story gallery slab
typology, an extreme application of minimum existence housing. In the Shek Kip Mei Estate, built
between 1954 and 1962. 62,000 people were housed at a density of 2000 per acre. The slab
consisted of single room dwelling units for extended families without private kitchens or baths.
Only a single door and one window opened onto the breezeway. (Fig.9)" The cruciform tower
block of today represents measurable improvement over these quite recent public housing
prototypes.
In addition to its economic significance and its contribution to improved conditions and
conveniences, the cruciform type might also be acknowledged in an Eastern context for redeeming
value as an incredibly egalitarian model. Low income and private developments alike share the
model, (although the latter are often decorated into veritable 50-story mock palaces) and everyone
is housed in the same non-hierarchical form.
Figure 9: 1960's housing of'the ground. Figure 10: Today housing qf the skv: vertiginous and random.
-
3.2 LeCorbusier's Cruciforrns

In the West, the story is different. The cruciform tower block was part of a similar
egalitarian and utilitarian objective in principle, but instead of evolving in status and prestige, the
form became synonymous with banality, isolation, and hopelessness. LeCorbusier introduced his
glass Cartesian skyscraper, the Plan Voisin (Fig.1 l,l2), and the Radiant City - all cruciform
constructs - in a drive toward lighter, more open, and more liberated ways of living and working.
The building form and urban vision had much influence around the world in the 1950's. 60's, and
70's. Eventually, however, the type would be criticized for being a vacuous formal pattern. And a
collective cluster of such, set on infrastructural podiums, was to be seen as a compounded kind of
emptiness: "Marooned in grass, [LeCorbusier's] Cartesian convicts are lined up 400 meters
apart.. .spaced out beyond any possible association." '
Figure 11: Plan Voisin Figure 12: Detail
3.3 Riverside and Co-op city
One such marooned Cartesian complex was Co-op City in the Bronx (Fig. 13) criticized for
being cold, dehumanizing and disassociated with life beyond its perimeter. In addition to its
infamy as a monomaniacal imposition of heartless rationalism, the isolated high-rise residential
compound is in general also widely held responsible for stigmatizing social status, crime, poverty,
~: the \loditicd ( ~-urit'o~-~n
l)\+clling in S t ~ c n t l t c ~lic-i~ihal)ilirrg I ct\\cr Illocli
and gangs in its application to large-scale low-income housing in the US. In the 1970's many were
found to be in a state of total cultural isolation and physical ruin. This could not be further from
the case in Hong Kong, where Le Corbusier's dream is in full bloom (minus the recent classical
decorative adjustments to roof and podium).
Even when they were developed in close proximity to vital urban centers, Cartesian tower
block complexes were found to be fundamentally flawed. The Riverside development, built on
reclaimed land in East Manhattan in 1974, is similar in many ways to high-rise residential
strategies in Hong Kong. A cluster of six modified Cartesian towers (a bit more like pinwheels in
form) "suffered from a spiritual and functional detachment from the adjacent cornm~nity"~'to an
extent that great river views and other attributes could not mend. (Fig. 14)
Figure 13: Co-op City. Bronx. Figure 14: Riverside, Manhattan
4. SETTLING IN: Lineage, Migration, and Placelessness
Things change, however, and one wonders if the fraudulence and the emptiness of the
Hong Kong high-rise cruciform tower block will now also catch up to the generations being raised
in it. A culture of huge negative equity in homes now anchors this generation, like never before, to
their property, and forces an opportunity to construct a sense of social belonging in a fractured
time."" And instead of seeing the egalitarian side of the type, we might also begin to ask the same
questions of it as we do of repetitive suburban sprawl in other parts of the world. In questioning
sprawl, Steven Holl asks, "is sprawl a spontaneous spreading of democracy or the political
accumulation of unprecedented ignorance?"""'
The voice among Hong Kong architecture students is mixed - sometimes complacent,
sometimes passionate about re-thinking modes of dwelling for the next generation. But rarely
does one see a project based on the type, unless it is a criticism or a transformation of it. Often
student proposals bear no association to the type or even to the high rise as a residential solution.
Instead they prefer to scrape the ground, intertwine in free form with infrastructure, recall the
human scale of gallery slabs and villages, or propose adaptations of industrial buildings.
Nonetheless, the fatigued form is far from being obsolete. It still serves necessities of economy,
land use and environmental efficiency. And while the time is ripe for housing innovation and
variation, there is also much 'room' (millions of' them, that is) for infiltrating multitudinous
existing units and investing them with lasting meaning for the generations of Chinese people that
will define home as a cloned module in a cloned tower set upon a planned podium landscape.
5. ANCHORING SHENZHEN
In Shenzhen, placelessness is acutely felt. Almost instantly metamorphosed (in a span of

20 years under China's Special Economic Zone strategy) from very rural to very urban - and
increasingly exhibiting the difficult characteristics of the taller-dense city - Shenzhen is a place
Ke-in1i:rhiting thc \lodifirtl ('ruciform I'o\\t.r Rlocl,
I)w\.dling in Shcn/lre~~:
adrift. Most inhabitants of the chaotic and always desperate border-town are what Rem Koolhaas
callsfloating, "a migrant condition held by two-thirds of Shenzhen's population, who do not have
jobs, legal status, or homes in the SEZ.. .forming mobile reservoirs of flexible labor." '"
5.1. Anchoring to Hong Kong

Amid dissolving families, collective identities and village structures, and in a desperate
collective drive to escape from suffering, Shenzhen lives vicariously through Hong Kong and
through imported media imagery, concocting an urban soup that is difficult to digest." Shenzhen's
buildings try hard to look like buildings across the border in Hong Kong. This is not referring to
the theme park Windows of the World in Shenzhen that reconstructs famous world landmarks in
miniature, but to every other regular office and residential building in the city. Norman Foster's
Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank is edited down to a faqade that is proportional to it, but nothing
else. The cruciform tower also appears everywhere now in Shenzhen, as common as the single
family tract house in suburban America, appearing as capitalist avatars on the horizons of new
China.
5.2. Anchoring to the Podium

The podium, a multi-story-city-in-a-box beneath the towers, is the programmatic life-
support of the residential development, but the enemy of the streetscape around it. Anchoring to
the podium, itself adrift from the urban fabric, is a very interesting proposition at another scale that
is outside the scope of this micro-project but fundamental to the holistic understanding and
planning of New Territories-Shenzhen urbanismx'.
5.3. Anchoring to Itself

It seems unlikely that Shenzhen, a place searching for refuge from its own insecurity,
congestion, and suffering would establish profound and deliberate self-anchors, regardless of how
nauseating and self-denying its borrowed architectural imagery could become.
Already, however, its experimental, ad-hoc, uninhibited and exaggerated ethos is beginning to be
recognized as authentic and potentially generative of indigenous contemporary forms. "It is said
that at the heart of the metropolis there is nothing. In the Special Economic Zones, this nothingness
- the consequence of breaking away with the past - is the basis of modernization and of new
freedoms. It is this nothingness that the planners of the SEZ's seek today. Only the tabula rasa can
enable possibilities otherwise hindered by the traditional obligations of cities and architecture to be
stable. Conceived as a vast, ideological no-man's-land, the Zone establishes a disruptive presence
- a sudden enhancement of the cultural desert." (Mihai Craciun, 2001)""
6. DWELLING IN SHENZHEN
Shenzhen's multinational entrepreneurs, floaters, and temporary business class
deliberately seek out this fertile wasteland and it's business promises, buying and renting
residential units and adapting them to livelwork hybrids for their traveling staff and clients staying
intermittently in the SEZ. In the case of our project, the owners are part of the fibre-optic
technology division of Sumitomo, a multinational Japanese corporation. The Dwelling in Shenzhen
Project offers a strategy for "infiltrating the box", for intervention and re-development within such
buildings that acknowledges the simple economic and material reality of speculative high-rise
building while engaging traditions of craft, work culture and place making in the vertical habitat of
the tower.
The project described below also posits that anchoring need not be done in a way that
reconstitutes a lost past or another place's present. It can occur in a way that acknowledges
transnationality, migration, and "floating" as a meaningful, uncharted and tangible expression for
the domestic realm of the tower, and that finds iconic design alternatives through adaptable forms
1)wclling in S h c n ~ h r n :He-inhabiting thc \Iodified Crucifbrni I ' o ~ ~ cBlock
r
and inherent tall-density phenomena. The project offers three strategies - physical as well as
theoretical - for doing so: hosting innovation; adapting program; and infiltrating the box.
(Fig. 15,16,17)
Fig. 15: Site in Shenzhen, SEZ Fig. 16: Tower diagram bv author Fig. 1 7: Unit layout: Before/@er
6.1. Hosting Innovation through the Micro-project: Construction, Craft, and Detail
The project's approach to construction phasing builds on our design team's cross-cultural
familiarity with Indonesia and China to stimulate economic and artistic collaboration between two
types of construction industryx"': on the one hand, rich and deeply indigenous cottage industries in
local and not-so-local villages in Southeast Asia in need of modernization; on the other hand, a
fast-paced, dollar-driven efficiency in China that is rapidly losing concern for quality and artistry.
In the context of an incessant re-building and in the drive toward optimum speed and efficiency in
the cruciform itself, the notion of craft in the region has been sidelined. "Phenomenal architecture
calls for both the stone and the feather.""" The project proposes that new interior construction be
carried out in dual management modes that seek to rectify within the given type, the craft problem
that is inherent to its own evolution.
Preparing the concrete shell (The Stones) (Fig. 18) involves casting new concrete walls
and window plinths and carrying out the exacting task of chiseling reveals in preparation for
insertion of a kit of elements fabricated off-site in craft villages. The task seeks to qualify the shell
in its most essential and reductive form as a hollow, and thus re-opened, book of human
habitation.
The pre-assembled modules (The Feathers) (Fig.19) create a complementary duality

with the hollow concrete shell. Delicate woven metals, electrostatic coated steel panels, and fiber
optic-infused cast resin slabs translate the SEZ's high-tech agenda into strategies for material
innovation and charged live-work programmes. Material advancements also take advantage of the
emerging high-tech direction of large and small-scale artisan-manufacturers, fusing notions of
contemporary technology with traditions of craft and artistry. We are also aiming to acknowledge
and give material expression to the parallel and incessant context of packing and unpacking,
packaging and unpackaging that defines the psycho-economic ethos of this border-port place. The
Indonesian-crafted kit is sent in a single shipment by sea container to Shenzhen. By separating and
focusing the dual modes of pre-assembly and on-site refinements we can begin to induce an
indigenous way of exacting new construction standards within this shipping and trade-dependent
context.
Fig. 18: The Figure 19: Pre-assembled nzodules
concrete shell.
6.2. Adaptation - Re-programming and Fine-graining

The live-work adaptation demands a re-visioning of existing programs - inflexible family
units with isolated servant spaces that "box" inhabitants into a compartmentalized mode of living -
and extensive hybrid thinking to harmonize dichotomies of refugelmeditationlsleepingl&bathing
with working/meetingl&entertaining. Three hybrid patterns of occupation ensue and result in the
complete overhaul of the organizational logic of the unit: DininglConference hybrid, Living
/Reception hybrid, and LoungelOffice hybrid. Utilitarian spaces also re-emerge as fluid and
flexible space, woven into the spatial narrative of the live-work unit.(Fig.20)
Coexisting dichotomies of meditation and stimulation operate intermittently throughout
the program and occupy the deep conceptual reading of the plan: a sitting stonelmeditation island
situated half inside and half outside with retractable privacy curtain; a fiber-optic lighting event
along the expanse of wall at the dininglconference space is interrupted by a sculptural wall-
mounted radiator based on the sublime floating quality of an ikebana composition (one of the
executives practices a form of Ikebana where only three colors may be used in a composition); and
mosaic tiles in densities of precisely three colors activate a pattern of intermittent degrees of
meditative and stimulative chroma-scapes in the itinerary of the dwelling.(Fig.21) Media,
consumption, Internet and creative work, which characterize the contemporary live-work scenario
in Hong Kong and Shenzhen are also incorporated. A resin-cast kitchen floor is activated with
fibre-optic circuitry and the wall separating kitchen and living room is activated with media for
entertaining, web-surfing and teleconferencing.
Figzrre 20: Modified Unit Plan Figure 21: Concrete & mosaic tile jloor finish
6.3. Infiltrating the Box: Flexible Adaptations Between East and West
People are beginning to seek dissolutions of the formalities of Eastern modes of dwelling
without the loss of cultural identity. Through flexible interchanges of public and private, open and
closed, formal and informal, the unit's service spaces -traditionally bleak, isolated, and under-
represented in the planning of the unit -are attended to as fluid space, woven into the spatial
narrative of the unit. Entering immediately into the informal space of the living room, the previous
formal entry hall is eradicated, and a celebration of arrival is achieved instead with visual and axial
relationships through the dwelling. The previous live-in maid's quarters, relegated as usual to a
dark closet-sized storage space off the kitchen, and not necessary for live-work clients, is relocated
and re-programmed as a triangulated sleeping alcove with a suspended, fold-back bed that can
alternatively serve as a study space. (Fig.20)
The building's vertical service slot (Fig.22) offers opportunities not recognized by
developers, but increasingly celebrated by a new generation of inhabitants. The primary space of
interaction between neighbors within the tower block, this zone calls for vision and projection that
architecturalizes the boundary between the private and the collective.(Fig.23) Reaching out and
into this space gives a gift of dignity to the humble zones of a "luxury" development that shifts the
conventions of social hierarchy in the domestic realm, reconnects inhabitants to their neighbors,
and ultimately challenges the way buildings here are constructed.(Fig.24).
Interior space in the taller-dense context might aim to be less finite and isolated, acting
more as a seam between inside and outside; between sunrise and sunset; on the path of north
breeze; of an Internet connection to another place; or a collapsed, residual in-between territory on a
drive toward transparency. Windows oriented indiscriminately toward random views are part of
the inherently flawed insistence of the cruciform. Through new articulations of aperture
(constructed through tectonic, plug-in, occupiable window plinths) ill-considered views,
adjacencies, solar orientations, and ventilation are critiqued, addressed and re-qualified. The
detached condition of a dwelling, adrift in the airborne terrain of tall-density that gives up anchors
of the ground in exchange for light, air, and views, should not lead to diminished expectations for
tangible experiences of place and site. By dragging the natural environment in, no matter how
intangible at such altitude, and pushing the domestic environment outward, we hope to make an
elusive context of sky, color, vapor, and light, more phenomenal and more connected to vertical
living.
Fig.22: Light in the service slot. b.v author Fig.23: Relationships across slot Fig. 24: Zkebanaprojection.
7. CONCLUSION: RESISTANCE AND REALITY
The implications of working within a given type, previously understood as inflexible and
fixed, in order to transfigure the quality and meaning of life and connection to place in China, are
broad based and significant. We have approached this small intervention as a template to
understand a new kind of urban space with a mind toward theoretical design applications for
1)nelling in S h ~ n r b c n :He-inhabiting the \lodif'ietl <'rocilbrmT o ~ \ e rl % l o ~ l i
"opening up" one of the most prolific and inflexible buildings types. Every individual small-scale
design intervention meets resistance from clients and contractors. It is hoped that the
underpinnings of the project will be understood as having applications at comprehensive scales
and will lead to further investigations on the transformation of housing in the East.
REFERENCES
Coullinane, Sharon and Kevin. 2003. "City Profile Hong Kong". In Cities, vo1.20, No.4 2003. 279-
288. Great Britain: Pergamon.
Craciun, Mihai. 2001. "Ideology Shenzhen". In Haward Design School Project on the City: Great
Leap Forward. Koln: Taschen.
Durso, Lisa. 2000. "Largest Living Thing". Newhouse News Service, www.newhouse.com.
Holl, Steven. 2000. Parallax. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.
Koolhaas, Rem. 1994. Delirious New York. New York: Monacelli Press, Inc.
Koolhaas, Rem. 2001. Haward Design School Project on the City: Great Leap Forward. Koln:
Taschen.
O'Donnell, Mary Ann. 2001. "Becoming Hong Kong, Razing Baoan, Preserving Xin'an: an
Ethnographic Account of Urbanization in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone." In Cultural
Studies 15 (314). Taylor & Francis Ltd.
Shenvood, Roger. 2002. Housing Prototypes.org.
ENDNOTES
' Steven Holl, "Criss-Crossing", Parallax: p26.

."..Lisa Durso, Newhouse News Service, www.newhouse.corn~archive/storylb080700.html.
"' Sharon and Kevin Cullinane "City Profile Hong Kong", Cities, vo1.20. No.4: p279-280.
" Roger Shenvood, Housing Prototypes website, http://housingprototypes.org/projectFileNo=HKOO1.
" Rem Koolhaas, Delirious New York: p257.
" Roger Shenvood, Housing Prototypes website, http: //housingprototypes.org/projectFile~No=USAOO4.
'"Sharon and Kevin Cullinane, "City Profile Hong Kong", Cities, vo1.20, No.4.
"" Steven Holl, Parallax: p332.
'" Rem Koolhaas, Project on the City:p706.
" Mary Ann O'Donnell, "Becoming Hong Kong, Razing Baoan, Preserving Xin'an: an Ethnographic
Account of Urbanization in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone," Cultural Studies 1 5(3/4): p422-424.
xi
I am currently working on a grant on the urban condition we call podium city entitled, "Podium City:
Design Guidelines for Recovering the Ground Plane in Hong Kong's New Towns"; Also see Robert
MacLeod's concurrent paper in these conference proceedings that addresses the subject of podium-city
urbanism.
""...Mihai Craciun, "Ideology Shenzhen", Project on the City, pl11-113.
""I Project done in collaboration with Albertus SW Wang in Jakarta Indonesia, through our design firm,
SWiMcau, Sanders Wang MacLeod intl consortium for architecture & urbanism.
"" Steven Holl, "The Stone and the Feather", Parallax, p252.
Preliminary rewarch on thc in fill de\ig~lfor tkn\iror~mrhntol
pcrfornl;lr~ce:C'aw stu(1~o n bathroom-
onit prodtrcts
Preliminary research on the infill design for environmental

performance: Case study on bathroom-unit products
Shih-Hung YANG Tomonari YASHIRO, Kenji NISHIMOTO, and Yongji HAN
Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, JAPAN
Abstract: The contents of this paper is that we try to apply the 'Design for Environment'
(DfE) idea to a defined field of architecture in order to improve the resource efficiency for
better environmental performance. In this study, we select the bathroom-unit as subject,
whose manufacturing process is similar to that of the general manufacturing industries, and
conduct the following research.
At first, considering the features of components and the life cycle of the
bathroom-unit, we devise an evaluation tool of resource efficiency for bathroom-units. Next,
covering three types of Japanese typical bathroom units, we gain an understanding of the
condition by applying the evaluation tool, and analyze the issue of resource efficiency. At last,
to stand on the above-mentioned issues, we suggest an improvement design plan in order to
enhance the resource efficiency of bathroom-units.
Keywords: environmental performance, resource efficiency, bathroom-unit, DfE
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the research
In recent years, as a measure to environmental issues, it has become an important
assignment to re-consider the process of 'manufacturing' from an environmental point of view.
Nowadays, research on 'Design for Environment' has been making progress from the car industry
to electronic product industries. At present, we have come to a stage of putting the concepts into
practical application. On the other hand, it has always been pointed out that construction activities
cause damage to the environment. For that reason it is necessary to build a measure, which takes
environment issues into consideration particularly from the design point of view in the
architectural so that we can improve the present condition.
When we look at the component feature of a building from the building system point of
view, a building is a set of skeleton and infill. What is different form the former order-made
production features of building components, which is equivalent to the infill, is that it has more
similarity to the general manufacture industry's mass production? This paper has studied design
planning to improve environmental performance and its evaluation. We set the scope of the
research on the parts base, which has a similar manufacturing process to other industries and take a
look at the environmental performance of bathroom-units.
1.2 Definition of "environmental performance"

The "environmental performance" in this paper refers to the degree of efficiency in
reducing the environmental burden which is produced in the life cycle of a product from
production to dismantling to disposal. There are many kinds of environmental burdens, but in this
research, we take a look at the resource efficiency concerning to the degree of solid-waste
emission.
1.3 Aims of the Research
The aims of the research are stated below:
a) Devising an environmental performance evaluation system tool: Building an evaluation
system tool, which is applied to bathroom-units in order to measure the environmental
performance in bathroom-units.
b) Understanding the problems and present situation of environmental efliciency of bath-
units by applying the evaluation tool: Introducing the problems and the factors by
applying the evaluation tool to the bath-unit types that are popularly used in Japan and
measure the environmental performance of present bath-units.
c) Attempt to devise an improvement the design plan in order to improve the present
environmental performance of bath-units: Attempting to propose a measure in product
design against the preventive factors of environmental performance of bath units in
material and component union by applying the evaluation tool and the results we attain
form evaluation.
2. THE CONIPOSITION OF BATHROOM-UNITS AND SETTING

UP THE EVALUATING TARGETS
2.1 Feature of bathroom-units

The bathroom-unit is an industrialized product, which adopts a prefabrication concept. It
has a unique producing process. Most of the components are produced in various components
factories. After that they go through the process of packaging and commercializing. In the end, it is
assembled at the constructing site. Bath-units are widely used in hospitals, schools, hotels or
condominiums in Japan.
The composition of the bathroom-unit is classified into structure and equipment. The
former refers to the floor, wall, ceiling and door, which build the bath space; the latter refers to
storage space, towel hanger, bathtub, water-tap and drain-trap. Generally, in one set of bath-unit
there are more than fifty components including the structure and equipment.
Moreover, the bathroom-unit deals with various interfaces that according to the condition
of the surrounding construction place increase the complexity in its fitting-in.
2.2 Choice of the evaluating object

The commonly used bathroom-units in Japan can be categorized into three types (see table
below) and are taken here as the evaluation subject :
a) Form ofbathroom-units :Set the bathroom-unit B type at the BL standard.
b) Size of bathroom-units : Set at 1418 (inside size: 1400x1800mm) type, which is used at
each bathroom-unit company in common.
c) Panels which compose bathroom space : For the subject of investigation, polyvinyl
chloride (polyvinyl chloride steer plate), tiles (cement board with tiles attached on
surface), resin (FRP panels) are chosen, which are widely used.
d) Equipment and accessories : The basic accessories (bath tub, drain-trap, mixed water-tub,
fittings, lightings, fan grill, towel hanger) of each manufacturer have many similarities.
e) Below listed are the basic compositions of the three types:
Type 1 Type 2 Type 3
?- b u r
F bor FRP F b o r
V n y l c h h r i i e s t e e l p a r ~ e l pt h s t e r
foor parie I + t k d f'bor F R l ' f h o m g panel
PAd Wall Wall
V nylchbrZle s t e r l p a n e l t p k s t e r
3lrl
Tikd wall+ concrete cement board FRP wall board
e dng
C edng C eiliig
V ilylchbriie s t e e l p a r ~ e l pt h s t e r
V ilylch bdc: boald t h h s t c r board V nyl chbriie board t pksierboard
0 ther acc:essorks 10 ther accessorks 10 ther accessorks
Totalwefiht:247.56kg Total w eight: 359.739kg Totalwe~ht:212.36:ikg
0 t h e r a c c c s s o r k s alp lke type 1 to type 3 : 1.fittngs d L ~ mnum t r e s n ) 2. bath tub @RP bathtub) 3 . d r a n trap @ B S )
4 . k h t n g s 4omposed of v a r i ~ u smaterkb) 5.towclhar~ger(stanL.ss) 6. ver~tihtbngrill AHS)
3. EVALUATION NIETHOD OF RESOURCE EFFICIENCY OF

BATHROOM-UNITS
In dismantling or changing the components of bathroom-units it is impossible to

completely recycle or re-use the used materials into new resources and the current treatment as
solid waste does have a great effect on the environment. In order to improve the environmental
performance of the bathroom-unit, we have to investigate and evaluate the resource
exchangeability of the bathroom-units used in the market at present. For this purpose, this research
has devised an evaluation tool by setting up four categories, 1 feature of component, 2 materials
used, 3 union features, 4 dismantling ability, in order to measure its environmental exchangeability
according to the bathroom-unit's unique product conditions.
3.1 Evaluation of component features
A. Ratio of mono-material and composite-material component members used

a) Mono- component member: a component that is composed of one material
b) Composite component member: a component composed of several materials
It is considered that composite component elements are time-consuming in changing the
elements or dismantling and segregationlbreaking, which complicates the exchangeability.
B. Ratio of versatility of members
Members, which have a wide versatility, can be reused by going through the process of
cleaning or re-processing after changing or dismantling. On the other hand, members with low
versatility are in general re-used as raw material by disposing as cascade recycles or chemical
recycle because it is difficult to divert them to other bathroom-units or other products.
C. Evaluation of shape features
Members can be used n otherrn a n u f a c t u ~ prnducts
'~ h c b d n g pmduct5 o t h e r
Versatlhty k v e l l
than bath tub
M em bers can n o t be used h otherm a n u f a c t u ~ pmducts
'~ b u t it can be used ii
enat& level2 the sarn e m anufactures
1 Versat& level3 IM
em bers can n o t be used even n the sam e manufacture's prnducts I
There are various forms and size of elements used in bath unit. To clarify the complex
situation, it is necessary to classify the form and volume of elements systematically.
In this paper, elements are defined and classified in the categories below:
l'reliminar! rcwarch on the in1711 de5igr1for en\ironlnc.ntnl perKornisncu: \tud! on bathroom-
unit proiiuct$
Category of elem e n t s D efnitbn

hfnitesin alm em h e r M embers with vohm e s lessthan 60cm 3
S h o r t rod type m em b e r Rod type m em b e r s h o r t e r than 90cm
Long md type m e m b e r Rod type m em b e r b n g e r than 90cm
Sm allcubed m em b e r Cubed m em b e r s m a k r than 30000cm 3 with vohm e s o f o u t s d e din e n s b n
B ig cubed m em b e r Cubed m em h e r bigger than 30000cm 3 with vohm e s o f outsjde din e n s b n
Sm alloanel Panel olane H s m a k r than lOOcm and W s m a k r than 5Ocm
Larga pane 1 Panelplane H larger than lOOcm and W Brger than 50cm
According to the classification above, each number used was calculated in order to
measure the distribution of the amount used of the bathroom-unit's member.
3.2 Evaluation of materials used
In this paper, materials used in bathroom-units are classified as metals, resins, plasters,
woods, glass, tiles, and cements and are measured by amount and kind. Generally, when amounts
used concentrated into one part, they have enough volume for recycling from dismantling which
gives incentive to its recycling. On the other hand, when the materials used are inconsistent, the
volume of each kind might not reach the necessary amount, it is inefficient as recycle-resources
and does not offer any social incentive.
3.3 Evaluation of joints
The structure of joints between elements concern directly the dismantling of products. As
described below, the condition in which building elements and members of bathroom-units are
united together is set into six levels to analyze their degree of joint.
I k v e l l : l ~ h mace
e between the m embers is bose o r united hooked
I b v e l 2 l ~ h espace between the members is b a s e o r united hooked and used the waterproofng m a t e h 1
between them
b v e l 3 The space between the m em bers is united with bok o r screw
b v e l 4 : The space between the m em hers is united with bok o r screw and used waterpmofng m a t e r i l
between them
level5 The space between the m em bers is united with bok o r screw and used waterproofng mate&:
between them, and also it is supported by water resistant board h m the back
level6 'The space n between are gLed together
Next, we put the structure of building elements and members into a matrix. Using the levels
mentioned above, we measure the joint degree of each category. Moreover, we clarify the overall
joint degree of building elements and its members.
The whole image of the evaluation is shown below:
h p u t the P m t level Sum the P i n t degree by
between each m em ber type of buildmg elcm ents
I
f / A nakze the p;rt w hen: the
sumthe gnl degRe Anakze the part w b e ~ the
p h i t degree 6 h g h
by type ofm em ber; i n t d e g ~ 6e h g h by type
b e b een buildmg elem ents
of m em bers
A na kze the part w he^
the p m t degree 6: high
b e b een m em ber;
Prclirninary reccbsrchon thc infill dccig~lfhr cn\irurlnlentsl pel-forniance: ('ace stud? on bathroom-
nrlil p r o d ~ ~ c l s
3.4 Evaluation of dismantling

In this paragraph, we evaluate primary dismantlement and secondary dismantlement
separately at the building site.
D-1. Evaluation of dismantling ability of the bathroom-unit on site (evaluation of primary
dismantlement):
The procedure of evaluation is following(a--d):
a) developing subject which needs dismantling
b) setting the motion for demolition at site : calculate the number of motions for demolition
in each joint level
c) Calculating the number of total motionsfor the dismantling subject:
total motion = the number of motion for demolition x joint area x the number of joint
points
d) Evaluation of influence level from the surrounding space.
nfhence BvelA It is necessary to dkm antk the outer space n order to dism antk the bathmom -unit
It is i n p o s s b k to do anythng u n t l t h e prncess of dism a n t h g m ember; of p ~ v b u s
nfhence kvelB
bath is fnished
nfhence BvelC The space of dism a n t h g is too s m allbecause of the s u m u n d n g space
nfhence BvelD the^ is no nfhence from the s u m u n d n g space fordism a n t h g
D-2. Evaluation of dismantling ability of members of bathroom-units (evaluation of

secondary dismantlement):
Show the n.htDn o f b n t n f m e m b e r j when the
actDn ofdcm oPDn takes phce, accordng to J o n t hvellorthe re htbn The num k r o f m o t ~ nfor
the reylltofthe evahatnn o f g n t ofeach m em t z r demolitnn f i r g n t b v e l
Dem olitiin
h a c n c c nF : The number ThgZ The Thc number The rlum her of
0 bpc{ofdkmantfig Num brr sum,udi~g b n t ' e i e l af'motbn fir num,&rof num berof of tutal tr~tdlmotbn
pece
W conditnn : dcmolit~n .&nt nntnont motnn Ibv ukces)
/ C a t u h t e the num L r r o f g n t I
I
hnakze by surEire between member;
Refer to whc~pdemnkun C ~ k u h t cthe num k r o f
evabatng the effect
tak~sp h r e yntwntpermember
h m sumundngs
The n u m k r n f t o r a l m o t ~ n= The n u m b r o f m o t b n fbr
demoxbn X J o n t a w s X T h e n u m k r o r b n t p o n l s
Anakze the hgh num her a t t e ~c a b u h t n g
a) Understanding the condition of members after primary dismantlement:

From the evaluation result of "D-1", we develop the dismantling members from
constructing site and analyze components and evaluate the necessity of re-dismantling (secondary
dismantlement). The standards of judging on the necessity of its motion are following:
Component features of the member : judged on whether the member consists of several
materials or mono material
The condition of surface of the member : judged on whether there are remainder of
water-proof board or glued board
b) Digging up the contents of re-dismantling work:
According to the judging standard in, a) component feature are classified into "composite-
component member" and "mono-component member". Here, we develop the re-dismantling work
according to each classification of the components and clarify contents and procedure of the
possible dismantlement motions.
c Calculating the number of motions in the re-dismantling work
d) Evaluation of the complexity in re-dismantling
P) Measuring the condition of material 5 surface after re-dismantling:
level I There are no m p u r i t ~ son the surface

level II There are scratches on the surface h m usng o r dism antlhg process
levelm There are rem n d e r o f waterproof board o r stcker;, etc @avng scratches when E m oved)
PvelIV kvelII + There are E m n d e r of w atel-proof board o r stkkers, etc
level V There are renubder of ghe (leaving scratches when rem oved)
k8velVI levelV + level II
kbvelW kvel V + level II + levelm
fl Recognizing the material categories after re-dismantling

This refers to the degree of easiness of classification for reprocessing (about) materials
after re-dismantling. In this paper, its level is set as following :
levelA the^ are no probhrn s n chssrfyng the materhls

IevelB It k hard to chssrfji from the appearance, as there are rn any sm hr kilds of m aterhk
E. Evaluation of recycling rate and final disposal rate

First, develop the materials after secondary dismantlement.
Then measure weight, classification and condition of surface about materials developed in
a), and finally evaluate the possibility of recycling from the result.
For those possible to recycle, evaluate the possible recycling process and calculate the
possibility of recycling.
4. EVALUATION RESULT OF THE RESOURCE EFFICIENCY
A. Component feature of bathroom-units:

Members of composite components are universally used in bathroom-units, especially in
such heavy and large panels as ceiling and walls. About the versatility of members of the
bathroom-unit, there are many kinds, which can be used for other uses, if not the absolute amount
of weight is little. On the other hand, low versatile members take up more than 75 percent of the
total weight. Moreover, when it comes to the distribution of the form and the size of members used
in bathroom-units, the largest number is the infinitesimal member with a volume less than 60cm3.
This type takes up 40% of amount of members used as a subject. As above-mentioned, it can be
stated from the evaluation result that the feature of components of bathroom-units is very complex.
It is that such features affect the recycling and reusing of members negatively.
B. Materials used in bathroom-units:
Concerning the conditions of the materials used in bathroom-units, we understood that
resin materials takes up more than 50% of the total in this evaluation result. No matter how the
difference of the measured object type is, it has been clear that there are more than ten kinds of
resin materials used. Taking all conditions into consideration, using many kinds of resin materials
makes it hard to judge the material itself. And this makes it more difficult to evaluate reusing and
recycling.
C. The types of joints of parts and elements:
When we look at the types of joints in bathroom-units by type of building elements, the
level of joints between floorboard and wallboard is very high. The former floor board itself and
several bolts are jointed mutually and glues are used between the bottom of building elements and
I'rclilninar? rcscsrch ~ I the
I i i ~ l i l ldt~sigilSol- cnt ironnrcn#:~lpci.for~n:rncc~:
('are \tudj or1 tralliroo~n-
lrnil prodrrct\
the skeleton, so it has high joint levels with the building elements themselves. Wallboards have
many interfaces around, which are not only the walls and joint-materials, but it also faces to the
floorboard, ceiling, and fittings in various ways, and equipments such as lighting, bathtub, mixed
water-tap, storage also face to the surface of the walls resulting in a high joint level. These results
from the evaluation of the degree of joints and the following aspect of dismantling show us that it
influences the easiness of dismantling for reusing these resources.
D. Dismantling ability at site:
Dismantling building elements from the floor require the highest number of motions, and
we also learned that walls and fittings require the second highest number of motions. Especially,
dismantling the floor is influenced highly by surrounding conditions that it is impossible to
dismantle the floor until other dismantling processes have been finished. Some ways of
composition make it impossible to dismantle from the inside of the bathroom after it is put on
place and into operation. As long as the walls are not tom down or until the dismantling of the
outer room dividers and the skeleton is finished, it is often impossible to dismantle the wall. From
the evaluation result mentioned above, it is understood that dismantling the bathroom-unit
products are deeply influenced by not only the number of motion but also the components
themselves and the surroundings.
E. Dismantling ability to the material level:
This refers to the dismantling from the member level to the material level of bathroom-
units.
It is learned that the complexity of dismantling is much higher in the process of
dismantling panels with composite component materials to the mono component level. Also, it is
learned at this stage when silicon or sticker tapes are attached to the surface, that the larger the area
is, the larger the complexity of dismantling gets.
The condition of the materials after dismantling, in this study, each feed-backed material
has been evaluated on the possibility for recycling with reference to the degree of "judging
condition" and of "surface condition" The result of the evaluation is that when composite-
component members are used abundantly, there are many surfaces with glues attached that it is
impossible to be reused. In general, there is only a limited number of surface conditions without
impurities after dismantling the bathroom-unit, which means there are also few volumes that give
incentive to be recycled. As mentioned above, there are so many different kinds of resin materials
that it is hard to classify them. The above situation became clear from the evaluation and analysis
of this stage.
F. Evaluation of the ratio of recycling possibility and final disposal:
The highest recycling possibility has type 3 (84.09%), and most parts have thermal recycle
ability (as resin is used abundantly). The ratio of the recycling possibility for type 1 is 38.18%, of
which the thermal recycling makes up for about 76% of the total amount of recycling possibility.
Type 2 is the lowest in its recycling possibility, and only 9.4% of the total weight can be recycled.
5. DEVICING PRODUCT DESIGN TO IMPROVE RESOURCE

EFFICIENCY
5.1 Disincentives in design

According to the results of the evaluation, factors of design which inhibit environmental
performance in bathroom-units are classified below:
Usage of too many composite component members.
High levels of jointing between members that it is hard to separate them.
Too many kinds of materials used.
Prolilninar> rosearch on thc infill desigt~for ern ironmental pcrli)rmance: C a w \tud? on bathroom-
unit pr-odi1rt5
5.2 Basic principle of design improvement

To minimize solid-waste generation, according to the disincentives described above, this
paper sets up the principal design improvements, as shown in the following to:
a) Avoid using composite component members :using mono-component materials instead of
using composite materials for ceiling, walls, and floor panels.
usmg mono materials mstead of usng usng mono maternk nstead of usmg
com ~ o s i t ematernk lo1 w ,ilk composite matemk 101 Ik3i.n
b) Improving the method of jointing :Change the method of jointing for walls from outer
screw locking to fitting methods. Change the method of jointing pipes from the ordinal
glued method to the spiral method.
in pmvmg the way of j m t iijr u alh

h pmvmg the way of gmt l i > r ppc.5
-
n n n n n ~
c) Reducing the kinds of material used : As there are many kinds of plastic material used,
concentrate them to ABS resin and concentrate soft elastic to EPDM elastic.
d) Setting the way of reusing resources: "Pre-recycle building system" is a concept in which
it is possible to reuse the component materials from the product design stage. By applying
this concept, we devise design improvements for the recycling system.
D e s k n rn ethod Contents
Design in pmvern e n t for rn a t e r k l s u b s t h t b n for panels :: u s n g ABS ~ s h
them a l l e c y c k rn a t e r k l a s corn ponent rn aterials
Design in pmvern e n t for rn aterhlsubstitutbn for panels,etc :u s n g stanless
rn a t e r k l ~ c y c k a s corn ponent rn ateridk
Design m pmvem ent for wall D e sign m pmvem ent for f b o r

17shape stainless steelpanel
20 X 20 X 2000 in m
I Stainless s t e e l ~ a n e l
TI-shape stainkss steel panel

.
. - ..., .. .. ,,..
20 x 20 X 2000 in m ..
.
L. 3 !.! . . .
..
.
-2 :..,.: .. ..,,..
.
620 m m .
L-
.
.. -....., ,,
The
5.3 Investigating resource efficiency in design improvement plans
A. Analyzing the result of the evaluation of secondary dismantlement

chart of ~eductbneffect of the corn pkxity il Secondk-dkrn antkrn r n t
Corn p k x a ii Secondb-dbrn antkrn ent ( type 1 I type 2 1 type 3
Secondk-dbrn a n t h r corn ~ b x i t vn bask okn 1 1414947.681 878243.161 264051.28
Secondb-dbm a n t h g corn pkxity n the npmvem ent pbn 3186.34 1227.14 10597.74
Ratb of the reduced com pkxity e/o) 99.78% 99.52% 95.99%
a. Ration o f the reduced complexity in dismantlement

From the evaluation results shown in the above chart, complexity in dismantlement has
dramatically been decreased, because all the principle members are substituted into mono
component materials.
b. Number of kinds o f materials
From the requirement of "reducing the number of materials used" in improved designs,
the number of materials from type 1 to type 3 become less than half as a result of concentrating the
different kinds of materials into fewer. (design for material recycle : four different kind materials
used, design for thermal recycling : five different kind materials used)
B. Evaluation of recycling possibility

corn parkon chart of the possbiky n recyclng for bask pBn and in pmved pBn (type 1)
Bask phn
h pmved p kn I In pmved pBn I
A rn ount of f n a l
A&.nnenl
"up"a"L
I
I
153.048 1
I
61.823% 1
I
0 I
I
0% I
I
0 I
I
0% I
Totalw e k h t 1 247.559 1 100% 1 200.082 ( 100% 1 475.542 1 100%
As shown in the evaluation result of the above chart, which shows the result of the design
improvement, improved plans of type I to type 3 have reached the maximum (100%) of the amount
of recycling for both thermal recycling material recycling. However, each type of design
improvement for material recycling results in composite-component members and resin mono-
component members, which are used generally, being substituted for stainless steel materials, so,
IVcliminar? rescarclr c ~ r i( I 1 1 1 infill design for cn\irorlment;ll pcrlorni;~ncc:('aw \tud> on t)itlhroo~n-
rr~iitpr-oti11cl5
consequently the weight has gone far beyond the basic plan. In order to put priority to material
recycling, we must put material weight raisings higher than stated in the basic plan at the
producing stage.
6 . CONCLUDING COMMENT
In the research, in order to measure the environmental performance of bathroom-units, we

devised an evaluation tool at first that could be applied to the particular features of the bathroom-
unit. Then we evaluated the component types of bathroom-units used in the market by measuring
the degree of environmental performance. From the result we get from the evaluation of factors of
materials and joints or components, which prevent from a better environmental performance, we
suggest improvements in the design, and try to propose a measure for product design.
Thus, the outcome of this research is the following:
1.Devising an evaluation system tool on environmental performance
2 .By applying the evaluation tool, understanding the present condition and problems of
bathroom-units on their environmental performance
3 .An attempt to measure environmental performance in design in order to improve the
present situation of bathroom-units.
In order to put the evaluation tool devised in this paper into practical use, we are
cooperating with Japanese bathroom manufacturers to investigate the dismantling of bathroom-
units and recycling works on site, and re-classify inhibitive factors in recycling procedures.
REFERENCES
K.Nishimoto, T.Yashiro, "Preliminary study on reuse and recycling system of off-site made
building products", The 161hSymposium on Building Construction and Management of Projects,
A.I.J., Tokyo, JAPAN, July.2000,p. 89-94.
K.Nishimoto, T.Yashiro, T.Tomiyama, J.Maruyama, and E.Yuki,"Basic feasible study on new

business model to lease of off-site made housing components and equipments", The 17'h
Symposium on Building Construction and Management of Projects, A.I.J., Tokyo, JAPAN,
July.2000,p. 195-200.
M.Jonathan, Y.Umeda, and T.Tomiyama,"Lifecycle simulation for verifying sustainable model of

products ", Re-Engineering for Sustainable Industrial Production, London, U.K. ,p. 247-258
T.Yoshida and others "Research on the reason for building demolition, Proceedings", The 8"'
Building Producing and Management Symposium, A.I.J., Tokyo , JAPAN 1992
Open l311ildingin I l c a l ~ h('are irchitorturc: 1 hc ('asc of thc I h O IVojcot in I3c.rn. '+~itlcl-land
Open Building in Health Care Architecture:

The Case of the I N 0 Project in Bern, Switzerland
Dr. Stephen Kendall
Building Futures Institute, Ball State University
Stefan Geiser
Canton Bern Building Department
Abstract: Located in Bern, the Inselspital is one of the oldest medical centers in Switzerland.
It is a comprehensive university hospital whose physical facilities are managed by the Canton
Bern Building Department. Several years ago, the hospital identified a need for a major
renovation and new construction program. Based on an evaluation of past procurement
methods that revealed their inability to prepare facilities with needed capacity for continual
change, a decision was made to completely alter the methods it had used in the past. This led
to a detailed "open building" planning process that produced a plan for a three-step
competition for the new project - the I N 0 - based on a distinction of decision levels. Each
level corresponds to an expected period of optimum performance. The "Primary System"
(base building) is intended for a 100-year performance period, the "Secondary System" (fit-
out) for 20 years, and the "Tertiary System" (hospital equipment) for 5-10 years. The project
is now under construction and is to be completed in 2007. As a result of this project, the
Canton Building Department has decided to implement open building in its future projects.
This paper reports on the project planning and its implementation-in-progress. The
paper discusses the extent to which open building and lean construction principles are being
applied to the design and construction of this large medical building, and comments on the
rationale for adopting these methods more broadly.
Keywords: Open Building; hospitals; health care architecture; lean construction;

lifecycle planning
1. INTRODUCTION
A departure from conventional functionalist thinking is needed to deliver sustainable built

facilities of the scale, quality and capacity called for in the hospital campus of tomorrow.
Designers, contractors, facility managers and hospital administrators need to adopt entirely new
ways of working. The evidence in favor of this is widespread, but is not easy to recognize or
implement given the functionalist thinking in which we have been trained. For example, a medical
facility that only twenty years ago was seen as economical is now found to be suboptimal. Many
facilities designed with the best functional logic and value engineering of the time now are heavy
weights on facilities budgets because they are far too expensive to revitalize or renovate to
standards of performance now preferred by patients and staff. We continue to refurbish many
buildings we have inherited from the modernist period, with great difficulty, disruption and
expense. This is particularly difficult in medical care environments that are extremely complex
technically and organizationally.
1.1 Lessons from the Way Ordinary Built Environment Behaves
Based on the above and on recent work by one of the authors (Stefan Geiser) in guiding an
innovative health care project through planning and design, we suggest in this paper that medical
facility administrators rethink their procurement processes and strategies for organizing the design
and construction of hospital facilities. The strategy we suggest has its roots in the way the ordinary
built environment behaves. Let us give an example to illustrate the point.
Bern, Switzerland has developed, spread out, declined, renewed in parts, refocused its
sense of place and has become multi-nucleated. In all of this, the city is an example of a fine-
grained "living fabric". The city has its roots as one of the Zahringer new towns (Morris 1979),
and has qualities that are internationally recognized.
Bern is representative in a systemic way of how environments organize themselves. Not
surprisingly, no one party controls the whole. A few owners are large-scale, including the National
and Canton governments, the university and several hospitals and other large institutions. The city
owns and maintains the streets, the parks and the city utilities, etc. Individual families and
companies own properties on which they construct buildings. Some buildings are occupied by
owners who independently fit-out their own spaces. In other buildings, tenants leasing space
decorate and furnish their offices to suit their needs. There are thematic principles at work, under
stress by large-scale, inherently course-grained interventions, but widely appreciated and
cultivated.
This living fabric regenerates itself naturally and regularly, if unevenly. There is a certain
order to the process. Parts can be replaced with new ones performing the same function, without
excessively disturbing other parts. For example, most buildings can be demolished and replaced by
others without disturbing adjacent buildings or the street network. This is possible because all
parties involved follow accepted conventions or rules. It is in everyone's interest to expand their
own territory as far as possible, express their own values and use personal resources conservatively
in doing so, while avoiding conflict. In a healthy living fabric there are no winners or losers, but
rather a dynamic balance.
There is a definite hierarchy at work here. The larger framework of streets sets the context
for the properties on which individual buildings are constructed. We have experiences that show us
that if the street network adjusts, the buildings situated in the spaces between the streets are
affected. But the buildings can adjust without impacting the street network. Thus the hierarchical
order is directional - a dependency relation exists between these levels of environmental form
(Habraken 1998).
This is a picture of a heterogeneous built environment, in which both large powers (e.g.
the city government, the university, the hospital, etc) and the smaller powers (e.g. individual
families or organizations) have scope and coexist, their multiple values in balance, with some
exceptions most notably at the edge between the historic core and the railroad station, and at the
boundaries where large institutions are expanding. This "normal" coexistence, even thought
sometimes tense, is possible because of conventions, shared rules and processes, and because of
the hierarchical order of the built fabric that - in the best cases - allows change to happen in the
context of a coherent higher level.
Some of the buildings in Bern - those most suited to agile regeneration - were, not
surprisingly, constructed in the pre-functionalist or pre-Modernist period. These are the buildings
that are being saved and renewed downtown and elsewhere in the city. The point here is not one of
style, although now we are prone to want to preserve these historic buildings because the public,
clients - and many professionals - are skeptical about the ability of the current profession or their
clients to deliver better buildings. Built by one party and one architect one hundred years ago,
these older buildings are now owned by another party and are being redesigned by another
architect for new uses. They are valuable because they are lovable and because they have
accommodation capacity.
Opcn Huildi~igin llcaltt~Care Zrchitccture: I'hc ('iisc of the I\O Project io Bcrn, S\\it~erland
1.2 A Proposal for Sustainable, Open-Ended Health-Care Architecture

In the future, requests for proposals by hospital administrators will almost certainly be
made for "open buildings" with a fixed budget, clearly formulated performance requirements for
energy conservation, and accommodation capacity for a wide range of future use-scenarios. When
such open buildings are under construction, another architecture firm will be hired to design the
"fit-out" for the building to the requirements identified for its present "program" of requirements,
to assure that the preconceptions and habits of mind of the base building design team do not overly
constraint the building's accommodation capacity. Finally, a third provider will be hired to furnish
the building.
This is one way of organizing an "OPEN BUILDING STRATEGY" for the design,
construction and long-term management of medical facilities. It is not necessary for different
designers to be assigned to each level, but is a strategy particularly well suited to an institutional
client whose interests are long term, scrutinized by the public by means of state legislative action,
and also must compete with other similar institutions' quality of care and environmental
aspirations.
The reason to adopt this strategy is that it is aligned with the principle of variable life-
cycle value of certain "clusters" of building elements. This is essentially a management principle
that corresponds to the actual behavior of large complex medical facilities. That is, change and
adjustment takes place on "levels" that cut across strictly technical systems and departmental
limits. For example, when a new illumination design is specified, it uses existing cable
infrastructure "up to a point". When new partitioning is specified with an adjustment of offices,
the design will seek to limit the perturbations of this change on contingent building parts, to save
cost and disruption - i.e. the floor and ceilings will likely remain undisturbed, while some of the
electrical cabling buried in the partitions will be changed, but only "up to a point". When a new
surgical suite is needed, stringent efforts are made to avoid wider disruption because of the
complexity of critical medical care.
Accumulated knowledge about medical facility behavior under conditions of change
should begin to teach us lessons about the boundaries of such "levels". They are likely to be
crosscutting, involving multiple trades and supply channels and therefore call for new logistics,
work structuring and design methods.
Examples of organizing design and construction in this way exist. Commercial office
buildings and shopping centers are two obvious examples (Kendall 1999). Base buildings with the
main public spaces and building infrastructure are constructed in such a way that variable and
changing fit-out can be installed and later changed with minimal disturbance and good cost
control. In addition, a number of pioneering residential projects around the world are being
constructed using this open building strategy (Kendall and Teicher 1999). But medical facilities
are perhaps the most complex of modern facility types and therefore demand serious attention and
new thinking.
1.3 Lessons for hospital administrators as clients

The urban tissue and buildings of Bern are models of the kind of facilities hospital
administrators should be expecting from their architects and engineering consultants. Not only do
the individual buildings of old Bern fit into a coherent thematic urban pattern, they are simple to
build and offer spaces of remarkable quality and capacity. Most important, they are not tightly
integrated with programs of use - they are not defined "functionally". They are "open" buildings,
sustainable in the large sense because they can accommodate change. One would like to have an
accurate assessment of how accommodating such buildings are to new spatial and
technical/systems requirements. Some buildings are arguably much more accommodating than
others.
A careful analysis of certain classes of buildings in these terms would teach us lessons
about what to seek in the new buildings that are continuing to be constructed on medical campuses
such as the Inselspital project we report on in this paper. The methods of analysis and the lessons
4 )pvn Buildieji i l l IIc:rlth ('arc .\rchirccturc: 1 I I ~ .I i1\l1 of the IhO E'rojilct in Ilc~,rl.h\\it/c.rlatirl
drawn from such studies would certainly be broadly applicable, since the transformations being
effected at this medical center are not unique (Templemanns Plat 1990),
2. THE I N 0 PROJECT
The Inselspital is a teaching hospital in Bern for intensive care, emergency and surgery
(Building Futures Institute, 2002). It is a large, complex and changing campus and is itself a small
city. It has streets and pedestrian networks, a utility infrastructure, open spaces, and individual
buildings following a (changing) set of design standards. Some are now being physically
connected to afford comfort during inclement weather for patients, caregivers, faculty and students
moving from place to place. The campus, like Bern, is spreading out and filling-in at the same
time. Buildings are also demolished and replaced by newer ones. A number of buildings on the
campus have undergone renovation and interior reworking in which large expenditures are made
for conversion of uses and upgrading of cabling, heating and air conditioning and other modem
conveniences.
The new I N 0 building is pioneering. With the Canton Bern Building Department and the
hospital administration, a decision was made to construct a large new medical facility on the
campus. The story of this project is worth recounting since it represents the decision of a large
client and its facility planners to alter the methods it had been using for decades, in order to obtain
a new facility to meet the future with more assurance.
Figure 1: Typicalfloor plan oj'the empty base building
For several years, the facilities planning group of the Canton Bern building department,
responsible for this major primary health care facility, tried to fix a program of uses so that a
Open Iluilding in Ilealth ('are 2rchitect11rc: 1 he C'asr ol' the I\O Projccl in Bcrn, SM it~crlancl
design team could produce construction documents for the addition. Each year, a series of events
occurred that prevented them from fixing the program: new medical procedures were introduced, a
new head of surgery was hired with new staffing, space and equipment requirements, a change in
the market for services occurred, new regulations were introduced, the pediatric facility was
scheduled to be expanded, and so on.
Figure 2: Cross Section of the new I N 0 building
As a result of these continuing changes to the program, the facilities group found it
impossible to get the addition they needed. To solve the problem, they decided to adopt an
entirely new planning process. The client's demand for long-term utility value in the addition to
their facility defined the most important aspect of the new design and decision process: the ability
to assure optimized adaptability in the face of changes in technical, social and political
circumstances.
Figure 3: ~ o ooff 1"' Phase Figure 4: Interior view Figtlre.5: Double skin facade
The project is now under construction. Figure 1 above shows a typical floor plate of the
I N 0 primary system - 80mx90m. The column grid is approximately 8.4 m x 8.4m, with a 1.2m
planning grid. Inside each grid cell is a 3.6m x 3.6m square part of the concrete slab that can be
opened as needed to provide light, vertical circulation, or vertical mechanical services. This square
in the slab has no reinforcing in it, making its removal easy. Figure 2 shows the building in cross
section, also showing the gently sloping roof following the slope of the hillside where the building
is located.
Figure 3 shows the roof of the first phase of the primary system, with roof monitors and
the basis for the future "green" roof. Figure 4 shows the empty space of the primary system,
before installation of the secondary system. Figure 5 shows the curved double skin envelope.
Behind the glass are operable wooden windows.
Open U ~ l i l d i n gin Ilealth ('are Architeclurc: I'hc ('me of the I%O Project i n 112crn. S n i l ~ e r l a n c l
2.1 The Organization of the I N 0 Process

The traditional idea of delivering health care facilities up to now has been that it is easier
and more economical to optimize design and construction by comprehending the "whole" with all
its inter-dependencies. But in very complex buildings like hospitals, the hospital had learned that it
is never possible to do so - that such facilities are too dynamic and cannot be planned and built as
if they are somehow "programmatically static". Rather, the "whole" will come into existence over
time, in an incremental way. This means that large and complex buildings such as hospitals are
never finished. In recognition of these realities, the project was split into three systems organized
and conceived according to their expected life span:
Primary system (nearly 100 years)

Secondary system and (nearly 20 years)
.Tertiary system (nearly 5 -10 years)
Figure 6 below explains the basic systems approach.
SPATIAL ORGANIZATION
System Level I System Level 2 System Level 3
Pnmpry system. Rxsd .Secondary aysbcrn, edjlestabk Terlmry system, Renble Composite system
S~telog~st~ll Intenor well8 Fumlrum
Brnld~ngenwbpe Flmr mvering Mechancal WulP
S t ~ c t u wsystem Ce~lngs Hospital supplies
lnlwlor wits
TECHNICAL SYSTEM ORGANlXrION

System Level 1 System Level 2 System Level 3
L,-,,,,------d J L---------,,,J
~ltmarysystem, fued. Secondary system, adjwlable: Tertiary spurn.fbxible: Composite 8 y ~ t w 1

Ekcbonics Equipment fM hWd o m s Ports for apparatus
Laation of head oma8 InabllaUons Room qstc#lc Installatiins
lmtnlletmnstruclurt llluminatim
ORGANIZATION OF DESIGN ON LEVELS

IN0 HOSPITAL. BERN, SWITZERLAND
Figure 6: Organization of design on systems levels
The primary system determines the whole structure of the hospital and gives conditions for
the development of the following systems. The interfaces are exactly defined. The independence of
lower level (secondary and tertiary) systems is as large as possible.
O p e r ~Uuilding in Ilealth ('are .4rchitecturc: The Caw of the 1hO Proicct in Bern. S n i t ~ e r l a n d
An independent competition for design consulting services was held for each system. A
panel of independent jurors was invited and paid to review and select the firm who would be
awarded the contract for services of each level, separately. The RFP called for strict adherence to
Swiss environmental building principles, and each submission was required to demonstrate how it
would "fit" into the conditions given by the previous design decisions. For example, the primary
system was already under construction when the architect for the secondary system was hired.
Given the flexibility inherent in the primary system's design, certain vertical shafts could be
opened up as needed.
For the secondary system, submissions were required of firms submitting proposals to
demonstrate - with drawings - how, for example, its proposed fit-out system could be deployed
according to a range of programmatic scenarios within the given base building (already under
construction).
This process - a radical departure from conventional procurement in hospitals but not in
office buildings and shopping centers - was adopted to assure that the building would not be
designed in the obsolete functionalist approach.
The I N 0 project's management is divided into three major system levels that consist of
distinct and separate (but nevertheless interconnected) "decision bundles".
Figure 7: Organization of Teams on Levels
Figure 7 shows the structuring of the project management in the Canton Bern Building
Department. Team 0 is the organizing team of managers. Their work is to coordinate both the
design and construction activities. The other teams (1, 2 and 3) each have their respective level of
decision-making.
3. WORK RESTRUCTURING FOR OPEN BUILDING

The idea of "chunking" a single project into these decision packages differs from
conventional project delivery methods. Neither "design/build" nor "fast-track" contracts mirror the
Open Huilding ill llralth ('alee trchitccturc: The ( alic ol'thc IhO Project in Ilrrn. h\.tit/cl.lantl
"levels' or open building approach, but both are compatible if they are organized in accord with
life cycle principles (Tajima et a1 2001).
An open building strategy organizes the project in terms of the anticipated duration of
value of a cluster of subsystems. It does so to avoid waste, to optimize boundary conditions, and to
prepare the facility for long-term manageability in concert with anticipated changes.
These are also the principles advocated by lean construction (Lean Construction Institute
2003), a production management based approach to project delivery, a new way to design and
build capital facilities. Lean production management has caused a revolution in manufacturing
design, supply and assembly. Applied to construction, Lean changes the way work is done
throughout the delivery process. Lean links the objectives of the production system-maximize
value and minimize waste-to specific techniques and applies them in a new project delivery
process. Lean Construction is particularly useful on complex, uncertain and quick projects. New
consulting companies adopting lean and "open building" methods now challenge the belief that
there must always be a trade between time, cost, and quality (Slaughter 2003).
4. CONCLUSIONS
As John Habraken (1998) Stewart Brand (1994) and others help us to see, the built
environment is not static. Transformation is everywhere, operating at various time scales and at
various "levels". We would be surprised if things were otherwise, and not only that, we would be
out of work. It is, after all, the work of architects and other designers to help reach agreements
about what should be built - thus changing the face of the built field.
But to a large extent our working methods are not yet congruent with this reality. We are
only slowly recognizing transformation and stability as twin realities. Our teaching, our design and
construction practices and our analytical and accounting tools are not yet sufficiently organized in
recognition of this. Product manufacturing is much more advanced. Lean construction recognizes
this reality, as does some pioneering engineering research.
Medical facilities in the past two decades in many countries have begun to experience the
drawbacks of functionalist theory and practice, but have no clear alternatives. Design and
construction service providers are stumbling their way across mine fields of complexity,
competing paradigms, changing requirements and difficult cost and quality control problems.
Hospital administrations are facing difficult staffing problems including shortages of nurses,
doctors who are increasingly demanding, liability issues and a changing client base including
increasing numbers of elderly patients.
In these circumstances, hospital administrators are beginning to "pick the low-hanging
fruit" in moving toward more "open-ended facilities. Guided by new architectural and
engineering theory, some medical facilities are seriously reexamining the functionalist paradigms.
But most have not yet tackled some of the big issues, with good reason. Conventional wisdom tells
us not to move too far out in front - it is risky there. The power of vested interests is strong, and
conventions are powerful. Perhaps John Maynard Keynes was right, however, in saying that "the
power of vested interests is vastly exaggerated compared with the gradual encroachment of ideas"
(Galbraith 1977). For the sake of our future and the quality and accommodation capacity of our
building stock, let us hope he is right.
Opcrr Builtling it1 tfcalth C arc \rchitcrture: I hc C a\c of'tl~cIRO I'rojert i r ~Bern. Snil/r.t-land
REFERENCES
Brand, Stewart. 1994. How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They are Built. Viking, New
York.
Building Futures Institute. 2002. Website report on the I N 0 Hospital. www.bsu.edu/cap/bfi

Research Domains - Open Building Studies - Reports - I N 0 report.
Morris, A.E.J. 1979. History of Urban Form Before the Industrial Revolution. George Godwin
Ltd. London.
Galbraith, John Kenneth. 1977. The Age o f Uncertainty. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Habraken, N. John. 1998. The Structure of the Ordinary: Form and Control in the Built
Environment. (edited by Jonathan Teicher). MIT Press, Cambridge.
Kendall, Stephen. "Open Building: An Approach to Sustainable Architecture". Journal o f Urban

Technology. Volume 6, number 3, pages 1-16. 1999.
Kendall, Stephen, Teicher, Jonathan. 1999 Residential Open Building. Spon, London.
Slaughter, Sarah, MOCAH, Inc. htt~://www.mocas~stems.com/about~a~es/~resentation.html
TAJIMA Eiji, TSUNODA Zenzaburou and KOMATSU Yukio. Feb. 2001. The Study About the
Technique of the Computation of the Life Cycle Renewal Expenses in Case of Facility
Management. Journal of Architectural. Planning and.Environmental Engineering. no. 540, p.243.
Templemanns Plat, Herman. 1990. Towards a Flexible Stock of Buildings: The problem of Cost
Calculations for Buildings in the Long Run". Proceedings, CIB World Congress, New Zealand.
Panel 11: Ecologic~rlIlerign a ~ I.ivir~g
~ d E~i\irorin~e~it
PANEL 11: ECOLOGICAL DESIGN AND LIVING

ENVIRONMENT

Minzhi LIN, Jiang FENG, and Hui LZU
Other Urbanisms and New Public Space: Emerging Notions of Place and the 124-133
Public Realm in Greater Hong Kong
Robert M MACLEOD

William SEMPLE
Ecological Transformation of the urban planning method in Hong Kong

Wei ZHU
Minzhi LIN, Jiang FENG, and Hui LIU
South China University of Technology
Abstract: The paper analyzes the Shunde Biguiyuan phenomena from the following
viewpoints: sociology, economics and political system in order to answer the following
questions: why did Shunde Biguiyuan, the oldest and largest suburban residential community
on the Pearl River Delta, locate particularly in Beijiao town? What was the significance of the
community at that time? Why did it become localized and why is it coming down now?
Keywords: Shunde Biguiyuan, village-town structure, political cost
1. BIGUIYUAN PHENOMENA
1.1. The Emergence of Shunde Biguiyuan

The name "Biguiyuan" is from "Bijiang" and "Sangui". In the early 1990's, if we started
from Guangzhou, crossed the Luoxi Bridge, and drove through Panyu Dashi town, going south on
highway G105, we could get to Shunde in 30 minutes. After arriving in Shunde, the first town we
encountered was Beijiao, and the first village was Sangui. Adjacent was the river "Chencun
Channel", running between Sangui and Bijiang.
At that time, Shunde Biguiyuan was one of the earliest and largest suburban communities
in the Pearl River Delta (PRD). Most of the houses were villas and low-rise apartments. The
community had its own infrastructure and management in order to maintain its uniqueness. The
message, "Give you a Five Star Home", was created. It stimulated the real estate market. Most of
the houses were sold very quickly, and then, the real estate developer built a high-class community
clubhouse, which cost about 100 million RMB, the most expensive one at that time. Also, its
private Biguiyuan School had impacted the traditional education in China. Now Sh~rndeBiguiyuan
occupies 434 hectares and it's still expanding.
Because of the successful development of Biguiyuan, suburban living became more and
more popular not only in PRD, but also throughout the mainland of China. It gave birth to a whole
new life style: work hard and enjoy life; live in a suburban instead of an urban area. The state of
the art community facility ensured a state of the art living standard. It attracted lots of residents
from PRD.
1.2. Development of Biguiyuan and the Change of Shunde Biguiyuan

During this time the continued economic growth in PRD has encouraged real estate
developments in Guangzhou. The development of Panyu (located in the south of Guangzhou) and
Zengcheng (located in the east of Glrangzholr) were especially rapid. Luoxi Plate, Huanan Plate,
Gzranjpuandong Plate and Baiy~rnPlate have emerged one after another. Biguiyuan didn't stop at
Shzrnde Bigzriyzran but participated in almost every stage and every plate around Guangzhou. Now
Biguiyzran has seven branches:
Shzmde Biguiyuan located in Beijiao, Shunde

Jun 'an Biguiyuan located in Jun'an, Shunde
Guangzhozr Biguiyuan located in Luo-xi Plate, Panyu
Huanan Bigzriyuan located in Huanan Plate, Panyu
Bigui Flower City located in Chencun, Foshan
Bigui Lychee Ci@located in Zengcheng, Guangzhou
Bigui Phoenix City located in Gzrangzhou
Bigui Phoenix City earned the highest sale's record in the Golden Week of May 2002.
From Shunde Biguiyuan to Bigui Phoenix City, Biguiyuan obviously has come out of Shunde and
walked into Guangzhou.Now Panyu has been changed into a borough in Guangzhou, and Shunde
into a borough in Foshan.
As time went by, along with the changes in the social environment, the composition of
residents in Shunde Bigzriyuan also changed. People from Hong Kong prefered to buy houses in
Shenzhen or Guangzhou, and people from Canton have had more choices in PRD. Shunde
Biguiyuan started to lose its advantage as the first large suburban community. Local people didn't
accept some of the outsiders. The composition of the residents has become more and more
complex today. The developer has had to change focus from building villas to apartments and from
building apartments to higher buildings. The real estate market has turned to focus more and more
on the local people in Shunde.
2. QUESTIONS CAUSED BY THE PHENOMENA
Why was Shunde Biguiyuan located in Beijiao but not anywhere nearer to Guangzhou?
Why did the market accept it positively at the beginning?
Who were the buyers?
What did they want to buy?
Why did it turn out to be out of fashion later on?
What is the future of Shzrnde Biguiyuan?
3. PHENOMENA ANALYSIS AND ANSWERS TO THE

QUESTIONS
This part analyzes Shunde Biguiyuan phenomena and answers the questions above from
the following viewpoints: sociology, economics and the political system.
3.1 The Impact of Shunde Biguiyuan on The Village-town Structure of Beijiao

Beijiao consists of traditional villages, a town center and Shunde Bigzriyuan, which is a
large modem community. The town center is the economic and cultural center of Beijiao. Shunde
Biguiyuan, as a modem community, is different from the traditional villages that belong to other
kinds of communities. In terms of land ownership, the land of traditional villages belongs to the
communities, but the land of Shzrnde Biguiyuan belongs to the country for the government has
levied it. In terms of community structure, traditional villages are formed by kinship, so their
centers are ancestral temples. But Shunde Biguiyuan, as a new community, represents a unique-
type value, consumers and life-style. Thus, its center is the community clubhouse. In terms of
space shape, the traditional village was formed naturally, but Shunde Biguiyuan was planned by
the developer.
The relationship between traditional villages and town center is the village-town
administration. The villagers are local people, so they have attributive feeling. That means
traditional villages are centripetal to the town center. Before the emergence of Shunde Biguiyuan,
all of the communities were traditional villages. So they had composed a centripetal village-town
structure. The relationship of the town center and villages was like a steady and close atom as in
Figure 1.
The emergence of Shunde Biguiyuan has changed the village-town structure of Beijiao.
First, it is different from the traditional village. The relationship between Shunde Biguiyuan and
Figure 1. When the market economy didn't Figure 2. Shunde Biguiyuan 's heterogeneity has
work in Beijiao, Beijiao was stea& and close impacted Beijiao. Though it is located in
like an atom. The town center was the core of Beijiao, it is like an electron escaping from
politics, economy, and culture. Beijiao, which has changed to become an ion.
The balanceable structure has been broken.
Figure 3. As time goes by, the environment has Figure 4. The ideal village-town structure:
also changed. Shunde Biguiyuan becomes Every part of the town can have all kinds of
localized. Other parts of Beijiao also have exchanges with external in politics, economy,
changed according to the urbanization of information and so on. However they should be
Bejiao. united by the same culture, religion, and custom
in order to maintain cohesion and unity.
Beijiao is not administration. The relationships among residents, developer and town are based on
the contract relationship because they are equal units. So Shunde Biguiytlan is heterogeneous
compared with traditional villages. Second, most of the residents in Shunde Biguiyuan are not local
people, but are from megacities such as Hong Kong and Guangzhou. They have no attributive
feeling to the town. Also their registered permanent residenceships do not belong to Beijiao. So
Shunde Biguiyuan is a centrifugal community to Beijiao. It escapes from Beijiao like an electron.
The steady village-town structure has been broken. At this point, the village-town structure of
Beijiao is centripetal mostly (Illustrated in Figure 2).
When many communities, such as Shunde Biguiyuan, have appeared in a town, a mostly
centrifugal village-town structure will come into being. For example, in some cases in Panyu,
there are too many centrifugal communities in a town, so the town centers start to shrink away. At
last, Panyu has turned into a borough in Guangzhou, a part of Guangzhou, for many residents in
these communities come from Guangzhou.
Beijiao is different from those towns in Panyu. The living standard has been improved in
these years. More and more local people are richer than before. They are able to buy houses in
Shunde Biguiyuan. At the same time, more and more superior communities have attracted buyers
from Hong Kong and Guangzhou. They are more affordable and closer to Guangzhou. Shunde
Biguiyuan has lost its predominance. It becomes localized gradually and has a closer relationship
with the town center. Also, other communities in town were changed by similar external impacts.
(Illustrated in Figure 3)
Today the urbanization of PRD is so rapid. It's impossible for the towns to maintain
centripetal and close structure if they want to develop. The centrifugal structure such as in
Panyu will lose the identification of "TOWN", and lose its cohesion. If a town wants to improve
itself steadily, it must establish an open structure. Every community in town can have various
kinds of exchanges with the outside, such as the exchanges of politics, economics, and
information. But the town itself should have some factors to hold it together; for example, it needs
to share the same culture, religion and customs. (Illustrated in Figure 4)
Shunde Biguiyuan as a heterogeneous community does not belong to Beijiao, even though
it is located in Beijiao. Most of the residents in Shunde Biguiyuan come from megacities such as
Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Their culture and life style are different from those of the town.
Shunde Biguiyuan is an urban community. This phenomenon can be described as: Megacities
invade small towns. Suburbanization of megacities has brought impacts to the small towns nearby.
These impacts appear in economy, culture, society and so on. In the latest town planning of
Beijiao, the government of Beijiao has strived to avoid calculating the land of Shunde Biguiyuan
into the land balance table. The land of Shunde Biguiyuan now is calculated as independent land.
The megacities' invasion into small towns may have two results: One is the invaded part will be
localized, such as Beijiao; the other is the invasion will have expanded until the town turns into a
part of megacity, such as Panyu.
3.2 Social Background of Shunde Biguiyuan

In the early 1980's, people's life-style was still controlled by the planned economy. The
social status did not depend on economic power. It was the state-run enterprises, not individuals
that solved living problems. At that time, the real estate market did not exist. Because the land
belonged to the country, it was impossible for an individual to build houses in city. So they had no
chance in housing development though some of them were rich already. During this period, the
neighborhood relationship was equal and peaceful.
After serial years in 1 9 9 0 ' ~the
~ reform policy encouraged some individuals to become
firstly rich. Economic ability influences one's social status. The life style and the social status of
the rich were different from their not so rich neighbors. The existing living environment could no
longer match the rich's demands. They didn't want to live with the people who were poorer than
they were any more. The poor and the rich living in the same community would cause conflicts.
The balance of the neighborhood was disrupted. The rich wanted to live in new communities that
represented their social status. At this moment, Shunde Biguiyuan emerged. Its low density living,
convenient transportation and suburban environment attracted the rich. They couldn't find such
living conditions in the center of city. That's why suburbanized living has become more and more
popular now, and is one of the social class separation phenomena of the society.
In the early 1990's, the social class separation was not steady. In the late 1990's, the social
class separation became steady. Also, the suburbanization of Guangzhou had owned a large
population. Shunde Biguiyuan had begun the trend in suburban living.
3.3 Analysis on Political and Economic Cost

It has been more than 10 years since the emergence of Biguiyuan. During these 10 years,
the government has gradually established a strict land use system and systems in planning
management, modern taxation and modern government administration. Yesterday's success and
today's decline of Shunde Biguiyuan should be analyzed in such political and economic
environments. It was impossible for the Shunde Biguiyuan phenomena to happen in a
megacity such as Guangzhou at that time because the political systems in the megacity
were very strict and complex. These political systems included housing financial system,
land use system, urban planning system, housing allotment system and so on. If a person
wanted to get the lowest prime cost and least resistance, he or she needed to find the
weakest parts of the systems in order to break through. One of the reasons for Biguiyuan's
success is that they found the weakness in the political system.
Shunde Biguiyuan's success has proved that Bijiang and Sangui in Beijiao was the
best location to be exploited at that time. Both Bijiang and Sangui are far from the town
center. The land use control and planning control were limited. In the early 1990's, the
town-planning system didn't work in this place while it just worked in the town center.
The new Land Use Law was not enacted yet. There was no strict land use control in
Bijiang and Sangui. Before the latest land use planning of Beijiao was drawn up in 1997,
the developer could easily get land use ownership in the villages.
Another reason for the success is that the ancestral home of Biguiyuan's founder
Disrunce
Figure 5. 1-megacity center; 2-megacity fringe; 3-townfringe near to megacity (such as Bijiang
and Sangui); Csmall city center (such as Shunde); 5-small city fringe.
was Beijiao. He could get the land much easier than others in order to reduce the prime
cost with the loosest policy at that time.
We can compare the profit and the political cost in Figure 5. According to the common
relationship between location and land price, the further from the city center, the lower is the land
price. But the political cost is different. With the urban-rural duality system, the planning policy
and land use policy between urban and rural or megacity and town are different. Commonly, the
official statute in the megacity center will be carried out strictly, but in small towns it will be
carried out in a looser fashion. The urban fringe's policy is more flexible than the urban center. In
the rural areas and towns the conventions and the social relationship will influence the
administration of the town greatly. The arrangement of the political cost from high to low is
megacity center, small city center, megacity fringe and town fringe. By comparing the profit curve
and the political cost curve, we can draw a conclusion: The location between the megacity fringe
and the town fringe is the point that someone can gain the largest benefit from the difference
between profit and political cost. So the developer who wants to get the most benefit would choose
the land at the megacity fringe in a small town. Bijiang and Sangui are at the fringe of Guangzhou
in Beijiao town; that's why Biguiyuan succeeded.
There are three factors affecting the total economic cost: building cost, land cost and
traffic cost (Illustrated in Figure 6). Though Shunde Biguiyuan's traffic cost was a little higher than
Guangzhou's, its land cost and building cost were much lower. Putting all the costs together to
analyze the difference of total economic cost between Guangzhou and Beijiao, it was much
cheaper for the developer to exploit a large community in Beijiao than in Guangzhou. That's why
Shunde Biguiyuan emerged in Beijiao.
Total economic cost
t Guangzhou
Beijiao
Building cost
Building cost
Figure 6. Total economic cost analysis
4. CONCLUSION
Shunde Biguiyuan's success is due to the following reasons:
1. Obtaining the land use ownership before the strict land control and planning control
acted on the megacity fringe
2. Meeting the needs of some consumers who were firstly rich and wanted to have a better
living condition that could match their outstanding social status
3. Freeing itself from the loose political system, breaking away from the planned
economy, and pursuing the largest benefit according to the law of the market, may be an anomaly,
but it seems to be reasonable in the market economy
4. Establishing private Biguiyuan School in the community to solve the financial problem
long before the government's inhibition acted.
Today's Shunde Biguiyuan is localized and coming down. It is due to the following
reasons:
1. After the government built up the strict land use system and town planning system, it
was difficult for developers to obtain land via given connection. Their projects had to be examined
and approved at every level of government. The political cost had increased
2. According to the maturity of land market and land price system, the land price in the
megacity fringe has been balanced with other locations
3. The real estate market has been opened up. Many cities and towns have established real
estate. Some developers began to copy the model of Biguiyuan. Some of them even did better. In
the suburbs, the competitive real estate market has formed. The success and decline of Shunde
Biguiyuan inflect that the real estate market in PRD has become more and more mature and
regulated.
REFERENCES
Wu Qiyan. 2001. Research on The Division of Living Space in Megacities, Beijing,
P.R.China: Science Press.
Liu Hongwei. 2002. Urban Land Use and Control: Research Based on Guangzhou,
Guangzhou, P.R.China: Cantonese People Press.
Zhao Min, and Lin Hua. 2002. Research on The Norm of Public Service Facilities in
Residential Communities. In Urban Planning Journal, ~ 0 . 2 6 1 1 2 2000.
'~ 72-75. Shanghai:
Tongji University
College of Architecture and Civil Engineering. 2002. Comprehensive Planning of Beijiao.

Shunde (2001-2020), Shunde, P.R.China: Beijiao People's Government and South China
University of Technology
Other I rbani\~n\and h e n Public Spacr:
E~nerginghotion* of I'Iia~cand t h c P ~ ~ h l Realn~
ic in Grcster Horlg Ko11g
Other Urbanisms and New Public Space:

Emerging Notions of Place and the Public Realm
in Greater Hong Kong
Robert M. MACLEOD
School of Architecture
University of Florida
Abstract: Development practices in Greater Hong Kong over the past two decades
have led to numerous densely populated new towns throughout the New Territories.
Other than formal development diagrams and transportation patterns, these new
urban centers typically lack a lucid urban and spatial logic. This paper proposes to
review the circumstances of such development, analyze other conditions of hyper-
development and propose urban infrastructure strategies that both critique and
respond to current development practices.
Keywords: urbanism, infrastructure, public space, sprawl, density
"Multitude, solitude: identical terms, and interchangeable by the active and,fertile

poet. The man who is unable to people his solitude is equally unable to be alone
in a bustling crowd. "
Charles Baudelaire, "Crowds" from Paris Spleen
1. VERTICAL SPRAWL
The past twenty years has seen an unruly propagation of tall building structures coupled
with a modest vision for infrastructure and urban space throughout Honk Kong's New Territories
(NT). This intensified construction presents an extraordinary opportunity to seek new strategies
for town building and urban place making.
Yet, such opportunities have been undermined by the manic nature of the development
process. Driven by obsessive efficiency and preying upon the desire for social status granted by
home ownership in the New Territories, developments emerge with astonishing expediency. There
exists no sense of architectural invention at either the scale of infrastructure or building. The
development yields an ironic placelessness that can best be described as a form of "vertical
sprawl".
2. DENSITY AND THE NEW TERRITORIES

Othcr Lt.banismc and A c n Public Space:
Enrergiirg \olion$ of' Placc and tltc I'nblic Kcalnr in <;reatcr k l o n ~Kong
Numbers tell the tale. Density statistics reveal the extraordinary concentrations of people
in greater Hong Kong. The 1999 population statistics of Hong Kong (Demographia, 2000)
describe a population density of 16,102 persons per square mile. Hong Kong Island's density is
over 45,000 persons per square mile and Kowloon's a staggering 1 17,778 persons per square mile.
And while the New Territories average only 8788 persons per square mile, within the NT, the city
of Kwai Tsing (with a population approaching half a million) has a density of 56,750 persons per
square mile. Obviously the development patterns throughout the NT rely upon dense
concentrations of populations scattered throughout the rugged landscape.
In comparison, urban densities around the world (reflecting the combination of core
populations and outlying suburban areas) follow a narrow range with Los Angeles at 7 100/sq mi,
Toronto 6800, San Francisco 6100 and New York 5300. This can be contrasted with the
population density for Manhattan's Upper East and West Sides, both approximately two square
miles in area, and over 109,000 and 98,000 persons per square mile respectively.
Roland Barthes tells the story of writer Guy de Maupassant who decries the overbearing
presence of the Eiffel Tower throughout Paris. Unable to escape its omnipresence, he resigns
himself to being able to elude the powerful tower only through habitation. "It's the only place in
Paris, where I don't have to see it," declared the author (Barthes, 1979). And indeed, while within
the tower one cannot see the tower. It disappears from the Parisian cityscape and his idyllic Paris
is restored to its pre-Eiffel urbanism.
And what of the ubiquitous housing towers marking the landscape of Hong Kong's New
Territories? Inescapable as they are, habitation offers only the briefest respite, for each tower
gazes upon another: near mirror images, somberly towering and reflecting the assembly of one
another floor by floor by floor, tile by tile by tile. Escape is available only in the surreal moment
of visual collapse, wherein the field of towers folds and intertwines to form a virtual wall of
building. Gone are the voids between and amongst the buildings; replaced by layers of hyper
buildings encircling one another and celebrating the ecstasy of density. Finally, a painterly scene
emerges: a beautiful and surreal vertical tapestry of concrete and color and form (figure 1,2).
Figure I : concrete tapestry Figure 2: buildings encircling one another
Density in Hong Kong's New Territories has a particularly arresting presence, however,
for it also provides a landscape preservation strategy. The undeveloped 40% of Hong Kong that
exists in the form of country parks and untouched natural landscape creates a stunning backdrop
for the dense, developed urban areas. And unlike Manhattan, where the view and immediate
presence of Central Park, the Hudson River and the East River is a highly privileged circumstance,
the weaving of rugged greenery with dozens of high-rise towers is commonplace in the New
Territories.
Envisioned as largely self-sufficient communities offering dense, compact living / working
arrangements, the towns of the New Territories have emerged as commuter communities, with
some 55% of residents working in Hong Kong, Kowloon, and elsewhere (Hong Kong Census and
\ \ c w P~rhlicSpacc:
O t l ~ e rI , ~ - h a n i \ n ~and
I-nlcrging hotions of Placc and tht f'uhlic He;rlni in (;rcate~*[long Kong
Statistics Department, 2002). The economics of migrating manufacturing, lured by considerably

less expensive production costs in the People's Republic of China (Cullinane and Cullinane,
2003), have left the new towns as densely populated bedroom communities served by extensive
transportation infrastructure and commercial facilities.
3. SHIFTING TYPOLOGIES
An empirical observation renders the New Territories as very much a work in progress. At
present we see a shift in building typology. Early housing towers are essentially mono-functional
and address the ground plane abruptly and with little urban sensitivity. The building's base might
house an institutional program - a school or administrative offices - but remains largely
undifferentiated and tends not to "charge" or "program" the ground plane. The common space
between buildings is ostensibly "left over", demarcated by symbolic entry gates and articulated by
a romanticized landscape and associated "follies" (a boat-shaped seating resting within a shallow
pond; quasi-traditional pavilions and bridges, etc). This said, such public spaces are not
unpopular. Indeed, quite the opposite, for there is a lively social life, particularly on weekends, as
families promenade and groups gather to socialize (figure 3,4).
Figure 3: plaza in King Lam Estate, Tseung Kwan 0 Figure 4: entry gate to Kim Lam Estate
The tall housing prototype, as executed in greater Hong Kong, primarily favors the
centralized cruciform block type, although there are numerous variations and hybrids, including
pinwheel and triangulated plans. Single and double loaded bar buildings favor mid-rise structures
with exterior corridors and other plan forms such as H and C-shaped figures make sense in low to
mid-rise buildings when a traditional, figural and spatial urban fabric is being built.
The tower, as developed in the NT is essentially an a-spatial figure. Scale and singularity
relegate the tower to pure object. Even a series of towers do not so much construct as dominate
space. It's sense of spatiality - and potential for constructing public space - most reliably resides
in multiplicity and juxtaposition with architecture of other scales and functions. One can review
the vertical guidelines developed and so seductively illustrated by Hugh Ferris for 1930s New
York, to see how the sculpting of space vis-a-vis rules of development can yield a hospitable (and
in the case of Manhattan, a light and air-filled) pedestrian realm.
4. THE PODIUM BUILDING

Evolving from the simple extruded tower is the idea of the podium building. This exciting
building type offers a means of mediating the scale of the public street with the mass of the 40+
Othcr I,rbani\mr and I c n Public %pact:
Emerging hotionr of I'llacc antl t l ~ cI'ublic
~ l i c ; ~ l ni l~l (;rc~latcrIlong ken!:
story tower. The base (podium) of the building houses an array of functions: public, private,
commercial, utilitarian. Atop this base sits a series of towers. The podium lifts the residential
towers above the noise and chaos of the street, offers views if they exist, and establishes an
interface between the public and private realms. The podium is anywhere from two to seven floors
tall and forms an urban block, gives definition to the street and creates a pedestrian space. The
simplest podium buildings offer lightly programmed ground planes with two or three floors given
over to a parking garage and/or retail and commercial space.
More complex podiums are more highly programmed and house everything from bus
stations to wet markets to shopping malls and often all of the above. The street presence of these
buildings varies from porous, dynamic commercial edges to opaque faceless facades masking
mechanical systems and offering nothing to the pedestrian realm (figure 5).
The most recent generation of podium buildings celebrates the public I private interface
with elaborately programmed exterior leisure spaces for its residents. Aside from multiple
swimming pools, tennis courts and game rooms, the podium offers access for service vehicles and
taxis. The access to this realm of the podium is as highly controlled as the immaculately cultivated
landscapes of palm trees and topiary (figure 6). This realm is of the quasi-public variety: public to
the homeowners and private from the street and the cityltown at large.
Figure 5: podium building deJines the street Figure 6: the cultivated landscape atop the podium
5. RESISTANCE AND AUTHENTICITY IN THE PUBLIC REALM

We often see public space - the space of spectacle and serendipity - as an emergent,
casual, too often privatized, and even accidental circumstance in both the east and west. In the
case of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, the ground place is offered as a public passage,
uncluttered except for a pair of escalators offering a dramatic and ceremonial means of entering
the spectacular banking hall. But it is on Sunday when the sloping ground plane of the Hong Kong
Bank truly comes to life as hundreds of Filipino maids command the space beneath the sleek
structure as a place of respite, socialization and recreation on their sole free day from work each
week (figure 7).
This on-going assembly in Hong Kong's central business district can be described as an
act of resistance, a kind of de-facto political rally, albeit a social exchange on the surface. Dr. Lisa
Law from the Department of Human Geography at the Research School of Pacific and Asian
Studies, Australian National University, says the ritual can be seen as more than just a casual
gathering: "Their occupation of Statue Square and the ground floor of the Hong Kong and
Shanghai Bank, on their only day off, is highly symbolic and a claim of autonomy over their
oppressive working conditions."
O t l ~ e rI ~.bani\mrand hew I'ublic \pace:
kotiorir of Placc and tht. I'ublic Itr.alr11 in Grcatcr. tlong Kong
Etncrgi~~g
Figure 7: Filipino maids at the Hong Kong Bank
There emerges in this public spectacle an undeniable and beautiful authenticity. Both
inspired and ironic, this temporary social re-programming of the Hong Kong Bank suggests the
possibility of reconsidering the logic of public spatial infrastructure in high-density residential
developments throughout Hong Kong.
6. A SIMULATED PUBLIC REALM

Another, more powerful act of resistance, however, is that of the developer. Following
proven, if banal, conventions of design and development, and packaging housing as pure product,
with no inherent social value or responsibility, we see the ambitious marketing of lifestyle and
social standing. Developments relentlessly market housing as fashion; housing as the ultimate
consumer product, all but equated to purchasing a soft drink or a pair of shoes. Various lifestyles
and degrees of self-satisfaction are promised by various housing developments. Never mind that
the buildings are identical from one development to another, shaped less by lifestyle goals than by
simple financial formulas.
This is a simulated public realm. Akin to the cultural condition Jean Baudrillard describes
in the "Ecstasy of Communication", a contemporary electronic world - and, in our case, a
subsequent synthetic public realm - both transparent, having no place for authentic publicness (the
space of stage, theatre, illusion) or privateness (the space of secrets) and obscene, that is, "exposed
in the raw and inexorable light of information and communication" (Baudrillard, 1988).
Attempts to humanize developments occur through billboards, sales brochures, and
internet websites in this world of contemporary lifestyle construction. Appealing to our inner
desires, if not our outer vanity, the brochures and sales offices prey upon the desire for change and
offer the possibility to purchase not just a flat, but also a lifestyle, including amenities of
consumption, neighbors, friends, status, and convenience. The diverse and beautiful billboard
models are bonded by the undeniable commonality of extraordinary happiness and satisfaction.
7. THE HUMANIZING OF AN (OTHER) URBANISM

The residential high-rise as an instrument of density begs questions of habitability and
humanization. The ground plane in the form of the street, plaza, and garden remains the place of
humanizing through scale, social intercourse and exchange. This is also the site of ritual and
surprise; entertainment and encounter. The public realm where business, sport, chores, sttolls,
earnest duty and casual lingering intermingle with ease and distinction. This is the realm where
we construct our lives rather than purchase our lifestyles.
Otlier Crl)ani\mr ancl \e\\ 1'1il)lic Spacc:
I " . ~ ~ l c ~ r g\orion$
i~ig in (;rcatcr I l o ~ l gkong
o f l'li~cc and Hic I'uhlic lit~i~lnr
I believe the possibility of an(other) urbanism, specific to the complex circumstances of

this region, is in the offing. This Other Urbanism is not to be confused with the nostalgic
ornamental "new urbanism" often practiced in the United States. Rather, this is a project of
discovery and emergence, responsive to new development patterns through urban strategies that
engage the unique cultural, political, environmental, social, programmatic, and economic forces
acting upon the region.
In his seminal work, "A Pattern Language", architect Christopher Alexander offers 253
"patterns" for design thinking. Nested within one another relative to scale of application, these
guidelines lead us from urban thinking to the design of specific places and details. The patterns
are what one might call traditional, even romantic in character. They are basically thoughts about
inhabitation, beginning with "independent regions", and moving through ideas about "mosaic of
subcultures", "ring roads", "small public squares", to details addressing the notion of "something
roughly in the middle", "zen view", and ending with "things from your life" (Alexander, 1977).
Interconnected, interwoven, and self-referential, the patterns suggest highly specific notions of
intimacy and scale. And while they detail a world that is the virtual inverse of recent high density
Hong Kong housing, they also describe the lively public realm seen throughout Hong Kong, Sai
Kung, Kowloon and countless regional villages.
While the lessons of Alexander are important and in many ways quite timeless, one is left
to ponder the profound disconnect between the intimacy of the patterns and the vast, often
scalelessness of the contemporary domestic realm that exists in the IVew Territories (and, for that
matter, across the PRC border in Shenzhen). One often associates the "domestic" realm with a
certain tangible familiarity of scale and occupation. Aside from the design of the actual apartment
units, how intimate can we construct a more intimate, a more humanizing, public realm?
8. STRATEGIES OF INTERVENTION: EMERGENCE AND

SUPERIMPOSITION
We can begin by developing infrastructural patterns for the 21" century that emerge from
an assessment of Hong Kong's urban culture: a place that longs for the future. It is a non-
nostalgic urbanism; unapologetic, sometimes brutal, never sentimental. Any romantic urges are
likely played out in popular culture. Indeed, it is the blurring of the lines between urbanism and
popular culture that yields the problematic simulation of public life. In conceptualizing notions of
an Other Urbanism, there are, at least, two operational options: emergence - an act of selective
surgery, working within existing places and proposing careful interventions intended as acts of
coherence; and superimposition, place making from anew, beginning over, proposing idealized
strategies of precision and completion.
In emergence we see the selective surgical intervention as a kind of retro-infrastructure
that is evolutionary and tactical. Working within existing formal/spatial organizations to construct
an emergent order that compliments and participates in the natural maturation of a place. This
offers the possibility of constructing a balance between the permanent and the temporal. It creates
fertile conditions for history and memory.
In the case of the New Territories, superimposition is the conventional planning logic,
beginning with the largely undeveloped physical landscape and its history. Unless a careful
contextual reading of the unseen is undertaken (that is, mythic and spoken histories), the resultant
development is a willful act of superimposition. This tabula rasa logic demands the development
of idealized plans. However, this idealized state must invite interaction with the unknown and
unpredictable: that which allows the exquisite mutation of utopian ideals into real applications,
inviting history and memory - essential to an authentic public place - to emerge over time.
Other 1 rhani\mr and h e \ %Public \paw:
Err~crgi~rg
hotionr ot' 1'l;lce arld tltc f'uhlic 1Zcalr11in <;reatcr [long l i o ~ ~ g
9. PRECEDENTS, POSSIBILITIES AND WAYS OF WORKING

One of the beauties of urbanism is its inherent incompleteness. As a perpetually
unfinished project, it demands continual review, introspection and addition. The formal character
of the future emerges relative to the particulars of the past. Future urban diagrams, patterns for
development and habitation, might be termed "possible palimpsests". As a site develops over
time, we are left with overlays of infrastructure, buildings and ideas - readings, as with a
manuscript written over and over, partially erased, yet yielding layers of interwoven text. Urban
diagrams might emerge with formal patters that leave gaps and spaces for inventive programming,
speculative engagement and projects yet to be imagined. Such patterns might exist in the form of
Layers, Quilts, Joints & Points, Patches and Strands, Chains and Trains. Each pattern suggests a
strategy for linking the old with the new, the large with the small, and the conventional with the
unorthodox.
Figure 8: possible patterns jor an(other) urbanism
There are several interesting possibilities for reconsidering the role of infrastructure and
public space through architectural form and program. Following are examples of projects that
suggest strategies for rethinking density, space and form. These should be understood as strategies
rather than literal solutions.
10. The Folded Building: a new scale of figural space

Koolhaas/Office for Metropolitan Architecture - CCTV Building in Beijing, PRK, 2003
The recent Rem Koolhaas/OMA proposal for the CCTV Headquarters building in Beijing
offers the image of a tower folding and turning onto itself, The building creates a ground space in
and around itself though the cantilevered top floors. Occupants are variously within, upon and
above the building. Imagine this as a strategy for framing a public space and/or creating zones
within a larger pubic realm (figure 9).
Steven Holl-Spatial Retaining Bars, Phoenix, Arizona, 1989

Holl's proposal responds to the "edge city" sprawl condition so common in the United
States and operates at a different scale that the typical Hong Kong housing development.
However, the idea is similar to OMA's CCTV proposal in its attempt to capture figural space
within a building working at the scale of architecture and infrastructure. It also suggests one scale
of structure giving definition to the ground plane apart from the tower element (figure 10).
Ofllcr I I t);~nicrlir:11rtl \c-n I'tthlic. Sp;rcc:
I.,~ncrging\orion\ of' I'lscrh ; i ~ t dtilt, I'ul~licI<c~;~lni
in (;rcs;rter I l o n ~Koog
Figure 9: Koolhaas/OM. CCTV Building in Beijing Figure 10: Steven HoN-Sj~atialRetaining Bar
1 1. The Ground-scraper: integrated infrastructure

The Chinese University o f Hong Kong, graduate student project, 2003
The New Territories are sliced and carved by large-scale infrastructure in the form of
highways, train routes, pedestrian bridges and elevated overpasses. The Kowloon Canton Railway
alone creates miles of potential air rights and junctions through the New Territories. Conventional
public infrastructure projects (new and existing) can form foundations (literal and conceptual) for
large-scale infrastructure-buildings ("ground-scrapers") with multiple programs including
residential, commercial, manufacturing, recreational, and administrative functions. This proposal
is a graduate project from the Spring 2003 semester at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The
proposal, which could be animated in both plan and section, snakes through the landscape, linking
disparate developments and absorbing public infrastructure (figure 11, 12).
Figure 11, 12: ground-scraper weaving through the landscape
12. Interconnected Towers: the tower as a form of linked vertical

fabric
Richard Meier, Charles Gwathmey, Peter Eisenman and Steven Holl, WTCproposal, 2003
The recent competition for the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site in New York
spawned several innovative proposals for tall building construction. Although the actual buildings
are much taller than one would normally consider for Hong Kong housing, the strategies are most
relevant. The team of architects Richard Meier, Charles Gwathmey, Peter Eisenman and Steven
Holl designed a series of stoic towers linked at multiple levels and programmed to include public
Othcr I rh:4oi+rrr\ and 1'11I)lic\pacr:
I;me~.gie:: \ o ~ i o n \ of' 1'l:lcc :tnd Ilic I'uhlic Itcalm in (;reatcr [long koog
spaces at various levels in the buildings. The proposal creates relatively intimate space at the
bridged thresholds between the structures, suggests an urban space by forming a perforated L-
shape in plan, and addresses safety/egress issues of concern in tall, heavily populated structures
(figure 13, 14).
figure 13: towers linked to form vertical fabric figure 14: public gardens throughout the towers
13. Wall Building: densely interwoven towers, creating a sense of

enclosure and territory
United Architects, WTC proposal, 2003
Another of the World Trade Center competition entries, this by United Architects,
proposes a phased series of towers that create a fluid programmatic and spatial matrix. The
buildings form a figural ground plane, interweaving and operating at a collective scale to form a
kind of undulating urban landscape. The individual towers eventually emerge from a communal
mid-section to establish an independent identity. It is designed as a phased development, offering
programmatic and financial flexibility for developers (figure 15, 16).
Figure 15: towers yield a figural ground plane Figure 16: circulation through an undulating urban
landscape
14. Final Thoughts

If this ongoing search and conjecture yields anything, it is the necessity of passionately
embracing both the seductive and the repulsive, for the towers of the New Territories are as
astonishing as they are intimidating. The beauty of the ironic becomes the power of the sublime.
The city - in its many iterations - is where anonymity is discovered through the public realm;
O t t ~ c rI,r.banism$ ant1 hc\r I'ublic Spacc:
\otiorr$ of I'lacc and the Public lict~tniin (;rc:~lcrtion!: Krbrlg
1~.111er~ing
where privacy becomes place; and where the humanity of the street and the ground are interwoven
with the cool abstraction of the tower. Therein lies another urbanism.
REFERENCES
Alexander, Christopher, et al. 1977. A Pattern Language. New York: Oxford University Press.
Barthes, Roland. 1997 (1979). The Eiffel Tower and Other Mythologies. Berkeley and Los
Angeles: University of California Press.
Baudelaire, Charles. 1970 (1869). Paris Spleen. New York: New Directions Books.
Baudrillard, Jean. 1987. The Ecstasy of Communication. New York: Semiotext(e) by

Autonomedia.
Cullinane, Kevin and Cullinane, Sharon. 2003. City Profile Hong Kong, Cities 20(4), 279-288.
Demographia. 2003. "Demographia Web Site", www.demographia.com.
Ferriss, Hugh. 1998 (1929). The Metropolis of Tomorrow. New York: Princeton Architectural
Press
Holl, Steven. 1996. Intertwining. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.
Koolhaas, et al. 2001. Great Leap Forward (Project on the City I). Koln, Germany: Taschen
GmbH.
Lee, Julian. 2000. "Filipino Maid's Act of Resistance", ANU Reporter 29(7).
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC). 2003. "New World Trade Center Design
Concepts". www.renewnyc.org/plan.
O'Donnell, Mary Ann. 2001. Becoming Hong Kong, Cultural Studies 15(3/4), 419-443.
William SEMPLE
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Abstract: Over the past several years many issues have come to light that have highlighted the
need for improved ventilation in multi unit residential buildings (MURB's). High-rise
buildings, for example, are all too often connected with poor indoor air quality. When looking
at this issue from the perspective of urbanism and the trend to increasing the density of our
urban centres, there is a dramatic need to address the ventilation issue in MURB's. To enhance
the success of the 'Open Living' concept, solutions that improve the possibility for the future
adaptations of the use of space in buildings need to be developed.
Recent research by CMHC has shown that many existing ventilation systems do not
perform as intended due to two main factors: lack of envelope air tightness and the strong stack
effect in tall buildings. As a result, the extent of ventilation in suites ranges from over-
ventilated to under ventilated, with units often receiving stale ventilation air from other parts of
the building during the heating season when windows are closed.
In response to the growing recognition of the need for improved ventilation in homes,
the federal government department Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and several Canadian
manufacturers have teamed up to develop a new category of products that efficiently provide
residential space heating, water heating and ventilation with heat recovery for low rise
residential buildings under the trade name of eKOCOMFORT. The great versatility of the
eKOCOMFORT system, demonstrated in the early testing of the product, initiated a move by
the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to begin testing of this new product in
high-rise applications.
This paper looks at the issue of ventilation in high-rise residential buildings, examining
the advanced combination heating and ventilation system and the potential for application of
this system in the high-rise residential market.
Keywords: Ventilation, Heating Systems, Indoor Air Quality, Innovation
INTRODUCTION
Many issues have come to light over the past several years that have highlighted the need
for improved ventilation in multi unit residential buildings (MLIRB's). High-rise buildings, for
example, are all too often connected with poor indoor air quality. When looking at this issue from
the perspective of urbanism and the trend to increasing the density o f our urban centres, there is a
dramatic need to address the ventilation issue in MURB's. T o enhance the success of the 'Open
Living' concept, solutions that improve the possibility for the future adaptations o f the use o f space
in buildings need to be developed.
In Canada, ventilation in high-rise MURB's is delivered through corridor air systems. In
these systems, corridors are pressurized to supply air to individual residential units, relying in on
gaps around and the operation of the entrance doors to each unit to deliver air to the unit. Research
at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has consistently demonstrated that this system
does not work. Compounding this, a s construction of building envelopes improves in air tightness,
the amount o f fresh air entering units will decrease, resulting in a further reduction in indoor air
quality.
2. THE PROBLEM
Most high-rise residential buildings are not equipped with mechanical ventilation systems,
which supply air to occupants. The typical corridor pressurization systems are installed to control
the transfer of odours between suites and provide makeup air to replace air exhausted by kitchen
and bathroom exhaust fans. The design assumes that ventilation air for occupants will be supplied
by natural ventilation through operating windows, by infiltration through the building enveloped,
and in some cases by makeup air provided by the corridor pressurization system.
Recent research by CMHC has shown that these corridor pressurization systems do not
perform as intended due to two main factors: lack of envelope air tightness and the strong stack
effect in tall buildings. As a result, the extent of ventilation in suites ranges from over-ventilated
to under ventilated, with units often receiving stale ventilation air from other parts of the building
during the heating season when windows are closed.
Excessive infiltration rates, due to wind and stack induced infiltration through leaks in the
building envelope and between floors, are also common. Common locations where excessive
ventilation occurs include lower suites subjected to high stack pressures on cold winter days, and
windward facing suites on windy days. Insufficient ventilation rates commonly occur on upper
floors and on leeward facing suites die to inhibited or reversed ventilation airflow.
A number of other problems are also common in high-rise residential mechanical
ventilation systems. In many instances, exhaust fans are not capable of moving a sufficient
amount of air, and frequently their operation is so noisy that occupants do not use them. Back
drafts and noise can also result in occupant tampering with the exhaust vent in order to reduce the
noise problem, often with the result of significantly reducing its operating capacity.
Finally, the energy costs associated with inefficient fan operation and re-heating of
ventilation air are significant in many buildings. Recovery of heat from air exhausted from the
building is rare.
3. A NEW PRODUCT
In response to the growing recognition of the need for improved ventilation in homes, the
federal government department Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and several Canadian
manufacturers have teamed up to develop a new category of products that efficiently provide
residential space heating, water heating and ventilation with heat recovery under the trade name of
eKOCOMFORT.
Continuous ventilation with heat recovery is required to improve indoor air quality for
home occupants. In the 1980's, Canada developed an energy-efficient housing program with
better insulated and air sealed homes that had continuous ventilation. This lead to the development
of the Canadian Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) industry, an industry that now provides HRV's
for both domestic and export markets. While HRV's have become more widespread in their use,
the HRV market share has been limited by the costs associated with production, distribution,
installation and operation. By integrating the HRV functions into heating products, there is
potential to reduce all of these costs. The eKOCOMFORT Project was developed to speed the
development and deployment of such products.
The key technical innovation is the integration of a wide number of components into a
factory engineered system with a single warrantee (rather than a number of components that are
put together in the field with individually warrantees). Advanced controls are required to optimize
the products when they are fulfilling more than one function simultaneously. Many components
have not previously been part of a rated package and have had to be upgraded to improve
efficiency and capacity in order to meet the performance specifications. In comparison to a typical
installation of existing equipment, integrating ventilation into the space heating product has
I lealth? Iligh-rive: \'entilation Iv~ut.4and leno\ ation4
enabled the electrical cost of providing and distributing fresh air to be cut by a factor of more than
five.
The concurrent development of multiple products and infrastructure has reduced
manufacturer risk and enabled each manufacturing group to proceed. Each of the manufacturing
teams view the other teams commercializing the same type of product as a benefit as it legitimizes
their product in the marketplace. It has also speeded up the creation of testing and standards that
allow the products to be deployed in various jurisdictions. As each of the manufacturing groups
has based their product on different base technologies, they have been willing to help each other
overcome specific technical and logistical problems. In other words, they see traditional
equipment as the main competition rather than each other. The approach has also enabled
government to reduce its' risk as no one manufacturing group is vital to the success of the project.
Five manufacturing teams are each commercializing a product that meets the same set of minimum
performance specifications for these functions.
3.1. Product Testing

To fully assess their performance, these products are undergoing field trials in single-
family homes located in Ontario and Nova Scotia. To carry out the field trials NRCan enlisted the
support and expertise of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Canada's
nation housing agency. The field trials, now ongoing, include extensive monitoring of various
aspects of the heating and ventilation components of the system. In addition, a complete energy
audit is carried out each building where one of the eKOCOMFORT units is being installed. This
included carrying out heat loss calculations and undertaking an air tightness analysis using a door
fan. The standard monitoring package and data acquisition program for the field assessment
project consisted of:
One Campbell Scientific CRI OX data logger
11 thermocouples
Two Kamstrup energy meters
One in-line electricity meter with pulse output
A fuel-valve timer and isolating relay to monitor burner on-off operation
Status relays to signal controlloperating status to the data logger
Water
lnslantaneous Flowmeter
water heater
Figure 1: Simplified Monitoring Schematic,for Vebteck Site
The integrated system that is installed at this site is comprised of:

A low mass, low water volume boilerlheat generator
I l e a l l h High-rise: \'cntila~ionIs\ur.s and I~~no\;btitr~~\
A natural gas burner

An airhandlerlfancoil with integral HRV section
An instantaneous DHW heat exchanger with an anti-scald mixing valve that can be
adjusted to the user's preference.
The unit is designed to operate as follows:
Burner on-off operation is controlled by an immersion aquastat installed in the water-
filled section (-1 1 US Gallons) of the heat generator.
The heat generator circulates high-temperature water directly to the space-heating coil
or to the instantaneous water heater module using a three-way valve to direct hot water
flows as needed.
A requirement for domestic water heating is detected by a thermistor installed in the
potable-water side of the instantaneous water heater.
A conventional thermostat located in the heating zone signals a call for space heating.
Domestic water heating has priority in the event of a simultaneous requirement for
both space heating and DHW heating.
When there is no call for either space heating or water heating, the three-way valve
defaults to the domestic water heating position, but the circulator is shutoff.
Because of the need to quickly respond to a DHW draw, and to avoid excessive
condensation in the heat generator, the heat generator is designed to remain hot during
standby.
During the first phases of the product installations and testing, the versatility of the
systems and their adaptability for a wider variety of applications offered some interesting
possibilities. In one installation, for example, the integrated system was installed been to supply
both heat, through a combination of forced air and radiant heating zones in each suite, and hot
water to the main house and a 'granny flat'. The versatility and capacity of the unit to handle this
variety of functions pointed to its potential for use in other applications (Figure 2)
3.2. Product Adaptations

Improved mechanical ventilation systems for high-rise applications are highly needed to
provide clean tempered fresh air to the building occupants. Increasingly in our tight and better-
insulated buildings, mechanical ventilation becomes the primary mechanism for exhausting excess
humidity, odours and pollutants from within suites and common areas of the building. When
properly designed, installed and operated, mechanical systems can be the most efficient, secure and
economically viable method of ensuring good IAQ in multi-unit residential buildings. They allow
the occupant control over the quality of indoor air in the suite and should accommodate the
operation of windows in suites.
In response to the need for improved ventilation in high-rise residential buildings and in
the growing condominium market, the design of mechanical ventilation systems for individual
apartment suites is now being developed. The great versatility of the eKOCOMFORT system,
demonstrated in the early testing of the product, initiated a move by the Canada Mortgage and
Housing Corporation (CMHC) to begin testing of this new product in high-rise applications.
3.3. Compartmentalization or not

In examining the advantages and disadvantages of different systems, we begin with a
comparison of centralized and in-suite systems. Centralize systems, the primary system utilized in
Canada; offer the advantage of having one point of control and maintenance. This offers the added
advantage of being able to incorporate a heat recovery system at this one central location (although
at present this is not commonly done). With minimum space requirements, these systems are often
preferred by apartment dwellers.
Individual suite ventilation systems offer a number of advantages. They allow much more
control of the temperature and the ventilation in each suite, and are easier to balance, allowing for
klcalth? Iiigh-rise: \'entilation Isv1c5 and Inno\iitionr
more even temperatures to be delivered throughout the suite. In addition to comfort, this can
reduce the airflow into the suite through the exterior walls and from the adjacent suites or common
areas. With an increasing awareness and concern over indoor air quality and ventilation, it seems
to be clear that improvements in this area can be most effectively gained with a system that
supplies air directly to each suite.
To make this type of system to work most effectively, construction details that maximize
the air tightness of the individual suite need to be carried out. There are several details that can
contribute to how well a system like this performs. In some cases, an airtight separation of
individual floors can be carried out. This will minimize the pressure difference across exterior
walls giving each floor a reduced gradient design condition and providing the opportunity to heat
and ventilate each floor individually. In other cases individual suites can be compartmentalized
and ventilated by individual units. This technique can reduce or eliminate problems such as odour
migration from adjacent units or other problems such as inadequate exhaust flow. In addition this
can provide each suite with the opportunity to have separate metering and individual control of
their systems. When designing for future flexibility in the use of buildings, careful considerations
need to be given to this issue.
An additional motivation for the development of controlled ventilation systems is the
potential for reducing energy consumption. In high-rise residential buildings, central systems can
be designed to transfer heat through glycol heat loops. For individual suites, reduced energy
consumption and improved ventilation can be attained through the use of air-to-air heat recovery
units.
3.4. Testing these principles

In response to the need or improved ventilation in multi-unit residential buildings, an
innovative combination ventilation and space conditioning (VSC) system has been developed for
this market. This unit provides direct fresh air supply by combining a heat recovery ventilator and
direct fresh air supply into a fan coil.
Three principle reasons have motivated the development of this unit. These include:
1. The need to improve indoor air quality by reliably, effectively and efficiently introduce
ventilation air into apartments
2. The need to reduce energy consumption by providing heat recovery for ventilation air
and by allowing corridor air volumes to be reduced
3. The need to allow the sealing of the hall door for better control of odours, smoke and
sound.
3.5. Product Description

The layout for the single suite system that incorporates a VSC unit is shown in Figure 3.
Typically, this VSC unit provides heating and cooling through the use of a conventional four-pipe
high-rise fan coil system with the novel addition of a built-in, plate-type heat recovery ventilator
(HRV) core. The HRV pre-heats fresh ventilation air by extracting heat from the outgoing stale air.
The main circulation fan of the system draws room air through the return air grille and ventilation
air through the HRV core. A two-speed bathroom exhaust fan built into the VSC cabinet draws
exhaust air from the bathroom through the stale-air side of the HRV and exhausts it outdoors. As is
standard with most HRV units, neither the range hood nor the clothes dryer exhaust through the
HRV.
The Fan System
A three-speed fan operating continuously at a one speed is the main circulation fan for this
unit. The fan operating speed (low, medium or high) is selected manually at the thermostat. The
selected speed is maintained and does not change unless it is manually reset by the occupant.
tlcaltllr Iliglr-risc: Ventiliklion Issues and Isrno\:ktitrr~$
The exhaust fan is a two-speed fan that provides ongoing ventilation by operating
continuously at low speed. The switch to high-speed operation can occur either manually or
automatically. A manual wall switch allows the occupant to switch the fan to high speed, while a
dehumidistat automatically switches the fan into high speed during showers or other high humidity
periods in the residential unit, automatically returning the fan to low speed when the humidity
drops to an acceptable level. There is no interconnection between the main circulation fan and the
exhaust fan.
To verify and understand more about the performance of this new system field tests were
carried out to measure the ventilation performance, and operating characteristics of three installed
VSC systems. Testing included carrying out an assessment of the ventilation air quantities
delivered under various operating and pressure conditions, electricity consumption of the VSC fan-
motor sets, air-tightness testing of the suites and hallways in and around where the VSC's are
installed, and depressurization testing of suites.
VSC SYSTEM SCHEMAIC

4EXTEROR ( INTERIOR
EXHAUST
EXHAUST
EXHAUS1
OUTDOOR
3.6. Test Objectives and Methodology

All tests were performed on VSC units on the 5th, 8th, and 1 I th floors. Indoor and outdoor
temperature, wind speed, and the indoor to outdoor pressure differences were measured to
characterize the environmental conditions at the time of the test.
Tests included:
VSC Air flow Capacity - This test was carried out to measure the ventilation, exhaust, and
room air circulation flowing through the VSC under a variety of operating conditions.
Exhaust airflows from the range hood and clothes dryer were also measured
VSC Stall Test - This test was carried out to determine the relationship between the
pressurization of a suite and the ventilation airflow rate through the VSC. This test
provided some insight regarding the ability of that the VSC unit has to draw in outdoor air
when operating against stack and potential wind pressures. The test was done with no
other exhaust fans running, which is the case most hours of the day. The test was
conducted by using a blower door to pressurize the suite relative to outdoors. The
ventilation flow was measured at increasing increments of air pressure within the suite
until a reversal in flow direction was observed.
Air Leakage Characterization. This test was carried out to quantify the air leakage
characteristics of the suites. A door fan was mounted in the corridor door and all
Ilealthr tligh-l-iw: \'rnlilation I s \ ~ ~ oand
s Iiino\ationr
intentional openings (i.e.: range hood exhaust, clothes dryer exhaust, and bathroom
exhaust) were sealed.
Characterizing Air Pressure Regimes. This test was carried out to characterize the effects
of operating the various exhaust fans in the suite on the air pressure within the suite and
the impact of this on adjacent suites. Depressurization in the test suite was measured
relative to outdoors as well as relative to the two adjacent suites on the same floor. A
depressurization test was also carried out to assess combustion appliance spillage
potential.
Characterizing Corridor Air Leakage. This test was carried out to characterize the air
leakage area of an entire corridor and the percentage of that leakage area attributable to the
cracks around the doors to the suites.
VSC Energy Consumption. Measurements were taken of the electricity consumption of the
VSC and the corridor ventilation fan to determine the potential for energy use reductions
through in the provision of in-suite ventilation as compared to central ventilation.
4. TEST FINDINGS
4.1. Ventilation Capacity - Code Considerations

The Ontario Building Code (OBC) requires mechanical ventilation at rates prescribed by
ASHRAE Standard 62 "Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality" (7.5 L/s per person). In
this case (a one bedroom suite for 2 people in a high-rise) a minimum of 30cfm (15 Lls)
continuous ventilation supply is required plus an intermittent exhaust capacity of 100 cfm (50LIs)
for the kitchen. The VSC system, as designed and operated, almost meets these code
requirements. This level of ventilation is significantly better than the ventilation supplied by the
pressurized corridor technique.
Considerations for the Canadian climate necessitated these additional observations. While
the ventilation fresh air was balance with the exhaust fan on low or medium, there was an
imbalance when the fresh air fan was on high, a situation which could result in a winter freeze up
of the heat exchanger core in the winter. In suites with poor building envelope air sealing,
positive pressurization could also cause moisture problems in the walls and around windows.
With the bathroom exhaust on high the exhaust airflow is about double the ventilation fresh air
supply flow through the heat exchanger core. With such an imbalanced flow, it is unlikely that the
core will ever develop frosting. However, it should be noted that were non-sealed combustion fuel-
fired equipment supplied in the suite, negative pressures caused by excessive exhaust could cause
back drafting and spillage of combustion products in the apartment.
Ventilation capacity is also affected with the increase of airflow caused by the use of a
range hood andlor clothes dryer. The additional exhaust fans increase the negative pressure within
the suite thereby potentially reducing the bathroom exhaust flows, and increasing the supply
airflow and infiltration. The effect on the ventilation supply airflow is small when the suite
corridor door is unsealed but is very significant, rising between 60% and 100% depending on the
speed of the circulation fan, when the suite door is sealed.
4.2. Heat Recovery Opportunities

Typically, a bathroom fan would be set at low flow continuously and operate at high for %
hour, twice a day. The clothes dryer would operate for 1 hour three times a week, with the range
hood being used on high for 1 hour 5times a week.
Under this scenario, the great majority of heat to be recovered is available in the lowest
speed of operation of the unit. A system that provides heat recovery on about 30 cfm of ventilation
air while the bath fan exhausts 50 cfm continuously means that approximately 50% of the fresh air
Ilealth? Iligh-riw: \ colilation I\suc$ and I ~ t n o \ ; ~ t i o n \
entering the suite during typical operation will run through the heat exchanger, significantly
meeting about 26% of the ventilation air heating requirements.
4.3. Stall Test Findings

In all the test cases, when the air pressure in the suite was increased beyond the stall point,
the airflow reversed direction and air was actually exhausted out through the ventilation duct.
Recognizing that the air pressure in a building may be either greater than or less than the air
pressure outside (depending on indoor and outdoor air temperatures, wind speed and direction,
building height, and operation of HVAC equipment) it was recommended that the VSC be
modified to ensure that the ventilation air supplied to the suite always meets or exceeds code
requirements. This could be accomplished through simple controls that would regulate the speed of
a VSD operated circulation fan based on airflow through the ventilation orifice.
4.4. Air Leakage Characterization

In the test building, each suite has a calculated floor area of 57.05 m2 (614.08 ft2), total
envelope area of 192.69 m2 (2074.10 ft2), and volume of 156.32 m3 (5520.39 ft3). With the
blower door installed in the corridor door, the air leakage was determined to be 2.37 air changes
per hour at 50 Pa (ACH5O) for suite 502, 2.41 ACH5O for suite 802, and 2.55 ACH5O for suite
1102, for an average of 2.44 ACH5O. Another way of expressing air leakage is the Equivalent
Leakage Area (ELA), which is the sum of the crack areas at a 10 Pa pressure difference. The
average ELA for each of the three suites was 0.0135 m2 (21 in2).
In order to qualify the air leakage of the suites, we referred to the requirements of the R-
2000 program. The R-2000 program is one of the highest technical standards in the world for new
housing that ensures homes have a higher quality of construction, and are more energy efficient
with better indoor air quality.
One requirement of the R-2000 program is that the normalized leakage area (NLA) must
be less than 1.0 in21100 ft2 (0.7 cm2lm2). The NLA calculated for the three suites tested ranged
from 0.99 in21100 ft2 to 1.05 in21100 ft2, which is very close to meeting the R-2000 requirements.
This indicates that the building is very well sealed. This tightness of the building envelope in
combination with the individual ventilation units would provide for measurably increased indoor
air quality conditions as compared to the average high rise.
4.5. Characterizing Air Pressure Regimes

Depressurization tests were carried out in several suites. This was measured by sealing the
corridor door in each suite in addition to closing the balcony door and windows. A series of
sequences of turning the various exhaust fans on and off, on low and high speeds were carried out.
These de-pressurization test of each of the units demonstrated that, with the corridor doors sealed,
there was practically no pressure interaction between the suites.
Combustion spillage is the term used to describe the unwanted flow of combustion gases
into a space (e.g., home) by vented combustion appliances, such as fireplaces, and natural gas fired
stoves or dryers. It occurs when the air pressure within the space is low enough that the exhaust
fan for the combustion appliance cannot create sufficient discharge pressure to overcome the
negative air pressure in the space. As a result, the airflow is reversed; called "back drafting", and
gases are drawn back through the exhaust duct and into the space.
Combustion spillage typically occurs when the air pressure within the space drops below -
5 Pa (relative to the outside air pressure). The testing in suites carried out on both calm and windy
days yielded air pressures within the suites that were below -5 Pa, with corridor door sealed and
unsealed. As a result, concerns with the potential for back drafting resulted in the recommendation
that combustion appliances (e.g., gas fired dryer, wood or gas fireplace, or gas fired ovedstove)
not be used in the suites.
4.6. What Was Learned
The field-testing of the VSC has demonstrated the great potential that this technology has
in improving ventilation and indoor air quality in high-rise residential buildings. Clearly there are
important considerations to make when dealing with the unique pressurization conditions that
occur in multi-story buildings. Yet the technology has demonstrated that it can work well with
modifications.
The next stage of product development and testing will incorporate all of the components
of the single-family residential units developed under the eKOCOMFORT label. This will bring
the individual heating unit into the high-rise building and provide another level of integration and
other possibilities in the adaptation of spaces in high-rise buildings.
5. CHALLENGES FOR 'OPEN BUILDINGS'
The open building concept provides a number of new challenges for designers and
builders. In addition to adapting structures to allow for future changes in use of buildings, the
mechanical systems now used in high-rise buildings provide their own limitations and challenges.
With eKOCOMFORT, the potential for providing heat, hot water and good ventilation, with a
system that is compact and adaptable will soon be available.
New issues continually add to these challenges. For example, the recent SARS epidemic
has raised fundamental questions regarding the potential for isolating individual units in high-rise
dwellings to prevent the spread of potentially contagious infections. In the ever-increasing density
of our urban populations, this issue may have a considerable impact on the future design of multi
unit residential buildings.
In response to the SARS outbreak in Toronto, CMHC researchers examined the challenges
of containment, initially developing the following recommendations based on the group's
knowledge of air movement and ventilation in high-rise buildings:
For quarantined zmits:
Seal the corridor door
Contact with the corridor needs to be strictly prohibited.
Increase the pressurization of the corridor to prevent air being drawn into the corridor
from the quarantined unit
Depressurize the quarantined unit through a combination of continuously running the
bathroom and exhaust fans, and providing additional ventilation into the unit.
Additional ventilation can be provided passively through the use of windows and
doors, or actively by using a fan to increase the flow of air from the window and/or
door opening into the quarantined unit.
For non-quarantined units
Install fans to pressurize the units by bringing in additional air.
For the building
Replace and maintain the seals on all entrance doorways into the building.
Turn off the 24-hour time clock used for the ventilation of the building in order to
maintain constant air pressure in the corridors.
When faced with our own questions as to how well these would work, we had no
definitive answers. Should this situation happen during the winter months when windows remain
closed, the potential for managing the situation seemed far more tentative. Clearly these are seen
as band-aid solutions to the larger issue of the need for improved ventilation for high-rise
buildings. Our work continues.
Ilcalth! Iligh-riw: \ entilation I \ c u t \ and Ilrno\i~tions
REFERENCES:
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, 2003, Field Testing ofan Integrated Ventilation-
Space Conditioning System for Apartments. Draft Report, CMHC, Ottawa
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, 2001, Healthy High-Rise: A Guide to Innovation in
the Design and Construction of High-Rise Residential Buildings, CMHC. Ottawa
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, The eKOCOMFORT Field Assessment Program:
Project Initiation Report, 2003, CMHC, Ottawa
Buildings Group, Natural Resources Canada, 2002, FKOCOMFOR7TMField Monitoring Plan

Final Report, NRCan Ottawa
Ecological Transformation of
the urban planning method in Hong Kong
Wei ZHU
Department omrchitecture
The University of Zhejiang, China
Abstract: This article mainly discusses the necessity and approach of the urban ecological
transformation. Post-industry feature of Hong Kong requires ecological transformation in urban
construction. Now four types of ecological transformation is critically required: from physical
space requirements to life quality requirements; from pollution handling to psychophysilogical
requirements; from urban virescence requirements to ecology serving function; from
appearance oriented urban beautification to process oriented psychophysiological health of the
civilian and urban sustainable developments. To promote urban ecological transformation is to
drive the urban industry from product economy to service economy; urban sight from
monotonous physical sight to multiplex ecological sight; urban culture from plunderage culture
claiming man can conquer nature to harmonic culture claiming man and nature are synergetic.
Ecological transformation includes mindware, software, and hardware transformation: a)
transformation of idea and objective; b) transformation of planning and design; c )
transformation of technique and material.
Key words: ecological essence, ecological transformation
THE ECOLOGICAL ESSENCE OF THE QUESTION OF

URBAN ENVIRONMENT
At the turn of the century, our country in urban and rural areas is developing the extensive
environmental construction of human settlements. The improvement with the economic strength
and living standard, People are to expecting more and more much in landscape, humanity,
economy, architecture, traffic, environment and life quality of city. The urban construction should
not merely embody the scientific and technological progress, should pay attention to being based
on people even more, creating more environment of suitable, the life psychology of satisfying the
urbanite needs sustainable development with the environment of human settlements. Take a broad
view of it is neither nowadays the ecological landscapes of city nor in people depend on building
that perch, Landscape, rubbish landscape and sewage landscape meet the eye on every side in the
cement forest, the roof landscape, the five colours balcony, block up. It was ecological negative
effects of endangering urbanite's physical and mental health that hid behind high buildings and
large mansions: Building materials pollute effect, energy dissipate, moisture flow and lose
efficiency and answer hot island effects, landscape constrain effect, etc. crowded effects building
effect environmental pollution weather effect.
The essence of the question of urban environment is: It is at times, space in resources
suppressions in yardstick held up in (it is what nature require resource getting little to become by
products and participated in ecological circulation of more partly only in peoples, Held up in
majorities and form environment pollutions, water body rich nutrition ization for instance, pollute
etc. at rubbishes atmosphere pollutions) and can't exhaust (People require from the nature so too
many as to put into , cause the exhaustion of the ecosystem, It is for instance it subside soil
erosions , the earth's surfaces degradate, not wet destroy etc. at landscapes); Systematic pans shut,
function relation broken hardening ( such as population gather, traffic jam, soil hardening, hot
island effect, etc.); It is social shortsighted views it is at economic and an ecological relations in
behaviors( a short time in behavior take, localization) and adjust and control mechanism flawed or
damaged ( such as system, regulation, policy, strategy appraising, society supervising, information
feedback, performance assessing and ability construction that plans, etc.). The core of the city is
the people; the motive force and obstruction developed is the people. The correct ecological
relation of dealing with the good person and land (water, soil, angry, the living beings and artificial
structures which include the earth's surface) is the key task of ecological research of human
settlements. The form of expression of the city is pattern, form of the community, but its spirit or
soul are the ecological" growing" word, It is including surviving abilities (the appeals of
demonstration areas, centrifugal forces and competitiveness), it last strength (from primary to
produce and handle offals), life glamour (the convenient cheap facility, it is rich and varied for
environment) and life vigor (wind, water, spending, bird, etc. natural habitat and living beings
vigors).
People compound the subjects of ecosystem as city, its activity play an important role to
ecosystem of city the qualities of function. People often only see the physics course that the city
moves about, and ignore its ecological course; Only pay attention to the social service function of
urban facilities, and ignore its ecological service function; Pay attention to and productivity effect
of urban economy ignore their ecological benefits only; Only see that shoulders value and ignores
the renewable value that utilize of their resources in environment of the polluter. Production, life
and ecological management function barrier between different departments of the city, examine
the index and acts and efforts for expediency for the achievements of the main fact in output value
with the output, And ecological consciousness is not strong, the ecology educates backward
national quality, it is the trend of urban deterioration of the environment of our country that can not
get the basic reason turned back.
2. THE GOAL OF URBAN ECOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTION OF

OUR COUNTRY
Under construction "ecology" people and high-efficient harmonious ecological the

abbreviations of relations among the environment ecology, It is a kind of competition, the
intergrowth and spontaneous survival and development mechanism, is one pursuit time, the space,
quantity, structure and order are lasting and harmonious systematic function; Since one kind focus
on target of day of rich, healthy, civilization and open up the course high-efficiently, It is a kind of
whole, coordinating, circulation, spontaneous evolution adaptive capacity too; Since protect the
living environment, protect productivity, protects the vitality to support the long-term strategic
action of the system, It is the social revolution of a technology aiming at developing the
productivity, the system, culture field too, It is a concrete action of a kind of trend sustainable
development:
The ecology of ecological construction of the city is not to return to the natural reset
condition, not the ideal ecology of the fairyland type of human world, but the development
ecology in the positive meaning. Ecological construction should base on the protection of the
environment, as well as focus on the sustainable development of the economic and local
community of the enterprise. The center of ecological construction of our country should be put in
the dynamics and steady degree of development that lay equal stress on in the present stage.
Different from and environment rob doctrine environmental protectionisms, city include adaptive
capacity of surviving, produce and evolve and ecology combine ability by sustainable abilities,
1:cological ' I ' r i ~ ~ ~ s f o r n l a tol'thc
i m urban planning rt~rthodin ilorrg Kong
None of them can be dispensed with for the three. The aim of ecological construction of the city is
designed and manages with the ecology through the ecological planning, ecology, Assemble into
an ecosystem with strong vitality single living beings link, physics link, the economic link and
social link, Lead hands from technological innovation, system reform and behavior, regulate
systematic structure and function, Bringing about an coordinated development in society,
economy, natural, material, energy, the information one are utilized high-efficiently, Technology
and natural integration, people's creativity and productivity get the full play of the maximum , The
life supports systematically the physical and mental health of the function and resident get the
protection of the maximum , Economy, ecology and culture have with lasting, healthy
development, promote the comprehensive utilization of resources, synthesis of synthesis
renovating and people of the environment developing; The goal of urban ecological construction
of our country includes: lromote the agricultural economy of the tradition to the resource type,
high-efficient transferring of ecological economy continuously of the knowledge type and network
type, Regard ecological industry as a dragon's head and drive the rapid development of the
regional economy ; 2Promote the ecological environment regional and in urban and rural areas
developing to the sustainable ecosystem of afforesting, epurating, beautifying, ization, Good
ecological foundation is built for social economic development; 3Promote urban and rural
residents' tradition producing, life style and values are good to the environment, the harmony,
society harmonious ecological culture that resources are high-efficient, systematic make the
transition, The ecology social builder of cultivating one generation educatedly, having lofty ideals,
high quality.
3. THE ECOLOGICAL TRANSFERRING OF ENVIRONMENTAL

CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
The urban ecological construction of our country needs four kinds of ecology badly to
make the transition: Make the transition from space demand of physics to the quality demand of
life; The demand of managing makes the transition to the physiology and psychological need from
polluting; Make the transition from city afforestation demand to the ecological service function;
Beautify the transferring to physically and mentally healthy and urban sustainable development of
resident which faces the course from the city of image of facing. Drive the ecological transferring
of the city to just promote the urban industry moving towards service economy from the economy
of the products, The city landscape moves towards the diversified ecological landscape from the
physics landscape of a quality, The city culture moves towards the intergrowth culture which
people unify of day from culture of robbing that man is the master of his own fate, Realize the
urban sustainable development under the socialist market economy condition with Chinese
characteristics. At present, the upsurge of a ecological urban construction is rising in our country.
Actually, it are all's ecology" city where the natural and humane ecology combine that any lives in
the city, Only some city ecology is rational, some city ecology is unreasonable. It is for each in not
only inhabited regions take shelter from rain for shady human habitat that keep out the cold, its for
mankind, geographical environment (geography, hydrology, weather), suppression environment(
flow at energies at materials), Living beings environment( the helpful, harmful living beings),
social environment( service facility and level), economic environment( obtain employment on the
environment, house property market) and culture environment Ecological relation that( the
continuity, sign nature of history). The main task of environmental construction to want and
regulate their natural ecology and humane ecology basic ecological relation who key element
askseses human settlements city, Including water( the water yield, quality of water, floods, water
conservancy); The fire( energy, canning be worth, atmosphere, meteorological phenomena); The
soil ( soil, land, landscape, geography); The wood( vegetation, crop and other lives organisms);
Ecological key element naturally, such as gold( mineral products, nutrition thing, the products and
I<cological 71rni~rlorriii~tiori mcthotl in l l o ~ l gK o n g
of the u r l ~ a nplii~lr~ing
wasted product flow),etc. and population( quantity, quality, supplying, demand); Manpower ( the
labour, intelligence); Humanity( technology, system, culture); The heart( the value, faith, ethics,
morals); Mankind's ecological key elements, such as popularity( purchasing power, effect of
gathering, environment),etc.. The ecological transferring of environmental construction of urban
human settlements includes heart one (Mindware). software (Software) transferring with the
hardware (flardware).
4. THE TRANSFERRING OF IDEA AND GOAL

Should change the urbanization of city making policy, planning, administrative staff, the
entrepreneur and ordinary citizen, modernized idea first, Rebuild environment melting of the
human settlements of city systematizedly and naturally, economy ization and human nature than
the ecological theory.
The systematic view of people and one of day: At traditional urban constructions barrier
between different departments, discipline separate, technology go alone, ones that the behavior set
up are as follows, It introduce ecology and China whole of traditional cultureses, in coordination
with, circulations, spontaneous complex ecosystem principles, Pay attention to landscape combine
sex, suppression circulation quality, feedback, technology cross sex, system comprehensive and
space-time continuity sensitivity.
Imitate natural life view: Build one a kind of simple and unadorned, variety high,
adaptability strong, vitality live, environment of human settlements that be able to be regulated one
selves, The survival and development mechanism with relatively strong competition, intergrowth,
spontaneous; Emphasize the mobility, the unobstructed quality, the vigor, the natural quality and
between people and natural adaptability and low risk relatively ses of energies of living beingseses
of winds of water.
The economic view of the wonderful workmanship excelling nature: Hold the possible
ecological function more with as small as possible physics space, Exchange as small as possible
ecological cost for as high as possible economic benefits, Exchange as small as possible physics
volume of traffic for as big as possible ecological volume of traffic, Realize optimization the most
of utilization of resources efficiency.
The humane view that is based on people: Satisfy social demands, such as resident's
physically and mentally healthy basic demand and exchange, studying, health, amusement,
aesthetics and culture, etc. to the maximum extent, Lead and excite the natural realms, advise
'favorable realm, morals realm, believe realm and world the integration and distillations of realms
of people.
The ideal human settlements environment should realize the goal of following ecological
construction: The combining nature (the space-time continuity, integrality of geography,
hydrology, natural and humane ecosystem); Variety (the diversification and heterogeneity of the
species, landscape, architecture, culture and ecosystem); Person who evolve (at nature and social
environment become); The natural quality (water, angry self-purification circulation ability,
environment quiet degree, land and soil degree, life vigor naturally ); It is the fluent nature (the
flowses of waters, what things flow stagnat to exhaust by regeneration and the interchange degrees
of peoples the winds one circulations); The sign nature( showing degree with ecological
characteristic of humanity of natural ecology ); Concordance( with outside, shape, God, marking
and one, timid and real, near and far inside); Economic( utilization of resources efficiency, cost,
market competitiveness );
5. THE TRANSFERRING THAT PLAN AND DESIGNED

L:,cologic;il I I-;in\forniiilion ol'the rrrhan planning nicxthod in Ilong I<o~ig
Ecological planning and it designs to be human settlements' the keys of environmental

construction, the space ecological demand of people include and inhabit residence, activity space,
green colour space and aesthetic spaces. Can't only consider inhabiting the volume of space rate
while calculating the volume rate; It is the way of the life to be green, not only city afforestation is
that the vegetation in one Jo, irritating, rational overall arrangement of grass is green, And --It is
including technology, system, behavior and inherent and green to plant; The systems of the
structure, function, course are green; And the competition, intergrowth, spontaneous mechanism
green ecological system engineering inclusive
Realize the physics space of district (the green colour space, vegetation), blue colour space
(the water body), white colour space (the building) and gray colour space (the road and structures),
supersession space (water, hot, angry, electricity, food, offal), serve the space (trader drinking,
education, medical treatment, amusement), exchange space (the information, traffic, social) and
culture space (culture atmosphere, community security, cultural life). It wait for it is
multidimensional humanity ecological spaces it is with ecological space naturally in when, empty,
quantity, construct the systematic concordances of levels is for the key tasks of ecological planning
prefaces.
Regard planning in the district as the example, is planning to move towards ecological
planning from traditional physics in environmental construction of human settlements of the city,
Realize following several pieces of transition: From greenery space to green body: Roof garden, in
it stand surfaces empty gardens afforest, ground floor park; From the occupation of land to making
the ground: Resume being constituted part producing and ecological function of the land, improve
the hydrology circulation ground weather of drawn game in the district; From static behavior to
trends: Mobility, variety, the rolling of district construction development one of the living beings
of wind and water; From blowdown to usesing and abolish; The material consumption, energy
consumption and water of reducing the district dawdle, resources ization to the maximum extent in
the district of offal, Reduce it to the urban sanitary sewage and municipal pressure of garbage
disposal ; From dull to various: Improve the district landscape of cement, roof landscape, balcony
landscape, traffic landscape, rubbish landscape, sewage landscape, downtown streets landscape,
Keep the variety, building variety and culture variety of the bio-diversity of the city, landscape;
From structure to function, inhabit function get natural and social ecological service( self-
purification regeneration, green producing, recreation keeping in good healthses from space, Offer
and suitable for the rooms of people perch environment, ensure residents to be physically and
mentally healthy, And the social ecology is safe, reduce the ecological risk to strengthen the
natural ecology of the district, Lead the ecological civilization of the district, strengthen the
humane ecology of community to exchanges, raise the resident's ecological consciousness and
participate in ability ; From form to expression: Merger nature, and integration quality, natural life,
nature in the building and structures and humanity ecological intension of the geomantic omen and
landscape of the environment of the architectural style, From one( the single building, sign
building and demonstration project), line( two dragons play pearls, north and south green line add
the axis), one ( roof gardens, ground floor park, in it stand and afforest and last surface empty
gardens with edge surface), the whole( landscape, building and the whole images of ecosystemses)
Four respects embody the efficacious and spirit of the ecological landscape; Design from
architectural design to ecology ; Fully respect and utilize landscape resources of the district and
ecological assets , Natural ecology and mankind ecological effect of edge principle and whole s,
not in coordination with,, spontaneous principle design circulation.
6. THE INNOVATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY AND MATERIAL

At present, the environmental construction of human settlements is facing a technological
change, a lot of new building ecological technology rises at home and abroad in succession, Such
as: 1.The activation ecological project of the structure: Apply the ecology principle to the structure
I.:cological I'ranrlbrn~;~tion
of ttlc urhan plat~ningmethod in Ilong Koag
design of the building, entrust to the building with life vigor: Make the building have a local
culture characteristic, meet local natural conditions: Fully embody nature, delighting, insulating
against heat, refrigeration, afforesting, beautifying and other ecological project principle
requisition on structure of the buildings ; 2.The energy optimizes the ecological project: Finish
canning utilize solar energy, living beings renewable energy as the building energy fully, Reduce
the consumption to the mineral energy; It regards heat supply of solar energy, refrigeration and
dynamical system as main goals living beings consider and regard solar energy as the
supplementary energies of heat supply. 3.The ecological project of building materials industry:
The environmental construction material points the quality of renewable quality, localization, easy
of the source of construction material mainly; The construction material produces and use the
minimization of environmental impact in the project; And melting harmlessly to health. The
construction material is to the security of building itself, energy-conserving quality, economic,
designed adaptability, etc. to the internal and external environment. 4.The intelligent system
engineering of ecology: It mean mainly by ecological principle and information the
communication system of inhabiting districts of technical designses whether it is natural ecology
and mankind, Intelligent integrated service networks, such as control system. security system and
service system, etc. But design the ecological intelligence systems of different grade according to
different level of consumption. 5.And water go back and at system, make water resource get
abundant, rational use type sewage disposal circulation; It changes still water into and work up
water stagnant water at running water, sewage at net ink, waste waters for the favorable water;
6.The ecological project of the landscape: Appearance sign nature of the building and construction
of the ecological space: Afforest at colour spaces and building, Animals and plants habitats and
bio-diversities construction, Water scene and other artificial the peculiar qualities s. It embodies
region characteristic fully locality ecological landscapes naturally, and native country historical
cultures melt style and features building, Hold the color alone; 7.The ecological project of the
room: Light on inside buildings, the warm, the wet, a angry control, inside environment and the
comfortableness, harmless natures of facilities, the convenient nature, economic and an ecological
rationality (inside to beautify, afforestation, natural the embodiment, offal optimum design to
punish facilities of qualities); 8.The land resumes and give the ecological project a new lease of
life: Introduce city agriculture and courtyard economy, roof, middle level and stand surface build
colour solid space green in construction in ecological districts, Producing or ecological service
function of original living beings of taking up the land to the building to a certain extent resume,
The production economic benefits to the system are compensated.
These new building ecological technology have offered the opportunity for the ecological
transferring question of the environment of urban human settlements. How about be rational and
effective application they, make at city ecology when making the transition can most heavy
degrees play its due role their, It is a problem urgently waiting to be solved in the future.
Hong Kong as behind industry one era cities kind, it is the key industry in itses. Old
development model biased to give the human settlements of city environments of Hong Kong
bring a great deal of negative effects unavoidably, The ecological transferring of the environment
of human settlements of city is the important way to reduce and even dispelling these negative
effects completely. Hope that a series of concrete goal and action in making the transition in
ecology that this text puts forward can offer certain reference value for improving the human
settlements environment in the future of Hong Kong, This is the meaning of this text too.
Ecological Fl'ra~~sforn~alitrn
o f t h c urban plar~~ring
nlethoci in [ l o n g Kong
PANEL 111: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND
URBAN RENEWAL
A Comparative Sustainability Assessment of Standard Housing Blocks 153-162

in Hong Kong and Proposed Integer Concept Tower Alternative
Alex A M TO and Richard FRE WER
Thought on the Renewal Mode in the Old City in Wuhan: Comparison of

studies of two sample zones in Wuhan and the thought about it
Bo YANG
Urban Mining: The City as a Source for Re-usable Building Materials

'Urban Discontinuity and Redevelopment of Mega-Scale Projects

Joseph Francis WONG
The Configurable Urban Sustainability: In what ways a morphological or

configurational approach contributes to our understanding of urban
sustainability
The Soft Urban Machine: Space-Time and the Production of Urban Place
Stephen READ
How Can We Make Hong Kong's Urban Form More Sustainable? : From
Perceptions to Reality
Urban Revitalization in Social Transition The Case of West Yuehu Area

Conservation and Renewal Project, Ningbo, China
Tariq Mahbub KHAN, Zinnatun NAHID and WeiDONG
Open Space Study of The Industrial Area Along The Grand Canal In
Hangzhou
Xiaoyu YING
i ~ a dI rhsn licoc\+al
Panel Ill: S ~ ~ + t a i n a bI)c\clop~nc~nl
lc
\ ( o r n p a r a t h c S u c t a i n a h i l i l \ccescr~ienl oI'Standard l l o l l \ i n g I Z l ~ c h ci n 1101ig K o n g and I'ropoccd
Integcr ('onccpt l o n e r t l t c r n t ~ t i \c
A Comparative Sustainability Assessment of Standard Housing

Blocks in Hong Kong and Proposed Integer Concept Tower
Alternative
Alex AMATO and Richard FREWER
The University of Hong Kong.
Mr. Steven HUMPHREY

Davis Langdon and Seah Management Ltd.
Abstract: This study is a comparative assessment of the relative sustainability of three Hong
Kong 40-storey residential tower types: a Housing Authority "standard" Harmony Block
(HAB), a private sector housing block (PSB), and the Integer Concept Tower (ICT). In this
study, Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing are combined to measure two of the
three accepted environmental aspects of sustainability: economics and environment. Social
impacts were excluded because of a present lack of data and established consensus of which
social indicators are relevant and the relative weighting between each of these and between
the economic and environmental impacts measured. An internationally recognised
methodology specially tailored to Hong Kong's construction industry was devised for this
study. The results show that longevity is important and the ICT becomes the best performer
over all the indicators in the 75-year life assessment. The results also show that the
operational regime is significant for all buildings. Energy efficiency is clearly important and
strategies to reduce demand and increase supply from renewable energy sources should be
examined. The repair and maintenance regime is also very significant indicating that varying
and improving how the building is run and maintained could greatly minimise the overall life
cycle impacts.
Keywords: Hong Kong, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC),
Sustainability
1. INTRODUCTION
This paper reports the progress of the first of two related studies: the first is complete and
the second is approximately two thirds complete. Both studies endeavour to establish an
internationally recognised methodology to undertake comparative assessments of the relative
'sustainability' of buildings and civil engineering projects. The Methodology devised to achieve
this, must be specifically tailored to Hong Kong's Construction Industry, and thereafter must be
made applicable to the broader South East Asia Region. Hong Kong and the South China region
are strongly driven by costs so, in this context, Life Cycle Costing (LCC) must be included in any
assessment, together with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). In both studies, two of the three
recognised environmental aspects of sustainability are measured: economics and environment. The
third, the social impact, has been excluded because of a present lack of data, the difficulty in
setting the scope of such a study, and setting recognised and appropriate 'yardsticks' within Hong
Kong to measure social indicators. The intention is to focus on social indicators in future work.
% ('trolpar;~ti\cSuct:~ir~al,ilit! ~ ~ c t ~ \ \ n iol't:~rlrl:trd
~-~iI I i o ~ ~ c i l tI!locl\c
l: ill Iloltg Kong i~ntlI'roportbtl
Intcgcr ( oriccpt I over +.ltt~r~~:~ti\v
The study compared the environmental and cost performance of the following three 40-
storey residential tower types: a housing authority "standard" Harmony Block (HAB), a private
sector housing block (PSB), and the Integer Concept Tower (ICT) (50-year and 75-year life).
The ICT is a speculation, designed to demonstrate how future Hong Kong high-rise
housing (40 storeys) might be configured and constructed. It was the result of research and design
undertaken by the Integer Partners with input from some of Hong Kong's leading construction
consultants. It forms one of the major themes of the exhibition on the future of Housing in Hong
Kong at the Integer Pavilion. It has initiated a construction industry research and development
group that focuses on construction related sustainability issues. This group is composed of
representatives from the Integer "Partners" as well as from leading university departments'
involved in construction, interested in advancing sustainable construction.
The study has shown, the overall energy performance of the ICT lies between the HAB
(0.22 M J / ~ CFA/annum/occupant)
' and the PSB (1.16 MJlm' CFA/annum/occupant) with 0.95
M J / CFA/annum/occupant
~ ~ over 75-year life, and when amortized over 75-year life its rate per
annum is best with 563 M J / ~ CFAIannum
' (versus 709 for HAB and 750 for PSB). The annual
rate per occupant of embodied energy is extremely efficient in the HAB. The best performing
building type for the waste indicator is the ICT, over the 50 and 75-year life with respectively
19.45 and 12.51 dm3/m2 CFAIannum (against 20.84 for HAB and 23.37 for PSB). The results
show that the ICT is the overall best performing building with 129 and 107 CO2 kg/m2CFAIannum
over 50 and 75-year life respectively, but the most striking aspect of the results is the
predominance of the operational CO' emissions. Interestingly the cost indicator appears to mirror
the energy results.
Longevity is important and the ICT becomes the best performer over all the indicators in
the 75-year life assessment. The presumption here is that it will, in reality have a 75-year life
because of the intrinsic flexibility of its frame construction, where as the inherent inflexibility of
the other two building types will limit their life spans. The operational regime is significant for all
buildings and energy efficiency is clearly important. Thus strategies to reduce energy demand and
increase the supply of all energy types from renewable energy generation sources should be
examined. The repair and maintenance regime is also very significant indicating that varying and
improving how the building is run and maintained could greatly reduce the overall life cycle
impacts. The Integer Concept Tower is definitely worthy of further investigation.
2. AIMS OF THE OVERALL STUDY

The first study sought to demonstrate to key Construction Industry representatives and
'stake holders' the implementation of a methodology by undertaking a comparative assessment of
archetypical residential towers in Hong Kong. Two existing towers, one private the other public,
were selected together with one future or "concept" tower. The study was less to do with
highlighting differences between the buildings being analysed and more a demonstration of how
the methodology can be used as: a means to inform the debate on the macro scale about how
comparative construction methods and hence how housing types might evolve in the light of
LCAILCC data, and a tool of use to client bodies to analyse their property portfolio, by design
teams on projects and manufacturers on improving their products.
As previously stated the study compared the environmental and cost performance of three
40-storey residential tower types. The ICT was chosen not only for its topicality, but more so the
tower concept was included because its assessment would demonstrate precisely the reason for
creating and developing the methodology in the first place: i.e. to test quantitatively the
performance of theoretical construction prototypes and as a project-specific design tool that can
assess the relative benefits of a whole range of possible construction variables.
,i ('un~paratiscSu\tainahilit? , i \ \ e s \ m c ~ ~ulStandar-d
t Ilousing Blocah+in l l o e g Kung aod f'ropo+cd
Integer C'oncixpt Tower , i l t c r ~ i i ~ t i s c
3. INTRODUCTION OF ONGOING WORK

The second study focuses on the New Harmony Block and is specifically for the Hong
Kong Housing Authority (HKHA). The Harmony Block Architectural Layout is shown below in
Figures I and 2. The 41-storey residential Harmony Block comprises 20 units per floor: 4 flats
lP/2P, 8 flats lB, and 8 flats 2B.
Fig. I Layout of Tenant Areas. Fig. 2 Layout ($Typical Floor.
The outcome is a combined LCAILCC decision making tool specially for assessment of
the New Harmony Block (Option 2). The integration of LCA and LCC methodology is based on
quantitative assessment and therefore is more accurate than the qualitative building environmental
assessment method currently available that are often based on check-box assessment methods,
such as Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Method (HK-BEAM) and BRE's
Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). Building designers can therefore evaluate
precisely and objectively the relative sustainability and cost effectiveness of their material
selections from a whole life-cycle perspective. The life cycle perspective includes all stages such
as raw material extraction, manufacturing, transportation, construction, operation, and
maintenance, disposal and recycling.
The LCAILCC decision making tool measures and quantifies the following ten
environmental impacts for each life-cycle stage:
Energy (GJ)
Resource depletion (tonnes)
Water consumption (cubic metres)
Waste (tonnes)
Climate change (tonnes C 0 2 eq.)
Acid rain (kg SO2 eq.)
Photochemical smog (kg ethane eq.)
Ozone depletion (kg CFC-I I eq.)
Toxicity to humans (kg Tox eq.)
Toxicity to ecosystems (kg Tox eq.)
A CSornparati\eSu\tainabilit? Ar5e5smrnt of Standard Ilooring Blocks in Ilong Kong and Proposed
Integer ('onccpt 'Io~verAlternati\e
"For each category of impact, characterization will be taken to define the contribution of
an environmental burden (intervention) to the impact. The purpose of this is to translate different
inventory inputs into directly comparable impact indicators. For example, characterization would
provide an estimate of the relative human toxicity between lead and zinc. One burden which makes
a contribution which is considered to have a contribution to that impact, or 'potency', of 1.
Other burdens are considered with a potency factor relative to that. Alternatively, the burden can
be characterized by measuring it in a particular unit, such as cubic meters of water. The
characterization process follows international practices in the characterization of inventory data for
their potency with the different impact categories.
The characterized impact will then be normalized. The purpose is to express impact
indicator data in a way that can be compared among impact categories. The procedures
normalized the characterized results by dividing by selected reference values, which can be:
The total emissions or resource use for region that may be local, regional or global
The total emissions or resource use for an area on a per capita basis" (Howard,
Edwards & Anderson, 1999).
The normalized impact should be weighted before comparisons can be made between
different specifications. If the potential impacts for two different impact categories are equally
large after normalization, the weighting process which reflects the perceived relative seriousness to
each impact category is used to assess the difference between each impact. The assessment is
based on workshops carried out in October 2002 that canvassed the views of a wide range of Hong
Kong's construction industry representatives who ranked the relative seriousness of the ten impact
categories. The weighted impacts are totalled and form a unitised Hong Kong Environ-Point, an
environmental impact indicator for the combined LCAILCC study.
3.1. Methodology - first study

The methodology comprises 4 stages: data gathering and selection of performance
indicators, creating life-cycle models for each building type (3N0) and for each sustainable
indicator (4N0) i.e. 12 separate models in total, carrying out the comparative analysis once all the
data has been delivered, and development of both practical and possible improvement strategies
with their associated cost and environmental benefits then being critically analysed.
3.1.1. Regional Data and Selection of Performance Indicators

In order to carry out a comparative LCNLCC assessment throughout the full life cycle of
each building type implies the availability of a comprehensive database of the costs and
environmental impacts. These impacts are resultant from the manufacture and delivery of all the
major construction materials, elements and components. For the first study initial investigation
showed that much published environmental material data had been generated in Europe or
Australia. However the 'regionalisation' of data for South East Asia or the procurement of
validated regional data was considered important. For this reason it was decided to restrict the
European embodied energy of construction materials data to the role of a comparative validation of
the only 'localised' database published (really international data considered to be applicable for
use in Hong Kong). This 'local' data was restricted to the embodied energy of a range of key
construction materials (Chen, Burnett, & Chau, 2000). The comparison of European and 'local'
HK embodied energy data showed little difference and thus the European C 0 2 (largely emissions
resultant from energy generation) data was considered to be applicable, although these will be
adjusted in accordance with Hong Kong's slightly different fuel mix in the next iteration of this
study.
However good local data on the operational energy consumption per building (the energy
consumed during the operational life of the building - cooling, ventilation lifts etc.) were available
as were reasonable local data on the material consumed in the repair and maintenance regimes.
Good local data were also available for waste and together with the above data it was then possible
to create a reasonably good life-cycle model that assessed the environmental indicators mentioned
\ ( o n l p a ~ x l i r c\u\ti~ir~;rbilit>\*\e\*nrcat ~ I ' S l i ~ r ~ d Ilouririg
i~rd Block* ill llo~rgbong a l r d I ' r o p o ~ t l
Inlcgcl- ( onrcpt 1 ewer \Ilr~t-lr;~ti\r.
below.
Finally very good local cost data were available throughout the building life cycle and thus
the study was able to create building life-cycle models for each building type. Thus the
assessment took into account all the buildings' full life cycle, from the manufacture of the building
components and elements from raw materials, through the construction and operational life of the
buildings and finally to the end of the buildings' lives. Assumptions had to be made of course
about the maintenance regime of the Integer Tower.
3.1.2. Creating the Models

The basic quantum model for the selected generic residential blocks will be established
with reference to both published and historical quantity data obtained from DLS's projects
database. The material masses included within the models are based upon the generic designs and
include standard foundations design allowances and building services installations for each of the
building types. The models are also expanded to include repair and refurbishment regimes for
each of the studied building types over their respective notional lives. The development of the
waste model although primarily driven from the mass model requires the inclusion and assessment
of the quantities of materials "wasted" at each stage of the construction and maintenance process.
The development of the energy and C 0 2 models for the different materials is established using
conversion factors derived from recognised international sources. To create an operational energy
consumption and C 0 2 emissions 'profile' for each building type, recorded data already in the
public realm was used. The final segment of the whole life model is the cost element, which is
derived from benchmarked construction costs for the selected building types.
All of the indicators selected for measurement in this study are capable of division into the
different stages of the building life, initial, repair and maintenance and end of life.
The resultant models generated in this study allow full whole life profiles for each of the
indicators measured to be presented in numerical and graphical form and together produce a
detailed inventory of the building throughout its whole life.
The ICT was treated in exactly the same manner as the other two blocks. A quantitative
model was created using the typical drawings available and exactly the same quantification
assumptions were applied.
3.1.3. Comparative Analysis

Having derived models and subsequent data, the following series of comparative analyses
were carried out for all four indicators.
An overall embodied life-cycle comparison (omitting operational energyICO2) was
carried out on the selected building types. Assessments were made at key points during the
buildings' life cycles and differences that emerged were analysed on an element-by-element basis.
There will be further careful scrutiny of the different repair and refurbishment regimes to ascertain
if they lead to any expected difference in the notional building life of each housing type. More
importantly the sensitivity of this data will be examined to determine whether the quality of the
data will influence the overall results. This is considered to be important since all of the building
types being studied are younger than the design lives considered, hence making historical
information for older building unavailable. Clearly if the repair and maintenance data is sensitive
in the overall model, then the impact of variations in the regimes adopted in older buildings may
have an impact on the overall whole life assessment results.
Operational energylC02 was also assessed and although differences emerged between the
two existing housing types due to varying occupant life-styles, a breakdown of the data indicates
areas where comparisons in construction material usage are valid. However the main purpose for
the inclusion of operational energylC02 is to set the embodied impacts and capital cost in context
of the block as a whole. This is important in discovering the best ways of reducing the
environmental impacts of constructing and operating for all the housing types. Moreover, attempts
to reduce operational impacts are often dependant on changinglirnproving the building
.alzoqe u ~ o y saln3g
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aq 01 punoj ale sl3edw! Zo3 pue ASlaua al3d3-aj!l aylj! 'aldmaxa lad 'ape" aq ue3 sluawa~oldru!
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aq alojalayl [[!M '~uama~oldw!,palsa33ns y3ea jo luawssasse lgauaq 1so3 v 'way) 3u!seal3u!
( s / l e ~ [ elou lnq) A[[ensn fSu!p[!nq ayl jo luamo3 Z03/cC%lauapa!poqwa pue $so3 ayl uo l3edw! ue
aAey cC1u!epa3 lsomle spoylaw uo!l~nysuo3 .uo!leInsu! Ieuo!l!ppe 3.a L ~ M awos u! uo!l~rulsuo3
.\ <'oniparati\c S u ~ l a i n a h i l i lI~\ ~ s e $ $ n i e lof
~ t Standard tlouring Hlockr in 1lo11gKong i ~ n dProl~c~retl
Integer ('onccpt r o ~ e ,\lterni~ti\e
r
This methodology is in accordance with the sensitivity analysis established by previous work
(AMATO, 1996). The other noteworthy point is the significance of the operational energy figures,
in relation to the initial and repair and maintenance figures, it is about equal to the total of both the
construction of the building in the first place and repairing the building fabric during its life.
However it would seem that the repair and maintenance regime (R&MR) of all the
housing blocks is considerable, over 30% more than the construction of the building in the first
place for the HAB and while the R&MR for the ICT is only approximately 25% of the initial
figure very interestingly it is almost 50% more for the PSB. The question that emerges is why the
R&MR values should be so much in comparison with the initial values. This and explanations of
why the proportional figures (from 25% - 50%) should also vary considerably over the range of
building types will be analysed comparatively with other international work in the future but have
yet to be carried out and will occur at the end of this study.
Finally the buildings have very different occupancies and so at the end of each parameter
the annual rateper occupant is shown. Clearly the HAB emerges as being extremely efficient in
this respect and the Housing Authority can take some pride in this achievement. However this
does provoke a long-term concern about people's aspirations to future standards and whether the
desire for greater space and consumptions standards will inexorably drive the occupants now
housed in the HAB to demand a 'consumption level' that is more similar to those enjoyed in the
PSB. If this view is taken the ICT over 75 years does seem to offer the best long term solution.
Similar results were obtained for waste, see Table 2, where again the quantity of steel was
significant as this time the steel frame was recycled and reduced the total quantity of waste going
to landfill. It should be remembered that at present the waste figures are calculated by volume and
not mass and greater differences might emerge between the Integer Concept Tower and the
existing concrete housing blocks as the mass of steel is more than concrete.
Table 2 Waste volume figures for various life cycle stages
Environmental Housing Private Sector Integer Integer

Indicator Authority Standard Concept Concept
Category Standard Block Block Tower Tower
50 years 50 years 50 years 75 years
Waste - volume (dm3/mzCFA)

Volume to Landfill Initial 38.00 29.24 18.04 18.04
Volume to Landfill 899.80 1,022.47 857.43 857.43
Deconstruction
Life CycIe Total Waste (dm3/m2 920 1024 833 833

CFA) 34,361 tonnes 20,088 fonnes 22,548 tonnes 22.548 tonnes
Life Cycle Total Waste (mass)
Rate per Annum

No of occupants per building
Annual rate per occupant
It appears that the best performing building type for the waste indicator is the ICT, over
the 50 and 75-year life. It has been assumed that all the metals for all the buildings will be
recycled and because there is a considerably greater tonnage of metals (structural steel) in the ICT,
this has had the effect of considerably boosting the amount recycled and thus reduced the amount
going to landfill. Also the effect of amortizing the building over another 50% more of its life
again considerably reduces the rate per annum, a peculiar concept perhaps, as a building is not
demolished in yearly stages, but is applicable on a larger citywide scale.
\i Comparatise Su\lainahilit~Al~es+niclltof Stantlard Iloosing Blocks in Hong Kong and Propowd
Integer ('oncrpt '1 ewer /\ltcrnarivr
Table 3 Quantities of C 0 2 at various life cycle stages

Indicator Authority Standard Block Concept concept
Category Standard Block 50 years Tower Tower
50 years 50 years 75 years
C 0 2 (kg/m2 CFA)
Initial
Repair & Maintenance
Operational C 0 2 due to
energy consumption
Demolition &
Decommissioning
Life Cycle Total
Rate per Annum

Noof occupants per building
"Carbon dioxide values were unable to be reliably calculated for the demolition process,
as the energy consumption and fuel mix attributable to the transport of waste material to disposal
sites was found to be extremely variable for the examples investigated. However COz emission
resultant from the demolition process are likely to be of a similar order as those for energy i.e. very
much smaller when compared with the initial and overall life-cycle totals.
Here again the figures presented in Table 3 show the ICT is the overall best performing
building but the most striking aspect of the above results is the predominance of the operational
COz emissions.
Table 4 Cost figures for various life cycle stages

Indicator Authority Standard Block Concept Concept
Category Standard Block 50 years Tower Tower
50 years 50 years 75 years
Cost ($/m2 CFA)
Capital 5,354 8,084 1 1,083 10,130
Repair & Maintenance 4,185 4,859 4,279 4,490
Operational Costs 2,835 5,177 3,837 5,810
(management)
Operational Energy Cost 6,545 4,525 4,441 7,350
Demolition & 47 90 39 60
Decommissioning Costs
Whole Life Costs 18,965 22,736 23,678 27,840
Rate per Annum

No of occupants per building
Interestingly the cost indicator, as shown in Table 4, appears to mirror the energy results.
4. CONCLUSIONS
Longevity is important and the ICT becomes the best performer over all the indicators
in the 75-year life assessment. The presumption here is that it will have a 75-year life
because of its intrinsic flexibility of its frame construction. Whether this same
.\ <'oniparati\c Su5tainabilit 4\\c\\mcnt of Standard Iiou\ing Block\ i a I l o ~ Kong
~ g and Propowd
lotcgt>r('onecpt 1 o.crrr ,.\ltcr~tati\c
flexibility and thus extension of overall building life can also be achieved in reality by
the other two standard blocks is out with the scope of this study. But redundancy is
seldom caused by the basic constructional materials losing their functional integrity
and nearly always to do with the economics of flexibility. As Hong Kong's GDP
increases it is very likely that tenants once content with space standards that would be
considered in many other countries to be small may well demandldesire greater
habitable floor area. If this cannot be achieved by the refurbishment of buildings due
to the inherent inflexibility of say load bearing cross-wall type construction then
building design ought to be changed to facilitatelmaximise flexibility.
A process of benchmarking of the complete range of Hong Kong's building types
ought now to be undertaken so that best practice standards can become design targets.
The operational regime is significant for all the buildings and energy efficiency is
clearly important and strategies to reduce demand and supply with energy generated
renewably should be examined.
The repair and maintenance regime is also very significant indicating that varying and
improving how the building is run and maintained could potentially considerably
reduce the overall life cycle impacts.
The Integer Concept Tower is definitely worthy of further investigation.
The models can now be interrogated to review a whole series of design questions. For
example:-
* At what point would the inclusion of photo voltaic faqade cladding be cost
effective or conversely, how much would the price of energy have to rise
to make its inclusion paid for in say 10 years.
A similar question could be posed for insulation.
If the layout (plan form) of the buildings were rationalise what would be
the consequence.
Perhaps the largest question to be raised in Hong Kong's construction
sector at present is the extent and potential of the use of precast elements.
Here a range of alternatives can be explored and the proposals optimised.
The first study is now almost complete, the bulk of the work being the creation of the
building models. However the following points are a direct outcome from the first
study and these have yet to be initiated:-
* The operational energy and C 0 2 model requires greater validation. The
figures that have been derived are correct, but there now remains the task
of establishing a representative range of results that reflect the range of
lifestyles of the different types of tenants, sizes of families etc. It is also
desirable to have a better understanding of future energy demand and
supply trends, and especially of the significance of how energy demand is
affected by energy cost.
The current practice of recycling materials in Hong Kong needs further
understanding so that the end-of-life waste stream to landfill can be more
accurately calculated.
A sensitivity analysis needs to be carried out using a range of methods to
assess the benefit of future recyclability of materials, especially steel.
This has been shown to make a significant difference to the comparative
analysis of concrete and steel frame alternatives.
Following this is to bring forward the debate about whether recycled and
reused construction materials are going to make a significant contribution
to minimising the flow of waste.
A C omparathe Snstainabilit) A\sCs\rne~rtoPStantlard Iluuring Block\ i ~ rllong Kong aod I'ropoced
I~ltegcrC'oncept 7 owrr Alternath e
REFERENCES
Amato, A. 1996. A Comparative Environmental Appraisal of Alternative Framing
Systems for Offices. Oxford Brookes University, U.K.
Chen, T. Y., Burnett, J., & Chau, C. K. 2001.Analysis of embodied energy use in the residential
building of Hong Kong, Energy, Volume 26,Issue 4,Pages 323-340.
http://~~~.~~iencedirect.com/science/article/B6V2S-42RORYM-
April 2001.
1/2/9b3936a8847084f680dd079e7b493442,
Howard, N., Edwards, S., & Anderson, J. 1999. BRE Methodology for Environmental
Profiles of Construction Materials, Components and Buildings. London: BRE.
I'liought 011the Henowa1 \lode i l l the Old (.it! in \\ uhan:
('omp;~ri\ooof \tndic\ of two \ample /one\ in \\ ulrau sntl tllc thought i ~ t ~ oitu t
Thought on the Renewal Mode in the Old City in Wuhan:

Comparison of studies of two sample zones in Wuhan
and the thought about it
Bo YANG
Ecological Architectural Design Studio
School of Architecture and Urban Planning
Huazhong University of Science& Technology
Abstract: The old city in Wuhan is densely placed with low and mid-rise buildings, especially
in the former concessions. The preservation of its historical features and the call for rapid
development seem to be a contradictory issue that never conciliate. The "Yongqing zone" and
the "Yiyuan zone", both famous concessions in Wuhan, picked up a completely different
developing mode. The former followed the "format" manner while the latter arranged
"workshop" (public participation) after preliminary investigations. It was the first time in
Wuhan to address the issue with the "bottom-up" method. Making a comparison between these
two sample zones and probing deeper into the problems of old city renewal in Wuhan, the
paper arrives at the conclusion that a "bottom-up" developing mode with a "small-scalenn
"step-by-step" upgrading method is an alternative solution in Wuhan. A series of systems
should be set up for public participation and renewal assessment. Also, the paper proposes
some practice measures to address the problem.
Keywords: old city renewal, bottom-up, public participation
1. INTRODUCTION
In the new millennium, with the economy booming in Wuhan, rapid development calls for
large amount of land provision. By the year 2000, the registered real estate developers in Wuhan
reached 571, accompanied by the amount of dismantled houses rose year after year (Table 1).
Large-scale old city renewal in Wuhan goes on at high gear.
Table 1T h e Demolished Houses by Registered Real Estate Developers in ~ u h a n l "

The Dsmolbhed Houwa by Regiatemd Real Estate
Dsvelopen h Wuhan
'I1 Wuhan Construction Almanac 200 1 . Wuhan Press. Page 67.
163
l'l~oughtoa t l ~ rKcnewal hlodc in tile Olcl C it! ill Cl u h a ~ ~ :
('ompilrison of 5tudius of two sample rorlcr in Wul~aliarlcl the fl~oughti~boutif
Wuhan carried out its plan of protection of the features of the old city in its master plan
from 1996 to 2000, but there are many problems in the operation and implementation approaches.
The author has participated in two projects of design in the old city zone in 2002. However, the
patterns of practice were completely different. One of the projects - the "Yongqing zone"
followed the "top-down" pattern with a "format" practicing style (Figure I), while the latter - t h e
"Yiyuan zone" picked up a "bottom-up" one. Through thorough investigation and taking in the
"public participation" method, we got statistic figures that will lead to a sound way out in the real
practice.'21
Figure I A Kind oJ'Heroic Plan (Yongqing Zone)
2 THE PROBLEMS FROM THE RESEARCH AND PROPOSALS

ON THE CITY RENEWAL IN WUHAN
The "Yiyuan zone" became the British concession in 1905. It was once the superb
- ~ i ~ ~ ~residential
~ = [ 3 community
1 and it is at present densely placed with commercial usage on the
front streets and residential houses inside. It is still under developed and is no longer a nice place
as it used to be (Figure 2). After more than half a year of investigation, we came up with the
proposals of "multiple-characters, multiple-functions, and comprehensive-reconstruction of the
community" for the city renewal in Wuhan '41.
Figure 2 Aerial Kew oJ'Tongfeng Community (Eyuan Zone) (Investigated in the Research)
(Photographer: Gong Jian)
['I The research project -"Reconstruction of Community: Study on Type&Form of the old City Renewal of Wuhan",
assigned by Wuhan Urban Planning &Research Institute and cooperated with School of Architecture and Urban Planning
of Huazhong University of Science &Technology began in December 2002, in both zones at the same time.
A linong is a small walled residential community with rows of townhouses (a variety of the courtyard house)
accessible through lanes between the rows.
14] Reconstruction of Community in the Downtown Areas of Wuhan City
School of Architecture and Urban Planning. Huazhong University of Science and Technology. 2002.6
I'hooght on the Rcnc\+ol \lode in the Old C i t ~in FF ehan:
('omparison ot'\ti~dic\of t w o saniplc l o n e \ in M l l l i a ~ant1
~ tile tliooght ;~holltit
2.1 Organically growing -Cooperation of 3 parts: Government, Resident and

Enterprise
Owing much to the historical factors, the land-usage ownership and land-property
ownership (in China, the two ownerships do not necessarily in accordance with each other) turned
out to be a very complicated situation in the community investigated. In order to reach a unique
scheme of planning and development, the chaos-situation hampering development must be
changed. So, it is suggested that a series of transition and adjustment systems for land and property
ownerships be enhanced. Under the guidance and coordination of the municipal government, a
"government-resident-enterprise cooperation" mode with "small-scale", "multiple-goals" and
"comprehensive-developing" methods concerning interests of all parts should be adopted.
2.2 Maturity of the Community Organization

In 1970s, the occidental countries gave up the method of large-scale renovation in the old
city renewal and picked up the "small-scale", "step-by-step" manner instead, which has been
proved to mark advantages.[51
In China, the "public participation" remains at a fairly low level as community services
and management, far from its essence of initiating the residents to participate in the development
of the community in an organized group.'61
In the investigation, the residents expressed extremely high expectation of participating in
the process of policy-making and they have strong inclination to involving in the community lives,
which are at present not available for them. A "workshop" was held in Tongfeng community and it
was the first time in Wuhan to address the problem in such a method (Figure 3). 46.7 percent of the
residents deemed the community center to be the most in need in their community (Table 2).
Figure 3 Discussions in Workshop (Photographer: Gong Jian)
Table 2 Public Facilities Needed in the Community (Statistic from Workshop)
~~
I
PUBLIC FACILITIES NEEDED
Community Cornrnun~tycenter Cutdoorspace

facilities
' I CHEN Ming and DAI Shenzhi. 2003. The Residents' Participation and the Sustainable Development in Old Urban
Housing Areas. The 3rd China Urban Housing Conference. Hong Kong. PI32
['I CHEN Ming and DAI Shenzhi. 2003. The Residents' Participation and the Sustainable Development in Old Urban
Housing Areas. The 3rd China Urban Housing Conference. Hong Kong. P133
165
I l i o i i ~ h t011 1 1 1 ~Rcric.\\i~l\lotlit ill tlrc Oltl C it\ in 5 i uh:le:
( o~iioariwrlof 9 1 1 1 d i ~ 401' [NO \a~npIlc/one$ in L\ u l i i ~ u~rtl
i~ tlte tlro~~ght
;it)(~utit
It has been proved that a powerful community organization-a none profit organization
(NPO) is absolutely necessary in the establishment of a community. Taking the community under
investigation as an example, as the tip of the administration system, "Neighborhood Committee" is
questioned on its representation illegality for its "top-down" administrative features.
"Neighborhood Committee" cannot play its due role of renovation tasks and it is more likely to
lead none-structure of the community. In another word, the "reconstruction of community" is in
essence the "reconstruction of modem community organization". Democratic self-governing and
public participation are the premise in community development and its maturation.
2.3 One of the Countermeasures to the Advanced-age Problem (Super Advanced-age

Problem) in Community: Advocacy for an Assembly-living Form
46.3 percent of the people in the community are old people above 56 years old, far higher
than 18 percent, the well accepted figure that decides the situation of advanced-age of a society.
Tongfeng community is already in a super advanced-age situation. The living features of the old
people lie in the space for living being largely cramped within the community and the space
available for them becoming smaller and smaller with their aging process. The old people cannot
complete all their living behaviors within the houses, which are based on families as units. The
reliance on "assembly- living" strengthens as time goes by.
Based on the living features of the old people nowadays in China, the assimilation of
"assembly- living" and "cooperation" methods are advocated. The former "self-completion within
the family unit" living mode will be transited to an "open and spouse-based unit" one, which has
close relationship with the outside environment. In a word, a super advanced-age community has
the features and functions of welfare facilities.
2.4 Another Countermeasures to the Advanced-age Problem (Super Advanced-age

Problem) in Community: Enlargement of the Public Space
With the increase of the necessity of support within the community and the reliance on
"assembly- living" mode going up, the expansion of public space and communal space is called to
play a leading role in the community designs. (Figure 4, Figure 5)
Figure 4 Typical Outdoor Activities in the Community. (Photographer: Gong Jian)
Figure 5 Investigntiotzs on Outdoor Activities of the Residents in Harzrutz Li

I liought or^ the Renewal Ilotlc in t h c Old (I it? in \\uhan:
<'olnlxwison ol'studies ol'two \ample /one\ in \\ u l ~ : ~aul ~ r tl h e tllouqht a b o u t it
(Tondeng Community) (By Pen Jianbo, Gong ~ i a n " ~ )
2.5 Improvement in "Essence" of the Houses: Quality Upgrading

Most of the residents are not satisfied with their present living and 53.7 percent of them
wish to have their houses dismantled and thoroughly renovated. 32.9 percent of them wish to have
the houses renovated at a less intense level. However, a majority of them show strong inclination
of staying at the original place and have expressed fairly strong acquaintance of the community.
Residents in such a small community can walk to outside stores and bus stops easily and have a
strong sense of territoriality because they know their neighbors.'81
Though the living area per person has already reached the figure of 12m2-the
requirement of Wuhan master plan from 1996 to 2020 concerning the step-target of 201 0, the ratio
of "set-completion" is at a fairly low level (Figure 6). So, the preservation and continuation of
"Linong" characteristic texture of Wuhan city should go parallel to the establishment of "set-
completion" in "Linong" residential houses, especially the upgrading of kitchen and toilet
facilities. Given the situation of advanced-age and the trend of super advanced-age in the
community, "set-completion" is to be "nDK (n=5- 10 " as the goal with "group" as a unit
rather than former "2DK" or "3DK" with "family" as a unit. It is not only beneficial to improve
the living standard of the old but also good for money saving in the renovation process.
Figure 6 Typical Plans o f the Houses in Tondeng Community
2.6 Manage to Enable the Residents to Go Back to Their Original Places and Decide
the Compensation Level According to the Market.
Only 23.8 percent of the residents accepted the proposal of monetary reimbursement and
60 percent of them chose to have the houses at the very site rebuilt (Table 3). For one thing, they
did not want to give up the convenience they now enjoy, for another, it was perhaps more
important, that they would probably be the greatest losers in this "contract", for, according to the
previous experience in "Yiyuan zone", the residents got only a compensation of 1290RMB per
square meter, with the average price nearby already reaching as high as 2200RMB.
The inclinations of remaining at the original places or returning after renovation should be
taken as the basic rights of the residents, which represent the equality of the society. It is the main
standing point and the fundamental principle to respect and protect the very right in the
reconstruction of community. Deciding the compensation level according to the market and
enlarging the ratio of low-cost, small and middle-sized economical houses are two main counter
measures. Table 3 Assortments of the Residents' Wills on "Dismantle" (Statistic from Questionnaire)
['I Pen Jianbo. 2002.12. Investigation on Outdoor Activities of the Community Residents in Wuhan.
Graduate Thesis of Osaka University.
' I Deserted Streets in a Jammed Town. 2003. The Gated Community in Chinese Cities and Its Solution
Journal of Urban Design, Vol. 8,45-66. Cafax Publishing. P56
I'liought on the Her~ewsl\lode i n the Old C iQ i n I\uhan:
Comp;~risonot'$tutlie$ ot' t w o $ample /ones in Wuh;111ancl the thought bout it
Table 3 Assortments of the Residents' Wills on "Dismantle" (Statistic from Questionnaire)
1 -0RTMENTOF WILLS ON 'DISMANTLE"
2.7 Maturity of the Community Economy and Cultural Development in the

Historical Concession Environment
The community investigated is close to the commercial center. Residents here have rich
experiences and competences in the job of the service industry for the convenience of the site.
However, most of them are now laid-off workers and are in a poor condition because of the
national economical system transition. Based on the very situation of former concessions and rich
historical heritages available, economy-culture combination developing mode is very much
encouraged. For example, bar, cafe, book kiosk, collecting houses, artistic workshop, etc. are all
possible ways to lift them out of their current difficult situations. The sustainable economy
regeneration measures ensure the undying resources of sustainable development.
2.8 The 6th Problem to Be Resolved Imminently of the Community: the

Establishment of Legal System on Environmental Protection in the Historical
Zones
Aside from the protection of the registered historical architectures, there is a large amount
of "Linong" residential blocks, which have characteristic of Wuhan features (Figure 7). They are
of course, irreplaceable cultural heritages and are very important resources in the reconstruction of
community. A series of regional laws should be established to ensure their physical texture
continuation and to make clear the principles of preservation and renovation work to the maximum
extent and rehabilitation work to the minimum extent.
Figure 7 Aerial view o f a unique Linong residential quarter in Hankow Friendship Street
3. THE POSSIBLE PRACTICE MODE FOR WUHAN: SOME

THOUGHT ON THE RENEWAL MODE CONCERNING THE
FEATURES OF OLD CITY
1 Ilr)ught on thc 1 i c n c ~ ~ ;\lotlc
il in Llic O l t l ('it? in \II I ~ I ; I I I :
( of \ f ~ ~ c i i cof\ two \;~rnplc/one\ in \\ l~h2lll~ I I J C tI1e
tsn~pal-i\o~~ I t l ~ o u g l ~;111oi1t
t it
3.1 The Government Should Set Up a Series of Grades of the Old City
Correspondingly With Its Renewal Methods. The Criterions will be Multiple
and Advance Gradually in Due Order.
The renewal and rehabilitation projects have close relationship with the urban
development and it is a process on change. The idea of "once and for all" is not realistic. It is
suggested that some measures as practiced in "historical zone" in China be tried. That is, to set the
houses into 3 types as "conservation", "rehabilitation", and "redevelopment" and treat them
respectively.
3.2 "Small-scale", "Step-by-step" Upgrading Method is Comparatively a Successful

Method Being Practiced.
Professor Wu Liangyong put forward the theory of "organic renewal" on the rehabilitation
in Beijing old city in 1980s. Both experiments on Ju'er Hutong in Beijing and the renewal design
project of Wangfujin Chizi in Furong Street in Jinan are successful examples guided by the theory.
As a comparatively successful mode being practiced, the "small-scale", "step-by-step" upgrading
method has its marked realistic meaning.
3.3 The Old City in Wuhan Has Great Cultural and Potential Economical Values, It
Acts as Catalyze of the City Development.
Wuhan was awarded the honor of "Cultural and Historical City" by the state government
in 1986 for its long history of the built city, full of historical sites as well as the widespread
historical and revolution heritages. Especially the "Linong" residential houses contribute a lot to
the formation of the living-culture of Wuhan city after years of evolution.
The most valuable feature of Wuhan old city is the former concessions. The layout of the
concessions go parallel to the Yangtze River on the north riverside and it has changed the spatial
structure of Hankou the basic layout of the city as a whole: from along the riverside of the
Hanjiang River to evolve parallel to the riverside of the Yangtze ~ i v e r ' ' ~The
' . "Joining-in" of new
element and the "Chinese-Westem combination" architectural style are the spatial features of the
city. It is recommended that the development of the concession zones and the current landscape
project of "2 rivers'"] - 4 riversides Landscape Development" be considered comprehensively
and the present situation of developing the surface layer of the rivers be change (Figure 8).
L
Figure 8 Landscape Development of lhe Yangtze Riverside in Wuhan
(It r n q be combined with the development of the old city.)
L91 Hankou: One of the 3 towns in Wuhan, which lies in the north side of the Yangtze River
[''IDuanyu: Research on the Urban Planning of the Concessions in Hankou (1 861-1927). 200214. Page49 Graduate
thesis of Huazhong University of Science and Technology
["I Two rivers mean the Yangtze River and the Hanjiang River
*l'hought on tlie Renewal \lode in the Oltl City in \+uhan:
('olrlpari~orof studies of t\\o stlrnple Lorlev in \Vuh:ln :lrlcl the thought about it
3.4 To maintain Balance of Speed and Benefit as Well as to Conduct Propaganda on

the Successful Experiences of the Renewal Projects; To Make the Cultural and
Historical Values Enhanced in the Renewal Process.
Take these two samples as comparison: for the one who followed the "format" mode,
though it has some of its precious heritage preserved, it is a "museum-protection" manner, already
proved to be not a sustainable way.
The old city in Wuhan carries not only the glorious history of the city but also reveals the
human spirits; it also serves as the cornerstone of the economy. In fact, there are already wise
businessmen who take the advantages of the cultural effect of the old buildings for economical
benefits. For example, the "Rushou Li Family" is built on the very site of the original "Linong" of
"Rushou Li", and it has a famous advertisement of "old place, fresh new life". "Linong", the
traditional residential unit has turned out to be the selling point of the houses; another example is,
"Lanwan Junyuan", a terrific residential community has an old bacon tower totally preserved on its
original site and it contributes a lot to the creation of the cultural atmosphere of this residential
(Figure 9). "Jiqing Street", who earned its fame after the description of the famous
writer Chi Li, is the epitome of Wuhan in old times. It has, however, turned out to be a nation-
famous "folk-custom and dainty- snack street" afterwards.
Figure 9 The Preserved Old Bacon Tower in " L a n ~ ~Junyuan

an (Photographer: Yang Bo)
"
So, it is self-evident that the old city in Wuhan will catalyze the development of the city
rather than act as the barrier to it. The mode of rashness that attaches much importance to speed
and scale will inevitably cause loss in the long term.
3.5 The Old City Renewal Is a Complicated System With Money as Its Bottleneck.
There Are Various Channels and Multiple Ways to Channel Money. The Way of
Raising Money Should Operate According to the Market Regulations.
Through the way of replacement and by means of price level, houses on auction, real
estate comprehensive operation and many other measures to cut down the population in the
community, changing the identity of the residents and adding the unit's area are practicable. Thus
a new life can be offered to the houses, which are on good site but in poor condition. Open the
housing market to the whole state, even to the whole world to channel money in the process of old
house sale and renovation. At the same time, it could have the function changed, say, from living
to some scenery site or some commercial streets. Moreover, it is a kind of practicable way to have
'l'l~oughton thc Renewal >lode in the Oltl ('it? in \\'uh:111:
('omparison oi'4tudie+ot two sample m n e s in \F u l ~ a nand the thought : ~ h o it~ ~ t
the value of the old city renewal and its cost reassessed from a sustainable development point of
view.[I3'
3.6 Sound Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) System Should Be Set up at the Same
Time With the Renovation Projects.
Hua Hong and Wang Xiaoming, both from the former Wuhan Urban Construction
Institute, have had an investigation on 150 exiting "Linong" in Hankou in the research of "Co-
research on Renovation and Rehabilitation of the Existing 'Linong' in Wuhan". It shows that: the
features of the living environment of Hankou modern "Linong" lie in the following 7 aspects:
spatial environment, service environment, hygiene environment, safety environment, visual
environment, connection environment and cultural environment. The system was applied in the
renovation project in "Rushou Li" in Hankou, a sound POE system was carried out and had
achieved good results. 'I4]
With the establishment of POE system going further and the work of renovation being
more mature, the renewal and rehabilitation of the old city in Wuhan will be more reasonable.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT:
This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation in China, No: 50278038
The author would like to thank the guidance from Professor Li Baofeng, Long Yuan, Wang Yuan
and Gong Yanping.
REFERENCES:
Fangke, 2000. The Renewal of the Old City in Modern Beijing. Investigation. Research. Probing,
Beijing: Chinese Architectural Industrial Press.
Wu Liangyong, Fangke, 199914. The Protection and the Development of the Historical Zones With
an Urban Design Point of Kew, Architect. ~ 7Editorial.
' ~ Beijing
Fan Wenbin, Lu Jiwei, 1999112. Analyses of the Mzlltiple Factors That Inject the Renewal of
"Linong" in Shanghai and the Measures Towards them, Architect. 9 1" Editorial. Beijing
Wang Xiaoming, 199812. Thozight on the Historical Architecture in Modern Times.

New Architecture. Wuhan
J.Jacobs, 1961. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Random House.
Fan Wenbin. Lu Jiwei. The Analyses of the Multiple Factors That Infect the Renewal of Linong in Shanghai and the
Measures Towards Them. Architect. 1999112. 91'' Editorial. Page 52
[I4' Huazhong Architecture. 1998. Vo1.16. No.3
1Irban \lining: l h e ("it? 215 a Source of He-l'whle IZuilding hlatel.inl5
Urban Mining:
The City as a Source for Re-usable Building Materials

Institute oflndustrial Science
The University of Tokyo, Japan
Abstract: The general idea of this paper is the attempt to extend the idea of "urban mining" to
construction, regarding the city as a huge source of different types of re-usable building
materials. The author firstly develops a methodology to estimate the accumulated resources in
Japanese building stock using the presumed building stock distribution as well as a database
of itemization of major structural materials per floor area categorized by different constructed
year and building types. The result shows that huge potential recourses are accumulated in the
Japanese building stock at year 2002, which is including 643 million tons of steel, 715 million
m3 of wood and 3384 million m3 of concrete. Compared with the demand in general use of
those materials, the importance to create new possible demands emerges, such as the recycled
aggregate for concrete and the biomass-use for wooden materials. Secondly the connection
between open building and urban mining is discussed. It is concluded that the open building
approach can increase the resource-use efficiency; particularly in case of a well4eveloped
infill system is good for the circular use of materials in building. The result of this research
could provide an important reference for future strategy making.
Keywords: urban mining, building stock, open building, recycling use of resource
1. INTRODUCTION
Waste generated within cities has recently been regarded as a very important mean for
generating new resources. The term "urban mining" is used to respond to this issue. According to
this concept, a city could be considered as a huge stock consisting of many resources. With arising
environmental concerns, it becomes very urgent to realize the actual quantities and the formation
of building stock in order to utilize resources more efficiently. For that reason the author first
develops a methodology to estimate the accumulated resources in the building stock within a case
study area. Secondly, potential solutions are suggested by looking at the balance of demand and
supply of these resources. Thirdly, the potential benefits of the open building approach are
discussed.
2. URBAN MINING
The word 'Urban Mining' is created in the late of 1960s'. It was generated from the
perspective of environmental concerns by recycling of various wastes, scraps and garbage. By
recycling of diverse industrial products in the city, many valuable and useful materials can be
obtained. Compared to natural mining, it is more efficient to get certain important materials
through urban mining in the city. As an example, by refining I ton of cell-phones 280g of gold and
1;rban Mining: 'I'he C'ity as a S o ~ ~ r cofe Re-Usable Building Itfarerial\
1.89kg of silver can be extracted, while only log of gold can be extrac'ted from 3 tons of
overburden in natural mining.
New Production
of Resource
.3 f) /A q
Existing Material Use
,
To non-building use
1
Building
-New Construction
Nature
Resource
Related
Related
R
Natural
e
New Malends
Recycled Maler~als
Input
h Activities
Stock
L---l
UI
Building as
RBSOCIEB
Stock Ir Demolition
Activities
1 Base building as a
flxed infrastructure
0
To non-building use
L Recycling Use of Building Materials waste
Fig.l Diagram of metabolism of material use Fig.2 Concept of ecological material use
around buildings (Yashiro, 2001) (Yashiro, 2001)
Shimoda (200 1) addressed that more than half of the resources consumed in a city per year
are accounted to the construction sector, and most of these resources are accumulated as building
stock. With arising environmental concerns, it becomes very urgent to realize the actual quantities
and the formation of building stock in order to utilize resources more efficiently.
Figure 1 shows the concept of the resource-use in the construction field. The diagram
depicts two big tanks, one is the natural resource stock, and the other is the building stock. Every
year a certain amount of virgin material flows from the tank of the natural resource stock to the
tank of building stock through the construction of new buildings. On the other hand, a certain
amount of building material also flows out from the tank of building stock through demolition of
buildings, of which some of it is recycled and some of it becomes waste. In the concept of
'ecological material use' (fig.2, Yashiro, 2000), it is aimed at minimizing both the new resource
use from the natural resource stock as well as the waste generated from building demolition. In this
point of view, if the building can be used for a long time as a fixed infrastructure, it is possible to
reduce the resource consumption as well as the waste generation, that is, the improvement of
resource efficiency. However, it is very difficult to satisfy the ever changing demands of the users
towards the building. According to Yoshida's research (1996), the prevailing reason for demolition
of building accounts for social or economic factors, but mainly not physical factors of the building
itself. To solve this problem, a continuous customization system is necessary. The open building
approach has a good adaptability to deal with this problem. With the replacement of the infill
system, the base building (equivalent to a fixed infrastructure) can be used for a long period. Later
this will be referred to the concept of open building again.
In general, it can be stated that a city is a huge mine. Every year a certain amount of
buildings is demolished and that is accompanied by producing many solid wastes, including
wooden, steel and concrete materials. However, those wastes can be regarded as re-usable
materials in a positive way. Although, the construction industry generates a huge amount of waste
every year, there is a high potential capacity for the reuse of these materials. Particularly after the
enforcement of the 'Regulation of Recycling in Construction' in 2002, the classification and
proper treatment of those construction wastes has become the responsibility of the owner of the
demolished building. For this reason, it is easier to access those potential materials.
To use these hidden resources more efficiently, it is very important to realize the quality
and the quantity of these accumulated resources. However, there is no proper methodology to
I'rban Mining: l'hc ('it? ;I Source of Re-l'cahle Building hlstcrial\
estimate the quantities of those potential materials. The author proposes a methodology to response
to this problem. Two kinds of information are required for the estimation:
1) Quantity and formation of the building stock
2) Materials used per floor area according to different building types.
The details are described in the following paragraphs.
3. ACCUMULATED RESOURCES IN THE BUILDING STOCK
3.1 Methodology to estimate the accumulated resources in the building stock

In this paper, the quantity of resources accumulated in the building stock at t year Q(t) is
defined as follows:
Q(t>= s ( t >x u ( t >
where S(t) is the amount of the building stock at t year, U(t)is the basic unit of major
building materials consumed per floor area at t year.
3.2 Quantity of the major materials consumed per floor area (basic unit)
The 'Survey on actual conditions of construction materials and labor' is held by the
Ministry of Construction in Japan every 3 years since 1976. The quantities of major materials
consumed per floor area (basic unit) of different structural types 1 functions of buildings are
calculated and published. The result of this survey can be regarded reliable as 5000 samples are
extracted among the building work sites in each survey year. The author accessed the data from
1976 to 2000(the newest version) and 4 major building materials are picked up as a basic unit for
estimation. Since the survey is held every 3 years, the data of the survey year is regarded as a
standard value and extended to the other 2 years. The basic unit before 1976 is assumed as the
value of 1976.
,
I 250
-w
WOOD I 8 0 m......
I
Fig.3 Fluctuations in the quantity of major materials usedperjloor area in different structure Ypes
I,rhan \lining: The Cit? ah a So~tl-ccof K e - l w h l e H~rilding\l;~tcrial$
Figure 3 shows the fluctuations in the quantity of major materials used per floor area in
different structure types, where 'W' means wooden structure building, 'SRC' means steel
reinforced concrete structure building, 'RC' means reinforced concrete structure building and 'S'
means steel structure building. As the diagram indicates, the use of concrete and steel has an
increasing trend in all kinds of structure types. It can be explained by the improvement of
technologies and the requirement for higher structure strength. Besides, the use of wooden
materials in wooden structure building had a fluctuating change while the other structure types
were on the decrease.
3.3 Building stock distribution by constructed year

To estimate the potential accumulated resources in the building stock, it is very important
to have a clear grasp of the actual building stock itself. In Japan, though there is not plenty of
statistical data about the building stock existing, the record for 'Fixed Property Tax' is one of the
most reliable information sources to represent the reality of the building stock. However, in this
record, only the quantity of current existing buildings is shown but the information of the
constructed year is not listed.
Though it is possible to make a rough estimation by only using the quantity of current
existing buildings, a more accurate result could be expected if we can realize the building stock
distribution by constructed year. To overcome this problem of the missing information, a
methodology proposed by Yashiro (1996) is introduced. For this the flow data based on the
'Building Construction Survey' as well as the life distribution model of buildings are applied. The
details of this method are listed as following.
The buildings are classified by constructed year while the amount of each cohort decreases
by time. The decreasing rate of buildings R (t) is defined as following:
Here R ( t ) is the remainder function and f (u) is the probability distribution of the life of
buildings.
To simplify the discussion of this model, the difference of the remainder function in
different cohorts is ignored as an assumed condition. In this case, at the point t year, the amount of
existing buildings constructed in k year Sk(t) can be shown as following.
Here Sk(0)shows the quantity of new constructed buildings at k year.

Further, since the accessible flow data based on the 'Building Construction Survey' started
from 1946, buildings constructed before 1945 are regarded here as a different group using a
different remainder function.
Sprewar
(1) = 'prewar ( i - 1945) Spreuor 945)
Where Sprewar
(i) is the amount of building stock constructed before 2nd World War in i
year, and Rprewar
(i - 1945) is the remainder function of the stock of buildings constructed before
2nd World War, based on the amount of existing buildings in 1945.
Further, according to previous research (Yashiro, 1994), Rprevar
( i - 1945) could be
represented by a logistics curve as follows:
Lt-ban hlining: The <'ity it+ a S o ~ ~ l -ocfeKe-l'\al~lcBuilding hlaterials
The parameters of this formation could be defined as following: (Yashiro, 1996)

K=1.0 195, a=O. 12422, b=-4.45
According to a series research on the life span of buildings (Yashiro, Komatsu, Kato, and
Yoshida, 1990), using terms of reliability theory, the 'probability density function of failure' is
supposed to follow a normal distribution or logarithmic normal distribution from graphic analysis
and as a consequence in this paper a normal distribution function is applied and the parameters are
as following:
where p = 40.55 , and o = 10.23
-Stock data I
* b l t e m m t u ~o~f f h w data
-- A
I
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
1945 19501955 I960 I965 1970 1975 1980 1485 1990 19952000
Tatel-Wooden - - S R C -RC - - S - -.CB --Others
Fig.4 Flow data of Japanese building construction Fig.5 Comparison by the integration ofjlow data
and actual stock data
Figure 5 shows the result of comparing integration of total floor area of survived buildings
constructed in the past with the total area of actual existing buildings using flow and stock data
from the 'Building Construction Survey' and the property tax registration. Here the result shows
that presumed data is very close to the actual situation.
Figure 6 shows the supposed distribution of the present Japanese building stock by
constructed year. It displays that most of the present Japanese building stock is occupied by
buildings constructed after 1970. It illustrates the fact that the Japanese present building stock has
been formed very rapidly within the last 30 years. Now as buildings constructed in this period are
aging, they might represent a big issue in the future. Strategies to respond to this problem are very
important.
Figure 7 shows the transition of potential resources accumulated in the Japanese building
stock based on the result of the presumed distribution of the building stock by constructed year.
The rapid growth since 1970 of 3 kinds of main building materials can be observed. Only the use
I;rl)ao klining: I hc Cit! a9 a Source of Iic-1 whlc Building hlateriiil\
Before 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000
1944
Constructed Year
Fig. 6 Preswned distribution ofJapanese building stock by constructed year at 2002
-
*CONCRETE
-A-
AG G REG
STEEL
ATE^
Fig. 7 Transition ofpotential resources accumulated in the Japanese building stock
of wooden materials grows slowly and is leveling off. It can be explained by the share of wooden
structure buildings as well as the use of wooden materials in building is decreasing.
3.3 Result of estimation

According to the result of the estimation, the accumulated resources in the Japanese
building stock are shown in table 1 and the detailed descriptions are as follows:
Urban Mining: Thc City as a Source of lie-lisable Building hlatcrials
Table 1 Potential materials accumulated in Japanese building stock in year 2002
MATERIALS WOOD STEEL CONCRETE AGGREGATE
QUANTITY 71 5,463,430 (m3) 643,018,694 (tons) 3,384,288,433 (m3) 5,172,790,610 (m3)
1) Wood:
71 5 million m3 of wooden materials are accumulated in the Japanese building stock. This
is 7 times as much as the annual consumption of wooden materials in Japan; 40 times of the
demand of wooden materials in the Japanese building sector in 2000 (17 million m3). It is clear
that the accumulated resources are huge and potential. However, since the imbalance of demand
and supply, it is important to create new possible demands such as the particle boards for interior
finishing materials as well as the biomass-use for energy.
2) Steel:
643 million tons of steel materials are accumulated in Japanese building stock. This is
about 25 times of the annual consumption of steel materials in Japanese construction sector (26
million tons). Since steel is a high value materials as well as the recycling route for it is well-
developed, the recycled rate is very high. However, if a huge amount of steel scrap released from
the demolished buildings in the near future, problems might occur because of the imbalance of
demand and supply. Further, impurities in the steel scrap are also a bottle neck for the recycling of
steel.
3) Concrete:
Compared with the demand for roadbed materials (the major use of concrete scrap
currently) per year (35 million tons), 3384 million m3 (7783 million tons) of concrete are
accumulated in the Japanese building stock. Though the demand is decreasing while the amount of
demolished reinforced concrete buildings is increasing, it is very urgent to create some other use of
these materials. For instance, used as aggregate (recycled aggregate) in fresh concrete, a big
demand can be obtained. That is about 40 times of today's demand for the roadbed materials per
year. For that reason the Japanese government is now making the amendment for the regulations to
implement this use of recycled aggregate.
4. OPEN BUILDING APPROACH AND URBAN MINING
Energy
Fig-5 Contents of resource used categorized by Fig-6 Efect on reducing waste generation by
InJill and Support (based on the survey on the extending the life time of the base building (based
demolition of a 3DK type housing unit) on a 3DK type housing unit) (WENG, 22001)
(WENG, 2001)
Crban Ilining: 1 hc ('it? it\ n Sourcc of Re-l:sahlc 1211ildiog\latfrial\
According to the author's research (WENG, 2001), the open building approach describes a
useful contribution to the resource-use. 61% to 70% solid waste could be reduced by extending the
life span of buildings from 30 years to 120 years (figure 6) and this result illustrates the potential
advantage of the open building approach for the environmental aspect to reduce the consumption
of resources. As the concept of 'ecological material use' mentioned above shows, if buildings
(skeleton or support) can be regarded as a fixed infrastructure, both the input of new resources as
well as the output of wastes could be reduced.
ly New Resources from

Nature Resource Stock
I lnfill system far I Waste
& Infill Inverse Flow :High Speed
Fig. 7 Connection of the open building approach to urban mining
Figure 5 shows the contents of resources used categorized by Infill and Support (based on
the survey on the demolition of a 3DK type housing unit) and it becomes clear that materials used
in the support (skeleton) accounts for a very large share in the weight of the whole system.
However, materials which have high embodied energy are frequently used in the infill level. Since
the replacement of infill will be more frequent in the open building approach than the traditional, it
is very urgent to develop a recycling system for the infill not to cause additional negative impact
on the environment. On the other hand, if the re-use / recycling system can be well-developed,
more efficient route for recycling could be expected.
Figure 7 illustrate the connection of the open building approach to urban mining. The
bottom of the tank is the fixed infrastructure consists of base building. The accumulated resources
here will flow out very slowly because of the long-tern use for those building. On the other hand,
at the top of the tank, infill systems are replaced frequently to meet the customer's ever-changing
needs. Although the speed of flowing out will be faster, the recycling system can conduct a well
circulation for the utilization of resources
5. CONCLUDING COMMENTS
In this paper, the concept of 'Urban mining' is addressed and a methodology for
estimating the potential resources accumulated in the building stock is proposed.
The methodology developed in this paper need to be more discussed. Mathematical
formula indices presented in this paper are supposed to be applicable to express building stock
formation. However, more precise mathematical expressions and intensive analysis is needed.
Especially this is necessary for the discussion of the difference of the remainder function in
different cohorts of different construction years and regions.
The result of the estimation shows that a huge potential of resources is accumulated in the
Japanese building stock. At year 2002, 643 million tons of steel (which is about 25 times that of
Lrhan \liniag: 'I he Cit! a$ a Source of Kt.-($able Building Rilatcriul$
the annual consumption of steel materials in Japanese construction sector (26 million tons)), 7 15
million m3 of wood (which is 7 times as many as the annual consumption of wooden materials in
Japan) and 3384 million m3 of concrete (220 times of concrete scrape generated per year in Japan)
are accumulated in the building stock. Compare with the demand in general use of those materials,
the importance to create new possible demands emerges, such as the recycled aggregate for
concrete or particle boards for interior finishing materials as well as the biomass-use of wooden
materials.
The connection between open building and urban mining is also discussed, it is concluded
that the open building approach can increase the resource use efficiency. Two benefits can be
pointed out:
1) Long-term-use of the base building can keep the resources accumulated in the stock.
2) Close-cycle infill systems are efficient for the recycling of fitting-out materials in
buildings
The author finally suggests that the following issues should be discussed in the future
1) Methodology to grasp the quantity and quality of recyclable building materials
2) Policies to enforce the motivations for using those recycled materials
3) Supply chain management for inverse logistics
REFERENCES
Komatsu, Y. and Kato, Y. and Yoshida, T. and Yashiro, T. 1992. Reports on an

investigation of the life time distribution of Japanese houses at 1987, Estimation based on
the ledgers of buildings for fixed property taxes. Journal of Architecture Planning and
Environmental Engineering. No.439. 101- 110. Tokyo: Architectural Institute of Japan.
Shimoda,Y. and Inoue, S. and Yamagishi, H. and Mizuno, M. 2001. Estimation and
evaluation on material jlow in Osaka prefecture, Material and energy metabolism in
urban area and their relationships with buildings Part I . Journal of Architecture Planning
and Environmental Engineering. No.546. 83-90. Tokyo: Architectural Institute of Japan.
Weng, C.L. and Yashiro, T. and others. 2001. Basic Study on the Assessment of Open
Building System from the Environmental Aspect. Proceedings of Symposium on
Organization and Management of Building Construction. 13-18. Tokyo: Architectural
Institute of Japan.
Yashiro, T. 1990. Basic Study on Relation between Actual Life and Consumption of
Resources for Building Production. Proceedings of 6th Symposium on Organization and
Management of Building Construction. 27 1-276. Tokyo: Architectural Institute of Japan.
Yashiro, T. 1994. Analysis on Past Building Stock Formation Using Life Distribution
Model Obtained From Building Activity Statistics. Journal of Architecture Planning and
Environmental Engineering. No.464. 15 1- 160. Tokyo: Architectural Institute of Japan.
Yashiro, T. 1996. Building Stock Distribution by Constructed Year. Summaries of

Technical Papers of Annual Meeting. 1190-1 191. Tokyo: Architectural Institute of Japan.
I;rb:rn \lining: l ' h e Cit? a s a Source of Re-Ccable Building k l a t ~ r i a l +
Yashiro, T. and Kato, Y. and others. 1990. Survey On Real Life Span of OfJice Building in
Chuuou Ward of Tokyo City. Journal of Architecture Planning and Environmental
Engineering. No.464. 15 1- 160. Tokyo: Architectural Institute of Japan.
Yashiro, T. and Yo, U. and Weng, C.L. 2000. Methodology to Meusure Eficiency in
Building Construction Activities-Basic Study on Sustainable Construction Indicators(Part
2). Proceedings of ~ ~ m ~ o s ion
u mOrganization and Management of Building
Construction. 13-18. Tokyo: Architectural Institute of Japan.
Yoshida, T. and Iida, K. and Ochiai, K, and Kato, Y. and Komatsu, Y. and Mitsuhashi, H.
and Yashiro, T. 1992. Research on the reason,for building demolition. Proceedings of gth
Symposium on Organization and Management of Building Construction. 359-366. Tokyo:
Architectural Institute of Japan.
Urban Discontiaoity ancl Redevelopmeat of Mega-Scale Pro,jects
Urban Discontinuity and Redevelopment of

Mega-Scale Projects
Joseph Francis WONG
Division of Building Science and Technology
City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Abstract: The built environment is a continuous fabric of components at various levels that
undergo constant change through redevelopments. Renewal and growth of the city are
intrinsically dependent on continuous such redevelopments to replace degenerated components to
ensure improvements in the quality of our living conditions. As society progresses, the scale of
redevelopments becomes larger and larger. In Hong Kong, statutory and market conditions led to
the invention of the "podium type" development for large-scale residential projects. This paper
examines the problems associated with the redevelopment of mega-scale "podium type"
developments.
Keyword: Urban discontinuity, redevelopment, mega-scale project
1 INTRODUCTION: CONTINUOUS RENEWAL IN THE BUILT

ENVIRONMENT
Changes on the various levels of the built environment - city, city block, street block, site,
building, unit, room, furniture - take place continuously albeit in different time scales. The lower
the level, the more frequent such changes occur. While moving components around or adding new
components is a relatively commonplace event on the furniture level, knocking down internal
walls to change the layout of components is less so on the room level. This is the case for two
reasons. First, the components gets smaller as one goes from higher to lower levels and hence
requires less effort to rearrange or replace. Second, the higher the level the more people will be
affected by changes to the components of that level. As a result, the number of controlling agents
who have to give consent to the changes grows exponentially as one moves up the levels.
Although frequent, reconfigurations at the unit level or lower are contained within the
envelope of the building level components and have minimal effect on the community because
there is little direct impact on the urban fabric. To the urban fabric and the community it contains,
more influential changes begin at the building level through redevelopments, which occur when
building(s) are demolished and new building(s) are erected to replace them (Figure 1). As
redevelopments are conducted over the course of time, boundaries of components can shift
horizontally within the same level. This happens at both the building and site levels when
component boundaries are added, subtracted or redistributed.
A boundary can be added to a site by building a fence wall down its centre line to divide
the site physically into two smaller site level components. At the building level, a building can be
removed to make way for two or more buildings with smaller footprints. This represents a
redistribution of building level component boundaries. In the above cases, the components
decrease in size. To increase the sizes of components, two sites can be combined to form a larger
site or a number of smaller buildings can be torn down to make way for the construction of a larger
building. In Hong Kong, the tendency is towards ever-increasing component sizes at the building
levels and above, especially in new urban areas.
Figure 1: Redevelopment in the urban fabric
2. URBAN GROWTH THROUGH REDEVELOPMENT
As a result of rapid urban growth and improvement of living standards, the scale of
redevelopment becomes larger and larger in Hong Kong. Although there are still small-scale
redevelopments where a single building is replaced by a new building without changes to the site
level components, more and more redevelopments involve significant interventions at the site
level. Figure 2 shows the typical configuration of traditional city blocks in older areas of Hong
Kong. Each block is made up of a series of individual lots of various sizes with a single building
erected on it. The buildings front a vehicular road and are served by a network of service lanes at
the back of the lot. The service lanes provide natural ventilation and lighting in the extremely
dense set-up as well as a means for discharging people in case of fire.
The smallest scale redevelopment is of the one-to-one kind where a single building in one
lot is replaced by another one (Figure 2). In this type of single-lot redevelopment, there are no
changes to the configuration of the site level components. Only the configuration of the building
level elements is re-arranged while the configuration of the site level elements remains intact. In
other words, there is no cross level intervention taking place.
When an agent controls two or more lots that are adjacent to each other, or when agents
controlling adjacent lots cooperate in a joint-venture effort, the result is a multi-lot redevelopment.
Two or more lots are combined into a larger lot in this redevelopment type to gain benefits from
economies of scales in development potential, construction and management (Figure 3). As
illustrated in Figure 3, there are a number of possible outcomes from such type of redevelopment.
The result can be a unified lot containing a single larger building replacing a number of smaller
buildings that stood on the original separate lots. Furthermore, the service lane between the
original sites is deleted in this scenario because it is no longer required to serve the larger
combined lot. The result can also be a unified lot containing multiple buildings. In both cases,
transformation is not limited to the building level. The configuration of the site level elements is
also changed in additional to the building level elements, i.e. cross level interventions occurs. To
Urban 1)ircontinuity and licdr\ elopnicnt o f \ l c ~ ; ~ - S c a l cProjcctr
expedite this type of amalgamation of site for redevelopment, the controlling agent(s) surrenders
the group of lots to the government, which will then re-grant the separate lots of land as a single lot
with revised development conditions under a new lease.
Figure 2: Single-lot redevelopment resulting in changes to the building

level elements only and no changes to the site level elements
Figure 3: Multi-lot redevelopment resulting in changes to both

building level elements and site level elements
3. COLLAPSE OF SITE LEVEL
Figure 4: Multi-lot redevelopment encompassing the whole street block

l!l-hiin 1)iscontinuity and Redevelopment of Xlcga-Scale Projects
When more and more lots are included in a multi-lot redevelopment, it comes to a point
where the project is expanded to include the whole street block (Figure 4). In this large-scale
development, every lot within the street block is combined into one single lot of considerable size.
This removes all the original site boundaries that once divided the block and erases all traces of the
configuration of the site level elements that build up the urban fabric. The network of service
lanes is also subsumed under the unification of the lots. When moving from a higher level to a
lower level of the built environment in this type of redevelopment, one moves directly from the
configuration of the street block level elements to that of the building level elements and skips the
site level all together. The site level boundary has expanded to coincide with the street block level
boundary. After redevelopment, there no longer exists a configuration of elements within the
subject street block at the site level - the site level has collapsed between the street block level and
building level.
Figure 5: Mega-scale redevelopments combining two street blocks
As the scale of redevelopment continues to grow, even a street block is not big enough.
The logical next step is the combination of street blocks to form even larger mega-scale
redevelopments. Two street blocks are combined to form a single redevelopment lot in Figure 5.
The configurations of elements from three different levels are changed in this scenario: the
replacement and reconfiguration of all elements at the building level, the elimination of all site
level elements and redistribution of boundaries in the configuration of street block level elements.
Similar to the extinguishment of the service lanes in the smaller scale cases, the vehicular road
between the two street blocks is subsumed in the process of combining elements. It is not difficult
to imagine the magnitude of the potential adverse impact cross level intervention of this scale
would have on the community and the living environment in the neighbourhood, especially during
the demolition and construction stages.
4. RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN HONG KONG
The planning principle of Hong Kong centres around the Outline Zoning Plans (OZP),
which separate regions in Hong Kong into zones designated for different uses, such as commercial,
residential, government institution and community, open space, etc. The idea is to locate
compatible uses together to minimize undesirable interface between "incompatible uses".
Following this land-use planning pattern, the majority of private developments in Hong Kong have
a very limited diversity in terms of uses. With few exceptions, large-scale residential projects
follow one of three general types:
Urban I)iscontinoity arid Rede\elopmeot of \lcga-Scale I1rojcct\
Type 1: A number of high-rise residential tower blocks sitting on top of a large podium
containing commercial, carparking and other facilities, with open spaces and
recreational facilities provided on the top of the podium (Figure 6). Seldom seen outside
Hong Kong, this building type is a direct result of Hong Kong Building (Planing)
Regulations that allows 100% site coverage up to a height of 15m.
Figure 6: Podium type residential developments
Type 2: A number of individual freestanding high-rise residential tower blocks arranged around
a large landscaped area and open spaces with commercial, recreational, carparking and
other facilities located in separate low-rise buildings (Figure 7).
Figure 7: Freestanding type residential developments
Type 3: A combination of the above two types with some high-rise residential tower blocks
sitting on top of a large podium while others are freestanding.
5. URBAN RENEWAL IN HONG KONG
The Tsuen Wan Town Centre Project currently under construction by the Hong Kong
Urban Renewal Authority is a typical example of the podium type residential development.
Covering over 2 hectares, the project is the comprehensive redevelopment of the old town centre
of Tsuen Wan undertaken by the government. The project consists of 107,800m2 of residential
flats spread among high-rise towers sitting on a podium, which houses 22,800 m2 and 2,900 m2 of
commercial use and government, institute and community facilities respectively. Despite the
presence other uses such as retail shops, cinemas, recreation, etc., residential use is the dominant
function in these developments. In terms of numbers, the percentage of gross floor area devoted to
residential use in this living environment is over 80%.
Replacing the Land Development Corporation in May 2001, the Urban Renewal Authority
(URA) is established to lead urban renewal in Hong Kong to a new direction. The objective of the
URA is "to regenerate the run-down parts of Hong Kong through a combination of redevelopment,
revitalization and rehabilitation. We also strive to preserve Hong Kong's culture and heritage, and
buildings with historical value while redeveloping old districts."' With the view that conventional
piecemeal project-based approaches has failed to recognize urban renewal as a valuable means to
revitalize the outdated physical infrastructure of the old urban area, the URA replan and transform
the old urban areas on an area-wide basis. Urban renewal thus becomes a holistic undertaking to
create quality modern living environments with concerns extending beyond the profitability and
economics of individual projects to the overall well-being of the larger community. The Planning
Department commissioned the "Urban Design Guidelines for Hong Kong" in 1998 with a view to
preparing a set of guidelines to promote public awareness on design considerations, and to provide
a broad framework for urban design assessment.
In this sense, urban renewal is not a building level problem - it is not about replacing
individual building level components that have degenerated over the years. Since a lower level
component cannot alter the higher level structure, intensions to transform the nature of the higher
level configuration cannot be implemented by changing the lower level components only. Urban
renewal thus concerns redesigning the higher level hierarchy, i.e. the configuration of the urban
fabric in which individual building level components are arranged, more than the actual
improvement of the lower level elements. While the redevelopment of individual building level
elements can be carried out by the respective controlling agents themselves, urban renewal can
only be realized by the intervention of the higher level controlling agent -the government.
6. MEGA-SCALE PODIUM TYPE DEVELOPMENTS AND

DISCONTINUITY IN THE URBAN FABRIC
Although planned with the best intentions to create more comprehensive interventions
with wider community influence at the street block level, podium type renewal developments have
much deeper effect on the urban fabric than simply imposing changes on the higher level
hierarchy. Instead of restructuring the higher level structure by providing a more desirable
configuration for lower level components, podium type redevelopment projects eradicate the
higher level structure and replace it with a largely expanded lower level element - effectively a
huge building the size of a street block with multiple towers on the upper floors.
1
"Chairman's Message" in website of the Hong Kong Urban Renewal Authority
187
Figure 8: Redevelopment ofpodium type residential developments
The relatively closely-spaced structural load-bearing walls of each of the tower blocks are
supported by a massive transfer plate at the podium level held up by enlarged columns of the
podium structure. Structurally, every tower block and the podium are inherently connected to
become a whole. Therefore, the residential blocks on top of the podium can not be redeveloped as
individual elements at the building level because they are now physically linked in such a way that
none of the blocks can be replaced or reconfigured independently without causing significant
adverse impact on the overall structure and living conditions of the remaining elements in the
configuration (Figure 8).
Replacement of any of the building level elements in this configuration poses potential
problems because it would require an enormous investment of additional resources compared to
redevelopment of individual free-standing buildings. In order to redevelop an individual block,
substantial protective measures and careful planning must be conducted to minimize negative
impact on the remaining spaces and structure. The other choice is to redevelop the whole podium
structure and the towers sitting on it. Apart from the additional financial, labour, time and material
resources that are required to be committed to expand the scale of the development, resumption of
units and land may present further complicated problems. So far, there has not been any case in
Hong Kong where individual tower blocks on a podium type development are redeveloped
independently.
----------------,
'-
Figure 9: Redevelopment offree-standing block type residential developments
On the other hand mega-scale residential developments with multiple free-standing blocks
do not have this problem upon redevelopment. Since the blocks are not physically connected, any
one or more of the blocks can be redeveloped independently or in groupings as desired. Building
level elements can be changed without the need to replace and reconfigure all the elements within
the boundary of the lot (Figure 9).
oft \legs-Scale I'roject\
llrban Ili\continuit~ and K e d ~ v e l o p n ~ e n
To illustrate the problems caused by redeveloping mega-scale podium type developments,

we can look at recent residential developments that are of this type. MetroCity in Tseung Kwan 0
is a large scale residential development completed in 1998. The development covers three phases
built on three separate street block lots. Phase 2 of the development contains a shopping complex
in a three level podium and comprises eleven high-rise tower blocks sitting on top of the podium
(Figure 10). The development sits on a site of 4.5 hectares in size in a densely populated
residential area.
Figure 10: MetroCity Phase 2 in Tseung Kwan 0
As discussed, when the condition of the buildings deteriorate in forty or more years' time
and need to be redeveloped, it is most likely that the development would need to be demolished
and rebuilt as a whole. This redevelopment will therefore create an urban black hole the size of a
large street block right in the middle of the community. One must bear in mind that disruptions to
the community caused by redevelopments of this scale extends beyond the tangible impacts, such
as pollution resulting from the construction activities, visual impact of the construction site,
realignment of pedestrian patterns, etc. To appreciate the size and impact of the above, one can
compare the size of MetroCity Phase 2 with Ground Zero, the wreckage site resulting from the
September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001, which measures
6.5 hectares. The two are in the same order of magnitude.
7. CONCLUSION
It is an inevitable trend that the scale of urban renewal projects will continue to increase.
Although these projects are planned to bring improvements to the urban environment, we must not
overlook the potential adverse impact on the community and our living environment when the time
comes for redevelopment of what we are building today. Such impact increases exponentially with
cross level interventions when the scale of redevelopment is no longer restricted to the building
level and extends to the site and street block levels. Discontinuity in the urban fabric is created
when large regions are hoarded off for construction works for long periods of time. The prevalent
podium type residential developments cause further problems by allowing no flexibility for smaller
scale redevelopments - the kind which promulgates continuous urban growth - because of the
collapse of the site level.
To prevent creating such discontinuities, urban renewal must be viewed not only as a
process to replace degenerated elements in our living environment. Instead, more emphasis should
be placed on the restructuring of the higher level configurations. This issue can be understood in
terms of short-term and long-term objectives. On the one hand, the short-term objective is to
replace dilapidated building level elements to better utilize scarce land resources. On the other, the
long-term objective is to create a site level and/or street block level configuration to ensure
continuous urban growth is possible upon future redevelopment. While territorial control can be
extended from the building level to the higher site and street block levels by imposing a structure
over the configuration of elements at the respective levels, physical control should be confined to
the lower levels so that redevelopment on the site and building levels are not prohibited.
REFERENCES
Boekholt, J.T., P.J.M. Dinjens, N.J. Habraken and A.P. Thijssen (1976) Variations: The
Systematic Design of Supports. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Habraken, N.J. (1972) Supports: An Alternative to Mass Housing. London: The

Architectural Press.
Habraken, N.J. (1998) The Structure of the Ordinary. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Kendall, S. and J. Teicher (2000) Residential Open Building. London: E & FN Spon.
Lai, L.W.C. (1997) Town Planning in Hong Kong: A Critical Review. Hong Kong: City
University of Hong Kong Press.
'I'tic <'onfigurablr Crban Su\tainability
The Configurable Urban Sustainability

In what ways a n~orphologicalor configurational approach
contributes to our understanding of urban sustainability
Department of Urban Renewal and Management, Faculty of Architecture
Delft University of Technology
Abstract: This article introduces the problem of describing urban sustainability due to
the lack of well-defined concepts. This lack is one of the problems many authors face
when making proposals on how sustainable development in cities can be understood
and achieved. It will conclude that urban compactness can best be approached from a
configurable point of view, due to that compactness is a topological term.
Keywords: Urban Sustainability, Compact cities, Street grid, Spatial configuration
1. CONDITIONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY
There is an essential difference between preventing someone from driving a car and
making him do so. If one wants to prevent it, one can e.g. take away all fuel. Fuel is necessary for
driving a car. Thus disposing of fie1 is a condition necessary for the usage of a combustion
engine. On the other hand, making someone drive a car requires a set of conditions to be fulfilled.
Their conjunction is sufficient to bring about the relevant consequence. For instance, the person in
question is supposed to dispose of some kind of appropriate know-how, he might in a sense be
willing to co-operate and listen to our arguments. None of these conditions taken in isolation is
sufficient to make him drive. Numerous other ones are relevant in this case. If all of them are
fulfilled he will be driving.
This consideration pertains to the concept of sustainability. Sustainability is not relevant
only if we assess its conditions. At issue is thus the concept of a necessary condition as to why
something became possible and, likewise, the concept of a sufficient condition such that something
became necessary. The difference between these kinds of conditions pertains to human action and
policy in general and thus to sustainability in particular.
This article attempts to answer the question in what ways a morphological in other words
configurational approach contributes to our understanding of urban sustainability. This broad
subject will be approached in the following way: Firstly, the term sustainability requires some
explanatory remarks. They will secondly lead to a discussion of urban sustainability. Thirdly,
compactness and its impact on urban sustainability will be taken into consideration. Finally,
compactness will be reconsidered in configurational terms. The difference between necessary and
sufficient conditions will pertain to each of these sections. Moreover, all subsequent considerations
will present themselves from a so to speak holistic perspective. For an understanding of the
complexity of human beings and their behaviour in cities is at stake at least on the following
levels: Rationales for human behaviour can be given in terms of economic activities, i.e. with
regard to profit maximising when reaching potential customers. Rationales for human behaviour
can be given equally in terms of social activities and values. In the present context especially
human rationales for choosing a dwelling area are at issue. Conversely, the nature and form of a
built environment can encourage or put limitations on social and economic behaviour.
2. DEFINITION OF SUSTAINABILITY
The subject of sustainability introduced itself for good reasons. Christian Patermann, the
director of the Environmental and Sustainable Development research programme, notices that
during the 20th century cities tended to put economic expansion on their agenda. They did so at the
cost of social well-being and environmental equilibrium. The social effects are for instance
placelessness, exclusion, insecurity, criminality, and loss of cultural identity. The environmental
effects are among others bad air quality, pollution, and low-density urban sprawl. Furthermore, the
effects of traffic congestion and deteriorating infrastructure and built environments have affected
the locations of economical activities (Patermann 2002, p. I).
The Brundland report of 1987 and the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro rightly
predicted that in the beginning of this century more than 50% of the world's population will live in
urban areas. During the last decades, increased energy use for transportation in urban areas
contributed to the greenhouse effect. In these contexts the concept of a sustainable development
came on the agenda and turned into a fashion word of the 90's. The manifold difficulties in
defining this term naturally reflect its political origin (Jenks 1996, p. 3-6).
There are numerous definitions of the term "sustainable development"'. According to the
1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, "sustainable development"' is defined as a "development
which meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to achieve their
needs and aspirations" (Jenks 1996, p. 233). A major problem in defining sustainability in this
manner results from the term's normative as well as descriptive aspects. From a normative point of
view, questions of the following kind seem appropriate: Should something be sustainable and what
should be done in order to guarantee its sustainability? In this case one intends to assess a certain
goal in terms of sustainability. The descriptive aspects of sustainability, however, concern what
actually is or will be the case. According questions ask what is or will be sustainable. If intentions
of future generations are taken into account at present it is most difficult to keep their structural
distinction.
One should in principle try to assess whether scientists or politicians propose a normative
or descriptive understanding of sustainability. The issue is difficult. For the suggestion of the
Brundtland Report concerns present as well as future needs, hence not just descriptive, but
likewise normative matters.
3. URBAN SUSTAINABILITY: THE CITY AS AN OBJECT OR A

PROCESS?
Now, what kind of objects can be sustainable? Sustainable, the quoted definitions tell is
not an object but a development or process. That will say a development influenced by or
consisting in human interaction. It is a complex process. Urban sustainability is a particular case of
sustainability. If sustainability is about processes one has to speak about urban sustainability or
better a sustainable urban development rather than a sustainable city. Otherwise one is compelled
to understand a city as a process not as an object. Many recent writings about sustainable built
environments discuss sustainable cities as if they were objects. Moreover, the distinction between
what is a sustainable city and what should be a sustainable city is not always clear.
How can one describe what a sustainable development is in urban areas, when there is a
continual transformation of urban cultures and economies, and when built cities are under
continuous transformation? If one preserves an existing situation with high living qualities in
cities, is it then sustainable when more and more people move into cities and the world's
population increases? What are the effects then? Thus urban sustainability has to concern
continuous transformation processes of economies and cultures where their impacts on the
environment - either built or natural - can be understood as a product. And can the impacts on the
product encourage a certain kind of behaviour, both socially and economically? At least
descriptive approach to urban sustainability is a two sided topic, where one aims to understand the
impacts of social and economic activities on the built environment and conversely in which way
the built environment conditions - be it necessarily or sufficiently - a certain kind of economic and
social behaviour. In whatever way urban sustainability can be understood, these processes have to
be taken into consideration.
4. THE COMPACT CITY AND DENSITY PROBLEM
There are numerous writings on urban areas and their sustainable development. Most of
them set out as a criticism on Le Corbusier's Radiant City model, Ebernezer Howard's Garden city
model, Frank Lloyd Wright's individualistic dwelling model and general post war planning. These
kinds of anti-urban city models and planning contribute to separation of functions and
simplification of urban areas. In this perspective the present paper will shortly discuss the writings
of Jane Jacobs, Christopher Alexander, Richard Roger, and Peter Calthorpe. What all these authors
search for is an understanding of the compact city model, which is recognised to encourage
sustainable ways of living and energy use for transportation. Generally speaking, urban
sustainability is thus accounted for in terms of compactness. In one way or another a city's
compactness is taken to condition a sustainable urban development. In essence this contribution is
intended to render this thesis somewhat more precise. At least the following features are essential
to compact cities:
Physical aspects: High density of the built mass in central areas and sub-centres and
pedestrian friendly streets, Clear demarcation on what is public and private space.
Functional aspects: Mixed use of dwellings, work, services, retail and shops, short
movement routes between facilities, pedestrian friendly, dense consentration of people. In this
respect Mike Jenks talks about intensifying of urban activities in the urban centres.
Social aspects: Low criminality, mixture of people of different class and race, healthy and
good dwelling areas, safe streets, possibilities for contact.
Economic aspects: Vitality and the catchment of potential customers. A mixture of small
and large enterprises in urban areas.
Environmental aspects: Reduction of energy use, new development on recycled land,
and reduction of low-density urban sprawl in the countryside.
Political aspects: The ways in which governments on the local, regional and national level
should act or not in order to encourage sustainable development rather than the opposite.
Is the compact city a product of urban sustainability? Or is urban sustainability possible in

terms of compactness? Initially, compactness is a topological term. In a very loose and scientific
way of speaking compact is what is closely and firmly united, pressed together, dense, fine grained
and packed into small space. In addition to quantitative aspects, the qualitative, economical and
aesthetic aspects of the term are thus mentioned. Even in the light of these preliminary suggestions
at least two hypotheses may be proposed:
A: An urban development is not sustainable unless the city in question is compact. Thus,
compactness of urban environments is a necessary condition for the sustainability of their
development.
B: Compactness guarantees sustainability. It is a sufficient condition for sustainability.
T h e C'onfigurahle 1 rhan Sustainahilit?
Is then urban compactness a sufficient condition or a necessary condition for

sustainability? Or is it neither - nor? So far, it seems difficult to make statements on urban
sustainability, because a concise definition of urban compactness is missing. Presumably urban
compactness can contribute to a certain kind of sustainable human behaviour but in what way
depends on what is meant by compactness. Here a short briefing of recent writings on urban
compactness might be helpful.
Jane Jacobs' book L$e and death of great American cities introduces new ways of
understanding cities in terms of the social behaviour in the city, economic behaviour of cities,
generally speaking the way in which cities are used and function. Her main message is that life on
streets makes the city lively. A well-used city and diversity in cities gives safe streets (Jacobs
2000, p. 44).
Jacobs' account of urban compactness illustrates methods in the qualitative social science.
She does not rely on quantitative measures falsifying or confirming her observations. Her work
consists in descriptions of essentials features. She offers some normative directions as to how
things should be in order to ensure liveable cities.
A different kind of approach is offered by Christopher Alexander's article A city is not a
tree. It is a criticism of the modem planned structure of cities. Alexander discusses the structure of
information processing of human beings in society. He does not set out from observations, but
proposes a formal approach.
Alexander tries to give an explanation as to why many cities do not fulfil the social task
for which they were designed. As regards their inner organisation, natural cities have the form of a
semi-lattice, whereas artificial ones have a tree structure. According to Alexander, a city with a
tree structure is divided into different zones. Each zone has a set of functions not relating to other
zones (Alexander 1966, p. 5 I ). For Alexander organising cities in the form of trees is a means to
simplify the spatial organisation of the complex environment. Cities with a Semi-lattice structure
usually dispose of a complex transportation network. The different zones are overlapping each
other and well integrated with one another. According to Alexander, this structure improves a
city's economic development, its safety and its liveliness. Through Alexander's work urban
compactness can be understood in terms of the complexity of the transportation network and the
intertwined functions of the semi-lattice structured cites. However, consequences as regards
further improvements of urban compactness are not discussed in his writings.
While the previous writings were concerned with social, economic and communicative
aspects of the compact city, environmental issues and sustainability were explicitly taken into
consideration in more recent writings. Richard Rogers' Cities for a small planet and Towards an
urban renaissance is representative for this type of focus. Rogers' approach to urban sustainability
is reinterpreting and reinventing the dense city model. It is defined to consists of anti zoning,
increase of energy efficiency, consuming fewer resources, produce less pollution and avoiding
sprawling over the countryside (Rogers 1997, p. 33).
Like Jane Jacobs, Rogers discusses the compact and well-connected city. In a sense he
takes up principles introduced by Jane Jacobs. Rogers makes proposals on how a compact city
should be designed. He obviously does not specify how such a design is brought about, but set
forth normative statements on how things should be done in order to achieve a compact urban
form. However, to retain a sustainable urban form requires an appropriate understanding of how
human beings will behave in it such that it actually will be retained. A comprehensive
understanding of the economic and social behaviour of a compact city's inhabitants and visitors is
missing in Rogers' books. As future human beings will have their own values and intentions it is in
principle difficult to guess or even know what their future will be.
Like Jacobs' writings, Peter Calthorpe's book The next American Metropolis emphasises
the role of the pedestrian and the mixed usage of urban space in neighbourhood areas. His concept
of the pedestrian pocket accounts for the idea of an opportunity for walking distances for all kinds
of people to all activities from home. Therefore he introduces the Transit Oriented Development
concept in a word "TOD". Calthorpe explains TOD as follows: "moderate and high density
housing, along with public uses, jobs, retail and services are concentrated in mixed-use
developments at strategic points, along the regional transit system" (Calthorpe 1993, p. 41). Like
Rogers, this author promotes a normative approach.
Calthorpe makes proposals as to what should be done in order to produce ecologically,
economically and socially sustainable urban areas. However, what is missing is a genuine
understanding of how the built environment and the generative power of the urban grid itself are
working. Calthorpe's proposals refer to the regional level and to the level of the block. However,
the organisation of a neighbourhood unit and its location in the city as a whole are not discussed at
all.
All authors describe the problem cities are facing today as regards sustainability. They
offer quick proposals as to how one should design a compact city. But what is missing is a concise
understanding of how cities work as regards social and economic activities. All these authors
stress the value getting people walk on the streets again by dense location of various functions.
According to the Brundland report, one of the basic environmental problems of modem cities is
high energy use for transportation - generally speaking car dependency. Does this relate to the
structure of the urban grid? The structure seems to depend upon the way people move, either by
foot or by car, and the way urban functions are dispersed. Apparently, density and mixture of
activities first and foremost depend on the structure of an urban grid. Public spaces between
buildings are potential movement routes from everywhere else to everywhere else. The way
functions in an urban grid are dispersed must to a substantial extent result from potential
movement routes in these public spaces. Car dependency is one of the issues illustrating the
technological complexity debates on urban sustainability presuppose. The subsequent account of
compactness will reckon with this precondition.
On the other hand cultural interaction and physical movement certainly shape a built
environment. There is interdependence between the physical built environment and economical as
well as socially motivated movement. Thus, physical form and cultural activity influence each
other. Urban compactness thus should be understood in terms of movement and interaction.
How is it possible to find out whether compactness is a necessary or sufficient condition
for urban sustainability given that concepts of urban compactness are vague or unclear? Even
though the writings above have indicate to some extent what a compact city might be, the concept
of density is still vague and the concept of the structure of a street grid unclear. If compactness
basically is a topological term, it certainly makes sense to use topological consideration in order to
understand urban compactness. The following section will set out in what way a configurative
approach can offer a more concise account of compactness.
5. THE CONFIGURATIVE APPROACH
In order to understand the sustainable development of an urban structure, one has to on the
one hand account for the ways economic activities locate themselves in an urban grid. On the other
hand one might aim at a configurative understanding the ways in which social and anti-social
forms of behaviour occur in urban areas and of how it can influence people's choice to live in
compact urban areas. Furthermore one should discuss the configurative features of an urban
environment, developing in a sustainable manner. The answers might result in an understanding of
the manner in which the configuration of an urban grid generates movement, and of how it
influences a balanced dispersal of economic and social activities.
An account of compactness and sustainability in morphological terms has to be
descriptive. It concerns both structural and social aspects. While Alexander concentrated on
structural aspects and while Jane Jacobs accounted for social aspects, a configurative approach
offers mathematical means to reconsider them jointly. Compactness is then understood in terms of
space. Urban space can be approached topologically as well as geometrically. As will be argued
subsequently economic and social issues favour a topological approach.
First and foremost an approach of this kind requires a concise definition of urban space.
As regards research on built environments, Hillier accordingly distinguishes between intrinsic and
extrinsic properties of space. Intrinsic ones determine the way in which spatial units relate to one
another. In this respect one conceives of configurative laws of space. If one intends to understand
settlements in terms of these laws they are regarded as sets of spaces. In this perspective primarily
topological issues become relevant. Intrinsic properties of space determine both built form and its
possible function. While intrinsic properties of space consist in invisible, structural relationships,
extrinsic properties relate to visible ones. They present themselves mostly through geometrical
properties. They account for the articulation of social meaning via built form (Hillier 1999a, p. 1).
The elements all built environments have in common are intrinsic properties of space and
functions occupying these spaces. Thus, from a configurative point of view, a city is conceived as
a set of spaces. Urban space is mostly linear. It consists in mostly streets, alleys, roads, boulevards,
highways, which in contrast with squares, are linear items. Spaces of these kinds can be
represented by a set of axial lines (Hillier 2001, p. 02.1). If one represents an urban grid with the
set of the fewest and longest axial lines one gets an axial map. It is then possible to calculate their
interrelationship, in particular their topological distance from one another. The flow of human
movement and the location of various functions can be registered along the different axial lines
and be compared with their configurative measurements.
According to Hillier, economic and social activities influence on the structure of a city as
an object (Hillier 2001, p. 02.1). The kind of rationale behind economic activities in cities is that
the predominant implicit intention is profit maximising. All cultures exhibit this feature. To be
more precise, the kinds of spatial occupation that concern economical activities are shops and
retail. While the rationale behind economic activities is rather unambiguous, the rationale behind
social activities depends on theories of society and cultures.
How then does the spatial configuration of an urban grid relate to the way human beings
occupy and move through it? Three aspects of spatial configuration can provide an understanding
of lively urban areas and illustrate the configurational inequalities responsible for attractional
inequalities in an urban grid.
Integration: Integrated urban areas (local and global) encourage economic activities
Segregation: Most dwelling areas are located in segregated areas. Very segregated urban areas
open up for anti-urban behaviour (crime, vandalism)
Connectivity: Streets with many connections open up for pedestrian flow. Successhl local life
centres have a high degree of connectivity to their vicinity
5.1. A configurative approach to economic activities in urban centres

In order to encourage the location of economic activities in city centres, one has to
understand how shop and retail locate themselves in vital areas in the urban grid. These kinds of
economic activities depend on potential movement patterns.
First of all, shops locate themselves in streets where most people move. Apparently, shops
tend to become attractors for the people's urban movement. Attractors and movement may
influence each other, but they do not influence the configuration of the urban grid. On the other
hand, the grid seems to influence movement and attractors. The dispersal of global and local
integration and connectivity is decisive (Hillier et al. 1993, p. 61).
Global integration indicates where the globally most integrated roads or streets are
located in a city on a meso scale. It shows the most vital areas. However, whether it is a vital city
centre with shops and retail or not depends on the main street's degree of connectivity to its
vicinity. Figure 1 illustrates an example on global integration. By measuring the average
topological depth of a city one gets the radius for calculating its local integration. Local
integration indicates vital local sub-centres. In the case of Oslo, the pedestrian based shopping
areas are situated along the locally most integrated streets, while the car-based shopping centres
are situated along the junctions of the globally most integrated streets (van Nes 2002, p. 21 1).
Figure 2 illustrates an example on local integration.
Fig. I . Global integration of Oslo 1999.

The car based shopping centres are located along the black axial lines
However, within a dense urban grid, the local urban sub-centre is not always located along
the most locally integrated street. As Jacobs and Rogers suggest, the degree of connectivity is
decisive here. The higher the number of streets connected to a street, the more successful a vital
area turns out to be. Hillier writes: "Successful life centres require both a global position in the
settlement, and compact and inter-accessible local layout conditions. This is the basic shape of
centrality." While integration analysis measures topological centrality, a 2 steps analysis shows
how much of a local area is covered 2 steps away from an axial line (Hillier 1999, p. 107-109).
Figure 3 illustrates an example on a 2 steps analysis. Like connectivity, the 2 steps analysis is a
tool for analysing and illustrating the micro pattern of how from a functional as well as spatial
point of view the optimal location of local shopping streets and areas is realised. Sub-centres and
city centres are not states, but processes with both spatial and functional aspects. As cities grow or
change spatially, the change in the configuration of the urban grid affects the location of local and
global city centres.
Fig. 2. Local integration of Oslo 1999.
The black lines indicate the locations of szrccessfirl urban pedestrian friendly shopping streets
How can a grid's configuration decide upon how people move by foot or by car? The
location of successful pedestrian-based shopping areas depends on local integration. It often is
indicated by a dense structure on the street grid in the vicinity of the life centre line. Thus
indication of a successful vital shopping and retail area which is pedestrian based requires a strong
local and global position in an urban grid. If urban growth changes the integrated core, either on a
local or a global scale, the optimal location for profit maximising is affected. In order to survive in
a competitive environment, shop and retail owners will always search for the optimal location in
order to reach potential customers. Thus creating a vital city centre and sub-centres calls for an
account of their global and local location in an urban grid and the respective degrees of
connectivity to their vicinity.
5.2. How a configurative approach understands social activities in urban centres

How do these considerations pertain to segregated areas with low integration and
connectivity values? As Rogers, Jacobs and Calthorpe suggest, one of the aims of repopulating city
centres is to provide safe central areas where streets are free from anti-social behaviour. In the
previous section integrated urban areas were discussed. Research concerning economic rationality
allows for a certain degree of predictability of the locations of economic activities. However, in
what way very segregated urban areas contribute to understanding the interrelationship space and
crime or vandalism.
Fig. 3. An example on changes of the compactness of local grid conditions in terms of

connectivity: The local catchment area of Birminham's shopping streets 2 steps away from the
darkest axial line
Research on very segregated dwelling areas, e.g. post war social housing or highly
protected areas, shows that there is a correlation between segregated urban areas and anti-social
behaviour. An account of anti-social behaviour in terms of intrinsic properties of space requires
studying initially established areas. At issue is the way in which spatial organisation can disturb
the natural relationship between inhabitants and strangers in urban areas.
Empirical research shows that areas with segregated spaces, with urban grids visually
broken up and with few dwelling entrances constituting streets are often affected by crime and
social misuse. There is little social control in these areas. The same investigations prove that
spatial organisation can generate movement according to co-presence and co-awareness in the built
environment. Causes for social misuse of a given area can thus be understood from a strictly
spatial point of view. It depends on at least the following conditions:
- Bad correlation between connectivity and local and global integration of the vicinity
- The segregated areas are many topological steps away from integrated streets
- The topological spatial structure in the area is deep, in itself and as regards to the whole
system. Likewise spatially enclosed systems with high privacy, but without general
social control lack natural co-presence and mutual surveillance (Hillier 1996, p. 188, 194
and 20 1).
The design of architectural space can thus affect the use of space. This issue seems to
touch upon the problem of architectural determinism, i.e. the question to what extent one can
predict how urban areas will function after their construction. It is difficult to assess the question to
what extent a configurative approach is a form of architectural determinism. Whether crime or
social malaise will occur in spatial segregated areas or not naturally depends on the behaviour of
their inhabitants. A configurative approach, on the other hand, can answer the question why some
areas have a high level of crime and social misuse. Thus a configurative approach can prove that
space has its own laws and seems to affect human behaviour (Hillier 1996, p. 184 and 212). A
configurative approach makes one understand that the means a built environment offers are
physical while its ends are functional - not visa versa.
6. ENVIRONMENTAL CONFIGURATIVE CONSIDERATIONS
How can these findings on connectivity, global and local integration provide a
understanding of urban sustainability when cities, their cultures and economies are continuously
expanding and transforming.
At least since the industrial revolution we have seen in what way comprehensive technical
inventions affected the spatial structure of built environments, and conversely its spatial product
affected social and economic behaviour. Man is able to change its built environment and has
purposes and intentions to do so. It is not always clear what the intentions are, but those
concerning economic activities strive for profit maximising. Aiming at the creation of urban areas
developing in a sustainable way can not ignore the behaviour of producers and consumers and the
way the built environment influences them. From a configurative point of view, understanding
what an urban area's sustainable development consists in depends on an according account of the
topological structure of its grid.
High density of streets and their connectivity in an urban grid contributes to vital urban
centres and .dwelling areas. It is not enough to encourage high density in urban areas by increasing
the number of dwellings and locales for economic activities. It is the density of the grid and its
local and global position in the whole system that are at issue. Density of dwelling areas seems to
be a by-product of the density of the urban grid and the dispersal of integration values on it.
City growth can affect the global integration core and the development of local integration
cores. The configurative approach can help to understand why the location of the vital main core
changes and why from a spatial point of view the old core becomes segregated. In many cases the
global integration core tends to lie along motor ways connecting different urban areas. However, a
low degree of direct connectivity to the vicinity encourages the use of private cars. Why should
one preserve these old city centres? Can it be transformed into a local sustainable centre for the
people living there? In many cases they can be turned into attractive high-density areas with high
local integration and connectivity.
The degrees of connectivity of a street and its local and global position in a city influence
the relationship between inhabitants and strangers. In what way an area has social control or not
can be understood in terms of a configurative approach. The natural mixture of inhabitants and
strangers is a criterion for safe urban environments and makes living in urban areas attractive.
Local and global integration cores and high connectivity and many entrances directly connected to
the streets indicate the quality of the structure of the network routes.
It seems that unsustainable urban areas are products of comprehensive physical planning.
Are then physical planning activities, a rigid planning system and a city plan invisible obstacles for
the natural development processes of cities? By learning from already established urban areas,
where things have been developed incrementally, a configurative approach can offer an
explanation of how things work in terms of intrinsic properties of space.
My approach to the question of urban sustainability in morphological terms consists in
conceptual application of a configurative approach to the debate on sustainable urban development
in terms of compactness. What are the results?
To the extend that urban compactness can be understood in configurative terms, the
relevance of compactness for urban sustainability can be assessed more adequately in
morphological terms than in other less formal terms. For a configurative approach conceives the
built environment descriptively as a process rather than a product. It assesses in what way
economic and social behaviour are influenced by it and, conversely, have influence upon it.
Seemingly, urban compactness is a necessary condition for urban sustainability in terms of high
degree of connectivity of the street grid and the way it is connected to the whole city on local and
global scales.
If a compact urban area is conceived as having a well connected grid, both on a local and
on a global scale, then compactness of this kind is a necessary condition for a sustainable urban
process. Compared with many other accounts of urban sustainability, a morphological approach
can offer specific concepts of spatial and functional aspects in order to explain or understand
compact cities and their effects on economic and social behaviour - whether it turns out to be
sustainable or not.
REFERENCES
Alexander, C. 1966. A city is not a tree, in: Design Magazine, no. 206,46-55.
Calthorpe, P. 1993. The Next American Metropolis. Ecology, Community, and the American
Dream, New York: Princeton Architectural Press.
Hillier, B. 2001. The Theory of the City as Object or how spatial laws mediate the social
construction of urban space, in Peponis J, Wineman J, and Bafna S (eds), 2001, Proceedings Space
Syntax. 3rdInternational Symposium, Atlanta: Georgia Institute of Technology.
Hillier, B. 1999. Centrality as a process: accounting for attraction inequalitic?~in deformed grids,
Urban Design International (1999) 4 (3&4), 107-127.
Hillier, B. 1999a. Space as paradigm for describing emergent structure in strongly relational
systems, Lecture notes, Bartlett School of Graduate studies, University College London.
Hillier, B. 1996. Space is the Machine, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hillier, B., Penn, A., Hanson, J., Grajewski, T., and Xu, J. 1993. Natural movement: or,
configuration and attraction in urban pedestrian movement, Environment and Planning B:
Planning and Design, 1993, volume 20,29 - 66.
Van IVes, A. 2002. Road Building and Urban Change. The effect of ring roads on the dispersal of
shop and retail in Western European towns and cities, PhD thesis, Department of Land Use and
Landscape Planning, Agricultural University of Norway.
Jacobs, J. 2000. The Death and Life of Great American Cities, London: Pimlico.
Jenks, M., Burton, E., and Williams, K. 1996. The Compact City. A sustainable Urban Form?,
New York: E & FN Spon.
Patermann, C. 2002. Sustainable development in European cities: How research can contribute,
http://ess.co.at/SUTRA/susurbdev.html
Roger, R. 1999. Towards an Urban Renaissance, Urban Task Force, New York: E & FN Spon.
Roger, R. 1997. Cities for a smallplanet, London: Faber and Faber Limited.
Von Wright, G. H. 197 1 . Explanation and Understanding, International Library of Philosophy and
Scientific Method, London: Lowe & Brydone Ltd.
I'he Soft Urban hlachine: Space-Timc and the Protluction of'lirhan Place
The Soft Urban Machine:

Space-Time and the Production of Urban Place
Stephen READ
Delft University of Technology
Abstract: The expanded scales of the patterns traced by the lives of people have fundamentally
altered the conditions of and the experience of everyday life and of urban space. The spatialities
of movement these changes have fore-grounded force us to rethink the very basis of our
urbanism. It is argued that these spatialities of networks and flow are relevant not only for
thinking about the new city emerging on the periphery but also about unsolved problems of the
local and of place in the traditional centre. The beginnings of a general conjecture about the
production of properties and character of urban places as an effect emergent out of overlapped
movement networks is outlined and expanded into a sketch outline of the case of the central
fabric of Amsterdam. The traditional centre remains a powerful model both for critiquing the
qualities of the new urban landscape and for guiding urban design intention, and the need to
reproduce some of qualities of this traditional space is widely recognised. The significance of
this theoretical work is that it may begin to put the understandings in the hands of designers that
will help them to achieve these intentions.
Keywords: public space, movement, networks, urban form, Amsterdam
1. BACKGROUND
In its origin, then, the city is a paradoxical form. The city ground plans take their shape
and meaning from the distinctive opposition between city and land or centre and periphery. But
this difference is secondary and misleading. Primarily, the city is formed and informed by
heterogeneous speeds - by the difference between inertia and traffic. The form of the city is thus,
finally, an unstable effect.
The city exists then through traffic in all its forms. While the anthropological thesis of
differentiation according to defensible territory is not untrue, it is misleading because it suggests
the possibility of an autonomous space that receives its quality from itself.
Wim Nijenhuis, from City Frontiers and their is appearance.'
2. A MAN-MADE WORLD
We live in an artificial world; in an environment which is not in any useful way defined by
any pre-existing 'natural' state, but is rather a complete immersive world of our own making. And
this is perhaps nowhere more evident than in the Netherlands; a habitat built by hand and machine
from almost nothing, an inhospitable swamp transformed into one of the most highly populated
regions of the world. The built environment of the Netherlands is a product of necessity in the first
instance - of making a dry and habitable place out of a wet and uninhabitable one. Practical
' p 14,Architectural Design, vol64, no 314, 1994.
202
I'hc. Soft I!rhan \lactiinc: Spacts- l'irnc i111dthc Produelion of I lrban I'lacc
problems of water management, mobility and habitation are dealt with in ways which are direct,
practical and effective, and in general one can say that issues of experience and of the quality of
experience of this constructed thing has not been a major determinant of its shape.
However, the critique of this landscape is increasingly expressed in terms of quality of
experience; terms that escape the direct technocratic set-up of the planning culture. Planning
directives also take up these t h e r n e ~while
,~ it is also increasingly clear that the outlines and criteria
of this quality are difficult to define. The idea of spatial quality first seems obvious, and then
increasingly nebulous and empty as it is subjected to scrutiny. Aesthetic issues tend to be handed
over to the designers who come up with proposals that either draw from lessons of a subjectively
interpreted past, or else break radically with that past and project, again highly subjectively, into
sci-fi futures which when built seem strangely familiar and are effortlessly appropriated by
dominant and commercial interests. On the other hand notions of urban quality are subsumed into
concepts such as 'urban vitality' or 'urbanity' which, while implying more about lived culture and
social quality, themselves lack definition as a directive to action. The lack of a precise bridge-work
from ideas of experiential quality to the fields of planning and design, becomes even more critical
in the light of some emerging crises in relation to the meaning and scope of the city and its relation
to contemporary life. The diffusion of the urban entity into a thin metropolitan mass which is
sometimes barely recognisable as a city in the old terms: the loss of a sure sense of place: an
increasing anomie and sense of dislocation from the environment around us: the loss of
environmental distinctiveness and intelligibility. These are the terms of an emerging critique, not
just within the Netherlands but also in the rest of the world, of qualitative and experiential aspects
of the built environment.
Perhaps though, it is within this laboratory of the artificial, of the purposefully changed
and changing, we can get a sharper sense of some of the parameters and outlines of urban quality,
of some of the underlying logics of this immersive world of our own making, and the possibilities
available to us for enriching the everyday lives we live within it. Here, perhaps as a by-product of
this blatant artificiality, there seems to be a sense of there being few inevitabilities about the world
we create for ourselves. Where every last inch of earth has been made and re-made, it may seem
easier to reflect on the worlds we live in, worlds that are the consequence of our own actions and
strategies, as well as on the altemative worlds that may be the outcome of altemative actions and
strategies.
3. FROM SPACE TO SPACE-TIME

There is an obvious connection between urban space as it is lived3 and as it is made, driven
by functional necessities and the directedness of organised human action towards the meeting of
these necessities. Today, it seems broadly true to say that the city is being made at a regional scale,
and that this is a reflection of the dominant ways contemporary urban space is being lived. But the
2
The 5th National Policy Document on Spatial Planning identified shortcomings in the attainment of quality
objectives in previous documents in spite of broadly effective implementation. Particularly the translation of
quality criteria into implementation strategies and policies was identified as having shortcomings. The 5th
Nota itself however, in spite of explicitly recognising the importance of the 'network society' and 'network
economy', is unable to move beyond vague statements of intent when it came to spatial quality criteria.
The idea of a 'lived' and 'made' space are borrowed freely from Lefebvre, who proposed that space was
'perceived', 'conceived' and 'lived'; where the perceived is space 'produced' (apparently in all its multiple
senses) while the lived is the rather introvert 'real and imagined' space of experienced everyday life. The
'lived' and 'made' spaces of this text try rather to open a 'space' between the social spaceproduced by the
social actions and interactions of people and the physical space produced in the social act of planning and
design. They both belong to Lefebvre's 'perceived' space category therefore, though I am proposing that
they belong also to the 'conceived' in the case of 'made' space and that the 'lived' spaces overlap with each
other. The link between ideas about space and experience is my interest here.
l'hr Soft Grbarr hlacbinc: Space- I ime a n d 1 he I'roduction of I rban F'li~ce
relations between these two spaces, the lived and the made, is not a logical unity. It is mediated
most obviously by constraints which include budgetary and policy priorities and so on. But it is
mediated also by the field of possibilities as it is seen and understood at that time. We cannot
propose what we do not envision or do not understand, and it could be that the possibility for an
alternative lived space is passed by because we do not possess all the conceptual equipment
necessary to be able to see a path to constructing it. It could be that some of the 'character7 of
modem urban life is being directed not by the inherent necessities of that life itself, but by the
constraints and limitations that we as planners place on the spatialisation of that modem life by the
networks we build, and those that we don't.
Lurking behind this proposition is the suspicion that we pay too little attention as designers
and planners to the time dimension in thinking about the space and places of the contemporary
city. It is becoming increasingly obvious that the order of the city cannot be outlined in terms of
the static, and that quality and experience of space and place are linked as powerfully to time as to
space itself. It is space-time rather than space that provides the dimensions of the functional order
of the city. We need even to consider that the functional and qualitative parameters of location
itself may be tied to an order which is dynamic. I don't believe that this is something new; urban
processes and places have probably always worked like this. We simply now live in a world where
the time dimension imposes itself on us with such force that it can no longer be ignored. The rules
of thumb we use for marking our place in this world have to be revised to incorporate the dynamic,
and it is possible that once we do this, all sorts of the things we didn't know how to order and
qualify before, may start to reveal their secrets.
The suggestion that time should be taken as an explicit component of the everyday
construction of the urban scene is not primarily driven by an interest in mobility, though it may be
seen as being forced by this. Rather it is driven by a realisation that urban space is fundamentally
relational, and that the production of the city as a social artefact (or better as a social environment;
something we live in rather than look at) is accomplished through everyday action, interaction and
experience. Relational space, when it becomes lived, needs to be performed, and this brings in
movement and time. The time we are referring to then is not the historic time of the evolution of
the city but rather an immediate, in the here-and-now, space-time of the way relations in the city
are made and performed in the course of everyday activity and interactivity.
The experience we are referring to in this relational space is also something which lies a
little deeper in our everyday social-spatial worlds than the immediate perception of visual fields or
attractiveness of environments. It has to do with our understanding of the society and culture we
live in. An idea of a social world constructed within a relational spatial field goes beyond seeing us
as beings who carry our cultures and societies around with us, as some kind of mental state, to one
where the world we encounter, and our web of relations with the world, become our societies and
cultures, which are integral with and embedded in the way we live. Society and culture in this view
are effects of the processes of everyday life, and social, spatial, cultural, technological variation
become not determining, but things which induce modulations in a total social field.4 This field is
spatial, so that factors of social distribution and social interface can profoundly affect domains of
consciousness and intersubjectivity. And the system can be highly open to change as it distributes
and balances counteracting forces (to different degrees depending on the system's openness)
throughout the field.'
4
For more on this view, from an anthropological perspective see Ingold (2000), and from a sociological and
philosophical perspective Bruno Latour's ideas have been influential - see Mol and Law (1994) and Law
(200 1).
5
"We (should) view social life not in statistical terms, as the outcome of a large number of
interactions among discrete individuals, but in topological terms as the unfolding of a total
generative field. I have used the term 'sociality' to refer to the dynamic properties of this
field. ...cultural variation may be expected to induce evolutionary modulations of the
r'llc Soft I I-ban Machir~c:Space-Tirne and the Production of' Ilrban I'lace
The power and persistence of the space-without-time paradigm (especially for designers)
has a lot to do with the object of the designer's attention, and that object of attention is determined
just as much by what can be 'seen' (conceptualised and viewed) and measured, as by the
designers' expressed aims and intentions. Just as certain means to intervene are excluded by blind
spots in our understanding of urban space-time processes. Space-without-time relates to, and has
its material expression in, the physical fabric, which is static, measurable, mappable to high levels
of resolution. The time dimension enters here as historical time, mappable also (the contestation of
historical interpretation aside) as the sequence of events and processes which produced the
material forms we see around us. Of course many of these historical processes are on-going and
many useful things can be said about the environment on the basis of this. But the space-time I am
talking about here has as its object a different fabric, which while being just as real, just as
material, as all that hard static stuff we see around us, is much more difficult to pin down and
measure; much more difficult to 'see' - not least because we lack the conceptual equipment to
understand what we can do with it. I am talking about a performative fabric, appearing as a soft
blur between the hard stuff, or as the hum in the cables and wires - the fluxes and flows of
multitudes of individual and particular social relations being exercised. The things that move to
complete these relations are manifold (people, goods, money, telephonic messages, bytes of
information, are some of the most important) and these are, much more than the static surfaces and
architecture, the very stuff of urban character and vitality.
And these space-time relations - the active part of the social network - are then mediated
by physical networks, networks of communications, the media, and networks of movement. In
fact, that great abstraction 'society' can be seen more concretely as an emergent product of an
astronomically dense graph of relations set up in and then manipulated and mediated by the
networks of the physical world. And many transformations in that society can be seen as emerging
out of new possibilities (and new restrictions on) the making of connections and relations in the
world we build for ourselves today.6
4. MADE NETWORKS - LIVED SPACE

My concern here is to show where, in the context of the changes in the range and
possibilities of peoples contacts and movements through these networks, issues of place and of the
quality and the experience of public space can be located. And, while it is acknowledged that the
flood of images and information delivered by the media and the communications networks has
changed our lives and cities forever, it is the effect of the everyday bodily exercising of the space-
time dimension; the effect of movement and the experience of movement and its products in an
immersive urban environment that is my interest. This is in order to try to begin to expand the
range of ideas around the relationship between lived and made space, and in order to open up the
field of possibilities for the spatialisation of contemporary life.
The city - and its form - enters the equation here both as producer and as product. The
form of the city is related, in ways I shall talk about, to the dynamics of movement and social
group interface. At the same time the particular social (and small-scale economic) conditions set
up at particular points in this dynamic facilitate an accretion of material (including social and
cultural) particulars which start to make up the street-scene. These particulars, often insignificant
on their own, when arrayed together in context, inform or index each other, creating a rich urban
social field, but this is not to say that social forms are in any sense genetically or culturally
determined." Tim Ingold, in 'An anthropologist looks at biology', Man (NS) 25 (1990): pp
208-229.
Hillier (2001)
I~lreSoft Urban >lachine: Sp;ace-l'in~earid the Production of I'rl~anPlace
communicative pattern in a way not dissimilar to everyday speech.7 This indexing is tied back into
the dynamic, which has a strong local to wider-scale logic, so that multiple and diverse overlaid
particulars relating to street-level culture and economy become structured around movement
patterns and their concentrations and centralities, rendering areas and places coherent with respect
to the wider city, while they at the same time maintain their local particularity and distinctiveness.
It is important to emphasise here that though, to our view from our imaginary vantage
point above the streets and squares of the city, the blur of this fabric of movement may be soft and
difficult to resolve, it is nevertheless material, real, and composed of highly particular elements. In
the discussion which follows, the fact that the life in our public spaces may appear fuzzy and
empirically impenetrable, should not mislead us into believing that the purpose of public space is
to achieve a mixing; a sort of formless, tasteless soup of humanity. The relational graph of society
produces just as much formation and distinctiveness (fluid and changeable though it may
sometimes be) as it does fluidity and diffusion. Distinctive social groupings may be defined in
multitudes of ways, including all the well-known ones like ethnic, lifestyle, age-group, class, etc.
One of the important ways this social stuff, this blur of movement, is differentiated here will be by
scale. People move differently and choose different mobility webs or networks depending on the
length of the journey they are ~ n d e r t a k i nA~ .route
~ to the corner-shop will in most cases involve a
different set of spaces to a route to the furniture store a mile away. A different set of spaces again
and a different movement network will be involved in a journey to the airport. One of the reasons
this particular differentiation is interesting and important is because at the lower and middIe scales
in particular, it maps over the broad social categories of inhabitant and stranger, and talks about
different involvements with and different commitments to particular networks and places. What I
will be describing later is the way, at the scales of neighbourhood and quarter, different scales and
speeds of movement (broadly inhabitant and stranger) are systematically interfaced with each other
in urban public space. Insofar as these broad categories also correspond with ethnic, class and
other differentiations (inhabitants may be of an ethnic-minority, or rich or poor, or student, or
worker or yuppie neighbourhood population; strangers will be more diverse, and represent the
public of the city at a larger scale), this becomes the logic that drives urban social interface (and
coincidentally small-scale commercial process) in public space.
One could say that it is this that the city (in and of itself, and as a social apparatus or
machine) does, and it is in the manipulation of this machine that designers and planners can
substantively influence urban experiential and social-functional factors.
Many of the notions I will be proposing come out of a long research into the space of the
Dutch city using the grid analysis techniques of space syntax.9 And, of course behind this
discussion, and behind all these ideas, sits the special presence of the Dutch city, by turns (quite
often in the same place), quaint and modern, village and metropolis, tourist trap and volksbuurt
(people's neighbourhood). But it is nothing if not accommodating, and it is this aspect of urban
functional pliancy, malleability and responsiveness to the processes of life which is one of the
main ingredients of a well constructed urban space-time.
7
Boden and Molotch in discussing the persistence of the importance of face to face communication, propose
that the copresence of people is 'thick' with meaningful and orientating detail. They argue (p. 259) that the
meanings of copresent interactions depend on the way particulars which may seem insignificant on their
own, when arrayed together in context, inform or 'index' each other creating a rich communicative pattern.
It is argued here that an equivalent structuring in space-time renders the well-functioning urban context
'thick' with intelligible meaning.
At a more abstract and philosophical level it may be better here to distinguish mobility webs not by their
scales but rather by their speeds.
Space syntax is a set of topological techniques used to describe urban grids, which are capable of revealing
emergent structural effects in extended grid patterns. The comparison of grid descriptions with functional
patterns in real cities has begun to teach us something about the relationship between the form of the city and
how it works as a system of movement - see Hillier & Hanson (1 984).
'l'hc Soft Itrhan Ilacl~iric:Space-l'irnc a ~ thc
~ d1%-oductiottol'I'rba11I'lacc
5. THE NEW REGIONAL CITY

It is clear that there is a new scale in the present-day urban spatial field led by the new
dimensions of everyday human activity as these eclipse the physical limits of the old centre. The
city today is being made at the regional scale, as the 'outside' quite suddenly disappears from the
old 'inside-outside' of urban centre-periphery. The scale and intensity of the flows within the new
extended urban field forces us to rethink and redefine what urban space is, as the new urban social-
spatial scales and their effects don't limit themselves to the peripheries of old centres. 'Centrality'
and 'peripherality' seem increasingly to invade every sector of the urban landscape, weaving
through each other, and flipping the old order of urban areas and surfaces on its head; establishing
a discordant new space whose collisions are an increasingly familiar part of our everyday lives, but
are still surprising when seen in relation to our more familiar spatial habits and static notions of
urban order.
In fact a new centrality has emerged from the intensity of the mobility dynamic, and not
one we are used to thinking about. It is situated within, and takes on the defining characteristics of
the new urban space. It becomes slippery, fluid, diffuse; an extensive 'centre' permeating the
infrastructural networks of the 'periphery'.'o This is real centrality, not just 'accessibility'; a
dynamic property of urban space, a product of the mobile flux, and it is a property of, and is
generated within, the scale or speed of mobility being considered (as people choose their networks
on the basis of the scales and speeds of their movements). This spatiality of flows with its new
centrality gives us a clue as to how we might be able to re-conceptualise centrality in general in the
new urban space.
To find the order in all this, we need to move away from a conception of centrality tied to
the old spatial orders of surfaces and borders and inside and outside, to one of differently scaled
meshes of difhsed centrality,-and then see if we can account for the old centrality, with its
locatedness and place-like properties, with this new spatial model. The perhaps rather non-intuitive
proposition is that there exist multiple centralities in urban space, each diffused and extensive, like
the centrality of the freeway network, each permeating and filling their respective scales (or
speeds) of network, and that these may interact with each other, where they overlap, to produce
effects that we recognise as the kind of centrality and place-ness we are all familiar with. The
model requires that one imagine infrastructural webs at different scales, each of them suffused
with a dynamic energy (to different degrees in real cases), overlapped with each other, and
interacting (again to different degrees) with each other to produce the urban effects we are seeking
to explain. This account then tries to outline the way our experience of movement is transmuted
into an experience ofplace, through the way different scales (or speeds) interface with each other.
The emergence of the new scales and their foregrounding of the spatialities of flows and of
the networks which accommodate them has changed the character of modem life profoundly. But
the old places have not disappeared; they have changed certainly, but then it is in the nature of
things of flux that they should change. In fact our attention to a different kind of spatiality does not
mean we give up all notions of creating place, or that we resort to sterile attempts to preserve place
by bounding it and cutting it off from the energies which sustain it. In fact urbanisms of surfaces
and borders always worked against the processes of an urban life, and urban space has always been
mobile. We can account for the old centrality as an effect of the 'new' spatial order, and in order to
elaborate on this and give a flavour of the working of this urban machine, I will look at the
production of the old sort of centrality (or place) by movement in the traditional centre.
The lived space-time frame of the centre-on-the-regional-scale is so foreign to the
immediate landscape the infrastructure cuts through, that the 'places' carved into this placelessness
become attached not to the ground, but to the diffuse floating experience of this extended free-
lo One can see that words are a big part of our problem here, tying places and concepts to particular
spatialities which may not be appropriate for the task at hand.
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'fhc Soft I rban Machine: Spacc-l'ime arid rhe PI-odoctionof Crhan I'liict.
within the fabric of the traditional centre, a weaving of the orders and scales of activity of each
through the other. And this weaving clearly doesn't, as one might perhaps at first expect, lead to an
increasing uniformity of the scales and intensities of activity within the urban field. Rather it seems
to generate increasing contrasts within an increasingly complex configuration of urban places as
the 'new inside' (interiorised and controlled public spaces) and the 'new outside' (spaces without
clear definition - disconnected unnamed spaces) of the 'periphery' penetrate also into the 'old
inside' of the traditional centre. While infrastructural connection at the metropolitan and regional
scales mean that at these scales connective efficiencies increase, in terms of a matrix of adjacent
urban places, spatial and functional fragmentation is more often the character of the new order.''
The fact is we are only just becoming used to thinking the space of the city in a new way;
in a way which incorporates the fluidity and provisionality of structure and centrality, and the way
present-day functional scales and dynamics are transforming urban forms. While we have assumed
these forms to be stable, in fact they were always a product of vectors and flux and liable to shift,
and sometimes to shift suddenly and unexpectedly, as scales within the dynamic changed and the
system slipped from one equilibrium to another. The mechanics of the machine are a mechanics of
flow, and social-spatial forms are emergent out of this; a product of aggregations and
condensations of clouds of micro-effects, producing structure which reveals itself not just in
patterns of activity, but also in condition and character.
7. THE MIDDLE-SCALED WEB AND THE MOVEMENT-SCALE

MACHINE
The traditional centre is an historically produced fabric of places, characterised in the
terms of our conventional understanding of it, as an enormously complex layering of social
meaning and significance; a sort of jumbled-up treasure box of collective memory. The paralysis
induced by this view in designers who, without access to the dimension of historical time, despair
of ever being able to reproduce such a fabric of richness, is in this view quite unnecessary. The
adaptability and responsiveness of the central fabric to new times, to new social and functional
tendencies and demands, is precisely a product of the way some of the enormous complexity of the
relational space of the larger society, is condensed and organised by scale within the webs of
public space, constructing meaningful conjunctions, and social (and small-scale economic)
interfaces according to rather simple generic movement mechanisms, built around rather simple
physical spatial armatures. The argument here is that we may, by understanding how the machine
of movement and scale is constructed, still build 'organic' places, built into and supported by an
extended dynamic space; self-sustaining places, integrating the space-times of local and wider
scales, supportive of local everyday lives and cultures and adaptable to changes in the local and
larger society.
Research using space syntax has already revealed the fundamental movement logic of the
grids of traditional urban centres,I6 and my own research has shown how particular streets, through
their simple local connective geometries within the grid pattern, tend to be significantly better
connected with respect to local clusterings of streets (figure 2). This is in itself interesting, but
what is much more interesting is that these very same streets then start to link up with other locally
highly connected streets to form a continuous network at a higher scale level which begins to fairly
evenly cover the surface of the centre (figure I)." This higher level network is not all obviously
designed for higher scales and higher speeds of movement; these are often in the case of Dutch
l 5 Boyer (1994)
Is for example; Hillier (1 996), Read (1999a)
" Read (1999b)
I'l~eSoft Urban hlachii~e:Space-Timc and thc Productioa of' Crban Place
centres fairly ordinary streets, recognisably part of the continuous distributed spatial grid, but they
are nevertheless very significantly better trafficked than other streets local to them.
So a coherent spatial web is formed in the surface of the traditional city centre (a higher
scaled grid within the urban grid as a whole) which comprises highly connected streets at the local
scale while a t the same time becoming the movement network at the next scale up; the middle-
scaled movement web - between that of the region and that of the local grid - in the city of scaled
movement webs. The consequence of this conjunction is that an interface is set up in these streets,
between the scale of the local area on the one hand, and the scale at which people get around
within the larger central city on the other, which produces powerful conditions supporting street-
edge commercial activity on the one hand and social and cultural identification and encounter on
the other; local character and culture meets the more diverse mix of the wider city. The high-street
is not simply and simplistically a street programmed for shopping, with accessibility added as if it
was a neutral effect of the making of linkages; it becomes a shopping street because the conditions
produced by this effect of different movements support the economic and cultural role of the high-
street. This is how it works in Amsterdam, but I suspect it is also a more general scale-interface
effect; a generic spatial mechanics of the urban grid which produces those secondary centralities
and differentiation in the traditional fabric.18
We have in effect a fluid-mechanics of the city; like the standing waves and whirls in a
flowing river, local conditions are set up and fixed in place by the local physical topography on the
one hand and by dynamic flows and forces that arise out of the system as a whole (and the
topography of the whole that supports these flows) on the other.
8. THE AMSTERDAM MOVENIENT-SCALE MACHINE

What is an even more remarkable consequence of this conjunction - besides the cultural
and small-scale economic effects - is the solidity of the experience of place that we know so well
in the traditional centre. Here it is that the paradoxical nature of urban place can be understood.
The stability and locatedness of the place experience lulls us into believing that this is something
to do with the immediately local; with the forms and textures of the architecture, the furniture and
the surfaces. In fact the properties of place that locate it most firmly for us are those that are not of
the location itself, but those that link the local in a structured way with the wider surroundings.
Place is no autonomous property of a specific locale, rather it is an effect of a structured relation
between part and wider whole.
The middle-scaled network is, like the regional network, in principle a centrality in its own
right and at its own scale which could also, other things being equal, be just as diffuse, slippery
and formless as regional centrality, spreading itself evenly, without definition, throughout the
network. This is not the case however for reasons that relate to the two separate centralities, the
middle and the local, that suffuse the space of the traditional central city, and play off each other to
produce the effects we encounter on the street.
The middle-scaled network in the traditional centre has edges - one comes to the end of
the traditional city whereas the regional network tends today to spread itself out continuously,
oblivious even to topographical or political borders. Where there are edges there is also a centre -
a delimited dynamic loses intensity towards the edges for obvious reasons to do with the syntax of
space and flow. So there is in very broad terms, highly modulated by the factor I will shortly
discuss, a shading of the intensity of activity from edge to centre of the middle-scaled network.
This effect is of the obvious 'centrality' of the traditional city, corresponding with our intuitive
grasp of mono-nuclearity. However there is another effect which opens the possibility for poly-
nuclearity not accounted for by this first effect.
Other cities are being identified which have two clear scales of movement network between the local and
the regional. Paris is a clear example, but parts of Rotterdam also display this pattern.
Tllc Soft Ijrhan >lachinc: Space-I'irnc 2nd the I'roduction of I 'rhan I'lacc
Local-scaled centrality (the diffuse centrality of movement at the scale of the urban grid
itself) interacts with the middle-scaled centrality I have talked about already, differently in
different places on the middle-scaled network, producing different place-effects on this middle-
scaled network; producing as well structured specificity which makes the city intelligible to the
immersed subject in motion. It is inadequate therefore to characterise this middle-scaled network
as simply an accessibility network. Its primary logic and mechanism is to provide the framework
on which place-effects are produced. The way this is done is simplicity itself: particular streets on
the middle-scaled network are simultaneously a part of the local-scaled area movement network
(the local grid pattern) and the middle-scaled city or quarter movement network. These overlaps
have different degrees and different balances of the one scaled network to the other depending on
some very obvious factors. One factor is the degree of constitution or physical linking of the two
networks. For the effect to work best the two grids would be hardly distinguishable from each
other when looked at in plan. Another factor is the position in the middle-scaled network in
relation to that network's centre and edges (its mono-nuclearity effect). Other factors play a role
but are themselves (as are these two factors already mentioned) all part of the logic of the model
and are quite intuitive within the system outlined.
Figure 2. Figure 3. 1
The local and the middle-scaled The local and the middle-scaled
Figure 1. network relationship network relationship
The local and the middle-scaled (constitution) in the traditional (constitution) on the edge of
networks in the urban grid. rPntr~ r ~ n t r ~
There is a simple order here, underlying urban richness and complexity, an order based in
the two-part scale hierarchy of movement networks in traditional central urban space. This is the
order that links the urban local part to the larger urban whole (or larger part) and this is the order to
which urban detail is indexed. This order is inflected and shifted by the influence of the new scales
and the centrality of the periphery, and it is occasionally overthrown. It remains however with us
today in very many urban situations, indexing complexity, ordering experience, defining place,
making the immersive urban tissue coherent, structured and intelligible.
It is interesting to note here a fundamental difference between the ordering of these kinds
of traditional urban environments and some of the more designed layouts that are the product of
spatial design ideas such as 'neighbourhood unit' or 'urban village'. In the first place, parts in the
traditional fabric tend to be defined by their centres rather than by their boundaries. These centres
are the places where the local to middle scales are interfaced -- in other words these centres are as
open to the rest of the city as they are to the local area itself.19 In contrast, the more designed
urban layouts tend, through the way they are made, to cut themselves off from the wider city,
establishing an own, secured, 'defensible' space which is often under-occupied and beset by
problems of monotony, isolation and public space quality. Areas tend to this type in Dutch cities as
There are of course also places which form centralities locally while not being connected directly to the
middle-scaled web. These more secret, intimate places are part of the richness and variety of the urban
fabric, and are secret and intimate precisely because they are not of the type outlined here.
The Soft Lrban Jlachirie: Space- I'irnr and the t+roduction of' I rban Place
well, in the more recently developed areas as one approaches the edges of the central city. While
older areas tend to be centred on the middle-scale web (figure 2), by the time one gets out to later
20th century areas, the middle-scaled web bounds the areas (figure 3) and the 'centres' these areas
enclose exhibit little trace of the scale and culture of the wider city. These new neighbourhood
areas are in fact spatially an inversion of the traditional neighbourhoods that were apparently their
inspiration, and are a pre-figurement of the closed, capsular morphologies of the periphery.
This hardening of the fabric towards the edge relates very clearly to the factor of
constitution; the physical link between the middle-scaled axis and the area is reduced to an
efficient minimum defined by the need for accessibility. In more recently designed and built
neighbourhoods, local centrality is explicitly removed from the higher scaled movement network
as this network is de-constituted and its (middle-scaled) centrality begins to become once more
slippery and placeless. It is clear that closer to the centre there is a high level of redundancy as
regards simple accessibility; there always being multiple ways to access areas or locations. In fact
it seems clear that this redundancy is a prerequisite if we want those field conditions to emerge
which support high levels of street-level activity.
Whereas in recent times issues regarding movement and attraction, and the working
mechanism and ordering of the city have been subsumed under ideas of accessibility andfunction-
attractor, (getting around and destination), what 1 am proposing is that these factors are in the
traditional city subsumed under the idea of multiple overlapped network-centralities and their
interfaces (movement-flow-networks and place-effect). The traditional city is set up as a field of
relations between the parts and the whole, which is non-specific in terms of function, delivering
instead particularity in terms of conditions of place, and specificity in the effect of the
appropriation of these particular conditions.
9. THE MISSING MIDDLE SCALE IN THE CITIES WE MAKE

TODAY
The traditional urban grid is therefore not an even and undifferentiated surface, it is clearly
articulated by the vectors it supports and the distribution of its activities, and in a way which
significantly determines its experience, legibility and functioning. It is difficult at first sight to see
how the grid in the first place came to be as structured as this, but the fact that it is suggests that
there is a powerful connection, or at least there was at the time the grid was made, between the
spatial logic of development and growth and the spatial logic of movement and activity. Which
suggests generic spatial processes tied to the way cities are made. The general necessity for
functional movement networks is clear, and one way or another paths are cleared or ways made
which relate to a logic of movement. It is also fairly obvious that at any particular time the scales
of the dominant movement patterns of the day will relate to the scales of the movement networks
constructed. Today's cities generate massive flows at the regional scale and today's cities are
being made as infrastructural works at the regional and metropolitan scales. At the time the
traditional city was made (and that means for most parts of most traditional cities the second half
of the 19th and the early 20th centuries), dominant movement patterns were still for the most part
contained within the central city itself. So that the same processes produced connective networks
which were made at the scales of district and city as it was at that time defined. It is that rich zone
between the scales of the local and that of the metropolitan that are today's forgotten scales, the
missing middle scales in the made space of the contemporary city.
It may be argued that these middle scales are no longer relevant in a world increasingly
influenced by the scale of the global; conditioned by global flows of finance and people, by rapidly
expanding mobility, and where the spectacle of urban life is being transformed into the spectacle
of the commodity. But what Dutch cities demonstrate is the continuing relevance of places of fine-
meshed spatial connectivity in the lives of a culturally and economically diverse, connected and
Thc Soft Crban Rlschine: Spacc-Tinre 21nd the I'roduction of l'rhsa I'lacr
mobile urban residential population, and the continuing viability of such places, where supported
by a strong local political process and the local services and infrastructure of a strong public
sphere. Such places are no longer the only higher-than-local-scaledplaces of the city; and may not
even be the dominant ones from the point of view of global, or as domicile for the most powerful
social groups, but they continue to have a powerful attraction, continue to find new inhabitants,
new programmes and creative ways of renewing themselves. Places like this continue to support
the leading edge of all manner of cultural change and renewal; lifestyles, entertainment, music,
fashion; the spheres of desire and difference. These places offer themselves up for appropriation
by maintaining an open structured interface between the part of the city and a wider whole, as they
offer locatedness as a product of this structured interface between differently scaled movement
processes. This all may seem rather abstract, perhaps also difficult because we are dealing with
unfamiliar abstractions, but the reality is all very familiar and taken for granted to those who live
in such environments. The problem is not in finding such places, the problem has been in
reproducing them in the networks we make for ourselves today and it is hoped that the ideas in this
paper bring us some way closer to understanding how we may do this.
REFERENCES:
Augk, M. 1992, Non-Places. Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity, Verso, London
De Cauter, L. 2001, 'The capsule and the network: Preliminary notes for a general theory', in
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1low Carl \Ve \.lake llong Kong's Ilrl)a~iForni %loreSustainable:' : From Perceptions to Kcalitl
How Can We Make Hong Kong's Urban Form More

Sustainable? :From Perceptions to Reality
Centrefor Urban Planning & Environmental Management (CUPEM),
The UniversiQ of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Abstract: This paper first discusses sustainable urban development, a concept highly
compatible, if not fundamental, to the realization of open building formation and design, which
serves as a framework for assessing Hong Kong's compact urban form. This is supplemented by
the results of a survey conducted by CUPEM for the ProyectoCITIES project' on perceptions of
Hong Kong's urban development by different stakeholders: the private sector, the public sector
and civil society. The survey2results show varying degrees of discrepancy between the perceived
level of excellence and level of priority held by these various groups towards a number of
physical, socio-economic, environmental and governance conditions in Hong Kong. While all
these stakeholders seem to view certain indicators as important, for example the "quality of
city's surroundings and water features", "overall environment of the city", "social cohesion" etc,
they seem to differ on other issues. We correlate these findings with Hong Kong's hture
development plans and find that there are several priorities of all the stakeholders that are not
adequately addressed. Hong Kong should develop sustainable goal oriented strategies through
community empowerment and participation that reflect people's priorities. Implementation of
these strategies through good governance practices should carry forward these perceptions to
"reality".
Key Words: urban form, sustainability, perceptions, reality
1. INTRODUCTION
Over 45% of the world population lives in cities. Cities are the engines for economic
growth often developed at the expense of environmental and social capital (Ng, 2002). This paper
first discusses the principles of sustainable urban development and how they can be integrated with
the concept of "Open Building", which serves a s a framework to assess the sustainability of Hong
Kong's highly dense compact urban form. This is supplemented by a survey conducted by
CUPEM for the ProyectoCITIES project on perceptions of Hong Kong's urban development by
different stakeholders: the private sector, the public sector and civil society. Analyses of the survey
results show varying degrees of discrepancy between the perceived "level of excellence" and
"level of priority" and agreement held by these various groups towards a number of physical,
socio-economic, environmental and governance conditions in Hong Kong. We then select
indicators that scored a higher level of priority to determine which indicators the three stakeholder
groups would like Hong Kong to focus on in the future. We then correlate these findings with
Hong Kong's future development plans and find that there are several priorities of all the
I ProyectoCITIES is an international project with over 20 cities participating, and was organized by
Fundacion Metropoli in Spain, the research for Hong Kong was done by CUPEM, HKU
As part of Hong Kong's input for the Study, CUPEM undertook the City Forum survey in Sep. 2000,
which was jointly developed for the by University of Pennsylvania and Fundacion Metropoli,
tlo\\ ('an \c \.lake Ilong Kong's I rhaa Form Rlorc Surtainablc'? : Irom I'rrceplioos t o Rvalit?
stakeholders that currently are not being adequately addressed. Hong Kong should develop
sustainable goal oriented strategies through community empowerment and participation that reflect
people's priorities. Implementation of these strategies through good governance practices should
cany forward these perceptions to "reality".
The following section inter-relates the concepts of open building and sustainable urban
development and elaborates on the development of Hong Kong's urban form and structure. The
next section discusses some of the survey results followed by recommendations and concluding
remarks.
2. OPEN BUILDINGISUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Open building is a term that is used with different meanings within varying contexts and
has gained popularity over the last two decades. Within an urban development context, it promotes
the idea that the built environment like a building is in constant transformation; this change
impacts the people that inhabit the city. The fact that the built environment is the result of a
continuous planning and design process in which the urban fabric evolves over time must be
recognized and understood (www.habraken.com).
Many factors, policies and decisions impact the city at various stages of its development
and these will determine the resulting urban form and structure and livability of a city. Very often
the economic needs change, the physical fabric is restructured, displacing people, shattering
communities and changing the built environment. The idea of having open building is to have
incremental, collectively thought-out and organic processes of designing and implementing
physical changes to the city's urban structure (Figure 1).
1 A LIVABLE CITY - OUALITY OF LIFE - SUSTAINABLE URBAN LIFE I

Society: civic and social Governance: leadership and
integration; employment participation in the city-region;
and immigration; political governance and administration;
and social consciousness city and regional planning
I I
Built Environment physical
and functional structure of the
city urban form and structure
-
Environment: general Economy: basic sector;

aspects: environmental advanced activities; structure
management; water; waste; of demand; factors of
I CITIES IN A GLOBAL WORLD - COMPONENTS OF EXCELLENCE I
Figure I : Open Building and Sustainable Urban Development ~ramew~ork.'
3 .
~ndicatorsin the above figure have been adapted from ProyectoClTIES project - City Forum Survey
21 5
klov Can M e \lake klong Kong'c I rl>:111lorn1 >lore Su+t:iinsblrL.' : Prom I'crceptinn# to Itthalit)
The concept of sustainable urban development has been well researched but often from
varying viewpoints. Sustainability is interrelated to human beings and the natural environment, and
requires intra and inter generational equity, demographic stability and respect for the ecosystem
which can be ensured through good governance. Urban sustainability cannot be achieved without
economic prosperity, and a diversified and pluralistic society ensuring socio-economic and
environmental equity. A city's success should not be measured only in economic terms but also in
terms of social and environmental capital as well (Ng, 2002).
There is a strong link between urban form, open building and sustainable development but
it is not simple and straightforward. A sustainable city is of a compact urban form and human scale
that encourages social interaction but often compact cities get overcrowded and suffer loss of
urban quality with less open space more congestion and pollution (Jenks et al. 2000). Due to its
highly dense compact urban form and heavy reliance on public transport Hong Kong is considered
in some respects to be on a more sustainable path compared to other cities in the developed and the
developing world (World Commission Urban 2 1,2000).
Quality of life is also closely related to the concept of open building and sustainable
development which emphasizes the integration (not just balance) of social, environmental and
economic concerns (Ng and Hills, 2003). Hong Kong with its dramatic development over the last
several decades is now facing some social, economic and environmental challenges. To improve
the quality of life of its people the city is beginning to address the issues of urban sustainability.
Hong Kong's urban development demonstrates that the concepts of open building and urban
sustainability are still in the very early stages of gaining importance and recognition.
3. HONG KONG'S URBAN FORM AND STRUCTURE
Hong Kong is a city of close to 7 million strategically located at the mouth of the Pearl
River Delta on the Southeast coast of China (Figure 2). The city is set in a natural setting of
mountain ridges, harbour, islands, waterfront, beaches and an extensive coastline. The city's
unique urban form is characterized by a very high density development due to its hilly terrain and
scarcity of developable land in the urban core. Only 25% of the land - about 75 sq. km - is
urbanized and over 40% of the 1,098 sq km is designated as country parks. The population density
of the city is about 6,096 persons per sq. km, and in the most densely developed areas of Hong
Kong it reaches 54,374 persons1 sq. km. Hong Kong, a place where East meets West, developed
first as a trading entrepot, then a manufacturing centre, later became Asia's financial and business
centre and now is a major exporter of services. Hong Kong's urban form is dictated to a certain
extent by the Planning Standards and Guidelines and the Government's dependence on the
property market. Various other factors that impacted Hong Kong's urban form over the period of
its development history are discussed below.
The strategic location, deep water natural harbour, local climate, British administration
stimulus, demographic structure and social segregation of the local Chinese determined Hong
Kong's initial urban form. During the early colonial era the city was at an intimate human scale,
low density two to four storey high buildings of European Architectural style juxtaposed with
traditional Chinese details. Streets were designed for the pedestrians, a tram traversing east to west
with a grid iron pattern similar to European towns. During the post war era urban development was
driven by the acute shortage of housing and the rise of squatter settlements. In response to the
housing demand pressure, due to the fire in 1953, coupled with the huge influx of migrants from
China, the British Government built standardized resettlement housing. The buildings were 7 to 10
storeys high of marginal quality with common bathrooms on each floor, yet the sense of
community within these developments was high. The migrant population helped in the industrial
growth and expansion of the manufacturing sector in Hong Kong due to availability of abundant
[ION Can M c \1:1kc Hong Kong'5 I'rhan Form hlorc Sustainablr? : From Perceptious l o Realit)
capital and cheap labour. Numerous high rise factories sprung up in textiles, electronics, clocks,
jewelery etc.
China's adoption of the open door policy in 1978 and the development of the Special
Economic Zones have led to an economic restructuring of Hong Kong from 1980's to present.
Manufacturing and industry moved out to the SEZ of Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Hong Kong
transformed itself from a manufacturing and industrial centre to a service centre and became the
gateway city to China. Rapid diversification into tertiary services led to the development of
financial, legal and other professional and advanced services. Hong Kong witnessed further
expansion of the tourist and transportation sector and more recently an attempt to enter the hi- tech
industry.
Figure 2: Urban Development ofHong Kong (source, Planning Department, Hong Kong)
The shortage of developable land forced further development to the urban fringe areas and
resulted in the ambitious and successful New Town program that involved major reclamations.
Since the 1950s, New Town development transformed Hong Kong's urban structure into a satellite
development. However, the intention to make the new towns self-sufficient did not pan out as the
major employment centre is still within the urban core. The new towns were built around the town
centrehailway station with intensive high-rise podium type commercial development. However,
most of the new towns are of standardized urban form, monotonous and look similar, only Sha Tin
and Tung Chung stand out for their somewhat distinct identity.
By retaining its foothold as the employment and commercial centre the urban core has
remained strong, vibrant and dynamic and has not faced the problems and dilemmas of many city
centres' around the world. Over several decades, reclamation of the harbour has increased
developable land on either side, while narrowing it considerably. The Protection of the Harbour
Ordinance instituted recently in response to public outcry has brought about a check on the extent
of reclamation.
Over the last 20 years, construction of the railway network by MTR and KCR has also
propelled the pace of development in Hong Kong. Rail stations have become the location for nodal
development along the network and thereby further transformed the urban fabric of Hong Kong.
Iiow ('an W c \lake H o n g Kong.9 I rhan I o r m Narc Su,tainsblc? : 1;rorn Percrptiot~sto licalit)
Limited subsidies from the Government and heavy reliance on property development and the cash
box, has limited the rail network while making it less affordable for some sections of the
population, (Barron, 2000). Nevertheless, Hong Kong enjoys the luxury of about 95% serviced by
truly multi-modal transportation system. Urban rail together with buses, taxis and trams provide
affordable mobility and accessibility to public transport to almost 100% of the population expect
some remote villages in the New Territories.
In an attempt to reduce vehicular and pedestrian conflict, pedestrian movement was moved
away from the ground level where the automobile dominates. The podium type development and
the close proximity of buildings to one another have led to the development of footbridge systems
that are extensive and unique. Indoor shopping malls that are often located at the rail stations are
housed in podium structures and are connected to the footbridge network. This has taken away the
importance of ground level to the pedestrian in the form of open space, tree lined boulevards,
pedestrian streets, squares and plazas. More recently piecemeal pedestrianization efforts by the
transport department are being undertaken to make the streets safer by eliminating the transport
black spots. These have taken the form of traffic calming, part time and full time pedestrianization
schemes.
Hong Kong's dynamic and vibrant streets, and the constant change in the skyline and the
densely packed high rise buildings is interesting to the visitors. The neon lights and the signs
boards especially on Nathan Road, are viewed by some as chaotic yet by others as interesting. This
densely packed urban environment in some areas proves to be monotonous and congested. The
mountain ranges actually form view sheds and the coastline provides relief to the dense urban
development. However, there is an urgent need for physical and visual relief in the form of vistas,
view corridors, open space and access to waterfront promenades. An attempt is being made in this
direction through the Urban Design Guidelines and the Harbour and Waterfront Studies, but
proposals need to be implemented yet.
Lower open space standards within the HKPS&G, has led to little land being left for
usable open space or public use. In an attempt to maximize the development potential of the land
buildings are being built closer and taller, thereby exacerbating the already dense built
environment. However, it should be noted that the quality of the newer private development is
significantly higher than public development. A skewed priority to minimum maintenance has also
led to a more mundane streetscape and urban landscape of Hong Kong. Hong Kong looks
glamorous from the mountain top especially the Peak and the harbour with memorable views from
the feny, but lacks imagination or attention to detail at the human scale, especially at ground level.
Again studies are being undertaken to improve the streetscape and to make the streets pedestrian
friendly.
The market led development approach has proven to be rather unsuccessful as far as
redevelopment and renewal is concerned. There is an urgent need to address the aging poor quality
building stock, especially in the older areas of the city. Hong Kong's answer is the creation of the
Urban Renewal Authority replacing the more profit oriented Land Development Corporation. The
URA approach to renewal is based on four R's - Redevelopment, Rehabilitation, Preservation and
Revitalization. The Urban Renewal Strategy has identified several areas and sites for renewal to be
implemented over the next 20 years. Additionally, the relocation of the airport to Chek Lap Kok
has made available huge amounts of land to be redeveloped at higher densities in the urban core.
Hong Kong is going through yet another transformation, that of political and governance
as a result of the handover of the territory from British to Chinese sovereignty. Hong Kong's
reunification with the Mainland of China in 1997 provides a new regional development context for
the Special Administrative Region (SAR). Increase in cross border activities and investments
further integrate development across the border thereby making the border more porous with
greater linkage with the Mainland. A possible development of multi-centred city region in the PRD
could transform Hong Kong's urban structure and redefine its regional and global context.
Hong Kong has now stepped into the era of growing environmental concern that would
result in a more sustainable Hong Kong. Urban design has become a significant part of planning in
Ilow <'an W e l l a k e Iiong Kong's I rhsa Form hlore Su,taiiiable'! : E'rom Perceptiour l o 12calit)
Hong Kong. There is a conscious effort to raise the quality of life of people and also get them more
involved in the planning process through public consultations. The local population is only now
entering the arena of community involvement and needs education, empowerment and training to
become socially aware and participate successfully in planning the future of Hong Kong.
4. PEOPLE'S PERCEPTION OF HONG KONG'S URBAN FORM
As part of the ProyectoCITIES project CUPEM conducted a comprehensive survey to

identify the "clusters of excellence" for Hong Kong. About 15 questionnaires were mailed to each
of the participating sectors; the public, private and the civil society. The survey required the
respondents to identify the "level of excellence" and the "level of priority" by giving a score of 1
to 10, the higher the score the greater the level of excellence or priority. A total of about 189
indicators were listed under the following six categories; the elements of the physical and
functional structure of the city; society; economy; governance; cities in a global world; and
components of excellence. Level of excellence relates to the people's perceptions of the existing
situation in Hong Kong for these various categories, while level of priority indicates how
important they feel each issue is.
All the stakeholder groups rated urban sustainability with current levels as poor (Figure 3).
Environment scored the lowest as low as 4 points and the social development and cohesion about 6
points, with economic competitiveness scoring the highest close to 8. Yet all the three groups have
given high priority to urban sustainability scoring between 8 to 9 points.
Environmental
sustainability / rn Ciul Society (lewd of
excellence)
rn Public Sector (lewd of
excellence)
Primte Sector (lewd of
Economic ! excellence)
competitiveness
I Ciul Society (lewd of

priority )
Social
I
I
rn Public Sector (lewd of
priority)
development and I w Private Sector (lewd of
cohesion priority)
Figure 3: Urban Sustainability
The indicators for physical environment, urban structure and setting (Figure 4) show their
perceptions of the level of excellence and level of priority for the three stakeholder groups. There
are differences between the perceptions of the public sector, private sector and the civil society
regards the level of excellence, although they seem to confer on certain key issues of highest
priority. These include: location within an internal context; quality of city surroundings; overall
environment of the city; quality of urban setting for the pedestrians; green areas in the city and
water in the city. It should be noted that the public sector had a tendency to score higher on level
of excellence when compared to private sector or civil society. For example the public sector gave
t i o ~Can \%e\lake Hong Koog's 1rban Form \lore Suctainahlc'? : Frorn I'rrccptions to Rcality
a higher rating for the night time illumination of the city, water features and courses in the city,
city's relationship with the region, uniqueness of urban image, quality of modem architecture etc.
This discrepancy may explain why the public sector takes a much longer time to recognize that
problems exist while the private sector and the civil society get anxious and frustrated at the public
sectors lack of concern for these issues.
Overall, the same pattern in repeated. There are several indicators that received a score of
8 or above for both the level of excellence and level of priority. Sub-categories where four or more
indicators were selected include: educational system and universities; environmental management;
civic and social integration; advanced economic activities; factors of production; administration
and governance; and potential for globalization, with advanced economies taking in 6 indicators
and environmental management being on top with 9 indicators. Sub-categories where three
indicators are selected include: external communications system; urban setting; employment and
immigration; political and social consciousness; structure of demand; urban sustainability; physical
environment of the city; urban structure; unique parts of the urban structure; urban transportation;
basic sectors of economic activities; productive linkages; city and regional planning take in two
indicators each.
Location within
the international
context
Quality of city
surroundings
Water features
W v i l Society (level of
excellence) ,
~
and courses in
I
the city
Overall environ.
IPublic Sector (level of I
of the city
City's
excellence)
relationship
with its region
Central areas of
o Rivate Sector (level of I
I
l
the city
Urban
excellence)
redevelopment
Uniqueness of o Cjvil Society (level of priority)
urban image
Quality of urban
setting for the
pedestrian
Quality of IPublic Sector (level of priority)
modern
architecture
~~
Streetscape
Night time
illumination of
B Rivate Sector (level of
the city
Green areas of
priority)
the city
Water in the city
Figure 4: Physical Environment, Urban Structure and Setting

Iia\\ Can \l.c \lake Hong Kong'4 I rbi111Forni \lore Su+tain;~blc?: From Perceptions to Realit)
Now that we have seen what the public sector, private sector and civil society agree on
over the indicators listed in the level of excellence and the level of priority it is useful to see if
Hong Kong people's perceptions match with current plans for the future development of the city.
We have used the HK2030, (www.info.aov.hk) a strategic Study currently underway and looked at
its key issues and planning implications and compared it with the Hong Kong people's priorities.
Analysis of the Study and the survey results shows that only some of people's priority
items are addressed and there are several priority areas that are not even considered. The Study
includes the following key strategies: airport and port development; strengthening rail and road
linkages with the region; regenerating old urban areas; providing a quality living environment;
preserving cultural heritage and enhancing an attractive townscape; conserving natural landscape;
enhancing the transport system; meeting housing and community needs through new growth areas;
adequate schools for quality education and retraining; reduction of air pollution; energy efficient
public transport system; promoting tourism etc. The Study addresses certain key issues that were
not considered in previous strategic studies. However the HK2030 ignores other issues relating to
environment, social cohesion, equity, community empowerment, participation and governance.
The Government still needs to address these to make local people's perceptions become a reality
and ensure that the future development of the city is more sustainable.
5. TRANSFORMING PEOPLE'S PERCEPTIONS TO REALITY
People's perceptions can become reality if future development focuses on the following4:
Sustainable urban life - open building, the livable city - use of public art, Chinese culture, music,
heritage and urban amenities can enhance the quality of the built environment. Puncture more open
space and green areas for relief from extreme density and enhance the streetscape and identity of
places. Create landscaped waterfront promenades to provide physical access to the water not just
limited to visual access of the coastline. Provide access to the natural environment and create a
network of open spaces and landscaped areas. Hong Kong current city's image is of a high density
concrete jungle, a destination for shopping, and "A City of Life". Showcase the city with a unique
setting, vibrant urban form, and abundant natural environment, a sustainable and livable city.
There is a need to devote proper attention and resources to urban regeneration, historic
preservation, urban heritage and culture enrichment within the built environment. Enhance the
quality of the city's surroundings, overall environment of the city, and the city's relationship with
its region. There should be high quality new and urban regeneration of older areas for a better
urban fabric. Enhance the quality of the urban setting for pedestrians, through urban streetscape
enhancement, urban furniture and signage and green areas within the city. Highlight the ecological
buffers and greenways and outstanding natural elements of the city. Maintain the city's
international flavour, a mix of Eastern and Western cultures, vibrancy and diversity of the streets,
shopping, tourism, mobility and security, a very safe place to live and work in.
Sustainable urban access - resource-conserving mobility - Hong Kong enjoys a truly multi-
modal public transportation system. However, congestion on the roads as a result of over-
competition leaves empty buses running, that adds to the urban traffic congestion, air and noise
pollution. Removal of duplication of services by using feeder systems, single ticket use for transfer
journey etc. can ensure a more efficient transport system. Decentralization of the employment
centres within mature new towns and more integrated land use and transport planning can reduce
the number of trips generated. More effective use of the waterways through water taxis will ensure
proper distribution between different modes of travel and especially relieve congestion on roads.
The above sustainability indicators have been adapted from World Commission Urban 21,2000.
22 1
IIo\\ Can \\e Flake tiong Kong'9 L rban I:orm $lore Su9tainable8?: From Perccption9 to Reality
An integrated urban design led approach would ensure a more comprehensive pedestrian network
and interesting streetscape ensuring a higher quality pedestrian experience. Hong Kong should also
explore ways to increase the amount of multi-level connections and usable open space and quality
public spaces in the form of squares, plazas, sky walks and gardens given its compact and dense
urban fabric. Encouraging the use of the bicycle, carlbus free zones with free shuttle loops etc
within districts could make the transport system more sustainable. Ensure proper external
communications systems ie., telecommunications infrastructure, networks of railroad lines linking
the city region and other parts of the PRD and the commercial port. Provide extensive metro and
regional rail network and improved cross-border conditions.
Sustainable urban environment - stable ecosystems - There is an urgent need to institute

conservation and recycling programs to ensure that the ecosystems are stable and educate the
public on proper use and care of the environment. There is a need to ensure a reduction of vehicles
and other polluting sources, and cut down vested interests in economic goals at the cost of
environmental resources. Strategies committed to proper environmental management of the city
should be implemented to ensure better environmental quality, specifically, cleanliness of the city
and its harbour, coastline and beaches. Ensure acoustic comfort, air and water quality, use of clean
technologies, delivery of drinking water, sewage treatment, rubbish removal, recycling and
treatment of solid wastes.
Sustainable urban shelter - decent affordable housing for all - Hong Kong needs more
affordable housing for all, better quality and increased square footage per unit and more amenities.
Prices are still too high, despite the property market slump. The rich and expatriate population,
enjoy a lot more, although businesses are cutting down on housing allowances.
Sustainable urban society - social capital, social coherence and solidarity - The city should
work to ensure racial harmony, social cohesion, fight against poverty and maintain standards of
public safety. Increase the city's capacity to generate employment, job quality and wage levels and
professional qualifications of locals and immigrants. Augment citizen's confidence in institutions,
fight against corruption while ensuring freedom and independence of media. Improve the quality
of educational institutions, graduate education and research development and ensure the suitability
of the education system to the local economy. An enlightened society will be able to support the
development of more sustainable cities for future generations (Ng and Hills, 2003).
Sustainable urban economy - work and wealth - Hong Kong needs to diversify its economic
base, and become less dependent on property. It needs to become professionally active, train better
English speaking and skilled workers to increase productivity. Ensure the proper functioning of
basic sectors of economic activities, commerce and services as well as administration and
government. Pay close attention to advanced economic activities such as education,
telecommunications, medicine, financial services, tourism, hotels, restaurants, leisure activities,
and activities aimed at improving the environment. Further develop the local, regional, national
and international markets. Nurture work ethic and maintain business climate and ensure the
availability of technology, intellectual and venture capital. Promote co-operation and collaboration
between public and private sectors and improve the quality and specialization of professional
services.
Sustainable urban governance: attain sustainability through good governance - Hong Kong
should strengthen its local government and the effectiveness of local administration in managing
urban issues. Ensure the capacity to create organizations and institutions capable of achieving
concrete objectives. Undertake better quality of planning at the city and regional levels and with a
tlo\\ Can M c \lake Ilong lioag's I,rb;rn Form %loreSustainable? : Frorn Perceptions to Kralitj
collective envisioning project for the city. There is a need for clear political and economic
leadership supported by an enlightened and widely networked community (Ng and Hills, 2003).
Sustainable urban democracy - empowering the citizenry - Hong Kong would benefit from a
strong leadership at the centre, a more decentralized approach with more power given to the
districts and ensuring good governance practices. Hong Kong should invest in the education and
empowerment of its people, to instill pride and ownership of landlcity, less disparity and open to
change. Develop a commitment and bondage to participate actively in the future planning of the
city.
Globalization: - local, regional, national and international links - Hong Kong should develop
international, political, cultural, social links and increase the capacity of the city to compete at an
international level. Maintain local economy's link to the global market, receptivity and level of
openness. Sustain the ability to attract tourism and cultivate an external image of the city.
Components of Excellence: - world class elements and urban sustainability - Hong Kong should
develop world class elements and urban areas that provide the city with competitive advantages.
Hong Kong would need to do more to maintain its competitiveness; three important issues,
diversify its economic base, develop its human resources and improve its environment to work
towards its urban sustainability.
6. CONCLUDING REMARKS
The concepts of open building and sustainable development are integrated to serve as a
framework to assess Hong Kong's urban form. The survey results provide a useful insight into
Hong Kong people's perceptions of the city's urban form. The differences between level of
excellence and level of priority by various stakeholders shows that Hong Kong public sector needs
to listen more carefully to the perceptions of the private and community sectors. The stakeholders'
priorities are not adequately addressed by current plans for the future development of Hong Kong.
The public sector through strong political and economic leadership should reassess its current
policies and see how it can develop programs and implement strategies to turn its people's
perceptions to reality.
Governance should transition from a top down to more grass roots local level so that pride
and ownership of the city is instilled at the community level. The community needs to be educated
and empowered so that it can effectively participate in the collective envisioning of Hong Kong's
future. However, it is positive to note that all the stakeholders have given urgent priority to urban
sustainability. These include conserving the environment and the development of social capital,
while maintaining economic competitiveness. Hong Kong needs a balance of the environment,
social and economic development and successful urban regeneration and regional development.
Hong Kong will then truly embark on a open building and sustainable development path and
emerge as Asia "Great City".
REFERENCES
Barron, B., Ng, S. K., Loh, C., Gilbert, R. 2002. "Sustainable Transport in Hong Kong: Directions
and Opportunities," Civic Exchange, The Asia Foundation.
Jenks, M., Burton, E., Williams, K. 2000. The Compact City: A Sustainable Urban Form?, "E &
FN Spon.
lion Can N e \lake Hong Kong.5 Ijrban Forni \lore Su\tainable? : From Perceptions to Realit?
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Transport, Building and Housing, Berlin, The Federal Republic of Germany.
www.info.~ov.hk,HK2030, The Planning Department.
www.habraken.com, Open Building.

Urban Revitalization in Social ran sit ion'
The Case of West Yuehu Area Conservation and Renewal Project,
Ningbo, China
Tariq Mahbub KHAN, Zinnatun NAHlD and Wei DONG

Southeast University, Nanjing
Abstract: Due to the economic and scientific advancement in the society, people's living
condition has been in a gradually changing process. In modem society, with the rapidly
developing economy and human notions, inevitably, some new requirements about their
living environment have appeared. And surely, all of those must cause an enormous impact
on the traditional culture and lifestyles of the urban dwellers, which brings the decay of our
heritage. We have to find the exact way to preserve the historical identity and traditional
values while improving the living environment to meet the needs of modem inhabitants. This
article therefore aimed to synthesize urban renewal and conservation through examining the
revitalization of a particular traditional urban area. The case of West Yuehu Area, Ningbo, is
selected to show the planning approaches and proposals, constrains and contradiction
regarding revitalization under this social transition.
Keywords: Urban revitalization, Social transition, Traditional urban areas,

Conservation and renewal
1. INTRODUCTION
We are going through a century of rapid urbanization. With this the past few decades have
seen considerable progress in development and technological breakthrough across the world. This
dynamic growth and changes in urban structures entails serious demographic, economic and social
changes. At the same time, in this rapidly changing economy, it's difficult to predict accurately the
characteristics of users, their needs, attitudes and aspirations. In urban areas the ever-growing
populations also demand accommodations for them, which creates high-density living
environment with limited land resources. Industrialization, the growth of real estate and
modernization resulted in some of the traditional quarters disappearing and most of them adapted
to the developing needs of the city were built high-rise buildings. The environment created by
these high-rise buildings is far from the traditional scale, shape and activity of our urban life. Thus
traditional urban areas face issues of losing their characteristics, social values and meanings. We
have to achieve a balance between preserving the identity while dealing with the need for the
development. Revitalization of these areas with restoration of the physical fabric and active
economic use would be one effective method. This Paper attempts to illustrate the dimensions of
urban renewal and regeneration by examining the processes, conflicts and results of revitalization
of traditional urban areas, considering the present changing socio-economic context.
I
This study is a part of the research project "Preservation of Historic Quarters under the Social Transition"
by the support of National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, No. 500780 12)
225
With the significant economic development in China, the structure of the society and their
requirements are changing simultaneously. The case of West Yuehu Area, Ningbo, is selected to
show the planning approaches and proposals, constrains and contradiction regarding revitalization
under this social transition. The lessons and observations from experience of the revitalization of
traditional urban areas, role of the government in this regard and the involvement of the private
sectors are also discussed in this article. Its focus is on areas where there are significant numbers of
traditional buildings concentrated in a small area, which are considerably threatened by the force
of rapid urbanization, are now stand on a thin fence between survival and destruction.
2. AN OVERVIEW OF THE URBAN REVITALIZATION

PROCESS IN CHINA
During the last 100 years, Chinese culture, economy and society have changed much. All
the changes in thinking, culture and living style, which follow the continuity of increasing
production and population, make people ask to renew the cities. Since late 80', the pace of urban
renewal has been continuously speeded up in most of the cities in China. So the sustainable
development of city renewal becomes the focus of all circles attention. In this way, there is a
conflict between new and traditional culture in the old city than in any other place. With the
economic boom, many historic cities have taken a new look. In most cases, the redevelopment
projects cover a very large block, and the government relies on the development companies to
provide the infrastructure and community facilities. Therefore for the development companies, it is
the most suitable way to take those blocks as development units and to complete them as soon as
possible in order to make profits. After some year's building, people found that there are many
changes in the view of the cities. The old cities having been pulled down and the new buildings
have taken the place of the old. This bristly high-rise development didn't make people satisfied,
because the original social structures, neighborhood relations, characteristics of the communities
and the sense of belongings to the place have been completely changed.
2.1 Present Practices of Urban Transformation in Traditional Areas

Presently most of the traditional housing areas in Chinese cities has undergone through
some processes of urban transformation, which are responsible for the loss of traditional urban
character and architectural heritage. In the name of urban renewal, there is often complete and
large-scale demolition of the old urban fabric and are replaced by new high-density, high-rise
apartment blocks. A significant percentage of the original inhabitants of these areas are typically
displaced and alternative housing for them have found basically in suburbs. Sometimes the
traditional housing areas, which surround protected historic monuments, are demolished by the
redevelopment process to create open public spaces associated with the monuments to enhance
tourism. In some cases, to upgrade and modernize the old houses in order to improve their living
conditions according to the economic means, the inhabitants themselves gradually transform the
traditional urban fabric as they rebuild them. Due to overcrowding and poverty of the inhabitants,
it is often noticed the urban degradation where the traditional fabric is gradually destroyed.
In China, the spatial organization of cities is currently undergoing a change from the
traditional horizontal pattern to vertical, which is the result of increasing population densities. This
change from horizontal to vertical organization threatens the traditional character of many historic
cities. Chinese municipal policies try to attract tourism, they are more or less concerned about the
authenticity of historic monuments, but largely ignore the surrounding historic traditional housing
and commercial areas, which are inseparable from the protected historic monuments, and an
integral part of the traditional urban fabric. Often the finance, necessary to preserve the urban
heritage is not enough to repair traditional housing areas, also, in other cases, by surplus cash in
new building programs, which encourages developers to invest in new structures rather than to
attempt to rehabilitate existing traditional ones.
2.2 Forces and Obstacles in Revitalization Process

In the elaboration and implementation of revitalization process, it is a paradox to realize
that poverty as well as rapid economic growth is the main obstacles to conservation policy.
Everywhere, the importance of the conservation of cultural property is given less recognition than
economic problems, whether they are linked with industrialization or with the struggle against
poverty. Poverty includes a very dense utilization of the buildings in historic area, whether they are
fit for dwelling or not. That is, not only the houses are overcrowded, but also, the historical areas
may be squatted. The very dense occupation of the buildings, by those families, who do not have
the means to maintain it or to pay a rent, which would justify maintenance by the authority cause
urban decay and even collapsing of the buildings as the consequence of lack of maintenance and
overcrowding over the years. Once the historic area has become a slum, conservation becomes
more and more difficult. The authorities may consider slums and dilapidated houses as a direct
obstacle to conservation.
The forces of rapid change are transforming the society from the demographic, economic
and social point of view. As a consequence, there is a need to exercise choice in the protection of
the cultural heritage. There is a debate of development versus conservation, where conservation is
considered synonymous with resistance to change. In the short term, conservation policy may be
considered as impeding physical development. But in the long run, more and more people realize,
sometimes too late, that the destruction of one civilization's heritage is not a price, which should
be paid for development. The relationship between conservation and rapid economic growth seems
much more complex.
Everywhere in Asia today, there is a great strain on the work of revitalization of the
cultural heritage because of the industrial and economic construction, which implies conflicts over
the utilization of land and different uses of public funds. Land use in city centers with a high
speculative land market, is the biggest obstacle to conservation. If conservation takes place, it is
very difficult to go against the speculative market forces by trying to maintain the original
population that is most often low-income people in the historic area. On the level of personal profit
and central land use, conservation might be uneconomical, but it could still be worth and
generating a lot of benefits in terms of the future development process.
3. URBAN REVITALIZATION IN NINGBO - A Critical Analysis
Upgrading and new development in urban areas are the positive outcomes of economic
growth. They raise living standards and set the platform for continued development. The purpose
of the revitalization of an traditional urban area is neither removing the old and constructing the
new to satisfy the demand of modem human life nor hastily reconstructing after pulling the old
down, but renewing on the base of the heritage of the city in order to succeed to it.
The loss of urban neighborhoods and historic sites was once thought to be the price of
progress. However, planners now recognize that preserving the past is an essential part of creating
livable, sustainable cities. Revitalization of a city's historic and cultural environment enhances the
city and the quality of life for residents by: Preserving evidence of past achievements and cultural
traditions; Protecting enjoyable areas of architectural and natural beauty; and Creating energy for
development by generating positive identity and civic pride.
3.1 Context of Ningbo
The historic city of Ningbo in the coastal province of Zhejiang is an example of a city
working to resolve the inherent conflicts between rapid urbanization and the revitalization of
cultural heritage. In the last few years, Ningbo has upgraded basic urban services and facilities
while also conserving valuable cultural property in the heart of the old city. The city of Ningbo
began evolving before 770 BC and contains many cultural properties from the Tang, Song, Ming,
and Qing Dynasties, which give it important cultural and historical values. Today, Ningbo is the
second largest city in the province, the center of a massive transportation network and producer of
one-fifth of the province's industrial output.
3.2 Background of the Revitalization Process in Ningbo

The revitalization process is one of the most difficult task in metropolitan areas worldwide
- to find new uses for historic buildings, which provide adequate income for their operation and
maintenance. In 1997, by the initiative of the Municipal Government of Ningbo, a team of
architectural specialists and preservation consultants began taking stock of the city's historic
property, in consultation with local communities. The team suggested some guidelines to lessen
the impact of the rapid urbanization on the historic environment and to protect historic properties.
The conservation zone surrounding Yuehu (Moon Lake) area became a symbol of
changing attitudes in Ningbo. Yuehu, dating from the 7thcentury, is an urban oasis in the center of
the old city. Much of the lakefront is a jumble of historic buildings and new development, while a
quarter of the shoreline is a park for open-air relaxation and recreation. When the project began in
1997, the Ningbo City Planning Bureau intended to allow real estate companies to develop the east
bank of the lake. Even though it was designated as a conservation area, plans were being made to
sweep away all existing buildings and develop high-rise apartments. Over the course of the project,
the rising living standard of Ningbo residents created more demand for pleasant places to spend
leisure time. The conservation work, which was done as an isolated way, also raised public's
understanding and appreciation of city's cultural heritage. Consequently, the bureau has designated
viable historic property on the lakefront for restoration, and established requirements for new
development using building setbacks and limits on density and height. The authority was requiring
developers to make improvements to the area and lakefront. In addition, historic properties were
conserved and conservation work was increased by integrating it into strategic planning and
strengthening development controls. Most importantly, there is now a greater appreciation of the
importance of preserving cultural heritage among city officials, the public, and private developers.
3.3 The Case of West Yuehu Area Conservation and Renewal Project, Ningbo
Citizen appreciation and positive comment on the conservation work have given city
officials the impetus to continue and expand their policy on revitalization of traditional areas. The
Yuehu project has stimulated some private groups to begin restoration projects of their own, and
developers have learned from experience that their proposals are more likely to be approved if they
conform to historic preservation regulations. Experiences in Ningbo show that conservation of
cultural heritage can be effectively integrated with urban development to create a city that is both
livable and dynamic. In 2002, the local authority of Ningbo has initiated the 'West Yuehu Area
Conservation and Renewal Project'. The aim of the project is to revitalize the high-value historic
area and to upgrade living environment through detailed conservation and rehabilitation planning.
3.3.1 Existing Condition of West Yuehu Area

The West Yuehu area, which is very close to the present city center, is an important source
of historical events, having been the main traditional living area of this city for a long period. In
the center of this site, Tian-i-Ge, which was the residence of a former scholar of ancient China, is
presently serving as a museum. Having the public library, local history research center, ancient
works creation workshop and sales center, now this complex is acted as the cultural center of this
area. There are also some important Temples and mosque scattered over the site, which enhance
the historical significances of this area.
Figure I (from l e f ) Ningbo Yuehu area in a. 1937, b. 1997,and c. 2002
Except some 6-7 stories apartments at the northern end and the western edge of this area,
here most of the buildings are 2 or 3 stories traditional brick houses; always have no wide lane in
between. The type of the housing is Chinese courtyard house, which traditionally occupied by a
single family but then was shared by several families. Therefore the way to use the houses has
been greatly changed. The qualities of the houses are varying from good conditioned privately
preserved house to extremely dilapidated houses. There were no private toilets and kitchens and
people used the public lavatory, washed their washings in the courtyards, and mostly cooked their
food in the halls or simple added huts. There are some buildings, which are a unique amalgam of
west and east. The old buildings survived in these decades, time devoted the beauty for those brick
facades and lanes. Some of them are still in good condition. Here the building groups make the
public spaces, main lanes and branch lanes. The lane in the building groups normally is 3 meters
wide, some part of them even narrower, which give a significant character of this traditional area.
Figure 2 Existing traditional structures in West Yuehu area, Ningbo

Most of the residents in this traditional housing area have lower living condition than the
minimum standard by the general regulation of old areas. Slightly capable person, especially the
young generations prefer to move other places. Therefore, most of the residents living here are
poor and aged. We experienced, many owners have a dualistic lovethate relationship with this area.
As a result of longtime ignorance, most of the buildings have fallen out of use and are in a
state of disrepair because of lack of proper maintenance. In other words, vital parts of the
townscape are in a state of decline. This is a serious threat for the historic urban fabric and for the
cultural heritage of the site. How to respect of these buildings, how to respect the old time living
behavior and what can we do for this significant old area is the concern of the planning.
3.3.2 Aims and Objectives of the Project

In this revitalization project, the following key issues have considered:
How to preserve and revitalize the valuable historic area under the rapidly changing
market economy?
Conservation, rehabilitation and renewal, which is the best for this area?
Spatial structures of the historic area, and their relationship to the life style and the
development of the physical environment.
Location of the site and its potential for the future, patterns in urban conservation and
redevelopment under the rapid urbanization.
The price of urban renewal (social price, economical price, etc.)
What should we do for the old and the new addition part to correspond with the old in
the social transition?
This project is objected to resolve these basic issues. We should make the decision for
where to keep and where to demolish. Any new additions should respect the scale and pattern of
this historic site. After reconfiguring every necessary services and infrastructures, we still have to
keep the most of the original experiences of this old traditional area. It is also a question talking
about the new material and new technology which to use into the renew process.
The basic aims of the project:
To find a way out in the old town renewal, that doesn't follow the dominant practice in
Contemporary China to tear done all the old houses and to build unified 6-7 stories
high flats in lines.
To rehabilitate the people who have been originally living here for generations, rather
than to move the ordinary people to the outskirts of the city and to sell the new houses
to the richer people or to the people with higher social status.
To workout a method in which the social structure should be preserved and developed
during the process of the old town renewal.
To keep the original street and lane structures as much as possible, therefore the
relationships between residents and their outdoor spaces may be well kept.
To create a new urban quarter and house-form from the tradition in this social
transition.
3.3.3 Planning Approaches

Much of the unique character of historic cities comes from the details of their urban fabric
- pattern of land use, variety of architectural styles, and local activities, because they are the sum
of many interconnected parts. These cultural assets are particularly difficult to maintain when
development puts pressure. We have to protect the scale and character of traditional neighborhoods
and combat the loss of historic urban fabric. The harmonized developments among the city
economy, function, landscape, social, cultural and historical value should be ensured. Which
method is adopted to renew the old city must be cautiously thought. So that we can examine the
achievement of city renewal and find the best scheme to protect historical city and excavate
cultural meaning.
Prior to the detail master plan, site investigation and feasibility study, and detailed survey
of the traditional housing were done to establish a project management system based on GIs
technology to guide the overall planning process.
Figure 3 Schematic drawrings and anabsis of West Yuehu urea (tapl and some traditional.fiatures (bottom}
During the planning process, we have found that one single approach cannot be applicable
for a successful revitalization. An integrated planning is essential for this historic site, which will
combine conservation, renewal and rehabilitation. All significant structures of this site should be
preserved. The outer appearance of the traditional houses should be kept and restored and the
living conditions inside should be improved. Necessary service facilities and infrastructures,
especially sewerage and drainage system should be provided to ensure a healthy environment. We
have to provide private kitchen and toilets, which will not disturb the original timber-framed
structure. The new spatial organization should respect the old space layout and relationship
between the different use spaces. In the rebuilding process, the old houses in very poor quality
should be destroyed and built some new houses based on the concept of the traditional courtyard
houses. The networks and patterns of the streets and lanes around the block and within the block
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So, if gentrification is obvious, in this case, a new group of users of higher income will
replace the present occupants. Nowadays, Living in the old town has gradually become more and
more popular within the newly affluent higher middle class as a symbol of prejudice. If we go back
to history, we can find that before this place was a residential area for the affluent class of that time.
In this perspective, we may consider this as a revival of history. But this new user group desires
vehicular access to their houses, which demands wider roads. Here the lanes are too narrow to
allow the vehicles. Any type of modification will hamper the strong character and unique
experiences of these lanes. Thus, by the pressure of rapid economic development and changing
social needs, this traditional quarter is confronting adversity for its authentic existence.
4. CONCLUSION
The recent acknowledgement of long neglected heritage has not changed the urban land
use strategy. The governmental policy consists of making the land resources as profitable as
possible. The logic of real estate profitability leaves the old urban area competing with high-rise
buildings, the new symbols of modernity and insurance of rapid returns on investment. And the
residents in substandard traditional housing in the downtown area like to have the comfort of
living. Having been pushed out to suburb, these former city center residents have most certainly
improved their housing conditions, but at the expense of the social elements that gave structure to
their lives in the neighborhood. Just one social class is profiting from this clearance of traditional
urban area. The desire of maintaining the inhabitants in their house is fundamental in a certain idea
of heritage, but is completely unrealistic if we avoid to loose money and if the city does not give
subsidies.
The deterioration of a historical city center is perceived differently by a variety of
individuals and groups. Some of them may consider the decay to be nothing extraordinary -just a
part of life. For others, however, the deterioration creates a whole series of problems, and they
therefore will seek relief in a variety of ways, whether it is rehabilitation, conservation, or
clearance and building of a modem city center. The perception of the value of such heritage is
subject to drastic changes over the years, depending on education, awareness, fashion and external
influences. So we need to generate awareness amongst the people for an appreciation of their
cultural heritage and the need to conserve it. Awareness is also necessary among professionals and
decision makers.
To find out the way of development in this social transition and the way of old city
revitalization is difficult to one person or one generation. But the most important is that we should
exploit our mind; develop the advantages of our culture, and save our heritage from decay. The
challenge today is, while preserving the old historical areas, to be able to develop the sustainable
cities of tomorrow.
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Open Space S t o d j of The Ind119trial Area ,\loeg 'l'lic <;ra~btl('anal In H s n g ~ h o u
Open Space Study of The Industrial Area

Along The Grand Canal In Hangzhou
Xiaoyu YING
The University of Zhejiang, China
Abstract : The central area along the Grand Canal in Hangzhou is the traditional residential
area of the city and that area has its great land value and long history. After development for
about half a century, there is now less and less open space within the residential area which is
suitable for both resident's recreational and communizing purposes. The function of barging
in Hangzhou section of Canal has been vanishing gradually thus leads to the decline of role of
the nearby industrial area that relied on the barging of Canal, and as a result thereof that
industrial area becomes the potential source of open space for the residential area. The
possibility of re-developing that industrial area into open space will be examined in this
article.
Keywords: open space, industrial area, support and infill
1. BACKGROUND
The Grand Canal is the longest artificial river in the world and it has rendered great
contribution to the development of the Hangzhou City.
At first the area along the canal was mainly used for those industries which survived on
water transport. At the same time, the residence of some workers of those industries was located
within that area. From 50s onwards, in order to solve the resident's living problem, the
government has started to develop a series of multilevel community. That community has the
features of high density but little public green space. The emphasis has then changed. From 90s to
the present, high-rise buildings have been built so as to maximize the residential area and to
accommodate the market need. Only some green areas among the buildings were created but not
further.
As a result, the largest and the most obvious open space in the area is the 30-meter
greenbelt in control line along riverside. Among that open space, there are only some public
distributed green spaces, district parks, squares, and the like. Even worse, because of the image
and security of each development, individual developers prefer enclosing the respective
development. The alongshore space of the Grand Canal is fragmented and disorganized.
At present, along the Grand Canal, there are some industrial areas built in different times,
which consist of waterfront-featured structures, such as docks, godowns, mills, etc. Those
structures account for 44% of the waterfront and occupy plenty of valuable open space.
Since 50s of the 20th century, the change of industries together with the vanishing
function of barging in Hangzhou section of the Grand Canal has led to the decline of the role of
those industrial areas. During the course of restructuring of the city, in order to make the fully use
of those industrial areas, it is necessary to adjust the use of those areas. Analyzing the factors in
Open Spacc Study of'l'lie Induhtrial 'Area t\loug 'I h e Gr:~udCanal In Hangzhou
support of the release of open space within those areas and releasing the open space there, if
feasible and advisable, is an opportunity to solve the problem of lack of open space within the
residential area.
2. POSSIBILITY OF CHANGE OF USE
The waterfront of the city along the canal has experienced a course of reindustrialization.
To change the use of the industrial areas has special meanings in different aspects, such as
utilization of resources, economic benefits and protection of environment and historical culture,
etc.
2.1. Resources and Economic Factors

If a structure is well constructed, its physical life is usually longer than the life of its
function. It naturally means that the space of that kind of structure can be better utilized whenever
its original function became less significant. So, the function of a structure may be changed a
number of times during its physical life. Compared with building a new structure, changing the
use or function of a structure saves construction costs and time.
2.2.Environment Factor
Changing the use or function of a structure creates less construction waste and at the same
time, it causes less disturbance of the traffic and energy (the water and power consumption) of a
city during course of constructing. Sustainable development will be achieved.
2.3Social Culture Factor

Industrial area is the witness of process of city civilization. It is the important trace and
clues by which we know the city; it is also an indispensable part in the city development.
Most often the targets of change are port area of the city. After changing the use of the
area, that area becomes the open space area which the residents and tourist are willing to go to.
The formation of the new open space has facilitated the revivals of the original port area and
neighboring area.
There are eight ports in industrial area along the Grant Canal in Hangzhou City (Figure 1).
These ports have once brought new face to their respective area.
Among these ports, Flour Mill, which is located southeast, is a typical port along the
Grand Canal and is equipped with port, grain depots, office buildings, factories and etc. The
Southeast Flour Mill is hereby chosen as a typical model for being examined in this article.
3. THE SUPPORT OF CHANGE OF USE OF INDUSTRIAL AREA
The Southeast Flour Mill is hereby applied as a model to analyze the factors in support of
the change of industrial area to open space.
3.1. The physical features of the model

Southeast Flour Mill is one of the large scale state-owned flour production factories in
Zhejiang Province and it is located at the central part of the commercial area of Hangzhou City.
The Grand Canal is in the east. The main road of the City is in the south. One anabranch of the
Grand Canal is in the north. The Southeast Flour Mill is in the Zhaohui residential area which is
one of the biggest residential areas of Hangzhou. This residential area has been developed for a
long time and the facilities therein are self sufficient. Many new small areas were established in
Zhaohui residential area after 1990; however, the Grand Canal and its waterfront facility affected
Open S p a w Stod? of'l'lic Industrial ,\rea .\long The <;ran(I <'anal In liangthou
influenced the normal life of the residents in Zhaohui area. At present, there is a special 250-ton
dock in this site (Southeast Flour Mill), with a 260-meter long bank, an 80-meter wide river, and
four berthes, which is used for the transportation of raw materials. In the site, there are three office
buildings, nine joist constructing storehouses, a dock building and a silo-coupling construction, all
of which are in good conditions.
Figure 1
3.2. The potential connotation of the site

Southeast Flour Mill was built in 60s, and its long history has a certain influence among
foodstuff factories in Hua Tung area. Meanwhile, the silo-coupling construction near the Grand
Canal is the symbol of the entrance to the central part of Hangzhou City by water. This site
records the most difficult and meaningful history of foodstuff industry development in China and
the history of the Hangzhou City.
3.3. The preservation of the historic constructions

Although no construction in this site is officially requested to be protected, there do exist
some well-constructed store buildings which is worth preserving. The preservation of these
buildings will not only represent the spirit of the site but also show respect to the history.
3.4. The social framework of this area

The area where this site lies was first developed in 50s. Other than a few traditional
industrial structures and offices, it mainly consists of residence. There are 25 residential areas
within 1000 meters around the site with population about 53000. In this regard, one can draw the
conclusion that if the site is changed into open space, the open space will mainly be used by the
nearby residents. Therefore, the landscape should be an open one that integrates with nearby areas
and river, in order to maximize the residential capacity of this area. This site is also easy to go and
it can play the role of service center in the whole community.
3.5. The characters of the community

After careful examination of the life style and financial conditions of the residents near
this site, it is showed that the main characters of the community in this area are incoherence
playtime, full of communication, readiness for various kinds of mini relaxation and entertainment.
3.6. The circumstance of the outside space

~ Open Spiice Stod! of l hc Indu5trial ,trea .\long 1 he Grand ('aniil In Hangrho11
The existing canal, banks, vegetation and metopes of buildings are important articles to
improve the nearby landscape. If those articles can be properly used, it will give the user a sense
of security and easiness and this factor cannot be ignored during the process of dividing different
areas of the open space for different purposes.
3.7. The protection of the natural environment

It refers to the protection of water and banks in this site. A protected ecological area of the
bank must be established and one should follow one principle when one builds in the open space:
any unaccredited constructions or destroy of plants below the floodmark of a flood which occurs
once every 50 years are strictly prohibited.
3.8. Traffic
Part of the former dock can be reconstructed to water bus station so as to attract residents
of both banks to enter into the site. The water bus station should also be included as part of the
traffic network of the Hangzhou City. Further, a rule that "pedestrian has priority to use the road"
should be promoted with 1000-meter area of the site.
3.9. Readability
It should be made known explicitly to all users that the open space of the site can be used
by nearby residents as well as other users. The way to express readability is represented by
fluency of the visible sight, the space connection and scale between the site and other areas.
4. THE POSSIBILITY OF INFILL
Infill: In order to form the new open space, one should analyze what can be done or what
is restricted and then adjust the function of different part of the area accordingly.
Analyzing the factors in support of the change of use of the industrial area and examining
the relationships among those factors can can make the course of function infill more scientific.
For example, after having understood the reason why the role of the site declines, one can avoid
repeating the occurrence of such reason and adhieve the goal of attracting the coming of users.
As far as the use of the land is concerned, it is a good idea to divide the open space into
different small sections in which different activities can proceed with. Because the users of open
space mainly use low speed traffics like walking, the site should offer more entrances so as to
facilitate the flow of users. Further, different small sections can be combined whenever it is
necessary so as to cope with further change of the use of the open space.
The development of the open space is mainly to cater for recreational purposes of the
residents. Through analyzing people's activities in open space, we can classify the space into ten
categories: for amusement, for sight seeing, for sports, for gathering and so on.
In this site, different recreational activities can be be proceeded in different section of the
open space. During planning, one should base on actual feature of the scene. Table 1 shows the
possible choices.
5. THE DESIGN FOR CHANGE OF USE (THE SOUTHEAST

FLOUR MILL)
The matters aforesaid must be incorporated into the design of the governmental
department, which is in charge of the change of use. During the course of design and
implementation, it is also necessary to keep close contact with the users. If it is possible, the view
of the users can be adopted and modified by the designer.
Open Space Study of The Ind~~strial
Area Along The Grant1 Canal In Hangzhol~
The following paragraphs (figure 2 to 5) consist of a proposal and further illustration for
the change of the site into open space after taking into account some of the aforesaid principles.
Table 1
Current Factory building & 'Yard for piling 'Dock Small amount of
I situation ~ f i c building
e goods & storehouses shipping
Space for useum, Exhibition center on
exhibition exhibition center I I water(on ship)
.I
Space for
amusement
Dance hall, net bar
I
Dancing place Platform by water !Rowthe boat,
water-curtain film
Space for Market, supermarket Retail shelve
shopping I I
Space for Restaurant, Picnicking area, Outdoor cafe Restaurant on water
i food pafe,teahouse outdoor cafe
S ~ a c for
e Hotel Villa for holidays
living I I
Space for Square, fountain
I get-together
Space for Good natural environment
having a rest I
Space for Gymnasium sports facility, court Fishing platform ,Diving area
sports
Space for Historic sites, Watching scene
watching scene old building platform
Space for Footway,
walk bicycle path
6. CONCLUSION
After having the industrial area along the Grand Canal changed to open space, we target at
joining it with nearby scattered green. It is expected that the process takes time and requests a lot
of inputs of the community. Further, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive study of the
environment, the society and the behaviour of the users.
This article is intended to provide a direction and an idea on how to create open area from
a developed city. The author hopes that more and more users are able to take a closer look of the
Grand Canal and experience the long history thereof.
REFERENCES
Wang sijun and Otherauthor. 2001. Function Selecting & SyntheticalIy Developping of the
Canal Area of Hangzhou. China:Zhejiang University Press.
Rapoport, A. 1992. The Meaning of Finished Environment: the Non Verbal Expression Way.
China: Architeure Press
Zhang tingwei,Feng hui and Peng zhiquan. 2002. Design and Development of the Bank Water
District in the City.China: Tongji University Press
Yuan yuan.2003. Landscape Research of D o c h Along the Canal in Hangzhozr Area.(Article)

Open Space Study of The Industrial Area Along ?'he Grand Canal In Hangzhou
Figure 2 Figure 3
Figure 3 Figure 4
240
I'ancl I\': O p c n Building Iniplemcmlation ancl PI-acticc
PANEL IV: OPEN BUILDING IMPLEMENTATION

AND PRACTICE

Beisi JIA and Ada, Ho Yin WONG
Symphony - A flexible system for sustainable building 250-259

Hanif HOSEINI, Gudni JOHANNESSON and Kjartan GUDMUNDSSON

Jing JIANG and DING Wowo
Regeneration with Dwelling Unit Enlargement of Public Housing in Japan 267-275

Building Systems Integration for Flexible Configuration, Easy

Maintenance, and Sustainable Construction: Open Building
Implementation in the CMLF Project in Taiwan
Kung-Jen TU
Experiment of Housing Refurbishment with the Concept of Levels: Initiative

Case Study on Ruyi Residential Quarter in Nanjing
Li BAO and Ying HE
Mass Customization in Housing: an Open Building1 Lean Construction

Study
Ype CUPERUS
Structural Flexibility With Frame System for Adaptable Housing

Three .4ttempt+ to Mobilile lligh Ki+e liouring Interior5

Beisi JIA
Ada, Ho Yin WONG
Housing Department
Hong Kong Housing Authoriq
1. ATTEMPT 1: ONE FLEXIBLE WALL
The Hong Kong Building Authority was

considering applications for modification of the
building (Planning) Regulations to relax the
window requirements for bathroom in the
domestic part of new buildings. The Building
Department (Hong Kong) is conducting study of
the window requirements for the kitchen. The
change of window regulation for kitchen and
% i
bathroom will generate a new potentials for
-- housing design, especially for the public
zz2zz~-T:. 2d housing, which accommodate half of Hong
Kong's population with a few limited building
types.
Figl. Original Harmony unit plan After a comprehensive research
coordinated by Jia Beisi, commissioned by
Housing Authority, a series of new prototype of
housing units with windowless bathroom and
kitchen were generated. Flexible plan layout
were applied with fully using the opportunities
of relocation of bathroom and kitchen. In the
revised Harmony schemes (Fig.1 &2), the most
widely constructed housing prototype, window
facades of living room and bedroom are lined up
by repositioning the bathroom inwards. This
change creates more possibilities for the user; the
- -
non-load bearing wall between the living room
and the bed room can be relocated or even
Fig.2 Revised unit plan: variation 1 removed. Users therefore have more choices to
lay out their space according to their needs.
Three Attempts to 3lobilize High Rise llousing Interiors
In the revised Harmony schemes,

window facades of living room and bedroom are
lined up by repositioning the bathroom inwards
(Fig.3 & 4). This change creates more
possibilities for the user; the non-load bearing
wall between the living room and the bedroom
can be relocated or even removed. Users
therefore have more choices to layout their space
according to their needs.
Fig 3 Variation II
Fig. 4 Variation IIl
2. ATTEMPT 2: ONE ROOM LIVING
Open building is a way of designing and

producing built environment in which parts
making the whole is given optimal freedom for
layout, construction and adaptation. The idea of
Open Building has been applied to enhance the
flexibility and adaptability in individual unit
design in order to create freedom of choice and
enhance living conditions of inhabitants.
Fig. 6 Typical Layout of HK Domestic Flat
I hree .2ttrmpts l o Flobiti~elligh H i w Ilou$ing Interiors
In this attempt, Ada Wong apply the idea

of Open Building in the typical layout of a 3-
bedroom flat (Fig. 6&7) to explore the
possibilities of achieving the above-mentioned
aim.
The basic approach of Open Building is
to minimize the interference by finding
principles of ordering and combining sub-system
of any scale. As introduced by Habraken, that
the concept of levels implies a hierarchical
Fig. 7Existing Layout Fig. 8 Structural Wall relationship between parts. Elements of a lower
level can be changed
- without effecting- elements
of a higher level.
The levels in this case are in terms of
immovability:-
Structure + Services Area +
Habitation Area
As illustrated in Figure 3, the structure of

this flat has divided the area into 2 parts, one
larger than the other. The service zone (the next
levil of immovability) of the flat is put at the
Fig. 9 Service Zone Fig. 10 Habitation Area
smaller part of the flat for 2 reasons:-
i) leaving the larger part of flat for various
of activities;
ii) better proportions, lighting and air
qualities for kitchen and toilet.
By confining the service area into the

smaller part of the flat (Fig. 9), the larger part of
1 flat is dedicated to the Habitable Area (Fig. 10).
And the sub-levels of the Habitation Area in
terms of degree of immovability are:
1 .Storage Area 4 2.Sleeping Area

Figure 1 I - hierarchical + 3.StudylWork Area + 4. TV Area
relationship between sub-levels + 5.Dining Area + 6.Yogal Tai Chi Area
Again the layout of the Habitation Area is

based on the hierarchical relationship between
sub-levels (Fig. 11).
1. The Storage Area has make use of the

linear space along the peripheral of the
unit.
2. The advantage of folding beds has
confined the location of Sleeping Area
to wall.
3. StudyIWork Area at the peripheral of
Figure 12- Sleep Mode flat unit for natural day lighting and
efficient use of bay windows.
I'hrer itfempts to \lohilire lligh Kisr Ilou\ing Inferiors
4. TV sets and audio equipments induces

large amount of cables, which restrict
the location of TV sets to the peripheral
of the Habitation Area, leaving the
centre area adaptable to other activities.
5. Dining table can be easily folded, moved
and stored.
6. Area for exercise will be made possible
with the incorporation of movable items.
The different layouts of the flat according

to time and activities are illustrated at Figure 12
to 15.
Sleep Mode
Figure 13 Dining/ TV Mode 2 enclosed Bedrooms, 1 TViLiving Room as
cluster of spaces
DiningiTV Mode
2 equal space which are connected allow
uniform spatial experience
Study Mode
1 enclosed study, 1 semi-enclosed workspace, 1
TViLiving Room
Exercise Mode
1 large area in front of the full height mirror
The application of the idea of Open

Building to this typical flat layout has made the
built environment adaptable to flat owner's
lifestyles according to time and activities.
Figure 14 Study Mode
-
Furthermore, the user can enjoy a much larger
spatial experience then the actual 48m2 internal
floor area. Other advantages including cross
ventilation at Habitation Area, and optimum use
of day lighting, etc.
Together with careful technical

consideration of building service installation, the
application of the concept of Open Building can
be used effectively in Hong Kong typical
domestic flat unit. However, the most important
task is to encourage user to evolve from typical
layout and tradition perception, with creative
approach, to design a layout that has it's own
identity and character.
Figure 15 - Exercise Mode

I'hree .\tten~pt$to >lohiltc lfigl~Rhc klou\ing Interior\
3. ATTEMPT 3: OPERABLE SPACE
In the summer of 2001, the co-author

bought a flat (Fig.16) in a high-rise building
located in a high-end private housing
neighborhood on the north side Hong Kong
island, facing Victoria Harbor. The flat was
bought when the first child reached the age of
one year, and was just beginning to move
around. The family placed greatest importance
on removing all unnecessary physical barriers
from her environment. Bearing in mind that even
Fig. 16 Original plan o f the,flaf a door is a huge obstacle for a toddler, the family
decided the flat should be a continuously open
space. The second intention was to allow the
entire space to become her play field (since
outdoor playgrounds in Hong Kong's dense
urban environment are exceedingly rare). The
third idea was to establish a 'refuge for the soul'
for the working parents - a retreat from the city's
hectic presence. The fourth concern was to
provide temporary lodging for retired
grandparents during certain periods of the year,
at any time and for any duration, in order to
facilitate highly desired extended family
gatherings. The final concern was to optimize
spatial efficiency within the flat, due to its high
Fig. 1 7 Non-sfructural removed cost. This latter requirement can be fulfilled by
layering different functions within a
multidimensional time-space. For instance,
during the daytime when parents are working;
the house becomes the domain of the child and
the baby sitter, and sometimes of the
grandparents. At night, it must provide
maximum privacy for all those who need it. All
of these requirements, physical and
psychological, are regarded as highly essential.
Even the word "flexibility" was not enough to
describe the space quality demanded; it had to go
further to become "operable". Spatial changes
should be easily managed on a daily basis,
completed in a matter of minutes and by any
adult in the family. In addition, it must be
Fig. I8 Cabinet inserfed with sliding "simple", so life activities could constantly
change in type and in location, with a minimum
of physical constraints, including partitions and
doors.
The author's intent was to combine the
three
bedrooms, corridor and two bathrooms together
into one large space by removing all non-
structural walls.(Fig.l7) The contintlous space
brought more sunlight, ventilation, and most
important, natural views, into the house. It could
now serve as a universal space for the child to
play and run. The continuity of the internal space
also echoed with the continuous natural
landscape 'flowing' outside the windows. Visual
and psychological harmony was thus achieved.
The vertical "island" cabinets (Fig. l8),

which contain the sliding doors and partitions,
also function as storage. They are structured by
"L-section" stainless steel elements precut in a
workshop and assembled on site with nuts-and-
bolts. These cabinets are sheathed with glass
doors, either unframed or framed with
aluminum, and produced off-site, partially in
mainland China. Theoretically, this helped to
speed up the construction and reduce the costs.
They can be dissembled and removed to another
place or another flat; therefore most of the
elements and materials can be reused.
The objectives of functional flexibility

have all been achieved following the daily life
experience of the author's family. The spatial
configuration readily changed whenever
demanded. Furniture arrangement remains
locationally free. The two year-old daughter uses
the entire space as her play field, and moves
freely about. Partitions were closed only when
occasional conflicts of activity occurred, such as
when one is sleeping or working while others are
listening to music or watching TV. When
privacy needs demanded a change of
environment, the flexible partitions functioned
effectively. The relative lack of noise insulation
did not compromise the needs of the current
family members and therefore proved acceptable
for the moment.
Fig.19-22 Various of combination and division

o f space based on circumstance walls
'Phree Attempts to 3lobilize tligh Rise Ilousing Interiors
Conclusion:
Living is essentially a cultural and social

matter. Technology plays only a secondary,
supporting role. "Modern" residential flats,
represented as a collection of isolated cubical
cells, increasingly indicates a culture of extreme
individualism. This in turn is associated with
social segregations and environmental depletions
and degradations on both local and global scales.
Although changing a partition is so easy that one
Fig.23A continues s~acr/orfreedom
can do it in only a minute, even an
jkrnishing
individual decision immediately affects the
interests of other family members. The mere
relocation of a pillow, let alone changing a
space, is a social matter, and as such arouses
collective interactions within the family.
However, the relative advantages or
disadvantages caused by flexible spatial
arrangements' are experienced differently by
different families. Again, there may no purely
"universal" approach except to be flexible.
Traditional Chinese houses indicate a
society which emphasized social coherence
within the family and good fortune for future
generations. Individual and momentary needs
took secondary importance. Traditional Hong
Kong houses characteristically employed a large
range of assembly components that were
detachable from the main structure. Almost all
interior partitions and at least one external
partition wall in any wooden house were
movable. There was no clear distinction between
a door and a partition. They were built with
identical dimensional modules, and with
identical and continuous decorative patterns and
motifs. In its construction. a frame running the
full depth of the bay was' first set up andUthen
wood boards, or latticework partitions, were
fitted into it. They were capable of being
dismounted when necessary. In daily life maybe
only one partition opened, so it functioned as a
de facto door. For special events all partitions
opened; two rooms, and more often, the room
interior and exterior courtyard combined
together.
The flexible partition system introduced here
echoes the local construction tradition and
Fig.24 some interior photos
perception of life. (Fig.238~24)
Symphony - A flexible system for sustainable building
Hanif HOSEINI, Gudni JOHANNESSON and Kjartan GUDMUNDSSON

Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering
KTH - The Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
Abstract: Buildings are not meant to be static objects in time; they should be allowed to
evolve together with the city. While three-dimensional flexibility is of uttermost importance
it is equally important that movement is allowed along the time axis. Future changes should
be incorporated in the buildings erected today. This article is to present Symphony, a concept
that makes way for:
optimisation of the construction technology to minimize production time, material waste
and global environmental impact as well as significantly improving the total economy.
buildings with components and material combinations that can literally be dismounted
and reused or recycled.
an internal space that is possible to reconstruct for future requirements since the
construction system makes the plan highly flexible and variable.
The use of multi-floor vertical light weight building elements offers fast assembly and
dismounting. Furthermore the faqade elements are completely finished on the outside and
finished till gypsum board on the inside including windows and all the vertical installations.
With time, they can easily be replaced by a glass faqade, for example to hold offices. The
concept is highly focused on cost effectiveness since the right price will facilitate the
sustainable way of building.
Keywords: Multi-family houses, integrated construction systems, sustainable buildings, cost-

effective buildings, lightweight constructions.
1. INTRODUCTION
Buildings that are delivered in flat packages and mounted on the building site,
which different parts can be exchanged when necessary or when a make over is desired,
where the original materials can be separated and recycled, buildings that consume less
energy, both in the production phase and when in operation. Managing all this while
maintaining quality in both design and comfort and even doing it with a more efficient
economy? This is what the Symphony concept is about. Full-length vertical building
elements are reaching from the cellar up to the roof (figure 1&2).
Figure 1 Verticaljull length wall-elements Figure 2 Thejoint between two elements
250
The elements are plastered on the outside and finished till gypsum board on the inside
including windows and all the installations. This is possible due to use of a patented lightweight
construction system called CasaBona.
The purpose of this concept is to optimize the construction of multifamily houses
regarding the environmental impact, flexibility, production time and total economy. This can be
obtained by considering the entire building process, from architecture, structural engineering, fire
and environmental design to production, transport and logistics at the same time.
1.1. CasaBona
During the recent years there has been a great deal of research and experimental projects at
the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at KTH with the aim of developing
efficient building systems, (Jbhannesson et al. 1995). This work has among other things resulted in
a patented building system called the CasaBona system. CasaBona is a light weight integrated
construction consisting of light gauge sheet metal Z-profiles integrated with precut rigid insulation
blocks. The profile webs are perforated to prevent thermal bridges, (Nieminen et a1 1995;
Jbhannesson 1999). The shape of the Z-profile together with the precut stiff insulation blocks
offers a very fast build-up of the construction (4 manmin./m2). The rigid insulation supports the
profile and strengthens it against local buckling. Through use of water-resistant materials such as
expanded polystyrene, a moisture proof construction is obtained. The system is highly flexible and
allows different material combinations. The polystyrene can easily be exchanged for higher
density mineral wool to meet specifications on fire and sound insulation. Experimental houses
have even been built with Adobe materials as insulation. This technique has been used to build
several experimental buildings and numerous private houses, among them a hotel in Iceland and
villa WBhlin, a house that was nominated for house of the year in 1999 (Arets byggen 1999). The
intention today is to take the development of this technology further in the direction of multifamily
houses.
1.2. Background
The current Swedish housing market is in a very interesting situation. The authorities are
encouraging the production of apartments and of special interest are rental apartments.
Nevertheless the number of apartments built is only a fraction of the actual need! There is a long
list of macroeconomic reasons behind this. Partly because the economy is in an early stage of
recession and as always the fluctuation curve of the building sector is delayed. This means that the
consumption power is lowered and the building-production prices are still high. Furthermore there
are strong rent-policy regulations that don't allow market rents while the estate prices are
following the market development. If the production cost is too high and it's not possible to charge
the needed rent to compensate for the investment it's obvious that no rental apartments will be
built.
2. DESIGN PROCESS
"Creating a symphony requires an entire orchestra with numerous instruments of different

characters. Every musician has to know exactly which piece to play, when to play it and for how
long. To their help the musicians have carefully elaborated notes and an experienced conductor.
One instrument by it self might not sound spectacular but with proper organization and close
collaboration they can achieve perfection. "
This concept is based on the same foundations: Organization, collaboration, accuracy and
quality. We are dealing with simultaneous-planning as we call it. Normally different parts of the
building are planned separately; there are architects, construction engineers, ventilation engineers,
logistic planners and so forth. These parts are essentially planned separately but built
simultaneously on the construction site. The goal here is to gather everybody during the planning
phase. In this way they are all aware of how single details affect the rest of the building and can
prevent unnecessary problems and find common, cost-effective solutions that will solve several
problems at the same time. In the same way focus is put on separating the production of these parts
at the construction site and creating clear responsibility limits for the contractors.
It is very important that the architectural planning is integrated with the rest of the
planning since the function of any object affects its design. The relationship between function, cost
and design is very intimate. In this model the design arrives from the different technical details and
their limitations. Having considered this in an early stage of the planning it will lead to more
efficient solutions and faster production which automatically yields economic savings. The joints
between two elements can be given as a representative example:
The concept uses full-length vertical wall elements mounted on a load bearing floor
structure lifted by steel columns. Between two wall elements a joint will arise. Now, the choice
lies between trying to hide this joint in the best possible way or revealing it instead. This is of great
importance from the design point of view since the joints will determine the idiom of the building.
The steel columns supporting the floor structure along the edge appear with a distance of 3,6m. In
addition it can be of great interest to have internal draining pipes for the roof-water (this is a design
value often strived for). Moreover the joints should be coverable without the use of scaffoldings
since the goal is to eliminate the need of scaffoldings. By putting all these parameters together the
solution will arise automatically.
Hence the joints will be revealed and this is done with a special joint-element of relevant
size. The width of the wall elements will be adjusted to fit between the steel columns that support
the floor structure so that the joint-element will cover both the joint and the column. The distance
between the steel columns will vary for different projects and the width of the wall elements can
be adjusted to that distance. The joint-element as well will be prefabricated in full length and it
will be possible to assemble it with an ordinary crane without the need of scaffoldings. It will be
lifted by the crane in the same way as the wall-elements and fixed from the inside on each floor
level. Into the joint-element is also included the draining pipe for the rainwater which is possible
due to the use of siphon full-flow system with reduced dimensions. The system requires that the
pipes are filled with water, which in turn demands small dimensions of about 50 mm. This will fit
into the joint-element without any difficulties and make the pipes reachable for service purposes.
This is just one example of many details that are carefully elaborated and which consider
several aspects at the same time. The example describes the substance in this concept were nothing
is designed at random and where close collaboration extend the limits of different contractor-fields
such as installations, construction and architecture.
2.2. Application
It should be said that Symphony is a concept with great possibilities in design and
function. Here it will be presented as applied on a case study as shown below (figure 3). The
geometry, the amount of floors and the spatial relations are all adjustable depending on the project
in question. The main criteria in this case have been:
Small apartments of about 40 m2
Effective use of spaces (living area, hallways, stair ways and elevators)
Multisided light in each apartment
Flexible design
Challenging design
Use of full-length vertical building elements
Vertical installations, integrated in the outer-walls
Figure 3 Smallflexible apartments with multisided light and a simple plan with large possibilities
Service spaces are minimized while optimizing the efficiency of the living space whereas comfort
and architectural qualities are promoted through multisided light and relatively large ceiling height
among other things. The internal space is not divided into enclosures but left open for the tenant to
plan through a mobile wall. The chosen design requires challenging technical solutions and
demonstrate the efficiency of the system.
3. PRODUCTION
In the following paragraphs the different phases of the production of the project according
to the symphony-concept will be briefly explained. The different phases will be explained in the
order that they are going to be constructed. The most important parts will be emphasized and the
details left to the full thesis (Hoseini 2003).
3.1. The floor structure

The floor structures today are very well developed and well elaborated; hence an existing
floor structure will be used. A structure based on hollow-core floor slabs and steel columns and
beams has been chosen in this project because it's an economical alternative, it is fast, and it is
prefabricated, which will also eliminate the risks of moisture problems during the drying out of in
situ cast concrete. It's also important that the floor structure is the load-bearing element of the
construction so the walls won't have to bear any vertical loads from the building. The hollow-core
concrete elements are supported by steel beams that run on opposite sides of the concrete elements.
Steel columns support the steal beams and bear the entire vertical load. Using hollow core slabs
with a thickness of 320mm will allow the floor to span up to 15 m without the need of any interior
supporting walls. The weight of the concrete elements will require a distance between the columns
of approximately 3,6m with the section (80 mmx 120 mm, thickness: 12mm). The fact that the
steel columns carry the entire vertical load will make the foundation a very simple one since the
columns only need to be foot spotted.
3.2. The roof
Also the roof will consist of elements. Rectangular roof-elements with a width of 3,6m
and a length of 13,5m will be produced. Notice that the roof elements will be mounted before the
outer walls in order to protect the building from precipitation and to be able to create a dry outer
shell in an early stage. The inclination of the roof will be of 1:25. this suits the roofing material
that will consist of PVC-sheets. This roofing material has a thickness of 1,2mm and is very
flexible. This is important because of the complicated roofing details. The roof elements will be
covered with the roofing material and they will also contain the roof gullies when delivered to the
site. Every apartment-pair will thus be covered by two roof elements. The PVC-roofing will be
prepared in proper lengths to allow the covering of the joints between the different roof elements
and the outer walls after mounting. (Bjork, 1997). The roof-wells will also be prepared for
connection with the joint-elements since they contain the draining pipe for the roofing water as
explained earlier.
3.3. The outer walls

Shortly after the mounting of the roof-elements has begun, the mounting of the outer walls
will start. The goal is to create a dry shell as soon as possible and in this way protect the
construction from the weather elements. The wall-elements will arrive at the building site on
trucks, loaded horizontally. There they will be lifted to vertical position by mobile cranes. Special
lifting devices for the crane will be used to lift the wall elements. Once in vertical position they
will be transported and hung up on the floor structure where they will be fixed from the inside on
each floor. It's important to "hang" the wall-element before it's fixed on the floor structure since
the wall-elements contain windows and therefore have to be in almost exact vertical position. Even
small angle deviations will cause inclining windows, which will be difficult to adjust afterwards.
The wall elements will be finished to 90% when delivered to the site. They will be finished till
gypsum board on the inside and plaster finished on the outside with the windows already installed
except for the shutters. Some of the wall-elements will also be containing the vertical HVAC and
electrical installations needed for the building.
The wall elements are a larger CasaBona construction (see figure 4). They are built up by
200 mm Z-profiles in full length (14,96m) imbedded in rigid polystyrene blocks. Due to fire safety
reasons the polystyrene will be exchanged for rigid mineral wool with a height of ca 400 mm at the
entablature. This is to prevent fire from spreading between the floors. There are also acoustic
reasons for the exchange of insulation material, the mineral wool will break off the sound waves
and reduce the flanking transmission. The windows will be fixed to the Z-profiles. On the inside of
the Z-profiles horizontal sheet metal profiles (50mm) will be fixed, this is needed for the
stabilization of the whole wall-element. The space between the horizontal profiles is filled with
mineral wool (50 mm) and electrical cables for the sockets are also laid out in this space. Finally
everything will be covered with a double layer of gypsum boards (13+13 mm).
Fipure 4 - the Wall- element seen from the inside.
254
3.4 The installation-elements
For each apartment one of the wall-elements is a so called installation-element containing
all the vertical installations. Every installation-element is connected to four apartments and is
joined on each floor to the installation-devices of the apartment. This element contains ventilation
ducts, water and sewage pipes and electrical cables. Because of its content the installation-element
is thicker than the rest of the wall-elements. 100 mm of extra insulation is needed outside the
installations to prevent a thermal bridge, but also to prevent large energy losses due to heat transfer
from the warm installations to the outside air. Apart from this the construction of the installation-
element is similar to the rest of the wall-elements.
The installation-element will be connected to an installation basement along the perimeter
of the building where the distribution of air water and electricity takes place. The plan of the
apartment is coordinated with the placing of the installation-element to facilitate the connection of
the installations and the installation-element and save maximum amount of material.
3.5. Joint-elements
In the same continuous way the mounting of the joint-elements will proceed. These will
also be lifted by a crane and fixed from the inside. Observe that the wall elements are fixed to the
floor structure while the joint-elements are fixed to the wall elements. This is because it is of vital
importance to create a tight connection between the joint-element and the wall-element. As the
joint-elements are being mounted, the roof-gullies will be connected to the draining pipe in the
joint-element and the roofing will be finished. The drainage of the roof will take place by a siphon
full-flow system which requires small dimensions for the pipes, between 45-50 mm (see figure 5).
The pipe is placed in the outer side of the joint-element to prevent thermal transmittance between
the inside air and the drainage water.
Architecturally, the appearance of the joint 4 e m e n t is of uttermost importance since it
decides the rhythm of the faqade. The body of the joint-element will remain the same while the
colors and proportions of its front can easily be adapted to the design in question.
Figure 5 - Thejoint-element will fit between two wall-elements and cover the steel column at the same time.
3.6. The bathroom unit
The bathroom will arrive to the building site in the form of an independent unit (figure 6).
The unit will be h l l y decorated on the inside with wall hanged toilet and washbasin, shower,
laundry machine and tumble-drier. In this way there is no need for a common laundry facility (this
is customary in Sweden), which is considered to be a more expensive alternative. The ceiling
height of the bathroom unit is 2,10m, leaving room above for a storage area. The installations are
all prepared and gathered at a single connection point ready to be connected to the installation
element. The unit will be transported and lifted on to the floors during the mounting of the floor
structure. Later, during the construction of the inner walls the unit will be placed on its rightful
place.
Figure 6 - The Bathroom unit,fully decorated inside with all the installations gathered at a single
connection point.
3.7. Firewalls
Once the bathroom unit is in place the fire walls between the apartments and the hallway
walls will be constructed. Traditional technique and materials will be used to construct these walls
though it is worth noticing that they will continue all the way down to the concrete slabs. Once
again this is due to acoustical reasons and the fire safety regulations. It is mandatory that a
continuous floor is broken at the fire unit limits so that the spread of fire via the floor is prevented
(Fallqvist Klippberg and Wallin 2002).
3.8. The floor

The floor used is a special kind of floor system suitable for hollow-core concrete elements.
The patented fbs8-floor is produced by the company with the same name (see figure 7). The floor
is constructed as follows; plastic plugs are fixed into the concrete slab by nails, the floor is then
fixed onto the plugs, beginning with plywood panels, continuing with special step sound panels
and finished off by parquet or similar. The floor height can be adjusted by screwing the plastic
plugs. The system has shown to be very efficient and testing of the impact sound shows results of
51dB which satisfies the Swedish class B sound level (54 dB) by a comfortable margin for the
floor system in combination with a hollow core slab. This is without the existence of a suspended
ceiling below which is the case in this project. The floor will build up about 90 mm because of the
plastic plugs (it can be adjusted between 70 and 110 mm) which helps the acoustic insulation. This
space will be used to place some of the installations, like the electrical cables to all interior devices
and the supply air ducts. The supply air will be led through low rectangular ducts under the floor
and let out through floor grilles below the long vertical windows that run all the way down to the
floor.
Figure 7- Thefloor is mounted on theplasticpIugs through whom it can be adjusted
3.9. Ventilation
The building has an installation-besement from where all the installations are led vertically
through the installation-element and into the apartments. The apartments will be heated with
preheated supply air. In this way there will be no need for a separate heating system. As explained
above, the supply air is led under the floor to be let out below the windows and since the ducts
won't be insulated, the air will heat the floor on its way to the window and the apartment will have
a partially heated floor.
One of the main objectives is to decrease the energy consumption of the building.
Research results show that informing the tenant about his energy consumption together with an
individual debiting is an efficient way of lowering his consumption levels (Hakaana, Sillanpaa and
Talsi 1996). Thus the supply air will be preheated to 15°C by the landlord and the remaining
temperature is chosen and paid for by the tenant. The regulation of the air temperature will be
controlled from a control box placed at the segmentation between the floor duct and the
installation-element. Here will also the electrical controls be placed. The placing of the
installations in the outer walls will avert the amount of lead-troughs in the concrete slabs which
will yield considerable economic savings. It will also make the internal space more flexible.
3.10. Electricity
Plug-in devices for the electrical cables will be used to maximum extent. The so called
plug-in devices will make it possible for the carpenters to connect the electricity, significantly
reducing the need of electricians. Of course electricians are required to some extent but the
reduction will be substantial and this will also enhance the efficiency of the internal finishing
work. The wall sockets also have plug-in contacts; they will not be placed inside the wall but be
integrated in a so called electrical column on the surface of the wall. The company ENSTOB
which is specialized in these kinds of devices has been involved in the development of the
electrical solutions.
4. CONCLUSIONS
Efficiency in production can be achieved by considering the building-procedure and using

a model that cope with the entire building-process simultaneously. This requires a coordination of
the different contractor-fields. It's important to be aware of the interplay between the different
contractor-fields and to remember how one detail affects other details. It's also vital to look at the
logistics of the building-production. Using the technology available in the market today with the
right knowledge helps us to a more efficient logistic planning. Finally it is essential not to place on
equal footing cost-effective building and low quality building.
4.1. Economy
A first general cost estimate indicates a cost of approximately 900 €/m2 for the building
thus not including the estate cost. More detailed economic calculations are needed and a new thesis
work is reserved for this.
Observe that no larger sums are saved on material quality. The costs are instead reduced on the
procedure, e.g.
Large parts of the installations are integrated in the wall-elements and prefabricated,
resulting in no lead-throughs in the floor structure and a reduction of the general
installation work on the building site which normally stands for about 30% of the
production cost.
The working hours of electricians on the building site is substantially reduced which
represents another large cost component.
No suspended ceilings are used apart from the top-floor.
Up to 80% finished roof elements save even more working hours.
Abolishing the need for scaffoldings saves about 60 €/m2- fagade (the building in
question has about 3500 m2 fa~ade).
4.2. Environmental impacts

It should be noticed that 80% of the building is produced in factory. Industrial
manufacturing does not only have the advantage of a better economy but does also give a
reduction of the material waste. Finished elements lead to less building materials at the site, which
lowers the waste further (due to damaged materials). Additionally the building envelope is well
insulated leading to lower energy losses. Controlling the energy consumption yields further energy
savings.
The major environmental advantages of this concept are however the long term effects.
The fact that the outer walls are dismountable will increase the re-utilization. The outer wall-
elements can be dismounted from the floor structure and the different materials separated to their
original form. Furthermore the installations are integrated in the outer walls, which together with
the absence of inner load bearing walls leaves the internal space highly flexible for future
activities. This is an environmental benefit not to be underestimated. In addition the outer walls are
also exchangeable. One or several wall-elements can be dismounted and exchanged for a different
kind of wall-element. They could for example be exchanged to a glass faqade to hold offices.
REFERENCES
Fallqvist, K., Klippberg, A. and Wallin, A. 2002. Brandskydd I Boverkets Byggregler,
Stockholm: Svenska Brandforsvarsforeningen, 2002.
5,) ~ t ~ p l ~ o- n\ >1 l ~ ~ ~ \!ktcst~
i I ) l ~ ~lor \ i t $ I : ~ i ~ i i t ! ~ !!t)*~ ~ i l t l i ~ t z
Bjork, F. 1997. Takguide, Stockholm: Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan, Division of

Building Technology, 1997
Hakaana, M., Sillanpaa, L. and Talsi, M. 1996 The Effect of Feedback and Focused
Advice on Household Energy Consumption, Helsinki, 1996
Hoseini, H. 2003. Cost-effective Multifamily Houses - Symphony, Stockholm: Diploma

thesis, Div. of Building Technology, Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan, 2003.
Johannesson, G., Bjork, F., Johannesson, C.M., Levin, P., A New Structural System made
of Sheet Metal Profiles Supported by Blocks of Expanded Polystyrene. Proceedings of the
7thNordic Steel Construction Conference, Malmo 19-2116 1995. The Swedish Institute of
Steel Construction, Pub1 150, Volume 2, Stockholm 1995.
Johannesson, G
Design for Hygrothermal Performance and Durability of Insulated Sheet Metal Structures
Fourth International Conference on Light-Weight Steel and Aluminium Structures
Espoo June 1999
Nieminen J, Kouhia I, Johannesson G, Mao G:

Design and Thermal Performance of Insulated Sheet Metal Structures. Nordic Steel
Construction Conference, Malmo, June 1995
Arets Byggen 1999,: Byggforlaget. Stockholm 2000.

JIANG Jing and DING Wowo
Graduate School of Architecture
Nanjing University, CHINA
Abstract: This thesis tries to explain the relationship between residential density and living
quality through the investigation in several residential areas, Nanjing, Capital city of Jiangsu
Province. The thesis subdivides the concept of residential density into several indexes,
comparing the results of the living quality investigation with each single density index, thus to
reach the author's conclusion. The study proposes the solution of improving the living quality
by controlling density indexes. The study also puts forward an experimental mode from this
investigation, which is aimed to build up an index database for urban planning of the future.
Keywords: Urban Residential Area, Index of Residential Density (density index), Parameter
of Living Quality (quality parameter), Density Control
1. INTRODUCTION
The concept of residential density has become a significant aspect in urban daily life,
which seems to be as an assessment standard for the living quality. Actually, the problem of
density is not only important for the citizen but also for the identity of the urban space.
Generally speaking, residential density and living quality are alternative problems, which
means that high living quality should be achieved through reducing the residential density.
However, due to the large population in China, the way of reducing density is not realistic in most
residential areas.
Floor area per capita is also an important parameter for living quality, i.e. each household
must have enough space to reach the standards of living comfortably. Due to the historical reasons,
not all the households can reach the standards. To increase the floor area per capita is an important
method in improving living quality. By doing so, the total floor area of the residential area will be
increased, i.e. the density will be increased. Therefore, we cannot decrease the density for the
pursuance of high residential quality in this way.
Moreover, urbanization dose not only bring increasing population from countryside to the
urban, but also leads to frequent economic-oriented land use and it decreases the availability of
residential-oriented land. Downtown economic areas with the third level industry still need a
certain number of residents for the purpose of social balance. High land cost at downtown areas
make these residential areas to be dense as well.
All these problems make us to review the meaning of Indexes of Residential Density for
the urban specific circumstance in China. As the first step, we begin with field research, which
aims at finding out the new relationship between residential density and living quality.
2. CURRENT SITUATION OF RESIDENTIAL DENSITY AND

LIVING QUALITY
In order to know how to improve the living quality for urban residents through the control
of residential density, we have made a site investigation in some residential areas in Nanjing and
try to explain how the residential density influences the living quality on the basis of the
investigation. We subdivide the concept of residential density into several indexes and compare the
investigation results of living quality with each single density index in this thesis.
2.1 Case study on Residential Density

Indexes of residential density should consists of "I:
a The average building height (number of floors)
@ Coverage rate (building density)
Floor area ratio (the ratio of the total floor space of a residential area to the total size of
its base)
@ Average distance among buildings (north to south)
@ Average width per family (north to south)
@ Average floor area per family
In reality, some other indexes also affect the density, although not directly, such as
proportion of business buildings and public buildings (auxiliary facilities), green land and public
area. These proportions will also be included in the evaluation.
Four typical residential areas in Nanjing were selected as the investigation objects [see
Figure I]. These four areas are located in different places related to the downtown of Nanjing,
which have quite different situations.
Residential area A:
As a newly built residential area, it is located in the new developmental area of
city, outside of the old town. It was built in the beginning of 2000 and composed
of several low-rise housing groups and some affiliated buildings.
Residential area B:
Located in a commercial area next to the downtown, it is a large residential area
composed of several low-rise residential buildings and commercial buildings. It
is slightly larger than Residential area A, but with similar density. It was built
during 1980s- 1990s.
Residential area C:
It is adjacent to the central business district (CBD) and is composed of several
residential buildings that were built in different ages (from 1970s to 1990s). It is
a mixed-style residential area.
Residential area D:
Located in a sub-downtown area, it is composed of scattered high-rise residential
buildings and was built at the end of 1990s.
Among them, Residential area D is composed of high-rise buildings, whose reference

indexes are quite different from those other residential areas of low-rise buildings, as seen from the
data below. Therefore, this kind of residential area will not be covered in this thesis and it will be
studied especially later.
Table
Ta Residenti Average Coverage Floor Average Average Average Proportio Green

ble a1 density number rate area ratio distance width of applicabl n of land and
1 (familyla of floors among buildings e area per comrnerc public
cre) buildings (N to S) family ial space rate
(N to ~j buildings
A 180 6-7 31.2% 2.14 24.2M 12.3M 80-90m2 23% 34%
B 192 6 42.3% 2.53 =16M xlOM =53m1 38% 12%
C 263 6 43.9% 2.95 -16M xlOM =52mz 19% 5%
D 706 32 19.6% 3.58 35M 27.3M =60m1 15% 16%
As seen from Table 1, residential density of A, B and C are almost in the same in density,
and in particular, that of A and B. In terms of the density indexes, the average number of floors
and average width per family are of the same, while the coverage rate, floor area ratio, average
distance among buildings, average applicable area per family, proportion of commercial buildings
and green land rate are quite different. It indicates that these areas have similar density but are
different in the density indexes.
2.2 Case study on Living Quality

Several parameters are frequently used to judge the living quality'31:
a Convenient transportation
@ Public facilities (education and medical facilities, etc.)
@ Convenient commercial services
@ Average floor area per family
@ Availability of green land and public space
@ Noise, quality of air and water, as well as disturbance from adjacent industries
Sunshine and ventilation
@ Architecture appearance and hygiene
Other important parameters, such as water supply, power supply and communications, are
not covered in this thesis, as they are not related to this study directly.
We have interviewed some residents in the target areas. The above-mentioned parameters
are listed in our questionnaire, asking for to which degree they are satisfied and how important
these parameters weight to the residents. The results are classified into excellent, good, so so and
poor. Or, we will score excellent as 95 and poor as 55, which will be calculated (only the final
statistics results of the questionnaire will be listed in this essay) [see Table 21.
Table 2
Ta Average Convenie Public Commerc Usage Green Quality Good Architect

ble satisfacti nt facilities ial indoor land and of air and sunshine ure
2 on degree transport services area public water and appearan
ation space ventilatio ce and
n hygiene
A 80.6 67 78 68 82 86 83 94 87
B 74.6 85 76 82 67 78 71 71 68
Based on the statistics, residents in different residential areas are satisfied with some
certain parameters to a similar extent, while having different response to other parameters.
Seen from Table 2, residents' satisfaction to the public facilities and quality of water and
air are almost in the same. However, their satisfaction to the convenient transportation, commercial
services, available indoor area, green land, environment, sunshine, ventilation, architecture
appearance and hygiene quality varies greatly.
3. ANALYSIS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

RESIDENTIAL DENSITY AND LIVING QUALITY
Seen from the tables above, residents' response to living quality varies greatly even if their
residential areas have similar density. It seems that the density itself does not have direct effect on
the living quality.
However, by subdividing the concept of density, we can find that the difference in the
residents' response is caused by the changes of density indexes, i.e. density indexes will become
critical to the living quality when the residential areas are similar in density.
3.1 Comparison of density and living quality

Residents' satisfaction to the usage of green land and public space depends on how large
the green land and public space is. The huge difference among A, B and C in green land and public
space makes their residents' respond differently. Local government documents always listed the
green land as the residents' most concerned factorL4].The coverage of green land directly
influenced the residents' satisfaction to the usage of public space.
Residents' satisfaction to sunshine and ventilation of A, B and C varies acutely too. The
parameter of sunshine can be measured by the Chinese National Standards (GB) ['I. This parameter
is depending on the density index of average distance among buildings and average width per
family.
It may better demonstrate the issues by putting various density indexes and quality
parameters in coordinates [see Figure 21. Horizontal coordinate in Figure 2 shows the density
indexes of residential area A, B and C. Vertical coordinate shows how residents are satisfied in
correspondence to each horizontal coordinate. Every single coordinate shows each one parameter
of living quality.
Figure 2 (analyzed by the author)
According to the coordinates, the tendency curve of the satisfaction to average area per
family, air quality, water quality, area appearance and hygiene is generally slightly. Adjustment to
these density indexes will influence the satisfaction to living quality slightly.
The above-mentioned two parameters fluctuate greatly. Among density indexes, the
proportion of green and public space, average distance and average width affect these two living
quality parameters. Therefore, rational control over the three density indexes will improve the
residents' overall response to the living quality.
In practical designing, only the architects raise those greatly varied parameters in living
quality can relatively raise the degree of satisfaction of the residents.
3.2 Non-linear relationship between residential density and living quality

Residents' response to green and public space varies dramatically among all the three
areas, but the response of residents in A and B improves slightly while their green land increases a
great much [see Table 1 and 21. This indicates that residents will feel satisfied when the green and
public space reach to a certain extent.
Therefore, it is neither necessary nor realistic for residential areas in downtown area to
increase the green area too much. As for C, it is enough to increase its green area to be the same
with B (from 5% to 12%, see table l), instead of exceeding the requirements of National Standards
(about 30%). When investigating in C, we also find that its internal green facilities can be bettered.
If further actions can be taken for the green area between buildings, the overall green extent of the
residential area C will be enhanced to a certifiable status (see table 2, C is 61 and B is 78).
It indicates that there is a non-linear relationship between some density indexes and
quality parameters.
3.3 Dynamic Control Over Density

What are the causes for this non-linear relationship? Let us look at residents' response to
the convenient transportation.
Residential areas located in different areas will have different transportation facilities.
Residential area A is located in the new developmental zone, while B and C are both located in the
old town. Furthermore, C is located in the prosperous downtown area. During the investigation, we
found that residents in residential area A are not so satisfied with the transportation conditions.
Transportation from the new area to the downtown is inconvenient due to the ring river [see Figure
11 that separates the new and old areas. All this leads to the variance of residents' satisfaction.
Similarly, in terms of residents' satisfaction to commercial facilities, A is much worse than
B and C. It is common that residents in the new area are eager for living in the downtown, as
residents concern much about the convenient transportation for going to work and about the casual
life in the weekends. As influenced by neighboring Asian countries, especially Japan and South
Korea, a special shopping culture has been formed in cities of China Mainland. It also makes
residents rely on downtown area.
Although enjoying the elegant environment in the suburb, residents in the new
developmental area are suffering from the inconvenience of being too far away from the
downtown area. However, residents in downtown area concern more about the green, open space,
etc. than in the suburb.
This difference is originated from the locations where residents live. Therefore, we believe
that the transport distance to the downtown leads to the different weights of quality parameters.
Difference in the location parameter behinds architect's control and it should be taken as a
precondition and basis of controlling urban residential density.
The architects should allocate their effort scientifically, for these parameters weight
differently to the residents. We believe that residents tend to pay more attention to those
parameters that are greatly varied. Architects should identify which parameter is important and
which is not in the eyes of residents when formulating standards, as it is a dynamic control.
Residential areas in downtown have different functions from those being far away from
the downtown. Therefore, residents will pay attention to different aspects of the living quality. A
dynamic standard should be followed to control the density. Most quality parameters can be
adjusted by controlling the density indexes, while the transport distance to the downtown area will
be regarded as the reference of all the adjustments. It is an effective method to achieve the
generally good living quality for the urban residents.
4. CONCLUSION
Living quality is determined by many factors, while the indexes of residential density are
only part of these factors. In order to reach high living quality, the balance of the indexes of
residential density, together with other factors, must be achieved.
The indexes of residential density should be regarded as a dynamic index system, which
will vary with different circumstances. The dynamic index system should be run by the parameters
that are based on the factors related to the downtown areas. Therefore, high density can create
living situation to some degree.
In the next step, we will preset different parameters and variance schemes, through the
virtual designing and testing, to have a series of different models for comparison and analysis. In
this way, we will further realize the dynamic control over the residential density.
REFERENCE
DU Chunyu, "Housing Environment----Study on the Housing Density of the City", Thesis for the
Degree of Master of Architecture, Graduate School of Architecture, Nanjing University, 2003
Chinese National Standards, GB 50180-93, "Code of Urban Residential District Planning &
Design", Government Document 1993
Wang, Shun-Chih; Wu, Ran-Chie, "The Study of Residential Density Index of Housing in Taiwan
Area", Journal of Architecture, 0311997
ZHOU Jian, "Study on the norms of outside environment in residential areas", Urban Planning
Forum, 1999 No.02
Urban Planning Bureau of Nanjing, "Description of Protective and Renewal Urban Planning in
Nanjing", 0112003
NOTE
['I Okudaira, quoted in Wang, Shun-Chih; Wu, Ran-Chie, "The Study of Residential Density Index of
Housing in Taiwan Area", Journal of Architecture, 0311 997 p.02
['I Portion data from Graduate School of Architecture, NanJing University, "Research on the improvement
for old town of Nanjing", 1212002
['I LUO Zhijun, "Research on Quality of City Residential Environment", Journal of Higher Correspondence
(edition of natural science), 0412001 No.02 p.36-p.40
141 Urban Planning Bureau of Nanjing, "Description of Protective and Renewal Urban Planning in Nanjing",
"Figure of that the residents concern", 0112003 p.3-33
[51 In the three residential areas, all buildings are in row, instead of any angle or mixed arrangement. Thus,
the statistics about them based on the distance and width (north to south) is trustworthy.
Regeneration with Dwelling Unit Enlargement
of Public Housing in Japan
Department of Architecture and Building Science
Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan
Abstract: In Japan, there is growing demand for renovation of the deteriorating housing
estates built in the mass-housing era. Although the houses were originally designed for
nuclear families, they are now considered too small to accommodate more than three residents.
Dwelling units are ofien enlarged by removing partition walls or by constructing extensions.
This paper outlines trials of housing renovation with dwelling unit enlargement in Japan.
Keywords: deteriorating public residential buildings, renovation, dwelling unit enlargement
1. INTRODUCTION
In Japan, various government authorities and public housing corporations built a huge
number of dwellings to reconstruct the war-damaged cities and to accommodate the high
concentrations of population in urban areas in the mass-housing era between 1955 and 1973.
Approximately 40% of all public housing in Japan was constructed in the latter mass-housing era
(1965-1973), and they are four or five storied reinforced concrete buildings. The building frames
are sufficiently strong to withstand several decades inore use but their interior finishings and
functional systems are deteriorating. In order to continue to provide comfortable accommodation,
these dwellings require regeneration.
Almost all the public housing built in the mass-housing era are from 30 to 50 m2 in area.
Although they were originally designed for nuclear families, now they are considered too small to
accommodate more than three residents. Dwelling units are often enlarged by removing partition
walls or by building extensions. Local authorities and public housing corporations started such
dwelling enlargement works from the 1980s. In recent years, several local authorities have added
new elevator towers and the like for aged residents in addition to dwelling enlargement.
However, there have been few attempts at housing renovation with dwelling enlargement
work. This paper describes the actual conditions of dwelling enlargement works and recent
technologies for regenerating and enlarging deteriorating public multi-unit residential buildings in
Japan.
2. CASE STUDIES
Local authorities and public housing corporations in Japan started public housing
regeneration and dwelling enlargement from the 1980s as mentioned above. Methods of dwelling
enlargement have changed over time and according to the conditions, giving rise to a variety of
dwelling enlargement methods and technologies. Typical methods are illustrated through the case
studies presented below.
2.1 Dwelling Extension
Extension to the balcony side of buildings is the most frequent dwelling enlargement
method in Japan (see Figures 1 and 2). The extension and the existing building connect via an
opening where a glazed door was formerly situated. There is no need to make a new opening in
the existing concrete wall, and existing interior finishings or functional systems are not generally
repaired. However, this method is not suitable for buildings that are deteriorating. The extension
is built of precast concrete panels or the like to enable quicker construction.
A bath unit or washroom is often located in the extension to supplement lacking function.
A washroom and a washing machine space are located in the example shown in Figure 1 and 2.
Figure I Building Before and After Extension
Figure 2 One Pair of Dwelling Units Plans Before and After Extension
2.2 Rearrangement of Dwelling Units

Dwelling units are sometimes rearranged. The most familiar method of rearranging a
dwelling unit is the connection of two units by making an opening in the partition wall as shown in
Figure 3. Rearrangement of three units into two or four units into three by removing sections of
partition walls and installing new partition walls is common. Such renovation often follows
drastic changes to the interior layout and relocation of installations, so that all the residents have to
be temporarily rehoused in vacant units of other buildings during the renovation period.
The flats on the upper and lower sides are occasionally changed into a duplex (see Figure
4). In this five-story building, the 5th floor unit and the 4th floor unit were changed into a duplex.
This change was made because many units on the 5th floor had been empty before renovation due
to the tiring climb up the stairs to reach the 5th floor.
F- -- 6.W -4 -- 6800 d
9- -
+-- -
.........
6 . .-
- ---
-"------
.-- -. -
Q
CBUO - C
Figure 3 Dwelling Unit Plans Befoi*eand After Connection of Two Units
Figure 4 Dwelling Units Plans Before and After Flats into Duplex,
Original Dwelling Unit Plan, Lower Floor Plan and Upper Floor Plan of Duplex
2.3 Elevator Addition

A great many of the aged public residential buildings only have stairway access even
though they are four or five stories high. Estates that have a large number of elderly people
urgently require the addition of elevators to make access more convenient.
One solution is the addition of an elevator tower to the stairwell of the building (see Figure
5). This method requires no repair to the existing building. However, it is necessary to add
several elevators to one building, so that both initial and running costs accumulate. Moreover, this
method does not achieve barrier free access to the dwelling as Figure 6 illustrates. The alternative
is to add access corridors and an elevator tower to the building (see Figure 7). This requires
drastic change to the existing building skeleton and interior layout. Rearrangement of dwelling
units is performed at the simultaneously in most cases.
Figure 5 Building Before and After Elevator Towers Addition
Figure 6 Building Section Showing Added Elevator Tower
- .\ T k y c Tx: I'nil - I ' n i l - (' 'l'>?cI n i l - 1 I I n -- 1; .I >JC [.nil -

Figure 7 Floor Plans Before and After Access C0rridor.s and an Elevator Addition
3. RESULTS OF DWELLING ENLARGEMENT
This chapter considers the results of dwelling enlargement work and its transition. We
conducted a questionnaire survey of all Prefectural governments and a city designated by
ordinance in Japan, as well as the Urban Development Corporation, which is the biggest public
housing corporation (60 bodies altogether). The response rate was 93.3% (56 / 60).
3.1 Survey Results

The survey focused on the following methods: dwelling extension, connection of two units,
rearrangement of three units into two units, other dwelling enlargement methods, and the addition
of access comdors and elevator towers. Figure 8 indicates each total of recreated dwelling units.
This figure shows that dwelling extension is the most common method in Japan, and the next
common is the connection of two units. The total number of access corridor added units does not
include the number of simultaneous enlarged units. The number of access corridors added and
enlarged units would be much greater much more. A total of 1,238,680 units are managed by
these bodies, and the sum of recreated units accounts for 8.93% (1 10,655 / 1,238,680).
Figure 9 indicates how many bodies conducted each method. As many as 68% (two thirds)
conducted connection of two units, 43% rearranged three units into two units, and 50% extended
dwellings. Only 7% added new access corridors.
Dwelllng Extentlon
8 1,790
Connection of Two Unlts 12,393
Rearrangement of Three
Units into Two
1 3,653
Other Dwelling
12,262
Enlargement Methods
Addition of Access Corridor

and Elevator Tower
1 557
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 90,000
Figure 8 Total of Recreated Units in Japan
VGangemnt
Dwelling Extention Connction of Two Units Corridor and Elevator
of Three Units into
- ---
Figure 9 Rate of Bodies Who Have Conducted Housing Regeneration

I<t.gc*acr.;iaion\%ill1 I ) ~ \ c . l l i aI~nil l:tilar-qr.ri~rnt of Public I l t ~ u r i n gi r i .Iiilr:111
3.2 Transition
Table 1 indicates the number of recreated units transition. The total is decreasing; on the
other hand, access corridor addition is slightly increasing. This trend may continue with the
increase in the number of elderly people.
Rearrangement of four units into three or six units into five began in the latter 1990s. This
was due to the target unit transition from much smaller units to comparatively larger units.
The renovation methods revealed through the questionnaire show that multiply methods
were applied to a building, and that different types of dwelling unit have been recreated in recent
years in contrast to previous renovations when identical units were recreated in large quantities
within a building or an estate.
Table I Number of Recreated Units Transition
Rearrangement of Other Dwelling Addition of
Dwelling Connection of
Period \ Method Three Units into Enlargement Access Corridor
Extention Two Units
Two Methods I and EV Tower
4. MOTIVES AND PROBLEMS
Below we explain the motives for renovation and problems in renovation obtained from a
hearing survey regarding 14 renovation projects on the six housing supply bodies. Table 2
,
presents an outline of the projects and housing supply bodies.
Table 2 Outline of the Surveyed Projects and Housing Supply Bodies

Body
year of year of Method
(Geographical or Social -.
Construction Renovation 1 Dwelling Enlargement Elevator Addition
Condition of Location)
A 1973 .~. -
200 1 Four Units into Three
-
-- .-Corridors
Access - --..- -and EV Addition
(Cold District)
~
~ ~ 1977 200 1 -.. ..- --Six Units into
- Five Access Corridors and EV Addition-
nection of Two Units
Conl-- 1
t
- ---- - - - ~ -
B Connection of Two Units

(Cold District) - -- ---
and ---
-- ----- EV- Addition
--
(Rural A r e 9
D 1 1969--[ 1999 Connection
(Urban Areas)
1
1963
9
1964
6 i
2001
I
1997
2
1 Three T T n i t c
Dwelln
~ g Extension
Connection of Two Units
l n t n Txrin
1
E
(Urban Areas) 1 Dwelling- Extension
-- -.-. .--
L
- --
on a One-Unlt-at-a-Tlme --
(Urban Areas)
.-
on a One-Unit-at-a-Tlme) j - -- --
4.1 Motives for Renovation
Figure 10 illustrates the motives for renovation. The motives fall into three categories:
physical aging, deterioration in building capability and change in housing needs.
The most common in the physical aging category is the damage to reinforced concrete
external walls through long exposure to the weather. Damages mean the cracks and exfoliations in
the concrete, which are significant problem buildings older than 30 years. Damage interior
finishings or plumbing was also a common motivation.
Improvement of insulation capability is the most common motivation in the building
capability category. Insulation technology was not highly developed in the mass-housing era, so
that the aged buildings in cold districts were uncomfortable. Furthermore, lack of insulation often
causes condensation, which damages interior finishings.
In the change in housing needs category, barrier removal and customization for elderly
people were the motivation in all cases in which interior finishings were renovated.
Renovation into various types of dwelling unit was the motivation in buildings whose
units were rearranged. The residents of these estates are differentiating into young and elderly
people because of the small, uniform dwelling units. The renovations were aimed at activating the
estate community by attracting other age groups.
- - --
1
- -
1
-
Mot~vesfor Renovation or Factors of Renovation 2 4 6 8 Number
, ,
I Change in Unitbrm Designed [Jnits into Di\erse IJnlt, 1
--
.
; Japanese-Style Room Into Western-Style
Rearrangement (5 / 14)
Dwelling Extension (3 / 14)
Figure 10 Motives for Renovation

.
1
Rearrangement and EV Addition (4 / 14)
i Interior Refurbishment (2 / 14)
4.2 Problems in Renovation

Figure I1 illustrates the problems in renovation design.
Buildings built in the mass-housing era are generally low in story height, about 2,600 mm,
which restricts plumbing layout. Moreover, buildings have many bearing reinforced concrete
partitions, which restrict the flexibility of interior layouts in renovation design when interior
finishings were renovated, and this is a common problem.
There is barely any problem in cases in which existing interior finishings is left, for
example dwelling added building. On the other hand, adding extensions to buildings requires a
wide-open space. Extensions were not added for lack of wide-open space in some of the surveyed
projects.
When renovating vacant units one-unit-at-a-time, possible renovation options are limited.
I Problems in Renovation Deslgn 2 4 6 8 Number
!
I I
Restriction on Interior Layouts by Bearing Partlt~ons - J
1 Restriction on lntenor Layouts by Existing Openings
R e s t r ~ c t ~ o n o n ~ u m bLayout
i n g Due to Low In Story Height
Restrict~onon Raised FIoor Level by Existing Openings
-
1
Lack of Wide-Open Space to Add EIevator Tower
-- --- -
Lack of Stalnvay Width to Equip Banisters -- - --
.
- --- ---
------- --
-- -- ---- --
Rearrangement (5 / 14) Rearrangement and EV Addlt~on(4 / 14)

Dwell~ngExtens~on(3 / 14) 1Interlor Refurb~shment(2 / 14)
1
Figure 1 1 Problems in Renovation Design
Figure 12 illustrates the problems in renovation work.

Problems concerning imprecise existing building skeleton were common. Imprecision of
the building skeleton generally becomes apparent after removing the existing interior finishings.
This causes frequent modification of working drawings, and impinges upon the term of work.
The structure of buildings built in the mass-housing era is generally the bearing wall
system, and it is troublesome to make sleeves for ducting in the beams or to make an opening in
the partition walls to connect units.
Noise and concrete dust during renovation work were significant problems while
renovating vacant units one-unit-at-a-time. The dwelling unit plan was designed with the intention
of reducing work involving scraping concrete.
Problems in Renovation Work I 2 4 6 8 Number

I I
Imprec~seExlst~ngSkeleton - * - -- -- --
--
Problems Concerning Exlstlng Concrete e v a l i

Nolse, Osc~llat~on,
and Concrete Dusts
1 Problems Cpncerning -the
- -Term
-- of-
Work
-
-
- -
Lothers-
. Rearrangement (5 / 14)
C Dwelllng Extenslon (3 / 14)
Figure 12 Problems in Renovation Works

.
-- --
-
- - - -
Rearrangement and EV A d d ~ t ~ o(4n / 14)
'7 Interlor Refurblshment (2 1 14)
-
5. CONCLUSION
We described the situation of renovating deteriorating residential buildings in Japan. The

word "mass-housing" is used as a synonym for uniformity, and the residential buildings were
renovated in standard ways in the past. However, the uniform design led to stagnation of
communities with the change of housing needs. Recent renovation of declining housing estates is
not only the renovation of housing qualities but also an attempt to increase diversity. Furthermore,
some recent housing estates built in the mass-housing era appear to possess characteristics
according to the locality in consideration of the local climate. They must enhance their
individualities hereafter.
The renovation technologies for residential buildings are effective, although problems to
be solved. However, what seems to be lacking now is an approach from the whole estate
standpoint. A renovated estate obtains diversity, but renovated dwelling units are ordinarily only
part of the whole. It is necessary to develop a renovation method that is beneficial for all the
residents, for example, a method of activating the common spaces on estates.
REFERENCE
Building and Equipment Life Cycle Association (BELCA). 2003. Case Report of Public Multi-unit
Residential Building Regeneration, Tokyo: Building and Equipment Life Cycle Association.
* The drawings of the residential buildings in this paper were reprinted from the above report.
**This Research is funded by Building and Equipment Life Cycle Association.

Building Systems Integration for Flexible Configuration,
Easy Maintenance, and Sustainable Construction:
Open Building Implementation in the CMLF Project in Taiwan
Kung-Jen TU
National Taiwan Universiq of Science and Technology
Abstract: The objective of this paper is to present the 'open building' implementation results
in the Construction and Material Laboratory Facility (CMLF) Project in Taiwan. The CMLF
is intended to be a demonstrative project exemplifying the application of open building and its
benefits. Being a 9000m2 laboratory facility located in Taipei City, the CMLF will be the
national laboratory facility where experimental research on advanced building technology as
well as testing and accreditation of construction materials are conducted.
'Building systems integration' is the core concept in this 'open building'
implementation effort. By developing a modular coordination system, a basis is provided for
systems integration. The two-way beam structural design forms plenum spaces for distribution
of building service systems; the 60cm-120cm tartan grid provides a reference system that
integrates the dimensions of structural and relocatable partition elements; the 'se~iceable
cell' concept integrates the interior system and the building service systems to ensure that
required building services are properly delivered to the interior space. The resulting 'open
support' of the CMLF delivers three benefits: flexible configuration, easy maintenance, and
sustainable construction.
Keywords: open building, systems integration, modular, two-way beam, relocatable partition
1. INTRODUCTION
The objective of this paper is to present the open building implementation results in the
Construction and Material Laboratory Facility (CMLF) Project. The CMLF, owned by the
Architectural and Building Research Institute (ABRI), Ministry of Interior, will be a governmental
laboratory facility where the experimental research on advanced building technology as well as the
testing and the accreditation of construction materials are conducted. The CMLF Project is
currently in its preliminary design phase. The author of this paper has been working with the ABRI
and the architect (Environmental Design Studio International, Inc.) to identify feasible open
building concepts and to implement them in the CMLF Project.
1.1. The Architectural and Building Research Institute (ABRI)

The ABRI, subordinate to the Ministry of Interior, was established in 1995. Its missions
are to identify research issues and topics, conduct research, and transfer building knowledge to
practitioners to ensure building safety, improve living and environmental quality, advance building
technology, and cultivate urban development. In ABRI, there are four divisions: Architectural and
Urban Planning, Building Safety and Disaster Prevention, Building Technology, and
Environmental Control. Annually, each division funds research projects on important topics and
transfer of research findings and building knowledge to the industry nationwide.
ABRI has accumulated research findings and built up building knowledge in many areas.
In particular, its Building Technology Division has funded research projects to promote 'open
building' applications since 1998 (Perng and Tu 2000; Tu and Lin, 2001). However, since the
construction industry in Taiwan lacks of the building products, technology, methods and process
required to support open building implementation, 'open building' hasn't been promoted to the
industry successfully (Tu, 2000). A demonstrative project is needed to exemplify the application of
open building and its merits. The CMLF project plays such an important role.
1.2. The CMLF Project

The CMLF will be located on a piece of government owned land in the City of Taipei. Its
area is 1.95 hectare. In addition to the CMLF, the Ministry of Interior plans to build an office
building and a building for car parking on the site. The site is surrounded by roads and residential
buildings (Figure I).
The purpose for the ABRI to build the CMLF is to provide a well established laboratory
facility where various kinds of building material and construction technology related experiments
can be conducted. The CMLF will also become an authorized institute to perform impartial testing
on and issue accreditations for construction materials. The budget for the design and construction
of the CMLF is around 190 million New Taiwan dollars (5.5 million USD), and around 240
million NTD (7 million USD) for the laboratory equipments.
According to the program, the CMLF should provide the following types of spaces:
1. Laboratory spaces: three categories of laboratory spaces, i.e., large scale structure lab,
construction and building material lab, and material durability lab.
2. Administrative spaces: offices, conference rooms, exhibition area, etc.
3. Accommodation spaces: a small number of dormitory rooms to accommodate researchers.
4. Service spaces: corridors, stairwell and elevators, restrooms/bathrooms, storage rooms, and
mechanical rooms and vertical shafts.
Figure I The physical model of the CMLF on the site. The site is surrounded by roads and residential
buildings (the dotted line indicates the border of the site).
'------------------------'
Figure 2 T y p i c a l ~ o o r p l a n
of the CMLF. The left side building is a large and tal1,facili~
for sttlrctural
elements experiment;, the right side contains smaller labs, and is the area 'open building' is implemented.
1.3. 'Open Building' Implementations in the CMLF Project
The Preliminary Design of the CMLF

In order to make the CMLF a demonstrative case of open building, an open building
design team, consists of the ABRI, the architect, and a group of specialized researchers (including
the author), was formed. Based on the characteristics, the strength and weakness of the
construction industry, as well as client's needs, team members met periodically to identify
appropriate design objectives, to develop open building concepts that can be implemented, and to
propose design schemes. The team has finished the preliminary design of the CMLF project.
It was decided that the CMLF is located on the south side of the site, and consists of two
adjacent buildings in linear form (Figure 2). There are four stories above ground and one basement
floor, and the total floor area is around 9,000m2,
The Design Objectives

Since the local construction industry is not really ready for 'open building' applications,
the design team realized that it had to identify 'design objectives' that are achievable.
Consequently, it was decided that the CMLF should fulfill the following open building objectives:
1. The 'support' of the CMLF should offer the highest level of spatial flexibility and
configurability to cope with current spatial needs as well dynamic spatial needs in the future.
2. The components of building service systems (pipes, conduits, ducts) should be allocated and
accommodated in such a way that it is easy to repair, maintain, and to be reconfigured to
support dynamic spatial needs.
3. The 'infill' of the CMLF, such as interior partitions, should be removable and reusable to
achieve the higher level of spatial flexibility and construction sustainability.
The 'Open Building' Concepts to be Implemented

After numerous discussions, the design team developed the following 'open building'
concepts to achieve the above design objectives:
1. Floor plan zoning to form consolidated functional zones and modular coordination system
design to provide a basis for building systems integration.
2. Two-way beam structural system design to form plenum spaces to accommodate horizontal
distribution elements of building service systems (pipes, conduits, ducts).
3. Relocatable partition interior system design to allow removal and reuse of partition elements
to increase spatial flexibility and construction sustainability.
4. Systems integration design to offer the higher level of spatial flexibility, to facilitate the
repair, maintenance, and reconfiguration of the horizontal distribution elements of building
service systems, and to achieve sustainable construction.
2. FLOOR PLAN ZONING AND MODULAR COORDINATION
2.1 Effective Floor Plan Zoning to Form Consolidated Functional Zones

If designed properly, larger and consolidated floor areas can often be configured into more
possible layouts, and thus offer higher level of spatial flexibility. Thus, the design team divided the
floor plan into several zones and tried to form large and consolidated functional zones (Figure 3):
1. Functional zones: On both sides of the central corridor, two consolidated functional zones are
formed. Each can be further divided into rooms with different widths based on users' spatial
needs. The rooms can be used as laboratories, offices, conference rooms, lobby, exhibition,
dormitory rooms, etc.
2. Service zones: Two service cores are places at both ends of the building, and consist of
stairwells, elevators, restrooms/bathrooms, storage room, HVAC mechanical room, vertical
shafts (for electricalltelecommunication, water supply, and sprinkler systems). Besides, both
service cores also serve as structural cores to strengthen the building.
3. Corridor zones: The floor plan consists of a central corridor and two external corridors. The
plenum space above the central corridor serves as horizontal distribution space for the supply
elements of building service systems that bring services from the internal vertical shafts to the
functional zones. The plenum spaces above external corridors serve as horizontal distribution
spaces for the return elements of building service systems that discharge from the functional
zones to the four external vertical shafts. The external corridors also serve as shading devices
and offer six designated spaces to accommodate and 'conceal' air conditioning outside units
(containing the compressor, condenser, and fan).
Service core
Functional zone1
.. . . . . ............... .
Functional zone2
External corridor
Figure 3 Zoning oj'CMLF's typical floor plan: junctional zones, sewice zones, and corridor zones
2.2 Modular Coordination System Design to Provide a Basis for Systems Integration
In order to provide a basis for integration of structural system, interior system, and
building service systems, the design team developed a modular coordination system:
1. The module: It was decided that the basic module is lOcm (lM), and the structural module is
60cm. As a result, there are four types of structural spans, i.e., 6m*9m and 9m*9m for the
functional zones, and 6.6m*9m and 7.2m*9m for both service cores (Figure 2).
2. The elements: The dimensions of the building systems elements are multiples of lOcm (lM),
30cm (3M) or 60cm (6M). For examples, the interior partition is lOcm thick; the typical
partition panel sizes are 30cm*30cm, 30cm*60cm, 60*60cm, 60cm* 120cm; the door is 90cm
wide, and window 120cm; the ceiling tilesllight fixtureslfresh air outlet is 60cm*60cm; and
the floor-to-ceiling height is 300cm (see relocatable interior partition for details).
3. The modular reference system: The design team designed a 60cm-120cm tartan grid to be the
modular reference system. The exterior walls and relocatable interior partitions are positioned
along the tartan grid, and the frames of the interior partition system are positioned at the
intersections of grid lines. As a result, the sizes of two functional zones are 6m*36m and
9.6m*36m; the ceiling grid is a 60cm-60cm grid; the central corridor is 3m wide (Figure 4).
Figure 4 The 60cm-120cm tartan grid as the modular reference system for the 'infill' elements.
3. TWO-WAY BEAM STRUCTURAL SYSTEM
3.1 Two-way Beam Design to Form Distribution Spaces for Building Service Systems
The design team designed a two-way beam structure (two levels of I-beams): the main
beams are on the lower level, and secondary beams on the upper level. Three main beams, 9m
apart, run longitudinally between two service cores; and the secondary beams, 3m apart, are then
placed orthogonally above the main beams and connected to them (Figure 5).
The two-way beam design results in three plenum spaces within which the horizontal
distribution elements (supply and return) of the building service systems are systematically
accommodated: plenum space above central corridor, plenum space above functional zone, and
plenum space above external corridor.
Figure 5 Two-way beam concept and the plenum spaces for building service systems (Hart et. al. 1985).
280
3.2 Plenum above Central Corridor: Distribution Space for 'Main Supply' Elements
The plenum space below secondary beams and above central corridor ceiling is the
distribution space for the horizontal 'main supply' elements (the depth of the plenum space is
around 60cm), such as HVAC fresh air duct, electrical and telecommunication wires, main water
supply pipes, main sprinkler pipes, and light fixtures. These 'main supply' elements deliver
'services' from the service core (right side core) and branch out into the plenum space of the
functional zones (Figure 6).
3.3 Plenums above Functional Zones:

Distribution Spaces for 'Secondary Supply
& Return'
The plenum space below the slab, Functional zone

above the ceiling of functional zones, and
between two adjacent secondary beams is the
distribution spaces for 'secondary supply and
return' elements. (a) Cross sectional view of distribution of 'main and
1. Secondary supply: Branching out from the secondary supply' elements in the plenum spaces.
'main supply', a set of secondary supply
elements are allocated in every plenum
space between two I-beams to ensure
complete building services are delivered
to the spaces below: fresh air
ductsloutlets, electrical1
telecommunication wires, light fixtures,
water supply pipes, sprinkler pipesfheads,
(Figure 6,7).
Secondary return: The waste water and
hazardous liquid from the floor above are
discharged into secondary 'return' pipes,
through the same plenum space, and enter
the plenum space above external corridor
(Figure 8).
(b) The 'main supply' elements run above central
corridor and branch out into the functional zones.
Plenums above External Corridors:
Distribution Spaces for 'Main Return'
Elements
The plenum spaces above external

corridors are the distribution spaces for 'main
return' elements, such as exhaust air ducts,
waste water pipes, hazardous liquid pipes.
Gathering secondary return elements from
functional zones, two sets of main 'return'
elements discharge waste water, hazardous air
and water into two vertical shafts along one
side of the external corridors (Figure 8).
(c) Perspective view of the plenum space and 'main
Besides, coolant pipes from the air
supply' elements above central corridor.
conditioning outside units are distributed in the
plenum 'paces above corridors, Figure 5 Distribution of the 'main supply' elements
connected to the inside units in the functional in the plenum space above central corridor.
zones, and cool down indoor air.
(a) Cross sectional view towards central corridor. (a) Cross sectional view 'return' elements distribution.
~ i j + <j$@
Functional one
.tF; d
(b) Ceiling plan view of 'return' elements distribution

above functional zone and external corridor.
(b) Ceiling plan of the functional zone.
(c) Perspective view of an interior space showing (c) Perspective view of external corridor and pipe1
building service element overhead. duct distributions in the plenum.
Figure 7 Distribution of 'secondary supply & return' Figure 8 Distribution of 'main return' elements in the
elements in the plenum space above functional zone. plenum space above external corridor.
4. RELOCATABLE PARTITION SYSTEM
Most of the existing partition products in Taiwan are not removable, and the imported
ones are too expensive to be adopted in the CMLF project. Given limited budget, it is the mission
of the design team to employ and modify existing partition materials and construction methods and
develop a 'domestic' relocatable partition system. Since the design of the relocatable partition
system is in progress, this paper only highlights important design concepts and system features.
4.1 The Relocatable Partition System

The design of the relocatable partition system consists of the following four parts:
1. Framing: The frames are made of typical steel stud, and designed to be removable / reusable.
The frame should also be modifiable to install window and door frames. The frames will be
placed at the intersection of 60cm- 120cm tartan grid lines and at 60cm intervals.
2. Panel: Gypsum boards are cut and made into panels of different modular sizes. With the basic
module of 60cm, four sizes of panels are designed to meet all partition configuration needs -
30cm*30cm7 30cm*60cm7 60*60cm, and 60cm* 120cm (Figure 9). Each panel is designed to
be demountable and is equipped with concealed mechanical fasteners that can be
disassembled and reassembled easily without damage to the panels.
3. Connection: In order to meet all construction requirements for all possible partition layouts,
six types of partition connections will be further designed, i.e., free end Cjoints with doors or
windows), linear, three-way, four-way, corner, and panel-wall (Figure 10). Besides, the
construction interface between partition runners and hung ceiling system (60cm*60cm ceiling
tiles, suspended grids of sheet metal tees aligned with the tartan gird) will also be developed.
4. Partition performance: Different kinds of fire coatings and sound attenuation blankets can be
applied to achieve different levels of fire resistance and acoustical isolation; the structural
strength and durability of partition elements will be tested and ensured.
Figure 9 Elevation view of interior partition. Figure I0 Six types ofpartition connections.
4.2 The Concept of 'Serviceable Cell' and Interior Layout Configuration
The client can configure the interior space to

meet its spatial needs by positioning the relocatable
partitions along the tartan grid (Figure 12). To ensure
that the interior spaces configured are able to provide
required building services, the concept of 'serviceable
cell' has emerged. A 'serviceable cell', a 3m*3m*3m
space, is the smallest size of a room the relocatable
partition system can configure (Figure 4, Figure 11).
Since building service systems are distributed
evenly in every 3m span plenum (Figure 6b) and are
integrated with the interior system, it is guaranteed that a
basic set of building services are delivered to each
serviceable cell: fresh air, water, fire safety, power/datal
voice, and artificial lighting. Each serviceable cell is
equipped with one supply air outlet, water supply pipes,
one sprinkler head, electrical/telecommunication outlets,
and two light fixtures (Figure 11). When clients change
Figure I I A serviceable cell.
their interior layouts, the building service systems can be reconfigured to meet new service
requirements.
5. BENEFITS OF OPEN BUILDNG IMPLEMENTATION
5.1 Integration of Building Systems

In the CMLF project, the design team has developed a modular coordination system to
provide a basis for the integration of building systems. For example, the two-way beam structural
design forms plenum spaces for distribution of building service systems, and thus integrates the
building service systems with the structural system; the 60cm-120cm tartan grid provides a
reference system that integrates the dimensions of structural and interior elements; and the
'serviceable cell' concept integrates the interior system and the building service systems to ensure
that required building services are properly delivered to interior spaces.
Indeed, 'building systems integration' is the core concept of this open building
implementation effort, and it has resulted in a laboratory facility that is able to deliver three
benefits: flexible configuration, easy maintenance, and sustainable construction.
5.2 Flexible Configuration of Interior Layouts

The development of a modular coordination system, the design of a relocatable partition
system, and the systematic distribution of building service elements have resulted in the CMLF
design with a much higher level of spatial flexibility than other traditional buildings in Taiwan
First of all, there are many possibilities of interior configurations and room sizes in the
functional zones in CMLF. By positioning the partitions along the tartan grids, the clients can
configure the interior spaces the ways they want, and the widths of rooms can range from 3m
(width of a serviceable cell) to 36m (width of a functional zone), at increments of 60cm.
Secondly, the interior layouts can be easily reconfigured to meet clients' dynamic spatial
needs during different stages of building lifecycle. The relocatable partition system allows clients
to change the colors of the partition panels, change the locations of partitions/doors/windows,
enlarge or reduce door/window sizes, change partitions into doors/windows, or vice versa (Figure
12). The systematic and even distribution of building service elements and accessible plenum
design ensure that building service elements can be reconfigured to meet new service
requirements.
5.3 Easy Maintenance and Reconfiguration of Building Service Systems

In the CMLF, the distributions of building service systems elements are carefully designed
and systematically laid out to ensure easy access and reconfiguration flexibility. As a result, the
repair and maintenance process is facilitated, and the elements of building service systems can be
flexibly modified and reconfigured to meet client's new building service requirements.
5.4 Sustainable Construction

Since most infill elements (brick wall, partitions, ceilings, etc.) are not removable and
reusable in Taiwan, they have to be torn down during remodeling, and tremendous amount of
construction wastes are thus generated. In the CMLF, the relocatable partition system ensures that
maximum partitions are reused and construction wastes minimized during interior remodeling, and
thus achieves much higher level of construction sustainability than traditional buildings.
-m- Ezl r -l-q EzI
(a) Original w w- (b) Reconfigured
Figure 12An example of interior layout reconfiguration in the CMLF.
6. CONCLUSION
This paper presented the 'open building' implementation results in the CMLF project.
'Building systems integration' is the core concept in this implementation. By developing the
modular coordination system, a basis is provided for systems integration. The two-way beam
structural design forms plenum spaces for distribution of building service systems; the 60cm-
120cm tartan grid provides a reference system that integrates the dimensions of structural and
relocatable partitions; the 'serviceable cell' concept integrates the interior system and the building
service systems to ensure that interior space is properly 'served'. The resulting 'open support'
delivers three benefits: flexible configuration, easy maintenance, and sustainable construction.
'Open building' hasn't been widely adopted in Taiwan's construction industry. Thus, the
CMLF project plays an important role in demonstrating the process and benefits of open building
implementation. Hopefully, this effort will stimulate more open building applications in Taiwan.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author would like to thank the Architectural Building and Research Institute for
giving him the opportunity to participate in the design of the CMLF, as well as for sponsoring the
research work of 'open building' implementation in the CMLF project.
REFERENCES
Allen, Edward. 1990. Fundamentals of Building Construction: Material and Methods. New York:
John Wiley & Sons.
Habraken, N.J. 1976. Variation: The Svstematic Design of Supports. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Hart, F., W. Henn, and H. Sontag. 1985. Multi-Storey Building in Steel. London: Collins
Professional and Technical Books.
Kendall, S. and J. Teicher. 2000. Residential Open Building. London: E&FN Spon.
Perng, Y.H., and K.J. Tu. 2000. The Development of an Open Housing Project. Research Report,
Architectural and Building Research Institute, Ministry of Interior, Taiwan.
Rush, Richard. 1986. The Building Systems Integration Handbook. New York: John Wiley &
Sons.
Stein, B. and Reynolds, J.S. 2000. Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings. New York:
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Tu, K.J. and C.Y. Lin. 2001. Issues of Open Building Implementation under Current Building
Regulations in Taiwan. Research Report, Architectural and Building Research Institute, Ministry
of Interior, Taiwan.
Tu, K.J. 2000. Practical Issues of Open Building Implementation in Taiwan - A Case Study on an
Open Housing Project. In Proceedings of the Conference of Open Building Tokyo 2000, October
16-1 8, Tokyo, Japan. pp. 449-454.
Experiment of Housing Refurbishment with the Concept of Levels
- Initiative Case Study on Ruyi Residential Quarter in Nanjing
Li BAO and Ying HE
Department of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing
Jiangsu Province Architectural Design and Research Institute, Nanjing
Abstract: Facing to the demand for refurbishment of urban mass housing in China, an
experiment of application of the Open Building concept of levels on refurbishment of a typical
housing estate, named Ruyi residential quarter in Nanjing, has been carried out. Upon the
survey and analysis, the author presents the initiative study especially on the levels of urban
tissue, building and infill in hierarchy. On each level, the conceptual design shows possible
renovation to improve the living condition, to make the quarter attractive, enjoyable, make the
dwelling decent and adaptable over time, give the freedom for the users to arrange their homes.
The essence of our endeavors lies in the pursuit of sustainability of urban residential
environment.
Keywords: demand, refurbishment, level, sustainability, conceptual design
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Demand for refurbishment of urban mass housing in China
With the rapid growth of economy and development of cities and towns in China, to
improving the quality of urban residential environment becomes the current issue we need to
concern about in terms of either urban living demand, or sustainable development demand.
Usually mass housing is the primary component of a city, not as individual, but as a whole,
it impacts on forming the city image as so-called background buildings. Since 1950's, the
government of P.R. China started to insert housing in old cities and build housing estate in new
towns. After a decade's cultural revolutionary (1966-1976) of stagnant construction, with the
increasing population and a great number of people returning back to cities from rural areas, a
huge social problem arose in China, that was the serious shortage of residential buildings and the
poor living environment in cities. Therefore, since 1980's, the public sector had a great deal of
mass housing constructed in short time and started the comprehensive renewal of old urban areas
to make each family have their own apartment at least. These housing estates usually consisted of
standardized, publicly owned housing units stacked in approximately 7 floors with high density as
possible. (See Figure 1) Such construction lasted to the very early of 1990's while house market
was fostered.
Figure 1 One typical residential quarter in Nanjing
At present, these housing estates are becoming increasingly incapable of accommodating a

modern urban lifestyle while the house policies and living standard for design have been updated.
The buildings themselves and living facilities were obsolete; the common space and community
facilities for neighborhood communication and outdoor activities are bald as well.
For such estate, which has only been in use for less than two decades, the specific attention
should be paid in terms of sustainable development. Instead of destroying the history by
demolishing existing and completely replacing building as in usual in current China, here we
encourage the concept of the sustainability and maintenance of that history and community. With
limited consumption of energy, resource and labor, housing refurbishment can extend the building
durability and get profit rapidly and efficiently in terms of economy and social development.
In this paper, the Ruyi residential quarter presents an interesting and challenging case for
the investigation of current urban living condition, as well as the experiment of refurbishment of
housing and community environment, moreover applicable to sustainable development of existing
housing estates like those in Nanjing, and other cities in China.
1.2. Application of the concept of levels in experiment of refurbishment

The concept of levels put forward by Prof. N. John Habraken shows that the built
environment is hierarchically organized in five levels - urban structure, urban tissue, building,
infill and furniture. These are actual of physical system; the juxtapositions of every two levels can
be seen as the territorial units also in hierarchy - town, neighborhood, dwelling and room. In this
model the changes on high level will affect the lower level inevitably, but on the contrary, it
doesn't work. Thus the decision made on one level should offer more freedom to the lower level,
change on a lower level is easier and more frequent, and it can also lead to variety in uniform.
As the methodological principle, the concept of levels provides us a conceptual and
operational approach to cope with the renewal of urban area. In these levels, the urban structure
level heavily depends on the public sector, the furniture level on the individual resident as well.
Though we architects, as one professional party, could be involved in the whole five levels, our
expertise will get more effort on the three middle levels to control and organize the process. Urban
structure, indicating one aspect identity of a town, usually keeps its continuity and relative stability
in both terms of physical and social environment. Therefore it should not require the short-term
reconstruction of urban buildings, especially in center town. However, in order to adapt to the
changing needs of residents over time caused by social transformation or family structure's
alteration, the refurbishment of urban housing in the levels of tissue, building and infill - in
another word, the territorial levels of neighborhood, dwelling and room - seems to be the effective
instrument for realizing sustainable residential environment.
2. THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT OF RUYI RESIDENTIAL QUARTER
Figure 2 Master plan of Ruyi residential quarter
2.1. Location
The Ruyi residential quarter locates at Ruyi Li, the center area of Nanjing, the capital of
Jiangsu province in East China; it is only one block far away from the city commercial and
business center. This quarter is around by three arteries and one branch street in east: the north
Zhujiang Road is one of the most flourishing commercial streets for IT in China; the south
Changjiang Road is a cultural street with the city library, cultural center, people's council hall,
provincial arts museum, and schools; the west Hongwubei Road is the main north-south artery of
the city with heavy transportation. (Figure 2) This residential quarter was one of the earliest
renewal projects of the old town center to meet the urgent need of improvement of residential
condition and urban development in the middle of 1980's.
2.2. Condition
The site of Ruyi quarter is about 14.7ha. with a few of residential buildings, factories, and
schools kept, it was divided into several clusters by the existing alleys and planned streets. In
original plan, the whole residential quarter would be occupied by 2838 families, which roughly
meant 10,000 residents. Combined with the existing residential buildings of various time and
stories, this community compound with about 12,000 residents who living, studying, working,
relaxing, shopping around.
It was designed and built during 1986-1988 in four phases, the whole project eliminated
the traditional tight-knit urban tissue compounded by the mass and dense low-rise wooden or brick
buildings, and established a totally new, but ubiquitous tissue characterized by the mediocre row
houses of 6 or 7 stories with high density, which still could be seen in many China's large cities,
even middle towns nowadays. Though the standard for design then was poor in view of today, it
was regarded as the effective solution of social requirement to improve the living condition and be
satisfied to the demand of residents of "having an apartment" then.
Today, fifteen years later after its construction, while the neighborhood has grown
maturely, the physical condition is getting worse. The unemployed population caused by the
decline of local industries with a large number of flowing population lead to substantial increase in
tertiary sector employment. A few of factories' building have already converted into the offices,
restaurants residential or relaxing buildings. The common space has shrunk, the small shops and
restaurants occupy the open space and pavements, and the community facilities for public
activities are not sufficient. Without well maintenance, the buildings themselves and facilities were
obsolete, the units seem small for living by today's standard, as well as the kitchen and bathroom
equipments have been outdated.
Well, to get better living quality, the additional shelters built by residents themselves can
be seen everywhere as possible, covering the yards with roofs to have one more room as a
bedroom, studio or storage; closing the balcony to expand the living room or get small reading
space or even a laundry; building up an additional room in various material on the roof terrace,
removing a wall facing to street to open up a store, and so on. (See figure 3) Without professional
party involved, all of these make the residential environment into chaos.
Figure 3 The constrzrction done by the user themselves
290
As fact, it is losing the attractiveness for living except for the advantage of location. The
public sectors have responsibilities for solving the problems, such as to update the community
facilities, enhance job opportunities, encourage the revitalization of local industries or conversion
the existing buildings, and introduce the private investment into the urban renewal.
3. ECOLOGICAL IMPROVEMENT OF ENTIRE RESIDENTIAL

QUARTER AND REORGANIZATION OF COMMON SPACE FOR
PUBLZC AcXlWIlES
According to the principle in the model of levels - the changes on high level will
affect the lower one; the refurbishment should be aimed at the level of neighborhood at
first. To produce sustainable residential environment, the consideration of ecology should
be taken as the overall concept. Meanwhile, the public open-space aspect and the
community amenities need substantial improvement and greater conceptual design
attention.
New technology of energy saving and waste processing need to be introduced into
the refurbishment. For instance, the solar power can light the street lamps; the rainwater
can be collected to clean the buildings and ground, to irrigate the green, even to flush the
toilet instead of running out via drainage system as usual.
The standardized floor plans with the so-called industrialized construction in 7 floors were
regarded as the most efficient solution for the shortage of housing then, but it has caused many
problems over time. The high floor-area ratio leads to the high density as possible with the
minimum ratio of Height/Distance=l : 1 in-between the panel buildings, the low green coverage
ratio with only small pieces of left-over space in green, seldom common space organized for
public activities in every cluster, even the whole quarter. No specific place for children, they play
in the streets, no place for the elder, to do exercise in the morning, to play chess, card or mahjong
together, no place for the residents or passer-by to have a rest, etc. (See figure 4)
Figure 4 The streets as public space for playing and rest
Parking is also a serious problem. Since no place for cars in the original planning, but
more and more families can afford the cars with the rapid economic growth and it will be
increased in near future, their cars can only park along the streets and lanes, or the left-over place.
There were sheds for bicycles behind some buildings in plan, but some of them are walled by the
users and the others are used in a mess. (See figure 5)
Figure 5 Parking in the streets and lanes
To improve the current environmental condition, an initiative study and conceptual design
of refurbishment has been undertaken on Phase I first. (See figure 6) In cluster of phase I, one "L"-
shaped and one "U"-shaped building compose one group enclosed by a barrier, two buildings share a
common yard with two sheds for bicycle. Four "U"-shaped buildings stand separately in the middle,
the open space in center has been occupied by sheds, small shops, storages, etc.
Pe estrian
af i e
Car - Car
Pe e s h n
6 $cycle
Car
Pedestrian
& Bicyde
Car
Figure 6 Design for Ground-poor of cluster - the re-organization ofpublic space

In this conceptual design, we give the first priority to pedestrians whom can have
freedom to g o around safely inside cluster at least, w e reorganize the flowing and parking of
motors and bicycles in cluster, ensure the cars will not run through and disturb the residents. Some
measures for refurbishment are worth to be mentioned as below.
- Open up the ground floor of "U-shaped housing to place the cars and bicycles and
release the open space of each yard to be utilized for the public activities or as green; (Figure 7)
- Cut off the top story of south "U-shaped house in every group to reduce the HID ratio,
so that the ground story of the north "L"-shaped house can have sufficient sunshine in winter,
which is quite important in such humid climate of Nanjing;
- Add two or more stories on the top of the middle two north houses in the permission of
structure, which will not overshadow to any houses behind, move the apartments in ground floor
of "U"-shaped housing into them;
- Install facilities for the elder in open space of every group that originally is occupied by
sheds, or clean it up as children's playground;
- Mix various functions into residential building, place the parks, shops or public
activity rooms into opened ground floor, such as tea house, chess room, mahjong room,
gymnastic room, ping-pong room, computer classroom, internet bar, painting room, etc.
In short, this conceptual design aim at making bland, dry, outdoor spaces green, light and
enjoyable, making the quarter attractive, planting more trees in public space, installing
playgrounds for children, facilities for the elder and disabled as well.
Figure 7 Opening up the ground floor
4. RESTRUCTURE ON BUILDING LEVEL TO DEFINE DECENT

DWELLINGS
"Housing project and neighborhoods must grow and develop over time." (Habraken
2002) The residents were at middle age when they got their flats as material benefit from their
working departments, fifteen years later, they usually have retired and their children have grown
up, even have one more generation - grandchildren living together. Because of the convenience
of location for studying, working and living, the young generations prefer to stay with parents, or
at least to leave children to their grandparents during semester, even they can afford another flat
at city periphery. Therefore it is usual that three or four generations are living in one unit about
5 0 - 8 0 ~ which
~, is obviously too small. Meanwhile, some households have left and rent their
units out to the single, young couples or core families (two parents, one kid), and some families
have reduced the members so that only two or three persons stayed. Thus, the small units for 1-3
persons are still necessary, but need well designed.
The user is always involved in the making of residential environment, for instance, as
mentioned above, to add the shelters in any places possible. What we encourage is to suggest them
to do it in a more professional and sound way and provide various choices of concrete solutions for
individual demands. Here we attempt to restructure the building in the limits of structure and
define various decent dwellings, meanwhile, to improve the building physical property concerning
on energy saving. The building level included load bearing structure, roof and faqade and vertical
pipe shaft. These buildings were built in transverse wall bearing structural system, its adaptability
is limits only in one direction. Take the "U-shaped house as an example, some measures for
refurbishment in this level are worth to be mentioned as below. (See figure 8)
-Add the common entrance to improve the access facilities and give each building its
unique identity with colors, forms and signs;
- Remove a few of longitudinal walls or replace them by additional columns and beams to
get more adaptability of apartment so that the users can have more freedom in infill level;
- Enlarge living space of units, reduce the dense of residents and apartments;
- Expand the floor plan to north to get more space and units, but not to shade the buildings
behind;
- Add the lifts in 7 or more stories housing, which are uncomfortable for the elders and
children, and no longer satisfied to the current national code, (Code of Urban Residential Areas
Planning & Design, 2002, 5.0.5.2, the lift is necessary to the residential buildings exceeding 6
stories) otherwise, combine the top two stories into one unit with a staircase interior;
- Open or fill up the doors in party walls to divide or combine units. One large unit can be
divided into 2 or 3 small ones, 2 or 3 smaller units can be combined into 1-2 large ones. It provides
the possibilities to cope with the various functional needs caused by the changes of family
structure, housing market during the life of buildings;
- Add a slope roof for waterproof and insulation, the space under roof can be utilized for
solar and rainwater collection, meanwhile to get better portrait of housing;
- Clean up the elevation, put on new ecological material to improve the insulation of
exterior walls;
- Repair rain leaks from joint, replace the iron rain pipe, repair the leaks due to
deterioration of pluming and fixtures.
All these measures aim at getting the decent dwellings and giving them adaptability to meet
the user's demands over time. However, the implement of the design solutions will be the result of
cooperation of professional parties and residents.
Original standard floor plan
Renewal plan of four units with lifts Renewal plan of five units with corridor
Figure 8 Experiment Deszgt~on Building and in$ll levels of "U"-shaped house

5. WIPROVEMENT ON INFILL LEVEL TO ACQUIRE
ADAPTABILITY
One of the principles of solving the present problems on infill level is that without
modifying the basic structure and shape, the inner partitioning can be changed in various ways. So
that the users can have the freedom to determine their own floor plans and arrange the furniture in
accordance to individual requirement and preference.
In common, the current apartments are lack of amenities: no storage, no separated living
room, or living room in use as a corridor with several doors opened onto, no specific space for
eating. The dark kitchen and bathroom without well ventilation, they are too small to install the
modem fixtures and appliances. Most conduits have been obsolete, some new facilities, such as
CATV, internet, have not placed well. The refurbishment on this level stresses on two aspects: one
is to improve the interior physical environment and update the obsolete and add the new living
facilities, which will be done by professional parties; another is to adjust the interior functional
space which will be realized upon the cooperation of the parties of designers and users. Here are
some possibilities indicated in figure 8 and some measures for improvement on this level as
following:
- Choose the new material for partitions, doors and windows for better insulation;
- Move the kitchen and bathroom in proper place with the direct opening to air for better
daylight and ventilation;
- Enlarge the area of kitchen, especial the bathroom, add the storage for each unit;
- Replace the obsolete kitchen and bathroom equipments;
- Reorganize the conduits or facilities for electricity, water, gas, sewage, phone, CATV
and internet;
- Provide the various solutions of rooms arrangement within the limit of structure upon the
adequate communication with the users, present the unique identity of living space.
6. CONCLUSION AND FURTHER STUDY
Ruyi residential quarter gives us an opportunity to apply the open building concept
o f levels to deal with the current demand of refurbishment of mass housing in China's
large city, like Nanjing. In the model of levels, as the professional party involved in
refurbishment, we architects stress on the study on urban tissue, building and infill levels
in hierarchy, in another word, the levels o f neighborhood, dwelling and room. The
conceptual designs on each level, upon the survey and analysis, aim at making the quarter
attractive, enjoyable; making the dwelling decent and adaptable over time, give the
freedom for the users to arrange their homes. However, the users are regards as a
responsible party as much a s the professional in this model, the full realization o f the
refurbishment need the participation o f the local residents. Finally, the essence of all our
endeavors to improve the living condition lies in the pursue of sustainability of urban residential
environment.
However, the further study is needed, such as the support industries of proper new material
and construction technology, the process and organization of the refurbishment project, the role of
public sectors and developers, the way of users' participant during the process, etc. All of these are
indispensable to implement such housing refurbishment.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This research is funded by Youth Foundation of Department of Architecture, SEU.
REFERENCES
Li Y., Zhao G., and Lin J. 1999. Living Condition and Well Housing Design in China, Nanjing:
Southeast University Press
Xun D. 1996. Xiandai Chengzhen Zhuzhai Tuji (Illustration of Modern Urban Housing), Beijing:
China Architecture and Building Press
Habraken, N. John. 2002. The uses of levels, In Open House international, vo1.27 no.2 2002,9-20.
Kazunobu Minami. 2002. Building a sustainable relationship between urban Tissue and Buildings,
In Open House international, vo1.27 no.2 2002,69-75.
Jia, B. 2000. Flexible housing, compact city and environmental preservation: A critical look at
Hong Kong's experience, In Continuous Customization in Housing, The conference of CIB W 104
Open Building Implementation, Open Building Tokyo 2000,455-462
Matsumura, Shuichi, 2000. Process and organization for the refurbishment project of panel
housing, Paper for the conference Revitalization of large housing estates in central and eastern
Europe, Berlin, 2000
Mass Customization in Housing
an Open Building1 Lean Construction Study
Ype CUPERUS
OBOMResearch Group
Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands
Abstract: The housing industry in the Netherlands is gradually shifting from sellers to a
buyers market. In order to satisfy the customer's needs, builders' developers shift from mass
housing to mass customisation. This paper links the principles of Open building to Lean
Construction and reports on the findings of a study on mass customised housing in the
Netherlands. The Open Building concept suggests to introduce different levels of decision
making in the building process: tissue, support and infill, respectively referring to the urban
fabric, containing base buildings with their fit-outs. Lean Construction is the building and
construction equivalent of lean production, a manufacturing method that aims to reduce 'waste'
in the broadest sense of the word. Fourteen housing projects were studied. In the final analysis,
Lean Construction principles were translated to be applied on mass customised housing. This
has resulted in the following suggestions. (i) Value: Determine what the customer (end user)
expects as the added value, to be delivered by the builder; (ii) Value stream: Deliver the
wanted added value. Decision-making and price forming are combined in a typology matrix;
(iii) Flow: Optimise the production process. A lead time diagram was developed to identify and
avoid potential conflicts, Open Building techniques are suggested to streamline the
construction process of mass customised houses; (iv) Pull: The builder who listens, hears the
client's wishes. Satisfied clients are the best agents to generate new clients. In addition, it is the
source for innovation; (v) Perfection: Continuous improvement. The steps from Value to Pull
can be repeated in the next project.
Keywords: mass customized housing, Open Building, Lean Construction
1. INTRODUCTION
The housing industry in the Netherlands is gradually shifting from the sellers to a buyers
market. This has serious consequences for all partners in the building industry in general and for
the developer builders in particular.
Late 1999, the OBOM Research Group was approached by the Foundation for Building
Research (SBR) to look into the latest developments in consumer oriented building in the
Netherlands. OBOM is a research group at the Faculty of Architecture of the Delft University of
Technology and is specialised in Open Building research and development. The SBR is funded by
the large developing builders in the Netherlands. Its main aim is to support the building industry
with relevant studies. The controversial architect and ex-chairman of the Royal Institute of
Netherlands Architects, Care1 Weeber, had published an article in a Dutch newspaper, with
reflections on mass housing. As an alternative, he advocated a high degree of user participation,
called 'gewild wonen' (desired living). In the header of the article he was misquoted as 'wild
wonen' (wild living), which suited his image well. 'Wild living' became hot, in the Netherlands and
when the municipality of Almere, with a long reputation of experimental housing and urban
planning, looked for a theme for their 25th anniversary in 2001. Fourteen developers were invited
to build nineteen projects. There were two restrictions: No two dwellings should be the same and
all dwellings should be designed according to the dwellers wishes. SBR anticipated that Almere
was an interesting playground to explore the combination of mass produced housing and consumer
influence, or as it is called in the industry of consumer goods: mass-customisation as a potential
new strategy for builders in a shrinking market. This study is based on three presumptions.
- Consumer with spending power will become a major driving force in the housing
industry, therefore, the building industry needs to take the consumer seriously;
- The consumer must not interfere with the construction process;
- Open Building and Lean Construction provide solutions to solve the potential conflict
between consumer and construction.
First the basic ingredient of this paper are presented. Open Building and Lean
Construction are introduced in brief and the Almere project is explained. 'Lean' thinking as the
underlying principle of Lean Construction is applied to derive recommendations from the Almere
projects.
2. OPEN BUILDING
The raison d'gtre of Open Building can be expressed in terms of care, responsibility and
technology. People, who care about the environment they live in, will make it a better and safer
place. Therefore the built environment must encourage people to take responsibility for their own
territory. An environment that clearly distinguishes those spaces and parts of a building for which
occupants should take responsibility, will address the user's needs to feel responsible. Therefore a
building should be designed and built in such a way that both spaces and parts of the building can
be clearly allocated to those parties and individuals that should take responsibility for them.
Buildings, which are designed and built with separate systems, can create conditions for
responsibility and care. Therefore the subdivision of the building process needs to reflect the lines
of decision making and the definition of responsibilities between the parties. This subdivision can
then be translated into specifications for connections between building parts. This in turn creates
buildings that can be modified and taken apart again.
It offers the basis for a well-structured building process with well-defined interfaces. It
allows us, to at least partially transfer the construction process from building to manufacturing. It
is the key to reducing waste by coordinating dimensions and positions instead of improvising on
site by cutting to size. Applying information instead of energy.
This is an important condition to re-use building parts, thus extending the lifetime of
building parts, without the waste of dumping and recycling, coinciding with degradation and the
use of energy.
3. LEAN PRODUCTION AND LEAN THINKING
Lean construction is a construction management concept that originated in the late eighties
of the past century. The American and European car manufacturing industry was in a deep crisis
and saw their market share decreasing, while the Japanese carmakers took over. Research of the
IMVP (International Motor Vehicle Program) made clear that car manufacturing in Japan had
deviated from America, which had always set the example with mass production of cars. WWII
had changed the word and Japan faced import as well as export restrictions. The local market was
too small for mass produced cars, such as the T-Ford and the Volkswagen Beetle. They were
forced to look into ways how to assemble different cars in small production runs on the same
production line. Toyota was the first in successfully adapting car manufacturing American Style to
the Japanese circumstances. The change-over time of the production line was considerably
reduced, long term relationships with sub-contractors opened the way to just in time delivery and
the relationship with the end users were vital in determining future car programs. This becomes
known as TPS, the Toyota Production System, or in more general terms, 'Lean Production'. This is
very well described in 'The Machine that Changed the World' (Womack, Jones, Roos, 1990).
These ideas caught on and there is no manufacturing industry, these days, not applying one of
these ideas involved. The adoption of Lean Production was not limited to the manufacturing
industry, many others, like services industries such as the travel, healthcare, financial, telecom and
energy industry, to mention a few, are not 'lean' at all. The house building industry was mentioned
in the same category. Lean Production guidelines were described in more general terms as 'Lean
Thinking' (Womack, Jones, 1996).
It can be summarised in five steps:
- Value: determine what the customer (end user) expects as the added value;
- Value Stream: deliver the wanted added value;
- Flow: Optimize the production process;
- Pull: Optimization of the production process is directed by 'pull', the clients wishes,
rather than 'push': selling products, not asked for;
- Perfection: continuous improvement.
4. LEAN CONSTRUCTION
Lean Construction is inspired by Lean Production and aims to apply lean thinking to the
construction industry. The basic principle of 'lean' is to reduce waste: 'specifically any human
activity which absorbs resources but create no value'. (Womack, Jones, 1996, p. 15). 'Lean
Construction results from the application of a new form of production management to
construction. Essential features of Lean Construction include a clear set of objectives for the
delivery process, aimed at maximising performance for the customer at the project level,
concurrent design of product and process, and the application of product control throughout the
life of the product from design to delivery' (Howell 1999).
5. OPEN BUILDING AND LEAN CONSTRUCTION
A superficial comparison of Open Building and Lean Construction suggest that they have
much ground in common. They both originate from dissatisfaction with traditional second wave
industrial production that was felt at approximately the same time. The principles of lean
production were first adopted in the early sixties in Japanese car manufacturing. At the same time
discontent with mass housing of the post war-housing boom in The Netherlands resulted in the
introduction of different levels of decision making in the housing industry. The base building
('support') and fit-out ('infill') were treated as separate entities, with different life cycles, in order to
build an environment that can respond to individual needs of the dweller. Open Building is a
multi-facetted concept, with technical, organisational and financial solutions for a built
environment that can adapt to changing needs. It supports user participation, industrialisation and
restructuring of the building process. If change is the problem, a layered organisation of the
building process can provide at least a part of the solution. Positional and dimensional co-
ordination of building parts and their interfaces are a tool and a condition for industrialisation and
probably a leaner construction process.
Open Building and Lean Construction can complement each other, what they have in
common is the sympathy they feel towards lean thinking. Open Building is concerned with the
quality of the built environment and the way it is established, from initiative, via decision making,
design, construction and real estate management. 'Lean Construction rests on production
management, the "physics of construction"' (Howell, 1999).
6. ALNIERE
Almere is one of the Dutch towns built on reclaimed land, within commuting distance of
Amsterdam. Since all reclaimed land is municipality owned, Almere has the potential for
consistent town planning, contrary to old towns with a high degree of private land ownership. In
most of the cities in the Netherlands, developers have assured themselves of political influence, by
selectively buying property. Almere prides itself by being an experimental environment in housing
and planning. In 2001 a new lay out of 450 dwellings was completed. It consists of nineteen
projects, varying in size from seven to seventy units. As part of the experiment, it was demanded
that all units had to be different. In addition, there was complete freedom in where to position the
dwelling on the individual block of land. This is quite uncommon in the Netherlands, where town
planning usually prescribes strict building lines.
The results were presented in a two-week building exposition, with commercial
exhibitions and a generous amount of Almere promotion. All projects had at least two units open
for inspection as exhibition homes.
All projects had time and place in common, thus canceling out two variables, which was
an ideal combination for comparison and analysis. Especially the narrow timeframe has
jeopardised a full consumer orientation. At least two exhibition homes per project had to be open
for inspection during the exposition, September 2001. In addition the builders had to remove their
building equipment before the exposition. Most of the builders preferred to finish the project and
not come back, rather than returning after the exposition. If the future dweller was not known yet,
most of the houses were completed in a neutral fashion. If it did not meet the potential buyer's
taste, the dwelling had to be refurbished, as if it was an existing building.
7. THE ALMERE MONITOR
When OBOM was commissioned by SBR to evaluate the consumer oriented housing
projects in Almere, the limited number of consumers, involved in making decisions about their
own house and the underlying reasons were not known yet. When this became clear, it was
decided to shift the emphasis from evaluating the consumer - builder relationship to evaluating the
construction process. Questions about the consumer - builder relationship could not successfully
be asked, lacking a sufficient number of buyers. In addition, due to the time pressure caused by the
building exposition, the builders have little time to spend with the researchers. Open Building
provides useful concepts to structure decision making. Lean Thinking, as the derivative of Lean
Production', gives us the vocabulary to evaluate the consumer orientation of the process.
8. PROJECT DOCUMENTATION
Of a total of thirteen Almere projects information was gathered on the following subjects:
- Process;
- Design;
- Construction, including building methods and time planning in relation to consumer
participation;
- Consumer support.
First project documentation was collected, about the consumer support, such as brochures,
CD-ROMs, interactive web sites, card board cut out models and so on. In addition factual
information was collected, such as building data plans, a state of materials and drawings of
construction details. The projects were visited and recorded on photographs and key persons were
interviewed, to complete the research data, and to learn more about the background of the projects,
experiences and future do's and don'ts.
Based on this information, per project documentation was written according to a fixed format.
As the database grew, it became clear that the following aspects were taken into consideration, be
it differently per project:
- Marketing by communication. In a buyers market, developers need to change their
marketing strategies relative to the sellers market they were used to;
- Transparency in decision and price making. The consumer in a buyers market is more
demanding than in times of scarcity of dwellings;
- Consumer confidence in the construction industry.
- The importance of after sales services;
- Feedback to marketing;
- Threats from and opportunities for urban planning and rule giving.
The documentation of projects made clear that there is not a single concept of 'consumer
oriented building'; every party applies its own definition. In addition there is a great variety in size
and position of different parties involved. It is therefore impossible to give general guidelines
towards a consumer oriented building that satisfies consumer, developer and builder. This growing
insight changed the ideas about the outcome of this study: Not tips how to become successful,
rather than recommendations as food for thought, in order to explore and stimulate different ways
to satisfy the client, the end user and in the final analysis, the quality of the built environment.
Traditionally, the building industry is better in dealing with clients then with consumers as end
users. It is neither 'open', nor 'lean'. Since Open Building and Lean Construction concepts offer
aspects that could be instrumental to consumer satisfaction, the recommendations were developed
along the lines of lean thinking: value, value stream, flow, pull and perfection.
9. VALUE
The first step towards a lean, thus consumer oriented construction process is to determine
what the customer (end user) expects as the added value. In a seller's market counts what the
developer, being the builder's client, wants. Cost and quality can be cut without the penalty of
building houses that cannot be sold. In a buyer's market, the client has to listen to the end-user, in
order to fit the demand. If not, the potential buyer may decide to vote with his feet.
Finding out what the end user wants and letting him know that the developer / builder has
got something to offer is very much a communication issue. Therefore, choosing the most
appropriate communication medium is important. The Almere projects showed a wide variety of
ways to communicate, from broadcasting, such as adds in daily newspapers or the free weekly's, to
narrowcasting, such as direct mailings to tenants of an Almere housing corporation. The chosen
media ranged from a simple artist impression to cut out cardboard models, CD-ROMs and
interactive web sites.
In order to pick the right scope of 'casting' in combination with the most appropriate
medium, the developer / builder must have a well-defined idea about what to communicate. In a
buyer's market, communication has to serve a multitude of tasks. In order of reach, the following
can be mentioned:
- finding a buyer. This has never been a point in a seller's market: the buyer looked for a
seller;
- informing a potential buyer. There is little profit in informing a buyer in a seller's
market. The buyer buys anyway;
- interviewing an potential buyer, finding out about his preferences. Building it right the
first time is better than modifying a newly built house;
- serving an buyer. After completion the buyer becomes a dweller and is prepared to
spend extra money on maintenance, refurbishing, and extending the house or moving
to another place. These are all potential sources of additional turn over;
- following a buyer. A satisfied buyer is the developer / builder's best promoter. It is
also a source for information about new trends in consumer appreciation and
preference.
It may be clear that value is not limited to the end product, being the dwelling, rather than
referring to the whole process of selling, building and living, for years to come.
10. VALUE STREAM
The next step is to deliver the added value, as expressed by the consumer, not only in
terms of end product, but of process as well. An open, lean, consumer oriented building process
does not mean that an infinite number of options has to be offered. In a tailor made house, the
single desired option is enough. An infinite offer of variety is the other extreme of consumer
satisfaction. This approach includes a lot of redundancy, thus waste, of which the bill will finally
be presented to the consumer. Waste is not 'lean'. In a process of mass customisation, a limited
number of options can be sufficient. This is a strategic decision that will differ from company,
market segment, location and time. In all cases it is important to keep the customer satisfied. He
wants to know the selection to choose from and how to choose and since every option is measured
against the available budget, the consumer wants to know the cost implication of every
combination of options.
In Almere three ways to assemble choices for the new dwelling were detected:
- Add. The system to chose from; consist of a minimal core building, containing the
major s e ~ i c e s ,such as bathroom, heating, ventilation and facilities to connect a
kitchen. The consumer can determine the size of his house, by adding modules. In the
Almere case, with small lots, the drawback of this system was that the core building
looks small, whereas everybody, including the neighbours, tends to buy as much
volume for their money. Choice by adding hides the worst case scenario's of being
built in by other houses;
- Subtract. In this system the complete buildable envelope is given and the dwelling of
the consumer's choice is assembled by subtracting modules. The neighbour's house
will never outgrow the given maximum envelope;
- Base building + space allocation for dwellings. This is a system of a larger
superstructure, to be subdivided and allocated to dwellings of different sizes.
The client wants to know the cost consequences of his choices. Three ways to determine the price
were adopted.
- Basic price plus options. Every option is priced and the total costs are determined by
totaling the basic price of the dwelling and the options;
- Basic price plus shopping. Only the basic dwelling is priced and purchased. Extending
of finishing the core building is up to the new owner, he has to shop on the
construction market to contract somebody to do the job;
- Basic price plus contract overruns. Every option is compared with a reference house
and priced accordingly as a contract overrun. This has always been common practice
in the construction industry in a seller's market. The initial price looks modest as first,
but can grow out of hand easily. It lacks transparency. Since builders are familiar with
this system, there is no additional cost that goes with pioneering new systems.
Ways to choose and ways to determine the total costs can be related to each other in
a typology matrix. When applied to Almere, it shows, that most of the investigated projects
collect in the lower left comer, where 'adding' and 'pricing options' meet (Figure 1).
add subtract base building+

space allocations
for dwellings
basic price +
shopping
basic price +
options
basic price +
contract overruns
Figure I Typology matrix
11 FLOW
Once the value issues are dealt with, the construction process needs to be streamlined
accordingly.
Consumer interest in the making of their new home can easily conflict with the efficiency
of the building process. The consumer who looks for a new house is about to go for the largest
expenditure of his life; he has to choose between an existing and a newly built house. The
developer of new dwellings has to win the confidence of the new dweller for the quality of the
builder. A transparent process and a building of the agreed quality are thus essential.
Lead time diagram
A short production time, from initiative to completion is advantageous for all parties
concerned. A quick process reduces the chance of buyers stepping out and diminishes loss of
interest. The consumer may make choices about this new dwelling in an order that does not
comply with the construction order of the building. In addition, the consumer needs rather more
than less time to choose. In order to avoid delays by an undecided consumer, the developer /
builder can influence the decision making process by preparing the order and the moments of
choice. The lead time is the time between the moment of decision and the actual start of the
execution, the related building activity. Insight in the different lead times helps to improve the
planning of the construction process. The minimum lead time is not only related to the
construction method, but also to the consumer, who has to decide. The latter is a hard to control
and can jeopardise the construction planning. A lead time diagram consists of a vertical time line,
with two columns. The right hand column represents the construction moments, the left hand
column the decision making moments that precede the construction activities (Figure 2).
Figure 2 Lead time diagram
Lead time diagrams can be used to analyse finished projects, but they can also be drawn
from projects in the design stage. Analysis of lead time diagrams can result in measures to improve
the planning.
Quality embedded in the applied construction methods. Another wildcard in
consumer confidence is the unpredictability of the construction quality. Traditionally this
depends on the skills of the trades people on the building site. The quality is enforced by
lengthy contracts and supervision and quality control. There is an incentive on delivering
minimum quality for the agreed price. Application of off site prepared fit outs makes it
easier to create value without waste. New load bearing constructions that accommodate
flexible ducts and services as well as complete infill systems are being developed in the
Netherlands to serve this aim. The modern kitchen industry leads us the way. Was it a
multi building job, forty years ago, now it is a manufactured product that can be installed
by plugging it in.
12. PULL
In a lean process, optimisation of the production process is directed by 'pullf- the clients
wishes - rather than 'push': selling products, not asked for. The builder who listens, hears the
client's wishes. The communication activities of step one (value) should be extended towards after
sales services. Satisfied clients are the best agents to generate new clients. In addition it is the
source for innovation.
After sales service
Satisfied customers are valuable commodity of a marketing business. The satisfaction
should not be limited to the dwelling, but should also include the act of living. It therefore pays to
keep in touch with the dweller, after completion and if desired, to offer services such as
maintenance, repair en refurbishing. It is not only the basis for future turn over, it is also a source
for learning and improvement of the organisation. The sales representative plays a pivotal role in
translating the consumers wishes into pulling the production process.
The importance o f the sales representative
After sales services serve many aims. It starts after the sales contract has been signed. It
keeps the interested consumer away from the building site, thus preventing interference. The sales
representative thus acts a buffer between consumer and construction. He is the front office the
larger organisation. The personal attitude of the sales representative is important in the way the
consumer feels himself treated. A satisfied consumer spreads the positive message, attracting the
attention of new potential clients and is the best promoter a selling organisation could wish. The
sales representative, if he has won the trust of the consumer, can remain the only contact for
building related problems and solutions. This not only can result in additional building jobs, thus
additional turn over, it also keeps him in touch with the latest trends in consumer wishes. It could
even result in a relationship of trust, evolving in some kind of loyalty program with incentives, in
which the consumer takes the initiative to pass information about housing an living. The sales
representative is the key person in a consumer oriented and pull directed construction industry and
should stay connected to the company over a long period of time.
13. PERFECTION
The steps from Value to Pull can be repeated in the next project. The should not be copied,
but applied after evaluation only, in order to continuously improve the process and thus the
product.
From the viewpoint of lean production, perfection should be found in the internal process.
Since lean production originates from manufacturing (creating value in a fixed factory stetting)
and lean construction from building (creating value on sites with different conditions), it is a
matter of lean thinking to look for perfection opportunities from outside the construction process
as well. Tn this approach, additional recommendations were made with regard to external
influences. Not all aspects of consumer oriented building are within the sphere of influence of the
developer I builder. The master plan is a top down condition, determined on a higher level of
decision making and is hard to negotiate, bottom up. However, it is the result of a decision making
process and influences the consumer's choices. For example, if the position of the house on the
block is a consumer choice, which was the case in the Almere projects, it can change the physical
conditions for others.
Lean master plan
In a lean process, the master plan should also be developed, with 'lean'
considerations in mind. The master plan prescribed nineteen different projects, to be built
in a short time frame. This resulted in a congestion o f a variety of site offices, inventory o f
building material, moving equipment, delivery trucks and so on. Disruptions in the
production process create waste and cost, o f which the bill will be presented to the end
consumer at last.
Lean urban department
The developer I builder can specialise in a consumer oriented building and will establish a
well suited information exchange with his clients, the dwellers of his buildings. The urban
department of a municipality, by its own natures does not have a public function, it deals with
professionals only. If a municipality, such as Almere initiates consumer oriented building, it
should be prepared for individuals, involved in the making of their new house, to visit and ask for
master plan related information, or else keep the developers informed.
14. CONCLUSIONS
This study is based on the hypothesis that a builder who sehres the client, can compete
best, thus improving his prospect. The development of the Almere suburb offered the opportunity
to compare and evaluate twelve out of nineteen housing projects that were built within the same
time frame and conditions. The study aimed at identifying pros and cons of consumer oriented
building and at developing guidelines for builders who want to survive in a buyer's market. The
study proposed to draw lead-time diagrams to visualize the degree of customer influence on, and
interference with the building process. This is done by mapping different lead times for different
decisions.
The growing consumer influence will direct the building process. How can professional
building partners, including the contractors and developers, determine the level of consumer
influence? If this can be achieved, there is a means to anticipate on and improving consumer
influence, satisfying the consumer, thus improving their own position in the building process.
REFERENCES
Weeber, C., Vanstiphout, W. 1998. Het Wilde Wonen, Rotterdam: 010 Publishers.
Habraken, N.J. 1972. Supports. London: Architectural Press. First edition: De Dragers en de
mensen, het einde van de massa-woningbouw. 1961. Amsterdam: Scheltema & Holkema N.V.
Womack, J.P. Jones, D.T. Roos, D. 1990. The machine that Changed the World, the story of lean
production. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
Womack, J.P. Jones, D.T. 1996. Lean Thinking Banish waste and create wealth in your
corporation. New York: Simon & Shuster.
Howell, G.A. 1999. What is Lean Construction? Proceedings; Seventh Annual Conference of the
International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC-7). Berkeley California.
Structural Flexibility With Frame System
For Adaptable Housing
College of Architecture and Urban Planning,
Tongji University, Shanghai, PRC
Abstract: Housing on a large scale is developing rapidly in China. The problem of keeping
balance between the durability and dynamic adaptability of buildings, especially of dwelling
buildings, has once more been placed on the agenda.
Framework is usually considered structurally most open to space utilization and
decentralized adjustment. So it is also considered one of the best structure patterns for
sustainable building design.
However, framework is characterized by structural symmetry and is more
applicable in building schemes with floor plan of regular shape. This is considered not
superior than wall-bearing system for dwelling use.
On the other hand, some beam-free frames are plainer in structure than those with
beams and are more popular for open design. But its anti-earthquake quality and building
technology should still be improved according to the real conditions in China.
Based on the essential analysis, this paper attempts to introduce two new building
systems, known as "collecting-column system" and "cable-strained slab system".
Improvement of the structural flexibility of framework and a modular design leading to high-
efficiency construction are both highlight of these two systems.
Keywords: frame flexibility collecting-column cable-strained
1. CONTEXT
Since the establishment of market economy in the early 1990s, the living conditions of
most Chinese people have been much improved. First of all, most city-dwellers are able to get loan
from banks to buy their apartments. So the average dwelling area of by every urban resident has
thus increased with high ratio. At the very beginning of China's economic reform, the government
once announced to help a very big population of city-dwellers with their average dwelling floor
area under 2 sq m up to over 4 sq m. While in the light of the country's Tenth Five-year Plan
(2001-2005), the average dwelling floor area occupied by per urban resident will reach 22 sq m.
This improvement directly leads to over-development of land for dwelling use. Due to the
peripheral nibble to the surroundings of expanding cities, rapid growing population is resulting in
tremendous pressure on basic urban services, especially housing.
On the other hand, China's GDP has been increasing steadily in the ten-odd years. The
average annual economic growth remains a rate of about 7%. And it has also caused a rapid
change of demands and interests on living qualities. Few architects nowadays would dare to ensure
their dwelling products not to be "drop-outs" in their "teenage". Figure 1 and Figure 2 are the two
urban dwelling samples located in Shanghai. Figure 1 was the building constructed in the first half
of the1990s. In 1997, it has won the Gold Medal awarded by the Ministry of Construction for its
architectural design, project design as well as scientific development. Figure 2 shows a newly built
Structural I~lrxibilityWith 1;riimr S?\trm For Ada11t;ible 11011si11g
complex of common style located on a former industrial site. Comparing these two projects, we
feel sorry to see that the advantage of the former one has already "faded" in less than 10 years. In
fact, change in both social economy and human living style is going on so fast. The expectation of
a long life span for most dwellings might become a heavy burden for those who have suddenly
recognized that their residences are no longer worth of good use. Dwellings are nearly the most
expensive consumer goods in modern society. Common people living on salaries may have to
spend half their life of hard working to pay back the debt for their apartments. In this sense, no
matter how prosperous the recent dwelling markets look like, no matter how excited an owner of
his new apartment is, we should still keep clear minds toward the real situation.
Figure 1 Dwelling Sample 1 (Built in the early 1990s)
Authors of this paper have studied the question with strong interests for years. On our
opinion, there's still a long way to go to meet the requirements of sustainable development in
housing. Besides people's concept, we suppose, there is another factor leading to the technical
backwardness, that is, we have too much depended on conventional structure patterns, especially
on wall-bearing system, which is thoroughly fixed to the initial architectural design and is hardly
changed or reset by users. Also, we are lacking in new applicable structure systems for open
dwelling design.
Before the Nation's economic reform, our attempt to make exact improvement was nearly
unrealistic. The ordinary urban dwellings were crowded. Few floor areas could be left to the
occupants or architects for their intensive plan. Besides, the over use of clay brick as brief building
materials for its lowest production cost has also slowed down the reforming process of building
structure. With the government's decision of restricting the use of clay brick for saving land
resources, especially with the development of people's living conditions, appropriate measures
should be taken in time. Because it is hard to wait in the next fifty years for another nation-wide
renewal with such a large scale as we are experiencing now.
So we are very delight to entitle this paper "Structural Flexibility With Frame System For
Adaptable Housing" and share with others what we are doing in our research, which is
concentrated on a great amount of walk-up apartments and mid-rise elevator residences. It mainly
focuses on:
firstly, the definition of a building structure, known as the most open with free space,
accommodated to open dwelling design by having a general review of frame systems;
secondly, the development of some building systems with pre-manufactured framework
components and partitions. They should be well organized under control of modular principles and
should be qualified as structurally more flexible when dynamic variety is needed.
More details will be delivered below.
2. CONTENT
Slructural I:lcuihility Wit11 Frame Sylern For .\dapIable I-lou\ing
2.1 The advantages and disadvantages of framework for open dwelling design
Many years ago, some pioneer experts introduced to the world some methods to keep
balance between the building durability and dynamic adaptability, among which the SAR system is
the representative. Now more and more people in this profession have come to a further
understanding about the superiority of defining structural components from other fill-in members
as unchangeable supporting part and the changeable functional part. They also agree that
framework is most acceptable as building supporting in an open design with free space spread to
the utmost below. However, according to our study, a framework is characterized by structural
symmetry, so it is more applicable in building schemes with the floor plans of regular shape. But
regular usually means stiff in dwellings. That is perhaps why so many architects will prefer wall-
bearing structure to framework in dwelling architecture.
Figure 3 A Dwelling Project with Wall-bearding Structure
Figure 3 gives out a very common floor plan familiar to most city-dwellers as a mid-rise
elevator residence. Wall is here used as load-bearing component. Although the room-layout is
unchangeable in this case, with wall located not in regular ranks, it makes convenient to traffic
circulation as well as to the essential operating for sunlight and ventilation, which is necessary to
the ordinance statements. But if the supporting system here is replaced with a concrete framework,
it will become as structurally very complicated to mate the original arrangement. Because extra
columns or beams may need in every irregular joint, and even light operable partitions can be
easily settled, the specially located frame components may become difficult to be "hidden" when
changing the scheme of room-layout to another one. On the opposite, with suggestion that the
initial floor plan is beyond regard and a regularly arranged simple frame with the same floor area
is used to instead the original one, the building faqade may become not so vivid and some "dark
rooms" without direct sunlight may exist. Sometimes architects have to make adjustment between
keeping simple in structure and getting adaptable to space variety. For this reason, a kind of "short
shearing-assistant wall" design (see Figure 4) is in use for walk-up apartments and some mid-rise
elevator residences. This type of building structure is a compromise between wall-bearing system
and frame-bearing system. With short walls (or defined as columns with irregular sections) settled
alternatively as staggered or not, floor schemes can be organized as easily as in the case of a wall-
bearing system. And with the middle part between two load-bearing components free, just like
what usually is in a framework, further options for home arrangement can be left to the users
according to their own favor.
Structural 1:lexibility \\ ill1 Frame System For Adaptable IIouGng
Figure 4 A Dwelling Project with "Short Shearing-Assistant Wall" Structure
Although with this kind of method, "open design" is only partly realized in limited latitude,
it's really a progress leading to efficient usage of building structure. Following the trace, another
system known as "collecting-column system" accepted a road entirely returning back to the
structure of framework. In this research we tried to replace the short bearing wall with a set of
concrete columns. It means maintaining the advantage of framework as releasing space to free
usage, but taking further improvement to its adaptability to dwelling design. Besides, a method
guiding by the concept of a real building system is in schedule carried on throughout the whole
process. So the result will be recognized as highly efficient, well organized and optimally standard.
On the other hand, some systems of beam free, such as flat plate, banded slab, and so on,
are considered as plainer in structure than those with beams. At least, columns can be reduced,
ceilings can be exploded, and the total building height can be under well control. So there's
another tendency to introduce this kind of system into current dwelling design. In fact, many
dwelling systems characterized in structure by flat plate or banded slab had already been put into
practice decades of years ago in the European countries. But it is reported not so convenient in
China with special equipments and special technology of cast-in-place. And extra worries are still
focused on its anti-earthquake steadiness. It is also reported not so good as the common
frameworks. Therefore, current study focuses on the improvement of its building technology and
other important qualities.
Structural I:lruiI~ilit~M it11 Frame Syctcm For .ldal~tat)lcIloo\iug
Figure 5 Improvement Operated in a Building System with Banded Slab

Figure 5 gives an example to explain how the improvement is going on. Firstly, precast
concrete slabs are used to replace the cast-in-place flat plate of large scale. It is considered as time
efficient or without special lift equipments for the precast-in-place plate raising. Secondly, post-
tensioned wires pass through the bands in two ways as soon as the slabs have been put into place
and supported by some joists. Cast-in-place concrete bands can be fulfilled quickly and the system
is good for earthquake resistant either.
However, there are still some problems left. First, the structure absolutely needs regular
layout of columns. This may unfortunately lead to bore in building appearance. Secondly, some
peripheral components that are important to dwellings such as balconies and so on, are difficult to
be installed on the main body of the structure.
Based on the above analysis, another new type of banded slab structure known as "cable-
strained slab system" is under development with our efforts.
2.2 Collecting-column System
In this kind of building system, four collective columns replace a single column that is
often seen in ordinary frameworks. And every two of those four columns located on a side can be
considered as composed to be a piece of load-bearing wall. The other pair can alternatively be
supposed as its hold supporting. With this rule, the frame components can be arranged more freely
(see Figure 5). And the structure is obviously better in opening to traffic or storage utilizing than it
will be under the situation with the supporting system of "short shearing-assistant wall" as
mentioned before. Part of the structure components may expose out from partitions. But its size is
so close to some furniture that worrying about such an effect is almost unnecessary.
Figure 6 A Project Constructed with Collecting-column System
Prestressed precast concrete beams in this system have sections of rectangular. L-shaped
or invented tee. Applicable beams support prestressed slabs in both two ways just according to
needs (see Figure 7 and 8). This arrangement is as convenient as in mason structure. And cast-in-
place top concrete is necessary for the structural rigidity.
Structural Fle.ribilily Nil11 Frame System l o r Adaptable Ilou\ing
Figure 7 Types of Columns and Beams in a Collecting-column System
* *
<*
*. +
%<"
+
- - +
.
Figure 8 A Model of the Collecting-column System
Structural Fleuil~ilit~
\\ ill1 IYrameS)\tcrn I:or .\daptahle Ilousing
On module formulary, we proposed 6M to instead of 3M that is still current but seems not
yet suitable to the parameters for recent apartment building design, or may lead to too much odds
and ends in manufacture of building components, especially for wall panels in large scale. Besides,
the module of 6M can be further divided into 3M and 2M wherever necessary, so it's considered as
more absorbable in use.
The essential regulation for component location in this system is a bit different from others.
Figure 9 gives out an example to explain how the module system is organized. Supposing the rigid
architectural module span is defined as M, and the variable module span for structural components
accommodation is defined as N, then a series of collecting-column set size can be aware as
(N+M)x(N+M), (N+M)x(N+2M), (N+2M)x(N+2M), etc. Adjusting the inner horizontally
connecting components in a column set with another series of dimension as (M-N), (2M-N) etc,
standard beam products can be reasonably settled in a modular net mixture.
Figure 9 Module Formulary for Collecting-colzimnSystem
2.3 Cable-strained Slab System
This kind of building system is still characterized in structure by banded slab. Precast
concrete bands here are extended into wide shallow beams with the width of more than lm, and in
hrther step divided into several sections. Those sections of shallow beams are set together in place
as continuous by post-tensioned wires. Precast concrete slabs or a cast-in-place concrete plate
with steel space frame inside will fill into the hollow enclosed by four wide shallow beams in a
square. And cast-in-place top concrete is also necessary for the structural rigidity.
On module formulary, we select 12M to fit the comparatively long span of beams that is
usually considered as an advantage of the structure of a beam free system.
Figure 10 gives out some dwelling schemes with usage of "cable-strained slab system" in
architectural design. It's obviously more open to different needs and the periphery appearance is
more attractive than the one showed by Figure 5. What should be in further mention is, in the
"cable-strained slab system", slabs or single plate located in the middle part of a square can be
removed, then the hollow can be used as traffic between two adjacent stories of floors (see Part a
in Scheme 1, Figure 10).
Structural 1~lr.rihilit~
M itli l'rame Syslcrn I:or ..idaptable IIouqing
(0) For SOHO'
(b) Rntinp To Young Sudmh etc.
(b) - To Op*l OIllpn

(Scheme I ) (Scheme 2)
Figure 10 Dwelling Schemes with Usage of "Cable-strained Slab System"
3. CONCLUSION
Open design for urban residences should be a long-term scheme accompanied with the
healthy development of the living environment. It needs changes in human concept, as well as in
building technology. Although the current situation in the vast of China is of bold lines, and only a
little attention has been paying to the basic research work as we are doing now, it's exactly
necessary to push the research ahead, especially on the issue of structural flexibility. Because
building structure is as important as the skeleton of a mankind, and it often decides how a person
will grow. With great ambition, we are looking forward to the real utilizing of our building
systems.
Stl-nctural 1;lcuibilit;c FF itli Framc S ~ s t e n i[:or Adaptable Housing
REFERENCES
Zhang Hong, and Hu Feifei. 1999. Transferring of the Space Dimensions-A Selection of
the Excellent Dwelling Room-layouts Awarded by the 1998's "Datong Cup" . Shanghai,
Press of Tongji University.
Ding Jiemin. 2001. Architectural Design & Research Institute of Tongji University
Selected Works (1998-2000). Beijing, China Planning Press.
Slructursl Fleuibilit~\\ ith 1-rarne S>rtem For .Zdsptablt) Ilou\i~ig
List of Contributors
Ada, Ho Yin WONG Bora LEE

Housing Department Ph. D. Candidate, Department of Housing &
Hong Kong Housing Authority Interior Design,
Tel: (852) 9276 6167 Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
E-mail: adahywong~;~ahoo.conl E-mail: ph07@,yonsei.ac.kr
Alex AMATO Cheng-Tah LIN

The University of Hong Kong Department of Architecture
Department of Architecture National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
Room 404, Knowles Building, E-mail: ctlin@,chu.edu.tw
Pokfulam Road,
Hong Kong, China. Chia-Liang WENG
Tel: (852) 2859 2130 4-6- 1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo,
Fax: (852) 2559 6484 153-8505, Japan
E-mail: aamato 1 (4hkucc.hku.hk Institute of Industrial Science, The University
of Tokyo
Beisi JIA TEL: +8 1-3-5452-6098(ext. 58 110)
Associate Professor FAX: +8 1-3-5452-6402
The University of Hong Kong E-mail: clweng@,iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Room 3 11, Knowles Building, David TURNER
Pokfulam Road, School of Architecture
Hong Kong, China. UNITEC Institute of Technology
Tel: (852) 2858 1514 Auckland
Fax: (852) 2559 6484 New Zealand
E-mail: j ia@,arch.hku.hk E-mail: dfturnerO~1obe.net.n~
Bo YANG Gary CHANG

Graduate student Architect
Ecological Architectural Design Studio Director of EDGE (HK) Ltd.
School of Architecture and Urban Planning
Department Gudni JOHANNESSON
Huazhong University of Science and Department of Civil and Architectural
Technology Engineering
Wuhan, China The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
Address: West part, 15-108, Main Campus KTH - Byggvetenskap. Brinellvagen 34
Huazhong University of Science and 100 44 Stockholm (Sweden)
Technology
Zip code: 430074 Haile LI
Tele: 027-87554 107 (0) 1397 134463 1 Department of Architecture
E-mail: ybb2002568(~sohu.com Chongqing University, Chongqing
E-mail: Ihail@,vip.sina.co~
Hanif HOSEINI Kenji NISHIMOTO
Department of Civil and Architectural Research Assistant
Engineering Institute of Industrial Science, Univ. of
The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm Tokyo, JAPAN
KTH - Byggvetenskap. Brinellvagen 34 Address: 4-6- 1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
100 44 Stockholm (Sweden) 153-8505, JAPAN
TEL: +46 - 8 790 8664 Tel: 8 1-3-5452-6400 Fax: 8 1-3-5452-6098
E-mail: hanif.hoseini(ii2byv.kth.se E-mail: utahiro@,iis.u-tokyo.ac.ip
HyunSoo LEE Kjartan GUDMUNDSSON

Prof., Department of Housing & Interior Department of Civil and Architectural
Design, Engineering
Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
KTH - Byggvetenskap. Brinellvagen 34
Jack SINDENER 100 44 Stockholm (Sweden)
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Professor, School of Architecture, Kozo KADOWAKI
University of Hawaii Research Associate,
2410 Campus Rd., Honolulu, HI 96822, USA Dept. of Architecture and Building Science,
Tel (808) 956-7227 Tokyo Metropolitan Univ.
Fax (808) 956-7778 1- 1, Minami-osawa, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192-
E-mail: sidener@,hawaii.edu 0397, Japan
Tel: +8 1. 426. 77. 1111 ext. 4762
Jin-Ho PARK Fax: +8 1.426.77.2793
University of Hawaii at Manoa E-mail:kkad@ecomp.metro-u.ac.ip
Professor, School of Architecture,
University of Hawaii Kung-Jen TU
2410 Campus Rd., Honolulu, HI 96822, USA Assistant Professor
Tel (808) 956-7227 Department of Architecture
Fax (808) 956-7778 National Taiwan University of Science and
E-mail: jinhpark@,hawaii.edu Technology
43 Keelung Rd., Section 4
Jing JIANG Taipei, Taiwan, 106 Republic of China
Graduate Student, Tel: 886-2-2737-65 12
Graduate School of Architecture, NanJing Fax: 886-2-2737-672 1
University E-mail: kituGuinai1.ntust.edu.t~
E-mail: e ii cn@sina.com
Li BAO
Joseph Francis WONG Department of Architecture, Southeast
Lecturer University, Nanjing
Division of Building Science and Technology E-mail: baoliO,mail.edu.cn
City University of Hong Kong
Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Mee Kam Ng
Hong Kong Associate Professor, CUPEM, HKU
9180-5883 Tel: 2859 2721
E-mail: bsiwong@citvu.edu.hk Fax: 2559 0468
E-mail: mee kng@,hkucc.hku.hk
Ming-Hung WANG
National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
N. John HABRAKEN Shih-Hung YANG
Professor of Architecture Emeritus Research Assistant
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Institute of Industrial Science, Univ. of
E-mail: habrakenaXS4ALL.NL Tokyo, JAPAN
Address: 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
Nancy Margaret SANDERS 153-8505, JAPAN
Assistant Professor Tel: 8 1-3-5452-6400 Fax: 8 1-3-5452-6098
School of Architecture E-mail: utaliiro(iz>iis.u-t0kyo.ac.i~
University of Florida
23 1 ARC SooAm KIM
Gainesville, Florida 326 1 1 Director, Dr.Eng Building Standard and
Telephone: 352-256-4275 System Group, Building Research Division,
E-mail: nms@,ufl.edu Korea Institute of Construction Technology
Peter Hills Stefan GEISER

Professor and Director, CUPEM, HKU Canton Bern Building Department
Tel: 2859 2721 E-mail: stefan.geiserGd,bve.be.ch
Fax: 2559 0468
E-mail: phills@,hkucc.hku.hk Stephen READ
Richard FREWER Delft University of Technology
The University of Hong Kong E-mail: S.A.Read@ bk.tudelft.nl
Room 404, Knowles Building, Stephen KENDALL
Pokfulam Road, Building Futures Institute, Ball State Univ.
Hong Kong, China E-mail: skendall@bsu.edu
Robert M. MacLeod Steven HUMPHREY

Associate Professor The University of Hong Kong
School of Architecture Department of Architecture
University of Florida Room 404, Knowles Building,
23 1 ARCH Pokfulam Road,
Gainesville, FL 326 11 Hong Kong, China.
352.392.6290 o
352.371.8001 h Sujata S. Govada
E-mail: rmacleod01 @aol.com Assistant Prof. (part time), CUPEM, HKU
Director, Urban Design & Planning
Scient. Akkelies VAN NES Consultants Ltd
Department of Urban Renewal and Tel: 2525 4996
Management, Faculty of Architecture Fax: 2525 4148
Delft University of Technology E-mail: udpcItd@,netvi~ator.com
E-mail: A.vanNes@,bk.tudelft.nl
Tariq Mahbub KHAN,
Graduate Student (Urban Planning and
Seiichi FUKAO Design), Department of Architecture
Research Associate, Room no: 309, Yi Fu Architecture Building,
Dept. of Architecture and Building Science, No. 2 Si Pai Lou, Southeast University,
Tokyo Metropolitan Univ. Nanjing- 2 10096
1- 1, Minami-osawa, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192- People's Republic of China
0397, Japan Tel: ++86 25 379 1846
E-mail: tariqmahbub(u~yahoo.com
Tomonari YASHIRO Youngji HAN
Professor Master Candidate
Institute of Industrial Science, Univ. of Graduate School, Dept. of Architecture, Univ.
Tokyo, JAPAN of Tokyo
Address: 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo Address: 4-6- 1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
153-8505, JAPAN 153-8505, JAPAN
Tel: 8 1-3-5452-6400 Fax: 8 1-3-5452-6098 Tel: 8 1-3-5452-6400 Fax: 8 1-3-5452-6098
E-mail: utahiro@,iis.u-tokyo.ac.ip E-mail: utahiro0iis.u-t0kyo.ac.i~
Tsuyoshi ARAHIRA Ype CUPERUS

Research Associate, Director
Dept. of Architecture and Building Science, OBOM Research Group
Tokyo Metropolitan Univ. Room 7.17
1-1, Minami-osawa, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192- Faculty of Architecture
0397, Japan Delft University of Technology
PO box 5043
Wei DONG 2600 GA Delft
Professor, Department of Architecture, The Netherlands
Room no: 309, Yi Fu Architecture Building, Phone: +3 1.15 278 5400
No. 2 Si Pai Lou, Southeast University, Fax: +3 1.278 8295
Nanjing- 2 10096 E-mail: Y.J.Cuperus0,bk.tudelft.nl
People's Republic of China
Tel: ++86 25 3794579 Zhaoru LIU
E-mail: dongweiG&eu.edu.cn College of Architecture and Urban Planning,
Tongji University, Shanghai, PRC
Wei ZHU E-mail: lzhru@,sohu.com
The University of Zhejiang,China 057 1- Zhongyu AN
87991426 or 13867445512 College of Architecture and Urban Planning,
E-mail: knightcat@,16163.com Tongji University, Shanghai, PRC
Wowo DING Zinnatun NAHID

Professor Graduate Student (Urban Planning and
Graduate School of Architecture, NanJing Design), Department of Architecture
University Room no: 309, Yi Fu Architecture Building,
E-mail: Dww(~ni~~.edu.cn No. 2 Si Pai Lou, Southeast University,
Nanj ing- 2 10096
Xiaoyu YING People's Republic of China
Architecture Department of Zhejiang Tel: ++86 25 3791846
University E-mail: zinnatun NahidGjyahoo.com
Fax: 86(0571)8795 1565
E-mail: yin.gxiaoyu~sohu.com
Ying HE
Jiangsu Province Architectural Design and
Research Institute, Nanjing

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Dense Living Urban Structure

Selected Papers of the

Edited by: Dr. JIA Beisi

23-26 October 2003

Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong

Department of Architecture, the University of Hong Kong

Prof. Chau Kwong Wing, Dean, Faculty of Architecture

Scientific Committee and Reviewers

Prof. Lee Jaehoon, Department of Architecture, Dankook University, South Korea

CIB W104 Coordinators

Prof. Ulpu Tiuri Helsinki University of Technology, Finland

Dr. Jia Beisi

Mr. Y.W. Kwok

Department of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong

3/F Knowles Building

The University of Hong Kong

O 2003 Department of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong

Building by Baumschlager & Eberle

T h e Architecture - from Concentrates

Panel I: Open Building Design 43

Versatile Space: The Trend to Multi-functional Space And Design Strategy

On Housing Flexibility and Expandability: A Combined Design and Construction

Dwelling in Shenzhen: Re-inhabiting the Modified Cruciform Tower Block

Panel 11: Ecological Design and Living Environment

Analysis on Shunde Biguiyuan Phenomena

Healthy High-rise: Ventilation Issues and Innovations

Ecological Transformation of the urban planning method in Hong Kong

Panel 111: Sustainable Development and Urban Renewal 151

A Comparative Sustainability Assessment of Standard Housing Blocks in Hong 153

Urban Mining: The City as a Source for Re-usable Building Materials

Urban Discontinuity and Redevelopment of Mega-Scale Projects

The Configurable Urban Sustainability: In what ways a morphological or

Panel IV: Open Building Implementation and Practice

Three Attempts to Mobilize High Rise Housing Interiors

These experiences teach us that in a rapidly changing economy, it is nearly impossible to

- What are leading approaches to seeking a balance between high-density environments

- How can buildings become "accommodating", thus effectively responding to change of

- How can large interventions nevertheless be or becomehe-grained in time?

Some papers focus on sustainable development issues. Netherlands researcher Akkelies

Building by Baumschlager & Eberle

The Architecture - from Concentrates

Making Urban Fabric Fine Grained

Prospect of Open Building

Open Building in Knowledge Based Economy

Achslengut Residential Project, Second Segment in St.Gallen, Switzerland

Mega Hall for Beijing, China

"Building in the fabric" or "reconstruction" are inadequate to describe the complexity of

Figure I I Figure 12 Figure 13

Figure 17 Figure 18 F i ~ u r e19

Figure 23 Figure 24 Figure 25

Lohbach Residential Project in Innsbruck, Austria

Figure 31 Figure 32 Figure 33

The Foyer, Broadway Cinematheque, (300sqm), Hong Kong

Suitcase House Hotel in Badaling Shuiguan, ( ~ w s q m )Beijlng

Gifu Kitagata Housing, (10 units, 60sqm), GIFU

Gary's Apartment, 33sqm, Hong Kong

Office Cabanas, Office of Ogilvy & Mather, (2.4sqm), Hong Kong

Installation of a 32-cage neighborhood, 7th International (Biennial)

Light is a material for urban architecture. Analogized to the ever-changing urban

2.1. Experimental engineering of Supporting Housing in Wu Xi

2.2. Discovery of High Effect Spatial Housing

2.4. Stepped type housing

2.5. High Floor Supporting Housing