Expo-city: Urban Ecology
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ARCH 6127 RESEARCH SEMINAR – THESIS STATEMENT DRAFT 1.0 Expo-city: Urban Ecology 2035
“The greater the distance from the earth, the closer the communication with what remains of nature (i.e., light and air)”. ___ Rem Koolhaas
Site, Scale, and Scope The Expo-city: Urban Ecology is a imagine building exhibition host by Hong Kong in 2035. Formally, it is similar to the major global events, where buildings like pavilions and stadiums will be build. But conceptually, it is closer to Internationale Bauausstellung (IBA), where a building exhibition is “an instrument of visionary urban development” and it is researching and developing in the lab that is “an entire area of the city” (International Building Exhibition). The theme of the building exhibition 2035 Hong Kong is urban ecology, which ecology is not about green or ecological design, but “are complex assemblages of resources, species, and climates in dynamic interaction” (Stan). By harvesting and sharing natural/ artificial resources, the flows of matter and energy in urban ecology can be realized in buildings, neighborhoods and beyond. The exhibition is more than just an exhibition and the legacy left behind will be live on and own by people. The exhibition will take place in the form of existing building in a neighborhood block in Hong Kong. The idea is that after the exhibition, devices and parts of those exhibition buildings will integrate with the existing neighborhood to form a true urban ecology in sharing resources that benefit the neighborhood beyond just an exhbition, as to challenge the idea of “a one off wasteful event” (Wilson).
Historical and Current Discourse During the 1970s, the idea to preserve green came about as landscape disappear and reappear inside the city. Begin in the 1980, the concern over global environment brought green back into the city; from Ebenezer Howard’s Garden city (1898) that indicated green zoning as a medium of urban control to Daniel Burnham’s Chicago Plan (1909) that introduce green by tree planting and parks, new forms of green are appearing in urban development (Dean). In recent years, green additions have taken on new forms in urban planning from remediating problem, introducing landscape to green technologies. As Dean points that,”while the expansion of the modern city once erased green, it is now urban development that paradoxically returns green (as either landscape or building ) to the city”. Thesis Purpose Launched as world’s fair in 1851, the Expo has been a global extravaganza. Since the first Expo in London, the cost have rosed to $14 billions USD for Expo 2015 in Milano (BIE). Many protesters called the Expo “a machine for burning public money”. As Easterling describes “Upon completion, the stadiums are almost immediately at risk of obsolescence”, so what legacy has it left for a city? How can the infrastructure left behind serve to benefit the city? In years following the Expo 2015, can the legacy of Milan live up its theme “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”?
The thesis project explore into the urban areas of Hong Kong and locate site where the building exhibition can take place. The project will develop programs for the exhibition to fit into existing buildings by using methods of subtraction and addition. After the exhibition, the site and ecological ideas will to integrate in the neighborhood to form a new kind of urban ecology. The outcome will be in drawings and models to demonstrate the ideas accompany by exhibition materials. Bibliography: Koolhaas, Remment. Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan. repr., 1978. Rotterdam, 010 Publishers, 1994, 85. Stan, Allen. Artificial Ecologies: the Work of MVRDV. El Croquis 86, 1997, 26-33. Tilder, Lisa., and Blostein, Beth. Design Ecologies. New York, Princetion Architectural Press, 2010. Print. Dean, Penelope. “Under Cover of Green”. Cuff, Dana., and Sherman, Roger. Fast-Forward Urbanism. New York, Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Print. Easterling, Keller. Subtraction. Berlin, Sternberg Press, 2014. Print. Wilson, Rob. “Live Fast Die Young”. Uncube Megazine: 32, 45-51. International Building Exhibition IBA Hamburg. (http://www.iba-hamburg.de/en/story/format-iba.html) Bureau International des Expositions. (http://www.bie-paris.org/site/en/)
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