{"id":1110,"date":"2016-11-04T02:25:06","date_gmt":"2016-11-03T18:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesis.arch.hku.hk\/2016\/?p=1110"},"modified":"2016-11-23T23:17:26","modified_gmt":"2016-11-23T15:17:26","slug":"root-of-the-land-architecture-as-a-transition-in-urban-evolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thesis.arch.hku.hk\/2016\/root-of-the-land-architecture-as-a-transition-in-urban-evolution\/","title":{"rendered":"The Road Project: Lives in motion"},"content":{"rendered":"

I Introduction<\/h4>\n

Under\u00a0the policy of developing the Western China (\u767c\u5c55\u5927\u897f\u5317), proposals for the Yunnan-Tibet Railway<\/em> (\u6ec7\u85cf\u9435\u8def) were released and it is expected that the railway piercing through the 3 provinces will be completed in 20 years, unearthing the main artery linking these historical sites.<\/p>\n

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Fig 1. Proposed Sichuan-Tibet and Yunnan-Tibet Railway. Baidu, Accessed November 5, 2016. http:\/\/baike.baidu.com\/view\/464961.htm.<\/h6>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

II Thesis statement<\/h4>\n

“Fictional as well as factual, a design is a reinterpretation of the past that is meaningful to the present.”\u00b9 (Fraser, 2013) I believe that we can never wipe out the past while writing a new chapter onto the piece of land, and it is the\u00a0architects’ responsibility to provide the site a visual and spatial linkage to the root of the land to be revealed in the new architecture, and draw out its contemporary meaning.<\/em><\/p>\n

The construction of the new railway definitely brings convenience and economic possibilities to the area just like what the ancient Tea-horse road brought. Yet unlike\u00a0erasing aging architecture in a modern city, the act is to bring in a strikingly\u00a0new form of living into towns which are\u00a0still leading a relatively primitive life, by physically penetrating through the land which hid itself behind mountains for thousand years, and giving ‘the road’\u00a0a new meaning. Therefore, the thesis aims to speculate on the connotation\u00a0of this penetration spatially and its connection to the static land<\/em>, by investigating the moving life forms and their utilization of space in a\u00a0timeline, in an attempt to address actual continuity of history in present-day\u00a0life<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The approach is hoped to result in providing an\u00a0alternative\u00a0lens to view the evolution of the current rural society towards an\u00a0urban modernity<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/h4>\n

III Context: The complexity of western China<\/h4>\n

Western China has been the fantasy destination of many adventurers for its cultural complexity and moreover, the adversity\u00a0in its climate and landscape further adds up to the imagery. Politically, it could be viewed as\u00a0the spaces of transition\u00a0within greater China to her neighbors, and a site of critical importance viewing\u00a0a larger\u00a0societal control by the government. Specifically, this piece of land has been under spotlight in terms of the transportation<\/strong> network<\/em>\u00a0lying through, from past to then.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Trading Industry<\/span><\/h5>\n

The Tea-horse road crossing through Yunnan and Tibet to further reach out to the neighbors of China has been of significant economic importance for centuries since the Tang Dynasty, with the exchange of goods (tea, porcelain and horse) taking place between the merchants of the mainland and the Tibet. This economic activity centered the emergence and transformation of urban settlements along the route.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Fig 2. The ‘Horse Gang’. QQ, Accessed November 5, 2016. http:\/\/dajia.qq.com\/blog\/474815025114877.html.<\/h6>\n

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Fig 3. The\u00a0commercial activity along the route. Sina Blog, Accessed November 5, 2016. http:\/\/blog.sina.com.cn\/s\/blog_4caef9d10102vod4.html.<\/h6>\n
2.\u00a0Political Strategy<\/h5>\n

Followed by the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the corresponding transport network and tea trading had\u00a0soon become a major strategic focus<\/em>\u00a0lasting decades during\u00a0the war time<\/em>. When all the other means of transport were blocked, this road became the only route for resources backing\u00a0China to arrive<\/em>.<\/p>\n

3. Policy \/ Tourism<\/h5>\n

Towards the end of the war, the ancient\u00a0road was fading out of significance with the construction\u00a0of the highway 214 in the 1950s, remaining the majority value of it the in the industry of tourism, with drivers moving through a car and a car of tourist through the land.<\/p>\n

Yet what is in common – the road has been the living of the people\u00a0for thousands of years. They\u00a0are the ones living along<\/em> the road as settlements and acting resources providers, the ones whose lives depends<\/em>\u00a0on<\/em> the road with their tea and horse; and today, the drivers and the tourists travelling\u00a0across the land on<\/em> the road. Is the road actually being inhabited in some ways?<\/p>\n

This introduces us to a conceptual change of\u00a0a road\u00a0<\/em>with the new railway\u00a0– from a fluid flow with ons and offs along the whole journey, to a point to point arrival and departure. In the upcoming 20 years during the construction of the railway, what will be\u00a0added in, and what will be left out in the spaces along the way? Will it lead to another new form of living?<\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

III The Project<\/h4>\n

Gilles Deleuze and F\u00e9lix Guattari (1988) suggested that there are basically two types of space in nature – the smooth and the striated, however they always exist in mixture instead of clearly distinct from each other\u00b2. Architecture is what embodying striation\u00b3 (Lambert, 2016) created by the sedentary, whilst the nomads are inhabiting on smooth spaces possessing heterogeneity, and there is a constant interaction and hence evolution between\u00a0the two and it shall be a tug-of-war.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Deriving from the smooth and striated theory in its concept, a\u00a0‘smoothing mechanism’<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0within architecture shall be under investigation. Trains<\/strong> and train station<\/strong><\/em> will be the\u00a0main typology to be studied due to the railway development plan, and designed as a prototype. It shall be an act of utilizing vernacular\u00a0intelligence<\/em> in the design in terms of program and circulation, especially the spatial logistics employed during the tea trading time in terms of utilizing resources<\/em>.\u00a0The aim is to introduce heterogeneity into a program \/\u00a0typology\u00a0with such a high degree of presets due to the technical flow, plus\u00a0containing much significance as a sign of policy making. This heterogeneity can hence lead to a different definition of the infrastructure to the community as a whole.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

IV\u00a0Outline of Research<\/h4>\n
1.\u00a0Context research<\/h5>\n

Mapping the existing and proposed railway network of western China, the according landscape conditions\u00a0and the existing forms of settlement.<\/p>\n

Research on programs and spaces related to tea making and logistics (e.g. ancient courier route \u53e4\u9a5b\u9053, inns \u9a5b\u7ad9, eatery, shops and etc.) hence their relationships with the road and urban settlements.<\/p>\n

Aim<\/strong><\/em>: To spot out the potential\u00a0site\u00a0for the prototypes test out and\u00a0potential elements to be extracted out of the tea trading logistics spatially.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Precedent studies<\/h5>\n
a. on trains, train stations and railway \/ highway systems<\/h5>\n

Aim<\/strong><\/em>: To be equipped with the knowledge in the technical aspect, to gain insight on\u00a0the lack of their\u00a0typical design\u00a0in the realm of urban development and factors to be considered during the\u00a0expansion of transportation network.<\/p>\n

b.\u00a0on the morphological process of towns<\/h5>\n

Aim<\/strong><\/em>: To understand the relationship of certain economic activities (especially tea trading) or policies and the transformation of the specific town, and the necessity of it in the modernization process.<\/p>\n

4. Definition<\/h5>\n

In the lessons learnt from all the above studies and research, define the proposed ‘continuity’, ‘healthy evolution towards urban modernity’, ‘smoothing mechanism’ in the direction to which\u00a0the thesis wish to achieve.<\/p>\n

Aim<\/strong><\/em>: To set direction for the architectural design articulation.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0Develop\u00a0the proposed project<\/h5>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

Bibliography<\/h3>\n

1.\u00a0Fraser, Murray, ed. Design Research in Architecture: An Overview<\/i>. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2013, 32.<\/h6>\n
2. Deleuze, Gilles, and Fe\u0301lix Guattari. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. Translated by Brian Massumi. London: Athlone Press, 1988. Originally published: Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, 1987.<\/h6>\n
3.\u00a0Lambert, L\u00e9opold. “# PHILOSOPHY \/\/\/ Processes of Smoothing and Striation of Space in Urban Warfare.” The Funambulist. December 23, 2010. Accessed November 02, 2016. http:\/\/thefunambulist.net\/2010\/12\/23\/philosophy-processes-of-smoothing-and-striation-of-space-in-urban-warfare\/.<\/h6>\n
4.\u00a0\u5468\u91cd\u6797, \u592a\u4fca\u6797. <\/span>\u8336\u8449\u6230\u722d\uff1a\u8336\u8449\u8207\u5929\u671d\u7684\u8208\u8870<\/span><\/i>. \u7b2c\u4e00\u7248. \u53f0\u5317: \u9060\u6d41\u51fa\u7248\u4e8b\u696d\u80a1\u4efd\u6709\u9650\u516c\u53f8, 2013<\/span><\/h6>\n
5.\u00a0Nalbantoglu, Gu\u0308lsu\u0308m Baydar, and Chong Thai Wong. Postcolonial Space(s)<\/i>. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1997.<\/h6>\n
6.\u00a0Leach, Neil. Rethinking Architecture: A Reader in Cultural Theory<\/i>. New York: Routledge, 1997.<\/h6>\n
7. Lim, William Siew Wai, and Jiat-Hwee Chang. Non West Modernist Past: On Architecture & Modernities<\/i>. Singapore: World Scientific Pub., 2012.<\/h6>\n
8.\u00a0Lefebvre, Henri, Stuart Elden, Elizabeth Lebas, and Eleonore Kofman. Henri Lefebvre: Key Writings<\/i>. New York: Continuum, 2003.<\/h6>\n
9. Mary Mcleod, ” “Other spaces” and “Others” “in\u00a0The Sex of Architecture,\u00a0<\/i>Agrest, Diana, Patricia Conway, and Leslie Weisman.\u00a0<\/i>\u00a0New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996, 15-28.<\/h6>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I Introduction Under\u00a0the policy of developing the Western China (\u767c\u5c55\u5927\u897f\u5317), proposals for the Yunnan-Tibet Railway (\u6ec7\u85cf\u9435\u8def) were released and it is expected that the railway piercing through the 3 provinces will be completed in 20 years, unearthing the main artery<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":1776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[28],"tags":[425,471,306,220,359,433,341,442,207],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thesis.arch.hku.hk\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1110"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thesis.arch.hku.hk\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thesis.arch.hku.hk\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thesis.arch.hku.hk\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thesis.arch.hku.hk\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1110"}],"version-history":[{"count":57,"href":"http:\/\/thesis.arch.hku.hk\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2583,"href":"http:\/\/thesis.arch.hku.hk\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1110\/revisions\/2583"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thesis.arch.hku.hk\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thesis.arch.hku.hk\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thesis.arch.hku.hk\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thesis.arch.hku.hk\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}