Project 1 Brief

Site:  

Bang Kra Jao will serve as the site of investigation for two design projects in studio as well as environmental and social research and analysis in Architecture, Community and Ecology. Looking at the city of Bangkok in aerial images, this large path of greenery are clearly visible along the bend in the Chao Phraya river. At a human scale, one arriving to Bang Kra Jao experiences a remarkable change between the speed and sensory perception of Bangkok and Bang Kra Jao. In 1977, the government designated the area as an agricultural and environmental preservation zone for the metropolitan region.  Its protection as an environmental zone does not mean that it is free of human habitation. Tens of thousands of residents live in the area; some of them farm and maintain the orchards but many of them now hold office or service jobs in Bangkok. This shift in employment leaves many of the orchard land area abandoned and unmaintained. Academics and policy makers are starting to study and consider strategies for sustainable land use with eco-tourism that facilitates visitors in the area as well as involve the local populations.

 

Project 1 Ferry Crossing & Interpretation Center:

The site for the first studio project is the current ferry crossing between Wat Khlong Toei Nok and Bang Kra Jao.  With limited road access, by boat is the easiest way to access the site from central Bangkok.  Students are asked to redevelop a point of arrival and departure by boat as well as new services for visitors and local residents.   The defined site is just a reference point, design interventions may extend beyond this boundary or have a smaller footprint preserving part of the existing landscape.

 

interpretation [ɪnˌtɜːprɪˈteɪʃən] n

1. the act or process of interpreting or explaining; elucidation

2. the result of interpreting; an explanation

3. a particular view of an artistic work, esp as expressed by stylistic individuality in its performance

4. explanation, as of the environment, a historical site, etc., provided by the use of original objects, personal experience, visual display, etc.

   

Program Requirements:

Boat pier

Exhibition for visitor orientation, environmental awareness

Bike rental/storage

Small Administrative Office

Toilet Facilities

Additional programs to be selected by either the instructor or student in reaction to site conditions. Examples might include multipurpose/community space (daytime activities plus nighttime use by community) or supporting programs (bookstore, food/café, or educational uses). Maximum enclosed area should be limited to 1000 sq meters

Regulations: While new development in Bang Kra Jao is limited and regulated, programs that serve the public while protecting the local environment can be permitted.  Certain building restrictions must be followed: buildings can not covers more than 75% of its land, must be less than 15 meters tall and no industrial land uses allowed.

An interpretation center requires the designer to make a series of decisions and generate their own personal point of view that combines site and program. 

What is significant or unique about the site and larger context, what should change and what should remain? How do you want people, individual or collective, visitor and local  to engage with the place?  What activities should be promoted at the site? What is the spatial sequence that you hope to create? 

Site Analysis

Site analysis is a predesign research activity that focuses on the existing, pending and possible conditions on and around a site area.  Contextual analysis functions as an inventory of the demands, forces, and conditions and the interactions of these factors. The data collected may be quantitative or qualitative. The main function of site analysis in the design process is to inform the designer about the context early in the process so that design concepts and methodology can have a meaningful response to external factors. 

Interpreting the Diagrams (from Edward T. White’s book Site Analysis)

There are at least three levels at which interpretation of the diagrams may occur.  The first is the overall pattern and density of the diagrams, as we perceive them as a total on the sheet.  The second is the potential meaning of sets of diagrams that deal with a particular issue category (sensor, neighborhood) or that comprise a network of issues (tree patterns in relation to the framing of views into the site).  The third is the interpretation of each individual diagram or site fact. 

Interpretation of the diagrams is our attempt to assign meaning to what we have found out about our site.  We are trying to convert data into information.  As we were gathering the data and diagram it, we probably thought of possible design concepts dealing with the various site conditions.

Interpretation is where we read the diagrams and let them impart to use something about what we may anticipate when we actually embark on design conceptualization.  This anticipation is very much a design act since it results in a set of attitudes or postures about dealing with the site and helps us to formulate our strategy for coping with the site conditions in design.

Site Analysis Topics:

Instructors will select the format that they would like students to document and present their site analysis. This may include but not limited to diagrams, plans, sections, photographs, scale comparisons, physical or digital models, movies or animations.  The categories listed below are merely a point of departure.  Students are encouraged to seek relationships between the different topics or identify their own area of interest not covered in the initial list.

1. Infrastructure 2. Community Resources 3. Transportation 4. Urban Typologies 5. Landscape Typologies 6. Economic Networks 7. History & Culture  8. Ecological Structures 9. Ecological Flux & Flows 10. Sensory

Infrastructure

Definitions: 1. the basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organization.

2. the fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or area, as transportation and communication systems, power plants, and schools.

Site Items: a. Drinking Water (distribution well / water tower) b. Flood Control and water-gates c. Irrigation d. Sewerage e. Power (electric, gas, hydro)

Community Resources

Definitions:

1. uses and activities that service the individuals living or working in an area. 2. social service, health and disability agencies

Site Items: a. Health (hospitals, clinics) b. Education (schools, libraries) c. Security (police/military) d. Other

Urban Typologies (building types)

Definitions: 1. a systematic classification or study of types of man made features.

2. characteristic of or accustomed to cities; 3. may include characteristics of surrounding developments such as scale, roof forms, fenestration patterns, setbacks, materials, colors, open spaces, visual axes, etc

Site Items: a. non-residential vs. residential b. material c. relationship to the ground d. height and massing d. detail e. Other

Landscape Typologies (earthen types)

Definitions: 1. a systematic classification or study of types of natural physical features.

2. the arrangement of land and buildings for human use and enjoyment

Site Items: a. ponds b. fields c. berms d. trees e. gardens f. other

Transportation

Definitions: 1. Circulation  2. the means of transport or conveyance.

3. Vehicular and pedestrian movement patterns

Site Items: a. Waterways & piers b. Sois & roads c. Bridges d. Walkways

Economic Networks

Definitions: 1. pertaining to the production, distribution, and use of income, wealth, and commodities.

2. pertaining to an economy, or system of organization or operation, esp. of the process of production.

Site Items: a. Agriculture b. Fishing and aquaculture c. Markets & Retail d. service e. other

History and Culture

Definitions:

1. a continuous, systematic narrative of past events as relating to a particular people, country, period, person, etc., the record of past events and times, esp. in connection with the human race.

2. the quality in a society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.

Site Items: a. Religion b. Food & Entertainment c. Festivals & Events d. Demographics e. Laws and Regulations

Demographic Definitions: 1. the statistical data of a population, esp. those showing average age, income, education, etc.

Ecological System (structures)

Definitions: 1. dealing with the NATURAL PHYSICAL FORMS that influence relations and interactions

between organisms and their environment, including other organisms. 2. anything composed of parts arranged together in some way; an organization

Site Items: a. Watershed Hydrology b. Water Quality c. Landform topography d. Geology (soil composition)

Ecological System (flux & flows)

Definitions: 1. dealing with the cyclical and time-based phenomena that influence relations and

interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms. 2. continuous change, passage, or movement

Site Items: a. Climate (air quality, temperature, and wind direction) b. Tidal flows c. Rainfall d. Fauna (migrations) e. Flora (seasonal variances)

Sensory

Definitions: 1. Documents the visual, audible, tactile and olfactory aspects of the site

1. a view or prospect, esp. one seen through a long, narrow avenue or passage, as between

rows of trees or houses. 3. It is of value to record the type, duration, intensity and quality (positive or negative) of the issues connected to sensory conditions

a. views into the site b. views from the site c. diagramming different approaches to the site in plan, section and perspective d. creating a personal reading, opinion or concept statement relating to the views and site vistas