Chungking Mansions Version2.0

Chungking Mansions contained in itself the diversity values as it is holding people of a vast amount of nationalities each day and night, but at a very small amount of Hong Kong's local. Situated in the middle of a busiest commercial district of Hong Kong, Chungking Mansions have very rare interaction to its surroundings. Activities inside runs as if it is in a completely different world and on different rules. The proposal aimed to expand the capacity and sustainability through the permanent sectors. The extra platforms are introduced on top of the existing precedent.

Different programs are introduced to the mass as the tools to catalyse movement and occupation of people. The transportation cores are designed with different interchange level to help generate exposure. Occupying ground level plaza of the adjacent buildings and connection to different spots above ground helps the mass to merge into the fabric of the site. Different spots inside the mass are assigned to be use for communal uses such as school, hospital, temple, and parks. Where the occupation of each space also got distributed to more than one platform level. The arrangement inside the programs are to be mange by its authority using the scaffolding system.

Series of plans are showing the connection being made from the project to other building. From ground level up until the beginning of the mass.

A detailed plan of the Eighth Floor of the project, presenting an example of how the free units occupation system could create the variety of circulation, spatial quality, relationship and also shows the influences of the composition of the catalysts.

The unit occupation runs under a governing rule, which allow different amount of space for different usage and number of user. The possibility of the arrangement on the platform is endless and it would reflect the way the cities are managing themselves.

Series of Section drawings representing the variety of spaces at different points of the mass and how it connect to the Chungking Mansions and the surroundings.

Rendered views from different spots visualising how the project will retain the spatial values that act as an incubator of social interaction which were found in the Chungking Mansions.

Chungking Mansions - An Organic Dystopia

Chungking Mansions is where it presents a dense community of people from different ethnicity and pursuit. It reveals a strong organic pattern of how the space got occupied and operated. Chungking Mansions appears to be an alien island of the developing world lying in Hong Kong's Heart, due to its reputation for drug, theft, and prostitution problems.The building attracts tourists who seek for cheap accommodation, businessmen from developing countries who come to buy cheap goods which were manufactured in China and bring back to be sell in their countries, temporary workers who will get paid at better rate than they would at their home country, or even asylum seekers who knows Hong Kong would let them in. It is an ease to come to Hong Kong with its frequent flight, and generous visa policy. Apart from that, the building also hold permanent residents and shop managers as well. It is the community of South Asians and African that is almost being separated from the Hong Kong scene.

 The Plan of the podium and towers mass,

which is being performed in versions and could only be navigate through a labyrinthic manner.

An exploded axonometric showing how divisions of private residences, 

Guesthouses, and business Offices are related.

Two 7 persons elevators run through each tower block, where each of them stop at every other floor.

The sections show the pattern of different sectors.

Types of business which are operating on the podium of the building.

A Zoom-In to a floor of a tower block, showing subdivisions and how they are connected by a small corridor.

Being located in Tsim Sha Tsui District, a major business hub of Hong Kong peninsula, the building has got provided with 4 transportation channels within 5 minutes walk.

 Social Structure inside the building is perform in a complex way, due to wide range ethnic background, belief, and personal experiences. Different reasons of being at the building affect how one navigates and uses the space.

Temporal aspect shows when different groups join the community, and how global events affected the user's behavior.

The precedent has reflected the 3 values; Diversity, Flexibility, and Community, that together form an informal structure. Rules are emerging from this structure, which has emerged from the people. This questioned 'How much individuality of user can architecture imparts?'

active scene in the market place

waiting for elevator on Ground floor

small corridor inside the tower

guesthouse's double bedroom

air shaft inside the tower

Living in 4 sq.m.

The concept of one continuous surface which  allow the user to perform different household activities, including, toilet, washing, cooking, area of sitting, sleeping, eating and working.

under the surface are serve as different type of storage, from cooking utensil, hanging cloths and other un-use items.

Based from the analysis of human gesture, generate into the functional space where the negative area perform an circulation (base on the human gesture) of the room as well as the primary furniture where user can perform an ordinary household activities.

maximize the capacity of the storage space by using the positive area 

(area where doesn't involve human circulation), to storage all the necessary items.

Gestures, Objects, and Interactions

ACTS maps are showing the gestures perform in the house, with furniture or object erased away. They are not fixed to any particular activity but to show a variety of body and its spatial application.

The ACTS maps are to read in parallel with the OBJS map to create relationship between the body and the object. The OBJS maps are showing surfaces at different level, size, and orientation.

The ambiguity presented in the two set of maps allow freedom for reader to interpret or to create relationship between each single map from the sets. It opens up the possibilities of activity, and  questioning the definition of spaces in the house that got divided into certain rooms. Examples of the relationship are shown in the SCENARIOS map, where they show pairings, combinations, shared qualities(which might be defined later by material), and requirements of infrastructure.