Taejin Choi
About
S.Korea is moving on to the new era of 'class' society. While the previous generation had more common experience between each other regardless of their income background as they all went through the major wars and historical transformation together while being one of the poorest countries in the world, the current generations are experiencing a totally different life experience depending on which socio-economic income group their family's are. While there weren't many choices of luxury vehicles, fashion brands, hotel chains just about a few decades ago due to the multiple trade regulation, we now see more than ever, all the luxury brands rushing into the S.Korean market. This specification of 'brands' are dedicating people having a totally different lives depending on their income class compared to the past.
As these basic life experiences are becoming much more specified and segregated, people from different income classes are starting to see that they have literally nothing in common. With the slowly growing economy compared to the rapid developing period in the 80s, social mobility became much more difficult for the new generation.
Architecture absolutely plays a huge role in people experiencing different lives depending on their income group. More the 'class society' develops, more people never get to even see each other even though they are living in the same city. It is natural for the cities to have different sectors of neighbourhood based on the average income group of the resident. However, as much as the upper class are enjoying the great luxury life due to the national economic growth, the lower income class life should also be advanced together so we could avoid creating a massive gap between the different classes. My interest is narrowing down the gap of 'spatial privilege' between the different income groups. Not by stealing from the rich people, but by coming up with the great design in the affordable price range that even the lower income class could still have a life with dignity. By doing so, I hope to narrow down the 'cultural' gap between the people from different income classes.
Statement
When it comes to the city, the ‘brand new’ can be rather disadvantageous. The streets people love are those that have been built over
centuries. The combination of different styles within the aged fabric of the city makes the city look alive and real. The Aylesbury estate has had the capacity to house 7,500 people since the 1970s but has gone through slumization over the last few decades. In 2005, the London Borough of Southwark council made a conclusion that renovating the estate would be less economical than rebuilding everything after the demolition. A new masterplan was introduced in 2015, providing more houses whilst keeping 50% of the new development for affordable housing.
The approved proposal presented a limited number of material options (mostly brick) in order to maintain the continuity with the site and surrounding area, complimenting the ‘London Vernacular’. While the existing masterplan suggests a low density neighbourhood, I wanted to experiment with a hyper-dense scenario on this site, whilst maintaining 80% of the existing buildings. Although the Aylesbury estate is located centrally in London’s Zone 2 poor public transport connectivity has led the site and its surrounding area to be developed compared to North London. With the proposed extension of the Bakerloo line, Elephant park to the north and Old Kent road development to the south, and proximity to one of the largest parks in South London, I thought the Aylesbury estate would make a competitive position as an urban playground.
Aylesbury Estate Masterplan: New Mall
The project proposes a new ‘Mall’, a hotel, a skybridge. The mall is 40 meters long and 800 meters wide and isbuilt across the centre of the estate. This mall connects the Aylesbury to the Old Kent road development and Elephant park, through cycle lanes and pedestrian only open public space.
While designing the mall, I've used the styles of Georgian London. I wanted to bring the aesthetics of London’s city centre to the site, reflecting my idea that architecture gains value when adjacent to buildings of different styles and qualities. Reclaimed tiles have been used as a major pavement cladding to create a convincing ‘oldness’. While this mall is expected to attract more publics to come and enjoy the newly introduced city centre in South London, a hotel and the public entertainment space has been designed right next to it.
Medium: samplesample
Aylesbury Estate Masterplan: Adding the New Skyline to the South London
'While the existing masterplan suggests a low density neighbourhood, I wanted to experiment with a hyper-dense scenario on this site, whilst maintaining 80% of the existing buildings.' (From the Statement)
Value I: Scale / Hotel Project A
First thing I noticed while visiting the site was that the existing grid layout was wasting too much land, and that to increase the capacity of the land, new building on new layout would have been easier. However, I looked for value in the rare ratios and the layouts of the existing buildings.
The continuous horizontal buildings typical of Brutalist architecture are an unusual mass in contemporary development. The Aylesbury features two 10 and 13 storey tower blocks, up to 440 meters long, starting from the edge of the Burgess park to the North of the estate. These blocks seemed to be a great opportunity to create massive horizontal architectural experiences. A new sky-bridge is proposed on top of the blocks, to make a different urban experience, which with the Mall, define two new powerful public spaces in the city, a new landmark of South London.
Sky Bridge Connection
In this proposal the two blocks themselves are renovated into a hotel. The renovation sees the blocks treated with different styles on either side. This new aesthetic has been decided after a design process that revealed it would function better as a hotel after full renovation, rather than keeping the original cladding. Each architectural style has been based on the structural requirement for both sides of the blocks, one side is placing the sky-bridge above the building with a large pillar supporting it, whilst the other side is holding the sky-bridge as a cantilever structure over its façade.
Sky Bridge
Hotel Project B
Value II: See-Through
One of the other significant structural values I found from the existing building was the ‘thinness’ of the building. I thought this could become a great opportunity to make a ‘see-through’ building. To the East side of the hotel, there are three open spaces between the existing residential blocks. While those blocks are converted into a residential block, these in between ‘squares’ have been converted into a space for the art installation organised by the hotel. I wanted these art installations to be visible from the mall and the thinness of the building became a positive aspect on this matter.
Project Summary
The project experiments with a different approach to using reused materials, looking at an argument for their value in the construction industry beyond an environmental perspective. I wanted to develop a design argument which relies on the value of the reused material itself that cannot be manufactured from the factory. Reused materials create atmosphere in a new development; maintaining the existing grid layout and massing preserves the volume of cities from decades ago. These design efforts are effective in creating architecture of familiarity within regeneration, rather than a ‘brand new’ version of the city.
Recycle Reuse Elements Diagram
This page shows the design development process from selecting cladding which needs to be removed and adding the new structure for the new hotel's purpose.