Equity and Urban Interventions
Dear FuturArc Readers,
There was a quote that I came across while doing this edition that moved me. “We don’t move through time, time moves through us.”
Sarah Lynn Rees, who spoke at the Living Cities Forum organised in Australia, shared this anecdotal quote told to her by an elder in her community—she is a descendant of the Plangermaireener and Trawlwoolway people of North-East Tasmania. She talked about the role of indigenous knowledge systems for creating an inclusive, sustainable built environment.
And as time moves through the making of this Cities issue, we see how it has played out as an underlying narrative in the stories covered. The tensions cities face that emerged from the inevitable tide of change—changes in climate; distribution of resources; geographical and physical landscapes; as well as urban fabric.
Dzung Do Nguyen (urban planner; CEO of enCity), Heather Banerd (urban and landscape designer), and Milinda Pathiraja (Co-founder of RAW) wrote a critique on Hoi An and Kandy respectively—about how these two World Heritage cities are struggling to balance the demand for development with preserving its natural and cultural assets; each having to contend with ‘urban progress’ against the backdrop of ecological resources intersecting with their colonial past and the crises-ridden present.
With a panel of professionals: Dr Yayat Supriatna (urban observer and lecturer); Sacha Schwarzkopf (Director at AECOM); Daniel Lim and Gan Yi Reng (placemaking experts from Think City), we discussed extensively issues of equity and how different urban interventions and solutions could address them now. Principal and Founding Partner of People’s Architecture Office James Shen’s Plugin systems, which have developed into several permutations as an answer to cities’ call for solutions, could serve as a way to literally connect the old with the new with little time and minimal wastage.
An indicator of a well-designed, well-planned city is by measure of its walkability—Richard Lambert, an expert in the field, discoursed at length on why Asian cities, which were historically designed for walking, need to bring back more walkable streets now. We also look at future and present projects that attempt to foster ties with city dwellers by their intent, impact and function.
Going back to where I began, in the same forum, Anupama Kundoo, India-born and Berlin-based architect, made a case for slow architecture—looking at time as a resource—saying, “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”
In today’s climate, where most cities are hard hit by natural or man-made disasters, and with the disadvantaged or marginalised bearing the brunt of such blows, have we stopped to consider if what we are doing is effective and necessary or useless and excessive?
Drop us an email to let us know what you think.
Candice Lim
Editor-in-Chief
Table of Contents
1Q 2022: HOUSING ASIA
Previous issues:
4Q 2021: YEAR-END | NOW & THEN
3Q 2021: CITIES ISSUE | EQUITY AND URBAN INTERVENTIONS
2Q 2021: WOMEN IN ARCHITECTURE
| Main Feature: Intersectional Feminism for a Sustainable Future | Kotchakorn Voraakhom |
| Yasmeen Lari | Ganga Rathnayake |
| Serina Hijjas | Ching-Hwa Chang |
| Sonali Rastogi | Milestones |
| Maria Warner Wong | Product Advertorials |
1Q 2021: ENERGY
MAIN FEATURE
FuturArc Prize & FuturArc Green Leadership Award 2020 Winners
PROJECTS
The Green Hostel Village, CUHK – Jockey Club Postgraduate Halls 2 & 3
House No. 17
H.A House
Forest In The Sky
Viettel Academy Educational Centre
THE FUTURARC INTERVIEW
Prasoon Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO, billionBricks
HAPPENINGS
BCI Asia Top Ten 2020
Milestones & Events
Book Review
Product Advertorials
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT 2020
Information on FuturArc Prize & FuturArc Green Leadership Award
Jury & jurors’ comments
FuturArc Prize 2020 winning entries
FuturArc Green Leadership Award 2020 winning entries
MAIN FEATURE
Urban Farming
THE FUTURARC INTERVIEW
Veera Sekaran, Founder, Greenology
CITY PROFILES
Singapore
Kuala Lumpur
Dhaka
FUTURARC SHOWCASE
Thammasat Green Roof
Main Feature
Frontlines of Ecological Practice
The FuturArc Interview
Yu Kongjian (Professor for landscape architecture, Peking University; Founder, Turenscape) and
Lou Yongqi (Dean, Tongji University’s College of Design and Innovation in Shanghai; Founder, TEKTAO and Design Harvest)
Futurarc Showcase
Shanghai Houtan Park & New Jindai Elementary School
Main Feature
Designing for Health
The FuturArc Interview
Ken Yeang, Principal, T. R. Hamzah & Yeang Sdn. Bhd.
Projects
Rural Clinics and Facilities
Shanghai Greenland Center
Our Lady of The Assumption Catholic Primary School
Healthy HAUS
Office For Communique
URBN Hotel
People
In Conversation with Palinda Kannangara
Commentary
Putting Wellness at the Heart of Building Design
Happenings
Milestones & Events
BCI Asia Awards 2019
Product Advertorials
Main Feature
FuturArc Prize & FuturArc Green Leadership Award 2019 Winners
The FuturArc Interview
Brinda Somaya, Architect & Urban Conservationist
Special Supplement 2019
• Information on FuturArc Prize & FuturArc Green Leadership Award
• Jury & jurors’ comments
• FuturArc Prize 2019 winning entries
• FuturArc Green Leadership Award 2019 winning entries
Happenings
Milestones & Events
BCI Asia Awards 2019
Projects
• Brick Cave
• Stepping Park House
• Chennai Airport
• Z9 Resort
• The Confluence Club
• 3500 Millimeter House
• iSchool Quang Tri
• Sengkang Riverside Park Large Childcare Centre
• Chai Wan Campus for the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi)
• The University of Chicago Center in Hong Kong
FuturArc Interview
Rural-Urban Dichotomy
Projects
The FuturArc Interview
Main Feature
Happenings
BCI Asia Top Ten 2018
Milestones & Events
The FuturArc Interview
The FuturArc Showcase
- Beauty in Zero
Projects
- Neeson Cripps Academy
- Urban Rigger
- TK-SMA BPK PENABUR Summarecon
- Institute for Integrated Learning in Management Campus
- Aravali Institute of Management
- University of Central Asia Naryn Campus
- The International School of Kuala Lumpur
- Heriot-Watt University Malaysia
- Lung Luong Elementary School
- Sentia School
The FuturArc Interview
People
Projects
- The Ey Centre
- An Urban Infill
- The Office Typology, India
- Bamboo Research and Training Centre
- Between Inside and Outside: Small Offices, Vietnam Viet My Office
- The Biophilic Workplace, Vietnam
Commentary
The FuturArc Interview
The FuturArc Interview
Books
People
Commentary
Happenings
Milestones & Events
The FuturArc Interview
Main Feature
People
FuturArc Interview
Commentary
- A New Era of Philippine Infrastructure
- When Architects Become Mayors
- Are Naturally Ventilated Office Buildings Now a Lost Cause?
Happenings
Milestones & Events
Projects
- China Fuzhou Jin Niu Shan Trans-Urban Connector
- Brick by Brick
- Living & Learning Design Centre
- Indian Institute of Technology
- Jodhpur
- Menara Kerja Raya
- Mapletree Business City II
- A First with Geothermal Energy
The FuturArc Interview
Commentary
Happenings
The FuturArc Interview
Main Feature
People
Happenings
- BCI Asia Awards 2017
- Special Focus
Milestones & Events
The FuturArc Interview
- Janine Benyus Biologist, Innovation Consultant, Author, Partner and Co-founder of Biomimicry 3.8
The FuturArc Showcase
- Thao Ho Home Furnishings & Environmental Education Center
Main Feature
Commentary
Happenings
Special Supplement 2016
- Featuring information on the FuturArc competitions, jurors and winning entries
- FuturArc Prize 2016 Winners
- FuturArc Green Leadership Award 2016 Winners
Projects
- New Lawuga School
- Earth Village
- Toigetation
- Cornwall Gardens
- Automated Warehousing Facility
- Cyberjaya Community Recycling Collection Centre
- House No. 10
- Naman Retreat
- University Library Extension, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Jurong Community Hospital
- Pioneer and Crescent Halls, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Main Feature
People
FuturArc Interview
Happenings
Milestones & Events
Product Advertorials
The FuturArc Interview
The FuturArc Interview
The FuturArc Interview
Main Feature
FuturArc Interview
Happenings
Milestones & Events
Projects
Commentary
Vietnam focus
- In Conversation with Luu Thi Thanh Mau
- Projects: VH House
- Projects: Ccasa Hostel
- Commentary: Private vs State Housing: A Review from Hanoi
The FuturArc Interview
Special Supplement 2017
- Featuring information on FuturArc Prize 2017, jurors and jurors’ comments
- FuturArc Prize 2017 winning entries
Main Feature
Happenings
Projects
- Canton First Estate
- Public Housing, Hong Kong
- Plug-In City 75
- Apollo Tyres Global R&D Center
- Imagine Studio at The Trees
- Banjarejo Market
- Fibonacci Library
- Sasana PJH
- Altlas Hotel in Hoi An
- Maison T
The FuturArc Interview
The FuturArc Interview
People
Main Feature
Happenings
Milestones & Events
Product Advertorials
The FuturArc Interview
The FuturArc Showcase
- Paramit’s Factory in the Forest
Commentary
Happenings
- Milestones & Events
Projects
- Tangshan Organic Farm
- Shenzhen East Waste-to-Energy Plant
- Pixelet
- Rajasthan Solar Processing Zone
- Method South Side Soapbox
- Stanford University
- Central Energy Facility
- Deutsche Bekleidungswerke Ltd Factory Long Hau
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