Housing Asia

Magazine / 1st Quarter 2022

Housing Asia

Dear FuturArc Readers,

It might be mind-boggling to imagine now, but we might be cohabitating with sea creatures like sharks in the near future.

The picture in my mind is a particularly fascinating drawing of a shark-like contraption created by one of the children at Toyo Ito’s school (see FuturArc Interview). At least the children in his school have already visualised that scenario when asked to design a house that floats on water—alluding to the increasingly real possibility that humans would have to live on or under water as a result of climate change, which was what spurred the world’s largest prototype for a floating city to be built in South Korea (see Happenings).

What is a house? What is a living space? These same questions world-renowned architect Toyo Ito raised with his students that he shared during his conversation with us are the same key pointers that laid the foundation when building this issue.

To Ana Malia Falemaka, a youth activist from Tonga who spoke at the Asia-Pacific Housing Forum, a home is “an essential space for children to grow; our homes must first of all be safe and healthy for them to live in”. That means it is not enough just to have the bare bones of a roof over one’s head to call a house a home. In Asia, the question of having enough or sufficient housing is still a mammoth work-in-progress task to address—it is about closing the gap. Main Feature contributor Luis Noda, Habitat for Humanity’s Vice President for Asia-Pacific, calls for greater private-public collaboration to ensure that the most vulnerable of social groups has access to this basic human right in an ethical, sustainable way.

In Vietnam, Dr Le Thi Hong Na and Nguyen Viet Hien examine in detail ways to adapt the beloved traditional street house to modern high-rise apartments without losing the core principles of spatial flexibility and environmental responsiveness that reside in the heart of the street house. Such familiarity in local culture is an important part of what makes a home in Vietnamese cities. And that significance is reflected in the variety of housing offered across different social groups represented in this edition—from leveraging modular methods and offering flexible affordable apartment options to prioritising blue-green ecosystem services in an ‘eco-city’ complex and a vertical haven of air, light and greenery housing three generations.

If one is comfortable in one’s living environment, one might call it their habitat. It is also the namesake of one of the world’s most famous residences that has redefined the high-rise apartment typology. Like the definition, Habitat ’67 was designed to give greater comfort to residents by bringing more air and light into the living space. Bhawna Jaimini reviews the iconic project and the latter modifications birthed from the original idea; she also spoke to Charu Kokate, Partner at Safdie Architects, to glean insights on the back story of Habitat ’67 and its recent adaptations by the firm, as well as the housing crisis amidst the current climate.

My favourite takeaway from this issue is Eko Prawoto’s philosophy of living and life in general. He shared how amused he gets from city folks’ curiosity about his humbly sufficient way of life: “I am sometimes asked, ‘If you live in a village, are there snakes? Are there mosquitoes?’ Sure, there are. There are also termites, all kinds of critters—and so what? This is their home—I’m simply a boarder; I live alongside them.”

In his own way, he may have found a solution to most of modern world’s problems today of insufficiency—if we learn to live within our means with decency and respect, without encroaching on others and Nature due to greed or selfishness, we could be well on our way to enabling more to have access to the basic human right of housing.

Table of Contents
1Q 2024: HEALTH/WELLNESS
MAIN FEATURE
The Symbiotic Relationship between Housing and Health

PROJECTS
JSW Sanjeevani Multispecialty Hospital
Green Oasis: Handmade with Love for Health
Ordos Smart Sports Park
Siu Lam Integrated Rehabilitation Services Complex
Healthy Homes: The Importance of ‘Blank Spaces’
Public Housing Developments at Queen’s Hill, Fanling
Meeting Societal Needs: Kitakami Health & Childcare Support Complex
Buon Ma Thuot University Hospital


THE FUTURARC INTERVIEW
Milinda Pathiraja, PhD

COMMENTARY
Seeking Wellness from the Earth

HAPPENINGS
FuturArc Exchange and Exhibitions (FEX)
Products




Previous issues:

4Q 2023: YEAR-END ISSUE | WATER
MAIN FEATURE
The Ecosystems of Water

THE FUTURARC INTERVIEW
Khondaker Hasibul Kabir & Suhailey Farzana, Co.Creation.Architects

PROJECTS
Towards a Healthier, More Resilient Future in Flood-Prone Kurigram
Living on Water: Floating Homes
Jin Wellbeing County
Virdas: An Ingenious Water Harvesting Marvel of Banni’s Sustainable Landscape
Bintaro Jaya West District Master Plan
Hong Kong’s First District-Wide Grey Water Recycling System at Anderson Road Quarry Site
Indre Laksevåg Master Plan




COMMENTARY
Rebuilding Before Building

HAPPENINGS
Notes from the Rebuilding Pavilion at the World Congress of Architects
Collaborations to Strengthen Malaysia’s Climate Action at IGEM 2023
FuturArc Exchange and Exhibitions (FEX)
Products




3Q 2023: GREEN AWARDS | CROSS-GENERATIONAL ARCHITECTURE
MAIN FEATURE
FuturArc Prize 2023: Cross-Generational Architecture

FUTURARC PRIZE 2023 WINNERS
First Place | Renewing Water-edge Communities
Second Place | Re-generational Architecture
Third Place | A Scaffolding System Adapted for Double Aging
Third Place | A Small Intervention: Urban Bamboo Forest

MERITS
Floating Community and Training Centre By the River
Connecting Separate Generations
Keeping Communities Afloat Over the Flood
Future-proofing an Oceanic Village
A ‘Groundscaper’ Workspace
A Hybrid Ecological ‘Reincarnation’ of a Landfill Community
A ‘School’ of Remembrance



THE FUTURARC INTERVIEW
Emi Kiyota, PhD

PROJECTS
For the Love of Dog
House of the Sacred Fig: The People Tree House

COMMENTARY
Designing for Non-humans as an Act of Service
Design for Aging is Design for All

HAPPENINGS
Climate Feature | Special Focus: International Green Building Conference 2023
FuturArc Prize 2023: Awarding Winning Cross-Generational Architecture Design Ideas
ARCHIDEX 2023 Achieves Major Milestones
FuturArc Exchange and Exhibitions (FEX)
Products




2Q 2023: OLD IS GOLD
MAIN FEATURE
Pioneers of Tropical Living: Singapore’s ‘Middle-aged’ Condos

THE FUTURARC INTERVIEW
Dr Johannes Widodo

SHOWCASE
Architectural Restorations for Remote Countryside Regeneration in Hong Kong

COMMENTARY
Climate Feature: Cultivating the Right Tree in the Right Place

IN CONVERSATION
Gurmeet S. Rai
PROJECTS
Uplifting History Sensitively: 137 Pillars House
Benjakitti Forest Park
The Old Alley’s Way of Life: Architecture Office in Hao Sy Phuong
An Ecologically Sensitive Continuation of the Old Tai Po Police Station: Green Hub
Reimagining Heritage: Architectural Regeneration in Rural China

HAPPENINGS
FuturArc Exchange and Exhibitions (FEX) | 2Q 2023
Cultural Wisdom for Climate Action: The Southeast Asian Contribution
Products

PHOTO ESSAY


1Q 2023: MOBILITY & TRANSPORT
THE FUTURARC INTERVIEW
Bryant Lu
Elisa Sutanudjaja

PROJECTS
Regeneration of Disused Transport Infrastructure
MRT Kota Station: Catalysing a Historic Node
Cakra Selaras Wahana (CSW): Articulating a Lost Roundabout
The Longest Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge in Flanders, Belgium
The Rise of PAREX in Manila: An Antithesis to Green Mobility
A Greener Future for September 23 Park

COMMENTARY
Climate Feature: Climate Targets and the Transportation Sector
Roads Reimagined
Cable Cars as Feasible Urban Transport Option?
Can Pune be a Case Study for Indian Cities to Improve Pedestrian Infrastructure?

HAPPENINGS
Can Indonesia accelerate the adoption of net zero buildings?
FuturArc Exchange and Exhibitions (FEX)
Products



4Q 2022: YEAR-END ISSUE | POLICY VS PRACTICALITY, PRACTICE VS PRINCIPLES, PROGRESS VS PLANET
MAIN FEATURE
The Uneasy Relationship Between Architecture Practices and Labour

FUTURARC INTERVIEW
Swati Janu

PROJECTS
Private Houses, Public Good?
A Tale of Two Platinum Firsts
Huma Betang Umai: What Should a Future Governmental Palace Look Like?

COMMENTARY
Form Follows Political Paradigm: A Reflection on Indonesia’s New Capital City
Peak Heat: Learning from London’s Hottest Days
Land Reclamation in Asia: Is Eco-engineering Possible?





PHILIPPINE FOCUS
City Profile | Quezon City: Setting up an Infrastructure of Sustainability
Commentary | Master-planning Happier Philippine Cities
Project | Hue Hotel Wave Front

HAPPENINGS
WGBW spotlights recent efforts to advance net zero around the world
IGEM 2022: Can we push a ‘carbon report card’ for every single building?
WCSC 2022: What entails a liveable and resilient urban future?
IBEW 2022 aims for Industry Transformation
Better Climate Festival 2022: Preparing an industry ecosystem to meet carbon targets
Products


3Q 2022: GREEN AWARDS | REINTERPRETATION
MAIN FEATURE
FuturArc Prize 2022: Reinterpretation Jury Panel & Comments

FUTURARC PRIZE (FAP) 2022 WINNERS
First Place | A Chronographic Blueprint:
Reinstating the Valley of Hope

Second Place | Biodivercity: A Story of Flight
Third Place | Revival Waste: Propagating Permaculture

MERITS
FluxToActive
Footsteps of Imagination
Agropolis
Wastefilter
Touch of Change
Low Garden
San Chung


FUTURARC INTERVIEW
Excerpts from FuturArc Prize 2022 Jury Meeting
Round-Table Discussion with FuturArc Prize 2022 Jurors

SHOWCASE
Ragunan Bio Park: A Nature-based update of Indonesia’s oldest zoo

COMMENTARY
And Now the Real World

HAPPENINGS
FAP 2022: Young talents awarded at BCIAA
FuturArc Exchange and Exhibitions (FEX) | 3Q 2022
Actionable steps for Malaysia’s building industry
Products


2Q 2022: NEW & RE-EMERGING ARCHITECTURE
MAIN FEATURE
Imagining a Building Culture Revived on Architectural Robustness

COMMENTARY
The Sky as a Source of Cooling & Other Tropical Innovations
Igniting Ideas from Other Insights
Reinforcing a Labour of Love
Re-emergence of the Vernacular in India

HAPPENINGS
SIWW & CESG 2022
The potential of circular materials for architectural use
Revitalised Tebet Eco Park opened as a Green oasis
How emerging architectural technologies can decentralise healthcare
Milestones & Events
Products

FUTURARC INTERVIEW
Wendy W. Fok

IN CONVERSATION
Aswin Indraprastha & Carlos Bañón:
Next-Generation Technologies in Architectural Design


PROJECTS
OCEANIX City: Keeping Future Cities Afloat
A Futuristic Idea of Using Nature to Heal & Manage Diabetes
Cocoa Craftsman Factory: The Building as a Chocolate Melting Machine
Daylight Ducts for High-Rise Offices


1Q 2022: HOUSING ASIA
MAIN FEATURE
Homes, not Houses
3d-printed housing in India
Homes built by homeowners in Sri Lanka
Carbon Tech Modular House in Indonesia

VIETNAM FOCUS
Adapting Vietnam’s Urban Street House to High-Rise Apartments
Hong Ha Eco City
The Nest Modular Housing
Tan Phu House

COMMENTARY
Public and Private Housing in Malaysia

HAPPENINGS
8th APHF: Mainstreaming Green throughout the housing value chain
Oceanix City
Milestones & Events
Products

SHOWCASE
Habitat ’67: Critique on a Classic & Its Modern Interpretations
Safdie Architects: Charu Kokate

FUTURARC INTERVIEW
Toyo Ito

IN CONVERSATION
Eko Prawoto: Living More Authentically With Nature

PROJECTS
Bay Window Tower House
AMN Student Housing
Baan Hom Din
Jervois Mansion
Permeability Housed

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