Plot ABC by Blue Temple: A grassroots initiative that explores sociocultural heritage

Amidst Yangon’s shift towards luxury developments, this grassroots initiative stands out as a pilot project for a more humanised city development, making use of a locally abundant material.

The site is located in Myanmar’s Yankin Township, north of downtown Yangon, close to Inya Lake along a rainwater open-air canal. This space was originally used by the Engineering Department of Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) to collect sediments that are deposited along the canal and end up clogging the flow of runoff water. It was filled with bushes, wild grass and rubbish, and there were many complaints of drug use and violence.

Thus, the community begun to speak up for their rights and organised themselves to transform the 0.4-acre space into a multifunctional pocket park. After two years, they were able to raise funds to start the construction, including a grant from Design Trust in Hong Kong.

Inspired by heritage

The park includes a chin lone court (traditional Burmese ball game), a zayat (senior resting area), urban community farm, and open sports field that can also serve as a venue for events. In the absence of a pagoda, the scaffolding-type bamboo pavilions are meant to create ‘atriums’ of focal points, providing shelter from the sun for elders and other visitors. The pavilions were inspired by Myanmar’s bamboo scaffolding construction techniques as an intangible heritage that is slowly disappearing as it is replaced by contemporary structures.

Raphaël Ascoli, the architect engaged in the park and pavilions’ design, shared: “The start of the journey was punctuated by two noticeable events”. The first was meeting U Moe who has been the person in charge of bamboo scaffolding construction for the Shwedagon Pagoda for the past 40 years. Ascoli travelled to U Moe’s home in Shwe Pyi Thar township to be shown traditional bamboo binding techniques using coconut rope. “I was very excited to meet this person and had prepared so many questions to ask him; this was a magical moment.”

The second was participating in a workshop held by the Hong Kong Institute of Construction, where master bamboo builders demonstrated various knotting techniques that could be used to build high-rise scaffolding. “The knots are done by hand and using simple double knots for the end parts,” Ascoli recalled.

Bamboo design exploration

During the early conceptual design stage of the project, Ascoli also asked his students from Yangon Technological University (YTU) to propose ideas as part of a Master’s architectural design studio. “As the design was unique, and we were using bamboo as the main construction material, it was very difficult to calculate its exact structural strength. A full-scale prototype was required to test the methods and materials to guarantee the feasibility of construction and the safety of the public for years to come. We chose to go to the countryside, closer to the supplier and homes of the workers to test the design, on the outskirts of Bago City, north of Yangon.”

There was a small plantation of Bambusa vulgaris near the prototyping site, so the team tested its suitability for construction. As the culm diameter of this species is relatively big and difficult to bend, the team built a homemade water vaporiser, hollowed out the bamboo pole and heated it from the inside, and used a low-tech mechanical system to slowly start the bending process. This montage allowed them to distribute the heat throughout the entire pole and to keep it moist to avoid cracking. But although this technique proved to be promising, the team didn’t have enough time to optimise it.

“We ended up using Bambusa tulda Roxb., another species that was readily available in the area,” Ascoli said. Since this species holds low cellulose content within its fibres, termites were naturally not attracted to it. Reaching the curvature required to build the pavilions’ shape was another vital consideration. “We needed to pre-bend the bamboo, otherwise it would crack during assembly. For each of the two pavilions we were building, we needed two pre-bending stations, one per structural element, to optimise the construction process and avoid cracking.”

Architecturally, the curved bamboo structures are wrapped in tarpaulin to both shelter the inhabitants and protect the bamboo from weather exposure. The tarp terminates around an oculus, which keeps the interiors open to the sky.

Landscape improvements

The landscape is comprised of soft, sandy soil due to the excavation of sediment from the canal. The architects used this to their advantage by playing with levels to create spaces at different elevations. The chin lone court is a dug-out, sunken space, while the zayat is raised higher up above the rest of the site. The playing field and exercise equipment is placed on the flat space in between.

The team also proposed solutions to make the space safer and healthier to use. These include partially burying the drain underground into a pipeline, planting fragrant plants to make the space more enjoyable to use, keeping the public at a safe distance from the remaining drain, and planning in advance the yearly maintenance work of the city to dig out and clean the drain from the effects of sedimentation.

The construction of this project coincidentally begun at the start of the military coup in Yangon, during a time of extreme political instability. Widespread fear of arrest permeated the city, making community spaces essential. The pocket park managed to become a rare safe haven, shielded from soldiers due to its location. The design not only provided a secure space but also instilled hope for the restoration of a peaceful urban life amidst the turmoil.

PROJECT DATA

Project Name   
Plot ABC

Location            
Yangon, Myanmar

Completion Date
2021

Site Area           
1,700 square metres

Gross Floor Area            
1700 square metres

Building Height
6 metres

Architecture Firm          
Blue Temple

Principal Architect         
Raphaël Ascoli

Main Contractor            
Monkey Joint

Images/Photos
Александр Дыль

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