Networked Urbanism

design thinking initiatives for a better urban life

Design critics: Belinda Tato and Jose Luis Vallejo, principals of Ecosistema Urbano
Alghero School of Architecture

Master Studio carried on during the spring semester at the Alghero School of Architecture, Urbanism, Architecture and Design Department, University of Sassari. Exploring the Nurra Region in Sardinia, the territory with the lowest population density in Italy, with 5 inhabitants per km². This Region is facing important challenges in order to develop within a sustainable model. Resources, waste, economy, social, mobility, landscape (natural+man made), urban voids, digital layer,… are the topics chosen as a starting point for a deeper understanding of the actual reality and future challenges of Nurra.

The concept of our topic is to enhance the public awareness of cycling in the community. In the site (Hong Kong Velodrome), is a place which is only for professional, athletes to practise and participate cycling competitions. Besides, there is a park which is surrounding the stadium (cycling). However, this park also is not allowed (unopened) for public riding a bike in this area. Therefore, we try to spread the message in a creative way by demonstrating the right of cycling through our video, in order to enhance public awareness, cohesion of cycling and enjoy cycling in this community.

Wu Hang Hei Crystal
Wong Pui Sze Daisy
Wong Wai Sze
Tang Wing Sheung
Qi Shi Ting


We found a unreasonable issue. The park is built for encouraging people to ride bicycles. But why we cannot cycle outside the indoor bicycle stadium in that park? Although there is a bicycle path surrounded the park, cycling is not allowed inside. It provide a lot of inconvenience to the bicyle users.

Now, we are focusing on that park, Tsueng Kwun O City Town Park.

We went to the site and start to observe the users. We found that although there is a large signage asking not to cycle, no one follow the rule. So, is the signage useful? The video is to tease the useless of the signage and help people to reflect. We use a funny way to create a story and use some extreme methods to follow the instruction of the signage.

 

 


Tseung Kwan O is a new town of Hong Kong. In this workshop, we have site visiting at the beginning, then we have interview with the local resident. As a result, we find that there is lack of feature, outdoor space or feature and community center for strange people to have gathering no like other old place such as Sham Shui Po and Tsuen Wan. So the relationship of people become stranger and separated in this place especially.

This video aim to recall the attention for the urban landscape design problem of new town in Hong Kong through a little experience.


This is a video about the park planning of the Tseung Kwan O Waterfront Park. The message we want to introduce is that this park has lots of potential in multi-funtional instead of only seating and looking the see view. Therefore in the video, we dreamed some possible ways do in the public to use this area. However, sadly its just a dream.

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This video is about a citizen who sit in a park. However, the park is surrounded by schools and built nearly the road which is very busy and disturbing by the noise.
The citizen in the video cannot stay no longer in the park. He leaf and the park become unfrequented.

However, after building a lawn and planting plants, the trees block the noise from schools and road. Also, the trees can purify the air and increase the air quality. After the improvement, the park become vibrant and attracted more citizens to visit. Finally, the citizens in the video all enjoy the park.

After the video shooting, we found that a good planting design is important for the park. A designer should consider the surrounding area for the planting design to achieve ‘People, Tree, Harmony’.


This is our stop-motion video to raise the government awareness of people can use public space in different applications, and  asking people to show their potential by using places in different ways.


Group 11

Location:  Tseung Kwan O South Waterfront Promenade.

Having shelters are very useful and important in rainy seasons and in summer.  They may not be so obvious in nice weather, but they provide us shelter when there is heavy rain or extreme sunshine.

In our video, the secret angels are a symbol of shelters that protect the visitors on bad weather days.  Why is secret angel a secret? It’s because you don’t notice them unless you get into trouble.

You can see two secret angels trying to protect the visitors on a sunny day.  If the secret angels disappeared, the visitors would have had a heatstroke.

Also, secret angels protect the visitors on a rainy day.  When the secret angels disappear, the visitors will get wet and suffer from a cold.

Therefore, if there are no secret angels standing around you, you will be in a big big trouble.

At the end, shelters always protect us when needed, and often we forget about them in city planning. More shelters should be built or planted to provide pedestrian with a comfortable walkway, and at the same time decorate the surrounding environment.

 


Location: Domain roof top garden, Yau Tong, Hong Kong
Topic: Adventure in the city
We are not just the users, but also the adventurers!
This video talks about different ways to enjoy our time in a urban park. Although the space has limited facilities, we can still have fun ourselves. We want to deliver a message that “Use limited resources make unlimited ideas“.

Present by
Hui Ka Ki, Laura
Mak Ka Hei, Hayley
Tam Heung Yan, Jamie
Tong Wing Yi, Wing
Tse Kwai Wa, Laura
Wong Yuk Man, Jasmine

 

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Hong Kong have high educational level and is such a civilized city, still, cases of falling objects from height happens occasionally. Creating polluted areas, higher workload for cleaners, and MOST important POTENTIAL THREAT to people who pass by.
Imagine you are the victims, and these fallen objects injure the people you love…

Fact is, the proportion of rubbish bins and citizens are enough around the city, we can definitely keep our trash for a while, throw to a bin when we see one. To do better, pick up the rubbish we see on street, even we are not the ones who produce it. At home, clip the cloths you hang outside tighter, so it does not get blown away and create awkwardness. Don’t put heavy objects by the windows, or make sure the things you put there don’t fall. So we can enjoy a safe and clean Hong Kong.

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This video is about using dog poops as a fertilizer which added to the planter, increasing greening area that based on the existing fences at Wan Po Road Pet Garden.

This is a popular pet garden and pet garden has to separated by fences for safety reasons. It can keeps the owners stay with their dogs, and separates the road and garden. But the fences is designed like a jail and make people stressful.

So we design some planters that placed below the fences, and the plants can climb up the fences that work similar to vertical greening. The planter is designed like a flatten excrement collection box thus it can blocks the smell of the poops, so when people carry up the poops, they can put those into the planter then used as fertilizer which benefits to the plants.

So finally, we come up with a way that make dog poops become a useful fertilizer and make the pet garden greener.


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