the Self-Adjusting City

Master's Thesis for the Master of Architecture program | 2019 - 2020
Committee: Dr. Edson Cabalfin; Elizabeth Riorden; Michael McInturf

The thesis is a culmination of 9 months of research and attempts to answer this question:

What is the role of architecture in a self-adjusting, self-regulating creature that is "the City"?

The Self-adjusting City proposes the idea that we can build a better city if we simply give ourselves (the people) more control over our own environments. If we take the centralized megastructure, break it small, and integrate them into localized communities; combine high-tech and low-tech; mediate macro and micro scales; then we may find new potentials for future urban centers beyond Hồ Chí Minh City, and beyond Vietnam. To do so, we (as architects and urbanists) must make the study of urbanism accessible to people of all ages, from all walks of life.

The coexistence between the airport and the city has created tension, as analyzed in the historical accounts in this research. But the question perhaps should be shifted from a dichotomy (either/or) into a duality (both/and). In other words, there is potential in the tension. The interface between the airport and the city can be a start to a new system of growth, if a new system of guidelines truly take cues from the working class, the everyday life person who have to “make do”. If we carefully consider the idea of simultaneous breaking smaller the central megastructure and integrating it to localized communities, combining high-tech and low-tech, mediating large-scale and micro-scale, then we may find new potentials for future urban centers beyond Hồ Chí Minh City, and beyond Vietnam.

The New Sài-gòn starts with the city fabric as it is known today. Underlying the eclectic image, however, a network of independent neighbhorhood ‘clusters’ every 500-meter radius operate autonomously yet cooperatively with one another. Along street fronts, business is as usual, where “front rooms” alternate in functions, between offices and shopfronts to pop-up libraries. Looking up, one begins to see the hovering bamboo structures where houses and more neighboorhood activities happen at the level of the building roofs: social gatherings, children playspace after school. Each cluster has the same guiding themes for building their own version of the neighborhood: focus on building a social community, sustaining a collaborative livelihood for those who live and work there, as well as building a localized network of physical infrastructure that can aptly adapt to the inevitable fluctuations of people and the changing climate.

Alongside an active social infrastructure, the Self-Adjusting city proposes a micro-scale network of regeneration, where not only individual households or building owners are capable of generating their own electricity and compost their own waste, but they can join in to create a community-wide node of waste-to-energy “plant” within their 50-mile radius proximity, or providing for 500 people. One community may be able to support other communities as well in time of need, thus creating an adaptive city-wide network from the ground up.

Trang Le-Jentz | Architecture + Design Portfolio

5. Building-scale: solar photovoltaic panels

For the tropical/sub-tropical climate of Sài-gòn / Hồ Chí Minh City, solar power has an immense potential for electricity generation. Whether each household or building owner or several households work together to install a photovoltaic grid, the generated power would be a beneficial long-term strategy.

6. Community-scale: waste-to-energy micro generators

The waste-to-enegy micro generators address the problem of how to dispose and treat waste in a sustainable way. Recent developments in micro-scale waste incinerators is a promising technology for communities to not only be able to dispose waste themselves but to also gain power generation capacity from it.

7. Community-scale: off-grid electricity

Once waste is burned through the incineration process, the steam generated via micro-scale heat exchangers would power the turbine that would generate electricity. The power generated would facilitate community functions, such as electric-bike charging, community space lighting and power needs, among others.

8. Community-scale: flue-gas & waste treatment

To ensure the safety for the people as well as the environment, treatment for pollution before release into the air, especially flue-gas and waste from the incineration and electricity generation process, is an integral part to the waste-to-energy micro-unit. Increase tree and plant cover to further mitigate impact.

As the “nuclear-family” model popularized in the western hemisphere has proven to isolate individuals and even families from the larger community, and the rigid city-grid infrastructure fails to facilitate the growing number of inhabitants in and around the city, the guide for a Self-Adjusting city proposes a network of “social communities”, each covering a 50m radius of buildings and dwellings, or a community of 500 people. Whether a long-time city-dweller or a transplant from other parts of the country, the social community encourages the mixed-use nature of the tube-house, and engages with all generations within the community.

1. Active Streets

The street as public space and the front room as semi-private space. Temporary structures that host food stalls, fresh fruit and vegetable vendors, sidewalk barbers, maintaining and creating incentives for active streets will ensure people’s livelihoods. Such interactions between generations are the catalyst for a healthy community.

2. Rooftop Recreation

Taking further the act of claiming air rights, if one building can utilize its roof for the needs of its residents, multiple buildings can share rooftop space where not only utilitarian needs are fulfilled (drying clothes, raising chickens, or planting herbs), but there is also potential for community recreational space.

3. Elevated Gathering Space

The interior lots within a block can be utilized as gathering place for the community. By building up one to two levels above ground, community functions (soccer watch, festivals and family gatherings, among others) can take place above street traffic and allow room for community-scaled infrastructure below.

4. Multi-Generational Space

As families typically consist of two or three generations (parents, children, and grandparents), many times with both parents working, spaces that facilitates multiple generations in the community can foster a safe environment for children, and actively engage elders. Such interactions between generations are the catalyst for a healthy community.

While the airport and the aviation industry have been the symbol inequity, the airport field itself can be reclaimed for an urban-rural exchange network. Farmers from rural areas of the country can share their skills with people in the city, while city folks can share services and technology to advance urban agriculture. The airport field can serve as urban agricultural production sites, seeking cooperation from the city authorities. The result would be an urban-rural skill share network that can eventually redistribute resources more evenly across the country.

9. Harvesting Aircraft Energy

The potential energy from aircraft take-off and landing inspires a network of micro-terminal buildings, which can better accommodate air-traveling passengers at a smaller carbon footprint, while the network of energy-generating taxi-lanes support the energy needs of micro-terminal buildings.

10. Integrating Air and Field

In between taxi-lanes, the airfield can become crop fields for rice, grains and legumes. A restored and renewed network of drainage and canals not only support the agricultural production, but would support the overall needs for drainage for the airport and the city.

11. Testing Ground

Bringing agricultural production into the city, the airport field can be a testing ground for urban crop production. Connectivity to the residential and commercial areas means the available support from the community for both labor and consumption, and a potential for multiplication in other regions.

The interior lots within a block can be utilized as gathering place for the community. By building up one to two levels above ground, community functions (soccer watch, festivals and family gatherings, among others) can take place above street traffic and allow room for community-scaled infrastructure below.

12. Natural Habitat for Live and Work

With urban agriculture comes the need for rest points and more temporary housing solutions. Inspired by the houses of southern Vietnam, with thatched roof and bamboo columns and covered with wooden or lithoplate walls, the farmer’s housing and community rest point can be built quickly with local materials.

As families typically consist of two or three generations (parents, children, and grandparents), many times with both parents working, spaces that facilitates multiple generations in the community can foster a safe environment for children, and actively engage elders. Such interactions between generations are the catalyst for a healthy community.