JIAQI HAN
URBAN LOBBY IN NANTOU
In Nantou old town, wearing slippers is one of the most common behaviors. The habits of wearing slippers have evolved in tandem with the past and present of Nantou. Once Nantou was the downtown, the wall was a physical boundary. Businessmen in town wore slippers at home and decent cloth shoes outside so there was distinction between in side and outside.
Now Nantou has become a village surrounded by city, people wearing slippers from home to the outside streets in town walk freely. The home area reduced, but in fact the scope of home extends to the entire village, showing psychological boundary, redefining
home in Nantou and turning Nantou into an urban lobby.
In this project, I want to find a way to trace the routes of 3 kinds of people living in Nantou, rethinking the people's lives in Nantou with a research of the evolution of 3 kinds of collective residential houses in the famous town.
SCUT&UPENN Workshop
Tutor: Jason Ho(jason.zhisenho@gmail.com)
Exhibition &Site Study: Team Work, study with Jianqi Li, Jiajun Wu, Fan Fei, Yuqiao Liu, Runxian Wang, Wanxin Zhang
Site:Nantou Old Town, Shenzhen, China
Individual Design
Summer 2017
We see everyday life as a repository of all kinds of meanings. These range from the ordinary to the extraordinary that is hidden within ordinariness.
-Margaret Crawford
01 Informal City①
Slipperopedia②
-- use slippers’ types to define people’s identity:
Nantou Old Town, a village in city, a messy town in Shenzhen, is a place for immigrants and unemployed college students to search opportunities because of the low rent and mild climate. As the 2017 Bi-city Biennale Of Urbanism and Architecture opened in Nantou Town, artists and exhibitors renewed the town with a taste of the modernity art. In a group study, I found that many people like to wear slippers in Nantou, and people who wear slippers can be divided into 3 types, which constitue the population structure in Nantou.
According to our common sense, the scope of walking
with slippers is not limited to one family. But within
Nantou Old Town, I found that some people would wear slippers to cover a very long distance, even out of town.
How far do they walk wearing slippers? When do they
need to wear formal shoes? Perhaps the answers to these questions reflect the inner psychological boundaries of the big Home of the village in the city.
① Roy, Anna and Alsayyad, Nezar. Urban Informality. Lexington Books, 2003. Roy proposes an alternative view of informality, presenting it as “a series of transactions that connect different economies and spaces together.
② pedia is a suffix in English. A specialized encyclopedia about the prefix (e.g., "Slipperopedia" is an encyclopedia about slippers).
The slippers have the difference of the material and the style, such as whether it is dirt-resistant and durable, comfortable and suitable for long walks.
Different types of slippers reflect different occupations and lifestyles, and even the range of activities in which slippers are worn.
Figure.Key Elements Related to Slippers
02 The Urban Lobby
Wearing slippers reflects a relaxed and casual attitude: like at home without having to sit formally; the range of activities wearing slippers can thus reflect the boundaries between human action and psychological boundaries. (Figure. The Mapping of Psychological Boundaries in Nnatou)
The housing in the village is dense and small, but the boundaries of the home are extended through public functions such as street shops, outdoor living rooms, and public restrooms.
The graphics show different views of how people socialize in certain places, such as narrow alley space, yard and street corners, which can be recognised as Urban Lobbies. Those colourful senerios reveal the potential power of Urban Lobby and the psycological boundries as a definition of Home. (Figure. The Urban Lobby in Nnatou)
Figure.The Mapping of Psychological Boundaries in Nnatou
Figure. The Urban Lobby in Nnatou
03 Three Daily Stories of Residents
04 Possible Future Residential Projects for Three Types of Residents
TYPE1 FOR IMMIGRANTS
Immigrants take up the largest proportion of population in Nantou.The same hometown divides them into small communities.
The largest red circle indicates the maximum radius to which they socialize. (20m)
The second largest red circle in the middle indicates the living area of their acquaintances.(10m)
The smallest red circle indicates their private living radius.(2m)
Figure. The Interative Range of Immigrants
Figure. The New Dwellings for Immigrants
Outside View
The apartment retains the original social activities radius. Immigrants can seat in the courtyard, play mahjong, and watch their kids in the corner room at the same time.
Intside View
The TV rooms and the washing machines are at the corner as the main public halls. The apartment is only 20 m*m, considering the economical burden on the immigrants.
TYPE2 FOR ARTISTS
Artists are the new comers in Nantou Old Town after Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (Shenzhen&HK).
The largest red circle indicates the maximum radius to which they socialize. (15m)
The second largest red circle in the middle indicates the living area of their acquaintances. (10m)
The smallest red circle indicates their private living radius.(2m)
Figure. The Interative Range of Artists
Figure. The New Dwellings for Artists
From Yard
This is the art factory for artists in urban village Nantou. Artists hold different
art carnivals in the coutyard. In Nantou town, many objects from 90s' China are speaking
to nostalgia and Vaporwave in the old town.
Towards Yard
The passagers walk outside the art factory, watching the painting on the wall. The
lifestyle of artists will attract many residents.
TYPE3 FOR UNEMPLOYED COLLEGE STUDENTS
Unemployed students are the most mobile residents in Nantou Old Town. They seek the lowest rent and are willing to move out as long as finding their jobs.
The largest red circle indicates the maximum radius to which they socialize. (5m)
The second largest red circle in the middle indicates the living area of their acquaintances. (5m)
The smallest red circle indicates their private living radius.(2m)
Figure. The Interative Range of Unemployed Students
Figure. The New Dwellings for Unemployed Students
Upstairs Daytime
This is college dormitory for the students in the urban village Nantou. It is convenient for students to go to the Shenzhen University and Nantou Human Resources Market. So college students always exchange employment information in the lobby.
