why i became fascinated by bangkok water communities...

Thanks to MIT, I spent the first 2 weeks of my summer traipsing around SE Asia, including a boat tour of informal settlements along the historic canals of Minburi, a suburb NE of Bangkok.

There were many many things that caused me moments of pure wonder, delight and amazement at the ingenuity, hardiness and dignity that these people claimed and displayed. Note jet ski parking at lower left.

That they are still standing is all I can say with regard to the structural integrity of these buildings, but certainly the occupants know how to accessorize for the home. Note the laundry line, a dishwashing area, ladders to the 2nd level and a Thai flag at the "front door".

raft (n) : a collection of logs or timber fastened together for conveyance by water, a flat structure for support or transportation on water (www.m-w.com);
a front porch, a laundry room, a sundeck (myself)

water weeds =/= water garden?

Attempt at capturing the essence of my fascination: When a system has failed to provide the physical elements needed for a modern lifestyle, people will find means to create those physical elements for themselves because the will to live and intuition to build can and will overcome those constraints.

Again, but shorter: All theory for design education aside, these people know a lot more building by hand, economy of materials and pure function than I do because they "learned' it in order to survive. Why am I even learning architecture? Am I learning?

Last time, less existential, more practical (=thesis-y?): How did these structures and lifestyles evolve? How has improved water transport technology affected the way the canal has served the community (use of rafts --> jetskis)? How long have informal settlements existed in this form? Are there elements of traditional Thai architecture present? What is traditional waterfront Thai architecture? With so many people living in these conditions, is it possible for the Thai vernacular architecture to absorb some of the qualities of these canal communities?

stab #1

At Alan's prompting, I took a stab at it. 3 of my initial ideas for thesis topic below:

1. relationship of water to housing typology in waterfront informal settlements, particularly low income communities within urban context (ie. mumbai, thailand) espeically understanding how people form a lifestyle around the water, ie. how it presents hardships, enriches their lives, provides economic opportunities, etc. how infrastructure of canals, linear land strips are embedded in history of country (irrigation, cultural method of dividing land to sons in will). not sure exactly how to take a stance on this...

2. sense of community in informal settlements; DIY construction methods, materials, structural integrity of homes in informal settlements; how much planning/how vibrant are they are communities? esp, compared to govt planned or private designed home. is community vibrancy designed or intuitive? can vibrancy be designed?

3. legitimacy of christopher alexander's pattern language; are places experienced and understood through certain distinguishable elements?

At this point, I am most partial towards #1, mostly because I have the trip to Bangkok fresh in my memory and I still am thoroughly amazed at the way people live because they have to. Architecture aside, there is plenty that I am intrigued and humbled by.

Anyway, it was mostly agreed upon in class that a blog might be a convenient way for us to organize and archive our development process. So I'll be posting musing, links, images and hopefully some legitimate ideas here from now on. To start with, some of the more interesting questions from the 10 minute discussion in class today:

• What are the ways in which settlements encounter water? Also, does the type and/or size of body of water matter (ie. river, lake, ocean, etc)
• How does the relationship of the water to a community change as the community develops or matures? Is there a pattern that can be recognized?
• What sort of role does water play in a particular settlement or community (including economic, social, religious, cultural, etc)? Are there similarities or differences regionally?

Anyway, I hope to have some relevant answers to those questions for next time. Thanks for reading and remember, comments/criticisms/suggestions are always welcome =)