Academic Portfolio

LIQUN MA

Bartlett School of Achitecture

HIGH-RISE ALLOTMENT GARDEN

A residential project for remote workers

Naples, Italy

REMOTE WORK

From the industrial revolution to the advent of digital technology, labor and communication remain the critical elements of sustaining the local economy. Remote work began in the 1970s and was coined by Jack Niles to describe a decentralized business framework as a solution to the increasing urban sprawl. This proposal was made possible because of Infrastructure and Communication Technology (ITC). Although it comes with different terminologies such as "telework", "virtual work", "work from home", or "flexible working", remote work is referred to as the concept of carrying the "work" in any locations acceptable by the employer, whether at home or shared office space through digital technology. The earliest report on economic and social implications of telework was done in 1996 by the UK-based Institute for Employment Studies, where they differentiated telemediated work into three main categories:

1. Individualized teleworking (i.e., homeworking, mobile working, or other forms carried out by individuals in isolation away from traditional office environment);

2. Teleworking involving the relocation of entire functions or group of workers to a remote site within national boundaries (i.e., satellite offices, telecenters, and call centers);

3. Cross-border teleworking (i.e., work outside national boundaries, whether outsourced or carried out internally by a transnational corporation).

A recent report by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission and Eurofound(see Figure 2) showed the percentage of actual teleworkers in Europe in 2018 compared to potential teleworking future utilization. The divide between a white-collar job and a blue-collar job also represents the teleworkability between the two. Data showed only 5% opted to work from home even though the job is teleworkable before the pandemic. The feasibility of teleworking across different occupations depended on the company's organization, labor distribution, and job hierarchy.

Remote work offers oppurtunities such as mobility, higher autonomy, lower stress, life choice fleibility, reduced commuting cost and time and less work-family conflict. Others are facing some challenges such as mental health issues, isolation and loniliness, work-life boundaries and difficulty connecting to network.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

High-Rise Allotment Garden is a housing project for about 800 people working remotely from home. Our aim is to integrate living and working spaces of different sizes and proportions into a single building envelope.

RESEARCH CLUSTER 0 | STUDIO MEDITERRANEO GROUP 3 | HIGH-RISE ALLOTMENT GARDEN

Design Tutor | Alessandro Bava | Tobias Jewson

Theory Tutor | Julian Siravo

Cengyi Wang | Jiaxi Zhang | Liqun Ma | Mark Trance

Project Workflow

STEP1 Module

The prefab construction in b-core slab material defines the sizes of modules and building envelope.

Project Objective

The housing project aims to combine green space and living space in a non-rhetorical way.

ML1 Footprint

The outdoor space decides the location of private work space.

ML2 Family

The distribution decides the combination

Step2 Cluster

The module aggregation results and the division of outdoor and indoor space are adjusted by the radiation model

Step3 Building Envelope

The clusters are combined into a building envelope formed by radiation analysis.

modules.

ML3 Interior Design

The furniture sets are alloted in each family unit.

ML4 Floor Plan

The floor plan is completed with the family units and shared space units.

BCORE SLAB (CORE TUBULAR STEEL)

BCORE slab are thin-walled core tubes sandwiched between top and bottom plates. The slab components are made-up of stainless steels, titanium and alloy steel. Each slab comes in a standard size of 12m long, 2 m wide, and 0.15m thick. They are manufactured into panels that made up the modular units through basic steel framing. BCORE system is a proprietary product made by Broad Group company based in Changsha, China.

MODULAR SYSTEM

The modular building is an integrated application form of BCORE system. BCORE modular system starts at a +/- 2m (w) x12m (l) x3m (h) transportation dimension. On site, the inner wall is deployed, making the dwelling area doubled in size. In post-installation phase, modules are connected according to designated unit type. The production cycle range from 1-6 months per building size configuration. Exterior walls, interior walls, doors, windows, floors, roofs, balconies, stairs and elevatiors are 100% factory-made.

ADVANTAGES

These units offer several advantages:

• TRANSPORTATION- - all components are shipped in containers

• CONSTRUCTION - less labor and lower cost (one room per worker per day), short construction period (1F/day)

• SUSTAINABILITY - recyclable, reusable, removable

• LIFE CYCLE DESIGN - 100x more resistant than carbon steel, service lfe can reach 10,000 years

• RESILIENCY - 10x lighter than concrete and can effectively resist earthquake and land subsidence

• EFFICIENCY - High insulation performance, multi-layered window glass, fresh-air heat recovery

DETAILS

EXTERIOR WALL-TO-FLOOR CONNECTION INTERIOR WALL-TO-FLOOR/CEILING CONNECTION

WATERPROOFING PROFILE OF ACCESSIBLE ROOF / BALCONY (SOURCE: BCORE SKYCITY )

Modules Construction in Slots

Modules for Dwellings

Modules Distribution in Slots Boundary

Front Modules for Dwellings

Back Modules for Shared Space

Aggregation Method

Middle Modules for Corridors

The a computational method is to stack the floors within a building envelope.The slots organize the circulation by locating certain modules.Their shapes can be adjusted at each floor to fit the different sizes of modules.The housing modules and shared space modules are assigned to the two sides of the corridors with connectors.

South-East Seeds

South-West Seeds

North-East Seeds

North-West Seeds

South-East Seeds

South-West Seeds

North-East Seeds

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The computational method is to stack the floors within a building envelope. The housing modules and shared space modules are assigned to the two sides of the corridors. The outdoor space for gardens and indoor space for living is divided in each housing module. On the basis of maintenance of the garden ratio as 0.5, the results are selected by 3 fitness objectives: minimizing the degree of structural exposure; minimizing garden fragmentation and maximizing radiation in the garden.

North-West Seeds Module Aggregation and Evolution

Module Seeds

Radiation Seeds

Garden Seeds

L-shape Cluster Compostion

Structure Layer

Outdoor Layer

Indoor Layer

Housing Units

Plumbing and Irrigation

Wasteline and Water Piping diagram

High Rise Allotment Gardens' primary challenge is the building systems due to its customized units and the sloping building topography. The modular B-Core slab system also adds constraints in running most typical building components, particularly the plumbing and irrigation systems. Since assigning a chase is a challenge on a volumetric modular unit, we run our plumbing system under the floor.

For the WASTE piping system, all toilets and kitchen waste run under the floor towards the corridor. Once outside the units, waste pipes converge in the core of the L-cluster building and connects to a central vertical line that collects all waste on every floor. The main waste pipe is then connected to the local cluster building septic tank and later dispose of wastewater to drain field or city sewer system.

All fixtures supplied by local water first enter the main building through the cluster meter for the WATER piping system. Receiving tanks hold the water until it is ready to pump into the rooftop tank. Due to the high elevation of the building, we opted to use a rooftop tank and use gravity to provide adequate water pressure for each unit.

To save water for irrigation, we decided to use greywater and reuse it in conjunction with storm water to supply irrigation for private and public gardens. For the GREY water piping, all wastewater from showers, baths, and sinks is separated from the unit waste system. These pipes also converge into the core of the cluster building, where it is transitioned into three phases of artificial and natural filters. First, it is stored in an anaerobic batch reactor tank until the bacteria is removed. Then it is transferred to a bioswale where it is mixed with stormwater runoff and filtered by sand, stones, and plants. The final filter of the greywater takes place in the pond. Like in the natural wetland ecosystem, this pond comprises aquatic plants and animals that feed on contaminants such as nitrate and phosphorus. In return, the pond's nitrogen-rich water is delivered back to the building via an underground cistern with a biofilter. The cistern will be connected to the network of the building irrigation.

MACHINE LEARNING FOR FLOOR PLANS AND INTERIOR LAYOUTS

'GARDEN DWELLING' TYPOLOGIES

Case Study

The research reviews the garden dwelling types to establish a satisfying garden dwelling typology to accommodate remote workers. The design wishes dwellings to be both a physical shelter and a spiritual refuge for residents. When a dwelling turns into a complex of living space and an office, it not only means arranging a domestic office into a set of present functional rooms but also means the systematical principle of designing the layout.

we extensively investigates historic types of garden dwellings in different districts and periods. There are two main kind cases: the first are garden villas in the Mediterranean region before the industrial revolution. The second are social housings and cottages in the garden suburb from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. The former provides typologies of garden dwellings based on classical principles, and the latter explores the innovative typologies of garden houses when standardized building technology emerged. We learns from these historical precedents, rethinks the role of the garden in a house, and determines different types of gardens-living-working dwellings for this project. Based on the result, the solution to answer the pervious questions is an garden-living-working allotment model, which apply a modular system and have flexibility to meet individual needs.

ALLOTMENT MODEL

Each area is calculated based on the housing typologies and family composition. The garden-living-working allotment system is designed could change the area of each room and garden in a range, allowing the creative use of garden space.

Our system adopts a modular system to meet the requirements of rapid construction and low-cost. But at the same time, it is necessary to ensure that the garden dwellings meet the individual needs. The allotment model makes full use of the advantages of the computer that

However, the layouts, the factors

could process a large amount of data according to a specific pattern. a result, the system generates a dwelling that both fits a modular system and satisfies residents’ individuality.

However, although the residents can customize their own house, the system needs to set initial conditions to provide reasonableness layouts, that is, the minimum residential requirements. According to the research, the definition of the smallest residence is affected by factors like technology, local economy, and tradition, etc. For example,

the standards of the Frankfurt Flats, Klein's model are different from that of Italian Garbatella's ‘model’ house, but they all set the minimum residential area based on the type of family. In this project, our system settings are based on Italian data. But if the site changes, the system could adapt to the local requirements by controlling parameters.

Machine Learning Process

Garden Dwelling

This project uses Machine Learning GENERATE Dwelling Plans. We use the pix2pix technology. Machine Learns the relative position of number of pixel data, and applies diversified plans, as a result, a reasonable floor plan. For the materials for the machine, we private gardens as a decisive of dwelling organizations. For gardens have a closer relationship

Layouts

Learning to We mainly Machine of a large applies it to we obtain the study we see decisive element For example, relationship with

the living room, but also there is the possibility of a direct connection with the kitchen.

There are three phases of Machine Learning. Firstly, It learns to divide a footprint into several dwellings that fit in modular numbers. Secondly, it draws positions of walls. In the last stage, it automatically allocates furniture in different rooms.