MANGROVE CITY
merit award submission entry for urban architectural idea competition
in association with PO WORKSHOP
2017, FUTURARC PRIZE PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY
Mangrove City: Future of Muara Angke Fishermen Village, Jakarta
http://poworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/MANGROVE-CITY-RESEARCH.pdf
Our architectural proposal to the current and foreseeable issues of sea level rise and land subsistence is not one of defence strategies such as sea wall or land filling that requires continuous effort but rather working in tandem with the nature. Mangrove will be planted to stabilise the soil and improve sedimentation whereas the floating platform will be built around mangrove trees – that rises and ebbs according to the sea level.
Starting with a single mangrove tree, a floating platform is constructed around it, using the tree as an anchor and support. This platform can then be used for landing of boats, and for fishing, hanging nets from the platform. As the tree grows, the tree can be pruned to grow straight up. Steps can then be constructed and a second platform can then be built to form the second level. This platform will then be connected to other platforms via a broadwalk spanning across the mangrove forest, creating a new layer above the water.
The proposal utilises the local construction method of simple timber construction typical of fishermen villages, enabling the roll-out of the urban plan at little to no cost and immediately. All the construction components are derived in a modular construction grid of beam and post and are expected to develop organically depending on the needs and placement of mangrove seedlings.
Four main ingredients are proposed for the urban design strategy; the mangrove floating hub, building units, pavilions and boardwalk decking each playing their own role. Taking upon the Indonesian urban typology of a fishing village and the cooperative ‘gotong-royong’ the mangrove hub and the pavilions acts as urban centers for the community. The elevated boardwalk serves as the primary pedestrian level whereas the canals and sea level acts as landing and movement of boats.
The pavilions looming over as urban centers of the organically developed city provided by the modular framework, and local timber construction engrained within fishermen villages. Mangrove tree courtyards provide relief to otherwise heavily dense settlement sitting harmoniously within the city. Overarching canals and boardwalk act as fingers towards the ocean, guiding the replanting of mangroves hand in hand with the continual sustainable development of the city that is always under construction.
The urban strategy roadmap outlines the future development from a fishing village into a Mangrove City into a fully fledged self-sustainable economic city in fifty years timeframe. The main areas of focus would be fishing industry, mangrove reforesting and sea level climate research to be developed into an international hub with both development and environment improved hand in hand as opposed to against each other.
The urban architecture proposal of employing the mangrove tree in conjunction with the floating decking platform tackling both the threats of sea level rise and land subsidence at both fronts in a symbiotic manner instead of a defensive nature. The architectural form and construction embosses the culture and tradition of that of a Southeast Asian fishing villages, restoring honour and pride to that of the honest fishermen’s work while the urban strategy roadmap progressively advances the local economy of the fishing industry and mangrove ecology into the future of a internationally recognized fishing hub and sea level & climate change response headquarters.