New Value in Abandoned Space
Hansol Yeom
Reading The gardien's article, I focused on the characteristics of the place on the track and infrastructure such as water and electricity.
First, homeless people are usually located in spaces where they can avoid rain and wind without being disturbed by passers-by.
Each shelter for the homeless is located on the track, on the subway, or in small open spaces next to the building.
Secondly, according to the article, they have to walk a mile to use the shower,
Electricity and water supply do not exist, he said.
I thought that homeless people should also enjoy the facilities they need as people for granted.
Also, homeless people are in any environment and in any country, so I wanted to find ways to use them in various environments and situations.
In the last class, I analyzed about balbek center in Ukraine.
Personally, I thought finding space was a challenge because there was no room left in the city that big.
So the way I thought about it, is architecture using the remaining space of the city.
There are spaces left in the city for various reasons.
There are quite a few abandoned spaces, either not knowing how to use them, or depending on the trend of the times.
In Korea, for example, there are underground bunkers or buildings that have been shut down and neglected due to rising environmental standards.
Examples include buildings such as waste incinerators and oil tanks.
Alternatively, the rear space of the outdoor billboard, the spaces under the bridges, and the spaces under the elevated road are neglected because they do not
know how to use them.
My project started with utilizing these spaces because these spaces exist in any country or city.
I will take the design of the Gregory project in Slovakia, and pods architecture of shail patel, and jongam Square in Seoul, and the bunker of light in Jeju Island as an
example.
First, the Gregory project is an architecture using large billboards placed on highways or fields.
Usually, outdoor billboards are made in the form of triangular supports, so idle space remains on the back of the billboard.
Therefore, this space is used to provide shelter for the homeless.
People enter and exit the stairs located at the back of the outdoor sign.
Building costs can be minimized because of the use of narrow spaces.
And the cost of building houses and managing and repairing buildings can be covered by advertising expenses of companies,
Electricity is being built because billboards must be lit up at night, so this outdoor billboard house can also use electricity to its heart's content.
Although there are problems in areas such as soundproofing because it is built next to the road and generates car noise,
If this part is solved, I think it is a space where people can stay enough.
And since these structures exist not only in Slovakia but also in various countries such as France and Korea,
I think this kind of architecture can be applied in various environments
Secondly, shail patel's pod design is an architecture made for the homeless by utilizing empty spaces under the bridges.
The growing number of homeless people and living space for them in big cities is an old problem that needs to be solved socially.
The problem is not the number of homeless people, but the infrastructure to provide them.
Pod design suggests a solution to this problem by using unused space under bridges.
Regardless of whether it is feasible or not, it seems to be very meaningful that architecture has turned to the underprivileged by utilizing unused spaces.
Each pod proposed by Shail patel is designed as an independent space that guarantees the privacy of the residence, with natural lighting, ventilation, and heating
systems.
The building is designed in a modular form, allowing it to expand fast and provide housing in environments such as large cities.
It is also designed to include energy-efficient functions such as solar panels and rainwater harvesting systems, satisfying basic elements of human life, such as
electricity and water.
The feasibility of this building can be found in Jong-am Square below.
Third, Jong-am Square is located in Seoul, Korea.
This building is not for the homeless, but I took it as an example because it could also be used to build facilities for the homeless in terms of utilizing abandoned
spaces.
Railways and bridges that brought about Seoul's rapid economic development were built at a time when there was a lack of consideration for the urban context or
environment.
The traces remain throughout the city with various spaces, including the lower part of the overpass.
Most of the lower part of the overpass is left unattended without any special use, or used as a garbage dump and parking lot.
I think these spaces have the potential as potential development sites to solve urban problems by being used as facilities for the homeless.
Jong-am Square was designed to be used as a space for citizens by solving problems of odors, fumes, and aesthetics.
In the same way, I thought it could be used as a space for the homeless by utilizing spaces that can be easily found in the city, such as overpasses and bridges.
Also, while pods architecture is not realized,
Since Jong-am Square is a building that has already been realized, I think it is an example of the possibility of architecture using abandoned space.
Fourth, it is the light bunker of Jeju Island.
The building is a secret bunker built in 1990 to manage undersea optical cables built between Korea and Japan.
As the times changed, it was no longer used, and it was decorated as a bunker of light in the media art exhibition hall in 2018.
Due to the nature of the space, sound is well blocked and electricity, communication, water supply, and fire fighting facilities are well equipped here.
It also maintains 16 degrees throughout the year because it is intentionally covered with soil on the roof.
Therefore, it is a suitable space for solving electricity and water problems for the homeless, and various problems caused by seasonal changes.
Currently, the space has been used as an exhibition hall and has been visited by more than 2 million visitors over the past three years.
As such, accessibility is guaranteed, and it is a proof that it is a building that is comparable to a general building.
Such a space is a regional characteristic of Korea that has undergone several wars, but I think it is noteworthy in that it used the abandoned space.
It also suggests the possibility of using abandoned space in that it is actually used by people, not just to create space.
I therefore propose, as in these examples, a plan to provide shelter for the homeless by exploiting abandoned spaces in the city.
Rather than creating a new space to form a complex, I think that homeless people are also recognized as members of society when building an architecture that
harmonizes with the city using the already created space.
In addition, I think it is necessary to meet factors that are not guaranteed in shelters for the current homeless, such as lighting, electricity, water supply, and
insulation.
Since architecture as welfare is as important as urban development, the meaning of architecture can be found when finding space in the developed city and
creating space for the underprivileged.
Also, in terms of the environment, this method of construction is helpful to us. It can be an architecture for the environment because it regenerates closed
buildings and facilities with new architecture. And by utilizing unused elevated road or bridge space, road, vacant lot, subway station empty space, bus garage, etc.,
it reduces unnecessary development and solves cost problems
