Shinkenchiku
"Each year since 1965, the Shinkenchiku Residential Design Competition has called for entries that explore new potential in architecture through the design of the residence, a place for human dwelling… In the 20th century, mankind attained prosperity by creating a culture of mass production and mass consumption. For that prosperity… we now face a crisis of global proportions - the destruction of our earths ecosystem. The signs… include global warming, ozone destruction, receding glaciers, and the depletion of mining, farming and marine resources.
We must act for the sake of sustainability. This is the purport of our theme… Action for Sustainability.
The building sector consumes 30 – 50% of the earths resources and energy. As such, the building sector bears a great responsibility to advance the cause of sustainability, and expectations are high that it can do so." 1.
Our entry to this competition proposes that the city is the residence, the home, of the population. Similarly, eachdwelling is like a 'mini-city' - it participates like an interdependent 'cell' in the 'body' of a city.
Across Asia the urban migration of the population to the major cities is accelerating, potentially leading to a dangerous acceleration in the consumption of environmental resources. To ensure the 'body' of the city remains healthy, each cell - or dwelling - needs to contribute to its environmental sustainability. Our Action for Sustainability is to reduce consumption during construction of a building by placing prefabricated, transportable and re-usable chasis together in a ‘stack’ which promotes a diverse social and usage mix of activity as characterized by any vibrant urban environment. We have proposed one example of a building / city using the chasis, although there are an infinite number of configurations.
The scheme uses the machine of mass production to curb consumption by creating interdependent, sustainable development.
1. The 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference in Tokyo. Shinkenchiku Residential Design Competition 2005. MESSAGE from the jury.
