Megacity Skeleton

Abstract

“Megacity Skeleton” is a housing prototype project aimed at improving the urban living environment. The project site is located at Kampong Cikini, a high‐density informal settlement situated in the center of Jakarta Megacity. Although this kind of area is always at risk of slum clearance owing to its poor hygiene and environmental conditions, it has fostered attractive lifestyles with a low global environmental load and rich co‐help systems among the intimate community over time. Our challenge is to propose a new approach to sustain urban regeneration through a series of micro architectural interventions respecting the existing urban structure and social capital. The proposed architecture “Megacity Skeleton” is clearly constituted by the skeleton and the skin. This concept ensures the future basic living environment by controlling the “possibility” and “impossibility” of DIY construction by residents.

Improvising Places: The Fluidity of Space in Informal Settlements

“…With few exceptions that are located in hazard-prone areas, most of the existing settlements can be upgraded incrementally and on the same site. Such upgrading processes then rely on a sophisticated understanding of the existing morphologies, adaptations, and qualities of these settlements [12][13][14][15]. An elaborate understanding of urban morphology is crucial for better design interventions [16].…”