Events

This talk is brought to you by Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore; in collaboration with the National Library Board Singapore.

Creating Centralities

Speaker       :   Professor Kees Christiaanse, FCL Programme Leader, Module Leader, Future Cities Laboratory
Discussant   :   Dr Limin Hee, Director, Centre for Liveable Cities
Chairperson  :   Professor Mike Douglass, Asian Urbanisms Cluster Leader, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

ABSTRACT

In “The City as an Egg”, Cedric Price’s brilliant metaphor for the evolution of the city, the urban condition in the 1990s is depicted as scrambled eggs, in which the fragments of egg-yolk, distributed across the egg-white, represent multiple centres. Price may have been inspired by Patrick Abercrombie’s Social & Functional Analysis map from 1943, where London is represented as a conglomerate of eggs representing neighborhoods as autonomous and functional parts of an extended organism. Abercrombie saw the city as both hierarchical and egalitarian, an organism in which some eggs develop into more important centralities than others. In this, he may have been inspired by Walter Cristaller’s “System of Central Places” of 1934, which also used egg-shapes to represent overlapping spheres of influence between cities and villages. When my firm KCAP became part of the design-team for the Olympic Park Masterplan in London, Abercrombie’s map was modified by adding the Olympic Park as a new centrality complementary to the City, the West-End and the Estates. Big projects like this – or Grand Projèts – have become a common praxis in urban governance in many cities, whether they are the result of pragmatic reactions to the uncontrollability of the city or of a conscious strategic intervention. Therefore I find it relevant to discuss their significance and instrumentality as an urban design strategy in different contexts, looking into projects we work on in London, Hamburg, Shenzhen and Singapore.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Kees CHRISTIAANSE studied architecture and urban planning at the TU Delft. From 1980 until 1989 he worked for the Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in Rotterdam, becoming a partner in 1983. In 1989 Kees Christiaanse founded his own office ir. Kees Christiaanse Architects & Planners in Rotterdam, KCAP since 2002, which expanded to Shanghai and Zurich. From 1996 until 2003 he taught architecture and urban planning at TU Berlin (DE). Since 2003 he is professor at the ETH in Zurich (CH). In 2009 Kees Christiaanse was curator of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) entitled “Open City. Designing Coexistence”. Since 2011 Kees Christiaanse is Programme Leader of the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore and Principal Investigator as well as Module Leader for Module IV ‘Urban Design Strategies and Resources’. Next to his work as an architect, Kees focuses on urban assignments in complex situations and guiding urban processes. He is a consultant to several airports and expert in the development of university campuses and in the revitalisation of former industrial, railway and harbour areas.

Limin HEE is Director of Research at Singapore’s Center for Liveable Cities (CLC), a knowledge nexus and think-tank for liveable and sustainable cities, where she has oversight of research strategies, initiatives and collaborations. At the CLC, she has helped to oversee the Urban Systems Studies series, which delve deep into the transformation of Singapore in the last 50 years. She is the project leader for collaborative research projects including those with the Urban Land Institute, “Creating Healthy Places for Active Mobility,” and “10 Principles for Liveable High Density Cities.” Prior to joining the CLC, she taught at the School of Design and Environment at the National University of Singapore, where she led the Urban Studies Research and Teaching Group, and was a Principal Investigator at the Centre for Sustainable Asian Cities, as well as being jointly appointed at the Asia Research Institute. Her research is focused on sustainability and its agenda for architecture, urbanism and public space. Hee has published widely on cities, including in international refereed journals and architectural reviews, and her recent book on Future Asian Space (NUS Press 2012). She obtained her Doctor of Design from Harvard University, her Master of Arts (Architecture) as well as her professional degree in Architecture from the National University of Singapore.

ARI ASIA TRENDS 2014 SERIES

ASIA TRENDS is an ARI flagship public outreach event. This annual series of public lectures is an opportunity for ARI to connect with the local Singapore community through informing and interacting with various public sectors (citizenry, government), civil society organizations, businesses, universities and colleges, by presenting cutting edge research on major trends in Asia. Some trends examined in the past include “Confucian China in a Changing World Order,” “Tsai Ming-liang and a Cinema of Slowness,” “Here Today and Tomorrow: Transnational Domestic Workers and the Decent Work Agenda in Asia,” “Demystifying Stereotypes on Asian Education Systems,” and “’Male Modernity’, Puritanism, and the Southeast Asian City.” Each ARI research cluster hosts an evening talk, during which an overseas speaker, who is a prominent researcher or scholar, is invited to examine an emerging trend in that research field; a Singapore-based researcher then provides comments on local development with regard to the relevant trend. Past seminars have witnessed some interesting interaction between speakers and commentators; some have also seen lively audience participation in the discussions. ASIA TRENDS showcase the work of ARI’s research clusters, highlights the relevance of ARI’s research to Singapore, and relates Singapore to the rest of Asia from the perspective of significant trends in the region.

REGISTRATION

Admission is free, however, registration is required. Kindly register early as seats are available on a first come, first served basis. We would greatly appreciate it if you email Sharon at arios@nus.edu.sg your name, email, organisation/affiliation and contact number.