Community under Viaducts

With the low-income marginalized people as the object of care, this design starts from daily activities such as residence, communication and fitness training. It uses the lost space under the urban viaducts and low-tech construction as the technical means, to create a community that full of vitality, reflecting publicity, fairness and richness.

This design has three important strategies: connect, function insert and building. Firstly, in order to improve the accessibility of space under the viaducts, three aspects of the environment are rebuilt: vehicular system, walking system and community environment. i. Cancel the original lane under the main viaduct and put the lane on the outside of the viaduct. Connect landscapes and activities on both sides. ii. Temporary living function is arranged for the eastern side of the landscape, while the other side is opened to the community to stimulate exchange activities. iii. Combine the walk system and build a stereoscopic walkway with the landscape, combining different kinds of exercise, leisure and entertainment activities. Try to inspire the vitality of marginalized people. Secondly, this design inserts new functions into the community under the viaduct, including people's temporary residence, living service facilities, neighborhood communication, sports and leisure functions, etc. In a rich array of activities such as flea markets, regenerative classrooms, and manual workshops, waste can be made profitable and marginalized people can get valuable jobs. The renewal of community activities is aimed to restore the sense of belonging that residents have gradually lost. Thirdly, this design transforms the containers of transportation industry into temporary residential units and build steel structures between the viaducts. The container can be placed in it, and can be flexibly increased or decreased according to the demand. After the demolition is completed, this structure can be retained or easily removed. At the same time, it is equipped with a series of service facilities to improve the living conditions of marginalized people. In the community, the shared collective memory will help to enhance the sense of identity of the marginalized people and also help to restore the sense of belonging that residents have gradually lost. It will become an urban pacemaker that stimulates the vitality of the surrounding communities in the future.