In-between the Dual City: Subterranean heterotopic Inverse-city

Abstract

This thesis investigates the unique in-between conditions of Macau as a dual city. It is a fragmented city of juxtaposItional in-between conditions; the in-between of culture (historical Chinese/Portuguese) and today’s (global), the in-between of local (traditional)/ tourist (casino) and place/placelessness (simulacra/heterotopia). There is a question of place as places are transported irrelevant of context of origin (but relevatent to the Macau is a Las Vegas of Asia), and are only simulations or mimicry of the original. e.g. The Venetian canal is transported from Venice to Las vegas, then to the Macau Venetian Casino. In this question of context, is the site relevant anymore in these self enclosed inverted heterotopias? If urban enclosures create boundaries that separate activity, by breaking it we could create an greater intensity of activity. Inside the urban city, programmes shift throughout time, yet architecture enclosures stay still in comparison. Looking at the relationship of solid and void , figure and ground, and the changing relationship between them we could break down traditional dialectic oppositions. The void becomes a transition zone, a terrain vague of blurred overlapping boundaries and an in-between of programme. Drawing upon the needs and connections of the surrounding site on Taipa Island, Macau, the design proposes a cultural/urban centre (a city of culture) that brings together tourists and locals. There are fixed and unfixed spaces, fixed being the anchors of programme, and unfixed as extensions of programmatic boundaries or deprogrammed space which overlaps and shift according to the needs of users and changes in activities. As a response to the various shaded public spaces often used within Macau, the user discovers a new city, hidden under an extension of the existing forest. Immersing the city under the ground seeks to reflect the existing above ground. In a sense it re-reclaims the ground in inverse. Returning the connection of man to the ground, the void is then subtracted from the earth, yet the question of context remains. Is it important anymore if the complex can not be seen but only physically located in proximity?