Heterotopias And Networked Space of Multiple Dimensions: The Regeneration of Liwan, A Node In The Urban Entanglement Of The Pearl River Delta Megacity

Abstract

The Space-Time fabric that we live in is becoming more and more complex whether we perceive complexity or not, in fact; the universe pursuits complexity and disorder as its natural order. Evident in the history of architecture and urban design we can see that architecture and cities are becoming more and more complex. The southern region of china; between Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou known as Pearl River Delta is one of these regions in transition; becoming a multi-layered megacity; where nodes of complexity are forming. According to the latest United Nations Habitat report, the largest and the fastest growing megalopolises in the world, PRD is an economical core of China where Guangzhou alone accounts for one third of China's production and export. The region houses approximately 120 million people with a rate of urbanisation over 44 per cent. This explosion of growth in PRD has led to an extremely complex urban realm that re-articulates the capacity of the contemporary urban landscape. As the world becomes more and more complex; one must learn to deal with this complexity or learn to suffer the consequences. This growth of complexity within the urban realm - if not understood - can presents us with complicated issues that have never been dealt with before. Issues that can make any city become; an acting juxtapose with extreme density that is out of regulations, a density that requires architectural, infrastructural, and atmospheric intervention at the same level of its complexity. An urban situation; dislocated from its traditional city skeleton, development that does not reflect the old city, a political disjunction that provides regulations upon contrasting relationships between the state and the individual, a flat urban culture based on random precedents; all leading to loss of culture, traditions, identity, and character - a body without soul. Urbanisation, an inevitable phenomena; is not the issue, but rather the poor ability of dealing with its multi-layering complexity and diversity is the main problem. We are failing to bring all the elements together to provide a space of many functions, a space of many characters and personalities, a space that respects the infrastructural, architectural, and the individual dimension. The understanding of the Heterotopias space can allow for this complexity, it can indeed, shake and transform the foundations and the arsenal of our interventions, it can broaden our perception of what we understand as our field of activity, and demineralise the way we perceive the practice of architecture and urban design. A heterotopias space is a complex multidimensional real place in culture which is 'simultaneously represented, contested and inverted,' an inverted utopia that houses more than one dimension. Heterotopia is the 'Other' space that emerges from an existing territory; based on a certain configuration. Through the understanding of heterotopias one can provide a platform that explores the complex system of networks and relationships that occur in many different scales within the urban landscape of many events, contingencies, and ideologies, A platform; that will provide actors with tools to build for complexity, to create a free space, and to understand the depth within the layers of space. Platforms that were put into a design practice at a place; most in need of understanding a heterotopias space. Guangzhou; a city at a turning point that defines its character, a city which is becoming dislocated from its core values, it is becoming a body that does not recognise its own mind. Urbanisation and its side-effects have pushed and inflated the city so much, that the city can no longer see or understand its own complexity. Therefore a heterotopias mirror is proposed; reflecting Guangzhou; revealing and housing the complexity, the beauty, the culture and the atmosphere of Guangzhou, a reflection of the city within the city. A template of complexity, a dimension that allows all the models to coexist as contemporaneous layers, all with their own system of heterotopias; regulating and stabilizing the rate of change, providing a combination of diverse elements and desires, a template that actors can use as a tool to build for complexity.