Think of it like this: If you want to help someone, you don’t start by guessing their age, job, or hobbies. You start by asking, “What are they struggling with?”
The Peace Center recently transformed into a temporary, a self-regulating community space, offering artists, students, charities, and small businesses a platform to showcase their work, either for free or at minimal cost. Over six months, this pre-demolition mall space buzzed with activities of pop-ups, artistic showcases, and performances, creating a vibrant and creative landscape within an informal urban settings.
In fact, one interviewee, a photographer who setup a booth at the premises for charity work, described the whole experience as “very organic”.
The term ‘organic’ strikes a chord with me, as it capture my fascination in how individuals naturally establish order amidst chaos and evolve by creating rules on the go. Some would term it as urban organism or informal settlement.
This notion isn’t a new concept. It resembles the Kowloon Walled City, which was a densely populated and largely ungoverned area, yet thrived as an ingenious community. This community demonstrated an unconventional design approach “that they could think of ways to solve problems that are outside the traditional academic world.”
Also notable is MIT’s Building 20, “The Magical Incubator,” a temporary (50 years?!) structure designed during World War II. Known for its flexible design, the building allowed modifications like wall adjustments to suit the evolving needs of research teams. Its unconventional and open layout promoted collaboration and spontaneous idea sharing among occupants, hosting diverse research labs and projects that spurred significant breakthroughs across various disciplines.
We also have the children’s playground, “The Land,” in Wales, which reimagines the concept of a playground, offering an unstructured, natural environment filled with raw materials like wood and tires, promoting child-led, exploratory play. Emphasising ‘risky play,’ children are encouraged to engage freely, constructively, and even messily with their surroundings under watchful playworkers, nurturing creativity, problem-solving skills, and a keen sense of risk assessment.
However, my interest in this unconventional setup stems from some pressing questions.
I see it as designing and building a ‘Frankenstein,’ assembling parts from various sources, while simultaneously striving to breathe life into it. Though a ‘Frankenstein’ structure might initially seem disjointed or strategically unclear, akin to the creature’s first steps, it holds potential for uniqueness, scalability, dynamism, and adaptability to change.
Cross-section illustration of Kowloon Walled City, which I believe reflecting the ‘Frankenstein’ notion — part of a whole, a whole of parts. Source: ArchDaily
At this moment, I am exploring some hypothetical approaches to ‘Frankenstein’ design. I prefer three-rule structure because three is the simplest sequence for us to absorb and remember. As the Latin saying goes, “omne trium perfectum,” which means everything in threes is perfect, or every trio is complete.
I am still experimenting with these principles, aiming for a more concrete strategy for designing an organisation in the style of a ‘Frankenstein.’
Perhaps, and maybe when the time is right, I hope to exclaim proudly, “It’s alive!”
I believe a ‘Frankenstein’ structure possesses its own functionality and uniqueness.
