About shophouses and townscape, we already have brief conclusions written below.
(1) townscape elevation by some 4 meter grid
(2) verandas on the street side
(3) living space with working space; mixture of shop and house
(4) alleys with human scale
(5) frequent self building the interior space
Through the workshop 2007, we have come to attach the explanations written below.
To preserve the harmony of the townscape, big scale development should be stopped.
Concerning on (1)
When a building is designed, the elevation should be divided in small scale such as 4m grid. If the elevation is designed in plain surface, the harmony of the townscape will be destroyed by the elevation.
Concerning on (2) and (3)
To maintain the vitality of the streets, the activity in the shophouses need to be open to the public space. Verandas on the street side and shops on the ground floor provide vitality to the streets. So when a building is designed, these two points need to be observed to maintain the vitality.
Concerning on (4)
Alleys in the city blocks provide living space outside. Many people use outside space in the daytime to communicate with each other, have lunch, sleep and so on. These alleys are in human scale not in big scale. So the alleys with human scale in the city blocks should be sustained if the blocks would be reconstructed.
Concerning on (5)
Shophouses are often reconstructed by inhabitants themselves. The inhabitants have variations on background such as household income, number of the family members, jobs, ages and so on. By allowing the inhabitants to self- build the interior spaces, the various inhabitants can live their lives sutainably there. So in the city center it is good that the buildings are designed to accept self-building.
