Author(s)

S. S. Zubir, Q. Norhisham, Y. Rahman

Abstract

The urgent need to rethink the current living conditions in the urban villages of Bandung was established by a desire to regain self-empowerment through creative urban design intervention. Contextual analysis was thoroughly conducted to understand the urban grain of these places. Since the beginning of its establishment, the villages have undergone significant transformations from the basic dwelling spaces to the complex interlocking units of the existing typologies. The proposed pixilated modules are the key in improving the quality of life here as the demand for spaces become a major commodity to population implosion within the city’s boundary. This new urban pattern will slowly expand within the existing urban fabric, replacing dilapidated buildings with standard modules, enabling each dwelling to be more affordable. As the community spaces are being shared, this will eliminate unwarranted wastage. Villagers are given essential equipment to construct their own homes, using bamboo as its prime resource material. Since bamboo is endemic to this particular urban environment, if used creatively will prevents flood, erosion, and grows ten times faster than an average timber with the same structural capacity. Growing bamboo itself contributes tremendously to the environment as it recycles CO₂ into O₂ at an astonishing rate. Many sustainable practices will be integrated in this self-help pixel village community to attain self-sufficiency in their daily lifestyles such as in food production, farming, biogas energy production and a simple rainwater harvesting system. As Bandung is set to be a major tourist destination in Asia, the Pixel Village will be a new brand of indigenous living symbolizing an era of uniqueness and rarity through reformation of the public realm and private domains of the city. As the Pixel Village matures, the dwellers will attain selfsufficiency through shared community spirit and aspirations.

Keywords

self-empowerment, slum rejuvenation, structural efficiency, urban fabric, sustainable and economical urban development