Next, Chinatown
community design for transforming Rotterdam Chinatown
Z. xu (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
M.G.A.D. Harteveld – Mentor (TU Delft - Urban Design)
S. Milinović – Mentor (TU Delft - Teachers of Practice / U)
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Abstract
This report examines the role of an urban designer in a multicultural society. When an urban society is overlapped with a spatial and diverse cultural layer, a cultural community is seen as the essential unit for outreaching and interacting with this complex environment. Community design is required for an urban designer to explore the intersection of spatial design and community development methodologies, top-down and bottom-up decision-making.
In this report, the author takes use of the case of Rotterdam Chinatown to develop an experimental community design methodology and apply it to the on-site practice. It aims to stimulate communication and resource links within the Chinese community in a globalization context by utilizing open spaces as a medium.
This research starts with the preliminary background study, followed by creating a set of customized pattern languages as the communication, learning, and design tools to engage the Rotterdam Chinatown community and the Chinese community in Rotterdam. A live event held in public spaces of Rotterdam Chinatown is embodied as a performance to evaluate the efficiency of the vision co-created by stakeholders. The final outcome learns about the requirements of the Chinese community of Rotterdam and concludes with refined pattern language and scenario design based on the conditions of Rotterdam Chinatown.
This participatory design methodology featured for the Rotterdam Chinatown community fosters a sense of ownership and empowerment among the community members and encourages active participation in shaping the future of the community in a pure bottom-up approach.
Keywords: community design, cultural glocalization, Chinatown, pattern language, public space