(JG Graphics/Josep Tri Ronggo Laksono)
Jakarta, like many global cities, suffers from the insurmountable problem of having too many people move to the city without it being in a position to accommodate them in satisfactory homes, provide adequate sanitation and health care facilities, or indeed offer much of a basic infrastructure. Migrant workers find themselves living in overcrowded and environmentally unhealthy conditions — a rich breeding ground for disease and social unhappiness. New homes cannot be created at the rate demanded by migrants coming to the city. What can be done to forestall the build-up and eventual release of this frustration?
A possible, relatively economical, green solution would be to use shipping containers as a means of providing sturdy and robust accommodation for families, itinerants and co-workers. Their length typically ranges from 6 meters to 12 meters, they are 2.4 meters wide and 2.6 meters high, and are easily transportable.
Because of their original purpose for transporting goods by sea they are well suited to severe weather conditions and can withstand force-5 hurricanes.
They can be stacked up to 8 containers high, but typically two or three would be stacked atop of each other with stairs connecting them to road level. The steel containers would have windows to increase natural light and circulation of air. Insulation and internal walls could be added to create lounging and sleeping areas, provide privacy or communal areas for families or sharers. Kitchens could be fitted out with basic utilities, including a bottled gas cooker; both the kitchen’s bathroom’s complexities would increase with container size. Other modifications could include skylights, ventilation and air-conditioning. Solar collectors for local hot water would increase their green credentials.
Changing facilities that incorporate toilets and showers could be located in specifically converted containers, with separate units for male and female users. A plumbing and sewerage network could be created that would ensure residents were less likely to come into contact with raw sewage. Groups of containers could be linked to standalone containerized water treatment system facilities. These systems would be cheap to set up and operate locally, and better able to cope with local conditions and populations.
Containers can also be converted into secure electrical rooms, controlled and maintained by the local electricity supplier and from which power cables can be run to home and business containers for lighting and air-conditioning. By utilizing proper air conditioning and cooling the life of this equipment can be extended — reducing capital equipment and maintenance costs.
In the United Kingdom, government and private builders are unable to provide enough new builds to cater for the demand of 800,000 homes needed for London by 2021. However, the use of shipping containers could make significant inroads on this issue. Urban Space Management Limited’s Container City I is a practical application of linked shipping containers to create live/work spaces and built within 15 days.
Both the government and private sector have favorably received this low-cost and rapidly deployable methodology.
The arrangement of containers is not permanent; they can be moved en masse, intact and fitted out, making relocation easier and with less disruption to communities. When disasters or emergencies strike, the less affluent members of society are disproportionately affected, both in terms of numbers and ensuing problems. Additional containers could be utilized as robust, temporary shelters, reducing the pressure on alternative accommodation facilities. Containers can also be used as a command and control centers in times of emergency, as exemplified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the United States.
Their end-use is broad. In the UK containers have been converted into temporary retail outlets (pop-up shops) that are better suited for individuals unable to commit long term to a traditional bricks and mortar or shopping mall environment. With fewer location restrictions they can be located closer to their customer base. They are more resilient to general wear and tear and not necessarily harmed by graffiti. These pop-up shops could rapidly diversify the variety of trades, products and services on offer.
The pop-up feel could be augmented through bright, catchy paintwork designs, creating a focus of attention and a local landmark, increasing the public’s acceptance and use of these structures.
Containers have also been converted into restaurants with full kitchens and lounge spaces, permanent clinics, classrooms and swimming pools, changing rooms, storage facilities, offices and welfare units. Other uses include playground structures for children to clamber up, over and around, thereby providing greater stimulation and interest.
In Brazil, football fans and tourists for the World Cup are using favelas (shantytowns) in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo and other Brazilian cities alike as places to stay, eschewing expensive beachfront hotels. Although tarnished by reputations of violence, drugs and poverty, favela occupants and visitors alike agree that these places provide an intimate perspective on Brazilian culture. It therefore is only a matter of time before small shipping container guesthouses (posadas) make an appearance.
By the same token, small guesthouses and hotels could be created in the less affluent areas of Jakarta, generating income, promoting local business and creating pride and respect and taking people out of poverty.
Through regulating and overseeing the usage of containers, Jakarta could positively influence the social, economic and health status of its poorest residents and residential areas of greatest need. Visible improvements would be observable within less than four days, the time taken to fit out a complex of six units.
With containers having previously revolutionized the world of freight, Jakarta can take the initiative and dynamically alter the housing environment.
Simon Vadgama is a senior associate at Strategic Asia Creative Labs. Contact him at simon.vadgama@sacreativelabs.com.
By Simon Vadgama on 08:36 pm Jun 17, 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment