MODULAR PREFABRICATION IN ARCHITECTURE, COMBINING AFFORDABILITY WITH FLEXIBILITY AND CUSTOMISATION

ABSTRACT

IN HENGQIN, THE EXPANSION OF MACAO’S HIGHER-EDUCATION FUNCTIONS IS UNFOLDING WITHIN THE ECOLOGICAL URBAN FRAMEWORK OF THE GUANGDONG–MACAO IN-DEPTH COOPERATION ZONE. THIS CONTEXT DEMANDS A CAMPUS MODEL CAPABLE OF ADDRESSING LAND EFFICIENCY, LANDSCAPE CONTINUITY, LOW-IMPACT DEVELOPMENT, CLIMATIC ADAPTATION, AND PUBLIC OPENNESS. YET CONVENTIONAL UNIVERSITY ARCHITECTURE, TYPICALLY ORGANIZED THROUGH AUTONOMOUS BUILDINGS, FUNCTIONAL ZONING, AND ENCLOSED CAMPUS BOUNDARIES, REMAINS POORLY SUITED TO THESE REQUIREMENTS. THIS DISSERTATION ASKS HOW UNIVERSITY ARCHITECTURE CAN MOVE BEYOND INHERITED CAMPUS TYPOLOGIES AND OPERATE AS A LANDSCAPE-MEDIATED SPATIAL SYSTEM UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF ECOLOGICAL URBANISM. THE RESEARCH COMBINES CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS, TYPOLOGICAL REFERENCE, SITE INVESTIGATION, AND RESEARCH BY DESIGN. THROUGH LITERATURE REVIEW AND SELECTED CASE STUDIES OF CONTEMPORARY UNIVERSITY ARCHITECTURE AND LANDSCAPE-INTEGRATEDART UNIVERSITY, THE DISSERTATION IDENTIFIES THREE CONCEPTUAL LENSES: LIMIT, PLACE, AND COURTYARD. THESE CONCEPTS FRAME THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BOUNDARY, ROOF LANDSCAPE, ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE, AND COLLECTIVE SPATIAL EXPERIENCE. SITE INVESTIGATION IN HENGQIN FURTHER EXAMINES TERRITORIAL POSITION, LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE, CLIMATIC CONDITIONS, CIRCULATION, AND PLANNING CONTEXT. THESE FINDINGS ARE TRANSLATED AND TESTED THROUGH DESIGN OPERATIONS, INCLUDING TERRAIN INTEGRATION, ROOF AS ARCHITECTURAL PROMENADE, FRAGMENTED MASSING, COURTYARD ORGANIZATION, AND SPATIAL SEQUENCING. THE DISSERTATION ARGUES THAT THE CONTEMPORARY CAMPUS SHOULD NOT BE UNDERSTOOD AS A COLLECTION OF ISOLATED ACADEMIC OBJECTS, BUT AS A SPATIAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT ORGANIZES LEARNING, MOVEMENT, LANDSCAPE, CLIMATE RESPONSE, AND PUBLIC LIFE. THE DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR A ART UNIVERSITYIN HENGQIN MATERIALIZES THIS ARGUMENT THROUGH THREE CONTINUOUS ROOFS, FOURTEEN COURTYARDS, AND A LOW-RISE, LANDSCAPE-INTEGRATED CAMPUS ORGANIZATION. BY TRANSFORMING ROOF, COURTYARD, AND CIRCULATION INTO INTERDEPENDENT SPATIAL SYSTEMS, THE PROJECT PROPOSES A SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURAL PROTOTYPE FOR ARTS EDUCATION WITHIN AN ECOLOGICAL URBAN CONTEXT.