Urban Acupuncture & Dwelling Formability: Regeneration of Coastal Informal Settlements in Manila

Abstract

Slum communities are considered an eyesore in the urban landscape, yet 44% of Metro Manila's population is living in them. These settlements grafted on the fringes of the city core are fragmented, plugged away from the services of the city center. Slums are made up of the urban poor and have substandard housing in squalor conditions. Affordable housing within the city is lacking and so the expansion of these blighted areas are increasing. The increasing density in this third world city have forced a number of migrants from the countryside to the periphery of the city where residents have relocated along the riverbanks. Baseco Bay, a slum community made up of 56 hectares of partially reclaimed land is a community threatened by rising sea levels. This thesis will consider how floating architecture can exist, how it addresses the sprawling urban density and responds to natural disasters and long-term sustainable recovery.