The project Megacity Skeleton in Jakarta is a two-step micro intervention to upgrade informal settlements in megacities and avoid slum-clearance by authorities due to the lack of hygienic living conditions.

Planned first as a participatory initiative – as opposed to top-down government approaches – narrow spatial “voids” are introduced within high-density residential areas to bring air and light into the building fabric of the neighborhood. In a second step, a flexible and temporary wooden envelope structure or “skin” is added to the house, which residents can freely customize.

Read project feature in 4th Holcim Awards 2014/2015 (flip-book)

Blending “eternity” (unchanging) and “continuity” (changing) elements provide this Acknowledgement project with its main strength in terms of sustainable construction, according to Tomohiko Amemiya of UNITYDESIGN in Tokyo. “Megacity Skeleton: Stakeholder participation for urban up-grading” in Jakarta, Indonesia is a 2-step micro intervention upgrade of informal settlements in megacities that avoids slum-clearance by authorities.

Watch video

The winning projects of the Holcim Awards 2014 Asia Pacific show how building with sustainable construction in mind can enhance the region’s human, natural and economic performance. A bird sanctuary in Thailand, a locally-adapted orphanage in Nepal, and a community library in Sri Lanka received the top prizes.

Proyek Megacity Skeleton di Jakarta adalah intervensi mikro dua langkah untuk meningkatkan hunian liar di kota megapolitan dan menghindari pembersihan kawasan kumuh oleh otoritas akibat kurangnya kondisi kehidupan yang higienis. Pada awalnya direncanakan sebagai sebuah prakarsa partisipasi – yang bertolak belakang dengan pendekatan pemerintah tingkat atas-bawah – “ruang kosong” sempit diperkenalkan di area permukiman sangat padat untuk membiarkan udara dan cahaya memasuki bagian dasar bangunan di kawasan tersebut.

The jury commends the dual approach to upgrading informal settlements. Whereas the first step falls in the domain of the collective, establishing a primary urban framework of alleys for light and air within a quarter, the second step addresses individuals and their specific needs. Recalling Le Corbusier’s Dom-ino open plan frame, the Megacity Skeleton project explores an extension of the model’s evolution, adapting the formalized Corbusian structure to the needs of informal communities, with a particular emphasis on stakeholder participation as a fundamental principle of collective living.

The project Megacity Skeleton in Jakarta is a two-step micro intervention to upgrade informal settlements in megacities and avoid slum-clearance by authorities due to the lack of hygienic living conditions. Planned first as a participatory initiative – as opposed to top-down government approaches – narrow spatial “voids” are introduced within high-density residential areas to bring air and light into the building fabric of the neighborhood. In a second step, a flexible and temporary wooden envelope structure or “skin” is added to the house, which residents can freely customize.