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Corporate Urbanism: Time framing of Cybernetic City_ Neo-Suwon-Samsung

Part 2 Project 2020
Chun Ho Kwok
University of Hong Kong | China
What will a city turn into when it is all about one company?

Corporate urbanism, especially for a city designed to suit for the growth of one mega-corporation, in nature, is a topic of contradiction in the beginning. One prosperous and controlled utopia in corporate board' s eyes could be a "high-tech-low-life" , chaotic dystopia in grassroot labors' view at the same time.

Initiated with observation of revival of company town urbanism, in an approach of taking over existing cities gradually, under assumption that mega-corporations' expansion and integration with present city will continue in coming decades, this thesis is interested in reviewing the changing role of architecture in an controlled urban environment under expansion of anchor mega-corporation, one observed potential future. A series of projection on future of Samsung expansion, a search of alternative urban mindset under a corporate-dominant city, in existing city Suwon-si will be taken as the showcase to portray the future cybernetic society, in form of a mega urban-matrix, where city becomes corporate tool to engineer its growth. Ultimately, this dystopian projection is hoped to be a reflection on the rise and potential menace of corporate city, a warming to defend the pluralism of city on and beyond architecture.


Tutor(s)

2020
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