A Manufacturing Co-operative Society
This project started with an investigation of contemporary urban framework by exploring the changing urban landscape since the Industrial Revolution era right upto the current knowledge economy era and how the complex forces of globalisation, neoliberal elements, and exploitative capitalism have been moulding the urban society. This has led to a number of issues such as over-reliance on service sectors, predatory multinational companies, preference to service sector workers, globally centric production, and lack of economic power to the working class. In light of these issues, this project aims to bring manufacturing back to the urban center, especially post-industrial cities or towns that haven’t been able to bounce back from their decline, and create a new framework of urban society that is run by manufacturing.
This has been done by creating a co-operative arrangement of manufacturing enterprises housed within a new typology of industrial building that is vertically formatted for industrial production and ready to expand vertically akin to office towers. Among the key features of this new typology of industrial building, is the vertical goods transportation system that transports a variety of raw goods to various upper floors for production and processing, along with a common warehouse at the ground level that handles goods for all enterprises in a building. Sharing of resources and know-how among the enterprises, liaising with the public for product improvement are other important aspects of this project. The function of this co-operative is accentuated and mediated into its adjacent urbanity through a public square housing shops where products manufactured next door are ready to be sold.
This way, the project aims to empower workers, localise production and consumption, generate local economy and create self-resiliency in an urban territory where production, consumption and governance is with the local people.
