The “Kotapuri” apartment is a new alternative
to the shophouse building type. It was designed to overcome the functional
conflict between residential housing (especially for the low-income category)
and commercial use. In particular it seeks to solve the following problems
found in existing shophouse and low-cost schemes.
THE PROBLEM WITH LIVING IN SHOPHOUSES
The commercial zone is not an obvious place
to place housing. There are bound to be conflicts between residential and
commercial use. The shophouse building-type evolved from an earlier period when
merchants lived above their shops. The towns, at that time, were small and
could be said to be have been safer than they are today. There was less traffic
and, perhaps, not so many strangers. For the typical family today, the typical
shop/apartment layout is hardly ideal. The shortcomings include:
- Lack of suitable play area for pre-school and primary school children
- Safety from traffic
- Lack of soft landscape
- Safety from crime
- Lack of cleanliness
- Inadequate system for disposal of solid waste
- Insufficient car park
Yet, having housing near shops, does have
advantages for the owners of the shops. Shop/apartment developments almost always ‘boom’ before shop/office
schemes. That is, the shops below apartments start to become occupied, and
commercial activities begin to thrive, much earlier. In projects where there
are shop apartments and shop/offices, the apartments get fully occupied before
the shops. In turn, the shops get occupied before the offices. This reflects
the differing nature of demand for commercial and residential products.
Households are quite indifferent to a new location, at least when compared to
shops. Retail and other commercial activities need a population to cater to.
The residents living above the shops contribute to this population. Offices
come later because they look for a ready infrastructure of services - places to
eat, to buy essential things and services that they need in the course of their
business. They also want a good already well-known address. They certainly
prefer not to move to a new, half-deserted area. Proximity to a labour pool and
good housing also helps.
PROBLEMS WITH LOW COST HOUSING
In addition to the above, existing low-cost
apartment designs are also beset by problems that the “Kotapuri” seeks to
overcome:
Isolated location far away from shops and
amenities.
- Difficulty of collecting maintenance fees
- Insufficient money for proper maintenance
- A loss-making proposition that needs to be cross subsidized by medium and high cost housing.
- No appreciation in value for buyers
The ground floor of the shop house is the
most valuable part of the shop. The upper floors are less valuable, especially
if like most shop houses, there are no lifts provided. The typical rental of a
3 storey shop house in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur is RM4,,000 for the ground
floor shop house, RM2,000 for the first floor and only RM1,000 for the third
floor.
In many less popular suburbs and towns,
there is no demand for offices or apartments above them. In these places,
developers often build single storey shop houses. Where two or three storey
shop houses have been built, the upper floors are hard to rent out. In many
instances, they become derelict from disuse.
So the problem for shop houses is the lack
of demand for upper floors. The suggestion is that the upper floors can be put
to good use by placing low cost and low medium cost housing on them.
THE KOTAPURI….AN URBAN CASTLE
The ‘Kotapuri’ concept seeks to create a
synergy between shops and low cost housing. If the functional conflicts between
residential and commercial uses can be overcome, there are mutual advantages to
be gained. The location of low-cost housing is moved from the furthest corner
of the development land o the part nearest to main roads leading into it, and
thus closer to town services, amenities, public transport and job
opportunities. The shops gain from having a captive population, helping to keep
the area busy and thriving throughout the day and evenings.
Using the Honeycomb concept as a starting
point, we have designed a building that provides effective segregation between
shops below and houses above. We do this by creating a building with shops
around a courtyard. The shops in this case are small, only 720sf in size but
with a full 20’ frontage in the front and a 7’ backyard.
Access to the communal courtyard,
landscaped with trees, plants and play equipment, is limited to residents only.
This courtyard is raised – about four feet higher than the floor level of the
shop backyard, and then has another 4’ of low wall to effectively screen the
shops from the courtyard.
At each corner is a staircase that leads to
the apartments above. On the each floor is a lobby area that not only provides
access (to four or six) apartments, but also as a communal space. The
apartments can range from over 700sf to 900sf, covering the prescribed sizes
for Low-Cost to Medium Cost flats, the smaller apartments placed above the
larger ones.
On three corners are placed Offices that
have their own staircase access from the ground floor. On one corner is a Community
Centre that can function as a kindergarten, community hall, management office,
etc.
In concept, the proposed design is like a
castle. High walls surround an inner courtyard, and protect its inhabitants
from the dangers outside. The staircase wells at each corner rise above the
walls like towers.
CREATING A SENSE OF COMMUNITY
The Kotapuri design attempts to encourage a
sense of community by clustering units together around communal facilities: 4
or 6 units on each floor share a lobby which doubles as a play area for small
children; 16 units share a staircase and entrance; in one block are 64 units
which share an 3600sf outdoor communal area (which is the courtyard in the
middle of the block), and a 1500 sf indoor community centre.
In this example, it there are only about
300 persons in the block, a small enough number of people to remember by face.
The residents recognize their neighbours, perhaps more importantly, they can
pick out strangers!
In this arrangement, the residents can
organize each other easily. Each lobby (comprising 4 or 6 units) can choose one
representative to sit in a committee of 12. An organized group with a sense of
community is very helpful in promoting public spirit and cooperation in keeping
the premises safe, clean and well maintained.
PROVIDING FOR CHILDREN’S OUTDOOR PLAY
The semi-private courtyard is sheltered
from the busy streets outside the Kotapuri. Access into it will be regulated
(see below). The raised and landscaped courtyard area (only about 3600sf) is
seperated from the enclosing walls by the 7’ width of the sunken shop
backyards. In addition there is a low 4’ wall at the edge of the courtyard;
together with the retaining wall, this makes for an 8’ screen that acts as a
buffer between the shops and the apartments.
This courtyard space, safe from traffic and
strangers, can serve as an area suitable for primary school age children to
play without supervision from their parents.
The lobbies at each floor is also where
younger children from pre-school age can play, perhaps with the parents nearby
in their homes, keeping a collective eye on them. The lobby is actually the
size of along corridor. However, the corridor, being so narrow, can only be
used for circulation.
Space that is made ideal for children is
also suitable for the old and handicapped. Providing a communal space just
outside their homes can ameliorate the sense of isolation these people often
feel, trapped in their homes when there is no suitable outdoor area for them to
socialize.
WHY THE KOTAPURI CONCEPT SUITED FOR LOW-COST HOUSING?
The Kotapuri concept helps provide better low and low-medium cost housing in the following ways:
It can help transform a loss-making proposition turn into something that can break even. In areas where there is no demand for upper floor offices, instead of building a single-storey shop, the upper floors are instead used for housing.
If the decision has been made to build a single storey of shop houses, the cost of land and much of the cost of building the foundation, the roof , the roads and related services would already be commited. Deciding to build an extra floor would incur some additional costs, like the cost of extra floor of structure and walls, but the cost of the foundation and services would not have to be increased by much; the cost of land and roof can be said to heve been already paid for.
In this situation, the "marginal cost" of building the first floor is lower than the cost of building the first storey and can easily be exceeded by the selling price of a floor of low-medium cost apartments priced at, say, RM80,000 per unit. The marginal cost another floor of low-cost apartments would be a bit lower than the marginal cost of the first floor; it would be higher than the selling price of low-cost housing set at RM42,000, but the loss can be absorbed by a relatively minor cross subsidy.
In an example where flats are built on the first, second and third floors with shops on the ground floor, the marginal cost of adding each floor becomes progressively lower. It is logical therefore to price the apartments progressively lower. In one design of the Kotapuri, I placed shops on the ground floor, medium cost apartments on the first floor, medium low-cost apartments on the second floor and low-cost flats on the third. The feasibility study of that design showed that the proposal made a small overall profit.
The low and low medium-cost housing is now not on its own but mixed with shops and provided with car parking that can be charged for. The problem of having insufficient money for proper maintenance for the low-cost housing is ameliorated by being able to collect maintenace fees from owners of the shops and low-medium cost apartments who would be better able to contribute.
On top of that, if the shops are succesful, their customers would be willing to for parking and the income from this can better ensure that the maintenance needs can be met.
Instead of having low-cost flats shunted to the least attractive part of a new housing estate or township, they are now on top of the shops which are normally sited in strategic locations . This location ensures that there is a potential in the future for the homes to appreciate in value.
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WHY THE KOTAPURI CONCEPT SUITED FOR LOW-COST HOUSING?
The Kotapuri concept helps provide better low and low-medium cost housing in the following ways:
It can help transform a loss-making proposition turn into something that can break even. In areas where there is no demand for upper floor offices, instead of building a single-storey shop, the upper floors are instead used for housing.
If the decision has been made to build a single storey of shop houses, the cost of land and much of the cost of building the foundation, the roof , the roads and related services would already be commited. Deciding to build an extra floor would incur some additional costs, like the cost of extra floor of structure and walls, but the cost of the foundation and services would not have to be increased by much; the cost of land and roof can be said to heve been already paid for.
In this situation, the "marginal cost" of building the first floor is lower than the cost of building the first storey and can easily be exceeded by the selling price of a floor of low-medium cost apartments priced at, say, RM80,000 per unit. The marginal cost another floor of low-cost apartments would be a bit lower than the marginal cost of the first floor; it would be higher than the selling price of low-cost housing set at RM42,000, but the loss can be absorbed by a relatively minor cross subsidy.
In an example where flats are built on the first, second and third floors with shops on the ground floor, the marginal cost of adding each floor becomes progressively lower. It is logical therefore to price the apartments progressively lower. In one design of the Kotapuri, I placed shops on the ground floor, medium cost apartments on the first floor, medium low-cost apartments on the second floor and low-cost flats on the third. The feasibility study of that design showed that the proposal made a small overall profit.
The low and low medium-cost housing is now not on its own but mixed with shops and provided with car parking that can be charged for. The problem of having insufficient money for proper maintenance for the low-cost housing is ameliorated by being able to collect maintenace fees from owners of the shops and low-medium cost apartments who would be better able to contribute.
On top of that, if the shops are succesful, their customers would be willing to for parking and the income from this can better ensure that the maintenance needs can be met.
Instead of having low-cost flats shunted to the least attractive part of a new housing estate or township, they are now on top of the shops which are normally sited in strategic locations . This location ensures that there is a potential in the future for the homes to appreciate in value.
Back to Table of Contents
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