Affordable Honeycomb Housing 3

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AFFORDABLE HONEYCOMB HOUSING Mazlin Ghazali Arkitek M Ghazali [email protected]

Mohd. Peter Davis Institut Teknologi Maju (ITMA), Universiti Putra Malaysia. [email protected]

Abstract In the Honeycomb layout, attached housing is arranged in a cul-de-sac arrangement such that small lots, built-areas and high densities are achievable with both land title and strata-title situations. It can be an alternative to the ubiquitous terrace house and parallel rows of flats, and can provide better social and environmental solutions. Moreover, this layout uses up less roads compared to the terrace layout and release more land for sale. Therefore it can be used to overcome the present defects of the conventional low-cost designs.

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Introduction Instead of rows of terrace houses, “Honeycomb Housing” offers a layout which every house is in a cul-desac with a garden in the middle (Figure 1), where tall giant shady trees will be planted. The courtyard in the

surrounding garden is

not just a street for transit: it is a place safe enough from speeding cars and criminals, for even preschoolers to play on. Of course houses in cul-de-sacs (Figure 2) are very much sought after in countries like the United States of America and Australia. But what we propose is suitable not only for high-cost houses but can even be applied to find alternatives to the ex-

Figure 1 Honeycomb cul-de-sac with gardens in the middle.

isting ‘low-cost housing’ solutions.

Figure 2 High-cost ‘horseshoe’ cul-de-sac in Subang Jaya.

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Detached single houses may be built

Our aim is to recreate the best

around the cul-de-sac, but it is also

elements of kampong and small-

possible

buildings

town life so that children can play

consisting of two or three houses,

outside their homes with friends with-

each of which faces a different cul-

out fear of crime or traffic, in a com-

de-sac (Figure 3). We can also slice

munity where people know and talk

up the buildings into four or six units

to each other. We are trying to cre-

so that each pair of houses faces on

ate a more suitable environment for

to a

different cul-de-sac. As we

the ‘kampong boy of the future’ –

partition each building into more

something better than our existing

units, we are

terrace houses.

to

construct

reducing the size of

Honeycomb hous-

each unit,

increasing their num-

ing can deliver all the benefits of the

ber and the

density of the devel-

cul-de-sac layout but with the cost

opment, but it is to be noted that we

advantages of the densely packed

are not reducing the quality of the

terrace housing.

external environment found in the cul-de-sac.

Figure 3 As each building is partitioned, density increases while the external spaces are maintained, creating a kampong style environment.

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Low Cost Housing Existing housing for the low and middle income group in Malaysia suffers from various defects. Studies done by UPM at an estate with single storey houses has shown that there are three major complaints from the

consumers: the houses

are too hot,

the kitchens are too

small and

the roof leaks.

Safety is another

problem. A na-

tional survey

undertaken by

Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS)

and The

New Straits Times (NST)1 last year showed that the main concern of Malaysian citizens is crime (Figure 4). Another aspect is safety from traffic: the straight

roads found in

Figure 4 Crime and public safety tops the main concern of citizens in Malaysia.

terrace housing are too hazardous for small children (Figure 5).

Figure 5 Straight roads and heavy traffic in terrace townships cause concern for small children.

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Not only is the inside of houses hot,

the

but the external environment too is

environment into a concrete jungle.

getting hotter and hotter. Records

Despite attempts at tree planting

show that Kuala Lumpur has grown

and landscaping, the typical subur-

o

transformation of the natural

hotter by 0.6 C per decade, faster

ban housing estate is an ecological

than other cities in the world owing

desert, where crows and mosqui-

to the ‘heat island’ effect2 (Figures 6

toes seem to be the only wildlife that

and 7). This is undoubtedly due to

thrives.

Figure 6 Kuala Lumpur has grown hotter through only two decades.

Figure 7 Many cities are getting hotter, but Malaysia holds the record!

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EXISTING LOW COST APPROACH NEEDS REVIEW Straight line terrace houses are not only aesthetically boring (Figure 8), they don’t function very well and they become social and environmental slums.

Developers subsidize low-cost housing, yet many units go unsold. An anonymous developer laments ‘the Government is forcing us to build lowcost houses which people don’t want to buy’. The Government also builds low-cost

housing and sells it at a

loss, but the houses are unloved. Squatter

kampongs usually fly BN or

UMNO flags proudly before resettlement. Where are they on the new flats?

The auction notices in the daily papers illustrate another problem: many lowcost houses do not seem to appreciate in value. For example, the reserve prices of three properties shown in the New Straits Times (4th August 2005)

Figure 8 Terrace houses in straight lines are aesthetically boring.

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ALTERNATIVES TO

Following a trend from developed

CONVENTIONAL PLANNING

countries, local planners have devised

Developers, planners and architects

‘organic’ layouts where winding roads

have come up with several alternatives

and occasional cul-de-sacs break the

to overcome the drawbacks of linear

boredom of the rectilinear grid, but

planning. In trying to improve on the

density

monotony of housing in rows, they

development at Bukit Jelutong (Figure

have devised various strategies:

10)

is

sacrificed.

A

Guthrie

is an example of this trend.

However, the houses

there cost

RM 500,000 or more.

Strata-title development Groups of houses share ownership of the

communal

facilities

allowing

greater freedom in designing the access route and also allowing high densities. The Desa Park Homes development in Petaling Jaya (Figure 9) is an example of this type of approach, which is able to achieve densities as high as conventional terrace house layouts. However, strata-titles are not considered as valuable as land titles. Organic Layouts

Figure 9 Desa Park Homes, Petaling Jaya achieves high densities in strata-title but it’s land is not considered as valuable as land titles.

Figure 10 Organic planning in Jelutong, Shah Alam breaks the monotony of the terrace layout but at the cost of density and affordability.

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Clustered Layouts Similarly, the cluster approach can produce interesting outcomes but, in most cases, loses out on efficiency. The circular clustering of houses at Brondby near Copenhagen in Denmark (Figure 11) shows a wide expanse of green area between the clusters. Figure 12 A neo-traditional approach introduces diagonal streets to link with focal points. (Seaside, Florida. Laid out by Duany & Plater-Zyberk in 1983)

Most of these efforts to produce a better environment require additional r e so u r ce s:

mo r e

land,

mo r e

infrastructures and more money. The honeycomb Figure 11 This cluster layout in Brondby, Denmark produces interesting outcome but at the expense of land efficiency.

concept

can

help

improve the design of housing without necessarily

increasing

the

cost.

Central to the honeycomb concept is tessellation.

New Urbanism From America comes a new trend against suburban sprawl. The NeoTraditional Development (Figure 12) seeks to rediscover the vitality found in small towns by re-introducing the rectilinear grid, but with important modifications e.g. diagonal streets to link focal points.

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TESSELLATION PLANNING

Looking at the example shown (Figure 13), we may think it is a difficult task to

In mathematics, to tessellate means to

lay the multiple shapes of tiles. The

cover a plane with a pattern without

nine-pointed star, the four-pointed

having any gap or overlap. For centu-

star, the spear head, the leaf-like

ries artists and craftsmen have used

shape, etc. But in fact the seemingly

tessellation as a tool to create visual

complex pattern is built up from a sin-

effects on surfaces. Tiling is the most

gle basic square

common form of tessellation, and in its

tion planning this creative power is ap-

simplest form the tiles are regular

plied to town

polygons. The Muslim craftsmen in

colours are not merely decorative but

Spain in the 15th century created

represent

beautifully complex visual

pattern. In tessella-

planning, where the

functional space.

effects by

tessellating a small basic tile pattern. Intricate and complex designs can be built up from simple, basic tile patterns by this process.

Figure 13 At first glance the final pattern may seem complex but upon closer observation, it is made up of a single tile which is then tessellated many times over creating a complex pattern.

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We start with a simple hexagonal ‘tile’

the houses. There is only one en-

designed to comprise houses, the

trance road. These factors help create

plots of land they sit on, an access

a sense of belonging to a place and to

road and a communal green area. A

the group of people that reside in

small

there.

number of houses, 16 in this

case (Figure 14), arranged around a small park in a looping cul-de-sac, like friends sitting around a table. The neighbourhood is bounded by a hexagonal perimeter at the back of

Figure 14 This hexagonal tile creates an enclosed community and a sense of belonging to a neighbourhood of about 16 families.

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This tile is tessellated, by translating

community consisting of over 300

and rotating the basic pattern, to form

homes bounded by a distribution road

a courtyard community in the shape of

(Figure 16). From these elements a

a hexagon. This hexagon can be

layout for a township on any given

tessellated to

shape of land can be produced.

form a

cul-de-sac

community of 42 homes (Figure 15), and further tessellated to form a block

Figure 15 Each courtyard community in turn forms a cul-de-sac community of about 42 houses.

Figure 16 Further tessellations creates a block community of about 300 homes.

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In the example shown (Figure 17) a

that all branch from the main road. All

150 acre site is tiled with the hexago-

houses are in cul-de-sacs or clusters

nal blocks, then the tiles are trimmed

that are accessed from the main or

at the edges. A road hierarchy is cre-

secondary roads, making the plan

ated by introducing a main road that

easy to

traverses the whole site, with secon-

gate.

dary

understand and navi-

connecting or looping roads

Figure 17 From these tiling elements, any township on any given shape of land could be tessellated.

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CREATING COMMUNITIES

the number of homes that would

Creating

support an elementary school, i.e.

an

urban

environment

conducive to community life has long

6,000 to 9,000 people.

been a central aim of the planning profession, from the time of Unwin and

Honeycomb

Parker right up to present day New

hierarchical concept of neighbour-

Urbanists. They have tried to achieve

hood. A family may belong simulta-

this through the quality of the design

neously to a ‘courtyard neighbour-

of the public spaces – the streets,

hood’ (of say, 16 houses, refer Figure

communal amenities, shopping areas,

14), a

play areas, control of traffic, central

hood’ (of say, 42 homes, Figure 15), a

focus and clear boundaries. Another

‘block

aspect is the size of the community.

houses, refer

The population of Ebenezer Howard’s

community’ of around 1500 houses

‘Garden City’ is capped at 30,000. The

(Figure 18). The latter is what corre-

size of Clarence Perry’s concept of the

sponds

‘neighbourhood unit’ corresponds to

neighbourhood unit.

Housing

adopts

a

‘cul-de-sac neighbourneighbourhood’ (250

most

Figure 16), a ‘town

closely

to

Perry’s

Figure 18 ‘Town Community’ corresponds to number of houses that would support an elementary school within the neighbourhood.

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However, we argue that it is at the

been reduced.

level of the ‘courtyard community that

In honeycomb housing the network of

the sense of neighbourhood would be

roads comprises looping cul-de-sacs

strongest. A cluster of 16 houses with

and short connecting roads leading to

a population of 80 persons is a setting

distributor roads. This pattern slows

that individuals can easily relate to.

down traffic naturally, rendering it safe

The courtyard is only 60m across.

for pedestrians and children playing,

Within that distance resident can easily

giving the cul-de-sac the air and feeling

discern the facial features and expres-

of a “shared street”4 (Figure 20). The

sions of his neighbours who are out-

short connecting roads with no access

side their homes. The resident would

to houses provide space for visitors’

not know each one of his neighbours,

parking.

but he would at least recognise their faces and be acquainted with some of them.

Shared Streets The Netherlands in the 70s pioneered the ‘Woonerf’ where play areas and green were brought to cramped working class areas by making the roads in front of the houses into mixed use zones, where vehicular movement is curtailed by traffic-calming design fea-

Figure 19 Looping cul-de-sacs and short connecting roads slows traffic naturally.

tures – changing the road surfaces, placing

chicanes and humps, placing

trees and planting beds in the street. In this and other countries that have adopted the shared street concept, social use of the streets has increased and the rate of

traffic accidents has

Figure 20 ‘Shared street’ concept

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Defensible space The honeycomb layout produces a hierarchy of private space, semiprivate space and public space, where residents are able to exercise influence over the environment just outside their homes5: visitors know when they are entering a semi-private domain. The environmental design assists in providing natural surveillance of the external spaces; every house lies in a cul-de-sac, which naturally produces defensible spaces (Figure 21). Furthermore, back-lanes which from 30% of break-ins in Malaysia originate are completely eliminated6.

Communal space for all The spaces outside the home (Figure 22) are conducive to the growing-up process because they are safe for smaller children, with ample play amenities. Football fields several minutes away from the home do not serve the needs of pre-schoolers or young primary school children, who need closer supervision.

The communal garden in front of every home is also accessible to the less mobile people in society, the elderly and disabled. It is this socially friendly and safe environment that existed in the kampongs and is now so lacking in our modern urban areas.

Figure 21 Every house lies in a cul-de-sac, which naturally and spontaneously produces defensible spaces.

Figure 22 The courtyard outside the houses makes it ideal and safe for pre-schoolers, the elderly and the disabled. 15

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APARTMENTS

the blocks. This is where we can

The Honeycomb Concept can also be

create a communal focus, a small park

applied to the design of apartments.

with tall shady trees and children’s

For an alternative to the 5-storey walk-

playground equipment (Figure 24 and

up flats, instead of long parallel slabs

25). This courtyard is analogous to the

of block apartments, we have compact

courtyard in the Honeycomb cul-de-

point blocks arranged in a hexagonal

sac.

cluster (Figure 23) so that a kind of courtyard is created in the centre of

Figure 23 Honeycomb Apartments.

Figure 24 Communal courtyards in the centre of a hexagonal cluster of flats.

Figure 25 This application to design of honeycomb apartments provides an alternative to long parallel slabs of block apartments.

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In addition, on every floor, the units

But a hexagonal lobby having the

are not strung out along a corridor, but

same area can be a communal area.

instead, circle around a lobby area

In the design shown (Figure 27 and

(Figure 26). The long narrow corridor

28), there is a small item of play-

is suitable only as a circulation space;

ground equipment placed in the cen-

even worse when there are no win-

tre; it could equally well be an indoor

dows overlooking them, they become

garden or fountain instead. The apart-

‘blind’ corridors. Not subject to casual

ments are designed to have windows

surveillance from residents in the

facing the lobby so that mothers can

apartments,

look at their children

these

spaces

attract

vandalism.

playing outside,

subjecting it to ‘natural surveillance’. The lobby can become a semi-private space that residents are able to feel as their own to look after.

Figure 26 The lobby in the honeycomb apartment.

Figure 27 A playground, indoor garden or fountain could be placed in the hexagonal lobby, turning it into a communal space.

Figure 28 Windows facing the lobby will avoid public security problems of ‘blind’ corridors which attracts vandalism.

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The design of the apartments in a

yard, into the spacious kitchen. All the

hexagonal

be

service areas, kitchen, bathrooms and

problematic. Though it is more difficult

drying yard are grouped together for

to handle for those who are so used to

easy plumbing; the 3 bedrooms are

the rectilinear grid, it can produce

accessed from a semi-private family

efficient yet pleasant results. The

area. The dining and living open out

example

block

(Figure

need

29)

not

shows

an

into a balcony with wide sliding doors.

apartment of an area of 850 square feet.

The overall shape appears unduly complicated,

however

the

funnel

There is a main entrance into the

shape corresponds well to the natural

dining and living room. There is also a

flow of movement in an apartment –

second entrance through the drying

the rooms fan out towards the external

Figure 29 Honeycomb apartment of 850 square feet.

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IN HARMONY WITH NATURE Contour housing

Mitigating the heat island effect

Building long rows of terrace houses

The road shoulder in front of terrace

cheaply requires hills to be cut and

houses, with its underground cables

streams to be filled. In honeycomb

and pipes, is not suitable for trees:

housing, buildings containing several

but big shady species can thrive in the

units have compact footprints that

small communal gardens of honey-

allow more level changes to be placed

comb housing. The clearing of trees

between the blocks (Figure 30). In this

to create concrete jungles is the main

respect the buildings are very much

cause of the heat-island effect. The

like big detached houses, and it is

canopy of big trees, far larger than the

evident from existing townships that

area of the honeycomb courtyards

the typical developer flattens large ex-

shades the roads and hard landscape

panses of land for his terrace houses,

(Figure 31).

but lets the bungalows go up and

will further cool the external environ-

down to better suit the original con-

ment.

Evaporation from leaves

tours.

Figure 31 Large canopies from trees in the central courtyard will reduce the heat island effect by shading roads and hard landscapes and further improve local biodiversity.

Figure 30 Honeycomb houses containing several units now have more compact footprints and allows for more level changes.

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Biodiversity

new generic house-types. These new

The islands of big trees together with

forms give architects more room for

smaller trees and shrubs around the

creativity.

homes can become microhabitats for small animals, birds and insects.

Wide frontage detached homes

Suitable

The

species

of

introduced

honeycomb

detached

house

butterflies, birds and small mammals

comes with wider, more articulated

will gradually adopt this environment

frontages, as compared to bungalows

as their natural home and thus im-

in rows (Figures 32 and 33).

prove the local biological diversity.

A NEW GENERATION OF HOME DESIGNS Tessellation

Planning,

without

incurring any cost penalty, allows new townships to break free from the mental grid-lock that produces rigid rows of housing. To most architects, designing yet another terrace house is a boring chore. Honeycomb housing represents a new and refreshing challenge for architects. It leads to

Figure 32 The narrow frontage of a conventional detached house.

Figure 33 Honeycomb units with wide frontages. 20

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Individual frontages

of

Linked units like the duplex and triplex give the impression of being detached units when viewed from the entrance

Figure 34 Honeycomb courtyard community consisting of duplexes and triplexes.

Figure 35 Duplexes appear to look like detached houses.

Figure 36 Triplexes also appear to look like detached houses.

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Semi-detached frontages The quadruplex and sextuplex structures give the impression of being semi-detached units (Figures 37, 38 and 39). These two building types are the

honeycomb alternatives to the

low and low-medium cost terrace house. In the equivalent honeycomb layout, every house is a corner unit, with a front yard and side garden.

Figure 37 Honeycomb courtyard community consisting of sextuplexes and quadruplexes.

Figure 38 Quadruplexes give the impression of being semidetached house.

Figure 39 Every house in this sextuplex or in a quadruplex is a corner unit with front and side gardens.

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USING LAND MORE EFFICIENTLY

Figure 40 also compares a honeycomb neighbourhood comprising 12

In

Figure

40,

h o n e yco mb

quadruplexes and 4 duplexes against

neighbourhood comprising 5 units

a terrace house arrangement of an

(four quadruplexes and one duplex) is

equivalent 16 units. It is demonstrated

compared

house

in Table 1 that the honeycomb layout

arrangement of an equivalent 5 units.

is more efficient in respect of land-use.

with

a

a

terrace

Table 1 Comparison table highlighting honeycomb’s efficient land-use from that of conventional terrace layout.

Figure 40 Comparisons of equivalent units of honeycomb neighbourhoods and terrace houses; its layout and efficiency.

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It is more efficient because the total

We next compared two theoretical

area of roads has been reduced: in

sites on efficient layout of terrace

the 5-unit comparison the area of road

houses on an island site and an

reserve is reduced from 41% of the

equivalent

total area to only 26%; consequently,

Here again, the honeycomb alterna-

because the green area is maintained

tive needs less land for roads and al-

at 7%, the saleable house land is

lows more residential land (Figures 41

increased from 52% to 67 per cent. In

and 42). In this

the 16-unit case, the road area of the

lic green area and density (units per

honeycomb layout is 23% compared

acre) are kept the same; conse-

to 35% for the terrace layout; the

quently, the average lot sizes are 30%

house land is 70%, up from 58 per

larger (Table 2).

honeycomb alternative.

example, the pub-

cent.

Figure 41 Terrace houses on a theoretically efficient site.

Table 2 The honeycomb layout increases saleable land lot size by 30%!

Figure 42 Honeycomb block community on a theoretically efficient site.

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We have done several comparative studies to illustrate how honeycomb layouts

are

more

efficient

than

conventional rectilinear grid layouts. The study of alternative layouts at Demak Laut, Kuching (Figures 43 and 44) is one example.

Figure 43 Comparative analysis of honeycomb layout at Demak Laut, Kuching, Sarawak.

Figure 44 Comparative analysis of conventional terrace layout at Demak Laut, Kuching, Sarawak.

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In this example, there are equivalent

honeycomb layout

numbers of units. The green areas

about 43.3% saleable land. The rea-

and provisions for amenities are about

son for this can be seen in the

the same. The terrace alternative

duction in road reserve – from 41.2%

yields only about 40.7% saleable resi-

to 35.2% (Table 3).

dential

can yield

re-

land. This yield is quite

common

for any landed prop-

erty development.

However, the

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HONEYCOMB LAYOUT AT DEMAK LAUT, KUCHING, SARAWAK.

TERRACE HOUSE

HONEYCOMB HOUSING

224

224

% OF ROADS

41.2%

35.2%

15% Less Road

% HOUSE + COMPOUND

40.7%

43.3%

7% Larger Compounds

% GREEN

7.6%

10.9%

43% More Green

NO. OF HOUSES

NOTE

Same number of houses

Table 3 The honeycomb layout increases yield of saleable land through reduction in road reserve.

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It is possible to build a mathematical model where distances and areas of a sextuplex honeycomb layout and an equivalent

terrace layout are expressed

in terms of variables x, y, and so on. Using Pythagoras Theorem and the Solution to Quadratic Equations, a spreadsheet model of the two alternatives is built up. We are interested in land-use efficiency, which is the ratio of sellable land to total land, and in density which is the number of units per acre. Both these output variables are made to relate to

Figure 45 A honeycomb block consisting of sextu-

buildable footprint, which is the net land area in a house lot that can be built, taking into account the building setback requirements. This mathematical model shows that, within the range of practical limits, the sextuplex honeycomb form of housing is more land-use efficient and can provide more units per acre than the terrace (Figures 45 to 48). Figure 47 Percentage of land sold related to buildable footprints.

Figure 46 Equivalent amount of units in terrace layout Figure 48 Densities related to buildable footprints.

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WEALTH-CREATING HOMES

Homes that are comfortable, in a safe,

Almost everyone aspires to own a

friendly neighbourhood, seen as a

home, and for those that do, it is

private and exclusive location, set in a

probably their biggest asset. The three

mature and lush landscape will attract

factors that most affect the resale

higher prices (Figure 49). Owners of

value of a home are location, location

honeycomb homes living in harmony,

and location.

maintaining and improving the spaces outside their homes, creating a sense

It is not so much the bricks and mor-

of place and belonging will not only

tar, or even the granite tiles or the

enjoy living in a good neighbourhood,

architectural style of the house that

but will benefit from the financial ap-

make up the bulk of the value of a

preciation of their valuable asset.

house, but rather the quality of its physical

and

social

environment.

Location is more than just a simple geographical matter: In Central Kuala Lumpur near the fashionable Bangsar area is Bangsar Baru Flats but the value of the apartment are depressed. Who wants to live in a slum?

Figure 49 Homes that are comfortable, in a safe, friendly neighbourhood, seen as a private and exclusive location, set in a mature lush landscape will attract higher values thus increasing prices.

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References 1

New Straits Times (18th September 2004)

2

Davis, M.P., et al. (2004) Thermal Comfort Housing for Hot Climates. Commonwealth Association of Planners Conference, 7th July, 2004, Renaissance Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

3

New Straits Times (4th August 2005)

4

Ben-Joseph, Eran (1995) Changing the Residential Street Scene. Journal of the American Planners Association.

5

Newman, Oscar (1972) Defensible Space. New York: Macmillan.

6

Abas, A.B.; Sugianto,I.N., (2004) Break-ins in Malaysian Houses. Proceedings Silpakorn Architectural Discourse 3rd Symposium. (Discussion with main author.)

All drawings and illustrations are the copyright of Arkitek M. Ghazali except: Figure 2

Sime UEP Berhad (2005)

Figure 4

New Straits Times (18 September 2004)

Figure 6 & 7

Outdoor temperatures in KL by Mohd Peter Davis, Nor Azian Nordin, Gregers Reimann (1999)

Figure 8

Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur (Google Earth 2005)

Figure 9

Desa Park, Petaling Jaya from Taman Desa Brochure (2004)

Figure 10

Jelutong, Shah Alam from Kumpulan Gutherie Group (2004)

Figure 11

Housing in Denmark from “The Earth from the Air” by Yann ArthusBertrand (2003)

Figure 12

Kostof, Spiro (1991) The City Shaped – Urban Patterns and Meanings Through History. United Kingdom: Thames and Hudson.

Figure 20

“Defensible Space” by Oscar Newman (1972)

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List of Figures Figure 1

Honeycomb cul-de-sac model

Figure 2

‘Horseshoe’ cul-de-sac in Subang Jaya

Figure 3

Kampong style environment model

Figure 4

Crime and public safety issue

Figure 5

Straight roads and heavy traffic

Figure 6

Meteorological station chart

Figure 7

Heat island effect

Figure 8

Terrace houses in straight lines, Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur

Figure 9

Desa Park Homes, Petaling Jaya

Figure 10

Jelutong, Shah Alam

Figure 11

Brondby, Denmark

Figure 12

Florida, United States

Figure 13

Single tile tessellated

Figure 14

Neighbourhood tile of about 16 families

Figure 15

Courtyard community tile of about 42 houses

Figure 16

Block community tile of about 300 homes

Figure 17

Any given shape or land could be tessellated

Figure 18

Courtyard community tile slows traffic

Figure 19

Town community tile

Figure 20

Shared street concept

Figure 21

A cul-de-sac naturally produce defensible spaces

Figure 22

The external courtyards make safe environments

Figure 23

Honeycomb apartments

Figure 24

Communal courtyards

Figure 25

Honeycomb apartments as an alternative to long parallel block apart30

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ments Figure 26

Lobby in honeycomb apartment

Figure 27

Alternatives in communal lobby

Figure 28

Problems of ‘blind corridors’ addressed

Figure 29

Honeycomb apartments of 850 square feet

Figure 30

Honeycomb houses with compact footprint

Figure 31

Large canopies from trees reduces heat island effect

Figure 32

Narrow frontage of conventional detached house

Figure 33

Honeycomb units with wide frontage

Figure 34

Honeycomb courtyard communities with duplexes and triplexes

Figure 35

Duplex appears to look as detached houses

Figure 36

Triplexes also appear to look as detached houses

Figure 37

Honeycomb courtyard communities with quadruplexes and sextuplexes

Figure 38

Quadruplexes gives an impression of being semi-detached house.

Figure 39

Honeycomb units with front and side gardens

Figure 40

Comparison of layout and efficiency

Figure 41

Terrace house on theoretically efficient site

Figure 42

Honeycomb block community on theoretically efficient site

Figure 43

Comparative analysis of honeycomb layout in Kuching, Sarawak

Figure 44

Comparative analysis of terrace layout in Kuching, Sarawak

Figure 45

Honeycomb block consisting of sextuplexes

Figure 46

Equivalent amount of units in terrace layout

Figure 47

Percentage of land sold related to buildable footprints

Figure 48

Densities related to buildable footprints

Figure 49

Honeycomb attracts higher values of neighbourhood

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