Exhibiting Tightness: Qualities of the Hyper-Dense City in Asia

The Super Tight refers to the small, intense, robust and hyper-condensed spaces that emerge as a by-product of extreme levels of urban density. Tightness arises as consequence of density, but tightness itself is not density. Tightness is a series of social, economic and cultural practices that have developed in cities as a response to the rapid growth and consolidation of cities. These ideas have been explored currently through the development of a curated, site specific installation and exhibition at the RMIT Design Hub gallery, July-September 2019. The proposed paper will be developed concurrently, both as a tool of critical reflection on the work being done, but also speculation upon of the broader impact and implications of the exploration. While architectural models of density have been heavily explored, this project will investigate the culture of tightness that has emerged in Asian cities over the past 30 years, and the role that designers play in the material and social behaviours of tightness. We will speculate on what causes density, how to dense cities become tight, and how has a culture of tightness emerged. If more than half the world lives in cities, more than half the world lives in Asia, more than half of the world's megacities are in Asia, then Asian cities are a key to new ways of being tightly urbanised. The by-product of unprecedented metropolitan convergence will be the emergence of new urbanisms and new architectures, new models for living and making culture. To be tight is to be small and constrained, but also to be open to the economies and social intimacy of being close. This exhibition project aims to unpack and convey both the delight and difficulty that emerges through the close occupation of large cities.