YeeKee Ku

Supervisor: Associate Professor David Nichols

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Human-built-forms coevolution via temporal-occupied spaces. Investigation on the human-scaled microstructure of Tmor-Da, an evolving settlement in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

This interdisciplinary thesis discovers a plausible association of human-built-forms coevolution via temporal-occupied spaces [TOS] in Tmor-Da, an evolving settlement in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The evidence affirms that the key finding is a human-scaled microstructure of an internal agent-of-change with an occurrence of atypical TOS that abuts built forms. The TOS serves as the adaptive mechanism that supports the coevolving and coevolutionary human-built-forms relationship in the settlement. Thus, enforces the argument that allowance for the occurrence of TOS can harness human adaptive nature to respond to unpredictable changes. The microstructure also links, creates and inculcates networks that increase the social capital among neighbours, and can collectively cultivate resilience into the evolving settlement. The key themes of `The new sciences of cities (Batty 2013)’ framed by human environmental adaptation in biology are rules that adhere to prescribed modalities in an immediate setting. They are the hidden order, which enables the occurrence of TOS as a signal. The TOS enables coevolving and coadaptation relationships between humans and built-forms to recursively self-generate and cultivate resilience into their settlements over-time. The insights gained from this research lead to plausible strategies to design flexible (void) areas with the prescribed modalities and propose policies that allow rules for the occurrence of TOS. That opens nature-based approaches to design thriving communities or neighbourhoods in cities. Thus breaks away from the mechanistic control of human behaviour that caused stagnated growth in cities fragmentation. Finally, this thesis provides some evidence to support Jacob’s assumptions on the study of public/private interfaces.

See more, visit: https://melbourne.figshare.com/authors/Yee_Kee_Ku/1225056

Tmor-Da evolving
Tmor-Da evolving - Agent-based model on GAMA V1.7 platform
Tmor-Da evolving: mapping human spatial-behaviour at the square

YeeKee Ku received Bachelor of Architecture from University Technology of Malaysia (the year 2000) and Master of Science in Urban Design from Bartlett, University College London, United Kingdom (the year 2004). She started working in Singapore before practising in the United Kingdom as a qualified architect and urban designer, specialises in high-rises and airports. She returned to Malaysia to take up managing roles, which include setting up regional architectural practice and construction arm of a developer company. She was also a Planning and Design Manager in charge of several urban redevelopment projects in Malaysia. Her broad research interest’s intersected between practice and academia in the field of design, architecture and urban sciences, global architectural practices, and management in the building construction industry.

She taught in University Technology of Malaysia, TU Delft, and Melbourne School of Design, lectured Building Services, Building Intelligent Systems, led Design studios on her own and won numerous competitions with her students, among which were EVOLO international competitions.

As a researcher and practitioner, she holds firm to the rigour of scientific thinking and methods for urban studies and design. Yee Kee is passionate about implementing theories into practice through science leading to establish `Urban Science' as a STEM discipline.