The idea of public space, as it has developed in modern times, was space for the free use and enjoyment of the citizenry. The ambiance and character of public space should be determined not by any private or public authority, but by the ways in which people choose to use it. However, in Ho Chi Minh City, to be precise, political interventions to the existing local by-laws has restricted free access to public space and are eradicating the diversity of civic life. This is a new alliance of a business and state elite, set against civil society. What turns out to be 'messy' is the social life itselfskateboarders, protesters, buskers, leafleteers, children playing games -that is, any activity that is not shopping or getting from A to B. The Space Simulacrum is intended mainly to contest against such restrictions, and to create points of diversion around the pedestrian boulevard, pulling the crowds away from the boulevard. The urban design scheme manipulates the use of space and time, combined with hypothetical injections of programs, in order to act as socio-cultural catalysts to increase pedestrian traffic in Downtown District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, during the daytime by creating an altered reality, in which perceptions and experiences or space, duration and gravity are transformed. The methodology and strategy of plugging in social activities on some potential areas, as well as constructing minor installations throughout the site, are intended to haul people into some sort of black holes, and making them forget about the passing of times. These interventions are hopefully able to make a comprehensive rediscovery of the idea of public space, and to remediate the public realm in the immediate vicinity of the Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Boulevard.

On July 7, 2008, Georgetown was formally inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was recognized for its unique heritage of a living multicultural community. Since then there have been various conservation projects within the vicinity of Georgetown, but the initiative seems to be fighting a losing battle. There have been a few major significant conservation projects developed especially in the cultural enclave in order to maintain the status-quo of a world heritage site. Engaging Love Lane as a pilot project to experiment on a new mechanism of heritage rejuvenation involving public participation and extensive use of technological infrastructure could be an alternative approach in conservation development. Heritage value in Love Lane will be enhanced with the use of information technology via the 'Groupon' method which has been proven successful among online shoppers. It is about time this method of collective fund is put to the test in conservation and management of heritage sites. This theoretical urban design exercise covers a 12-acre block of old shophouses in restoring appropriate historical artifacts through smart partnership among stakeholders. If the project is a success, it could be the key to safeguarding not only Penang, but hundreds of world heritage sites facing similar problems.

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The manifestation of this project starts with the idea of reclaiming undefined spaces around the Berlin S-bahn network. The potentials for intervention of urban spaces along the ring are enormous as they are well connected to the rest of the city. Demand for sustainable food is on a rapid rise in Germany, and organic food producers are unable to keep up with the increasing demand. In Berlin, food travels an approximate half of the city's length before it reaches the consumers, contributing greatly to thousands of food miles. This fact sparks a number of design notions of the possibility to plant food within the confinements of the city to supply the need of the urban populace and beyond. The chosen site for this proposal is between two stations, Westhafen and Beusselstrasse, strategically located along the river and Tegal airport further enables it to be an important transit and epicentre for future expansion that link the whole of the SBahn ring. The preference towards this type of food production is new and could be accepted as more Berliners opt for organic and locally-produced food. The mechanism of plot ownership leads back to the traditional allotment gardens owned by the city dwellers.

Abstract"From a lump of clay a vessel is made, what makes it useful is the space within. For a room, we make doors and windows, but what makes a room habitable is the empty space within it". The quote from Lao Tzu perfectly describes a space which is not empty but has gaps that Jonathan Hill describes as fragmentations. In film, we perceive this as arrangements of montages. Montages are a spatial exercise, where fragments from other sites are brought to a new location while at the same time maintaining the essence of the original fragments. The same principal applies when we perceive places, i.e. through a series of fragments. Fragments comprise the spatial, physical or natural components and also many more attributes of the city. Since our visual perception is fragmentary in nature, a single glance is not sufficient to absorb everything. Similarly, in a film, a scene is viewed through a series of glances and must be choreographed and scripted accordingly. In a screenplay contains within it, the opening scene, build-up plots of suspense and climax. This is perhaps the ingredients or prescriptions that make watching movies an interesting, exciting and enjoyable experience. Although places do contain a series of fragments and montages but rarely are choreographed or programmed to behave and be assimilated like watching movies where every moment of the scene gives the viewers very different, unique and distinct experiences. This paper outlines a theoretical urban design exercise that adopts the idea of film making by decoding and translating the screenplay frameworks into architectural montages whereby three components of the screenplay which are the set or backdrop is defined as ambiance of the place, the actors are defined as space and people and lastly the choreograph or script as events and programmes of the place. This framework is used as an approach to reanimate a neighbourhood in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The potentialities and dilemmas of the context is studied, identified and translated according to the screenplay sequence which consists of opening, build-up or suspense and climax scenes. The diverse relationships and experience of the place to its occupants is explored and derive is used as a strategy to enhance the occupants' experiences and the vibrant quality of the place.