theorizing architecture
DESCRIPTION
Theories of architecture and urbanismTaylors UniversityTRANSCRIPT
1 | P a g e
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & DESIGN Centre for Modern Architecture Studies in Southeast Asia (MASSA)
Bachelor of Science (Honours) (Architecture) THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC2224)
Project: Theorizing Architecture
NAME : Audrey Chan Chu Sien
ID: 0300457
LECTURER: Ms Ida Marlina
JUNE 2014
MARKS & GRADES
2 | P a g e
Table of Contents Page 1.0 Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 2.0 Analysis
2.1 Climate ------------------------------------------------------------------- 4-5
2.2 Architecture Theory --------------------------------------------------- 6-8
2.3 Users --------------------------------------------------------------------- 9-10
3.0 Discussion and Conclusion -------------------------------------------------- 11 4.0 Final Diagram -------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 5.0 References ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 13
3 | P a g e
1.0 Introduction
This project attempts to convey an understanding of architect’s architectural
theory through a direct observation and analysis of his buildidngs. The purpose of this
essay is to explain the contributing factors towards the architectural design of Ar. Chew
Sein Yat. The factors includes the architect’s self and experience, as well as external
factors such as climate, architecture theory and building users.
Ar. Chew Sein Yat is born on th 22nd of April 1973. He grew up having an
architect father, but that did not influence him much towards his choice of being an
architect. He took up actuarial science in pre-u and eventually fell in love with the
actuarial science’s method of analyzing problem. He slowly venture into things like
problem solving, and this leads him to take up architecture , hoping to be able to solve
site issues and unlock each site potentials.
Ar. Chew went to University of Sydney and majored in Urban and Regional
Planning during his advanced diploma studies as he was interested in dealing with not
only a building site, but also larger issues like the neighborhood, stakeholders, culture
and the impact over the surrounding. Upon his return to Malaysia to practice
architecture, he realized that he will have lesser freedom in designing compared to the
times in university. He took over his father’s architect company- CS Chew Architects
Sdn Bhd, and is now the director of that company. He felt that the few years of
education as an architecture student was the most fulfilling moments in his journey with
architecture therefore he took up education and became a part-time lecturer in the
Design Studio module.
The building designed by Ar. Chew that I am studying is the Villa Orkid in
Segambut, Kuala Lumpur. Villa Orkid is a freehold, mid-cost condominium, completed in
August 2013 by the developer BREM Holdings Berhad and was designed by CS Chew
Architects Sdn Bhd. Villa Orkid consists of three blocks, each having 16 to 18 floors.
Each floor has approximately eight units.
4 | P a g e
2.0 Analysis
2.1 External factor- Climate
Due to the fact that Villa Orkid is located in a tropical country, Malaysia, the hot
and humid climate becomes an important factor to be considered during the design
processes. The primary concern of the architect in designing in such a climate would
have to be to allow minimum solar gains, maximum ventilation and dealing with the
heavy rainfall through materiality and forms. Besides that, the social and psychological
effects of the climate on the users also have to be dealt with. The climate thus, must be
taken into consideration because in the tropical region, the climate has an effect on the
life and work of the people.The building layout and orientation is important as it
determines which side of the building receives more direct sunlight, hence leading to the
decision of design solution towards direct sunlight. An optimal amount of natural lighting
and ventilation is also important to the internal building spaces using operable windows.
Villa Orkid has been designed with a good consideration of climatic factors. The
building layout and orientation has been designed to the site context.(Diagram 2.1.2)
Villa Orkid is designed to catch the prevailing wind from the south-west and north-east
direction. The building is also orientated as such that each unit has lesser exposure to
direct sunlight. Fenestration of Villa Orkid on the north and south façade allows
maximum natural ventilation through the operable windows. Design strategies such as
using the voids and sky terraces also helps to regulate wind and fresh air into the
apartments. (Diagram 2.1.1) It also allow stack ventilation to happen, hence maintaining
the air quality in the apartment, help remove heat and other pollutant as well as provide
a perceptible air movement so that thermal comfort in the apartment can be achieved.
Besides that, balconies are used as copings for the unit below. This is to prevent direct
glare from entering the apartment unit.
Landscapes around Villa Orkid are also designed in a way that greeneries are
placed around the boundaries to create a buffer zone that helps to reduce heat from
entering the apartment area . This further helps the apartment area to stay cooler to
achieve the thermal comfort level. (Diagram 2.1.3)
5 | P a g e
(Diagram 2.1.1)
(Diagram 2.1.2)
(Diagram 2.1.3)
6 | P a g e
2.2 External factor- Architecture Theory
The architecture theory applied to Villa orkid is Critical Regionalism. Critical
regionalism is an architecture theory and approach to architecture that strives to counter
the “placelessness” and the lack of meaning in modern architecture. It is the
combination of the simplicity of modernism, but with a sense of place and meaning by
using contextual forces and contextual relationship to the surrounding. It also rejects the
individualism and ornamentation of postmodern architecture. Critical regionalism
emphasizes the importance of “placeness” which could neither be branded as
internationalism nor as a historical concept of region and architecture (traditionalism).
“Critical Regionalism emerged as an architectural concept in the early 1980s” (Eggner,
2002, p. 228).
The phrase “critical regionalism” was first discovered by the architectural
theorists named Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre.This idea was continued with a
slight different approach by Kenneth Frampton, a historian-theorist. Based on
Frampton’s criteria for critical regionalism, Tadao Ando adopted them in one of his
buildings- Rokko housing at Kobe in Okinawa. He describes critical regionalism as
having a “direct dialectical relation with nature”. Tadao Ando chose to locate his building
on the sever slopes to make “a quiet building standing quietly in nature”. (Diagram 2.2.1)
The architecture of critical regionalism makes references to the site, the “genius
loci”. Instead of dealing solely with the region itself and a particular regional style,
regionalism mainly stresses on the relationship of a building to its site and location in a
sociological context. It is also a preference to how the architect deals with the
irregularities of the physical landscape rather than how he or she employs local culture.
In the design layout of Villa Orkid, it can be seen that it adopts the simplicity of
modernism by having a symmetrical floor plan. However, to emphasize on the
importance of “placeness”, design strategies to use sky terraces and voids have been
employed to the design of Villa Orkid. Each apartment unit is addressed by a sky
7 | P a g e
terrace, creating higher engery efficiency during the day. The idea was to allow a piece
of green in every unit, allowing natural lighting and ventilation as if living in a landed
property. Voids help regulate air in the apartment and create natural ventilation to allow
thermal comfort. The apartment units are designed using the modernism theory of form
follow function but not merely an architecture without meaning.
Critical regionalism encourages a dialectic relation with nature, using the
topography to its advantages without bulldozing and flattening the space. This helps to
speak more of the relationship of the building to its space. Modernization would
approach to clear and flatten the site, therefore optimizing the economy of earth-moving
equipment and making way for the rational layout of building. The removal of
topography is a universal technique, causing a design of placelessness. Critical
regionalism would instead seize the topography as a manifestation of the region’s
geologic and agricultural history. Villa Orkid is an apartment building that is designed to
be set into the terracing contours of the land. The building form followed the topography
of the site, bringing a sense of placeness and relation to the contextual surrounding.
(Diagram 2.2.1)
8 | P a g e
(Diagram 2.2.2)
(Diagram 2.2.3)
9 | P a g e
2.3 External factor- Users
Villa orkid is designed to the comfort and convenience of the users, hence
being a user-friendly apartment. Public open spaces are important in high density
residential developments. Residents and visitors will rely in part on public open
space for a venue of relaxation, recreation and meeting grounds. Access to
essential and safe public open spaces is essential for the well-being of the whole
community. The public open spaces of Villa Orkid includes the wading pool, lap
pool, sauna, gymnasium, multi-purpose hall, playground, jogging track, barbecue
area as well as the landscaped gardens. These are generally most successful as
they are relatively small (not larger than a block), lined with active edges, with
access to sun and shade and opportunities for passive recreation. They can
provide a focus for community activity and are located at prominent and easily
accessible places.
The entrances of Villa Orkid is designed for the convenience of its tenants,
giving priority to the users. The primary approach to the apartment is the gateway
with a 24 hours gated security. The main entrance is perpendicular to the line of
approach. For units type A1, the entrance to the unit is addressed by a sky
terrace before reaching the main entrance of the unit. The sky terrace creates a
feeling of home garden that provides a piece of green to the tenants as though
living in a landed property. The entrance is linear to the line of approach, leading
the user straight into the living room and dry kitchen area. (Diagram 2.3.1)
Besides that, structural elements also plays to the advantage of the users.
Clearly expressed rectangular columns are used in each apartment units.
(Diagram 2.3.2) Structural elements are also used for simple separation of
spaces. They are all located in corners to create a maximum span and
unobstructed space to ease the users in arranging furniture and household items.
There are no decoration or embellishments added to the structural elements,
creating a clean and simple interior images. The effective space planning of each
10 | P a g e
unit also allow maximum users interaction as the living, dining and dry kitchen
areas are of open layout that compliments one another.
Lastly, the balconies creates a great private-open space that provide for
limited recreation and entertainment uses. It also allow views and allow natural
ventilation for the users. The louvered materials also provide weather protection
and privacy to the users.
(Diagram 2.3.1)
(Diagram 2.3.2)
(Diagram 2.3.3)
11 | P a g e
3.0 Discussion and Conclusion
Ar. Chew Sein Yat adopted critical regionalism in designing Villa Orkid. Based on
the first part of the understanding of “self” of Ar. Chew, he enjoys problem solving and
analyzing site, to unlock the full potential of a building site. This has a direct connection
to his style of design in Villa Orkid. If Ar. Chew were to adopt modernism instead, he
would have just flatted the land to ease the layout design and construction of the
apartment . Instead , he looked more towards the site potential of having a challenging
topography, as well as to give a stronger sense of contextual relationship to his design.
Critical regionalism is shown clearly through the courage of designing a building that is
set into the terracing contours of the land.
Instead of dealing solely with the region itself and a particular regional style,
critical regionalism mainly stresses on the relationship of a building to its site and
location in a sociological context. Ar. Chew also stresses on the climatic factors while
designing Villa Orkid. His passion towards site investigation and analysis has been
clearly shown through the way he tackle topographical and climatic challenges. The
idea of having a sky terraces in every unit and voids in designated places has brought in
a generous amount of natural lighting and ventilation to the apartment. Ar. Chew’s effort
of problem solving towards the challenges of tropical climate has been shown through
these design strategies. Thermal comfort in the apartment has been achieved through
sky terraces, voids and fenestrations.
Other than that, Ar. Chew also designed according to the users’ needs and
comfort. The arrangement of structural elements, the approach of entrances, the
application of public open spaces as well as the integration of effective space planning
has shown the critical thinking in problem solving to achieve a well-designed residential
area for the users. The time Ar. Chew spent during his studies on actuarial science
certainly are not wasted as those values and interest he gain were being brought
forward to his architecture, applying them to real life buildings and helping the urban
society to grow towards a city of “placeness”.
12 | P a g e
4.0 Final Diagram
Working Experience
- Gained his working experience by working in Benoy Architects during his internship and CS Chew Chartered Architects & Town Planners.
- Learned about master planning competition during internship
- Experienced project design, development, implementation and contract administration in CS Chew Chartered Architects & Town Planners
ARCHITECT: SELF EXTERNAL CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
THEORY ON ARCHITECTURE
CRITICAL REGIONALISM
-is an approach to architecture
that strives to counter the
“placelessness” and the lack of
meaning in modern
architecture
Critical regionalism is shown
clearly through the courage of
designing a building that is set
into the terracing contours of
the land.
Name: Ar.Chew Sein Yat Born: 22 April 1973 Place of birth: Singapore Nationality: Malaysian
Climate
Ar. Chew’s effort of problem
solving towards the challenges of
tropical climate has been shown
through these design strategies.
Thermal comfort in the apartment
has been achieved through sky
terraces, voids and fenestrations.
Users
The arrangement of structural
elements, the approach of
entrances, the application of public
open spaces as well as the
integration of effective space
planning has shown the critical
thinking in problem solving to
achieve a well-designed residential
area for the users.
Education
- Primary and secondary school did impact him much in terms of architecture.
- Took up actuarial science in college and was fascinated by problem solving and analyzing skills.
- Went to University of Nottingham for bachelor studies in architecture. Explored to his full potential during the design studio modules.
- Took up urban planning at the University of Sydney as his passion towards urbanism, analyzing site and problem solving grew.
- Realized how idealistic architecture failed. Felt that architecture is similar to actuarial science as it is more important to find out the margin of error than just an architectural solution.
Influence & Inspiration
- The architectural design makes up an important part of what influences him when he makes his design decisions.
- Robert and Brenda Vales have inspired him through the architectural solution as a set of compromised.
- Some colleagues and bosses influenced him in many ways lead him to be a better architect.
- Getting design inspiration from media.
Childhood
- Fascinated by the physical scale architecture models when he was first visited his father firm.
- No pressure even his father is an architect. - Talented drawing skills that help him to express his idea. - Father who is an architect always brought him and the
family to other cities to explore the cities in architecture way.
- Childhood experience influenced him to took up Actuarial Science which quite similar with architecture course in term of critical thinking skill and problem solving.
- His father’s professionalism as an architect influenced his childhood and gave him a very good impression with architect career.
13 | P a g e
5.0 References
A history of architecture- critical regionalism. (2008, January 19). . Retrieved June 10, 2014, from http://www.historiasztuki.com.pl/kodowane/003-02-05-ARCHWSP-REGIONALIZM-eng.php
Bay, Joo-Hwa (2004) Sustainable community and environment in tropical Singapore high-rise housing: the case of Bedok Court condominium, pg. 333-341
Canizaro, V. B. (2007). Architectural regionalism: collected writings on place, identity, modernity, and tradition. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.
Foster, H. (1985). Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points for an Architecture of Resistance. Postmodern Culture. London: Pluto Press.
Foster, H. (1983). The Anti-aesthetic: essays on postmodern culture. Port Townsend. Wash.: Bay Press.
Smith, B. (2004). Building Design Layout. Guidelines for Higher Density
Residential Developments . Victoria : Hampton Press.
Udaykumar, A. The response of Critical regionalism to contextual changes over time in South-east Asian Tropical residential architecture – A case study of Singapore . , 2-18. Retrieved June 6, 2014, from http://nceub.org.uk/dokuwiki/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=nceub:uploads:members:w2012:extra_papers:w1218_udaykumar.pdf