BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC61303 SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (August 2017)
Name: Cheok Jian Shuang Lecturer: Mr. Nicholas Ng Reader/Text Title: Urbanism as a Way of Life
ID No.: 0320089 Tutorial Time: 10am-11am Synopsis No: 1 Author: Loius Wirth
Louis Wirth was inspired by the work of Simmel. Wirth states that urbanism is a form of social organization that is harmful to culture, Wirth explains the city as a “Substitution of secondary for primary contacts, the weakening of bonds of kinship, the declining social significance of the family, the disappearance of neighbourhood and the undermining of traditional basis of social solidarity” (Wirth, 1938). Wirth was concerned with the effects of the city upon family unity, and he believed urbanization leads to low urban reproduction rate as compared to people living in the country. Wirth continues, postponed of marriages happen, and the proportion of single people is thriving, subsequently, isolation and less interaction occurs. However, Wirth also stressed the positive effects of city life. The city everywhere has been the centre of freedom and toleration, the home of progress, of invention, of science, of rationality. In Wirth’s theory, three concepts are given, size of population, density of population, as well as the level of heterogeneity in groups. Wirth’s opinion on the size of population is that the larger the population, the greater the chances for diversity and individualization in the urban, as such, replacement of primary relations of kinship as a mean of organizing society could happen due to competition and formal mechanisms of social control. Secondly, superficial relationships are worsened by the density of population. Wirth stated that although greater density produces higher tolerance for living closely with strangers, this too, would lead to the cause of stress and so the sense of solidarity is often lost with the transient nature of city dwellers. As far as the size and density of population play a major role in urbanism, the level of heterogeneity in groups, too, has a major role in the urban mode of living. Wirth touches that individual roles and contacts are likely to be compartmentalized according to circles that ones are exposed to. Hence, anonymity and depersonalization occur frequently. Overall, by considering the definition of urbanism from Wirth’s perspective, it essentially demonstrates our way of live in the city in comparison to the way of life in the countryside. In my opinion, the statement of the relationships in the rural society tend to be primary, while those in urban society tend to be secondary by Wirth is slightly incorrect as the number of primary relationships one made in an urbanized area tend to be fewer as compared to the number of secondary relationships made. With that, instead of diminishing the primary relationships, it would merely result in smaller proportion of primary relationship in the city. Word Count: 429
Mark
Assessed by:
Date: 21/10/17
Grade Page No.: 01
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC61303 SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (August 2017)
Name: Cheok Jian Shuang Lecturer: Mr. Nicholas Ng Reader/Text Title: Body, Memory, and Architecture
ID No.: 0320089 Tutorial Time: 10am-11am Synopsis No: 2 Author: Kent C Bloomer, Charles W Moore
In this essay, Bloomer and Moore fundamentally talk about the significance of the body from its place as the divine organizing principle in the earliest built forms to its near elimination from architectural thought in this century. The authors draw on contemporary models of spatial perception as well as on body-image theory in arguing for a return of the body to its proper place in the architectural equation. According to both Bloomer and Moore, the traditional home is used as an example of a space which is both responsive to the human condition and challenges the individual to develop an understanding of self through a spatial context which, is an absolute contrast with contemporary dwellings that are severely detached from external factors in this century. The authors also mentioned that spaces which challenge one’s sense of self engage the user in a cognitive experience allow individuals to associate from past experiences, or memories, to discern an understanding of space which I wholly agree with. In my personal opinion, this series of cognitive processes yield new associations and memories, and therefore, spaces which engage and challenge the individual stand as paramount in crafting experiences rooted in memory as the relationships between the body, space and memory are interconnected. In this sense, memorable spaces do something to evoke an emotional and sensory response. These associations are derived from spaces which engage the individual through complexity and tension. Architecturally, the narrative developed between opposing forces can be described as a choreography of collision. Consequently, memorable places are those which offer multiple and continuous readings. They hold in them an inherent tension and complexity which establishes a connection not just to the visual sense but of the broader senses to which one experiences a place. Memorable spaces capture ambiguity which in turn allows for the experiences of the individual to be related to the space.
Word Count: 311
Mark
Assessed by:
Date: 25/10/17
Grade Page No.: 01
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC61303 SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (August 2017)
Name: Cheok Jian Shuang Lecturer: Mr. Nicholas Ng Reader/Text Title: Space, Place, Memory and Imagination
ID No.: 0320089 Tutorial Time: 10am-11am Synopsis No: 3 Author: Juhani Pallasmaa
Space, Place, Memory and Imagination by Juhani Pallasmaa talks about the correlation between memory and architecture, critiquing the inherent appreciation of newness in architecture culture. The author argues that we do not only exist in spatial reality, but that we inhabit cultural, mental as well as temporal realities. Thus, our lived reality is more layered, as it is influenced by culture and tradition between one another. Architecture through human occupation has the ability to transform into place of significance. In relation to architecture, Pallasmaa explores the value of architecture as a significant memory device which has the ability to inspire human being, to make us reminisce and imagine, ultimately memory is the soil of imagination. He too, mentioned that memory is not only a mental event but one where event is stored in our skin muscles and skeletons, almost habitual. In my opinion, all experience implies the acts of recollecting, remembering and comparing. An embodies memory has an essential role as a foundation of remembering a particular space or place. We tend to transfer places we have visited into incarnate memory of our body which then integrated with our self-identity; it becomes part of our body and being. For Pallasmaa, the degree of slowness is directly proportional to the intensity of the memory which in contrary, degree of speed contributes to the intensity of forgetting as speed and transparency weaken remembrance. Unfortunately, this particular phenomenon is gradually taking over the society in this century. From my personal point of view, with the practice of slowness, one’s awareness heightens, stimulations register and space is able to open to reveal new meaning. Living at high speed produces a smooth blur of life going by, but on the other hand, living slowly provides rich texture and frames moments that can be remembered easily, same goes to architecture. Slowness embraces time, and the built environment has the capacity to slow time down in space and gradually, the authenticity and essence of a certain experience will surface, therefore, reconnect human being to truly embrace the experience within it.
Word Count: 343
Mark
Assessed by:
Date: 26/10/17
Grade Page No.: 01
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC61303 SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (August 2017)
Name: Cheok Jian Shuang Lecturer: Mr. Nicholas Ng Reader/Text Title: Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points for an Architecture of Resistance
ID No.: 0320089 Tutorial Time: 10am-11am Synopsis No: 4 Author: Kenneth Frampton
Frampton’s “Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points for an Architecture of Resistance” is an approach to counter the lack of place in the contemporary architectures, which is exceptionally relevant to current context. Frampton does not intend these points to be a step-by-step procedure for regional design but rather conceptual guidelines and fundamental features that must be considered in creating an architecture of resistance as well as establishing well-thought designs by integrating a sense of place within architectural spaces. According to Frampton, the physical space of region and the place where people communicate are different things. When critical regionalism is applied to the design, architects should consider the idea that there is no limitation of physical space and the characteristic of place cannot be consisted of an independent building. Spaces may be created by enclosing however its borders should be the beginning of the place instead of its ending. The spatial configuration of a building should be designed in account of its relation between exterior condition of place such as its entrance, exits, and the circulation. Frampton stated that merging of culture and nature is important when it comes to designing a building that associates local culture and the qualities of the landscape, also, to avoid creating a free standing object. The necessity of “place-form” balance between natural environment and the local culture can be achieved through thorough study of geographical characteristic of place such as climate, ecology as well as topography. The author stressed that both visual and experience of senses ought to be taken into consideration when designing a building. The seamless cooperation between the senses makes architecture more experiential and unique in its own way. This concept could be further supported by the usage of materials which target all senses and that evoke emotions. Overall, these points as suggested by Frampton play a major crucial role in architectural place making, to which I wholly agree. Every concept behind the architecture should be further reinforced by the thought of contextual response and architects should also determine which sensory experience or intangible qualities could be captured into the space. which subsequently allows the building to have a sense of place as time goes by. Word Count: 364
Mark
Assessed by:
Date: 21/10/17
Grade Page No.: 01