BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC61303) SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (AUGUST 2018)
Name: Kalvin Bong Jia Ying Lecturer: Mr. Nicholas Ng Reader/Text Title: A Global Sense of Place
ID No.: 0327822 Tutorial Time: 10am-1pm Synopsis No: Reader 1A Author: Doreen Massey
Doreen Massey is writing in response to what she calls the effects of time-space compression (the simultaneous spreading out and concentration of space and time) on our notions of place. Massey talks about the change from a previous era where the notion of place being habitats of coherent and homogenous communities to the current era of having wide range of movements and intermixing of communities. She points out that the ideas of nationalism, sentimentalized recovery of ‘heritage’ and antagonism to ‘outsiders’ are defensive and reactionary responses or the longing for stability that coherence provides in the presence of fragmentation and disruption of this era. I agree with Massey to re-think our sense of place. And this is when she calls for a progressive view. Massey questions the idea of ‘locality’. She points out that we can find our ‘local’ community at places abroad. She then talks about how the search for meanings of places with the aim to provide security results in the going after of things like ‘heritage’. I found this to be true to some degree. I notice that Klang has also recently taken an interest in heritage, building a local identity in line with its current rejuvenation projects. This could be that search that Massey is talking about and Klang being a place with wide variety of ‘local’ communities satisfies the state of instability in formulating a sense of place based on the ‘non-progressive’ view of coherent and homogenous community. I am in total agreement with the questioning of how time-space compression could produce insecurity and with her point of there being a need to re-define the sense of place from one that is introverted. A place, especially now, does not have a single identity or at least not a coherent one like the previous era. Massey later states that what gives a place its specificity is not some long internalized history, which is an introverted way of looking at a place, but the specificity is constructed out of the meeting and weaving together of social relations at that place. I admire how Massey relates people’s ability to have multiple identities to a place. I do see this relation between people and place making sense. The notion of place cannot exist without people in or around it because identity of a place is formed by people. This again coincides with her idea on the specificity of a place. Massey argues that there is a desire for boundaries as a form of protecting identities from the flux changes and influences of the outside world. Boundary, to me, has a sense of enclosure. Instead, I prefer her idea of taking places as articulated moments in networks of social relations. This would give people an extroverted way of looking at places, and I believe that it is more appropriate for our current era. In ending her article, Massey mentioned that the specificity of a place is continually reproduced, and it is derived from the distinct mixture of wider local social relations. To me, although globalization makes this distinction much narrower than before, yet this distinction itself is enough to be the uniqueness of a place. Word Count: 509
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BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC61303) SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (AUGUST 2018)
Name: Kalvin Bong Jia Ying Lecturer: Mr. Nicholas Ng Reader/Text Title: Learning From Las Vegas
ID No.: 0327822 Tutorial Time: 10am-1pm Synopsis No: Reader 2A Author: R. Venturi, D.S. Brown, S. Izenour
Venturi, Scott Brown and Izenour, in their text, present an analysis of the method of communication in architecture as space, symbol and persuasion. In attempt to gain insight, the authors look back towards history to make sense of the present with a critique of the modernist aversions to communication of form through references to the past and the tendencies to create form derived from programme and structure. I think, in other words, they are highlighting the reposition of architecture from its modernist emphasis on space and structure to a post-modern reading of signs and symbols - which I believe that this shift would allow me and architects to relearn to see and consequently making practice of design socially less coercive and aesthetically more vital. The authors take the communication dominated, antispatial billboards and landscape of Las Vegas as the evidence where spaces are least emphasized and the vibrantly expressive signages become the architecture. Meanwhile the plea for the ugly and ordinary, in the context of Las Vegas, looks highly persuasive especially with bold signages, attracting passersby of the strip into the commercial sphere. Although communication over space responses to the mass preferences of Las Vegas population, however, to me, I think different landscapes will still require different responses from architecture. For instance, it contradicts or might not suit the context of Klang being an introverted place where form in space – the returning of originality is strongly highlighted in the current traditional shophouses restoration projects. I strongly agree with the authors’ statement about that modern architects are blind to the value of representational architecture along highways. The signages not just merely guide the driver but instead dominate the space while architecture is forced to play second fiddle, as said by the authors, “architecture is no longer enough”. The authors believe that this aversion to dominated communication stems from an objection to signages in buildings, where modernists argue that the plans should speak for itself. To me, I am more favored to the clearer approach - the symbolic connections established through space rather than a subtle expression of spaces which people might find it complex. To conclude, I feel that communication via symbolism has been more significant in architectural expression than has just space. Yes, space is part of architecture; after all, it houses activities and businesses which require the build-up of patrons. To me, symbol dominating spaces also aids in defining the sense of a place - Las Vegas as City of Lights. It somehow reminds me of another example - the overuse of signages at Times Square in New York until it becomes part of the building faç ade and that forms the identity of the landmark. Word Count: 446
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BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC61303) SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (AUGUST 2018)
Name: Kalvin Bong Jia Ying Lecturer: Mr. Nicholas Ng Reader/Text Title: The Eyes of The Skin
ID No.: 0327822 Tutorial Time: 10am-1pm Synopsis No: Reader 3A Author: Juhaani Pallasmaa
Pallasmaa, in his text, explores how our body and senses are affiliated to the architectural experience. As well, the sensitivity and healing qualities associated with our senses in experiencing the environment and the place. Pallasmaa first discusses in general - the role of body as the center of the experiential world. Through interaction with the environment using our senses, we fortify our being and existence in the world. I strongly agree with Pallasmaa’s concern on the interrelation of environment and its impact on our being. And I think to determine whether the environment is healthy or not, it all depends on its ability to enable a strong sense of one’s being. Architecture, referred by Pallasmaa as ‘an extension of nature into the man-made realm’, provides a sort of grounding structure in our daily lives. The presence of architecture directs us to capture subtle evidences of life through the little evidences left behind. For instance, through the shadows casted from solids, we are able to track the course of the sun. This is in line with Pallasmaa’s statement at the end regarding the task of architecture: to translate the impact of the world upon us. I notice that two of the senses – sight and touch are specifically linked and elaborated in regards with the relationship between senses. Although vision is often regarded as a separate entity from touch, but Pallasmaa argues that ‘vision revels what the touch already knows’ while the sense of touch is described as the ‘unconscious of vision’ the possibility of vision as an integrated extension of touch. I strongly agree with his argument as I believe that we cannot relate to what we have not yet experienced, albeit it is perceived visually. For instance, the sense of sight allows us to identify the presence of the subject, but without prior encounter with it, the subject remains as a two-dimensional entity void of any identity. We could only identify its presence, but not recognize its identity. Hence, the importance of haptic memory is stressed: we cannot fully comprehend the subject of what we have seen completely unless it is bodily, spatially and experientially perceived. Similarly, vision ‘touches’ a subject when the physical experience is rendered impossible. From my understanding, vision and touch share a symbiotic relationship in the attempt to comprehend the environment. To conclude, Pallasmaa’s piece highlights how space is linked to the innermost being of people. Experiencing architecture is a cognitive, multi-sensory process which should evoke thought and emotion. Personally, I feel that there is a lack of appreciation for the architectural experience due to overfamiliarity of the surroundings. We should engage our senses to re-establish the connection between our being and the surroundings, and that is how we can truly have a holistic architectural experience and be a better, sensitive designer. Word Count: 467
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