B.A. (ARCH) LEVEL 2: SCALE | PRECEDENT | CONTEXT. SELECTED WORKS.

YEAR 1 LEVEL 2 COMPILATION OF SELECTED WORKS

2019/2020 B.A. (ARCH) LEVEL 2

SCALE PRECEDENT CONTEXT

IMAGE CREDIT: NG XIN YI

LEVEL 2: Scale, Precedent, Context The Year One Semester Two Studio continues with the building of a strong foundation in architectural design by emphasisingthinking, making, and drawing. Scale, Precedent, and Context are key topics and will be introduced through a series of projects over the semester.

By scale, we understand the human body as a sensing and expressive figure. Historically, it has served as a psychological and physical measure of body-object relationships, spatial experiences, building proportions, and material dimensions.

veys the mood of the occupant. The hanging scroll and flowers in the alcove, he alcove in the building, the building amongst the natural and built environment, time, material, and the emotive constitute a sliding scale of relationships and the overall context for the experience of architectural space.

A precedent study reveals the material, structural, formal, and spatiotemporal organisations of an existing building based on pre-established criteria and represented through drawings and diagrams. The Semester Two Studio will broaden the analysis by including existing spaces and the relationship to users, objects, flora and fauna. Uncovering the socio-cultural, political, economic, technological, and biota determinants of the precedents selected for analysis is a critical component of the studio’s focus.

Lee May Anne, Unit 3 Leader

Using a dialog between a teenage couple in the 1999 film Eating Air by filmmakers Jasmine Ng and Kelvin Tong, geographers Lisa Law and Lily Kong argue that a context is both real and imaginary. Vast geographical distances that separate nations can co-exist with the nearness of one’s personal history and imagination.

For Ghanian-British architect Sir David Adjaye, context gives meaning to materials, which otherwise remain silent and generic. In a traditional Japanese home, the Tokonoma (precedent) is not only an elevated alcove for display but serves as a communicative interior space that responds to the changing seasons and con-

Thomas Kong Level 2 Studio Leader, Unit 1 Leader Dr Tan Beng Kiang, Unit 2 Leader

2019/2020 B.A.(ARCH) LEVEL 2

Unit 1: Ar. Thomas K. Kong

(Level 2 Co-Studio Leader) Associate Professor; M.Arch (Distinction) Cranbrook, B. Arch (Hons) NUS, Assoc. AIA, Registered Architect, Singapore.

Tan Beng Kiang (Dr.) (Unit Leader & Level 2 Co-Leader) Associate Professor, DDes (Harvard),

Ar. Diong Fuhan B.Arch (NUS), M.Arch (NUS), Registered Architect, Singapore, MSIA.

Ar. Felicia Toh M.Arch (NUS), Registered Architect, Singapore.

Tan Xuan Teaching Assistant

Unit 2: Ar. Lee May Anne (Unit Leader)

B. Arch (Hons). NUS, BA (AS), NUS, Registered Architect, Singapore.

Ar. Yong Sy Lyng BArch Cooper Union, BA (Arch) NUS, Registered Architect, Singapore.

Ar. Lee Hui Lian B.Arch (Hons) NUS, M.Arch NUS, Registered Architect Singapore.

Goh Qian Wei, Sherry Teaching Assistant

Unit 3: Junko Tamura (Dr.) (Unit Leader)

Assistant Professor, Dr. Eng (U of Tokyo), M.Arch (Berlage Institute), B.Eng Arch. (Japan).

Ar. Adrian Lai Adjunct Assistant Professor, BA (Arch) NUS, AA(DIP) UK, Registered Architect, Singapore (MSIA) & UK (ARB).

Ar. Lim Pin Jie M.Arch, B.Arch (Hons) NUS, MSIA, Registered Architect, Singapore.

Nijel Hong Terng Wei Teaching Assistant

The pedagogical goal is four-fold. To cultivate in beginning architecture students a critical understanding and ability to design an interconnected system of urban artifacts in Balestier Road that takes into consideration current and emerging issues surrounding the artifacts, the use of precedents as research and basis for the design, the importance of contextual factors and the role of the human body as a measure of scale, purpose and experience.

Learning Objectives 1. To understand the human scale in relationship to objects, buildings, and public spaces.

2. To use precedent as a transformative medium for design.

3. To integrate context in architectural design.

4. To produce projective drawings in relation to the scales of design.

5. To understand and deploy a design method to structure the design process made visible the transformational processes in drawing and model making 6. To understand and deploy line weight/type, scale and graphic hierarchies to communicate information and design intentions.

7. To learn to incorporate digital technologies in hybrid representations.

8. To present architectural ideas in concise and considered verbal, and written presentations.

There are two projects for the semester.

PROJECT 01 CONTEXT AND PRECEDENT STUDY GROUP WORK Project 1 is a precedent and context study. Each studio will carry out the mapping and analyses of Balestier Road and the adjacent areas. The precedent study is an important part of the design process and will form the foundation for future works.

PROJECT 02 URBAN ARTIFACT INDIVIDUAL WORK Each studio will design a series of urban artifacts as an interconnected system in Balestier Road. Design historian Victor Margolin’s essay, Urban Artifacts: A Theory of Types, will provide the theoretical background for the project.Â

UNIT 1 PROJECT 1: PROSPECTING BALESTIER ROAD. CONTEXT AND BUILDING STUDY. GROUP WORK To prospect is to search. In the case of Balestier Road, our goal is to uncover, map, document, analyse and understand its history, cultural heritage (tangible and intangible) and the daily life that are interwoven into the rich sociocultural and urban fabric.

Part A Select, map and analyse a series of spaces along and adjacent to Balestier Road using the following suggested criteria for space analysis.

Location/s.

Geometry and dimensions of space/s.

Disposition of objects, flora, and fauna.

Types of trades, businesses and services.

Locations of significant infrastructures such as bus-stops, public toilets, etc.

Planned and unplanned use or reuse of existing architectural elements, objects and spaces.

Time- Registered and experienced.

Mobility of people, phenomena and traffic.

Soundscape.

Scentscape Part B Study one of the following buildings in Balestier Road based on the suggested criteria.

1. Balestier Market.

2. Goh Chor Tua Pek Kong.

3. Sun yet Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall.

4. Sim Kwong Ho Shophouse 5. Former Shaw Malay Film Studio.

6. Balestier Point.

History and Background.

Name of the building.

Year.

Architect.

Owner.

What are the parallel events and notable stories in and outside of Singapore?

What and how is the building connected to larger developments in the region and beyond?

Orientation.

How is the building oriented?

How does it respond to climatic conditions?

How does it impact pedestrian and vehicular access?

Structural System.

What is the structural system?

How is the overall form of the building influenced by the structural system?

How does it impact the layout of the interior spaces and circulation?

Formal Organisation.

How does the formal structure of the building articulate a language of form, space and order?

How does the formal structure of the building influence the spatial organisation?

Construction Details.

What are the notable construction details?

How do the details add to the experience and understanding of the building?

Solid and Voids.

Note the dimensions, geometries, and locations of solids and voids.

Identify the relationships between solids and voids.

Light and Shadows.

Identify different forms of illumination (natural and artificial; night and day).

What are the emotive qualities?

How does it support or hinder the use of the space?

Movement, Transition and Destination Spaces.

How do people enter?

How do they move through the building?

What are the transition spaces?

How do the transition spaces relate to the destination spaces?

Materials, Texture, Pattern, and Colour.

Study and analyse each category.

Identify their relationships.

How do they add to the understanding and experience of the building?

Furniture and Objects.

What are the furniture and objects?

Where are they located?

How are they used or re-used?

How do they impact human movements?

Flora and Fauna.

Identify the flora and fauna.

Where are they in relation to the building?

What is the impact of the flora and fauna on the spaces and users?

PROJECT 02 URBAN ARTIFACT INDIVIDUAL WORK Each studio will design a series of urban artifacts as an interconnected system in Balestier Road. Design historian Victor Margolin’s essay, Urban Artifacts: A Theory of Types, will provide the theoretical background for the project. The URA’s Balestier Trail publication reveals an interesting issue concerning a heritage context. Missing are the urban artifacts, a term coined by design historian Victor Margolin, that provides the vital, yet often neglected infrastructures that support the everyday lives of residents and visitors. Urban artifacts such as bus-stops, street furniture, kiosks, street lamps, public toilets, etc. are almost inconsequential in Balestier, except for the unique water kiosk at the corner of Boon Teck Road, which is managed by the temple caretakers from the Thong Teck Charitable Institution. The kiosk provides public drinking water and dates back to the early days of Singapore when clean water was a luxury. Margolin described urban artifacts as components of interconnected systems that form the urban fabric... the building blocks of larger systems. (Margolin, 103). In his essay Urban Artifacts: A Theory of Types, he argued the importance of urban artifacts as they facilitate and support a range of public and private activities in the city, and lamented their lack of design coordination and connectivity. He categorized the urban artifacts under the following types of cities1. Information City- Artifacts as providers of information.

2. Exchange City- Artifacts that facilitate the exchange of goods and services.

3. Service City- Artifacts that satisfy the specific needs of urban dwellers.

4. Recreation City- Artifacts that promote play, enjoyment, and relaxation.

5. Culture City- Artifacts for the transmission of culture.

A suggested list of urban artifacts for Project 2: Circulation City (Vehicles; Goods and Services; Human) 1. Bus Stops.

2. Taxi Stops.

3. Bike racks.

4. Food carts.

5. Recycle Bins.

6. Public Toilets.

Communication City 7. Mailboxes.

Information City 8. Notice Boards.

9. Neighborhood Maps.

10. Signage.

11. Location Markers.

Exchange City 12. Road-side shops.

13. Kiosks for books, drinks, food, flowers, etc.

14. Vending Machines.

Service City 15. Street Lamps.

16. Street Furniture.

Recreation City 17. Playground.

18. Outdoor theatre.

Culture City 19. Bandstand.

20. Memorial.

21. Mural.

22. Gates 23. Public Art. A design proposal that incorporates at least 3 urban artifacts selected from one or more Cities. One of which must enclose a space and the total floor area is approximately 100 meters square. There is no height limit for the proposal. The family of artifacts must be considered as components of an interconnected system.

WINNOWING BASKET PAVILION JOHN CHEW GERONIMO JR STUDIO TAN BENG KIANG

Winnowing Basket Pavilion

by John Chew Geronimo Jr

The Winnowing Basket Pavilion translates the forms created by a manipulated rattan weave at a handicraft scale into affordances at a usable human scale the inform and accommodate chosen urban artefacts. The ubiquitous rattan chair-cane weave is used as a precedent for form-making as the rattan cottage industry was a historically significant cottage industry within Balestier in the 1930s-1960s. The name “Winnowing Basket Pavilion� alludes to one of the most important craft products of this cottage industry, as well as a Chinese constellation of the same name, invoking a sense of interconnection similarly seen among the urban artefacts.

Existing urban artefacts (ie.e. street furniture, incense burner, temple essentials shop) were transplanted from inside and the front of the temple into the pavilion, with the objective of freeing the temple front from visual and spatial obstruction. New urban artefacts were also added to address the needs of users (i.e. sinks and water point).

METAMORPHOSIS ASHLEY TAY STUDIO THOMAS KONG

Metamorphosis

by Ashley Tay

The architecture of Balestier Road has evolved from the past to the current high rise condominiums and hotels. Metamorphosis encapsulates this phenomenon and is inspired by the reintepretation and collage of natural forms, textures and materials of traditional shophouses in modern setting.

The project achieves this by 1. Reinterpreting elements from exiting shophouse such as the floral tile and embossed floral glass. 2. The incorporation of new, unconventional and organic vertical playground to serve the needs of the children around the area and those who patronise Balestier Market. 3. The use of a natural slope rather than individual seats for the outdoor theatre. 4. A vertical garden that rises from the ground to the upper level that connects the two levels and is a centre piece of the project.

Information boards that showcase the transformation of Balestier Road’s rich cultural heritage are strategically located along Balestier Road to bring greater awareness among visitors of this metamorphosis.

HYRBRITAT NG XIN YI STUDIO DIONG FUHAN

Hyrbritat

by Ng Xin Yi

The designed structure incorporates an integrated system of 3 artifacts - a coffee shop, a bird sanctuary and an urban farm. Correspondingly, these programs inform the structural concept of the design, whilst glass roofs and building orientation are adapted to environmental conditions.

UNIT 2 PROJECT 1: PROSPECTING BALESTIER ROAD - SCALE AND CONTEXT. GROUP WORK Instructions 1. Split yourself into 3 groups of 3 or 4 persons within your studio; 2. Draw lots to pick your group’s lens (Water, Sun or Wind Water, Sun or Wind Water, Sun or Wind Water, Sun or Wind); 3. Select One (1) One (1) One (1) One (1) given text from Italo Calvino’s “Invisible Cities” Italo Calvino’s “Invisible Cities” Italo Calvino’s “Invisible Cities” Italo Calvino’s “Invisible Cities” that falls under the respective lenses as laid out in the table below following item (2). Please consult your tutor or your tutor may pick the respective cities as she deems fit. Each group will use the selected city as a base narrative for imagination and abstraction - how to look, what to look at and what to map.

4. Dissect, abstract and catalogue the site using the concept of Nolli Mapping for each respective lenses as tabled below :

No. of Students in group LENS ITALO CALVINO INVISIBLE CITIES (Selected cities) Week 1 Abstract lenses via the concept of ‘Nolli’ mapping Week 2 Elemental, Types, Systems/network Week 3 Identify varying gradient and variance Week 4 Production

4

3

3

WATER Armilla (pg. 49)

WIND Zenobia (pg.35)

SUN Valdrada (pg.55)

Isaura (pg. 20) Esmeralda (pg. 89)

Baucis (pg. 77) -

Octavia (pg.75) Phyllis (pg.90)

PROJECT 2: POSITING THE SELF - CONTEXT & URBAN ARTIFACT. INDIVIDUAL WORK Instructions 1. Each student to select ONE (1) dominant ONE (1) dominant ONE (1) dominant ONE (1) dominant lens lleennss lens (Water, Wind or Sun) from Part I, keeping the other 2 as secondary; (Hence, all 3 lenses MUST be present in proposal). Though the dominant lens will be the main driver in your proposal, the other 2 secondary lenses will collaborate & participate in building up the atmosphere and ambience; 2. Everyone MUST begin with the most private domain of the self – the TOILET the TOILET the TOILET the TOILET as the given urban artifact. This toilet MUST be of public access; (no size limit or constraint for the toilet); 3. Draw in details (understanding all anthropometric dimensions of fittings etc.) and deconstruct every element found in a typical one-person functional toilet, keeping your dominant lens in mind; 4. Min. 3 different Min. 3 different Min. 3 different Min. 3 different gradient of spaces gradient of spaces gradient of spaces gradient of spaces (these 3 or more gradient spaces will generate your narrative through your development of the inter-connected ecosystem.

5. Study one or more precedent/s under the respective lens as tabled below (you may propose your own with consultation with your tutor) : LENS PRECEDENTS Egs.

WATER - Communal India’s step wells; - Ornamental Fountains of both local and overseas cities as symbol of power and landmark; - Communal historical village wells; - Playful water features in public square; etc.

WIND - weather Field No. 1, Inigo Manglano-Ovalle - Blur project, Diller & Scoffidio - etc.

SUN - Thermal Bath at Vals, Peter Zumthor; - Tadao Ando; - Saint Pierre church at Firminy, Corbusier - Steven Holl interiors - James Turrell - Weather Project, Olafur Eliassaon - Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Helm Roberts, etc.

6. Proposal must be approximately 100sqm 100sqm 100sqm 100sqm sheltered space; 7. No height restrictions; 8. Site will be given.

9. Proposal MUST be accessible by the public at all times.

of enclosed or

‘WHISTLING WIND’ PAVILION JIN YONG XUAN STUDIO LEE MAY ANNE

‘Whistling Wind’ Pavilion

by Jin Yong Xuan

A project inspired by the phenomena of wind to generate architectural form and uses.

SHOWER SPACES/ SPACES SHOWER LIM JOEL STUDIO YONG SY LYNG

Shower Spaces/ Spaces Shower

by Lim Joel

Using a study of varying rates of water flow and rain, the architectural design is informed by a curation of various treatments of rain in specific contexts of the linear site.

UNIT 3 COLLAGE | SURREALISM | BRICOLAGE AND THE CUBE Prologue: Urban context and architecture are formed with influences and feedbacks of cultural dynamics of the society in various periods, which makes our discipline situated in-between ‘theoretical’ & ‘practical’; ‘visionary’ & ‘explanatory (ie. problem solving approach)’; and ‘imaginary’ & ‘real’.

This studio unit attempts to understand such context by introducing the concept of la mise en abyme (means ‘put into abyss’) and palimpsest, and through urban mapping exercises. Then, by dismantling urban elements into effective units and reconfiguring them by applying the technique of collage, surrealism and bricolage, it aims to establish new spatial values − the Urban Artifacts.

PROJECT 1: GROUP WORK Ex. 1) SPATIAL ANALYSIS This is an urban mapping exercise. Each group is to be responsible for one area from 1 to 3, and complete the following exercises by site visits. * Try to already have your site in mind 1. URBAN MORPHOLOGY

1.1 Nolli Map

a. Generate a Nolli map (essentially a Ground Level map) of the entire area.

* Nolli map is different from Figure Ground.

2. LAND USE, FACILITIES AND CATCHMENT AREAS

a. Draw Land Use Map. Pay attention to colour coding to match with the other groups.

• Culture: Community and civic centers, Libraries, Cultural centers, Multipurpose halls, Museums • Sport and Recreation: Outdoor sports courts, Indoor / Outdoor complex, Sports Centers, Extensive sports fields/playgrounds • Education: Kindergarten. Primary School, Secondary Schools, Polytechnics, Junior High School, Adult education, occupational, vocational centers • Healthcare: Hospitals, Polyclinics, Clinics, Health centers, Emergency centers • Social Welfare: Nursing Homes, Family Service Centers, Child care, Social Service Centers, Elderly Care Services and Residences, Disability Services, Community Clubs (CCs), Residents Committees (RCs) • Commercial: Basic Services (Hawker Centers, Food Centers, Supermarkets, Wet Markets, Convenience Stores), Shopping Malls, Heartland Malls, Shopping Centers • Public Transport: MRT stops, Bus stops, Taxi stands • Public Open Spaces: Natural Reserves and Open Spaces, Parks, District Parks

b. Draw a catchment area (circle) for public transport.

Bus stops 300m radius

MRT stations 500m radius 3. PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITY AND SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECT The following exercises are to be done individually. Pick a specific area you are most interested in. Discuss with the group so everyone has a different location. a. Street Level Pedestrian Activity - Observe human behaviour and activities in selected focus area. Use snapshot method to note the area. (See explanation of sample tec niques and mapping below, Fig. 2.) Choose the points of observation carefully and systematically and repeat at different times of the day and week (weekday vs. wee end).

o Intensity of pedestrian movement – observe, capture and plot pedestrian

movement patterns over time in your selected focus area.

- Where do people go? How many of them? Who are they? Identify

pre-dominant movement paths.

- Are there any conflicts with vehicular traffic? Jaywalking? Illegal parking?

o Intensity of stationary activities – observe and plot human activities over time in your selected focus area (playing, resting, exercising, eating, waiting for bus, smoking, chatting, etc.). Use snapshot method to note the area.

o Urban Furniture to support social activities – observe and plot the following elements of urban furniture. Discuss in what way they affect human activity (density and intensity of activities in observed public spaces).

- Formal public seating (chairs, benches, tables, etc.) (Not at the foo courts, cafés, restaurants, etc.!)

- Informal seating (planters, railings/fences, staircases, lawns, etc.)

- Temporary structures (kiosks, stalls, canopies, umbrellas, etc.)

- Water features (fountains, etc.), tall trees, etc.

- Sculptures, signage posts, trash beans, etc.

- Bicycle parking, etc.

o Sensory analysis

- What activities are performed? Are they passive or active? Designed or spontaneous/informal? How many people? For how long?

- Map the space using all senses (visual – colours, shapes, scales; tactile – materials, textures; hearing – sources and levels of noise/sound – positive, negative, smell/taste – pleasant, unpleasant, food, etc.) – Use plans and street façade to capture the info. Note that the quantity and quality of sensory clues differ at different times of the day.

o Textual analysis

- Identify and map textual clues in space – advertisements, signage, shop windows, cultural clues (festival decorations, language, etc.) etc.

b. Draw a street section of the most interesting place. See appendix B for example of street section.

Snapshot method:

- Choose the points of observation carefully and systematically. (Points of observation are usually at traffic junctions, near or right at the key neighbourhood public spaces and amenities, such as playgrounds, supermarkets, and foodcourts, among others.)

- Observe, count and note down human movement and activities for a short period of time (e.g., 3-5mins) at each point of observation.

- Repeat your observations at different times of the day, e.g. morning (8-10am), after noon (1-3pm) and evening (7-9pm) on both weekday and weekend. (Note that weather conditions, such as rain, may influence human behaviour.)

- What are the patterns of activity?

The following techniques are suggested:

1. Counting - is a simple yet useful tool to study public life, providing quantitative infor mation on how intensively the space is being used. Counting captures the number of people at different points across the focus area who engaged in two pedestrian activities: transient (number of people moving through each node - pedestrian flow) and stationary activities (number of people dwelling in space for a longer period of time performing different activities).

2. Tracing and tracking moving patterns - Follow pedestrians to explore which routes

they take and where their destinations are. The gathered data helps identify popular

routes and frequently visited places in the neighbourhood. Follow as many people as possible.

3. Noting down of activities: Note down if people are performing any stationary activities in space. Perform this observation concurrently with counting exercise (3-5mins per spot at different times of the day and week). Conduct counting and noting down of activities in pairs. While one observer pays attention to people moving, the other focuses on amenities and how people interact with and within it.

Ex. 2) CUBE (10m x 10m x 10m) Using technique of collage, bricolage, palimpsest etc. to achieve something in between the ‘real’ and the ‘imaginary’. The cube will be constructed using narratives to tell a ‘story’ of the context.

PROJECT 2: INDIVIDUAL WORK Choose a site and develop the cube to achieve more the ‘real’ and the ‘surreal’. Your site canbe in one location or it can be small plots scattered around the area. See studio brief for details.For unit three, we request you to do precedent studies related to your concept / design of your artifacts (however, your precedent does not need to be restricted to artifact). In the precedent study, one must try to learn theories, processes, and strategies that can be referenced or reinterpreted in your own work.

WARP IN FUTURE PAST RYAN QUAH KUN HAO STUDIO JUNKO TAMURA

WARP IN FUTUR Warp in Future Past

by Ryan Quah Kun Hao

YEAR 1 LEVEL 2 COMPILATION OF SELECTED WORKS

2019/2020 B.A. (ARCH) LEVEL 2

IMAGE CREDIT: JIN YONG XUAN