Case Study of Architect Koh Sheh-Ren

THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM

Ar. Koh Sheh-Ren, graduated from University Malaya and has been working in C’arch since graduation. Other than building undertakings, she was besides involved in a preservation research undertaking sponsored by UNESCO ( LEAP ) ; Community Participation in Waqf Rehabilitation, Kapitan Keling Mosque and environing countries, George Town, Penang, Malaysia. Observation and analysis of her edifices have been done to convey an apprehension of the architect’s architectural theory, to grok personal properties that contribute to the building of architectural theory. One of her undertakings, Garden Manor has been chosen to carry on the analysis. The Garden Manor undertaking, is a residential undertaking comprises a sum of 41 units of 3 floors and 4 floor strata linked Villa. It is chosen to analyze about three external lending factors which are, architectural theory, climatic status and stuff & A ; engineering.

First of wholly, the architectural theory or the construct Manor is, to make something different instead than a typical linked house unit. The typical Malaysian linked houses ever have a deep and narrow footmark, due to the commercial force per unit areas to maximize the denseness. The limited infinites or external facades for forepart and back do a dim and ill ventilated infinite in the center of the house. “Architecture is non approximately frontages, it is more than that” . The edifice challenges the typical patio layout convention with two solutions. First of wholly, have a shallower and wider floor program which provides a brighter, wider and more broad facet to every floor. Following, the interpolation of unfastened decks next to each party wall creates an extra 3rd external facade for natural lighting and airing. The attendant facade nowadayss each place as a degage unit. The design of the Garden Manor is really alone. It uses fenceless construct but with gated and restrained enclave, hence security is really tight within the country. Each place is able to suit lower limit of four autos under shadiness. Residents are pampered with epicurean clubhouse, that includes installations like swimming pools, secondary schools and many other installations.

Second, the climatic facets are good considerated due to the design of the edifice. The facade is really good designed utilizing glass wall for natural sunshine. The house countenance challenges the typical patio layout by supplying 3 external frontages. It has unfastened decks and wider infinites for ample natural visible radiation and airing. Lots of gaps and tall Windowss environing the house allow the edifice to hold brighter and good ventilated infinites. It offers alone and seemless life infinite for the household. The affection and attractive aesthetics enhances the natural connexion to the land.

Third, the stuffs and engineering farther enhances the design of the edifice. The stuffs used are spectacless, a pallet of fair-faced concrete and aluminum screens coatings which provide comfy tropical places in the same clip accomplishing the needed development with the denseness of 12 unit / acre. Wide frontages, with degage walls in between houses making 3 external frontages. White pigments and tiles help to make broad infinite. Glass panels and gaps allow natural illuming making alone spacial experience for the user.

Theory of architecture is non the history or the pass events of architecture. History has to cover with edifices and the different manners of architecture which have already arisen throughout the clip. History is merely a description of the architectural facts. Theory has attempted to supply accounts for all the facts. It looks for grounds why the edifices look in peculiar manner and why the designers would hold chosen to plan their edifices in such ways. Reasons of why the architectural manners are altering over clip to clip and the attitudes and premises of designers which have influenced their head during some periods and led to those alterations. It besides looks at the beginnings for the thoughts of the designers during the design of their edifices. There are illustrations of motions, alterations, influences, thoughts and theories of the designers which changed the architecture class over clip such as the manner it looked and besides the manners that were used. That has made the edifices look different to what they were earlier. How architecture pattern is influenced by presenting new perceptual experiences of similar events, a new manner of looking at world and stand foring that world in reinforced signifier.

In order to understand what is the theory of architecture, we should first look at what designers do in planing edifices. The chief function of architecture is to interpret societal establishments into built signifier by interpreting the complex relationships of an establishment into the linguistic communication of architecture. The relationships are between the different activities which taking topographic point within the establishment. Architects give every of these activities a physical infinite and all these infinites are arranged harmonizing to the functional relationships between the groups of activities within the establishment. Therefore, we are non merely planing facade of the edifice. We do non merely plan walls that make up a signifier. We need deeper believing procedure or planning for every phase of design particularly the planning phase. We should plan facade that is able to reflect the individuality of the edifice and the infinites. Many facets that we should take into considerations and we besides have to join forces with others. In order to accomplish good coaction and communicating, we study about the demand of the client, the user or proprietor, and every bit good as the map of the infinite. For illustration, Garden Manor is a high terminal development undertaking which targets the upmarket. Therefore, these edifices are expected to be bought by those with position, every bit good as to be suited retirement place for retired persons who wish to hold a quiet, peaceable and elegant life style during their retirement.

Following, after we study the demand infinites of the edifice, site visiting is besides a really of import measure and procedure. Different types of site analysis will be conducted to hold better apprehension of the behaviour of the site. Evaluation of potency of the site can besides be done in relation to the development plan and the environmental impact. The of import factors of the site are the location, orientation, sun way, wind way, topography, flora and environing edifices and people. The site analysis identifies the environmental and plan development restraints and chances. After the site analysis and survey about the site, we should be able to construct edifices within the site context without pretermiting the issues on site. Other than the limitations of the site, restraints from the client besides virtually help to make originative solutions to job. Because edifice contains assorted activities and they are built in assorted locations, they are needfully different to the others. They will react to all their peculiar context like topographic point, clip, engineering & A ; programme. Individual edifice represent really peculiar single fortunes.

For case, Garden Manor is located at Sierramas, Sungai Buloh which has been known for its natural peaceable milieus in a secured environment with booming landscape gardening and streetscaping. Garden Manor is strategically located and it is a alluring natural retreat from the interior metropolis life. Give in to our hungering for a at leisure living environment with our household. It is merely merely a pleasance to come place to. Garden Manor offers a uninterrupted, clean and unlittered life infinite for the household. The edifices are arranged on tree-lined streets. The heat and ask foring aesthetics enhances our natural association to the land. Nestled amid the environing trees and waves of the land, each edifice succeeds in making a private, yet open-plan household environment. Pedestrain paths nexus these edifices to the clubhouse and pool for easy entree. Communal life is seamlessly harmonious with our personal touches infused into the atmosphere of the places at Sierramas. After the site analysis, they understand the Sun way and wind way on site. They understand the potency of holding tall Windowss and gaps to convey in natural sunshine and air for airing.

Buildings are physical things and are made of stuffs. Their basic map is to supply shelter for human existences against a hostile clime despite how complicated they are. As physical enclosures they besides provide a psychological sense of security to their dwellers. Material refers to all the physical substances which are assembled and make the inside and exterior facade of the edifice. Nowadays most edifices are constructed from a monolithic sum of stuffs, each with really specific practical demands and complexness of assembly demands. For illustration, an assembly of exterior wall contains stuffs that help to forestall rain and air current, and besides thermally insulate the dwellers from outside temperatures. It structurally supports the full edifice and the connected enclosure system, supplying ideal interior and exterior coatings. Besides, windows, doors, blowholes, and other gaps as good which connect to the inside and outside of the edifice. This shows the complexness and importance of the stuff choosing procedure in planing edifice. These determinations are based on a figure of carefully considered issues including symbolism, rightness, physical belongingss, and technique.

Climate is besides a really of import factor to be considered in choice and assembly of stuffs. We frequently see edifices that have non taken local environmental conditions into consideration, by either retroflexing the same archetypal design, or by planing a edifice for a specific site that ignores climatic issues. The consequence is the edifice performs ill and fails to maintain dwellers comfy without outgos of inordinate energy, close complete dependance on mechanical systems to rectify hapless building determinations. Some stuffs carry specific intensions within peculiar civilizations and parts. We frequently refer to the digesting qualities of rock, or the passing nature of glass or paper. In some instances, the stuff associated with a coveted symbolic look is non available or excessively dearly-won, and another stuff is substituted to retroflex that stuff and accomplish the coveted consequence. In Garden Manor, the fair-faced concrete, glass and aluminum screens coatings create a feeling of tropical places. The full edifice is to the full tiled with high quality tiles, while bathrooms are furnished with high quality healthful ware and mirrors.

In decision, architectural theory Acts of the Apostless as a of import map between what architects think they are making or what really they do or what they should be making. The theory assesses how good a undertaking has been done supplying the undertaking of architecture is right and accurate representation of its environment. Theory identifies the jobs occurred whenever the architecture fails to stand for its ain environment successfully. These are semantic jobs where the individuality of establishment that can non be understood or predicted by simply detecting its architectural signifier. Theory of architecture besides analyses the causes of these jobs and sometimes in some instances it offers solutions. Theory applies the same sort of critical idea to the full planetary degree of architecture, and besides to the whole of architectural production. It refers to the stylistic picks available presently and asks whether they are suited to stand for the current environment. It provides account, historical background and context to critical issues in architecture and to current jobs. It inquiries, why things are the manner they are now. This is theory’s critical function.

Mention

C-arch, . ( 2014 ) . Garden Manor, Kuala Lumpur C’ARCH ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN | Architects Malaysia. Retrieved 20 June 2014, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.c-arch.com.my/index/garden-manor

Koh, S. ( 2014 ) . Personal Communication. C’arch.

Propwall, . ( 2014 ) . Garden Manor, Sungai Buloh. Retrieved 21 June 2014, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.propwall.my/sungai_buloh/garden_manor