Context & Building
by SHA WAN XUAN
AN EXAMPLE OF SITE CONTEXT
Architecture and Context are related throughout decade. For and architecture that did not relate to any context, it was just wasting space without any meaningful support behind. A good architecture with context will shape our life into a more meaningful perspective in terms of living and relation to the surrounding and others, like WINSTON CHURCHILL quote in “speech to the House of Commons” in 1943---“We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us. "
There is no doubt that context plays a significant role throughout the design process in architecture. In architecture, we often overlooked into “site context” which normally we did out site analysis and all the basic (wind, sun orientation and etc) .In a theoretical parts, a context is the relation between environment and the design of building. The streets, roads, buildings surround are also elements of context.
CONTEXT=PRINCIPAL
CONTEXT DEFINE ORIENTATION
The role of context for today’s architecture is very important.
A context can influence the design outcome of the building and gives an architect or designer a way or direction to design, it could be said that as a principal or a primary consideration during design. For instance, the non-physical context like sun orientation, wind direction and speed can influence a building orientation in which the important façade facing to which side. The relationship between building and context has much variety; context gives us a chance to explore more in architecture’s field and make a building comes with meaningful content inside, and a justification point.
MALAYSIA VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE AND CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE
However, the context of a building start influenced by some others issues throughout these couple of decades. For example, the cultural context which I give an example that the western culture or architecture style influences the previous culture or architecture style that we had in Malaysia. In Vernacular architecture Malaysia, we had the organic element on roof, timber as a wall and a beautiful carving on the window frame. However, a normal residential now start inputting western element like the material and space arrangement they introduced. The architectural style are changing in years, it is not a bad but is a better when we still keeping our own Malaysia’s style in a building that would make a context of a building better.
McDonald's franchise in different location bring same principle of design which did not consider about the site context.
In the other hands, economical issue also an issue that annoying the world. Economical issue not only for the cost of built a building, it also include the starting point for building to be built only for the sake of interest. For the first example (cost of built a building), consideration may effects the outlook of building. Instead of using expensive material, they tried to use an affordable material to replace it. Hence, the façade of the building might different due to economical issue. For the point of built only for the sake of interest, the example can be MacDonald’s franchise. Nowadays, their franchises look 99% same design from each other. From my opinion, only for the sake of interest, they do not consider about the site context, only they might consider about are the traffic and circulation that enable a easy flow for their customer nothing on the site’s history and cultural or the surrounding. The context of the structure itself is meaningless until it was just a space for us to have a happy meal.
Housing Area at Bukit Mandarina
Housing Area at Taman Connaught
Besides, a social issue also influence that context of a city, for instance the living standards of people. In today, people worked hard for achieved a better life but still there will be a gap between people. Because of the “gap”, there is classification of zone in a city, there will be an economical residential and “high class” residential area which differentiate the context of the city. Just give a simple example in Cheras, Malaysia that I knew, there is “gap zone” between Taman Connaught’ and Bukit Mandarina’s area. Taman Connaught is a zone that with mostly “economical” residential which terrace house and Bukit Mandarina is a “high class” residential zone which high-raised superior apartment and 3 storey-bungalow. The living standard of the Cheras’s resident had given an impact of site context of Cheras, which could be changing throughout the decade. However, this is a good example of a city context as Jane Jacobs said “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”
Cheras area not only for the rich but also for the poor.
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Throughout my studies, I found that there is a strong connection between the relationship of context and building. For example, Jixi San Diao Museum by Li Xinggang (China’s architect) performs a strong connection between the site contexts.
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Li is an architect that concerned about the past and the natural environment, he goes classical Chinese garden, intends to strengthen the power of his project. The undulating roof profile and texture reflects the form of mountain the flow of water around Jixi. The material he chooses to be the façade also have a context with the ancient building surround as Li wants the building to blend into the site. He used brick, tile and other local common building materials, and tries to make it show a contemporary sense.
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A number of courtyards, patios and streets are set up in the overall layout of the building with preserve the existing trees and this creating a comfortable indoor and outdoor space the design also consider about the Chinese culture. Within the building community, there are two water and water along the streets, gathered in the entrance of the main courtyard of the water. The south side of the building is located in the main courtyard - "Mingtang", in line with the typical layout of Huizhou residential characteristics, but also in line with the traditional Chinese "gather feng shui” concept. The water is open to the public, three-dimensional "watch streamline", the tourists lead to the southeast corner of the building "viewing platform", overlooking the roof of the building, courtyard and beautiful mountains. The whole design has a strong connection with the cultural and natural environment context.
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The other example is Ningbo Historic Museum by Wang Shu located at Ningbo, Zhejiang China. The design is a conceptual combination of mountains, water and oceans, as the East China Sea has played an important role in the history of Ningbo. This design metaphor the geographical feature in Ningbo as well as the importance of over-sea commerce in its history, thus making the museum a symbol of Ningbo history and culture. The outer wall decoration of Ningbo Museum is made in two ways, some walls are decorated by millions of tiles collected in local areas and some are decorated with cement-covered bamboos.
In a nutshell, context and building are closely related. The architecture now should contain the context of the site in order to respond to these contexts and thus create an interaction between environment and building and people although the context might changing throughout times.Architect should takes as a challenge. A contemporary architecture now not only about the shelter but also the surrounding that could blend as whole to trigger the senses of user. Without context, the building is a robot.