These are artworks during my year 1 Bachelor (hons) Architecture. The first semester during bachelor we are on Urban Studio. These are few thoughts that making architecture enjoyable than working life...the process.
2 hb April 2002
HUMAN AS URBAN GENERATOR
"When I’m asked what the city of the future will be like, I answer: like that of the past, I hope. Our century has done terrible damage to that great human invention, the city. Its positive values – social life, the mix of functions, the quality of the buildings – are all leftovers from the past, and barely survive in the urban centres of the present day. And yet they are indisputably modern values. Today, we speak of multifunctionality, and try to bring it into our designs. Yet until just a few decades ago, cities were multifunctional by definition."
"We will have to learn the lesson of the old cities, whose model of urban planning has proved itself open to modification and updating, allowing it to survive for centuries."
RENZO PIANO
Xenocrates' writings, apparently influenced by Plato, survive only in fragments. His contributions to philosophy include several important tripartite classifications. Philosophy, for example, he divided into the fields of logic or dialectic, physics, and ethics. Reality, he claimed, consists of objects of perception, knowledge, and opinion. Xenocrates is regarded by some as the first to posit distinctions between mind, body, and soul. Another of his doctrines posits the evolution of all reality from the interaction of two opposing principles, the “One” and the “indeterminate dyad.” Whereas the One establishes unity, rest, and good, the dyad contributes multiplicity, motion, and evil.
The design approach is to implement the fundamentals of human elements such as soul (ROH), mind (AKAL), heart (HATI) and body (JASAD). I believe that human is the greatest of god creation. A complete form of human will produce forces that can assimilate a powerful generator. Therefore, this morphology could be represented in urban setting as a superb architectural principle THE URBAN GENERATOR.
1. Soul, in many religions and philosophies, the immaterial element that, together with the material body, constitutes the human individual.
FUNDAMENTALS: In general, the soul is conceived as an inner, vital, and spiritual principle, the source of all bodily functions and particularly of mental activities. Belief in some kind of soul that can exist apart from the body is found in all known cultures. In many contemporary nonliterate societies, human beings are said to have several souls—sometimes as many as seven—localized in different parts of the body and having diverse functions.
The Cataclysm
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
WHEN THE sky is rent asunder; when the stars scatter and the oceans roll together; when the graves are hurled about; each soul shall know what it has done and what it has failed to do.
O man! What evil has enticed you from your gracious Lord who created you, gave you an upright form, and proportioned you? In whatever shape He willed He could have moulded you.
Yet you deny the Last Judgement. Surely there are guardians watching over you, noble recorders who know of all your actions.
The righteous will surely dwell in bliss. But the wicked shall burn in Hell upon the Judgement-day: nor shall they ever escape from it.
Would that you knew what the Day of Judgement is! Oh, would that you knew what the Day of Judgement is! It is the day when every soul will stand alone and God will reign supreme.
Source: The Koran. Translated with notes by Dawood, N. J. Penguin Books, 1990.
"If the head and body are to be well,
you need to begin by
curing the soul." - Plato
ARCHITECTURE: “Space is made up of volumes, high and low volumes, compressions and expansions, calm and tension, horizontal planes and inclined planes. They are all elements intended to stir the emotions, but they are not the only ones. I believe that is very important to work with the immaterial elements of space and I am fascinated by this research. I think that it is one of the main currents in my architecture."
During this urban revitalization I find that there is 4 different type of soul that related o each other:
COMMUNITY -G1
NATURE -G2
METERIALISTIC -G3
RELIGIOUS -G4
2. Mind, the mental activities and memory of a person. The mind includes both conscious thoughts and unconscious activity such as dreaming. The human identity can be viewed as being made of mind and body. Many philosophies and religions also recognize another aspect of identity, the soul.
London Scientific Films/Oxford Scientific Films
Human Brain Weighing about of 1.3 kg (3 lb) and containing 100 billion neurons, the human brain is a marvel of evolution. Complex interactions between neurons produce psychological processes, including learning, memory, emotion, thinking, and perception.
FUNDAMENTALS: Philosophers use the characteristics of inward accessibility, subjectivity, intentionality, goal-directedness, creativity and freedom, and consciousness to distinguish mental phenomena from physical phenomena.
A. An Inward Accessibility
The most important characteristic of mental phenomena is that they are inwardly accessible, or available to us through introspection. In other words, each and every one of us have privileged access to our own mental states since no one else understands us better than ourselves.
B. Subjectivity
Mental phenomena, those we generally call experiences, have a subjective nature - we become aware of something when we reflect. These characteristics are subjective in that they are accessible to the subject of the experience, the person who has the experience, but not to others.
C. Intentionality
Thoughts have characteristic philosophers call intentionality. Intentional thoughts are about other thoughts or objects, which are represented as having certain properties or as being related to one another in a certain way.
D. Goal-Directedness
A number of mental phenomena appear to be connected to one another as elements in an intelligent, goal-directed system. The system works as follows: First, our sense organs are stimulated by events in our environment; next, by virtue of these stimulations, we perceive things about the external world; finally, we use this information, as well as information we have remembered or inferred, to guide our actions in ways that further our goals. Goal-directedness seems to accompany only mental phenomena.
E. Creativity and Freedom
Another important characteristic of mind, especially of human minds, is the capacity for choice and imagination. Individual minds are capable of exhibiting creativity and freedom, we can imagine things we have not experienced and can act in ways that no one expects or could predict.
F. Consciousness
Minds are sometimes referred to as consciousnesses, yet it is difficult to describe exactly what consciousness is. Although consciousness is closely related to inward accessibility and subjectivity, these very characteristics seem to hinder us in reaching an objective scientific understanding of it.
ARCHITECTURE: In architecture the mind is related to power or forces that attract a subject towards a space or may controlled it. In Kota Bahru the urban revitalization proposal is just not plans places, space, or things but it would be plans EXPERIENCES.
I plan not in terms of meaningless pattern or cold form. Plan rather, a human experience. The living, pulsing, vital experience, if conceived as a diagram of harmonious relationship, will develop its own expressive forms. And the forms evolved will be as organic as the shell of the nautilus; and perhaps, if the plan is successful, it may be as beautiful.
Therefore different generator will be expected to have different experiences to create forces that could attract people from one place to another.
UNITY -G1
EXPLORATION -G2
IMPRESSIVE -G3
SPRITIUALITY -G4
3. Heart, there is a saying, which is well known among “spiritualists” that in a man’s soul there is an empty space, which must be filled with good deeds. If one doesn’t fill the emptiness with goodness, it will then be automatically filled with badness. This metaphor could be applied to human being, that empty space makes human useful in a spiritual view. This is known as conscience or emotion.
FUNDAMENTALS:
In Imam al-Ghazali greatest book entitled Ihya’ Ulum-i al-Din, he explained in depth that “heart” is a mould that must be developed in a man’s spiritual life. He also explained that heart is the essence of mankind. Al-Ghazali compared heart to a mirror that reflects everything around it. If a man is in a bad situation, his heart will experience negative feelings, soon he will be spiritually and emotionally unhealthy.
“In a man’s body, there’s a portion called heart which reflects his personality. If the heart is filled with goodness then he surely has a good personality. The some goes if the heart’s been filled with badness, he will have a bad personality.
”Sesungguhnya dalam tubuh jasad anak Adam itu ada seketul daging bila baik
nescaya baiklah seluruh anggota tubuhnya dan bila jahat ia nescaya jahatlah
seluruh anggota tubuhnya. Ketahuilah! iaitulah Qalbu (hati)." maksud Hadis.
Facial Expression and Emotion
What emotions do you associate with these facial expressions? Research has shown that people around the world—whether they are from the United States, Brazil, Japan, or New Guinea—interpret these six facial expressions in much the same way. The emotions displayed are, top row, left to right, anger, fear, disgust, and bottom row, surprise, happiness, and sadness. A seventh emotion not shown here, contempt, also has a distinct facial expression recognized across cultures.
ARCHITECTURE: It is necessary to understand what kind of heart space in making a community plan or an image plan. In fulfill the scene in heart the space can be classifies as fallows:
1. Private space
-is a place owned and managed by an individual and where and individual or a family can rest both mentally and physically. it has to be a comfortable place where privacy can be secured.
2. Common space
-is a flexible space owned and managed collectively. It is of course an extension of a personal living space and also a space to develop communication. To encourage an active communication, a collective place where both privacy and communication with neighbors are affordable would be further explored.
3. Public space
- is a place owned and managed by public sectors. The notion of ‘public’ is very vague in Kota Bahru, therefore reconsideration in obtaining public space (open space) which can be used commonly and comfortably is proposed.
A heart can convey a message. Therefore, on planning a urban generator it is required to consider what kind of an image needed to convey to the people visit the Kota Bahru.
1. for the residents
- a space need to be comfortable and friendly in the daily life and to express the feelings of fondness and pride for the community.
2. for the people in the neighboring areas
- proper information of guiding the facilities and spots in the community leads to a comprehensive promotion of the area. A sense of unity is also expected to be brought about.
3. for the visitors
- many of those who visit the town for the first time feel I insecure due to the unfamiliarity. By providing information on what kind of sports exist where, which way to take and so on, an impression of the town greatly changes. Especially in tourist development, the message to convey the characters of the town has to be detail. Good guidance can be a key factor to the town to be attractive.
4. For the handicapped
- there should be an equal consideration to the physical handicapped in Kota Bahru. We should see those people in wheel chair be as active as normal people in town that could contribute toward a better Islamic society.
4. Body, physical structure of a human being. The body is studied under several academic disciplines that focus on different aspects of its parts and their operation. In architecture it is related to PHYSICAL FORM
Vision; Hearing; Smell; Motion; Touch
FUNDAMENTALS:
1. Vision,
ability to see the features of objects we look at, such as color, shape, size, details, depth, and contrast. Vision is achieved when the eyes and brain work together to form pictures of the world around us. Vision begins with light rays bouncing off the surface of objects. These reflected light rays enter the eye and are transformed into electrical signals. Millions of signals per second leave the eye via the optic nerve and travel to the visual area of the brain. Brain cells then decode the signals into images, providing us with sight.
ARCHITECTURE:
This proposal will take into account the visual appropriateness and creating scenes. Visual appropriateness is particularly important in this place that are most likely to be frequented by people from a wide variety of different background; particularly when the place’s appearance cannot be altered by the users themselves. Both indoors and out, therefore, visual appropriateness is mostly important in the more public spaces of the scheme. So far as public outdoor space is concerned, it is particularly relevant to the outside of the buildings, which define the public realm. The interpretations people give to a place can reinforce its responsiveness at 3 different levels:
By supporting its legibility, in terms of form and use.
By supporting its variety
By supporting its robustness, at both large and small scales.
A scene is hereafter referred to every view that can be seen. A scene does not mean a view or a sight that is seen vaguely but has more active meaning with a human will to see something, in other words, it is more artificial with human touch. The keyword to think about scenes is how to show a community beautifully and cheerfully. In order to do achieve that, one of the possibilities is to treat each building as an artistic creation as much as possible, and it is another to create a total harmony by precisely deciding the color of roofs and the form of windows.
Element of scenes are:
Relation of figure and ground
How a scene looks-near (close-range view), middle (mid-distance view) and distant view.
Eyestop
Difference in Visions of people and cars
Night scenes
FUNDAMENTALS:
2. Hearing ,
one of the five main senses, by which sound waves are perceived by the organ of hearing—the ear—in vertebrate animals. The process of sound perception is called audition. The physical stimulus of auditory sensation is the vibration of some material object. The vibration is transmitted from the object to the ear, under ordinary conditions, by a wave movement of air particles.
ARCHITECTURE:
The sense of hearing is one of non-visual richness in architecture.
The approach in this design is trying to enhance the wanted sound that reflects certain character of the space.
Sound from:
· EARTH –floor pattern and texture
· WIND-enclosure and space volume
· WATER-drop, streams, pools, cascades, waterfalls, ponds, lakes, marsh, etc
· WILD-LIFE-insect, birds, fish
· PEOPLE – songs, music, activities,
FUNDAMENTALS:
3. Smell,
one of the five special senses (see Sense Organs) by which odors are perceived. The nose, equipped with olfactory nerves, is the special organ of smell. The olfactory nerves also account for differing tastes of substances taken into the mouth, that is, most sensations that appear introspectively as tastes are really smells.
Sensations of smell are difficult to describe and classify, but useful categorizations have been made by noting the chemical elements of odorous substances. Research has pointed to the existence of seven primary odors—camphor like, musky, floral, peppermint like, ethereal (dry-cleaning fluid, for example), pungent (vinegar like), and putrid—corresponding to the seven types of smell receptors in the olfactory-cell hairs.
ARCHITECTURE:
Because the sense of smell cannot be directed, choice of olfactory experience can only be achieved by moving away from one source towards another. So this is another potential for richness which only possible in relatively large place.
In revitalizing Kota Bahru, the new proposal is trying to give opportunity of opening up to the space outside for some potential activities that could reflect the identity of the local people such as the alluring tasty smell from warung, delicious welcoming smell from bakery, scent of nature from florist and even from the typical aroma from a mamak restaurant.
FUNDAMENTALS:
4. Touch,
one of the five senses (see Sense Organs) in humans and other animals, by which the body perceives contact with substances. In humans, touch is accomplished by nerve endings in the skin that convey sensations to the brain via nerve fibers. Nerves end in or between the cells of the epidermis, the outer layer of the skin, in all parts of the body. In one complex form of nerve ending, the terminals form tiny swellings, or end bulbs; characteristic of this form are the Pacinian corpuscles found in the sensitive pad of each finger. Touch is the least specialized of the senses, but acuteness can be sharpened by use; for example, people who are blind exhibit a remarkable delicacy of the tactile sense in their ability to read the fine, raised letters of the Braille system
ARCHITECTURE:
The materials for constructing urban communities used to be the local product, which are relatively easy to acquire, considering the conditions of the transportation and technical aspects. They are culture properties and at the same time are our messages from the present era to the next generation. I would like to evaluate such tendency as a regional effort to convey modern values, a sense of beauty and state of culture to the later era more than simply as the local infrastructures.
"Light, transparency, vibration, texture, colour are immaterial elements; they interact with the form of the space, but are not just a function of it."
"Natural light, often diffused from above, is a constant feature of my work. Light has not just an intensity, but also a vibration, which is capable of roughening a smooth material, of giving a three-dimensional quality to a flat surface. Light, colour and texture are part of a patient work in progress in my studio".
FUNDAMENTALS:
5. Motion,
experience is rarely static, almost always is motion involved in the person or in the thing experienced. A structure is seldom seen from a fixed point of view or in direct elevation but usually by people on the move. Its three-dimensional form and modeling are therefore more important than its façade. The plan pattern of a site is usually realized from an infinite number of viewing points by people moving through it. The more fluid the circulation pattern, the more points of view and, therefore, the more interest and enjoyment in viewing.
ARCHITECTURE: By design, the line or trajectory of induced movement may be meandering, discursive, circuitous, looping, zigzagging, ricocheting, ascending, descending, hyperbolic, or centripetal; it may be an arc or direct straight shot. In speed, the motion may range from the creeping-crawling to the whizzing-whistling. The nature of induced motion may be soothing, startling, shocking, baffling, confusing, exploratory, logical, sequential, progressive, hieratic, linear, wavelike, flowing, branching, diverging, converging, timorous, forceful, expanding, contracting and so on.
