THEORIES OF ASIAN ARCHITECTURE
This module introduced the environmental issues and provided some in-depth understanding of the complexities and influences that built environment caused to the natural environment. The module's intent is to instill environmental literacy and understandings of policies related to sustainable design and practices. We developed the awareness of local and global environmental issues and explored the various sustainable practices and trends in built environment.
PROJECT 1 - Reading the Context of Traditional Streets
We are required to introduce ways of reading the important '" lexicons" of traditional streets through the tangible qualities of architecture and space, and the intangible socio-cultural attributes. We integrated architectural design and did some research through a specific case study, supporting our design through extensive research within the framework of Contextual Architecture in Asia. Our observations are captured in a sketch journal and a written summary.
In my sketches, I showed the physical and non-physical contexts from Jalan Tun HS Lee which were the main focus of my piece. The relationship between architecture and its social, cultural, and intellectual context within the Asian region was shown while giving insight into a deeper understanding of it. By translating my idea into drawings, I have demonstrated my ability to describe the historical development of vernacular architecture in Jalan Tun HS Lee in this project. This style and technique really helped me learn how to express myself even better. I feel that I need to move beyond stating the obvious and add perceptive, personal insight as well.
ASSIGNMENT - Infographic
We are required to produce an infographic showing our understanding of vernacular and traditional architecture as discussed in the lectures. Based on the lecture handout and external resources, I chose to reflect my understanding of Traditional Chinese architecture. After learning about it, I felt compelled to demonstrate my understanding of the Chinese cultural, historical, established theories, philosophies and context.
By including contents such as history, society and culture on the architectural production and development, building typology, spatial layout conception, materials and constructions, I have demonstrated my ability to describe the historical development of Chinese traditional architecture in the Asian region that responded to the indigenous contexts. I found that making infographics are also challenging because there were so many different steps, but then I got used to it and learned most of the steps and found it enjoyable.
PROJECT 2 - Research in Asian Architecture
We were required to do research on the significant issues to generate a critical understanding of tradition, modernity and globalization in the Asian architectural contexts. The literature reviews were conducted based on our selected area, which is Petaling Street. This further lead us to generate critical interpretations on the salient issues of globalization in the Asian architectural scene through facilitated group discussions. Our findings were presented in the form of a research poster and seminar presentation.
We managed to describe the historical development of vernacular architecture in Petaling Street and interpret significant issues in relation to the development of contemporary Asian architecture based on themes of tradition, modernity and globalization. At the end of the project, what matters the most is what we have learned from our group work experiences. During the tenure of working together as a group, I was proud that we were able to overcome the scales of making final decisions and handling the pressures and exceptions.