Introduction
Ar. Chong Voon Wee ventured down the way of architecture subconsciously influenced by his father’s occupation which is a contractor. Thus Ar Chong is non a alien to seeing edifices acquiring erected even at a immature age, which subsequently on influence him to really desire to plan a edifice of his ain. The edifice that I chose to analyse Ar Chong’s theory towards architecture is the Wisma Hamzah Kwong Hing located in No. 1 Lebuh Ampang 50100, which is an old office edifice which is subsequently assigned to Ar Chong for redevelopment in 2008. This paper aims to analyse architecture and urban signifiers in relation to relevant architectural theories, and besides the relation between site context and architecture.
Analysis
Climatic Analysis:As an designer, Ar. Chong has to be a professional when it comes to site context, Lebuh Ampang is located following to traditional street Jalan Tun H.S Lee, which indicates there is a batch more to take into consideration when it comes to planing a modern edifice in a traditional urban context.
In footings of clime, the natural flow of airing through the site is much affected by the urban context itself as the reinforced edifices is an obstructor and holding tall edifices can besides barricade of the airing of lower edifices next to it. But in the instance of the Wisma Hamzah, the inside of the edifice is mechanical ventilated as an office edifice, the usage of natural airing is non so practical given the footings of accomplishing a comfy ambiance for the workers that are working in the edifice. As a professional, taking into history the chief intent of the edifice and the activities traveling on inside the Wisma Hamzah, Ar Chong insulated the external sound caused by the busy streets around the edifice compound. Besides given the hot clime in Malaysia and even more so when it comes to a congested street with high vehicular activities and really small flora, Ar. Chong finished the edifice facade with brooding tinted Windowss to reflect the solar heat off from the edifice and besides presenting long strip window shadiness across the glass edifice facade to shadow from the high midday Sun.
Architectural Analysis
In footings of architecture, Ar. Chong being a professional in his field of work, attempts to organize the rule of architecture in order to carry through his client’s demands and demands but non losing the architectural linguistic communication of the old Wisma Hamzah when presenting a new context for the edifice redevelopment, in this instance is Mr Kwong Hing the proprietor of the Wisma Hamzah.
Mr Kwong Hing is a traditional Chinese who believes to a great extent in Fengshui, and the balance of Ying and Yang in order to convey peace, prosperity and wealth to his concern. In response to Mr Kwong Hing’s faith, beliefs and demands, Ar. Chong found a balance among all the elements he’s taking into consideration. The interior floor country was preserved as it was but the floor coatings was replaced by black marble rock to better heighten the gilded component of the edifice, the office floors are kept as unfastened possible, as the Chinese believe that an unfastened floor program will heighten the airing of air in the peculiar infinite, and therefore increasing hard currency flow in the workplace. Following up with the traditional Fengshui beliefs, the facade Windowss are finished with gold tinted drape wall, which is really much different from the usual tinted Windowss we see on the skyscrapers on site. The gold shade is demande by Mr Kwong Hing himself, the gold is said to convey in more fortune or prosperity for the renters of the edifice as gold is known as the imperial colour throughout all the dynasties in China. Although the gold tinted Wisma Hamzah is an outstanding edifice in the context of a traditional street flower stalk but it does non overmaster the overall site. Wisma Hamzah isn’t the lone skyscraper on site but it is the 1 with the closest colour tone with the traditional store house facade which are largely milky in colour.
Facade in relation to site context
The Wisma Hamzah Kwong Hing was a 22 storey high concrete edifice with window gaps on the facade before the redevelopment took topographic point in 2008. During the procedure of the redevelopment, a steel construction was introduced onto the bing edifice construction. Ar. Chong proposed a new construction on the old one utilizing the bing columns to back up the steel frames of the long strips of drape walls and the Sun sunglassess.
The new facade is a entire contrast of the old facade, from the stiff signifier with stiff looking window gaps to the new gold tinted edifice facade and a drum sander form at the border to allow continuity for the tinted window strips. The new facade of the Wisma Hamzah has a little more kineticss if comparisons to the edifice facade in the overall site, but so if the dynamic forms were to be taken to a higher degree the Wisma Hamzah will so be disqualifying for the environment site context, therefore the determination of this facade in the urban landscape, without overmastering the traditional street flower stalk but be able to give an old edifice a modern facade.
Discussion
Based on my apprehension, Ar. Chong’s theory in architecture was determined by his working experience get downing as an houseman during summer interruption when he is analyzing abroad in Australia, from there he was trained to sharpen his accomplishments as a hereafter designer without the engineering of today, so every drawing has to be manus drawn but precise at the same clip. After his return to Malaysia in 1991, the working experience so defines his theory today, to be a professional in the on the job field, requires the accomplishment to finish a occupation or undertaking assigned, the ability to come up with a solution for the job faced during the procedure and being able to judge the which determination is the best manner to finish the occupation, and last but non least ever respond in harmonizing to the clients need.
As a professional, designers have the ethical and professional demands placed on themselves for the wellness, safety and public assistance of the populace. Every design choices the designer make will sooner or later impact on persons, communities and the environment. In the instance of the Wisma Hamzah, adaptative reuse of the bing edifice construction by Ar. Chong shows his professionalism in the field. Being conservative of what he do with the bing edifice assigned to him to redesign, continuing the elements that can be reused to organize a new design, non merely that this is accommodating to the on-site state of affairs but besides taking environmental issues into consideration, to cut down new stuff use, and remaining within the client’s budget at the same clip accomplishing the end that Mr. Kwong Hing foremost hired him to make.
Given the fact that he was assigned a street with a long history and with traditions and civilizations implemented in it, it is merely suiting for a professional to derive sufficient cognition of the diverse needs, values and behaviours of the local community. In this instance Ar. Chong has to take in to account the overall site context of H.S Lee presenting a modern expression into the traditional street without decreasing the ethical value of the historical street flower stalk.
Architects is a profession with important duties and power within society, a good design will convey pleasance to the oculus, comfort to the organic structure of users, practical in the manner it is design to be, but a bad design can do unneeded jobs in a community, take the China Bird Nest Olympic Stadium for case, it was delighting and iconic during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but so after the event, the care fee for it is manner off the charts, and the rates in order to lease it to the general populace is excessively high hence the Olympic consequence, and non merely in China, but all over the universe installations and monumental edifice were built for that one expansive event and normally being deserted after that.
In my sentiment, for a professional these factors must besides be taken into history during the design phase of a edifice. Given the issue that something like the Olympic consequence can easy consequence the community around it, in a bigger graduated table the nations’ ecomonics will besides be pulled under. As a professional these issues are non to be overlooked, must concern and duty must be placed into the designing procedure and programs are to be thought through for the following 20 or 30 old ages or more.
Bing a professional in the field means holding profession ethnics, and this is what the theory of Ar. Chong is all about, taking into consideration even the smallest issue that although the window panels are all tinted but still implementing a short window shade that matches the facade design of the gold tinted Windowss and at the same clip being practical to shadow the window window glasss from the afternoon high Sun which is the largest beginning of heat in a tropical state like Malaysia. It is clear that the sunglassess are significantly short to be shadowing the whole strip of drape wall but, the sunglassess are merely designed for the intent mentioned above, this is practicality in finishing an assignment, no excess cost wasted on something that is non necessary. The unfastened floor programs are non merely for the beliefs of Mr. Kwong Hing but besides sing the chief activities carried out in this office edifice, some of the office floors are rented out to other companies therefore the unfastened programs will let them to partition harmonizing to the demands of the renters, even if they moved the divider walls can be easy replaced by the new renter.
In my personal sentiment, in the field of architecture today, we need more designers that patterns professionalism in the community, even with a attractively designed edifice without being practical that architecture is still considered as a failure. Although the first feeling of the edifice is good to the outside community, but the impact on the environing society is still more of import.
Decision
As a decision, being a professional in the field of architecture requires the wise societal and professional duties and incorporating community service into the pattern of architecture. Not merely taking into history the site status given, but besides the surrounding of the site itself, which is more important if the site is an urban street flower stalks like Jalan Tun H.S Lee. The society and community within the site context is besides an of import facet, from macroclimate the natural province of the site including the clime and landscape to microclimate which includes human behaviour, human and vehicular circulation and the community and user groups that are involved and possible group that will be affected by the undertaking.
Understanding architecture did non stop when you graduate a grade or even a maestro plan, architectural instruction is life-long and will ever embrace an individual’s apprehension of relationships, position on diverseness, cognition of theory and design. Knowing the differences and properties of all the stuffs and how to unite them, and understanding how nature maps. We designers literally have to larn everything about this universe and its dwellers. What matters, finally is how much you understand and how willing you are to match experience with structured instruction in order to turn, develop and eventually broaden your position to understand the power of architecture.
Reference List
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Professionalism and Ethical motives in Architecture Education ( 2009 ) , D.L. Steidl, Design Intelligence, Retrieved June 22 2014, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.di.net/articles/professionalism-and-ethics-in-architectural-education/
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