Thery

1. BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE
THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC61303/ARC2224)
SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (MARCH 2015) [5 MARKS]
NAME: BENARD CHIN TZE YONG ID: 0313355
LECTURER: MR LAM SHEN FEI TUTORIAL TIME: 2-4PM
SYNOPSIS NO: 1 READER TITLE: LIFE BETWEEN BUILDING USING PUBLIC SPACE
AUTHOR: JAN GEHL
The book ‘Life between Building Using Public Space’ is focusing on the outdoor
communal/public spaces and the impact it give to the community. According to author Jan Gehl, he
addressed that the outdoor activities in public spaces can be fall into three categories; necessary
activities, optional activities, and social activities, which can be influence by the physical environment.
The author is saying that the condition of the exterior physical environment affect the quality
of the activities according to the graph shown in page 13. Good qualities of exterior physical
environment create higher potential for optional activities and social activities to occur. I agree with
what the author is addressed, when there’s inserting activities happening on the street, people tend to
gather around (optional activities), indirectly social activities occur. This phenomena is actually
happening in Malaysia context, in Bukit Bintang, where artist gathering around on the street, people
chattering and enjoying the events on the street. My opinion can be supported by the analysis
paragraph on Page 31, “A summary of observations and investigation show that people and human
activities are the greatest object of attention and interest”. In addition, the author also say that, the
intensity of contact can cause better relationship between people. I would agree on that, but I think
that common interest also play an important role in building relationship, people tend to inspired by
those have common interests with them, in a company, people are closer to those who share the same
interest for example, sport, media, or even politics.
In conclusion, life between building referring to the human behavior might be manipulate by
proper planning of the communal spaces. This would improve the quality of the neighborhood or the
community surrounding, by providing a public spaces for them and these outdoor activities will occur,
but the chances of these activity occur are demanding on the quality of the physical environment.
WORD COUNT: 315 DATE: 11/4/16 MARK: GRADE:
ASSSESSED BY:

2. BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE
THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM
(ARC61303/ARC2224)
SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (MARCH 2015) [5 MARKS]
NAME: BENARD CHIN TZE YONG ID: 0313355
LECTURER: Mr. Lam Shen Fei TUTORIAL TIME: 2PM-4PM
SYNOPSIS NO: 2 READER TITLE: Semiology and Architecture
AUTHOR: Charles Jencks
The book “Semiology and Architecture” by Charles Jencks discuss about the fundamental
idea of semiology in architecture. By applying language and sign in architecture, it helps to explain
why all of a sudden forms come alive or fall into bits. Charles Jencks also said that the minute a new
form is invented it will acquire, inevitably, a meaning.
According to Charles Jencks, somatization is inevitable; as soon as there is a society, every
usage is converted into a sign of itself; the use of a raincoat is to give protection from the rain, but this
cannot be dissociated from the very signs of an atmospheric situation; or, to be more exact, the use of
a raincoat can be dissociated from its shared meaning if we avoid its social use or explicitly decide to
deny it further meaning. In my opinion, the author are trying to say, we can change our perception
towards an object, if we continue to deny the meaning or the usage of the object, for instance, an alley
are usually see as a passageway between or behind the building, but if we implement arts or business
into these alley, it give the alleys a significant definition by denying the old definition of alleyway. The
author’s semiological triangle discuss that there is always a percept, a concept and representation in
architecture, I think the author is referring to our expression toward an building by its form and describe
it as our interpretation through words. For example, gothic architecture can be describe as holy, grand,
and also spiritual as I interpret it as a religious related building. On the other hand, if the description of
the gothic architecture are words like dull, ancient, spooky we might not feel the same when we
experience through the architecture itself.
In my conclusion, the idea of semiology is discussing our interpretation towards an architecture
can changing the meaning of it by tagging it with our words, like what the authors stated a rose would
not smell as sweet if it’s called garlic, because our cognition of garlic doesn’t smell that nice, eventually
we categories the rose smell like garlic.
WORD COUNT: 356 DATE: 25/4/2016 MARK: GRADE:
ASSSESSED BY: Mr. Lam Shen Fei

3. BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE
THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM
(ARC61303/ARC2224)
SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (MARCH 2015) [5 MARKS]
NAME: BENARD CHIN TZE YONG ID: 0313355
LECTURER: Mr. Lam Shen Fei TUTORIAL TIME: 2PM-4PM
SYNOPSIS NO: 4 READER TITLE: Towards A Critical Regionalism
AUTHOR: Kenneth Frampton
The Book “Towards a Critical Regionalism” by Kenneth Frampton discuss about the Six point
for an architecture Resistance. In the point no.3 and no.4 it discuss about Critical regionalism and
world culture and the resistance of place-form. The first point (point 3) is respond to the issue of context
of a building, it discuss about the relation between the histories, culture, and other aspect of context
and how it should define an architecture. In the second point (point 4) it is respond to the issue of built
from, the purpose of the building and the language.
In the point No.3, Kenneth Frampton state that, “Architecture can only be sustained today as
a critical practice if it assumes an arrier-garde position, one which distances itself equally from the
Enlightenment myth of progress and from a reactionary, unrealistic impulse to return to the
architectonic forms of the preindustrial past .I believe this statement is regarding to the issue of identity
in architecture. At this point I agree with Kenneth Frampton, one architecture should have the qualities
of adopting the history or its origin, and yet still remaining modern, as he also say that the fundamental
strategy of critical regionalism is to mediate the impact of universal civilization with elements derived
indirectly from the peculiarities of a particular place, an architecture that respond to the local context
to emphasize the identity of it international style. In the point No.4 it talk about Place-Form, it discuss
about that in Megalopolis kind of city, we can no longer maintain defined urban forms. In the sentence
“Only defined boundary will permit the built form to stand against – and hence literally to withstand in
an institutional sense- the endless processed flux of the Megalopolis.” Based on my understanding, I
think that, to define a places not only with it boundary, it is also about the content or movement in
between boundary, such as a street.
In conclusion, identity of architecture is what I understand from this article, to all fundamental
of architecture, there’s always and reference of culture and historical that can bring out the identity of
place, the balance between the using global technique in local context.
WORD COUNT: 361 DATE: 13/6/2016 MARK: GRADE:
ASSSESSED BY: Mr. Lam Shen Fei

4. BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE
THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM
(ARC61303/ARC2224)
SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (MARCH 2015) [5 MARKS]
NAME: BENARD CHIN TZE YONG ID: 0313355
LECTURER: Mr. Lam Shen Fei TUTORIAL TIME: 2PM-4PM
SYNOPSIS NO: 4 READER TITLE: Towards A Critical Regionalism
AUTHOR: Kenneth Frampton
The Book “Towards a Critical Regionalism” by Kenneth Frampton discuss about the Six point
for an architecture Resistance. In the point no.3 and no.4 it discuss about Critical regionalism and
world culture and the resistance of place-form. The first point (point 3) is respond to the issue of context
of a building, it discuss about the relation between the histories, culture, and other aspect of context
and how it should define an architecture. In the second point (point 4) it is respond to the issue of built
from, the purpose of the building and the language.
In the point No.3, Kenneth Frampton state that, “Architecture can only be sustained today as
a critical practice if it assumes an arrier-garde position, one which distances itself equally from the
Enlightenment myth of progress and from a reactionary, unrealistic impulse to return to the
architectonic forms of the preindustrial past .I believe this statement is regarding to the issue of identity
in architecture. At this point I agree with Kenneth Frampton, one architecture should have the qualities
of adopting the history or its origin, and yet still remaining modern, as he also say that the fundamental
strategy of critical regionalism is to mediate the impact of universal civilization with elements derived
indirectly from the peculiarities of a particular place, an architecture that respond to the local context
to emphasize the identity of it international style. In the point No.4 it talk about Place-Form, it discuss
about that in Megalopolis kind of city, we can no longer maintain defined urban forms. In the sentence
“Only defined boundary will permit the built form to stand against – and hence literally to withstand in
an institutional sense- the endless processed flux of the Megalopolis.” Based on my understanding, I
think that, to define a places not only with it boundary, it is also about the content or movement in
between boundary, such as a street.
In conclusion, identity of architecture is what I understand from this article, to all fundamental
of architecture, there’s always and reference of culture and historical that can bring out the identity of
place, the balance between the using global technique in local context.
WORD COUNT: 361 DATE: 13/6/2016 MARK: GRADE:
ASSSESSED BY: Mr. Lam Shen Fei