Theories Project 1 Part 2

1.
Theories
of
Architecture
and
Urbanism
[ARC61303/ARC2224]
Bachelor
of
Science
(Honours)
Architecture
Project
Part
1,
Stage
II:
Reflective
Essay
(500
words)
Name:
Nurul
Jannah
Masturah
Binti
Jailani
Student
ID:
0310210
The
chosen
site
for
this
project
is
Ara
Damansara,
a
township
that
comprises
of
residential,
commercial
and
industrial
sectors.
It
is
located
in
Selangor,
right
next
to
the
Subang
Airport,
and
is
nearby
established
residential
and
commercial
areas
of
Damansara
and
Kelana
Jaya.
Easy
accesses
to
the
site
are
through
major
highways,
the
New
Klang
Valley
Expressway
(NKVE)
and
Damansara-­‐Puchong
Highway
(LDP).
First
developed
as
a
residential
and
industrial
area,
commercial
activities
soon
found
its
way
into
the
districts
of
Ara
Damansara.
The
area
attracts
an
affluent
customer
base
due
to
it
adapting
a
modern
architecture
style
and
is
poised
to
be
developed
into
a
prestige
township
offering
a
lifestyle
that
promotes
close-­‐knit
community
living.
The
chosen
architect
for
this
project
is
Christopher
Alexander,
an
Austrian
architect
known
for
his
theories
of
design
and
over
200
building
projects
around
the
world.
He
was
recognized
as
the
Father
of
the
Pattern
Language
movement,
and
various
contemporary
architectural
practices
were
resulted
from
Alexander’s
ideas,
such
as
the
New
Urbanist
movement.
His
noted
accomplishments
as
an
architect
and
author
are
his
books,
the
Timeless
Way
of
Buildings
(1979)
and
A
Pattern
Language
(1977),
the
latter
being
written
in
collaboration
with
several
other
authors.
Although
it
was
published
later,
the
Timeless
Way
of
Buildings
is
essentially
the
first
book
of
the
series
and
the
introduction
to
A
Pattern
Language.
The
book
presents
a
new
theory
on
architecture
and
design
based
on
the
understanding
and
configuration
of
design
patterns.
Christopher
Alexander
believed
that
a
balance
should
exist
between
the
urban
context
and
the
greens
in
order
to
become
a
good
city
environment.
People
need
to
be
close
to
shops
and
services
for
excitement
and
convenience
but
at
the
same
time,
people
need
quietness
and
to
be
close
to
nature.
By
preserving
and
nurturing
this
balance,
a
degree
of
comfort
can
be
achieved
by
the
people.
This
balance
also
determines
the
gradient
density
of
housings
in
a
city.
He
explained
in
the
book
that
we
seek
out,
for
our
own
sakes,
in
our
own
surroundings,
the
quality
of
life
in
order
for
us
to
become
alive
ourselves.
This
then
leads
to
architects,
or
humans,
the
tendency
to
make
it
come
to
life
in
places
that
will
bring
out
the
quality
in
us.
His
theories
were
further
supported
in
A
Pattern
Language,
in
forms
patterns
through
explanations
of
diagrams.
Each
pattern
is
a
part
of
a
larger
pattern
through
the
forces
which
occur
there,
and
the
conditions
that
allow
these
forces
to
be
in
harmony.
According
to
A
Pattern
Language,
the
real
work
of
design
process
lies
in
the
task
of
making
up
the
language,
because
it
is
the
structure
and
the
content
of
the
language
that
determines
the
design.
With
the
power
of
depth
and
wholeness
of
the
language,
it
can
make
a
thousand
buildings
live.

2.
Reference
List
Alexander,
C.
(1979).
The
timeless
way
of
building.
New
York:
Oxford
University
Press.
Alexander,
C.,
Ishikawa,
S.,
&
Silverstein,
M.
(1977).
A
pattern
language.
New
York:
Oxford
University
Press.
Jacana.plus.com,.
A
Pattern
Language
-­‐
GREEN
STREETS.
Retrieved
16
April
2015,
from
http://www.jacana.plus.com/pattern/P51.htm
Libarynth.org,.
(2007).
the_timeless_way_of_building
[the
libarynth].
Retrieved
16
April
2015,
from
http://libarynth.org/the_timeless_way_of_building