Urban Theories Synopsis

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE
THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC61303
SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (August 2017)
Name: Tan Yincy ID No: 0318355
Lecturer: Mr. Prince Tutorial Time: 10 – 12 pm
Reader/Text Title: “Urbanism as a Way of Life”
(1938)
Synopsis No: 01
Author: Louis Wirth
In “Urbanism as a Way of Life”, Wirth states that the concept of urbanism represents a particular way of life
that shows the evolution of urban culture and the society. Wirth believes that urbanism is characterized not
just by the quantitative characteristics, arguing that there are more factors such as social characteristics that
must be taken into consideration, and to discover the underlying elements of urbanism, people have to look
beyond the mere physical structure of the city, its economic product or its characteristic cultural institutions.
Wirth’s ideas of the sociological propositions comprising the theory of urbanism are the population size,
density and social heterogeneity that he believes would impact the social relationship and personalities of
people, contributing to the development of a peculiarly urban way of life, a distinct “urban personality”, which
I wholly agree. These three elements interrelate with each other and as a city grew larger, its density would
increase along with a greater range of individual variation that segregates the community with a decrease or
absent of the bonds of kinship, neighborliness and the sentiments arising out of living together for generations
under a common folk tradition. Even though Wirth’s paper was written almost 80 years ago, his insights and
the three essential characteristics are most evident in today’s society. Urban dwellers are more associated
with organized groups compared to rural people and groups are less homogenous in an urban setting,
weakening social controls. As the level of heterogeneity is high in the city, people would not interact with
each other that easily and it is common because people tend to gravitate towards like-minded individuals.
Urbanities would limit contact with neighbors, choosing instead to communicate with secondary contacts.
Wirth also asserts that urban dwellers depend on more people for daily interactions in contrast to rural,
producing impersonal superficial, transitory and segmental connections causing a reserve, indifference and
a blasé outlook that people use as resistance against the expectations of others which is the norm in major
cities nowadays, Medan Pasar in KL city center is a good example where individualism is promoted and
people would pursue their interests over the interests of others or of a collective. Interactions occur every day
but only on a superficial level where relationships are impersonal and anonymous. Close ties are not
maintained or developed and it became transitory. We may know a huge amount of people but not in a
personal way and it enacts a feeling of isolation and disconnection from each other in a community. Wirth’s
theory is definitely inevitable due to the rapid urbanizing of cities but it does raise questions of what we can
do to minimize these issues. Many countries are starting to search for alternative ways of raising community
awareness and to bring back the lost connection of the community. Barcelona’s superblocks may be one of
the possible ways to do it.
Word Count: 480 Words Marks: Grade:
Assessed by: Date: 1st
Nov 2017 Page No. 01

Reader/Text Title:
“Body, Memory & Architecture”
Synopsis No: 02
Author: Kent C Bloomer & Charles W Moore
Body, Memory, and Architecture ascertain the significance of the human body from its place as the divine
organizing origin in the primitive built forms and its emotional influences towards poetic space where it
provides users with a sense of belonging, identity and place.
The authors believe that the building blocks that mankind long ago invested with meaning such as columns,
walls, roofs to rooms and hearth where the walls enclosed with doors and windows that resembles the body
is significant to humankind as they accommodated the initial human act of constructing a dwelling, the first
intangible boundary beyond the body that accommodated the act of inhabiting. This blueprint then changes
throughout time where variations were made, not of form, but of position where the structures remain the
same with alterations to the choreography of the trips that intensify the importance of a specific structure to
humankind. Beyond the boundaries of the house then lie the edges of cities and then the outer boundaries of
whole society. It is an extending boundary from the inner order spreading outward, leading to the growth of a
community and gradually forming a domain. This narrative shows the authors’ perception of the formation of
spaces or dwellings which is a very pertinent depiction of how I think architecture should be perceived as.
Architecture provides us with the content through yearning and dwelling in it. We experience architecture
tactually; through all senses that involved the entire body where the body is the center of our experience. Our
haptic encounter of the world and the experience of dwelling are inevitably connected where the interaction
between the world of our bodies and the world of our dwelling is continuously in flux, in relation to our
movements that are in constant dialogue with our buildings. Therefore, the atmosphere of buildings and our
sense of dwelling within them are vital to our architectural experience. As how the authors describe it: “A
choreography of collision, in which the building or landscape pieces come sharply up against one another
without the loss of their individual identities or spirit during the making of memorable places.”
The dynamic connection of building and dwelling increases, whereby the sensory experience of architecture
could not be overlooked as the experience of being in a place occurs in time, is far more than visual and is
generally as complex as the image of it which stays in our memory. It is the uniqueness of a particular
experience of a space that affects our bodies and generated enough associations to hold it in our minds and
to be able to understand that the experience of a building not in terms of its exterior and the visual, but from
the interior of how a building makes us feel. Taking this dwelt perspective allows us to understand what it
indicates to exist in a building and aspect of this that contribute to establishing a perception of 'home.'

Reader/Text Title: “Space, Place, Memory &
Imagination: The Temporal Dimension of
Existential Space” (Pg. 194 - 201)
Synopsis No: 03
Author: Juhani Pallasmaa
In this paper, Pallasmaa discusses the architectural art form of perception that affects emotions in relation to
memories as devices that would bring out or connects people’s experience in a space, building or landscape
between a span of time. He explains that landscape and buildings are amplifiers of emotions where they
reinforce sensations of belonging or alienation, invitation or rejection, tranquility or despair although they could
not create feelings. The mediation of architecture as the art of reconciliation between people and the
surroundings occurs at the sensory level, where human experience become the main focus when architecture
slows down.
Emotions produced are through remembrance of an event in the past that were evoked and strengthen by
the authority and aura of an architecture or landscape where it revives and revitalizes the past. This statement
can be seen in a lot of architecture that focuses on the poetic quality of a space and user’s experience where
they ties back remembrance to the history or essence of the place. I agree that architecture is not to create
strong foreground figures or feelings, but to establish frames of perception and horizons of understanding to
sensitize users to enter all emotional states as stated by Pallasmaa. It slows down and focuses on human
experiences instead of speeding up or diffusing it.
Also, Pallasmaa believes that act of memory engages our entire body rather than just memory as cerebral
capacity and that the body is not only the locus of remembrance but also the site and medium of all creative
work, including the work of architect. Therefore, the memories also evoked our tactual senses along with
emotions and imagination of a space that would create a sense of belonging and experience that is only true
to that individual as everyone’s memories and emotions are different, creating a one of a kind experience.
Furthermore, his belief that an artistic experience would always awakes the forgotten child hidden inside one’s
adult persona rings true as it is effective in evoking past experiences which allow room for imagination and
the articulation of sensory thought. Architects could also capture the genius loci of a site using imagination to
determine which haptic experience should be incorporated into the space. Remembrance and imagination
are fundamental elements that enable people to understand and remember their identity and also allows the
smooth translation of experience into architecture.

Reader/Text Title:
“Towards Critical Regionalism: Six Points for
an Architecture of Resistance” (No. 4, 5 & 6)
Synopsis No: 04
Author: Kenneth Frampton
Towards Critical Regionalism is an approach that attempts to counter the absence of meaning in Modern
Architecture and placelessness by utilizing contextual forces to provide a sense of place and purpose.
According to Frampton, critical regionalism should embrace modern architecture critically for its universal
progressive qualities and at the same time value the responses particular to the context. Emphasis should be
made on the topography, climate, light and tectonic form. The necessity of “place-form” balance between
natural environment and the local culture could be achieved through thorough investigation on the contextual
features instead of acting it as a free-standing object that lacks identity and should be adapted to the
characteristic of place.
Frampton states that the merging of culture and nature is crucial when it comes to designing a building that
incorporates local culture and the qualities of the landscape. Architects should analyze local character and
reinterpret it with contemporary expressions, rather than adapting the traditions directly. In the Malaysia
context, one example of critical regionalism would be the Dayabumi Complex, designed by BEP+MAA. It is a
modern architecture with neo Islamic architectural features that mirrors the union of the old and new,
inaugurating a sense of continuity with its surroundings. The construction of this office building brings a fresh
outlook to the general skyscraper typology during its time with consideration towards the local climate and the
integration of vernacular references. The building was purposely designed to blend in with the pervading
Moorish and Byzantine atmosphere, incorporating the Islamic eight-pointed star as a decorative element on
the façade that acts as a sunscreen. The attentiveness to these details resulted in an architecture that reflects
its surrounding context while sustaining a sense of place that could not be replicated elsewhere. As asserted
by Frampton, both tactile, visually and the other senses’ experiences are considered while designing. The
cooperation between all the senses makes architecture more profound and unique. This theory advocates
the usage of all materials which target all senses and that will allow variable emotional reactions.
Overall, critical regionalism represents a vital role in place making. The context to which the architecture
adheres to further reinforces the association of the building to its surrounding, enabling architecture to evolve
with time yet have a strong contextual relevance allows the building to have a sense of place. Although
Frampton’s insights are significant, they may also be instrumental in the advancement of architectural
practices that revitalize local character and culture, efficiently engage the natural habitat through low and high-
tech means, and revive the humane experiential potential of architectural place-form.

Urban Theories Synopsis

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