architecture portfolio
Loh Wei Shuen
assignment 1: theorizing the colonial city
Theory is a vision and theorizing is a representation of clear point of view. In a group of 7-8, the students are required to choose a case study city (George Town and Malacca) and to explore the city in both historical and contemporary phases. The grouping has to be so strategic that entire class covers the historical and contemporary phases of both cities. Each group is to prepare digital presentations on salient and insightful ideas/theories/social situations that contributed the spatial form of the city of their study.
The analysis comes from two perspectives, namely, the contextual aspects and the cultural translation into urban form at the selected city, as outlined below:
a) The historical/contextual underpinning must answer the questions of a) how does the city respond to modern and postmodern ideas and theories in urbanism and b) what spatial (urban) structures constitute to the place making aspects in the colonial city.
b) The understanding of urban design comes from underpinning the FORM and CONTENT phenomena. On the tangible or the hard side study on specific typology of urban form: built form / open spaces; and on the intangible side: context, geography, demography, economy, culture and urbanity. Hence the presentation should clearly specify such understanding under these categories. It is also important that the student understand how such theories merge with the existing context in the given city. Presentation is also key and an assessment criteria.
Students are required to submit their presentation as a group and an A4 journal on sketches and photographs that establish the relationships and roles of the three urban design elements, especially focusing on the urban structuring principles. Urban patterns and sense of place should be given key focus.
tales of three cities
assignment 2: mapping the townscape
The findings from this Assignment 1 on will be taken forward to analyze the third city, Kuala Lumpur, in the Assignment 2. The students are required to document the spatial form of the city to note the key spatial experience that is driven by the urban form and content. The
objectives are:
a) to characterize the urban forms through Serial Vision;
b) to establish the relationships and roles of the three urban design elements and
c) to identify DISTINCTIVE aspects or patterns in their layout offering to the characteristics of a ‘colonial city’.
The students will be given with basic urban study techniques such as figure/ground, serial vision, collage city, space syntax, etc. Therefore the students are required to analyze and apply those techniques in order to evaluate the spatial (tangible) and/or social (intangible) patterns in the city. You are required to a) illustrate the urban distinctive character by formulating your own theory of understanding, b) present the tales of your wishes and c) evaluate through the comparison of three cities. The submission format will be online and digital reports.
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