Design Thinking II - Context and Values

Context Definitions and The Importance

  • Definition of Context:
    • Originally meant "the weaving together of words in language" in the 15th century, derived from the Latin "contexere" (to weave or join together).
    • Now refers to the environment or setting in which something exists or happens, aiding in its explanation.
    • Contextualizing means placing something in an appropriate setting for proper consideration.
    • Cambridge Dictionary defines context as: "the situation within which something exists or happens, and that can help explain it"
  • Eliel Saarinen's quote:
    • "Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger context—a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan."
  • Importance of Site Context:
    • The site connects architecture to the larger world at every scale, both literally and figuratively.
    • Site's location and character may determine project viability before design begins.
    • Influences many design decisions.
    • Every site and its context comprises a unique mosaic of attributes and environmental forces.
  • Components of a Suitable Environment for Sustainable Development:
    • Natural Resources:
    • Regulation functions (e.g., air and water purification, biodiversity).
    • Production functions (e.g., food and fiber).
    • Carrier functions (e.g., space).
    • Information functions (e.g., spiritual and aesthetic value).
    • Cultural Resources:
    • Archaeological sites.
    • Historic buildings, districts, landmarks, and structures.
    • Community history and architectural heritage.
    • Vernacular landscapes.
    • Traditional neighborhoods.
    • Built Environment:
    • Infrastructure (e.g., utilities, transportation).
    • Land use and land cover.
    • Property value.
    • Hazards/nuisances.
    • Services (e.g., fire, police, medical, education).
    • Land use policy (e.g., plans, regulations, incentives).
    • Visibility and visual quality.
  • Site Analysis Process:
    • Site Selection
    • Site Inventory (Physical, Biological, Cultural)
    • Site Analysis
    • Programming
    • Conceptual Design
    • Design Development
    • Construction Documentation
    • Project Implementation

Variabel-Variabel Kontekstual (Contextual Variables)

  • Tabel 1. Kata Kunci dari Variabel-Variabel Kontekstual (Key Words from Contextual Variables Table (Widati, 2015))

    • Variabel kontekstual (Contextual Variable): Hubungan bangunan dengan tapaknya (site) (Building's relationship with its site).
    • Kata kunci (Key words) : Hubungan antara bangunan dan sekitar (Relationship between the building and its surroundings).
    • Aspek yang analisis (Analysis Aspects) : Hubungan antara bangunan dan sekitar (Relationship between the building and its surroundings).
    • Tujuan kontekstual (Contextual Objectives): Hubungan fisik bangunan individu dengan lingkungan alam atau bangunan sekitarnya; Hubungan simbolis. (Physical relationship of an individual building with its natural or surrounding built environment; symbolic relationships)
    • Kata kunci (Key words) : Menjaga/memanfaatkan keindahan/potensi alam letak (Preserving/utilizing the beauty/potential of the site's nature).
    • Aspek yang analisis (Analysis Aspects) : Aspek non-fisik (Non-physical aspects) and Hubungan antara bangunan dan sekitar (Relationship between the building and its surroundings).
    • Meningkatkan kapabilitas rancangan bangunan yang ideal secara cermat sehingga memiliki keterkaitan dengan sekitarnya. (Improving the design capabilities of an ideal building carefully so that it has a relationship with its surroundings).
    • Kata kunci (Key words) : Hubungan antara bangunan dan sekitar (Relationship between the building and its surroundings).
    • Aspek yang analisis (Analysis Aspects) : Hubungan antara bangunan dan sekitar (Relationship between the building and its surroundings).

  • Tabel 2. Analisis Aspek Kontekstual pada Karya Thomas Karsten (Analysis of Contextual Aspects in Thomas Karsten's Works)

    • Aspek Fisik (Physical Aspects)

    • Teater Rakyat Sobokartti: Arsitektur tradisional Jawa dan arsitektur gaya Barat. (Traditional Javanese architecture and Western architectural style.)

    • Pasar Gede: Campuran arsitektur Belanda dengan arsitektur Jawa. (Mix of Dutch and Javanese architecture.)

    • Gedung Jiwasraya: Gaya arsitektur campuran budaya Eropa dan budaya lokal "Jawa-Tropis" (kanopi dan koridor sebagai respon iklim tropis). (Architectural style is a mix of European and local "Javanese-Tropical" cultures - canopies and corridors as a response to the tropical climate).

    • Temuan (Findings): Gaya arsitektur merupakan campuran dari arsitektur Belanda dan Jawa (Architectural style is a mix of Dutch and Javanese architecture).

    • Aspek Non-Fisik (Non-Physical Aspects)

    • Teater Rakyat Sobokartti:

      • Menerapkan konsep pendopo rakyat. (Applying the concept of a people's pendopo (pavilion)).
      • Memadukan konsep pertunjukan Jawa dengan konsep teater Barat. (Combining Javanese performance concepts with Western theater concepts).
      • Nilai kemanusiaan: pembagian lingkungan tidak berdasarkan suku tapi kelas sosial. (Humanitarian values: division of the environment is not based on ethnicity but on social class).

    • Pasar Gede:

      • Pasar ramah sosial. (Socially friendly market).
      • Menyesuaikan dengan budaya "perdagangan" di Jawa. (Adapting to the "trade" culture in Java).
      • Lokasi tapak mengacu pada filosofi Jawa, yaitu Catur Gatra Tunggal. (The site location refers to Javanese philosophy, namely Catur Gatra Tunggal).

    • Gedung Jiwasraya: Nilai kemanusiaan dan peduli lingkungan (respon terhadap tapak sebagai ruang di sudut jalan) (Humanitarian and environmental care values (response to the site as a space at a street corner)).

      • Penerapan dari pemikiran Thomas Karsten, yaitu nilai kemanusiaan (Application of Thomas Karsten's thinking, namely human values).
      • Memperhatikan budaya dan tradisi setempat (Paying attention to local culture and traditions).

    • Kontras/Harmonis (Contrast/Harmonious)

    • Teater Rakyat Sobokartti:

      • Harmonis dengan skala manusia, proporsi massa lebih dominan lebar ke samping (Harmonious with the human scale, the mass proportion is more dominantly wide to the side).
      • Peletakan lokasi sesuai dengan prinsip arsitektur Jawa yaitu kesinambungan dan harmonis (The location is placed according to the principles of Javanese architecture, namely continuity and harmony).

    • Pasar Gede:

      • Harmonis, menyesuaikan gaya bangunan dengan arsitektur sekitarnya (Harmonious, adjusting the building style to the surrounding architecture).
      • Menyelaraskan letak tapak yang berorientasi pada tugu jam (Harmonizing the location of the site which is oriented to the clock tower).

    • Gedung Jiwasraya:

      • Harmonis, bangunan yang ada di kawasan Kota Lama memiliki gaya arsitektural yang sama (Indisch) (Harmonious, the buildings in the Old City area have the same architectural style (Indisch)).
      • Lokasi bangunan yang berada di tikungan dirancang dengan kesan untuk mengawasi bangunan di depannya (Gereja Blenduk dan Taman Srigunting) (The building's location at a bend is designed with the impression of overseeing the building in front of it (Blenduk Church and Srigunting Park)).

      *Sifat harmonis menyelaraskan bangunan dengan gaya arsitektur di sekitarnya (The harmonious nature harmonizes the building with the architectural style in the surrounding area).

      *Letak tapak dan orientasi bangunan menyesuaikan dengan bangunan yang sudah ada (The location of the site and the orientation of the building are adjusted to the existing buildings).

    • Hubungan dengan sekitar (Relationship with surroundings)

    • Teater Rakyat Sobokartti:

      • Memperhatikan aspek kesehatan dengan memanfaatkan penghawaan dan pencahayaan alami (Paying attention to health aspects by utilizing natural ventilation and lighting).
      • Penggunaan material lokal (kayu) dan simplifikasi teknologi lokal (Use of local materials (wood) and simplification of local technology).
      • Lokasi dipilah untuk mendukung fungsi bangunan dan memperkuat daerah sekitarnya (The location is selected to support the function of the building and strengthen the surrounding area).

    • Pasar Gede:

      • Penyesuaian iklim tropis, pemanfaatan pencahayaan alami (Tropical climate adjustment, utilization of natural lighting).
      • Terdapat kios di seberang jalan Sudirman yang menghadap jalan agar mempermudah interaksi antara pedagang dengan pembeli (There are kiosks across Sudirman street facing the street to facilitate interaction between traders and buyers).

    • Gedung Jiwasraya:

      • Penyesuaian iklim tropis serta pertimbangan aspek kesehatan dengan menggunakan pencahayaan dan penghawaan alami (Tropical climate adjustment as well as consideration of health aspects by using natural lighting and ventilation).
      • Peletakan bangunan berorientasi pada pemandangan (Building placement is oriented to the scenery).

      *Hubungan dengan alam menyesuaikan iklim tropis, termasuk dalam pemikiran Karsten dalam aspek kesehatan dan nilai peduli lingkungan (The relationship with nature adapts to the tropical climate, including Karsten's thinking on health aspects and environmental care values).

      *Penggunaan material lokal (Use of local materials).

Responsive Contextual

  • Permeability:
    • Accessibility offers choice. The number of alternative routes through an environment makes responsive places.
    • Implications include multiple routes and rough boundaries for developable land.
  • Variety:
    • Easily accessible places must offer a choice of experiences.
    • Maximizing the variety of uses involves assessing demand and feasibility.
  • Robustness:
    • Places usable for many different purposes offer more choice.
    • Objective is spatial and constructional organization suitable for a wide range of activities and future uses.
  • Legibility:
    • The degree of choice depends on how easily people can understand the layout.
    • Routes and junctions are differentiated by designing them with differing qualities of spatial enclosure.
  • Visual Appropriateness:
    • Meanings people put on places affect awareness of choices.
    • A place has visual appropriateness when meanings help to make people aware of choices.
    • Vocabulary of visual cues used to communicate levels of choice.
  • Richness:
    • Increasing the choice of sense-experiences for users.
    • Involves providing richness, both visual and non-visual, and selecting appropriate materials and constructional techniques.
  • Personalization:
    • Making it possible for users to personalize places allows them to put their own stamp on their environment.
  • Step-by-step approach to achieving qualities:
    1. Permeability: designing the overall layout of routes and development blocks.
    2. Variety: locating uses on the site.
    3. Legibility: designing the massing of the buildings, and the enclosure of public space.
    4. Robustness: designing the spatial and constructional arrangement of individual buildings and outdoor places.
    5. Visual appropriateness: designing the external image.
    6. Richness: developing the design for sensory choice.
    7. Personalisation: making the design encourage people to put their own mark on the places where they live and work.
  • How to use the book
    • introductory section
    • a set of design sheets
    • a series of footnotes

Architecture in Context

  • What the Architecture should do related to Culture?
    • Cultural Design
    • MASJID RAYA SUMATERA BARAT
      • TRADITIONAL ASPECT
      • PLAN
        • Marapu is the core of their culture as source of their values, life philosophy, as well as having a major influence on their lives. Marapu is also something the people (native Sumbanese people) couldn't live without. They believe man is part of the universe and inseparable.
        • Marapu, there is a main core at the top of the roof so the main core of this Gallery is the Ramp (Stage and Entertainment, Exhibition & Auditorium).
  • What the Architecture should do related to the historic context?
    • Design in Historic District

Design in Historic District

  • DATA
    • PRECEDENT STUDY
    • NUSANTARA ARCHITECTURE
      • ELEMENT
      • COLOUMN
        • This 4 column symbolizes a whole small family that surrounds the center of the house "the heart"
      • FLOOR PLAN
        • UMA DALUKU
        • RONGU UMA
          • SUMBANESE UMA MBATANGU "PEAKED HOUSE
          • SUMBA, LESSER SUNDA ISLANDS, EAST NUSA TENGGARA
            • Sumbanese house is characterized with its high-pitched central peak in its roof and strong connection with the spirits or marapu
            • Sumba Island contains several cultural and linguistic groups, however all share a common architectural heritage. Animism is strong in Sumbanese society. Their indigenous religion focused on the Marapu.
            • Marapu includes spirits of the dead, of sacred places, of heirloom objects and the instruments used to communicate with the spirit world. This concept affects the architectural space within the Sumbanese house and the Sumbanese village.
            • ROOF
            • The roof has a high peak and the roof symbolize a strong connection with spirits or Marapu.
            • FOREST
            • There is a close relationship between the forest and the Sumba Traditional House.
            • The place where Marapu (ancestral spirit) lives in trees, rocks and flowers so that the forest becomes a tectonic element (beams. columns, walls, roof)
            • LEI BUNGAN
            • 1ST FLOOR
              • LEI BUNGAN (UNDER THE HOUSE). A SHELTER FOR LIVESTOCK AND SUNBATHING.
            • 2ND FLOOR
              • RONGU UMA (SECOND LEVEL), AS A PLACE TO LIVE EVERYDAY.
            • 3RD FLOOR (ROOF)
              • UMA DALUKU (TOWER)
              • THE TOP (HINDI MARAPU) IS WHERE THE SAVINGS ARE CONSIDERED SACRED HEIRLOOMS
              • THE BOTTOM PART TO STORE GRAIN AND FOODSTUFFS
            • GRAVE STONE
            • Grave stones are always made big and majestic, apart from being a form of respect for ancestors as well as a reflection of greatness and the nobility of the owner.
            • STRUCTURE
            • SYSTEM STRUCTURE FRAME MADE WITH BAMBOO. THIS STRUCTURAL SYSTEM STARTS FROM 4 MAIN COLUMNS THAT SUPPORT THE ROOF OF THE STRUCTURE (BRACING).
            • THE OTHER COLUMN SUPPORTS THE OPEN ROOF. THE COLUMN IS MADE OF SOLID WOOD / DOLKEN WHICH ALSO FUNCTIONS AS A FOUNDATION.
            • BUFFALO HORN
            • the owner of the house has slaughtered livestock as a marker of social status in the community.

The Culture of Context

  • Element
    • Building
    • Neighbourhood
    • Urban
  • Abad pertengahan (Middle Ages):
    • Early Christian
    • Byzantium, Romanesque, Gothic
    • Venice
  • Modern
    • Manhattan
    • Los Angeles
  • Antique
  • Renaissance
    • NEOCLASSIC
    • LONDON
  • Philosophers
    • Friedrich Nietzsche
    • Jacques Derrida
    • Karl Marx
    • Charles Darwin
  • Timeline of early architecture from 6000 BC-1000 AD
    • Neolithic
    • Sumerian
    • Assyrian
    • Ancient Egyptian architecture
    • Moorish
  • Timeline of architectural styles from 1750-1900
    • Neoclassical
    • Gothic revival
    • Greek revival
    • Victorian
    • Queen Anne Style
  • Timeline of architectural styles from 1900 to the present
    • Modernism
    • Art Deco
    • Brutalism
    • Postmodernism
    • Deconstructivism

The Value of Context

  • The Value of Architecture

    • Which house do you choose?
    • Why you choose those house?

  • Values of Architecture

    • the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something.

    *Synonyms: worth, usefulness, advantage, benefit, gain, profit, good, help, merit, helpfulness, avail; More importance, significance

    • a person's principles or standards of behavior; one's judgment of what is important in life.
    • synonyms: principles, ethics, moral code, morals, standards, code of behavior

  • Architecture Should:

    • Firmitas (Strength)
    • Utilitas (Functional)
    • Venustas (Beauty)

  • Marslow's Hierarchy of Needs (1973)

    • Self-actualization
    • morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts
    • Esteem
    • self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, respect by others
    • Love/belonging
    • friendship, family, sexual intimacy
    • Safety
    • security of: body, employment, resources, morality, the family, health, property
    • Physiological
    • breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion

  • Survival Good Life

    • The primordial value of architecture was to promote human survival by protecting its occupants.
    • But human survival and protection are much boarder categories than structural strength alone as implied by the term firmitas.
    • A concern for the good life should also be present in design. Architecture should not merely promote survival, it should make survival goods.
    • Building should enables users to accomplish their purpose and task without great effort, and they should promote the comfort of the users in all of their sensory modalities: visual, aural, olfactory, tactile and kinesthetic.

  • Art (to Transform)

    *Finally, Architecture has the opportunity to transform users, to help them see beyond their immediate needs for protection and nurturing. The architect has responsibility to please the users in some manner or other: to excite and stimulate, or to calm and assure. Architecture should enrich the meaning of the user’s lives and move them in some special way. The program should identify the aesthetic values of society, client, and user to encourage the designer to express them in the architecture.

  • The Contemporary Aspect of Architecture

  • The Contemporary Value of Architecture

    • Geoffrey Broadbent (1977)
    • Environmental System
    • Building System
    • Human System
    • Cultural Context
    • Physical Context
    • Building Technology
    • Internal Ambiance
    • User Requirement
    • Client Objective
    • Social Available resources
    • Structural Mass
    • Organic Security
    • Political Physical
    • Characteristics:
      • Structural Systems
      • Spatial Expansion or other provision for change
      • Economical
      • Space Separating Systems
      • Sensory Environment
      • Locational
      • Housing of particular activities
      • Scientific
      • Other Constraints
      • Services System
      • Sensory Tecnological
      • Fitting System
      • Social
    • Mickey Palmer (1981)
    • Longevity
    • Flexibility
    • Functional Efficiency
    • Schedule
    • Costs
    • Resources
    • Site Condition
    • Activities
    • Restrictions
    • Services
    • Relationships
    • Systems
    • Space
    • Functions
    • Form
    • Client Interest
    • Human Factors
    • Physical Factors
    • External Factors

    Location Legal Restrictions

    Behavior Site Conditions Topography

    Objectives / Goal Building Fascilities Climate

    Organization Envelope Ecology

    Characteristics Structure Resources Availability Social Forces

    Systems Energy Supplies Political Forces

    Space Equipment / Furnishing Financing Policies

    Interactions Time Attitudes Cost / Benefits

    Environment Qualities

    • Hershberger (2005): HECTTEAS
    • Human Functional, Social, Physical, Physiological and Psychological
    • Environmental Site, Climate, Context, Resources and Waste
    • Cultural Historical, Institutional, Political and Legal
    • Technological Material, Systems and Process
    • Temporal Growth, Change and Permanence
    • Economic Finance, Construction, Operations, Maintenance and Energy
    • Aesthetic Form, Space, Color and Meaning
    • Safety Structural, Fire, Chemical, Personal and Criminal

  • Paul Lessau (2001)

    • Graphic Thinking for Architects & Designers
    • NEED
    • CONTEXT
    • FORM
    • Need.
      • Space Requirements
      • Relationships
      • Priorities
      • Processes
      • Objectives
      • Mamtenance
      • Access
      • Equipment
      • Environment
    • Context:
      • Site
      • Zoning
      • Services
      • Macro Climate
      • Micro Climate
      • Adjacent Buildings
      • Geological Factors
      • Vehicular Access
    • Form:
      • Zoning
      • Circulation
      • Structure
      • Enclosure
      • Construction type
      • Construction Process
      • Energy
      • Climate Control
      • Image

Presentation and Conclusion

  • Design with nature design with culture design for people
    • This simple statement captures the essence of context-sensitive site