Architectural Design Studio V

Project 2:

Final Project(Urban Infill Community Library)

In this project, we concentrated on designing a community library within an urban infill site. In my case, I have chosen the site on Jalan Tun HS Lee for my community library. The design of the building is to consist of appropriate architectural responses that address the aspects of the urban street context and user behavioural patterns as discerned and analysed in the Preliminary Studies. Apart from developing a narrative on architectural strategy in response to the relevant questions pertaining to community and its context, the design took into consideration a holistic application of structural, spatial, functional and environmental requirements to address the user needs for a community library. The design development of this project will include an introduction to the legislative restrictions that impact an architectural scheme, the integration of lighting and acoustic design, as well as the design exploration and detailing of the façade and building envelopes that is coherent with the architectural language of the overall design project.

The objectives are:

1. To take into consideration key aspects of urban design and context in relation to architecture

2. To develop an awareness and basic compliance to Design Codes and Statutory Requirements

3. To emphasize the importance of elevational context and composition in developing architectural design

4. To implement and explore the conceptual, schematic and design development phases in an architectural design project

Whilst the learning outcomes are as such:

1. Produce a design outcome for a community library that is site-specific through its formal, cultural, legislative, structural and environmental design responses.

2. Apply basic knowledge of urban architectural typologies, infill design strategies, and community library programming

3. Demonstrate fundamental knowledge and awareness of local design codes and regulations

4. Design within the constraints of feasibility and in response to basic design codes and statutory requirements

5. Utilise study models, diagramming, mapping, orthographic plan-section and elevational studies to explore and resolve relevant spatial, structural, functional and environmental issues in the design development phase

6. Produce drawings (both 2D and 3D), models and presentations to verbally and visually communicate architectural ideas and scheme.

My design position is to blur the invisible edges along the street by providing a common dialogue for the different communities on site(Hindu and Buddhist devotees) using the most common philosophy practiced by these two groups, which is the 9 House Mandala. Below is the final design and the complete scheme of the building.

Project 1:

Preliminary Studies

The Preliminary Studies is a preparatory assignment that focuses on investigating basic notions of the city, and learning from examples of community library around the world. The aim is to focus on urban study in order to find opportunities to promote a community library in the given context. This assignment firstly introduce students to the basics in urban design and its relation to architecture, and secondly, studying and determining the programmatic function, societal role and spatial layout of a community library and architectural responses for urban infills.

It comprises of two components:

1. urban study through site documentation and analysis, and

2. Precedent Studies of Urban Infills and Community Library.

The urban study will equip us with a firm understanding of the site that we will be working with this semester, while the Precedent Studies provides an insight into architectural responses for designing an urban infill community library.

The outcome of the Preliminary Studies includes the production of site documentation materials (drawings and models in both digital and physical copy for further use), a comprehensive analysis of the site, and a detailed case study of a relevant urban infill and community library.

In Project 1, in a group of 10 members, we were to visit 2 proposed sites, namely Jalan Petaling and Jalan Tun H. S. Lee to identify and analyze the sites according to the 5 Lynchian Elements. We are to derive design narratives for a community library in order to relate to and offer legibility in the urban context.

The study was to be done in two levels of complexity, namely, the macro and micro contexts. Whilst the macro study is about the role and how the location fits into the city. In micro study we were to make a comprehensive study on urban form, activity and movement-pattern. ‘Legibility Analysis’ (Responsive Environments, Bentley, et.al.) which is a method through the exploration of Kevin Lynch’s Elements of legibility (Lynch, 1960) was employed here as a study method. The students are to establish possible opportunities (such as routes and attractions) to sustain and to offer legibility by the community library. Through this analysis, we began to develop an understanding of urban issues pertaining to quality of public realm, character, ease of movement, legibility and diversity.

At the end of the project, I was able to:

1. Conduct case studies and site analysis to generate an understanding of the physical and cultural context and development of urban environments

2. Determine and describe the role of a community library in a contemporary urban setting

3. Examine and establish appropriate architectural responses and strategies for designing within an urban infill site

4. Produce necessary documentation such as diagrams, mappings, photographic images, orthographic drawings and models to record and communicate the site analysis findings, and for further use in the coming design stages.