|
A quality built environment must be a reflection of the
place and time and people of Malaysia. This is of course
simple to do but dMifficult to do well. For to reduce culture
to simple shapes and symbols can become a gross simplification
of culture and can on occasions, have an adverse impact
on the culture itself.
This is especially so where architecture is highly visible
and can be interpreted as our culture and arts.
Incorporating culture in architecture essentially means
engendering a sense of place in the design. For to reflect
culture and sense of place in architecture, the architecture
must nurture the following in the user:
- a sense of where he is (e.g. if the building is in
Kedah, then the architecture must indicate its locality)
- a sense of who he is (i.e. the building must help the
user be aware of who he is and not some other nationality),
- a sense of when he is (i.e. the building must inform
user that he is in the 21st century and not in any other
century).
The above is intentionally general to permit investigatively-focused
creativity but still gives an essential guide to the creation
of a quality built environment appropriate to the place
and time in Malaysia.
We might adopt a varied but appropriate approach to using
our architectural heritage for contemporary architecture
purposes through:
- Replication
- Re-interpretation
- Abstraction
- Spirit of the place
We should use any of the above strategies where appropriate
for the locality. For example, 'Replication' means replication
of the existing architecture of the locality. This is appropriate
for historical sensitive areas where the existing architectural
style and construction need to be preserved.
'Re-interpretation' is for new buildings where we need
to understand the underlying principles of our traditional
architecture and culture and to re-interpret these in a
contemporary and inventive way.
'Abstraction' means abstracting the symbolic aspects of
the traditional culture (e.g. the 'tengelok') and utilising
the symbolic aspects of this in the contemporary built environment
where appropriate.
'Spirit of the Place' means employing the underlying spirit
of the culture and traditional architecture in a new contemporary
way (e.g. the 'spirit of the kampong community').
|
