Celebrating the Past, while
Designing the Future
Ar.Pooja
Jaiswal
Vadodara
“Architecture
is the blend of science, art and technology to provide a
Meaningful
interaction between an audience and the space that they occupy.”
−Journal
Psychology−psychology and architecture ˘ March−2011
Do Homo−sapiens (humans) have
an innate ability to perceive patterns in artificial forms? Is the human body
physically able to `recognize’ the patterns or proportions?in art or architecture? If
people do indeed react to the structure would they explain why people react emotionally
or `spiritually’ to some of the places? Why would people either “like or dislike”
the same place for example TAJ MAHAL? The human body is biologically
predisposed to recognizing design and structure either consciously or unconsciously
and that a variety of criteria may be at work influencing us when we find
ourselves living, working or playing within the urban environment.
How does a man dislike a built
or an unbuilt form? Built and Unbuilt form to people other than architects is
something like the brick, cement, steel, and mortar, mud to be as built and green spaces
or open spaces to be as unbuilt. Space is actually a defined area which makes us
aware of our being present in it. The built form means the space carved by different
materials, a space moulded with different attitude in terms of ideology, concept,
economy, affection. The unbuilt form is space which
gives totally separate feeling
of being free, a symbol of being existing on THE
EARTH, a view of nature and an
opportunity to merge with it.
Architecture has developed all
these years with strong amalgamation of ideas of architects and the influence
of tradition and culture which varied in its own terms and extends from island ,
country to city.
Making an artificial space of
the material available, worth to be called as a place to live, to be surrounded by, or
called as SPACE is the key role. In initial years whether we take the planning
of Mohenjo−Daro to the other end of Egyptian Civilization, they were real
masters designing the built and the unbuilt spaces together and making them to
full contentment of humans. The foremost designer,NATURE designed
both the built and unbuilt
spaces equally for us which we divided into built and unbuilt ones . The natural caves or
the islands developed by the natural calamities and the forces of nature are also the
part of nature’s architecture which is adorable.
An individual usually decides
the quality of the space by what he visually experiences and what he feels being in
that place .The kind of vibrations a built line or a space give to a particular person or
how a person adapt to the particular form, decides his conception of space. The built
space were equally concerned and thought off and designed because we as humans
weave our life around or in these spaces. The material, locality and the
space in terms of area were the choice of the people. The unbuilt spaces were not
the left out ones and the open spaces were not created after the built form being
erected .It’s how people cognitively map what they experience based on what
they know or think they know about their environment; Preferred environmental
psychology studies people’s motivations illustrating that people naturally seek
out places where they will feel
competent, confident, where they will feel comfort or enjoyment.
Proximity gestalt illustrates
how people see a pattern in space despite distance. For example, the stars representing
the `big dipper’ star constellation are in fact stars at different distances from the
earth but they are perceived as being on a single plain. Repetitive gestalt
demonstrates equalities in object spacing where none may exist. The corner
columns of the Parthenon designed to be thicker and spaced closer to
surrounding columns will be visually interpreted as being of equal size and spacing.
Indeed the entire structure itself was designed with subtle curves, the
columns are slightly tapered,
and the rectangular base is slightly curved purposefully engineered to
withstand the lateral movement of the earth caused by
earthquakes.
An average population of the
world views space and structure through the
visual elements provided.
Brick , tree, corridor , door , window, trim and carpet
are only a few of these visual
elements. All of the elements combine to allow
us to experience a space.
These experiences should be the designer’s goal when conceiving the space in
question. Some spaces are created to encourage social interaction while others are
designed to encourage silence and reflection.Change is intrinsic to all
living organisms; it is intrinsic also to human institutions and to the arts that accompany
them, and without which they cannot live. Again, the arts cannot Jive without
the protection of the institutions which they both reflect and support ; and this is a
fundamental symbiosis. Evolution created traditions and culture between species that
proved to a great help in creating varied architecture that varied not only in
the terms of place but also form and details. Whenever we pass by a street we
get the feel of the space and sense of the locality present there, who made
effort to create that space. Tradition had a tremendous impact in changing the
form and way the built forms were constructed. Culture influenced the
architecture equally by changing the
language of the building.
Structures in the past were
designed as per their need using the bare minimum of artificial resources. The
exterior face of the building was enough to tell the purpose of the space.
Communities had a passion to
show off their pride and talent in a way creating competition between human
creed to design new and better. The
arches , domes , vaults ,
jharokhas , different forms of opening of built structure, satisfied their need
and had different geometric ways of expression. Traditional architecture has
always taken into account innovation in terms of material and structure. Many
of the buildings that we today call traditional, were actually stretching the limits of
spanning and forever innovating in terms of building material to come up with
sensitive designs.
The paths and the cities were
being designed on the grid pattern. Proper layout was made that varied as per
the topography. The communities had their own share of land on which they used
to develop their : a little differed culture and much differed architecture.
Few components of it were similar depending on the locality. After all architecture
is the art above all others combining technology, satisfaction of human needs.
Its purpose is to make spaces which are more human, more alive, more fulfilled.
It is in Vitruvius’ words the art which
combines utilitas, firmitas, and venust
as or human
behaviour technology and beauty.
Designing within a tradition is not pretence
for repeating the old in order to avoid the pains of new birth. It is no mere act
of imitation, for mimicry destroys all the significance of form. Traditional
design is a complex process of adaptation and assimilation in a perpetual act
of gestation. Only through the re−establishment of our spiritual identity can
the dynamic and
continuous process of
consolidation and reorganisation be truly assured.
When we look at the planning
of the city the uneven branching streets, like sinews,seem to tie and hold together
the built mass. With the densely build structure, the open space in the form of
streets seems to have been carved out of solid mass.This reflects the nature of
Indian urbanity, where no single order, be it religious,social, economic or cosmological
, prevails over the others , instead there is a layering of these orders, each
important in the way that it influenced society. As in
the traditional cities in
India, the social and religious divisions of the population were reflected in the morphology of
the city. Areas in the city were allocated
according to one’s caste and
occupation. This is not so evident now as many
original occupants of havelis
(larger residences) have moved to the suburbs while the residences have been
subdivided to house several families belonging to different castes and tenants.
In some areas where there
are limitations of building material, natural materials such as mud, grass, bamboo,
thatch or sticks are used, instead of transporting materials from far place
which is a blot on sustainability practices, for semi−permanent structures which
require regular maintenance and replacement. The advantages of such
traditional architecture are the construction materials are cheap and easily available and
relatively little labour is required. As the needs and resources of the people
change, vernacular architecture evolve to include more durable materials such as
stones, clay tiles, metals etc. Though they are more expensive to build, they are
very durable structures.
A country is not only
identified by its people and government, but by its architecture.Through architecture it’s
possible to gauge many things about a culture, such as lifestyle, artistic
sensibilities and social structure. For example, when one thinks of India, we think of the Taj
Mahal. Without their culture, would it be designed that way, or would it look like
another building. The Egyptians are another amazing example, their environment and
culture produced the great pyramids . How do modern cultures produce and
maintain such beautiful architecture?
Architecture is not always
defined as large or magnificent; sometimes it is simply a dwelling. For centuries, homes
have been made out of mud built along the main dirt road. The roof could be used
for an oven, to hold chickens, or just as storage. Egypt,like the rest of the world is
going modern, and newer homes are being built out of brick, which although more
expensive, they can build higher which is proving to saveland. Culture has brought
about the country socially with tradition. If we take an
example of Chinese
architecture probably has the most cultural influence.
Traditionally buildings were
designed for its width, not its height. Every important building is guarded around a
large wall to protect their assets. While ordinarily dwellings are grey and dull,
palaces and places of importance are quite colourful.Imperial buildings have golden
yellow roofs, red columns and doors, and walls of red, pink, or purple.
Tradition and religion are the largest pieces to the Chinese culture and architecture. Each
home has their entrance at the front and facing the east with a screen because
it is believed that spirits travel straight and cannot go through screen. The main
building faces the courtyard and children’s rooms would be on the side of the home.
The purpose of a south−facing entrance is to avoid north winds, gain more possible
sunshine during the winter, and the overhanging eaves help to keep the building cool
in the summer, as well as help with the heavy rain.
Every culture can inspire a
type of architecture that can range from landmarks to everyday homes. Religion
and family seem to be the most common influences overall. Each culture is
unique and the more we learn about them, the more we appreciate our surroundings and
understand why certain things appeal to us.Architecture is essentially an
epiphenomenon, dependent on socioeconomic, political, and technological
processes for its various states and transformations
“Architecture
reconfirms the hegemony of culture and helps to assure its continuity.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
−IDENTITY, TRADITION AND
ARCHITECTURE
−CULTURAL STUDIES OF
ARCHITECTURAL SPACE
− JOURNAL PSYCHOLOGY− BY CARL
GIBSON ˘ MARCH−2011−
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