Case Study of Architect Christopher Lee

Undertaking Speculating Architecture IntroductionThis undertaking attempts to convey an apprehension of architect’s architectural theory through a direct observation and analysis of his ego and edifices. Architecture and urban signifiers in relation to architectural theories is discussed in the undermentioned authorship. The relationship between architecture and its societal, cultural and rational context is besides analyzed and critiqued in the authorship to construe the architect’s architecture in relation to relevant theories within the modern-day. Architect Christopher Lee is selected to discourse his architecture in relation with theories. He is the co-founder of Serie Architects, taking his design squad in London, Mumbai and Beijing together with his spouse Kapil Gupta, doing a grade for him all over the universe. He is a really experient international pattern based in London and has interesting working experience in his life of being a successful designer. His house involved in different undertaking all over the universe. Some representative plants of them include The Tote in India, BMW Olympic Pavilion in London, the Monsoon Club installing in United State and Yan ZhenQing Museum in China. Among Chris Lee’s popular plants, Aarvli Resort is selected to analyze and analyse its theories of architecture. Aarvli Resort is a 9000sqm Eco-resort, located within the Konkan seashore, the western coastline country of India. It is a new belongings of India by an International group of Resort, Formento Resorts. The sensitive design on the typography is the chief topographic point of this resort. The resort is presently afoot as of last month of building.ClimateAarvli resort, an Eco-resort, has designed responsively to the local clime of Goa, India. Goa, the smallest province in India by country, enjoys a tropical monsoon clime under the Koppen clime categorization that features a hot and humid conditions for most of the twelvemonth with two distinguishable seasons, the dry season and the monsoon season. As to plan the construction closely follow the contours of its mountain-side scene, the edifice has a compelling curvilineal program. The longitudinal lift of edifice is orientated to East and West to acquire the maximal usage of natural visible radiation. Due to its curvilineal signifier, the lifts of edifice are every bit exposed to maximum sunshine. However, Chris Lee has efficaciously uses the nature elements on site to minimise the heat addition to its edifice. Vegetation on site has shaded non merely the lift of edifice, it provides greenery position towards the suites and public infinites of the resort, gives merger of interior and exterior. Effective usage of courtyards and fanlight within the curvilinear program besides introduces indirect visible radiation into interior infinite, increases the light quality of infinites. The staggered placement of undulating landscape roof plane provides shadowing for lower rooftops and cut down solar addition, insulates from internal heat lose. Goa goes through the monsoon season at the center of twelvemonth, June till September. The degree of critical tropical conditions is reduced particularly July which the metropolis gets non more than three hours of sunshine per twenty-four hours. The metropolis receives maximal rainfall throughout the twelvemonth and pushes humidness up. The smooth curve signifier program which portion of the roof merged into the landscape equipped the roof with ‘nature gutter’ , reassigning the rain H2O flow to landscape environing during this season, with the aid of proper drainage system every bit good. Plants of green roof besides act as H2O soaking up every bit good as humid soaking up during this moisture and humid season of Goa. The typography of Maharashtra Coastal creates the phenomena of land and sea zephyr. Chris Lee has deliberated this natural phenomenon into his design. Round courtyard is designed to pull sea zephyr from west lift, unfastened pool and landscape to air out the edifice during twenty-four hours clip. Curve signifier of roof designed follows the air current motion to guarantee land zephyr ventilates the inside through courtyards during dark clip.Theories: Critical RegionalismIn Critical Analysis of â€Å"Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points for an Architecture of Resistance, the 5th point indicated civilization versus nature: Topography, Context, Climate, Light and Tectonic Form.â€Å"Critical regionalism should follow modern architecture, critically, for its cosmopolitan progressive qualities but at the same clip value should be placed on the geographical context of the building† ( Frampton, 1981 )Emphasis, Frampton ( 1981 ) says,should be on topography, clime, visible radi ation ; on tectonic signifier instead than on scenography and should be on the sense of touch instead than ocular sense. In footings of civilization, the acceptance of local architecture layout has demonstrated in the planning of Aarvli Resort. In India traditional house Nakarattar house has inner and outer suites in the center of the program surrounded with few courtyards. Chris Lee imitates the similar form, Numberss of private invitee suites are planned together with an unfastened dining courtyard within a round layout of planning. Similar to Aarvli Town Hall, it is influenced by both Finnish slang architecture and the humanist Italian Renaissance. Aalto drew inspiration for the courtyard agreement in his edifice layout surrounded with the elevated courtyard. Building characteristics has been study to discourse on how these edifice designs has incorporated the civilization with its nature and environment. As Goa receives tropical weather’s which most of the months are exposed to sunlight, the acceptance of local architecture which courtyards and fanlights are features to present indirect sunshine into the enclosed inside. Enclosed private suites are planned in between the edifice to avoid direct heat addition from the conditions. While Saynatsalo town house located at Finland receives 4 seasons, Aalto has sufficient usage of fanlight to better the inside light quality during winter. â€Å"But underneath signifiers in all ages were certain conditions which determined the. In them allows all human spirit in agreement with which they came to be ; and where the signifiers were true signifiers, they will be found to be organic signifiers – an branch, in other words, of conditions of life and work they arose to express†Wright ( 1910 ) wrote on a monograph of his work published in Germany. Aarvli Resort defined as organic architecture non merely of its unstable signifier and curvilineal program, but besides on how the construction allows certain activities to take topographic point within in and around the environment of it. In-filled roof of Aarvli Resort looks like the construction is portion of the landscape. Chris Lee presents his edifice in wave-like sort of signifier as to unify context to the dramatically typography of Maharashtra. Chris Lee has sensitively taken consideration of nature context in footings of the circulation planning of the edifice . He plans that all public infinites include anteroom, dining country, and out-of-door activities are planned at ‘outer layer’ of the resort program to guarantee all infinites are surrounded by nature context, the flora and coastal. He wants to stress the interaction of nature with the inside, leting circulation to take topographic point in and around it. The Saynatsalo Town Hall by Alvar Aalto, is declared as organic architecture as good yet the edifice are purely rectilineal composings. The composing of Saynatsalo town house is performed in the manner of perpendicular and horizontal, following the verticalness of wooded hillside of Saynatsalo. He planned the private infinites, the flats, into the wooded hillside of Saynatsalo which does non let effectual circulation but provide good position to abodes of level. At the same clip public infinites include town hall, stores, and library are placed towards land land which provide equal circulation. Puting of courtyard as C entre of program besides provides public circulation within private territory. In comparison, both designers have planned the infinites respectfully with site typology. 2.3 Design Strategy: Typography Aarvli Resort is designed utilizing an advanced program that makes the construction blend in respectfully with the environing natural environment without giving the spacial qualities that allow visitants to bask their stay to the upper limit. Curvilineal circulation spinal column is used to specify a series of public and private infinite. As discussed in subject before, Chris Lee has take consideration of nature context into its circulation planning in the manner that public infinites surrounded by nature context and private infinites are placed in between to pull people to public infinites. The crystalline development of nature and construction offer the smooth experience of inside and outside to appreciate the natural environment. Round courtyards are designed as shaded dining and diversion country at the same clip blended with verdant hills to the E and South, conveying nature into the spaces.Sea-facing swimming pools and H2O characteristics allocated towards Arabian Sea allows bird's-eye positions, creates the feeling of eternity pool. Green smooth-curvy roof is designed to synthesise the construction into contour of site, besides supplying better insularity and cut down heat addition. Due to the geographical status of Maharashtra Coastal, air current motions are different during twenty-four hours and dark, the land and sea zephyr. Design schemes have been carefully considered to to the full use the zephyr for both twenty-four hours and dark clip to air out the edifice. To acquire the maximal usage of sea zephyr during twenty-four hours clip, unfastened landscape and pools at the forepart of the resort, confronting towards Arabian Sea allows cool air to flux through the edifice. No constructions are built at the front lift to avoid any obstruction of air flow. Round unfastened dining courtyard at the dorsum of the edifice allows venturi consequence to air out the edifice efficaciously from forepart to back. On the other manus, land zephyr from hills draws into edifice throught the smooth curvey signifier of rooftop landscape into the courtyards and to better airing of interior infinites during dark clip. The maestro usage of nature airing has fulfilled its demand a s an Eco-resort.DiscussionAs Chris Lee travels a batch and educated in different cultural background since immature, he learnt that it is of import that architecture be at the same time relevant to its urban context, cultural and geographical status into his design. Together with the define of organic architecture of Wright, Chris Lee has demonstrated the 5th point of critical regionalism, civilization versus nature, follow cultural context and appreciate the natural environment together following modern architecture in most of his work design. In an statement of Chris Lee publication â€Å" Typological Urbanism† , he argue that â€Å"as metropoliss owe their chief characteristic to geographical and topographical conditions, and are ever linked to other metropoliss by trade and resources, they tend to specialise and organize a distinguishable character.† The usage of an advanced program in Aarvli Resort allows the creative activity of a edifice that is extremely respec tful of its sensitive natural context but that besides enjoys distinguishable spacial qualities that will do it a premium finish in the part ( Furuto, 2012 ) . Including the undertaking of Aarvli Resort that he adapted local civilization, he has lead his design squad, Serie Architect, in state of UK, India and China, planing non merely edifices and besides urban be aftering mentioning on the metropoliss characteristic and context. He ever make that his edifice are able to reflect the common architecture in a modern-day manner.â€Å"A metropolis is an accumulation of the accomplishments and battles of its citizens in reinforced signifier. This must be made seeable in an architecture that acts as an inclusive framework†described Chris Lee ( 2011 ) in his article â€Å"My sort of City† . He extremely appreciates the distinctive of the metropolis and translates the linguistic communication into his construction, stating the narrative of non merely the client, besides the n ature and metropolis, giving a perfect combination of these factors and linguistic communications in his work. As decision, Chris Lee theory of design is to interpret the common linguistic communication into his design and interpret it into a modern and modern-day manner of design at the same clip appreciate the typography as factor of his design. His design can be conclude that he has demonstrated the theory of civilization versus nature direct and indirectly with his ain definition of modern-day manner of design. 4.0 Mention Furuto, Alison. â€Å" Aarvli Resort / Serie Architects † 02 Nov 2012.ArchDaily. Accessed 18 Jun 2014. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.archdaily.com/ ? p=284569 Designboom ( 1999-2012 ) . Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.designboom.com/copyright/ Serie Architect. ( 2012 ) â€Å"Aarvli Estates† Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.serie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/SerieArchitects-Aarvli-Estates-20121108.pdf Lee, C. ( June 2011 ) â€Å"My sort of city† . Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.architecturetoday.co.uk/ ? p=16420 Davies, Colin ( 2011 ) . Thinking about Architecture An Introduction to Architectural Theory. Laurence King Publishing, London. Jacoby, S. , & A ; Lee, C. M. ( 2011 ) .Typological urbanism: projective metropoliss / guest-edited by Christopher CM Lee and Sam Jacoby. Chichester: Wiley, 2011. Kate, N. 1997. Speculating a New Agenda for Architecture: An Anthology of Architectural Theory 1965-1995. Princeton Architectural Press. New York. Frampton, K. â€Å"Towards a critical regionalism: Six Points for An Architectural of Resistance† . Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //ahameri.com/cv/Courses/CU/Arch % 20in % 20Theory/Frampton.pdf Case Study of Architect Christopher Lee THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM 1.0 Introduction Christopher Lee is an immigrant designer from Malaysia. He was born and raised in Taiping Perak. He graduated with AA Diplona ( honours ) from AA. Lee completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture and Urbanism from the Berlage Institute and TU Delft. His favourite designers are Rem Koolhaas, Kazuo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. Chris Lee is the laminitis of SERIE ARCHITECTS based in London with his spouse Kapil Gupta. The house ‘s undertakings now span all over the universe with committees in India, China, Eastern Europe and United Kingdom. SERIE is known for their theoretical position that emphasizes the survey of edifice typologies and their development. The selected edifice to be discuss in this paper is Yan ZhenQing Museum which located in Linyi, Shandong Province, China. The museum is set on a hilly site with 8,265 square metre in Linyi. Yan ZhenQing was an of import calligraphist during eighth century who lived in Shandong Province in China. The museum house a aggregations of the calligraphist ‘s plants. In his calligraphic book has strong kernel of perpendicular element.The designer use the local civilization and the calligraphist ‘s character into the architecture. The purpose of this paper was to analyse the external contributing factors that affect in design schemes of the museum and its theories of architecture that applied in the design. The impact of clime, theories and societal civilization towards the edifice were investigated through a series of diagrams. 2.0 ANAYSIS 2.1 Climate Linyi has seasonal fluctuation clime with overheating hot, humid summer and underheating cold, dry winter. The clime affects constructing orientation, size and place of fenestration and facade stuffs. Yan ZhenQing Museum is placed on a series of three patios that rise somewhat above the topography that merged closely with the terrain of site. Each degree of patio contain marquees that placed following to each other along the terrain to minimise the E and west facade country in order to cut down the heat addition during the hot summer season. When the marquees are set following to each other, shaded countries are created between the passage infinites so the visitants feel more confidant with the environing landscape. At the exhibition marquees, the aggregations of artefacts are protected from direct sunshine. The solution is to make high ceiling with fanlights for the marquees to present natural daytime indirectly. The fanlights are unfastened up at the West like a paper tossing up from the surface. The daylight strength inside the edifice will alter throughout the twenty-four hours when the place of the Sun changed to enrich the poetic feeling in the museum. The marquees are largely cover up with solid wall with merely a few gaps. This is to forestall heat loss during the winter clip. The agreement of the marquees in a random mode like turn overing dies have high potency to capture more air current. Besides, it allows more air current to flux through the surrounding from multitude way. In comparing, edifice blocks that arranged in bunch mode restricted the air current to flux around the marquees. The marquees rise somewhat harmonizing to the topography besides helps to maximise the air current gaining control during summer as they did non blocked by opposite marquees. 2.2 SOCIAL CULTURE The interior layout of Yan ZhenQing Museum strongly reflects the ancient Chinese penmanship composing. The infinites were divided orderly into a grid mode even the orientation of the marquees do non emphasis on the orderly subject of the Chinese penmanship composing. Yan ZhenQing ‘s calligraphic book besides composed in a regular book. The designer wants to make a minimalist infinite with a simple layout to heighten the focal point on artefacts within a infinite. The exhibition hall can be define as a pure content and clear boundary line infinite with soft natural illuming from fanlight which allow the visitants to prosecute with the aggregations of art plants in a more poetic feeling. Furthermore, the reading subject of Chinese book besides influence the circulation of the museum. The Chinese books are read from right to go forth. So, the museum ‘s human circulation flow besides tour the visitants from the right to the left and across the marquees. The marquees were desi gned into a perfect square to reflect the Chinese regular book which is wrote in a regular column. The frontage of the marquees are fluted in a perpendicular manner to make a rhythmic form which similar to the calligraphic book perpendicular sequence. The form besides comparable to the traditional Chinese houses ceramic roofing tiles to offer a more cultural ambient to the museum. The spacial planning of the museum besides similar to the traditional Chinese Scholar ‘s Garden and Chinese Courtyard House which the most private infinites and cherished objects are ever placed at the deepest terminal of the edifice. In a bookman ‘s garden, an entryway hall for welcoming the visitants is the most public topographic point and following by several marquees and gardens before reach the heavenly hall. Celestial hall is a sacred topographic point that carry out ceremonial related to the sky or Eden. For the Chinese courtyard house, chief room was located at the deepest terminal of the house whereas the amah ‘s suites are placed at the. Yan ZhenQing museum besides apply the same rule by puting the artefacts at the last patio of marquees to tag it as the most of import topographic point in the museum. Ancient Chinese urban planning besides planned in a grid system and use same spacial planning. Imperial castle was placed at the in-between terminal of the metropolis and surrounded with the citizen with the separation of streets. In Yan ZhenQing museum, colonnade act as the threshold that connect the marquees and the gardens. In traditional bookman ‘s garden, marquees besides joint with colonnade to move as a threshold to link a infinite to another new infinite. The planning of the museum has adopted many local traditional civilization into the architecture. 2.3 Theory Critical regionalism provides architecture that meet the footings with modern and tradition. Chinese architecture has strong influenced by local civilisation particularly when planing museum. From the overview of Yan ZhenQing museum, particularly from the program of the undertaking, the construct of the museum someway similar to the traditional Chinese courtyard house. Traditional Chinese courtyard house had a front courtyard before come ining the secondary gate and a chief courtyard located in the center of the house to move as public infinite for the large unit. The courtyard becomes a infinite that nexus and keep the secondary infinites together as a whole construction. Yan ZhenQing museum has several courtyard gardens to emphasize the construct of local civilization. The courtyard gardens are set in between the marquees to work as public infinite for the visitants. The traditional courtyard house was walled to hold privateness and security intent. Yan ZhenQing Museum besides fram ed up by the long colonnades to give a clear boundary to the site. Yan ZhenQing Museum is nestled among the hills far off from the pandemonium of turning cities. In sing the harmonious of nature, the museum was designed in straightforward signifier to keep a cloistered quality, to intermix with the environing landscape. The marquees are rise somewhat following the terrain to do it look likes a portion of the landscape, set on the same plane with the terrain. The edifice ever has a clear boundary that lifts the edifice from the landscape to handle the edifice as a landscape and the feeling of walking along a garden way. Traditional monastery and garden besides nested far off from the bustle metropolis to accomplish a healing and brooding topographic point. Yan ZhenQing Museum besides has a great influence by modern architecture manner. The construct of the museum besides accent on the perpendicular and horizontal elements. The long colonnades that framed the marquees show a series of horizontal boxes from the program position. The extraneous form of the marquees has a really straightforward with its stuffs used with 90 grade at each borders. The marquees merely clad with ceramic tiles to convey out simpleness of the edifice that coherent with the echt aggregations of Yan ZhenQing calligraphic book which displayed in the marquees. Other than that, the intent of merely utilizing one stuff is to stand out the exhibit work instead than overpowering the infinite by the architecture. The frontages pattern mimicked the bold perpendicular shot of calligraphic book, and the roof line of the marquees and colonnades accent on light horizontal elements to equilibrate the nature. The frontage of the marquees are really simple and clear with its borders. Modern architecture stress on the simpleness of signifiers and extinguish unneeded item on the edifice. The combine of signifiers into beautiful wholes is one definition of architecture. ( Colin Davies,2011 ) . The museum was called as a whole constructing merely with including the courtyards and colonnades. The plans of the museum was collected by courtyards and colonnades. Visitors will travel through these courtyards both horizontally and vertically. The response and stores of the museum are located at the lowest patio, and the visitants will travel up to a patio with instruction and public installations, and make the exhibitions at the top degree. The colonnades serve as the chief circulation of the edifice and besides as a threshold for each marquees. When the visitants move along the colonnades, it show the horizontal circulation whereas when the visitants move from courtyard to courtyard, it is foregrounding on perpendicular motion. In another position, the museum is broke down into several blocks and arrange on different axes instead than a individual block like general museum. The gardens are enclosed within the asymmetrical infinites between the extraneous marquees, the program of the museum show the deconstructivism architecture. The fragment agreement leting the nature to contrast with architecture. The architecture of the museum is to show its withdrawal in the landscape and bordering the nature as a mention point on the site. The interior exhibition infinites besides divided into smaller extraneous infinites. When the marquees are shifted at different angle, the visitants come ining a new marquee from another marquee will experience new to the infinite as it is non a common agreement like the old one. Most of the exhibition suites are designed with high ceiling with fanlight, lit up the room with soft natural sunshine. The place of the interior sunshine beams besides varies. The in-between marquee has a b righter room if comparison to the another two next marquees. The fanlight of the in-between marquees are confronting straight to the eventide Sun. The design purpose is to offer the visitant a more broad screening of the work displayed with different angle of natural visible radiations and shadows. The overall scene of the marquees create a more poetic ambiance to the museum by deconstructivism architecture. 3.0 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION The purpose of this paper is to analyse the factors that affect the architecture of Yan ZhenQing Museum. The clime of the site affects the design of the edifice in footings of edifice orientation and fenestration. Sunlight is the most critical impact that impacting the design of the edifice. Skylights are used alternatively of window due to the protection of the aggregations in the marquees. The museum in China might portion the same features with other edifice, but architect demands to understand the civilization of the local context, and use the construct suitably with grounds. Christopher Lee says, â€Å"That is, you take the most common and do them special.†