Heidegger's Thinking on Architecture

The article is about Heidegger's thinking on architecture from a philosophical view. He see that architecture did not portray anything but is presenting the environment or the surrounding, it make the surrounding visible to people. Heidegger use a Greek temple as example where the God are not inside the temple, whereas the architecture or the building itself make people feel like the God are inside.I agree in this, because in my opinion, architecture itself is a 'tool' for an architect or builder to visualize the environment or the surrounding landscape with a design or construction of work. The building standing within a space or an environment will bend with the surrounding and at the same time bring the nature environment close to human.

Heidegger also said that architecture is an art of work. Ya, for me, its true that architecture is a work of art and where it is a combination of design and work / construction. As an architect, we have to study not only the requirement of an space, but we also need to study about the nature of the surrounding space where we to consider whether our design will bend with the environment or not. In this point, for me, a concept of a building is not abstract, design itself is abstract by mean of, when we design a building / an architecture work in a area or site, we need something to be our inspiration, that what i mean as concept because we cannot simply design something which is not suitable to our site. But, we can show our concept by abstracting it in our design.

Next, Heidegger said that architecture is a 'bridge' or an 'equipment' which visualize the man environment, for example, 'a bridge gathers the earth as landscape around the stream.' i agree with him because an architecture's work will bring the surrounding environment come into presence to the people. for example, the Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright, the building at the falling water had increase the presence of the surrounding environment where the building had match with the surrounding.

The next thing is language. Heidegger see that language actually is 'tool' or way to express the sense of art or architecture. In my opinion, language is a way for us, as human besides to communicate with each other, its also a tool for us get to learn and to know things, the things here is architecture. If without language, we wouldn't know the important parts of a buildings, the relationship between the joints, and also the materials been used. Language have opened up our knowledge and understanding of not just architecture. but also the world.In simple, architecture bring the landscape out.

On the other hands, Heidegger also saying that architecture bring the landscape to man where an architecture will make the surrounding landscape to be realized. In my opinion, architecture makes human life takes places in an inhabited area or environment where the landscape comes into the vision of human. Architecture are also creating a place out of a space at the same time creating a space out of a place for human to dwell in. For example, architecture created a temple in a space for human to pray to the God whereas the space enclose inside serve as a space for God and human to communicate with.

In conclusion, architecture is a 'tool' or 'equipment' for human to realize or visualize the nature environment where these two elements rely to each other.

"The Concept of Place"

"The Concept of Place" is the topic for us to study and critique as this week tutorial's issue. There are so many argument being discuss in the essay from different view of different experts in their field, not just in psychologically but also in architecturally. Place, in my view, its mean to describe the human environment such as their house, cities and country which is somethings that we can see through our eye, its a physical things. From Edward Relph (1976: 30) "asserts that place has a physical form, i.e. landscape"(https://oa.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/2804/033.html) and also "The concept of 'place' as approached by a strictly scientific manner could be reduced to a mere spatial concept. It would thus mean 'a location in space'" (https://oa.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/2804/032.html).

In the essay there're been said that now we can lives in a more mobile life with some fantasy project such as Walking City by Ron Herron(1964) and the New Babylon by Dutch utopian Constant Nieuwenhuis which will maximize the human contact and interaction. They claimed that the essence of the city is not place but interaction. These mean that the importance in a place is the interaction between the people which stay inside it not the place which they live in. But in my view, as human, we need a stable place to live because human being are emotional where our frame of mind will alway change from time to time and it will affect our behavior. Human behavior is the population of behaviors exhibited by humans and influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, values, ethics, authority, rapport, hypnosis, persuasion, coercion and/or genetics.According to Humanism, each human has a different behavior.(From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_behavior).

Next, how to we get to know place? In the essay saying that, as summarize from the

psychological view, human get to a place when they are in young age, which mean by

perception of image into their memory(conservation) and start to adapt new place through out life

experience. And, concept of space not just affected by human's behavior / actions, but its controlled

/ conquered by human action. I'm agree with this term / thesis because human are the decision

maker to a place by what he want / need and how he want the place to looking like because the

place he planned / arranged will affect his action in the place.

Another thing is the way people plan the place is not done randomly or in a casual way, its

has a pattern which work with it. Ya, this is right because when we plan something on to a place, we

will take the possibilities of movement into our consideration. For example, we divided living room

and bathroom into 2 different space because we do different activities in it.

From architectural view, in my opinion, place actually is a "tool" for an architect or planner to

put in a structure to modify / make it into a useful layout / environment. Nature of a place may

satisfy our needs but its still up to our creativity and intelligence to develop it further which make

it useful to us. Architectural are also make use of a place to divide it into certain part which

differentiate it into exterior and interior part of the place. This will be served as a guid to the user /

human who using the place.

In conclusion, a place needed an image-able structure which will offer the identities of the

place and its have to be a valid house, cities or country (a stable place) for us which give structure

to our place and make us to be citizen of the world.

"Minority Report"

At the beginning of the movie, to be honest i really don't know what the movie is about as those actors are speaking too fast for me(maybe its because the movie is shown without the subtitle below). The movie started in the world in year 2054 (wow! its over 40 years from now). A world with full of superb-advanced technology surrounded where there is a government department so called Pre-crime(I called it PCD in short) department lead by the Chief John Anderson. In simple, the duty of the department is to catch or to arrest any criminal before they start off any crime in the city. It something like prevent crime before the crime is really happened.

The most impressive part of the movie is when the agent from the PCD looking for John in the apartments he was hiding. They check whole civilians's identity in the particular apartment by using their little tiny insect like agents (actually its a insect like machine). The insect like machine agents are so clever where they even can find an alternative way to check anyone who try to run away just like what John did. The technology used/created in such a way so that human can fully depends on robot / machine to do work for us and make our life easier.

On the other hand, the unimpressive part of the movie when John find himself in the Pre-Crime incidents where he saw himself in the killing scene at the monitor. There is not clear explanation why and how he will be set up by his boss. This part make me confused.

The film happened in the years of 2054 where the technology are becoming so so advanced where people are fully rely on machine / robots in their life. The main plot of the movie is to take control of the future or in other word is to prevent any bad incident before its really happened, so its needed such superb-advanced world to do that. In my opinion, i think they are definitely fit in such a way.

Next, the intention of the movie is to show that we can decide our future and make decision in our life, not try to control our future by overstep God's job. If we intends to do so and sure we can make it. For me the message / intention is only partly successful in this movie where there are still need some improvement where the story should be better and clearer explanation.

Finally, i think movie like these surely have an impact of design thinking where we know that we need to work according to the steps rather than hoping that we will get a great design easily.

My Story

The last time i wrote about myself or my story is when i still in my primary school. So when i want to start writing it again, it really taken some of my time to think how i get it started.Okay, let get it started now.

My name is Pang King Siang, you can call me King Siang or in simple just Alan is enough. I'm from Segamat, Johor. I finished my Diploma in Tunku Abdul Rahman College(I've taken Diploma in Building Architecture) in 2008 and worked in Singapore for 13 months before i continue my studies in UCSI. During my childhood, i like to draw and coloring so much as my mum even send me to the drawing class every weekend when i was 13 years old.The moment i get interested in architecture design was when i having my secondary school trip to UPM where i have visited their architecture course(forgotten it is architecture / landscape course). During the trip, i was so admire with the student's work and designs.

The reason why i choose the architecture as my field is because i think that this is a field with the combination of art and design(i LOVE art and design). For me, architecture is a place where we can express our aspiration of art into the buildings design and it can last forever just like the 7 wonders around the world which are still standing even after thousand of years. Another reason why i choose architecture as my field after i finished my secondary school is because it was 1 of the most important/popular jobs in 10 years times.

My best experience in studying architecture is i can do the things i like, design, drawing and coloring. While the bad experiences in studying architecture is my original design keep rejected and change by lecturer and i have to do a lot of alteration for every final design assignment.My best habit throughout my studies is i like to share my idea to my friends even though lecturer alway say that we are competitors among ourself. But i'll be very happy if my idea is helpful. While the bad habits in my studies is the last minutes works where i often do and finish my assignment at last minutes sometimes i finished it by doing it overnight without sleeping.

Last but not least, what really keep me going with this(failed my design last semester)? hmm...i really come out with this before...i think it probably is my persistent to art and design which keep my on with it....and of course the money i borrowed from PTPTN and my mum keep me going on with it until i finish my degree as soon as possible. :P