Building & Context II

Contextual are always importance for architect applied in architecture design , the design of context based on the local needs, availability of construction materials, traditional and culture of local and also the visual aesthetics.

In 20th century , architecture are famous about how to blend the building into the site , they are more into physical of the architecture. The context are for them is just study about the historical of site , physical condition of site ,contour, weather and function to applied to their study . But In 21st century , there are not only refer of pysical thing , every generation change will world evolve , now we also reflect of the environmental , technological , economic,political, and social in context.

“We must take great care to select a very temperate climate for the site of our city, since healthfulness is, as we have said, the first requisite.”

By Marcus Vitruvius.

“That aesthetic and space are the essential factor, compared relationship between public and private space, as well as exterior public and interior public space. Besides, they saw cities as “archetypes” rather than “prototypes”.

By Venturi

“Context” was the absolute importance of the historical continuity manifested by the city and existing in the minds of its occupants.”

By Roger & Forty

FALLING WATER

A great example of contextual architecture in the past is the well-known Fallingwater by the famous Frank Lloyd Wright. His first intention was to design an extraordinary house that redefined the relationship between man, architecture, and nature. Built in the year of 1939, Wright wanted to create harmony between man and nature, and his integration of the house with the waterfall was successful in doing so. The house was meant to complement its site while still competing with the drama of the falls and their endless sounds of crashing water. As we can see, in the past the context of architecture is an important factor that allows the building to somehow blends in to its surrounding by having similar characteristics that are implemented architecturally into the design of a building.

From Falling Water case study , we can knew that ,in 20 century context are famous in blending the building into the site , it study a lot about the the site context are using material surrounding the site . We can see that Falling Water is actually try to hide itself into landscape , in the concept of Falling Water , the vertical part is presenting the tree , the horizontal part is presenting the landscape the most interesting part is Falling Water blend itself into a waterfall , it like showing the architecture itself is actually belong to the site .

Città della Scienza Masterplan Predicts Future of Self-Sustaining Cities

Taking direction from the remaining aspects of the military district, the urban ecosystem grows from the existing infrastructure, nodding to the site’s past while making it livable for today’s occupants. The empty shells of its industrial history are fitted with updated amenities, transforming the buildings into diverse lofts. Similarly, the existing paths are made into a usable network through the insertion of public areas organized on a grid, systematizing the layout of the entire site.

In order to maintain a balance of public and private spaces, the city compartmentalizes its functions. Although both the residential and commercial activities define the perimeter of the site, the residences maintain their intimacy by their distance from the commercial activities, occupying opposing sides and sitting back from the main street for ensured privacy. Each of the buildings explores the notion of public-private through the rooftop orchards, which provide an element of seclusion even within the public spaces.

The extensive use of trees throughout the rooftops and balconies not only beautifies the district, but aids in its self-sufficiency. These communal gardens provide residents with self-renewing sources of food, helping to locally produce the city’s necessities. Additionally, these orchards provide extraordinary environmental benefits, including CO2 filtration and harmful particulate removal, for a healthier atmosphere.

Sustainable practices are further pursued through both passive strategies and technology. Simple moves, such as natural daylighting and a rainwater retention and recycling system, have significant impacts on preserving resources. Other sustainable strides are made through photovoltaic electricity production, a hybridized lighting system with integrated wind turbines, and hot water production through solar tubes.

Additionally, the urban ecosystem is pedestrian-oriented, placing its functions within walking distance of each other for ease of access. All cars are kept outside the living space to mitigate the harmful emissions, providing underground car parks beneath the city.

From 21st century case study , we can see that , context no only consider with physical condition , it also consider with the human activities, the human need , economic , technological , and social need . For me , it's also an iconic design , in technology today ,being iconic not as hard as previous generation ,and it let the architecture more hierarchy in public.

In a nutshell, I think the context for both contemporary architecture and architecture of century ago are of the same important. In other hand ,in every generation ,context are always importance to the architect , we can't forgot but make it evolve , we bring in new concept , new idea about the context but we still need to consider about the physical condition . The world is running , Social and human are changing , so i think architecture can't stop in one century ,it have to evolve ,same as context based on the social , economic , technology change , the context will also evolve to become better and better but not degenerate.