CONTEXT AND BUILDING

What is the role of context in architecture today? Is context predominantly a physical, social, economic, or political issue; some combination of these; or something else?

This week I will be writing about context in architecture. To start it off, I would like to set and draw the line between symbolism in architecture and context in architecture. Symbolism lends itself to describe architecture with a strong degree of personification or with allusions to cultural ideas, historical references, and other pre-Modernist themes, or in which there were visual jokes, puns, and mnemonic motifs.

While context, in today’s architecture, derives itself from different elements from the environment of the built environment, on both large and small scale. They include physical and non-physical elements. With large scale non-physical elements playing a vital role, such as politics, weather, culture and economic. Physical elements include surrounding roads, building and land contour. With the above, a rich connection can be created between the occupants and surrounding users of the built environment. The pre-requisite of context also harness relationship between environment and the built environment.

In my view, context is an amalgation of physical, social, economic and political issue, as the aforementioned categories, all plays an indefinite role in our lives.

The prime example I would like to highlight for this argument is none other than our very own Petronas Towers, or more locally renowned as KLCC.

The original intention of having a skyscraper (twin skyscraper) of such stature in our country is to fulfil the vision of the country (Vision 2020), which is to propel our country to greater heights of international recognition as a fully developed country.

The above notion rings very much true, especially in the standing view from field of politics and economy. Politically, the Petronas Towers cements Malaysia as a politically stable country, a country that shows huge growth back then (90’s) and never allowing politics to hinder the progress of the country.

In the economy aspect, the Petronas Towers was built in an unfortunate time where the depression of the South East Asia region is prominent. However, the completion of the Twin Towers was a sign to attract foreign investors into the country as is a rapidly growing nation.

At that time of completion, the Petronas Towers plays it’s role seamlessly as it attracts not just foreign attention but also locally. On a local level of view, it spurred the local economy even with depression looming. Property and development around and in the city centre was seeing waves of positive impact brought on by its completion.

On the cultural point of view, the architect of the Twin Towers, Cesar Pelli, ideally chosen a modernism approach to the towers to align itself with the vision of the country. However the layouts of the building shows the architect integrated the country’s formal religion, Islam, into the design of the towers.

The pinnacles were more than just the finishing touches to the height of the towers, made up from the main components: the spire, mast ball and ring ball, they play the essential element to the overall Islamic minaret design that the towers embody.

The floor plans also embodies Islamic pattern, Rub el Hizb, an eight pointed star symbol in Islam, which ends up shaping the towers at the base and all the way up horizontally.

Development of the Tower 1 Level 43 floor plan form a Rub el Hizb symbol.

There is a quote from Jane Jacobs where she claims;

“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and

only when, they are created by everybody.”

That is why the Petronas Towers is a context rich building as it revolves itself in so much aspects in the vision, and both political, economic climate and local culture of its country of origin, Malaysia.

It has since become the face and symbol of international recognition for the country, while catering a next-generation amenities for its own people for decades to come. It has undoubtedly lifted the lifestyle standards, with the spawn of side projects derived from the Petronas Towers, which is Suria KLCC, KLCC Park and the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Suria KLCC and KLCC Park