THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE DESIGN
PROLOGUE
F O R M A N D F U N C T I O N
“Form and function thus become one in design and execution if nature of materials and method and purpose are all in unison” by Frank L. Wright. What I like about what Frank L. Wright said that is form and function are as one in design, they can’t run away from each other but that is the old type of form and function. What about now? How form and function are related to each other?
FORM AND FUNCTION RELATIONSHIP
What is the relationship between form and function over the lifespan of an architectural work? I choose Sekeping Victoria by SEKSAN as my topic for this because I think that every Sekeping SEKSAN did has a relationship with adaptive reuse. In terms of adaptive reuse, I like how he reuse the spaces that was meant to be, for example, from an original building of a house in the 80s, he transform the spaces inside by making the ground floor to a cafe.
First and foremost, purpose of the building before sekeping victoria suppose to be a abandoned building but after SEKSAN take it over for a project, he tries to remain the form of the building but creating different kind of function of spaces inside. This is similar to what Peter Eisenman said “And as the functions became more complex, the ability to manifest pure type-form eroded” meaning the more function are implemented the form starts to deteriorate. From my perspective, I think that SEKSAN doesnt really care about what form that comes in mind, he always go from function of space to form. So from the Sekeping Victoria, it could be seen that form of the old building remains but he change the functionality inside.
He creates a coffee bar with 2 spaces hidden, what I found out is there is natural light that give a good feeling and another half that gives a chill feeling. In this coffee bar, what normal people see will be a coffee bar function as a coffee bar but spaces that have two function are inside there. This is like what Richard Hill mention that in 1950s, when open-plan design combined with “home bases”replaced an array of seperate classrooms. The meaning to this is saying that by open floor plan function of the spaces changes, from a small classroom change to maybe a crowded lecture or a sports complex.
After he build Sekeping Victoria, there is a canteen that wants to merge with the building. So before the canteen make it into the building the spaces on the right is just merely space for people to gather or maybe it isn’t functioning at first. After the canteen merge in, it creates a opportunity for function to evolve from space for people to gather change to a more complex for them to relax or maybe have lunch and enjoy the spatial quality.
Lastly, about his uses of material, he reuse back raw materials such as concrete, steel and timber, but for Sekeping Victoria he did not touch the wall that is connected to the next shop lot. It shows respect and creates a function out of it when light hit the wall. What I experience with the concrete wall that it creates a function for people to take photos of it or maybe enjoy the aesthetics of the wall. Sometimes, replacing something isn’t the best way to solve the problem, more to adapt and reuse.