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Volume II
Poetics of Emptiness Redefining the 21st Century Alun-Alun in Semarang
Siti Nur Farah Binte Sheikh Ismail
A/P Erik L’ Heureux Advisor
Case Studies
Acknowledgements In the name of Allah,The Most Gracious,The Most Merciful. All praises and thanks belong to Allah, God of the worlds. May Peace and salutations of Allah be on the leader of all leaders, the pride of all of creation, our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and on his family, companions and all those who follow in their footsteps in excellence. This volume is the product of the concept and design explorations that was done throughout the semester. The processes before arriving to the final design of the thesis seeks to provide a better understanding and a refined direction for the final output. To my family members, especially my mother, thank you for your unwavering support throughout my final year.Your love for me for the past 24 years and all the prayers that you sent to Him are the reasons that I am where I am today. I would like to thank Associate Professor Erik L’Heureux for his guidance and knowledge from the day I first embarked on my thesis journey. Thank you for always giving us the push we needed and for having confidence in our work. To my Teh Beng Squad - Amanda and Fawwaz - thank you for always giving me the motivation when I was at my lowest. The both of you have helped me in so many ways and I am immensely thankful to have companions like you to go through the thesis journey together. Finally, this thesis is dedicated to my late father whose love has been keeping me going through all the critical times during this period. I hope you’re proud of where I am today. This piece is for you.
Contents
Design Narrative Poetics of Emptiness
Poetics of Emptiness Site Plan Axonometric Drawing Worm’s Eye Drawing Sectional Perspective
Visuals
Renders
Design Process Process Drawings Idea Exploration
Process Models Concept Models Site Model
Precedent Study
Case Studies
Design Narrative Poetics of Emptiness Visuals Design Process Process Models Precedent Study
Poetics of Emptiness Redefining the 21st Century Alun-Alun in Semarang
A few months ago, I embarked on a journey along the equatorial belt to Central Java and visited three cities – Yogyakarta, Surakarta and Semarang that were all rich in culture and history and I came across a prominent space that was present in all, yet unique in their respective city. This space is called the Alun-Alun. The alun-alun is a large open space that is located in front of a royal palace with two peculiar looking trees positioned in the middle of the square. The canopy of the trees is said to resemble an umbrella which means protection, from the royal leaders to his people. Traditionally, the commoners will sit under the hot sun, before meeting the leaders in the palace. But on most days, the alun-alun will remain empty and this has made the space into a symbol of power for the royals. The constant state of emptiness of the alun-alun further emphasise the power the royals have over the space. When the Dutch colonialised Java in the 1800s, the alun-alun was replicated in other cities such as Semarang. However, in 1969, the alun-alun was moved away from the colonial town towards a new city centre. Today, it is called Simpang Lima, which is the site that I have chosen for my design. My thesis is a proposal for an alternative form of the alun-alun that is modified and situated in Simpang Lima. My design concept was derived from the state of emptiness of the alun-alun that I had observed during my site visit. Even though the 21st Century has seen major growth and changes across the Indonesian archipelago, the alun-alun still remains as one of the most prominent historical element in any Javanese city. And since the idea of emptiness itself is actually a strong concept that is rooted in the Indonesian culture, my architecture intends to represent it in a different light and in a metaphorical manner that shows simplicity and deep respect for the context of the site. It seeks to alter the symbolism that draws people away due to fear and intimidation, to a symbol that actually draws people closer to it.
Design Narrative
Poetics of Emptiness Visuals Design Process Process Models Precedent Study
Design Narrative Poetics of Emptiness
Visuals Design Process Process Models Precedent Study
Design Narrative Poetics of Emptiness Visuals
Design Process Process Models Precedent Study
Process Drawings The following images are some of the process drawings done as part of the design process before reaching the final design of the thesis. The drawings serve as a testing point for different types of representational techniques. The different iterations primarily focused on the roof perforation design and the landscape plan. The final design seeks to create a new model or protoype of the alun-alun in Semarang that addresses the climatic conditions of the city. Hence, some studies of wind flow and solar radiation was done in order to achieve a design that is able to create a more hospitable condition of the space during the day.
Exploded axonometric showing the different layers of the design
Worm’s eye axonometric with breeze diagram
Idea exploration The initial idea of the thesis stems from the author’s own definition of the alun-alun - a formless void that draws meaning from its relationships with the surrounding environment. Hence, the concept of boundary was explored in order to create a new edge of the alun-alun in Simpang Lima, Semarang. The main idea was to activate the edge of Simpang Lima by bringing the present traffic underground which creates a pedestrianised space around the site. This move then presents itself as an act that erodes the boundary between the alun-alun and the people. In addition, it brings the alun-alun to a new position that sits on the same plane as the city.
Idea exploration The removal of the traffic from the previous idea removes the intangible boundary between the alun-alun and the city as an object that reads the alun-alun in a different manner. As a result, the alun-alun evolves into a giant roof that houses an underground traffic. Therefore, there are two different layers to the alunalun - below ground and above ground. The idea that was being explored here was to create an accessible urban parkspace that is seamless with the various programmes situated around the site. The strategy used was to have an urban plaza located in a centralized position, located in between the two different levels. It aims to maintain the accesibility of the alun-alun, both physically and visually, to the pedestrians and vehicles. It strives to remove the symbolism of power ingrained in the alun-alun into a space that symbolises inclusivity for everyone in the city.
Idea exploration Based on the two initial ideas, the design was lacking clarity in terms of its direction and approach. Hence, the position of the alun-alun was looked into again, to gather a more solid concept for the final design. In this final idea exploration, the concept of emptiness of the alun-alun serve as the starting point for the design exploration. The emptiness of the alun-alun in the past becomes a symbolism of power of the space. The fear and intimidation of being on the grounds of the alun-alun deters people from using it, hence, leaving it empty on most days. Hence, the concept for the design of the 21st Century Alun-Alun tries to celebrate the idea of emptiness while giving the local people comfort in using the space. It seeks to change the perception of emptiness due to fear into an emptiness that gives comfort from the hustle of the city life. Several design strategies were then explored to give the intended ambience. The first strategy was the use of tensile structures. The lightness of the material and flexibility allows for the creation of various pavilion forms. However, due to the scale of the site, the overall visual of the alun-alun became congested which went against the design concept. After several studies, the concept of emptiness was then achieved using a structural system referenced from the “Brazilian Pavilion� by Paulo Mendes in the 1970 Osaka Expo.
Process elevations
Design Narrative Poetics of Emptiness Visuals Design Process
Process Models Precedent Study
Design Narrative Poetics of Emptiness Visuals Design Process Process Model
Precedent Study
Case Study: Brazilian Pavilion for 1970 Osaka Expo
Image: https://www.architectural-review.com/buildings/brazilian-pavilion-osaka-expo-by-paulo-mendes-da-rocha/10044818.article
Image: https://www.architectural-review.com/buildings/brazilian-pavilion-osaka-expo-by-paulo-mendes-da-rocha/10044818.article
Case Study: Indonesian Pavilion for 2018 Venice Biennale
Image: https://www.archdaily.com/895626/sunyata-the-poetics-of-emptiness-the-indonesian-pavilion-at-the-2018-venice-biennale
Image: https://www.archdaily.com/895626/sunyata-the-poetics-of-emptiness-the-indonesian-pavilion-at-the-2018-venice-biennale
Case Study: Plaza de Espana
Image: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/spain/articles/a-history-of-sevilles-plaza-de-espana-in-1-minute/
Image: https://www.overflightstock.com/media/48e1385b-e1ad-4934-ab6d-3a8a7c68a031-aerial-view-of-the-parque-de-maria-luisa-andthe-plaza-de-espan
Case Study: Confluence Park
Image: https://www.archdaily.com/896460/confluence-park-lake-flato-architects
Image: https://www.archdaily.com/896460/confluence-park-lake-flato-architects
Case Study: Windhover Contemplative Center
Image: https://www.architonic.com/en/project/aidlin-darling-design-windhover-contemplative-center/5103570
Image: https://www.architonic.com/en/project/aidlin-darling-design-windhover-contemplative-center/5103570
Case Study: Yokohoma Terminal Port
Image: https://medium.com/@nghinghiem04/model-and-scale-foa-yokohama-terminal-paper-model-1994-3145720-94d2cd28c1f
Image: https://medium.com/@nghinghiem04/model-and-scale-foa-yokohama-terminal-paper-model-1994-3145720-94d2cd28c1f
Case Study: Sovraparco - A hanging garden for piazzale loreto
Image: https://www.designboom.com/architecture/lad-hypnos-sovraparco-hanging-garden-piazzale-loreto-milan-italy-03-13-2019/
Image: https://www.designboom.com/architecture/lad-hypnos-sovraparco-hanging-garden-piazzale-loreto-milan-italy-03-13-2019/
Case Study: Brastislava Nivy Station & Boulevard
Image: https://www.stanicanivy.sk/en/a-city-boulevard-and-an-underground-roundabout-how-mobility-and-public-areas-bring-new-life-into-the-nivy-zone/
Image: https://www.stanicanivy.sk/en/a-city-boulevard-and-an-underground-roundabout-how-mobility-and-public-areas-bring-new-life-into-the-nivy-zone/
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