Wednesday

Whoopsies.

This should have gone first. Oh well, no biggie ... I'm preeeetty sure you didn't even notice it till i mentioned it, so.. HAH!


Methods on what types of research can and should be done

SURVEYS

Type 1 – Identifying the age difference that plays a part in judging designs

People to conduct the survey on :
- High School Teens > 14 ~ 17 year olds
- College Students > 18 ~ 21 year olds
- University Students > 22 ~ 24 year olds
- Working Adults > 25 ~ 29 year olds
- Middle Age > 30~39 year olds
- Professional Statured > 40 ~ 49 year olds
- Retired > 50 ~ 55 year olds
- Senior Citizens > 55 year olds and above


Type 2 – Considering the exposure in terms of education towards designs

People to conduct the survey on :
- Professional Architects /Interior Designers / Graphic Designers / Quantity Engineers
- Laymen (People of different professions that are not related to any arts ie: Accountants, Lawyers, and Mathematicians)

Type 3 – Differentiating the cultural backgrounds and exposure to designs

Online Survey :
> To reach out to those with opinions that I could not verbally get to survey.
> People of different backgrounds and & culture tend to be exposed to different designs and will have different views on the world / contrasting opinions


CASE STUDIES

- Visit relevant sites (mostly leading major malls ie: 1 Utama/Pavilion/The Gardens
   > Further strengthen points in essay with pictures (a picture is worth a thousand words)
- Talk to people in charge (or designers) about their thoughts of the building.
- Talk to the users of the buildings about their thoughts on the design / functionality.


SECONDARY RESEARCH

- Books (library)
- E books (internet/apps)
- Videos by professionals
   > youtube
   > designer hubs
   > think lab
   > educational design groups
- Internet browsing
- Magazine articles

Case Study 1

One Utama Shopping Center

-
Lacking in designs yet fulfilling the needs of the people who go there.
- Type of materials used to define the building is very common, and lacking strongly in aesthetic value.
- Some say that design wise, One Utama is a failure, yet why is it such a big hit with the laymen? Maybe because they know nothing about designs in architecture?
- Yet if it’s a failure then why is the building still so successful?
- If the purpose was to get people to go to the mall, it is certainly not a failure as it has brought in way more people than most malls in Malaysia has.
- Thus, why is the design considered a failure by professionals in the first place when in fact it is one of the most well renowned malls in Malaysia?
- Must’ve been the butterfly effect and the influence of one person’s idea that led to the spread of word that One Utama is a failure in designs of architecture.


Case Study 2

The Gardens, Mid Valley

- Themed design; as said by the name itself.
- Nothing excessive, little hints of the theme placed around to increase the aesthetic values.
- Design wise, still a failure as it fails to reap in people due to the bad planning of the people’s conveniences (the parking). So, if much thought have been put into decorating the place, it still does not get as much fame as the other mall (One Utama) despite the bigger advantage of aesthetic design.
- Showing that most people do not really value aesthetics of designs in architecture and would rather choose to go to a place of more comfort and convenience to them.


Case Point

How does one judge the success and failure of a design? Despite a plain looking outcome of a building, much thought has been put into designing the structure/backbone of the building that actually becomes the factor that affects people, of whom the designs itself were trying to impress. Thus, a plain looking building should not be judged by the masses as a failure when it has been able to do its part and serve its purpose perfectly as compared to a building with high aesthetic value that fails to succeed in functionality. Thus the need for people to be able to analyze and criticize designs in architecture is indeed necessary.


1 comment:

  1. What is the rationale for just focusing on shopping centres? Your topic should look at the different typologies i.e. public buildings, residential etc to make your case. Judging a building/architecture should show that we tend to focus on the aesthetics, and you can include famous buildings and how sometimes we also judge these buildings more on their fame and popularity as oppose its true value.

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