Interpretation of architectural meanings of post-independence Malaysian buildings through semiotic approach / Azlaini Abdul Aziz

The architectural identity of Malaysian is insignificant today. They were highly being misinterpreted and misunderstood. Crucial issues concerning their projections have escalated, particularly in the 1980’s on wards. This situation has caused concerns to both Malaysian government and building profe...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Abdul Aziz, Azlaini
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/46909/1/46909.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
id my-uitm-ir.46909
record_format uketd_dc
spelling my-uitm-ir.469092022-03-07T04:27:27Z Interpretation of architectural meanings of post-independence Malaysian buildings through semiotic approach / Azlaini Abdul Aziz 2021-02 Abdul Aziz, Azlaini Theory. Philosophy. Including aesthetics, architectonics, classification, semiotics. Symbolism in architecture Historic buildings Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying The architectural identity of Malaysian is insignificant today. They were highly being misinterpreted and misunderstood. Crucial issues concerning their projections have escalated, particularly in the 1980’s on wards. This situation has caused concerns to both Malaysian government and building professionals. Several congresses, seminars and important national policies were introduced to confront these issues. However, the outcomes had not been observable till this day. This study aims to investigate the success level on employment of signs and symbols in post-independence Malaysian architecture. The objectives are to interpret the characteristics, orientations and cultural emphasis in projecting identity and meaning through architecture. The semiotic approach was employed in the study. The structure produced through the interpretation helps affirm the consistency of intrinsic meanings projected by the selected buildings. Fourteen post-independence public buildings were selected as the subject for case study. They are classified under four categories of architectural genre known as Malaysian Vernacular Revivalism, Interpretive Islamic Symbolism, Tropical Architecture and Modernistic Expressionism, which are used as determinants of design patterns. It is to ensure consistencies in observing the use of signs and symbols within the architecture, built after the early iconic Malaysian architecture during the 1960’s. A three-stage process was carried out in the analysis. The first stage investigates the use of shapes and lines (SLA) in architectural compositions. The second examines the visual composition and perception (VCPA) criteria in design. The visual communication technique was employed for the first two steps in interpreting meaning on both pre- and postindependence Malaysian architecture, in order to gauge the similarities and differences in their designs. The final stage involves a “Semiotic Structural Analysis” (SSA) on Post-Independence Malaysian architecture. The method was based on the technique introduced by San Jose State University, California which was widely used in interpreting meaning from design objects. The so-called “first impression counts” visual assessment technique was employed during the observation research process to obtain instant impression and level of expectations on chosen building designs. The finding of the study shows that the signs and symbols projected by the post-independence architecture was inappropriately used and have not been effectively employed to portray what can been considered as the “national identity”. The local culture and characteristics of Malaysia have not been visible as anticipated. This major contribution of the study is the use of semiotics as a potent technique in decoding intrinsic meaning of objects and buildings. Consequently, further research can be done by using the technique in framing a more perceptive and responsive Malaysian architecture. 2021-02 Thesis https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/46909/ https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/46909/1/46909.pdf text en public phd doctoral Universiti Teknologi MARA Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying Saruwono, Masran (Prof. Dr. )
institution Universiti Teknologi MARA
collection UiTM Institutional Repository
language English
advisor Saruwono, Masran (Prof. Dr. )
topic Theory
Philosophy
Including aesthetics, architectonics, classification, semiotics
Symbolism in architecture
Historic buildings
Theory
Philosophy
Including aesthetics, architectonics, classification, semiotics
Symbolism in architecture
spellingShingle Theory
Philosophy
Including aesthetics, architectonics, classification, semiotics
Symbolism in architecture
Historic buildings
Theory
Philosophy
Including aesthetics, architectonics, classification, semiotics
Symbolism in architecture
Abdul Aziz, Azlaini
Interpretation of architectural meanings of post-independence Malaysian buildings through semiotic approach / Azlaini Abdul Aziz
description The architectural identity of Malaysian is insignificant today. They were highly being misinterpreted and misunderstood. Crucial issues concerning their projections have escalated, particularly in the 1980’s on wards. This situation has caused concerns to both Malaysian government and building professionals. Several congresses, seminars and important national policies were introduced to confront these issues. However, the outcomes had not been observable till this day. This study aims to investigate the success level on employment of signs and symbols in post-independence Malaysian architecture. The objectives are to interpret the characteristics, orientations and cultural emphasis in projecting identity and meaning through architecture. The semiotic approach was employed in the study. The structure produced through the interpretation helps affirm the consistency of intrinsic meanings projected by the selected buildings. Fourteen post-independence public buildings were selected as the subject for case study. They are classified under four categories of architectural genre known as Malaysian Vernacular Revivalism, Interpretive Islamic Symbolism, Tropical Architecture and Modernistic Expressionism, which are used as determinants of design patterns. It is to ensure consistencies in observing the use of signs and symbols within the architecture, built after the early iconic Malaysian architecture during the 1960’s. A three-stage process was carried out in the analysis. The first stage investigates the use of shapes and lines (SLA) in architectural compositions. The second examines the visual composition and perception (VCPA) criteria in design. The visual communication technique was employed for the first two steps in interpreting meaning on both pre- and postindependence Malaysian architecture, in order to gauge the similarities and differences in their designs. The final stage involves a “Semiotic Structural Analysis” (SSA) on Post-Independence Malaysian architecture. The method was based on the technique introduced by San Jose State University, California which was widely used in interpreting meaning from design objects. The so-called “first impression counts” visual assessment technique was employed during the observation research process to obtain instant impression and level of expectations on chosen building designs. The finding of the study shows that the signs and symbols projected by the post-independence architecture was inappropriately used and have not been effectively employed to portray what can been considered as the “national identity”. The local culture and characteristics of Malaysia have not been visible as anticipated. This major contribution of the study is the use of semiotics as a potent technique in decoding intrinsic meaning of objects and buildings. Consequently, further research can be done by using the technique in framing a more perceptive and responsive Malaysian architecture.
format Thesis
qualification_name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.)
qualification_level Doctorate
author Abdul Aziz, Azlaini
author_facet Abdul Aziz, Azlaini
author_sort Abdul Aziz, Azlaini
title Interpretation of architectural meanings of post-independence Malaysian buildings through semiotic approach / Azlaini Abdul Aziz
title_short Interpretation of architectural meanings of post-independence Malaysian buildings through semiotic approach / Azlaini Abdul Aziz
title_full Interpretation of architectural meanings of post-independence Malaysian buildings through semiotic approach / Azlaini Abdul Aziz
title_fullStr Interpretation of architectural meanings of post-independence Malaysian buildings through semiotic approach / Azlaini Abdul Aziz
title_full_unstemmed Interpretation of architectural meanings of post-independence Malaysian buildings through semiotic approach / Azlaini Abdul Aziz
title_sort interpretation of architectural meanings of post-independence malaysian buildings through semiotic approach / azlaini abdul aziz
granting_institution Universiti Teknologi MARA
granting_department Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying
publishDate 2021
url https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/46909/1/46909.pdf
_version_ 1783734773603106816