20世紀-21世紀泰國建筑的思考與實踐

東高·巴寧/Tonkao Panin

王冰 譯/Translated by WANG Bing

20世紀-21世紀泰國建筑的思考與實踐

東高·巴寧/Tonkao Panin

王冰 譯/Translated by WANG Bing

本期專輯所收錄的項目代表著21世紀伊始泰國建筑的形式與內涵，它們類型不同，卻都有著某種共性。回顧21世紀的前10年，我們遇到了很多挑戰。面對全球的環境危機，如何保護和挽救我們的生存環境已經在所有專業領域成為人們共同為之奮斗的目標，但仍有許多問題是無法解決的。建筑思考與實踐以各種方式紛紛出現，體現了建筑師對建筑的看法。這些項目雖然多種多樣，目標都是在建筑實踐的發展變化中發現平衡的不同類型，并提出平衡的理念。在眾多的建筑產品中，人們無法從中找到一個共同點，也不會對某一建筑有完全的認同，平衡是理解不同方向或途徑的中間手段，這一手段在現如今被人們審慎地付諸實踐。在這些項目中，無論是在對理論的探索還是批判性的建筑實踐中都體現了建筑的平衡性，并且這種平衡性滲透在過去到現在的建筑設計之中，也將在未來得以延續。

建筑意識形態，實踐方式，意義與建筑

在20世紀的前半葉，泰國建筑經歷了大規模的開發建造期，但建筑生產在一定程度上還缺乏理論研究。建筑生產作為實踐和政治的手段而受到大力支持，并獲得民眾和社會的廣泛關注，于是，“建筑該如何做”就變得比理解“建筑是什么”更為重要。這表明在當時務實信條勝于理論研究。換句話說，在20世紀前半葉，關于泰國建筑的論述更注重建造過程而非單純強調思索。

然而，在過去的30年中，泰國建筑的實踐重心已經有所轉移，“建筑是什么？如何定義？如何建造？什么是建筑的訴求？”這些問題都會在設計前期提出，成為建筑實踐的基本前提，這有助于建筑師基于地方建筑的社會文化特點而更好地理解建筑。這就解釋了為什么在過去的20年，我們看到相關建筑理論和實踐的學科發生了巨大變化。建筑相關的學位設置成倍增加，建筑及相關學科的專業出版社也迅速發展起來。過去鮮有的建筑出版物如今大量涌現。

“思考的過程”已經為人們越來越重視，逐漸演變成自發的行為。近年來，泰國的建筑歷史和理論研究領域有兩個主要方向——關于建筑歷史和建筑的闡釋。首先，出現了大量關于建筑本體論的研究著作，其次是諸多相關既有建筑的出版物和再版物，這些閱讀物縱觀歷史，且品種繁多。無論如何，通過這兩個方向的研究著作，建筑歷史與理論已經成為一個獨立的領域，逐漸脫離建筑實踐。建筑理論更多地成為一種對歷史的研究和匯編，以及對既有建筑物的闡釋，而并非著重設計的思考過程和新理念的研究成果。因此，理論和實踐之間的差距越來越難以彌合。今天的年輕一代建筑師將彌補建筑思考與生產之間的差距以及協調二者關系視為己任。在過去的10年中，建筑實踐帶有明顯的批判性，開始強調將跨領域的哲理性的設計思考與注重實效的生產過程相結合，而非將想與做的過程相向而立。與過去關注“已經說的”和“已經做的”情況不同，在泰國帶有批判性的建筑實踐中，人們逐漸會去問“該如何去做？”以及“如何理解目前的狀況？”

本著將建筑的思考與實踐相結合的共同目標，在過去的10年中，泰國的建筑實踐要證明這個目標并非只是一個假設，而是引人思考，從而尋求對我們行事方式可以構成挑戰的方式，不僅僅只是簡單地評論。在理論和實踐之間構建一種創造性和批判性的對話，二者間的關系并不是通過一種單獨的方式或方向所能體現。換言之，其目的并非將理論思考應用于實踐方式，或通過理論定位的例證左右實踐。相反，它是簡單地問——如何從嚴格的、批判的角度去思考并且提出具有創造性和生產性的建議[1]？當人們將這種方法應用于建筑研究時，它也改變了傳統的研究路徑，傳統路徑往往是從設計開始就指出了一系列問題，并在一個特定的時間段內探討它們。目前的建筑研究不一定遵循這一路徑，因為問題只會出現在建造和設計過程中的某一階段。因此，研究問題更多的是基于設計本身而不是單純的歷史和理論。

1 實踐的3種模式：從自主到接合

為了掌握目前泰國建筑實踐中的共同點，概述過去百年間不同的建筑實踐模式，這可能有助于我們進一步了解21世紀建筑的自然演變。

如果說建筑的產生是源于人類生存的需要，那么批判性理論的作用則是為建筑的發展確立方向。在過去的百年間，在針對泰國建筑的討論中再次質疑了是否應將文化、社會、政治、美學或象征性等相關因素作為建筑構思與實踐的基礎前提。然而，這一看似共同的目標卻通過各種不同的方法得以實現。比如說，人們可以提出假設并論證建筑的自主性；設計師有權按照自己的理解決定建筑的形式和幾何形狀，這也顯示了他們的智慧或創造力。建筑是能夠為人們帶來美學愉悅感的創造題材，但與我們欣賞畫作或音樂的方式不同。另一方面，人們可以否定所謂的形式自主性，發現隱藏在建筑尺寸、幾何形狀以及外觀背后的更廣域范疇的文化條件的影響，以及來自科技、社會和經濟各方面的影響，這與我們所認知的政治分歧和選擇的方式不同。在第二種說法中，建筑不是一門獨立的學科，而是全面參與現代文明的各個領域中。介于二者之間的第3種實踐模式則認為：建筑內在的空間和組織形式也是人們社會交往、傳遞不同意圖以及與人互動的載體。

這3種“思維模式”在過去的百年間影響著泰國的建筑實踐。雖然也存在其他的變化，這3種模式仍然是其中最重要的建筑實踐方式，向我們展示了如何以不同的方式解讀建筑。直到今天這些“思維模式”的想法與原則仍然與建筑設計有著重要的關聯性。

1.1 空間與形式的建筑美學

這種實踐模式只關注建筑的形式和外觀。在19世紀極為重要的建筑辯論就是相關藝術的象征手法與新興材料和工業文明的施工技術間的相互影響。但從20世紀開始，當新式材料的應用和生活習慣的科學分析改變了建筑的構造和外觀，類似的問題又出現了。在當時提倡建筑生產要以公共科技社會的特點為設計依據，藝術理論教育也培養了個人的審美觀。其結果是，在科技支配力和個人想象力的共同作用下，人們試圖理解并制定了現代建筑文化的新秩序。現代建筑特征的研究核心內容是關于建筑空間、形式、外觀的創新性[2]。

通常來說，人們對現實的認知方式可分為感性和理性兩種；前者主要是基于視覺體驗，后者則是通過對所認知的信息進行概念重組這樣一個抽象的過程來完成的。如果說理解力要通過想象力激發，那么感知則發生在視覺想象或思考的領域內[3]。但和19世紀的情況有所不同，在那個年代，有時人們會認為用概念或抽象的方法去感知世界是不真實的，是低級的手段。這種傾向于理性思考的實踐模式可能會導致人們難以發展感知能力。于是，這種實踐模式試圖去協調事物的客觀規律和人們的主觀想象。

在20世紀之初，這種實踐方式出現在大師們的“非凡的創作”作品中，當它又出現在20世紀末時則是以一種完全不同的形式。客觀規律代替了主觀想象。建筑空間和形式的產生都可以圖示化的分析和制圖方法呈現。分析圖可以多學科的理論為依據，作為創造建筑形式的設計概念的有力支持。換句話說，在塑造任何建筑空間和形式之前，設計師需要分析現有的全套信息，再將它們轉化成自己的一套設計概念和工具。這類的設計方法有很多，例如，采用生物學的原理去創建基于某種規則的聚合形式，這種形式在建筑師設計概念的控制下最終演變成建筑的形態。通過這樣的過程便形成了某種客觀依據和主觀想象之間的聯系。這是一個關于建筑是具象與抽象、外觀與內在之間的統一體的論述。然而，這種思維模式主要是針對建筑空間和形態的生成。當建筑主要依靠其觀感和設計概念的特征來表現，它是一門自主的學科規訓，體現在建筑設計、生產以及建造過程的種種內部事務中。

1.2 語義：建筑的意義

建筑實踐第一種模式的重點是建筑的構成與外在表現，第二種模式則轉為關注建筑的語義內涵。

這種思維模式的特點是尋求建筑的意義，這點在其中的許多側面都可以體現。換言之，設計的重點由外在表現轉而探求事物的內在意義。我們可以通過觀察來認識事物，但是更應該去了解超越事物外在的其他更具內涵的東西。一個建筑或藝術的形態在其外表之內還可以承載一個內含的象征意義，并且能為眼光獨到的專業人士所解讀。為了探討其意義，藝術和建筑作品不可避免地要與其他的文化語境相關聯，例如文學、人類學或社會學等等相關范疇。這種對意義的探求往往不僅對于形式，還包括建造的種種行為。例如，制圖、做模型或建設的意義，在建造的題材和建筑的表現過程中無所不在。當具象的物體在建筑制圖中被分層表達，繪圖的各種方法也傳遞了圖紙所表達的意識層面。物體和方法可以被看作是在建筑和藝術生產領域的兩個相互關聯的象征系統。

在這種思維模式中，一切事物都有其意義，沒有什么是無意義的。傳統的語意研究往往專注于對事物所蘊含的意義進行學術上的解讀，通常需要運用知識的闡釋。與傳統不同，這種實踐方式會引導我們去關注環境研究的意義。如果說藝術創作的意義可以通過其寓意和條理而被理解，那么，建筑和我們所處的環境之間的交流，則要通過環境的語意研究得以實現，并借此發現我們的建筑方法論。也就是說，人們只知道作用于他們的最隱晦的影響力是記憶和聯想[4]。這與人們看懂一副寫實畫的方式不同，人們對建筑的真實感覺取決于某一特定時刻的感知，那些影響力只能通過一些具有參考性的建筑物來化解和消除。換言之，每時每刻的感知都蘊含著個人和群體對過去的理解，我們的身體是對過去的轉化，過去每一刻的感知都會在身體中被重新組合，重新評估[4]。

這種對意義的探求由此轉化為兩個相互關聯的分析層次。首先，要理解每個事物所傳達的內在含義；其次是了解場地更大的架構或建造環境。在建筑設計時，這些思考方式往往會被轉化為對設計目標和背景的分析過程。為了讓每個設計項目都可以被開發，建筑形式就需要基于與其所傳達的意義進行類比設計。此外，每個設計都必須解讀與再解讀項目所在區域的構造關系。從這個意義上講，建筑和建筑環境的關系也是一種建筑語匯，有其固有的語法關系，并可以根據特定情況和目標而變化。采用這種設計思考方式的不只是紀念性建筑，也包括其他類型的建筑。這些建筑是社會大環境和文化背景的一部分，也包括當代城市規劃的一些作品。與第一種批判理論的模式不同，前者是問事物看起來像什么，后者則是探尋事物為何出現，以及不同組織下會產生什么結果。

對于第一種實踐模式來說，人類的感知是建筑體驗的中心，這種感知只是存在于此時此景的現場體驗中，而沒有超越建筑自然存在之外的任何相關聯的意義。但對于第二種模式，人類的感知在本質上沒有什么開始和結束。感知從過去到現在一直存在[4]，讓我們知道一切事物的意義。

1.3 意識形態、文化和政治

在20世紀的后半葉，泰國的政治立場和經濟形勢成為主要議題，這些議題也滲透在大多數的教育論述中。問題是：當社會形態發生了根本性的改變，建筑生產是否還可以采用與20世紀前半葉相同的生產策略？還是應該重新定義建筑實踐和開發的新策略？當社會和文化的關注重心有所轉移，各種不同的問題出現了，單純只在封閉的藝術和建筑領域尋求建筑的意義就顯得不合時宜了。因此，建筑師和理論家只得被迫否認所謂的形式自由性，去發現隱藏在建筑物尺寸、幾何形狀和整體外觀之后的更為廣域的文化條件的影響，這些影響無論是關乎技術、社會或經濟的，與我們認為的政治爭論和選擇方式并無不同。建筑不再是一門獨立的學科，而是與文化領域的許多方面息息相關。除了自身的美學和語義外，建筑還涉足了更為廣泛的文化范疇。

當人們在建筑實踐的語義模式下嘗試去解讀建筑生產的意義，這一思考模式關注的是與社會、政治、經濟以及學術界相關的大背景，而這一大背景可以使人們從更加廣泛的視角對塑造整個時代的種種現象加以更好地理解。換句話說，這種思考方式的對象不是現象本身，而是其產生背后的整個大環境。在藝術領域里，建筑設計有其獨特的地位。舉例來說，繪畫和雕塑是獨立的藝術作品，人們可以在博物館與世隔絕的環境中去欣賞它們。但對于建筑來說并不是這樣，建筑設計只是部分地與手工藝有關。它主要是生產一種技術化和社會化的產品，在給定的社會環境中體現某種功能性。因此，對于這種批判性理論的模式而言，建筑設計通常具有一種在道德與美學之間尋求平衡的張力。建筑師可能不得不放棄一些他們在藝術和表現形式上的追求，而專注于實現社會所賦予它的某些可能的功用。

這種思維模式經常應用在一些極為重視創作題材、并將之轉化為建筑產品的項目中。這些題材通常由更廣泛的社會及文化因素構成，而非取決于建筑功能、美學或者象征意義。作為將理論與實踐相結合的媒介物，建筑方案過程是極為重要的，這培養了學生們在設計過程中運用概念性的思維方式去評判問題或重述概要。各種不同領域的著作通常會為每個項目尋找托辭，為的是創造出一種“美觀”、“實用”且“適用”的建筑。換句話說，建筑生產不僅生成建筑的形式和意義，也同樣與當時當地的社會和文化體系相關聯。至于建筑理論研究，在某種程度上更接近于這種思維模式，而與傳統的歷史/理論研究方法不同。這種模式不僅只注重對基地環境或者創作題材的探尋與研究，而通常是批判和介入其中，為的是在當代建筑設計問題中尋找到有關的影響因素。

2 建筑實踐和跨學科發展

將20世紀泰國的建筑實踐分成3種不同的模式，并不意味著他們的實踐和教學是分開的。建筑美學、建筑語義和意識形態這3種模式也可以合而為一共同創造一系列新的問題。然而，盡管它們之間存在差別，在21世紀初期，基于跨學科發展的影響，這些實踐模式被轉化為擁有某些共性的實踐方式。在大多數的學術語境中，“多學科”和“跨學科”這兩個術語經常可以互換。然而，在它們的核心理念中，這兩個概念是不同的。“多學科”指的是一種工作方式，在其中存在多個學科的協同作業，但每個學科都保持自己的獨特性和工作方式[1]。在另一方面，“跨學科”允許學科之間的個體轉換，以滿足工作中解決問題的需要。換句話說，跨學科更強調的是多學科間的一種合作，并不注重學科的區別，而是通過不同學科的共同努力完成各方都認同的成果[1]。

當泰國的當代建筑還停留在關于建筑美學、建筑語義和意識形態的實踐階段，相關藝術、科學、人類學、社會學、文學、政治、經濟等等的多種學科發展早已蓬勃興起。這意味著，目前在泰國的建筑實踐需要采用一種新的思考模式，不能再局限在一個單一的專業領域。在這種模式中，協調理論與實踐的運動或方法論不能通過單一的線性發展，于是，建筑實踐可以被認為是一種協調多學科之間關系的三維網絡，多學科的介入會質疑一些通常我們想當然的問題。有時，這種跨學科的網絡會要求我們對自己常用的方法、方式、專用術語等提出質疑。每一個歷史時刻都有其特定的條件環境，這取決于他們的自身情況以及每個人不同的觀點。在許多方面，批判性理論實踐的出現可以將理論與實踐二者革新性地統一起來，雖然困難重重，但是這種工作方法卻是縝密和經過深思熟慮的，富有成效且極具創新性以及批判性。

了解這些不同的建筑方法可以幫助我們理解什么是形成泰國建筑學科發展的影響力。理論與實踐的不同方式描述了建筑形成發展的特點，其他方面則對過去的建筑思考予與論述，這些因素都是我們未來的建筑發展所不可或缺的。它們是過去的，由此我們要基于歷史背景去理解它們；它們又是現在的，就擺在我們面前，成為我們今天所思考問題的部分答案。□

During the first half of the twentieth century, architecture in Thailand, although largely productive, suffered in part from the lack of theoretical inquiry. Architecture was championed as a practical and political art. While this approach has made architecture open, democratic and socially concerned, it has also created an attitude in which making and doing architecture become more important than inquiring and understanding what it is that is being done. Such approach implies a triumph of pragmatic doctrine over theoretical inquiry. In other words, Thai architectural discourse during the first half of the twentieth century simply de-emphasized the process of thinking while it underscored that of making.

But in the past thirty years, architectural practice in Thailand has shifted its emphasis and given priority to questioning what architecture is, how it may be defined, how it is created, and what its aspirations might be. As these questions are set as the basic premises of architectural practice, it enables architects to understand buildings in relation to socio-cultural specificities of their places. This explains why the last twenty years have seen tremendous changes in the discipline of architectural theory and practice. As graduate programs in architecture have multiplied, publishing houses specializing in architecture and related disciplines have also blossomed. The number of architectural publications has gone from scant to overwhelming.

But as value has been placed more and more on the "thinking process", this process has also become increasingly autonomous. In recent years, the field of architectural history and theory in Thailand has been dominated by two prominent approaches, the historical and interpretational. While the first has generated a large number of ontological studies of buildings, the second has given us various readings and re-readings of existing buildings throughout history. At any rate, through both approaches, architectural history and theory has become a field unto itself, gradually disengaged from architectural practice. Architectural theory has leaned towards historical study or compilation and the interpretation of existing buildings instead of giving emphasis to the thinking process and new ideas. The gap between practice and theory has become increasingly difficult to bridge. Today's younger generation of architects has seen it as its task to bridge that gap and bring back the relationship between architectural thinking and production. During the past ten years, architectural practice has become more noticeably critical. Rather than putting thinking and making in opposite camps, it began to emphasize the interdisciplinary and philosophical framework of thinking as well as the pragmatic framework of making. Instead of concentrating on what had been said and done in the past, critical practice in Thailand began to slowly question how to do and understand things such as the current situation.

With the goal of bridging the gap between architectural thinking and making, architectural practice in Thailand during the past ten years do not seek to prove a hypothesis. It is instead reflective, seeking to challenge the way we do things rather than simply commenting on it. Aiming to construct a creative and critical dialogue between practice and theory, it does not see this relationship as oneway or linear. In other words, it does not aim to apply theoretical insights to modes of practice, or exemplify practice by illustrations of theoretical positions. It is simply asking - how can one think rigorously and critically as well as provide creative and productive proposition[1]? When this approach is employed in architectural research, it alters the more conventional research route, which tends to identify a series of questions at the outset and then explore them within a certain time frame. Current architectural researches do not necessarily follow this route because questions only emerge once a certain process of making and design have already been engaged. Thus research questions become more design oriented rather than purely historical and theoretical.

1 Three Modes of Practice: From Autonomy to Engagement

In order to grasp the current common ground of architectural practice in Thailand, a review of the different modes of practice over the past hundred years may be of use

Architecture, it is said, aims to orient human existence. It is also possible to say that the function of critical theory is to orient architecture. During the past hundred years, architectural discourse in Thailand has become once again a matter of questioning the basic premises of architectural thought and practice, whether cultural, social, political, aesthetic or symbolic. Yet, this seemingly common goal has been approached from various points of view. For example, one can assume and argue for architecture's autonomy; that form and geometry can be understood in their own right as well as as testimony of a designer's intelligence or invention. Architecture is, then, approached as the subject matter of aesthetic delight not unlike the way we view paintings or appreciate music. On the other hand, one can disavow the supposed autonomy of form and discover, behind a building's dimensions, geometry and overall appearance, the influence of broader cultural conditionstechnological, social, or economic. In this second understanding, architecture is not an autonomous discipline but rather one that is fully engaged in many aspects of culture. Between these two approaches, architecture can also be considered as communicative, conveying the various meaning inherent in its spatial and formal configuration as well as through its interaction with human beings.

The three "modes of thought" have influencedThai architectural practice during the past hundred years. Although other variations exist, these three modes are among the most important ways of "practicing architecture" and show us how buildings can be variously interpreted. The ideas and principles of these "modes of thought" had been of significant relevance to the concerns in architectural design until today.

1.1 Aesthetics of Space and Form

This mode of architectural practice simply concerns itself with the way things are formed and appear. The pivotal architectural debate of the nineteenth century concerned the interplay of artistic symbolism and the new materials and constructional technology of industrial culture. As the twentieth century began, similar questions reemerged as new materials and scientific analyses of living habits revolutionized building construction and appearance. While these encouraged architectural production based on the characteristics of a public technological society, contemporary artistic theories cultivated an aesthetic of private subjectivity. The result was the attempt to understand and order modern built culture with technological rules and the individual imagination. Central to the investigation of modern identity was the creation of spaces, forms, and surfaces of buildings[2].

In general, modes of experience by which one comes to terms with reality can be distinguished as perceptual and conceptual cognition; the former is based mainly on visual experience, while the latter is arrived at through a process of abstraction, the conceptual ordering of perceptual data. If the intellect operates through the faculty of concepts, perception take place in the realm of visual imagination or ideas[3]. Unlike the nineteenth century approach that sometimes regarded the perceptual world as inferior to conceptual or abstract cognition, this mode of practice saw that a bias toward conceptual thought could lead to difficulties in developing one's perceptual faculties. For this reason, this mode of practice sought to coordinate the objective rules and the subjective imagination.

While this mode of practice appeared at the beginning of the 20thcentury in "strokes of genius" of masters, it reappeared again towards the end of the century in a completely different form. Objective rules were used to replace subjective imagination.The methods of diagrammatic analysis and mapping that lead to a generation of architectural spaces and forms can be seen as a result of this effort. Analytic diagrams or maps can originate in multidisciplinary issues, act as a pretext for a conceptual frameworkthat generates architectural form. Before any spaces or forms take shape, their designers need to analyze existing sets of information and transform these into concepts and tools. Though there are many such design methods, one example of this approach is the adoption of biological theories to generate rulebased aggregated forms which are then manipulated and transformed by the designer's conceptual framework. In such a process a link between objective data and subjective imagination is formed. It represents an argument in which architecture exists on a continuum between physicality and conceptuality, appearance and inner structure. Yet, this mode of thinking aims mainly at the generation of architectural spaces and forms. When architecture is addressed primarily through its perceptual and conceptual quality, it is seen an autonomous discipline involved in a private conversation of designing, making and building.

1.2 Semantic Meaning of Buildings

The first mode of architectural practice focuses on how the building is formed and appears. The second mode turns to its semantic quality.

Among its many facets, this mode of thinking can be characterized by its search for meaning. In other words, in it the emphasis on appearances was replaced by the search for the inner meaning of things. We may recognize what lies before our eyes as an object, but this object may suggest something beyond its appearance. A piece of architecture or art may carry within its form an internal symbolic meaning that a trained eye can decipher. In order to reach such meanings, art and architecture was inevitably related to other cultural discourses such as literature, anthropology and sociology. More often than not, this approach is interested in decoding not only the meaning of forms but also of actions. The meaning of drawings, models or buildings, for example, lies in their subject matters as much as in the ways in which they are represented. While figurative objects in architectural drawings convey stories, various ways the drawings are made also encode the stories portrayed. Objects and the methods of representing them can be seen as interrelated systems of symbolism in architectural and artistic production.

With this mode of thinking, everything means something and nothing means nothing. Unlike conventional semantic research that focused on a scholastic reading of meaning that usually requires knowledgeable interpretation, this mode of practice also leads to the semantic approach of environmental study. If artistic creation can be read through its figurative and methodic aspects, architecture and our environment are also communicative. Only through a semantic study of environment we can discover the discourses in our building. In other words, people are only vaguely aware of the forces working in them, forces which feed on memory and association[4]. Similarly to ways figurative paintings are read, people feel that such forces can only propitiated and purged with objects that carry some reference to which they can respond in the very moment of perception. In other words, every moment of perception contains a whole personal and collective past, our body is the incarnation of that past; and with every moment of perception this past is reordered and revalued[4].

This search for meaning is thus translated into two interrelated levels of analysis, the first aiming at an understanding of inherent meaning conveyed by each and every object, while the second sets a goal if understanding the larger structure of a place or built environment. Such thinking, when employed in architectural design, is often translated into the process of syntactic analysis of both the design object and the context. In order for any design object to be developed, the kernel of their forms needs to go through analogical transformation based on the meaning they are to convey. Every object has to be read and re-read in relation to the structure of the place in which it belongs. Architecture and the built environment in this sense, are seen as languages with inherent syntax that may vary according to specific circumstances and goals. Examples of this mode of production lie not only in memorial designs, but also in other architectural constructs that see themselves as a part of a larger social and cultural context, including works of contemporary urban analysis. Instead of asking how things appear (the first mode of critical theory), it asks why things appear the way they do, and what may result if things are organized differently.

If for the first mode of practice, human perception is the center of architectural experience, it is only in the here-and-now moment that such perception can be related to any meaning beyond its physical present. But in the second approach, human perception does not begin and end in itself. Perception always contains a past in the present depth[4], allowing us to understand the meaning of all things.

1.3 Ideologies, Culture and Politics

During the second half of the twentieth century in Thailand, political stances and economic situations became the major issues penetrating most educational discourses. In a society that has been fundamentally changed, can architecture continue to derive its meaning from the same strategies elaborated during the first half of the century, or should a new definition of architectural practice be developed? As social and cultural preoccupations shifted and different questions were being asked, it became irrelevant to seek meaning within the closed disciplines of art and architecture. Architects and theorists were obliged to disavow the autonomy of form and discover behind a building's dimensions, geometry and overall appearance the influence of broader cultural conditions--technological, social and economic. Architecture was no longer seen as an autonomous discipline but became understood as one that was fully engaged in many aspects of culture. Architecture's task was to respond to broader cultural issues, ones outside its own aesthetic and semantic preoccupations.

While the semantic mode of architectural practice tries to read the meaning of architectural production, this ideological mode is concerned with social, political, economic as well as intellectual contexts that would provide a broad understanding of the type of representation that shaped the entire era. In other words, it is not the representationitself that this mode of thinking is preoccupied with, but the context which produced such representation. Among the arts, architecture has a special position. Painting and sculptures, for example, are autonomous works of art that can be enjoyed in the isolated atmosphere of the museum. But such is not the case for architecture for it is only partially related to the world of artisans. Primarily it produces a technical and social product, as buildings perform a function within any given society. Thus for this mode of critical theory, architecture will always contain a tension between ethics and aesthetics. Architects may have to let go parts of their artistic and formal ambitions and focus on the possibilities offered by society.

This mode of thinking is often characterized by projects that press great emphasis on the subject matters and their transformation into built products. Such subject matters are often framed by broader social and cultural issues rather than architectural functions, aesthetics or symbolic meanings. Architecture programs are vital vehicles for working between theory and practice, allowing students to develop conceptual thinking to critique or to reinvent the brief itself. Writings from various fields are often set as provocations for a project in order to create architecture that not only "appears" and "means" but also "fits". In other words, the production of architecture is not only about generating form and meaning but has to be considered in relation to the social and cultural frameworks of the place and time. As for theoretical research, approaching it from this mode of thinking differs from a conventional history / theory method in that sites or subjects of study are not only investigated and researched, they are often critiqued and mined for what might be relevant to current architectural design issues.

2 Architectural Practice and Interdisciplinarity

Dividing 20thcentury Thai architectural practice into three different modes does not mean that they were practiced and taught separately. The three modes-the aesthetic, semantic and ideological approaches-may also work together to create a new set of questions. Despite their differences, these modes of practice were transformed at the beginning of the 21stcentury by their interdisciplinary. In most academic contexts, the terms multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary are often interchangeable. Yet in their methods, the two notions are different. Multi-disciplinary refers to a way of working where a number of disciplines are present but maintain their own distinct identities and ways of doing things[1]. Inter-disciplinary, on the other hand, allows for individuals moving between disciplines and in so doing question the ways in which they work-more of a collaboration with the emphasis less on disciplinary distinctions and more on how different disciplines might work together towards a common end point using mutual consent[1].

While contemporary Thai architecture includes aesthetic, semantic and ideological modes of practice but more and more multiple disciplinesartistic, scientific, anthropological, social, cultural, political and economic-are engaged in the work. This means current architectural practice in Thailand requires a mode of thinking that is not limit itself to only one profession. It occupies an inbetween place where the movement or methodology between theory and practice is not linear. Practice becomes a three dimensional web of relationships between disciplines, one that calls into question what we normally take for granted. At times, this interdisciplinary web may require us to question our methodologies, the way we do things and our terminologies. Each historical moment offers a particular set of conditions and its own palette of circumstances. And each person has a different point of view. In many ways, the emerging practice of critical theory may unite theory and practice as a transformative, although difficult, way of workingone that is rigorous, reflective, creative, productive as well as critical.

Understanding these different architectural approaches may help us understand some of the forces that have shaped the history of Thai architectural discipline. Theory and practice characterized the way others performed and thought about architecture in the past, acts indispensable in shaping our present and future. They are at a distance from us-historical context is essential to understanding them-yet they are present. They stand in front of us and offer partial answers to the questions we ask ourselves today. □

/References:

[1] Jane Rendell. Art and Architecture: A Place Between [M]. London: I. B. Tauris, 2007.

[2] Mitchell Schwarzer. German Architectural Theory and the Search for Modern Identity [M]. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

[3] Konrad Fiedler. Observation on the Nature and History of Architecture [M].//Harry Malgrave (ed.) Empathy, Form, and Space. CA: The Getty Center, 1994:125-148.

[4] Joseph Rykwert. Meaning and Building [M]//The Necessity of Artifice. New York: Rizzoli, 1983:9-16.

Thinking and Making Architecture: from the 20thto the 21stCentury

The projects featured in this issue ofWorld Architecturerepresent building typologies and contents that are prevalent in Thai architectural discourse at the beginning of the 21stcentury. Whether cultural, institutional, educational or commercial, they have something in common. Throughout the first decade of the 21stcentury, we have encountered many challenges. Faced with global environmental crisis, striving to save and protect our environment has become a common goal in all professional arenas. But many questions are still left unanswered. Various ways of thinking and practicing have emerged and shaped the way architects see buildings. The aim of these projects, however diverse, is to uncover various types of balance within the dynamism of architectural practice and to bring forth the idea of balance. Neither finding a common ground nor absolute agreement in architectural production, balance is a means to understanding the different directions and approaches being critically practiced today. Architectural balance in these projects thus represents both theoretical inquiry and the critical practice that partakes of the potential of architectural design to draw from the past and the present towards the future.

architectural ideology, modes of practice, meaning and building

泰國藝術大學副教授，美國賓夕法尼亞大學建筑歷史與理論博士。/Associate Professor of Silpakorn University, Thailand; Ph.D. in History andTheory of Architecture, University of Pennsylvania.

2014-04-06