 |
High Court Building, Chandigarh. Photo courtesy of Ar. Chai Si Yong. |
This is part of a series of articles written for the architect's newsletter in Sarawak. (PAMSC)
Ever since visiting India with PAMSC, I have wanted to put
this on paper – as a reminder to myself which I can share and build from. In
India, I was reminded of the work of people such as Laurie Baker, Jane Drew
(who worked with Le Corbusier in Chandigarh) and Maxwell Fry. These architects
drew from their experience of building in India and published many books which
have become prescribed reading for architecture in the tropics. Many of us were
familiar with their books and lessons during our university education, but seem
to have forgotten them in our actual built work.
In four consecutive articles under the broad headings of
Shade, Permeability, Thresholds and Materiality – this is an attempt to refresh
our collective memories.
Hopefully, as we progress we will come up with more
headings and examples. Many of the tenets deal with the climate, but they are
the most effective when melded with aspects of local culture and lifestyle. In
this article, we see the significance of the ‘threshold’ in tropical buildings.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines the ‘threshold’ as “the
floor of an entrance to a building or room” while the Longman Dictionary has
this definition - "the level at which something starts to happen or have
an effect" and "at the beginning of a new and important event or
development.”
 |
| It is also written in ancient Chinese folklore that a high threshold (門檻)can prevent a zombie (僵尸) from entering the house. (Chinese Doorway) Photo courtesy of Mary Leonard. |
These common definitions regard the threshold as a separation or
connection element located between different spaces. In architecture however,
it takes on physical, psychological, emotional, social and cultural meanings.
In its first and simplest form, it represents the physical
boundary between the inside and outside - as part of the door construction;
with a hole in the centre for a shot bolt, with a physical divider to change
from one floor material to another, or a step to emphasise the act of crossing
over.
 |
| Part of a ritual to remind us to adjust our tone and temper our behaviour. |
In local cultures, this is often where we take off our shoes
to enter the house, crossing the public realm into the private. In the
traditional Malay house, there is sometimes an earthen pot of water with a
scoop for washing our feet before climbing the steps to the ‘anjung’ or entry
verandah. It can be seen as part of a ritual to remind us that we are entering
into another sanctum - that we should adjust our tone and temper our behaviour.
More poetic than a door mat. Some believe that thresholds have protective
powers against unwanted visitors.
 |
| The door left ajar extends the function and meaning of the threshold. |
And there is more to it - consider the door swinging into a
room; whether the door opens into the room or facing the adjacent wall
determines the level of privacy for the person inside the room. The door left
ajar extends the function and meaning of the threshold. It maintains
connectivity with the space and people outside the room while retaining a level
of privacy – for naps on warm tropical afternoons when the door is left ajar
for breezes to enter.
 |
| The 5-foot way can be seen as a soft and permeable border between two realms; the street and the shop. Photo courtesy of Jerome Lim. |
The threshold as a planning element is more common than we
think – the five-foot way is designed as a thoroughfare if one were to regard
the entire street. But from the point of view of the individual shop, it is can
be seen as a soft (and permeable) border between two realms - the street
(public) and the shop (private). It can take on different functions depending
on the time of the day and/or business. Often these devices are enlarged to
suit the scale and type of the building it serves; becoming a forecourt which
functions also as preparatory space for the task to come – allowing time for
the visitor to prepare.
 |
| The tree court in the front of the Masjid is one of the thresholds between the street and the prayer hall – a quiet space and shade from the trees in preparation for prayer. (Masjid Wan Alwi). |
Successful thresholds for buildings in the tropics are the
interstitial space between the outside and the inside, designed specifically
for our climate - for the eyes to adjust to the light, for perspiration to
evaporate slightly or to put away our umbrellas before entering the building.
This can be in the form of a naturally ventilated lobby or a shaded verandah
such as the ‘serambi’ of a Malay House.
 |
| Thresholds into public buildings can be used for social and community facilities. (Sibu Heritage Centre) |
Often these thresholds serve as spaces for social and
communal activities - successful for this purpose because of their organic
nature, they are less formal thus encouraging interaction. They give the notion
of ‘colonising’ an auxiliary space to extend the meaning and function of the
original space. This blurring of boundaries is an important aspect of tropical
design as it allows a flexible interpretation of space depending on the time of
day, the weather and the activity itself. It invites nature into the built
environment.
Perhaps the designers of our public buildings need to adopt
this manner of thinking more stringently, and to remember that the threshold
between the inside and outside, between work and community, between heat and
comfort, between public and private is NOT defined by 12mm of tempered glass.
 |
| The street is invited into the building; making it a lobby, a forecourt, a thoroughfare and public space. (Hong Kong Shanghai Bank – photo courtesy of Fosters and Partners) |
They must remember that its relationship with the street and the public will be
enhanced by the quality of its threshold - it must be accessible to the public,
it must say something about the space they are about to enter, and because we
are in the tropics, it must have shade.
And this is the topic of our next conversation.
