re-orietation

Spent a few hours last night trying to pull my concentration statement together. Well, surprisingly after finishing the statement I found myself less inundated by computation, real estate, fabrication etc. Feels good to re-orient myself once in a while.

City and Identity: Social role of Architecture in Post-1997 Hong Kong

After bearing the name HKSARPRC for 8 years, Hong Kong’s socio-political landscape has become every bit as complicated as its acronym. The past 8 years of Hong Kong were highlighted by a long series of squabbles between the government and an emerging civil society – issues such as universal suffrage, the notoriously mishandled West Kowloon Cultural Zone* debacle etc. dominate headlines on a daily basis. The ever-aggravating antagonism between the government and the public seem to eddy around one single vortex – the emerging Hong Kong Identity.

Indeed, while economic assimilation between Mainland China and Hong Kong takes place at an unprecedented pace, it is clear that culturally Hong Kong is not turning into another Chinese metropolis. Over the years the public seem to have recognized local architecture as means of establishing the city’s identity.

But how? The problem seems to be related to various fields in architecture; from ultra high-density housing to public space, preservation of colonial architecture to re-thinking about development in the 21st century… in order to answer this question my concentration, as the first step of my endeavor, inexorably involves the study of city forms and theories in relation to housing, history and city/public space design. Investigation into these fields will allow me to construct a platform; a thesis, on which I can analyze the city’s pulse and dynamics.

some more scripting!

I spent three days trying to punch holes on sashimi but something just refused to work. Frustrated, I created this trellis, which coincidentally looks a lot like what SHoP Architects do in many of their buildings.

This reinforces my desire to work for them during summer-fervent architectural experience in a sweltering New York City. Sounds like a lot of fun. But before I dwell any further into fantasizing my summer experience in New York or London I must stay focused now - for I don't feel quite ready for school yet. This semester, as I could obviously see from my schedule, is going to be hell for me. Four non-kiddish courses plus a TA job is going to drive me to my own demise at the end of the semester.

That said, I am quite excited about everything, especially the TA job. I have been rehearsing in the shower for a couple of times about what I am going to say on our first meeting. In addition to explaining basic architectural studio schedule to them (e.g. what crits are, what they are supposed to do for desk crits, what I will be expecting from them etc.), I will set them on the right track to becoming good architects - not that I am successful enough to call myself one now but I do have a vision of how they ought to be. My methodology is quite simple; designing is an art of negotiating with limitations. Conversely, without limitations one is incapable of designing. Limitations (both technical and conceptual) establish criteria or reference points with which designers are enabled to decide what the essential elements are. Without limitations everything that crosses a designer's mind would clamour and strive for an equal share of importance in the design. The product may indeed reflect these ideas, but most likely lacks control.

Then of course, I would elaborate on the 'oh my' principle, which I think is quintessential to the poetics of architecture. Bill certainly captures the idea quite well, though I think using Susan Sarandon's movie as an explanation may be odd - in fact it caricatures this important idea to an extent that one may regard it as something of little importance. I am going to pick that up by explaining how a narrative could be used to stitch different aspects of architectural design together so that one could perceive different facets of that narrative as one experiences a building.

To illustrate this idea I will bring them to Saarinen's chapel on wednesday afternoon. I will ask them to take note of every single step that they make towards the building. As soon as the cross the road they would see a wall, behind which the famous cylindrical drum stands. The well-proportioned brick wall allows the cylindrical drum to seclude into more intimate corner in the lawn. This is the first statement that the building makes - I occupy a microcosmo. Then as one proceeds one circumnavigates the building, before officially entering the building through an opening on a 'bridge'. This progression, of course, is accentuated by the specially treated brick surface, on which kick bricks cast amazing shadows on the cylindrical wall. Then one make a turn towards left and there, the shimmering sculpture under the building's skylight invites one to the buildings bosom. The undulating walls delineate a microcosmo, a realm that belongs to wonders and magic. That being said, the building is not entirely disconnected from the outside world - windows behind the two brick layers allow light to infiltrate from the building onto the pond's serene surface at night.

then the idea of layers jump in, perception of entirety.... I am way too excited to write now.