A Workshop and A Website and A Studio

Workshop – Explorations of some fab digifab machines. I think it can be concluded that the laser printer had been misunderstood, the CNC had been stuck with engineering way too long, and the 3D printer is simply an archaeological magic show.

The laser printer discovers intricacy and mouldability. The CNC discovers structure and material distribution. The 3D printer discovers directional translucency and sightlines. To understand the implications of this newness is the key; to revel in it however becomes self-absorbing, myopic.

Website – Images from our pioneering digital studio weblog. Yeah many parallels to some AA Diplo Unit weblog, but maybe we are getting there. Do leave some comments too. The investigation with digital fabrication techniques will continue on to include components and systems.

Studio – Shinya先生 worked at H&dM and Renzo Piano Building Workshop, has quite an impressive CV and here’s an entry from the IaaC Housing Competition.

Fields for Thought

(see trevor.patt’s flickr set )

For this half a year, I will be exploring a facet of architecture which Patrick Schumacher (Zaha Hadid Architects) called the “great new style after Modernism”: parametricism.

Dear Student

 

 

The semester issue was on

‘co-habit’

or how a built structure with a fixed program can adapt to different – temporary and social – circumstances and needs

 

the world events (the past few weeks since the layout of the exercise) as they pass before our eyes may still bring sooner than later some of the issues we raised into the daily european and worldwide agenda.

 

architects in their handling of their craft have always had aims of

‘contemplation’ either of the singular or of the social soul

 

the condition of this post post modern age : void of goals and 

objectives ‘wrapping’ is not a condition by itself

 

in which way a precious object – versus the indiscreet object – can be of worth and adaptability

 

durability is often a parallel and synonym of changeability

 

you should in your presentation of the work – and as a complement to it – make some well considered statement on the worthiness of your ‘parti’ and gesture vis a vis the (initial) goal(s) of the exercise

 

in any case make it clear short and convincingly yours

 

josé paulo

SuperGarden SuperSpore

SUPERGARDEN

11th International Architecture Exhibition, Venezia

Poof! qmark disappeared for 1.5 months.

French Connection Paris Deux

§ Architecture: Like any other capital city, Paris has her fair share of old and contemporary architecture. I soaked in the atmosphere of Haussmann´s Paris, but I did also a fair amount of archihopping around town. Jean Nouvel tops the list of the contemporary, which includes the Arab Institute, Musee du Quai Branly as well as Fondation Cartier.

Parc de la Villette by Tschumi is another nice place to stroll, meet the joggers and listen to sound art. It is more than just weird little red structures being littered about. It seems like an authentic experience can be planned, and then architecture becomes a poem. Reminded me of Melbourne – the “art bridge” southeast of Swanston, the Docklands Sculpture Park and also a little dose of Jinhua.

§ HighTech: There seems to be this high-tech thing going on after Centre Pompidou made its contemporary mark on the Parisian urban fabric. Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie revels in its industrial frankness. La Defense makes its fengshui mark at the end of the Arc de Triomphe axis, like a precursor to OMA´s CCTV Tower.

bleached in the sevillian sun.

French Connection Paris Un

Claude Lelouch “C’etait un rendezvous” (Rendezvous)

§ Fitting introduction to the city of Paris, its charm intact from 1976 till today. My rendezvous with Paris began where Lelouch had his with his mon cherie at the Sacré-Cœur Basilica.

§ Art&Culture: Paris was the artistic capital of the world for the most part of 19th and early 20th century. Here you find the real art history books: Neoclassical / Beaux Arts in the Louvre, Impressionism in the Musée d’Orsay, Modern / Pomo in the Pompidou. To see those paintings in front of you – orgasmic!

is in toulouse.

Read; June Journalism

1. The 8th June “issue” of the NYT Mag was quite splendid, and free of course. It gathered Nicolai Ouroussoff (architecture critic of NYT) and others to pitch in for its Architecture Issue: an interview with Bernard Tschumi, discussion about film sets’ cities and LOT-EK, there’s something for everyone. But it is through this issue where we learn about Ouroussoff’s story behind One-North, and Front Inc.‘s “exuberantly baroque” winning scheme for a new LV store in Singapore featuring a curtain wall of completely curved glass.

“[..] Several years ago, the London-based, Iraqi-born architect Zaha Hadid received a phone call from a Chinese developer asking if she might be interested in designing a 500-acre urban development on the outskirts of Singapore. [..] With more than 20 blocks now complete, parts of the city look surprisingly conventional.”

2. The Lifestyle-Elephant & Coral Creative Writing Contest yielded its final winner, Perry Ho, whose endearing entry captured a side of architecture that was startlingly rare and refreshing. “The Apartment” is an anthropomorphic representation of the Apartment, with soul and many canny references to our built reality. Allegorical and definitely worth reading! Here I reproduce it in its entirety.

“Other buildings envied her Shiseido #119 ceiling. The Jesus she hung at the door (of her heart) gave her strength. Jade bangles around her ankles trapped the essence of her youth. You could hear them holding on for dear life whenever she got up and ran, ran with the other Apartments and Factories into the night. No one knew where she went, returning only when her ankles ached to keep up the night’s display of high spirits. Come morning, some proud Apartment would be seen wearing a night’s old #119.

SG Down Under!

Here on qmark we advocate wholesome fun that’s stimulating and also free! It’s amazing how despite our pea-sized island, there’s really a wealth of places to explore and things to do cheaply or even freely, unbeknownst to many.

The latest (ok it happened 2 weeks ago) fun outing was the Southern Ridges Trail – a stretch of green from West Coast Park to Mount Faber / Vivocity that recently became connected. It has been in the papers a lot, so I shall just post highlights of the trail for those who are going! Nothing beats the experience of walking through these green heights.

>FULL STRETCH<

The entire route: 2.5 hours but really it takes almost a whole day. Alternative route from NUS to VivoCity instead of the 188 bus.

>HORTPARK<

@Hyderabad Road. Don’t miss out the experimental flowering blooms at the greenhouses, and the vertical green wall systems on display! If hungry, hit Thai restaurant KHA or take a bus to Queensway for lunch.

>ALEXANDRA ARCH<

MKPL designed this; a soaring archway that begins a stretch of canopy-walking all the way to Telok Blangah.

 >HENDERSON WAVES<

George Legendre of IJP Corporation’s first built experiment of algorithmic architecture, a bridge that spans 5 separate mathematical algorithms that generate the design. It’s the new wave~~~ (pun)!

>MOUNT FABER<

There’s a private location under the cable cars that can be perfect for some quiet reflection. Watching the world move above and enjoying the splendid view ahead, makes you want to linger on.

goes corporate.

Loss

: (

The Interview Form

Went for an interview at an archi firm along River Valley Road and had to fill in an interview form that went something like this- as true as my memory holds:

1. What is your greatest achievement so far?

2. Who (dead or alive) would you really like to have dinner with and where?

3. What is your biggest source of inspiration?

4. Who, in your field of practice do you admire and why?

5. Draw your favourite object.

6. Draw your favourite space.

7. Draw in anyway you like the following items- path, house, snake, fence, a body of water, chimney, tree.

Most are pretty standard questions on the list but that was definitely an atypical interview- one that I will probably remember in a long time to come. Left the place after a good 40mins? of thinking, writing and doodling, intrigued by how discerning an interview was in such a short span of time.

ponders over her answers… & looks forward to the new job!