Pages from my Sketchbook 1

My trusty Moleskine, companion to the alter ego of my mind. To sketch, to observe, to be; every line,  turn and curve etching the fabric of existence, of various moods and dispositions. Attempting to capture the quintessence of European towns, every page a chapter, and on hindsight an enormous window back into those carefree days of exploratory pleasures.

Granada, Spain – sitting on the narrow curb of a door along the slope waiting for the landlord to appear, sketching as shadow lines move across the pebbled floor. Aboard the TGV, France - A very adorable young boy scribbles and explores my SLR, as he travels with Mum and Sis to Toulouse for their summer vacation. Firenze, Italy – atop Giotto’s Campanile beside the Duomo, as I glance afar and outline the many windows of the Uffizi Gallery.

something

to come

SuperGarden SuperSpore

SUPERGARDEN

11th International Architecture Exhibition, Venezia

Poof! qmark disappeared for 1.5 months.

Window Shopping

We went window shopping the other night. Strolling along the main pedestrian streets of Bahnhofstrasse and Niederdorfstrasse in Zürich, it seemed like peering through carefully choreographed scenes of art, lifestyle, stills. It’s like a window into the greener grass, commercialism so skilfully manipulated it IS art (something Warhol understood so well).

qmark presents some little twinkles that made me stop on the cobblestone street and peer into worlds of desire. Enjoy!

The birthplace of DADA: Cabaret Voltaire. It's now the Neo-Dada wave.

Myth at work: the singular intensifies desire.

Yet another reference to Warhol and being Pop!

finally starts studio. And wow it is amazing here!

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.

Mapping China Now

Beijing, Winter 2007 -3 to 5 degrees C. brrrrr.
Shanghai, Winter 2007 -2 to 10 degrees C. brrrr.

I wonder how colddd it feels to be in Beijing a few weeks back. Just when it seems as though the temperatures couldn’t go any lower two months ago… brrrrrr.

But such is the impact after a good two weeks of travelling the much hyped Beijing and Shanghai and also touching base on Shenzhen (mainly for the HK-SZ biennale)- you dig the China vibe. The trip has ignite an interest in these ‘new’ Chinese cities and its people, especially its living architects, artists, film makers & writers who- more than anyone else, care about making sense of this radical phase the entire nation is traversing.

And thankfully, the way we perceive a city is often very subjective. So here’s a honey pot of personal highlights, recommendations- just some stuff to share.

China Walk (19.12.07- 02.01.08)

Beijing will be, or already is the next coolest city & tourist hot-spot in the making! – for all its vitality in reinvention (and pimping the city) , in cultivating a spirited art scene and a whole new world of bold architectures, transformations & openness! Shanghai on the other hand feels relatively more stable, a city that is probably worth spending some time living or working in and you get to explore the various aspects of its urbane life on a more micro level. Beware though, people are generally less friendly, quite nasty. hmm. Shenzhen in comparison is a less developed Chinese city whom unlike HK- its neighbour across the border, feels mostly empty, spacious and sparse. Until you walk into the heart of this mini shopping district that is, where almost everyone seems to be.

random quickies:

798 Art District, Beijing

A venue to the delight of all art and architecture buffs. Of winter-scape, Bauhaus factories, adaptive reuse, galleries, shops and art pieces of all shapes, sizes and contents. While quietly exploring and wandering the sprawls of galleries and studios you wonder at the same time, where are the common folks? And then on hindsight, why isn’t there a venue like this here at home?

Pre-Olympics frenzy, Beijing

It was an exciting and somewhat surreal pilgrimage to these mostly larger than life buildings and places, albeit many were still U/C or not fully utilised yet. Will be back someday!

CCTV/TVCC, Beijing

OMA

The National Grand Theatre, Beijing

The only venue that was already open to the public and ready for use. Surreal surreal surreal.

China’s Building Blitz

Commune by the Great Wall, Beijing

This came as a surprise, a galleria of private ‘houses’- and the mad quest on X’mas day to catch a glimpse of the entire collection before the sun sets at 530pm!

Xin Tian Di 新天地, Shanghai

Cosmopolitan Shanghai at its best- upmarket fashion boutiques carrying local brand names and more, chichi shops, bars and restaurants… . Adaptive reuse of the traditional housing shi ku men, gives this place a localised character amidst the cosmo-ambience and contents.

Bridge 8, Shanghai

Up and coming design and creative work hub and an iconic building specially designed and created for it! Home to a couple of archi firms like Aedas SH. I’m curious about how these places actually work.

Jinhua Architecture Park, Shanghai/Jinhua

17 pavilions situated in an agronomic small city, Jinhua. Probably the longest stroll through a park ever- Architecture elemental and poetic.

SZ-HK Architecture and Urbanism Biennale- Oct Lofts, Shenzhen

Oct-Lofts- The 798 of Shenzhen. Forget about the museums for now- raw, old and stripped down really works well.

and the people..!

I suppose what also makes these travels more meaningful at the end of the day is when they evoke thoughts & reflections about your urbane life back in your own city- when you begin to ask “Why not?”.

And of course with just a mere 2 weeks plus of travelling and 3 cities, we can’t get too far on ‘Mapping China’- here are some other fragments that could possibly make up the bigger picture:

DVD China

Shop. Along 自忠路 near 新天地 this shop with a surprisingly wide selection of films which got us pretty excited. A gem yeah.

盲山 (Blind Mountain, 2007)
Li Yang

We got this non-pirated DVD for a mere 21 yuan and it came bundled with 天堂口 (Blood Brothers). An earnest offering from independent Chinese director, Li Yang- his second feature film after the award winning 盲井, Blind Shaft. Beautifully shot almost entirely in a remote Chinese village, Blind Mountain paints a picture of suburban Chinese society through its take on one of China’s social problems- sex trade and slavery. Unvarnished and gritty in realism, it depicts a society in the throes of moral collapse. Certainly worth shoving China chic aside for a moment to spend some time on this gem of a film. Looking forward to more films from the director!

Read China

Shop. Books, Bookstores, design bookstores are not an uncommon sight especially in cosmopolitan Shanghai. Good for picking up cheap copies of the Chinese editions of A+U and Detail- we also found copies of Chinese Conception of Space (中国空间) by Li Xiaodong, ex-Professor and design tutor in NUS. Written in both languages, and it is about erm, Chinese conception of space.

Commune By The Great Wall (长城脚下的公社 ) -
Catalog/ Book/ DVD
A really decent book which documents all the houses of the private collection in drawings in pretty pictures, in Chinese and in English. Got this from the souvenir shop within the Commune itself.

A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary For Lovers (2007)
Xiaolu Guo

Probably the only published literature/novel ever- that is rightfully written in badddd English, and thereafter shortlisted for the Orange Prize in literature. A light and easy read, the transient relationship between an Englishman and Chinese woman is examined in the format of a dictionary. Imagine ulu and shamelessly honest Chinese girl from communist China meets carefree, arty and worldly Ang moh in London. Personally, the high strung clashes in ideals and philosophies between two people and two cultures as well as the good humour as a result of this lost in translation are truly the memorable moments in this rather delightful read.
Guo is also a film director whose feature film How is Your Fish Today? (2006) was selected for the Sundance and Rotterdam Festivals. Someone to look out for!

Hear China

Ever wondered what the modern China indie music scene is like? P.K.14 is a Beijing-based art punk band who was recently voted by TIME magazine (together with local band, The Analog Girl) as one of the five Asian bands to watch in 2008. It doesn’t matter what these guys are slurring- as long as they slur in Chinese, trash the frenetic rhythms, dish out the politics, play to a largely underground scene and appear deep, dark and dangerous… slurpsss.

China.SG

Primary Colours: Feng Zheng Jie - Exhibition @ SAM – till 20th April

Renowned Beijing artist in the contemporary Chinese art scene best known for his Portrait of China series which deals mainly with the issues of a globalised China. Stylistically sensual and pop.

奥运精华游 Olympic Walkers - Channel U , Thurs 9.30pm
13 episodes across the seven Olympic cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Tian Jin, Qing Dao, Shen Yang, Hong Kong and Qin Huang Island and witness the preparations for the world sporting event!

Film: Boomtown Beijing, Dir: Tan Siok Siok, Singapore International Film Festival ’08
A documentary by local film maker, executive producer and educator Tan Siok Siok while he was a visiting lecturer at the Beijing Film Academy- A film about the ordinary Beijingers’ Olympics experience.

and China.
__________________________________________________________

Malaysia [4]: Melaka

While you can’t compare it to the catalytic visit to Bali by Liu Kang and the other pioneer artists, it bears a slight resemblence in that rediscovery of the old-world, the carefree and the picturesque. We learn about the human scale, we learn about the urban spatial condition and the development of the city. Most of all, we uncover the “humanity” of the town – the refreshing Chendol, the rich Nyonya Laksa, the Curios-shop auntie along Jonker Walk who informs us of the 2 ringgit bus ride, the assembly of students in St. Francis School, the nanchuk-wielding housewife battling mineral water bottles in an early morning exercise routine…. and so on.

A beautiful town.

notes the sudden number of Melaka posts from the Archi3 blogosphere.

What is your City? – Contents

As we make our way towards new cityscapes of varying densities and varying experiences, perhaps here I would like to share with you our itinerary through images from E都市 (E-City) website which is like an alternative version of Google Earth, or SimCity for real. You can search offices, streets, even locate all the McDonald branches in the city!

Stop 1: Hong Kong 香港

Stop 2: Shenzhen 深圳

 

Stop 3: Beijing 北京

Stop 3-1: Forbidden City

Stop 4: Shanghai 上海

This website only maps cities in China, and I wonder how they would update the buildings/maps when they change. Nevertheless, it is a great effort to detail every single buildings, render them and it is amazing simply to view the different cityscapes in China!

What is your city then?

begins packing.

Malaysia [3]: Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia.

Of course there’s Jalan Bukit Bintang with your Lot 10 and Sungei Wang fantasies, and the Petronas Towers being such an easy icon. But here, we present you with our little guide to a spatially experiential tour. 7 places that you might have missed, or neglected, but makes this burgeoning city intriguing and fun.

1 NATIONAL MOSQUE
Jalan Perdana

(Look at the detailing)

Mosques are not a thing for everybody. But to miss a mosque in a largely Muslim society is akin to skipping the churches in say, Florence. And you will definitely marvel at the ornateness of its interior. Arabesque screens and recessed motifs interact with the afternoon light to create a complex atmosphere of subdued light and shadow. The reflective floor finishing, column detailing and corridor proportions will blow you away into an ethereal experience of incredible lightness of being. (Not exaggerating here) Places of worship really have the most affective spaces.

(Lightness)

2 KLCC Recreation Park
Jalan Perdana

It’s easy to visit KLCC and only remember the shops and towers. We tell you to explore further, into the recreation park that is the real heart of this area, or KL for that matter. Many many playgrounds huddle together in a fantasyland for kids, a large fountain and waterplay area provides endless hours of family fun, and the running track amidst an undulating landscape means you forget about the dense urban thing you live in, and immerse into the recreation itself.

3 CITY WALK along river
via KL Sentral, Masjid Negara, Chinatown, Masjid Jamek

(Banksy-like graffiti and post office building )

In the weekday, under the humid sunset, enjoy a refreshingly detached pace of life as white-collar workers and students scuttle by, while the urbanscape is transformed by locals setting up semi-permanant and makeshift stalls selling all sorts of wares. Observe the serial vision (frontal view path) and notice the unexpected – Banksy-like graffiti, the overlap of the vernacular and the commercial.

4 PUDURAYA Bus Station

Backpackers would definitely have been here. It’s a bus station, very dodgy-looking. But its massiveness, its dodgyness and its spatial filth just pulls you in. Many dank “hellholes” lead you into the individual bus stalls, and the unregulated corridors and counters and stairways up into the car park all exude a coarse and raw quality about the place. It is the idea of the transport hub and all its pollution congregated in a building. (Wiki)

5 ASIAN HERITAGE ROW
Jalan Doraisamy

(2nd level exterior space)

Here is a case of adaptive reuse of a vernacular typology – the shophouse. Individual units become mixed and matched – with new frontal extensions like Clarke Quay, and special balcony spaces on the 2nd level. Tucked into an unassuming business district, this is currently one of the more popular nightspots for the locals. (Website)

6 Night MONORAIL ride
via KL Sentral, Jalan Bukit Bintang

What better way to meander through this dense post-modern city than to hop aboard the monorail, which provides a new visual appreciation of the cityscape. Bird’s eye overview in an extensive matrix of lights.

7 KTM HQ
Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin

(Facade)

Again, something less visited doesn’t make it less important. The old KTM (Keretapi Tanah Melayu) central station, has become a hotel with old world charm (check out the old-style elevator). Across the road, the KTM HQ is also equally underappreciated. A piece of Mughal styled architecture.

takes a short break from hectic design.