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.

Student Works #2 – Making Wind Visible

PTURE
by Jonathan Yue, Yip Ching Lok, Geraldine Lum, Song Xiao Xing, Yi Hye Mi

Sometimes to move forward, you got to look back at the past. As design becomes more complicated, with inevitable emphasis on sluggish practical issues like structure and services, it can be inspirational to remember the energy and idealism of early projects.

This brings to mind a project done by fellow classmates back in Year 2. The brief was simple – a sound sculpture, raising awareness of the sonic through form. So it is not really architecture: it’s part art, part science contraption. Here nature becomes the mediator between sound and shape. In their own words, they wanted to create an “interplay of time, movement and sound”.

(Hundreds of moving flags)

As wind blows, it calls to attention hundreds of flags taller than human height, and like automated louvres they open or shut the path of noise coming from the nearby road. Imagine the visual delight when these flags shift from one state to another, like a domino effect, a battalion of swaying flags!

(No dust on acrylic)

A path meanders amidst all the flags. Walking through, the experience kicks in – when buses cease to be heard with a gush of wind, or when a cacophony of engine roars accompanies the opening of the sonic gates.

(A path of experience)

What also amazes me is the effort behind this project – experimentation leading to tectonic materialisation as well as an elegant acrylic model as seen above. The energy to explore, from concept to realisation to presentation, is somehow an intrinsic quality of early works. Many people eventually forget how it used to be, and the Mundane sets in, losing the magic of doing architecture, or whatever it is that they are doing.

So here is a potent reminder of the inquiring mind, something to inspire lest one has lost his/her way.

See more:

NUS Sound Sculpture Report

Sound Sculptor Baudouin Oosterlynck + Sculptures

JY’s Flickr!

towards technology crit…