pre-Architecture.

Remember the days before entering the scary field called Architecture? (That must have been a really long time ago for some of us) Remember the days when we had no idea who Corbusier was, or what stringers were or the difference between building and architecture.(some still don’t). There is something about the innocence (or is it blissful ignorance? ) of a freshman before he enters architecture- before he dives into the unknown.

Its almost like being in “The Matrix” and one is sitting in the couch opposite Morpheus and he says,”You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. (a red pill is shown in his other hand) You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.Remember, all I am offering is the truth, nothing more.”

This week we talk to Lee Kyong Won, a 20 year old lad that fascinates himself with the relationships between architecture and almost anything, who is about to study architecture formally. Five Foot Way Magazine asks him some questions to find out his thoughts on architecture in general, before he dives into the rabbit hole. He provides some pretty mature answers for someone who isn’t in architecture school yet. I know that i would have given a radically different set of answers if you asked me before i studied architecture. However, much happens within the education of an architect. Perhaps, when he graduates, he will look back to this fateful interview and have a different set of answers.

FFW: Architecture is…

LKW:the mediation of conflicting intentions to produce something on a large scale. I love the way how architecture is a composition of intimate spaces that require to not only explore these entities but to also question the meaning of them. Architecture provides us a platform to question the things in our life…from the similarity of architecture and cuisine or the differences between architecture and music. Architecture is mankind’s pursuit to find meaning in our life.

FFW:I want to study architecture because…

LKW:I feel that there is a need for us to animate these static forms into structures that are sensitive to people’ past, emotions, and feelings. I see so many relationships that architecture has to every part of our lives. The field of architecture has always been sincere about doing more than just putting a roof above our heads but most people have not recognised the effects architecture has on our lives. Have the practitioners been doing a poor job at that? That’s one thing I don’t know. But I’m saying that the importance of architecture can only be realised when architecture demonstrates the reasons of its existence. How shall we educate people that architecture is more than just a facade is something that I find interesting.

FFW:I think Singapore architecture is…

LKW:highly disciplined in its pursuit for anything that follows the rules of modernism. I’m aware of all the constrains that architecture in Singapore is bound to. Architecture in Singapore is still in its infancy stage. We do not have a architecture style that we can call our own. We do not possess a climate that accepts radical thinkers because we have the major developers to answer to. As someone who hasn’t studied architecture, I still aware of that fact that there are just so many factors that make Singapore architecture bland and inclusive. I think Singapore architecture must be aware that it is not only the developer, the authority and the people who are involved in the building, that they should be pleasing. Architecture is not always about pleasing the people involved in the final product. Architecture is about educating the masses. So if an architect builds a condominium, he must bear in mind that he should not leave out the passers-by that are walking near the condominium. Architecture must not be a blank piece of paper, it must tell a story. But more often than not, this is overlooked in favour of the developer whose priority is to make sure the condominium is designed in a way that it appeals aesthetically first.

Having said all these, I believe that Singapore architecture holds enormous potential. We don’t possess a culture that is as rich as other countries but we possess a culture that we can call our own and that no other country has. We can work with that culture and produce meaningful architecture. But before we can do that, we have to learn that eschewing local architects for foreign ones just because they are big-name architects is not the right step in developing Singapore architecture. Singapore architecture must be developed holistically because from what I can see, we have to educate the public that the architecture as a profession is not about living the high life. We have to educate the public that architects must be appreciated not because they built your house, engineers built them, but because architects provides a platform for you to find meaning in your life. I know I’m reiterating what I’ve just said just now but Singapore architecture has a bright future if we provide support for Singapore architects.

FFW:The most interesting piece of architecture that I know of is…

LKW:any building that has enough volume to jolt someone, enough light that will draw people’s attention to every corner of the building whether its the interior or exterior, and enough contours that will mesmerize the hunting instinct in us etc. Well you could say anything that could bring out memories of an event if that building as a national monument on a historically significant site, or whether its just a building that brings out the emotions of a person.

FFW:If I’m not going to make it as an architect, I will be a…

LKW:urban planner working with the Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority. Developing cities and towns amazes me and I personally think developing Singapore will be an extremely exciting and challenging task that I would love to take on. Because Singapore is getting, figuratively speaking, smaller each day, we should approach the spaces that we have differently. It’s not a matter of just solving the urban problem at one sitting. Developing Singapore is a constant evolving process that requires us to analyse context and situation, aside from so many other factors, so that we can make Singapore a vibrant city. Urban spaces make buildings alive. I like rearranging and reinterpreting spaces that surround old depilidated buildings. I think they are more of a challenge than designing a new city or urban space. We face this problem in certain parts in Singapore and I think another exciting prospect Singapore has.

Adib is the co-founder of 5ft Creatives and he loves to walk on the FIVEFOOTWAY.