April 30, 2008 | Broadcast | News
Go green with SketchUp
Most of us must have used Sketchup in our early stages of design in one way or another. In conjunction with Earth Day which had just passed, Google Sketchup have put together a page to showcase how SketchUp is contributing to the development of Green Architecture.
Check out the page and in particular, look out for the Resources page that you might find useful.
Here’s the link to the page.
April 29, 2008 | Digests | Reports
Singapore Digest - April/May 08
You’ve seen the China Digest on FFW by Bert over the last months and now, we are proud to bring you FFW’s Singapore digest; a quick summary of events affecting Singapore’s built environment. We will be giving a summary of events over the last month and also give a peek into what we can look forward to in the near future. If it’s important, you can be sure that you’ll find it here in our digest on FFW.
Recent News
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SLA’s first ever spatial challenge
First map exhibition showcasing 135 years of maps from 1819 to Japanese Occupation to pre-Independence of 1954.
The recently concluded SLA Spatial Challenge is an initiative of the Singapore Land Authority aimed at encouraging the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology in Schools. Supported by the Ministry of Education and ESRI Singapore, the Challenge is organised for Pre-University students to increase the awareness of GIS in students, and encourage innovative use of GIS in Singapore.
This initiative leads us to think of how Google Earth have changed the way architects analyse site conditions. In fact, this challenge by SLA is reminiscent of the multiple mashup competitions that we see on the Internet today, most of them using Google Earth and Google Maps APIs.
The competition was won by Raffles Junior College whose project involved coming up with a model for entrepreneurs and startups to search for and select the best location, in terms of traffic, rental and market comparatives, for their shop. The first and second runners-up were Millennia Institute (Team 2) and NUS High School of Mathematics and Science respectively.
Imagine that architects have these GIS data at their fingertips, how would they respond to these information?
To accompany this competition, SLA and the National Archives Board (NAS) have co-organised their first-ever historical map exhibition. Themed “From Emporium to Singapore City: Mapping the Journey�, the exhibition revisits 135 years of Singapore’s history (1819-1959) through maps. Together with historical photographs and documents, the iconic maps on display tell compelling stories on different facets of Singapore’s transformation from an unknown fishing village to a bustling British Emporium of the Far East and a World City in 1951, awakened from the turmoil of the Japanese Occupation. The archival maps over the centuries and decades also touched on SLA’s mapping journey from paper to digital.
If you are one who’s interested to understand the layers of Singapore’s urban morphology, these cartographic treasures will definitely help you along.The public can visit the map exhibition which will tour three regional libraries and Atrium@Orchard for a few weeks. Details of the map tour are:
| MOE (Level 1): | 24 April to 1 May (2pm-5.30pm) |
| Ang Mo Kio Community Library (Level 1): | 2 May – 12 May (2pm-5.30pm) |
| Jurong Regional Library (Level 1): | 13 May - 25 May (2pm-5.30pm) |
| The Atrium@Orchard: | 26 May to 1 June (2pm-5.30pm) |
For more information visit the SLA website. Also, see the related CNA Report.
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Blueprint for Jurong unveiled
URA plans to transform Jurong Lake District into a unique lakeside destination for business and leisure
As part of the Draft Master Plan 2008 Review, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) today announced the blueprint for Jurong Lake District. The vision for Jurong Lake District is to transform it into a unique lakeside destination for business and leisure in the next 10 to 15 years.
Jurong Lake District consists of two complementary precincts, Jurong Gateway and Lakeside. These refer to the areas around the Jurong East MRT Station and Jurong Lake in the west region of Singapore.
The key proposals for the Jurong Lake District are as follows:
• The area around the Jurong East MRT Station (to be known as Jurong Gateway) will be developed into an attractive commercial hub serving the west region, outside the city centre
• A new and unique leisure destination will be created around Jurong Lake (to be known as Lakeside) with edutainment attractions for the whole family
• Jurong Lake will be brought closer to Jurong Gateway through the introduction of possible new waterways and pedestrian linkages
• The sense of greenery will be heightened with new landscaped open spaces and park connectors at the street-level and skyrise greenery in buildings
• An integrated network of pedestrian walkways between buildings and public facilities will be created.
For more information, see the site plan and artist impressions showing the key plans for Jurong Lake District.
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NParks & SLA create more than 30ha of space for tree banks
Inter-agency project sees more than 11,000 trees nurtured on State land for future use
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A Green city, A Garden in a City, A City in a Garden; all of which aptly describes Singapore’s built environment. In a continuation of efforts to upkeep Singapore’s image as a Green City, the National Parks Board (NParks) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) – tapping on each other’s resources and expertise - have embarked on their biggest tree-banks project. Four sites in Sungei Tengah and the West Coast area are being used to nurture young, high-value trees to meet future demands for landscaping in Singapore. These trees are expected to liven up Singapore’s streetscape and add more than a touch of greenery in upcoming significant NParks projects such as Gardens by the Bay, the Streetscape Greenery Masterplan and new park developments.
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UOB Kay Hian offers highest bid for site at Scotts Road
View Larger Map
The tender for the transitional office site at Scotts Road/Anthony Road has attracted strong bids.
UOB Kay Hian put in the highest offer at S$34 milllon, 16 per cent higher than the second bid. The bid works out to more than S$242 per square foot per plot ratio.The almost 8,700-square-metre site is offered on a short-term lease of 15 years.
The site is near to an MRT station and is located just outside the central business district and as office supply continues to be tight, the site has potential for amalgamation with an adjacent land parcel.
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Singapore Developers in overseas developments
Singapore developers are still going strong, developing plots in developing countries in the region. If you are interested, here are some that have been reported.
CapitaLand acquires site to build IT park, office complex in India- CNA
CapitaLand, Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala join hands to develop properties- CNA
KepLand secures option to develop residential site in Vietnam- CNA
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Public Call for Participation in the DesignSingapore-Venice 2008 Studio
The DesignSingapore-Venice2008 Studio proposes to study the relation and opportunities between Architecture and Interactive Digital Media, in creating a unique and thought-provoking experiential presentation to be shown at the 11th Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition,
taking place in Venice from 14th September to 23rd November 2008.
The call for proposals closed on 25th April 2008. Now we wait to hear more news on what Singapore will bring to the upcoming Venice Biennale.
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Nominations for President’s Design Award 2008 Now Open
Nominations to be in by 23rd May
The Award was first launched by The President of the Republic of Singapore in November 2005, during which the Award trophy was unveiled as well. Nine recipients of the Award – two Designers of the Year and seven Designs of the Year – were selected for the inaugural awards in 2006.
The Award entered its second cycle in 2007. Last year, the Award was conferred on seven Designers of the Year and seven Designs of the Year. For more information, visit the official website
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URA’s A•UDE Promotion Programme (7th Cycle)
10 Apr 2008 - 11 Jul 2008
The A•UDE Promotion Programme is set up by the Urban Redevelopment Authority to encourage and support private organisations and individuals who wish to carry out outreach activities in the areas of architecture and urban design (A&UD). It aims to encourage an active design culture among designers and end-users by co-funding, up to 50%, A&UD-related activities including exhibitions, publications, multi-media productions, research studies and competitions that would promote excellence in architecture and urban design in Singapore.
For more information, visit the homepage or email aude@ura.gov.sg.
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Coming Soon
Singapore Draft Master Plan 2008
May 2008
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is expected to unveil the Draft Master Plan 2008 in May 2008. The last review was done in 2003.
The Master Plan is the statutory land use plan that URA develops to guide Singapore’s development over the next 10 to 15 years. It is reviewed every five years, and translates the broad long-term strategies as set out in the Concept Plan into detailed plans for implementation.
The Draft Master Plan 2008 will continue to focus on providing Singaporeans with a good quality of life with more recreational choices and better living environments.
A key focus of the Draft Master Plan 2008 is also to continue to sustain Singapore’s economy with new growth areas like the Ophir-Rochor corridor and Jurong East. Beyond the Marina Bay and city centre as the main commercial centres for Singapore, more commercial hubs will be developed outside the city centre to accommodate new growth.
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World Cities Summit 2008
23-25 June 2008
World Cities Summit is a premier international conference series on effective public governance and sustainable development of cities. The inaugural event in 2008 will focus on urban development and environmental sustainability issues under the theme “Liveable and Vibrant Cities”. The discussion topics will address the challenges of developing cities that are both liveable and vibrant. It will cover issues related to excellent urban infrastructure, clean environment, climate change,good quality of life and economic competitiveness.
The World Cities Summit 2008 is organised by the Civil Service College and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Ministry of National Development and will be held from 23 to 25 June 2008. For more information, visit the official website.
April 28, 2008 | News | Reports | Technology
AIA announces Top Ten Green Projects
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have selected the top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment. The projects will be honored at the AIA 2008 National Convention and Design Exposition in Boston.
The project descriptions highlight both the design innovations and sustainable strategies, along with the metrics achieved in terms of reduced carbon emissions, reduced energy consumption and improved building functionality.
“These projects were judged against a rigorous set of criteria to determine the best examples of sustainable design concepts and intentions,� said Henry Siegel, FAIA, chair of the AIA Committee on the Environment. “In addition to examining their architectural innovation, the buildings had to have shown design elements within their regional / community context, land use and site ecology that benefits surrounding ecosystems, resource conservation through bioclimatic design and the health benefits associated with improved lighting and indoor air quality.�
The 2008 COTE Top Ten Green Projects program celebrates projects that are the result of a thoroughly integrated approach to architecture, natural systems and technology. They make a positive contribution to their communities, improve comfort for building occupants and reduce environmental impacts through strategies such as reuse of existing structures, connection to transit systems, low-impact and regenerative site development, energy and water conservation, use of sustainable or renewable construction materials, and design that improves indoor air quality.
Siegel added, “All of the projects succeed in all the measures. Some projects demonstrated true innovation in one or more measures, and all of them help illustrate how much farther the design and construction community will need to go in the coming years to reach truly sustainable design.�
Members of the jury include: Glenn Murcutt, Hon. FAIA, Glenn Murcutt Architecture; Jason McLennan, AIA, CEO of the Cascadia Region Green Building Council; Susan T. Rodriguez, FAIA, Polshek Partnership Architects; Gail Brager, PhD, University of California at Berkeley; Marvin Malecha, FAIA, North Carolina State University; and Rebecca Henn, AIA, PhD candidate at the University of Michigan.
The 2008 Top Ten Green Projects (listed in alphabetical order):
Aldo Leopold Legacy Center
The Kubala Washatko Architects, Inc., Cedarburg, WI
Completed in spring, 2007, the 12,000sf building includes office and meeting spaces, interpretive hall, archive and workshop. The Center was envisioned as a small complex of structures organized around a central courtyard. This design provides flexibility in managing energy use based on program requirements, creates outdoor spaces for work and gathering, and reduces the scale of the buildings on site. The Aldo Leopold Legacy Center is the first building recognized by LEED as carbon-neutral in operation.
Juror Marvin Malecha said, “Through its demonstrable energy conservation and reduced heating, cooling and operating costs, this is an excellent example of how a building can achieve carbon neutrality.�
Cesar Chavez Library
Line and Space, LLC, Tucson, AZ
In order to protect the outdoor and indoor space from the sun’s radiation, the building uses extensive overhangs to create a ‘hat’ in the desert. The scarcity of water led to roof top rainwater collection for irrigation, while water reducing fixtures are used indoors. Always a concern in the desert, an area of high consumption, the building was carefully cut into the site and the excavated material was used to berm the building for further thermal mass. The windows are also properly shaded to reduce solar gains.
Juror Susan T. Rodriguez said, “We saw leadership on the part of the city here, given the selection of this site for this buildingâ€â€it’s in a place where it can help solve a problem. There’s a 37,000 square foot roofscape that is a part of irrigating a 40-acre park. We felt this showed strong vision to solve multiple problems at once.â€?
Discovery Center at South Lake Union
The Miller/Hull Partnership, Seattle, WA
A primary program element for this particular center, alongside numerous other environmental goals, was to create a building and core that could provide adaptable exhibit space, capable of being reconfigured and reused for the presentation of multiple residential neighborhoods throughout the South Lake Union Region over a lengthy period of time. In addition to creating flexible interior space, the building itself was designed to be demountable, separating at three integrated joints to break into four separate modules capable of being transported along surface streets.
Juror Jason McLennan said, “I really like the notion of saying, ‘This building type was supposed to be temporary, and we are going to reject that in favor of disassembly.’ This is sustainable at the elemental level.�
Pocono Environmental Education Center
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, Wilkes-Barre, PA
The building is designed to reinforce the mission of environmental stewardship and education. Through careful site and materials selection, analysis and design of building systems, the structure outwardly expresses the principles of sustainable design. The building is a flexible, multi-purpose gathering space for dining, meetings, lectures and other environmental learning activities. As part of the site design, native grasses were planted to provide a landscape that is low maintenance and integrates the project into its natural surroundings.
Rodriguez added, “This is a dramatic transformation of a site by using the materials removed from its cleanup, to create the exterior envelope, which is exciting to see. The use of the recycled tires and the texture they produce are inventive.�
Garthwaite Center for Science and Art, Cambridge School of Weston
Architerra, Inc., Boston, MA
The facility is designed to advance sustainability, creating an exemplar and educational tool through a design process that engaged the entire community. This LEED Platinum design incorporates dozens of green features that students can view as well as measure and manipulate. The result is a compelling model for educational institutions. Fifty-five detailed sustainability goals included renewable energy, no water to be discharged to the local sewer, 100% storm water infiltration on-site, artificial lighting designed to less than one watt per square foot and minimal maintenance for 20 years.
Juror Rebecca Henn said, “There is a lot of education here; this is a true teaching tool. The students participated in the design of the building. They treat all their wastewater, and these strategies are integrated into the pedagogy. There are only three small spaces that are conditioned in this building; all other spaces are naturally ventilated.�
Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life
VJAA, Minneapolis, MN
The existing building was stripped to the concrete frame, expanded by 33% and redesigned with a variety of environmental systems. The hot and humid New Orleans climate is further tempered with strategies for expanding the comfort zone; including programming for thermal zoning, and technically innovative systems for variable shading, moving air and radiant cooling. Despite its high ambitions, the project had a modest budget and was completed for $189/SF, fourteen months after Hurricane Katrina. Since then, Tulane sees the project as a new model for sustainable design in New Orleans.
Juror Glenn Murcott said, “One intriguing feature of this project was that it has a Punkah, a traditional Indian system to move air.�
Macallen Building Condominiums
Office dA Inc. and Burt Hill Inc., Boston, MA
The 140-unit condominium is a conscious and deliberate effort by both client/developer and the architectural and engineering team to incorporate sustainable design measures. It utilizes green design as a way of marketing a lifestyle and concern for the environment, while simultaneously increasing revenue from the design project as a business strategy. The building, just completed in South Boston, is striving for LEED Gold certification in sustainable design. Some of the green building features include innovative technologies that will save over 600,000 gallons of water annually while consuming 30% less electricity than a conventional building.
Malecha added, “This project was built on an environmentally challenged site that was previously unused space. So not only does in enhance the environment, but it provides valuable inner city housing and shows a certain amount of urban savvy.�
Queens Botanical Garden Visitor & Administration Center
BKSK Architects, New York, NY
In looking to the future, the Garden has propelled itself into the front ranks of its field as the first botanical garden in the country devoted to sustainable environmental stewardship. The goal has been to integrate a beautiful contemporary building into the experience of its varied gardens and landscapes, heightening the visitor experience of the natural environment and conveying the key elements of successful sustainability. A water channel surrounds the building and weaves through the garden, fed by rainwater that cascades off of the sheltering roof canopy.
Juror Gail Brager said, “I especially appreciated the focus on waterâ€â€which is a critical and often overlooked aspect of sustainable design. In addition to the project’s significant attention to storm water management, rainwater collection, and a graywater system, water was also used as a strong design element to unify the building and landscape, and raise people’s awareness of the water cycle at the site and building scale.â€?
The Nueva School, Hillside Learning Complex
Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, San Francisco, CA
The 33-acre campus, located in the semi-rural coastal hills of the San Francisco Peninsula, features a thriving coast live oak woodland ecosystem, a variety of dispersed structures and dramatic views of San Francisco Bay. The design is grounded in the desire to integrate straightforward, appropriate and cost-effective sustainable design solutions within the broader language of contemporary architectural expression. Through a variety of simple, observable systems and strategies, reduce site energy use by at least 65% from the national average for schools and meet the 2030 Challenge.
McLennan added, “This seemed to be a very successful project. They did a good job of balancing design and performance; they had particularly notable energy and water metrics.�
Yale University Sculpture Building and Gallery
KieranTimberlake Associates LLP, Philadelphia, PA
Situated on a former brownfield site, the new complex is comprised of three new buildings. To provide maximum daylight and exceptional energy efficiency, a wall system was designed that incorporates solar shading, a triple glazed low-e vision panel, 8-foot high operable windows and a translucent double cavity spandrel panel. Consequently, the entire skin of the building admits natural light. The green roof on the gallery and native plant landscaping, which includes mature trees, serves as a connective habitat patch for avian species moving through the urban corridor between these parks.
Brager added, “The high-performance façade is impressive in the way it balances warm and cold season operation, integrating shading and alternating panels of operable windows, aerogel insulation, and ventilation aperatures in a double-skin thermal cavity.�
Honorable Mention 2008 Top Ten Green Project:
Internal Revenue Service - Kansas City Service Center
BNIM / 360 Inc., Kansas City, MO
Natural light and open views of the surrounding urban fabric were salient sustainable design features for this project. Through architectural techniques, including clerestories, skylights, atrium, and building orientation, an unprecedented 80 percent of workspaces are served by natural light. Internal courtyards provide views of vegetated environments that also serve as workday respites. From inside the IRS processing Center one gets a sense of being part of a bigger whole; one that represents equilibrium between nature and the build environment, public and private, community and government.
About the AIA Committee on the Environment Top Ten Green Awards
The AIA’s Committee on the Environment represents more than 8,700 AIA members committed to making sustainable or “greenâ€? design integral to the practice of architecture. The AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Project Awards initiative was developed by the AIA in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and BuildingGreen.com, publishers of Environmental Building News magazine. In 2003 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® Program joined as an additional sponsor.
About The American Institute of Architects
For over 150 years, members of The American Institute of Architects have worked with each other and their communities to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings and cityscapes. AIA members have access to the right people, knowledge, and tools to create better design, and through such resources and access, they help clients and communities make their visions real. www.aia.org
April 28, 2008 | Broadcast | News
The National: Abu Dhabi - building a creative city
Thomas Bender April 16. 2008 3:25PM UAE / April 16. 2008 11:25AM GMT
What makes a creative city – a city marked by both artistic creativity and technological innovation?
Thomas Bender from the National Newspaper draws parallels between the new metropolis of Abu Dhabi and New York City, and posits a possible rosy future for the cultural capital of the Middle East, with its Saadiyat Island set to become home to the Guggenheim Museum, the Louvre, the Sheikh Zayed National Museum, a Maritime Museum and a concert Hall, as well as campuses for elite institutions of higher education like the Sorbonne and New York University. These new arrivals will join existing events like the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival, the Abu Dhabi Book Fair, and Art Paris Abu Dhabi.
Rather than hypothesize the impending apparent doom that this growth and westernization will bring to Abu Dhabi, (as many have written of in places like present-day China), Bender takes a positive stance:
” My point here is that invention requires a social world that crosses class and cultural lines, and brings individuals with very different forms of learning and craft into casual contact with one another.In Abu Dhabi, a city of innumerable languages, home to migrants of all sorts – with various talents, some yet to be realised – there exists precisely this possibility. How might they together make both themselves and the city?”
…
“If the secret of New York’s creativity has indeed been its fruitful mix of dollars, democracy, and diversity, I would add that the easy part is the dollars. It is the democracy and diversity that are hard. By democracy I mean the participation of many classes and cultures in the life of a city; and by diversity, not merely the presence of varied races and ethnicities, but a diversity of habitats of knowledge.
Abu Dhabi possesses the potential to fulfill all these conditions. It has shown genuine commitment to culture and to the creation of a great cultural centre. But the city’s success as a creative metropolis will require careful stewardship beyond the investments made so far to bring great cultural and educational institutions to the city. It must also ensure that the daily life in the city nourishes the conditions and opportunities that sustain talent and offer a creative environment of a lively, diverse urbanism.”
To me, it sounds an awful lot like Singapore.
Read more at The National Newspaper
April 28, 2008 | Broadcast | News
Nader Khalili, Noted Earth Architect, Dies at 72
By Tony Illia, Architectural Record, April 21, 2008
Nader Khalili, an Earth Architect and teacher known for his innovative work with adobe, died on March 5 of congestive heart failure. He was 72 years old. Among his best-known inventions is the “super adobe� Earthbag construction system. He developed it during the early 1980s in response to a call for designs for human settlements on the Moon and Mars by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The system consists of oblong plastic bags that are filled with dirt and then laid in circular courses, like the blocks of an igloo, and held in place by barbed wire. When covered in stucco, the bags create form a permanent shelter.
read more here
April 23, 2008 | Broadcast | News
Mile-High Skyscrapers and Floating Cities
With Dubai’s 800-meter-tall Burj Dubai skyscraper almost complete, it seems that we are entering an age of mega structures. Recall recent gargantuan megacity proposals by the likes Rem Koolhaas and also Sir Norman Foster.
Wired Magazine have put together a collection of promised skylines we never got to see — and a few that may yet come to be — as seen from the imagined eyes of those who live there. - Wired Article
April 18, 2008 | Articles | Features
Cityscapers: Felicity
Felicity (n):
happiness: state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy
“What if a city is built on a foundation of happiness?”
The FeliCity project is based on the idea of developing a poly-centric urban region based on the Gross National Happiness concept. Through an Internet search of expressed feelings by inhabitants of each City in the Belt1, the Happiness Index of each city is calculated. This index is then mapped on the region, creating an emotional landscape of the region. This emotional landscape shows a range of peaks and troughs which is not analogous to the physical size of the city nor its economic prowess.
The project proposes that the key strategy in developing this region is to regulate the levels of happiness so as to maintain a state of ‘emotional equilibrium’ across it. The concept of ‘emotional equilibrium’ is deeply embedded in the idea that a region is able to develop at its maximum potential when it has a high Happiness Index. Thus, through regulating and transferring the emotional energy of happiness from one city to another, this ideal state can be achieved.
In order to achieve this, it is proposed that the M8 be replaced by a new transport system, named Plutchik2, which other than being a mass rapid transit system is also a means to regulate the emotions of commuters from one city to another.
The Plutchik system is based on the metaphor of a roller coaster which represents the emotional journey of humans up and down the track. The system is made up of stations along a common track, much like a conventional mass transit system but, beyond that, every aspect of it will be based on the emotional landscape map. Each Plutchik station will be located in response to how it fares in the happiness index study. For instance, a town with a low score will find its station located at high altitudes in order to evoke a strong emotional response; probably a cocktail of fear, happiness and anticipation of going down a slope. The opposite will be true for a city with a high index score.
In all, this project aims to ask the stakeholders in the built environment, “What if a city is built on the concepts of happiness?”
Footnotes
1- A Google search was done with the key word “I Feel + ‘Name of emotion’ + ‘Name of city’ ” and the results tabulated.
2- The system is named after Robert Pluchik whose psychoevolutionary theory of emotion is probably one of the most influential classification approaches for general emotional responses.
Project produced by Paskalis Khrisno Ayodyantoro, David Lee and Adib Jalal for Cityscapers:By The Throat, Edinburgh, 31st March - 12th April 2008.
* This project was one of 2 projects selected as Best Work for the workshop.
April 18, 2008 | Event | Reports
Cityscapers of the world, unite!
Cityscapers: By the Throat is one of 3 Cityscapers studios in the UK over 3 years which will support the development of the next generation of designers, architects and visual artists through collaborative works. Supported by the British Council, it is hoped that after the 3 years, a network of 180 of the most talented city-builders in Asia Pacific and Europe will have developed lasting international relationships which the participants will draw on as they create the cities of the future.
Led by Professor Richard Goodwin of UNSW, the studio, also known as The Porosity Studio, is different especially in the way multi-disciplinary collaborations go. For this workshop, we see artists, engineers, designers, architects all placed together in a non-hierarchical setup; equal power given to all disciplines . It is this 60-man studio who will explore critical issues in urban design and city making.
Hosted by the University of Edinburgh from 31st March to 12th April 2008, this edition of the Porosity Studio took the Shifts project: Projections into the future of the Central Belt ,which was initiated by The Lighthouse in 2007, as a catalyst for exploring a nexus between Glasgow and Edinburgh. This was to be the vehicle from which participants will be able to test ideas, collaborate on new ones, and in all, give a glimpse into the minds of the next generation of city shapers and hopefully, discover realms of ideas that no one knew existed.
The 2 week workshop was structured with lectures by various researchers and architectural practitioners including one by the Edinburgh-based architect,Malcolm Fraser. These series of lectures served to provide a quick and varied insight into the various issues which are inherent in Scotland’s Central Belt. Participants were given a peek into studies which focused on human interaction in a vehicle while driving along the M8, which is the highway that connects Glasgow and Edinburgh. A couple of other lectures also seeked to enlighten participants on the richness of the urban morphology of the 2 cities and also the debate on the evolution of the architecture of Scotland over time as it searches for its own architectural identity in these modern/post-modern/post-post modern times. In fact, these range of studies went as far as featuring similar case studies in other countries such as in Korea and Jakarta and also a fengshui reading of Edinburgh.
Interspersed with these lectures and site visits-which included a bus-ride exploration of the M8 and also a visit to the Lighthouse in Glasgow, were intense studio sessions. The studios became the hotbed where participants worked, discussed tirelessly, researched and prepared their concept models. Through a process of constant feedback and discussion with other participants and the studio directors, the studio was in a constant state of flux where ideas never stopped developing.
As a testament to the high levels of creativity in the studio, one must take a look at the concept models that were presented on the first presentation session which was held on Day 3 of the workshop. On top of the usual architectural ‘concept model’ and sketches fondly favoured by architects, there were illustrations, video clips, a performance, a mini-lecture, a reading and someone serving soup! Such range of ideas and its’ manifestation makes this workshop an experience rich with creative ideas.
Coming from a range of disciplines, multiple ways of looking at the city emerged. Some focused on the physical relationship of the cities, proposing an examination of the infrastructure and also perhaps the technologies that might facilitate these connection. Others proposed to look at the city in terms of its intangible qualities such as quality of space, experiences along the connection, developing socio-cultural connections between the two, emotional landscape of the central belt and a whole range of other conceptual works that aimed to question this perceived need for a connection between the two. Such a vast range of ideas is a clear message to all city builders and architects: The city is essentially a social construct where everyone would have their own perception and interpretation of its physical form, injecting meaning into an arrangement of building materials.
As the studio developed, some collaborations emerged and there were also others who chose to work alone but ultimately, the body of work that was produced at the end was brilliant to say the least. The final exhibition that ensued at the end of the 2 week of work and play by the 60 young designers showed a vast range of ideas. Held at the gallery in the University of Edinburgh, the opening of the exhibition was graced by various architects, speakers who presented during the 2 weeks and also Nick Barley, Director of The Lighthouse.
An important aspect which makes this studio an exciting laboratory of ideas is the quality and attitudes of the studio directors and support staff. These talented people were convinced about the power of collaboration and also the richness of the ideas from the participants and seeked to nurture them. Constantly encouraging and provoking thoughts with their comments, these leaders resisted the urge to impose their thoughts and ideas but rather attempted to dive into the minds of the participants and help to flesh out these hidden ideas. This created a culture within the studio where ideas development was allowed to grow at a quick pace and with great intensity. Special mention also has to be made to the unwavering support and dedication of the support staff which ensured that participants could go about focusing on the tasks at hand without much fuss. Discounting the Heathrow Terminal 5 luggage disaster experienced by the Australian students, the workshop went about with little noticeable logistic fuss- an achievement for an international workshop of more than 60 participants from various countries.
In all, this workshop, part of a series of 3 is a resounding success. It set out to create a network and discover ideas, and it did so very well. There will always be a debate about the seriousness and validity of each proposition but nonetheless, it would be foolish to dismiss the works and ideas produced in the workshop as simply musings of 60 young, naive designers. Rather, it should be appreciated as ideas and viewpoints from an emerging group of cityscapers who are articulating what they truly feel about the city and what they aspire for it to be. This is a glimpse into the future and these are the seeds of the future cities. Cityscapers of the world, unite!
For more photos and write-ups, visit Adib’s blog during his participation of the workshop
April 18, 2008 | Reviews | books
Designing Design
Designing Design
Kenya Hara
Publisher: Lars Müller Publishers
ISBN-10: 303778105X
ISBN-13: 978-3037781050
Hardcover: 467 pages
“Kenya Hara is a complex man. He views the world through his many lenses of seeing, tasting, smelling, erasing, evaporating, and all the forms of construction and deconstruction.” Those are the words by John Maeda as he attempts to introduce Kenya Hara, one of the masters in today’s design world, in the introduction of Designing Design.
Hara, a key member of world famous Muji brings to us a deeply philosophical text about design. As he puts it, “Articulating design is design in itself”. Touching on deep issues about design, Kenya Hara brings to us questions about designing sensations with the concept of haptic design and also asks its readers to think about the importance of emptiness in design. The book also presents some of his exhibitions such as Re-Design: The Daily Products of the 21st Century of 2000.
This white, hardcover book published by Lars Müller Publishers is a truly beautiful as a book and sophisticated design book on both levels; as a book (object) and its content. With intelligent writing and amazingly simple,clean and powerful images, Designing Design fascinates the reader with its poetic-ness and intelligent. It is a book that needs to be read slowly and enjoyed at a calming pace, allowing each page to sink in and have its profound impact on one. With its array of powerful images and diagrams, this book transmits the ideologies deep from the mind of Hara and also other like minded Japanese designers of his time, in a delightful manner yet without losing any of the complexity of the thoughts in it.
This is an important book that should be compulsory reading for anyone who is studying and/or practising design. A strong underlying message that is driven home at the end of the day is probably the idea that one of the goals of design, as envisioned by Hara, is to create products, advertising, and objects of culture in which functionality might meet simplicity with elegance and improve the human condition through the expression of beauty. And of course, to develop an understanding of ‘white’, which to Hara is not just a colour but a whole design concept in itself.
S$85.80
Available at Basheer Graphicbooks
#04-19 Bras Basah Complex
Block 231 Bain Street
Singapore 180231
www.basheergraphic.com
Email: enquiry@basheergraphic.com
April 14, 2008 | Broadcast | News
Rem Koolhaas: Delirious Dubai?
It’s one-square-mile of man-made island to be built on an artificial harbor in the Emirate of Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, the cost of which, even before buildings, will be probably reach the tens of billions of dollars.
You can read about it on the website of Mr. Koolhaas’s firm, The Office for Metropolitan Architecture, here. The idea is to mimic the density of Manhattan on an immense scale, combining mixed uses (what else?) in the context of his celebrated concept of a “generic city,” which he has defined as “the city liberated from the captivity of the center, from the straightjacket of identity…it is the city without history.”
Read the rest of this article on The Sun’s website here.
April 7, 2008 | Broadcast | Events
movingcities presents: Belgian Architects in China
This week, movingcities has the pleasure to invite you upcoming Thursday April 10, 2008, to attend the ‘Belgian Architects in China‘-lecture in the Embassy of Belgium in China. The lecture will feature two Belgian offices and one Mexican (with a Belgian co-founder) that work within the context of the Ordos100-project.
Lecture in English and starts at 6.30 pm. Please RSVP.
Welcome/drink: 6pm | Presentations and Q&A: 6.30pm | Reception:8 pm
Introduction by Bert de Muynck | movingcities.org
Presentations by:
Halewijn Lievens & Armand Eeckels | NU Architectuuratelier
Jan De Vylder | Jan De Vylder Architecten
Wonne Ickx | Productora
Location
Embassy of Belgium in Beijing
6, San Li Tun Lu
Beijing 100060
P.R.China
Tel +86 10 6532 1736/6532 1737
RSVP: Due to limited seats, please confirm you presence via mail
(meichoy.wong@diplobel.fed.be) or telephone (6532 1736 ext. 318).
More information on the lecture can be found on
http://movingcities.org
Bert de Muynck & Mónica Carriço
www.movingcities.org
m +86 135 20700060
House with office Linq, Sint-Denijs-Westrem | NU Architectuuratelier
Dansstudio 118, Les Ballets C de la B., Gent | Jan de Vylder Architecten
Casa Chihuahua | PRODUCTORA
Description
For the Ordos100-project FAKE Design, Ai Wei Wei’s studio in Beijing, has developed the masterplan for the 100 parcels of land in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China, for the Client, Jiang Yuan Water Engineering Ltd. and will curate the 100 villas project, while Herzog and de Meuron have selected the 100 architects to participate. The collection of 100 Architects hail from 27 countries around the globe. Amongst these architects there are also several Belgian architects participating. Bert de Muynck, director of movingcities, invited three offices to talk about and present their work in the Belgian Embassy in Beijing. Throughout the past years each office has been developing a body of work that is characterized by a quality and originality in form, plan and detail, with projects ranging from housing till museum design. NU Architectuuratelier is known for its acclaimed project for the Victoria Theaterhuis in Gent, Jan de Vylder designed the cabinet for the renowed post_surreal Belgian artist Marcel Broodthaers collection in the SMAK (Gent) and Wonne Ickx is the co-founder of Productora, a Mexico based practice, that designed the exhibition space for the Belgian Artist Francis Alÿs.
Presentations will take up to twenty minutes each.
Location
Embassy of Belgium in Beijing
6, San Li Tun Lu
Beijing 100060
P.R.China
Tel +86 10 6532 1736/6532 1737
RSVP: Due to limited seats, please confirm you presence via mail (meichoy.wong@diplobel.fed.be) or telephone (6532 1736 ext. 318).
Info
Information on this lecture is available in Dutch and French on the website of the Embassy of Belgium
(back to Conferences & Lectures)
April 7, 2008 | Broadcast | Event | News | Reports
London: Olympic dispute
Thirty-five arrests were made following clashes between pro-Tibet protesters and police as the Olympic torch made its way through London.
Was Daniel Libeskind being smart to take sides early in his criticism and boycott of doing work in China? London saw the angry face of human rights, as more than one protester attempted to snatch the Olympic torch from several torch bearers. This was in light of China’s dismal track record in the arena of human rights.
However, it seems that two threads of support have arisen. One was that of euphoria: elated support for the nation of China; or the universal spirit of the Olympic Games. The other was the unyielding fight for human rights, in light of China’s apparent paradox of an Olympic Games, with its announcement in June 2004 of its Olympic Games slogan, “One World, One Dream.”
Certainly, one can only hope that years from now we will see the Games in Beijing as the start of massive change for China, human rights, and the Olympic spirit.
Related Links:
- The Washington Post: China and the Olympics
- BBC: Clashes along Olympic Torch Route
- The Guardian.co.uk: China Shrugs off Olympic warning on human rights
April 3, 2008 | Broadcast | News
Architecture Is a Team Sport; So why do they award the Pritzker Prize to just one person?
Posted Tuesday, April 1, 2008, at 11:42 AM ET
The Pritzker Prize, which this year was awarded to French architect Jean Nouvel, is often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture. It is an inaccurate analogy. Nobel Prizes, whether in literature, chemistry, or physics, are given to individuals for individual work; buildings are the result of teamwork. Sometimes Nobels are awarded to small teams of scientists, and researchers do have assistants, but not 140 of them, which is the size of Ateliers Jean Nouvel, whose head office is in Paris but which maintains site offices in London, Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, and Minneapolis.
Credit to Nouvel for winning the Prize; this sudden tide of articles about the Pritzker is by no means indicative of any disgruntledness by the media; events such as this always drum up strong opinions. Here, Rybcznski hits bullseye in this piece, because architecture is and was never a game played by one individual, but by countless pairs of eyes and hands who work together to make things happen. Without a doubt, it takes vision and talent to realize the architecture that has put Nouvel and his Pritzker contemporaries where they now stand; but maybe some day there’ll be a prize for all the team players out there who are regularly left out of the awards ceremony year in year out.
Read more at www.Slate.com.
