One last post before I go to bed...
Gungho ones have been having their stabs at the "triangularabout" site at the top end of Lebuh Chulia to varying degrees of success. I can see where y'all are coming from...
---There's this desire to make a statement, to be very visible, to occupy centrestage, to take advantage of the vantage point at the confluence of 5 street avenues, to drink in the vistas and perhaps emanate good vibes of some kind from this epicentre.
---Then there's this superconsciousness of the historical significance of the spot, site of the first police station, tram stop, etc. And somehow wanting to acknowledge that with some kind of architecture--looks like you've all taken this to mean building some structure on the triangle.
All that is very Yang.
Try some Yin.
How about vacating centrestage? Take position in the wings, become the audience, if you like. And let the REAL actors play their daily parts. Let the transvestites and the Hindi movie-goers and the backpackers and the jaywalkers have their place back. Let them do breakdancing on the triangle if they want to. Why deny them their stage? You, the new architecture, can watch if you want to, from an unobtrusive position in space. I reckon this will result in a total effect greater than the sum of the parts.
How about breaking yourself up into bits and appendages and stringing and sliding yourself about the spokes of this hub as the eddies dictate? How about dangling from highwire?
How about coming right up close to the faces of the existing buildings to engage in intimate conversation, kiss them if you have to?
You will need some physical link between your parts. And why not let these links be an expression of weakness rather that brute strength? Softness rather that stiffness? Movement rather than rigidity? Why shouldn't your architecture flutter?
Why not touch the triangle lightly, like the swordsmen/women touched the mirror lake in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon? And why not let this lake see the sun and moon always?
Why touch at all?
Dedicated to learning how to appreciate architecture and design buildings. Ian is an architect and tutor at various universities.
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