Saturday 21 February 2009

PHENOMENOLOGY

This safety shutter of the elevator at The Majestic Hotel, Ipoh, with its remarkable surface history, is a fine example of the phenomenological experience of the place.
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ks: Phenomenology claims that human's other 5 senses, are stronger than visual sense
ks: touch, smell, taste, hear, and what [har]?
YeongChwen: visual la
ks: anyway
ks: it claims that these senses other than vision, are as important or more important for people to experience space
ks: it is because architectural appreciation nowadays are too inclined to visual, form, look
ks: Phenomenology says that we should put more attention to materiality, tactility
ks: and let people have closer interactions with architecture...
ks: And that architecture should be able to change with time, like it can be weathered, it can become old, but STILL appealing
ks: as this aging process goes on, materiality n tactility gets stronger, and then there's the sense of time as well, memories of a place
ks: [sorry say until i pun duno where am i liao...] it's quite complicated
ks: For example, in Ipoh, old buildings, burnt buildings, or the palimpsest thingy (marks of old building profiles on the side wall of new modern buildings)
ks: they carry memories of the places, it's phenomenological as well
ks: Old Town coffee smells, are phenomenological
ks: the sound of flowing river at Kinta (river) bank, is phenomenological to some group of people (esp. citizens lived along the river for decades)
ks: to include these in your presentation, you put in photos, and captions or brief explanations
ks: in short, it's all about the sensitive feelings you have with(in) the site, not too much about visual sensation
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For more examples of phenomenological architecture, look up on Peter Zumthor, Kevin Mark Low & some others...
- by ks

Hapticity And Time

IMPORTANT - something about phenomenology.

Materials and surfaces have a richly complex language of their own that evolves and changes over time. In this major essay, Juhani Pallasmaa puts the case for haptic, sensuous architecture.
Modern consciousness and sensory reality have gradually developed towards the unrivalled dominance of the sense of vision. This thought-provoking development has been observed and analyzed by a number of philosophers in recent years. [1] David Michael Levin, one of today's thinkers concerned with the hegemony of vision, motivates the philosophical critique of the visual bias in the following words: 'I think it is appropriate to challenge the hegemony of vision in the ocularcentrism of our culture. And I think we need to examine very critically the character of vision that predominates today in our world. We urgently need a diagnosis of the psychosocial pathology of everyday seeing -- and a critical understanding of ourselves, as visionary beings'....

(you definitely need to find out more Here..)

taken from: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3575/is_1239_207/ai_64720968

Tuesday 17 February 2009

LOL

Ipoh trip was awesome. Other than the great food, wonderful sites and friendly people, we have this amusing "magic show" which at the end didn't turn up quite well.



Good attempt by the way. :D

Sunday 15 February 2009

STUDIO 3 UNITS & IPOH TRIP

We had a blast in Ipoh! Enough experiences to last a lifetime! Certainly enough to make a great Project 2. So go for it, Guys!


UNIT 1: Leader Ei Lyn, Tutor Ian Ng. (Zone 6 and Zone 9)




UNIT 2: Leader Qian Pei, Tutor Hasmanira. (Zone 2 & Zone 8)




UNIT 3: Leader Clement, Tutor Gerard. (Zone 5 & Zone 7)




UNIT 4: Leader Aaron Chew, Tutor Keith. (Zone 1 & Zone 3)



UNIT 5: Leader Chun Yee, Tutor Karlson. (Zone 4 & Zone 10)

Monday 9 February 2009

Taylor's University College Convocation 2009 | 0601/3/7 P

You and I will meet again,
When we're least expecting it,
One day in some far off place,
I will recognize your face,
I won't say goodbye my friend,
For you and I will meet again..


Saturday, 7th February 2009, it’s the day we wore graduation robes and received the scroll on stage from Taylor’s chairman.

Wow! I can't believe it. 3 years college life is officially over. We did it. We graduated. All of a sudden, I'm having all these responsibilities shoved onto my back.

Final year was both the best and worst year of college. It was definitely the most fun!! These really are some of the best days of our life, and I know that, and I love all of the friends I have met here.









Graduation, it by FAR exceeded my expectations, if you know someone who is graduating soon or really anything special, just know HOW MUCH your thoughts are appreciated.

And I just feel like adulthood is coming far too quickly. There are too many changes. I hope we all can handle it...

P/S: All the best to those who are leaving to Australia soon. Best of Luck!!



By LuvEiEi Class of 2008

STREET FURNITURE

You just need some inspiration, and a great deal of feeling.
The example is an award winning rotating wind shelter by Mc Chesney Architect, UK.

(source: httpwww.mcchesney.co.ukImagesBLAV03.jpg. Accessed 0120h, 9 Feb 09))

Friday 6 February 2009

Put your hands to good use!

Hey guys! Due to ian's request, I'm more than happy to share a multimedia presentation technique that is both witty and interactive. A bunch of us seniors invented our own share after being inspired here and there and did this animation which was Taylor's competition entry to the PAM Camp held in USM Penang last year. We came off second place which was a little surprise, haha, not bad for a three-day project huh.

The brief for the competition was "Does architecture expire?" The animation basically summarized our take on the phrase.



We were actually inspired by the power of details. No doubt this sort of animation could be done using certain Flash softwares. We initally wanted to do the animation based on actual 1:1 furniture and human figures. Time and cost were the issues then. So instead we constructed every miniature model and then arranged them manually by hand, giving us full control to expand our storyline and concept. Being Enid Blyton for a day was seriously fun!

You may have seen similiar techniques used in the famous HP Notebook commercials or other creative videos on Youtube, like below:






Thing is, design ideas can come in macro or micro sizes. We've always looked at the bigger picture as that's how most people perceive design outputs. But hey, ideas come in all sizes! Scrutinize your sofa linen & look at how it is formed, or pluck a strand of your hair and see how strong it is. Mix them both and who knows, you may have created a breakthrough ultra-strong skin for the facade of a skyscraper!


Cheers,
Rafael Nadal's numero uno fan.

(p/s sometimes computers, sketchup or photoshop are no match to doing stuff manually!)

MALIHOM

Malihom, Penang, is a study in tactile architecture (designed and developed by its architect-owner) that's realised through a fusion of the memories and craftsmanship of the Thai vernacular and a supreme consciousness of the freedoms afforded by the Modern Movement.

Amazing sunsets everyday.

A no-frills, no-quotation-of-the-vernacular in the flyaway, metal canopy that caps the lookout tower constructed in fairface brick.

Powder room set into the silo-like, viewing tower. Fascinating dovetailing of the timber door into the brick courses!

Cantilevered, checkerplate treads - a relaxed amalgamation of Industrialtech.

Waved sheets for rigidity.
Almost a total importation of the Thai rice barn.

A real quotation this time: the infinity pool, with Buddha sentinels and recycled railway sleepers (and raindrops on the water skin.)
A thoroughly enjoyable tea for my family, friends and me last December!
At the other end of the affordability scale compared to Adeline's Resort in Gopeng (see my earlier posting) but, ironically, born of the same architectural approach. There's much in the message here.