Form Follows 'Fiction'

PORTFOLIO Darren Teo Jia Wei 16AAD014D Interior Design 17/18 Glasgow School of Art

FORM FOLLOWS ‘FICTION’

DESIGN MANIFESTO The phrase ‘Form Follows Function’ has been revolving around modernism

Thus, my project aim to propose a different quailty known as “Form Follows

and had since become a famous manifesto in the modern society. With

Fictions”, fiction not as the implausible but as the real, the reality of how

“Functionality” being the key to design, it condemned and restrained our

people live in it and with it. This helps to break free to the traditional rules of

imaginations, freedom, and joy in design as similar ideology are repeately re-

composition, hierarchy and programmed inserted into space and recreate design

asserting into the space.

spaces to a communication tool, where every object and space are connected to us spiritually through our memories, ideology and stories, a space that we can

I believe that form does not have to follow function, design has the ability to communicate beyond functionaility, it can serve to trigger memories within the space and telling stories of people that live there. Design should be sensual and exciting, where it helps people become more aware of their existence: the space they live in, how to arrange it and their own presence in it.

creatively express ourselves.

CONTENT

01.

EXPLORAT ION OF ‘ FI CT ION ’ p. 1 - 24

02.

ST ORIES OF SINGA POR E Super ma ma - Reta il stor e p. 25 - 60

03.

T HE ELEMENT S OF N OS TA L G I A Tia n kee & Co - Ca f e p. 61 - 80

EXPLORATION OF ‘FICTION’

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“Like lost children we live our unfinished adventures.�

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Guy Debord

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INTRODUCTION 6 WEEKS CONTRACT

The exploration of this project investigates on the precedent studies of Juhani Pallasmaa, the Situationist - Psychogeography and Bernard Tschumi Manhattan Transcript.

I focus on the impact of how our senses contributed to my manifesto of Form Follows ‘Fictions’, where certain materaility, object, and an interior space encompass the ability to communicate an individual emotions and behaviour to others.

By combining the theory of Pallasmaa together with The Situationist psychogeography and Tschumi’s Transcript, it allows me to conduct an experiment of my personal narrative without following the conventional city mapping. Instead, deconstructing it to my personal narrative according to my ideology through familiar materials, objects, space to an aesthetic elements, in their new, whimsical arrangement.

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U N C OV E R I N G FI C T I O N S “THE BODY KNOWS AND REMEMBERS.”2 They are confrontations that interact with memories and stories of people.”

The precedent study of Juhani Pallasmaa, Eyes of the Skin, wrote about senses as an important part of us. Sight being our prevailing sense, we continually rely on it as we examine and categorize our surroundings. Our touch connects the surface of materials to our unconscious mind creating familiar imaginations. Whereas smell and acoustic have the ability to transcend us to our memory-realm and to evoke an atmosphere that is intimate to us.

From this theoretical framework, it taught me that our skin, organs are connected to the texture of materials, familiar spaces, sound, scent, and movement. This framework then allows me to connect spaces and objects emotionally and spiritually to an individual through the senses of our body in an attempt to further understand how to construct my idea of ‘Form Follows Fictions’, the stories of a place.

Therefore, I will be conducting my personal fieldwork and uncover fictions of different narrative in various domestic spaces.

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Juhani Pallasmaa, Eyes of the Skin

A representation of the modernist building, our HDB estates.

The sound of vehicle, creates a sense of connection and solidarity.

Through the understanding of Pallasmaa theory, this collage illustrates the combination of different objects and materials that are in relation to my fiction.

Object and the surface of a material, connects to our unconscious-mind.

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C O N CEPTUAL COLLAGE Through materiality, people, familiar object, we forge our stories.

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From my personal fieldwork in uncovering the fictions of each individual, it can be seen that narratives are built and created through experiences, memories, familiar objects, forms, people, smell and materiality.

Like what Juhani Pallasmaa wrote, “We have an innate capacity for remembering and imagining places.”3 Perception, memory, and imagination are in constant interaction; the domain of presence fuses into images of memory and fantasy. Through a familiar smell, we remembered the shape and the place we went to. With a touch of the texture of a familiar material, our senses in our touch connect to our brain the intimacy of the material.

And through people, events and movement of them, we remembered the programmed happening within a space.

Hence, from uncovering fictions in various domestic spaces, I will be conducting a personal experiment on my own narrative to assist me in my manifesto of ‘Form Follows Fictions.”

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Juhani Pallasmaa, Eyes of the Skin

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FRA ME S OF S T ORIES

The Situationist, Psychogeography

This is a series of mini sketches through the HDB voids, exploring the concept of psychogeography.

Psychogeography is a Situationist ideology, referred to the effects which the environment, consciously organised or not had on the emotions and behaviour of individuals. The driving ideal behind this concept is the belief that the spaces which we inhabit, elicit different responses from each individual, presented a greated awareness of genius loci, ‘spirit of the place.’ Incoporating this precedent with Pallasmaa theory mentioned above, I am able to break down the convention of hiearchy and create new visions, fiction of the city through familiarity and my personal experiences.

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HIDE AND SEEK These frames illustrate my childhood stories where I used to play catching, hide and seek with my friends.

MOV EMEN T OF PL AY

E V E N T S O F I N T E R AC T I O N

Using the frames from HDBs void as the goalpost,

The older estates of HDB block contains facilities

children under the void declared their own spaces,

for residents to communicate and play chinese chess.

creatively expressed their own space by their

This contributed to my fiction as the void under

personaility.

us used to be lively with the interaction between residents.

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DEC ONST RUC T ING S PACES Through the frames above, I deconstructed and extracted elements from the series of drawings into my own narrative programmed under my personal language of fiction.

Similar to the ideology of Jacques Derrida, by deconstructing, “it overturn the hierarchy, avoiding the re-asserting of similar programmed.� This concept break open the structure itself and emphasized the dominance of one particular way of thinking over others, and overturn fixed meaning.

Also by mixing the structure together, it detaches itself to a different nature of space which opens up for new interpretation as according to individual fiction, creating their own essence of a space.

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The juxtaposition of the individual elements from the mini sketches depicts a space of my fiction, a recollection of my past through ‘hide and seek’, playing soccer.

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M Y NARRAT IVE M Y FIC T ION This exploration of deconstructivism defies the notion of a programmatic event in the modernist world where functionalism is perverted. It helps to

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relook into components of the past

These conceptual model depicts an ideation of Form

and rethink its definition according to

follows ‘Fiction’, where the space is constructed

different individuals fiction, creating

according to the behaviour and emotions an

unique spaces.

individual expressed.

Moving on from the conceptual model and framework above, I continued to widen VOID DECK FRAME

my exploration by adding materials that are connected to my narrative, my memories. With the familiarity in the material and the form of the space, this experiment opens up new perception to my own narrative.

BRICK WALL, HDB BLOCK

Remembering our connectivity to material and the form of a space, object. The brick wall greets me every morning, the HDB estates brimming with a variety of colours which portray the identity of its block, and

PORCELAIN TABLE

the famous blue porcelain tiles usually seen

Used for gathering, playing

present under the void, filled with the screams

chinese chess.

of children and laughters from the elderlies.

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“Design is not just about functions, it is about activities and potentials.� 4 At the root of psychogeography is the idea that we all experience our environments through intuition rather than cognitive organization. Further exploring my conceptual model, I translate it into collages, showing the deconstruction of my narrative explorations creating dynamic, unique spaces for viewers to occupy and explore.

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4 Bernard Tschumi, Manhattan Trascript

Exhilarated and disoriented, a familiar environment, yet not quite right.

Sitting on a white plastic chair, listening to the humming of birds alongside with the pastel pink colour of Singapore HDB block.

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M OV E M E N T S O F R E S I D E N T S

Bernard Tschumi, Manhattan Transcript

A continuation of my exploration above, I begin to experiment based on the inspiration from Tschumi’s simplistic line drawings within his book (Manhattan Transcripts).

By analyzing the movements of people under the void, more specifically the spatial arrangement of how the residents communicate in the space. I have emulated the drawing style of Tschumi by creating a movement map of people on how they communicate within the void and created an aesthetic elements, in their new, arbitary arrangement.

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ELDERLY SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT

The elderly tend to gather under the void deck, interacting and playing Chinese chess. Similarly, my transcript reveals the movement of the picture. I have chosen this specific “filmic event� to show that the connection between user and the space can be formed from simple everyday situations that we do not notice, or even a staged action occurring in a film. This creates a new approach to design spaces and allows us to search for the unrevealed story behind the buildings in our city.

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ADULT SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT

Drawing upon the narrative of how an adult moves about in their everyday lives, Fig 1 shows residents’ picking up their children from a childcare center and Fig 2 shows how citizen interact with space, traveling from one estate to another.

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CHILDREN SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT

Children on the more playful side, created more potential for unique spaces in connection to their event, movement. I drew the movement base on the citizen movement and the football movement. Then, I drew the wall to make it three dimensional, and further adding on some elements to this space to make it better, for example the stair and goalpost.

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SPAT IAL AR R AN G E M E N T O F R E SID E N T S Through my chosen drawing technique I have framed the city in a way that shows new and abstract spaces can be created by observing the day-to-day movements of the cities people, and that these new spaces can be created within existing spaces. This technique shows that spaces are not necessarily created by the static structures that surround us but can be created by the dynamic movements of the spaces inhabitants and that designers can generate new and innovative ideas by analyzing the random and organic movements of people in order to create unique spaces.

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From the analysis above, I combined the relationship of the citizen between the space and its use together forming a dynamic space to tell a story about the main aspects of space, movement, and events.

By coupling drawings and photographs, it embodies an attempts to include the design of the space into the representation of the relationship between the space and its use, breaking the traditional design, creating a whimiscal spatial arrangement for the residents.

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EX PL O R AT I O N S U M M A RY “Design is not always about function, it is about the event, action and the experiences we had in it.” 5 The experiment above offer insight to a different reading of design in which space, material, movement, and events are independent, yet stand in a new relation to one another so that the conventional components of designs are broken down and rebuilt along different axes, to build a design space according to an individual nature.

Having a similiar ideology as Tschumi’s, the analysis conducted was approached in a nonscientific thinking process, where a scientific method is bound by definition and by practice to what is real. My method of exploring are derived by my own personal experiences as I believe with the idea of Form follow ‘Fiction’, design should serve as a communication tool to narrate upon the stories of people that live in it.

Hence the following process are not bound by practicalility, rather, it serves as a idea to unfold the narrative of a space.

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BERNARD TSCHUMI

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STORIES OF SINGAPORE Supermama - Retail store

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We don’t sell product, rather we sell stories — very strong Singapore stories, and have created a space for them to be told.

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Edwin Low, Supermama Owner

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INTRODUCTION APPLICATION

To manifest the metholodgy above, I chose Supermama retail store and Tian Kee cafe store to frame my manifesto ’Form follows Fiction’, using the products, materiality to act as a communication tool in telling the history of Singapore. The products serve as a device for me to apply the explorations above where I deconstruct objects, elements to form a different type of interpretation.

However, with Tschumi’s and The Situationist psychogeography ideology, they focuses more towards an urban analysis study. Hence, showing its limitation in an interior space. Thus, the exploration for this application will be be narrowed down and uses theory from Ettore Sottsass, Bruno Munari and the KuleShov experiment where there is a parallel thinking in their ideology above. They deconstructed and extracted elements from various objects, giving physical form to abstract ideas and provoking an emotional response within objects or an interior space.

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Supermama is a Singapore retail store located at 265 beach road. Being a retail shop in Singapore, Supermama focus not on the products, rather on the stories of Singapore.

Like the logo of Supermama, it is drawn by a 3 years old child, capturing the feelings of a hippo and an elephant. All these innate abilities to sense, to feel and to express disappear to when we grow up. So Supermama adopt the logo to remind us to always look at our world from the eyes of a child as their mission.

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Every piece sold here has a local story to tell.

Plastic stools support the bums of kopitiam goers around the city as they tuck into their wanton mee or nasi lemak.

Porcelain plates with Singapore stories engraved on it.

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T H E AU R A O F AU T H E N T I C I T Y To create a narrative of Singapore in Supermama, ‘The Work Of Art,’ by Walter Benjamin emphasizes that with the advancement of technology, art has always been easily mass reproducibe, thus losing the essence, presence, time, space, surroundings of the authenticity, the nostalgia.7 Therefore, rather than merely arranging the products to be sold, I display the ‘stories’ of the products through my metholodgy above, by deconstructing the products and form it together into abitary elements to explore the ways in which they can communicate meaning.

This intentionally nebulous ideology allows for a variety of interpretations to the fiction of Singapore.

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Walter Benjamin, The Work Of Art

BIRDS SINGING CORNER

BLUE PORCELAIN TABLE UNDER THE VOID

HDB ESTATES PASTEL COLOUR

FICTION OF SINGAPORE under the void

This collage illustrates the everyday life under Singapore Void Deck. Combining the elements together, it portray the activities going on under LOCAL RED PLASTIC CHAIR

the block.

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S UPER MA MA L OCA L PROD UCT S These everyday objects/products has been chosen to depict the stories of Singapore from Supermama.

The products will then be deconstructed and exhibited to form a communication tool to the daily lifes in Singapore, further enhancing the value of it. The consumers will also be able to purchase the products from the ‘whismical’ arrangement of the items.

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PROVISION SHOP (MAMA SHOP)

UNDER THE VOID (CULTURE OF THE OLD)

FRAMING THE STORIES

STORIES OF LOCAL PLAYGROUND

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DRAGON PLAYGROUND

VOID DECK

HDB BLOCKS

“Our skin recognise the temperature, density, depth of a matter.�

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By choosing materials that is intimate to us, it connects to us spirtually and emotionally, the common linkage would be related to us in the era we grew up on. These materials represent the iconic structure in Singapore, like the mosiac tiles used on the dragon playground and our void deck filled with pastel colours acting as an identity to different blocks.

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8 Juhani Pallasmaa, Eyes of the Skin

ORANGE MOSIAC TILES

BLUE POCELARIN TILES

WALL PAINT IN GREEN FINISH

SOLID SURFACE CONCRETE

HOMOGENEOUS TILES

HOMOGENEOUS TILES

CERAMIC TILES, NON-POCELAIN

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“The door knob is the handshake of a 9

building,” which act as a representation of welcoming consumers to the stories of local everyday life. Alongside with furniture like television, calendar being hung by bamboo poles, it portray a scenario of ‘showcasing the narrative of Singapore stories in it.

E N TRAN CE OF SUPERMAMA

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Juhani Pallasmaa

A HDB block painted with the a television mural.

Hanging out the laundry to ‘display’ the personaility, style of an individual.

These two furnitures acting as an depiction of ‘unfolding’

Bamboo poles are commonly used in HDB flats to hang the

Singapore everyday life.

laundry, ‘showcasing’ our styles to others. Combining the pole with our everyday object, chinese calendar, pocelarin plate, it depicts as a communication of ‘revealing our everyday life.’

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MOSAIC TILES ELEMENTS OF THE SWING

The dragon playground is one of the most loved landmarks in Singapore. It is HDB’s first series of playground designs with an animal theme and mosiac tiles.

TALKING TUBE Let kids talk “long distance” across the playground.

PLAY BENCH Inspired by the elements of slides, playground

MERRY-GO-ROUND

ROCKING ‘ANIMAL’ Traditional rocking horse, reminiscent of child’s play.

NOTES: These local pictures are selected to demonstrate the fiction of Singapore Playground as according to Supermama everyday local products.

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Parents watching

Play Area

Parents watching

This perspective showcase the narrative of a local playground. The juxtaposition of the individual elements create and becomes a communication tool to represent the playground. In addition, the space is design in a way that it mimics a usual scene at a local playground whereby a parent or guardian is always watching over their kids while they play.

STORY OF PLAYGROUND

Supermama product related to Singapore playground.

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Shirt hanger were used in the past as a ‘warning’(cane) to children, asking them to go back home.

Porcelain plate, an iconic plate for Singaporean to have their meal on it.

The combination of porcelain and hanger, is an indication of parents asking their children to stop playing and go back up for their dinner.

“Functionalism is not enough.

Design should also be sensual and exciting,” 10

Element of the Watermelon Playground shape at Tampines.

He infused modern design with a sensitivity for the human condition and poetry that many at the time felt

A representation of the steps that

modernism largely ignored.

a child is needed to take in order to proceed down the slide

In his furniture, Sottsass uses colour to evoke memories and emotions. Being a post modernist designer, Sottsass break free from functionality and

A different take on the bridge

created his furniture according to the poetry of an

that is part of the dragon

individual and brings out different perspective in seeing

playground

our everyday objects.

Through this precedent studies, it help me in understanding that an object can be viewed differently with different interpretation. With the retail shop Supermama objects as an extraction of our past stories, I apply this studies to communicate the objects in other way to bring out new dynamics making the products more appreciated.

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ETTORE SOTTSASS

Elements of the local playgrounds are extracted to form a furniture whereby when a person comes into contact, he or she will be reminded of the playground. An example is how when a person lies down on it, it will be as if the person is on an actual slide.

Terrazzo tiles, a primary material that is usually found on the old singapore playground

Handle of Merry-Go-Round

The base of the Merry-GoRound which causes the spinning motion

A pail that is commonly used when a kid or a person gets affected with nausea due to the By combining the merry go round with the pail, it represents how kids use to feel

movement of the Merry-GoRound

nauseous after being too long on the spinning Merry-Go-Round.

Porcelains engraves the stories of Singapore Supermama products

Walls that are usually found at the HDB void decks

The porcelain plates sold in Supermama are engraved with Singapore stories, thus by combining the hdb void decks material and the porcelain plates in this furniture, it acts as a representation of a communication tool usually found at the local playgrounds known as a talking tube.

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The structure that support the suspended swing

An older version of the usual swing, made with rubber tyres

The most commonly see ‘U’ shape swing seat

The second most commonly seen flat swing seat

An extraction of the various play elements that is generally present at a playground. This moving furniture when hung upon the ceiling casts a shadow which mimicks the movement of a swing.

A simple representation of a bird’s eye

BRUNO MUNARI “the useless machines”

These geometric mobiles create kinetic compositions

A cup to represent the beak of the bird

in three-dimensional space, breaking free from the

where it is used to consume food

traditional static forms. They function to indicate the whimsical exploration of his childhood, encouraging viewer to contemplate their own relationship with the

A long tube that resembles the

work.

body of the bird

Inspired by the precedent study of Munari, Useless Machines, I extracted elements from our childhood playground hanging swing, inventing new objects and new ways of interacting with them, changing the way of how design are perceived, not as a scentific process, rather as a connection to us.

This suspended ceiling lamp is designed by mixing the simple geometric forms and shapes which is assembled in a way that resembles a bird seen in Singapore, ‘Javan Mynah’, it is commonly found at local playground area.

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As inspired by the mosaic tiles used in the old dragon playground. By joining this material together, it reminds one of the iconic playground in Singapore.

Based on the main selling products of Supermama, the items have been fused with the rocking furniture. Like the Singapore playground designer, the playground was designed accordingly to the identity of a place.

Using actual materials from the tyre swing, it enhance the experience and imagination of ‘riding’ on the object.

Bearing in mind the concept of the famous childhood favourite ‘riding on an animal playground’, this simple aesthetic resembles that of a traditional rocking horse, reminiscent of child’s play - encourgaging a more imaginative way of thinking. Adding familiar materials, it create nostalgia and reminds people of the old playground that are made up from mosiac tiles.

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‘YOUR HOUSE DOWNSTAIRS’ This “hole-in-the-wall” feature comes in various shapes and bright pops of colours which jazzes up the void decks. While they are more commonly found in older flats, these “holes” are recognisable by Singaporeans as part of Singapore’s landscape and heritage.

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Inspired by Supermama porcelain plates which are engraved with the various local stories or Singapore, I use the HDB voids as frames to frame up the way people view things. Within each frame, it shows the local daily life and activities Singaporeans do at the HDB which allows one to reflect or remember and think about their life stories too. As John Berger once said, “Like the 11

skin, the eyes are organs.� When we see something familiar, our unconscious-mind recall about the stories that we once had.

FRAM ING T H E ST ORIES

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John Berger, The Way We See

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FRAME OF PLAY

This view frames how the kids uses the playground under the supervision of an adult which is the usual daily scene depicted at any play space.

FRAME OF CHESS PLAY

These frames sums up the everyday life of the narrative under Singapore void decks according to the engravings reflected on the Supermama porcelain plates, coupled with the materials extracted from the porcelain plates and the HDB voids. These materials would thus help to evoke a sense of nostalgia when our skin recognises the familarity of the material surface.

FRAME OF VOID DECK

This two view portray the everyday life at any ordinary void deck where the elderly grandmasters gather around to have a show down of chinese chess and how friends or other residence will come together to watch the exciting game happening.

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This perspective renders the everyday objects seen in a neighbourhood coffee shop also known as ‘Kopitiam’ where we can view the different habits of the usual crowd that patronage the shop.

Based on the story of the ‘Golden stairs girl’, where the girl covered the stairs with gold foil with the intention of enhancing the ‘life’ of a mundane HDB corridor. Thus, this stairs give the opportunity to change a way a person might view a story of Singapore through the frame which contains much more positive and exciting narratives of Singapore.

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BAMBOO POLES ‘Showcase’ the laundry, our personal style to others.

BIRDS SINGING CORNER Apart from just the humming of the birds, residents

WEIGHING SCALE Usually found at old provision shop,

also enjoyed the luxurious design of their bird cage under the void.

where it is use to measure how much the object worth.

PORCELAIN TABLE A table under the void for activites like gathering, chinese chess.

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LOCAL RED STOOLS Commonly used at void deck for gathering

This perspective aims to capture the essence of how by mixing the different activities that usually goes on at the HDB void decks can form a communicating tool which speaks about the different narratives of the void deck. Such activities are known as playing chinese chess, bird watching etc.

C ULT U RE U N D ER T HE VOID

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T H E K U L E S H OV Kuleshov experiments shows that by the art of juxtaposition is placing two unrelated objects to create a contrasting effect but add up to something recognisable. It changes the nature of the space and the interpretation as according to the mix and match of the objects.

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Lev Kuleshov, The Kuleshov Effect

This represents the various ball games that takes place under the void such as football and basketball

The everyday coffee shop red stool that is highly used in public dining spaces

Material of a table tennis table coupled acting as a bench for By extracting the elements you can find based on the usual

people to sit on

activities that are being carried out under the void and assembling it together, this furniture then becomes a communication tool that tells the potential activities that happen in the void.

TIn can that parents usually pack food in for the kids.

An iconic bowl from Supermama that holds This furniture is a combination of the usual elements

stories within.

and objects that are used for dining and for other usual necessities. By connecting each element together, it evokes a sense of nostlagia where we use to pack our food with the tin can for our children under the void.

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A suspending ceiling light that is inspired by the element of the bird cage that one can find under the void deck among many others that are usually hung up and supported by bamboo poles. Combining it with porcelain plates of Supermama, it narrate a story base on the rich history of bird cages display under the void.

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The material of the stone chairs that are usually found under the void deck.

This rice bowl reflects how chess gamblers will usually end up spending their savings which are meant for their meals in the past

Chinese chess table that is commonly found under the void

The tiles reflects the HDB blocks in contrast to the older materials displayed

This furniture represents how chinese chess is a balance of both the old and the new cultures represented in the HDB. Throughout the years and growth of the HDB here in Singapore, one thing that has stayed constant till today is how Chinese chess is till being played by the elderlies.

A wood plank that is commonly found in the old kampong areas is use to indicate that the chinese chess is a thing that is going along with our culture, where it ties the old and new together

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WEIGHING SCALE

FRUIT BASKET

A old cashier used to measure the

Used in mama shop filled with local

price of the items.

goodies.

GACHAPON MACHINE

‘KONG GUAN’ TIN CAN

RED BASKET

Kids always gather around the

Tin can that is famous to be storing good

Commonly used in local provision shop to

machine hoping to get their

Singapore local tibits.

display products.

desired capsule toy.

The mama shop known as a must have neighbourhood provision shop located under the void is known to be filled with children and residences patronising it to get local childhood delights. Thus, applying the similar concept by bringing mamashop into Supermama, the consumers will appreciate the products and reminisce on the atmosphere, further enhancing the value of it.

M A M A SHOP

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01

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01. Inspired by the Gachapon machines commonly found outside the Mama shop, combining it with the famous Kong Guan biscuit tins, it helps to entice the audience to make it seem like the machine is able to bring about all your local favourites.

02. Following the concept of the Bonjour bread stand, accompanied with the tin cans and the shopping baskets provided at the Mama shop, this furnitures seeks to display the goods of Supermama just like how the usual mama shop display their goodies with all the baskets and tin cans.

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02

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CONCLUSION Each piece of furniture in Supermama provides an opportunity to examine the ways in which we interact with the people and objects that surround us. Through the art of jutaxposition, by placing unrelated objects together, the definition of an object changes, offering new perception to the nature of space and people.

Like what Sottsass proposed, “design should offer possbility, be sensual and exciting, not solutions.”

With my manifesto of Form follow ‘Fictions’, it is possible to break through the traditional order of designing, and function design spaces to indicate whimiscal explorations, to creatively expressed indiviudal behaviours, patterns, creating a seamless connection with the space.

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THE ELEMENTS OF NOSTALGIA Tian Kee & Co - Cafe

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We recognise not through our intellect but through our experience.�

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Merleau Ponty

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TIAN KEE & CO LOCAL CAFE

A brand that is deeply tied to heritage, Tian Kee & Co used to be a spot that was popular for its unique location that is seemingly connected to the history of Singapore in Dakota Crescent; it is unfortunate to see Tian Kee & Co having to move out from the spot under such circumstances where the land the entire estate sits on is slated for redevelopment.

As much as how the owners try to replicate the vibes of the old Tian Kee & Co in this new location, there are many things that feel different in this new space that cannot be replicated. Thus, by using the methodology above, bringing different elements of Dakota Crescent together to form a narrative, it allows residents to form their own interpretation of their home, Dakota, the people that within it.

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Old Tian Kee & Co at Dakota Crescent

New Tian Kee & Co at Siglap Drive

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A Dove playground of the times at Dakota Crescent. I played in playgrounds with the animal structure much like this as a kid.

Old Tian Kee and Co Provision Shop.

FICT ION OF DA KOTA CR ES CEN T Tian kee & Co

The objective of this project is to focus with the senses of residents, triggering

Signs of life at Dakota Crescent

memories and telling the stories of Tian kee & Co through materialility, and objects joined together.

By extracting elements from the old Tian kee & co and Dakota crescent atmosphere, it allow the residents to interact with the

Products inspired from Mama shop, like the bonjour bread stand, and jar of tibits.

people and objects that surround us giving a physical form to abstract ideas and provoking an emotional response.

Laundry through the ages: Clothing on bamboo is still how we dry our clothes today. Dakota Crescent, Singapore.

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This collage portray the combination of nostalgia element from Dakota Crescent, Tian Kee & Co. By combining it together, it illustrates the possible activties that could be inserted into the shop, allowing residents to reminisce on the beautiful history of Dakota.

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Fiction through the elements of old Tian kee & co

Proposed material:

provision shop origin.

White brick (material of wall) This material was chosen because it is widely used for the HDBs at Dakota Crescent. This would heighten the feeling of nostalgia while the people are using the space, reminisce about the old times in Dakota.

Fiction through play, old dakota crescent iconic dove playground.

Fiction through the old elements

Proposed material: Concrete (flooring) It resembles what type of flooring is usually present in a local provision Fiction through play

Fiction through materiaility, object.

shop so as to not take away too much attention from the displayed products.

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INFLATABLE PLASTIC BALL Childhood favourite traditional paper ball, commonly used by kids.

OLD SCHOOL CEILING FAN. All time mama shop favourite fan.

METAL WINDOW GRILL, OLD DAKOTA CRESECENT DAKOTA CRESCENT BLOCK NUMBER

MATERIAL FROM DAKOTA.

OLD LETTER BOX

ZINC COUNTERTOP. MAMA SHOP, JUST “DOWNSTAIR YOUR HOUSE.”

NOTE: These materials and forms are based on the site studies of Dakota Crescent demonstrating the fiction of it.

DOVE PLAYGROUND An iconic structure in Singapore under the 69

‘Animal’ Playground generation.

“Presence is like a gap in the flow of history, where all of a sudden it is not past and not future.�

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Through familiarity we remember, we get this feeling of presence, of space, of material.

By extracting elements, materials that is related to Dakota, It all comes together to create the presence of the atmosphere residents once reminisce. This perspective depicts narrative of the dove playground at Dakota.

T H E D OVE PL AY ELEMENT S

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PETER ZUMTHOR, ATMOSPHERE

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Located in Dakota Crescent, The ‘Dove

The letter box was used as a main source

playground’ is an iconic structue to the

of communcation in the past especially

residents. By extracting the elements of

since Dakota Crescent is considered

the playground, it brings back memories

as an old estate. Thus, by keeping the

when a user is interacting or playing

old Singapore board games in here, the

with it.

user who opens the letter box is able to reminisce the feeling of surprise or excitement from “receiving a mail”.

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Like all neighbourhoods, the ‘mama shop’ is always located within our reach and comfort zone which is our void decks beneath our houses and rooms. Thus, the stairs are placed strategically to remind that the ‘mama shop’ is always just “a few steps” away to our convenience.

Influenced by the usual fluorescent tubes that

Extracted from the small games that are usually

are usually used at our local ‘mama shops as

sold at the ‘mama shop’, and combining it

their lightings.

with how the small treats that usually attract the kids are being hung up, the intention of this furniture is to make it seem like the games resembles the dropping snacks and tidbits that are hung at the stores.

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GREEN MARBLE TABLE

OLD WALL FAN

NINE-LAYER KUEH

BAMBOO LAUNDRY POLES

OLD MARBLE DINING TABLE

Singapore local delights

RED PLASTIC RETRO CHAIR

ROOSTER BOWL

The traditional iron tin cup

Both young and old enjoyed lounging

Famous old chinese bowl used

that was used to drink soup in

on it because it’s so cooling, during our

for dining.

the past.

childhood days.

GREEN TIN CUP

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SHOPPING BASKET

EGG TRAY

BONJOUR BREAD STAND

SCHOOL CHAIR

TRANSPARENT DRINKING CONTAINER

KONG GUAN BISCUIT TIN Contain a variety of local delights.

“Comfort and familiarness, even if not physically familiar but psychological could make a space that defines an individuals connection with the place.�

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This perspective illustrates our childhood memories where Tian Kee & Co are filled with colourfuls goodies that attracts the residents to purchase local delights from the old provision shop. By incoporating familiar objects, and materials, it connects to our memories and let residents relived the past of Tian Kee and Co.

T H E O L D E L EMENT S OF T IAN KEE & CO

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PETER ZUMTHOR, ATMOSPHERE

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Following the concept of the usual mama shop cashier

Based on how hawker centres used to sell the

counter where it is arranged in a manner that has many

drinks from these transparent plastic containers,

basket, goodies and snacks surrounding it, this furniture

acccompanied with an ice cream push cart which

was inspired by how the different goodies were being

is a favourite among the kids, this furniture

stacked up on top of each other and at the same time

would then bring back memories of how all

showing the different varieties at the local mama shop.

these local delights were being sold in the past, creating a craving for it.

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This work involved creation of delicate objects from old mama shops, which served to show the whimsical exploration of our childhood where mama shop is filled with vibrant colours, creating an excitement for kids. It brings out the ambience of mama shop with this extracted elements.

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This retro chair is inspired by the old chairs that

This hand made ceramic bowl is commonly used

Upon approach to this furniture, many would

are usually used by the elderlies. The plastic string

in homes and by street hawkers alike during the

start mentioning their school days because

chair came about because people felt comfortable

old days. Likewise, the base of this chair is also

of the chair that was used in the classrooms

siting on it since air is able to go through the gaps

extracted from a stool that is commonly used

of many Singapore schools. By combining

which benefits Singapore’s hot weather.

in a coffee shop. Thus, combining these two

it with the ‘mama shop’ shelves, it will bring

elements together, it allows the user to interact

them back to their usual school days and how

with the furniture reliving memories of dining at

hanging out at a ‘mama shop’ was a norm.

the local hawker center when the utensils comes in contact to the material of the bowl.

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By incorporating materials and

Being rich in culture and having all

elements that are extracted from a

kinds of traditional savour treats

provison shop or a coffee shop, any

can be highlighted through furniture

person that comes into contact with

designs to reflect our identity.

the furniture will be able to ‘feel’ and

Thus, i was influence from the local

indulge in enjoyable recollection of

traditional “nine-layer kueh” to

past events.

create this chair.

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C ON C LU SION “The material combination talk of experience and atmosphere that forms a alchemy that appropriates physical forms into memory and emotions.�16

In an interior, the materiaility and familiar object does affect how a person encounters within the space. The continous use of similar surface material extracted from Dakota and placed in Tian Kee and Co emphasizes the connectivity to the residents, creating an intimate atmosphere in the space alongside with the fictions of old Tian kee and Co. The difference in typology between Supermama retail store and Tian Kee is that Supermama emphasis more towards the product as the form to create the fiction, while Tian Kee target more towards materaility, and elements from the past as the form. Through this difference typology I used, it demonstrate how my manifesto changes accordingly to suit different application.

All in all, the objective of Tian kee and Co is to prove that with the combination of familiar materials, and elements from the past, it contains spirtual and emotional experiences to the people, thus, unfolding the story of a space.

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PETER ZUMTHOR, ATMOSPHERE

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DESIGN SHOULD BE COMMUNICATIVE

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D E S I G N S U M M A RY As we are fixed on the notion of modernisation, we tend to focus more towards

In conclusion, with my design beliefs of ‘Form

the functionality of a space, missing out on the significance of what design

Follows Fiction’, we will be able to break away

is and thus restricted ourself. I believe that design is about the spirtual and

from conventional designs and prevent the similiar

emotional experiences of one, it is really about how we live our life, how we

programmed to be re-asserted into the space. This

script our stories to others.

will enhance design spaces where we are free to explict our imagination and creativitly expressed our

Hence, the projects above offer different perception in viewing design, where

design, revealing our stories to others.

Supermama focused more on connecting two unrelated object to create a contrasting effect but add up to something recognisable, a story to be interpretated. Whereas, Tian kee reflects the fact that humans experience the world through their senses and emotions.

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