Scarificazione della città
(why)
Scarificazione della città?
Scarifica•on involves scratching, etching, burning, or superficially cu•ng designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a permanent body modifica•on. In meaning, historical events has also scarified its marks on the architectural façade, cityscape fabric and local cultural norm and value. I had the undergraduate thesis study •tled “Scarificazione del Colosseo”. I spent months to study the Coliseum on site with professors and local scholars. Throughout the studies, I realized that the surrounding had changed because of the historical scarifica•on on the buildings, and furthermore, on to the future city planning, culture and economic. Vice versa, the city’s preserva•on approach to the scarifica•on of the landmark is also incredibly important to what we see today. This series of traveling studies started with this academic se•ng. Since then, I started to log my traveling experience and spent por•on of the •me to understand the scarifica•on of the buildings and its rela•on to the city and the local culture. For one, Rome decided to let the building environment stay eternity, London welcomes the new changes and making effort to maintain the important significant, while Hong Kong surrendered to commerce importance and embracing the contemporary •ny living. We can relate the city’s historical preserva•on approach onto a building scale by looking at the Rome’s Coliseum, the tall buildings and small allies in London, and the Kowloon Walled City. This winter, I will be traveling to other new ci•es and extend my studies.
Mural pain•ng BY Beazarility
Demoli•on Series,Studio Mumbai and Bijoy Jain
Driving in Mumbai
(where) Mumbai, India
Mumbai (formally called Bombay), the city of dreams, is the culture powerhouse of India. It was greatly influenced by Western (Bri•sh) power. Numbers of the significant architecture were built in 1820-1900. Not only did Mumbai change in forms of poli•cal rule, but also architecturally. With a history of the shi•ing seats in power, Mumbai became a state rich in architecture and landmarks; and s•ll stand tall to its colonial legacy. Mumbai has been through many painful events in the past, including the recent a•ack in 2008. The adaptable Indians become stronger as a culture with the lessons learned. They apply the same strength to develop the industries and economy as well as architecture. I am curious to see and experience the built environment and living culture of Mumbai myself. I would love to spend •me on some of the historical significance and what the scarifica•on has done to the surroundings and the city itself.
Chhatrapa• Shivaji Terminus
(+) Hiroshima, Japan Hiroshima, the historical signiďŹ cant city, has its name forever engraved in the history books. While the city seems to always relate to its bloody and grieved past, with a never-surrendering mindset, the Japanese city has learned and moved on. Buildings once again built from the ground and reconstructed roadways are as busy as the ones in Los Angeles. There are two World Heritage Sites in Hiroshima. One is the A-Bomb Dome of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the other one is Itsukushima Shrine. The A-Bomb Dome was the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promo•on Hall built in 1915. Originally, the building was about 160m from the ground zero and when the bomb was dropped, no one in the building had survived. However, the building was not completely destroyed because the blast of the atomic bomb vaporized in the air, which prevented the building from totally collapsing. The A-Bomb Dome is not just a memorial of the historical event, but it’s also a place for prayers. Beyond Hiroshima in the nearby Kansai area, there are number of sites that are culturally and architecturally important to visit, such as Teshima Island, Naoshima Island and the famous Buddhist temples in Kyoto.
A-Bomb Dome of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial
Kanazawa Sta•on, one of the best example of how Japanese architecture and art translate bewteen the tradi•onal and contemporary.
A yellow pumpkin BY Yayoi Kusama
Teshima Art Museum BY Ryue Nishizawa Japanese are known for their amazing crea!vity and detail minded. Numbers of the projects shown are showcasing the power of their design. The minimalism has reach its high point. By using very minimal elements, the project has delivery the goal on the spot. Church of the Light BY Tadao Ando
(what)
to expect?
For personal fulfillment, I would love to spend an hour or two to breathe in the environment, to touch the sunshine, to watch the people passing by and sense the architecture/site. This is a medita•on session to relax and to exhale the stress from daily life. It will help extend myself in mul•ple sides and establish connec•ons to new ideas. The •me will allow my interself to expand the think, explore the past and experience the moment. To document my explora•on, I will take a series of pictures that explains the story, it can the landscape, the architecture, the art works, the light or the people. To lock the sensa•on of the moment, I would add on some wri•ng (or phrases) or drawing (or line sketches).
eXperience the moment
eXplore the past
eXpand the thinking
to document?
(how)
I will create a Mini traveling log, where each travel log shows a collec•on of pictures and items within the city that is visited. In the past, of the number of the ci•es that I had visited, I would use some marked images accompany with drawing(s) or a descrip•on that I drew or wrote on site. The cap•ons can be the of what I experienced at the moment, it can be what I saw at the second or understanding of what the scarifica•on did to the culture, residence, economic and city planning. For this trip, I would be happy to organize a traveling log in a digital format and share with HMC firm-wide network.
(when) The adventure is set to start during the Christmas holiday break and will be extend to January 2017.