Narrative Architecture Supervisor: Daniel K. Brown January 9 - 17, 2016
Design narrative theory addresses the true complexity of human experience as a prevailing factor in design. It provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the internal human response to [place]. – Cathy Ganoe, “Design as Narrative: A Theory of Inhabiting Interior Space”
International Program in Design + Architecture | Chulalongkorn University | Faculty of Architecture | Bangkok, Thailand
In my vision, the countryside is a thousand-year old remnant of the battle and co-operation between man and nature. Man shapes the land with mechanical devices to serve his own purposes and aims to create an order based on his utilitarian tendencies. Only gradually does nature, in all its diversity repossess the temporary order governed by man… Cultural marks, imprinted on land by man, manifest themselves in numerous ways. Man leaves behind him various objects and articles, waste matter, constructions and cultivated plants run wild, or he initiates less desirable processes such as erosion, pollution and land drainage. – Ilkka Halso, “The Skin of the Earth.” Web. 2 July 2015 http://www.saunalahti.fi/halso/pagenglish/cultlandtxt.html
DEX 2016
Narrative Architecture January 9 - 17, 2016
Memorial to the Monsoons This 9-day workshop for Year 3 architecture students at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok explores Narrative Architecture — architecture that ‘tells a story’ in order to convey a personal position about an important social, cultural or global event or issue. The narrative theme of this workshop is water — specifically the monsoons — which can bring stark contrasts and oppositions (both life and death, happiness and despair). The program for this workshop was an architectural memorial to the 815 people who perished in the 2011 Thailand floods. Each student designed a memorial that reveals the beauty and vitality of water, while also reflecting the despair that it can sometimes bring. These architectural memorials represent a place of sadness and memory — commemorating the people who died in the 2011 floods and the 13.6 million people whose lives were disastrously affected — while simultaneously representing a place of gratitude and hope for the rains that bring fertility and life to the land. The site for the memorial is Sanam Luang, which has long had a historic association with water. Throughout the reign of King Rama III, Sanam Luang was used for growing rice. King Rama IV set up a special place in Sanam Luang for performing the Royal Ploughing Ceremony and the Ceremony of Predicting the Rain, both of which continue annually to this day. The program for this workshop is a Narrative Memorial dedicated to the disastrous floods of 2011, which can also be used to perform the Ceremony of Predicting the Rain. http://www.thaizer.com/festivals/royal-ploughing-ceremony-thailand The aim of this workshop was to encourage innovation and lateral thinking, as well as poetic interpretation and aesthetic sensitivity. The student’s eye becomes the primary vehicle for both provocation and confirmation. For a video presentation of the original brief see: https://vimeo.com/146604656. Daniel K. Brown, Faculty of Architecture and Design Associate Dean (Academic Development) Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand http://cargocollective.com/danielkbrown
LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN Pusita Anadirekkul
Medium: Ink on Paper Dimensions: 595mm x 595mm
Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, It’s about learning to dance in the rain. – Vivian Greene
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LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN This memorial reflects the loss of architecture from the 2011 floods: the destroyed houses and buildings and livelihoods of the people. When visitors enter, they walk upon the ruins of broken buildings, before entering a door in the distance, where they see 815 lights in the darkened space representing the souls of the 815 people who also perished. Pusita Anadirekkul
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I HEAR LEAVES DRINKING RAIN Napat Assavaborvornvong
Medium: Ink on Paper Dimensions: 595mm x 840mm
I hear leaves drinking rain; I hear rich leaves on top Giving the poor beneath Drop after drop; ‘Tis a sweet noise to hear These green leaves drinking near. And when the Sun comes out, After this Rain shall stop, A wondrous Light will fill Each dark, round drop; I hope the Sun shines bright; ‘Twill be a lovely sight. – William Henry Davies
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I HEAR LEAVES DRINKING RAIN The architectural void represented by this memorial reminds visitors about the disastrous 2011 flood, while also representing the circles of the Plowing Festival. Visitors enter in search of a center that they can never reach. Napat Assavaborvornvong
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THE TEARS THAT DROP WILL SOON BE DRIED Pornchanok Chueyen
Medium: Ink on Paper Dimensions: 930mm x 840mm
Be patient when the rain pours ‘Cause at least it makes us notice the differences. And one day when the rain’s gone The sky will shine again and then you’ll understand This is a reward that’s worth waiting. Don’t be afraid when the sky falls down; Don’t just think that it’s your last moment. The tears that drop will soon be dried. If you don’t know what’s pain, you won’t know what’s satisfied. – Boyd Kosiyapong
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THE TEARS THAT DROP WILL SOON BE DRIED Broken columns represent the souls of the 815 loved ones who died in the floods of 2011. When visitors perambulate around the memorial, the columns appear broken along the entry pathway, but they appear whole again upon reaching the other side. Pornchanok Chueyen
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THE NEED FOR SADNESS Khanachai Kittisorayut
Medium: Ink on Paper Dimensions: 320mm x 320mm
In all my life till now, rain has meant staying inside And not being able to go out to play. But now for the first time I realize that rain doesn’t have to be bad. And what’s more, I understand, sadness doesn’t have to be bad, either. Come to think of it, I figure you need sadness, just as you need the rain. – Antwone Quenton Fisher, Finding Fish: A Memoir
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THE NEED FOR SADNESS This memorial establishes a diagonal line across Sunam Luang; the line is shifted off axis to face in the direction of the Emerald Buddha. 815 columns form the line, set within a pool of water. The columns represent the 815 people who died in the 2011 floods. They are at rest, regarding their own reflections, together as one. Khanachai Kittisorayut
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TO ENHANCE AND TO PRESERVE Rarin Komolsiripakdi
Medium: Ink on Paper Dimensions: 840mm x 840mm
Oh…..ho…..oh….ho…..oh…..ho….oo…..oo The valuable rocket, worship it to our god; the valuable rocket, launch it to sky high. The rain falls, the water fills the field; send the rocket up, please send us back the water for farming. Hope the food will be abundant, as the rain falls from the sky; enhance and preserve the abundant, enhance and preserve the rocket festival. oh…..ho…..oh….ho…..oh…..ho….oo…..oo If the rocket fails to launch, the maker shall be thrown in the mud.
– Traditional Song, Rocket Festival
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TO ENHANCE AND TO PRESERVE An architectural heaven hovers above a pool of water, which represents the 2011 flood. 815 small apertures in the ceiling emit points of light that are reflected in the water below, representing the 815 souls of the dead. Rarin Komolsiripakdi
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IF ALL WERE SUN AND NEVER RAIN Wanpattra Kongkiatudom
Medium: Ink on Paper Dimensions: 595mm x 595mm
If all were rain and never sun, No bow could span the hill; If all were sun and never rain, There’d be no rainbow still. – Christina Georgina Rossetti
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IF ALL WERE SUN AND NEVER RAIN In this Rain Memorial, the south and the north positions form opposing dialogues. When visitors enter from the south they remember the loss of lives from the floods. But upon arriving in the opposite corner, they see the beauty and life provided by the monsoons. Wanpattra Kongkiatudom
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REMNANT
Piyaporn Koopredechat Medium: Mixed Media Dimensions: 595mm x 840mm
On the stiff twig up there Hunches a wet black rook Arranging and rearranging its feathers in the rain. I do not expect a miracle Or an accident To set the sight on fire In my eye, not seek Any more in the desultory weather some design, But let spotted leaves fall as they fall, Without ceremony, or portent. ... A brief respite from fear Of total neutrality. With luck, Trekking stubborn through this season Of fatigue, I shall Patch together a content Of sorts. Miracles occur, If you care to call those spasmodic Tricks of radiance miracles. The wait’s begun again, The long wait for the angel. For that rare, random descent. – Sylvia Plath
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REMNANT This memorial represents architecture that acts as a vascular machine, pumping life from nature to supply the synthetic, while also restoring order and serenity. Piyaporn Koopredechat
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THE NAGA TOWER Nuntaporn Kusalasaya
Medium: Ink on Paper Dimensions: 595mm x 840mm
From the Rocket Festival (Boon Bang Fai) After the Rocket Festival, the rain is pouring. This year, a family gathering together with happiness and delight Left the town for home and joined the Rocket Festival. Lots of clouds in the sky, the rain starts to pour down with joy. The Naga in the sky offers us plenty of water this year.
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THE NAGA TOWER This memorial narrates the story of the great flood of Bangkok in 2011. At the entrance water cascades downward. As visitors walk through the building, the wall of water becomes higher until they feel symbolically drowned in the flood. In the darkness visitors see light and a view of the Grand Palace on axis behind a curtain wall of water. This is when visitors see the beauty within the darkness, represented by the great flood of Bangkok. N untaporn Kusalasaya
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THE SKY IS DROWNING Parichat Lapprattana
Medium: Ink on Paper Dimensions: 335mm x 335mm
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THE SKY IS DROWNING This memorial forms a gateway into a space where it rains above. The people walk beneath a glass ceiling below the rain, as if they are in the monsoon. Visitors look up and see their own reflections in the glass and the rain, becoming one with the 815 people who perished in the floods of 2011. Parichat Lapprattana
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THE WATER YOU TOUCH Thanakrit Navanugraha
Medium: Ink on Paper Dimensions: 600mm x 600mm
The water you touch in a river is the last of that which has passed, and the first of that which is coming. Thus it is with time present. – Leonardo Da Vinci
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THE WATER YOU TOUCH This memorial represents the pathway that connects two worlds together: the human world and the spiritual world. Visitors can come and visit the spirits of the 815 people who lost their lives in the floods, but these visitors are not the only ones who pass through these two worlds. Water dripping from above represents the tears of loved ones now residing in the spirit world. Thanakrit Navanugraha
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ANGELS’ TEARS THE FLOWERS RENEW Arpakon Suwanwong
Medium: Ink on Paper Dimensions: 420mm x 420mm
Rain winds sweep across the plain. Thunder rumbles on high. Lightening flashes; Bows the grain. Birds in fright nestward fly. But the rain pours down in blessing; Filled with cheer our hearts expand. As the woods with notes of pleasure ring, Sunlight streams o’er the land. Bright the rainbow comes in view. All the world’s cool and clean. Angels’ tears the flowers renew. Nature glistens in green. Rain beads sparkle in your hair, love. Rainbows glitter when you smile. Thus we soon forget the clouds above, Beauty so does beguile. - H.M. Blues
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ANGELS’ TEARS THE FLOWERS RENEW A vessel of water is held aloft in the center of the memorial. Water flows downward to the earth below, allowing the rice to flourish. Like the rice, we are born, we die and we are born once more. Arpakon Suwanwong
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SHEDDING TEARS
Pimdao Toeywattanachai Medium: Ink on Paper Dimensions: 840mm x 595mm
You can shed tears that she is gone Or you can smile because she has lived You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back Or you can open your eyes and see all that she has left Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her Or you can be full of the love that you shared You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday You can remember her and only that she is gone Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back Or you can do what she would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on. – David Harkins
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SHEDDING TEARS After the rain, a field of 815 poles – representing the 815 people who died in the 2011 floods – becomes filled with water. Each individual pole sheds water drops – representing tears for loved ones. The poles together represent Thai’s unity even when facing adversity. Pimdao Toeywattanachai
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GROWING STRONG ENOUGH TO LOVE THE WORLD Prokchol Vataniyobol
Medium: Ink on Paper Dimensions: 600mm x 600mm
Compassion hurts. When you feel connected to everything, you also feel responsible for everything, and you cannot turn away. Your destiny is bound with the destinies of others. You must either learn to carry the universe or be crushed by it. You must grow strong enough to love the world, yet empty enough to sit down at the same table with its worst horrors. – Andrew Boyd
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GROWING STRONG ENOUGH TO LOVE THE WORL D Entering a sacred enclosed space, we see a reflection of ourselves along with 815 columns in a pool of water. Being a part of another world, we are joined in the center with a warm firepit that represents unity. This allows us to remember the past; upon walking out, we are returned back into our own world. Prokchol Vataniyobol
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DEX 2016
Narrative Architecture Supervisor
Students
Daniel K. Brown Associate Dean (Academic Development) Faculty of Architecture and Design Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand Email: daniel.brown@vuw.ac.nz Tel: +644 463 6129 Cell: +6421 235 9592 Web: http://cargocollective.com/danielkbrown Web: http://www.danielkbrown.com Web: http://www.victoria.ac.nz/architecture/about/staff/daniel-brown Pusita Anadirekkul Napat Assavaborvornvong Pornchanok Chueyen Khanachai Kittisorayut Rarin Komolsiripakdi Wanpattra Kongkiatudom Piyaporn Koopredechat Nuntaporn Kusalasaya Parichat Lapprattana Thanakrit Navanugraha Arpakon Suwanwong Pimdao Toeywattanachai Prokchol Vataniyobol
International Program in Design + Architecture | Chulalongkorn University | Faculty of Architecture | Bangkok, Thailand