Thinking | Architecture

1 ‘ The Central Six’, Spent, Geoffrey Miller (pp. 144-170)

Teh Kah Khen 0314502

29th/8/14

All of us are born different, no two alike. From the minute features to the observable physical characteristic, human beings are created by The Mighty that highlights the essence of uniqueness. Throughout the transitional stage of physical and psychological development of my life, I have always been questioning about my self being. Why am I like this? Why am I different? Why am I the odd one standing out? Then, until the recent time I have understood that we are all dissimilar regardless of character, personality and inner beings and on top of that, we are actually trying to stand out amongst ourselves without much realisation. Could that be the intention of The Creator?

In this immensely diverse creation with no boundaries, we should actually welcome ourselves in this world without having any doubt. Be it the midget among the group or the “overly” introverted student in the class, we are all “born this way”, the title by Lady Gaga that sparks controversy yet I found it meaningful in my honest opinion. Apart from that, there is also a quote by Paulo Coelho that can be adopted, “Each human being is unique, each with their own qualities, instincts, forms of pleasure and desire for adventure. However, society always imposes on us collective ways of behaving, and people never stop to wonder why they should behave like that”. This is agreeable as we should not let the society control or shape us but instead, generate a holistic society made of different, unique members.

In contrary, I also believe that there are insecurities hindering us from acting how we should and the way we are. For instance, the experiences of a friend of mine who has always been meticulous of how to present oneself to the crowd everyday as of looking good in all aspects so as to induce a positive perception. Having said that, we are all being judged unknowingly as I believed this is the nature of human beings. In other words, the external layering put on oneself and the amount of time spent behind mirrors are just to compensate the low-stability and low-extraversion characteristics. Could this be the means of introducing oneself to the crowd without actually having to perform the action? Therefore, the intention is actually to gain a good first impression although it might be a come-and-go crowd. Besides, together with well manners and good attitude, these might overcome the insecurities and actually show the true self of one.

To sum it up, it takes time to discover one’s true form and through the ups and downs of finding, we are often being put in tough situations or events that we are not comfortable with.

It might take few attempts and consumes time to reclaim ourselves as of how the society placed us but as a result, it has the potential to soar us to a whole new level of how we look at life and perhaps, make life more interesting.

2 Operative Design: A Catalogue to Spatial Verbs, Anthony Di Mari / Nara Yoo

Teh Kah Khen 0314502

5th/9/14

Fact; a thing that is known or proved to be true. In contrary, fiction is said to be something that is invented or untrue. However, this regards to how a particular matter is analysed and viewed from.

Sometimes, foreign things that are so unfamiliar to us will tend to create the negative atmosphere that controls our mind. For instance, the sightings of the Loch-ness monster in the Scottish Higlands or the invasion of unidentified flying objects (UFO) carrying genetically different forms of beings on the planes of Earth. This could be an argument that would somehow be true and believable or in the other end, false or just a hoax. A person could claimed it to be real with possible evidences while the other might think it critically and with common senses to back up and oppose as this quandary actually correlates to the matter of perspective. Put it in this situation, have you ever debate with someone and simply could not come to an agreement? Personally, we have all been in this position before especially us, students in the design field. We might think that the former occurrence is fake because we have not confront any before and therefore, we go about rejecting. “No, they are just myths.”

“What is wrong with you? Can’t you see that I am right?” This complication can last as each side will stubbornly defend their ideas. Worse comes to worst, this friction might lead to a dispute hurting both parties. This is due to the nature of us, afraid that seeing the other perspective would lead to us losing the argument and get the disadvantage. Thus, this highlights the importance of understanding the case and to include the perspective of others to come up with solutions rather than compromises like the quote by Wayne Dyer, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”. As a result, this grants a win-win benefit for both parties.

To sum it up, say a cube, it is the basic three-dimensional shape. One might look it as just a cube while the other who is somewhat more adventurous will look it differently. Thereafter, there is actually “no right, no wrong…” (Elsa, Frozen) but it just depends on how a person views it. In conclusion, we should always see through the eyes of another person before coming to a judgement.

3 Blink, Malcolm Gladwell, pp/ 151-192

Teh Kah Khen 0314502

12th/9/14

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Often, one might have different interpretation than the other on a particular subject. Rubbish for instance, we are fond to it as ugly, dirty and everything not so nice. However, trash is different to different people. Tony Setch, an artist, collects washed up objects by the sea that to most of us seemed worthless but, he reconfigures them into beautiful masterpieces. People go “wow” at his artworks but the question is, do people really appreciate the objects that made up the whole piece or just the piece itself? Likewise, people see things very straightforwardly, if something does not please the senses, the first sight, they go about rejecting or otherwise. Humans should get out of their comfort zone of having everything “nice” and perhaps, start seeing things differently. It would be revolutionary. By saying that, we often confine ourselves in our own bubble and repel things that do not attach to us as new and odd things look alien to us and immediately, our brain transmits negative thoughts about it resulting us, not permitting ourselves to new encounters.

In this case of favouritism, it seems like there is a direct path leading everyone towards the similar goal. “Everyone should only create something nice.” Similitude. Monotony. Diversity does not exist in this context. Why do you think God makes each of us uniquely different?

What will happen to the odd one standing out?

Each of us has different perception on things. Given a cube, one might decompose it into distinct, smaller cubes and the other might break it into random pieces. Both have their own beauty depending on how the person views it. If bias is the case, the person with smaller cubes will be chosen, hands-down even though the roots to both are equivalent. I believe that each has their own values.

Relating back to life, in the case of being rejected, we should look on the brighter side.

There are ups and downs in life and perhaps if one could not appreciate at the moment, there has got to be someone, sooner or later, will understand the meaning and accept it.

Determination and perseveration is the key. Lady Gaga was once being trashed for her awkwardness and her music which people termed it “weird”. Look now, she is a mega-star worthy of the title ‘Queen of Pop’. Put it this way, if we believe in ourselves and stick to our principles, we shall achieve our goals. It is just the matter of time.

4 ‘The True Fake’, Why We Build, Rowan Moore, pp. 72-112

Teh Kah Khen 0314502

19th/9/14

Growth; one-celled zygote to an adult human being, things change. Reminiscing the days of a toddler, with a pacifier attached to the mouth like a match made in heaven, a baby bolster on one hand and a gigantic, brown teddy bear on the other, I dragged. From learning to speak to falling down while trying to walk, I pick myself up and continue trying effortlessly. Time passes and things change subconsciously. The caterpillar had now turned into a young butterfly constantly seeking for something new to explore and learning throughout. To think back, those were actually the best time of my life, period.

People undergo few phases of transition and transform. It seems that it has no end, we change overtime; we change the way we are, we change the way we think, we change the way we look and many more changes. To some, a change is like taking a leap of faith never knowing what will happen next. It is like being pushed towards a forked road. You get so used to the long, linear path and fear to be different this time. You ended up staying in that spot, doing things monotonously. If a tiny caterpillar is able to hibernate and embrace a change in its life without getting to know the future from the day it started to spin a hard cocoon around itself, why can’t we change, sometimes? Things do not change merely for the sake of changing, there are reasons. Personally, I think change is for the better. I remember when I was younger, I used to be apprehensive and shy until I was termed anti-social. Perhaps, I feared of getting judged.

Thus, I changed and still, changing.

Making even the smallest change to your daily routine can do part in your life. For example, taking an alternative route to work; God knows what you will encounter along this new path or stop by at a different coffee shop; better coffee could lead to a better day. These changes might seem minimal but will surely make a different over the long run.

In conclusion, we should see change as an opportunity in life to upgrade ourselves. History changed, architectural styles changed, people around us changed, I changed, you changed etc.

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world”, Mahatma Gandhi.

5 ‘Ideas’, How Architecture Works: A Humanist’s Toolkit, Witold Rybczynski, pp. 17-48

Teh Kah Khen 0314502

26th/9/14

“Great architecture is a rare miracle.”

Soul; emotional or intellectual energy or intensity, especially as revealed in a work of art or an artistic performance. Architecture is closely related to soul whereby both are dependent variables. In my opinion, every design is to be like a living organism. They have to speak for themselves. The forms, spatial poetics and visceral qualities somehow made the building alive.

Having said that, everything has to come together. Budget, client, program, site, and of course inspiration. A good architecture has to incorporate contextual and historical values and also highlighting the user experiences. These are what every architect and designer strives for; to create a building that is everlasting and stand as one entity in which the overall meaning of the building is interpreted correctly according to the intention of the architect. Ironically, this is always contradicted by the vast reactions of individual users. One might translate it in their own manner while another might do so differently. It is like a love-hate situation. The results are infinite. We all have different thought that makes us uniquely.

Therefore, for a building to be termed ‘successful’ in all aspects seems impossible. On the other hand, this issue might be contradictive if the design is mainly suited according to the needs of the client only. In other words, as long as the client is satisfied, the design proceeds to the next phase regardless of how users will interpret it. This situation is common. If user experience is taken into consideration, it would take a lifetime for an architect to include them and manipulate the design to fit to their needs. Again, it is rather impossible.

Thus, a perfect architecture is just merely an illusion. Humans are not perfect. Do you expect buildings to be perfect? Last but not least, a building might be prestigiously awarded particularly but that is just a sum of few conclusions drawn by the judges. What if the decision is open to public?

7 Horror in Architecture, Joshua Comaroff and Ong Ker-Shing, pp. 31-43

Teh Kah Khen 0314502

10th/9/14

Adaptation, modification, transformation; the process of change to become better suited to an environment.

Discovery and technologies are encountered every second, the time you take to read this sentence, new invention has been proposed and announced. We are living in this fast-paced world with unlimited boundaries and potentials. Never do we urge to pause and tell ourselves, it is enough, sufficient or “I’m contented with it.” We yearn for more. Scientists, artists, designers and architects dedicated part of their lives to come out with something new, new.

We might think we have all that we need but, no. The cure to AIDS might be near or someone could say that it is curable but, no, period. If only the group of scientists who might have the answers were not on board MH370 which went missing mysteriously.

Time waits for nobody. The capable moves forward, the less-capable crawls or stop. Frankly, we are actually adapting to all the changes. From the phase we were introduced into this world, we start to make adjustments to become better suited to the environment. Gone are the days of nomadic living, humans settled down. This evidently shows adaptation.

Nevertheless, adaptation somehow pushes us to the next level, to the place and time we are at now.

Similar goes to architecture, a design that responds to the environment shows adaptation.

As a city progresses, architecture becomes more essential. The need to house people becomes more obvious. The extrusion of skyscrapers and the mushrooming of spaces are rather quick.

However, it seems that the adaptation of architecture is often restricted by the principles and rules, the norm or classicism. If scientists are able to produce something that has totally no relation to anything (new, new), why can’t architects do so? Why can’t architects do out of the box? Why does the design has to relate or have traces of the classic? In my opinion, people tend to see architecture in a manner that if it has no relation to the past or best to say, norm, it does not work for them. It is like we are bounded to monotony. For instance, the blown-up scale of traditional pitched roof of Beman’s Grandstand. People find it hard to accept and start criticizing it without knowing the reason behind it. The perception of scale and proportion (traditional pitched roof versus blown-up pitched roof) somehow interfere the interpretation. I think architecture is a will. The control is on the hands of the architect himself and also the client. The extent of generating something alien or ‘weird’ provided with a sole purpose and to adapt to the environment is permissible. Architecture is subjective, it might please one, it might offend one. The best way to put it, architecture should be free. It should not be controlled by any other factor besides the environment and the needs of the client.

Adaptation is what distinguishes the architecture.

8 ‘Geometries of Being’ & ‘Ideal Geometry’, Analysing Architecture, Simon Unwin, pp.

129-170

Teh Kah Khen 0314502

24th/10/14

Ever so often we associate our daily encounters with geometries and shapes? Telescoping our natural ‘binoculars’ using our hands; it forms a circle. Aligning a shot using both our forefingers and thumbs prior to taking a photo; it forms a square. We are introduced to geometries and shapes since we were born. From IKEA building blocks of simple shapes to Legos and bricks to architecture, now, geometry is not uncommon. In fact, we see them everyday, every second. It is everywhere. Nature forms its very own set of shapes. No stone are equally crafted by God. Man forms it very own set of shapes. Ironically, they oppose to God’s creation. Boxy, cubical and can be duplicated. However, they are distinct on their own.

Often we relate nature as a free flowing, flexible and fluid component in comparison to a more rigid, solid human invention. Speaking of architecture, it is like comparing between Zaha Hadid and Tadao Ando. Each has their own approach on design and they are uniquely different. Even though physically they look unlike, but I believed that the process of reaching to the outcome may rise from the same source; basic shapes. A simple cube can be transformed into an odd, weird shape. Same goes to a sphere; it may be configured into something else fairly peculiar. It all depends on how one interprets and translates the shape. This is geometry; an endless math.

Back to childhood days, before we are technologically well-equipped. We spent time playing games of our own. A game of chess, hide and seek to some more exciting outdoor activities. I could still remember a birthday party I attended. It is still well-written in my mind that we played something that seemed to be extinct from today’s society. Ever heard of musical chairs?

Talking about geometry, it is obvious that this game has a fixed plan. We arranged chairs facing outwards in the form of a circle. A shape is formed, subconsciously. When the music starts, we run around in loops. The shape is defined. When the music stops, one gets knocked out of the game. The plan changed. The circle turned smaller. The shape alters. It goes on and on until eventually one person wins.

Basically, we encounter geometries in our daily lives. Everything comes from a shape. It might not be the basic shapes we are well known of but, it is still a shape or a combination.

Geometry is God, a diverse, intelligent creation.

7 ‘In What Style Shall We Build’, The Architecture of Happiness, Alain de Botton, pp. 2775

Teh Kah Khen 0314502

31st/10/14

Sentimental, nostalgia, emotional, attached, etc. Feelings are no alien. We experience all different rush of feelings. Launch of the new Apple iPhone; excitement. MH17 tragedy; devastating. Leaving for somewhere; anticipation. Nonetheless, feelings are more prompt towards an action particularly, something we held close to our heart.

Look around your space, there will be something that stood the test of time. The day we were introduced to now. Why is it still there? What is special about it? Personally, there are numerous items ‘exhibited’ that I just cannot let go. Apart from being just collectibles with rather no function, one might call it as hoarding or trash, but there are reasons we sometimes cherish certain things. Even though it might look ugly or outdated, the sentimental values injected excluded it from being discarded as if it has created a force field of its own.

Same goes to architecture. The trend of new replacing the old is a fact. As we progress, architecture changes and proceeds along. We live in houses. We refurbish. We renovate. We shift. Ironically, sometimes we are heavy hearted to do so. We are used to the environment that shared the ups and downs together prohibiting us from change. It might be easy to renovate a house but it is rather difficult to overcome the fear of changing. The dilemma of keeping the existing and eagerness of awaiting a better outcome is contradicting. Therefore, at times we feel contented. Likely, we do not change our house regularly or renovate often. The sentimental value is a strong sense that holds everything together.

Another example would be the preservation and conservation of historical sites. The UNESCO site in Penang is an obvious movement that reserves the cultural heritage and momentarily pauses time. It enables user to travel back to the period of its architecture. More obviously, people of the same era will feel a strong connection and able to relate back to history. Perhaps the fond memories they experienced. Thus, it can be said that sentimental considerations have been inserted in the planning.

All in all, life is filled with abundance. Things come and go. We die. Time waits for nobody but, we can actually ‘stop’ time.