The action of unsealing the zipper allows one to open up their mind, to recover memory that might have been lost or forgotten in time.
Coffer of the Insignificant. By Thomas Chee
URBAN REPOSITORY: MEMORIES & ARTIFACTS _
Author: Patrick HWANG School of Architecture, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
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THE HKIA JOURNAL 2015 | ISSUE 71
Introduction A city, identity can be characterized, and defined by its attitude towards the past, present and future. What and how a city chooses to collect and dispose of its artifacts, directly influence the memories of its people. A repository, which archives valuable records of the city and by extension, the collective memory of its people, is monuments to life. It celebrates the passing of time. It is the building that stores, what Ricardo Scofidio refers to as, the “former present, which remains autonomous and resists any later fabrication of meaning.” What is a monument and what are its essential qualities? Must the key subject of what it commemorates tower in its significance or could it be a common object that simply cease to exist today? Does it demand a capricious shape or could it compose of modest geometric syntax? Must it be ambitious in scale or could it fit comfortably within a neighborhood? These are the questions posed when considering the problem to the design of an urban repository, the topic of a MArch studio at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Through the works of ten graduate students at the School of Architecture, Urban Repository, Memories & Artifacts explore ideas of the archive by generating an architecture that stores, displays and celebrates the everyday object. ICONIC BUILDINGS
Reversing the General to the Specific Instead of arriving architectural specificity at the end of the design process, we began by designing, in full scale construction, a box of artifact within a 50cm x 50 cm area. Students select an artifact with connection to the city, then design and build a box enclosure for the purpose of archive and display. The Box of Artifact serves as the “generator” of the design idea. The choice of materials, the construction logic, and the ways in which the content is displayed will establish the design trajectory and concept for the final project, the URBAN REPOSITORY. The physical act of making the box triggers the infusion between art, architecture and engineering. It encourages material understanding and promotes an economy of means, allowing the idea to be more precise and concise. Box of Artifact Example 1: Artifact, 1970’s Baby Formula Tin Can Coffer of the Insignificant is a “Container” containing a container. The container is constructed from acrylic, plastic molded zipper, nylon wire, transparency film and LED strip light. The action of unsealing the zipper allows one to open up their mind, to recover memory that might have been lost or forgotten in time.
Box of Ambiguity by Larry Liu is an allegory for visualizing the past, a visuality that is blurry, uncertain and abstract.
It hides the artifact within layers of translucent shell constructed of brushed and dot-coated acrylic panels.
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