T HE D AILY S POON Projects, interviews, discussions, and analysis from the heart of Antoun Studio’s online platform since 2021.
Issue No. 01
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"This studio is about one thing and one M.Spooner thing only ... terror."
The foundation for the studio's architectural exploration of loss was the U-House designed by Toyo Ito in 1976 for his recently widowed sister and her daughters. The house stood for twenty-one years and was then demolished, the momentary existence serving a purposeful and deliberate withdrawal that reflected the family's loss. In Antoun, we gathered in the UHouse courtyard to collect questions, explorations, and ideas of its p a r t i c i p a n t s . T h e s t u d i o e x a m i ne d terror, withdrawal, and mourning by holding architectural strategies against the remains of the U-House. The projects we conceived were thought of as cabinets to exhibit and hold the studio. Antoun required us to confront our unconscious attitude towards death through architectural precedents, readings, films, and in the discoveries and fascinations that they prompted. The unfortunate events of covid and being cornered by our domestic environment fixed our terror to the wall, ceiling, and floor of the room that surrounded us. This was imitated in the resolution of the projects.
Ben Cauchi, A Construction, 2011
It is the intimate space of this terror that we shared. We formed a terrorist organisation a n d w e r es o l v e d t o c a r r y o u t t e r r o r .
INTRODUCTION
CAPRICCIO
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COMBINED PLANS
“THE DETRITUS CABINET”
COMBINED SECTIONS
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MOURNING & LOSS ANALYSIS
“THE FOUR CYCLES OF MOURNING”
ANTOUN’S FURNITURE FACTORY
FURNITURE CATALOGUE
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ENTRANCE ANALYSIS
FRAGMENTS MOMENTO MORI
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ARCHAEOLOGY OF FRAGMENTS
FRAGMENTS MOMENTO MORI
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WALL ANALYSIS
“LUNATIC ASYLUM THEATRE”
PROGRESS & DEVELOPMENT
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“A MANSION OF GRIEF”
REWORK PLANS
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PROJECT PARTNERS PART 02
“THE EXPIRING TENDERNESS”
PROJECT PARTNERS PART 03
“ANTOUN MEMORIAL”
CRITICAL INTERVIEW
“DEAD CARNICAL CAMP”
STUDIO EXPERIENCE
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“ The beauty in loss lies in between the unconscious state of appreciation that only revealed when one experienced it.” “ Yo u w ill o n ly r e a l i z e t ha t s om e t hi ng i s t ha t m e a n i n g f u l after loss.”
“ Substantial loss isn’t true los s a s l o ng a s t he memor ies are alive”
“We fo r med a terrorist organization to create a terro ri st perspective and then implemented it on U- H o u s e.”
“ Since we are isolated, t h en we is o l ate”
“Subs tances co m e a n d go b u t memories last forever.”
“We are left with memories that no one can steal.” “Yes, there is the damage the shattered legs.”, “But I never lo o k at t h e work a nd s e e a m a i m i ng. “
LOSS
AND
DEPA RTUR E
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THE CAP TURING C ONTA INER ‘‘
This Cabinet-Apparatus captures
the partial architectures extracted from our private residence.
The fragments retain their original function but absurdly occupy and reconstruct the showroom.
The apparatus enables snooping : the partiality of the fragments captured in reflections or
maintained behind curtains. The apparatus is a device to
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examine the other.
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T HE D E T RI T US C A BI N E T ‘ ‘The project is a composition of
architectural partitions that sets
up walls to simultaneously express a room.
The tinged glass partitions
consider and hold architectural fragments of corners in the
domestic spaces that we currently pursue this studio from.
Architectural fragments of these spaces have been collectively
curated to form a new creation
that questions the hierarchy of
importance; which there is none, through the experimentation of scale, materiality, and order. The fragments are enshrined within and reflected by the
arrangement of each partition to challenge the reconstruction of
domestic spaces that is rooted in
the detritus of our personal space.
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THE RUINS CABINE T
‘ ‘The cabinets enable a conspiracy. An unf inished furniture
archetype with a series of Embedded architectural
fragments reflects the closeness of
the objects held closely in the face of loss. The architectural
fragments are distinct but this act
of holding brings them together, of holding each other. The cabinet
apparatus secures our faith in the
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fragments.
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M E MORI AL HA LL
‘ ‘The cabinet room is a memorial
hall.The U-house is a screen upon which flickers the fragments of a
life.A blue room is the depressing
side of the display after seeing the fragments.Placed in the middle of the sea the project is a reflection
o n t h e l o s s o f a f r e e -w i l l e d l i f e. I t is a commemoration of a life that was isolated.
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DE ATH IB I T ION HALL ‘‘
This cabinet room is an exhibition h a l l f o r t h e disp lay of t hing s t hat cannot be seen or spoken about revealing the impenetrable and incoherent feelings.
The U-house was an invitation to begin again. By reconstruction, the two entrances have been
reconstructed into areas that give the “ visitors” a different sense of p a r t i c i p a t i o n.
The hall urged the guests to hang themselves on the fence to chase
their desire and gain . It realized the studio as a collection of desperadoes.
The project was an invitation to
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conspire.
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WA L L
The wall analysis focuses on defining the relationship between the U-House and the inserted
are being interrogated. It investigates the strategies used in
A L
the tasks that relies on the
A N
fragments. It observes how the walls
contrasts between each other. In this section, we disect the walls to
Y S
establish relationship creating
extend the ideas.
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I s
elements that discuss, deepen and
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TASK 02_CABINET ROOM
01_FRAGMENT
02_WALL
The architectural fragment held by the The wall that holds the fragment wall confronts the preservation of our has been split and exposing it to personal space that is now left exposed ruination. within the exhibition of the cabinet room.
03_FILL The void and the wall fills the two parts which holds it all in place.
04_HOLDER The fragment, the wall, and the infill panel are held aloft on a wheeled frame. The assemblage is temporary
PROJECT: PROJECT REMINISCENT DESIGNERS: LYNN YEO & WEISI JANE LI The cabinet room sustains the transfiguration of loss and recollection. The composition of the wall describes the relationship between the U-House and the chosen fragment that offers a hopeful exhibition of ceaseless preservation .86
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TASK 03_CABINET WALL
PROJECT: PERSONALITY DISORDER DESIGNERS: CHU YI SHUAI & SHIYI WINNIE ZHENG The project is regarded as a self-perceived disorder museum. The wall acts as the holder which had been transformed into a cabinet of jewel-like icebergs that preserve’s the fragments in time.
01_FRAGMENT Fearing the loss and departure of the architectural fragments, it has been encased in jewel-like cabinets that are integrated into the walls of the U-House. Holding on to the pieces that remains.
02_FROZEN IN TIME
03_STRUCTURE
04_PANELS
The cabinets that are confronting the terror of loss and exhibits the fragments of the U-House wall and the studio’s architectural fragments.
A framework suggests the future remnants that is integrated into the remains of the U-House wall.
The U-House wall is demolished and only panel-like fragments of it remains.
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TASK 04_CABINET SALON
01_LAYERING Cabinet studio shelters within the layers of and the walls of the prior project remains.
02_WINDOWS The studio space holds on to what remains, incorporating the window and curtain into its territory.
PROJECT: THE ETERNAL SUPERSESSION DESIGNERS: YISEN JIA & WENXUAN ERIC LI The cabinet studio emerges within the wall of a previous project. The wall of the U-House no longer exists but the existing project describes its boundaries, aiming to erase this prior project.
03_NEW INHABITANT
04_REMAINS
The organic blob is the new inhabitant that attempts to take over the space. It stretches and holds onto the remains of its prior project.
The detritus of the previous project now protects the new inhabitant by acting as an outer shell that shelters it. The wall confronts the terror of loss and provides comfort to the new inhabitant. .90
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Lu nat ic Asylu m T he at e r ‘ This ‘ cabinet room is a theater, the
epitome of the movie “Suddenly, Last Summer”
The U house uses the cage roof and the upper and lower two - story
structure to carry out a scene design in a limited space.
The upper part re-fragments the
fragments, through disorderly and
chaotic placement of obscure people’s psychologically distorted state,
In the lower part, we deliberately
created the depressive atmosphere of the back garden in the movie by redesigning and deforming the respective fragments.
The project vaguely criticizes the
morbid psychology of cannibalism.
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A M A NS IO N OF GRIEF ‘‘
The wall- cabinet embraces the remaining courtyard of the
U- h o u se, c o n st r u ct ing a monu me nt to what was once there.
The project excises furnishings
from the existing wall and deploys them to reanimate the remains of th e h o u se.
The new interior strikes a
picturesque vision with an idyllic stone garden and diorama at the center.
In t h e f a c e o f loss, t he
wall- cabinet f inds comfort in
the reclamation of the memory
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through rebirth.
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E VE N T HE MOM E N T C A N NO T B E E T E RNA L ‘‘
The wall- cabinet holds in
perpetuity the last wall of the U-h o u s e.
A table, chair and shelving are
secured to the periphery of the
wall. They fondly remember the
original furniture of the house but have resisted an easy replication o f t hem .
The wallpaper reflects the pattern on the wallpaper of our bedrooms. It wraps the wall to the
tenderness of a life. The roof is
imagined as the sail of the lifeboat and is a testament to the resilience of life.
This project affectionately clasps the unnerving and the precious.
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The Precedent analysis focuses on studying the detail design strategies of the most relevent precedent projects by Steven Holl. It then takes a closer look at the student projects inspired by these precedents and breakdowns the design decisions and detail elements. The moment where the presence of the precedents come through and the metaphoric and explicit reflections of the precedents on these projects indicate how a single precedent influences the projects differently.
ideas differ significantly on the point of view. . 122
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Precedent Influences on the projects By: Sumy Shin
D.E. Shaw. & Co. Offices : Steven Holl Project1 : The Capturing Container by Jikang Eva Liu & Yisen Jia Project 2: Project Reminiscent by Lynn Yeo & Weisi Jane Li
The Capturing Container
The precedent is the experiment of project light The idea of using light to create atmosphere in spaces “the precedent inspires us to use light as a medium to enhance the connection between each part of our project”
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reflection: Atmosphere emitted by space largely determines the quality of the project
Project Reminiscent
The idea of preserving the formal qualities and reconstruction through merging fragments “through layering of walls which surrounds the cabinet, it soon begin to resemble the room of the original, the cabinet now been transformed into an exhibit that once again references the precedent.” Reflection: Breaking down the components reveal things that were unnoticed
Angle up
Angle Down
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Precedent Influences on the projects By: Sumy Shin
Giada Showroom: Steven Holl Project1 : Project Reminiscent by Weisi Jane Li & Wenxuan Eric Li Project 2: The Ruins Cabinet by Yu Li Sim & Yushan Wang
Project Reminiscent
The idea of hanging fragments responding to the hanging shelves “we were trying to take some of the details from the precedent and change the form to make them become our design rather than Steven Holl’s”
Idea: The hanging Fragments
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Idea: Verticality vs Horizontality
The Ruins Cabinet
“The design decision he makes much in evidence and show in details” The inspiration from the precedent is applied; metaphorically in the way of overlaying the details but also explicitly in its metarial and form. “The architectural Fragments are separate entities and the act of bringing them together create a sense of self dependency; an act of holding each other and another strategy of appreciating the fragments” The walls are holding the fragments but at the same time the fragments are a part of the walls.
Idea: Fragments are a part of the wall Sense of Dependency
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L O ST I N WAT E R
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The wall- cabinet holds out,
despite the threat of its demise from a slowly dripping faucet.
The swimming complex emerges as an accident, caused by the
constant leakage of a single drop of water.
The change room restores a
fragment of the original U-house and reflects an architectural resurrection.
The project preserves both the
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perilous and the astonishing.
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A Cabinet-salon
Weisi Li & Wen Qian Verona Han Weisi Jane Li & Verona Han
Review Weisi Jane Li &Verona Han's project, from reading mentioned 'But the other possibility is weirder: that it was not the ugliness and incongruity of our act that precipitated my peripeteia, but rather the actual beauty of the thing that remained.' and'Damage it? We completed it. And ourselves. In a flash.' They chose to keep the Jiayi Joey Gu & Wenxuan Eric Li's model completely, and through local processing strategies, they presented their models in the original U-house in the form of installation art, using layering and reestablish architectural ways, The space extends inside and is layered through weekly tasks. They tried to remake the original fragments into furniture as evidence to mourn the precious memory of the studio that never really existed.
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A Cabinet-salon
Yu Li Sim & Jiayi Joey Gu
Review
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In the yuli&jiayi project, the precedent <left overs> "when the museum solemnly announced that they would not attempt to repair the damage, but would instead preserve it in its shattered form, they had the audacity to suggest that this was because now it had become a ‘historical artifact’ mentioned that they did not try to repair the damage, but chose to save it in a damaged form. They reiterated Chuyi Shuai & Yushan Wang’s original project to retain the formal characteristics of the previous project. By repeating and retaining these specific method, they concretized the image and transformed the form into an image, such as converting the light wrapped around the body into a phenomenological spatial quality. , Incorporated in his own work, used to wrap the original shell of Chuyi Shuai & Yushan Wang's model. Through this particular way, Exterior wall is built to preserve the original U-house and interact with the original U-house.
A Cabinet-salon
Yisen Jia & Wenxuan Eric Li
Review
Yisen Jia & Wenxuan Eric Li’s project embodies the precedent "We thought of ourselves as revolutionaries. We were revolutionaries. Now the preferred term is terrorist.". After rescale rotate the original project, it completely disrupts and resets the position of the original project in the U-house. , Forming a new sequence of architecture. Through the method of zooming, the comparison of the size of the external and internal models represents an infinite loop in space. The concave-convex state of the model seems to have gone through many revolutions, trying to break the original convention, regardless of the success of the revolution, always maintain the original intention of the revolution.
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A Cabinet-salon
Sumy Shin & Steffi Li
Review
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Steffi Li & Sumy Shin's project takes "There was something of the same loose billow in the metal that had burst open into a new and fluid form, undulating and suddenly fragile." as a precedent. Rescale based on the original furniture and change the location to extend the space inward. Remake the tarp of the original model and wrap the model along the exterior wall to create a new soft external space. After the layout is completed, the original wallpaper and floor are replaced, the color tone is changed, and the material is strengthened to create a tender environment.
A Cabinet-salon
Lynn Yeo & Jikang Eva Liu
Review The Lynn Yeo & Jikang Eva Liu's project transforms the character development in the movie into architectural language, and narrates the process of rebuilding memory through the reconstruction and deconstruction of the sumy project. For example, through the intervention of fragments, the original wall of the Sumy Shin U-house is basically deconstructed, and the fragments exist as boundaries, as well as the use of some detailed processing strategies, materials, colors and spatial quality to give the form a human touch. And they rebuilt part of the basement of sumy's original model. It can be said that the entire project of Lynn Yeo & Jikang Eva Liu has made Sumy Shin's original U-house more spatially fluid, so that the memory fragments are no longer separated, and strengthened the original architectural intention of Sumy Shin, with the purpose of preservation fragments of memory seek comfort.
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T HE F OU R C YC LE S O F MOUR N I NG ‘ ‘The project recollects the
do m es t i c l i f e o f a h o u s e f o r
mourning. Four wall- cabinets hold the stages of grief.
Each cabinet remarks on the
uncanny resilience found during daily movements of life.
- t a k i n g yo u r s ho es o f f, dri n k in g
your tea, washing your face, and do i n g yo u r l a u n dry.
Life intimately follows the
perimeter of the wall, constructing a pavilion-house turned inward. There is a familiarity in this ho u s e.
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1. Sim Yuli, Yushan Wang, The Ruins Cabinet
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2. Jikang Eva Liu, Yisen Jia, The Capturing Container 3. Jiayi Joey Gu, Ziyu Zoe Zhou, Multi Dimentional Cabinet 4 & 5. Sumy Shin, A Mansion of Grief 6. Da Iris Wang, Chuyi Shuai, The Angels Ain’t True 7. Jane Weisi Li, Eric Wenxuan Li, Project Reminiscent
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8. Lynn Yeo, Steffi Li, The Detritus Cabinet 9. Sumy Shin, Shiyi Winnie Zheng, Verona Han, The Explicit Cabinet
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10. Expiring Tenderiess 11. The External Supersession 12. A Mainson of Grief 13. The Detritus Cabinet 14~15.Antoun’s Cabinet
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16. Unsympathetic 17~20. Waxes and Wanes 21. Antoun’s Cabinet
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22~24 Antoun Memorial 25. The explicit Cabinet 26~27 Even The Moment Can Not Be Enternal 28. The Ruins Cabinet
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A TEM P O R A RY R E S T OR AT ION
‘‘ The wall- cabinet is a temporary restoration of the U-house Courtyard Wall.
The original wall is present as a gap between the lamination of
different overlapping planes that are stained, etched, and
printed with the impression of the U-house in vital repose, as a pile of broken fragments.
The passing back and forth of the laye rs puts into question the
existence of the U-house and its
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demolition.
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INTERVIEW WITH EU LYNN YEO & WEISI JANE LI By Su Myat Sumy Shin
PROJECT REMINISCENT Yeo: The project considered the character developmentof the ÀOP ‘Suddenly, Last Summer’ (1959) , ZDV LQWHUHVWHG LQ UHÁHFWLQJ D VRUW RI FKDUDFWHU GHYHORSPHQW WKURXJKRXW RXU FDELQHW URRP , DOVR XVHG Steven Holl’s precedent of his MoMA tower apartments, and Giada VKRZURRP )URP WKRVH , REVHUYHG WKH XVH RI FRORXU PDWHULDOLW\ DQG VSDWLDO TXDOLWLHV ZKLFK , HQMR\HG , WKRXJKW WKH\ VKDUHG VLPLODU TXDOLWLHV ZLWK WKH ÀOP DQG FRXOG EH D VWUDWHJ\ IRU UHSUHVHQWLQJ WKH FKDUDFWHU development that I was particularly fond of. They weren’t solid ideas, KRZHYHU WKRVH ZHUH VRPH WKLQJV WKDW , WKRXJKW ZDV ZRUWK FRQVLGHULQJ WR EH GHYHORSHG $IWHU ERWK RI XV GLG WKRVH REVHUYDWLRQV VHSDUDWHO\ ZH JRW WRJHWKHU to further consolidate our idea of what we’d want to achieve in our SURMHFW 7KHUHIRUH EDVHG RQ DOO RI RXU LGHDV ZH QDUURZHG GRZQ RXU LGHDV WKDW IRFXVHV RQ KRZ ZH DUH JRLQJ WR SUHVHUYH DQG KROG WKH IUDJPHQWV RI RXU FODVVPDWHV )RU H[DPSOH )UDJLOH ZDOOV WKDW VLW RQ ZKHHOV ZLWK WKH IUDJPHQW LQVHUWHG DQG KHOG E\ WKH ZDOO ZKLFK WKH IUDJPHQW LWVHOI FUHDWHV D XQLTXH VSDWLDO TXDOLW\ RI UHSHWLWLYH VKLIWV :H DOVR XVHG SDUWV RI WKH IUDJPHQWV DV IXUQLWXUH WR KROG VRPH RI WKH IUDJments up.
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Li: )RU /\QQ P\ SURMHFW HDFK RI XV ZHUH UHVSRQVLEOH IRU RQH ZDOO /\QQ LV IRFXVHG RQ WKH GHVLJQ RI WKH 8 KRXVH EDFN\DUG ZDOO DQG L ZDV IRFXVHG RQ WKH ZDOO ZKLFK LV EHHQ RIIVHW E\ WKH 8 KRXVH EDFN\DUG ZDOO , ZDV LQWHUHVWHG LQ WKH XQGHUWDNLQJ RI WKH FKXQNV ZLWK WKH ZDOO DQG WULHG WR ÀQG WKH UHODWLRQVKLS EHWZHHQ WKHP 7KH PHWKRG L XVHG LV UHDOLVLQJ WKHP DW GLIIHUQHW VFDOHV WR H[SORUH KRZ WKH FKXQNV FRXOG ÀW LQWR VSHFLÀF RSHQLQJV RI WKH ZDOO DQG FUHDWH WKH UHODWLRQVKLS RI VHHLQJ RQH IURP WKH RWKHU DQG WKURXJK WKH ZDOO , VHQW D SUHFHGHQW RI ZLUHIUDPH ERXQGDU\ WR /\QQ DQG ZH KDG D GLVFXVVLRQ DERXW WKH FLUFXODWLRQ RI RXU JDOOHU\ :H ZHUH WKLQNLQJ DERXW KRZ ZH FRXOG WUDQVIRUP WKH SUHFHGHQW WR RXU SURMHFW EXW ZH DJUHH ZLWK RWKHUV DQG ZH ORYH WKH LGHD RI XVLQJ WKH PHWDO IUDPHV WR EXLOG WKH ERXQGDU\ RI ZDOOV /\QQ LV YHU\ QLFH WR ZRUN ZLWK VKH KHOSV PH D ORW IRU WKH SURMHFW·V PRGHOLQJ DQG ZH JRW VDPH LGHD RI WKH ÀOP ZH ZHUH IDFLQDWHG E\ WKH FDSWDLQ DQG KLV ¶VKDGRZ· IURP WKH UHDGLQJ ‘The Secret Sharer’ (1909) DQG WKH SLFWXUH RI WKH PRPHQW LQ RXU H\HV RI ERWK RI WKHP ZDONLQJ RQ WKH GHFN DQG ZHDULQJ WKH VDPH SDMDPDV
There’s a lot of design freedom for both of us, we agree with each other, and we accept each other’s design, every moment of our design is being welcomed. which shows how much we trust each other, and that’s very importDQW IRU D WHDP ZRUN , JXHVV L NQRZ /\QQ LV EHWWHU WKDQ PH LQ VRPH ZD\ EXW L JXHVV VKH EHOLHYHV P\ LGHD DOVR KDV WKH PHULW WRR :KLOH ZH ZHUH ZRUNLQJ RQ WKH URRI ZH ZHUH QRW VXUH DERXW LW DW WKH EHJLQLQJ LW ZDV D ELW RI D VWUXJJOH EXW /\QQ VXJJHVWHG PD\EH ZH GLYLGH WKH 8 KRXVH URRI DQG URWDWH WKHP LQ GLIIHUHQW DQJOHV OLNH EUHDNLQJ WKH 8KRXVH RULJLQDO URRI WR VHYHUDO SLHFHV /\QQ LV SUHWW\ RSHQPLQGHG DQG DOVR EUDYHU\
“Our cabinet room sustains the transfiguration of loss and recollection. Through the roof, the scaled up and down furniture of the architectural fragments, and the play with spatial qualities, we were able to describe the recurring relationship between the U-House and the architectural fragments from elsewhere that doesn’t “belong” to the U-House. Our reconstructed space offers a hopeful exhibition of ceaseless preservation.”
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Timeline
EU LYNN YEO & WEISI JANE LI’s
PROJECT REMINISCENT By: Su Myat Sumy Shin
Observe the task, precedents, film and reading separately
Yeo’s Main idea - Character development throughout the cabinet room reflecting on the film ‘Suddenly, Last Summer’ (1959) Yeo’s MAin strategy - Steven Holl’s use of colour, materiality and special spatial qualities Li’s Main idea - Forming relationships between the chunks by manipulating the scales
Bring the ideas together and narrow them down in order to effectively perserves and hold the fragments within the cabinet
Overlapping ideas - Perceptions on precedents and films - metal frame surrounding the project to build the boundary
Begin to expe with the main
integrate th to preserve t quality of rep
DIfferent Ideas - applications of the precedent to develop the project Strategy: Merged the different ideas together to compliment one another
- fragment dire ference into th
- wall/ cut wall
- fragments att the wall
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P
demolised into fragments
preserved skylights Angles altered for light
By: Eu Lynn Yeo
Yeo worked on the U house architecture while Li focused on the interior each took responsibilities of different layers of the wall
eriment the selected ideas n goal in mind
he ideas into the U house wall the memories (e.g. the spatial petitive shift)
Unexpected design ideas that emerges from the feedback which gradually gives a clearer direction to wrap up the project (the roof)
Active communication to check each others work despite working separately on different areas of the project frequent discussions on how to incorporate with new ideas that emerges during the process
ect interhe wall
tached to
lan
section
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INTERVIEW WITH SUM YEE STEFFI LI & JIKANG EVA LIU %\ 6X 0\DW 6XP\ 6KLQ
PLAUSIBLE GALLERY Q1. Which ideas of the projects did you come up individually? Liu: I think is the basic composition of the cabinet-room. In what way we could organize the gallery, should we expose all the things in the courtyard? Or rich the layers to the gallery to give spectators the chance to explore the truth step by step. Li: The more individual part came up from me is probably the twistHG IUDJPHQWV IXUQLWXUHV GLVSOD\HG RQ WKH JURXQG ÁRRU 6R , ZDV LQ charge of thinking how to capture some part from the original fragments and reconstruct them into some new pieces of twisted and non-user-friendly furniture. Also, I suggested the position and order of SODFLQJ WKH RULJLQDO IUDJPHQWV RQ WKH XQGHUJURXQG 6LQFH ZH IRXQG that there are some similar furniture or elements from each fragPHQWV VR IUDJPHQWV DUH OLNLQJ UHÁHFWLQJ HDFK RWKHU ZKHQ WKH VLPLODU elements are placing next to the same axis of symmetry.
Q6. What is the role of that unexpected moment that wasn’t a part of the initial plan? Liu: Link the thing we created(exhibits)and the thing we departured(truth). Li: The only leftover link between the original fragments and the twisted or fake vision of the furniture.
Q2. Which are the ones you came up as a pair? Liu: We came up with how we could present the studio exhibits LQ ERWK FULWLFDO DQG UHÁHFWLYH ZD\ ,W·V QRW DQ HDV\ ZRUN IURP WKH beginning, we experimented several ways try to connect the exhibition(twisted furniture) with the original fragments. Finally we decided to bury all the chunks underground and used a precise light to cast their shadow on the exhibits. We felt this exposed the truth that the H[KLELWV DUH MXVW D UHÁHFWHG ZKLWHERDUG WR VKRZ WKH UHDO UHÁHFWLRQ from the buried chunk. Li: Actually, the overall ideas are basically came up as pair especially the true fragments being place in the underground which is our core idea since at the beginning. We have tested out a few versions of how to create the clear but ambiguous connection between the true fragments buried in underground and the twisted furniture exposed on the ground level.
Q8. Would you like to elaborate more about the unexpected moment of the project? Liu: Yeah sure. Actually the point is, the twisted furniture is just shaped from our personal way, like you use your own language to GHVFULEH RQH SHUVRQ WKDW·V QRW WKH SHUVRQ RI ÁHVK DQG EORRG MXVW one produced image from your thought. But the whole truth itself is DOZD\V DZD\ IURP \RXU YLHZ WKDW·V ZK\ ZH GHFLGHG WR EXULHG WKH IUDJPHQWV IURP WKH JURXQG 6R DFWXDOO\ ZH ZHUH FOHDU DERXW WKH REMHFWV ZH ZDQW DSDUW IURP DQG WKH ZD\V WR VKDSH WKHP EXW WKDW·V QRW D EODFN DQG ZKLWH ZRUOG HYHU\WKLQJ LV LQWHUZHDYHG 6KDGRZ acts as a direct and ambiguous role for this. You could directly FDWFK WKH VKDSH RI WKH WUXH FKXQNV RI WKH IUDJPHQWV EXW WKDW·V MXVW an outline. then you know that you are away from the truth, that does not matter whether you want to explore the real chunks or not, we just want the audience to be clear about their position within the world.
Q3. Which are the ones you both come up individually but found out it’s overlapping? /LX , WKLQN ZH GRQ·W KDYH WKLV SUREOHP $IWHU ZH ÀJXUHG RXW WKH right direction we both agree with, we just separated the work to GHDO ZLWK ² 6WHIÀ ZRUNHG RQ WKH WZLVWHG H[KLELWV DQG , ZRUNHG RQ WKH exhibitions organization (the relationship between shadow/chunk/ audience). /L , FDQ·W WKLQN RI DQ\ VSHFLÀF SDUWV EXW PD\EH LW LV WKH VHOHFWLRQ RI materials. When we were applying materials while sharing screen, we always have the similar choice in terms of materials and colours. Q4. Are there any of the results that came out exactly as it is planned? /LX 'HSDUWXUH WKH WUXWK XQGHUQHDWK DQG 6KRZ XS WKH WZLVWHG H[KLELtion. /L 6HSDUDWLQJ WKH WUXH IUDJPHQWV LQWR WKH XQGHUJURXQG DQG H[posing the twisted furnitures on the ground. We departed the true fragment from the ground to underground and locate them right exactly in the position that we have planned. The area of the two twisted furnitures are also successfully arranged next to each true underground fragment on top of the support stands according to our plan.
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Q5. How about the results that surprise you? Liu: Use the shadow to point out the truth. /L , WKLQN ZH ZHUH ERWK UHDOO\ VXUSULVHG DQG VDWLVÀHG ZLWK WKH UHVXOW RI being able to project the shadows of the original fragment from the underground onto the twisted furnitures on the ground level.
Q7. Does it carry the whole narrative of the project? Liu: Yeah kind of. Even we also could use other way to guide the audience to explore the fragments from the visible feast without it, LW·V VWLOO RQH VWURQJ DQG PHWDSKRULFDO ZD\ WR WHOO WKH VWRU\ Li: Yes, it should be. There can still be a lot more ways to express our same idea, but we think that the way we did is great enough to present the narrative metaphorically.
Q9. And how do you think the project would end up looking like if the unexpected idea didn’t happen? /LX 2KKKK LW·V KDUG WR VD\ ,W PLJKW QRW EH DV LQWHUHVWLQJ DV WKLV RU might be more treacherous. However, This is the nature of design, \RX FDQ·W GHWHUPLQH WKH RXWFRPH IURP WKH EHJLQQLQJ WKHUH DUH DOZD\V VHYHUDO XQH[SHFWHG PRPHQWV DQG WKDW·V ZKDW IDVFLQDWHV XV since it shocks us, even if we are the one who designed.
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Timeline
Sum Yee Steffi Li and Eva Ji kang Liu
Plausible Gallery By: Su Myat Sumy Shin
Separately analyze the task and the provocations and brainstorm ideas
Liu’s ideas - Basic composition of the cabinet room - Gallery layout organisation - exposure of the fragments
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Li’s Main idea - Reconstruction of the fragments (e.g. twisted furnitures) - reflection of the original fragments underground
Pair ideas - presenting the project exhibition in both critical and reflected way - core idea of the project which is burying the fragments underground
bring all the ideas and thoughts together on the table and discuss on the project plan and strategies
Split the work base pability of each
- Liu take care of th framework - Li work on the furn
the shadow of the buried fragments are casted on the wall while, the shadow of the exhibited fake fragments disappears on the ground
Unexpected design that emerges during the process - the use of shadow to expose the truth and how it links the original vs fake fragments
ed on the technical ca-
he base model and the
The Exposed Truth Liu: “The exhibition we created is twisted from the original chunks, and reconstructed by the perspectives of visitors, finally departure from the originality. it breeds the appearance, and the appearance built where we lived in. Phantoms from consciousness levitating above the ground, featured the inanimation within duality. Shadow acts a direct and ambiguous role as reflection here, catches the shape of the true fragments, just an outline, Now visitors know that they are away from the real artefacts, No matter whether they want to explore the real chunks or not, The project suggests the audience to be clear about their position within the world.”
The buried Truth Li: “ Within the land of withdrawal, underneath the Sebastian garden, buries the truth……
nitures and the details
Phantoms from cautiousness levitating above the ground, featured the inanimation with duality. Shadow of segments reflected on the distortion, what is true? The answer lost when you choose to believe ”
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A N T OUN ’ S C A BI N E T ‘ ‘ The cabinet salon upholds the remains of the studio’s
explorations, seeking comfort
through the reconstructed memory of its remains.
Framed by the ‘disengagement
from inside and outside’ emerges
from Sumy ’s project, the exterior of the salon is deconstructed and
fragmented, from the land, but to be managed inside to display an
intimately interlinked exhibition, from the basement.
Drawn from our personal
experiences within Antoun, the
original project is overlapped by
everyone’s pieces of studio wo rks. The studio is invited as both the g u es t a n d t he ho s t .
This project targets to eliminate our terror of inaccessibility of “the intangible studio”.
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DIAGRAM O
OF PROJECTS
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INTERVIEW
THE CABINET'S AFFAIR ( E U - L Y N N Y E O )
WITH EU-LYNN YEO & DA IRIS WANG
Q1. What is your main idea in THE CABINETS AFFAIR/NICHE ROAMING? Lynn: The main idea is reflecting the memory of the U-House within those walls. The constant repetitions and layovers describes the terror of knowing that memories can change. Iris: My design idea for this task is the pilgrimage feeling, the ideological antagonism that existed before they entered a holy space. The reestablishment of U-house provided a place for the characters to sustain these conflict. By those bleed lines, the characters temporarily abandon ideological differences and maintain spatial stability.
Q2. What role does U-HOUSE play in your proposal? Lynn: The U-House acts as a foundation to convey my ideas, not just where the reconstructed project sits but also used as the main precedent for its development
The cabinet wall confronts the authenticity of restoration through the intense threshold of the wall that is held within the bleed line. The project no longer attempts to restore its prior but is now self-reliant. It considers the conflicts of my questions and does not attempt to resolve them. The wall cabinet seeks to create perpetual episodes of never-ending affairs between the cabinet and the wall.
Q4. Why did you realise a lot of detail in your model? Lynn: I tend to be quite a detail orientated person in general, so I dedicated a lot of my time into building the project up. With more details forming the project, it describes its narrative better of the U-House’s remembrance. Iris: To be honest there are not that much detail stuff in my model compare with Lynn’s final project, but compare with Lynn’s work, I am more interested in lighting so there are quite a lot lightings in my final project, because as for my main narrative, the lighting is also an expression of the hidden conflicts, which is temporary abandoned since the desperation of keep this space stabilized.
Iris: The U-house is left as a ruin. I left the ruined courtyard wall as the reminder, the aftermath of destruction.
Q3. What is the same in both proposals?
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Lynn: The chunk of model that Iris used to continue the project individually. Iris: We start from the bleed line and the recover of the original U-House courtyard walls, and this is the main methodology for both our projects which we kept them till the end. This is because we have one certain idea from the text and movie, so even we split in the end, both of us kept this methodology for the further development.
Q5. What is the different ideas that led you to realise two projects in the end?
Lynn: The main reason for splitting up was due to the lack of response and action of my partner for working on the project. We weren’t on the same page through our design processes. I got frustrated with working on the project by myself so it was my decision to split up. But hey! There’s always something to learn from every experience! Iris: I think the split is the different reading of “conflict” and “recover”. Both of us got quite strong idea for this and we do thing the prior group work gives us chance to develop our ideas individually. I think the divorce is a good method for both of us to full express our ideas.
THE CABINET'S AFFAIR ( E U - L Y N N Y E O )
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NICHE ROAMING (DA IRIS WANG)
INTERVIEW
WITH SHIYI WINNIE ZHENG & DA IRIS WANG & YUSHAN WANG
Q1. How did you confront the ideas in the original model? Yushan: We chose their roof as a element to replicate, and develop a new roof for our proposal, and tried to connect the center of the U-house to the other rooms to make sure the enough spaces. Iris: As I said for the reason we choose Yuli & Eric's project, we mainly have the same reading of Antoun so basically there is not much conflict between our projects during the move-in of our salon. Just in therms of we are going to have a place to gather all students in this new studio, we considered about how does the new studio could show the provocation between the new and original spaces. Winnie: The four cabinets made in yuli’s original project replicate the U-house. The four cabinets are essentially the same, but the record different stages of shapes so it has different functions. In other words, there are differences in the four cabinets that are essentially the same. The original model of yuli is actually very similar to our concept. Three keywords: duplicate, repetition, and different identity are the most important concepts for us to design new models. Both the shape of our roof and the preliminary design of the furniture are copied from the roof shapes of the original four cabinets in yuli. Our roof is designed by using the four roof shapes copied over, repeating each simple geometric shape and then copying it again. The overall U-shape lines design of the table also replicates the shape of the four cabinets of yuli. In order to keep each part of the table unique, the broken parts of the table maintain the difference.
NICHE ROAMING (DA IRIS WANG) This is an open space cabinet wall for roaming. Within the space, the ideological opposition already exists before entering the space. This cabinet wall provided the figures in a field of conflict has occurred. But if only to strengthen the conflict between them, the instability will affect all the people here. Compelled to live, and only temporarily give up the ideological differences, and maintain the stability of the space. In the day and night, as well as weather changes contains the scene of the difference -both to define the boundary of the dramatic. This project is a reveal of yieald.
Q2. Why did you choose Yuli’s model?
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Yushan: From my point of view, I think this project did not reconstruction of building , it should be keep the original meaning and add our idea to build a new form. Yuli’s project is full of their personal characteristc it’s crisp and clean, I think the contrast and balance between the old and new would be obvious. Iris: The reason why we choose Yuli and Eric's project is we found their narrative is very much close to the understanding of the agenda of Antoun studio - the recall of the original U-house and the new project conflict with the original. As well as we found the way this project has a large possibility to develop as a cabinet salon since their main idea of reminding people that they are still in the original U-house but has been restored. Winnie: I like Yuli's original project very much. The layout of her project, the connection between the courtyard wall and the pavilion, and the partition between the pavilion and the courtyard in the middle are very simple and clear. We sought to maximize the effective use of the original space to create the cabinet salon without changing the original model.
W A X E S A N D W A N E S Q4. Did you use any architectural ( Y U S H A N W A N G & precedents to design your SHIYI WINNIE ZHENG f u r n i t u r e i n t h e m o d e l ? & D A I R I S W A N G ) Yushan: We think our project is to design According to the Movie "All About Eve", Yuli's project is Margo, we need to choose one element or a flash point to replicate and duplicate. That is the extraordinary roof. we rebuild the form or the shape of roof to provide a different architecture language. The salon is for Antoun studio, the furniture embody various identity and expression of each members of this studio. The perceptions and intuitions about human nature are show in the details. The table that is broken but remediating and revising. watching the pieces of the table people may feel regret and penitence. the recognition of fallibility is simply an acknowledgment of our humanity is the topic when people sit around the table.
Q3. Which points of the movie and essay stimulate your inspiration in this model? Yushan: From the All About Eve, I thought that people have their different identity, but they all want be a person who they are worship and even surpasa. That’s why we choose one element to replicate to metaphor the human identity Iris: Our ideas mostly come from the movie All About Eve. We find out the idea and the way of "provocation" in this movie, so we used this strategy metaphorically in our design. However, the reading Leftovers - I was opened, also gives us a deeper understanding of ruin - "I will say it again: I retract: I regret. But that does not mean that I forget. So let us reconstruct. Let us recover." We do not aim to
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forget the original exists, but just hear to reconstruct, but still keep the prior project for reminding. Winnie: For me, the last scene of the All About Eva gave me the inspiration to design this project. Several mirrors piled up thousands of girls holding trophies and proudly raising their heads. They tried their best for reputation, but in the end, the same story was always repeated. They are all the same person, they all just need to be the same person. Although you have won the honor, turning your head and looking back, it seems more like invisible replicas in mass production. The person in the mirror is not necessarily yourself, but countless you who will replace you.
a studio room for our studio class, so we pick the element from projects that student did and transfer it to the furniture. Iris: We do found some detachable table precedents for designing the table for 14 of us in this studio. We were quite confused about how could we design the table that could show the conflict and provocation to fit the reconstruction of this studio. After the confirmation of the form of this table, we developed details on this table such as the lamp holding with twining wires, and also the locks on the ruined tables. The fourteen chairs are from the prior projects by us in Antoun, take the most symbolic element of each project, and formed them into chairs, specifically designed for everyone in our class. Winnie: Use the precedents of Umberto Riva, Prototype of Serramento Serra, Milan Tirennale 1986. But in fact, the best precedent I think is the original project of Yuli.
Q5. Do you think it's better to work with three people or two people? Does the participation of more people provide more possibilities? Yushan: I think it depends on people, more people absolutely it will comes more ideas of the project, works more. But also you will learn more from the process of the work, and understand your teammates’ thinking. Iris: Compare with individual work, work in a group provides more ideas from those films, readings, and precedents. We share our ideas in one group and fuse them into one or two for our project. I like the way we combined everyone's idea in one project, not only for a more interesting project as an outcome but also this process helped us gain a variety of vision to see those precedents to learn what is a provocation. Winnie: Of course, it will create more possibilities. Although the three of us may have different opinions at the beginning, good ideas are always inspired by repeated communication and collision between different ideas.
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WAXES AND WANES (YUSHAN WANG & SHIYI WINNIE ZHENG & DA IRIS WANG)
TH E E XP I R ING T E ND E R N E S S ‘ ‘Th i s i s a b a r salon cont aining t he illusive hope from imitating the tenderness from the prior wall cabinet.
The furnitures are reformed by the previous elements and run toward the courtyard in the hope of survival.
The four gorgeous chairs outside the salon symbolize four of us who have worked on this project are living in
own fantasy and refusing to concede defeat.
The project desperately creates a gently warm studio in the face of
constant replacement of the previous
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wall, roof and floor.
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A N T OUN M E MORI AL ‘ ‘ The prior project was a memorial for
t he U-Ho u s e, i t i s a s pa c e t h a t is n o t
ours to begin with. The Cabinet Salon i s a di s g u i s e t ha t i s c o n t a i n ed with in the prior project.
The Cabinet Salon is a memorial for
the studio and through this space, we acknowledged and allowed ourselves to mourn for the loss of the studio space that never existed.
The Cabinet Salon attempts to
consolidate aspects of the studio and
its members as evidence. The we ekly tasks act as a set of strategies when des i g n i n g t h e s pa c es.
The furniture are of the studio
fragments, representing each member of the studio. The teacup, stored in
its original tin can, is embedded into the central column, serves as a
symbolic representation of the
framework of Antoun.
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W h a t i s t h e p ro j e c t a bo u t a n d w h a t i s i t t r y i n g to a c h i eve?
" G R I E V I NG OV E R T H E F O RG O T T E N S PAC E S O F O U R HO M E S . " H ow h a s t h e s t u d i o’ s p ro po s i t i o n o f te r ro r, i n f l u e n ce d t h e w ay yo u ’ ve i n te r rog a te d t h e p ro j e c t s?
L With the task being related to our architectural fragments of our personal spaces, it led us to observe the space that we live in much more closely. Due to the pandemic, we’re locked up at home and I find it terrifying of how much I did not know about the place that is so intimate to me, let alone, personal. We’ve chosen specific areas of our homes that are often forgotten and unknown which terrifies me of how little I know about the space that I grew up in. It’s as if it’s a stranger to me.
Our project is a reconstruction of a cabinet from the detritus
of the rooms weoccupy globally during the online studio. The cabinet attempts to preserve not just the materials but also the formal qualities of the architectural fragments that confronted each other. We framed the studio narrative of terror through the spaces of our homes which we had never paid any attention to although it was always there. The layers and colours of the glass walls that assume the cabinet reassembles the fragments but at different positions to form a tight and small space. Standing inside or outside the space, generates diverse relation to the original fragments lost memory. The glass walls sit on granite skirtings, and the trolley alements are inserted into the bottom of them so that some walls are not fixed on one spot and could be located to different angles and places. This is creating illusions of spaces and visual experiences with unbelievable comprised structure by diffusing fragments in terms of colour, position and scale. The cabinet has now been transformed into an exhibit that locates our grief over the forgotten spaces.
S It was terrifying that the antquated fragments in place that we have been living for so long could have potential to be changed into a completely unfamiliar cabinet.
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But throughout the studio, I have learned how to face the terror and reframed it in our own critical way in order to show the fantastic and unknown side of
LY N N & ST E F F I
P ROJ EC T _ T H E D E T R I T U S C A B I N E T
Ac ro s s t h e t h re e p ro j e c t s t h a t yo u ’ ve d o n e so fa r, h ow h ave yo u co n f ro n te d t h e l o s s & d e p a r t u re?
L Projects were preserved through abstracting elements of or spaces to be reconstructed and rebirthed into something new, yet still recognizing what it originally was. It dealt with the studio’s proposition of loss through preservation. Walls of the U-House act as a gateway to the preserved fragments held and exhibited within. I confronted the distorted memories of the past which is terrifying to know that memories can alter through time. The use of layered walls, and reflective materials attempted to reflect the distorted memories. The project displays the confrontation with loss, departure, terror, and fear by the studio’s efforts that are apparent throughout the courtyard of the U-House. It exhibits the many different perspectives about how we feel about death. S
S Loss does not necessary mean or lead to departure, the result could be unknown and unexpected.
The most evident elements captures the most unrecognisable part to become an unexpected representation of part of the project. Small ornaments of our living environment with the inconspicuous crack wall were completely recreated and recombined. Exhibiting the social status of losing the pure truth from deep inside of our heart and departing part of the truth to form the “twisted truth” which was presented into twisted fragment or furniture architecturally and displayed on the ground. The truth of losing and the way of people escaping from the loss and obstinately of not accepting the departure from loss. It shows the stubborness of preserving something that were meant to be lost. The loss is infinitely happening. The things like the wallpaper and canvas roof built by the original architects (Eva & Jane) were just completely being cover and replaced by Sumy’s and my work, while both of us would not know that we are going to be replaced by someone else in the near future as well. Nothing can be remain forever and people must have to learn how to accept it and coexist with it.
L I confront the loss and departure through preservation and reconstruction. . 18 0
Re f l e c t i n g b a c k a t t h e p ro j e c t s t h a t yo u ’ ve d o n e so fa r, h ow h ave yo u co n f ro n te d t h e l o s s a n d d e p a r t u re o f t h i s p ro j e c t ?
Y A scene in the movie Suddenly, Last Summer is unforgettable for us: the boys on the beach greedily look at Sebastian and Catherine, and what separates them is just a wire mesh fence. Inspired by this scene, our project is a museum open only to the people with power and wealth, displaying architectural fragments from our studio. The greedy desperadoes are driven by desires and gains to bet their lives and climb the fence. This is a controlled conspiracy. The invited visitors unintentionally become part of the exhibit or even the prey in the cage, which is undoubtedly creepy.
Y
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In the Cabinet Apparatus, in order to better integrate the architectural fragments into the overall project, we changed the appearance of the fragments but retained their original functional attributes. Through the design of the internal installation, the connection between the fragments and the connection between fragment and Cabinet Apparatus are enhanced. In the Cabinet Wall, the original U-House wall is destroyed, exposing steel bars. The water flowing from the faucet was about to flood the broken wall, everything seemed so desperate and negative. But the change room restores a fragment of the original U-house and reflects an architectural resurrection. In the Cabinet Salon, we were responsible for Lynn’s cabinet wall we saught to retain most of the original structure, with only some changes to the layout. Our salon emerges from the inside of this emerged and it doesn’t stop until the cabinet wall restricts its growth.
" R E V E A L I NG T H E IMPENETRABLE A N D I NC O H E R A N T F E E L I NG S . "
W h a t i s t h e p ro j e c t a bo u t a n d w h a t i s i t t r y i n g to a c h i eve? H ow h a s t h e s t u d i o’ s p ro po s i t i o n o f te r ro r, i n f l u e n ce d t h e w ay yo u ’ ve i n te r rog a te d t h e p ro j e c t s? Ac ro s s t h e t h re e p ro j e c t s t h a t yo u ’ ve d o n e so fa r, h ow h ave yo u co n f ro n te d t h e l o s s & d e p a r t u re?
YISEN & IRIS
P ROJ EC T _ D EAT H I B I T I O N H A L L
Our cabinet room is an exhibition hall for the display of things that cannot be seen or spoken about revealing the impenetrable and incoherent feelings. The U-house was an invitation to begin again. By reconstruction, the two entrances have been reconstructed into areas that give the “visitors” a different sense of participation. The hall urged the guests to hang themselves on the fence to chase their desire and gain. It realized the studio as a collection of desperadoes. The project was an invitation to conspire. . 18 2
The project of Jane and I
"S I L E NC E IS M E A N I NG F U L . "
E VA & JA N E
P ROJ EC T _ C A N N OT B E E T E R N A L
moment of the house befor collapse. We were shocked the picture (the above one w i s h w e c o u l d h o l d .
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Within this, we view the U evidence of someone. A t are secured to the periphe remember the original furni r e s i s t e d a n e a s y r e p l i c a t i on reflects the pattern on the bedrooms. It wraps the wal life. The roof is imagined a and is testament to the res
We hope the U house wall of itself just like witness e
E
Actually Jane and I cried b that we worked together. W of our closest relatives, he So there is some emotion project, the terror of loss, the terror. From these two the project from two directi memories as much as we c expose the fate of demoliti in the project. The preciou unnerving ending.
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J
H ow h a s t h e s t u d i o’ s p ro po s i t i o n o f te r ro r, i n f l u e n ce d t h e w ay yo u ’ ve i n te r rog a te d t h e p ro j e c t s?
The project turns the U-ho Island, In this work, there elegance. There are things remind you of a boundary. forth about whether it’s the what we’ve lost that scares feeling of powerlessness of and not being able to do a project metaphorically answ Over the course of time, th constantly.
is only about the last e everything is ready to the first time we saw e), that’s the moment we
! " $ % &
house remnant as able, chair and shelving ry of the wall. They fondly ture of the house but have n of them.The wallpaper wallpaper of our ll to the tenderness of a as the sail of a lifeboat silience of life.
could witness the finale every single sunset before.
bitterly on the first night We talked about the death r father and my grandpa. included in the and the terror of facing perspectives, we framed ions, one is furnishing the could, then we tried to on on every single object s enhanced in front of the
Ac ro s s t h e t h re e p ro j e c t s t h a t yo u ’ ve d o n e so fa r, h ow h ave yo u co n f ro n te d t h e l o s s & d e p a r t u re?
E For me, loss and departure has always been a relative concept. That’s also the thing I caught from Spooner’s brother’s story. Loss is eternal. We can’t escape from this but we can choose our gesture and perspective towards it. From the project of Steffi and I, we tend to be more intentional in our gestures to communicate loss and the fragments. The fragments of the “Plausible Gallery” are withdrawn to below the floor, away from any direct observation. The project of Jane and I is loss that we have to face and so we reflected on the moment of an almost demolished U-House. So, Steffi and I worked with the collection of what we could reflect from others and with Jane what we could preserve from the precious memories from a critical perspective to a more personal view.
J Rethinking how to face loss and fear is a very important theme of this studio. In the design of the other three projects, although not too many personal memories and emotions were brought into the design, I believe that the thinking about loss has been running through people’s lives. For my project with Lynn, the cabinet room, things that have been lost remain in our memory, even if time has blurred them and they are even different from the original reality. When the lost things with the filter of memory, the good will be better, the bad will be worse, the fear will be more frightening. For my project with Eva, the cabinet wall, we were trying to capture the process of lost, lots of things have guessed the result, losing is the inevitable result of it, but still hope it exists for a second, even if only for a second. For Verona &my project, the Salon, the way we mourne the lost memories is to protect the evidence which can prove something has been lost. . 18 4
use into an isolated is an infinite desolate in your memory that We were going back and e feeling of remembering s us more, or the f seeing what we’ve lost anything about it. This ers that question for us. he U-house has changed
It has been damaged little by little, and will never be the same again. Just like in the real life, we have to admit the smallness of human beings, we are helpless in front of many things.
H ow h a s t h e s t u d i o’ s p ro po s i t i o n o f te r ro r, i n f l u e n ce d t h e w ay yo u ’ ve i n te r rog a te d t h e p ro j e c t s?
V & J
As a start, we personally thought that the parameters for this task differed from the rest. Besides working with the u-house wall, we had to consider and respond to a prior project to design a studio space. We approached the project by understanding the intention behind the prior project, which was a memorial for the u-house. With the nature of the studio being online, we did not have a physical studio space as a consequence of that. Whether that was a disadvantage or a blessing in disguise, it meant to us, that we were unable to establish a relationship with that space because it never existed. Those ideas framed the way we thought of the physical studio space; a memorial for the loss of a studio space that never existed. We acknowledged and allowed ourselves to properly mourn for the space through this project. We believe that was the terror of it, instilling these emotions deliberately.
Ac ro s s t h e t h re e p ro j e c t s t h a t yo u ’ ve d o n e so fa r, h ow h ave yo u co n f ro n te d t h e l o s s & d e p a rt u re?
V & J
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Starting off with the first project, it dealt with the idea of uncertainty through the reflection of our banal fragments. To be honest, it is still a slight blur to me. The project explicitly presents the fragments as what they are but it is in the way that they appear, questions the way we view them. In terms of ‘loss and departure’, I believe the project attempted to tackle it only as far as with that intention, but it was a great brain-wrecking first project. The second project introduced the u-house wall. The confrontation was through a means of preservation, of not only the original u-house wall but also its intention. The biggest move we made in this project was to rotate the entire ground plane of the u-house courtyard to hold the estranged fragments. That rotated plane reflected the loss felt by those fragments. The third project dealt with the problem through demolition [restoration through demolition], a means that felt the most extreme personally. With only a small fragment of the u-house wall left, the overlapping planes were introduced as a consequence. They were stained, etched and printed with the impression of the u-house. Instead of these planes attempting to restore the u-house walls, they eventually threatened the existence of the u-house and its demolition. In conclusion, I believe the three projects confronted ‘loss and departure’ very differently.
" WE THE THE ST THA EX
The prior project is a memorial lab for the U-House. It is a space that is not ours to begin with. The space is borrowed as a consequence of being chosen to hold the studio and its spaces. The exterior remains untouched. The salon attempts to consolidate main aspects of the studio and its members as evidence of an online presence. The weekly task instructions act as a set of strategies when designing the spaces, contained within layers. Each layer is held up against one another. Stripped away from its origin, the individual fragments are used to design chairs to represent each member of the studio. The tea cup, stored in its original tin can, is embedded into the central column. It serves as a symbolic representation of the framework of Antoun. The main studio space is lifted off he ground, allowing people to view it from different perspectives. The salon is a disguise that is contained within the prior project. The salon is a memorial for the studio in disguise and through this space, we mourn the loss of the studio space that never existed.`
E MO U R N E LO S S OF T U D IO S PAC E AT N E V E R X IS T E D . . "
P ROJ EC T _ T H E D E T R I T U S C A B I N E T
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V E RO N A & JA N E
COMMUNICATIO
Is there something in someone else's work throughout projects that you w
Lynn
Detritus Cabinet
I really enjoyed the project, Loss In Water, done by Steffi and Yisen. Inspired by the film, the panorama of their visuals well represented. It also reconstructed the U-House in a very confrontational way of preservation which was quite contrasting compared to the other projects that I've done. My thoughts and ideas tend to be all over the place which could get quite confusing at times. Their project taught me that a humble idea could still remain so complex and interesting which is definitely something I need to take from. They also dealt with terror in quite an explicit way which well represents the studio's proposition. Which one you like the most in our studio? I’m quite curious haha.
Yisen Haha thank you Lynn for liking the work by Steffi and me! Actually I really appreciate the Detritus Cabinet by you and Steffi. The concept of a room expressed by walls that composed of architectural partitions is really refreshing. Their cabinet apparatus makes me pay more attention to the order and sequence of elements in the project, as well as the control of scale. At the same time, the bold use of materials in the project also gave me a lot of inspiration. What about you Jane?
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Loss In Water
ON OF REFLECTION
the studio that transformed your understanding of the were undertaking? Jane I was inspired by other’s work quiet a lot, but it’s a bit hard to find an example... both everyone’s work and the feedback they were given from Spooner gave me a lot of inspiration. so many idea He mentioned, like he said ‘ We only remember what the fragment real is, we only know what we want it to be’. ‘representing things which can not be represented’ ‘hold someone’s mourning’ ‘you wouldn’t see the thing, but architecture will know that is true’.
Deathibition Hall
Eva Yeah true! It is so hard to chosse one favourate project in our studio but actually I’ m a big fan of Yuli’s work, although I have little conversation with her (the studio too short and haven’t get a chance to work together lol.) She’s really brave in achieving her ideas in each task and always could break some “it should be” thoughts of mine, why things need to be like this? She really gives studio the questions to consider about.
Verona
The Four Cycles of Mourning
It is hard for me to say only one as well, but the most memorial project for me at the start of the studio was yisen and iris’s task 2 [Deathibition Hall]. The fact that they introduced an entire landscape[mountain] into the u-wall courtyard and seeing it all tie together was honestly mind-blowing. [tmi] I vividly remember talking to Yuli about this project while they were presenting in class and we both agreed that it was extreme. I guess that project was an initial eye-opener to the possibilities of the studio. Another thing that could be seen throughout the studio was also Yuli’s meticulous attention towards architectural detailing, this was definitely what motivated me to attempt to consider similar decisions while working on the projects as well.
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DEAD C A R N IVA L CA M P ‘ ‘The Cabinet-Salon is a containment
th a t c o l l e c t s t he me mor y of a p e r iod l ike a n a r t i n st allat ion.
The U house, the previous mourning house is now a celebratory space for death.
Th e f o r m a l q u alit y of t he p r ior
project is retained and repeated.
Th e p h e n o m e nolog ical sp at ial
qualities are transformed by the
light that wraps around the body. Line of sight spreads through the s p a c e w i t h p e op le shift ing and fragments creating a poetic
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interaction.
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THE E T ERNAL SUP ERSE S SIO N
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The salon is the expression of danger
to the original project, the aim of it is to demolish and replace the original
project. It presents the impulsion of innovation.
The original cabinet is replaced and
transformed onto the position of the original U house wall and plays its role.
The s a l o n t a kes t he pl a c e o f t h e
original cabinet, form a revolution
and an endless loop of confrontation and innovation.
The salon is in a form of growing, s q u eez i n g.
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