Seizing the moment

A moment would pass you by. When you least expect, if you don’t catch it, it will slip by indefinitely. You can’t have that moment again.

“Every once in a while, we have our rare moments, when everything seems to suddenly come together, like a good book..but they also go away quickly…the opportunity, the site, the client, the market…we make the best we can from these moments, such we find in projects as point92 “, huatlim.

These rare moments for a designer is depicted in Huatlim’s experience. All of a sudden he got the opportunity, the site, the client and the market all at once.

In the design thesis process, you can make it easier for yourself. You can create the opportunity definitely, and the site and the client. And when you set up the market, you will have a higher level to achieve in your design. To make it real, to produce something that can be transformed and change lives, even more so.

In the case of the designer, it is possible.

Interested in Architecture?

I was looking for something but I stumbled upon a conversation at forum.lowyat.net:

http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/623018

Ah…the mention of James Steele and UM is there as well…I was wondering if people interested in the 4th year (B Arch) is attracted to the USC-UM programme per se.

What is a Fulcrum?

I was just fascinated with this word: FULCRUM

One definition is: the pivot about which a lever turns (when fulcrum is a noun) Remember your Science lesson? Physics?

Another is: An agent through which vital powers are exercised.

“Vital powers” meaning important and all embracing powers, then. And what powers are these?

Let’s put it in context.

Alonso is the fulcrum of the Liverpool FC. He is the one that sprays passes to the attacking players on the offensive. Sometimes Alonso helps with the defense. He is the “fulcrum” of the team. The agent that exercised the vital powers in the team. He sees the problem and solves it immediately. He reads the game intelligently. He is a thinking player.

Yup, that’s what I want to be. The thinking player. The fulcrum.

Thinking Architecture

As the Pritzker Architecture Award winner in 2009, Peter Zumthor stated in his book “Thinking Architecture” that: “I believe that architecture today needs to reflect on the tasks and possibilities which are inherently its own. Architecture is not a vehicle or a symbol for things that do not belong to its essence. In a society that celebrates the inessential, architecture can put up a resistance, counteract the waste of forms and meanings, and speak its own language. I believe that the language of architecture is not a question of a specific style. Every building is built for a specific use in a specific place and for a specific society. My buildings try to answer the questions that emerge from these simple facts as precisely and critically as they can.”

Architecture that ‘thinks’ would inquire its existence, its purpose and how it came to be. Architecture is conceived in the architect’s mind and produced to be used, delight in and be enjoyed. Architecture’s purpose is unique in its own program but who is to say what is what and its personal whoever is feeling when they are experiencing architecture.

Zumthor’s architecture was further described by another as: “Zumthor’s Thermal Bath building at Vals is described as “a superb example of simple detailing that is used to create highly atmospheric spaces. The design contrasts cool, gray stone walls with the warmth of bronze railings, and light and water are employed to sculpt the spaces. The horizontal joints of the stonework mimic the horizontal lines of the water, and there is a subtle change in the texture of the stone at the waterline. Skylights inserted into narrow slots in the ceiling create a dramatic line of light that accentuates the fluidity of the water. Every detail of the building thus reinforces the importance of the bath on a variety of levels.”

Celebrating the purpose of it all, is what architecture should be about. The essential purpose of what it is built for.

In another note, I was thinking about “Thinking Architecture” which is used in a  way to describe the Design Thesis. Its meant to be a way of thinking about architecture. True, that its more than that. The program is not given but is created from almost nothing or a topic out of no where. Based on some issues and some sort of hypothesis and objectives are created, but once you get over that, you come to the game of conceiving something.

How hard or easy is that?

Design Thesis Studio 2009/10

We sometimes ask – about batches of students, about the group that we will be working with. We would not know whether it would be a ‘good’ group or not.

I don’t try to be preconceived, but I am human. I mean, the group thing is important. A group consists of a collection of individuals which will have to co-exist together and in the case of the Design Thesis Studio 2009/10, they seems to gel better than the previous batch.

The Archiweek that we had last week was excellent because some serious gelling had occurred. What was the right ingredients? I think individuals played their part as a team. They worked together and not against each other. However to me the most essential element is they know what is most important.

There are many leaders in the group. And many are women. That to me proved crucial. I am not saying about the Aainaas and the Annies. I am saying that people like Lay Hongs and Sin Yuens have their strengths. And we know about the Cheryls and the Aivens. Not to mention the Ummu Hanis and Fuh Yiings… I know Xin Yun seems to have that far away look, but she’s also in the act.

Its often that guys take the lead but in this case, the guys knew how to give the girls who lead, the space and mandate to lead. And that’s important.

So these are the plusses about the group that I have seen so far.

The Design Thesis journey may seem to be a lonely and painful one (at many times), but with the group of friends / batch mates that exist and making more use of the studio, I think individuals will flourish in this environment and it would be a really good group.

Design Thesis Recollections 2008/09

Today I presented a slide show that lasted about six minutes to the school. I showed snippets of slides taken during the studio sessions, albeit studio pin-up, interim crits and studio inputs.

I started with saying:

When I was asked one year earlier about the Design Thesis – whether sustainability and conservation is incorporated into the 5th year design thesis project, I was hesitant to answer. After a year, I could confirm now that every facet of sustainability and conservation is being explored in the studio. For sustainability, issues were drawn out from ethics, environmental sustainability, economic viability and social justice. For conservation, building and urban rehabilitation and adaptive re-use.

Design thesis allows you to explore, examine and investigate something that you wanted to after all 4 years of study.

It followed this text: (from my other blog postings)

(Starts after first two slides)

The Truth of the Matter

Do you know what the real story is?

The real story about you, is that – You have got to KNOW yourself.

You have got to do anything in your life for your own sake.

If your lecturer says, “It’s a C!” It does not matter. What matters is that your own evaluation of yourself. If you think it’s an A, and not a C… guess what? It is an ‘A’. What matters is not what your lecturer thinks but what you think. Believe me, I am telling you the Truth about Life.

Life is about how YOU see it. Not about how your lecturer or anyone sees it, not even your parents.

This is not about not being grateful to your lecturers or your parents. No, it’s not about that. You are grateful and all that. It’s about “what really matters”. And that is what you think. And not what other people think.

The truth of the matter is – it does not matter what people think. The truth of the matter, is what you think is what truly matters!

(Pause for quote shown in slide)

People say you are not good enough, or that your work is not to par. Well, it’s all up to you to believe what people say.

To be honest, people have to do their jobs and are guided by some rules or beliefs or principles. It is up to you to believe them or not. It’s up to you whether you want to follow them, inside your heart.

Find your own way to evaluate yourself. Find your own truth and that’s what matters most.

In all honesty, that’s what really count, in your life. What you think and what you feel.

(Pause for quote shown in slide)

Let the Design Take You Away

The best designs are intuitive. Because everything that you need to design is inside of you. You just need to let it flow and channel it correctly.

Huat talked about the mind’s eye. He said, “Getting that evasive image in one’s mind’s eye and then executing it is what it’s really about”. In my opinion, that image comes after intense searching, like soul-searching for ideas. It is an exhaustive exercise, being thorough and testing all possibilities or considering all elements in order to find “the one image”. You don’t get it by forgetting it. You can only get it by persistence.

(Starts after first two slides)

This is the core characteristic of a true designer. Engaging him/herself in this search. When the image comes into focus, things starts to make sense.

Do not give up the search for this “evasive image” as it tends to be elusive until you find it.

The perception of being intuitive is not the same as just relying on one’s instincts. It is not child’s play. One definition of intuitive is being insightful. To be insightful is to expand knowledge.

To be intuitive is the first step in being a good designer and to be able to originate and not merely rehashing other people’s images. It is working through a problem and finding an answer. Your own original answer.

(End)

Download ppt: Design Thesis 0809 Slides