seclusion

As Cities grow the communal culture once noticed amongst villages diminishes. We who live so close to each other are yet so distant. Neighbors act like strangers, but on a strange occasion: only when we need the help of another, we bother to become acquainted (so to speak). Least the experience of living in a 37 floored building with 2 apts on each floor has proven. Had I not know of the two students from my same school living in the same building, I would have not known anyone in the building. Why is this so?

In the village conditions, despite distance amongst families their dependency and reliance on each other is so great that everyone knows of each others business. Where as here those living one above another are so disassociated with each other, that they become strangers. (is this considered a part of a urban decay?...)

...the lost of public space is related to the loss of public life because introverted private lives have eclipsed both...(such in The Fall of Public Man by Richard Sennett)

As we become closer to one another, we may become more estranged. The advancement of technology has strangely brought those separated by the pacific to be closer that those living next door to each other...

...the again as architects design buildings to accommodate everything, "life" (as we call it) moves inwards (cinemas, theaters, schools, museums, aquariums, gymnasiums, swimming pools...), outdoor life is left behind. It is as if that as we become more technology dependent, we trade in the "nature" condition for one that we can control...(power!)

...as proven by the increase of residents in cities therefore the diminishing villages and their cultures. young people from the rural villages are leaving their home and moving to the cities where they can earn more money...leaving a farmers life behind and moving to work in front of computers or (more like) inwards...

(on a separate note: when the younger generation leave the rural villages, they are also endangering that particular culture of their region. the elders stay behind awaiting for the return of their children, but of course many choose the better life which they have found in cities. Few ever return to their past lives. As they say Until you have gained knowledge of what else is out there, the world is as (informed as)you know it. )

oh going back to say that ... as we move our lives inwards, the public spaces become buildings. therefore there is a lack of public outdoor spaces, or the usage of these spaces. the usage of parks though seem high in demand become less used. (IF The city's population density of 26,403 people per square mile (10,194/km²) and Central park is 843 acres or 1.32 sq mi (3.4 km²), According to that calculation, Central park can only occupy 34852 people (so to speak). So imagine if even 5% of Manhattan residents actually all went/used to Central Park ...it'd be like the amount of people gathering to watch the new years countdown in Times Sq) So there is a need to generate more public spaces, but more importantly, a purpose is needed to bring people to the outdoors. Some sort of attraction that brings life back to the outside.

Another example would be the podiums that we have here in HK. Every estate/ tall buildings, has some sort of outdoor garden that serves to divide the residential from the parking garages or commercial area. So instead of having a blank roof, a podium - acting as a type of "green roof", as well as "garden", is created. But really if i were to count the number of people who use that space, theres just a handful compared to the amount of residents in the estate.
The Elderlies do their morning workouts, then during the day the maids bring the children to play (thats if there is no school). Some people jog (but then it gets boring since its quite small) others walk around in circles for fresh air and a bit of exercise. ( come to think of it, with everyone upstairs in the apartments able to look down and 'watch' you, its kind of like a prison/ zoo. )
So other than these brief activities, there has to be a larger force, motivation/ attraction to bring people together. To create a proper community as in the villages, a place of interaction to diminish the amount of ongoing seclusion.

Fragments...

As I stumble across Pruned: mentioning the projects as introduce by Marcus Trimble: Ocean Pools of Sydney: The ocean pools of Madeira (Sydney) can be considered as a precedent for the theme of transition... (somewhat reminding me of the of infinity pools)


other examples:
copenhagen's harbour pool by danish architects BIG...

Badeschiff in the Berlin Spree river, imagine it being towed through the channels of Amsterdam...


...coincidentally my current reading: Topographical Stories by David Leatherbarrow:
offers a new way of thinking and reconsideration of the proximities of Landscape Architecture and Architecture. Their realiance on each other to form a single framework of cultural meaning. Redefining landscape architecture and architecture as topographical arts, sharing a task - which is to accommodate and express the patterns of our lives. As landscape is important to architecture, as its attention to the materiality, spatiality and temporarily of terrain may increase the architecture's cultural content...(more to come when i actually read it)

...which reminds me of my recent fascination with the Water Landscapes: redesigning aquariums... please see http://www.cau-aqua.net/ ...and there are many more. Apparently there is a whole lot of people out there creating these Aquascapes... awarding prises based on the harmony and balance created between positive and negative space...


which brings me to another reading.... The Tao of Architecture by Amos Ih Tiao Chang...

A Start...

I will begin to use this post as to keep track of my ideas for my ongoing thesis project.
That is to be completed by May 2009. On another note i will slowly update my past projects and photos from my travels,as well as some notes from readings and other blogs that have interested me.

Lets begin with the New Green California Academy of Sciences. That has an aquarium, a naural museum, a living rainforest, a planetarium and world-calss research and education programs. Housing 38,000 live animals under a 2.5 acre green roof. Achieving a one of a kind sustainable architecture.


http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/09/22/california-academy-of-sciences-unveiled/









Which reminds me of my past project for Globetrotter, an outdoor sporting goods store.

Thesis Statement

Just to keep track of my thesis development.
Below is my first draft of my Thesis statement and some photos of my thesis probe....

Travel and Identity

The word “Travel” pertains to many agendas; from pleasure to business, wanderings to migration. The idea of entering a new surrounding and leaving one’s home brings about physical displacement, and a series of mental unknowns. Because of this unfamiliarity, one’s sense of belonging is challenged, thus affecting the identity of the individual.

Over the course of history, as the speed and means of transportation multiplies and enhances; the time of discomfort is reduced but the restrictions on luggage is tightened. Individuals become limited from bringing their home in transition to a new permanence. If home represents a place of belonging, then it is also the boundaries of comfort.

Comparing to Nomadic tribes, who travel with only the essentials and necessities for survival, as technology advances, our sense of need has shifted and fused with desire. As the dependency on electronics leads to the belief of technology as a necessity, the items brought for comfort are no longer the basic necessities, but rather personal (sentimental) or financial based valuables.

When one is forced to overcome the unfamiliarity of a new setting, certain objects may generate another level of comfort permitting familiarization. Familiarization with the new cultural and social differences of the new surrounding enables adaptation, hence resolving the feelings resulted by the displacement. This discovery adds a new layer to ones identity, as the understanding of the self in the new context enhances the transition of fitting-in to a new community.

With the basic structures and basic necessities fixed and easily replaceable for individuals, how can we perhaps begin to redesign architecture which can be adaptable and personalized by the user? More importantly how can the short-lived settlement be constantly adaptable to its changing occupant, where comfort is derived only from the objects that they bring with them and the rearranging of the given?