Expo in Motion

Pictures of pavilions from this year's World Expo in Shanghai are everywhere now, but these two gorgeous videos by Seppe Van Grieken are much more mesmerizing than your common photo.  For someone who has yet gotten out to Shanghai, the back and forth between visiting photographers and UK pavilion architecture in the second video really satisfies my senses.


The Danish Pavilion from Shanghai Expo Timelapse Machine on Vimeo.



As seen on hypebeast

The Linked Hybrid

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

This weekend, I made my way out to take a look at Steven Holl's Linked Hyrbid in Beijing as well as the exhibition "Urbanisms" that was on display there through the end of the month. Holl, who finished second to the pair of Ryue Nishizawa and Kazuyo Sejima (SANAA), for this year's Pritzker Prize, has become extremely active in China with major residential and cultural projects around the country. With an office in Beijing run by Holl's partner, Li Hu, as well as the original office in New York, the firm says it is able to work around the clock due to the 12/13 hour time difference between China and the East Coast.

Located on the North East corner of Beijing's 2nd Ring Road, the Linked Hybrid finds itself as the centerpiece of one of Beijing's major art districts. Situated right in between two stops on the 13 line, the neighborhood is quiet, with little pedestrian or automotive traffic.

Difference in Communication

This recent post on Boing Boing really caught my attention; largely due to the frustration I face interning in a multi-lingual environment. However, the communicating differences between languages has become an increasingly big area of interest for me. As someone who has taken an introductory class in linguistics, albeit pass/fail and not one of the classes I am not most focused in (a euphemism for skipping class), languages are one of the most fundamental things that factor into the way we think. Although we may not realize it, our native language already factors greatly in the way we process what we sense, and how we discuss it. 

For architecture this becomes increasingly important. As I have realized in my architectural studies, subtle meanings in seemingly similar words can be the cause of miserable miscommunication. As architecture becomes an increasingly international field, the communication barrier is not only a conscious problem, but also a subconscious dilemma.  

Bjarke Bikes

XPO - BJARKE BIKES THROUGH DANISH PAVILION from BIG on Vimeo.

Horrible pun aside, heres a video of Bjarke riding through the Danish Pavilion and almost running some people over.

This is perfect for getting through the recession

Call him what you like, an architectural prophet, and evil genius, a guy with the best name for an architect ever. Yet despite what one may think of his work or designs, Rem Koolhaas is without a doubt, one of the most successful and influential architects of the last 30-plus years. In my experience, architecture students are some of his biggest fans, a group that recently has begun to include Sultans, Presidents, and Brad Pitts of the world. After interviewing the man himself, the Independent recently published an article discussing among other things, how Koolhaas has been able to stay afloat and fresh while the world's capital has dried up. It is certainly worth a read and it offers a fresh perspective on what it means to be a successful architect. And for the students out there, even if you already knew about his swimming habits, the article gives some more interesting glimpses into the life of the legend that is Rem.

Read the article here (fixed)

Oddly Architectural Moments

This past Sunday I came across something that struck me as somewhat architectural. The more I thought about it, the more interesting it became. What really struck me is the fact that it seems to be supersaturated, yet somehow contained, built over time by the hands of many customers.

RawrBooks: The Function of Form by Farshid Moussavi

Yes Is More by BIG started me on a reading binge for architecture books, but The Function of Form is one book I will always keep by my side. One part reference, one part structures guide, and one part picture book, the Function of Form provides an insightful view into structure and spaces they create. 

David Byrne: How Architecture Helped Music Evolve

Architecture today goes beyond just putting roofs over people's heads and erecting walls to keep the weather out; architecture becomes a culmination of multiple conceptual and real-world ideas. David Byrne presents music as one of those things. He walks through the evolution of music and attributes its change to the shifting environments music is played under. It's worth a look.

My Life as an Intern: Week ?, New Employee Training

What employee training was like

It has really been a blur. Working overtime, not working overtime, doing projects, not doing anything, doing everything. I think the biggest contributing factor is having people at work to joke around with. Everything passed so quickly, but I'd like to stop for a moment to talk about the Employee Training I relieved on Saturday.

Employee training is at most points, quite the waste of time. Most of the material covered I learned already through making mistakes and asking those around me. However, one point that made everything worth it was learning about how the company really works and is run. I don't know how much the confidentiality agreement I signed allows me to say, but I will not go into too many specifics.

Learning about what the company does, what other departments do, and how everything ties together really helps me to understand what I do. Not only does this lessen the confusion, but it also points me in a direction to work towards. Knowing my place, and where everyone else fits around or , in this case, above me, lets me know what I contribute and how I contribute.

Employee training made me realize that how little I thought I knew about the company, is really minuscule compared to what I learned in an hour of lecture. Things that I know now (if I'm not an intern, I get dental coverage!) make me less blind. Although I am still a blind intern fish frustratingly crashing into walls, at least now I now know the walls are those of a fishbowl.

Our Heroes: Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid is one of the most important architects of the past and present generation. She rose as an architect in a time when men totally dominated the field. She did not emulate others in her field, but blazed a path of her own, and a glorious path it is. The field of Architecture today is significantly less male dominated than before, probably a good part thanks to her and just recently, she was named as TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the world.

My admiration for Zaha Hadid largely comes from the style of her work. To me, the quality of her work symbolizes her as a woman. Her work is sensual, feminine, but never submissive.  Her work is proud and her style transcends into many other worlds. Her art, her furniture, and even her silverware, all exude her unique sense of style and thus, Hadid's work is incredibly recognizable. Even she herself, as seen in photographs and interviews, carry that incredible style. She is an amazing architect, but she is above and beyond that. Everything that glows Zaha Hadid and everything that light shines on, makes Zaha Hadid, and her influence, all the more incredible.

21 years later

While this post is coming a bit late, it will focus on my evening last Friday, on June 4th, 2010, here in Beijing.

For those who don't recognize the date, June 4th, 1989 was the day when the PLA violently cracked down on the protests that were being staged in Tiananmen square. Here in China, practically all images, including the iconic photo of tank and lone protester, or records of the event have been censored from the public. Probably only those who were in Beijing at the time of the massacre or who have been educated abroad are really aware that anything happened at all. However, as China continues to forge ahead as a world power, many in the international community are reluctant to fully acknowledge the country's prominence because of the brutality that took place here 21 years ago. To be a little comical, the incident is like a bit of greens stuck between China's teeth; embarrassingly noticeable by everyone but China itself.

Urbanization and China: Mr. Wu Jiang from Tong Ji

Again from the Three on the Bund talk, but this time it's Wu Jiang,
the vice president of Shanghai Tongji University. His talk was a bit
more exciting, but mostly because I can understand what he's saying.
His lecture raised a very important issue facing china in the recent years
and will amplify exponentially in the years to come. China is rapidly
urbanizing, but in a very unique situation. China is the most populous
nation, but it isn't the biggest. China's man to land ratio is
significantly smaller than other nations. Wu Jiang also raises the
concern that China's urbanization is a very inorganic one. China does
not grow on its own terms, but tries very hard to emulate European and
American cities. Chinese urbanization is drastically different from
the path western cities took, and according to Mr. Jiang, following
that route will be disastrous for not only China, but the other
eastern countries beginning to urbanize as well.

You must be this tall to ride: Kengo Kuma's talk

A bunch of us went to go see Kengo Kuma talk today. It was a lackluster speech, but mostly due to the lackluster translation. I'm sure if I were fluent in Japanese, the talk would be a lot more exciting. However, I did leave the talk with some things to think about. The most intriguing aspect of the talk was the importance placed on the relationship between man and the environment and man and history. Architecture serves as a intermediate language between the two. Kuma believes that architecture should not just flatten its surroundings but play a harmonious if not subservient role. Kuma displays this through his work, either placing the architecture in such a way that it becomes a frame for the surrounding beauty, or using local materials that bridge the gaps between the old and the new. That pretty much summarizes my notes, his work is definitely worth checking out.
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Our Heroes: A Multi-Part Series

Architecture is to some extent a profession of precedents. Every architect learns from the experiences of architects past. As a student, sometimes I can't help it but feel like a pre-teen school girl at a Justin Beiber concert. For my heroes are the greatest ever, and any flaws are hugely overshadowed by the sheer beauty of what they build. Unlike Justin Beiber, Architectural heroes are intelligent productive members of the global community. They set a standard and push above and beyond that. Our heroes inspire us to be greater than who we though we could be. They set a target for our aspirations. Perhaps without them knowing, they've already become silent mentors to a generation of rising architects.

One cannot be in the world of architecture today without hearing the name of Justin Beiber

New York New York! High Line and New Museum

Every once in a while, I get to return to this quaint place known as New York City. I find it incredibly surprising that New York, with all its density, is always finding new ways to introduce new architectural projects. This time, I managed to visit and snap a few pictures of the High Line and the New Museum. They are both interesting places and are definitely worth it to swing by if you are in town. As always, clicking on the pictures delivers you to the flickr page where you can pick up the full res versions. More pictures and story after the break.