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.