Edale

For so long had it eluded me.

For too long had I burned - with frustration, bitterness, disappointment, anxiety.

Being able to cast all that aside just magnified the impact of Edale. To be washed over with peace completely; every iota - physically, spiritually and emotionally.

Everything didn’t matter anymore; not in the engulfing vastness of epical landscapes; not in an ocean of complete silence; not in the sweeping majesty of awesome creation.

And besides,

Why fight so hard to change the world, when the world doesn't want to be changed?

For two precious minutes, I revelled in absolute peace.

For two minutes, I felt absolutely free...

Absolutely free...

Cubic Houses (Kubuswonig)

We visited the Cubic Houses (Kubuswonig) in Rotterdam a few weeks back. It was definitely an experience to remember. Designed by Piet Blom back in 1984, it’s a whole forest of tilted, cubic housing units skewered on concrete circulation cores.

It’s quirky and strange, to say the least, and I was admittedly very put off in the beginning. But, after an hour or so of delving into its bowels [yes, bowels. cuz it truly feels like you’re moving through the depths of a monster], it won me over with its unique spaces.








The quirkiness kind of justifies itself when you’re inside - having your view pitched downwards to the internal courtyards when you're in the study and living room and then upwards to the sky when you’re hanging out in the attic, all thanks to clever use of form and slanted windows.

Alas, ants burrow cylindrical tunnels underground; birds weave blobs of twigs to form nests and for thousands of years human have generally lived in orthogonal dwellings. I think there’s good reason for that. And as fascinating and fun as it was to experience a different spatial environment, it got pretty darn claustrophobic and uncomfortable in there after awhile; definitely not home material for me.



This encounter, along with the other sights and sounds around Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Delft firmed up a general impression of Dutch Architecture in my mind. I feel it’s a general disposition towards boldness and bravado. Boldness - minus any connotation of heroism or courage; Unapologetic; Unsympathetic; I will do as I please.

Fun and interesting? Yes.

Long-lasting and endearing? Hmm, maybe. Perhaps. Time will tell.

Chatsworth House

Chatsworth House, built in 1553, is the country home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. The complex has passed through so many hands crediting its creators would be a history lesson in itself (and a pretty dry one at that). More interestingly it’s the site for the upcoming movie The Duchess, starring the very beautiful British-born Keira Knightly.



I recall reading an article back in History of Western Arch about the general convention back in the day to segregate circulation from living quarters and for rooms to be placed back to back, leading through from one to another. Not an experience I relished. It was too staccato. Furthermore, it didn’t help that the rooms were highly opulent and stocked full of master-crafted furniture. Can you say visual-overload?



The Garden though, or should I say, Forest, was breath-taking. It was a Tour de Force of the English Picturesque. T'was an immense outdoor space, so huge and open you felt like running around like a child and screaming your lungs out. It’s a great piece of work by a man we were introduced to back in Lillian Chee’s lectures – Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. It even boasted a gravity-fed water fountain as one of its centerpieces, engineered by Sir Joseph Paxton of Crystal Palace fame.



Soaking it all in, I could understand why the Picturesque still held sway over much of today’s landscape designs. It was hard to tell the difference between nature and Nature because when done to such perfection, the latter blended in so well with the former, whilst retaining that recognisable hand of man. It felt so so peaceful I didn’t feel like talking at all.

Wouldn’t mind going back one day and taking a nice long meditative walk alone.

Architours 08

Architours will take place over 3 weekends in October starting this Friday, 03/10/08.

For more info, hop over to http://www.archifest.sg/architours.html and then book your tickets through Sistic. Students prices are available.

Urban Ornaments + Multiplicity

We stumbled upon two gems whilst exploring downtown. I was awe-struck, initially.

‘What incredible monstrosity is this?!’ I thought, “It’s huge! and repetitive! and bold!”

I spent a good ten minutes trying to figure out what on earth went on inside it - deep building, no windows. Alas, Jan guessed right and on closer inspection of our second quarry we realised we were staring at very pimped up multi-storey car parks.


I once read somewhere that buildings sculpted from a single material, by their very singular nature, exude a degree of nobility. I really like the choice of colours. Flashy silver and lime green for the occasional sunny day and sober shades of black and brown complementing the typically gloomy English weather. But for all the marvellous texture on display, I can’t help but wonder how much and how long it’d take to clean and maintain these giant urban ornaments.

Which brings me to another observation - It would appear that Europeans have a penchant for multiplicity, which, I must admit, is a very convincing marketing + design strategy.



My favourite in the series would have to be the American Book Centre in Amsterdam [the image just above]. Extremely rich space textured purely by the very commodity/use of the building – books. And lo and behold! Hunter Douglas 3form Varia panels in the flesh!!

For more info on 3form:
http://www.3-form.com/
http://www.inhabitat.com/2005/05/02/ecoresin/

The Department of Music + Home Base

Neatly tucked away along a side-road, Sheffield’s Department of Music, aka The Soundhouse, by careyjones architects & Jefferson Sheard Architects is eye-catching. For all its initial quirkiness, it’s a well-behaved building that sits comfortably beside its neighbours. It gets your attention, but doesn’t try too hard at that. Surprisingly, the external skin is made of rubber!



I think it’s a perfect example of Symbolism - applying a recognisable interior skin meant for acoustic insulation to the exterior skin. It’s quite literally a music box, albeit a very sensual one with its rippling jet black surfaces and mirror-finished studs. I wonder what Ruskin would think.




In other news, house-hunting season is finally over. Much relieved that we’ve managed to get a pretty decent place to stay. Moving in and ‘owning’ the place brought much joy and excitement.

Mental note to self: It’s a joy that all home-owners have a right to experience and as an architect one really needs to balance artistic license and the owner’s aspirations. The project might be your ‘baby’ but it’s also someone’s home. Tread cautiously. Or better yet, and only if possible, choose a like-minded client.

The Winter Garden

Sheffield's Winter Garden by Pringle Richards Sharratt Architects is beautiful in its conceptual clarity and majestic in its expression of structure. It might even have been a fantastic example for Technology Studio in Year 3; as much as the mere recollection of Year 3 makes me shudder.



The flame-coloured laminated timber arches soar to some 20m high (or so I’m guesstimating). You see bulk. Firmitas; with a capital F. Yet the structure’s massiveness is tempered with elegance in the way each arch bows more humbly than the next. Not all of them are secured to the ground. There is an alternating rhythm. Perhaps this ingenious touch is what really brought out the clarity in the design. There is no visual clutter. Each arch is given space to breathe.

But when they do meet the ground, the steel joinery is exquisite. Thank goodness the architect didn’t simply shove them into rectangular steel boxes. Each footing is a robust armature custom designed to secure a pair of cross-braces on either side which in turn hold up a dual purpose circular steel beam – acting as a tie for all the arches and as supporting structure for the arches that don’t meet the ground.

Structural brilliance aside, it’s got a gentle form on the outside and fantastic space on the inside. Most delightful.