Eclectic Mix

The Industrial revolution of the 18th century sparked a beginning to an era of great confusion of identity in terms of political powers, economic progress, and also in architecture itself. The countless reformations, revolutions, and drastic shifts in European countries such as the French revolution left our ancestors clue-less of what is standing ahead. Initiated in early 19th century, people began pursuing for discovery of a clear identity. Thus began a period of experimentation, an eclectic mix of old and new components. Refusing to plunge entirely in to the traps of rapid technological advancement, the 19th century architecture acts as a buffer zone, the transition in to a new era, a period of self discovery and great confusion. As technology advances, buildings began performing contemporary functions, while built in classical form. The contradiction between the function of the building and its style began to take shape. The period is sometimes refereed to as Eclecticism, which originated from the Greeks as : "choosing according to quality."

Contrasts, 1841 by A.W. Pugin, was one of the most influential collection of illustrations conveying the superiority of Gothic Ornaments over pure-neoclassicism. Pugin believed that the pure forms of neo classical architecture proved too banal and uninteresting, reducing the richness of European cities. He proposed "Contrasts" to replace Gothic style with clean neo-classicism as it proves more rich and interesting. The Struggle between the pro-classic and the pro-gothic began forming adding on to the already confusing era.

Another approach by the"Art Nouvea" movement took a different approach to Pugins solution. Followin the great turmoils of Europe, they insist that people take a step back, refusing to accept the technological advancements of the industrial revolution, and return closer to our origins : nature. The use of ornaments by Art-Novea movement focused on imitations of organic forms extracted directly from natural elements.

In the period of Eclecticism, clients would hire architects to design buildings in their own style of preference. Factories, Libraries, and Commercial buildings are built in their own perfected style. For example, A client might as an architect to built his building in Gothic style and ornamentation while it is adjacent to a neoclassical commercial building.Thomas Leverton Donaldson, a architectur professor of London University once said in 1842 : "there is no style which does not have its particular beauties; there is no fixed style now prevalent; we are wandering in a labyrinth of experiments."

When everyone tries to express their identity in different directions, collective identity is lost, thus resulting in a confusing state of experimentation where there are numerous solutions to exploit, try and findout. Buildings of this era are mainly up to the owners preference, and how they want to contradictorily  fit their contemporary functions in to a borrowed style of architecture. Its a mess.

Augmented Reality

"Augmented Reality" is a term defining the technology where the views of the physical world is augmented through means of computer generated graphics. It became a part of the digital society following the popularity of implanted camera in portable devices such as smartphones and tablets, and portable gaming devices. Using the implanted digital camera, the portable computer device would display computer generated graphics on to the screen using the camera's perspective as reference creating an augmentation of reality to the users. A distortion of the real world.

The concept of augmented of reality did not first happen in the computer age. In medieval European history. (During the 1500's) the catholic church began spending excessively, giving birth to the indulgence system : where one has to pay in monetary value for God's forgiveness. Eventually, the practice made evident the fact that Catholicism favored the wealthy over the poor. This catalyzed a major reformation of the Catholic faith, The Protestant Reformation, by Martin Luther. Luther saw that the catholic church was not in-line with what is to be expected of the faith's ideology, thus splitting from the catholic church. As the protestants became more popular, the catholic church responded with defiance :further excluding out the poor and favoring the wealthy. After 1517, the year of the reformation, The Pope began funding for more elaboration for the catholic faith. Cathedrals and monasteries were built in extreme elaboration and magnificence thus giving birth to a new style in architecture : the Baroque Style.

According to the Article: Baroque Architecture by Columbia University, "Baroque architecture is characterize by magnificence grandeur and richness in invention" Architecture began to evolve from reuse of classical elements in to adaptation of classical elements. In other words : distortion. Baroque architecture was, unlike, classical or renaissance architecture in which its purpose is merely to understand. For buildings in the baroque period, its main goal is focused mainly on creating an pretentious display of power wealth and grandeur. Buildings no longer maintained the balance it once has. Circular domes were adpated in to oval pendantic domes while buildings are disported in perspective to create a more elaborate view. An example would be a baroque grand stair case. The stairs are wider on the bottom end compare to the top-end emphasizing the strong perspective that is not there in reality. The style is about enhancement, a desire to display wealth and greatness driven by religious goals.





Another example of distortion and augmented reality is the works of the famouse Bernini in Santa Maria cathedral.Another example of distortion and augmented reality is the works of the famouse Bernini in Santa Maria Dell Vittoria. The roofs and column not only compose of extreme curvatures and strong textures but is also distorted in to perspective as it was a drawing on canvas. Repeating myself again, the perspective is not there, the depth is merely an illusion created by the distortion of Bernini's design. A pretentious display of wealth that is nothing more than an augmented reality.

Architectural Rebirth

"Change is inevitable," It is common knowledge that everything changes through time. History proves us that even the mighty Roman empire reaches its downfall, and world powers can shift a span of a single war. Change occurs constantly from the prominence of personal scale all the way to the scale of an entire cosmology. One of the most prominent changes in human civilization history began during the 15th century, following the devastating black plague. "The Rebirth," or Renaissance, is the movement of human self recognition and appreciation. A movement towards secular views following the philosophy of the Great Roman Empire.

The Renaissance movement began after the grievances caused by the Black Plague that killed over 200 million people in the 14th century. People began recognizing the value of one-self, and the desire to thrive towards secular ideologies. The term "Rebirth" alluded to the success of the Greek and Roman Empires, reverting back to the classical humanism. Thriving humans toward a self-centric views, people began believe in the greatness of humans. Praising ourselves, giving ourselves utmost priority and importance.

Transitioning from a city on the verge of bankruptcy, Florence flourished as the epicenter of the Rebirth movement, hosting trade and commerce for the European renaissance in terms of culture arts, religion, and architecture. Giving full closure on the darkness of the middle ages, Florence was the new hope, a new light hoping it would bring a better, brighter future.

One of the most recognizable aspect of the Renaissance movement is the architecture style shift from pure-Gothic Romanesque to human-centric renaissance architecture. Contrasting with Gothic Architecture Renaissance architecture catered closely to the human scale rather than depicting the greatness of the creator. The buildings focused on classical standards emphasizing strongly the proportions and symmetry and regular geometric architecture in sake of classical antiquity. Moreover, the architectural elements from the classical era are also imported into this rebirth, including post-intel, semi-circular arches, pilasters, and hemispherical dome.

By hosting these key elements in architecture, Florence became the central attraction, giving the city a different vibe to other European cities, Overhauling the image of the poor city of Florence in to a majestic metropolis. Giving out the message that humans thrive on their own greatness without need of divine intervention or any form of clairvoyance.
 


                    

Talking to Buildings

In practice, being an architect means designing for a particular client. Architects receive the basic requirements and expectations and design accordingly. The problem every architect must face is contradiction of opinions which leads to delayed progress for a particular project. The source of contradiction is our individuality, or identity. An innate quality every human possesses. We think different. As humans, we approach and solve problems differently. when a task involves more than one individual, such as architectural projects, a compromise must be made between the different parties. there must be a conversation.

Le Corbusier, a brutalist architect from the post-war era called Modernism suggests that systematic efficiency of machines should be applied to humans. He claimed that people are like machines, we have the same requirements for living, and designed for pure functionality, treating people as machine substitutes. Looking back at Le Corbusier, I often wonder who he is actually designing for? Everyone? for himself? or any one at all? Architecture in post-war era (most likely effected by shortages) would often be like a termite infested log cabin where the architecture is a log cabin and us as termites : merely infesting it. The log cabin, however, is not intended for the termites. There is no sense of belonging, nor any indication of identity and reflection of humanity. What exactly are we designing for? Are we designing for the building? Or is the building designed for us. While some argue that the functionality and efficiency of machines are the closest we can reach for perfection, they often forget that we, as humans, are not perfect. Being said, perfect buildings, aren't perfect for us. 

In the late 20th century, architecture began actually designing for humans. Eero Sarinen and his WGA airport suggests that the space does not only need to accomodate functionality, but the experience of the user as well. his wings like structure imitated the motion of flight leaving the users who came for its function a long lasting impression of the airport. Its no longer about function anymore ( thankfully), Architecture began reflecting the behavior of the users and design accordingly.
A successful example is Rem Koolhas (OMA). he began giving life to building by evoking moods and senses of the users. His buildings are made tailored-fit to the user groups. a "perfect" fit for the user groups.

Linking back in to our studio project as of the current. a Flagship store should not solely focus on the functional aspect - selling products, but rather delivering a message, evoking the sensual experience of space, reaching out to the customers in a not-so-literal-way. A flagship space should not only talking of itself. How interesting is it talking to a someone who deliberately brags about his/herself without minding the reaction or expecting a response. To create an effective flagship store, the brand must take into account the user groups and reflect upon the feedback, in this case, the brand image. The perfect space is a compromise between brand identity and brand image. The flagship talks to its users an at the same time acknowledging what the users is talking about them. Analogous to a conversation : it is most enjoyable when the stories are exchanged and responded to.

Duck Duck Goose!

My Logical Ethics professor David Lowe ( not to be associated with INDA professor Taylor Lowe) back in high school used to have a saying : "If you walk like a duck, look like a duck, sound like a duck. Then you're a duck! Perhaps Ducks are a big part of western culture as it is used in countless analogies to represent a concrete literal image. From the lecture given by Professor Taylor Lowe of INDA, it has come to my attention that ducks are also a reference in architecture as well.

What exactly are ducks and decorated sheds? The terms "duck and decorated shed" were coined by Robert Venturi in his book "Learning from Las Vegas in 1972. The book states that there are two distinct ways to identifty a building : by what they are, and what they appear to be. The two terms are merely a gesture towards classification of a building's iconography expression but does not define or judge it in any particular way.

What exactly is a duck?

A duck. referenced from the Duck opt store in Long island that used to sell ducks and eggs literally looked like a duck. Symbolism is the main idea of duck buildings and does not require any label or signs to signify what the building's function or operation are. Ducks are usually between the ambiguous borders of a sculpture and building.


Decorated Shed?
In contrast to ducks, decorated sheds are generic structures with a purpose identifiable only by the signage and lables. It exists merely on signs and labels, not holding any symbolic value of themselves. It relies heavily on ornamentation. We can easily tell what it does, just look at its sign!

Moving on to Crocs : the task of this project is to design a flagship store for the brand crocs, adressing it based on the research provided in the previous phase of the project.

The INDA studio project : Crocs is still under developement, however, its concept and strong aesthetics has drawn my design towards a duck than shed. The main concept of this project is rebranding crocs, using main attraction such as comfortability and functionality. The functionality will mostly reflect the programs going on inside the space while comfortability is expressed with material forms function and lighting that gives a unique experience of the brand. The building focuses on showing the lightweight qualities of the material through fluid flowing forms and does not focus at all on the signage or labels, or external ornamentation.

My most recent proposal depicts crocs as a floating night club, showing no signs or extra ornmaentations, but taking on the continuous, rubberized, and apertures fully representing croc's aesthethics.

Its a duck I'd say. For now.

Branding Architecture

Swiss architect Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, has began branding himself as Le Corbusier, the french word for crow since the year 1920. he portrayed one of the most influential visionaries of the 20th century of the architecture realm, Le Corbusier had created his own distinctive definition of modernist architecture. Influenced by automobiles and their idea of a working machine, he believed that all men had the same need and requirements for a living space. He began is journey to define the universal standards of a living space. The modular, a diagram of human porportion to architecture was one of his creations for setting the standards of human living. Also a writer, Le Corbusier expressed his approach towards architecture in his book : Towards a New Architecture. His ideas circulated around the idea of creating a utopian of mass produced uniform units of living space. He pictured the city acting more of  a "machine" where living space is presented in its most functional and productive method.

For example, one of his (failed) vision for Paris to devise its city plans, Le Corbusier presented his drawing of uniform high rises (with vertical gardens), totally transforming the city in to a gigantic utopian, a super efficient machine. Not all agree with his vision, some claimed that his ideology is his strong support towards his political standpoint, a Fascist regime. Agreeing or not, Corbusier has definitely created a distinctive vision for his architecture. a brand for his architecure.

His 5  standard architectural elements highlighted in the book : Towards a New architecture are : pilotis, ribbon windows, a free facade ( free facade design since it does not play role in any structural loads), Free plan,  and rooftop gardens. His formula is repeated and applied to different structures around the world such as concrete apartment blocks he called a "Utopian machine." Due to post war shortages, raw concrete was also a part of his design.

His architecture became the brand for modernist architecture. Its literally everywhere and presented in every large city around the world. Bangkok, for instance, adopted much of his styles and the Le Corbusier buildings can be spotted everywhere in downtown Bangkok.

In contrast to Le Corbusier's mass production brutalism, a machine-influenced industrial architect Eero Saarinen from America defined his architecture with a much different approach from Le Corbuiser. He designed the TWA Flight Center with curves and steel frames to represent the flight-in-motion. He defined motion in terms of experience rather than efficiency that Corbusier was so attached to.
 
The flight center is represented in the form of wings in flight and complex curvatures to evoke the sense of motion. Saarinen was known for his use of motion-like curvature to create a unique experience in buildings. Although both industrialized and machine-influenced one can completely create their own style and branding of architecture.

 

 My studio project deals with the shoe brand Crocs using focusing on its Aesthethic, Functionality, comfort and fun. My idea of using the Crocs aesthetics is to recapture Crocs in a setting where Crocs are fashionable. Targeting an age group (that Crocs failed to capture) who would never wear Crocs and an activity Crocs would unlikely be associated with, I tried to create a unique context where Crocs are perfectly fashionable. The flagship store would bring the user to directly experience the materiality and functionality as well as the aesthethics of the brand in a vibrant fashion.  I decide to associate the brand with water, because water holds all the qualities that Crocs is trying to represent, a soothing sense of relaxation an also fun. The flagship store would be a floating building along the chaopraya river, making its aesthethic clearly stand out. As a precedent project in representing the brand, i allude to the rolex building, with continous curves and apertures that is relatable to Crocs. Linking back to the TWA airport by Saarinen, my goal is to manipulate the experience through architecture just like what he had done with the Flight Center. If experience is controlled, the brand image can be manipulated and changed.

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Space within a Space

Following the First World War, The Barcelona Pavilion, 1929, by Mies Vander Rohe became an iconic representation of German culture: an emulation of the nation’s progressively modern culture following its roots in classical history. The only function the building had to accommodate is as a reception of the King and Queen of Spain as they signed the Golden Book, and official opening to the exposition. It has no official program, and understood by the designer as “just a building.”  The Pavilion was never really in used by anyone, It instead, is understood as sculpture rather than a living space.

As an architecture student, the name “Mies Vander Rohe” and the building, “Barcelona Pavilion,” is often alluded to in lectures and referenced in project introductions. It is Architect’s specialized term for “mainstream.” The space reiterated the modernists concept “Less is more.” Looking at the floor plan drawings illustrated an ultimately simplistic plan. The space is represented in simple white walls with rectangular geometric repetition yet a sense of spatial complexity. Further studies of the pavilion illustrates how Mies created “a space within a space.”  Although the space is represented in a super simplistic fashion, the complexity of the space further advances those of complex plan buildings. It’s the walls.

Introducing the MVP of Barcelona Pavilion: Walls. Specially customized and crafted walls partitioned the interior space of the pavilion, though not closing off the space entirely. Mies chose from only a few materials: glass, travertine, marble, onyx, and steel. Unlike ordinary cookie cutter houses, where materials were often covered up with paint to hide its hideous looks, Mies making the material speak for themselves. For example, the large marble wall running through the pavilion was carefully picked piece by piece so that the natural patterns are matching and coherent with its adjacent piece. The glass reflections and natural lighting results help create and open-ness to the space.

To understand why the walls created such an impact on the pavilion, one must understand the underlying logic behind the designing of the pavilion. The pavilion is designed based on a formulaic grid system developed by the architect. Not only does it serve as the travertine patterns, it is also serves as the framework of the wall orientation s and systems within the pavilion.

Creation of the partitioned space could not have been done if the building was constructed with heavy thick walls and columns. The light weight and floating quality of the architecture allowed for such open space to create a space within a space. Mies used thin columns and low flat roofs to indicate the open-ness of space as it laid low horizontal to the ground. It sets the example and thrive for modernism. It’s the complexity of experience represented in simply architecture.

The pavilion is how Mies Vander Rohe showed that Less is actually, More.