Marking George Town

Window to the Past

The proposed George Town marker design was inspired by the traditional ‘5-Foot Way’ that functions very efficiently as urban connectors as well as public spaces. The idea is to use these arches as guiding apparatus to lead visitors to places of interests and framing major landmarks at the same time. The form of the arches was inspired by the ‘Cloud-Shaped’ openings that can be easily found on most of the façade of George Town’s shop houses.

Aesthetically Functional:
The intention is to not only consider the proposed design as merely markers but as urban sculptures as well. They are however ‘practical’ sculptures as they also double up as public furnitures to complement that state’s initiatives in making George Town a livable city. While fulfilling the function of markers and public amenities, these sculptures would also ensure that the existing heritage buildings remain as they are without any intervention onto their building fabric. Their external outlook would enhance the character of the buildings and streetscapes where they are located.

Flexibility:
By constructing the arches in 5 different sections for a single standard unit, the sculpture could be rearranged and twisted as situation requires. In addition, 2 standard units could be combined to form a larger unit at more spacious locations pointing at several landmarks in opposing directions at the same time. The ‘Cloud-Shaped’ arches which will be made of steel could be easily dismantled and relocated to elsewhere whenever such situation arises.

Colours:
The proposed markers come in several colours depending on where they are located. Their colours will follow the nearest landmark which they are located. For example, the colour of the arches will be blue when the marker is located near Cheong Fatt Tze mansion and white if placed in front of St. Georges Church.

With its distinctive colours and unique form that are inspired by the aesthetics of historic George Town, the proposed Window to the Past marker/sculpture would definitely enhance and add to the rich architectural quality of this World Heritage City.

Ko-Fu Zen

A Sad Day for Design Education

This morning the students and I sending off Ellison back to the US. He has been teaching design in Malaysia for more than a decade. This time around he won't be back for at least another 8 years. It is a loss to the education industry here in Penang at a time when it is so difficult to find dedicated and committed lecturers. The government has been talking about 'brain drain' of our human resource to foreign countries; today I witness this situation first hand. There are a lot of good and talented people in Penang but if the industry as a whole does not know how to treasure and reward them, more people are going to move elsewhere seeking better working environment.

At a time when most advanced countries are competing against each other for highly qualified people, isn't it time for Malaysia to be more serious in retaining existing talents and attracting new ones?

Power of Architecture - Temples of Angkor

Sunrise at Angkor Wat - The tranquility of the pond in front reflected and enhanced the serenity of this great building.

One would wonder how a building constructed more than 900 years ago could attract so much attention. People came from all corners of the world to witness this spectacular creation by the ancient Khmer civilization. This ancient masterpiece has successfully helped to kicked start the Cambodian economy and helping the livelihood of its citizens. Here, we witness the influence of architecture in fulfilling a noble social obligation which is much bigger than itself.

First light revealed the architectural details on the facade.

Portal to space beyond.

Staircase to Heaven - by making the ascend steep, verticality of the architecture is exagerrated; one constantly find him/herself looking up towards the sky.

Delicately done carvings on the walls depicting the Apsara dancers.

South Gate of Angkor Thom

Dramatic perspective.

The smiling faces of Bayon

All the steps leading up to the temples were very steep comparing to our modern day standard. I speculate on three possible reasons why it was done that way:

1) To exagerrate the grandiour of the building and the divinity of the king and gods by making its visitors humble; one has to physically climb and crawl up to reach the top.

2) By making the riser higher than they should be, verticality of the building could be emphasised to give the building a much taller impression.

3) To speed up contruction by having lesser steps reaching the top.

Architecture as mountains.

Face to face with an ancient civilization.

Architecture and Nature as One.

The framing of different volumetric spaces gives rise to the dramatic effect of the progression into the temple.

Wonderful architectural journey...........

Henderson Wave

Open spaces are scarce in a compact city of 4.99 million people. Shopping malls are still the prefered public spaces for people to hangout after work or during weekend. But the trend is definitely changing. In line with global warming threat as well as green movement all across the globe, people are more conscious about healthy lifestyle. And the healthier way of living is not working out 2 hours a day in an air-conditioned gym; but to go back to basic and being 'embraced' by nature.

In a city where land is as precious as gold, creative thinking is put to good use in coming up with ideas to provide better living environment. Henderson Wave was the result of such creative approach. Perched at 36 metres above Henderson Road, the 274 metres long and 8 metres wide 'sculpture' is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. It was built to link Mount Faber to Telok Blangah Hill. By bridging the 2 hills, it provide an unprecedented opportunity for the residents of Singapore to have a much bigger green lung within their city. Its function however is not merely establishing linkages; but creating a new public domain at the same time. The bridge itself is a popular weekend hangout area for many.

To call it a pedestrian bridge is an understatement. Henderson Wave is a perfect example of the integration of ART, SCIENCE and NATURE to serve a noble social agenda!

Modernism

At the beginning of the 20th century, inspired by the aspiration of Industrial Revolution and agitated by the destruction of World War I to create a better future, a group of architects initiated the Modern Movement. With the arrival of the Machine Age then, standardization was made possible. This mass production approach not only benefitted the auto industry but architecture as well. Architects realized that they could rebuilt their medieval cities into a thriving modern metropolis with the help of the technology of the day in an unprecendented speed. Le Corbusier envisaged the modern city as consists of high-rises organized in an orderly fashion. Thoroughfares would be straight and well connected. Residential floor plates would be stacked one on top of another. The buildings would be standardized as to achieve a consistant order in the scheme.

This idea of urban design has indeed survived today and most notably in Singapore. With about 80% of its population living in government initiated public housing, it makes sense to utilize the modernists' approach in making the dream of house ownership a reality. Hence the creation of the more commonly know HDB (Housing Development Board) Flats all over the island. Mass production and standardizatoin serve this objectives well which is to provide affordable housing to its people at an efficient pace. Most parts of a single unit are precast off-site in order to reduce wastage as well as speed up construction.

In implementing this approach, building design has to comply strictly with HDB's guidelines. Drastic modification from the prescribed floor plans are not encouraged. As a result, the buildings ended up very similar to each other and not much individual characteristics in them. The only ways to identify the block you are staying are through Block Number and sometime the color scheme on the wall. There are some variations on the facade but mostly not substantial. This certainly gives rise to problems pertaining to identity of place. With no significant natural features such as hills and water to define a place, these mass-produced buildings lack unique identity to create a recognizable 'place'.

Howeve, HDB housing is a success story in that it makes house ownership easier to be achieved. Consequently, there is no slum in Singapore. Many countries have tried to emulate its success to achieve their own social agenda. In terms of practicality, it has achieved its objectives. Its downside lies in its failure in 'place making' which will give the city a unique identity to its inhabitants as well as an admiration to visitors.