Sunday, May 30, 2010

又一個學期 — 倒數畢業尚餘一年時間


做完Elaine的包,一個學期又畫上句號。這個學期時間上較長,亦比較辛苦。事情總是拖拖拉拉的,沒完沒了。

早於sem break的時候就聽聞Ole Scheeren會教studio,在不能選擇Carlow的joint studio的情況下,就疊埋心水看看這starchitect會帶來什麼inspirations。

「Core Values」是這個studio要研究的事。Ole說他跟朋友說會來HKU教,朋友都不解,說HKU學生只重presentation和efficiency,悶得很。於是他便想到了用這個可說是建築設計裡最悶的一個部份給我們做,看我們真的如此悶蛋,還是可以將它變得有趣一些。他亦覺得畢竟core將會是我們建築生涯裡經常會接觸的事,何不把它帶入學府研究一番?

第一份功課,用10分鐘自我介紹,形式不限。有人剪片、有人自彈自唱、有人說故事、有人畫畫。那一刻,團隊中的多元性和各人自身的特點令人想像之後的team work應該有很多有趣的input,可惜往往事與願違。

11人的隊伍,一方面太多,一方面又太少。以組織和分工來看,要每人也自發地工作很難,要大家都有共同的thesis更難,結果兜兜轉轉也沒有什麼presentable的成果,以此看來人實在太多。以題目的範圍而言,世界上有數之不盡的towers,幾乎每一棟都有它的core,每一個core都是design specific,要在浩翰的資料裡找出有用的,再歸納出我們的見解並不是11個人在一兩個月能夠做到的事,由此看來人手實在不足。最後research的結果強差人意但因時間緊拙唯有繼續到下一階段。

Design開始才是真正和Ole有交流的時候。說實在,當初我看他北京的CCTV和曼谷的MahaNakhon,不過是玩form。可是從他的對話中,會知道他要求的多於建一棟iconic building。他和我們分享的經驗,不是從普通的tutor口中可以聽到的。不時可以聽見他說要珍惜做學生的時間,工作後便沒有機會做自己想做的事。有時會感到他的無奈,會覺得他所做的,不完全體現到他自己想做的。(我想這也是他其中一個離開OMA嘗試自己開公司的原因吧。)

他對於建築的看法,很多我也認同。他不喜歡用設計去force一些事發生,覺得結果只會適得其反,應該用設計去「讓」那件事發生。在我的design裡,我也嘗試營造一個讓住戶和鄰里自發地活動的地方,而不是改變他們的circulation pattern來強制他們相遇。

至於對做人和做architect,他覺得最重要是有DESIRE。不知不覺間我自己也將這個字放在心上。對!沒有desire做什麼也沒有意義。

Desire是很個人的事,學杜鵑說:「討好別人的設計,很多人正在做,何不真切地做自己認為對的?」這個世界需要的是不同的聲音,做自己真正想做的事,對自己對整體也是好事。



這年學到的很簡單,大概就是忠於自己的想法。

在堅持己見的同時漸漸悟出了自己的建築設計哲學,自己的語言不佳,借Justyna的一句:「Minimum Effort, Maximum Result. 」Minimum Effort不是指懶得就懶,也不單單是要economic efficiency。設計作為interventions,是以最簡單最「小」為目標,融入此時此地,令環境、社會能從設計中得到最大的益處。換言之,就是「pee-poo」bag比將整個城巿鏟起重新建一個eco-city好吧。

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

久違了的LEGO

從NYC帶回來的Toy Story LEGO,是適合6-12歲的玩意。我超齡一倍有多,但又何干?在乎的不是放它在手上把玩的感覺,要的不過是擁有的感覺罷。Materialism這回事又沒有年歲之分。

上次砌LEGO應該是在初中的那些「D&T」課堂,也不記得要透過這些積木學什麼,只記得那婆媽的老師極度憂慮我們會弄丟一兩塊LEGO,嚷著:「不見一塊要賠一盒!」使得整件事變得壓力極大,一點也不有趣。心想:「超,咁緊張就唔好要我地砌啦,又唔係未砌過。」

真的擁有LEGO就要算小學了,現在家中還有兩箱不捨得丟掉的。搬屋搬了很多次,很久都沒有打開過。箱裡有很多海盜和太空系列,全都亂七八糟的,應該沒有可能拼回「應有」的模樣。不知道以前為何總是買海盜,我不覺得自己特別好歷險。現在讓我選,我一定要城市系列,因為那是最原始和基本的LEGO,將LEGO當磚塊一塊一塊砌出來的建築物,才是我心目中的LEGO。

Ole在《君子雜誌》的「年度君子」訪問中,用砌LEGO比喻他在新加坡的The Interlace的設計。猶記得自己當年選HKU Archi時的自薦信和面試中皆有提過,自己的建築師夢早就建基兒時砌LEGO的那一刻。有點誇大,但追溯回去,大概大家對Space、Form和Tectonic的認知,都是源自LEGO吧。

PS. 謝謝遠道而來的手信,辛苦了。


Monday, May 3, 2010

New Concept of Digital Music

 (information from www.yankodesign.com)

That’s a “Playlist Player,” made by designer Martin Skelly to bring the digital back to the roots of the tree, the vinyl record. I’m not going to sit here and tell you how much better vinyl sounds than other music, or how much more awesome records are than anything else. You already know that! What Martin Skelly is here to tell you is – listen to your music start to finish, in a record player setting, with the ability to spill beer on it. That is the gosh-honest truth, for real!


In the words given to us at YD, Martin Skelly lets us know specifically that this project is “based on the rich interactions of vinyl records and turns digital playlists into physical objects that you can touch, treasure, drop, lose or spill beer on.” This is awesome.

What this project actually is composed of is a (special) record player and five different color covered records, also of a special nature. Playlists of music are made by you on your computer, (Skelly suggests iTunes,) they are synced to the player with a memory stick, and are then ready to play. Each record represents a playlist. As the record is placed on the box, so too is the corresponding list ready to play.

Here’s where it gets weird or awesome, depending on your specific political view on how music should be listened to. When the music plays, a band of light can be seen emitting from the box and through the translucent record. The light advances from the outer rim toward the middle of the record, just like a pin would playing a real bit of vinyl. This light, however, represents the time left on the list rather than the track being played. Also the light shows you where you are, but the temptation to skip tracks, fast forward, or rewind, are eliminated by the lack of being able to do so. The idea is that just like a record, there are less distractions from the music due to the lack of ease in changing tracks.

Wild enough for you?

Definitely TRON-approved, in my book I’d say. Martin Skelly himself decrees the design reference to be “retro professional” and the materials to be “reminiscent of Seventies hi-fi design.” Spot on, good chap.
Keep them wheels a spinnin.

Designer: Martin Skelly
Playlist Player by Martin Skelly
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