Just wrapped up a major project deadline today so have some time to jot down some thoughts of the weekend competition before I forget some of the details. Here's a link if you want to see our winning competition entry: The Icon. There have been lots of workshops on refining the design process within the firm, but theories can only take you so far, we'd still need to test things out on an actual project. Shravan and I visited the Graham Foundation for their annual book sale on a Saturday, and after that we chatted a bunch on the issues of current design process/design directions/manifestos, which ultimately led to the talk of participating in the weekend competition. And for our intent to fully realized, we'd need to recruit Wyatt so we can both test things out across all levels (Senior PA - Designer II - Intern) and at the same time, the result can effectively traverse through the levels as well.
We spent some time simply chatting and aligning the goals about a week before the competition. It really helped us all to be on the same page. Here are couple key items that we discussed:
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Two other projects I would like to share from my recent trip back to Tainan City: Tainan Spring from MVRDV and Tainan Library by Mecanoo & MAYU Architects! Both perfectly fit the topic of public spaces / boundary / ownership in the urban context. Something interesting and "coincidental" (?) is that the Tainan City was colonized by Japan and Netherland back then, and now the city is visiting back designers from the respective countries to help improve the city. Tainan Spring / MVRDV / 2020 The site was originally a landmark shopping mall called "Chinatown" built in 1980, but has slowly lost attraction since 1990s and caused some environmental controversy by polluting the adjacent river.
The adaptive reuse initiative started in 2010 and eventually MVRDV proposed an urban planning scheme in 2016 called the "Tainan Axis" that aimed to revamp the entire canal area by creating a defined axis with a lagoon landscape feature. This is the first time I've been back since 2019, I feel like in recent years, every time when I visit home, I'd apply everything I learned abroad to reinterpret and re-appreciate the beauty of Taiwan. For example, I'd study the urban planning layout and the history of certain city, and then come back and apply that same critical lens to re-think the entire heritage of Tainan City. In a sense, as I mature and hone my skillset, my hometown is also growing with me proportionally. With that being said, there had been lots of new architecture happening while I was gone so I got to do my rounds and check out some updates. I've done a brief blog on my city back in 2017 so make sure you check out the prequel of this blog post with the link below: www.hsunico.com/life/hometown-love Tainan Museum / Shigeru Ban / 2019 This was one of my most anticipated one for the trip, there is just something about your hometown getting a Pritzker Prize winner building that absolutely excites me. Shigeru Ban won the competition back in 2014 and the building was finally completed in late 2019. The massing itself stacks up as a vertical city to create elevated parks and niches that reflect on the surrounding context. The massive signature roof hovers over the "city" as a canopy that reads like a veil. This one is like a cousin of both the Centre Pompidou-Metz and the renovation project of the former architecture school in Nanterre. In terms of the spatial experience, it does remind me of the Louis Vuitton Foundation by Frank Gehry in Paris. Below is one of the renderings from the competition submission back in 2014 and the physical model showing the dense urban fabric in the historic quarter of the city.
This is a collaboration project between my Honduran homie Daniel Padilla and I. The idea is for him to practice more writing and for me to practice digital art. The series don't really have any direction. If you'd like to do any sort of collaboration with me on this blog please don't hesitate to contact me! '1 in the am pm'
starting over. again. one more time. as thrilling as this prospect is, and as hard as I've yearned for this, I am left to wonder just how many more new beginnings will be spared to me before I no longer long for them anymore. D. Padilla It's been a strange experience trying to navigate around in this unprecedented time since every aspect of our life is impacted by the pandemic. On one hand, everyone has to figure out a new way of maintaining their physical and mental health, on the other hand, the world still goes on so you'd have to fit in simultaneously. This applies to architecture as well, the whole typology shifted with additional design criteria mainly regards to circulation and occupancy. Many things we learned from school or design trends in the market are now outdated or not suitable anymore. However, the situation does promote a nice re-connection between humanity and the natural world with people moving outwards away from metropolis.
Back to the main topic! I was fortunate enough to reserve a spot back in July for the latest Wrightwood 659 exhibition: "Balkrishna Doshi - Architecture for the People". B. V. Doshi is the first Indian architect to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize back in 2018 (I was working in Taiwan during that time), and this is his first ever U.S exhibition sponsored by the Vitra Design Museum. It's always exciting to track and follow the Pritzker Prize winner each year. It was a lot more simpler back in the school years, I had since learned that there's certain political agenda involved and there are groups of people systematically trying to promote architects to get nominated and etc., but by all means, this is not trying to discredit any laureates. This is a collaboration project between my Honduran homie Daniel Padilla and I. The idea is for him to practice more writing and for me to practice digital art. The series don't really have any direction. If you'd like to do any sort of collaboration with me on this blog please don't hesitate to contact me! Untitled
my bags were packed almost to capacity yet, when I opened them upon arrival as heavy as they were I found they were completely empty for everything that ever really, truly fucking mattered had unfortunately been left behind. -D. Padilla This blog is now entering its sixth year milestone! I haven't been keeping up since last October. Let me jump start the year with the amazing Noguchi Museum at Long Island, NYC! I didn't really know much about Noguchi's work before the visit, I only knew about his table collaboration with Herman Miller in 1944. The visit was absolutely phenomenal, even though it's a little bit far at Long Island, I still recommend any sculpture lover or architecture enthusiast to go check it out because his work is something you have to see in person to understand. "When an artist stopped being a child, he would stop being an artist." -Isamu Noguchi This is a collaboration project between my Honduran homie Daniel Padilla and I. The idea is for him to practice more writing and for me to practice digital art. The series don't really have any direction as for now. If you'd like to do any sort of collaboration with me on this blog please don't hesitate to contact me! Knocking
Hello Would please open the door? I just want to see you again. Walk through that corridor again Make my way into your room again And bury myself in the sheets Of your bed once more. Wake up before you Get ready to face the world In the quiet darkness while you sleep And kiss you on the cheek And whisper “I love you. Have a good day.” And leave before you even noticed. Knights Listen I didn’t want to leave But buses drive away And planes take off. Now I resent these modes of transport They were the vessels that brought upon The most sour of goodbyes In the history of the universe. Family Heritage I still don't quite know how To be at peace with The fact that Everything in this universe Is finite One day My last capable hair follicle Will produce its final amount Of melanin One day The last remaining star in space Will fuse its final supply Of hydrogen And that will be The end. -D. Padilla It's a rather stress-free summer this year after obtaining my Master degree besides the endless wait on the EAD card. I got to attend my first American wedding in French Lick, Indiana. Austin and Lindsey's wedding was absolutely phenomenal with lots of emotional moments. It was also a great time to catch up with friends from grad school since I didn't get to graduate with them last year. The second wedding I got to attend this summer was Steve and Victoria's, and thus, I got to visit San Francisco for the third time. Steve and Victoria's wedding was extremely creative, families and guests got to tour around the city with many surprises along the way. I am truly truly happy for both couples and wish them the best!! I was originally planning to visit Brazil this summer for research if I were granted the Ryerson Traveling Scholarship, but that plan ultimately fell through and I wasn't going to put myself at risk for the U.S re-entry so this trip to California sort of fulfilled my need to explore. Shoutout to all the people who host me during the San Franisco trip! Shoutout to my cousin, Jeff, Malenie, bro Chao, Steve, Victoria, and Vivian. This blog post is structured into two parts, first part talks about some of the buildings I visited during the trip. These buildings are all somewhat related to each other because they all inherited certain context from the previous buildings on the site so it's interesting to put them together to compare and contrast. The second part focuses on the city, San Francisco, itself. There are some social and urban issues I'd like to discuss, which I wasn't able to identify during my last visit. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art / Mario Botta 1935 & Snøhetta 2016 SFMoMA is always a controversial piece. Back in 1935, when Mario Botta anchored his first U.S building on the site, it received certain backlash from the community and some architectural critics due to the post-modern design approach. Fast forward to 2010, the museum assigned Snøhetta for the expansion, they took down many parts of the original building and attached a new volume behind the existing front facade.
I think the building has lots of pros and cons. Cons are primarily coming from the fusion of the two distinctive design languages. Stitching a Mario Botta design with Snøhetta's was already an irrational move, but judging from the competition roster: Adjaye Associates, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Foster + Partners, and Snøhetta, the aesthetic and spatial coherence were never the priorities to the offical. The fact that they did not even try to bring the Architect Mario Botta back for the expansion project already indicated a strong political intent. Here is my chart of pros & cons: After being student for a lifetime, this is my last academic break! Nothing too special going on however, just visiting Chicago for a weekend and then going back to campus for job applications and other projects to ensure I can graduate smoothly at May and hopefully have a nice transition into work life. This blog post is mainly focusing on Wrightwood 659, a relatively new building in Chicago by the Architect Tadao Ando. I initially planned to visit the building in December last year, but did not know one has to book it in advanced (oops!) so that is why the visit had been postponed until this weekend. My boss Prof. Emmons also told me how amazing their current exhibit is so that was what ultimately made me do the trip this week. Wrightwood 659 / Architect Tadao Ando / 2018 Wrightwood 659 is a refurbishment project that turned the old 30-unit apartment building into an exhibition space. The venue was founded by Fred Eychaner, a media entrepreneur and philanthropist, and Dan Whittaker, an architectural historian. “I think there are some interstitial spaces that are open for new work and new viewpoints in Chicago,” Mr. Eychaner said in an interview on Thursday. “That’s not a criticism of any existing institutions. But we think there are a lot of things we can do here that nobody else is doing.” (Libbey, Peter. “A Tadao Ando-Designed Exhibition Space Opens in Chicago.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 12 Oct. 2018) "I think there are some interstitial spaces that are open for new work and new viewpoints in Chicago." -Fred Eychaner I agree with the statement. I feel like aside from the educational institutions and civic infrastructures, there is not much in-between venue that can curate smaller scale architectural exhibits in Chicago. New York City has places like MoMA PS1 and Architecture Storefront to provide more exposures and opportunities for architects and architectural students. I am glad that Chicago is catching up on that.
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AboutThis blog was launched in August, 2015 during my 8th year of studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain. I decided to start this blog and record some of my thoughts and moments. This blog is also dedicate to Richard Fu, a good friend of mine who is now guarding me from above. He inspired me to get out of the comfort zone and be curious about the world. Amig@'s blogs
Check out my brother Will's blog (in Mandarin) to see what he's up to these days (Design, fashion, food, technology, music, film...etc) Check out Kris' website for some high quality photos around the world Archives
September 2023
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