3 Days MC

Bin in fatter & healthy days...

11:00am - feeling very cold & uncomfortable in office, bodily aches, left tosilities pain.

12:45pm - went to Kenko for massage & foot reflexology, hopeful that it will go away.

2:00pm - Mind is weakening, did the necessary arrangement, bail into a cab.

2:15pm - called parents, they have checked-in already.

2:30pm - Doc deliver the bad news - "it will take 2 - 3 days". Now I have a 3 days MC, I could not remember when is the last time a doctor gave me a 3 day MC, definitely not the SAF doc.... either I am very sick or the business is really bad....

3:00pm - Bought Duck rice and consume it diagonally on the sofa... it sucks...

Now should I go to work or not? "listen to your Body" the doc said when I told him about how I used to take cold shower to control fever in SAF. "the body is chilling yet you go and take cold shower, listen to your body" The doc reminded me again.

My Good Friend, NN's Birthday

Hi there! I did not forget your birthday!
1st November 1980 is the day the world receive yet another little rascal that has made my life a little interesting.

I'm Sick........

I knew NN since Year 1 uni (1999 Feb), no we did not talk much, all that we do at most was acknowledge each other pressence (did we?) and me hearing stories about how many guys' heart this hot little girl breaks.

She really came into my life and cause "terror" after I returns from Melbourne (2003 Feb). Our friends' circle intertwine and we partied at each others place often enough to have her allowing me to stay over at her place and explore Japan together (which we made a good team, me thinking I have japanese speaking guide, she thinking she has a tourist friend to shield her from speaking japanese) our adventures are hilarious, from Ando's Awaji to cute Ito's Library. We rushed and packed our shedule with numerous architecture icons. We were the passionate architecture students. We saw Ando's first works, we had fun sketching, taking photos and making fun of each other.



Then, I snored in the night, first was the pillow, then the water cascading down my face, last straw was the threat to murder me at Awaji in the dark and moonless night. An Alfred Hitchcock moment. I was so scared that I dare not snore anymore.


Awaji, Thanks Ando!

We used to talk often, over coffees and beer, about life, about future and making fun of other's predicament. Sadly not so often now. Distance, time zones, work, commitments, excuses...

But here I am raising a toast to a good friend, enjoy your birthday, I am sure you did and continue to stay naughty and cheerful! Cheers!

Capitol Cinema Windows & Sewage Pipes

Sewage pipes, stack pipes placed outside of the building. Kinda of make sense as you do not want the shit in your building.

Capitol Theatre

C A P I T O L T H E A T R E ,
19 5 8 During the 1950's & 1960's, the Shaw Brothers were some of Asia's most prolific filmmakers, and, like other film companies of the same era, they owned and operated a number of their own movie theatres in Singapore, Hong Kong, and elsewhere to show their own work and foreign features. All of the films on this marquee are imports; if the titles are of any indication, this postcard dates from around 1958. The main feature is Bengal Brigade; also showing are The Law and Jake Wade, Vice Exposé, and The Flesh Is Weak. I don't know how long the electric buses plied Singapore's streets, but my Singaporean wife, born in 1964, cannot remember any from her youth. Tri-shaws, like that in the lower left of the postcard, still travel some of Singapore's streets as for the benefit of tourists.
Taken from: http://www.straitscafe.com/postcards/singapore1/marquee.htm


This view from the Swisshotel Stamford, shows the Capitol building on the corner of Stamford Road / North Bridge Road in Singapore in 2006. The Capitol Theatre, which became a cinema in 1946, and is now closed, is the building with the green barrel roof and prominent red tiled fly tower to the left of shot.
Taken from irishcine's photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43944923@N00/256222713/


Taken from: http://www.a2o.com.sg/a2o/public/search/index.html

The building is still there, go down and feel passing of time,
look at the mild steel windows, the peeling walls,
feel the spirit of the place, glide through the escape stairs, into the walls within
stop, pause, imagine, experience, learn.

move 2 steps back to progress forward.

Prints for Sale

Anybody looking for artwork? Size is about 210mm by 148mm (A6) Includes negative.

Free or a token sum to ppl who appreciates them :)

Yellow Submarine

It has been a year since I wrote, many things has passed, Maybe I will write it down someday, but not today. Today marks the day I bought a Lego set for myself. Can't help singing "Yellow Submarine" to myself while paying for it...

In the town where I was born,
Lived a man who sailed to sea,
And he told us of his life,
In the land of submarines,
So we sailed off to the sun,
Till we found a sea of green,
And we lived beneath the waves,
In our yellow submarine,
We all live in a yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine,
We all live in a yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine,
And our friends are all aboard,
Many more of them live next door,
And the band begins to play.

(Trumpets play)

We all live in a yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine,
We all live in a yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine,
As we live a life of ease,
Everyone of us has all we need, has all we need
Sky of blue, sky of blue, and sea of green, sea of green
In our yellow, in our yellow submarine, submarine, blaha
We all live in a yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine,
We all live in a yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine,
We all live in a yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine,
We all live in a yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine.

Life seems much lighter now. Muscles do not ache as much. Strangely alcohol appears to be a tool for bonding and not drowning. We all live in a yellow submarine...

URA & D-Cups

URA have said the design (Clarke Quay) had to be sensitive to the existing conservation buildings....

Mr Pimbley (Stephen Pimbley, a partner at Alsop Architects) says he has 'never felt obliged to design in context and would hope that no other Singaporean architect is thus obliged'.

According to him, context can mean many things. 'Unfortunately the easy route of pastiche is usually omnipresent,' he says. 'The original refurbishment of Clarke Quay was a rather unfortunate built-to-look-old attempt at recreating something that no longer held value. I believe this led to its eventual demise,'

From the article "Secrets of Clarke Quay's floating D-cups revealed"
Published May 21, 2005 in BT by ARTHUR SIM

Definition of Pastiche:
A work of art that intentionally imitates other works, often to ridicule or satire

We are back to colonial days where the West dominate our thinking. The irony is that I agree with him (Mr Pimbley). The funny issue with Singapore is we are never upfront about our intentions. We do not do conservation, we did re-construction, we did a themed agglomeration of buildings. The theme is "Old Singapore Warehouses". The purpose is to attract tourist. It is Disneyland Singapore style. Why must we hide under the label "consevation"? So that Singapore cannot be labeled a tabula rasa? So that we can be a world class conservation hub?

Definition of tabula rasa:
Latin for "a blank tablet." This phrase was used by John Locke (1632-1704) as he set forth his empirical theory of knowledge to indicate the state of the human mind at birth. Essentially, he contended that human beings are not born with any prior knowledge or disposition; thus, their minds could only be influenced by sense experience.

Can we just be honest with ourselves? Must we always hide our agenda? It is so much more productive if we make our intentions upfront and do not participate in actions that contradict with our intentions. If we want to do conservation, lets do conservation and not a billboard for Dulux paints. If we want to do a themed park to attract tourist. Lets not talk about conservation. If we are doing a themed park, I wish that the people of the land will rise and oppose it.

URA have said the design (Clarke Quay) had to be sensitive to the existing conservation buildings....
Isn't the above a funny statement? The existing conservation buildings are so vandalized that it does not resemble the old. The new design need to be sensitive to a themed version. A double movement backwards? Luckily Mr Pimbley has this response: 'I never felt obliged to design in context and would hope that no other Singaporean architect is thus obliged'



Secrets of Clarke Quay's floating D-cups revealed
Published May 21, 2005 in BT
Cabaret act is making waves at the $80m revamp of the riverside entertainment district
By ARTHUR SIM

(SINGAPORE) Those giant D-cups that line the Singapore River along Clarke Quay finally make some sense now. Crazy Horse Paris, the all-female cabaret show that 'celebrates the art of the nude', will play out there every night - twice a night - from December. And the floating bras couldn't be a better advertisement. Crazy Horse Paris, brought in by Eng Wah Organisation, will be just one of the new attractions coming to Clarke Quay when the $80 million redevelopment there is completed some time in mid-2006.

So far the other big tenant - lifestyle and entertainment development and management company LifeBrandz - has only said it has secured a deal to bring in Dashing Diva, a funky New York-based nail spa. And whatever else it's planning for the 80,000 sq ft or 30 per cent of the entire Clarke Quay development that it will take up remains a mystery.

Eng Wah's decision to take up 15,000 sq ft was a case of love at first sight. Managing director Goh Min Yen says she and Didier Bernardin, part-owner and director of Crazy Horse Paris, were immediately taken by the ambience of the building they checked out.
'With its traditional red shutters and the red pillars, we could instantly visualise the cabaret with the beautiful dancers on stage, the busy bar behind us and the classy restaurant complimenting the cabaret,' she says. 'We, especially Didier, felt an instant affinity with the red colours of the building as it matched the red used by Crazy Horse Paris, and took it as a sign that this should be the home for the new Crazy Horse cabaret in Singapore.'

Ms Goh also says Clarke Quay meets all the requirements that reflect the character of the Crazy Horse Paris, including the traditional buildings. She prefers not to comment on the D-cups, but likes the idea that Clarke Quay will be a 24-hour entertainment hub. The colourfully-lit D-Cups - sorry, canopies - that are part of Phase One of the redevelopment certainly help create a 24-hour atmosphere. But reaction to them has been mixed. For a start, everyone is stumped. Are they meant to be mushrooms? Tents? Brassieres?

CapitaLand, which owns Clarke Quay, calls them 'Blue Bells' - though they're not blue and don't look much like flowers. This aside, they offer shade. And at night they come alive with lights. Each 'Blue Bell' hovers over a 'Lilipad' suspended from a steel stem. The Lilipads - which look more like Venus Flytraps, in what could be a subliminal reference to Crazy Horse - are raised platforms for al fresco dining that cantilever 1.5m over the riverbank.
Clarke Quay was designed by renowned British architect Will Alsop and his firm Alsop Architects, whose controversial work in the UK has raised some eyebrows. He was once called architecture's 'Mr Blobby' by British media because his buildings are said by some to look like blobs.

Singapore architect Aamer Taher, who studied at the same school as Alsop - The Architectural Association in London - and has met the man says: 'Alsop is a nice guy but I hate the mushrooms (the D-cups)'.

Mr Aamer's main gripe is that they don't seem to be in character with the existing buildings. 'I understand the need for shelter, but did they have to be so big? You can't see the facades of the old buildings any more,' he says. Mr Aamer would have prefered something a little more subtle - but this was not to be. Stephen Pimbley, a partner at Alsop Architects, says the brief from CapitaLand was to transform Clarke Quay 'and provide a new language of installations that make Clarke Quay an enjoyable place to be'.

Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) approval was required for the cantilevered 'Lilipads' and 'Blue Bells'. And Mr Pimbley says URA was 'engaged positively throughout the design process'. So it's certain that URA would have said the design had to be sensitive to the existing conservation buildings, though where this discussion went, no one will know. Mr Pimbley says he has 'never felt obliged to design in context and would hope that no other Singaporean architect is thus obliged'.

According to him, context can mean many things. 'Unfortunately the easy route of pastiche is usually omnipresent,' he says. 'The original refurbishment of Clarke Quay was a rather unfortunate built-to-look-old attempt at recreating something that no longer held value. I believe this led to its eventual demise,' Mr Pimbley adds.

CapitaLand says Phase One of the redevelopment, which includes 30 F&B and entertainment outlets along the 200m river front, has been a success, with F&B outlets there reporting a 20 per cent rise in business compared with pre-renovation days.
Lachlan Gyde, vice-president of retail at CapitaLand, says the development is now aimed at PMEBs - professionals, managers, executives and businessmen. This was after about $300,000 spent on research revealed that there are about 1.5 million people in Singapore who fit this demographic and have 'nowhere to go'.

Some, like a 31-year-old media industry producer A S Syereen, like the new 'classier' Clarke Quay because 'it doesn't look so neglected any more'. And the Blue Bells? 'They grow on you'. This will be good news for Mr Gyde, who says comments so far have been mixed. But as the Australian national points out, when the Sydney Opera House was revealed 'everyone hated it, but Now everyone loves it. And that's half the fun of doing something cutting-edge'.

GP Sitrep

Graduation Project is back on track for now. 2 weeks ago, I decided to go back to square 1. Taking inspiration from the conference in Melbourne. The funny thing is that it was my tutor that point out a design principle that I can used.

I was at that lecture.
I did notice the similiarity in our design methodology.
I was busy thinking how I can modify my version to make it more workable.
I did not think about taking inspiration from his and model mine after his.
I am too egoistic to learn.
It was my tutor that hint on the possibility of learning from the master.
I am wrong.
The project is so much stronger now.
May this be the last time I allow my ego to overshadow the path to knowledge.
I am thankful for the second chance.

Is Modernism still relevant?

Modernism arises as a rebellion against classical methodology. Modernism died because it has no longer the “Cutting Edge” ability. Everything is deemed to be innovative and avante grade. The question asked is this still a rebellious movement? The movement has lost its cause. Hence the rise of post-modernism, post modernism is loosely termed. It does not have a set agenda other then to signify that it is after modernism.

But why are there people still designing modernism buildings? Is the struggle still valid? In Singapore, modernism is still relevant because we still have not resolved the inside-outside relation. Inside are inside and exterior remains exterior. The climate renders any attempt to bridge the difference a foregone conclusion. The culture of air conditioning has not help in the cause. Interior space = air conditioned. Exterior spaces = uncomfortable, places one avoid.

However, there are merits in the nature and we need to resolve the reluctance of the society to engage the outside. Can we return to modernism to unearth techniques of engaging the nature?

There seem to be two prong attack needed in Singapore scene. First is to rebel against the society’s preference for air conditioned spaces. We need to provide comfortable spaces, it need not to be air conditioned. If only we can lower the temperature without resorting to air conditioning, the task of overcoming the prevailing mode of operation becomes easier.

Secondly, the highly controlled environment gives rise to a need to rebel. Cause and effect, without the controls, rebellion seems pointless. Only in the presence of enormous control devices, there is opportunity to rebel against. A movement is needed to make better a space. Controlled spaces are sterile. A movement to unshackle the sterility and enable people to own the space and overcome the sterility is needed.

This is why I choose to come back to Singapore. It is exciting.

NUS Architecture Bash

The location is weird. Traditionally, night time Mount Faber is reserved for couples, the guitar under moonlight watching stars, city lights below our feet scenario, but the archi students are now throwing a bash there. My heart goes out to that poor guy who plans to take his girl up that day, he will need a contingency plan, Labrador Park seems like a good idea. Thanks to NUS archi students.

So much for respecting the land and its traditional program. The idea of injecting a new program into a currently perfectly working condition seems wrong, you do not hold a bash at location that do not normally accommodates bashs simply because you think it is a unique idea. It is a unique idea to hold a bash inside the law courts, but because the program traditionally associated with such a place will object and their voice is much stronger than dating couples, nobody dares to hold a bash inside the courts. It will be unique if the Archi Bash is held in the old power station at Labrador Park or some disused HDB flat's roof top or even Chinatown alleyways. Alleyways traditionally the "back of house" for shophouses has became the intimate spaces for a variety of programs in other countries when the sun sets.

The point is that you do not remove a place of its traditional program because you want to try something new. You try to change the program when the place has no useful traditional or current program and u inject new life into it or you think that the current program is not functioning well enough. Apparently the organizing committee decide that couples on Mount Faber at night is not fully utilizing the space well enough.

What would be better is hold the Bash at the cable car tower instead! Then as the night progresses, couples couples can take cable car to Mount Faber for some private space. Furthermore the committee can run a "hire a car" scheme on a hourly rate there. One do not make money from the ticket but from hiring out the cars. To minimized accidents due to drink driving, the committee can, in the afternoon parked the cars nicely spaced on the road side with a number. Couples arrived at Mount Faber are given "room keys". Although the guy bringing up his girl for some guitar under moonlight watching stars, city lights below our feet will be disappointed because he cannot find a parking spot but the disappointment is different, at one unluckiness rather then at a establishment. The traditional function of the space is not changed.