The Shanghai Riddle Project
In response to Shanghai - September 2009
Showing posts with label Porosity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Porosity. Show all posts
Friday, October 9, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Remaking of Shanghai Local Spaces
Lu, Pan. (2008) The Remaking of Shanghai Local Spaces, http://pi.library.yorku.ca/ojs/index.php/soi/article/view/17740/16530
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2. Masculine aspirations overlooked variety of local spaces of Shabghai urbanity in ways that have raised the power of global capital to the status of becoming the exclusive tool for understanding the foundation of both local & global imaginaries
. some local spaces trivial in math of globalisation, some deeply embedded in local soil, some traverse global & local awareness
. Shanghai is as divided and multilayered, Imaginary layers of shapes that overlap and intermingle in the form of a palimpsest that blurs the indentities of space in spaces of identity
.local > global systems, the micro affecting the global
.Duolun Road, accommodated some of the best known masters of Chinese modern lit., entrepeneurs & politicians
30s & 30s golden time, pedestrian access
3. Duolun Rd Cultural Celebrities St, architectural variety, charm lost
Shaoxing Rd, significant cultural landmark, tranquil, nostalgia
5. localness defined and redefined outside global aspiration
. cultural spaces have been reborn not only in the sense that the formation of local objects - old traditions return, hybridism emerges
6. DDM warehouse, 98 Taiwanese Deng Kunyan
7. Shanghai Sculpture Space, Shanghai Diao Su Zhong Xin, Tian Zi Fang (Shanghai Soho)
.Modern capitalism and modernism once synchronised with the world, came to a halt for nearly 30 years
8. Collin Rowe, 'Collage City'
10. 30s, 50 yrs of de-urbanisation, caused discontent & conflict between urban form and function
11. While the desire of consumption can be projected onto the temporal effect of refurbished urban spaces, time past is not necessarily the only magical spell underpining the charisma of old architecture for locals
12. Shanghai is Hype. We talk about it without seeing the multifaceted reality of this city
. fragmentation
13. Shanghai- decentralising itself in both temporal and spatial terms
______________________________________________________
2. Masculine aspirations overlooked variety of local spaces of Shabghai urbanity in ways that have raised the power of global capital to the status of becoming the exclusive tool for understanding the foundation of both local & global imaginaries
. some local spaces trivial in math of globalisation, some deeply embedded in local soil, some traverse global & local awareness
. Shanghai is as divided and multilayered, Imaginary layers of shapes that overlap and intermingle in the form of a palimpsest that blurs the indentities of space in spaces of identity
.local > global systems, the micro affecting the global
.Duolun Road, accommodated some of the best known masters of Chinese modern lit., entrepeneurs & politicians
30s & 30s golden time, pedestrian access
3. Duolun Rd Cultural Celebrities St, architectural variety, charm lost
Shaoxing Rd, significant cultural landmark, tranquil, nostalgia
5. localness defined and redefined outside global aspiration
. cultural spaces have been reborn not only in the sense that the formation of local objects - old traditions return, hybridism emerges
6. DDM warehouse, 98 Taiwanese Deng Kunyan
7. Shanghai Sculpture Space, Shanghai Diao Su Zhong Xin, Tian Zi Fang (Shanghai Soho)
.Modern capitalism and modernism once synchronised with the world, came to a halt for nearly 30 years
8. Collin Rowe, 'Collage City'
10. 30s, 50 yrs of de-urbanisation, caused discontent & conflict between urban form and function
11. While the desire of consumption can be projected onto the temporal effect of refurbished urban spaces, time past is not necessarily the only magical spell underpining the charisma of old architecture for locals
12. Shanghai is Hype. We talk about it without seeing the multifaceted reality of this city
. fragmentation
13. Shanghai- decentralising itself in both temporal and spatial terms
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Isidro Blasco
New York - based Isidro Blasco who combines architecture, photography and sculptural installations to explore vision and perception.
Currently on show:
Dominik Mersch Gallery
2 Danks Street
Waterloo/Sydney
Until August 29th 2009
http://www.dominikmerschgallery.com/Artist.aspx?id=23
Atmosphere, Atmosphere
Bruno Latour
An entry for the catalogue of Olaf Eliasson The Weather Project, New Tate Gallery, 2003, pp. 29-41
see: Peter Sloterdijk, Olafur Eliasson
http://www.petersloterdijk.net/
www.olafureliasson.net/
Olafur Eliasson's installation The Weather Project, Tate Modern (London) 10/16/03 through 03/21/04.
29. Envelopes, spheres, skins, ambiences: these are the real 'conditions of possibility' that philosophy has vainly attempted to dig out of totally inaccessible infrastructures.
Sloterdijk is to philosophy = Eliasson is to art... tired old divisions between wild & domesticated, private & public, technical & organic, are simply ignored, replaced by a set of experimentations on the conditions that nurture our collective lives.
Sciences have expanded to such an extent that they have transformed the whole world into a laboratory, artists have perforce become white coats.
That we are all engaged ina set of collective experiments that have over-spilled the strict confines of the laboratory needs no more proof than reading the newspaper or watching the television news.
We have entered the experimental age... we have no idea how to pursue collective experiments in the confusing atmosphere of a whole culture.
30. The laboratory has extended its walls to the whole planet.
What is the difference between this collective experiment (example:global warming) and what used to be called a 'political' issue? Nothing. ... These experiments made on us, by us and for us have no protocol. No one is in charge.
31. Old English and Old German 'thing' meant a case, a contoversy, a cause to be collectively decided at the 'Thing', the assembly or forum. Icelandic Parliament = Althing. Things = matters of concern.
...tbc
An entry for the catalogue of Olaf Eliasson The Weather Project, New Tate Gallery, 2003, pp. 29-41
see: Peter Sloterdijk, Olafur Eliasson
http://www.petersloterdijk.net/
www.olafureliasson.net/
Olafur Eliasson's installation The Weather Project, Tate Modern (London) 10/16/03 through 03/21/04.
29. Envelopes, spheres, skins, ambiences: these are the real 'conditions of possibility' that philosophy has vainly attempted to dig out of totally inaccessible infrastructures.
Sloterdijk is to philosophy = Eliasson is to art... tired old divisions between wild & domesticated, private & public, technical & organic, are simply ignored, replaced by a set of experimentations on the conditions that nurture our collective lives.
Sciences have expanded to such an extent that they have transformed the whole world into a laboratory, artists have perforce become white coats.
That we are all engaged ina set of collective experiments that have over-spilled the strict confines of the laboratory needs no more proof than reading the newspaper or watching the television news.
We have entered the experimental age... we have no idea how to pursue collective experiments in the confusing atmosphere of a whole culture.
30. The laboratory has extended its walls to the whole planet.
What is the difference between this collective experiment (example:global warming) and what used to be called a 'political' issue? Nothing. ... These experiments made on us, by us and for us have no protocol. No one is in charge.
31. Old English and Old German 'thing' meant a case, a contoversy, a cause to be collectively decided at the 'Thing', the assembly or forum. Icelandic Parliament = Althing. Things = matters of concern.
...tbc
Insider-Outsider Perspectives of Guanxi
Lee Mei Yi & Paul Ellis
Business Horizons
Jan-Feb 2008
25. The preservation of 'face' and the accumulation of favours owed (renqing) are the key drivers underlying the concept of guanxi, which has been defined as personal relations or connections.
From a Chinese perspective, social chaos is avoided, not by institutional law, but by an individual's acceptance of his proper place and role in society. In such an environment, business cannot be conducted without the facilitating role of guanxi.
26. Guanxi denotes a personal relationship / common point of reference or kinship, if not already existent that must be established through social interaction and reciprocal conduct and implication.
27. Severe handicap to outsiders, must invest resources and income to overcome significant cultural barrier. Biased exchange. 'crooked'
guanxi xue - the use of social relations to accomplish tasks
29. guanxi = corruption?
Business Horizons
Jan-Feb 2008
25. The preservation of 'face' and the accumulation of favours owed (renqing) are the key drivers underlying the concept of guanxi, which has been defined as personal relations or connections.
From a Chinese perspective, social chaos is avoided, not by institutional law, but by an individual's acceptance of his proper place and role in society. In such an environment, business cannot be conducted without the facilitating role of guanxi.
26. Guanxi denotes a personal relationship / common point of reference or kinship, if not already existent that must be established through social interaction and reciprocal conduct and implication.
27. Severe handicap to outsiders, must invest resources and income to overcome significant cultural barrier. Biased exchange. 'crooked'
guanxi xue - the use of social relations to accomplish tasks
29. guanxi = corruption?
Friday, August 14, 2009
David Trubridge
The Story
The Three Baskets of Knowledge is a new lighting installation, which was on show for the first time at Superstudio Piu in Zona Tortona as part of Milan Design Week.
In the mythology of the New Zealand Maori, after the creation of the earth and life on it, the demigod Tane was sent up to the heavens to receive the knowledge that mankind needed to live on earth. The ascent was a great struggle against adversity, but once he was admitted into the heavens he was given the knowledge in three baskets or kete. Descriptions of the contents vary, depending on the telling, and are freely open to interpretation. You can gather your own knowledge.
Kete Aronui, knowledge of the earth and the natural world, which is for all (body).
Kete Tuauri, our rational knowledge, which we keep for ourselves (mind).
Kete Tuaatea, knowledge of the spiritual world, which we give out for others (spirit).
These three need to be in balance to live harmoniously on earth. Currently our rational knowledge is dominating our spirit and empathy for the earth. This installation suggests a redress to a balanced state. The three lights shine equally on the earth, overlapping at the centre in harmony.
We believe that if design today does not contribute towards a better way of living, it is both irrelevant and irresponsible. Our vision is to be able to promote ideas more than products. We do not create a new form to seduce you into buying something you do not need. We tell stories to nourish and to spread wisdom. This installation is created to feed your mind, your body and your spirit – to give you something to think about, to connect you to nature, and to nourish you spiritually.
Source: www.davidtrubridge.com
Human-Centered Design
Richard Buchanan
Buchanan R., (2004) Human-Centered Design: Changing Perspectives of Design Education in the East and West, Design Issues: 20 (1), Winter 2004
30. Market economy emered in the 1980s, new ideas about modern design also entered the country
'arts-and-crafts' toward 'form and function' - Zhou Zhi Wang
uneasy relationship of traditional and modern approaches to design education in China continues to the present
whether and how China can be transformed from the maker of products design elsewhere in the world to an original source of design
'Equipping for the future: An International Conference on Design Education in China'
31. consider whether past practices and theory in Chinese design are suited to the new circumstances of international economic development.
East vs West, similar problems with different solutions, different social and cultural circumstances
32. Chinese Industry cheap labour costs, technical prowess, well skilled and well educated workers. Japan and Koreans surpassed, but wages will inevitably rise - what effect will this have?
***difference will be the future of design thinking - making products desirable abroad and at home
33. in both cultures, Design Ed begins as apprenticeship (?)
similarity: design <> fine arts = 'making', 'poesis' to make = poetry
devision of arts and design in West (not East) - dominant dialectical thought
34. Design Ed <> Art Ed
Obsessions w style and self expression
West broader, East imitation of Masters and style, West humanism - hujman centered approach
'Design is an art of making products that serve people'
West. balance of fine art, engineering, social science and design harmony
35. West - search for knowledge, no longer is design a self contained discipline
36. East obsession w form, West creative problem solving, not troubled w form giving - but repetitious
Western curriculum more diverse
37. Gen Eds, importance in Western cultures of diversity to creative breadth of product
38. research with Masters - interaction design
39. What are the philosophical and theoretical roots of Chinese Design and Design Education that will continue to influence their development?
Buchanan R., (2004) Human-Centered Design: Changing Perspectives of Design Education in the East and West, Design Issues: 20 (1), Winter 2004
30. Market economy emered in the 1980s, new ideas about modern design also entered the country
'arts-and-crafts' toward 'form and function' - Zhou Zhi Wang
uneasy relationship of traditional and modern approaches to design education in China continues to the present
whether and how China can be transformed from the maker of products design elsewhere in the world to an original source of design
'Equipping for the future: An International Conference on Design Education in China'
31. consider whether past practices and theory in Chinese design are suited to the new circumstances of international economic development.
East vs West, similar problems with different solutions, different social and cultural circumstances
32. Chinese Industry cheap labour costs, technical prowess, well skilled and well educated workers. Japan and Koreans surpassed, but wages will inevitably rise - what effect will this have?
***difference will be the future of design thinking - making products desirable abroad and at home
33. in both cultures, Design Ed begins as apprenticeship (?)
similarity: design <> fine arts = 'making', 'poesis' to make = poetry
devision of arts and design in West (not East) - dominant dialectical thought
34. Design Ed <> Art Ed
Obsessions w style and self expression
West broader, East imitation of Masters and style, West humanism - hujman centered approach
'Design is an art of making products that serve people'
West. balance of fine art, engineering, social science and design harmony
35. West - search for knowledge, no longer is design a self contained discipline
36. East obsession w form, West creative problem solving, not troubled w form giving - but repetitious
Western curriculum more diverse
37. Gen Eds, importance in Western cultures of diversity to creative breadth of product
38. research with Masters - interaction design
39. What are the philosophical and theoretical roots of Chinese Design and Design Education that will continue to influence their development?
欢迎进入上海城市规划馆网站
www.supec.org
Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Centre
Don't let the mundane-sounding name fool you: The Urban Planning Exhibition Centre is the city's monument to itself, stunningly showcasing Shanghai's development, past and present. Follow the crowds upstairs to a 1:500 scale model representing what the city should look like in 2020. You can find every individual building in Shanghai, from tiny one-story alley houses to towering skyscrapers. Anxious residents crane their necks over the model to see if their pleasant French concession houses will be left standing. The museum also features scaled models of yesteryear Shanghai, plus side-by-side photo comparisons of how various intersections looked decades ago and today—the change is mind-boggling.
Open Monday-Thursday 9 am-5 pm, Friday-Sunday 9 am-6 pm.
30 yuan.
100 Renmin Dadao, People's Square, Shanghai.
Phone 6372-2077. http://www.supec.org.
Source: http://www.professionaltravelguide.com/Destinations/Shanghai/See-and-Do/Sightseeing/Attractions/Museums/Shanghai-Urban-Planning-Exhibition-Centre-p1733421
Porosity & Richard Goodwin
Porosity Studio est. 1996
Ancient Chinese scholars were fascinated with porous rocks that became known as 'scholar rocks'. The more richly porous the structures were, balancing air with mass, the more valuable they became.
The 'Sierpensky Sponge', a theoretical cube which is infinitely porous and hence: 'more than a surface, less than a volume'
(Ursprung, Phillip. (2003) p. 487)
Porosity: The revision of public space in a city using public art to test the functional boundaries of built form.
The vision of the city as a landscape, which responds to the nomadic movements of the pedestrian. Porosity research will map nomadic space and overlay it with sendentary space.
East vs West / Teacher vs Student Centred Learning
www.richard-goodwin.com
The Future Cultures of Design
Prof. Kees Dorst
Discussion 'on the value different cultures can bring to the design professions'. 1
'cultural roots of the design professions are defined by Western thought'. 1
'Modernist design has lost its original ideological grounding. It has now become more of a stylistic preference than a way of constructing a better future world'. 2
'The impact of Modernism has been huge: through Modernism the Western cultures have lost their own ornamental languages, and Western designers have lost the very ability to create ornaments.' 2
Conflict between creating good modern design & being faithful to cultural tradition. 2
'In a complex world, we need all the richness of the different human expressions in the world cultures to feed into our design repertoire.' 3
'We need to understand that ... the way values are seen and created within a culture must be the basis for construing of design within that culture.' 3
Design as a child of Western thought. 3
Descriptors of Cultural Difference; Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long Term Orientation / 'face'. 5
Cultural Codes & Value Systems: Shamanic, Indian/Tibetan, Chinese/Japanese, Revelation Religions, Western Scientific. 8
'Chinese/Japanese tradition seeks harmony with the world: it sees the world as the dynamic operation of opposite forces (like Yin-Yang), where the attainment of balance is a key goal.' 8
Source: Dorst, K. (2008), The Future Cultures of Design, UTS
http://www.keesdorst.nl
The Shanghai Riddle, 2008
TransformationMaarten BAAS
Contrasts Gallery
Shanghai
15-08-08 to 04-09-08
Baas:
'Wood is not possible to melt. But yet it seems to melt. What is that? You don't actually know what it happening, but you just accept that it is happening.'
Drawing his inspiration from the city of Shanghai, Baas says: 'They do things you just couldn't find in Holland. There are so many contrasts over there. You don't know if something is new or old or fake or real or traditional or modern. This makes a kind of mixture which you can't understand, you just accept it.'
Baas has characterised Shanghai as 'a city full of contradictions, old/new, high tech/low tech, tradition/revolution, fake/real, cheap/expensive, original/copy. Together all these contradictions seem to form a big and interesting paradox, the complexity of which you can't exactly define. What you can feel is the atmosphere, the energy coming from it, a kind of chemical reaction to what's happening'.
Source: IconEye & Wallpaper* Online
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