Le Dernier Kri

Cool car in Kuwait

2009-09-01T21:25:00.001+01:00

Photos of the Week

2009-08-30T01:13:00.000+01:00

Final Film

2009-06-13T16:10:00.004+01:00

In this film I made a 1:1 rough version of the new piece concept and the moment the pieces fall, and how they feel under your feet. I wanted to capture the falling moment, as well as the breaking moment. The sound was an important factor as well.

The Pieces. New Objects.

2009-06-13T16:09:00.001+01:00

New Storyboard

2009-06-13T16:07:00.001+01:00

Final Plan

2009-06-13T16:00:00.001+01:00

Broken Object

2009-06-13T15:59:00.004+01:00

Hanging Objects

2009-06-13T15:56:00.000+01:00

1:1 Porcelain and Plaster Objects

2009-06-13T15:52:00.000+01:00

Object and Structure Growth

2009-06-13T15:43:00.001+01:00

Anxiety Tree Model

2009-06-13T15:38:00.001+01:00

Anxiety Garden Collages

2009-06-13T15:36:00.000+01:00

The Anxiety Garden

2009-06-13T15:27:00.002+01:00

In this plan the objects and structure are organised in a conservative way to create a private enclosed space that isolates the experience within the square. This arrangement is one example on how the structures can be placed and the type of experience it create. The number of structures also collaborates with the experience; the more trees on the site, the more crash zones. In this arrangement the circulation around the site is not disrupted by the structures which makes this arrangement more of an enclosed space.

This arrangement obstructs the circulation creating intentional disruption. People will be forced to walk through the structures and try to avoid the falling object.

In the arrangement underneath the structures are lined up in rows following the circulation paths to give the illusion that the pedestrian is walking through a path within a forest, experiencing the space without the structures invading their route.

Object Form Study

2009-06-13T15:24:00.001+01:00

I designed 4 different shapes to decide on the final object shape. I continued with the same wishbone shape as traditionally it is broken to make a wish. The hole in the centre is where the written wish will be scrolled into.

Forest Collage

2009-06-13T15:23:00.000+01:00

Forest Effect

2009-06-13T15:17:00.001+01:00

The Anxiety Garden is a forest of fragile wishes that shake in the wind and crash to the ground. They break into small fragments and the wish is released and no longer sits privately within the object. The wind blows and the pieces move around the site, littering the paths of the pedestrians. The wishes keep falling until the tree is completely bare.

Material Testing

2009-06-13T15:10:00.002+01:00

Tree Growth

2009-06-13T14:40:00.000+01:00

Tree Collage

2009-06-13T14:39:00.000+01:00

The Tree

2009-06-13T14:37:00.000+01:00

The Object

2009-06-13T14:34:00.000+01:00

Proposal 2 - The Anxiety Garden

2009-06-13T14:27:00.003+01:00

A de-stressing experience by the globe pub. There are over 100 people in and out of the Globe every weekday. They drink their sorrows and anxieties away only to go back home to start another stressful day. In the pub there is a booth and a pile of wishbones. These wishbones represent the frailty of human emotion. The booth supplies you with small pieces of paper where you can write your hopes, dreams, troubles and sorrows and send them out to the world.

The structure grows slowly as it accumulates everyones wishbones. The steel membranes start to get hidden by the wishbones until the skeleton is no longer visible. The wishbones create a garden with different spaces. It has animalistic behaviors and shakes nervously depending on whether the stocks are going up or down. Some pieces drop off whilst others remain high and strong.

Proposal 1 - FTSE plan and section

2009-06-13T14:16:00.006+01:00

Program Analysis

2009-06-13T14:15:00.000+01:00

Site Analysis

2009-06-13T14:14:00.000+01:00

Event Storyboard

2009-06-13T14:13:00.001+01:00

Evolution. Aggregation.

2009-06-13T14:09:00.002+01:00

The wishbone has evolved into a module that is split and reconnected to create an aggregate molecule representing the initial concept and fragility of the wishbone.

Aggregates are defined as materials formed from a loosely compacted mass of fragments or particles. My structure will be an aggregate of wishbone modules that are loosely or tightly connected with fishing wire to form clusters that are held by the surrounding buildings and tree.

Collage

2009-06-13T14:06:00.001+01:00

Connection Detail

2009-06-13T14:02:00.003+01:00

The connection for each wishbone will be a piece of string knotted through each bone. Some will be tied loosely and some will be tight. This will add sensitivity to my installation where some parts will be extremely fragile and other parts will be tight and harder to pull out, which in return, would vibrate the entire structure.

The Fracture Moment

2009-06-13T14:00:00.001+01:00

This is the moment the wishbone breaks. The person with the long part of the bone gets their wish granted. In this study I explore both the hand movements and the tension in the bone.

Structure Site

2009-06-13T13:57:00.002+01:00

My site is an isolated island located at the junction of Moorgate street and London Wall. It's a patch of green grass with a single Alderley tree planted at a corner. This is the site I filmed in my time-lapse film showing how it's frozen within the bustling environment of moorgate. I would like to place my installation around the tree to utilize the green patch that barely anyone uses.

Manifesto

2009-06-13T13:52:00.002+01:00

My installation will be a structure of wishbones held together to surround the tree on my site. It's wishbone components will be fragile enough to break and the user will make a wish upon breaking it.

we make our wishes and we break them...

Due to the financial situation around the world this temporary installation will act as a metaphor, showing the fragility of the stock exchange and the frailty of the people who were affected by it. In times like these we wish and hope more than ever, and with every wish the user will break a piece of my installation till it completely crumbles to the ground. The unreachable parts will be held high as a reminder of the structure's existence.

Concept 2 - Make a wish. Break a Wish.

2009-06-13T13:51:00.000+01:00

Wshes

2009-06-13T13:45:00.003+01:00

A wish is a hope or desire for something. fictionally, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for 'making a wish' or for wishes to 'come true' or 'be granted' are themes that are sometimes used. I would like to use wishes as my plot for the installation I am proposing. due to the financial situation around the world the stocks have collapsed and have become very fragile. I would like to use my installation as an interactive structure that shows how fragile our economy is and the more wishes we make, the more we destroy.

It will be a metaphor.

Detail Photos

2009-06-13T13:42:00.000+01:00

From Finding

2009-06-13T13:34:00.003+01:00

These wax models can help me define the form of my intervention. The images above show my idea of a full form crumbling and slowly disintegrating into a smaller structure. I like the organic forms and how the wax fold onto itself when it impacts water. What interests me more is that I had no control of the forms and they each result on how I pour water and the size of the container.

Detail Photos

2009-06-13T13:31:00.000+01:00

Caramel Models

2009-06-13T13:24:00.003+01:00

As I am interested in the event of fragile and brittle qualities I made a series of caramel models to explore different types of materiality. This is to establish the material I would like to use for my intervention. The caramel models also allows me to study fragile structures that are strong enough to stand yet too weak to carry load. As my intervention will be free standing I tried to explore different caramel forms that would be able to sit on the caramel columns.

Stalagmite vs Tree

2009-06-13T13:22:00.002+01:00

Concept 1 - Fragile. Temporary.

2009-06-13T13:11:00.004+01:00

My datum pivots around the moment a fragile object disintegrates or shatters. It is the moment just before and just after the form gets disrupted.

My intervention is a fragile installation that is affected by the users or the environment around it. I will be placing the intervention by the tree I recorded in my film to emphasize on it's temporary qualities versus the trees strong and constant form.

The images below show my first concept and literal attempt at creating a fragile bubble installation that deflates when people interact with it. Once entering the bubble, the user would allow air to escape until it completely deflates to the ground and cannot be used.

Fragility

2009-06-13T13:06:00.003+01:00

A fragile object is something that can easily break, get shattered, damaged, is delicate, brittle and frail. The bubble skin is very fragile and can easily burst. I am interested in this materiality in contrast with the tree's strong exterior. my intervention will be fragile and temporary next to the solid state of the tree.

Tree vs Bubble

2009-06-13T13:03:00.002+01:00

This is a comparison study between the Tree and the Bubble. It's interesting how they both expand in ring form however the tree does not have a fragile membrane and it's lifespan is in years rather than in seconds. Although it has a tough core, the tree does have fragile qualities like the leaves and the thin twigs.

Tree LifeSpan

2009-06-13T12:58:00.003+01:00

The tree I filmed on my site is an Alderly tree. This type of tree is commonly planted in the City of London and their average lifespan is 65 years. I estimated the age of my tree from it's width and height as the age of the tree is scripted in it's trunk. The drawing above is a trace of a twig's rings that I pulled off from the original tree.

The Moment

2009-06-13T12:55:00.002+01:00

I wanted to look closer into the very moment a bubble bursts. I filmed a bubble landing onto a sharp object, and slowed the movie down a lot. I then pulled out stills from the movie to try and show the instance the bubble burst. It was really interesting to see the details of the water specks as the scatter into the air, it really highlights the fragility of the bubble's soapy membrane.

Bubble Journey

2009-06-13T12:52:00.001+01:00

This is the Journey of Bubble A as it travels down from it's source to the ground.

Bubble

2009-06-13T12:49:00.002+01:00

After looking at the journey of the bubble and tree I was very interested in their life span. As our brief is about time, I decided to study the time it take for a bubble to form and burst. The drawing above shows the bubble at 1 second to the moment it bursts, 16 seconds. Each color is a moment in time as the fragile skin of the bubble expands.

Site Photos

2009-06-13T12:48:00.000+01:00

My Site

2009-06-13T12:40:00.007+01:00

My site is Moorgate and is a business area located in the City of London. Famous for the Barbican Estate and Centre, Moorgate is a rich area and has buildings owned by the biggest banks and firms in the world like JP Morgans, City Bank, UBS etc. During the day it's exciting and active, however at night it is dead and dark.

Time Lapse

2009-06-13T12:29:00.004+01:00

There is a tree on my site that sits on an island of grass and is beautifully lit at night with pre-christmas lights. However, the pedestrians keep walking around it and it becomes a beautiful thing that goes unnoticed.

Slow Motion

2009-06-13T11:51:00.005+01:00

This is a short slow motion film that I created to show beautiful things that go unnoticed on my site. This is the journey of bubble formation from a small fountain step on the Barbican Estate in Moorgate London.

Platform 4

2009-06-13T11:38:00.004+01:00

Lost in time:

Unmasking the moment

All things are in a state of change. Everything is an event, each unfolding at differing speeds. Our challenge is to reveal the magic of the world as an ever-evolving constellation of happenings through time.

This year Platform 4 were explorers in time. The unit explored temporary, perpetual and repetitive happenings; tracking moments of slow shifting and capturing flashes of instant transition. We basked in the explosive magic of the instant and gazed at the slow burn of the eternal.

A series of briefs [Record - Pause - Edit - Play] explored notions of sequence, choreography and narrative through film, drawing, photography, animation, writing and making. As part of the process of design the students were expected to test elements of their proposals through a series of films, built fragments, working models and 1:1 installations.

At the start of the year each student was asked to produce one time-lapse and one slow motion film of a chosen site. This then informed their choice of time period within which to work. The developed proposals were then reinserted into their context and reanimated using film, working models, and time-based drawing. This culminated in proposals that are not merely static architectural objects but active participants in their site over time.

Dare to Dream

2008-09-22T22:52:00.003+01:00

I was lucky to arrive in London in time to catch the last day of the 100% design exhibition. There were plenty of cool stuff but only 10% of the products on show were original. One product, however, stood out more than the rest. More than the cool waterfall effect showers and glass fireplaces on moveable tables. What stood out in my opinion, was the Lomme Bed.

Cycle 13 launched their new egg designed production last weekend at 100% design.The bed has been developed over a number of years by young Polish designer Agnieszka Bernacka, and has just gone into production. Lomme, which stands for Light Over Matter Mind Evolution, incorporates sound and light therapies which supposedly help people sleep better. It had been a concept prototype for a 2 years and now it is a product that can be bought, and if it wasn't priced at 30'000 pounds I would bought it that day. It's a bed that offers so much more than a place to sleep, light therapy, sound therapy, massage and anti-magnetic protection from harmful rays while you sleep.

The Lomme Bed qualities include:

Light

In addition Lomme features a unique light therapy alarm clock. After you have been lulled into a deep restful sleep by the gradual fading light of a simulated sunset, waken naturally as light from the virtual sunrise plays on your skin.

Sound

Forming a protective cocoon, Lomme limits external noise to distance you from the outside world. An iPod has been invisibly installed to enable the sleeper to listen to relaxing music, sounds and guided meditations. Advice can be given on the kind of sounds recommended for waking up and falling asleep.

Massage

Massage therapy is known to deepen relaxation and improve sleep quality and the Lomme mattress is available with an in-built massage system offering a choice of massage options.

Mattress

The standard Lomme mattress is characterized by high degree of functionality, quality and durability.

Protection

Within the shell of Lomme there is a special system which blocks harmful electromagnetic waves and radiation.

I would love to wake up in a bed like this some day.

The Greenest Museum on Earth

2008-09-18T22:58:00.005+01:00

The California Academy of Sciences consists of 12 different buildings such as the planetarium, aquarium and natural history museum. It is located in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park and is seeking to become the city's greenest building. They hired the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano who is famous for collaborating the Centre Georges Pompidou (Pompidou Center) in Paris, 1977. Renzo unified the 12 buildings to create a single 410,000 square foot building to provide more space but on less land, and return one acre to the park. The main aspect of this project is the two acre undulating "green" roof which is just one of many sustainable qualities that has been implemented on this building.

"It is like cutting a piece out of the park, lifting it up, and then putting the museum under so we wouldn’t lose any green space,” says Olaf de Nooyer, an RPBW partner. With the natural history museum as a client, de Nooyer says, “the green idea was something that we thought had to be integrated into the design.”

The building also houses a spherical (rain forest) biosphere. It heats/cools/ventilates itself and recycled 100% of the materials from the demolition of the old (earthquake damaged) building. It cost $488 million to renovate it. But I guess that's the cost of going green. Renzo also retained the facade of the original academy which appeased san francisco’s perpetually problematic “preservationists.”

Few, if any, buildings of this stature come close to making their sustainability programs comprehensible as well as visually inspiring components of their design. Green buildings often look much like other buildings, though they feature low-flow toilets, off-putting fluorescent lighting, and some recycled steel. The elegance, explicitness, and brio of the academy building’s green agenda—and its powerful execution—will not only bring it accolades and world fame but also serve as a spark for important dialogue about design’s role in addressing the crucial environmental concerns of this century.

I would talk about it in more detail but I believe this video walk-through will describe it better than I ever can. There is so much within one building I wouldn't want to bore you with the "green" details.

Museum Walk-Through on Wired.com

BMW GINA

2008-09-17T00:06:00.006+01:00

Although I'm not a huge fan of BMW and I find their designs crude and repetitive, a friend of mine made me do a double take when he mentioned a green car by BMW. To prove him wrong, I wanted to see if this was true. Fortunately for him it was, and I like BMW now.

Last week the crude car company unveiled their new model. GINA Light Visionary. Apparently this concept has been highly anticipated and it's concept is extremely original and would transform the traditional boundaries of car design. GINA, which stands for Geometry and Functions In "N" Adaptations (they left out the F in GINA), is made out of cloth. To be more precise, it has a seamless fabric polyurethane-coated Lycra sking which is pulled taut around the metal frames and carbon fibre wires. This makes it a sustainable, eco-friendly design as it requires far less energy to produce in comparison to the traditional BMW models. It's weight is also significantly reduced which makes it fuel-efficient.

Most imprtantly though, I would like to talk about the detailing of this model. The doors open like a Lambo and create beautiful rippled creases, however when it's closed it is completely smooth. You can acces the engine through a slit on the hood. The fabric is opaque translucent so the taillights shine through and a motor pulls back the fabric to expose the headlights. The interior is as equally sophisticated. The steering wheel and gauges swing into place and the headrest rises from the seat once the driver is seated, making it easier to get in and out of the car. Although GINA is built on a space frame that provides all the safety of a conventional car people may not embrace the idea of riding a fabric bodied car. I would venture to say that this car has the majority of a full race cage under the fabric. Meaning that it is probably already safer than whatever we presently drive.

If you are still not convinced by the design of this car then I highly recommend you watch the promotional video. The link is below. I for one can't wait to see what else the designers can come up with. Once someone dares to perfect an unconventional and unique idea, other geniuses will get inspired and our cars could actually change for the better if Zaha Hadid manages to stay out of it.

BMW Promotional Video

OMA Strike Again

2008-09-15T23:07:00.005+01:00

There will be a new luxury residential building in New York City. Slazer Enterprises (the developer of One Madison Park), the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA, Rem Koolhaas's creation) and Los Angeles based Creative Artists Agency (CAA) presented to the public last week their design for this high-rise that will be on 23 East 22nd Street which is located off Madison Square Park. This will be OMA's first project in New York City. As a fan of Rem Koolhaas I am always pleased to announce projects by his firm, especially ones that are super interesting.

The building has 18 residences on each of the 24 residential floors, as well as a screening room, main lobby, pool and gym which are all designed by OMA. These facilities will be shared with One Madison Park which is also a residential tower which is adjacent to this building.

The building will be quite modest next to One Madison Park as OMA's partner Shohei Shigematsu wanted to exploit the potential of the building's scale. This mid-rise condition allowed them to design an unusual variety of spatial and programmatic conditions within the building. The tower streches up to 107m and starts to shift to the east cantilevering 30 feet over it's neighbour. It gains additional area as well as views of Maddison Square Park.

What I like about this concept is that it creates alot of interesting and unexpecting moments which appear at each step. One detail I favoured was the floor windows where the building starts to shift. This creates a new perspective that is different from an living space I have seen. Imagine having a glass floor in your living room that adds an extra view to the already spectacualr view you would be getting.

This project is due to be completed in 2010 and from what I understand Rem Koolhaas is personally involved in it aswell. I'm a huge fan of SANAA and this building reminded me alot of the New Museum by them as they employed the same technique. I believe it's quickly becoming the new visual language of choice in NYC and project developers are becoming a huge fan of it because even H & deM have used this concept in their Leonard St. high rise.

I think it's very nice. Reminds me of my Lego days.

Dynamic Living

2008-09-14T22:38:00.006+01:00

Dynamic Architecture is an Italian experimental company that has proposed a rotating, sustainable skyscraper that is powered by wind turbines which are placed in between each floor. Each floor rotates independently at different speeds, and the building's profile constantly changes depending on the wind velocity. This introduces a fourth dimension to architecture... Time.

Architect David Fisher is the creator of this Dynamic Tower which is being built in Dubai. This will be the world's first building in motion and is the first step in changing the looks of our cities and our concepts of living.

The Dynamic Tower is environmentally friendly, with the ability to generate electricity for itself as well as other buildings nearby making it the first building designed to be self-powered, it achieves this feat with wind turbines fitted between each rotating floor. An 80-story building will have up to 79 wind turbines, making it a true green power plant. It is also the first skyscraper to be built entirely from prefabricated parts that are custom made in a workshop, resulting of fast construction and of substantial cost savings . This approach known as the Fisher Method, also requires far less workers on construction site while each floor of the building can be completed in only seven days, units can also be customized according to the owners needs and styles.

The architects are 'considering' that Dubai gets 4000 wind hours annually and that the wind turbines can generate 1,200,000 kilowatt hours of energy every year. Although I am no physician I highly doubt the United Emirates can generate sufficient energy solely on wind power. Wind travels at different velocities and in order to produce 300 kw per machine the wind would have to be wide open at 25 to 35mph which is highly unlikely in our climate. It's funny how the Fisher picked wind over sunlight in a desert country, it's actually more stupid than funny.

Aesthetically I do not agree with the design of the building. I appreciate the concept of introducing 'Time' to architecture however not in a living space. Or have we forgotten what space is?

Question:

1. Let us believe the winds are powerful enough to rotate each floor individually. How fast would each floor be rotating? Would it effect the human nature? Do we not get sick if we travel on rocky waters by boat? How would a person live in a constantly rotating floor?

2. If the floors are moving at an axis, where are the pipelines? How are the sewage pipes from each floor connected? I mean one day your toilet is on the East side, tomorrow its on the West. Do the pipes match? Huh????

3. The building will constantly be moving and so will the Sun. Since they haven't considered the spatial qualities of each floor i.e: the relationship of sunlight and room, the resident could get very hot waves and direct light from the sun into their bedroom, or living room which is not healthy at all. All the benefits of sunlight get filtered by glass and you'll be left with UV Light. If they use special glass heat still passes through, so how is this place livable exactly?

Putting all this ranting aside, I'm quite pleased with how far technology has gone regarding sustainability and energy powering. I'm a huge fan of prefabrication and green buildings. I just think this one was designed for the wrong reasons and placed in the wrong context. If this concept of Dynamic Living catches on and becomes the new planning movement, then I hope that the architects truly strategies the reasons and possibilities for their dynamic space - because as we know architecture means creating a space for function.

Pimp My Chair!

2008-09-12T23:21:00.002+01:00

Designer Lee Broom will present a furniture collection called Rough Diamond in London later this month. They will be shown in Brick Lane gallery from the 16th - 22nd of september as part of the London Design Festival. This collection is called 'Rough Diamond' and he will also be presenting some of his old collection called 'Neo Neon'.

I have always been a huge fan of furniture restoration, especially vintage furniture, and Lee transforms these antique pieces into Design Art by adorning each piece with bright light.

There are alot of mixed feelings about Lee's work and whether 'pimping' a piece of furniture really is art, but I believe that altering something in an existing design by adding a different concept to it that would make it aesthetically pleasing is design!

I want the Louis IV armchair to be honest.

Although Shiro Kuramata sort of did the same concept years ago I think Lee highlighted the curves of the chairs better.

Banksy - Art or Graffitti?

2008-09-12T22:54:00.005+01:00

One of Banksy's most famous graffiti paintings have been painted over by the London transport workers. This iconic image depicted a scene from the movie Pulp Fiction with Samual L. Jackson and John Travolta holding bananas instead of guns. The mural was located near Old Street tube station and drew alot of people to that area.

The Transport for London apparently doesn't know the difference between graffiti and art. They're statement was that they hired professional cleaners not art critics. Street art is the new urban culture and most of Banksy's paintings are political and meaningful. In my opinion I find his work beautiful. Two years ago Banksy left a life-size replica of a Guantanamo Bay detainee at the California theme park Disneyland. And in 2005, he decorated Israel's controversial West Bank barrier with satirical images of life on the other side.

Then again this is quite ironic. I would have enjoyed to see a Banksy being covered by another piece of graffiti art, but the fact that the government got involved makes me grumble. I guess this is part of the city and the city changes. I guess just because it's a Banksy that doesn't mean we should have listed graffiti right?

However, that painting was estimated to be worth 300'000GBP...

City of Silk - Kuwait

2008-09-10T22:29:00.014+01:00

1300 years ago a Golden Age of scholarship, commerce, science, and faith began. For 400 years, the Middle East was the centre of learning, prosperity, well-being, and trade that reached from China to Spain, Russia to Africa. The great silk routes linked these nations together with trade on land and sea, and people from around the world came to Mesopotamia to learn, share, and explore the great ideas of antiquity. In the House of Wisdom, people of different faiths, nationalities, ethnicities and values met to exchange ideas and hopes of all civilizations.

Finally we can announce a new Golden Age for the Middle East with Madinat Al Hareer, the City of Silk. Far more than just a property development, Madinat Al Hareer builds upon the momentum and courage begun 20 years ago by our sister cities of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha that have created a new sense of excitement and prosperity for the Arabian Gulf. Kuwait has invested in all of these Countries so that these developments can prosper at an unprecedented rate, all the while Kuwait has been rebuilding its own Country from the ravages of aggression and invasion.

But today, Kuwait adds to this new heritage of world-class projects. This is a massive project that will take around 20 years to finish. The main attraction of Madinat al-Hareer, the Burj Mubarak al-Kabir will stand at 1,001 m tall, almost three times the height of the Empire State Building, almost twice the height of Taipei 101, which is 509 m tall, and even taller than the world's current tallest manmade structure, the Burj Dubai Tower which will be at least 818 meters when completed. Can you imagine?

Those who are living in Kuwait and have noticed the current works on the Sheraton Roundabout and by Wasabi and Ciro's Pizza Pomodoro and have been complaining about the traffic be assured that this time it's for great reasons. A 23.5-kilometer long bridge is being constructed in that area. The bridge should decrease driving times from Kuwait City to Madinat al-Hareer to seventeen minutes rather than the usual one-and-a-half-hour drive around Kuwait Bay. Madinat al-Hareer is also built on the dream of building a huge port in the biggest island in Kuwait, Bubiyan Island. Bubiyan Port, as it will be called, will serve the interests of major countries in the Middle East and Asia including Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran. In addition, the port will be one of the closest sea ports to Central Asia.

All of these ports: land, sea, and air cradle a new city in their embrace: Madinat Al Hareer.
Designed with not one, but four new City Centres, it is a new cosmopolitan city for a new century. Finance City, Leisure City, Culture City, and Ecological City match the demands of our contemporary society for new places to work, relax, learn, and preserve the natural heritage of our land. The Tower will also host a Mosque, Church and Synagogue to unit the three main religions.
Check out this YouTube video to see the overall urban planning of the city:

Madinat Al Hareer

PKN Paris - A Must See!

2008-09-09T15:58:00.004+01:00

Pecha Kucha Night

For those of you who might be in Paris at the end of this month, I highly recommend you visit Pecha Kucha Vol.6 which will be held at Le Divan du Monde on sept 29th 2008, at 7:30 PM.

Pecha Kucha Night, devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham (Klein Dytham architecture), was conceived in 2003 as a place for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.
But as we all know, give a mike to a designer (especially an architect) and you’ll be trapped for hours. The key to Pecha Kucha Night is its patented system for avoiding this fate. Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.
Pecha Kucha (which is Japanese for the sound of conversation) has tapped into a demand for a forum in which creative work can be easily and informally shown, without having to rent a gallery or chat up a magazine editor. This is a† demand that seems to be global – as Pecha Kucha Night, without any pushing, has spread virally to over 100 cities across the world.

It is a non profit organisation and there is no entry fee. So there's no "cheap" excuse not to go. If you would like to know when the next Pecha Kucha Night nearest to you will be, check out their website. Currently Pecha Kucha in the Middle East is either in Dubai or Beirut. I'll let you know when I'll bring them to Kuwait City!

Theo Jansen Rules.

2008-09-09T02:25:00.003+01:00

Theo Jansen is the Dutch creator of what he calls "Kinetic Sculptures," where nature and technology meet. Essentially these sculptures are robots powered by the wind only... and he is so cool.

Click here to watch what geniuses create.

Broadway Market

2008-09-09T02:05:00.006+01:00

East London in general is rumoured to be an intimidating place, but if there is one place I would risk going to in Hackney it's Broadway Market. Unlike Portobello and Camden, Broadway is custom made by artists that are new or "finding themselves". It wasn't always like this though and this new trend of funky designers has merged the essences of both old and new in this short but condensed street. Below are photos I took of my favourite parts of Broadway.

Io & My Model

2008-09-09T01:16:00.009+01:00

My 1:50 scale model of The Archive project v.s my cat Io.

To My Girls...

2008-09-09T01:06:00.005+01:00

Let us be sustainably friendly this season! Let us be green and one with nature... But still look hot!

Today’s eco fasion options can sometimes seem other-worldly or suggestive of a world that we hope to soon inhabit. The best designs often stem from one’s native surroundings and feature eco friendly textiles that are context sensitive and sustainably considered. Occasionally, though, a designer references far-off horizons, distant galaxies and deep space as away to bring us closer to the fragility and marvels of the universe and its complex workings. Enter Leila Hafzi’s stunning collections inspired by the scope of NASA photography with a unique spin on scientific prediction, colorful dreamy space, and enviro-art intuition.

Olympic Viewing Platform

2008-09-09T01:00:00.002+01:00

Point of View

A 3 metre high, 17 kilometre long, blue fence surrounds the Olympic Park in east London. The Olympic Delivery Authority employs poker-faced security guards to patrol the perimeter of the site and stop visitors from taking photographs. Workmen armed with pots of the regulation cyan blue, paint out graffiti on a daily basis.
In response to the ODA’s attempt to block views of the site, and its failure to take advantage of a historic opportunity to get people interested in architecture, Blueprint asked Office for Subversive Architecture to create a viewing platform.
Point of View was designed and built in a matter of days, and installed by Blueprint staff with Bruce and Sam Tipper (the joiners who made it) and OSA’s Karsten Huneck and Bernd Truempler at 6am on 12 June. Point of View remained in position for several days before being removed by the ODA.

For some reason we can't see what could be the most interesting architectural revolution to occur in London. There must be a conspiracy behind this. We want to see!

Museum of Modern Arab Art by Rafael Vinoly

2008-09-09T00:27:00.005+01:00

What's that you see in the distance? A giant dune?

No way... Impossible! But wait, is that glass?

Why but ofcourse, how typical. This large sand dune is actually Qatar's new museum for Modern Arab Art. Not only will it house 10,000 articles from the collection of Sheikh Hassan Bin Mohammed Al-Thani, but also art from contemporary arabic artists. There is a library, landscape gardens, terraces and massive gallery voids. But could we honestly call this innovative architecture? This is an imitation of a sand dune, a really massive sand dune. I appreciate the fact that unlike other architects who create buildings that look alien to our environment (i.e. Zaha Hadid!) this blends in nicely but only from a distance. As you get closer the building looks fake and typical, there is no abstract expression at all.

I am so pleased that we (arabs) are finally perserving our culture and art, however I diagree with this New York based firm. This truely feels like a missed oppertunity as this building could have had such an amazing experience. It could have been a treasure under a pile of sand. However, it's just a building that looks like a sand dune that holds arabic modern art.

Reed Model

2008-09-09T00:15:00.002+01:00

Below are images of the reed concept. The formation on the square is determined by the circulation of the people but I won't go deep into that. This is a 1:10 scale model of a part of the square showing the different reed heights that would play on the shadows on the square, and the sounds created by the wind.

Final Fantasy

2008-09-08T23:28:00.007+01:00

Final Fantasy was a project I worked on last year. The brief was to design furniture that is influenced by the weather. My site was Sloane Square in which wind was my weather factor. My design was a series of reeds that are made out of metal. These reeds would move depending on the wind and create different sounds as different heights create different tones. The second part of the brief which I found to be intriguing was the rendering part. We were given a list of artists to influence the way we render. My influence was Rembrandt because I'm fond of the way he uses darkness and shadows in his paintings to emphasize on light. He always highlights his main figures and darkens the background. Below are different scenarios on Sloane Square.

2 years later...

2008-08-27T20:51:00.003+01:00

Alot of things have happened in the past 2 years that are not worth discussing. However, when applying to my job in Singapore this year I couldn't wait to show off my online portfolio rather than sending a hard copy. But then I realised that it was so outdated, so bland, and so... wanting to be something. I think there are far more interesting things than just showing my work process. I forgot to really introduce myself. I'll be doing this using different kinds of medias and this blog will officially be my baby.

Back to work...

The Periscope

2006-11-27T22:59:00.000Z

Periscope View

2006-11-27T22:57:00.000Z

So I came up with the periscope concept. This way Light would enter the room aswell as and Image. Here you see the different views according to specification.

Overall Outlook

2006-11-27T22:51:00.000Z

When comparing Agnus and Patricks routes and homes I realised that the buildings only had windows on one side which left the flats dark and gloomy. I wanted them to have more light and maybe even a view.

Urban Territory

2006-11-10T17:28:00.000Z

In this plan you can see the estate and bits of east street market where Agnus goes to alot. The different zone colours show the amount of pedestrian traffic, yellow being low and red high. I did this analysis so that I can see how Agnus reacts to so many strangers within her Personal Boundary.

Agnus's Interior Territory

2006-11-10T17:25:00.000Z

I just thought it would be funny to have her in her bubble as she walks around. She looks so cute!

Vitruvian Woman

2006-11-10T17:17:00.000Z

Agnus likes to talk to strangers at an arms length away. When taking a photo of her with her arms outstretched I was reminded by Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian man. This bubble protects Agnus from social invasion. Whats behind the bubble is her own personal territory.

My New Friend

2006-11-10T17:02:00.000Z

New agenda. Me and my partner had to split up and work individually. At the beginning of the project we measured and drew most of the Wendover estate. I wanted to find an elderly who lives there, that way our drawings wouldnt go to waste. I found a woman called Agnus (shh) and she lives on that estate. I drew out her flat and the different colours are different zones that show how far her territory reaches. The blank rooms are those that belong to her son.

I Should be a Graphic Designer

2006-11-10T16:55:00.000Z

My drafts for the Inter7 Publication. I wanted a commercial feel and I felt a need to put the Aylesbury on it. I love photoshop.

Patrick's Route

2006-11-10T16:50:00.000Z

This drawing isolates everything apart from Patricks route. On the brief we had to draw The Day in the Life of an old person. This is our interpretation. Patrick lives on the second floor of the Missenden estate. He walks his dog in the small park by the ramp, and when he needs to go the pub he accesses the other ramp by crossing a bridge. Its interesting how he avoids the stairs and its convenient for him that he has easy access to different ramps depending on the direction he's heading.

Circulation

2006-11-10T16:46:00.000Z

Just out of curiosity, me and my partner decided to figure out all the different routes in that estate and whats interesting is that there are alot of bridges connecting buildings to each other. Another nice feature was the ramp, which is really important for the elderly.

Corridor

2006-11-10T16:40:00.000Z

The corridor in the wendover estate. This is the type of corridor Patrick has a phobia of. The top three lines are the plans and elevation of the corridor. It is extremely long and the units are repetitive.

Elevator

2006-11-10T16:25:00.000Z

Elevator shaft for the Wendover estate.

A New Year

2006-11-10T16:15:00.000Z

Third year is hell. I've entered this unit that is mainly focusing on Urban architecture so my design is no longer focusing on a small building or furniture. Its big scale now. What's interesting about this unit is our focus is the elderly community in the Aylesbury estate. So we all went to that horrible place, made us some old friends and took our research from there. We even published a book which I will try and scan. I paired up with a guy from Costa Rico which is great! He sleeps late and wakes up late and likes to eat so we made a great team. We met a geezer called Patrick (below) and interviewed him. He had a phobia of corridors as he's never lived in high density block, and has lived in his home for over 20 years. This is what Ive done so far.

Le Dernier Cri

2006-10-03T18:15:00.000+01:00

Dernier Cri is a french term that means, The Latest, or the Latest in Fashion. However the real reason as to why I used this term as the headline and title for my blog is because of what I feel it really stands for.

There is a french workshop called Le Dernier Cri and it is the brainchild of Pakito Bolino and Caroline Sury. Established early 1993 in the suburbs of Paris, relocated to Marseille in 1995, they are carrying on a french tradition of independent underground art publishing. Le Dernier Cri produces wonders for/with artists like BlexBolex, Keiti Ota, Kerozen, Gary Panter, Y5/P5, and Stu Mead to name but a few. In their 'Hopital Brut' series they are opening the vaults of tomorrows 'could be wonders' offering a manic selection of new and upcoming talent from around the globe. Celebration of their 10th anniversary has brought on a well recieved series of expositions in France, Holland and the USA.

Personally I find their work so punk and even sometimes retro. There are no rules to what they do or how they draw they just go crazy and I love it. Album covers are considered icons to some people and these drawings and paintings have similar recognition. They throw wicked exhibitions and the work is really hot. Please check out them out on:

http://www.lederniercri.org/

And play the flash animated version it's fun.

Final Renders: Interior

2006-10-02T23:11:00.000+01:00

Final Model

2006-10-02T23:04:00.000+01:00

These prisms are acryllic and I laser cut them back home. They're all to scale. The purpose was to see the light effect on a black background and the model was successful. It's cool how the lights look like spotlights and the effect isn't random.

Cut Section 3: Finale

2006-10-02T22:59:00.000+01:00

Cut Section 2: Finale

2006-10-02T22:50:00.000+01:00

Sections showing the Display area, and Media Wall.

Cut Section: Final [Display Area]

2006-10-02T22:12:00.000+01:00

At a scale of 1:10 this is a section through part of the Display Area. This shows the sun rays refracting through each prism and the point of which it lands.

This image shows how the structure is built. The idea is that its built on site by welding steel square units together. The prisms fit into these units and are secured on the sides using metal rods that are rotated to hold them in place as shown above. I was inspired by how diamonds where held onto a ring. *Bling Bling Baby*

Light Documentation

2006-09-27T20:19:00.000+01:00

Not too clear in this blog but I found out the attitude and azimuth of two times during the day, [10am and 5pm], three times a year, [March, June, December]. Using a special formulae i can determine the angle of refraction and record where the light hits which is very helpful as I can edit the building where I see fit.

My Paper Model

2006-09-27T19:56:00.000+01:00

Here's my model showing the form od my building. Using my origami method in my previous model, I attached these paper prisms using glue. This is just a rough model to experiment with the form itself. I'm bored of Light.

The [f**king] Dome.

2006-09-27T19:52:00.000+01:00

I forgot about the stupid dome on the building! I seriously panicked when i remembered. If the dome eclipses my building I'm screwed. But thankfully the shadows don't reach my area and the Sun is on my side [grins]. Here are interior renders within the building which helps me determine where I place the stands for my objects.

New Dimensions

2006-09-27T19:48:00.000+01:00

Thery're just too big. I need to be logical and I need to economical. Who the hell would work for me if they see my proposal? Tonnes of glass and concrete blocks to be pile high above the ground, not to mention how much that would cost! Ok. Acryllic prisms and foam concrete should do it. And there's the scale...

Render 2

2006-09-27T19:44:00.000+01:00

Render 1

2006-09-27T19:33:00.000+01:00

This is a render from Autocad. You can see how the light reflects off the glass aswell as the contrast between the concrete slab and prisms.

Cut Section

2006-09-27T19:30:00.000+01:00

Elevation

2006-09-27T19:25:00.000+01:00

This is a detailed elevation of a PART of my building that highlighted in the plan. It took me too long and i had to attach each prism manually on a software called Rhinoceros. Not a nice job. Anyway I introduced a new external factor. I invited concrete slabs that connect my glass prims to other glass prisms. The reason why i did this was because I wanted to add a relief to my builgin. It's too spikey and aggressive. This effect will also add nice shadows within the building which will be a nice contrast between the pools of light.

Plan

2006-09-27T19:21:00.000+01:00

Catalogue

2006-09-27T19:16:00.000+01:00

Each programme has a different agenda which means the lighting will be different accordingly.

1- In the Display Area [green], the art will be displayed therefored needing focused light. The prisms are angled in a certain direction to aim the light.

2- In the Solarium [blue] the light need to be suttle as you move from a bright area to a dark one (the Media room needs to be dark for projection). The light is Dispersed/Diffused so the prisms are angled away from each other.

3- Interactive Area needs to be bright but not nessecarily sharp. People will be hanging out here, maybe a cafe or bookshop. So the prisms aim at the spot that needs to be lit up and are closer to each other to bounce light more.

New Strategy

2006-09-27T19:10:00.000+01:00

Alright. I came up with a section proposal. At the top left you can see my zoning concept.
Red: Entrance.
Green: Display Area/Solarium. [movement is random]
Blue: Media Wall (Projection). [movement splits as the wall acts as a partition splitting the gallery in two]
Yellow: Interaction Center (Product Interaction Display). [movement is reveresed to exit. dead end]

Now that I figured out my programes I need to figure out what prisms I'd use.

Grr...

2006-09-27T19:05:00.000+01:00

Here you can see the surfaces but I'm having trouble combining them togethere.