為我地一解思鄉之苦既畢打自己人...

資深藝人陳鴻烈病逝

(明報)2009年11月24日 星期二 22:30

老牌演員陳鴻烈下午在將軍澳 無線電視城疑心臟病 突然，送院搶救，延至晚上七時許不治，終年66歲。

無線電視發言人說，下午四時半，陳鴻烈在電視城服裝間突然心絞痛 ，最初由保安人員急救，其後送往將軍澳醫院 搶救，但不幸在晚上七時許不治。無線電視外事部總監曾醒明，對陳鴻烈病逝表示惋惜。

陳鴻烈在六十年代是邵氏演員，近期加入無線電視，在劇集《畢打自己人》中演出，飾演閆器「大閆生」一角，受到觀眾歡迎。

Giant Gundam

To support Tokyo's bid for the 2016 Olympics, and celebrate Gundam's 30th Anniversary.
2009年7月11日（土）- 8月31日（月)

photo by Mullenkedheim

Guest lecture: Boris Brorman Jensen, Aarhus

the lecture talked about the project by BIG in Kazakhstan. and boris was the adviser for the project as he is more 'familiar' with the city.

this guy used 80% of the presentation to review the political, social and living condition in Kazakhstan, while he's joking about the situation for around 50% of the slides.

however, i couldn't see much relation between all the conditions in Kazakhstan and the project. he joked about the city and people and there was almost nothing valuable inspirations come out from the 'jokes'.

and the project.... it could be anywhere in the world actually. it's mainly about the energy efficient strategy, the structure will offset or maximize solar glare depending on the climate and the need. but it could be actually done without visiting Kazakhstan.

你笑人人笑你

柏林圍牆與「防火長城」

蘋果 2009年11月9日
奉己：柏林圍牆與「防火長城」


十一月九日是柏林圍牆倒塌二十周年的紀念日。一九六一年八月十三日，隨着柏林圍牆初步建成，一場轟轟烈烈、前赴後繼的「翻牆運動」從此拉開了帷幕。跳樓、游泳、駕車衝撞、挖掘地道、製造潛艇、乘坐熱氣球……為了翻越這道所謂的「反法西斯防衞牆」，東德人民展現了無窮的智慧和巨大的勇氣，同時也付出了高昂的代價。據統計，在二十八年的「翻牆史」中，雖有五千零四十三人成功逃入西柏林，但也有三千二百二十一人被捕，二百六十人受傷，二百三十九人死亡。要問東德人民為何翻牆翻得如此執着，裴多菲的詩句或許是最好的回答：「生命誠可貴，愛情價更高。若為自由故，二者皆可拋。」

本來柏林圍牆跟中國的關係八竿子也打不着，可託廣大網民踴躍留言聲討「防火長城」的福，德國人為紀念柏林圍牆倒塌二十周年專門設立的網站──「柏林推特牆」居然遭到了中共當局的遮罩。這正應了約翰．甘迺迪總統在柏林圍牆邊說的那句名言，「自由是不可分割的，只要一人被奴役，所有的人都不自由」。製造隔閡、妨害自由的牆，無論有形或無形都是人類交流、進步的障礙，翻越並拆毀它們是歷史發展的必然。

「光纖之父」高錕榮獲本年度諾貝爾物理學獎，他的華人血統讓很多人覺得與有榮焉，沒有他在資訊傳輸領域做出的卓越貢獻恐怕就沒有今天的互聯網，而這一點，其實更值得言論自由備受打壓的中國人感念。年年當看客，年年暢想何時能夠得獎，可得文學獎八成要「醜化」中國人的形象，得和平獎大概須勾結西方的「反華勢力」，得經濟學獎也許得揭示「權貴資本主義」在社會主義國家橫行無忌的真諦，中國葉公難道真喜歡諾貝爾獎這條龍？別以為自然科學和意識形態無關，效忠於權力的科學必定會被扭曲成助紂為虐的工具。

高錕的工作是為資訊傳輸鋪路架橋，中國工程院院士、「防火長城之父」方濱興幹的則是建築高牆的勾當。倒行逆施之徒得到的獎賞不會是瑞典克朗，他們只會被釘在歷史的恥辱柱上。當然，方濱興們大可不必羨慕高錕不朽──爾等為黨國所效的犬馬之勞，人民同樣不會遺忘。

柏林圍牆倒掉二十年了，儘管中國網民「翻牆」的本領和熱情似乎並不比當年的東德人民遜色，但數億網民被中共苦心打造的「防火長城」圍困的現狀，着實令人氣餒。

「遙遠的東方，遼闊的邊疆，還有遠古的破牆」，
「圍着老去的國度，圍着事實的真相，圍着浩瀚的歲月，圍着慾望與理想。迷信的村莊，神秘的中央」……

當耳畔響起《長城》這首老歌，你是否聽到了悲凉？

Linn Olofsdotter

CG Shortfilm about Louis Kahn's Phillips Exeter Academy Library.

Kahn's Exeter Short Film from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

wohu!
i love these little white dots.
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. . .

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四合院

二○○五年，朱錇為蔡國強設計工作室。蔡國強的爆破藝術帶給朱錇很大的震撼，「他的藝術是瞬間藝術，只存在爆炸的那一剎那！」從此朱錇開始思考「消失的建築」：這種建築「如雲似霧」，只映照身邊環境的倒影，彷彿只存在那一剎那，卻又永遠存在。
在這個思考下，朱錇把一片傳統四合院，改造成有茶室、畫廊的「蔡國強工作室」。朱錇沒加任何仿古的「假東西」，只加上一片非常現代的玻璃牆，讓四合院的影子映在這面牆上。
朱錇認為，中國人有一套迥異於西方的理解世界方式，「找到它，你就找到了中國性！」「君子溫溫如玉。」從「玉」身上，朱錇發現中西文化的不同。西方人注重視覺，看重玉的形狀和顏色；中國人則喜歡把玩，偏愛玉的溫度與觸感。這給了朱錇靈感。
他在北京腳踏車棚架上找到一種樹脂，其顏色、透明性和觸感都頗似中國玉石。他把這種樹脂運用在木棉花酒店上的建築立面上，用材料來表達迥異於西方的「中國性」。朱錇不在外型上仿古，卻選擇以材質、空間氛圍讓人「感受中國」。
玉的「似透不透」也帶給朱錇啟發，他認為中國人的審美觀是一種「曖昧不明的情趣」，木棉花酒店的英文名字是「模糊（Blur）酒店」，便是朱錇對「中國建築」的現代詮釋。

What does Chinese mean to you?

Interview with Ma Yansong

First published in +ARCHITECT 02 (Space Publishing Co, October 2008, South Korea)

What is the meaning of Chinese to you?

I think it's a really tough question, as China is so diverse, with such a long history of culture and is under such a crazy development today. It is a huge task to look for an answer in this chaos. But I think there must be a way we can bring this huge history to our future. In China right now, however, we are still largely at the stage of literally taking from history: copying traditional forms, materials, and symbols.

I have just returned from the 11^th Venice Biennale. From the Japan Pavilion, I can tell that they already have their identity; it is super light, super thin, and super neat. The China Pavilion focused on local, Chinese materials, very rough materials like bricks and wooden bars. Yet these materials were still put together in quite a Western way. I don't think that is the future for China.

I founded MAD when I was 29, after I returned from a modern architectural education in the west. Looking back on our projects of 3 or 4 years ago, it seem there was no time to reflect on what we had learnt, so there are still some similarities to western architectural ideas. But I think we can start to see some Chinese characteristics in our work of that time. Like Hongluo Clubhouse, for instance. Here, we designed a floating roof with glazing set back from the roof edge to create the semi-indoor/outdoor space. This is a modern experience close to what you could feel in the traditional Chinese garden.

Basically, the relationship between the human and the nature is the key point of the Chinese way of looking into the world. The physical feeling of the body is actually very closely connected with the spatial experience of an ancient Chinese buildings. There is no square or box in our body, neither is there in nature, yet nature is so powerful. That makes me believe that we should follow the natural rule and to be more fluid and more flexible. That is the concept of our Absolute Towers in Toronto. Using a simple horizontal plate, we created the curved shape similar to the uniqueness of our own body. That is one element of our Chinese identity. And I believe if we keep exploring and collecting these elements, we will be able to find a so-called Chinese identity.

We exhibited a project called Superstar at the international pavilion in Venice Biennale. We were trying to make something dangerous, to represent the dynamic, ever-changing energy of China, and to inject it into Western cities. It was something equivocal, something between good and evil, between cure and poison for cities all over the world. We wanted to create something universal that could be found anywhere, but with Chinese contents inside. When you look at famous architects, you hardly find any national identity. Their work is personal, related to some art or concept from different periods. They present their own mind, not the country.

Finding the 'Chinese way' is what's important, not the material itself. When you use bamboo or wood, that does not mean you are making a building that relates to your culture. I like bamboo, but Chinese people are not pandas. We are not interested in representing traditional symbols and materials in new buildings: this is not Chinese architecture. What's important is studying the ideas behind traditional Chinese buildings and concepts. Maybe then you can find a new way.

We are on the way now to look for our identity. In the past three years, we've been running at the same speed as society around us. But I believe culture is best accumulated in a slow way. Luckily, I have a better situation to slow down now; at least I can control a few projects with a proper development process.

Is there anything you think that is really Chinese in Beijing or in your work?

I was born in Beijing and I know it very well. The beauty of Beijing City is layers, public layers, semi-public layers, and private layers. When you are a kid, you play in your own courtyard, you have this internal space with sky and trees. Once you go out of your own court, there are many other kids who can play together in public space. There, the building are not as important, as the buildings are only the façade that forms the public space. This kind of layer is the beauty of this city.

You can go into the city centre Hutongs, and although I am from Beijing, even I do not know all of them. But if you know the direction you need to go in, you will definitely reach your destination, and enjoy the experience on the way. Even in the busiest Hutongs, you can totally enjoy yourself, whilst other times you might only see a couple of people. Many of the Hutongs actually contain the best restaurants and galleries, hidden away from the main roads. Yet, although they are a draw for tourists and for developers who want to create fake history for rich people, living in these Hutongs is actually quite hard: there are no private toilets or indoor bathrooms, for instance.

In our Beijing 2050 project, our idea is to keep some of the old buildings in the Hutongs, and to provide new interventions for people who live there: private toilets, or small office space for young people moving in. In this proposal, we added some alien-looking bubbles into the urban fabric. They are all different shapes and they are like water drops, dropped into each space to connect with the older buildings.

Now we have been commissioned to carry out some of our ideas, in a courtyard renovation project close to my office, a client saw Beijing 2050 and came to us, saying 'I like this, maybe we can try it'. The client's courtyard used to contain two buildings: one an authentic, traditional building, the other fake. We suggested we could renovate the traditional building, as long as we could tear down the fake one. So we are now building a bubble where the fake building stood. In the whole Hutong area there is no real contemporary element. As such, we designed an organic shape that reflects the old buildings around it. Inside, there is a toilet and stairs that go up to the roof. When you put a new building in this position, the goal is now to overshadow what's already there. Rather, it is to show our idea that the new and the old can work together, because both create an empty space where human is at the centre. I think it's this relationship that's traditional.

This reflective bubble project is totally different from something like the National Opera House. I do not think that this building is a contemporary building, although the materials are new. The way that building deals with its surroundings is very, very western. You put the building at the centre and leave all the space around it. It's like an American Villa. You buy the land and just put the house in the centre. In contrast, the Forbidden City, next door, is a completely different idea of land use. The ancient buildings here are designed to define the space of the city, and to work, not to show off themselves.

How to save the integrity of Beijing with its city fabric?

Old Beijing city is composed of courtyard houses. The basic element, the building, is very small and repeated in dense scales. We call it 'urban fabric'. As you get closer to modernity, the scale gets bigger. In the 1950s, 10 huge, monumental buildings were built in the city, to celebrate ten years of Communism, like the National Art Museum.

Now, MAD Office has a new project called 'No-name yard', across the street from the National Art Museum. This area is very interesting. Next to our project site, there are still courtyards, but on the other sides, as well as the museum, are modern, commercial buildings: hotels and shopping malls, 30 metres tall. This area tells the history of the city in microcosm, a place where all the new buildings from different times meet, where all the new projects are trying to eat the old city, piece by piece. We are also at a transition point between small and large scale. Our site is at the centre. If we build a large scale building, like a shopping mall, those courtyards cannot live. They have to move.

Our challenge is how to extend the small scale into our site, whilst also achieving the large volume that the developers want. So we've created a building that's like a floating cloud, composed of many, many smaller pieces, but with a large volume overall. It is like a horizontal urban fabric, piled up in the air, with no clear building shape, and with all the glass set back, so you can only see the floating slabs. Thanks to this blur between indoor and outdoor, you have many covered outdoor spaces. So we are using the 'no-shape' strategy to extend the city fabric. I think that is the beauty of the old city. Nobody really drew a plan so it looks so messy, but the space is very interesting.

MAD的第一个胡同泡泡

MAD的第一个胡同泡泡
First Beijing Bubble Realized

Thursday, September 24, 2009

MAD recently finished its first Beijing Bubble in BeiBingMaSi Hutong 32. The original idea was first presented in Beijing 2050 at MAD IN CHINA in Venice during the 2006 Venice Architecture Biennale. Beijing 2050 imagined three scenarios for the future of Beijing---a green public park in Tiananmen Square, a series of floating islands above the city's CBD, and the 'Future of Hutongs', which featured metallic bubbles scattered over Beijing's oldest neighborhoods. Three years later, the first hutong bubble has appeared in a small courtyard in Beijing.

For Beijing, history is an invaluable asset, and preserving the hutongs is just the beginning. The city cannot be fully understood without a grasp on its rich history. The real dream, however, is for the hutong bubble to link this culturally rich city to each individual's vision of a better Beijing. The bubble is not regarded as a singular object, but as a means to initiate a renewed and energetic community. Under the hatchet of fast-paced development, we must always be cognizant of Beijing's long term goals and the direction of its creativity. Perhaps we should shift our gaze away from the attraction of new monuments and focus on the everyday lives of the city's residents.

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MAD最近实现了第一个胡同泡泡。胡同泡泡最初的概念源自MAD的城市概念作品北京2050，并首次亮相于威尼斯个展MAD IN CHINA中。这是一个加建的卫生间和通向屋顶平台的楼梯,它看上去仿佛是一个来自外太空的小生命体，光滑的金属曲面折射着院子里古老的建筑以及树木和天空；让历史、自然以及未来并存于一个梦幻的世界里。

胡同泡泡真正的城市理想是把北京的古城与每个人的梦想连接在一起, 在大刀阔斧的城市巨变中,我们必须重新思考北京长期的目标和想象力在哪里。也许我们可以把目光的焦点从那些大型的纪念碑式建筑移开,而开始关注人们日常生活的改善和社区生活的重建。
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