Ornament is not a crime

Adolf Loos once said that the “Absence of ornament has brought the other arts to unsuspected heights” but I tends question this after visiting the National Gallery of Singapore. Within the building, there is carefully crafted walls, balustrade and widely sized openings. They are dressed up in pleats. There is folding, layering and depth. I am not so sure if that’s what the architect’s intention to keep the heritage element and therefore the ornament, but it definitely convinces me to think that ornament is not a crime.

The other thing that fascinates me is the manipulation of light in the space. The roof is composed of big skylight supported by bracing systems and the roof hold water. So that when the light strike the building, the light penetrate the roof and casting glittering effect on the walls. It is almost like the light is dancing on the wall.

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Is it worth to buy Procreate for Architect?

Sketch by Connie Sketch by Sohan PROS Help you draw straight lines, if you can’t draw straight lines like me, then this app would be your life saver You don’t have to sketch everything, you can make use of the furniture library and texture You can group your lines/sketches into different layers, so that it is easier to erase something and faster to do alternative layout (pretty similar to the layer function in Photoshop) CONS There are no scale ruler or any scale tool, you have to rely on an accurate base image or the grid You have to use apple pencil and have to pay for the app You have to search for suitable libraries

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I think I know Wang Shu and his work well. A Pritzker prize winner who source local craftsmanship and material and manipulate them in a modern way. But after a trip to Hangzhou and Suzhou, I realise that I don’t actually fully understand his work. Before modelling in the computer, Wang Shu would finalise every detail in sketch format. He would think about how one opens a door, things that would occur in the space, how one turns his body to look at the mountain in the distance, how one looks up, how one look down. He would relate his methodology to the methodology of a farmer who thinks through his hands and close contact with the physical material. He also refers himself as a philosopher and a Buddhist apart from an architect. He drew inspiration from traditional Chinese landscape painting and Chinese garden. In traditional Chinese architecture, nature should be the focus and architecture is just a small portion of it. In Western thinking, building and landscape are separate and usuall...

Bedtime Architectural Stories

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