04.25.07

Herzong de Meuron's Olympic Stadium Near Completion

Ok, so couple days ago I showed an example of what I don't like about post modern architecture. Today I am showing what I like about it, using Herzog de Meuron's National Stadium of 2008 Olympic in Beijing, China. In 2002 Herzog de Meuron beat 12 other finalists and won the competition to design the Olympic stadium. You can see all the finalists' proposals here.

It was apparent that Herzog de Meuron's structural monument stands apart from the other more conventional approaches to stadium design. The nest or cage-like outer shell is pure structure. Behind the seemingly randomness there is actually logic and pattern. Serving as both support and facade, other program elements such as stairs and roof are also integrated into the cage. The inner components (restrooms, stores, etc.) are all self contained units attached to the open shell.

The 2 layer approach of shell and infill are so straight forward and simple, yet it makes bold engineering and design statement while satisfying all program requirements. Most importantly, the conceptual design made it all the way to construction without major alterations or compromises. That's a rare feat, especially among post modern buildings.

04.23.07

Jean Nouvel's Paris Symphony Hall

Jean Novel won the international competition for the new Paris Symphony Hall. In case you are wondering, the proposed design looks like a piece of crumbled paper by a recycle bin. That's not saying it's dysfunctional. Despite the stunning conceptual renderings, I find it hard to justify the tectonic look at this moment. And unfortunately the announcement was just made and there is not much information out there yet as to how does the program and interior spaces fit within the funky form. The Hall is schedule to open in 2012. It will be interesting to see how the schematic design shakes up during the following years.
By the way, besides Jean Nouvel, Zaha Hadid was also one of the six finalists among 98 submissions. I guess that tells you all about the jurors' aesthetic likings.

04.22.07

Renzo Piano's Lecture

Went to Renzo Piano's Lecture yesterday. It was a beautiful morning with dry and cool weather. The Menil Collection moved the lecture to a tent outside on the lawn. It was casual and relaxed. Renzo took the center stage after a brief introduction. The topic was of course his first museum building in US, the Menil. Although as a Houston residence I have heard the story countless times, it was very different coming from Renzo himself. One could tell he had a really close relationship with both the client and the building. The old story came to life with his humor, emotion and accent.

There is no question that so much has changed since the Menil. However the lecture again reminded me that no matter how much technology or society change, the principle of good practice does not. Being sensitive to climate, surrounding and materials will always be the key to good architecture. For the past 20 years the Menil has aged so well. Today it remains as the textbook example of proper use of natural light .

04.19.07

Guggenheim Museum Restoration

New York Times ran an illustrated article on restoration of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum a couple days ago. The article got my attention since the firm I work for has done several restoration/preservation projects, and one of them was also featured in the New York Times. Apparently Guggenheim New York, like many other significant buildings, is suffering from its progressive(daring?) design and adventurous construction method. The concrete(gunite) is cracking and leaking among other flaws. Extensive maintenance and repair have to be done periodically on the half century old masterpiece. It once again reminds me how aesthetic too often shadows functionality in the world of design. However there is no question that Wright's design shattered the old epoch on defining volume and space.

On the lighter side, the Guggenheim is again expanding its museum network overseas. This time Taiwan and Rio de Janeiroo are on the list. Zaha Hadid is to pen the 300,000 square-foot Guggenheim Taiwan once funding is appropriated. The schematic design can be found on her website. Hopefully Guggenheim's far east satellite will bring even more diversity to what started off as a personal collection.

04.18.07

Renzo Piano in Houston

For those who will be in Houston this weekend, The Menil Collection is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Renzo Piano is invited to give a lecture "Since The Menil Collection". The lecture is opened to public, however sitting is limited. As much as you can read about one of these masters, it is always very different (intriguiing?) to see and hear them in person. Maya Lin was also in town a while ago. Unfortunately I didn't know about it and missed her lecture. Of course I will be there this time and hopefully learn something from Mr Piano. Anyway I am expecting some people camping outside the venue the night before. I just might walk up to them and tell them all the PS3s are sold out!

04.16.07

Academy Model Kit

Geez the website has not been up for a month and I am already slacking off. Sorry it's been a week since my last blog. Anyway, as an excuse here is what's been keeping me busy.
Last week I drove all the way across town to find a hobby store. It was "rumored" to sell Gundam model kits. Didn't find any (why is it so hard to find Gunpla in Houston?). Instead I found a great selection of military kits of all kinds, scales and brands. Since I didn't want to go home empty handed, I grabbed a kit that was the closest to check-out. Didn't know what it was till I got home.
The kit ended up to be an Academy 1/72 scale A-10 Warthog/Thunderbolt II. The A-10 has been around for ages and is quite iconic. However I had never heard of the brand Academy, for a good reason.... The plastic pieces are not well casted and the decals are not legible. I spent hours to patch and sand. In the end I probably slapped a pound of putty on that thing.
Lesson of the day: if you are spoiled like me, stick with Tamiya or Revell kits. If you enjoy endless sanding and maybe some blisters, make your own scratch-built kit. Either way, just stay away from the no-name brands. I will post some pictures of finished model in the gallery later on.

04.10.07

AIA/ALA Building Awards

AIA announced winners of the 2007 AIA/ALA Library Building Awards yesterday. Every other year a jury composed of AIA and ALA representatives get together to select and honor well designed libraries by licensed American architects. This year the winning designs range from school library to presidential library. The 9 winners are Gluckman Mayner Architects, richärd + bauer architecture, P&T Architects and Engineers Ltd, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, CO Architects, Ann Beha Architects, Polshek Partnership Architects, Office dA, and Patkau/Croft-Pelletier/Menkés Shooner Dagenais Architectes Associés.
Many of the winning projects had already received plenty of publicity because high caliber of the firms or clients. However I have never once heard of the firm Patkau/Croft-Pelletier/Menkés Shooner Dagenais Architectes Associés, who designed La Grande Bibliothéque. I later felt like an idiot to find out the design is actually a collaboration among 3 firms (Patkau, Croft-Pelletier and MSDL). And I had been walking by one of Patkau Architects' building for 4 years!
The structure is actually more like a Swiss Army knife than a full blown building. It is no larger than an ice cream truck, but it has toilet, shower, kitchenette, and everything a regular house has. The little gem was originally commissioned for the Fabrication Exhibition at Wexner Center for the Arts in 1998. Later it was displayed in front of Gerald d. Hines College of Architecture (where I spent 5 years of my life), and then moved next to a jogging trial in Houston Medical Center (where I lived for 4 years). Talk about coincidence!
Anyway, the tiny structure makes no stylish expression. It is minimal and modest. However the pleasing proportion, efficient use of materials and space made the well crafted gem an inspiration. You can find pictures of the building on Patkau Architects' website.

04.09.07

Countdown to Bandai's 100th MG

I just made my biggest discovery of the day.... weeks after everyone else did.
For all the half-ass Gunpla (Gundam Plastic Model) hobbyists like me out there, Bandai is doing a countdown for releasing of the 100th Master Grade Kit!
I was shopping online for Gunpla earlier today. I drooled all over my screen when I saw the new Master Grade Hi-Nu Gundam. In the past if you want a Hi-Nu, you'd have to empty your bank account for a kit by G System or B-Club, and then spend days just to fuck up the difficult resin kit. Today Bandai is offering a plastic kit that is very forgiving on both of your wallet and skill.
As usually I went to official Bandai website to check on retail price in Japan. What caught my attention was not the killer mark up that US resellers add on. It was a little picture that had my eyes glued to the screen. A picture that indicates a countdown to the 100th Master Grade kit is underway (Hi-Nu is No. 95). That got me all stirred up and wondering what the 100th MG will be?! A little research revealed that the big campaign was announced in March. However the identity of the 100th MG will remain a guarded secret until the 46th annul Shizuoka Hobby Show on May 17th. Between now and then, hobbyists can mail in their guesses to Dengeki Hobby Magazine or Hobby Japan Magazine and get a chance to win a gold-plated version of the 100th MG!
I personally wish 100th MG will be the Stargazer. However looking at the recent releases (Zaku II Ver. 2, Gelgoog Ver. 2, Greendiver aka Zeta, etc) made me think that it will be a Ver. 2 of a past release. Anyway, Bandai has always taken their MGs very seriously. For the time being, I will just keep my eyes open and my credit card ready, in case Bandai pulls a limited edition stunt again.

04.05.07

Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Diller & Scofidio had been quiet for a while since their winning design of the Eyebeam Atelier. Eyebeam is a New York based organization that promotes integration of art and technology. It held a design competition for a building (Eyebeam Atelier) that would serve as a studio, exhibition space and classroom for the organization. Being well versed in the field of media art and exhibition installations, as well with their refreshing approach to museum design, Diller Scofidio won the competition in 2002. Esthetically the proposed building is composed of a series of folds, which become the walls and floors. Spaces between the interlocking folds become either usable spaces or chases. For those who think their design is no more than a sculptural gesture, I highly recommend the book titled "Diller + Scofidio: Eyebeam Atelier of New Media & Technology: The Charles and Ray Eames Lecture".

Recently Diller Scofidio remerged as Diller Scofidio + Renfro (Renfro was the project leader for Eyebeam Atelier) and unveiled their design for the newly constructed Boston Institute of Contemporary Art. I have not yet read any detailed literatures regarding the project. However judging by the press pictures, I am gladly reporting that the new building appears to have inherited their belief and concept on media art and museum design. Not only the familiar folds make their reappearance, one can easily see the similarity between the Atelier and the Institute. Overall I am digging it! This month's Architectural Record has a full length feature on the new Boston Institute of Contemporary Art if you are interested.

04.03.07

Intel Mac & CS3

It was brought to my attention that the E-mail addresses provided in the Contact page were not working. I sincerely apologize and had since fixed the problems.

As we all know, PCs and MACs are more and more alike now a day. One can even now run Windows as the native operating system on the new Intel MAC (I call it "pretty PC"). I personally use PCs at home, but the architecture firm I work for is MAC based. Unfortunately in architecture industry, all the leading software (namely Autodesk products) are designed for PCs. Sharing files with engineers and contractors has been a pain. Among all the software we use, Adobe products are the only ones that cater to both platforms. If any of you actually have Windows installed on Intel Mac, Please let me know how it is doing (yes, I am tempted to get a "pretty PC").

Speaking of Adobe, it is releasing Creative Suite 3. You can find the launch coverage on Photoshop TV, along with many great video tutorials for Photoshop users. So far from what I can see, CS3 is actually more than an update (upgrade?) from its predecessor. To further complicate the matter, CS3 comes in 4 versions! Each one targets a different user group. It is an interesting trend also evident at other software companies (again namely Autodesk). Anyway for those who are interested, a full version of CS3 will cost you US $2,499.00!

03.31.07

Carla Bruni & The Design Museum

Finally got my hands on Carla Bruni's new album. I first came across her songs a couple years ago from a movie soundtrack. I fully enjoyed her debut album Quelqu'un m'a dit (French for Someone Told Me) and had been waiting for the second release. Ironically like its title (No Promises) suggests, it is NOT very good....For whatever reasons she released her album in English this time. It might have been my imagination, but being in English ruined the fluidity of the songs. They sound quirky....? Anyway, if you like relaxing tunes, or super models turned singers, do check her out. You can get a little taste of her new song here.

The Boilerhouse and I are celebrating our 25th birthday this year. I did so with beer and hangover while The Design Museum is doing it with the 25/25 exhibition from now to June. The exhibition features significant design developments such as the Whistle Kettle (Yeah, it was state of the art). 25 designers are invited to share their thoughts and insights on the history and future trend. Among them there are only 2 architects (I think). One of them is John Pawson (Guess what? The other is Reichard Rogers). I discovered John Pawson during my sophomore year. His minimalist approach has been a great inspiration throughout my education. For those who wonders what does the "Ms" stand for in M4 Production? One of the 4 Ms is Minimum. Cheers!

03.29.07

mmmmproduction.com

Who woulda thought? Making your own website is actually easy! It all started less than a week ago when I suddenly felt like having my own website. Days later, www.mmmmproduction.com is up and running.

For those who accidentally stumbled upon my humble site, please note that it is not yet complete (probably never will be). The targeted official launch will be in mid April and the announcement will be made on several forums that I frequently visit. Anyway, I hope you are not turned off by the current incomplete state of the site. Make sure you come back and check on the improvements!

By the way, Richard Rogers won this year's Pritzker Prize.... not because of the Millennium Dome I hope....