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canvas print on Operation Void Deck
Impressive blog. Thanks for writing
Conrad McKee on Wishing all our friends a Blessed Christmas!
Same to you
waiting room furniture on Operation Void Deck
Thanks for sharing this Joshua, good job.
New Blog Entries to savour!
sernhong on Tue, May 5, 2009
Here’s a few blog entries posted very recently this year 2009 to share with everyone:
Dinner with Alexander Tzonis by Yu Sern Hong
Last Sunday evening (26 Apr 09) was an exciting one for re:ACT as Jerry, Ngai Keong and I managed to share about re:ACT to Alexander Tzonis ... ...
re:ACT at 7th mAAN Conference, New Delhi (23-25 Feb) by Yu Sern Hong
re:ACT was invited earlier this year, February 2009, to participate in the 7th mAAN Conference held in New Delhi, India ... ...
Collaboration of TRYBE and re:ACT by Cai Bing Yu
Collaboration between Trybe and re:ACT began in the red and cosy setting of a cafe located within the heritage-rich Red Dot Traffic building ... ...
Volunteering with CAI in Beijing by Foong Ngai Keong
The mission of CAI (CAI or “才“ means talent in mandarin) is to transform and empower underprivileged youth in China by instilling in them the Four C’s - confidence, courage, commitment and care ... ...
Enjoy the read… ... Please click on the Blog Tag at the left navigation column.
Dinner with Alexander Tzonis
sernhong on Mon, May 4, 2009
Last Sunday evening (26 Apr 09) was an exciting one for re:ACT as Jerry, Ngai Keong and I managed to share about re:ACT to Alexander Tzonis, a reknowned Greek architect, researcher and author whom some of us at NUS (National University of Singapore) are familiar with when he was visiting professor between 2006 to 2007. Jerry is currently doing an Architecture Masters programme at Tsinghua University and is also one of the earliest members of re:ACT. He had managed to arrange for a casual dinner comprising a few young Singaporean architects (mainly from DP Architects) with Alexander Tzonis who is now professor of Architectural Theory at Tsinghua University.Thanks to Jerry who had already promoted well the works & goals of re:ACT in Tsinghua University to Tzonis and some of the Singaporean architects in Beijing, the dinner conversation pretty much revolved around the architectural situation in Singapore and also how re:ACT as an organisation was a good emergence. As we made a copy of re:ACT’s annual report available to Tzonis, we were pleasantly surprised when he picked it up and read through it before even touching his food! He went through every page and project and was excited that such a flexible, initiative-driven organisation existed in Singapore.
We were secretly beaming when Prof Tzonis expressed interest to arrange his time schedule so that he could avail himself to attend the mAAN worKonference 2010 in Singapore next year and possibly sit in for one of the DMP workshops. Although July-Sept is usually a bad time for him, (they are the months that he usually sets aside for his personal retreat to gather his thoughts for writing), he mentioned that he could try to make an exception.
Alexander Tzonis is a speaker who has lots of insights about Singapore planning and the Asian movement. It would be great if we could have him at the worKonference as a keynote speaker and also to seek his help in shaping the themes and briefs for the conference. If you do read this, Prof Tzonis, thanks for your vote of confidence in this young organisation and your enthusiastic support!
Sern Hong
re:ACT at 7th mAAN Conference, New Delhi (23-25 Feb)
sernhong on Mon, May 4, 2009
re:ACT was invited earlier this year, February 2009, to participate in the 7th mAAN Conference held in New Delhi, India. Joshua and I made the trip to represent re:ACT. Joshua flew in from Singapore, while I flew in from Los Angeles. We were invited to make 2 presentations:
1) Design My Place(DMP) workshops as a participatory design process (a paper written by Kenghua and Swee Hong were submitted earlier and selected. As both cannot make the trip, Joshua made the trip as he is familiar with DMP and will be the main coordinator for future DMP workshops.)
2) worKonference 2010 proposal bid
The experience was memorable and enriching. It was inspirational and greatly refreshing interacting with different people, both professionals and academics from around the world, and finding out what’s happening with architecture and city planning in various parts of the world.
mAAN introduction
mAAN is short for the international organisation called modern Asian Architecture Network. mAAN is established as a loosely knit network of architectural researchers and specialists committed to study, preserve, and rehabilitate the modern architecture, townscape, and civil-engineering heritages in Asia. The preparatory meeting for the establishment of mAAN was held in Guangzhou on July 22, 2000. More details can be found at www.m-aan.org
The goals of the modern Asian Architecture Network (Research, Preservation, Revitalization) are as follows:
1. Loose association and exchange of information through committee meetings and newsletters.
2. Confirmation of architectural heritage and sharing of its history through symposia and the creation of a “General Survey of Modern Asian Architecture” and the co-editing of “History of Modern Asian Architecture.”
3. Proactive efforts for the future; informing and educating the public through the establishment of an educational program for the next generation, and mounting of exhibits of modern Asian architecture.
Given the international nature of mAAN, it is also no wonder the connections it has with several international organisation such as Unesco, Docomomo, UIA, etc.
(from left to right) Mr. Teng Kun Yen, principal of Shanghai Creatives; Ms Louise Cox, current president of UIA; Joshua Teo, vice-president of re:ACT; Yu Sern Hong, president of re:ACT; Elisa Alessandrini, member of Docomomo
7th mAAN Conference introduction
The 7th mAAN Conference was held in New Delhi, India, from 23rd to 25th February 2009. The mAAN-7 conference was located at the famous India International Centre and in close proximity to the early-20th century heart of New Delhi, one of the most endangered urban heritages of the modern world.
For this year’s theme – Legacies of Modernity - mAAN invites presentations about the myriad ways in which the modern city contributes to the formation of a modern identity. It shall inquire whether, by revitalizing the modern, the city is itself reinvented. And it will promote the idea that concerted action is needed – in the form of documentation, discourse and intervention – in order to conserve the vital socio-cultural and economic resource represented by the modern Asian city.
There were many speakers from different countries. BV Doshi gave a passionate opening keynote speech while Dr. Shin Muramatsu followed up with an inspiring presentation about the future goals of mAAN in the light of the current environmental woes as well as the global phenomenon of societies and their heritage values & identities.
Throughout the 3 days of conference, there were many opportunities to learn more about what other countries and cultures are doing in terms of dealing with their issues of city planning, architecture, policies and communities. The interaction created several friendship bonds as well.
On the first evening of the conference, an interesting panel discussion took place. The Chief Minister of New Delhi was invited to be part of the discussion. She was one tough lady! Though fully white-haired, she was hardly frail. She exudes a kind of powerful aura that demands attention and respect. The discussion centered about the difficulties of the local Indian architects and planners in manifesting their designs and ideas in different states and cities in India, especially with some of the government policies being in the way. The Chief Minister jumps in and brought us through an in-depth review of how the grassroot leaders think and plan while also stating that architects and planners, in many areas, do not understand the political, economic and social implications enough, and hence the misunderstanding that they are not given a free rein to manifest their designs. Very true and real, I think even in Singapore, we do need architects and planners that do not just “fight” for one side, but also to be involved in the political, economic systems in order to better assess situations and implement ideas. That way, it brings about a mutual benefit where the policy-makers are working hand-in-hand with architecture/planning-trained professionals or having them in their midst which will make a more holistic decision-making platform. This also brings back memories of similar discussions brought up during the “Architect in a Bottle” forum back in 2005.
Another presentation that caught my attention was that of Michael Jansen, CEO of Satellier Global Workshare Solutions (www.satellier.com). Interestingly, they offer services in digitizing cities and creating parametric city scenarios simulations for the urban authorities of each city, allowing them to better pre-empt scenarios and have risks analysis of how different development options will affect the city. They have now commissions in India and China. (Darn, my masters thesis, www.piratedcity.blogspot.com, has almost similar ideas to what they are doing…. And they are actually making money from city simulations for the city’s policy makers) Too late… sigh.
Unexpectedly, I was asked to do a live translation for a Shanghai-based Taiwanese architect, Mr. Teng Kun-yen, principal of Shanghai Creatives, during his presentation. It is a built work in Shanghai, which consists of designing modern restoration and interpretation of large plot of abandoned GE factories along the Huangpu River. The project includes retail, galleries and design studios as new programs. I made a trip to Shanghai last weekend to visit the place (along Huangshupu lu) 5 years after I was there involved in a design workshop which gathered students, professionals, researchers from all over the world to come up with design proposals and presenting to the local city mayor and planning authorities. The re-adapted buildings look really good and have a certain charm to them. Unfortunately, there isn’t a proper follow-up of marketing and estate management to maintain the place well. Hopefully, these can be improved in time to come.
Design My Place presentation (by Joshua Teo)
“Design My Place” is a 3-day workshop for students, aimed to induct the youth into the mysteries of architecture and urban design.
As an object lesson, the students study a particular neighbourhood area near their school. Based on what they discover, they come up with ideas and designs that help improve the living experience of the area. At the end of the three days, they present their ideas and design solutions to architects, urban planners, grassroot leaders and other stakeholders of the neighbourhood.
These suggestions of interventions then become an open-source resource and a shared ideas-bank from which the authorities might consider translating into actual projects. By being part of this workshop, the students are empowered and encouraged to be more proactive making positive changes for the community.
Several more schools have approached re:ACT to conduct more Design My Place workshops. A website will be setup soon to archive all past workshop proposals. It will serve as a hub of bubbling ideas from the students and community.
Videos of the workshops are available for viewing on Youtube (search “Design My Place” or subscribe to the ReallyArchitecture Channel).
worKonference 2010 proposal bid presentation (by Yu Sern Hong)
worKonference @SG2010
Asia Diversified l Modernity Modified l Possibilities Multiplied
worKonference@SG2010 seeks to explore different responses to the challenges inherent in the design, use of space and the construction, protection and preservation of identity in a global city such as Singapore.
It will feature an international competition, a public exhibition, an interactive workshop, conference and public forum attended by professionals, community leaders, and academics in the architecture/ urban-planning/ development field. There will also be an emphasis on creating real-world impact.
The mAAN8 worKonference @Sg2010 is jointly organized by mAAN and ReallyArchitecture (re:ACT).
The working committee will comprise of aspiring youths and distinguished, inspiring advisers from all over the world. As of now, we have youths from the following countries in the committee: Singapore, Japan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, China, UK, Italy and Malaysia.
worKonference framework diagram
The presentations turned out to be much better than we expected, receiving several positive, enthusiastic responses from the international audience. They include:
- Louise Cox, President of UIA, asking to be invited to Singapore, and expressing her excitement at the re:ACT’s presentations
- Swedish journalist wants a follow-up article to publish in Sweden regarding re:ACT’s presentations
- Institutions from Tokyo, Istanbul, Indonesia, India, Taiwan, China, France, UNESCO, expressing interest in re:ACT’s presentations.
For more details, please look out for news updates at the mAAN and re:ACT websites.
Affiliations / Multi-disciplinary efforts / NGOs, Announcements / Competitions / Events, Architecture in the rest of the world, Discourse 2 comments
Really Ar? 2 - “So This Is Masterplanning!”
sernhong on Sat, August 2, 2008
WE ARE BACK WITH REALLY AR!!!! As you would already know, Really Ar? is Re:act’s design sharing session where we invite designers to talk about their recent projects. This sharing session is open to anyone who might be interested in architecture and design and through this we hope to encourage meaningful discussion of real issues and new ideas! The theme for August’s Really Ar? is “So this masterplanning!” Come find out more this coming Tuesday, 5 Aug 08, 7.30-9.30pm at Night & Day Bar, ( 139 Selegie Road ).
Presenting 3 Speakers:
1. Philip Tan, Surbana
2. Prasoon Kumar, HOK
3. Yu Sern Hong, 5+Design, LA
Special Presentations:
1. Elaine Tan, URA - on AUDE Programme-
2. Chong Keng Hua - on [re:act] Initiatives
We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!
Design My Place Article
sernhong on Mon, June 30, 2008
Design My Place Article report article on the 3-day creative workshop conducted by [re:act] at HCJC in Nov 2007.
co-written by Cheng Sin Mei and Yu Sern Hong
Singapore Architect, Issue 243
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