27 April 2010
a picture tells a thousand words..
26 April 2010
Flowers on the coast
misli o nekem določenem prostoru
Modern travel is usually associated with spending long hours in uncomfortable seats, occasionally even sprinkled with dust. The sparkling destination at the other end makes it all worthwhile, where a few short days or perhaps even weeks will be spent. Miles seem to trudge along and the whole ordeal will most likely have to be repeated on the way back.
Only rarely does travel on its own become a destination in itself. An endless train journey across Siberian plains is perhaps one such endeavour, and a cruising the tropics in a ship could be another. Yet these are both passive experiences, where the aim is simply to enjoy the scenery and sample the cuisine. The more adventurous sort will try to make their way through the heart of Spain on foot or perhaps attempt to swim across one channel or another.
There is, however, a third option. Replacing blisters with glamour. Powering through mountains instead of climbing them. Speeding across a ragged landscape... A rare stretch of road partly buried under mountain ranges and occasionally leaning precariously above the Mediterranean embodies the spirit of travel more than any romantic railroad ever will.
The Autostrada dei Fiori (Motorway of the Flowers) is a stretch of motorway connecting Nice in France to Genoa in Italy. It traverses more than countries and valleys. It exists where a road, under any other circumstances, cannot exist. It is as natural as an ice-cream van in the Sahara and yet it fits perfectly.
It connects two great cities along a stretch of coast that has only recently decided to rise out of the sea and is unwilling to let anyone cross its innumerable ridges and precipices. This arrogant nature is subdued by countless tunnels, viaducts and barriers, and an endless flow of cars and lorries perched over the sea.
In its soul the Autostrada is as much an engineering undertaking as the Eiffel tower – effortlessly satisfying all practical demands – and yet adding flair in spades. Its spatial qualities are made to be appreciated exclusively through motion – partly because there is no place to stop. Exhibiting true Italian roadway design heritage, it is more akin to a bobsled track than a traffic thoroughfare. And to complicate it further, this track is both hung across deep valleys and drilled through solid cliffs. The lack of solid ground has even pushed the border crossing between France and Italy some 5 kilometres from its actual spot.
Due to its character, the Autostrada offers the gratifying experience of travelling for the sake of travel. Even after a winning game in a casino in Nice, the drive will prove to be an astonishing experience, as it fuses landscape, cities and travel into one continuous experience. Roaring motors are balanced with the calmness of the sea throughout the journey.
Along the way there are almost too many sights to be seen, but not touched. Glimpses of scattered private villas can be caught over the wheel, as well as compact villages grown onto the ridges. And spread amongst them innumerable tomato greenhouses. And yet they can’t be looked at! The speed demands attention and the asphalt mixes danger with delight. The drive itself is gambling with life as it is with chips in Nice.
This automotive bliss takes some adapting to. As this is the natural habitat of sporty V8 coupés and such beasts, it is worlds apart from any daily commute. And as a red 1952 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante zips past, the whole experience becomes very similar to riding a roller coaster; with the added benefit of having control of the throttle.
In short, the Autostrada dei Fiori is a destination in itself, being part of a group of great Mediterranean roads that snugly hug the coast and were made to be enjoyed. In a convertible.
Modern travel is usually associated with spending long hours in uncomfortable seats, occasionally even sprinkled with dust. The sparkling destination at the other end makes it all worthwhile, where a few short days or perhaps even weeks will be spent. Miles seem to trudge along and the whole ordeal will most likely have to be repeated on the way back.
Only rarely does travel on its own become a destination in itself. An endless train journey across Siberian plains is perhaps one such endeavour, and a cruising the tropics in a ship could be another. Yet these are both passive experiences, where the aim is simply to enjoy the scenery and sample the cuisine. The more adventurous sort will try to make their way through the heart of Spain on foot or perhaps attempt to swim across one channel or another.
There is, however, a third option. Replacing blisters with glamour. Powering through mountains instead of climbing them. Speeding across a ragged landscape... A rare stretch of road partly buried under mountain ranges and occasionally leaning precariously above the Mediterranean embodies the spirit of travel more than any romantic railroad ever will.
The Autostrada dei Fiori (Motorway of the Flowers) is a stretch of motorway connecting Nice in France to Genoa in Italy. It traverses more than countries and valleys. It exists where a road, under any other circumstances, cannot exist. It is as natural as an ice-cream van in the Sahara and yet it fits perfectly.
It connects two great cities along a stretch of coast that has only recently decided to rise out of the sea and is unwilling to let anyone cross its innumerable ridges and precipices. This arrogant nature is subdued by countless tunnels, viaducts and barriers, and an endless flow of cars and lorries perched over the sea.
In its soul the Autostrada is as much an engineering undertaking as the Eiffel tower – effortlessly satisfying all practical demands – and yet adding flair in spades. Its spatial qualities are made to be appreciated exclusively through motion – partly because there is no place to stop. Exhibiting true Italian roadway design heritage, it is more akin to a bobsled track than a traffic thoroughfare. And to complicate it further, this track is both hung across deep valleys and drilled through solid cliffs. The lack of solid ground has even pushed the border crossing between France and Italy some 5 kilometres from its actual spot.
Due to its character, the Autostrada offers the gratifying experience of travelling for the sake of travel. Even after a winning game in a casino in Nice, the drive will prove to be an astonishing experience, as it fuses landscape, cities and travel into one continuous experience. Roaring motors are balanced with the calmness of the sea throughout the journey.
Along the way there are almost too many sights to be seen, but not touched. Glimpses of scattered private villas can be caught over the wheel, as well as compact villages grown onto the ridges. And spread amongst them innumerable tomato greenhouses. And yet they can’t be looked at! The speed demands attention and the asphalt mixes danger with delight. The drive itself is gambling with life as it is with chips in Nice.
This automotive bliss takes some adapting to. As this is the natural habitat of sporty V8 coupés and such beasts, it is worlds apart from any daily commute. And as a red 1952 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante zips past, the whole experience becomes very similar to riding a roller coaster; with the added benefit of having control of the throttle.
In short, the Autostrada dei Fiori is a destination in itself, being part of a group of great Mediterranean roads that snugly hug the coast and were made to be enjoyed. In a convertible.
23 April 2010
scale
apparently
The Neanderthal's brain was bigger than yours is.
It took Leo Tolstoy six years to write "War & Peace".
7.5 million toothpicks can be created from a cord of wood.
Every year about 98% of the atoms in your body are replaced.
The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than the lowest point in Colorado.
A car that shifts manually gets 2 miles more per gallon of gas than a car with automatic shift.
etc...
21 April 2010
Nuts & bolts
tokrat so na sporedu razmišljanja o vlogi tehnologije v arhitekturi in na svetu nasploh....
The sheer cheek and explicitness of the Cité des Sciences et Industrie in Paris is impressive. It courageously shows off its raison-d’être: being a temple to scientific endeavour. Unlike the Beaubourg, Cité’s colourful cultural cousin or Lloyd’s, the monument to money, who both wear their insides out like fashionable overcoats, the Cité is in its essence dedicated to exploring these insides. The result is not so much a building as the world’s biggest didactic tool.
Embodied within the Cité is the idea of technology itself. Although nuts and bolts as well as rivets and welds hold buildings together and keep ships dry (or at least afloat), they take on almost religious significance in the Cité. Here technological know-how is used to display technological know-how itself. Although the result of this incest could easily have become vulgar, it in fact comes through as a well composed tribute to science. The appearance seems wholly fitting to the content, unlike some other sheds which were needlessly decorated with beams, pipes and cables, courtesy of high-tech architects.
The birth of technology itself is perhaps best represented in 2001: A Space Odyssey, where an ape starts to understand what could be done with a bone and later uses this new knowledge to intimidate its rivals. Even though the scene is fictional and obviously isn’t based on any historical record, it is very successful at portraying what the first ever realization of the sheer potential of technology might have looked like. From that moment onwards technology has become a faithful companion of man and was in some way or another involved in or responsible for all of mankind’s future aspirations. Some sort of technological appliance has been used in the conception and construction of everything from Stonehenge to Spring house.
And yet, the essence of technology is difficult to pin down. Combining concepts of quantum mechanics and windscreen wipers under a single roof and not leave any components out in the rain is a daunting task. One such attempt was by Heidegger who developed the concept of ‘standing-reserve’. He argues that willingness to be used is intrinsic to any technological device. Any tool is then essentially a potential extension of the user, waiting to be put into practice. The acceleration pedal will (albeit indirectly) take the driver to speeds that would otherwise be out of reach.
Because the idea of technology itself is so fundamental to the human psyche it is often difficult to be aware of its presence. It is often only noticeable when wholly absent (or hidden from view) or, contrarily, its presence is greatly emphasised.
One of the most successful cases of invisible technology is the wall-mounted Muji CD player. Unlike similar devices it is perversely blank, its purpose legible only to those familiar with inner workings of CD players. Devoid of any obvious controls, it only comes alive when coupled with a CD and its cord is gently tugged.
Alternatively, there is fetishisation of technology. Steampunk thrives on the romantic aspects of bolts and rivets, re-enacting a glorified industrial revolution. Here the elements enabling the standing reserve are grossly exaggerated and openly indulge in exhibitionism. Each tiny rivet is brushed until gleaming and every knob put on a pedestal.
It is worth noting that every single artefact ever created fits in at some point between these two poles. As Aristotle points out, anything not given to us by nature is created by man and as such inherently technological. And as the world is so thoroughly soaked in technology it is difficult, if not impossible, to find a dry spot. It is only natural then for architecture to echo this state.
The sheer cheek and explicitness of the Cité des Sciences et Industrie in Paris is impressive. It courageously shows off its raison-d’être: being a temple to scientific endeavour. Unlike the Beaubourg, Cité’s colourful cultural cousin or Lloyd’s, the monument to money, who both wear their insides out like fashionable overcoats, the Cité is in its essence dedicated to exploring these insides. The result is not so much a building as the world’s biggest didactic tool.
Embodied within the Cité is the idea of technology itself. Although nuts and bolts as well as rivets and welds hold buildings together and keep ships dry (or at least afloat), they take on almost religious significance in the Cité. Here technological know-how is used to display technological know-how itself. Although the result of this incest could easily have become vulgar, it in fact comes through as a well composed tribute to science. The appearance seems wholly fitting to the content, unlike some other sheds which were needlessly decorated with beams, pipes and cables, courtesy of high-tech architects.
The birth of technology itself is perhaps best represented in 2001: A Space Odyssey, where an ape starts to understand what could be done with a bone and later uses this new knowledge to intimidate its rivals. Even though the scene is fictional and obviously isn’t based on any historical record, it is very successful at portraying what the first ever realization of the sheer potential of technology might have looked like. From that moment onwards technology has become a faithful companion of man and was in some way or another involved in or responsible for all of mankind’s future aspirations. Some sort of technological appliance has been used in the conception and construction of everything from Stonehenge to Spring house.
And yet, the essence of technology is difficult to pin down. Combining concepts of quantum mechanics and windscreen wipers under a single roof and not leave any components out in the rain is a daunting task. One such attempt was by Heidegger who developed the concept of ‘standing-reserve’. He argues that willingness to be used is intrinsic to any technological device. Any tool is then essentially a potential extension of the user, waiting to be put into practice. The acceleration pedal will (albeit indirectly) take the driver to speeds that would otherwise be out of reach.
Because the idea of technology itself is so fundamental to the human psyche it is often difficult to be aware of its presence. It is often only noticeable when wholly absent (or hidden from view) or, contrarily, its presence is greatly emphasised.
One of the most successful cases of invisible technology is the wall-mounted Muji CD player. Unlike similar devices it is perversely blank, its purpose legible only to those familiar with inner workings of CD players. Devoid of any obvious controls, it only comes alive when coupled with a CD and its cord is gently tugged.
Alternatively, there is fetishisation of technology. Steampunk thrives on the romantic aspects of bolts and rivets, re-enacting a glorified industrial revolution. Here the elements enabling the standing reserve are grossly exaggerated and openly indulge in exhibitionism. Each tiny rivet is brushed until gleaming and every knob put on a pedestal.
It is worth noting that every single artefact ever created fits in at some point between these two poles. As Aristotle points out, anything not given to us by nature is created by man and as such inherently technological. And as the world is so thoroughly soaked in technology it is difficult, if not impossible, to find a dry spot. It is only natural then for architecture to echo this state.
18 April 2010
layerji
ena stvar, ki me zadnje case drži okupiranega je koncept soobstoja, layerjev, resnične narave sveta, aksiomov in drugih absolutnih resnic... kar sem tudi že ubesedil pri celebration weeku. sicer me okupira bolj kot bi bilo to nujno potrebno ali celo koristno. ampak nič zato, sploh ker jo lahko brez večjih težav vpletem v študijski korikulum (uf, beseda).. imam v planu sicer eno bolj pogumno zadevo izvesti (baje nekaj materiala že imam nabranega), ampak do takrat en dosti švohnat koprodukt raziskovanja te tematike..
Camden Layers:
Camden Layers:
16 April 2010
spet rezanje
me je prijelo da malo bolj aktivno pristopim k temu blogiranju... povod za tokratno pisanje je pa to, da sem spet dobil izgovor za igranje z laserskim rezalnikom... sicer je bil zaenkrat samo test run, ampak sem ga tudi malo izkoristil za lastno izživljanje..
tole je en košček, ki je ostal od ta glavnega kosa... moram rečti da je nivo detajlov res zakon! takšnele tim-burton-esque spirale dela kot za šalo. in če imaš moč žarka pravilno nastavljeno (kar je nisem imel.. ampak sedaj vem da mora biti 12,2% namesto 8%) potem se še perfektno izreže.
vse pa izhaja iz takšnihle risb. rdeče so za rezanje, črne za graviranje. sploh to graviranje je prav opolzek koncept, glede na to da je debelina papirja tisto del milimetra. čeprav, roko na srce, gre bolj za selektivno zažiganje, tako nekako kot če bi z lečo in soncem žgal v papir..
kot že omenjeno se laser drži načrta kot... no, pijanec plota. če pa koga zanima je dashed line v ilustratorju samo vizalna fora in v resnici ne naredi črtkane črte. tisto je treba narediti na roke.. stranski produkt tokratne ekskurzije v svet rezanja je bil 45minut prostega časa za poljubno rezarijo.. in sem si spravil narediti par vizitk.
mala domača manufaktura. oz. pigalnica, če smo natančni.. posamezne narezane trakove je potrebno zložiti
moja mala osebna armija in njeni detajli
povzetek? kupček najjačih vizitk, ever. :)
povsem nepričakovan je bil pa tale cukrček. najden kos lesa, ki je bil najverjetneje uporabljan za podlogo drugim rezalcem. vzorec niti ni povsem drugačen od tistih, vzporednih črt ki jih na mizi pusti olfa nož, le da so tukaj oblike malenkost bolj komplicirane.. in celotna kompozicija ima skorajda malo odmeva kubizma
no, kakorkoli že.. laserski rezalniki so fajn.
-----
addendum: po nesreci sem med sprehajanjem po faxu srecal cemu tocno je sluzila prejsnja kubisticna deska:
na tej tocki se je smiselno vprasati cemu tocno sluzi taksna klinicno natancna izvedba makete, ki ubistvu (by proxy) prikazuje nek stihijski, inherently nenatancen vzorec spontane gradnje na nekem arbitrarno dolocenem obmocju na drugem koncu planeta (razen ego-bildanja in arhitekturnih konvencij o 'lepih' maketah)...
moram recti da mi je moja deska (sedaj pravzaprav stenski ornament) veliko bolj vsec od koncnega rezultata..
tole je en košček, ki je ostal od ta glavnega kosa... moram rečti da je nivo detajlov res zakon! takšnele tim-burton-esque spirale dela kot za šalo. in če imaš moč žarka pravilno nastavljeno (kar je nisem imel.. ampak sedaj vem da mora biti 12,2% namesto 8%) potem se še perfektno izreže.
vse pa izhaja iz takšnihle risb. rdeče so za rezanje, črne za graviranje. sploh to graviranje je prav opolzek koncept, glede na to da je debelina papirja tisto del milimetra. čeprav, roko na srce, gre bolj za selektivno zažiganje, tako nekako kot če bi z lečo in soncem žgal v papir..
no, kakorkoli že.. laserski rezalniki so fajn.
-----
addendum: po nesreci sem med sprehajanjem po faxu srecal cemu tocno je sluzila prejsnja kubisticna deska:
moram recti da mi je moja deska (sedaj pravzaprav stenski ornament) veliko bolj vsec od koncnega rezultata..
15 April 2010
da ne bodo samo besede
dodajam še par fotk z arhitekturnimi ambicijami... nastale so tekom zadnjih parih mesecev, na različnih lokacijah in z različnimi tematikami... no lažem - različnimi programskimi zasnovami; tematika je več ali manj ista..
sistematično neenako (Paris residential complex near BnF)
Alvar in še Aalto zapovrh! (Residential, Berlin)
je lepše če nihče ne pomete... (Academy of Arts, Berlin)
a sem že omenil, da mi je Hansa Viertl eden najjačih placov, ever?
(Kaiser-Friedrich-Gedächtniskirche)
a je fajn ko se modernizem izide (Hansa Viertl Library)
taradadamdadam! transparentna demokracija, al kako že..
(Foster @ Reichstag)
ampak lepše kot to skor da že ne gre (Einsteinturm @ Potsdam)
in ko že misliš da so stopnice samo stopnice
(Diss st / Pelter st, London)
malce abstrakcije... sicer pa National Theatre, London
+ Francis the Pigeon
a splash of colour, if you will...
reciklaža je ključna za ta svet.. na primer reciklaža kina v pub..
(The Coronet, Holloway rd, London)
colourful @ Chinese new year @ Soho
zih je polyprix iz barvastih lego kock sestavljen
(Monoprix @ Avenue d'Italie, Paris)
to je fajn ko se sosedi razumejo in se imajo radi
(Centre Pierre Mendès, Paris)
evo, če bi bil Bond villain pol bi bil tole vhod v mojo rezidenco...
(Cite des Sciences, Paris)
eh.. sistematičnih štiristo let vpliva na Arhitekturo, kaj pa je to..
(Place des Vosges, Paris)
ma sej sem vedu da je kao kul.. samo da je pa tolk kul, to pa ni fer...
(BnF, Paris)
moje ime je ta-al. Mon-u-men-ta-al. (Notre Dame cathedral, Paris)
(Kaiser-Friedrich-Gedächtniskirche)
(Foster @ Reichstag)
ampak lepše kot to skor da že ne gre (Einsteinturm @ Potsdam)
(Diss st / Pelter st, London)
malce abstrakcije... sicer pa National Theatre, London
+ Francis the Pigeon
a splash of colour, if you will...
reciklaža je ključna za ta svet.. na primer reciklaža kina v pub..
(The Coronet, Holloway rd, London)
colourful @ Chinese new year @ Soho
zih je polyprix iz barvastih lego kock sestavljen
(Monoprix @ Avenue d'Italie, Paris)
to je fajn ko se sosedi razumejo in se imajo radi
(Centre Pierre Mendès, Paris)
evo, če bi bil Bond villain pol bi bil tole vhod v mojo rezidenco...
(Cite des Sciences, Paris)
eh.. sistematičnih štiristo let vpliva na Arhitekturo, kaj pa je to..
(Place des Vosges, Paris)
ma sej sem vedu da je kao kul.. samo da je pa tolk kul, to pa ni fer...
(BnF, Paris)
in, kaj je povzetek? malo več moram pofotkati londona... ali pa vsaj vzeti fotkič kdaj s sabo ko grem hiše šlatat...
12 April 2010
possibilities of film
še eno razmišljanje o potencialnih močeh filma in njegovih neskončnih planjavah za kreativno ustvarjanje..
Films are moving pictures. That is, pictures shown one after another. Sometimes, if we’re lucky, there is sound to go with the pictures, as well. Then pictures cease being pictures and soundtracks stop being disconnected sounds. Our minds trick us into perceiving a connection between the individual pictures and even make us believe the sound is in some way relevant or even intrinsic to the experience.
Only rarely, however, is this fundamental characteristic of film taken fully into consideration. What we are commonly faced with is a parade of arbitrary images created as a result of haphazardly available filming locations. This is a great loss, as the essence of film-making enables limitless possibilities, not necessarily bound to the realities of the given world.
Only when film is considered as a fluid canvas in its entirety can film-making realize its true potential. It is perhaps due to the relative youth of film-making itself that such that the possibilities of creative reinterpretation, allegory and compositional order have not been explored as much as in other artistic strands, where they have created wondrous worlds for us to explore.
It is when the City succumbs to the lens and space itself is bent to fit the frame that films come into their own.
Films are moving pictures. That is, pictures shown one after another. Sometimes, if we’re lucky, there is sound to go with the pictures, as well. Then pictures cease being pictures and soundtracks stop being disconnected sounds. Our minds trick us into perceiving a connection between the individual pictures and even make us believe the sound is in some way relevant or even intrinsic to the experience.
Only rarely, however, is this fundamental characteristic of film taken fully into consideration. What we are commonly faced with is a parade of arbitrary images created as a result of haphazardly available filming locations. This is a great loss, as the essence of film-making enables limitless possibilities, not necessarily bound to the realities of the given world.
Only when film is considered as a fluid canvas in its entirety can film-making realize its true potential. It is perhaps due to the relative youth of film-making itself that such that the possibilities of creative reinterpretation, allegory and compositional order have not been explored as much as in other artistic strands, where they have created wondrous worlds for us to explore.
It is when the City succumbs to the lens and space itself is bent to fit the frame that films come into their own.
(still from Mamma Roma)
2 April 2010
film, mesto in meta-prezenca
ker ze dolgo nisem nic spisal in ker ravno delam na enem sestavku... je tukajle en work-in-progress kos:
Contrary to other artistic strands, film-making and photography rely heavily on found imagery (especially in the form of found spaces) for its content to be set in. A painting is inherently wholly artificial as the painter creates the backdrop and all the fictional space for the content to be set in, including the characters.
Hence, compositional principles can effortlessly be included in the set-up of the conceived work. On the other hand, found objects only began to be considered as artistic when they were endowed by an added layer of meaning. This is either by some sort of rationale (as with the case of Duchamp’s Fountain) or through consequential ordering (as shown by the Qatsi film trilogy).
In films individual shots are occasionally framed so as to accentuate a specific point or relation. Very rarely, however, sequences (and entire backdrops/sets) will be crafted with compositional balance in mind, so as to coincide with the storytelling. When such a union occurs the results can be impressive and used effectively as a tool for enriched storytelling, as pointed out by the case studies.
Contrary to other artistic strands, film-making and photography rely heavily on found imagery (especially in the form of found spaces) for its content to be set in. A painting is inherently wholly artificial as the painter creates the backdrop and all the fictional space for the content to be set in, including the characters.
Hence, compositional principles can effortlessly be included in the set-up of the conceived work. On the other hand, found objects only began to be considered as artistic when they were endowed by an added layer of meaning. This is either by some sort of rationale (as with the case of Duchamp’s Fountain) or through consequential ordering (as shown by the Qatsi film trilogy).
In films individual shots are occasionally framed so as to accentuate a specific point or relation. Very rarely, however, sequences (and entire backdrops/sets) will be crafted with compositional balance in mind, so as to coincide with the storytelling. When such a union occurs the results can be impressive and used effectively as a tool for enriched storytelling, as pointed out by the case studies.
Hero: the solitude of the Individual and the might of the Emperor
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