星期一, 8月 25, 2008
星期三, 8月 20, 2008
京都﹒新風館, NTT/Richard Rogers
二ＯＯ一年擴建完成的新風館，原身為舊京都中央電話局，具歷史價值。建築師保留舊建築，利用新建築部分把原來的L形布局改作「口」形，創造中庭空間，變身潮流商場，為荒廢了的古蹟注入生氣，也為市民提供開放式表演場地。增建的藍色鋼骨迴廊，依附在舊建築的紅磚牆，色調和質感對比強烈，既為三層商鋪帶來人流，也是中庭的立體觀眾席。
(撰文: 建築師梁冬亮)
星期五, 8月 15, 2008
洛杉磯 Getty Center, Richard Meier
石，是西方建築語言的基本詞彙。它深遠地影響了建築空間和形態的演變。直到工業革命後，石的建築文化才漸被替代。Getty Center是位於山路上的複雜建築群，集合了博物館、藝術研究中心多種功能。來自意大利舊石礦的沉積岩，同時體現了建築和藝術的永恒的歴史價值。石，更使多變的建築物外觀呈現歸一感。
撰文: 吳啟聰(香港建築中心)
星期四, 8月 14, 2008
星期三, 8月 13, 2008
Living in Small Spaces—Hong Kong
Hong Kong is just a miniscule dot off the southern coast of China and at first glance not special at all. Its land area of 1104 km2 makes it already small, but then 75% of the land is actually undeveloped. It is amazing then, that seven million people can use this little piece of space into one of the most bustling, vibrant cities in the world.
Living in Hong Kong is nearly the opposite of growing up in North American suburbia, where it was almost a requirement to own a car if you wanted to get anywhere. All the streets and wide roads were neatly organized into a nice grid, which you’d travel on during a twenty minute drive to reach a large stand-up sign proclaiming the name of some shopping mall. Then you would park your car (free) in the large parking lot and walk into a strip mall with some stores so large that you could have your morning exercise inside.
In Hong Kong one of my first difficulties was getting anywhere I wanted. Whereas locations and directions were clear in North America, I gave up using Google maps after one week in Hong Kong. Not only were the cluster of streets tangled with each other in random directions, but many of them didn’t even have street signs! Eventually I learned to rely on sight recognition, which led me to another astonishing discovery—Hong Kongers know their city inside out. Name any area and they will likely know where it is, how to get there, what there is to do, and what kinds of people live there. Perhaps it is because of these small spaces at home that Hong Kongers have gone out to explore the city instead.
In “The Laws of Simplicity,” John Maeda describes creating simplicity by hiding complexity, giving the example of a VCR player. Even though there are dozens of buttons, the effect is not jarring because they have been hidden by a flip cover. Hong Kong, out of necessity, has applied the same principle into urban planning. Suppose you walk down a street in Mong Kok for ten minutes looking for a restaurant but don’t find one at all. Where did they go? In that ten minute walk, you likely have passed a dizzying selection of them already, only they were obscured by narrow passageways into buildings where they resided on the 8th floor.
Hong Kong has had to deal with a land shortage for many decades, and making it extremely difficult to find areas to build new structures even on reclaimed land. Instead, it has poured its wealth of artistic talent into interior design, creating some of the most beautifully designed hidden jewels. Oftentimes, it is the lack of space that makes it easier to design a room according to a strong concept or set of principles as they come up with creative solutions to maximize space. It is not uncommon to have the space under the seating area in a restaurant transformed into a drawer for holding dishes, or have ceiling-high bookshelves. Moreover, Hong Kong’s status as an export hub, gateway to China, and melting pot of international ideas means that these interior designers usually have the resources to create whatever they dream of making.
There really aren’t that many places in Hong Kong, and it is very possible to memorize all the MTR stops if you take it often enough. And yet, this city will never get boring because it is continuously moving. It is fascinating how the trends change so dramatically, whether it is in food, fashion, or design. Every couple of weeks, a new full-scale exhibition is installed in Times Square; and at least thirty more are recommended by the Art Map every single month of the year, and not just in the summer. And despite the 35C weather in August, the crowds that come out to these events, such as the Hong Kong Comic Fair in Wanchai, would dwarf the mass of Boxing Day shoppers in downtown Toronto any year. And just how many cities in the world can boast its own thriving music and movie industries? Most countries don’t even have that and yet Hong Kong’s entertainment industry has millions of fans in Singapore and other Southeast Asia countries, as well as Canada, USA, Europe, and other areas with overseas Chinese.
Hong Kong is just a small piece of land with not much to call its own. And yet the people have combined their collective relentless energy, creativity, and strong will to work around all these small spaces to create a stunning city that will continue to surprise the visitor no matter where they look.
Writer: Michelle Kwok
Living in Hong Kong is nearly the opposite of growing up in North American suburbia, where it was almost a requirement to own a car if you wanted to get anywhere. All the streets and wide roads were neatly organized into a nice grid, which you’d travel on during a twenty minute drive to reach a large stand-up sign proclaiming the name of some shopping mall. Then you would park your car (free) in the large parking lot and walk into a strip mall with some stores so large that you could have your morning exercise inside.
In Hong Kong one of my first difficulties was getting anywhere I wanted. Whereas locations and directions were clear in North America, I gave up using Google maps after one week in Hong Kong. Not only were the cluster of streets tangled with each other in random directions, but many of them didn’t even have street signs! Eventually I learned to rely on sight recognition, which led me to another astonishing discovery—Hong Kongers know their city inside out. Name any area and they will likely know where it is, how to get there, what there is to do, and what kinds of people live there. Perhaps it is because of these small spaces at home that Hong Kongers have gone out to explore the city instead.
In “The Laws of Simplicity,” John Maeda describes creating simplicity by hiding complexity, giving the example of a VCR player. Even though there are dozens of buttons, the effect is not jarring because they have been hidden by a flip cover. Hong Kong, out of necessity, has applied the same principle into urban planning. Suppose you walk down a street in Mong Kok for ten minutes looking for a restaurant but don’t find one at all. Where did they go? In that ten minute walk, you likely have passed a dizzying selection of them already, only they were obscured by narrow passageways into buildings where they resided on the 8th floor.
Hong Kong has had to deal with a land shortage for many decades, and making it extremely difficult to find areas to build new structures even on reclaimed land. Instead, it has poured its wealth of artistic talent into interior design, creating some of the most beautifully designed hidden jewels. Oftentimes, it is the lack of space that makes it easier to design a room according to a strong concept or set of principles as they come up with creative solutions to maximize space. It is not uncommon to have the space under the seating area in a restaurant transformed into a drawer for holding dishes, or have ceiling-high bookshelves. Moreover, Hong Kong’s status as an export hub, gateway to China, and melting pot of international ideas means that these interior designers usually have the resources to create whatever they dream of making.
There really aren’t that many places in Hong Kong, and it is very possible to memorize all the MTR stops if you take it often enough. And yet, this city will never get boring because it is continuously moving. It is fascinating how the trends change so dramatically, whether it is in food, fashion, or design. Every couple of weeks, a new full-scale exhibition is installed in Times Square; and at least thirty more are recommended by the Art Map every single month of the year, and not just in the summer. And despite the 35C weather in August, the crowds that come out to these events, such as the Hong Kong Comic Fair in Wanchai, would dwarf the mass of Boxing Day shoppers in downtown Toronto any year. And just how many cities in the world can boast its own thriving music and movie industries? Most countries don’t even have that and yet Hong Kong’s entertainment industry has millions of fans in Singapore and other Southeast Asia countries, as well as Canada, USA, Europe, and other areas with overseas Chinese.
Hong Kong is just a small piece of land with not much to call its own. And yet the people have combined their collective relentless energy, creativity, and strong will to work around all these small spaces to create a stunning city that will continue to surprise the visitor no matter where they look.
Writer: Michelle Kwok
星期一, 8月 04, 2008
溫哥華Gleneagles 社區中心, Patkau Architects
木，加拿大盛產之物。木可給人温暖、舒適及柔和的感覺。這個小社區中心用木作桁架和簷篷結構，表現出對地理風貌的親近及重視。大木簷篷標志着入口位置，同時細說着木的優美綫條、紋理、顏色和質感。整座建築物應用環保技術。因此在採光、通風、保温、用電上均經過週詳的考慮。木，既是本土文化和大自然的象徵，也拉近了人和科技的距離。
撰文: 吳啟聰(香港建築中心)
星期五, 8月 01, 2008
洛杉磯 Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Rafael Moneo
混凝土。一種羅馬人於公元前300年已開始廣泛使用的物料。現代的鋼根混凝土是19世紀的產物。
預製混凝土外牆給予整幢大聖堂平和、厚樸及穩重的原始感。遠觀時，混凝土把互相緊扣的聖堂體積凸顯出來。近看時，可引發人們觸摸它的表面質感。堅硬卻不冰泠的敦厚外牆，既造成鞏固的結構，也是信衆由外方進入聖殿過程中的一個精神洗滌空間。
預製混凝土外牆給予整幢大聖堂平和、厚樸及穩重的原始感。遠觀時，混凝土把互相緊扣的聖堂體積凸顯出來。近看時，可引發人們觸摸它的表面質感。堅硬卻不冰泠的敦厚外牆，既造成鞏固的結構，也是信衆由外方進入聖殿過程中的一個精神洗滌空間。
撰文: 吳啟聰(香港建築中心)
City Walker 城巿「步」族 - 第四步
第四步 - 海的呼喚
<續上回> ......終於到了畢打街 (Pedder Street)，這裏可是中環區其中最繁忙的一條街道。娛樂行、怡安華人行、中建大廈… 這些都是有名的辦公室集中地。因此這裏的人很多，節奏也很急，亦可能是基於這個原因，娛樂行與華人行之間的斑馬線格外地長。畢打行屬南向北伸延的街道，所以可以望見海旁。向海的一方很開揚，相比充滿名店的置地廣場更吸引，於是我便向海那邊直走過去。事實上，在這裏走著，很有被流水推著走的感覺; 是人流，是「生活流」。
在環球大廈旁邊，上了扶手電梯。從這裏開始，是連綿不絕、貫通商場大廈的行人條
橋與通道。 雖然距離是遠了一點，可是跟著通道和行人橋向前走的話，是可以一直走到中環碼頭的! 這種「墩座式」的、相連的城巿設計，本來就是為了改善人車爭路的問題，我個人認為效果很好。
橋與通道。 雖然距離是遠了一點，可是跟著通道和行人橋向前走的話，是可以一直走到中環碼頭的! 這種「墩座式」的、相連的城巿設計，本來就是為了改善人車爭路的問題，我個人認為效果很好。
向前走的路隨著離開石屎森林而變得開揚。在到達中環碼頭之前，國際金融中心 (International Finance Centre, aka IFC) 是最後看到的摩天大廈。旁邊還看到中環至灣仔的填海工程在進行得如火如荼，很有些人，當中包括外地遊客，在此拍照
，以見證港島北新舊海岸線的交替變遷...... 〈待續〉
，以見證港島北新舊海岸線的交替變遷...... 〈待續〉
訂閱：
文章 (Atom)
_copy.jpg)
文章
