What is "de"+"sign" in this design project?

We had some heated discussions on what to expect in the upcoming mixed-use. At the end, I need to clarify my view on what constitute design, and the direction to take in order to achieve this design.

A literal interpretation of "design", which made up of "de" and "sign" can mean the deconstruction of a known sign. Therefore, if we simply apply the established typology of the Wanchai mixed-use by having retail on the ground or lower floors, and residential on upper floors, this is not much of a design as far as dealing with the contemporary relationship between retail / residential and their corresponding usages.

To explore its contemporary application, we invented the notion "retail maximum": what will be the maximum deployment of the retail elements in terms of sight-lines, accommodation, accessibility, etc to achieve the maximum retail attraction? This view of retail is being supported by the emerging usage of upper floors in most CBDs, such as Times Square, Causeway Bay, whereby signboards, sight-lines, accessibility, etc are important considerations for retail viability.

As the process goes, a different set of considerations will emerge for residential viability that may run into conflict with the retail counterparts, such as the need for light, air, green and open space, circulation as well as accessibility and privacy. As a result, your design is to show the balance or synthesis between "retail maximum" and "residential maximum" based on your own findings.

The resolution of this conflict may result in a "de"+"sign" that fits my expectation of a design and at the same time, new.

T

Imagine if you were the developer.....

I think playing the role of the developer will help you think through the programmatic requirements of your project.

But you may ask, who is the developer and what role does a developer play?
Assessing the opportunity at hand is the key job description for a developer. The opportunity can mean land use opportunity, market or demand opportunity, financial opportunity, design or development opportunity, etc.

Assume you have completed your site analysis and you are considering your position relating to the site. Please consider the following questions that will determine the development opportunity:
1. According to your opinion, what will be the best use of the site? Such as the functions you will consider.
2. What is the relationship between the site and the city? Such as how they are related/connected.
3. What do you think the future neighborhood will become? And the role the site will play within this neighborhood.
4. From a practical point of view, what can you develop under the current zoning and building regulation?

T

It has been a long afternoon.....

Today we covered the urban approach to architecture, through the use of various site analysis tools. In fact, a great number of architectural landmarks are a result of resolving urban conflicts. We talked about figure and ground, but we did not talk about hybrid nor about reversing ground into figure. Hopefully we will cover this in the future.

Please do not take the branding of architectural styles too seriously. This knowledge will come along as you see and read more about architecture. In case you are in doubt, Google it. As mentioned, Google and Wiki are excellent tools for you to learn. Ask while you are in the mood.

I have discussed with Hubert, and he is going to amend the site and the programme to reflect what you have learnt. He will announce online by Friday.

BTW, The Architecture of The City by Aldo Rossi is also a good reading material for architect to understand the city.

T

The language of the figure ground

Hopefully we are going to talk about the white / ground and the black / figure tomorrow. Why is this white and black drawwing such a big issue? Because it is your first lesson to relate three dimensional space onto a two dimensional surface, your first "word" to describe space and object-in-space. T

Collage City

On the topic of figure ground drawing, I suppose every architect who claims to have understood urban design, should have read Collage City. I think designing through figure ground is a lost art, a language which was forsaken nowadays.

Collage City by Colin Rowe is an easy reading. Look it up online!

T

To be or not to be? Theoretical vs Practical designs

This was a question raised by a talented student, but unfortunately I was not around to respond.

By the end of this year, I hope the studio experience will have an answer to this question. But before patience runs out, please let me illustrate a direction by using a few pairs of comparative vocabulary that may highlight the subtle differences concerning theoretical vs. practical designs:

Cuisine vs. Meal
Fashion vs. Clothing
Calligraphy vs. Writing
Architecture vs. Building
Art : Craft

T

PS wiki it up!

The lesson from de stijl

How do we create three dimensional space on a two dimensional plain? This was the question I raised on Tuesday, and it took me a few days to figure this out.

We have been trained throughout our education to find the right answer when presented with the question, and I was caught in the same situation myself.

Thanks to art, we can look at this situation from a different angle. What about creating a two dimensional plain within a three dimensional space? Easy right! You can even add a few coloured squares on the plain, like Mondrian did. As demonstrated in class, you can travel back and forth on this two dimensional plain. We have been looking at the Rietveld Chair as an object for too long. Imagine if you have to view it as if it is a painting, just like Mondrian did, then seat a person in it, and there you go. You have the answer to our question on Tuesday.

As a designer, or should I say a good designer, you need to be able to ask questions to the question itself. Do not satisfy yourselves with the search for just the answer. You need to know why do we have this question in the first place.

One very interesting aspects of art is its relationship with life. As you can see, without Mondrian and Rietveld, I cannot think outside of box, and visualize the problem itself.

Your second assignment calls for a mixed use, retail and residential putting together. But before jumping into the design, please bother yourselves with the right questions, "why"?

T

Why are we so critical?

Perhaps you see us as critical because there is always a criticism for every project.

Can there be a perfect design where there is no more outstanding issue in conflict?

The answer is no; there cannot be silence in architecture. For there is a will behind every project, and an individual, an architect behind every will.

In this regard, the will in architecture is like the will in art, that provokes an emotion deep rooted in our subconscious mind. The viewer has a choice to accept or reject this will. Therefore any serious reading in architecture needs to be critical by nature.

Use Studio Talks blog as a learning tool.

Apart from the design application software that helps you work on your design, we want you to use blogging as your class-based learning platform. Hopefully we will have some time to talk about how to use this blog to enhance your learning with technology, and your understanding of design in particular.

How your tools affect production.

During the studio, I use the term production very often. Finally someone asks me, what do I mean by production. I consider production as a summation of one's design work, including the vision, design strategy, design execution and presentation all together.

As a result, the tools that you use for production, greatly affect the way your design strategy and execution.

For example, take a look at the software for designing and rendering your last project.
What kind of form and space do you think it will fit within the comfort of your use? Curve walls or intersecting plains?

I am not promoting style if you think I am driving at. But at the end, a certain style of design will emerge as a result of the tools you have used during the design process.

Let's talk more about the nature of production in the future.

Why go SOLO?

Here is something you may need to know.....

How are critics going to grade your design work?
For the longest time, grading for design work has been subject to individual variation and taste preference. With the emergence of open ended questions in academic assessment, the SOLO Taxonomy (Structure of Observed Learning Outcome) has been adopted as one of the foundation for both formative and summative assessments.

The Five SOLO Levels
Missing the point - E/F
Single point - D
Multiple unrelated points - C
Logically related answer or solution -B
Unanticipated extension - A

With SOLO as a basis for transformation, assessment on design work can be applied accordingly.

If you are interested in SOLO, check out www.johnbiggs.com.au/solo_taxonomy.html
Compliment of Professor B Fox / HKU.