What in the world makes really architecture anyway? I profess I cannot tell the difference between good architecture and beautiful drawings. Good architecture neccessitates beautiful drawings, but beautiful drawings does not mean good architecture. Hence, I conclude, from my recent browse through the RIBA president medal winners (www.presidentmedals.com) that:
1. work on the architecture as you must, but ALWAYS have good presentation drawings in the end
2. ALWAYS have good drawings even if it means compromising on that one week where you could have worked in better circulation, better function, more detailing
3. rework and rework your final boards- finesse is the key!

Sigh, I wonder if I am feeling jaded from all the renderings. What happened to good ole line drawings with lineweights? Why does all the winners have fantastic graphics? Are the judges' judgements so skewed towards pretty things? Where is the architecture?

Go back to 3 pointer above. BEAUTIFUL DRAWINGS. Who cares about architecture...really.

Project Clockwork Oren

Sy to YU and Oomoo:
have a project for the exhibition 2006. it's about time, space, distance, travel... pretty much what ive been interested to figure out about the idea of urban nomad, multiple identities/truths, dislocated residents, located immigrants... it's not merely a record of the phenomenon. it's going to be a creative project itself.

will work on it over winter or in 2 weeks time after my final submission. jan, probably need your help to assemble if i don't get to go back. im so excited, cant wait to do the drawings and show u guys.

this project is inspired by john hedjuk and peter eisenman (damn i still hate him but he makes sense).... hehehehe

Oomoo to Sy:
watched clockwork orange, found it extremely disturbing.
any connection with that?
i dont think einsenman makes sense, neither do i like his work! how in
the world is he connected to john hedjuk??

Check out our contact's email, from Expeditio, from Kotor, Montenegro. www.expeditio.org :
Will be great to have some architects from East Europe come down to Singapore, no?

Tanja says:
Thank you for your kind invitation to be part of your
exhibition / discussion in Singapore ... Of course we (a representative of
EXPEDITIO) would be very happy and honored to take part in it - to present
our work and share with you our experience. Maybe we can
also discuss about some common project ?! There is a lot
to learn from each other, I/m sure ...

Let me know if you need anything from our side to prepare your
event. We will think about some possible people to recommend.
We are not informed more then you about Platform 9.81 - just
from magazine ORIS ... We do not know them personally ...

We have some nice contacts in Slovenia - some interesting
architects (middle generation)... For example, today, tomorrow
and the day after we organize a lecture by one Slovenian
architect in Belgrade, Podgorica and Kotor (for students
of architecture and architects). The topic is:
"The Nature and Elementary Language of Space"
We have made also one short movie about space (build environment) that will be
presented after lectures (20 minutes) ...

It is official! Oomoo has completed her Berkeley application online, and will be posting the rest of her documents tomorrow! Oomoo is flooded with relief, and is grateful for all who has been part of her application process, particularly to Sy, DT and RC who took the time to plough through her hideous/heinous essaays.
Oomoo will be putting in time to ReallyArchitecture this week, a short sabbatical before another round of applications besets.
Updates on other rar members:
KH is (Oomoo assumes) still not web savvy enough to post his comments on the blog! haha!
Hann is back (Oomoo hopes) from Myanmar (Oomoo can't verify this) in one piece. He is to work on the image of rar. New design for logo coming out soon!
JT is still busy with youths, which is of course a noble cause.
SY and YU both burning midnight oil at NY and CA respectively. Jia you to both. Submissions will be over soon, and you will hear more of them!

Take care of your body Jan! the life of architecture will only get busier. the people i meet here in Sciarc are all crazy archi-maniacs... they are super xiao onz... i now will go into reluctant slumber every night... not that i want to cos of the crazy amount of submissions. just got email from Widodo about mAAN tokyo... 26-28oct 2006! let's all go!

My eyes are dry and my head heavy from a recent bout of flu. Am working on my university applications. Sometimes I wonder, is architecture really worth pursuing? My aunt thinks that I mistreat my body. I guess she is right. I sleep too late. Maybe I should go to bed now...after I tidy up my essays!
oomoo

PAST PROJECTS

Small Eyes, Big Picture Photo-Travelogue Exhibition

Small Eyes, Big Picture Photo-Travelogue exhibition was held at the Library@Orchard from 20th May-13th June 2005. This event was strongly supported by the National Youth Council, Singapore International Foundation, Lee Foundation, ASEANia and the National University of Singapore.

The exhibition’s moniker is a reflection on traveling- Although one’s own “smallness” is aggrandized while traveling as one is being swamped in a myriad of different cultures, people, places and experiences, traveling inevitably enlarges the traveller’s perspective on life. Showcasing Asian countries ranging from Japan, China, Cambodia, Thailand, India and Pakistan via maps, photos, videos, sketches and mementos, each traveler’s journey was exhibited in a personal way, moving beyond objective documentation to subjective interpretation. Two talks were held in the course of the exhibition in a bid to inspire other young people to have a bigger picture of life as well.



Asian Research Film

The pilot documentary on Singapore was shot and edited in May-June 2005 and presented at the modern Asian Architecture Network (mAAN) International Conference in Istanbul, Turkey in late June 2005. The documentary is a starting point in research framework meant to study the identity of Asian gateway cities while these cities are currently evolving and developing at a tremendous pace. The research framework was also submitted and published as a poster presentation in the conference. The documentary was supported by the National Youth Council, Singapore International Foundation, Lee Foundation, ASEANia and the National University of Singapore.

Akha Way Expedition + Exhibition

Akha Way Expedition (awe!) is a youth expedition project in the region of Mae Yao, Chiang Rai, Thailand, from 7 December to 24 December 2004 (18 days). The aims of this project are two fold: firstly, it is to bring awareness of local culture and difficulties faced by local hill tribes to Singapore youths, which in turn helps to raise our awareness of cultural sustainability as well as community building back in our home context; and secondly, it is to equip the locals with an income-generating tool based on eco-tourism which can contribute to a self-sustaining economy.

The expedition team is organized as an independent group, made up of 1 leader, 1 facilitator and 25 participants from various disciplines and all walks of life. The project is a collaboration between the expedition team, Singapore International Foundation (SIF) and host organization – Mirror Art Group (MAG).

The project began in early 2004, with a reconnaissance trip made in May 2004 when we met our host and gathered information for the project. Many problems are faced by the hilltribe: poverty, lack of knowledge, poor adaptation to low land living, trafficking of women and children, not able to get Thai citizenship, little job opportunities, poor health care, etc. such that it has become a vicious cycle.

Several strategies are adopted by MAG together with the villagers in overcoming some of these difficulties, one which being ecotourism. Different from the tourist industry that has already taken place at other regions run by external commercial groups, the idea here is to empower the villagers so that they can be self-sufficient in managing the tourist industry themselves as a way of income generation. In a way, this can also boost their confidence in preserving their culture and environment and presenting them to the outside worlds.

The definition of eco-tourism is thus unique in this case, i.e. the social aspects has become the main driving force for its sustainability, while nature and environmental aspects assuming a supporting role. As such, the expedition project aims to provide an understanding to the various social and cultural significance of the region, juxtaposed with the interest in nature, through the exercise of information gathering, planning, designing and finally delivering the outcome as a form of knowledge.

The expedition basically involves two primary projects: an ecotourism site survey for a group of villages in Mae Yao sub-district using Global Positioning System (GPS), and the building of a small-scale information centre at an Akha hilltribe village - Ban Apa. Through these projects Singapore youths collaborated with the local community and host organization in delivering both the information and the infrastructure that can serve as a reference to the development of ecotourism in this area. Through information gathering, planning and designing, the participants acquired greater awareness of the local culture and environment, while the actual expedition had provided them with first-hand experience in working and living (home-stay) with local community.

As a continuation of our efforts in promoting the awareness of the regional culture as well as sustainability, an exhibition was held in September 2005 (three weeks) at the National Library in Orchard. Through this exhibition we hoped to raise the awareness of minority culture in this region – their lives, beliefs, struggles with modernization, etc., by sharing what we have learnt during the expedition. We would also like to promote ecotourism as an alternative way of traveling – a life-transforming experience that the travelers will be truly exposed to the authenticity of cultural and natural environment by living the way the local live. It is believed that with the income generated from this self-managed industry, the locals will be able to sustain their way of life without subscribing to modern lifestyles totally. Finally, we wish to share our ideas in sustainability of culture, such as in the case of architecture, through re-interpreting their culture and use of local materials. In a way, this has also brought some reflections on the sustainability of our own culture.

OBJECTIVES

ReallyArchitecture >> enlarging the architect’s tent!

We are a group of visionary architecture enthusiasts concerned with the development of architecture in the Asian region. We believe that architects have to stay relevant to the society by taking on additional roles and new approaches to make a positive impact in the communities. This can be done through promoting interdisciplinary exploration by collaborating closely with government bodies, the community and educational institutions. Issues that interest us include, but are not limited to education, culture, heritage, traditions, societal phenomena, humane architecture and civic policies.

This organization stems from our passion to push boundaries and encourage explorative thinking. We aim to achieve our objectives through activities like exhibitions, workshops, conferences, films, publications, talks, academic papers and actual built projects.


Vision
REAL Architecture for the Community


Objective
Taking on holistic approaches to make the architectural profession relevant to the society’s development


Framework – 3E

[Architect – Public]
Public Engagement: promote real understanding
(interaction between architectural profession and public, promotion of design appreciation)
- travelogue exhibition/publication ANCHOR
- newspaper column
- e-magazine
- REAL city guide

[Architect – Government]
Research & Exploration: define real issues
(insights that aim to give directions in architectural profession and aids in policy making)
- Asian Research Film ANCHOR
- design competition (Expo 2010, Singapore 2025)

[Architect – User/Architect]
Cultural Exchange: facilitate real learning
(sustainable design executions through social projects and international co-operations)
- East Timor development (?)
- Rural studio (the REAL tropical workshop)
- NGO network (local & international)

the really architecture team. now really, only joshua is the most spunky! sernhong and khenghua, please upload your photos to the yahoogroups, and put your photos here as well!

contact us at:
reallyarchitecture@yahoo.com

or

post your comments here!

hi guys! long time no hear from you all liao. keeping the [RAr] spirit strong? was chatting with Sylyng a few days ago. maybe we can contribute some of the works we do here and our thoughts. and when we come back next year or when we graduate, we can do a mini-presentation in NUS or even library to show perspectives of a differnt kind. what you guys think?

any news on the website, radio show, exhibition 2006 yet? keep the mails coming k?

Sernhong