A bit of everything

a long way from home... as always...

It's been such a long time since I've really written anything... a far cry to the early mornings of pensive recollections I've spent in London, sitting before my trusty Dell laptop on a misty English morning, with a fresh cup of coffee in hand.

Frankly, sometimes my head is so full of random things that I can't even begin to focus.. and on some days, a total wipeout. A friend ZT recently commented that she had a discussion with Q on how architecture has dimmed the mind... or rather, to rephrase it gently, it has significantly diminished some of the apparent 'sharpness of mind' that she remembered having in the days of say, junior college. This was being compared to, for arguement's sake, if she were to have taken up engineering instead, would she have bene much sharper now; on the very forefront of grey matter clarity?

I have taken quite some thought to it, and I must now beg to differ...

Taking cue from, obviously, a very personal viewpoint, I feel that it depends on what sort of an architect one is 'destined' to be. To note, I do not code it as 'an undeniable will of God' sort of destiny, but rather the sort where the environment and oneself comes into play...

The last 6 months here on the angelic sunny west coast has been anything but los...

Pun aside, coming in proximity with new emerging trends in architecture here before my eyes, has been a most enriching and rewarding sort of experience. Having been 'groomed' as a modernist in architecture; I can surely that has certainly been a most well-laid foundation one can say NUS has given me. But now I feel there are more to buildings than just straight edges... There are more to Concepts than just Context... and there is certainly much much more to architecture than just architecture alone. This, I foresee, will also be its eventual downfall.

Sowing the architectural seeds of fantastic ideas shall bear fruit only when the common men willingly waters the soil.

I firmly believe in the power of the individual to affect changes in society. Undeniably for me, this stems from my Soka Gakkai background. I have never blogged about my religious faith so far but it has always been a natural source of inspiration, having a good solid 10 years of faith. I have to confess I am not the most diligent of people when it comes to maintaining a consistent practice, but I sure have no doubt in the fundamentals of this wonderful layman organisation.

the oneness of man and environment.. the power of one over the environment...

A man named Daisaku Ikeda has always reminded me of the fact that one on one dialogue is the most important aspect of life, and that the individual holds the immeasurable potential to bring forth great changes in society, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem at first. Truthfully it sounds like a pretty obnoxious statement... But when you think about it, it all makes sense.

Trudging to work with the mindset that it's gonna be such a tiring and sad day, carrying the burden of a frown and giving colleagues the distant stare would surely be as bad a start to a day anyone can clearly imagine, if not more so for the people around you. Now imagine vise versa. The impact on the design scene would run parallel...

an awareness to appreciate design & heritage must be present at all levels in society... then, and only then, will Singapore and Singaporeans alike truely move ahead into the 21st century.


image source: we conserve, you conserve

The Shape Shifter