October 2009 Archives

Here are the plates after alot of adjusting/revising..please let me know what u think :-)

PLATE 5: GLUTTONY AND CONSUMPTION OF SITE

I have adjusted the colour/contrast of this image...more saturated now.

PLATE 4: LUST AND DISTORTION, OPTICAL ILLUSION AND CURVED SURFACE

Working on the flat image. I have tried to curve the space more and add more reflection to the grey space on the right to balance out the composition.

PLATE 3: WRATH AND CLASHING GEOMETRY/  SLOTH AND VOID

A revised version of the previous post I have tried to reduce the effect of layering by working with the light/ shadows and people hanging into the void..

PLATE 2: PRIDE AND CANTILEVER/ ENVY AND COMPLEXITY

As with the previous version, I have extended the canitlever into the foreground to accentuate it. The theme is the body as your temple. The pride is represented by the perfect figures at the end of the cantilever (represented by michaelangelo figures) . The people in the complex spaces below are working out like crazy, induced by envy, trying in vain to achieve perfection.

PLATE 1: GREED (RICH MATERIAL)

I tried to draw this as a shining jewel set into the peak. Like a diamond found in gravel.

INTRO

It's 1984 and Le Corbusier's Vers Un Architecture has lead to the complete re-building of almost every city worldwide. Zaha is bored of the bland anonymity of modernism and is planning to radicalize the approach to architecture in her submission for a high profile competition for the Peak in Hong Kong.  It is a pitch in the form of a manifesto, arguing for a hedonistic approach towards architecture, reflecting the hedonistic program of the Peak club, but also the self-indulgent tendencies of contemporary man.

ZAHA'S PEAK MANIFESTO

The design and creation of the Peak project is of great importance. Perched on the highest viewpoint in Hong Kong, and situated in the most prime and desirable location on the island, it looks down on the rest of the city, a symbol of pure luxury and indulgence. It will be the ultimate destination for the most rich and prominent members of society in pursuit of limitless pleasure. It will be an object of desire for the masses and its exclusivity will propel it into being an icon of desirability. It will symbolize the solution to man's self-indulgent needs, an ultimate object of lust.

Our paths are guided by the attainment of ever-greater forms of pleasure in the forms of wealth and experience and our expectations of pleasure are only increasing, as we are over-stimulated through virtual realities, chemical substances and rushes of adrenaline due to an ever-accelerating pace of life. The Peak Club represents and epitomizes our contemporary need for pleasure and self-indulgence. Given this status, it is unthinkable to apply the bland and pleasureless language of modernism towards the design of this hedonistic paradise. Modernism speaks of abstinance and function. Pleasure is not accounted for in the language of Modernism as it is not a need but a luxury; it simply contradicts the hedonistic philosophies behind both the Peak Project but also our times.

The building is not a machine (antithesis to Le Corbusier's Vers une Architecture V1); this implies that a building is purely functional. The duty of an architect is to inject a sense of pleasure into the design. To design for pleasure is to design for the human being.

The Peak needs its own language of expression, not only to reflect modern man's self-indulgent need for pleasure, but to in itself enhance the pleasure one gains from experiencing and occupying the building. There is an urgent call for a Hedonistic language of Architecture and the Peak is the perfect beacon to lead the way.

I took the 7 deadly sins as a representation of the self-indulgent tendencies of contemporary man and human nature, which summarize all the pleasure-seeking symptoms of our modern society into the categories of lust, greed, gluttony, envy, pride, sloth and wrath. We must satisfy these inherent hedonistic needs of man in order to generate pleasure through our architecture.

I propose 7 points towards a Newer and Hedonistic Architecture: according to the 7 Deadly Sins:

POINT 1: PRIDE AND CANTILEVERS

The projection of individual elements out of the larger volume expresses power and ego, and allows for spaces of self-contemplation. It is a physical manifestation of pride.

POINT 2: ENVY, UNATTAINABILITY AND COMPLEX ITY OF SPACE.

The labyrinth plan and section or complexity of space, formalizes the thrill of the chase, one gets in seeking what another one has, or something unattainable.

The cantilevered space, which is desirable and limited, and reflecting pride and self-worth, has the effect of inducing envy. This sets up a didactic relationship between the two.

POINT 3: WRATH AND COLLISION SPACE

The formal collision of volumes and mass satisfies our human need for wrath and violence, engaging the mind with clashing geometries and adding complexity and dynamics to a space.

POINT 4: SLOTH AND VOIDS

This is in contrast to sloth and voids. Where the human pleasure gained from doing nothing and wallowing in emptiness is expressed in the void. It induces pleasure through the removal of mass, resting the eye and mind.

POINT 5: LUST AND CURVED SURFACES AND OPTICAL ILLUSION

The use of curved and distorted surfaces satisfies our appreciation of sensual curves, induced by our lustful tendencies. And the use of distorted surfaces and the use of optical illusion blurs the boundaries between what is real and what is illusion satisfying our need to obtain the unobtainable.  The use of curves and distortion is the formalization of lust.

POINT 6: GLUTTONY AND CONSUMPTION OF SITE

The consumption of the site by the building, expresses the human need to consume and devour and creates more richness and variety in the conditions of space contained within the building.

POINT 7: GREED AND RICH MATERIALS AND ORNAMENT

The use of Rich Materials and intricate ornamentation induces the same sorts of pleasure and awe as one gets from witnessing extreme opulence, such as admiring beautifully made and intricate jewelry or an object of great expense. This is the physical manifestation of Greed.

Square space is Dead: Distortion is Playful

Honest is Boring: Illusion is Magic

Flat is Dumb: Iconography Speaks

The White Cube is Mute: Colour is Orgasmic

Less is Abstinent: Reflections are Self-indulgent

The Brief outlines that the Peak Gentleman's Club will be home to the ultimate in luxury, indulgence and hedonistic activity. As a home to activities of pure self-indulgence: I believe that it is important to create a space that also stimulates the senses, induces and speaks of pleasure. (In the spirit of Post-Modernism- it's the 80s) The language of modernism with its empty spaces, flat surfaces, and dead geometries speak of abstinance and most definitely do little to stimulate the senses. This speaks of Asceticism [1].

[The building is not a machine (antithesis to Le Corbusiers Vers une Architecture); this implies that a building is purely functional. If that were the case then it would be designed by engineers. The duty of an architect is to inject a sense of pleasure into the design.]

This proposal for the Peak is a manifesto for a Hedonistic [2] space; a playground of distorted spaces, optical illusions, magic and colour. As optical illusion and trickery is a device of the devil, and hedonistic activity implies overindulgence and sinful activity; the theme of the Seven Deadly Sins will be used to illustrate the principles of a new Hedonistic language of space. (I will basically use the 7 Deadly Sins as a narrative device to further imagine and construct 7 spaces within Zaha's Peak Project using symbolism, distortion, optical illusion, colour, reflection etc.. to create a language of Hedonistic Space)

Image above: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things, Hieronymous Bosch

[1] Asceticism (from the Greek: ἄσκησις, áskēsis, "exercise" or "training" in the sense of athletic training) describes a life-style characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures (especially sexual activity and consumption of alcohol) often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals.

[2] Hedonism is a school of ethics which argues that pleasure has an ultimate importance, and that humanity's most important pursuit is sensual self-indulgence. The name derives from the Greek word for "delight" (ἡδονισμός hēdonismos from ἡδονή hēdonē "pleasure", a cognate of English sweet + suffix -ισμός -ismos "ism").