One small voice.
Can you guys help me choose a filter?
I don't know if I should go with XXPro or Valencia,
I want to look tan.
What should my caption be?
I want it to be clever.
How about 'living with my bitchez, #lip,’
I only got ten likes in the last five minutes,
Do you think I should take it down?
Let me take another #selfie.
Let me take a #selfie.
We don't talk about beauty anymore. No, do not deny it. You may say, oh this dish looks beautiful or caught up in internalised sexism, comment, oh what a beautiful woman! But, what do we actually mean when we say these things? Beautiful compared to what? Who is to determine what is beautiful? What if I disagree? We enter a minefield. When one talks of beauty, one is immediately bombarded with comments of self-determination and self-opinion and individuality. Therefore, we don't talk about beauty. Yet, somehow, we continue to give it worth.
Read MoreI have always believed that Hong Kong is a city which prides itself in being at the forefront of technology, innovation and development. This towering concrete jungle in which I grew up has however seen a dramatic shift in its approach to style and in the marketing of high-density apartments. A string of advertisements for upscale high-density apartments has popped up recently and it isn’t difficult to tell why these would seem hard to swallow for any architect who believes in architecture of innovation and meaning.
Read MoreSudden death is never a happy affair. The shock is arguably even greater when perhaps the most famous and controversial architect of our time passes during what would have otherwise been routine treatment for bronchitis. The great outpouring of grief has however, allowed all those aligned both within and outside the field of design to reflect on her life and her work.
Read MoreWhilst listening recently to Patrik Schumacher’s fiery declaration for the Architectural Review’s series on Architecture and Freedom, he made an impassioned declaration once more on the separation of politics, political correctness and architecture. Although perhaps more defensive than I would have liked, and perhaps less eloquently catchy when compared to Taylor Swift’s response to ‘haters’, the Review’s series has raised extremely provocative questions on the role of architects and the relationship to morality and ethics.
Read MoreDespite this being more of a rant, I must confess, I had never thought until I returned to Sydney, that I would ever believe capitalism to be at the root of some great cosmic evil. Though for the mere price of AUD$35 Million, it appears that the deal has been sealed and the fate of Sydney’s last public sandstone assets given away to Singaporeans for ninety-nine years. I will not attempt to presume but if James Barnet did not turn in his grave when the Crystal Boudoir Burlesque show opened at the General Post Office, then he surely will be tossing and turning today, knowing that his jewels of civic pride are now to be privatised.
Read MoreLadies and gentlemen, let us give a warm hand to Sydney’s newest celebrity! More controversial than Utzon and certainly more talked about than the demise of James Barnet’s sandstone monuments, it seems certain that everyone in Sydney has an opinion on Mr. Frank O. Gehry’s brown paper bag. Indeed, no woman but the dame of Sydney’s architectural criticism circuit Elizabeth Farrelly could have expressed more eloquently the status of Gehry’s structure: “But if, like me, you suspect there's more to life than unbridled market-forces, more to literature than Fifty Shades, more to architecture than the whackiest curves your software can spew up, more to beauty than two oiled and opulent orbs [of Kim Kardashian] – this "more", surely, is something our houses of higher learning should pursue.” (Farrelly, 2015).
Read MoreIt is perhaps Freddie Mercury’s vision of flying through the Metropolis of 1927 lamenting our love of ‘the new’ and disregard for ‘the old’, which sets the appropriate melancholic and cynical tone for this piece. The beloved city of Sydney is once again standing over a precipice and facing another architectural crisis, with the impending doom of selling three iconic sandstone structures along the all too historic Bridge Street – The Colonial Chief’s Secretary Building, the Department of Education and Training Building and the iconic Lands Department Building.
Read MoreIt is perhaps fitting to say that when I was first confronted with the idea of addressing His Royal Highness Charles, Prince of Wales’ recent essay in the Architectural Review I was met with a peculiar thought. How does one reference in endnotes an essay written by royalty? Does one simply write, “HRH Charles, Prince of Wales” or is it more academically correct to use his ‘full’ name, Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor (I shan’t even attempt to include all his royal and noble titles)? Mundane as this thought may seem it raises a significant and important point: that as a result of his status within the British Monarchy, Prince Charles, unlike so many other academics, critics and indeed anyone interested in the built environment wields an authority and influence most architects can only dream of (Avoid Albert Speer reference here).
Read MoreArchitects spend a lot of time discussing aesthetics. In fact, on the face of it, aesthetics might seem like the only aspect the profession cares about. Amongst some of the leaders in the field today is an emphasis on crazy form based architecture and other follies which are only possible through the powerful new world of computer aided design. To express this obsession in the words of Shakespeare, methinks contemporary architecture doth screech too much. Architecture is of course meant to be much more than fancy facades, decorative ornamentation and eye-dazzling spectacle. At least, I hope it is…
Read MoreIt is anticipated that global populations living in urban areas is going to “increase by 84 per cent by 2050, from 3.4 billion in 2009 to 6.3 billion in 2050.” (United Nations, 2009). Indeed, since 2009, the population living in urban areas had surpassed the number living in rural areas. There is therefore the inevitable question of how these mega-cities of the future can sustainably feed these populations. In this article, I have decided to investigate how different designers and architectural practices have attempted to resolve this issue at a variety of household, communal and urban scales.
Read MoreArchitecture is often seen as an artistic pursuit, with magazine spreads posting glossy photos of delicate designs in wealthy suburbs for a star-studded, affluent clientele. Alternatively, the so-called drivers of sustainable architecture often works within the confines of major corporations or large government entities, seeing green architecture as a means of rebranding and generating the image of sustainability. What we often forget and ignore are those less fortunate in society, people who are arguably in greater need of sustainable livelihoods than those in our urban environments.
Read More
