This is it. This is where it all ends. End of the road. What a life it was. Some life.

I pray for the souls who have departed, especially his.

Labels: U.S.A., violence

Labels: U.S.A., violence

Labels: Malays, ugly Singaporean

Labels: YouTube

Labels: Hollywood, YouTube

The movie seemingly solidified the stereotypes of the different nationalities. Moroccan officials are corrupt. Americans are jackasses who think that the whole world are against them. Mexicans are treated badly by the Americans, plus they live in smelly dusty slums. And Japanese schoolgirls are horny, very horny.

And Babel has nude scenes. A lot. And some Sharon Stone's Basic Instinct moments too. Well, its surprising cause I rented the DVD from VideoEzy. Yes, VideoEzy. Shouldn't all this be censored? I'm not complaining, I'm just concerned that this kind of DVDs might get into the wrong hands, children's. It has full frontal for God's sake. Well, the only warning was this really small sticker showing Mature 18. Anyway, the movie sucked, a lot of babeling.

Bloggers Note: Happy Easter to all my Christian friends and readers. I got this new episode of South Park for all to enjoy.

If you can't watch the video, click here.

Labels: holidays, loser moments, movie

So still on the topic of IR (Integrated Resort) from the last entry, the one in Marina Bay would look something like this:

It is designed by another internationally-renowned Israeli architect Moshe Safdie. Click on the image above to see the reasons why it won (which came as a surprise to many, myself included).

Besides the IR, another much-anticipated addition to the Marina Bay area would be the Marina Barrage (below). Technically we can't call the Singapore River a river anymore and that sucks (all the history and wildlife would be gone just like that).

And the London Eye copycat and almost-world's-largest-ferris-world-until-China-announced-her-plans-to-build-a-larger-one-just-a-few-days-later, Singapore Flyer.

And the new National Stadium would look something like this;

Unique, bold and experimental. Singapore can't seem to handle it just yet, which is a huge pity if Singapore wants to expand beyond the Bali-island-resort architecture. So instead of something futuristic and timeless, we have this:


Have I seen that before? Oh yeah, in Genting Highlands. So much kitsch, it turns my stomach. So what if it has Universal Studios? Would a tourist from Australia or United States be wondering, "Gee, I'm sick of the Universal Studios here in (insert name of country here), maybe I'll go halfway across the globe to Singapore's,"?

Maybe the Singaporean government should have thought long term.

Gehry's design = more tourism = more revenue = future themeparks (Universal Studios or Disneyland even).

Labels: architecture, Strictly Architecture

I also came across this article about branded condos (condos designed by internationally-renowned star-chitects). Which is a good trend, I think. This shows Singaporeans are more refined and cultured now to be able to appreciate good architecture and even their architects. So move over Prada and Ferarri, I want me a Libeskind or a Zaha Hadid.

(In case you're wondering, the 'Erwin Viray' they keep quoting from in the article is my Dr Erwin Viray, my studio tutor.)

The architecture is just so Libeskind's style. Very sexy might I add.

Speaking of sexy condos, I simply cannot wait for The Sail @ Marina Bay. Simply sexy and curvaceous. Halfway through the construction and it already looks promising.

Labels: architecture, Strictly Architecture

If you think the picture looks highly suspicious, then you, my friend, have a very sharp eyesight. Its not a picture of the famous UOB towers. Its of Tange's Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office. No one can blame you if you didn't see that one coming.

These two pairs of buildings are almost identical! Gasp!

Talk about recycled designs.

Another Asian architect who has made it huge (mega huge) in the architectural industry is I.M. Pei, he designed the controversional glass pyramids of the Lourve museum in Paris for one.

He is also the first star-chitect to have graced our shores in 1975 (thanks to him, many offers from other architects came pouring in) with OCBC tower (bottom, left) as the first of his many contributions.

He designed Raffles City (right) as well. Rumours had it that he had a huge disagreement with the local firm and left in the middle of the construction (which might explain why the building is circular on one side and angular on the other...kidding).

He also designed Kallang Indoor theatre and The Gateway (below) as well.

Which, to me, is the finest piece of architecture in Singapore. Simple, geometric and even playful (looks 2-dimensional at certain angles). I can't say the same for its neighbour Parkview Square a.k.a Gotham City building (the pseudo art deco-esque building).

Labels: architecture, Strictly Architecture

That means 'what is architecture?' in Japanese.

I realised that I haven't blogged much about architecture. As much as I should. Being an architecture student and all.

Well, I know I won't be like those well-known archi bloggers but here goes.

Lets start with something local.

Ahh... Vivocity. Its designed by a well-renowned and respected Japanese architect, Toyo Ito. So much hype about the architecture (locally). But in the architectural world (I don't mean to sound elitist) its a Disaster with a capitol D.

Here's what it looks like inside.

Is it me or is the ceiling on the second floor a wee bit (claustrophobicly) low?

Next time you go there, notice the grotesque 'toilet-pipes' holding the green structures up to the ceiling.

Vivocity is just like any other boring shopping mall but wrapped in concrete (looks unfinished) fluid (supposedly) skin. Well, I hate it. The skin is just a huge piece of ornamentation; completely unnecessary and looks like its just pasted on. Just look at the exposed steel structures holding the skin! An eyesore really. Which, in moi's humble opinion, every good architect in his right mind shouldn't be doing.

I don't mean to say Toyo Ito was out of his mind, oh no no no... in the first place I doubt it was his one hundred percent intention and design. Heard rumours that Toyo Ito and Co. had to clean up the mess of some bankrupt American architectural and construction firm at the last minute.

If that wasn't true, then I would highly suspect that the local companies were stingy; wanting to save money and compromise the design with cheaper alternatives for the form and material.

Proof of that? Well, Toyo Ito won a design competition for an opera theatre in Taichung, Taiwan. His entry (from the model below) looks a lil bit like Vivocity (hardly surprising cause architects tend to stick to their tried and tested designs, a.k.a recycled designs). If the real deal would look exactly like the model, then I believe that that would have been Ito's original intention for Vivocity too. This is probably what Vivocity should have really looked like.

Another entry for the Taichung Opera House design competition include another well-known star-chitect, Iraqi-British Zaha Hadid; she's the first woman to win a Pritzker Prize, equivalent to a Nobel Prize in the architectural world (there I go again).

Labels: architecture, Strictly Architecture

Labels: personal

Labels: school

This is it. This is where it all ends. End of the road. What a life it was. Some life.

I pray for the souls who have departed, especially his.

Labels: U.S.A., violence

Labels: U.S.A., violence

Labels: Malays, ugly Singaporean

Labels: YouTube

Labels: Hollywood, YouTube

The movie seemingly solidified the stereotypes of the different nationalities. Moroccan officials are corrupt. Americans are jackasses who think that the whole world are against them. Mexicans are treated badly by the Americans, plus they live in smelly dusty slums. And Japanese schoolgirls are horny, very horny.

And Babel has nude scenes. A lot. And some Sharon Stone's Basic Instinct moments too. Well, its surprising cause I rented the DVD from VideoEzy. Yes, VideoEzy. Shouldn't all this be censored? I'm not complaining, I'm just concerned that this kind of DVDs might get into the wrong hands, children's. It has full frontal for God's sake. Well, the only warning was this really small sticker showing Mature 18. Anyway, the movie sucked, a lot of babeling.

Bloggers Note: Happy Easter to all my Christian friends and readers. I got this new episode of South Park for all to enjoy.

If you can't watch the video, click here.

Labels: holidays, loser moments, movie

So still on the topic of IR (Integrated Resort) from the last entry, the one in Marina Bay would look something like this:

It is designed by another internationally-renowned Israeli architect Moshe Safdie. Click on the image above to see the reasons why it won (which came as a surprise to many, myself included).

Besides the IR, another much-anticipated addition to the Marina Bay area would be the Marina Barrage (below). Technically we can't call the Singapore River a river anymore and that sucks (all the history and wildlife would be gone just like that).

And the London Eye copycat and almost-world's-largest-ferris-world-until-China-announced-her-plans-to-build-a-larger-one-just-a-few-days-later, Singapore Flyer.

And the new National Stadium would look something like this;

Unique, bold and experimental. Singapore can't seem to handle it just yet, which is a huge pity if Singapore wants to expand beyond the Bali-island-resort architecture. So instead of something futuristic and timeless, we have this:


Have I seen that before? Oh yeah, in Genting Highlands. So much kitsch, it turns my stomach. So what if it has Universal Studios? Would a tourist from Australia or United States be wondering, "Gee, I'm sick of the Universal Studios here in (insert name of country here), maybe I'll go halfway across the globe to Singapore's,"?

Maybe the Singaporean government should have thought long term.

Gehry's design = more tourism = more revenue = future themeparks (Universal Studios or Disneyland even).

Labels: architecture, Strictly Architecture

I also came across this article about branded condos (condos designed by internationally-renowned star-chitects). Which is a good trend, I think. This shows Singaporeans are more refined and cultured now to be able to appreciate good architecture and even their architects. So move over Prada and Ferarri, I want me a Libeskind or a Zaha Hadid.

(In case you're wondering, the 'Erwin Viray' they keep quoting from in the article is my Dr Erwin Viray, my studio tutor.)

The architecture is just so Libeskind's style. Very sexy might I add.

Speaking of sexy condos, I simply cannot wait for The Sail @ Marina Bay. Simply sexy and curvaceous. Halfway through the construction and it already looks promising.

Labels: architecture, Strictly Architecture

If you think the picture looks highly suspicious, then you, my friend, have a very sharp eyesight. Its not a picture of the famous UOB towers. Its of Tange's Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office. No one can blame you if you didn't see that one coming.

These two pairs of buildings are almost identical! Gasp!

Talk about recycled designs.

Another Asian architect who has made it huge (mega huge) in the architectural industry is I.M. Pei, he designed the controversional glass pyramids of the Lourve museum in Paris for one.

He is also the first star-chitect to have graced our shores in 1975 (thanks to him, many offers from other architects came pouring in) with OCBC tower (bottom, left) as the first of his many contributions.

He designed Raffles City (right) as well. Rumours had it that he had a huge disagreement with the local firm and left in the middle of the construction (which might explain why the building is circular on one side and angular on the other...kidding).

He also designed Kallang Indoor theatre and The Gateway (below) as well.

Which, to me, is the finest piece of architecture in Singapore. Simple, geometric and even playful (looks 2-dimensional at certain angles). I can't say the same for its neighbour Parkview Square a.k.a Gotham City building (the pseudo art deco-esque building).

Labels: architecture, Strictly Architecture

That means 'what is architecture?' in Japanese.

I realised that I haven't blogged much about architecture. As much as I should. Being an architecture student and all.

Well, I know I won't be like those well-known archi bloggers but here goes.

Lets start with something local.

Ahh... Vivocity. Its designed by a well-renowned and respected Japanese architect, Toyo Ito. So much hype about the architecture (locally). But in the architectural world (I don't mean to sound elitist) its a Disaster with a capitol D.

Here's what it looks like inside.

Is it me or is the ceiling on the second floor a wee bit (claustrophobicly) low?

Next time you go there, notice the grotesque 'toilet-pipes' holding the green structures up to the ceiling.

Vivocity is just like any other boring shopping mall but wrapped in concrete (looks unfinished) fluid (supposedly) skin. Well, I hate it. The skin is just a huge piece of ornamentation; completely unnecessary and looks like its just pasted on. Just look at the exposed steel structures holding the skin! An eyesore really. Which, in moi's humble opinion, every good architect in his right mind shouldn't be doing.

I don't mean to say Toyo Ito was out of his mind, oh no no no... in the first place I doubt it was his one hundred percent intention and design. Heard rumours that Toyo Ito and Co. had to clean up the mess of some bankrupt American architectural and construction firm at the last minute.

If that wasn't true, then I would highly suspect that the local companies were stingy; wanting to save money and compromise the design with cheaper alternatives for the form and material.

Proof of that? Well, Toyo Ito won a design competition for an opera theatre in Taichung, Taiwan. His entry (from the model below) looks a lil bit like Vivocity (hardly surprising cause architects tend to stick to their tried and tested designs, a.k.a recycled designs). If the real deal would look exactly like the model, then I believe that that would have been Ito's original intention for Vivocity too. This is probably what Vivocity should have really looked like.

Another entry for the Taichung Opera House design competition include another well-known star-chitect, Iraqi-British Zaha Hadid; she's the first woman to win a Pritzker Prize, equivalent to a Nobel Prize in the architectural world (there I go again).

Labels: architecture, Strictly Architecture

Labels: personal

Labels: school