SquidThink

Fitting in where you find the space...and time

2010-11-10T22:52:00.002Z

I am very aware that I have been lax (once again) in posting new blogs, but I have my next big one currently on the drawing board. But for now, a quick post about this beautiful little piece of pod-itecture in the Tate Modern. Sitting snuggly on the steps of the turbine hall viewing area, this folded red sheet forms a small break out space - nominally the Interactive Zone. When we walked past it seemed it had lost all initial intention, as it was occupied by a smattering of families watching a near-silent video on a small screen. That aside, I was tickled by the simplicity of this little space and its ability to just slide into place on the steps minding its own business, but inviting in those who wish to find out more.

Also, if you happen to be there to see the sunflower seeds - see them, by all means. But then run upstairs to the room full of russian propaganda. One word: Stunning.

Better words coming soon. Watch this space.

That bit in between...

2010-08-23T15:26:00.003+01:00

So, I find myself in that strange place between finishing and beginning. There's alot of waiting in this place. And a fair smattering of guilt - you know the sort. That guilt that you feel when you know you've just finished something so immense that you do deserve a massive break - but you can't help thinking that there's something else you should be doing. I think I'd prefer to be sedated, at least that way I'm out of harms way.

My MA thesis is complete, printed, bound, and awaiting submission. The weight won't be lifted until it's on the table, signed in and out of my hands. But its certainly lessened. What a year! The most pivotal in my education so far, I'd say. If I look back over what I've learnt; how my approach and understanding of architecture (and life in general) have developed; and just the body of work that I have produced, then I can't believe it's all occurred in the last 11 months. Now, after all that, there are still so many lose ends that I want to tie up, sparks of inspiration that I want to fuel...

But the next step is starting my Part One Placement. The big beginning bit. The bit where the reality has to kick in. And that's why, though I have alot to show for the last year, this isn't an end nor a beginning. But, then, I guess there are always more beginnings than ends. Nothing ever really gets completed, just has lots of new beginnings added to it...

Finding Time...

2010-08-13T15:21:00.003+01:00

I've been a tad neglectful of this blog in recent weeks. Excuses include finishing off the masters, general ignorance, and a lack of spare time owing to various bits of life outside the masters that need sorting out. Things will get back to normal by the end of the month. All this work gets handed in on 27th. Then I begin a part one placement at _space, in Manchester, on the 31st. I'm going to document my experience and time spent as a part one graduate on this blog.

In the meantime, here's a lovely diagram that appears at the end of my masters project...

I'll return soon, when time is my friend again.

Where Squid Think

2010-07-08T16:06:00.002+01:00

When on the phone today, sat on the windowsill, I got a view of my room that I had never seen before.

New perspectives can be quite encouraging.

Diller + Scofido (+Renfro) [+Cutler]

2010-07-06T23:13:00.002+01:00

I'm ammending my list, having put a little more thought into it. Point one now reads as follows

1) Spend at least one of these years living in Manhattan, working for Diller+Scofidio (+Renfro).

Having flicked through The Cilliary Function a couple of weeks ago, and selected the images that I was seeking, I had left it forgotten on the bedside table. I've just revisited the book, and re-fallen in love with the lot of them. If practices could make soul mates...

10:10

2010-07-02T21:29:00.013+01:00

This has been one of those Friday nights where the phone rings and its a voice that you haven't heard in a very long time. (Consequently, that time is made up for by the length of the phone call!) I like these a lot.

So, Charlie phones. Lots of good news (degree results - 1st, of course) and stories about the last few weeks, as well as plans for the summer. Lots of reminiscing, chats about "what next?" and "what were we thinking?" (fueled by a surprise envelope which arrived in my letter box earlier this week - a sheet of doodles hidden in a photo frame from many years ago, recently uncovered.) Then, she says:

"...so Me and Matthew have decided to write down 10 things that we want to achieve in the next 10 years... I think you should do it too."

These 10 things get written inside of a card, sealed in an envelope, and held onto by Charlie and Matthew until 2020. When the time comes, the card then gets posted back to you and you see if you've achieved your 10 (or if the dreams were just too dreamy...)

With nothing better to do, I'm taking her advice. I embark on this task realising I have very little direction aside from the standard journey towards Architectural goals. All very well, but where's the fun in that? Plus, this is something thats been hidden on my to do list for months and never gets done. So here we go. My list follows.

1) Spend at least one of these years living in America (preferably Manhattan)

2) Master at least one Scott Joplin Rag, and Chopin's Nocturne in C# Minor on the piano

3) Travel to the Arctic Circle and see the Northern Lights

4) Take the train from Boston to Washington in the 'Fall' (detour to Nantucket)

5) Climb one of the big mountains, probably Kilimanjaro (Sponsored. Aim:£3000, MacMillan)

6) Take a photo of a wild Elephant (with baby)

7) Spend (at least) a week under a bivouac on a beach somewhere hot (this includes lots of friends, spirits, exotic fruits, fresh fish and dancing round a fire)

8) Design and build my own property

9) Trip to the East - Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala-Lumpur, Osaka, Tokyo...

10) Go in a Shark Cage, then snorkel round a coral reef

I think thats it. I never found out if I'm allowed to change the list between now and sealing it into the card... I might have to.

(This post was brought to you by 1 cup of tea, 1hr18mins chatting with Charlotte, some James Taylor, some Lemon Jelly, a bit of Holly's cider left in our fridge from the other week and plenty of procrastination.)

Spread the love...

2010-06-22T22:47:00.004+01:00

A friend of mine has just started blogging. Follow Game Theories here.

Now, I'm neither a sportsman nor a gambling man, and my number work is often pretty lax. But Ben writes funny stuff and makes both sport and numbers much more approachable. He also has an uncanny nack of finding some of the best videos of youtube, and will no doubt use this as a platform to share the loot.

So go and take a peak.

Transforming Learning...

2010-06-21T15:15:00.004+01:00

Following on from my post about Learning Cities, and a few viewings of Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk "Bring on the learning revolution!" I have been working on implementing these theories into my Masters project. Sir Ken Robinson suggests a move from the mechanical, consumption led methods of teaching that are currently predominant, to an agricultural model of nurtured learning. I think we can also incorporate the model of user generated content found in Web 2.0 applications, and network theories to "provide the conditions" for a self-directed learning strategy.

As my project Body//Space is concerned with reconnecting the human body to the city, and people back to each other, I propose that this can be achieved within urban spaces.

Here is a presentation that I put together for a tutorial last week.

Wouldn't mind it...

2010-06-01T19:13:00.002+01:00

These last couple of weeks have been a mixed bag. Fun times. Stressful times. Downright frustrating times. Nice times that should happen more often. Reflective times. And realisation times.

I'm about to get to the top of the ridge that sits between Uni and the (semi) real-world. Until recently, I didn't know what to expect. Infact, I guess it's still fairly unclear. But the last 6 months have been a mega-journey. The people that I've met, things I've done, and stuff that I've been reading have really helped to settle my mind, open up questions, make the seemingly banal pretty exciting. I hope this continues into the next big step and across the next 12 months.

One things for certain: there'll be increasingly longer gaps between seeing scenes like this one. In part, this is a big shame. On the other hand, the view is just as vibrant from this ridge, if not a little bumpier (but that just adds to the ride.)

... oh, and the sky is just a little greyer. What happened to that sunshine? Haway, weather. Have a word.

(this post was brought to you by a cup of tea, lamplight since 17:00 on June 1st and a big bag of 'what next?!')

The City of the Future - A Learning City?

2010-05-17T21:08:00.008+01:00

As part of the FutureEverything conference at Manchester's Contact Theatre last week, I attended a lecture by Keri Facer entitled "Learning to Live in Interesting Times." Keri currently leads the Create Research Group at MMU. The focus of her work is the impact of emergent technologies and digital networks on education.

So what is so interesting about the times we live in/are about to enter into? And why must we learn to live in them?

Keri began by asking "How does the future get made?" dissecting this question by further asking

What are we up against?
What are the frictions from history?
Who gets to shape our future?

First of all - we are up against age! By 2035, 50% of the western world will be over the age of 50; 25% will be over the age of 75. This is a big issue. We have already seen the role of 'Adult as Teacher' beginning to change as younger generations get to grips with emergent technologies much quicker than older generations. In turn, they become the teachers.

Who gets to shape our future? Well, it seems easy to say that the children we are educating now will be the ones who create our future. But in an ageing world, where people are living longer this may not be the case. Longer lives = the greater the range of ages to consider in designs for the future = more diverse needs and requirements forming the 'pull of the future'. How will designers consider these issues in the future?

The question that struck me most in Keri's lecture was "How do we equip cities to learn, adapt and cope?" The city is the base of culture and society, and if we intergrate emergent technologies and digital networks effectively into our cities then we can begin to bridge the socio-economic and generational gaps that currently exist (both socially and digitally.) Keri's proposal for the future city is to create a Learning City - a city that learns itself, as well as encouraging and enabling the people within it to learn from it and each other. In order to do this, she suggests that we need to find new ways to value diverse sets of knowledges - how do we learn the lessons from people around us? How do we share knowledge? Whilst the younger generation may well becoming the teachers (with regards new technologies, the internet etc...) but wisdom will always rely on age. The internet is already saturated with information and all sorts of interfaces to access this with ease and convenience. Can cities learn from the internet to share and store the knowledge and wisdom of its older citizens?

A Learning City is a city that allows and encourages people to connect to each other, and to the city itself - a place that sees the free flow of knowledge of knowledge and information, with no barriers to stem this flow. Digital networks and emergent applications of these are seemingly going to be key to the development of a Learning City, and this is something that Keri has been (is) working on through her work with FutureLab and MMU.

Elsewhere at FutureEverything, in a panel discussion on Infinite Bandwidth, Zero Latency, similar issues of inclusivity and generational gaps were also discussed. Brian Condon commented that social networks (facebook, twitter...) are far bigger than the technology that supports them. He suggests that this is due to the deep meshing of human subconscious and technological aspects that are seen in these social networks. Mike Ryan told us to "embrace technological creep" and not put too much thought to it. He pointed out that the most successful social applications of digital networks in recent years are those that we use without realising - highlighting the importance of ambient technology. He also suggested that we are seeing a shift towards a care economy, rather than a knowledge economy - all the information is already there on the internet, but we need to figure out just how to use it. Peer-Peer networks are allowing us to work as new social groups, sharing information in ways that are much more effective than conventional advertising. Ken Eason, speaking from an elder point of view, spoke about the value to older/less confident people of finding one simple application of an emergent technology, and being taught how to do this. Keep things simple, don't complicate it.

I think that all of these points are pertinent to the topic of Learning Cities. The themes of care economy, peer-peer, begin with simple applications, ambient technology, social networks... seemed to be recurring throughout the conference.

The lecture has certainly been thought provoking. The idea of a Learning City is exciting and, more importantly, challenging - I hope to be able to explore this further in future work.

(This post was brought to you by babysitting, 1 cup of tea and a chatty ginger Wythenshawe moggy.)

View from a truck...

2010-05-12T20:32:00.003+01:00

This is where I spent my afternoon - on Architruck. Exhibited this week: 150 Years of TaylorYoung architects, and The Manchester Modernist Society's "Interactive Manchester Modernist Map".

They have also produced the map as a series of 4 postcards showing each of the Brutal, Beleaguered, Beautiful and Bold routes through the Modernist wonders of Manchester. Well worth a peek and a play. (And a couple of afternoons spent taking your own "voyage into the heart of the twentieth century city"!)

Crossroad Archaeology

2010-05-09T21:49:00.002+01:00

At the roadworks on Grosvenor St./Oxford Road. Who knew that these were there? Why did they ever get covered in tarmac? Bring the trams back, says I! How much lower was the road when it was first put down? Seemingly new layers are just smoothed on top of the old without prior excavation. One wonders what will replace the tarmac...

Also, very glad I managed to photograph Oxford Road in full before these holes started appearing. How this strip of town has changed in the last few months...

HiveMinds: Future Proofing Manchester (?)

2010-05-03T16:37:00.009+01:00

"Never trust people who talk of master planning or future proofing" Phil Griffin, 29/04/10

With this strikingly controversial blow from the outset, the symposium HiveMinds: Future Proofing Manchester (organised and hosted by the MA Architecture and Urbanism students of the Manchester School of Architecture) gasped en masse and poised itself for a day of discussion, debate and deliberation on the future of the original modern.

The day was chaired by Dave Haslam who started with a brief overview of the history of Manchester as a city of co-operation, collective action and vision.

The first of the day's speakers was Phil Griffin - architectural critic and Manchester 'voice'. Having already outlined his skepticism of future proofing, he instead chose to focus his talk on past proofing the city. He spoke of forgotten gems, building's which have been 'taken from us too soon', and the power of the current recession to urge a reconsideration of both our urban fabric and the way we treat it. Too many buildings that could be saved and renovated find themselves, instead, demolished to make way for new builds - the easy option? Pubs and Churches are Griffin's great passion, and he asked the symposium to consider the future of some great buildings left fallow after the recession (both economic and of faith.) Future programmes do not necessarily have to echo their past, but should most certainly redirect the masses back into these structures.

He also introduced a theme that we would see recurring throughout the days discussions - just where does the 'city' boundary lay? Should we concern ourselves only with the centre, or should we spread our visions to encompass the further reaches of Manchester? "As the city core slows, the pendulum swings back to the outskirts..." Is Manchester heading for a suburban renaissance?

Dave Carter head of the Manchester Digital Development Agency presented a Digital Vision for Manchester. The deployment of a super-fast fibre optic broadband network is already underway in the Oxford Road Corridor of the city, a research and development test bed for digital and creative industries. Dave outlined provisions and proposals, which would use the super-fast network, to turn Manchester into a Living Lab - a centre of excellence for companies to come and test out their products and technologies on an urban scale. Dave Haslam questioned the inclusivity of this digital vision, commenting that it could see technical 'accelerandos' leaving the wider community behind, causing the digital divide to open up further. Carter responded by agreeing that this divide is the single greatest issue that the MDDA (and cooperators) are tackling. The vision extends beyond business and academia and into areas such as Ardwick and Hulme, where it is hoped digital networks will bring services such as smart health and improved communication to vulnerable members of the community.

Artist Jean Hobson echoed Phil Griffin's passion for the past, and documenting buildings and events before it is too late. Her paintings of Manchester's lost buildings and spaces speak volumes for the campaign to stop the cities history from disappearing altogether. "People ask me not to paint their house..." joked Jean.

Following the morning's talks, a Dave Haslam led a discussion about inclusivity, education and mind set. It's all very well putting the tools in place, but teaching people how to use them and offering them the chance to use them as and how they would like to is the most important step in the process. Dave Carter cited the following link, "though you wouldn't show it to your Granny", as a positive demonstration of community empowerment through technology - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEnK145M9-A ...

After lunch, TAPE (Jan Dixon and Emily Dixon) screened their recent short film Hi High Rise - a film about "people, preconceptions and 1960s concrete". The film explores, through faceless interviews with residents, 21st century life in Hornchurch Court - one of 3 identical tower blocks in Hulme. The only resident that the camera ever catches is Patrick, the tower's caretaker - and something of a living legend. The interviews tell of the residents' love for Patrick, and all the good he has done at cleaning the place up, keeping out the riff-raff, and making the tower feel like a home. A real testament to the power of the individual, influencing a community to come together and make a change. "World peace starts with getting to know your neighbours..."

Philip Cooke of The Design Marketing group discussed the repositioning and remarketing of cities, citing Glasgow, London and Manchester as notable examples - what can Manchester learn from the successful schemes rolled out for Glasgow and London? He likens the process to intrusive surgery - Removing the damaged organ, replacing with a healthy one and then reconnecting it to the body's vital organs - a means of physical, economical and spiritual renewal. Also discussed were the benefits of good museum and library services in boosting the inclusivity of a city, and making residents feel that their city is for them as much as the tourists.

The final speaker was Guerilla Gardener Richard Reynolds. Again, the power of the individual (masked, unidentified, or otherwise...) was highlighted through his vibrant presentation of international projects. Stealth gardens popping up around Manhattan, London... to make the public (and councils) aware of misused spaces around the city. He finished by inviting the room to take away packets of sunflower seeds and to take part in the 4th International Sunflower Guerilla Gardening Day, which was Saturday 1st May.

Dave Haslam summed up the day rather succinctly - "it is better, at the end of the day, to take away more questions and challenges." I think it is safe to say that the day was most certainly a success and has planted many seeds in the brains of those in attendance.

Vision // Opportunity // Empowerment // Inclusion // Co-operation. Co-production. Co-Creation // "Events cannot be legislated for" // Access // Enabling

"Come in. Have a feel of it. See what it's all about..." (from Hi High Rise)

(This post was brought to you by a soundtrack of Burt Bacharach, 2 cups of coffee and a Curlywurly)

Published elsewhere...

2010-04-26T17:37:00.001+01:00

No posts in a long while. Been busy, and shall continue along the same thread for at least another week. But plenty to Blog about after that. In the meantime..

http://architectureandurbanism.blogspot.com/2010/04/colin-rowe-1920-99-and-fred-koetter.html

2010-03-23T22:45:00.003Z

BD Online today told us that Jean Nouvel's design has been chosen for this years Serpentine Pavilion.

Its big. Its red. And looks a little like its blown over from Mr Tschumi's Parc de Villette. Non?

This makes me even more annoyed that I missed out on last years SANAA pavilion.

Last Week...

2010-03-20T15:15:00.006Z

... seemed to be quite busy.

On Monday evening, I went to the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, to see '1984' (adapted by Matthew Dunster, designed by Paul Wills.) And, we managed to get banquettes for £8.50, which I would say is an absolute bargain for what are seemingly the best seats in the house, for this production at least. Having only recently managed to finish Orwell's book (it's one that I've picked up every summer for the last 5 years and never quite made it to the end,) I was excited to see just how it could be made to fit into 3 hours, and even more intrigued to see how it would be adapted to a theatre-in-the-round production.

The answer is - brilliantly. Wills' stage design was stunningly adaptable. Though mostly set in-the-round, Wills' design manages to utilise both thrust staging and even brings about a proscenium aspect for the second half - though police descend from the roof of the theatre on cables, quickly storming the stage and clipping the cables into hooks hidden beneath panels, then lifting the stage into the air to reveal the stark interrogation chamber in the Ministry of Love. Sitting so close to the edge of the stage meant that it felt like we were almost sat within the interrogation room ourselves (and we could see every speck of spit issued from O'briens fiery mouth!)

A suitably fitting soundtrack and smooth, cinematic flow of scenes and bodies across the stage added to the spectacle. Despite having just sat through the most harrowing hour of live theatre I had ever experienced, I left the building with an unbreakable smile across my face, thoroughly impressed with the entire production.

On Thursday the MA crew went on a trip to Nottingham, to visit Nottingham Contemporary - the new art gallery by Caruso St-John. (photo from the Studio space.) I'm still a little unsure about the green lace-crete. The pattern is stunning, and brings a very delicate dimension to the heavy concrete slats, but the scalloped edges and golden trim just don't seem to work in my opinion. But perhaps subsequent visits, in different weather conditions, might change how I see it. The exhibition - Star City - is amazing. From kitsch to cosmo, cardboard tubes to sputnik - loved every bit. The highlight would have to be Ilya and Emilia Kabakov's "Two Cabinets"...

... or maybe Aleksandra Mir's "The Dream and The Promise"...

... or maybe Christian Tomaszewski and Joanna Malinowska's "Mother, Earth, Sister, Moon"...

Postcarden

2010-03-10T13:49:00.004Z

It's a garden, in a post card! The Postcarden. Quality.

It's almost guerilla gardening, but not quite. It's almost urban farming, but not quite. What it is, though, is very very cool indeed. Your own liliputian green utopia, sent to you by a friend.

One slightly worrying aspect is the scaling of the City design, as your cress becomes a little more like a triffid than a delicate eggy accompaniment...

Go! Buy! Send! Grow! www.postcarden.com

Body//Space

2010-02-23T13:33:00.003Z

Here are some videos explaining the basis of my thesis project for an MA _ Architecture+Urbanism at the Manchester School of Architecture. Please feel free to comment, give feedback, spread amongst the masses...

Kurtains

2010-02-16T19:26:00.005Z

Fit!

This is stunning.

Simple. Funky. Individual (I think.) Cheaper than stained glass and 10 times more interesting. Though I know that if this was up on my front door, I'd not be able to leave until I'd found my favourite slide of the day.

Body

2010-02-15T22:30:00.004Z

I keep going back to watch this...

...on the BBC Film Network. Slightly reminiscent of 'A Fantastic Voyage' and supposedly inspired by theories of phenomenology, the film follows a little paper dude as he travels into his own body in a little ship.

It's beautiful, if a little strange. But then the most enticing shorts usually are...

Moley Moley Mole...

2010-02-11T20:54:00.006Z

Yes please!

...because the edges of my diary are getting tatty. And it makes it look alot smarter. And there's even more flaps to fill with extra scraps of reminder-paper.

Tardy...

2010-02-09T23:35:00.006Z

Ok, so it's been a long time since I posted. Infact I only ever posted anything once. So my new years resolution, as of 09/02/2010 is to fill this little space with little nuggets of goodness.

Sometimes I'll post fun stuff. Other times it'll be stuff to do with work. And sometimes I'll be just plain lost and need somewhere to write out my thoughts and get my head straight...

But right now I'm sleepy. I'll start in the morning. Promise.

Plus... by the time anyone reads this properly, there'll be looooads of posts on top. (Probably.)