Today, I walked around in Shoreditch, as was expecting to find something exciting and has a spark in it for my project.

Most of buildings in the area are lofts and warehouses which i liked and i think they've got more features and characters than Barbican. That I agreed with Val. yes.

There's an abandoned block on commercial street which it caught my eyes.






It's weird that even a friend of mine just lives around the corner of the street, and we hang out a lot in this area but i've never really stopped and had a proper look of this building.. yea, that's because it seems has been left up for a long time, it looks old and dirty, pointless that some people might say. so, how many abandoned buildings in london, do we all think them very negatively? would it be interesting to find out what's the history behind those buildings, and why they've been left up and never being noticed or used again?

No Barbican ! All change please!

Today I had a crit with Val. After presented what my intension of doing this brief was, she thought was not strong enough, and it didn't convince her in any ways. First of all, Barbican's been used for a million of times in design wise, so there's nothing really that people don't know about it yet, its a very commercial place with a lack of features, some people like some people don't. But what is my point of view for it? what am i designing it for? and what can people gain from my design? That's something I have to dig more and get more involved with, instead of just saying, I like it or I'm interested in. I am really glad that Val pointed out that for me !

What do I need to do in the following week?

I think it's good that I picked architecture for turning something 3D to 2D.
& I think I should put Barbican aside as I am now well stuck with WHAT I CAN DO.
Moving on from that, and nose around in my living area Shoreditch, where has got a brilliant collection of buildings, which have much more potential.
Keeping up with the three key questions above.

Venice and the Podia

"The best example of a city where foot and service traffic is completely segregated is Venice where all supplies are carried to the city on canals, while pedestrians walk on pavements which cross the canals by bridges. This segregation has worked admirably for many centuries and there is no good reason why the principle should not be applied equally effectively in City of London."

---The architects of Barbican Redevelopment April 1959.

So the Barbican is modeled on Venice

Barbican-"Podium" and " Highwalk"

According to one Council member: " Once people were up on the walkways there was no need for them to come down at all- until they wanted to go home".

Another said: " Young girls could be seen dashing across the traffic in Cheapside-it was a wonder they were not killed. The future would bless the Court if they approved elevated walkways".

That's what the most unique about the Barbican land is the podium covers so much of the estate that, once you are inside, it is effectively ground level. This new pedestrian level, which is generally 6 meters above street level, extends over 4.8 hectares of the site, in the form of terraces, linked by narrower high walks. The podium seems to be even higher when you lean over one of the balustrade edges to look at the lake or the gardens, which are in fact not at 'ground' level but several metre below it. The Barbican Centre famously has many levels which no-one can follow, but its 'ground level' is the below-ground level of the lake and the gardens. This adds to the psychological separation of estate and Arts Centre.

'Highwalk' is best used for the bridge-like narrow paths round the outskirts of the Barbican.

Exploring

After the 'p2p' meeting last week arranged by David. It's well nice just to get together with your group's people and have a little chat about how everyone's getting on with their current project before the interim crit.

I started to look around all the buildings in town that interesting me and inspiriting me. I showed some research that i'd done at the meeting, at the time, i was still on the stage of exploring things and looking around researching.

what can I do?

As we were told not to set your mind too early or into doing something you've already known, so I tried not to think about the outcome of my final design, how I would want it to be.

I was visiting the Barbican Centre the other day and I saw a poster, which was called "exploring Barbican architecture tour". First of all, I thought that was brilliant as I am doing something relates to buildings and personally I'm fascinated about the design of Barbican Art Centre and the structure of Barbican estates as well, I've been visited quite many times but never really had a change to know more about it, then, I booked and went today, it was interesting, a lot of history and things like how's been designed, redesigned and built, also what's so unique about it comparing to other buildings in london or even the whole europe.

Architecture on surface

Things you can buy
Things You Can Buy is a range of graphic illustrated cards and prints, designed and produced by graphic designer Stefi Orazi. The series is inspired by her local surrounding and love of modernist architecture.

Modernist London






Dot to Date - Start Each Day with a Dot

Each pack consists of 12 Dot to Date calendar cards (one for each month) and a couple of extras thrown in for good measure. Each calendar card has numbered dots, representative of each day in the month and a little architectural detail. Once completed each card will reveal a famous London landmark so at the end of the year you'll have your very own personalised London skyline.







Cityscape Stamp Set

Juxta-position

Looking at the work has done from "Infinite Library" it kind of brings me the idea of " Juxta-position " which I am still quite familiar with as I wrote about it in my dissertation.

Simply stated, juxtaposition means placing things side-by-side. In art this usually is done with the intention of bringing out a specific quality or creating an effect, particularly when two contrasting or opposing elements are used. The viewer's attention is drawn to the similarities or differences between the elements. Here are some pictures will explain better.

Bompas & Parr

In the modern world, we seem to be more interested in what we consume than ever before, both mentally and physically. Sam Bompas and Harry Parr are the duo behind one creative company that is riding this consumption wave, and making us really think about what we're putting inside our bodies in the most imaginative way they know how. From filling entire houses with cognac, to making ' architectural' jelly moulds, it appears there's nothing too extraordinary for the duo to explore, as long as the food is as exceptional as the way it's presented. This is just another example of me showing what else can architectures inspire us.

Infinite Library

This is a collaborative project by Daniel Gustav Cramer and Haris Epaminonda, is a suave attempt to question the future of one of our most treasured mediums, print. Their idea is simple, but their execution sublime- the pair take pages from found books, detach them from their original spine and re-bind them anew with some beautifully crafted graphic thrown in for good measure. The pace that their technique creates is wonderful, and much to out pleasure, the archive is gleefully being added to regularly.



The book objects are each made from pages of existing books removed from their bindings and rebound as one. Some of these series loosely relate to each other via a third element: geometrical shapes abstracted from the images, computer-edited, and overprinted on the originals. The disparate image stocks become intertwined and open on one another. Having transcended any thematic organization, the loose pages now have the potential to amalgamate into an infinite number of new books. In so doing, they yield a library that defies conventional categorisation.



infinite [in-fin-it]
Adjective
1. having no limits or boundaries in time, space, extent, or size
2. extremely or immeasurably great or numerous: infinite wealth
3. Maths having an unlimited or uncountable number of digits, factors, or terms
infinitely adv

what's this brief about?

Investigate form my interests, I narrowed down into two fields, which are "Architecture" and "Graphic Design". What I'd like to try and do in this brief is to have this opportunity to look into more in these areas and see the similarity and potential as to its symbiosis. In three words to describe it are "Interaction", "Transformation" and "Innovation". Hopefully, by the end of the day I can bring up some work with my point of view also has achieved the words above and will learn more about how using visualisation helps or doesn't help.

Things to avoid: turning 3D into 2D with lack of meaning.

Format of the outcome: uncertain yet.