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BreedingGhostsin theMachineB.Arch Graduating ThesisSouthern California Institute of ArchitectureFall 2010 / Spring 2011
Lennard Michael Ong Ee WenStudent#14499703lennard.ong@gmail.com
BreedingGhostsin theMachineB.Arch Graduating ThesisSouthern California Institute of ArchitectureFall 2010 / Spring 2011
Lennard Michael Ong Ee WenStudent#14499703lennard.ong@gmail.com
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
Dedicated to you, Danny Boy.
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Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
v5.0 /
Dec 12 2010v5.0
BreedingGhostsin theMachineB.Arch Graduating ThesisSouthern California Institute of ArchitectureFall 2010 / Spring 2011
Lennard Michael Ong Ee WenStudent#14499703lennard.ong@gmail.com
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
Foreword:
The thrust of this thesis is deeply personal. I came to SCI_ARC after completing my fi rst year of architectural education in Singapore.
“The limits of my life are the limits of my architecture” I wrote in the conclusion to my admission essay, “The Fear of Ennui”.
I came expecting something magical and wonderful, but I got something else. What that is, I’m not sure.
This thesis is a proxy to refl ect upon my experiences over the last fi ve years.
Hence, there will be a minimal reliance on precedents or affi liations to any particular schools of thought. Neither will there be an indulgence in arguments, relevence or theories.
Through this process, I hope to fi nd a confi dence in my own history to divine and propell my future work and investigations, wherever they may lead.
3 Rules
1) I will not make any explicit references to the work of other architects. No a-prioris.
2) all content is to be regarded as a drawing, and drawing to be regarded as a method of thinking.
3) no theoretical/sociological/academic arguments will be made. the project must hinge on a simple narrative, a logical buildup of pragmatic systems and its spatial consequences.
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Contents:
OverviewA1.0_Thesis StatementA2.0_Case Study -researchA3.0_Patch Test -research
WorkshopB1.0_System StudiesB2.0_Design Investigations
ClosetC2.0_Personal ExcavationsC1.0_Initial ExplorationsC3.0_Disciplinary PrecedentsC4.0_External References
Windows_Video_Blog
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
Fall of the Berlin Wall: the collision of bottled hopes, experiences and expectations.
photographer unknown. November 1989
“When I’m good, I’m very good. When I’m bad, I’m better.”
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This thesis is centered around the city, the effects of modernity and and the role the market economy plays.
I am interested in the space between planning, a paradigm of inevitable control, and spontaneity, a suspicious model for freedom.
Through this is an attempt to imagine the city as an unresolved spatial puzzle, a web tangled scenarios and a canvas of free associations.
The project ambition is for a three-dimensionally layered city defi ned by an undulating tempo of spatial sequences, narrative disjunctions and sensorial atmospheres.
The title of this thesis is “Breeding Ghosts in the Machine”.
Overview // Framework // Page (L, R)
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
Case StudyModernism’s Aftermath
We live in an era of completions, not new beginnings. The world is running out of places where it can start over. _RK
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Singapore is a total city.
Independent since 1965, it has grown at a speeds determined by the market economy. This growth is governed by a central planning authority. Entirely urbanized, planning through modernist principles of categorical effi ciency has resulted in the smooth segregation and compartmentalization of functions, a monotonous lullaby to live by.
Singapore is also a generic model for many emerging cities.
The cocktail of growth potential, capital accumulation and overt planning control has resulted in the proliferation of larger and larger scaled developments. These islands of contained urbanity create a programmatic thematization of the city. The city no longer functions as a buffet of experiences but becomes structured like a 10-course meal.
Breeding Ghosts in the Machine...
...is about a plan that undoes itself as a prescriptive tool. Instead of what it will be, extending known typologies, it is about what could be, an exploration of systemic relationships that might breed a different urbanity.
It is a voluntary plan for involuntary freedoms from the plan.
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
Pure Breeds
serving_
confetti_
served_
Residential w/ Commerical 1st Storylandscaped plazas recreation club
hotel recreation clubgolf course
Commercial & Residentialoutdoor pedestrian malls swimming complexchalet
//landed1.1.1_landed housing1.1.2_semi-detached housing1.1.3_townhouse1.1.4_strata-landed housing1.1.5_terrace housing
//airspace1.2.1_condominiums1.2.2_flats1.2.3_retirement housing1.2.4_student hostels
Residential (1.0.0)
Commercial (3.0.0)3.1.7_cinema
3.1.1_commercial
3.1.3_food center
3.2.4_offices
3.2.3_convention
3.2.5_bank
3.2.2_exhibition
3.1.5_entertainment3.1.4_recreation club
3.2.1_clinic
3.1.2_medical suite
3.1.6_market
consumption
prod
uctio
n
//2.02.3.1_biotechnology / 2.3.2_warehouse / 2.3.3_electrical substation / 2.3.4_vehicle repair / 2.3.5_industry / 2.3.6_gas installation / 2.3.7_furniture & fixture / 2.3.8_electrical apparatus
//1.02.2.1_computer software / 2.2.2_distribution services / 2.2.3_warehouse / 2.2.4_packing / 2.2.5_assembly and repair / 2.2.6_printing and publishingBusiness (2.0.0)
//megadevelopment2.1.1_business park / 2.1.2_science park
Open Space / Park /Beach / Sports & Recreation
Programmatic Voids (4.0.0)
beach
manicuredwild
4.1.1_water sports4.1.2_natural4.1.3_wooded4.1.4_river4.1.5_pond4.1.6_drain/canal4.1.7_swamp4.1.8_reservoir
4.2.1_marina4.2.2_zoos4.2.3_OBS4.2.4_campsite4.2.5_public promenade4.2.6_theme parks
House Climbing
Dirt Jumping
Study / Play
Deskar Road
Blue Lights
Hunting in the Park
Fishing in a Drain
Tunnel Dancing
Roads / Freeways
Transport Facilities / Mobile Rapid Transport
Airport / Port
Reserve Site / Special Use
Utiility
Civic Institutions Health &
Medical CareCultural Institutions
Educational Institution Places of Worship Community
Institutions
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opposite: spatial map of zoned areas studying connections between them, adjacencies and surface qualities
top:petridish diagram of existing zoning guidelines and categorization
left: source material: The Planning Act Master Plan Written Statement
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
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Top: (StreetView Collage of typical Buisness-zoned area.) Fenced off boxes, the road becomes residual space to interior archipelagos
Bottom:(Void Spaces in Singapore)Based on the Raandstad green-heart model, Singapore maintains a greencore. This is one of the only remaining topographical sites in Singapore. The rest has been levelled off for further landreclaimation.
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
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top:(Commercial District)The commercial district is what most tourists and inhabitants see. A stretch of shopping, commerce and entertainment, it is a more or less continuous interior drift.
bottom:(Residential District)85% of Singaporeans live in Government housing. These are based on racial ratios and systematized into 5 unit types. Based on a model pioneered by John Habraken, it is a polite form of Density without Urbanism.
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
Patch Test45 Years of Tabula Rasa. Now What?
No historic grafting... a race with a moving fi nish line. _EoM on Thom Mayne
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Project Outline
Existing Siting Proposal: Reserved Land
Counter Proposal: Existing Residential Fabric
Office, Retail, Residential, HotelRetail, F&B, Entertainment, Boutique HotelsWaterfront HotelsNew Science CenterHigh-rise OfficesMedium-rise OfficesNew Big Box RetailLuxury ResidentialRetailFuture Attractions
Distribution:
Office Space: 500, 000 sqmRetail, F&B, Entertainment: 250, 000 sqm
Hotel Rooms: 2, 800 unitsResidential: 1, 000 units
In the island state of Singapore, there are plans underway for a second commercial center in the Jurong district. 750, 000 sqm of bottled urbanism is being proposed as a towers in the park scheme, currently parkspace.
It will be the “biggest commercial HUB outside the the city”.
By using a 99-year public housing ownership clause as an opportunity to continually metabolize the city, this project proposes an alternative schema:
To smear it as a contorted tapestry of programmatic highways over, under and through the existing public housing landscape, thus tangling the parts into a continuous metabolic drift of varied adjacencies, hierarchies and spatial residues.
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
Overview of Public Housing in Singapore
The Housing and Development Board of Singapore was set up in 1 February 1960 to take over Singapore Improvement Trust for the responsibility of housing development (HDB AR 1960). Starting from 1960, fi ve-year plans were formulated to steer the pace of the construction of public housing. Originally, public housing was mainly developed in new towns, with Queenstown being the fi rst located in the west of the Central Area. In response to the problem of urban decay, HDB set up its Urban Redevelopment Unit in 1 August 1964 to facilitate the urban renewal process (HDB AR 1964). The Unit, which became a Department in 1967, was subsequently detached from the HDB to form the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in 1974. In cooperation with relevant governmental departments such as the URA and Land Transport Authority, the HDB is also responsible for the master planning of these new towns.
HDB housing was originally constructed to provide low-cost housing for the low-income group to improve their living environment and to re-house residents who were displaced during the urban renewal process. In February 1964, the Minister for National Development (MND) announced the Home Ownership for the People Scheme and entrusted the HDB with the responsibility for implementing it. The basic objective of this scheme is to encourage a property-owning society in Singapore, and to enable Singapore citizens in the lower middle income group to own their own homes (HDB AR 1964). Units with one room (studio fl at) to fi ve rooms (three bedrooms, one living room, and one dining room or study room) were offered, with four-room units being the most popular type from mid-80s (Wong and Yeh 1985) and accounting for the largest portion of HDB housing stock currently (HDB AR 2006/07). Currently, there are 23 HDB new towns and several HDB developments in the central areas, providing some 1 million units of residential units in Singapore. As in 2007, 81% or 2.98 million of residents in Singapore live in HDB (HDB AR 2006/07)
_First generation – Basic design (1960-1966)The commencement of this generation is demarcated by the establishment of the HDB in 1960. Housing development in the generation is
characterised by simple slab blocks with exterior access corridors. With only one layer of fl ats being lined along the corridor, each fl at was designed to allow cross-ventilation. The principle façade usually faces north-south but the rule was not strictly followed.
_Second generation – Introduction of built form variety (1967-1976)This generation is demarcated by the relaxation of population density in 1967, the setting up of Design and Research Unit within the HDB in 1969, and the standardisation of building layout design in the year of 1973/74. The population density of developments was relaxed in 1967 in order to provide more open space and amenities (HDB AR 1967). In 1968, towers with only four units on each fl oor clustering around the central lift core were introduced in Queenstown Neigbhorhood 4 in response to the demand for greater privacy. At the same time, height variations were introduced in order to exploit the contour and site features and to provide more open space on ground fl oor. As an experiment, buildings were construction up to 20-30 storeys to free up the ground fl oor space for recreational facilities and yet maintain the high density of public housing (HDB AR 1968)
_Third Generation – Built form as a means for holistic urban design (1977-1981)This generation is demarcated by the introduction of precinct concept in 1977. At the level of the precinct, clusters of buildings focus on an activity centre including a children’s playground, games courts and play areas. As shown in Figure 9, these clusters are designed with varying heights. Intermixing of low and high buildings allows more varied spacing between buildings and the creation of a variety of interesting spaces. More liberal use of low-rise buildings was attempted to achieve a human scale within precincts. As refl ected by the following quote from the HDB Annual Report 1978/79, the form and layout of HDB buildings in this generation were determined as part of the bigger task of urban design for the whole community
Fourth generation – First Intensifi cation of land use (1982-1990)This generation is demarcated by the fi rst intensifi cation of land use for HDB housing in
top: (Chronological Development of HDB Housing prototypes (L-R)Iterative design research and a deeply rooted belief in the relationship of space and society.
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1982/83 and the shrinkage of size of building block clusters in 1983/84. According to HDB Annual Report 1982/83, the Board reviewed its long-term plans and development strategies for meeting the housing needs in the next decades. The review indicated that land available for public housing needs to be utilised more effi ciently in the future for long-term overall development needs. A study undertaken by the Board’s planners and architects showed that it is possible to increase net residential densities by 10% with only a small increase of 3% in the building coverage whilst keeping the height of the majority of buildings to 13 storeys or less. Following these fi ndings, the HDB adopted a new spacing standard to build at the higher residential densities. To overcome the monotonous appearance of new HDB developments, buildings constructed by the traditional methods are strategically located together with the standardised buildings
_Fifth generation – Diversifi cation of design and designers (1991-now)This generation is demarcated by the introduction of the Design-and-Built Scheme in 1991 and the Design Plus scheme in 1995. Starting from this generation, HDB was no longer the sole planning and architectural designers of HDB housing. In 1991/92 under the Design-and-Built Scheme, HDB sets aside land within its new towns for private architects, engineers and contractors to design and build public housing in order to give home buyers a wider choice. To assist private sector architects involved in projects under the Design-and-Build Scheme, a handbook detailing the features and requirements of public housing design was fi rst launched in January 1996 (HDB AR 1995/96)
_Sixth generation – Further increase in building height and density (1999-now)This generation is demarcated by further increase in development intensity and building height as reported in the HDB Annual Report 1999/2000. To further optimise land use, a feasibility study was carried out to investigate the possibility of building taller HDB apartment blocks. This study showed that 40 storey blocks were feasible in areas without height constraints. The fi rst 40-storey apartment block was tendered in Toa Payoh in December 2000. The higher plot ratio was achieved through effi cient
site layout and compact block confi guration built to the permitted storey height
credit: _Kam Shing Leung, Evolution of Built Form of HDB Housing_Building Group, Housing and Development Board (2005), Public housing design guide: principles and practice. Singapore: Housing and Development Board _HDB Pictorial Record Editorial Committee (1985), Designed for living: public housing architecture in Singapore. Singapore: Housing and Development Board _Housing and Development Board Annual Reports (cited as HDB AR YEAR)_Housing and Development Board (2007), Green housing book: HDB’s approach to sustainable development. Singapore: Housing & Development Board_Housing and Development Board (2006), Universal design guide for public housing in Singapore. Singapore: Housing and Development Board_Ministry of National Development, Housing and Development Board and Urban Redevelopment Authority (2002), Duxton Plain Public Housing – international architectural design competition. Singapore: Urban Redevelopment Authority_Wong AK Yeh SHK 1985, Housing a nation – 25 years of public housing in Singapore. Singapore: Housing and Development Boar
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
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“The Jurong Lake District will become a mini city that is distinctive in character. The District may take 10 to 15 years to be fully developed but we need not wait so long to see the transformation. Many new projects are already in the pipeline. For instance, by the end of this year, Jurong Lake will be enhanced to facilitate water-based activities such as kayaking and dragon-boating. We will also see new facilities such as a golf resort hotel, new hospital, boardwalks and wetlands being developed here.
A new Big Box development by TT International is currently under construction near the Jurong East MRT Station. This development will be similar to the Warehouse-Retail development cluster at Tampines. When ready by the end of 2009, this Big Box development will add approximately 34,000 sq m of new retail space, similar in size to the Tampines cluster. The Jurong Entertainment Centre will also be redeveloped by next year. It will be home to Singapore’s first Olympic-size ice skating rink.”
Keynote speech by Mr Mah Bow Tan Minister for National Developmnent at the URA Corporate Plan Seminar at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel on 4 April 2008 at 9.45am
Opposite: (offi cial news release)Buzzword Bingo: “Largest Commercial Hub... Attract Billions of Dollars... World-Class... Lush Greenery... Distinctive in Character”
Top: (excerpt from speech highlighting Concept Plan for the next 10 to 15 years) The concept plan falls under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Master Plan, which guides development in Singapore.
Bottom Left: (Artists Impression of proposed project)Programmatic Thematization of the Urban Sphere
Bottom Right:
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
Systems Experimentation
The Collision of a Tractor and a Hairdryer making love on an X-ray Machine.
Site Pochescale: 2.75km x 2.75km
Lennard Ong Ee WenB. Arch Graduating Thesis, FA201
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#01//Magic Carpet StudyStudy of undulating zoning datums and subsequent bundling as a way to orchaestrate organization.
Lennard Ong Ee WenB. Arch Graduating Thesis, FA2010-SP2011
Southern California Institute of Architecture
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
#04//Hierarchy StudyStudy of existing road hierarchy in subdivision of land.
Lennard Ong Ee WenB. Arch Graduating Thesis, FA2010-SP2011
Southern California Institute of Architecture
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#02a //Pathing Study (L)Study of point to point connections between all buildings in a range of 95.0m to 105.0m.
Lennard Ong Ee WenB. Arch Graduating Thesis, FA2010-SP2011
Southern California Institute of Architecture
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
#02b//Pathing Study (M)Study of point to point connections between all buildings in a range of 45.0m to 55.0m.
Lennard Ong Ee WenB. Arch Graduating Thesis, FA2010-SP2011
Southern California Institute of Architecture
#02c//Pathing Study (S)Study of point to point connections between all buildings in a range of 0.0m to 25.0m.
Lennard Ong Ee WenB. Arch Graduating Thesis, FA2010-SP2011
Southern California Institute of Architecture
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#05a//Heat Map Study (L)Reintepretation of information from study #04a to #04c
Lennard Ong Ee WenB. Arch Graduating Thesis, FA2010-SP2011
Southern California Institute of Architecture
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
#05a//Heat Map Study (M)Reintepretation of information from study #04a to #04c
Lennard Ong Ee WenB. Arch Graduating Thesis, FA2010-SP2011
Southern California Institute of Architecture
#05a//Heat Map Study (M)Reintepretation of information from study #04a to #04c
Lennard Ong Ee WenB. Arch Graduating Thesis, FA2010-SP2011
Southern California Institute of Architecture
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Zoning Mapsource:
Urban Redevelopment Authority, 2010.
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
#03//Constellation Studystudy of land ownership, zoning and clustering vis a vis existing land parcels.
*note:_colours reference existing zoning map. _circles indicate goverment ownership_squares indicate private ownership Lennard Ong Ee Wen
B. Arch Graduating Thesis, FA201
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Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
Des
ign
Stud
ies
Thinking without Words
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Plea
se R
otat
e(t
hank
you
.)
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
#01_
Bre
edin
g G
host
s in
the
Mac
hine
(2’ x
3’)
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#02_
Syst
emat
ic A
berr
atio
ns (2
’ x 3
’)
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
#03_
Arc
hipe
lago
(col
lage
, 2’ x
3’)
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#04_
Arc
hipe
lago
v2.
0 (H
DTV
)
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
Onc
e up
on a
tim
e, a
dirt
y an
d m
essy
situ
atio
n w
as m
ade
into
a c
lean
an
d or
derly
pro
mis
e.
v5.0 /
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
In th
is c
ity, a
ll its
inha
bita
nts n
eeds
w
ere
pree
mpt
ive-
ly m
et th
roug
h de
sign
or
pro
gram
min
g. M
edia
took
car
e of
th
e re
st.
Soon
, the
peo
ple
coul
dn’t
tell
the
diffe
renc
e be
twee
n dr
eam
s and
de
sire
. All
it kn
ew is
wha
t it w
as fe
d is
wha
t it s
houl
d w
ant,
the
city
was
a
gesa
mtw
erk.
Prec
ario
us li
ving
con
ditio
ns w
ere
ratio
nally
repa
ckag
ed
into
solid
ifi ed
blo
cks f
or li
ving
, wor
king
and
pla
ying
, re
spec
tivel
y. T
hrou
gh e
xper
t glo
bal m
aneu
verin
g,
econ
omic
stag
natio
n be
cam
e un
iver
sal p
rosp
erity
. W
ildne
ss w
as n
eatly
qua
rant
ined
and
inoc
ulat
ed a
gain
st
any
poss
ible
illn
ess o
r har
m to
the
inha
bita
nts.
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One
day
, som
eone
dec
ided
to e
scap
e.
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
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“Esc
ape
whe
re?”
That
s wha
t thi
s is a
bout
. It i
s abo
ut b
uild
ing
the
abse
nce
of c
ity. T
he c
onst
ruct
ion
of a
n ou
tsid
e by
mak
ing
anot
her i
nsid
e to
the
curr
ent i
nsid
e.
Or,
is th
ere
such
a th
ing
as “
outs
ide”
any
mor
e? M
aybe
we
just
nee
d to
mak
e th
e in
side
a
little
diff
eren
t: a
stru
ctur
e to
gen
erat
e di
ffere
nces
and
col
lisio
ns.
Pat
h1: D
irect
to B
uild
ing
(SP
ILL)
Pat
h2: S
naki
ng D
atum
Pat
h3: f
rom
Dat
umP
lane
to M
ain
Vect
or
Pat
h4: M
inor
Vec
tor,
cros
ses
the
mos
t poi
nts
slice
d buil
ding
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
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Thro
ugh
the
orch
aest
ratio
n of
col
lisio
ns a
nd sp
atia
l res
idue
s: p
iece
mea
l slic
es o
f out
side
w
aitin
g to
be
mom
enta
rily
clai
med
.
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
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ClosetThe closet is where the search for a thesis began.
It is a collection of excavations- from old journals, thoughts, drawings, sketches and projects - and refl ections on where they might go go next.
It also lists several texts that has played a direct supporting role in this thesis or a signifi cant role in forming these interests and outlooks.
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
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excerpts excavated from journals.
top: Semester Journalright, top: Europe Journalright, middle: Mexico Journalright, bottom: digital journal, 2001 - present
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
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early presentations
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
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Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
Play
Melt
Wildness
ResiduePossible Outputs?:
//DiscourseDiagram_positioningdiagram//ResidualScan_material/resource palette
//MeltMap_bandwidth of actor-network at play (programming?)//Playtime_
Old/New?
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Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
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Following Pages:
Textual Markers
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
World War II brought about catastrophic changes in western urban production. While it is clear that the complex fabric of traditional urban form has been replaced by equally complex contemporary urban space, it is less clear what role form continues to play in its present structural confi guration. Ladders attempts to identify the contemporary dialectic between urban space and form as the key to engaging the unprecedented qualities of contemporary urban space.
Pope forms the theory of a rational suburbia, although not a rationality of form (perhaps), but rational through the processes which it introduces into the lives of its inhabitants. The daily motions and movements which Houston imposes on its residents are exposed and itemized as a series of progressive turns which hold emotive as well as logistical separation and enclosure for the suburbanites.
Recombinant Urbanism develops the urban-modelling techniques, fi rst pioneered by Lynch, into a comprehensive framework for the fastgrowing discipline of urban design.
Covering the origins of urban design in North America and Europe, it discusses the main approaches that have evolved to deal with the fragmented contemporary city. It also looks at the infl uence of participatory planning processes, zoning codes, imagery, fi nance and marketing on urban form.
Providing a sophisticated and potent set of tools for urban designers and urban design students, Recombinant Urbanism also recasts urban modelling as an effective method of augmenting standard architectural design practices in an urban context.
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Requiem: For the City at the End of the Millenium is a short book of collected essays by Sanford Kwinter.
In this small, but sharply-pointed book, renowned theorist Sanford Kwinter addresses the sometimes subtle, sometimes brutal transformations that characterized the modernization processes set into motion at the turn of the millennium.
To quote from Thomas Daniell’s introduction, is fi rst and foremost redemptive: “Kwinter’s most negative assessments of the city are driven by a deep commitment to its sublime potentials--a desire to sacralize the most profane and fecund of human creations.”
Where does the nation-state end and globalization begin?
In Territory, Authority, Rights, Saskia Sassen argues that even while globalization is best understood as “denationalization,” it continues to be shaped, channeled, and enabled by institutions and networks originally developed with nations in mind, such as the rule of law and respect for private authority.
This process of state making produced some of the capabilities enabling the global era. The difference is that these capabilities have become part of new organizing logics: actors other than nation-states deploy them for new purposes. Sassen builds her case by examining how three components of any society in any age--territory, authority, and rights--have changed in themselves and in their interrelationships across three major historical “assemblages”: the medieval, the national, and the global.
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
In Subnature, David Gissen examines experimental work by today’s leading designers, scholars, philosophers, and biologists that rejects the idea that humans can somehow recreate a purely natural world, free of the untidy elements that actually constitute nature.
Each chapter provides an examination of a particular form of subnature and its actualization in contemporary design practice.
Subnature looks beyond LEED ratings, green roofs, and solar panels toward a progressive architecture based on a radical new conception of nature.
Geoecology investigates the structure and function of geoecosystems, their components and their environment. The author develops a simple dynamic systems model, the `brash’ equation, to form the conceptual framework for the book suggesting an `ecological’ and `evolutionary’ approach.
Exploring internal of `ecological’ interactions between geoecosystems and their near-surface environments - the atmosphere, hydrosphere, toposhere, and lithosphere - and external infl uences, both geological and cosmic, Geoecology presents geoecosystems as dynamic entities constantly responding to changes within themselves and their surroundings.
An `evolutionary’ view emerges of geoecological systems, and the animals, plants, and soils comprising them, providing a new way of thinking for the whole environmental complex and the rich web of interdependencies contained therein.
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Simon Singh ranges from Julius Caesar’s secret military writing to coded diplomatic messages in feuding Renaissance Italy city-states, from the decipherment of the Rosetta Stone to the ingenuity of modern security experts battling cyber-criminals and cyber-terrorists.
He clarifi es the techniques and tricks of code makers and code breakers alike. He lightens the sometimes technical load with photos, political cartoons, charts, code grids and reproductions of historic documents. He closes with a fascinating look at cryptanalysts’ planned and futuristic tools, including the “one-time pad,” a seemingly unbreakable form of encryption.
This became a primer into notational methods for a systemic and recombinatory approach to drawing.
Providing an extensive chronicle of the personal and academic development of Rem Koolhaas, this book helped me understand the incongruent nature between thinking, drawing and the story one might use to communicate a project.
It made me realize that maybe there is no such thing as theory and comfortable with the fact that architecture is an autobiographical affair dressed up.
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
“Terzani’s odyssey across Asia is full of revelations and refl ections on the dramatic changes underway in Asia. Having spent two decades on the continent, he brings a deep love for the place to his journeys, but also the eyes of someone troubled by the changes he sees.
Surrounded by the loss of diversity wrought by modernism, Terzani asks if the “missionaries of materialism and economic progress” aren’t destroying the continent in order to save it. Fortunately, there is a fl ip side to his occasionally dispiriting commentary, one that Terzani discovers in his hunt for fortunetellers.
Through his side trips to seers who read the soles of his feet, the ashes of incense, and even the burned scapula of sheep, it becomes clear that the Orient of legends, myths, and magic still determines people’s lives as much as the quest for money. By staying earthbound, Terzani lived to tell of an extraordinary journey through the ever-shifting kaleidoscope of Asia.”
This black comedy uses a science-fi ction-like premise to satirize Victorian morals.
Ostensibly the memoirs of late-19th-century Glasgow physician Archibald McCandless, the narrative follows the bizarre life of oversexed, volatile Bella Baxter, an emancipated woman and a female Frankenstein. Bella is not her real name; as Victorian Blessington, she drowned herself to escape her abusive husband, but a surgeon removed the brain from the fetus she was carrying and placed it in her skull, resucitating her.
Illustrated with Gray’s suitably macabre drawings, this work of inspired lunacy effectively skewers class snobbery, British imperialism, prudishness and the tenets of received wisdom
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Dan Eldon, who was only 22 when he was chased down and killed by an angry mob in Somalia, was one of the youngest photographic stringers in Africa. But his journalistic work, which had appeared in Time and Newsweek, showed only a small part of his talent.
Eldon excelled as an artist in his collages, which combined his photographs of Africa with paint, pastiche, pop culture images, advertising, and offi cial documents.
The Journey Is the Destination collects pages from the 17 scrapbooks that held his art. Chronicling his work from age 14 through his death at 22, this volume is startling not only in the intensity and thoughtfulness of the pages, but also in the fact that someone so young could have this kind of artistic depth and insight.
It is funny how I still found a connection with something written a century ago, under another political regime and outlook to life.
Maybe this means there is no such thing as progress, and the only thing left is change.
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
Windows
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Youtube as an interface for comments
An online blog to collate refl ections after each meeting with an advisor.
Lennard Michael Ong Ee Wen // B. Arch Graduating Thesis // Southern California Institute of Architecture // Fall 2010-Spring 2011
BreedingGhostsin theMachineB.Arch Graduating ThesisSouthern California Institute of ArchitectureFall 2010 / Spring 2011
Lennard Michael Ong Ee WenStudent#14499703lennard.ong@gmail.com
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