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7/26/2019 150511 BTK Proposal
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/150511-btk-proposal 1/10
To world (v.) our world; to design your own dasein1
Philosopher Martin Heidegger’s insightful interrogations on our being-in-the-world, specifically his essays ‘Question on
technology’, ‘On the Origins of Art’ and ‘Building Dwelling Thinking’, has disclosed a world of possible phenomenolog-
ical architecture/design for generations of enlightened readers. Ontology, or phenomenology, opens up possibilities for
measuring our living world poetically, while the question of beings always stays as its core.
In his writings Heidegger has concluded, that the work of art is a work of truth; and technology’s danger lies in render-
ing our world into ‘standing-reserve’. Yet in today’s world of contradictions and fluid changes, the question of being,
with which the questions of authenticity, techne, art and architecture, deserves a critical rethink.
Roy Ascott, pioneering telematic artist and theoretician, argues that we must seek possibilities for telematic embrac-
es and consciousness as we now dwell in a different world2. Reductionists must give way for an emerging syncretic
world of both the telematic and the real, the individual and the world.
Discussion on harnessing technological advancement for human dwelling as well as city formation has in fact pre-
vailed for decades, with a regime of possibilities explored by avant-gardes, artists or industries till today. Yet in retro-
spect, overzealous optimism in technology like that of Archigram might even be considered perverseness. With all
these in mind, the aim of this research is to bridge the wildest possibility of media space with Ontology, in the form ofmeaningful interventions as well as contemplation. As a continuation to previous research semester on Heidegger at
the Institute for Arts and Architecture, Akademie der Bildenden Kunste Wien, the possibility of joining the Master in
Media Space program would provide an invaluable opportunity for exploring the program’s agenda to the fullest.
I wish to develop my research interest in accordance with the following three, sequential questions: 1) Explore the
best potentiality in “Media Space”/ electronic art as a medium, as tools for heightened perceptions, 2) Disclose the
possible world of ‘Second phenomenon’, Media Space for ontological dwelling, 3) A possible, intervention catalogue
for a syncretic Media Architecture, where architecture reduces its role as infrastructure, while Media plays the lead-
ing role in disclosing ontological possibilities. Ultimately, publish a catalogue of intervention to be brought back to my
home city, Hong Kong.
WORLD WIDE WEB x
WORLDING WORLD
1. Da-sein is the authentic state
of being Heidegger described as
coming to full comprehension
of our being-in -the-world. Davis,
Bret W. 2010. Martin Heidegger:
key concepts. Durham [England]:
Acumen Pub.
2. Ascott, Roy, and Edward
A. Shanken. 2003. Telematic
embrace visionary theories of art,
technology, and consciousness.Berkeley: University of California
Press.
3. Roy Ascott’s lecture at the
University of Toronto, 2012
In search for a digital Ontology
Proposal for MDes in
media space application
introduction
3.
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Inspirations -
3 tiers of question
1. media space as an medium
FACT:
a re-interpretation of
Martin Heidegger’s Bauen
Wohnen Denken, and his
thoughts on technology.
Use animations instead
of actual architectural
design to experience his
philosophy; a re-reflected
projection (projection on
mirror) to understand the
projector as a ‘thing’ - its
entire meaning in the
situation. / BArch History
Theory Criticism Studio1,
Institute for Art & Archi-tecture, Akademie der
Bildenden Kunste, Wien.
ASSUMPTION:
architecture’s powerfully
innate ability to create
‘places’ and influence
Gestalt psychology. Spatial
design instead of actual ar-
chitectural making (Gestalt
psychology as opposed
to architectural structural-
ism?) may bring us closer
to the aim. A basic, 3
dimensional settings, can
liberate novel spatial think-
ing and a corresponding
spatial phenomenology.
QUESTIONS:
How to continue this research by applying the question
of being in different contradictory and contemporary spa-
tial settings? In situations where the media plays a more
active role than the spatial background?
RESEARCH ON HEIDEGGER
AUGMENTED MOBILE REALITY
FACT:
First augmented reality
app. Open-source, se-
lective filter, and super-
imposed layers of media
information on the camera
view of physical surround-
ings.
ASSUMPTION:
The augmented mobile
screen is liberated from
a static screen. Allow
access to the cosmos of
a boundless, collective
media space.
QUESTIONS:
Problem of relevance.
Most information obtained
is from existing social me-
dia websites, information
from this information-ex-
plosion age, and is mostly
a translation of revelation
language. The app is there-
fore still an informational
tool than a work of art that
questions the medium’s
being as a thing –
how to possibly do so?
1. Studio Angelika Schnell & Eva Sommerberger, 2013-
14; in collaboration with Lukas Debiasi
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Inspirations -
three tiers of question
1. media space as an medium
IMMENSIVE AFFECTS OF
KISSING ARCHITECTURE
Lavin, Sylvia. Kissing architecture / Sylvia Lavin. Prince-
ton, N.J. : Princeton UNIVERSITY Press, c2011.
FACT:
Use grasshopper (typical
parametric design tool)
to stimulate planets,
human behaviour or any
behavioural imaginations.
Diploma course at the
Institute for Art & Archi-
tecture, Akademie der
Bildenden Kunste, Wien.
Tutor: Titus Tarnai, DI Msc,
Columbia.
www.jahmetry.org/
ASSUMPTION:
A creative way of using
algorithm not as a means
(for parametric form) but
as an ends (behavioural
toy for interactions).
QUESTIONS:
Stimulation, a word of
complexity and paradox.
It suggests that there
is a better reality for the
digital world to imitate.
From virtual behaviour
(imitation) till virtual reality
(construct the virtual intothe real, example such as
the Frac Center, built to
imitate a nurb computer
model), how should these
approaches define and
discover our ontological
reality than creating toys?
ALGORITHM AS ORGANISM
FACT:
Sylvia Lavin’s book
discusses the capability
of architecture to create
intense ‘Affects’ than
‘Effects’ (narratives). From
the growing intimacy
between architecture
and new forms of art, the
guilty pleasure of engag-
ing with sensorial spaces/
atmospheres which aban-
dons the narrow focus on
function, might inspire a
new architecture.
ASSUMPTION:
There are similarities
as well as differences
between phenomenology
and the immersive affects;
intellection and kitsch. In
embracing and respond-
ing to the new forms of
spatial settings, phenome-
nology should absorb new
instrumentality.
QUESTIONS:
Relevance of the ephem-
eral. Common sense -
conscious and responsible
human beings cannot
always dwell in a dreamy
state. Yet if a phenome-
nological state of being
could be attained through
Holderin’s poems or
Tarskovsky’s films, instru-
mentality can of course
varies. It is the author’s
intention that defines.
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Inspirations -
three tiers of question
2. media space for second
phenomenon
BEING HUMAN IN A TECHNOLOGICAL AGE
Ascott, Roy, and Edward A. Shanken. 2003. Telematicembrace visionary theories of art, technology, and con-
sciousness. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Being th the World documentary, directed by Tao Ruspoli,
2010. 1. except from film’s website
FACT:
As pioneer in the scope of
telematics arts, Roy As-
cott argues, that although
medium and environment
may change, human spirit
and the will to realize or
transform remains the
same. “Every fibre, every
node…on the Net is a part
of me. It’s a phrase space
I’m in, a sort of tele-poten-
tiality. As I interact with
the Net, I reconfigure
myself. My net-extent
defines me, just as mybody defined me in the
old biological culture. I am
weightless and dimension-
less in any exact sense.
I am the reach of my
connectivity.”
ASSUMPTION:
A re-materialization of
telematics art will carry
telematics consciousness,
what could be described
as, the second order
senses. The second-order
senses differ from the
five senses of Aristotle,
carries the possibility of
comprehending multiple
selves, for example, the
connectivity of minds.
QUESTIONS:
Roy Ascott’s talk of telematicsconsciousness is in fact contrary
to the Heideggerian/ phenom-
enological ‘premordial being’,
and that technology poses the
danger of creating abundant
‘standing-reserve’ and therefore
the inability to distinguish au-
thentic being. How to reconcile
the differences?
ROY ASCOTT - 2ND ORDER SENSES
FACT:
The film is based on Mar-
tin Heidegger’s philosophy
and is inspired by Hubert
Dreyfus. “Being in the
World raises the ques-
tion of whether we have
forgotten what it means
to be truly human in
today’s technological age,
and proceeds to answer
this question by taking a
journey around the world
to meet a whole host of
remarkable individuals...
By showing how these
modern day masters
approach life from within
their chosen fields, Rus-
poli’s film celebrates the
ability of human beings to
find meaning in the world
through the mastery of
physical, intellectual, and
creative skills.”1
ASSUMPTION:
A diametrically opposite
view to Roy Ascott’s argu-
ments. Hubert Dreyfus’s
criticism on AI, on some
scientists’ false assump
that the brain is analogous
to computer hardware
and the mind is analogous
to computer software,
by performing discrete
computations (in the form
of algorithmic rules) on
discrete representations
or symbols. Heideggerain
notion of a highly context
bound phenomenology
and state of being, cannot
be attained in current
mode of technological
design.
QUESTIONS:
What is important is what
an ontology is for - as an
uproot re-invention ora syncretic reform and
adaptation...
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Inspirations -
three tiers of question
3. towards a media architecture
MEDIA SPACE AS SPATIAL REMEDY
Matthew Claudel. “Beyond “Things That Flicker”: TheNext Step for Media Architecture” 09 Oct 2014. Arch-
Daily. ACCESSED 14 May 2015. <http://www.archdaily.
com/?p=555398>
FACT:
Shanghai, China:
At a connection tunnel in a
subway station, two long
walls of projected adver-
tisement become the main
focus in the space.
ASSUMPTION:
By diming the light, hiding
horrendous construc-
tion detail and revealing
only the projection, an
atmospheric space is
achieved. Instead of LED
screen, projected wall is
pleasing to human eye. It
is perhaps the best tool
for reconciling media and
architectural world.
QUESTIONS:
Can this way of atmo-
spheric reconstruction
be generally applied as
a spatial remedy? For a
kind of architecture not
of drastic form, but of
intense engagement withits elements and circum-
stances...
BEYOND THINGS THAT FLICKER...
FACT:
“Beyond things that flicker
– the next step for Media
Architecture” Matthew
Claudel, Researcher at
MIT Sensible CityLab /
In this short article on
ArchDaily, researcher Mat-
thew Claudel discusses
the interfaces between
Media Architecture and
traditional architecture,
specifically the order of
a cathedral. Quoting the
architectural phenome-
nologist Pallasmaa, that“Architecture articulates
the experiences of
being-in-the-world and
strengthens our sense of
reality and self”; Claudel
concludes, a true Media
Architecture must “ignite
haptic consequences in a
meaningful and system-
atic way, beyond artistic
experiments or flickering
images across the built
environment.”
ASSUMPTION:
Ontology and phenom-
enology put up the
necessary critical guard for
reconciling ‘media’ and ‘ar-
chitecture’, between the
dynamism of networked,
variable system and the
sited, singular, persistent
actuality.
QUESTIONS:
“TV screens for living in”-
how will the dynamism of
media inform not only a sup-
plementary added-on feature,but also the environment for
actual dwelling?
(Questions to be continued)
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Concepts
3 ongoing projects
(ongoing project with App programmer; patent pending..)
TOUCHSCREEN
thumb as thumb?
screen as screen?
hand as hand?
media content as
the inbetween
substance,
between the
order of the
thumb and the
context of one’s
hand.
media substance floatsor aligns with the hand
the real TOUCH
SCREEN to betouched on bothsides, in the fullcontext of the‘touch’
task
schedule
things that
constitute you
Further to the critique on the app layar, whatis the relevant ontogical question to be
raised? What is it to be mobile? What can an
app do?
MOBILE APP IN ITS FULL CONTEXT
1. 2.
3. 4.
and toward
a collective
database...
7/26/2019 150511 BTK Proposal
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Concepts
3 ongoing projects
realtime mapping/ projected tool for
net-surfing consciousness
medium: rhino, grasshoppper, mosquito plug-in, projector
A MOON/ROOM OF ONE’S OWN
Through visualizing our dimensionless visit onsocial media websites, the projected image
of a planetary coexistence will serve as a tool
for heightened perception.
TRUE DISTANCE REQUIRES NEARNESS...
rendering of a possible outcome
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Concepts
3 ongoing projects
rework on the essence of
translating 2D strokes into 3D space/place
medium: rhino, grasshopper, galapagas plug-in, arduino
THE PROFOUNDITY OF STROKES
1.
The problem of many parametric experiments
today, lies in the overzealous obsession inengineering process than a context-bound
outcome. Similar to what Kandinsky argues,
to engineer a dog’s bark into the sound of
violin is not art, yet... how to re-work the
essence of this engineering translation?
ENGINEERING ITSELF IS NOT ART YET...
Spatial translation, 2013 Spring
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Implementation
a bi-city catalogue of intervention based on Berlin & Hong Kong
tested in reallife, 1 to 1
medium: publication, installation, performance
A POSSIBLE FINAL PROJECT :
ONTOLOGICAL GUIDE TO SPATIAL REMEDY
In dealing with various spatial complexity and contradictions in the age of digital media, the city of Hong Kong is where
tension can be observed at extremity for its overcrowding density, consumerist culture and boiling political conflicts.
During the course of studies, it is hoped that innovative ideas will be explored most boundlessly at the vibrant cultural
capital of Berlin, within the 3-tier structure of investigation. As for a final outcome, the ultimate goal is to formulate a
comprehensive guide, for bringing a full catalogue of ideas back to Hong Kong’s reality. A method towards this goal
might be – to first understand the hidden ecosystem between media and space and the potential rooms for criticalinnovation, thus staging partial, real life ecosystem (installation and performance) in Berlin; and finally, publish a cata-
logue that will attempt to predict extremity. Such bi-city approach might become a challenging back-and-forth journey
through contextual, realist, surrealist or constructivist designs.
That said, what are the extremities in Hong Kong which might give media space an extraordinarily significant role?
First is Hong Kong’s abundance of vertical surfaces and severe lack of horizontal spaces. A major design problem
might be how to “hack” these vertical surfaces meaningfully for imaginative dwelling and being.
Second is the thirst for spatial resonance. Here in Hong Kong, due to soaring property price, spatial qualities are
always sacrificed for planning efficiency. This results in undesirable living conditions in both private and public space.
While traditional means of architecture planning or renovation might involve tedious negotiation process or even futileattempts, the tactics of creating “media space” might offer swift spatial remedies for the already ephemeral city cul-
ture.
Third is the necessary resistance to mundane consumerism – signage, billboards everywhere… and obsession with
mobile phones... Similar to point one, there must be a different phenomenon that challenges these consumerist hab-
its.
Fourth is to create meaningful, participatory temporality, as an inspired continuity to the Umbrella Revolution.
With you I wish all these ideas could be fully explored.
Mongkok, Hong Kong
during the Umbrella
Revolution. For months
people have paralysed
the main streets. Holding
your mobile device in the
crowd - is a resistance to
the consumerist billboad
background.
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Kaman LAM
Born August 1992 in Hong Kong
00852-64222059 (Hong Kong)
EDUCATION
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Bachelor of Art (Architectural Studies), GPA : 3.53/4
First Class Honours
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Vienna
Exchange semester offered by HKU
Semester at HKU’s Shanghai Study Center
AWARDS
Hong Kong Young Design Talent Special Award 2014,
with a grant of HKD 250,000
Dean’s honor’s list (top 5 student), 2013, HKU
HKU Worldwide U/G Student Exchange
Scholarships
SKILLS
Rhinoceros (3D Modelling, Grasshopper, V-Ray), Adobe
Creative Suite 6 (Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign,
Aftereffects), AutoCAD, Autodesk 3DsMax, Maxwell
Renderer
LANGUAGES
English (Fluent. IELTS 2014 7.5), German (elementary),
Cantonese (Native language), Mandarin (Fluent),
EXPERIENCE
Assistant Architect at Atelier Liu Yuyang Architects, Shanghaiwww.alya.cn
Feb2015 - present
Assisted in the design of a private villa in Beijing
Director : Liu Yuyang (former professor), Cao Feilie, Li Ning
Intern at Research Architecture Design, RAD, Hong Kong
www.rad.hk
August 2014 - Feb 2015
Assisted in K11 Beijing Art Mall, design SD and facade DD,
coordination/meeting with consultants and clients
Director : Alberto Cipriani, Aaron Tan
Intern at Dehow Art & Architecture, Hong Kong
www.dehow.com
June-August 2012/13
Assisted in curatorial proposal for DETOUR Hong Kong 2013
/ Assisted in researching and designing art project ‘Oddity in
landscape’,‘A Brave Atlas’, M+ art project, the Inflammable
Classroom
Director : Thomas D.H. Tsang
Romus Domus, Study trip on the celestial sky of Rome
July 2013
Typological research on the Roman domes and the Baroque play
of plasticity. Final review with Glenn Murcutt at the American
Academy in Rome
Director : Thomas D.H. Tsang, Rome Prize winner
Intern at Rural Urban Framework, Hong Kong
www.rufwork.org
June 2013
Assisted in producing drawings for publication
Director : Joshua Bolchover, John C.H. Lin
Summer Program with Tsinghua University, Miao & Dong Minor-
ity Tribe in Kaili, Guiyang
July-August 2013Site visit to Miao & Dong minority region; Integration of tradi-
tional craftsmanship and information modeling; apply passive
sustainable design principles and informational modeling tools
that leads to full scale light steel constructions for rural houses.
Director : Gao Yan,Weijen Wang