阿泥头 - JZ's Space

是穿越而不是逾越

2011-11-22T22:16:00.001-05:00

是穿越而不是逾越
是漂浮而不是飞行

Commercial Architecture

2011-10-09T20:57:00.004-04:00

- fear for nothingness

- impulsive manufacturing of excitement

- indulgent humanism

做了半年的商业建筑，基本上都是在做西安的赛高项目。基本上对于这边的实践是比较失望的，可能是因为中国这类商业综合体项目太多了，人员拉得比较散，团队比较年轻的缘故吧。形式上的追求显得太没道理了。如果硬要问为什么，上面三点可以做一个提纲。

香港沙田印象

2011-09-19T09:10:00.002-04:00

香港晚上的天是红色的。到了凌晨四五点钟，红色慢慢化成了青色，灰灰的，湿湿的，大屿山的轮廓就显示起来了。灯火依稀的疏疏密密的高楼住宅群，就在山的宽阔的怀抱中慢慢醒来。

香港的城市密度很高，然而绿化水平很高，由于是在热带的缘故吧，也或许是许多年的维护保养，树木高高矮矮都长得郁郁葱葱的。再加上青山环绕，河流海湾，并没有让人喘不过气来的感觉。

香港人感觉都比较有礼貌，走路坐电梯都会比较谦让。做事却很麻利，很有外柔内刚的意思。普通百姓家里也就五六十平米，一定是收拾的干干净净。小小的鱼缸，鱼缸里小小的渔船卵石，对应的是外面的湘江山水，是小中见大。精致的空间策略，加上灯光组合的配合，也就不显得空间的狭隘来。

住宅是清一色的高楼。里面语言上并没有很多花哨变化，就是直直的耸上去。然后就是七八个一样的楼排成一列，或者三三两两前后错落一下，很有气势的将个体的住宅空间在三维上铺陈开来。很强烈的集合空间，尤其是晚上，有着无穷的灯光组合。河流港湾造成的距离，以及山坡的起伏，给这种住宅集合赋予了多变的视点。不得不说，这种组团式的城市规划，以及在组团之间布置道路和大片绿化的方式还是很成功的。这样的城市，跟纽约一样，单栋建筑的立面已经几乎不重要了，重要的是组团和建筑的集合。

重回北京

2011-04-24T16:42:00.002-04:00

好久没有来写东西了。开始facebook之后，人可能就变懒了吧。敲一点字或许可以让昏睡的脑细胞动一下。
前一阵回国了一趟。飞到北京，在狼就家住了四五天，又和很多同学聚了一下，感受了一下北京的气息。和十五年前高中毕业刚到北京的忐忑心情倒是有些许相似。借了路珂的自行车在清华里转了一圈，校园依旧，年轻的同学朝气蓬勃。只觉得当年光阴虚度，如今只有加倍努力。

World Cup Final

2010-07-11T14:40:00.003-04:00

Spain Vs Netherland

西班牙的球踢得真是赏心悦目。但是感觉荷兰队就像是若干年前的建院队，已经有了两次亚军，这第三次的决赛显得格外重要。我们那年很幸运的拿了冠军，希望荷兰也好运。

五年后重游樱花节

2010-04-04T23:01:00.001-04:00

Iterative Design?

2010-02-23T21:52:00.001-05:00

Iterative or meditative?
Parametric or phenomenological?
Iterative meditation
or
meditative iteration?

Ted Flato at NBM

2010-02-02T22:12:00.006-05:00

Went to Ted Flato's lecture in National Building Museum. It's been a long time since last time I attended a NBM Spotlight on Design series. A snow day, but the temporary auditorium was full at 6:30pm when the presentation started. And it is well worth it.

Lake/Flato's name is associated with an honest regional yet contemporary type of practice. A couple of other names in US come to mind - Miller/Hull at the northwest, maybe to a lesser degree KieranTimberlake at the east (KTA is more artsy than vernacular). All of them embrace sustainable architecture, as sustainability "encourages" vernacular forms. The focus is on rational and thoughtful place making, straightforward and efficient use of (a variety of) materials, artful integration of structural systems, and slender display of structural members. To name a few examples of this structural aspect, just think of the purlins under thin roof overhangs, the exposed wood beams, the turnbuckles at the airy steel cable crossbracings, the slightly angled shape of the concrete column.

Ted mentioned the heritage from Ford O'neil. I have been to one of O'neil's building in Dallas, and it is a good piece of architecture. According to Ted, he and David Lake only started their own practice after O'neil passed away.

An interesting thing Ted mentioned is his encounter with Fumihiko Maki at a competition jury. Maki perhaps questioned Ted's preoccupation with context, which is perfectly likely. Ted didn't say how he responded to that, but in the lecture, he said it's about "stiching together" when you are working in an American city like Houston. It's different than Tokyo where the more vibrancy is better. This makes a lot of sense although I don't know if there's necessarily a right or wrong side here. Think regional or think global? It definitely reminds me of Kenneth Frampton's "critical regionalism".

Ted didn't talk about form at all during the presentation, and one audience member asked him about that during Q&A. He acknowledged that they paid a lot of attention to forms. In the end, it's "architecture". Indeed, their work is dangerously beautiful.

One more interesting thing Ted talked about is how much effort they spent on the program - pre-architecture stuff. They usually try to downsize the space, that's consistent with the sustainable approach. In the same time they try to get the building footprint narrower - for natural light. One example is at Rice, the school ended up building the pool outside so the massing doesn't get too huge. --- Both Koolhass and Lake/Flato "edit" the building program, but to what different ends!

sublime?

2010-01-31T22:23:00.003-05:00

Looked at REX's website and some of their works (Mostly competitions and unbuilt works) after they split up with OMA. The presentation diagrams are still very clear, but feels the solution is a too direct interpretation of the program diagram.

Koolhass mentioned "sublime" in his interview in ElCroquis and one of his articles in "S,M,L,XL". This is something borders with esthetics yet he never expands on. Maybe the idea is too complex or too sublime to convey?

Kunsthal has a rectengular tower in the center where the sloped ramps converge, yet the height of the tower has nothing to do with any of the concept diagrams? That is a quite sublime design move.

Gettysburg Update

2010-01-06T00:04:00.000-05:00

Grand Opening is set to be 2/5/2010.

Center at Night

2009-12-12T11:03:00.002-05:00

Mental

2009-12-03T23:22:00.001-05:00

How about get a little bit MENTAL?

Ugly

2009-12-03T23:10:00.001-05:00

It's a zoo here.
DON'T BE AFRAID TO BE UGLY.

Boundaries, Rules, and Restrictions that Define Architecture

2009-11-29T13:29:00.009-05:00

I have been reading two essays this Thanksgiving weekend, between shopping in the outlet mall and watching football games. The reading mode is so different from grad school years as I am much more relaxed and not in a hurry to write any thesis.
One essay is Bernard Tschumi's "The Pleasure of Architecture" from his book "Architecture and Disjunction", the other is Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis's Introduction of their book "Opportunistic Architecture". Tschumi's writing is poetic and inspiring, yet obscure at times; LTL's writing is as enjoyable to read as their lucic and crisp drawings. Both essays reveal some core concepts in the authors' design philosophy, and there is one common point between the two essays - to go beyond the dichotomy between market complicity and "critical resistance" and play with the boundaries/rules/restrictions that define architecture.

Here is a paragraph from Tschumi's article -
"The architecture of pleashure lies where concept and experience of space abruptly coincide, where architectural fragments collide and merge in delight, where the culture of architecture is endlessly deconstructed and all rules are transgressed. No metaphorical paradise here, but discomfort and the unbalancing of expectations. Such architecture questions academic (and popular) assumptions, disturbs acquired tastes and fond architectural memories. Typologies, morphologies, spatial compressions, logical constructions - all dissolve. Such architecture is perverse because its real significance lies outside utility or purpose and ultimately is not even necessarily aimed at giving pleasure."

While Tschumi's text is very vague in refering to breaking established structures and often tries to distance himself from social responsibilities, LTL shows a willingness to directly engage the social/urban problems, and use the social/urban conditions as a catalyst for their research and design. (in this case, their open ended non-linear research/inquiry IS their design.) Also LTL's essay is on a more operative level as it frequently uses their projects as case studies to illustrate how they analize the limits and use them as opportunities in their design process.

By engaging the project specific limits and taking advantage of multivalent forces, LTL is able to produce projects that are not only unique but also rich in meanings. LTL operates on multiple and often seemingly incompatible levels, this is a mode of production opposite of the "singular totolizing esthetic ideologies" or "individual expressions". This approach is much more flexible and nuanced and hence is able to absorb different energies into their work.

This issue-based pragmatic design approach - observing, analizing, diagraming, and open ended inquiries - often can arrive at unexpected and poetic design solutions. This is also similar to the strategy outlined by the CEO of IDEO - being an anthropologist is the first step in the design process.

3DS Max Link

2009-11-15T10:00:00.002-05:00

Recently have been trying to pick up some 3dsMax stuff. Haven't done any rendering for a long time, due to reliance on SketchUp. But still feel Rhino and Max are the right combination for modeling and rendering of high end architectural projects.
Here is a useful link: www.designreform.net A lot of great tutorials.

USAFA ITF

2009-11-05T14:47:00.002-05:00

See the link below. It's an animation of the building I have been working on lately. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDkjpB9yRCk

Gettysburg Progress Photos

2009-09-19T23:40:00.003-04:00

2009-08-08

The first one is from Aug 8, the second one is Sept 8. The scafolding inside is more interesting in terms of form. The relation between the skin-glazing mullion and the scafolding structure-platform is one of tension and contrast. The tension is caused by the platforms follow the inside of the glazing mullion, but can't be too close to touch them; while the contrast lies between the informality of the scaffolding and the uniformaty of the glazing frame.

Watermelon

2009-09-19T23:31:00.002-04:00

刚从院子里摘下来的大西瓜---30磅！

Grand Tournament 2009

2009-09-09T00:01:00.004-04:00

http://nacsl.com/

North American Chinese Soccer League - 北美华人足球联盟几乎每年都会在Labor Day Weekend组织一次足球杯赛。这次在delaware特拉华举行，距离马里兰州就两个半小时的车程。我也随马里兰队前往参加。参赛的还有NJ Sunfire，Toronto Chinese, Tsinghua, PSU, Stonybrook, Univ of Delaware 的华人球队。还好马里兰大学队没有和Tsinghua和PSU交锋，不然就里外不是人了。五场比赛我们输了四场，不过大家都很尽兴，经历了球场上的共同的努力大家就都是哥们儿了。照片里在我右边的是贾锋（音译），零字班（90）自动化系的，当初校队主力前锋，认识王川大哥。他包揽了我队多数进球，冲击力突出脚法出色临门一脚冷静。

同行的队友还有：陈万春，yangkejia，chengyong, huchao (tsinghua 03'), wangxiang, wangzhong, yaoyuliang, gonghao, liuwanli, edward Deng, Zhanglei (Tsinghua 97'), Lipeng, Guojuchen, Zhaopeng (Tsinghua 93'), Liuyun, Yangqin, Qinjing, Guowei, etc.

蝉鸣声

2009-07-12T14:00:00.003-04:00

安静的一个夏天的午后。前院的大树上的鸟儿叫的很好听。很多很好看的小鸟，有的有红的尾巴，有的翅膀上有白色的道儿，很美。忽然恍惚听到几声蝉鸣，低低的，不是很确切。想起家乡仲夏那聒噪的蝉鸣了。天越热，那梧桐树上的蝉儿叫得越响，仿佛有成千上万只似的。刹那，仿佛自己正骑着自行车，在那蝉鸣声中在熟悉的街道上穿过。。。

Patio Table

2009-06-28T13:27:00.002-04:00

这张桌子大概花了一天的时间制作吧。桌面这次用了比较好的Cedar来做，会不容易腐烂。做了两个桌面，这样根据不同场合可以从1-2人桌变成3-4人桌。桌腿支撑部分用了steel framing connector （连接钢片-一般是木结构的房子才用的），在这里其实装饰性大于结构上的作用。这次用的是完全透明木漆，主要考虑是cedar木用这样的漆会比较自然一些，但是在桌腿部普通木材（松木）上效果不是很好。

从快女曾轶可说起

2009-06-28T10:06:00.006-04:00

家里装了卫星电视，最近看了几场2009快乐女生。争议选手曾轶可自己的原创作品很特别然而唱歌的音准技巧却有问题，在评委中间引起了很大的争议，代表港台文化和代表大陆原创音乐的各执己见。在网上的反应也是两极化。轶可的歌声很清纯很弱小，歌词中隐含了很强烈的感觉可是却是很淡然的叙述。高晓松的比喻是在都市的高楼大厦的缝隙中的很有生命力的东西。这种发自内心的而又不成熟的作品却引发了很多人的感动。个人觉得像高晓松和沈黎晖这样的音乐人如此坚定的站在曾一边除了有感动的因素，还有一个原因就是对大陆原创音乐的爱护。这么多年来大陆原创的力量还是只能在广泛流行的港台音乐的缝隙里生存。昨天去踢球的路上又听了一些窦唯的歌，心怦怦地跳，音乐的律动不是抚慰人心的和谐，而是内心的不和谐的表达。
在建筑设计中是否也会有这种内心的表达呢？- 建筑毕竟也是一种工程。所以可能在一些小建筑中，工程的因素没那么强，比较容易有一些很特殊的感觉。大型的公共建筑特别是商业建筑更是要考虑协调群体的功能，个人的表达也会难一些吧。这还让我想起了Ignasi de Solà-Morales所写的Weak Architecture。弱建筑不是说它的形式弱，而是说他并不寻求一个普遍的参考体系或是一个完全理性的完整的根基（ground)。弱建筑是在处在一个边缘性的位置，是一个偶然而不是必然的结果。弱建筑的力量不是一种统制力也不在于他的永久性，而在于它所处的边缘性的诗意。

《最天使》
最好的那个天使
我最熟悉的字是你的名字
我们会有大大的房子
你会送我一首小诗
最坏的那个天使
我最爱画的就是你的样子
我们守着距离拉成的相思
温柔着彼此的言辞
最爱的就是那个天使
爱到可以去死
爱到整个世界
灯全熄灭
最后还要给你体贴
我最恨的就是那个天使
恨到可以去死
恨到快把自己的全部忘记
最后还要刺青铭记
最恨你那么久都不来见我一次
最爱你当远处传来你的相思
最容易想起最难忘记
最想要得到最害怕失去
最初的陪伴最后的需要
最远的距离最近的心跳
最后我说了
我恨你
可是我恨你
就是我爱你。。。

《还能孩子多久》
我还是个孩子
给我个拥抱好不好
不要嘲笑我的偶尔发脾气和撒娇
我还是个孩子
给我个KISS好不好
把友情爱情的分界线用力的擦掉
我还是个孩子
别生我的气好不好
玩具给你糖果给你我还是爱你的
我还是个孩子
给我个电话好不好
虽然我脸上不屑嘴上随便
可是心里好想要
大人们没什么了不起
满了18岁又怎样
我还能孩子多久
我的温柔不够
大人总是把任性都没收
我还能孩子多久
我力量不够
头发还没长长
时间就要带我走
我还能快乐多久
我还能孩子多久

Patio Table SketchUp Model

2009-06-08T13:42:00.002-04:00

高尔夫

2009-06-07T10:00:00.003-04:00

六月一日和Andy, Wai, Tiana一起去了kenwood country club参加了Sidwell Friends School 的高尔夫球赛。（奥巴马女儿就是上的这个学校。）其实是私立学校要赞助，一般会举行一些这样的活动。我们四个人来打高尔夫，Cannon花了2500，一大部分都是赞助给学校的。

前几个星期去练了几次，有一些进步，可是还不是很会打。看来以后还得多练习。

the Gate of Heavenly Peace

2009-06-05T08:12:00.002-04:00

20年纪念 – the Gate of Heavenly Peace
六///空格\\\四事件发生时我还在小学五年级。当时还住在中山路上的老房子里，游行的队伍就从家门口浩浩荡荡的经过。群众的热情那样的爆发了起来。记得那时候特别羡慕中学和大专院校的学生，可以罢课上街。事后的政治清洗也没有经历，只是听说有些去北京上大学的学生的骨灰经铁路运了回来。但是思想教育上的清洗特别透彻。小学五年级的政治课，那时候有一本特别的教材专门是讲六///空格\\\四的。还记得那些共和国烈士里很多人的名字都有‘国’字，然后有一些战士被暴徒摧残的照片。后来英文学了个单词叫“whitewash”，一下就记住了。
后来去北京上大学，家里还特担心会有类似的运动。那个时候已经是96年了。北京的大学的录取档在8/9后曾经降了很多，因为像北大这样的大学竟要一年的军训。我们那时候又回复到只要一个月，而且是在学校里进行。在大学里，这个话题居然很少被提及。连政治课本中国革命史里也只是只言片语的带过。
昨天在网上又看了一遍天安门的纪录片，对当时的前因后果算是有了一个较完整的了解。比较同意‘学生有错，政府有罪’的提法。一方面为部分学生领袖的偏激举动而扼腕叹息，一方面也为政府军队居然开枪而惊愕痛惜。
也许是被压抑得太久了吧，中国人的政治热情一旦释放出来是惊人的。但是几代人的教育里面都没有正确疏导这种热情的例子。所以一旦火山爆发，革命的狂热就盖过了理性的思考。革命 – 似乎是大家所知道的唯一的道路。温和的改良派总是被一脚踢在旁边。很赞同纪录片里一位前赵手下智囊的看法 – 中国人缺的不是勇气，而是头脑。中国人想改变现状想救国，却缺乏对实施方法的重视。
不因忘却历史。

A Patio Chair

2009-05-28T20:00:00.005-04:00

Took 8 hours to finish.

Material:

2x4, 2x2 and 1x3 lumber (pine), 3 inch and 2 inch exterior screws, oil based sealer (semi-transparent)

Tools used:

circular saw, hand saw, power driller, sanding paper, carpenter's combination square, paint brush

Lessons learned:

Dimension/scale is critical in furniture making. The width is 2 inch too large, and the whole proportion is thrown way off. Next time need to make the shape more interesting.

Delaware 足球赛照片

2009-04-26T22:21:00.002-04:00

周六气温有华氏80度，开车和马大的一帮哥们儿去Delaware大学踢了两场球。对手是U Delaware和Johns Hopkins大学的中国学生会的球队。（去年也和马大去踢了美东杯。）两场球都赢了。这是赛后合影。

Canstruction - 蜗牛的电脑模型

2009-04-07T22:55:00.003-04:00

Canstruction - 罐头建筑

2009-04-05T23:24:00.005-04:00

Canstruction是美国建筑业内的一项公益活动。http://www.canstruction.org/
简单的说就是以食品罐头为材料，建造放置在公共场所的雕塑，摆放一周后这些罐头会全捐献给地区的food bank（给无家可归的人或经济困难的人群的免费食物）。今年我们公司做的‘蜗牛’就是由4300个罐头组成。

Geometry, Space, Force, Form, Program ...

2009-03-02T21:56:00.000-05:00

On the train, read a snippet from 《Atlas of Novel Tectonics》, Reiser + Umemoto, "Material Organizations" P88:

Mies's constraint of matter by ideal geometry is based on an essentialist notion: that matter is formless and geometry regulates it, that geometry is transcendetal and in some sense indifferent to the material that substantiates it.

When freed from such essentializing conceptions, matter proves to have its own capacity for self-organizations. As an analog computer, it can perform optimizing computations that have been shown to be trans-scalar; as for example, when stretched stockings are used to calculate the geometry and form of full-scale tensile structures.

This logic, however, can be expanded to more complex situations, as, for example, when a magnetized ferrofluid calculates in a dynamic balance the forces of magnetism, gravity, and surface tension. In this state, matter is much more dynamic and pregnant with the possibility of its own constraints and leniencies than any projected geometry or simple optimizing principle could render. It becomes a model not only for dealing with structure but for dealing with the feedback that occurs between multiple forces at work on a building, encompassing program, use, organiztion, and form.

（上网查了一下Analog Computer的定义：An analog computer is a form of computer that uses continuous physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to model the problem being solved. - From Wikipedia)

这段话的重点是在物质自身的"self-organization"。物质内在的这种逻辑和自我组织形成的模型不是外部的简单的几何形式可以描述的，这种模型可以用来对应在结构/功用/组织/形式之间的多种张力和反馈的。Analog Computer和Magnetized Ferrofluid (铁磁流体) 的比喻当然很精彩很后结构(post-structuralism)，但是把这些和建筑扯在一起稍微觉得有些远 - 建筑毕竟不是高级物理。而且总觉得后结构主义的一些追随者从"数字化"，"流体"，"复杂物理"来生成建筑形式的做法缺少了一些诗意。

铁磁流体毕竟不是大家经常能见到的东西。后结构也可以不必是形式上的模拟。觉得把在不同层面 - 结构/力，功能/空间，形式/几何 - 对建筑的思考和操作结合起来会更后结构一点。看老库的一些建筑，不就是在结构和空间上都玩上一把，就自然形成了很有张力很丰富的形式？比起密斯对几何的专注，康对材料和空间的偏爱，赖斯对流动空间/有机建筑的执著，这样好像也会更好玩一些更加responsive一点。

Snow

2009-03-02T12:10:00.005-05:00

近期的照片- Blackhill Park

2009-03-01T21:50:00.001-05:00

大概是元旦的时候，附近有一个regional park叫blackhill。从地图上看还有一个小湖。开车也就15mile左右。回来的路上还在Geithersburg的一个mall的一家cafe吃了点三明治。

近期的照片- Whitetail滑雪

2009-03-01T21:43:00.001-05:00

近期的照片- 夏天有朋自远方来

2009-03-01T21:15:00.001-05:00

08年夏天刚从国内回来的时候，郁佳，Angie, （从新加坡来美度蜜月）陶琼，Robert，Grace, 还有苏格兰牧羊犬Collin （从VA Beach来访）一起在我家BBQ。还在后院踢了一会儿足球。小屋里一共住了7个人和一条狗，这个纪录不知要到什么时候才能破。

近期的照片- 后院和小屋

2009-03-01T21:04:00.001-05:00

近期的照片- V-Day在Mall

2009-03-01T21:00:00.001-05:00

近期的照片 - 在家里的书房

2009-03-01T20:46:00.001-05:00

我的第一个在建的项目 - Gettysburg College CARF

2009-02-28T16:17:00.000-05:00

从2007年的仲夏一直到2008年的秋末，一直基本上是全职在做这个项目，从初设一直到施工图。全名是Center of Athletics, Recreation, and Fitness。一共55，000SF，也就5000平方米吧。去年夏天回国遇到木木说起，他立马就笑了。也难怪，这样的项目据说在国内也就三五个星期搞定。而我这些天还在做CA（监理），估计还要跟到10月份等建筑完工为止。

功能上讲主要就是一个室内游泳池，看台，更衣室，攀岩石，健身房，多功能室，juice bar。设计上我的成分其实也不多，主要是带这个项目的主任的主意。其实在设计上我并不是很喜欢这个格调，但中间我有几个想法都被毙了。主任的想法改了又改，业主也掺和在里面，攀岩的玻璃塔楼改了有十几遍。最后的想法是大家都精辟力尽后，主任一拍脑袋想出来的。我觉得这种拍脑袋的approach并不能做出好建筑来，最后几个想法拼凑在建筑的立面上，没有一个一致的逻辑。

做施工图的的过程也是很struggle。主要是前期的时间都被改方案用掉了，很多东西都没有做到该有的深度。建筑在形体上也过分复杂了，一共画了7页28个墙身剖面。senior PA 一开始还不信会需要这么多墙身剖面，结果后来证明这么多还不够。不过还是学了很多东西。这里就贴几张工程进展的照片吧。

物的诗意 - 走向非表皮建筑

2009-02-22T01:04:00.000-05:00

2004年底在abbs的post。以前在abbs上还发过几个帖子，可是没有变精华的都已经消失了。有一篇是翻译的sola-morales的一篇文章，想找没找到。

物的诗意 - 走向非表皮建筑
1。“物的诗意”这个词是由科布的“objects evocative of poetic emotion”想起的。科布的这个提法很容易让人联想起海德格尔的“物”。诗意的物，漂浮在大地上的物，他们是通向诗意的契机。

2。科布的建筑中，并不缺少很有意思的小物事。像伸向蓝天的巨手，以及可在墙面上的人。然而kenneth Frampton在引用科布的这个说法的时候，正在评论的是科布1927的日内瓦国联大楼竞标案。"... It represents the culmination of his Purist period, since it virtually coincides with the introduction into his painting of figurative elements and of what he later called ...... 'object evocative of poetic emotion'"... (Frampton,K, Modern Architecture - a Critical History, P159)

3。诗意的个体 - 在科布的绘画中表现为独立的，呈现出完形的陶罐陶碗，甚至可以理解为抽象的不具指代意义的几何体。柯布认为毕加索对物体的扭曲分割是牵强的。在科布的绘画中，个体的形状和曲线具有感情抒发(expressive)的力量。而在科布的建筑中，这些个体则是相对独立的单元，他们通常由曲面和直面结合组成，在形式上形成相对闭合的个体。---“诗意的个体”，这里的“个体”可以理解为相对独立的建构单元。

4。“表皮之热”建筑表皮是时下热门的话题。建筑表皮在历史上也热过。不同的时期由不同的“热”法。以前流行古装的皮，巴黎歌剧院算是一个登顶之作。现在流行cool的皮，像德姆龙的signal box。两者有本质上的一个相似点：以外皮来作为装饰。And we just love 'decoration'。
5。从建筑表皮到表皮建筑从建筑表皮到表皮建筑并非只是文字的游戏。不是沾上表皮就可以是表皮建筑的。从古至今，大部分的建筑都是有表皮的，可是能称表皮建筑的只有在近十几年才有。表皮建筑的定义：建筑主要由表皮构成，即：表皮形成结构，表皮形成分割，表皮形成楼层，表皮形成屋面，表皮形成饰面，表皮融入基础，表皮融入地面，表皮形成门窗，表皮形成表皮。。。。。。。简短一点：表皮建筑里，一切都是表皮。
--- 作为策略的表皮，在对应当今城市消费文化和信息技术方面有其独特的性质，它带来了一种新的建筑逻辑，刺激形成“前卫”的建筑形式。一定程度上，表皮已经成为了这个时代的前卫建筑的一个驱动器(generator)。

6。定义的另一个用途 - 组装说明就是如果你想组装一个表皮建筑的话，只要按这个定义来就好了。这个组装说明里只有一个部件。等到你把厨卫/暖通/家具也做成表皮，你已经毫无疑问可以宣称是表皮建筑大师了。

7。表皮取消“物”表皮是连续的，物是脱离的漂浮的。

8。表皮是均匀的，物是异质的。皮如果不均匀，就容易往瘤或者粉刺之类的定义过渡。物是异质的，在不同的维度上体现不同特质。物通过与地/天/人/神的对话揭示自己的诗意。物与物之间的不同显示意义的多样。

3.a。从物/个体到空间/场所前面提到，这里讨论的物/个体可以定义为一个有特质的建构单元。这个定义是涵盖空间场所的。有特质的有领域的空间：山谷，岩洞，竹林，沙滩，岛屿，河床，街道，庭院，水井，圆柱，管道，方体，球，蛋，桥。。。他们是场所的原型，空间意义的单元。意义单元衍生产生新的意义。对建构单元的操作激发新的建构形式。

9.表皮建筑引向匀质空间。海德格尔：边界不是意义停止的地方，而是意义开始的地方。表皮建筑通过匀质化空间的边界，创造出匀质的中性的空间。
9.b。城市空间的异质性。道路，街区，广场，节点，......异型的元素构成城市空间。skin architecture negates urban variety. 表皮建筑取消城市的多样性

10。（作为组织方式的）结构这里的结构是指事物之间的联系和架构。10.a。组团和层级 Group and Hierarchy我们看到自然界中的丰富的组团和层级关系。我们看到森林和植物群，树冠和树枝，叶子，叶脉，叶经。。。我们看到生物群，狼群和独狼，阴森的成排的狼牙。。。事物处在组团和层级之中，nothing stands in isolation。表皮建筑‘压扁’层级关系。表皮的连续和均匀带来层级关系的扁平。(flat structure) 。表皮建筑经常引用生物和地质学的比喻，只可惜这些比喻只存在于外表上。

10.b。城市的组团和层级成行的形成商业街，民房比邻形成居民区，。。。。。。城市中有各种区域：办公区，商业区，民俗区，红灯区，大学区。。。。。。西方城市的郊区化(suburbania)是对城市结构的一种扁平化倾向。类似于丰富的生态系统，传统的城市结构提供了层次结构丰富的人居环境。10.c。非表皮策略no.1：城市组团层级的内部化。城市的丰富层级关系在消费文化和电子信息的侵掠下日益向扁平的郊区模式过渡。这种丰富的层级关系意外的在建筑内部复兴。被‘大’(bigness)剥削利用，城市组团层级的内部化为非表皮策略提供了一个线索。

0。表皮的定义0.a。表皮的英文翻译：可选得很多： surface，skin，wrapping，envelope，coat，dressing....... 但‘表皮’的最科学的翻译应该是epidermis。
"epidermis：The outer, protective, nonvascular layer of the skin of vertebrates, covering the dermis.表皮脊椎动物真皮之外的一层无血管的保护性皮层
An integument or outer layer of various invertebrates.表皮皮层非脊椎动物最外层的皮层
The outermost layer of cells covering the leaves and young parts of a plant.外胚层覆盖于植物叶面和萌芽之上的最外一层细胞"
source: 金山词霸

0.b。表皮的有机性表皮的这个生物学渊源，决定了表皮的有机性。其实‘皮’就是个生物学概念吧。地皮之所以称地‘皮’，是不是也是因为地表的一层有机质呢？
0.c。蛋壳和‘蛋皮’由此想来，蛋壳不称蛋皮的原因就在于蛋壳是无机的。而‘翻卷折叠’则是这个有机性的一个外在的表现形式。
0.d。皮与瓤再举一个西瓜的例子。夏天吃西瓜如果挑得不好，就可能会买到瓜皮很厚的。但这个瓜皮不是表皮。严格的来讲，西瓜的表皮应该是外面的那层薄薄的绿色的东东。
0.e。生物学家和咬文嚼字
不可否认，日常生活中不是人人都是生物学家。表皮的概念经常会用来包含真皮，皮下组织，皮，等等。而表皮也有可能延伸来形容任何事物的外面的一层。咬文嚼字是abbsers经常要进行的活动，只因我们都不是生物学家。这里之所以要咬文嚼字是想说明表皮的一些属性。

0.f。GRE类比题建筑的表皮：建筑 =
a. 蛋壳：蛋
b. 桌面：桌子
c. 地皮：地球
d. 某种植物或动物的表皮：某种植物或动物
e. 牛皮：牛

我前面的一些文字是按直觉论述的。在这里对应的选项是d。扁平/不关注厚度/有机性/翻卷曲折/均匀，这些是我理解的表皮的一些属性。

0.g。断章取义NOMAD说的语境的问题确实存在。把词定位在语境中，并从词义的历史变革研究确实更为严谨，也能挖掘出词汇的丰富内涵。但是我觉得在建筑学的种种语境中，表皮已经承载了太多种的内容。不如让我们回到生物学中表皮的核心含义，这样也许简单一点？建筑的表皮也许已经和建筑围护的定义相接近了，这也许才是许多人比较认同的定义。这里zuzza就断章取义了。这个狭义的‘表皮’也为‘物’的出场留下一点空间。

是不是可以这样说：非表皮建筑是较为关注内脏，血液循环，神经系统，肌肉骨骼，呼吸系统，和内分泌系统的建筑？ ----"weakarchitect: 再说的直接点就是要超越对于建筑形式的强调而转入对建筑运作系统的研究。" --- 非表皮策略no.2: --- "超越对于建筑形式的强调而转入对建筑运作系统的研究"

- Reiser + Umemoto

2009-02-21T22:51:00.000-05:00

读研究生的时候读了很多的建筑理论的文章。那个时候对于建筑的热情也是部分的由理论激发的巴。研究生的论文也是非常偏理论。刚毕业那会儿还常在abbs纯粹建筑上面发文章，激辨文字，唇枪舌剑。工作了这么多年，激情已经沉静下来了。现在很多时间是在施工图和shop drawing/submittals & RFIs 之间晃过。很奇怪自己对于这么琐碎的东西还是这么投入。可是偶尔还是会买一辆本新的理论书，读上一读。上个月买了一本《Altas of Novel Tectonics》，是Reiser + Umemoto写的。读了几篇觉得他的思路和我的有些对路。写的真好。下面是一小段节录。

Instead of relying on analogy and proportion, sublimating the body to measurement and abstract geometry, our work aims to exceed the definition of the body as an organism and likewise an organism's experiential field. In fact, that kind of abstraction is simply not abstract enough. Ours is therefore not an argument about phenomenology but an orgniaztional principle of architecture that understands architecture as a great body, or an assemblage of bodies, that cut across a wide range of scalar and material regimes. While the phenomenological could be understood as a special case of this work, it is impossible to simply use embodied experience, or phenomena, as a generative model. There is no organizational principle in architecture directly linked to phenomenology. In fact, all architecture can be understood phenomenologically. As a result, phenomenological archtiecture typically lapses into some form of modernism for the purpose of organizing space. Such a phenomenological practice could never propose a new architecture, only a projection upon existing systems. (Page 84.)

Reiser + Umemoto的文字还是挺抽象的，但语义却表的非常清晰。在接下去的文字中可以看出，Reiser+Umemoto 还是赞成现象学对于‘非人本’倾向的抵制作用的，但是他们很明确的否定了现象学对于建筑实践和方法的帮助。其中的"a great body or an assemblage of bodies"的提法让我联想到了koolhaas的‘大’的概念和oma的seattle library的模型。Assemblage是很后结构的词，body则是非常的存在主义/现象学。还有一位我很喜欢的建筑评论家-西班牙的Ignasi de Sola-Morales，经常翻一翻他的‘differences'的英文翻译本。

下文中Reiser+Umemoto旗帜鲜明地反对了一下Anthropocentrism-古典的人本主义，大概跟古典和传统在美国还是甚嚣尘上有关吧。Reiser+Umemoto提倡的是 - "We prefer architecture to engage what a body can actually do" 。他们举的例子是一个滑板的坡道。我觉得这个提法是用现象学的“use” 来连接了人（本）和建筑空间。

最后的Impersional Individuation 的概念好像有点意思，但我不是全懂：
Such an extension of performance belongs to a larger class of singularities known as impersonal individuations. Like the sunset or a time of day, these intense and unique conditions emerge out of the material world. They have manifold meanings projected onto them, but they are not the product of meaning. Architecture belongs to this class of individuality. It hosts the highly specifc but is open and general at the same time.

lightness - 两年前写的一篇随感

2008-11-18T22:19:00.001-05:00

Lightness

In his article "lightness", the author John Rajchman talks about theconcept of lightness from multiple angles. First of all, lightness is more commonly understood in the world of architecture as 'transparency' and 'immateriality'. But the author wants to emphasize the other dimensions of the same concept. From the phenomenological perspective, lightness can be approached as opposed to 'ground' - the center/anchor of a dwelling. It's a freedom to move out of the 'place', to move across regional boundaries and to be displaced. To be light is to be released of the weightiness of history, to be free of the loads that are imposed by 'place'.

What has moved me most is when the author starts to reflect on Nietzsche's idea of the earth. For Nietzsche, it's essential to recognize that the earth is light. The earth is centerless and formless and unlimited. Lightness doesn't come when you are living in an elevated house. One takes wings when he/she dances with the earth, when his/her soul defeats the spirit of the gravity. The soul sings, dances, and flies.
Zarathustra's lightness is a passionate one, is freedom and revolution.But there is another kind of lightness that is more related to 'floating' than to 'flying'.

Hou Hsiao-Hsien's movie Millennium Mambo illustrates such kind of lightness. In the movie, Vicky (by Shu Qi) is a hostess about 20 years old in a trendy bar in Taipei. Her life is rendered as light as possible by the director of the movie and the flickering camera shots against dreamy-colored backdrops. Her boyfriend Hao-Hao doesn't have a job and they live together in a small apartment. Hao-Hao loves Vicky and is often crazily jealous about her. There are no real events/plots about this love story excerpt making love and Hao-Hao being afraid of losing Vicky and acting like a psycho. Drugs and cigarettes and alcohol filled the scenes. Slow motioned scenes of cars passing along highways at night. Even the scenes of making love is so hopelessly unemotional. They finally broke up when the audience is almost led to believe their repeated struggles will last till the end of the movie. Hao-Hao disappeared from Vicky's life without a trace, so suddenly. She doesn't know what to do, although she is not really any more lost than when she was with Hao-Hao. She kept floating around. Years later, in the snow covered BeiHaoDao in Japan, in the quietness of the night sky on an empty street, Vicky remembered Hao-Hao and his shyness and his having disappeared from her life like a snowflake.

Floating, here in the movie, seems to be a status of life. Something similar to 'the unbearable lightness of life'. Lightness is more easily attainable in contemporary metropolis than ever before. In a post-industrial society with cell phones everywhere and commercial airlines, regional boundaries and cultural identities never seemed so ephemeral. Do people really want to escape from the weightiness of life, or is the opposite more true that people more often try to gain orientation for themselves and try to find some definitive purposes in their lives? In any case, lightness has inserted itself as a way of life in the contemporary consumerist society.

What is the difference between flying and floating then? In the end ofthe movie, Vicky is carrying herself so happily and weightlessly, without any purposes in life, only accompanied by friends known back inthe bars in Taipei. One is almost tempted to think she is actually 'flying'.
If one defines flying as a more assertive and purposeful act, then isn't 'floating' even lighter or more inconsequential than flying?

By taking in the peripheral details, the film deliberately avoids a main plot. The main character Vicky is almost empty of personalities, almost used as a person to string the different events together. One doesn't really know what she thinks or who she loves. Her narratives are so devoid of emotions that they become almost touching. Thus everything becomes revealing and in itself an important part of the movie, in contrast to typical Hollywood narratives that preceding events or details are only used to give cues to the grand result. The movie succeeds in rendering an in depth picture of a status of the contemporary life.

Hou Hsiao-Hsien managed to be non-judgmental in the movie. The movie simply presents it without adding anything or arbitrarily cutting anything out. Is this a role that the architects should assume when facing the issue of lightness? It's one of many possibilities.

People will continue to desire to fly, to be unrestricted by gravity. But when they do fly, will they completely forget about the 'ground'? The good thing about architecture is that it is always start from the ground. The relationship between ground and building become a distinction between architecture and other visual arts and also distinguishes itself with the design of automobiles or airplanes.

(There is a distinction between fly in mid-air and fly in between the geological layers of the earth-ground. The author seems to be championing the Deleuzion notion of geology at the end of his essay. He seems to propose a lightness that is derived from moving smoothly among the different layers of the places and making connections freely between the layers. I doubt if the multiplicity of the ground is truly at the center of lightness. Lightness seems to have dissolved/submerged itself in the multiplicity of the ground.)

(On a different note, the Deleuzion idea of geology seems to be most helpful when thought more from the angle of conceptual structure. To move freely and make connections between different dimensions of meanings seems to offer new ways of breaking existing rules. This seems to be an approach that is capable of achieving lightness in architecture. )

I like the poetic floating of Vicky. She does it with grace. She is not un-affected by emotions. It's just that even the sentimentalities are so light and inconsequential.

种草记

2008-10-11T23:48:00.001-04:00

夏天的时候院子里的野草长得很快。每周都要很辛苦的拔草收拾。主要因为院子的很大的一块是在树荫下而且是离房子最近的。可能是被踩多了，也可能是太阳不充足，好的草很少，有90%是野草。大概一个月前，阿泥头终于下定决心，花了一天的时间种上了大约60平方米的新草。

播种的两星期前，先用杀草剂把杂草好草都杀了。然后根据上网查的资料，决定了种tall fescue，因为能在树荫下成活，而且还耐踩。到home depot买spreader和electrical cultivator。其中比较花力气的是把地弄松，即使有了cultivator也是蛮吃力的。从home depot还买了8袋新泥，均匀的洒在地面上。真的洒种子时就很轻松，把spreader的口径调到合适的刻度沿着地走一遍就好。

然后就是每天浇水，前两张照片是播种完一个星期照的，小草才冒芽。后面一张是三星期后照的，长得真够快的。

八月份回国

2008-09-28T21:00:00.001-04:00

八月份回国待了三个多星期，从无锡跑到连江途中还要在上海签证，度个假其实也挺累的。不过只要能和亲朋好友父母兄弟聚一下还是很值得。这次回国还正巧碰上我爷爷的九十阴寿，在惠山寺做了大半天的佛事。请了七八个和尚在地藏殿念经，子孙们就不停的磕好几轮的头烧香，最后是烧纸钱。我记得好像二十年前我还刚十岁时也有一次，不过那次是在梅园的一个寺庙。（好像是叫广源寺？）这么多年过去了，奶奶身骨板却还好，这让我很欣慰。出国在外，最担心的就是家里的长辈的健康，生病什么的也不能在旁边伺候照料。惠山寺就在锡惠公园里寄畅园边上，每次到寄畅园都有不同的感受。这个园子，静静地在这里已经有一两百年了吧。里面的古树依然葱郁。小池塘里好像干净了些，还放养了好多只白鹅，给园子增添了好多分的生气。锡惠公园里又在修缮，也找不到童年春游时的足迹了。

转眼已经快十月了，秋意开始变浓了。院子里的落叶变多了。两星期前种的草却长得很好。回国的热闹和此时的寂静的反差还是蛮大的。希望这样的寂静带给我的不是落寞跟无聊，希望这是留给我一些思考的空间。

三十而立

2008-07-24T23:49:00.001-04:00

终于三十了。生日过了一个多星期了，可是心理上还是没有很适应，总觉得好像才二十多。过一阵会习惯的吧。
小时候总觉得三十岁应该是有些什么成就的了，可是茫然四顾，好像碌碌无为。曾经的理想和激情应该还在吧，请不要被岁月磨平了。