Social Space

No I will not deny that Last fridays session on Henri Lefevbre's social space left me in complete shock. I had just witnessed the most bizarre and yet complex discussion for a very long time. The ideas and theories that were discussed were out of my realm.

“Concept”, to explain the meaning of concept, one would require the use of words and context. Because words on their own do not reflect context. Words have no backdrop but only meaning. I believe a concept is an idea that has been thought before hand.

The difference between price and value. According to the class discussion, value is what society requires to produce something while price is what will that cost when sold on the market. I think that value has a completely different meaning to me. Value has no quantity and it cannot be counted. Price is based on a figure and has a quantity. Moreover, value is a personal thing. It changes from people to people,

Product is something that is standard and can be mass produced while work has a uniqueness and is usually a one off. At that point I just wonder where do people in the entertainment industry sit? Is acting not an art for instance. Are all arts not meant to be unique in one way or another?

Nostalgia was definitely my favourite topic. I think nostalgia is a trick of the mind. It is the bending of time to create what was there before. the replay culture is the result of our nostalgia. Nostalgia is biased. It only remembers what is good.

Politics of Amnesia

I believe that we are still relying on past theories because this generation is still too young and has not come to terms yet with what is happening around. Thus, limiting our understanding of this era. We are currently living in a passive period of time. Information is flowing way too quick for us to actually sit down and really reflect on them.

On the other hand, I find it rather refreshing that we are now able to mix work and pleasure or should I say serious academic work with fun. I come originally from a society where work is work and fun is fun. The two should not be mixed if one is to succeed. I would be thrilled to be able to explain to people back home that you can actually do both at the same time. I strongly do believe that it is through pleasure and working hard at the same time that master pieces are produced. Why would I bother reading about Flaubert when I am having a laugh watching Friends. There seem to be a belief that theory or in fact studying should be a sacrificial thing that is difficult and complex. We need to be able to torture ourselves so that we can believe we have achieve something. Besides, writing about everyday life allows one to basically analyse himself. We are currently living in the times of realty shows like Big Brother. It still amazes me to find out how many people are obsessed with Big Brother. Have we reached such a low point in humanity that we now believe watching 10 people living together in a house on a daily basis is interesting? Yeah I am sure somebody somewhere is doing a whole PHD on Big brother....now that must be sad!

Fear, Money, Greed and Slavery in Dubai

Dubai...

Hallucination/ phantasmagoria seem to be the kind of words one would experience while under the influence of drugs.Not that I am talking of experience but is Dubai the place where we go to get high and to live in an imaginary realm. If not drugs then is it Peter Pan’s Neverland we shall never age but we could fly? Funny enough that I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes reality in the near future because we are talking about Dubai!!!

For a man like Sheik MO, nothing is too big, nothing is too tall. He is all architects’ dream client. He is the Santa Clause of the Architectural world. His greed to be number one can only be a good thing for the architectural profession.

It sickens me to read about the kind of treatment that the workers experience there. They have built the whole place with oil, money and cheap labour. The title of the article should really be: Fear, Money and Slavery in Dubai. At the beginning of the article I was really excited about the prospect of visiting Dubai and maybe one day working there. However, by the time I was done reading, I am now not even sure I want to set foot in this place even though I have nothing to fear. Still, as long as there are people available to work for cheap, things will never change.

My Comments on Zaha Hadid's discussion

If Zaha Hadid’s office feels more like a factory than an office, it remains difficult for me to imagine it as a happy working experience. I would be bored to death if there were no talking at all. As a student doing my year out, it was through constant questions that allowed me to progress. Hence, in Zaha’s office there is probably no exchange of knowledge but only orders from the dictator herself. Besides, if architecture is about bringing people together for social interaction, then Zaha Office is not doing that.

I think she is right in saying that the computer is not a tool because it contributes to the whole creation of the design. Computers influence heavily on the way designers even think about their project apart from being just a ‘pencil’.

Meades also comments on the fact that Zaha Hadid lives in “neglected pockets of the mid 20th century utopianism” while her office in Clerkenwell is compared to "scents of Dickens”. Similarly, Le Corbusier preferred to work in an old office rather than in his modernist buildings. He believed that only his clients should have the exclusivity and privilege of his own designs and not him. Zaha probably expresses the same kind of branding exclusivity which her design has become over time.

I think a good mixture of old and new buildings definitely creates a unique architectural experience in a city. However, to constantly design buildings that glorifies the past is ridiculous and probably a bad influence for society. Zaha’s ambition to a new style will only help to influence society to look forward and embrace progress.