I guess a last post before the beginning of a new year. This one was from the trip to Malaysia to build treehouses. I’ll probably let most of the pictures do the talking.
Snoozing while we were taking measurements of the old house.
Strange if you could jump into reflections, no?
Purely ornamental. They don’t eat these chickens And I’ve never seen chickens looking this impressive if you ask me.
A very old set of drawers with where the label “screws” means nails, “washer” means nails, and everything is mostly nails.
Sunrise
The original
First time seeing a wild bunny. I think leaving the digital life really makes a lot of difference. You start to see more, you start to worry less about what you’ve got or what people think.
Sanding the prototype bench which didn’t make the cut for the treehouse, but was pretty darn comfortable either way!
Wood
The little girl who lived near the site.
We made her a bow and arrow (Pretty lousy one though). Doesn’t matter, Katniss Everdeen.
The tutor accompanying us, Hiro
The rain was crazy but calming.
The snailboat.
Other worlds.
One of the strange wild bunnies we encountered. This one was more friendly, but I’m guessing that it is because it was previously tamed. Don’t think you see albinos that often in the wild.
After a while you love the heights.
You don’t get night skies like this.
If this was the apocalypse… I don’t know. A lot of things I’ve still haven’t done.
Almost done!
Yeah we worked till the bus came. Even during the holidays, the architecture spirit still persists. Hah.
▲One of my church friends posted this poem up on our Whatsapp group a couple of days ago, something I took note of and kept it as a permanent note on my phone. Just thought that I’d share it again out here today, seeing how it’s been a good reminder for the times you feel that God isn’t around and about why we may ask but not receive.
Wait
by Russell Kelfer
Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate …
And the Master so gently said, “Wait.”
“Wait? you say wait?” my indignant reply.
“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I’m claiming your Word.
“My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?
I’m needing a ‘yes’, a go-ahead sign,
Or even a ‘no’ to which I can resign.
“You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:
I’m weary of asking! I need a reply.”
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, “Wait.”
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting for what?”
He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine …
and He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.
“I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You’d have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me.
You’d not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You’d not know the power that I give to the faint.
“You’d not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there.
You’d not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.
“You’d never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.
“The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.
“You’d never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I’m doing in you.
“So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still … Wait.”
‘Cause I am hanging on every word you’re saying
Even if you don’t wanna speak tonight
That’s alright, alright with me
‘Cause I want nothing more than to sit outside of your door
And listen to you breathing
It’s where I wanna be, yeah
Off to build some tree houses tomorrow. Brb with pics.
Finally about almost 2 weeks into the semester break and I finally get the time to update something on here. I’d usually like to let the pictures do the talking but that would be just plain lazy. Aside from a architecture, Semester One has been full of up and downs. Haven’t been taking much photos as well. I think I kinda need to get back to that habit of bringing my camera everywhere whether I need it for real or not.
Anyway, here is the final assignment which we had for the semester; creating a model out of paper based on fragments of a famous architect’s works. For my case it was Carlo Scarpa and his rather ethereal and mesmerising Brion Cemetery, which I thought was a pretty neat piece of work for a resting place for the dead. Inspiration is obvious; from the zigzag patterns of his as well as this particular small steps along the side of the raised lawn.
Details.
And more details.
Aside from that, church camp the day after my final paper. Refreshing and well needed break from the hectic rush and stresses of life. And a moment of revelation as well.
Just messin’.
And the group photo. It’s like everyone is blending into the floor. Hahaha.
Today, went out late morning to help out Izabel with designing her church camp shirt, and along the way meeting her rather tubby dog called Yuan Yuan.
Somehow it doesn’t seem bothered by the cone. I was told he scratches too much, which is why he has to have it on most of the time.
Look at that face. Just too damn funny. It’s stupidly adorable how it peers out of it’s cone, into the kitchen while she was making cookies. Apparently he gets sad because she lies too much about giving him food.
Splitting the mix with an ice cream scoop.
Whining for his dinner. Amusing how he sprawls on the floor.
This picture looks like one of those with a super contemplative sort of atmosphere until I tell you that she was trying to keep her dog still while the food was being prepared and I was just lucky to catch the few seconds he stayed still enough.
I’m gonna get a pet when I get my own place next time. Maybe a cat and a dog. Something like that.
Heading off to build tree houses in Johore Sunday morning for a week! No internet there, but hopefully a lot more pictures and maybe some sketches and stuff. Gonna need to grab some film as well! I was thinking of trying out with designs for Threadless again; just need a little more inspiration.
I know where I want to go, but I don’t want to go it alone.
▲Timaeus 28b
Architecture readings has some pretty deep stuff. ▲
Revelation yesterday.
On the side note, I think I need to leave the studio more often. Some people were surprised when I wasn’t there this morning/afternoon when they came in.
Gonna make a poster of this when I’m free.
Had to take pseudo-studio level shots of our bridges for submission today, so I figured I would post em’ up as well.
I wanted to get some beer cans as my demonstration cans (Asahi or something which looks fanciful nice. Maybe those gin and tonic in a can from Marks and Spencer’s) just for laughs and because they look a lot better than lemon tea cans, but I overslept that day ): So, well, had to make do with the same battered cans for this shoot.
▲Second critique was on Thursday and I woke up in studio at 8AM with plans to head back to hall for breakfast with the block people and a cup of good coffee to start the day (Yeah, I actually think the hall coffee is potent and fairly delicious stuff. It’s like the Vietnamese coffee I had overseas but I think a lot of people won’t really agree with me on that). The plan was perfectly fine, and even my failure of a body to respond to alarms after massive sleep debts rose up from the comfy safari bed, only to take a sit on my chair in studio and the next thing I knew, I fell asleep for another 3 and a half hours with half my ass on the chair in a rather awkward “I want to get up but my body says no” position. Waking up, the first thing on my mind was, “Oh hey, everyone’s dressed really nicely and running arou- AH BALLS NEED TO GET READY FOR CRIT IN AN HOUR AND HALF”.
I really don’t know how I slept through the sounds of panic and drills in the most awkward positions on the worst days possible, but I do thank God I decided to be a little more hardcore and finish everything before sunrise.
On the other hand, I did crash out till 3:50PM the next day, but let’s not talk about that bit.
Anyway, this crit wasn’t as bad as the first I felt, despite how most of my studio were having mini panic attacks about having the tutor in charge of our year as the other judging panel. Partly because we actually managed to finish what we had to do I guess, and 3d models seem a lot more exciting than drawing a museum/heritage center converted shrine and a bastardised heritage building.
Got to see a fair bit of cool stuff all around from the other people in our year, and the different solutions and designs. Especially the rainbow arch/tensegrity bridge guy. Damn. Hats off to that pretty mindblowing bridge which actually worked. I say it’s a pretty good crit overall. My bridge turned out a lot better than I had expected, though I have to admit I was pretty disappointed that my void got burned to the ground (I was pretty psyched when I figured out a way to turn the cans into a foundation pillar for the void). Loads of lessons learnt anyhow. Have to work on my eye being too eager with aesthetics, and failing to see the beauty in simplicity.
After this weekend, I guess it’s back to the vicious cycle of late nights, but hey, I’m actually loving what goes on everyday so I guess it’s all cool. Except for the fine line between workaholic and passion. I guess that is what floorball, swimming and hall is for.
(Out of curiosity, I shall throw in some tags linking to the assignment, so maybe next year when the juniors are doing this assignment - if they do it that is - maybe they can see bridges made of 100mm modules over a 600mm gap and 400mm void without glue. Like, just out of amusment. There are too many damn wooden bridges with glue online already. Lawl)
The Love Competition by Brent Hoff
Not so much about the winners but rather the reactions after the whole thing.
Still alive! Building bridges now.
I have no idea why this thing seems to support better after I accidentally broke a center node.
Really have to figure out how to get this up as soon as possible…
Architecture readings can get quite deep. ▲
