Vedasri Siddamsetty

Recently watching Kung-fu Panda got me thinking of animation movies. One of the greatest results of animation is the popularisation of the fairy-tale.

Its the 88th year anniversary this year of the Walt Disney Company  that churns out animated movies, books, merchandise year after year. All the fairy-tales of the Disney company find their origin from folk-tales all around the world. Whether it’s Beauty and the Beast set in Paris or Arabian Nights set in the Middle East, some major countries in the world are covered till date. With increased technical skills and animation facilities the company is beginning to make movies with flawless rendering. Animation art has truly stepped up!

“If you can dream it, you can do it”, quoted Walt Disney. He dreamt and did as a living example. From a Mickey Mouse to the Epcot Centre, Disney sure has a way of getting into your living room.

As you grow older you may choose to love them or hate them, but there is no way you can ignore them!

Which one is your favorite fairy-tale?

 

 

Architecture is an exhaustive profession whose realms are diverse and interests varied. The main ingredients that are extremely important in the make of a good architect are in order of importance, Creativity, Analytical skill, acute Observational ability, excellent Communication skills,  Math Ingenuity, Spatial Quotient, Aesthetic taste,  Determination and unending Optimism. Its because it takes all this and more to shape the buildings; as Mr Churchill very famously remarked, that will then shape us. Architectural education has on its shoulders a rather grave responsibilty as all the specified ingredients are to be finely blended in exact amounts. The education drafted out is therefore long and extensive. In the quantum of years it would take for one to be licensed could easily vary from 6 to 10 years depending on which country you study in.

On average the five years of architecture school would take a lot of grit and steely resolve to finish. It definitely is not rocket science but the fact that it involves arts, sciences, topped with plenty of opinions and the underlying notion that nothing is wrong or right make it a little more complicated that rocket science. Now if you have registered as an architect and completed the first leg of your education then congratulations. As an architect you will end up doing a lot of work directly or indirectly concerning buildings and will realise as projects unfold that architecture is a highly rewarding profession.

Many architects continue professionally unhindered with a Bachelors degree in Architecture. A professional license is technically all you need to practise. Once in possession, you are good to go. Its a start.

But knowledge like they say is a bottomless well. If you want to specialize then the options are plenty. After reaching the crossroads yet again, I mulled over the possibilities. Listed below are ten specializations to choose after a degree in architecture***:

1. Masters in Architecture – Choose to spend a couple of more years in college to sharpen the design quotient. Technically in most colleges it would mean another round of  electives, a dissertation and thesis much like the final year of the degree cours in architecture. It would help to further research possibilties and additional licenses if applicable.

2. Masters in Landscape Architecture – The blooming world of architecture. Technically it adds on an entirely new layer much different from the mainstream architecture course. From Botany to Site Planning the range is different as the canvas and the tools change. To be a landscape architect, this specialisation would be a must. Licensing bodies in landscape architecture are gaining momentum just as the field is growing and hence a degree to practise will be essential.

3. Masters in Sustainable Design – Complementing the previously acquired know-how of architectural design this specialization is one of the latest in the architecture market. The construction industry is expensive and expansive. The basic act of building has always been anti-nature. The act of building damages the ecology but building sensibly and sensitively making use of cutting-edge design and innovation may well be the answer to our planet’s survival.

4. Masters in Product Design – Designing free of bye-laws/codes and restrictive schedules and cost is what lures some architects into product design. The mass-productive aspect of product design may be said to be somewhat a bonus. Norman Foster and Frank Llyod Wright have always maintained that products need to be designed as per the buildings they will inhabit. Nevertheless this field is as ancient and as important as architecture itself.

5. Masters in Urban Design – Designing and planning buildings may be one challenge but to plan a city that houses a multitude of people and buildings is a much bigger challenge. With an interest in larger spans of things and administrating the design of a city is certainly not for the faint-hearted. Urban Designers could well feel like they are playing God.

6. Masters in Architectural Conservation – Monuments are declared heritage buildings and decreed to be conserved for the future. With a degree as such, one aims to work on culturally significant buildings, work with people from varied backgrounds and help on preserving monuments of the past. From presentations to actual work on the monument, the field of conservation calls for an immense passion for old structures.

7. Masters in Real Estate – To foray into the big bad world of real estate a degree in MBA may seem more useful. Nevertheless the masters in Real Estate will help to understand the largely unorganised sector in construction. Finance will be an important subject and analysing the feasability of projects and megaprojects will be an important aspect in this field.

8. Masters in Urban Planning – A field of work now finally getting its due is the Masters in Urban Planning. Statistics is the main subject here. A thorough understanding of development densities, population and planning parameters will help in large-scale planning projects. Working with the government or as a consultant will be sought.

9. Masters in Project Management – The goldmine in the field of architecture, Project Management has just about risen from the horizon. The field is high-paying and extremely fierce. Working on project management one will be expected to see a project from its concept to completion stages with targets and deadlines set in accordance. Like an orchestra manager one will be expected to liase with contractors, clients and consultants to get the project to meet the schedules.

10. Masters in Architectural Journalism – Yet undiscovered but waiting in queue is the Masters in Architectural Journalism.  A select number of colleges in the United Kingdom have embarked on the professing of this degree. MIT has started on an interdisiplinary course between architecture and media. With a demand from readers for writers on architecture its a course for the future.

***The list however is not exhaustive.

Architectural education varies in different countries and sometimes continents. Some subjects may be well chosen in anticipation of places where they will be put to practice. Owing to different climates, cultures and geographies for the field of Architecture, “the world will never be flat”.

Launched in Singapore this year this design event surely takes you places.

The idea is to chart people from one place to the other, places that are design shops, galleries, lighting stores and all else architectural! The bonus being driven around in a Mercedes if you want to. All this and more for just being in the design business. On the house of more than a dozen sponsors it was designed for success.

Here are some shots from the event.

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Monuments in the world are many. Architecture left over by long-gone civilizations are dotted all over the world. Few of them are marked, few recognised and even fewer deemed their worth.

They are to be celebrated.

Living in the beautiful city of Delhi my association with heritage monuments however large or small began in the true sense. Though not on the top 7 ; Delhi in itself is a living wonder. Am sure it will be agreed upon, else must say you haven’t seen Delhi!

History is charming. As I prodded further I discovered many other wondrous heritage monuments around the world. I haven’t seen them all, but I live hoping to see them all someday. Beautiful architecture and heritage places make me happy! So more the reason and incentive!

Am listing below the 7 wonders of the modern world as divulged by the Swiss foundation of New7wonders in 2001. I hope to give you an insight and prod you to have a look. For I quote Mark Twain,  “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

When a little girl was asked to list down the seven wonders of the world in class, she wrote the following:

1. Smell

2. Hearing

3. Touch

4. Taste

5. Sight

6. Love

7. Laughter

So wonderful if you get to use as much of the wonders as you can right?

Architecture’s prime motive is to provide shelter and its secondary motive is to inspire. Those are two ideals on which all architecture is based; form and function in other terms. When does a building become architecture am often asked. Its when shelter inspires I say.

For some shelters that continue to inspire here goes:

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In order of their appearance on the slideshow:

1. Machu Picchu, Peru

2. Taj Mahal, India

3. Chichen Itza, Mexico

4. Colosseum, Rome

5. Great Wall of China, China

6. Petra, Jordan

7. Christ the Redeemer, Brazil

The only remaining ancient wonder not making it to the list but nevertheless honored are the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Learning of their intricate tunnels and staircases which are mysterious and legendary they deserve the honour me thinks!

Every space in the world is made a place as a result of good design. Nature ofcourse wins the ultimate acclaim when it comes to design!

But for mankind its an achievement nevertheless. What do you’ll think?

Flying Over Europe
Magic has different connotations all over the world. But lets just say something is magical when it transcends one to a completely heightened state of being. And hence thats when cities turn beautiful, places become magical, when they give you a marvellous feeling.

Enjoy the ride!

A stunner at the Red Carpet in Cannes. Sonam Kapoor in Jean-Paul Gaultier. I Like.

Traffic jams could easily be one of the worst inventions of our time. Every one fortunate enough to live in a city, big or small is most likely to have been stuck in one, once a many times.

The very phenomena makes me wonder about the success in the way we live. Are the modern cities a boon or are they a bane? Urban design and City Planning are off-shoots of a very broad professional field called architecture. Several masters have held their wands or rather their drawing boards as they pondered over the large plans of cities. Even today debates range from what the future of our cities should be to planning new cities complete on a fresh slate.

Masdar is one such city, planned, envisioned and designed by my favorite starchitect, Sir Norman Foster. When I came across the travel plans across the city I was interested but reading about how it will be the world’s first zero-carbon city am completely impressed. Knowing of Mr Fosters tenacious nature am more than sure its going to reach completion just as it was conceptualized. There will be no love lost.

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The language of the buildings are ‘glocal’, a blend of global and local. Huddled together in mass they form a protection against the harsh Abu Dhabi desert. Enrobed in islamic motif they converse in the local dialect mindful of the culture. The screens and jaalis add to the local effect while glass remind of its global nature. The energy code takes the ultimate cake. Equipped with solar energy, wind energy, magnetic transit system, it helps to reveal a future. The future of a life that is well-versed with its reality.

When a weekend starts on Thursday it is sure to be an exciting one. Read on as I give you a small dose of what I got in the last three days.

Thursday

Macbeth was taught to us in school. The tale of ambition, greed and murder meant to show us what the worst in life really was. Tragedy would seem an understatement to define one of Shakespeare’s greatest works. The Singapore Repertory theatre produced the play at Fort Canning. The fort is very English, built on a hill, with a vast expanse of garden all around it. The fort, very unlike the forts in England or in India, is very simple in its detailing but extremely dainty in its conservation. The picnic terrace as it is called is a very likely venue for the play. An unimpressive backdrop of a made-up fort on stage matched up to the unimpressive theatronics, I really wonder why they didnt use the existing one?! Anyway the play started and to my surprise I remembered quite a number of lines. But what I absolutely loathed was the speed with which the protagonists narrated the lines. They spoke English like Mandarin! The speed of speech did not thrill but certainly did kill. Chinese looking Macbeth and Lady Macbeth did not go down well with me. Nor did the stillness in the air that saw a drained out audience in a span of about 2 hours. Though it was a fun experience to watch a play after what seems like ages, the critic in me knew no boundaries! Fort Canning Park was the only thing that deserved some points, the green expanse just off Orchard. A discovery I hope to keep coming back to.

Friday

This day took me by total surprise as I watch the award-winning Spanish movie, “Biutful”,  extremely teary-eyed.

Javier Bardem makes a heart-wrenching Uxbal and brings out so much depth in his character and the story that our lives start seeming very bleak and shallow. He is on a free fall, his tragedy is that of redemption. The movie is spell-binding, heart-wrenching and takes your breath away. The emotion you are surmounted with is sadness, deep deep sadness. Even the moments of jovial uncertainty are washed under by the tide of empathy. One cannot help oneself but feel for Uxbal, his children, his wife but mostly and unwaveringly him. The Chinese, the Africans in Spain are so out-of-place. Their tragedies are brutal but its Uxbal who you are with, all the way.

Personally I like watching movies in a different language with English subtitles. They seem so authentic, so exotic. This one is no less. If for a moment we keep the characters aside and watch the locations you know what am talking about. They tug at your heart. The background score is winning. Spain is winning. The tragedy is winning. The best part is perhaps the end. Snow in the color white after all the grim reality makes you want to rejoice death, for it seems far better than the life, of Uxbal. Even as I type my eyes are moist. It is one character am not likely to forget. Forever. One movie whose essence I will carry, forever.

Saturday

After a roller-coaster morning I prepared to volunteer as a gallery host assistant at the Singapore Biennale. The venue was the Old Kallang Airport, last used in the 1950s. Changing into the bright orange tee I was ushered into the section under my care. Spread across three different partitioned spaces, I had three exhibits under my care. One of which was super inventive. Artist Simon spent a considerable while in the famed John F Kennedy airport in New York clicking all those things that officials threw out of passengers bags at the security check. It is hilarious and incredible, the things people carry with them into the aircraft. The turnout at the event was real good while the other exhibits were amazing. The barn was also inventive and refreshing. Many people walked in and out. I struck chord with some other volunteers but the heat was daunting.

Sunday

Water for elephants took up a major part of my day. What a lovely book, I must say. Reading about the circus is refreshing. As a child I probably saw one or two, atleast they are the ones I remember even today! Sara Gruen is engaging and am not surprised as it still stands as the top NYT bestseller for the fifth month in a row. August, Marlena and Jacob circle in my head and so does Rosie. How can any weekend be complete without a visit to the super market?? So off we went to Cold Storage and did some weekly damage. Another thing picked up was my long due Birthday cake. Called Boston Chocolate from Breadtalk, it was a stunner. You should all try it, its simply marvellous. Sugar blues were on hold for a bit.

The ride was fun and the perspectives got were many. So much for an extremely arty weekend.

The above picture is a satellite image of The Palms, Jumeirah taken from Google Earth.

The Great wall of China was the only man-made feature visible from the moon for nearly centuries. But come 2001 I believe that there is the formation of a club. The Palm Jumeirah had joined in and now for the second of the trio the Palm Jebel Ali.

While reading a quite hilarious blog about elevators in a building of the Dubai skyline I was compelled to look at the satellite image of the skyline of Dubai. But then the palms caught my eye. They are a feat of mankind. Brilliant to say the least. The extended beachline is a marvel. A house in the Palms is much more than a piece of luxury, its when luxury moves over grabbing a piece of history.

I am impressed. It is a work of art wherein the world is literally a canvas.

There’s something very right about Wright.

Be it Orville or Wilbur Wright, Frank Llyod Wright or the very recent Adrian and Jeremy Wright. They are the most recent Wright brothers to make news for a quirky and fun project in design.

Lexon is a company that patronizes and sells products that speak volumes on design. Their latest commission is BURO. Fun stationary that will complete your desk. I personally like them cos when placed next to each other, they remind me faintly of building blocks. That perhaps is the intention.

Lexon has their stores listed on their website in case you want to get your hands on one of these.

For more details read on.

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So my new post comes after quite a hiatus considering that blogs are supposed to be an everyday affair.

The truth is Ive been having a couple of rough days. Too much brooding and worrying. If only worry was a switch and I could turn it off. Looks like I cannot!

So I took a trip to an ice-cream parlor. Ice-creams are one of my favorite things. To top it all I went to one of the best marketed ice-cream store that I have ever seen. Its introduction came like a couple of weeks ago. When lunching at Ion Orchard I noticed a kiosk with a blast of purple. Its not like am crazy about purple but the frenzy around the stall caught me eye. Fact is that am not totally blessed with a sweet tooth, I even doubt if I have a one-half of it. But my observation came handy today. The store is called “Once upon a milkshake” and no three dots do not follow the last word. Metaphorically I wondered if it meant all troubles end there??

At the counter I noticed a great thought over the design of the counter was made while the chirpy assistant was a pleasure to deal with. A little purple back wall behind the assistant enrobed in green creepers added that wee bit of enormous class. Predictably I choiced upon a flavor that would record that highest percentage of chocolate. I wanted to kill the sadness in one shot! The milkshake that ensued was crazy thick and extremely milky. As it slowly slid down my throat it felt like I was walking up the steps of heaven. But unfortunately as the straw reached the end the steps ended. Bliss followed for some moments. As does all comfort food its effect waned and I was flown first class into reality!