apeiron _ wFong architecture & design blog

Compare the stairs…

Applestore, Sydney.

Kevin Low’s Folded Staircase
Obviously the one in the Sydney Applestore is more expensive (and well lit). But you could get the same effect in your own home if you do something similar to Kevin Low’s design.

Being deeply interested in airports and the urbanism it introduces within one piece of architecture, I naturally can’t waittofinish Alain de Botton’s new book.

It won’t be long till Sydney’s latest upmarket residential offering is complete. The facade of The Hyde goes up seemingly smoothly amidst turbulent economic weather (and turbulent Sydney weather too). Designed by WOHA after winning an architectural competition, this building represents he Singaporean firm’s first built piece in the land down under.

Airports aren’t cheap. But if you were to design an airport for cheap flights… What would it look like? There’s a dilemma of celebration.

On a lonely spring day, a streak of sunlight from the low sun punches across several taller buildings to reach this lowrise.

Even the dark lord of the Sith must obey basic urban rules: press button, wait for green running man.
- taken at QVB Sydney

Is this a slum?

Times are tough, but men still need to last long. This was taken in a Sydney CBD street. Street advertising might be illegal, but it’s effective. This image now appears on the internet. And it’s way cheaper than conventional ads.

While i love that it’s near enough for me to do my grocery shopping, I still hope to see the Woolworth’s building in front of Sydney Town Hall replaced with a magnificent urban park, wbile accomodating the supermarket underground.

 Video: Future Vision Montage
Just a small glimpse of architecture there, but nevertheless, everthing else has the potential to CHANGE the way we perceive, practice and design.
Is Microsoft turning over a new leaf?
Microsoft Electronics LLP?

Is Asus trying to be green? Or are they just being chic?

Is this a symbol of sustainability? Or a symbol of luxury (in an Apple age) ?
How much chemicals were used to turn beautiful bamboo into veneer to paste it onto the chassis?
How much money spent on the chemicals?
How much pollutants did the chemical by [...]

Finally, man answers the dog’s immense sexual appetite. FeelAddicted.com has designed a special ornament for your home that pleases your furry pets.

Now we see how important the built environment is.

Motorola uses this chair to market their new products in Malaysia. It’s supposed to allow people to “experience the available Motorola products in a comfortable, relaxed yet novel environment.”
Is this possible on the concourse level of a busy shopping mall?
Image from lowyat.net

Not long after the iPhone was announced, Prada and LG collaborated to produce yet another electronic gizmo to lust over.

As Nokia tries to put away design for a minute and shove more features into their phones, are other corporations (which were initially not in the cellphone market) starting to focus their emphasis to good design?
And [...]

Metropolitan Sydney Uses 4.3 MWh of electricity in a year? (The CBD and surrounding areas)
Only 6% comes from renewable sources.
That’s equal to covering the entire city in solar panels!
Or a 3km tall wind tower!
Can we inhabit this tower?

Sydney’s New Icon!

Presenting in the studio

Academic-Guerilla-Sabotage-Vandalism… … ism…

The model.

Model closeup.

Build your sky city!
Urban Islands Studio
– The University of Sydney
– [...]

Terminology for air transportation has always fascinated me. Correct me if I’m wrong…

Apron – The tarmac where planes “park” while unloading/loading
Rotation – Know when the plane turns after take off to face its correct course? Yeah. That.
Air Traffic Control – They control the traffic in the air.
Ground Control – They control the planes on the [...]

The studio I am doing concerns architectural competitions. We are aiming to enter the a Student Competition soon. This blog documents our progress, thoughts and works.

Arcology. Surf to CStudio’s blog to find out what it is!
For interesting urban design, architecture and cultural reports, do surf on.
http://cstudio.3pigeons.com
But don’t forget to return to poor ol’ site [...]

Here’s something I’d like to share. Read the previous post on Chinese Gardens if you don’t understand. I tried to write it with least architectural jargon.  Tell me what you think.

Is Malaysia kissing the democratic system goodbye?

High up there, in the administrative ranks of the nation, seated comfortably in their Perdanas, rolling down the wide streets of Putrajaya.. They cringe at the sight of blogposts on their laptops.

A recent referendum saw the majority of the Swiss voting against minarets in their cities. The NYTimes reported that a member of the Swiss right-wing party, S.V.P., Ulrich Schlüer saying that the minarets are a symbol of “the political will to take power” and establishing religions Islamic law.

Frankly, I feel all that discussion on Malaysian style is a method for some people to exert control over the “image” of Malaysia. Similarly the ballooned kampung house in Shanghai is meant to represent the Malaysian identity. And when a minister is asked, does this style represent all the communities and races in Malaysia? She stutters.

Commonly, buildings have plasterboard or grid ceilings… either to provide some level of reverb absorbtion or to conceal the ducts, wires or concrete texture of the floorslab above.

But… why not just show it all?

Information today travels very fast. And it is up to professional journalists to ascertain what’s true and what’s not as outlined in their code of conduct. But as a widely read national newspaper… Why can’t The Star have the decency… or the professionalism to “never publish inaccurate information?”

Landscape architects design not just beautiful gardens and parks, but also enrich our urban environments.

LP’s songs could perhaps be likened to Work Songs such as Working on the Railroad which were sung by groups of factory workers to render repetitious tasks less mundane and for the rhythmic sequencing of actions.

I hope I’m not the only one feeling this, but sometimes, I just feel that the mouse and keyboard limits our creativity. Humans are meant to work with hands… So why restrict ourselves to these tools? Isn’t it time we welcome the era of multitouch? This visionary video is by Robert Clayton Miller, graphic designer.

10/GUI [...]

Good times, good cafes.