subasubaboom!

La Salle Leftover

2009-02-05T10:12:00.000-08:00

Leftover does not always imply on negativity. :)

People at La Salle

2009-02-05T10:10:00.000-08:00

Building of The Year!

Boys and his Toys

2009-02-05T07:21:00.000-08:00

Al Mukminun, Inside

2009-02-05T01:54:00.000-08:00

There again, and I ran out of collections now, so better be patient waiting for my next pictures parade. :D

Al Mukminun, Its Stairs

2009-02-05T01:53:00.000-08:00

At the stairs

My favorite pic of the exterior :)

Al Mukminun Mosque

2009-02-05T01:47:00.000-08:00

Due to the many pictures in my disposal this time, I'll separate them into several entries. Firstly, we will see this mosque from round its exterior. :)

Enjoy.

There. :)

Police Parade

2009-02-04T00:46:00.000-08:00

Pictures from Chingay Parade, but since I am not that much of a fan of a parade, I decided to play around taking pictures of light trails, and pictures of officers arranging the traffic.

There! :D

Gong Xi Fa (?)

2009-02-03T05:47:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year Day spent in Chinatown. :D

A Place I Called Home

2009-02-03T03:48:00.000-08:00

And those are what my current "home" looks like. :)

S.A.M

2009-02-02T22:57:00.000-08:00

Singapore Art Museum, a wonderful museum indeed, with a wonderful collections. :)

Here.

Pictures paraaddeeeeee...:D

Henderson Bridge

2009-02-02T05:16:00.001-08:00

The wooden bridge

Kid have fun

Left hand corner!

Dynamic form, dynamic activities

Movement

On the Bridge

That is all for today, folks! Hope I'll get another chance to give you all another pictures parade such as today. :)

Inside the Mosque

2009-02-02T04:48:00.000-08:00

Praying

Talking with friends

Praying together

Praying in progress

Discussing school ?

Sleeping ? ( :) )

As Syafaah Mosque

2009-02-02T04:09:00.000-08:00

As-Syafaah Mosque

Green Line and Pattern

Closer Look

The Pattern, a reinterpretation of calligraphy

On the Side

That's all! :D

WonderWoman

2009-02-02T02:30:00.000-08:00

A shocked wonder woman finding out that the photographer that taking her pictures is actually a handsome one. :)

Farther

What's behind the exit?

Red, and white, and wonder woman

Behind closed door

Composed

Closed up shock!

Graphic Salary

2009-02-02T02:00:00.000-08:00

Rustic

Object and consequences

Glass and Sky

Shadowy

Composed pictures

Please do not cross

A kid on the upper left corner

Graphic pictures taken from the museum. Cheers !!

Pictures Parade

2009-02-02T00:32:00.000-08:00

Here comes the numerous pictures taken during my visit to Singapore National Museum, enjoy the pictures, people! :D

And drop your comments. :)

Outside the Museum

Entering

Three person standing tall

Second passage, to the right!

The new wing

They call it, "The Canyon"!

Sit back and relax on the corner of my frame.

Minimum

And that's a wrap. :D

What Makes a Facade

2009-01-29T20:45:00.000-08:00

Welcome to La Salle College of Art!

Fracture

Close-up on the fracture

The "random" voids

Inside

This set of pictures is a serial of what elements make up the outer facade of La Salle College of Art, a work noted as one of the best in current contemporary scene in Singapore, further proved by its winning the best architecture work of 2008 given by SIA.

Well, anyway, it deserves to have it, for it is consistent on its initial concept of adopting fractal forms and creating a lively open space on its inner court. Argh, enough for the architecture explanations, just enjoy the pictures. :D

people, people! in an exhibition!

2009-01-29T00:19:00.000-08:00

A series of photographes taken during my visit to neither east nor west photography exhibition at the Asian Civilization Museum. Quite satisfied on how the photos turn out.

:)

pictures, pictures!

2009-01-27T05:29:00.001-08:00

a horse.

A series of sculpture set up in front of Asian Civilization Museum, one of them is created by Eko Prawoto, shame that I didn't quite get the best picture out of it. It was made out of bamboo. :)

I work here.

Turn left, not right.

Red dragon.

Consequences

three trees and a pattern

one north park

motives

semar, bagong, petruk, hidden gareng. :)

literati

Pictures taken at the Asian Civilization Museum, except two which are from One North Park, next to Biopolis. :)

Enjoy.

Zahaha

2009-01-25T00:40:00.001-08:00

Dynamic is the new language in town. From graphic, to architecture. To life.

Details of Architecture

2009-01-24T02:27:00.000-08:00

For the fans of architecture details, I supply you all with these pictures. Remember Mies, he said, God is in the details. :)

Pictures taken at the Singapore Zoo. :)

Architecture at The Zoo

2009-01-24T02:24:00.000-08:00

Set of pictures, showing the splendid (if I may say, "tropical contemporary architecture) piece of work by (supposedly) Kerry Hill Architects.

The Animal

2009-01-24T02:19:00.001-08:00

this is how far a tiger can jump!

the white stripes!

Super-monkey, a different kind of pet of Superman

Me, without you.

The wise guy

The Animal. the animal. the animal instincts... :D

:)

Cheers!

Opening: Singapore Zoo

2009-01-04T19:50:00.000-08:00

A brief entry, an opening to series of pictures taken at the Singapore Zoo. These ones were taken in its front ticketing gate. The gate itself was designed by Kerry Hill Architects. Well, supposed along with whatever architecture there is in the zoo. :)

So, enjoy the pictures for now.

yellow-man.

2009-01-02T21:42:00.001-08:00

Yellow-man, you showed up
At the right time
To save the composition.
O, yellow-man.
Don't like red, don't like blue.
Cause you're a yellow-man.
:D

Before 2009

2009-01-02T21:30:00.000-08:00

Laugh yourself out!

Looking round the place for the long awaited fireworks.

A smile, that is all daddy needs.

Thus, here comes 2009.

2009. Already the third day.

Marina Barrage, just around Marina Bay

2009-01-01T03:25:00.000-08:00

[...]

Marina Barrage, the latest addition of architecture spectacles in Singapore. A water treatment reservoir, said to be the first reservoir to combine ecology, education, and entertainment into a typology of this sort. Of course there is the one built in Hiroshima, but that was for waste treatment, not water. So the claim may well be true. :)
Enjoy the pictures, especially for those of you enjoy black and white so much. This is a tribute for you all. :D

A display of how the pump house machine works, part of the show here.

Curving ramps to access the roof garden, beautiful curves they are.

There's a man here. Find him among the curving lines.

But after the hype of curving forms and beautiful architecture,
what makes this piece of architecture great is the presence of people.

Inside the sustainable gallery.

So there you have it, a place worth visiting when you're in the area. New, hip, educating, and promises many beautiful pictures. :)

Red Dot Design Museum, I am back.

2009-01-01T02:39:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am officially back. Still with the same gear as two years ago. Don't blame me on my vivacious taste on books or toys, but yeah, that is the main reason I am stuck with my camera. But, another but, the camera serves it function well when it can work. So no complaints from me.

Another news from me, is that I am in Singapore now, so most of the pictures will be taken either from some close by "architecture thing-y", or when I got the chance just to leave the office and snap a few shots just right round the corner of Robinson Road. :)

Well, let's start off with this blog already. The time is the long holiday, from 22 December till well, a couple more days, and the object this time is the red dot design museum, yes, as you can tell from the typo on the picture above. :)

Enjoy the pictures, and don't forget to comment, because that is the main reason I put pictures in this blog, not in multiply or some sort of social network stuff. Cheers. :) :D

The museum houses numbers of designed items which have won the award. That is why you see the typo.

Check if you can spot the receptionist, she should be there (somewhere. Bad lighting, ouch.)

Yin and Yang.

I prefer to name the picture above "Ridwan Kamil session". :)

This one goes to "my favorites" section. Awesome, should I say to myself.

Shaken, but not stirred. Never let the blurry details forbid you to read the "dots".

Rhythm and Lights

Red, of the red dots museum. :)

One black and white for this time.

OK, the holiday was long and some days will still be ahead of us, so I'll have some stocks of photos to share. Will see what comes up next. :)

Pleased to be back. :D

A glimpse of Jogjakarta

2008-11-08T22:35:00.000-08:00

Malioboro, a year ago, during a festival. Boy, don't you miss the chaotic atmosphere...

Wanted by his parents-in-law.

Strike a pose on the back of a cart. Nice.

Standing tall.

My version of a street culture.

I'm back (for a while)

2008-11-08T22:00:00.000-08:00

The reason I only came back for a while is because my camera went broken on me (again).
After the infamous incident back in Yokohama, another one occurred just few days ago. The camera lens went still and stopped just half way to open. And then it said goodbye.
So what I have for now are the pictures from a year ago. But, still, I am back. See you again in the future, all.

Early morning at Tsukiji fish-market.

Yokohama Ferry Terminal, where my camera went broken a year ago.

Composition of lines at the deck.

Yes, choose your way.

That's all for today. Oh, wait, there are some more. Wait a sec.

the final day.

2008-01-17T17:07:00.000-08:00

The D-day has come. this will be the last day of those haunting deadlines...
Ganbatte!
Make sure to wait for (another promise) of my active days..back in the blog. gegege.

A note on street culture, an essay

2007-11-18T07:16:00.000-08:00

Been months since I last submitted entry into this blog. Been busy with all the school problems, and well, the laziness that has been haunting ever since I came back from Japan. Well, better be prepared, because I'll be online (fingers crossed) every time I get the chance. For now, enjoy this long long essay I submitted for the Urbane Fellowship Programme. Just something I put my heart in it. Consider this a variety for all the pictures that have been coloring the pages for months. Enjoy, and hopefully you'll find the writing quite "critical" and inspiring.

The street is a room by agreement, the architect Louis Kahn wrote. A brilliant statement and a well spot on observations on urban phenomenon by this architect, one of the heroes of architecture of the 20^th century. Streets or paths, aside from functioning as platforms that helps their users to move from and to places in their daily life cycle, also acting as a place and space where many urban activities take place. Streets and paths have the capabilities to enliven the urban vitality.

Imagining on what is Out There

Imagine us being in the middle of a bunch of New Yorkers, busy with their own matters and problems; they walk briskly, sometimes run, along the pedestrian paths, bust their ways to get into the subway just to get to their work place on time. Not that different, although half the world apart, in Tokyo, belong to the baby boomer generation, the one infamously known by the world as the working bee of Japanese society, (sarariman, the way they are called in Japan), seen crowding the subway stations every morning. Or when we are among the people of Jakarta, who have to awake as early as four o’clock in the morning in order to be at their work place on time, just to be on the streets for hours stuck among the traffic before finally see their home sweet home. It is true, literally, the saying that the people of Jakarta getting old on the streets. Those images explain the function and role of streets as platforms that bring the users from a place to another to fulfill their responsibilities or to get their necessities.

On the other side of Tokyo, groups of young people, a product of shinjinrui generation, setting their own moral codes and values, trying to be different from the generations that precede them, are all smile and laugh hang out on the corners of small alleys dominating the urban spaces of Shibuya, providing a unique view for the passers by. They are dance following the beat of J-pop music, wearing the fashion named under their hang out place, Harajuku style, or cos-playing –a slang referring to costume playing, expressing their style by wearing the clothes and accessories from characters of manga or anime. They are drown in their own world they create.

In another place, somewhere in Paris, just next to the neighborhood street, I imagine myself drinking coffee in a by-street cafe while reading the morning edition of a local newspaper, watching the neighbors walking their dog around the neighborhood. What a chance to get away from the weighing burden on my shoulders, one might think.

Brazil, although it is known as one of the country with quite high poverty rate, it capable of developing and launching their football players to the top of the world, from Pele, generations later to Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka, an many more to come. Ask Ronaldinho where he played football before he becomes a world class player. Not in a football academy, but on the streets. Football in Brazil is a ”religion” born out of the streets famed by the players that then shine at the world stage. It was intellegently hilarious when Nagabonar asked to some of his son’s staff about a company’s facilities, ”Where is the football field?”

Banksy, a graffiti artist, mentioned on why he chooses graffiti as a medium to express his ”artsy” opinion on the streets of London, if it is government’s duty to keep the environment clean, or stay in shape of beauty by developing a slum into a different, ”better” environment, a graffiti artist’s portion is to beautify the real neighborhood, to keep it real.

” Imagine a city where graffiti wasn’t illegal, a city where everybody could draw wherever they liked, where every street was wash with a million colors and little phrases. Where standing at a bus stop was never boring. A city that felt like a living breathing thing which belonged to everybody, not just the estate agents and barons of big business.” –Banksy

Streets on those cities and countries gave a clear image on how streets can be a medium to gather, to play and to express what is inside the heart of the people.

Seeing and Enjoying What is Right in Front of Our Eyes

Let’s see what is happening in our country, in our capital city of Jakarta. Jakarta that I know of, is a city busy trying day and night to lift herself as a city among cities reigning on the top of the world. Or, at the very least, trying to be known as one city trying really hard to be one. Shopping centers, entertainment centers, any kinds and forms of centers are built in this city, Jakarta, a city where money circulate more than any other cities in Indonesia, a branding that has been known since the era of New Order, the metropolitan of Indonesia –maybe now developing into a new megapolitan?

Jakarta is a city that i visited once or twice during my lifetime, up until now. And those are short visits, leaving me less clues and issues to notice by person. Jakarta that I depict from television explains that HI Junction is a public road, yet it is the most strategic location to express the grass root’s opinions, or so it seems. In Jakarta, a definition of streets can be broadened as a place to demonstrate, to protest, a place to fight over some same old problems, can be aplace to sell and buy things, and for sure, can be a ”path” which forced to take the responsibility to flow the water of yearly floods sent from Bogor.

Now we take a look on the city of culture, the city of students, a city where I spent my time learning architecture, Jogjakarta. Jogjakarta is among the small numbers of cities trying relentlessly to keep her image as a city of culture, as a city proud of her Javanese root, fight not to drown on the current of modern development, to be one of another example of metropolitan cities, a modern cities, or in Koolhaas’ language, generic cities. A new cities taht built based upon effectivity and efficiency, ignore the identity and local characters that a city has, becoming another no-identity city, those are generic cities, which days to days become more common coloring the surface of our earth.

Realized or not, and identity or image of a city more or less can be contributed by the streets that go through its parts. If Bandung has Braga, or Dago, and Surabaya has its newly found Kya Kya on the part of Old Surabaya, then imagining Jogjakarta is the same as feeling the atmosphere of Malioboro.

Malioboro is one of the streets that forms an imaginary axis connecting Mount Merapi and the Palace of Kesultanan Jogjakarta. It is also the main street where many public activities take place, enough to give a rough picture on how Jogjakarta wants to be portrayed.

The merchants selling batik clothes, Dagadu shirts, or many other handicrafts along the pedestrian arcade, angkringan –a traditional kiosk selling traditional snacks and food, cart, ricksaw, those are local traditional transportation modes which are more than willing to show people around the place. The pedestrians, among them are local and foreign tourists, busy taking pictures, sight seeing, bargaining prices, or trying to find the perfect item to buy, without concern about their social status or attributes. The streets that are quiet and lonesome in the morning, can be very lively in the afternoon, where a ”market” suddenly filled the spaces in front of the stores, the place become alive because of the people’s movements and activities. Those simple yet diversed activities are the pulse that make the place alive, full of energy. Activities that take place just right next to the street, a place where some people unwilling to take part in that ”dynamic actions”, the active people being there maybe are high-rank officers, young entrepreneurs, local celebrities, cultural elitists, everyone is being at the same status, and free to express themselves. That side of the street, according to Oldenburg, is a thriving third place.

Foreseeing the Future of this City (and others)

The growth of a significant civilization, and civilizations that wanted to be and called significant, cannot be detached from the meaning of their colossal architecture. Rome with its Colosseum, City of Babylon with its Hanging Garden, the Egyptian civilization with its Pyramids, the Greek with its Pantheon, and many examples during the course of the history of human civilization.

Now, or during the modern time, the range of time where we live, the development of cities is not far from the civilization before them. The city of Paris we know of today, is a mirror image of what its ”superior” wants from the city, a vast lane comfortable to pass through, architecture as icons spread around the perimeter, Louvre Museum, Parc de la Villette, Eiffel Tower, or Pompidou Centre, are results of collaborations between political leaders and architects. Or, as Germany experienced during the Nazi period, when Hitler has Albert Speer as his chief architect. Gaudi, the renowned architect of Spain and the world, gets many of his works from the noble, Guell. Singapore, is one of the first countries in South East Asia expressing its modernities in its cities. A strategic location, economy chances finely explored, along the thread of ambitious and tireless leadership, brought Singapore as, in Koolhaas’ language, an ecology of the contemporary, a mixture of things that are modern yet traditional, an eclectic result, an American city in the scene of South East Asia.

In Indonesia, Soekarno is the person who represents this collaboration and vision. Not only excel on the field of politics, Soekarno has this urge to build a new and emerging civilization, which the results can be traced from projects such as National Monument and Istiqlal Mosque, both of them take place in Jakarta. Architecture explains the vision of an institution, a city, a country.

What we see today is a mirror image of what the society looks like. Shopping malls, entertainment centers, and vertical developments are considered as aspects of modern civilization. When time and space then condensed, those forms of development are optimum solution, but is that a solid reasoning to ignore, reduce and finally destruct the space by agreement, space next to the streets, the ”sudden” market, angkringan, and the familiar spaces for the people?

Shanghai is one of the modern cities experiencing drastic changes, in its spatial programs and arrangements. This business city oriented horizontally, with lines of stores and houses along the strips of streets, before hurriedly changed its orientation to go up, along with the nation’s ambition to create the highest skyscraper, as a statement of a high-civilized nation.

Back to Jogjakarta, the relentless building of many shopping malls one after another, slowly but surely erase the familiar spaces which have been there since a long time ago. The spaces that belong to the people, used by people more than some who able to buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks, stay in and enjoy high-rise living, with capability to travel to Singapore once a week, started to get rid off, out of the picture, out moded. Traditional market operations, fence building around public properties, evictions done to merchants on kiosks, with reasoning such as centralization of the merchants, ”pollution” on the image of the city, and other government-sided reasonings, become the knives that send the death sentence to our public spaces. It may be a romantic, sentimental, or even unprogressive point of view, but places and spaces that make human a human, the kind that let persons to meet each other, the kind that set them free, that kind of places and spaces have more meaning to them, rather than those that are built based on ambitions, and predictive solutions. And the streets that we see everyday, with many people and vehicles passing by, filled with activities on spaces around it, is one of those spaces that has the qualities to define human as human.

Katsura Imperial Villa> Textures

2007-07-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

First entry on Katsura is the textures. The surface that shaping the beauty of this traditional architecture, and the surrounding. As there will be no beauty of architecture without the beauty of its surrounding. It's just mutual. Not more, not less, blend.

More on Katsura later on.

Kinkakuji, The Golden Temple

2007-07-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

OK, I have to make a confession first, that I went to this Kinkakuji for the sake of being a "student/tourist" in Japan. Not much to see actually, aside from the bright in gold Kinkakuji. Interesting, well, yes.
Being exposed quite some time with the idea of a traditional architecture built next to a garden, coming to Kinkauji gave me a new understanding, seeing that the temple here was built next to a pond, create a clear reflection of the golden temple.

Well, got the "normal" pictures for this place, too bad I didn't quite manage to grasp what lies under the surface. OK, next destination, Katsura Imperial Villa, dubbed as the beacon of Japanese ness, in term of architecture. The number one. :D

Kyoto Imperial Palace

2007-07-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

It's been quite some time since the last time I updated this blog, so this time, I'll try to come out with several entries, hopefully interesting enough to keep you people staring into the details, or not. :)
Well anyway, let's start. The first for today is the infamous Kyoto Imperial Palace. Not so far from Osaka, a quite well known tourist destination, and it has guides that will show you around, better yet, they can speak English! :)
The first two pictures were taken on the main building of this palace, a.k.a the palace itself, and the garden next to it. The rest, satisfy the urge on taking unique pictures, which not quite a success. Enjoy, anyway. :)

Details, details..

Diversity> Rough Sketches

2007-06-12T07:00:00.001-07:00

Flying Firefox (dedicated to my browser!)

This time around I'm gonna post something a bit different from those entries been coloring my blog pages. Yes, now is time to have sketches. I'll see if I have more to shown off, hopefully I do. Here are several ones, I thought they're representative.

A sketch of a biker

Two above are chocobo, a fictional bird character appeared on Final Fantasy VII, not exactly a fan art, never good at those. Just my imagination about those birds.

The doll girl. My lovely one. Have a storyline on this character, a really good one (I keep in the depth of my mind.).

Try adopting things that are Japanese into characters, firstly, the samurai.The heroic Yagyu, standing tall on top of piles of other samurai spirits.

After the Yagyu guy, is a representation of a strong warrior, which I think resembles Magneto from the X-Men comics. And the last one, is a caricature (or so I said) of my friend here in Japan, Giulio-san, a.k.a The Italian Stallion.

White Chapel

2007-06-10T03:28:00.000-07:00

The White Chapel designed by Jun Aoki showed another exceptional ideas owned by those so-called star architects. The form was so simple that it almost reveals nothing except the whiteness. But..
The roundish form act as the curtain on the windows, displayed next to the white wall.
The chapel from the inside.
Ouww, just when I thought my camera won't be able to do this kind of shot with clear DoF..There.
White not only about color. White can also be transparent. Or yet, reflective.

Kyoto Garden of Fine Art> Details (2)

2007-06-08T07:31:00.001-07:00

The first two are taken under the same theme, perspectives.

Nothing special about the two, detail shots taken cause I think they are interesting.
One of my favorite section in architecture, the stairs. Enjoy this one? Send out comments, hihi!

Kyoto Garden of Fine Art> Interpretation (1)

2007-06-08T07:21:00.001-07:00

"Real/Consequence"
"Three Tone"
"Against the Wall"
"Learning the Perspective"
"Framed!"
Interpretations on Tadao Ando architecture. That is the theme for this one. So, go on, don't be afraid, have your own opinion.

Kyoto Concert Hall>Graphic

2007-06-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

Kyoto Concert Hall, designed by Arata Isozaki. The cylindrical form at the corner and the wavy lines really caught the attention. So, here you go.

Kobe Theater> Lines

2007-06-06T07:45:00.001-07:00

From the complex ones, to the simple ones, or maybe it is randomly uploaded. Anyway, enjoy today's post. See you soon.

Kobe Theater> Graphic

2007-06-06T07:39:00.001-07:00

"On the left"
"Diagonal"
"05.01"
The picture above showing the interior of the theater. After twenty or so minutes, finally the guards let us take the picture inside the building. So, let's begin the adventure, shall we?
Preview to the next entry, the lines.

NWIC> Into the Light

2007-06-05T19:16:00.001-07:00

As the title suggests, no further explanation needed. (NWIC: Naka Waste Incineration Plant)

Naka Waste Incineration Center, Hiroshima

2007-06-05T18:58:00.000-07:00

Who thought that a garbage recycling center can be this amazing? Well, Yoshio Taniguchi sure has another idea to share about his image on garbage and waste recycling. Designed in a very simple manner, monochromatic materials enveloping the whole facade, this building seems to be a futuristic representation of one garbage recycling center.The exterior seen from one point. It is a shame that I didn't have much to share on this one, since we were in such a hurry on catching up on the train going back to Osaka.
Ha, it is me. Speaking of one way to get your own picture on your own blog.
The light, the tree, the space. Do you even realize that garbage lying around this place?

Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima

2007-06-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

Short entry about a museum of contemporary art we visited in Hiroshima. This one established on the end of the 80's, as some of you noticed from the style of the forms, designed by architect Kisho Kurokawa. Ah, so 80's.

The last two were my favorites, since I didn't find this museum rise to my expectation of a contemporary art museum, well, compared to Kanazawa's. But, it was worth to visit though.
A snapshot from the Atom Bomb Memorial Hiroshima. The building on the background was the only one left on some kilometer in radius after the blast.

Nagasaki Atom Bomb Memorial (#2)

2007-06-04T09:19:00.001-07:00

The main chamber of the memorial. I felt like experiencing the atom bomb launch pad control room (well, they're actually dropped from above the sky, though), waiting of thousands of souls devoured by another human ugly nature.
Looking above. Seems really abstract eh?
Simple documentation, think this one is important to share, the history behind the atom bombing at that time.
Nothing important, just like the reflection appeared on both foreground and background. Nice.
Another abstract (or so I think). Shadow of a tree in front of bare concrete wall. Always love the scene.

Nagasaki Atom Bomb Memorial (#1)

2007-06-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

What is that, what is that?
A triangle, and two rectangles from a Peeping Tom's holy hole of peeping. Hihi.
Hi, mister in the middle of a beautiful composition. Oops, then you go around the ramps, and gotcha again in another composition. Hihi.

Then I walked the long alley. To be continued.

Nagasaki Art Museum>Light at Lines at Sight

2007-06-04T08:40:00.001-07:00

The quality of the pictures taken here are not extraordinary, that I know, but the architecture just too good not to be shared. So here you go, the museum at night. Next up, Nagasaki Atom Bomb Memorial.

Nagasaki Art Museum> Graphic

2007-06-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

"Lecture Room: Here"
"Elevator: There"
"Gotcha!"
"Gotcha again!"

"Lines within lines"
"Lines within Perspective"
Another titles within title entry. This is fun for me. Fast, easy and less reading for you to do. Ha!

Nagasaki Art Museum> The Lines

2007-06-04T04:44:00.000-07:00

Comparing this museum, designed by Kengo Kuma, another prominent figure in todays Japan contemporary architecture with the design of machiya, does not feel right in many ways. The size, the function, the materials, most of those aspects refer to differences instead of similarities. But from my perspective, there is this one simple visual element that unify both. The lines.
The first one is the lines along the front and side facade. Below are the stairs, which really interesting with the ever-changing shadows from the sunlight hitting the frames.

Sitting there and enjoying the view along the harbor next to the museum seems to be a nice idea. The lines architecture.

Kitagata High Town Housing, Gifu (#3)> Stairs

2007-06-02T02:55:00.000-07:00

Three images of the steel stairs at Kitagata High Town, the ones on Sejima's design. Interesting.

Kitagata High Town Housing, Gifu (#2)

2007-06-02T02:44:00.000-07:00

Another piece of architecture of this housing project. Interesting design on the facade, revealing bit by bit of what it contained inside.
A trademark of SANAA, with glass, white painted concrete, simple design, almost minimal, and somehow resemble those of Le Corbusier's.
Peter on the edge, enjoying the masterpiece of his favorite architect, Sejima.
The view along the corridor. Didn't seem like a famous architect's work, eh?
The "used to be" white steel material on this door gone corrugated. Somehow, it looks nice and adding some contrast into the design. Well, at least that is what I thought.

Kitagata High Town Housing, Gifu

2007-06-02T02:27:00.000-07:00

This entry will be about Kitagata High Town in Gifu, in which a complex of multi stories housing is set up under the supervision of Arata Isozaki, and design collaboration with architects such as Kazuyo Sejima and Steven Holl. Here are the images. The above two are just pictures of a housing project in front of the big one.
Kids playing catch ball with their friends on the third floor. Dangerous, yes. But they think it is fun.

Using materials such as steel fences and bars, this housing project doesn't show a distinct character of a house, I myself think this is factory like. But still, it is interesting how these big architects can come up with a contemporary solution.

What seems to be Ise Shrine (and around)

2007-06-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

As some of you may have already know that it is forbidden to take pictures of the real Ise shrine, so the hut like architecture over there is the mark for the next location for the shrine, as they rebuild this shrine every 20 years in different place, usually next to the old one.
A little bit zoom in, but still shows the hugeness of the nature. Just so huge. Makes me realize how insignificant we are in front of He who controls the whole, the whole.
Symmetry of roof on one of the sub temples. Interesting, I may say. Below, the sub shrine of Ise, so simple. Just bare wooden structures, so humble in front of the nature surrounding the architecture.
Finally, a fun shot on the pond. Everyone, have them eat your fingers! Now!

It's Chicken Paradise!

2007-06-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

Apparently, the park before entering the shrine of Ise is a paradise for chickens. Look at them live freely in that park. And there was I, who deliberately taken their pictures, thinking that these might be an interesting way to get your attention. Chicken Paradise, everybody!

Oh, and this time I put on some pictures of people whom I went there with. The first one is Giulio, the Italian Stallion, one of OUSSEP student, and on the second one is Henryk, the cool Polish with some serious studying attitude (Cheers, Henryk!).

Machiya, Naramachi

2007-06-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

Why do I put some normal picture on the first? Well, note at the right hand corner, you can see some red balls with different sizes along from the top to the bottom. Those are not just balls, but a special decoration (you can say.) on Naramachi, a symbol of monkey. Yes, monkey! Apparently, the god for this region is the red monkeys.

Ha, as you can see, another frontal compositions, and the last two were about bicycles in their prime. That is all for the machiyas, hopefully you enjoy the smell of traditions around the corner. See you on different topics, after the jump.

Machiya, Takayama

2007-06-01T07:14:00.001-07:00

Takayama, is one place in the middle of Honshu island, notably known for the existence of these traditional architecture around the old town, and the government realize that that feature can attract so many tourists to go and stay at Takayama. Well, another frontal compositions.

These pictures were meant to be used on my research (blah!) about traditional architecture here in Japan, so some of them focused on what elements I thought is interesting and visually well-known as the element of Japanese traditional architecture. And there they are, firstly, the lines, then wooden material, and simplicity in their compositions.

Machiya, Gion, Kyoto

2007-06-01T07:04:00.000-07:00

The setting of Gion, Kyoto on one afternoon when I went there to take these shots. A place where the architecture maintained to resemble the old Japan's time. And it indeed works, as you can see from the picture. OK, let's start off with some frontal composition.

As some of you might have noticed that my shots usually taken in such of manner. Kinda wanted to show off a flat graphic like composition. But well, I kinda bored with this kind of angle, since I became repetitive on doing so.
This last one I really liked, though not really showing any particular interesting activity in it. This kind of alley is called roji here in Japan. The kind of alleys that appeared in the movies as dark alleys where usually a girl gets mobbed and the hero will come to save her (and kissed her while his head is upside down. Uh, wait, that is Spiderman! :) ).

Oni, The Devil

2007-06-01T06:46:00.001-07:00

Three different way on capturing the oni. First, stand right in front of it, do full frontal attack with your biggest kamehame. Somehow the devil will manage to survive your attack. Don't be desperate though, move to the right, get a bit closer, finish it with one subtle katana slashing art, amakakeru ryuu no hirameki. And lastly, give it a really nice up close and personal head bang! BANG!
(not that funny of an entry, but hopefully you'll laugh anyway. These pictures were taken during my visit around Gion, Kyoto. Oni is the Japanese for devil, and in many traditional temples' roof corner, it put there, symbolize the guardian of the temple.)

21st Century:Etc/Graphic

2007-05-31T08:49:00.001-07:00

Yoshitomo Nara's dog. His artworks were shown here at that time, and one of them is this dog. The clothes on the right hand corner are meant to be wear by children and when they roam around the museum, they'll be called "dog patrol". (speaking of animated art).

"Three to One". I think this is the only wall in the museum where people can see colorful flowery images, included with set of chairs in front of the wall to enjoy the space in front of it.
This is what people see from that point. "Oh, I am measuring the sky-Man."
It's all up for today guys. Hope you enjoy the entries from yesterday 'til today. See you around next time, hopefully with some new images, and all.

More on 21st Century: Exterior/Graphic

2007-05-31T06:22:00.000-07:00

Simple geometries can be extra terrestrially interesting (pardon me.).

A picture of what I thought was a family inside the pool where you can see the people staring at you from the surface of the water. What a beautiful idea the artist has. Fabulous.
My personal favorite from set of pictures I took that time. Contextless, yes. But the way he stares, just amazed me. Love this shot. White, pure, simple and yet so rich. Hai'!

21st Century: Interior/Graphic

2007-05-31T06:07:00.001-07:00

Previously, SANAA. This is a set of pictures from the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art Kanazawa. A highly recommended piece of architecture to visit. What a mind blowing piece of art (and architecture).

Above are pictures themed under simplicity. And many spots here inside the museum to see those things. Oh, what a white.
The time when the museum closed on the next 30 minutes. Damn, how time ran so fast when we were having a good time.
The TV displaying different wave lengths of broad casted material. Well, art, it seems.
Enjoy the set? More to come. Be patient, and I'll deliver more, more, and more! Hihihi.

LV: Graphics

2007-05-31T05:46:00.001-07:00

One of the big brands here in Japan. More interesting, because some of this brand's store buildings are designed by Jun Aoki, a worldly known Japanese contemporary architect. So here I took some pictures of these buildings, notably two of them, the one in Osaka, and the one at Omotesando, Tokyo.

Yup, the last one is not a Louis Vuitton store. It is an OPAQUE's, as the big banner shown to us. It was designed by SANAA. Revealing the next entry, SANAA's 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa. See you in a couple of minutes.

Water Temple: Graphic

2007-05-31T04:34:00.001-07:00

"Into the Darkness."
"Turn Left, Quick!"
"Subtle Curve."

"An Unusual Corner in an Oval Architecture."
Just want to name titles this time around. Enjoy!

Water Temple: Interior

2007-05-31T03:45:00.000-07:00

Exit is that way, for you people who don't want to experience this Ando architecture. Hihi. And speaking of looking from the tip to toe, or toe to tip, here are some pictures of one spot I found really strong inside the temple. So, toe to tip.

All red, concrete, and has spiritual qualities that cannot be seen by bare eyes. Really love the experience. Next, some "graphical" pictures of the interior of Water Temple.

natural romance

2007-05-31T03:12:00.000-07:00

It began when you wander around nature, searching things you think valuable for your life.
Or when you startled looking at the light entering through your window on that summer days, wandering what good things out there God keep from you.
Then you see that nature offers those that let your mind at ease. Make your heavy burden go away in one simple greens in frame.
Then you start visiting the nature, the mountains, the rivers, the jungles, or maybe just simply the park next to your home. Or just stay here. Watch the nature sending their positivity. Firstly, alone.
Then eventually someone will say, "Hi!". And the story goes...
(Really nice if you also tune in to some romantic song, well, I don't know, you know better! :) )

Koto-in, learning in perspectives

2007-05-31T00:50:00.001-07:00

As you can see from the picture above, or obviously from the title, it is about perspectives. Above is the corridor laid after entering the gate, directly facing the garden. A nice spot to hang around for a bit.

Transitional bright and darkness, and the space where it happened seemed to be set in motion when this phenomenon happens. Interesting one.
Small and tall space, leading to a tea room, basically the end of the course on traditional houses, the private space of the owner. And still, facing the garden, as it is the main view toward the nature and maintained that way in almost every traditional house.
Oops, I forgot the tokonoma. Aside from the garden, tokonoma is also one thing that the owner, and the guests should too, appreciate the beauty of this space. Usually it is "decorated" with paintings, some ikebana (flower arrangements), and some precious items according to the season or traditional days, such as Kodomo no Hi (Day of Children).
Well, still more to go on Koto-in. See you then.

entering Koto-in, the procession

2007-05-31T00:33:00.000-07:00

As usual, a torii symbolize the beginning of some interesting space and experience waiting inside.The green (gonna be red during autumn season) sky along the stone path. Indescribable experience passing through the wood of bamboo trees. The calm it brought into your soul. Can be in this place whole day long. Trust me for this. :D .
Another torii.

Framing the nature, like capturing pictures through your camera. Just another classic specialty of Japanese architecture.
And finally, call someone to inform this magical experience. Come to Japan, experience the real Japan (Yokoso Japan!!) For real, do I get paid if I do this on purpose? Up next, around the Koto-in.

something (i thought) interesting

2007-05-31T00:02:00.001-07:00

Interesting design of lamp. Not modern ones, for your note. So, so beautiful.Some zooming in. Into the beauty of light.

Ha, that is a composition.
Connecting indoor and outdoor, architecture and nature, the facade is the transition space/plane.
And enjoy the space. Awesome experience, for sure.

another house, another revealence

2007-05-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my crib, YO! Wait, wait, wait, this is not Mtv show, this is just me getting into a house in Nara.This is some views on the main hall. Located next to the garden, with tokonoma on one corner, and the peaceful atmosphere surrounding the room, this is a really nice time to enjoy some ocha and okashi. Oishii ne!

The last picture seems a bit odd, and though it is still acceptable, you can feel that something is just not right. Why? Because to enjoy a Japanese traditional interior, and appreciate it to the fullest, you should be sitting on your knee, and see the surrounding from that position. Well, this picture is not taken from that point. Hihihi, yes, just some (i hope) interesting information.

Peaceful, eh.

reflections

2007-05-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

Let's take a ride on a rickshaw. But wait, it 's expensive!! 4000 yen for going around a park, hum, now I wonder if those rickshaw drivers in Indonesia should be getting more decent fee for the rides.OK, feast yourself. No comments from me from now on. Just as what the title suggests, reflections.

Oh well, the last one definitely my favorite, is it yours too? That is all for this reflections theme today, oh forgot to mention the name of the place. It is a lake around Nara-koen with that building in the middle (to tell you the truth, I forgot the name of that place, ugh!). See you around then.

another Koushi no Ie (two)

2007-05-30T20:46:00.000-07:00

Picking up from where we last left off. The stairs leading to the second floor, with set of functional small drawers under the steps ranging from really small ones to the one on the same size as a cupboard. Whew, really interesting for me.The Ma, sequence of space in one Japanese interior, everything seemed so fluid, from the front room, till the end of the lot. Frame, after frame, after frame. Just a nice way to describe fluidity of space.
Some aerial view, heheh.
The last two will be "photographical quality", or so i think.
Static v Dynamic. Still v Movement. Always fun to try catching this kind of picture.
And the final one, the "women activities". Sorry bout the horizon, though. Bit lazy to fix it in PS. Well then, enjoy your day, and thanks for tuning in.

big entry today, Koushi no Ie (one)

2007-05-30T20:16:00.000-07:00

This is an interior of machiya at Naramachi in Nara City in Kansai region. Went there on a rainy day, so it was a good thing that I could stop by for hours, enjoying the beauty of Japanese architecture by the essence, simplicity.
The light and simplicity.

The kitchen, leading to storage behind of the house.

The unique window on the kitchen part of the house, it has three layers of shutters, each with different functions. One, the wooden layer to entirely close the indoor from outdoors, the wooden slits layer to release the smoke from the kitchen, and the shoji layer, to let the light comes in.
Another idea of creating compact space, stairs with drawer beneath! Love it, a lot!

The beauty of stairs

2007-05-16T00:32:00.000-07:00

Let's begin our fetishism adventure in architecture. But why? Well, let's just say you'll understand after seeing these few images taken at Hyogo Prefecture's Museum of Art. Enjoy an entry filled with images only.

Well, my favorite one.
In case you wonder, what this building looks like, here is one picture.
Again, thanks for being here till the end.

Outside the water temple

2007-05-16T00:06:00.000-07:00

This is the picture of (supposedly) the longest suspended structure bridge in the world, connecting Honshu island with Awaji island. Fantastic, eh?

What is so special about Water Temple? Well, firstly, it is beautiful, and famous. And best of all, is that this temple was designed by Tadao Ando, who most architecture students familiar with his works as they paint the scene of Japanese contemporary architecture up till today. This next picture is three tones used by Ando to create the peaceful atmosphere within the space. Simple, yet rich with meaning.

A composition of elements, try a bit playful with the angle. Thought that will make it more interesting.

The curving path, following the round form of the wall. This path take you in a half circle walk around the outer side of the temple, seeing the "nothingness" presented here. Two pictures above shown a glimpse about it.

This one is, well, another playtime with the angle. Oh, how I love to play with it. Hahaha.
Next, is the stairs, taking you up to heaven after finished cleansing your sins.

OK, that is the final picture, to sum it up. An architecture that blends with nature, creating a nuance of harmony, bring peace upon your heart. Hahaha. Thank you for stay tuned.

river scene at Nagasaki

2007-04-15T00:59:00.000-07:00

Chasing the bird. In case you didn't notice, the bird on the left hand corner.
Walking out from the frame. In this picture, I like the blue gradient nuances, and those shiny reflection from the sunlight.
Same ingredients, different pose.
Why do you think the father won't help them get the ball? In my opinion, it was like that so the kids can go through the troubles by themselves. A kind of "do it yourself" method of education (what am I talking about here??).
Go my son, take the ball, you can do it! Gambarimasu!!!

That is all, folks!

random scene at Nagasaki harbor

2007-04-15T00:38:00.000-07:00

We, me and two other Indonesian friends, spent few hours here at the harbor, checking the new Nagasaki Prefecture Art Museum and some other buildings, and then took some random pictures around the place. These are some decent results I got. Well, here it goes.The picture to signify the place. Dejima harbor in Nagasaki. haha.
I took this one inside the harbor administration building. Just a normal Japanese salary man reading newspaper in one composed image. Well, as I said, randomly taken.
These last two entries are my favorites. The first one, I wanted to picture some "lovey dovey scene", but since I got only one dove, and a couple, then I had to switch the theme to "lonely dovey, oh, i miss being couple".
The group and the coke truck. Well, maybe in many ways this one is imperfect picture. But I think I got what I needed from this one. To show there is a bunch of people together, and one Coca Cola truck, alone. It would be nice if only they drank Coca Cola at that time, then I can got even further with the concept, "Always Coca Cola!". Kidding. :)

Dejima through my eyes.

2007-04-14T23:50:00.000-07:00

These images are from my visit to Dejima, in Nagasaki. On the 19th century, or so, this place was the Dutch trading port in Nagasaki (as usual, for further information, check on Mr. Wiki ).
The architecture in this place are mixture between those of the traditional Japanese's and some are influenced by the Dutch/ European architecture. Well, enough for the chit chat, here are the images.A house, or a storage building, I am not sure, but one sure thing that this building caught my attention since it has the combination of those two architecture poles, noted by the form of Japanese architecture, and the brick material used on the walls, which is from the European (Japanese architecture are mostly shaped by their usage of wooden material).

A lining of traditional lamps with some kanji written on it.
A scene of European architecture in Dejima. The window speaks for the definition, or it seems to be, according to my opinion.
Well, someone's framed pretty well in this one. Like the result on this one.
OK, that is all for this time, I'll try to come up with more pretty images next time. See you soon!

I am POP!

2007-04-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

This entry is not about photography nor architecture. This is only a part of me wanting to be exposed in this blog. No, not my body parts, or anything. Just my thought, which I "discovered" today.
I tried to be jazz, to be rock, even be techno but after all i am POP. It is not about music, to be exact, though I used those terms of music genres. It is about my standing point in viewing architecture, or in a broader aspect, the world around me. I love trends, I "learned" a lot from pop culture, enjoying being in the state of having a lot of fun with my life when actually I gotta get serious. Time is ticking, and keep on ticking. Leaving me with a big burden in the end. But yet, I still the same. The POP approach just too thick within my blood. At least for now, and that is not entirely bad thing, because I enjoy being POP.
And being POP in my standing point toward architecture, means that I have a tendency to follow the trends, aware of the latest gossip regarding those so-called trends, and obviously, has no consistency on the way of doing architecture. haha.
So, statement for today is, I AM POP!

persona> hamori, peter

2007-03-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

A hungarian. Architecture student who is a really big fan of so-called "contemporary architecture", mainly the works of SANAA, a collaboration of Sejima, Kazuyo and Nishizawa, Ryue. Got lucky so often that I suspect he had some magic charm hidden somewhere, or maybe something he ate when he was a child, like Obelix with the super potion (Asterix). No, he's not fat. Here he is.

Three or four months ago during a one day trip to Tokyo. With his new (at that time) Canon S3IS, the same camera as mine.
A week ago, we went on another trip to Central Honshu, namely Kanazawa, Gifu using the 18kippu trains (means changing local train to local train every few hours, even minutes!), and here are his pictures, taken candidly.

Sleeping, sleeping, Peter..

Yes, Peter, I know the world of an architect is a wide one. But, hey, loosen up. Get drunk, and go to parties. People will know you better. As a star architect, I hope, not one badass drunker.Or, well, just sleep there like a baby and let me take your pictures for future reference. Hehe.

Or maybe for your next folk Hungarian music album cover. Peter Hamori presents..

frontal composition

2007-03-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

I wish I will have my name written like that, in front of my architecture work. A star architect, yes, I dream of becoming one. Hahaha.

Or imagining the feeling of these people, living in one famous architecture. Maybe they're rich, maybe they are famous. But one thing for sure, they are lucky in the first place. Huhuhu.

Entrance to the 234 m tall Fukuoka Tower. Colorful with teenagers flocking the place.

A bike and stripes of shadows. Always interesting to capture this kind of scene.

The color version, with a cone under the same stripes.

Frontal composition, as the title mentioned. Now with the colors and one interesting object. Or so.

Ouch, bump on the frame. Careful there, mister.
And that is all, folks!

Miyajima, the infamous red gate

2007-03-29T02:30:00.000-07:00

Claimed as one of the best three scenery spots of Japan, this place sure is awesome. And indeed I saw it awesome. Check on the pictures after the jump. Go on, jump!

Currently i like to play with over exposure settings, such as above pictures, and more. This one is a definite moment,but since I am a newbie photographer (haha!), I cannot get enough time and reasons to get the perfect capture. But anyhow, I got one. This.
And the almost perfect moment, which I regret on a lot. hiks..
And this is the first place where I actually understand the term of "chasing the sunset". Yes, my first serious sunset pictures at Miyajima. What a place to start a new adventure.

OK, this one quite a long post. So, enjoy. And keep on tuning. Yahaa!

Sadako and a thousand cranes

2007-03-29T01:48:00.000-07:00

The story is about Sadako. Not that ghost Sadako from The Grudge. But a girl called Sadako who fell victim by the Hiroshima bombing on 6th August 1945. She survived the bombing, yet suffered from the terminal illness caused by the nuclear radiation. Spent few months in bed, she eventually died because of this illness.
But while she stayed in bed, she never lost hope. Inspired by the famous Japanese adage, that if one can create a thousand cranes out of paper (origami), one can get one's hope fulfilled. And that is what she did.. She did origami of a thousand cranes, until finally she passed away.
Now, the flying cranes become a symbol from Hiroshima of hope of a peaceful world without the presence of atom bomb. No more atom bomb!
And while we're still in this topic, I took some pictures of a crane in Hiroshima, that sort of remind me of this story.

architecture> ACROS Fukuoka

2007-03-29T01:07:00.000-07:00

In the way i portray the architecture. Enjoy!

Toilet signs are usually intriguing. ACROS's is not exceptional.

From the outside. This is a kind of building that stated its purpose as an environment friendly, boasting to have enough planting that will help to reduce the air pollution in the city of Fukuoka, as well as presenting a public park in the form of an architecture. In short, it is an example of green architecture. Just how green is it?
Yes, it is this green.
And with a huge hall/lobby bathed with daylighting, equal less usage of electricity during the day, this building shows a really good example of how eco-friendly an architecture should be.

persona>harry kurniawan

2007-03-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

Harry Kurniawan, my fellow Indonesian, spending his one year here in Osaka to sharpen his ideas on architecture. He is a lecturer back at my university in Indonesia, teaching Environment Accessibility in the Department of Architecture. A guy with calm and collected personality, kinda uptight, with talents on writing and photography, or maybe more. He's got growing numbers of fans from his students because of his charming way of teaching (haha!) and his patience on guiding the students. These are how I picture him. In pictures, of course. Enjoy.

In action.

Well, most of his time he spent with taking pictures, reading books, .. But when you least expect it, he can..

Play the angklung instrument! Yes, he can!
And, he remind me a lot of that guy Jake Gyllenhaal from Brokeback Mountain, but maybe it is just me. Here's a close up of Jake (the fake).

blogging life

2007-03-22T07:47:00.001-07:00

welcome to blogging life, basuki.