Books by Non Arkaraprasertkul
This book is the first of its kind to use historical studies and architectural research to outlin... more This book is the first of its kind to use historical studies and architectural research to outline Shanghai’s pragmatic developments dominated largely by its politics. Professor Reinhard Goethert from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) described it as “a well-thought-out perspective in understanding the amazing transformation of urban Shanghai” and “an excellent foundation for exploring contemporary city-building issues.” In praise of this book, Delft University of Technology Architecture Professor Gregory Bracken, who is also an expert on Shanghai urban studies, writes: “This book is a timely and intelligent examination of Shanghai’s recent urban transformations.” The book has been in circulation since 2009 and been used in architectural, urban and environmental studies courses at MIT, Harvard University and New York University.
This is my first book that I co-authored with my classmate Polnon Prapanon. The subject of this b... more This is my first book that I co-authored with my classmate Polnon Prapanon. The subject of this book is a computer-aided-design and modeling software called Form Z which is a handy tool for architects and designers to conceptualize their thoughts in clear images and realistic renderings. Published in Thai.
Papers by Non Arkaraprasertkul
Thresholds, 2009
for their support of thresholds. Editorial Policy thresholds is published biannually in the sprin... more for their support of thresholds. Editorial Policy thresholds is published biannually in the spring and fall by the Department of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Opinions in thresholds are those of the authors alone and do not represent the views of the editors, the Department of Architecture, nor MIT. No part of thresholds may be copied or distributed without written authorization.
Storytelling, Self, Society, Sep 1, 2012
Abstract:Based on my long-term ethnographic research in the traditional alleyway neighborhoods in... more Abstract:Based on my long-term ethnographic research in the traditional alleyway neighborhoods in Shanghai, known as lilong ("li" meaning neighborhood and "long" meaning lane), I discuss "popular stories" surrounding their existence. As a legacy of the city's treaty port era (1842-1932), the lilong houses and neighborhoods are to Shanghai more than just a physical structure, but also a distinct cultural relic. I focus on the "moral responsibility" to live a life that aligns with one's narrative of historic preservation. I demonstrate how the forces of globalization play a major role in the changing sociopolitical landscape of life in lilong neighborhoods. We could better understand those forces by placing them in the context of morality. I here reveal three major themes: the discourse around the ideas of "authentic Shanghai life," the perceptions of lilong neighborhoods in relation to the political economy of heritage brought about by the popular knowledge about Shanghai, and how architecture tells its stories of the city and cultures.
This paper examines both the traditional and the modern aspects of the lilong neighborhood housin... more This paper examines both the traditional and the modern aspects of the lilong neighborhood housing, and aims to redefine the abstract concept of the lilong as a means of application to today's Low-Medium Rise High Density (LMRHD) housing. In particular, this paper delivers a practical answer to a conceptual question: how do lilong provide the dwelling identity of Shanghai's form, meaning, and culture? The emergence of both lilong and Western modern housing is rooted in a crisis of space and the economic drive of modern cities. By closely examining both physical and community aspects that make lilong a mediating agency between Chinese locality and Western modernity, this paper suggests that architecture of lilong does not confine itself to certain forms or physical configurations; instead it is an " abstract concept " of an urban neighborhood: the spatial organization, the architectural practicality, the casual formation of semi-private space, and the community lane-life – concepts that should be taken into account for the design of urban housing today. The re-definition of lilong is a conceptual idea that will serve as a point of departure for a proposal to develop this housing strategy for today's situation. This paper also presents the preliminary strategies for designing the new LMRHD housing.
Architectural Theory Review, Apr 1, 2009
Fredric Jameson (1934-), a critical theorist and Marxist philosopher who has written numerous boo... more Fredric Jameson (1934-), a critical theorist and Marxist philosopher who has written numerous books and articles on critical theory, is recognized as the first thinker who brought postmodernism's critical theory into architectural discourse. In Jameson's own words,“it ...
Future Challenges of Cities in Asia, 2019
Across China, the preservation and reconstruction of European-styled buildings for commercial pur... more Across China, the preservation and reconstruction of European-styled buildings for commercial purposes has become a trend for urban development. Drawing inspiration from established global cities, Shanghai’s local government has aimed to accommodate both modern high-rise and heritage buildings as a major part of its “city with global inspiration” urban development program. Historic preservation, however, has so far been about protecting particular structures from which only members of the urban middle class can benefit from their historic value. Then, for whom is this historic preservation? Presenting a less benign side of preservation, this chapter ethnographically examines social change in urban life as a result of urbanization, presenting how historic preservation affects urban processes vis-à-vis a sense of place in the city of Shanghai.
Arkaraprasertkul examines historic preservation in Shanghai through the lens of housing. Studying... more Arkaraprasertkul examines historic preservation in Shanghai through the lens of housing. Studying the spatial transformation of Shanghai, he attempts to understand the distinct nature of the urban fabric as a manifestation of the relationship between the older socialist approach to development and the more recent economic system that is increasingly capitalist in nature. While the Shanghai municipality officially strives to turn Shanghai into a global city, its actions are leading it in the opposite direction, by actively enabling the redevelopment and disappearance of its living heritage, and therefore, of the very soul of the global city.
Protest and Resistance in the Tourist City, 2016
In this chapter, the anthropologist Non Arkaraprasertkul uses an ethnographic lens to investigate... more In this chapter, the anthropologist Non Arkaraprasertkul uses an ethnographic lens to investigate another type of conflict over the material benefits generated by the growing visitor economy -- between the old and the new residents of an increasingly popular traditional lilong neighbourhood in Shanghai (China). Young creative entrepreneurs have settled in the city’s downtown, rundown historic alleyways, building small-scale, often unlicensed businesses such as cafés and design stores which have contributed to the successful transformation of such neighborhoods into tourist attractions. As a result, tensions have arisen between different categories of residents over the unequal distribution of the benefits from the growing tourism and leisure economy, which has led to a crackdown on such activities by public authorities. The chapter illustrates another form of protest and resistance -- one against the implications of the new creative activities, and the visitors they attract, in a historic residential neighborhood, rather than one of protest against tourism as such. This is one of the first papers to explore, anthropologically and architecturally, how both the quality of physical uniqueness through scarcity and the flexible cultural notion of place transform seemingly mundane structures into what is regarded as “heritage.” In this volume, authors offer new insights into the conflicts and struggles generated by urban tourism. To date, both the book and my specific chapter has been read and studied by students, researchers and academics in the fields of tourism, geography, planning, urban studies, development studies, anthropology, politics and sociology.
Given the rapid urbanization of Shanghai in the past three decades, how might we attempt to under... more Given the rapid urbanization of Shanghai in the past three decades, how might we attempt to understand the changing meanings, usages, and values of urban space and the built environment, as occupied, lived, and experienced by its residents? In this dissertation, I use ethnography to explore the complex processes of urbanization and globalization in Shanghai – China’s largest and most urbanized city – examining the myriad ways that space orients and even determines the actions, commitments, and everyday sociocultural practices of the various agents and stakeholders involved in this transformation. By investigating how residents, planners, and local officials variously conceive of historic preservation and urban renewal programs, and by eschewing the artificially coherent image of the city promoted by state planners, I paint a more nuanced picture of the specific challenges faced by the populace and their creative methods of negotiation, adaptation, and appropriation in the face of a ...
Thresholds, 2009
for their support of thresholds. Editorial Policy thresholds is published biannually in the sprin... more for their support of thresholds. Editorial Policy thresholds is published biannually in the spring and fall by the Department of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Opinions in thresholds are those of the authors alone and do not represent the views of the editors, the Department of Architecture, nor MIT. No part of thresholds may be copied or distributed without written authorization.
Journal of Urban Design, 2016
Abstract The architect Louis Kahn is known for the simple yet poetic composition of his words. Th... more Abstract The architect Louis Kahn is known for the simple yet poetic composition of his words. Through some of the unique features of his unbuilt master plan for the urban centre in Central Philadelphia, this paper argues that we can understand the true quality of Kahn’s design only when we look at his proposals through the lens of linguistics and semiotics. The appeal of Kahn’s design lies in what semioticists and linguists would call ‘poetic quality’, or the production of inventive understandings of both the conventions and new inventions of the shared social milieu. It is precisely because the poetic function in language is humanistic, that Kahn’s use of social poetics has brought the abstract ideas of urban planners down to earth in a way that everyone can appreciate.
Asian Anthropology, 2016
Based on ethnographic research in a traditional Shanghainese alleyway-house neighborhood (known l... more Based on ethnographic research in a traditional Shanghainese alleyway-house neighborhood (known locally as lilong) during 2013–2015, this study describes how knowledge of the global encourages pragmatic local residents to foresee a different future and voluntarily get involved in the process of urban renewal to enhance their own interests. This study unpacks the notion of architectural heritage as a selling point of dilapidated structures, which is the means through which local residents mobilize their knowledge to benefit themselves in the fight against local government authorities and the market economy. “Gentrification from within” is the concept that I develop in this paper to explain this unique process of demographic change involving capital investment and cultural reproduction, in which the original residents themselves are the key actors in the diversification of a traditional neighborhood.
You Are Here Journal of Creative Geography, 2011
In this paper, we observe critical points of departure in the cultural milieu of China's ... more In this paper, we observe critical points of departure in the cultural milieu of China's most urbanized city of Shanghai. Using tools of critical analysis from the fields of history, geography, and cultural studies, we creatively seek to define the ways in which the lessons in cultural transformation could be learned.
Journal of South East Asian Architecture, 2006
Uploads
Books by Non Arkaraprasertkul
Papers by Non Arkaraprasertkul
This anthology, profusely illustrated throughout, is organized into eight parts, covering such subjects as geographic diversity, reactions to the transformation of traditional cities, reading the historic city, the search for contextual continuities, the search for values, and the challenges of sustainability. With more than sixty-five texts, ranging from early polemics by Victor Hugo and John Ruskin to a generous selection of recent scholarship, this book thoroughly addresses regions around the globe. Each reading is introduced by short prefatory remarks explaining the rationale for its selection and the principal matters covered.
The book will serve as an easy reference for administrators, professionals, teachers, and students faced with the day-to-day challenges confronting the historic city under siege by rampant development.
This is one of the first papers to explore, anthropologically and architecturally, how both the quality of physical uniqueness through scarcity and the flexible cultural notion of place transform seemingly mundane structures into what is regarded as “heritage.” In this volume, authors offer new insights into the conflicts and struggles generated by urban tourism. To date, both the book and my specific chapter has been read and studied by students, researchers and academics in the fields of tourism, geography, planning, urban studies, development studies, anthropology, politics and sociology.
Cited in Protecting Suburban America: Gentrification, Advocacy and the Historic Imaginary (2016) by the renowned urban anthropologist Professor Denise Lawrence-Zuniga, this chapter also proves its relevance in the comparative study of heritage and gentrification.
day living conditions, especially when they are not even recognised as full citizens? This question is what drove Saitama University’s Associate Professor Tamaki Endo to write Living with Risk: Precarity and Bangkok’s Urban Poor.
strength lies in its being an original longitudinal study of lives of ordinary citizens who are trying to hold on to their rights to be full
citizens of a class-based urban entity. The author’s longitudinal view helps precisely to overcome the tendency of Sinologists to
ignore historical continuity.
Eye-opening and exhilarating! Incarceration and the Incarcerated: Power and Resistance not only brings back the childish joy of reading, but also presents substantial claims. First, not to be overly critical but it is one of the very few readable works on anthropology in Thailand with real intellectual rigor, especially in its task of scrutinizing both the marginal community of prisoners and the actual situation and showing us the various bodies and forms of tension and resistance that power brings to human beings at work. Second, this bold attempt to divulge the forms of individual and collective resistance in relation to the constructed environment for absolute discipline from an anthropological perspective reveals the social and theoretical mechanisms that undergird changes in the penal system in Thailand. Third, the author Dr. Saipin Suputtamongkol is a lucid writer who has mastered the highest level of academic writing in Thai; this book is straightforward, graceful, and concise. Furthermore, the comprehensive notes at the end of each chapter offer an extremely useful introduction to anthropology and sociology.
Context: Taking full advantage of Shanghai as our laboratory (and nice summer weather), we are organizing an ethnographic field trip to lilong communities as a part of this doctoral school. Students will benefit more should they have done some research on their own (hint: read some of the required readings before embarking on the field trip). With the context derived from the readings in mind, we will put what we see in context and discuss our experiences in the field in conjunction with the readings at the end of the field trip. Each shall keep a journal, take photos, record videos, and keep track of places that they visit. A customized pocket map of Shanghai, physical or digital, should accompany the students when exploring the field site. At the end of this visit. students shall write a one-page-long summary of their experience in conjunction with the readings and share with the class in the group chat.
Goal: The objective of this Historical Space module of 2017 IDSFCA is to introduce students to architectural and urban studies – a broadly defined field of interdisciplinary study – as well as to help students develop their critical observation, analysis, and thinking skills regarding the urban environment. This module will introduce students to key concepts in historical studies of built environment through deep experiential, sensory, and engagement with Shanghai as a place, space, and urbanity.
This workshop will offer the PhD. students intensified training on how to develop thesis proposals, using proper research methods and making clear and feasible research plans. The participants, divided into groups led by tutors, will visit and investigate four types of specific Shanghai urban spaces (Historical Space, Vertical Space, Waterfront Space and Suburban Space) one by one within four days, and will be required to select one type of urban space as presumed research object for extended study. Each group of students will collaborate to search for the reasonable research questions, applying interdisciplinary perspectives and methods, preparing the literature review, and proposing a systematic research plan as well as drawing a possible research conclusion. The participants will have two opportunities to present their research.
The first is the mid-term presentation in the afternoon of July 10. Each group shall confirm their research object, proposing the possible research directions, and developing the proposal with the aid of tutors, thus initially framing the research question and structure. The second is the final presentation on July 13th, at the end of the whole program. The participants will be required to present the whole package of the research proposal in a PPT format to the Jury within a limited period of time. Those groups with best performance will get certain awards.
This class meets once a week for a 1.5-hour session that will consist of an interactive lecture, learner-oriented seminar, spontaneous workshop depending on the week, and extensive “design homework.” After the first session during which the instructor will give a general overview of the particular session and some thinking points, most sessions will be devoted to discussions and hands-on experience in the creative process. The close reading and critique of required texts are essential to the preparation for each session, so students are required to have read all the required readings before each session. The experimental nature of this course requires students to use design thinking and design research methods to critique and analyze special topics and carry out assignments given to the students for the workshop session each week.
[It goes without saying that] This class may not be passively audited.
This course has an interesting history -- please read on the attached PDF and the blog post below.
If theories are a set of systems or suppositions that undergird how a certain thing operates, the theory of architecture, according to the architect Louis I. Kahn, must entail a thoughtful making of space. So, what then constitutes a “thoughtful making of space?” And a thoughtful making of space for whom?
Many scholars, architects and thinkers have been trying to answer this question. The fundamental problem with answering this question lies in the nature of architecture as a “practical” rather than a theoretical discipline. What does it mean for space to be thoughtfully made – comfort, function, and aesthetics? All of these qualities are not merely architectural: Comfortable buildings can be designed by engineers who understand conventional and artificial ventilation; in a similar way, aesthetic edifices only need to be designed by those trained in the fine arts of composition and motif replication. Is there mere theory of architecture? It is an accepted norm that architects “make” things -- buildings, spaces, landscapes; yet, the difference between “simply making something” and “thoughtfully making something” is enormous.
Unlike the natural sciences or mathematics, architectural can hardly be undergirded, explained, or experienced by a set of fixed ideas or suppositions. As the historian and theorist Stanford Anderson argues, architecture is “quasi-autonomous,” which may explain why any attempts to see architecture as something else often, if not always, fail. The prime example being that any architectural approaches that end, stylistically, with “-ism,” such as modernism, postmodernism, deconstructionism, to name a few.
In this course, we will focus on this very quasi-autonomous quality of architecture in its capacity to “make space” thoughtfully.” In the spirit of skepticism, we will investigate the claims that (a) architectural theory exists and (b) the central elements of such claims are humans and their social relations. By oscillating between reading closely related ideas and oppositional ideas, students will be exposed to a selected range of concepts developed by philosophers, historians, and social theorists in their attempts to come to terms with what they believe to be architecture. These attempts are something we may call “architectural theory.” Chronologically, we will examine socio-cultural ideas in which architecture plays a role as either the source or the outcome.
In this course, we will seek to understand architectural theory through the exploration of the economic, political, and cultural roles of architecture. Two sets of readings will be introduced for each topic: classic theoretical and philosophical writings, and writings specific to architecture.
integrate into this urban design lab.
座谈会伊始，赵晓梅老师介绍了本次交流会的起因：赵老师自上学期开始担任任重书院第六届“经典研读计划”研习班指导老师，组织同学们一起阅读大卫·罗温索（David Lowenthal）的英文著作《过往即他乡》（The Past is a Foreign Country）。在读书会开展过程中，同学们发现对这部史诗般的学术著作阅读较为吃力。同时，本学期赵老师也开设文博系专业选修课《国际文化遗产保护概论》，涉及不少英文参考文献，同学们在阅读中也存在较多困难。因此想到邀请两位老师从英文阅读策略角度，与同学们分享经验，为同学们答疑解惑。
讨论会分为经验分享与问答两个环节，两位老师结合自身外语学习经历与经验，对在场学生提出的疑问做了精彩解答，座谈完毕后与会同学表示备受鼓舞、获益匪浅，座谈内容简述如下：
The goal of this course is to introduce the students to the world in which we are living: the world of global interconnectivity and the hierarchy of economic, political, and cultural value. Each week, students will be introduced to a critical concept in global city studies. Through both the classic essays covering these critical concepts and theories, and detailed case studies, we will analyze various functions of cities, both in themselves, and in the global economy. We will also familiarize ourselves with the roles of urban planners and designers in the making of cities as growth machines. The students will learn how to identify factors that help to shape development, as well as decline, in a historical context, and discuss different processes of urban social change – from basic conceptual frameworks such as urbanization, and political economy, to analytical processes and critiques of capitalism such as gentrification, rights to the city, polarization, structural inequality, and sustainable development.
Taking full advantage of Shanghai as our laboratory (and nice summer weather), at least seven field trips will be organized as part of this course. Students are expected to have read the required reading before embarking on each field trip. With the context derived from the readings in mind, we will put what we see in context and discuss our experiences in the field in conjunction with the readings at the end of each field trip, usually at the location of the field trip itself. Each student will be required to keep a journal, take photos, record videos, and keep track of places that they visit. A customized pocket map of Shanghai will be ordered for each student to fit each student’s needs. At the end of each visit, students will write a 1-2 page summary of their experience in conjunction with the readings and share with the class in a class blog, which will be counted toward the final grade of the course.
The goal of this course is to introduce students to urban studies and planning – a broadly defined field of interdisciplinary study – as well as to help students develop their critical observation, analysis, and thinking skills regarding the urban environment. This course will introduce students to key concepts in architecture, urban planning, and development through deep experiential, sensory, and historical study and engagement with Shanghai as a place, space, and urbanity. In addition to taking full advantage of Shanghai as our laboratory for the said purpose, emerging out of a process of enquiry and discussion about the city, this course will engage students with critical thinking, constructive debates, and exploratory writing, on various platforms; all of which will serve as the foundation on which the course’s evaluation will be based.
In this course, we will delve into the economic, political, and cultural roles of cities, with a special focus on Shanghai – probably the best living laboratory to study urban planning in the world. In order to understand Shanghai in a theoretical context, two sets of readings will be introduced for each topic: classic writings in the field of urban studies/planning/sociology, and writings specific to Shanghai. This theoretical context will be heavily supplemented by a series of hands-on field trips, taking full advantage of Shanghai as our planning laboratory. The goal of this course is to introduce students to urban studies and planning, as well as to help students develop their critical observation, analysis, and thinking skills regarding the urban environment.
Dr. Arkaraprasertkul – known by his NYU students and colleagues as Non – hopes to address the importance behind the driving “sense of humanism” in Kahn’s work as a historical lesson from which we could learn.
A city reimagined with rivers, canals and docks was what architect Louis Kahn envisioned to revitalize Central Philadelphia. His waterway metaphors poetically expressed that a city’s core should be humanistic. Unfortunately, Kahn’s romantic designs failed to convince the many number-crunching planners who were unaccustomed to working in the language of poetics.
“The poetic function in language is humanistic – and we live our lives humanistically -- Kahn’s use of social poetics has brought the abstract ideas of urban planners down to earth in a way that everyone can appreciate,” Non writes.
Where cars dominate the “monotonous landscape of a typical modernist city,” Non illustrates how “[Kahn’s] vision emphasized the city as an organism, with the conscious goal of minimizing the environmental effects of automobile traffic.”
It may sound a simple question, but asking Where is the bakery shop? was how Kahn used poetics to communicate design as more than just “abstract sterile plans,” and “in the language of the public.” Non also writes that “what makes something a work of art does not have to be highly complex, but can be very simple [and] meaningful.”
What is Non ultimately hoping for? Mainly that Kahn’s poetic teaching will be revisited in today’s architectural practice, reviving the idea that “architecture is, simply, a thoughtful making of space.”
To learn more about Non and his work, here is an interview, where he describes life in the lilong, one of Shanghai’s most architecturally traditional living spaces.
"They were built to respect feng shui, or Chinese geomancy; therefore, the front of each house faces south," says Dr. Non Arkaraprasertkul, an anthropologist, architect, urban designer and filmmaker who conducted his doctorate field research while living in a Shanghai lilong, and who is affectionately called "Non." Other elements of design include an expansive front courtyard, a lavish living room and an open kitchen — all reflecting Chinese social customs. "It’s been argued by scholars and residents alike that it’s this deep blending that made it easy for the residents to embrace shikumen and is therefore responsible for their reception into the culture of ‘modern Shanghai.’"
"The optimal way to observe the change of a traditional community is to let it change from within," Non says. "Original residents are naturally pushed by familial, health-related and economic forces to move out of shikumen communities, while new residents are pulled in by various reasons, including their central locations, historical gimmick and opportunities for business. The lilong communities that allow this process to take place naturally are usually the ones that are socially diverse, economically viable and culturally attractive."
THIS IDEAL OF "GENTRIFICATION FROM WITHIN" IS EASY IN THEORY but tough in practice, as seen in Jing’an Villa. The labyrinthine network of alleys that comprises Tianzifang, however, has gotten as close as any major shikumen development to achieving that goal.
Opinions are divided on this trend and how far it will progress. "I think these communities will all be demolished," Cranley says. Non is more optimistic: "Some shikumen will definitely continue to exist thanks to attempts by authorities to keep them as Shanghai’s ‘heritage.’ What’s in doubt is whether or not their existence will benefit anyone or will teach the newer generations of residents about the sociocultural history of Shanghai."
learn a historical lesson from modernist architect Louis Kahn’s vision to revitalize Central Philadelphia in the 1940s and ’50s as a city reimagined with rivers, canals, and docks.
Kahn’s waterway metaphors poetically expressed that a city’s core should be humanistic, but his romantic designs failed to convince the number-crunching planners who were unaccustomed to working in the language of poetics. “The poetic function in language is humanistic, and we live our lives humanistically,” Arkaraprasertkul writes. “Kahn’s use of social poetics has brought the abstract ideas of urban planners down to earth
in a way that everyone can appreciate.” Where cars dominate the “monotonous landscape of a typical modernist city,” Arkaraprasertkul
illustrates how Kahn’s vision “emphasized the city as an organism, with the conscious goal of minimizing the environmental effects of automobile traffic.”
It may sound like a simple question, but asking things like where is the bakery shop? in the language of the public was how Kahn used poetics to communicate design as more than just abstract sterile plans. “What makes something a work of art does not have to be highly complex, but can be very simple [and] meaningful,” the author observes.
Arkaraprasertkul hopes that Kahn’s poetic teaching will be revisited in today’s architectural practice, reviving the idea that “architecture is simply a thoughtful making of space.”
The honeymoon period between Frank Gehry and MIT is over, Non Arkaraprasertkul traces some critical conflicts at Stata Center. The problem is in the design – the design is too complex and complicated. These words have been taken from Skanska, a contractor who states with regards to the Stata Center, which was collaboration with Gehry Partners. Problems have accumulated over the course of the development, including issues with the technical system of the building. What's more, it has become an even bigger problem for Frank Gehry and his firm, turning into a lawsuit with court cases to deal with. This topic has since become top news, shaking things up in the architecture industry this year. We can say that if anyone googled Frank Gehry, the search engine would only generate this story. The honeymoon phase between the world famous education institution, Massachusetts Institute of Technology of MIT in the U.S. and the Pritzker winner (the equivalent to or can be considered as the Nobel Prize of architecture), namely Frank Gehry, has come to an end as MIT has filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles based architecture firm, Gehry Partners.
The university's Stata Center (pronounced Stah-ta) currently serves as a central area for MIT activities and is the 'residence' of many different departments including the Laboratories for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Information Decision Systems and the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy (and Professor Noam Chomsky's office). As for the mishaps that occurred during the design phase, Frank Gehry's mistakes have forced MIT to expend more money (in the millions) to fix the errors. It isn't hard to speculate the problems that could and would arise in a Frank Gehry style building. That is, there's bound to be numerous odd angles, vertically and horizontally.
The structural beams haven't been built vertically straight to support the weight. Instead, they twist inward and outward from the axis to support the walls that create a building that seemingly looks as if it's going to topple over. This was done to produce the amazing effect the architect had in mind. As a result, many problems emerged, affecting the occupants and managers of the building. Issues range from minor details of leakage to breakage and cracking of surface tiles and framework, to even that of a sagging of the roof, being unable to carry the weight of the snow, thus becoming a safety hazard.
The Bishan Community Library in Singapore is a work of architecture that is equally stylish as it is educational. And, we must thank Toyo Ito, Rem Koolhaas and Bernard Tschumi for having created the design concept of this library and center of education. Apart from being a place where one can learn, this library isn't limited to just " reading " and maintaining " silence ". The Library was initiated by the National Library Board of Singapore, who expressed a need for the expansion and reduction of congestion within the community library, which proved to be unaccommodating due to the size and demand towards the end of the 90s. The area around Bishan district itself is historical and interesting.
It was actually a cemetery before the state government came in and allocated the land according to necessities of this area during the 80s. Today, Bishan has become a residential area on the outskirts of one of the most flourishing business districts of Singapore. However, the development scheme somehow missed out on education. The folks in Bishan had to wait up to ten years before seeing any signs of a development plan for a library, which surfaced around the 90s. At any rate, it took another ten odd years for the construction of the community library to be completed. Policies were created in 1995 and by the time the selection process from the design competitions had come to a conclusion, it was already 2002.
It took another year after that for the construction to begin, and another three years for the construction of the 4,240 square meter community library to be completed. Right next to the 1,440 square meter land where the building stands is the Bishan subway station.The construction amounted to about 10 million SGD or about 200 plus Thai baht, which is considered a fairly high amount. However, compared to other unique buildings we have seen, this isn't surprisingly high. Plus, the results surely satisfy the needs of its users. The design itself was by local architects, Look Boon Gee and Ng Sor Hiang of LOOK Architects.
Non Arkaraprasertkul discusses with the editor of architecture theory since 1968 on the making of an architectural theorist. Edited by Santirak Prasertsuk and Aroon Puritat.
In architecture, there never is fine line between a theorist, a person of theoretical aspects of a subject, and a theoretician, a person who develops the theoretical framework; especially, when the study can never be merely scientific or aesthetic since architecture is a essentially a sophisticated practice of both, unlike Mathematics or Fine Arts. Theoretical architecture looks at itself always through sociocultural lenses as its structure lies in the logical organization of dwelling cultures; coherency depends on understanding the sets of condition that transform the way we perceive architecture which in turn relies upon objective historical interpretation. Therefore , we usually have " theoretical architects " whose practice seeks forms in the development of ideas derived from the multiplex of architectural gazes, such as Rem Koolhaas, Bernard Tschumi, Elizabeth Diller, and, of course, Peter Eisenman. And at the other end, we have " theoretical historians " who tell us critically about the valuable lessons from the past; these people are, for instance, Siegfried Giedion, Kenneth Frampton, and Stanford Anderson.
Michael Hays is an architectural theorist. By definition, his career is illustrative of a person who was concerned with the way architecture is " perceived " theoretically. What he looks for in architecture is not the mere historical substances in order to theorize the objectivity of experience which architecture has been through; instead, he looks for the autonomy of architecture through Marxist philosophical lenses such as that of Theodore Adorno, Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, and Fredric Jameson, leaving indelible ideas to the architectural theory of today Indeed, like Immanuel Kant in modern philosophy I may say, Hays is one of the first who volunteers to step outside the scientific-aesthetic gaze of a building in order to understand and critique architecture through its " pure reason. "
For instance, he was fond of Colin Rowe's analysis of Andrea Palladio's villas using mathematical methodology that allows us to see beneath the surface of building and its form, into the most fundamental structure of fine architecture. He also explored John Hejduk's problems with the Nine-Square grid that exhibits the thought process of architecture using pure geometrical logic. Furthermore , through the vigorous self-awareness in the reading of architectural theory, Hays continues to raise the issue of criticism of the dialectic and the synchronic relationships of architecture as a whole, which should not be thought of as separated from culture, politics, and form. As a tenured professor of history and theory of architecture at Harvard University, he educates generations of architects and historians. His best-known writings, seminal texts regularly assigned to students, are his two classic edited readers, Architecture Theory since 1968, and Oppositions Reader (both published in 1998). Unlike most anthologies that only the collected texts are important, Hays' assertions and critiques before each essay is the highlight of the book. He evaluates philosophical texts using the approach of architectural criticism which goes beyond the representation of language into the underlying agendas of each seminal essay. He also intelligently connects the main ideas of critical theory after 1968, which are merely philosophical, to architecture, making the book the most authoritative treatment of the architectural subject to date. That is to say, since the Architecture Theory since 1968, the definition of an architectural theorist has been clearly defined.
The new Diller scofidio+Renfro designed ICA Boston suggests the role of museum as media in today's contemporary world. By Aroon Puritat and Non Arkaraprasertkul. Perhaps it isn't familiar to most people and might not even resemble any other contemporary art museums out there, but The Institute of Contemporary Art or ICA, is an educational institute and a contemporary arts exhibition center that is amongst the oldest in the USA. Established in 1936, it was first called the Boston Museum of Modern Art prior to acquiring its current name given about 10 years ago. Coinage of the term 'Contemporary Art' (and not just 'Modern') as a consequence, defined a movement during the 20th century and due to that, the ICA is more than just a museum that holds painting exhibitions.
Not only does the institute organize educational art programs that cover all branches (including music, literary works, film and performance arts), it also provides space for experimental creativity that departs from conventional frameworks. Crossing over to the issue of public art that allows people to learn through activities and thought provoking performances, what's interesting is that although the ICA isn't considered a leading museum like MoMA or the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), it however, has been the place where Andy Warhol, George Braque, Edvard Munch, Roy Lichtenstein and fresher faces such as Ellen Gallagher, Cornelia Parker, Cindy Sherman and many others have had their first openings and introduced their work to the world. Moreover, the ICA is a scaled arts institute that has quietly organized creative events for about 10 years now. They received land along Boston's waterfront from the Pritzker family (a familiar name due to their sponsorship of the Pritzker Awards, the architecture equivalent to the Nobel), and with that, the ICA's goal was to develop, with a shocking 40,000 million baht budget, their new home equipped with exhibition spaces.
This would effectively be an extension of their downtown location, which means that the Pritzker family's (in collaboration with the Hyatt Corporation) intention is to have the ICA serve as a magnet, attracting people to come live in that area. This seems to be quite a plan since a real estate development project at this level most often requires a cultural attraction in order to support their 'win win' business tactics. In this case, the ICA's name is most definitely being used to help promote their hotel, office and housing complex. Diller Scofidio + Renfro is a small architecture firm founded in 1979 by the husband and wife team, Elizabeth Diller (a Bostonian and known simply as 'Liz Diller' within architecture circles) and Ricardo Scofidio. Charles Renfro, a professor at Columbia recently came on board as a partner. The team of three was chosen by the Pritzker family to design the New ICA on this acre of land for the fact that, 'there is no other group of architects in this industry today who can communicate works of architecture and contemporary art simultaneously, more than Diller and Scofidio.' To further support this claim, Diller + Scofidio is actually the only group of architects who have received the MacArthur Fellowship, which is considered to be the ultimate award for intellectuals in America.
In the last two decades of the field of architecture and urban design, there is no name that is more dominant than Jan Wampler, an internationally renowned architect who has been recognized around the world for his work in over twenty countries. However, we know him more as 'Professor Jan Wampler,' a full professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), for his inspiration to generations of architects. Professor Wampler is one of the pioneers, who established the groundwork of urban design education and developed its distinctive approach by ways of the practicality rather than theory. He is interested in the 'spirit' of community – as for him is the internal system of people's interaction that is important, not the fancy façade which can turn cliché after the excitement of the trend dies down. In response to Professor Wampler recent exhibition of his work of the last twenty five years at MIT entitled Open Strings for e-Search on the Journey, acclaimed architectural critic Robert Campbell referred to him as " The Walt Whitman of Architects " : a man without whom no one cannot really understand architecture – without his theory of space and community, through which
Professor Wampler expresses the essence of architecture in the realms of ever-advancing civilization. Despite my training as an architect, historian and cultural theorist, I never had the pleasure to comprehend architecture/urban design more than a practice of form and space making to please the eyes aesthetically. Amidst all the fancy forms seen in magazines and cliché catalogs, with which all trained architects seem to have to inevitably immerse themselves, there was a teacher who taught me the 'other' way of looking at the architecture by ways of the architects' responsibility.
Professor Jan Wampler, whom I met for the first time a few years ago when I took his oversea studio in Beijing during my time as a graduate student at MIT is the said teacher. Perhaps he saw the desperation, lack of enthusiasm, and doubt in my thinking about architecture at the time. One day, despite his exhaustion from a long compulsory critic sessions in Beijing, Professor Wampler sat with me for hours talking to me and asking a series of interesting questions about the appropriate realm of sense in which architects should conceive as architecture/urban design today: Most of the questions he asked had the answers within the ethical logic of the questions themselves, but prior meeting him I just did not have any clue how to put them to words – or maybe I was just trying to avoid answering them due to my personal egotism. " Who are we – architects – building for? " Hours passed and he left while I was still sitting in a small studio space at Tsing-hua University beginning to crystallize, and 'feeling,' some compelling determinations for urban design and architecture, a dynamic duo that can seamlessly weave together multiple ideas touching on global politics, urbanization issues and our roles as shapers and drivers of urban form.
Professor Jan Wampler pointed out that by shapers and drivers of urban form, we – again, architects – are referring to all people that affect the physical world, not just architects ourselves. The most pressing problem in our field today concerns the designer's self-interest versus the client's wishes (and even versus the public good). Just who are urban designers and architects building for? For people? For money? Or their own dream of individualism?
The answer should be clear to everyone. No architect could build for themselves; we are building for the clients, who are the people to have to benefit the most from the environment that we are poised to create through the orchestration of community, function and aesthetic in space. I was not sure if I was correct but at least I knew I had been guided to walk in the right direction. As a student of Critical Architecture and Modernism, I was not in a position to have a radical standpoint against architecture of grandiose form or designs of great philosophical construct. However, I did agree deep down that architecture must not stand against people who are actually the 'real' clients: It is in the realms of urbanism, community, and public space that architecture operates. The next day Professor Jan Wampler came to me again and left me a few words to think about. The appropriate way to move toward, then, is the understanding derived from architectural and urban history as well as vernacular form of community that together give " clues " to conceptualizing space. That is to say, we do not have to take one route or the other; in fact, high quality, sophisticated urban design and architecture can be elegant in both social and formal roles. Like music, to which Professor Jan Wampler also refers when he embarks on an urban design project, if architects can see the seven notes more as a framework from which great buildings are composed, I am convinced that – as shapers of physical form – our role within society can be better clarified.
Jan Wampler: The Poet and People’s Architect (the full article in English)
Architects are usually in the back seat of the economic world. Developers tell us to design something we do so without question. Architects or urban designers should be the people looking out for the physical environment. We have a greater responsibility than just the economics, and as such, we should be more out-spoken about what is being built…The new architect of the future has to be a more outspoken and creative leader who is considerably more involved in all decisions that might effect our built environment. Governments should be relying on our collective wisdom as much as builders rely on our technical expertise. We haven’t gotten to that point yet, but it should be our goal
– Jan Wampler (in an interview with Non Arkaraprasertkul, January 2008)
For the past four decades, Jan Wampler’s approach to architecture has inspired generations of architects to think about their role in improving the lives of the true clients – the people – rather than simply fulfilling the capitalistic demand of the real estate developer. Throughout his professional practice, he has exemplified the way in which architects can and should contribute to positive change not only in terms of physical intervention, but also in the livelihood, health, culture and economic condition of the local people for whom his architecture serves.
His work, words, and ardent activism always express on simple yet powerful message: to make the world a better place, architects should not “be in the back seat of the economic world.” In his career as an educator at the front line of urban design education, Wampler has advocated humanistic methods in order to achieve a better understanding of cultures and communities caught between an attachment to traditional values and the need to adapt those values to the external forces brought on by an increasingly globalizing world. For him, the architect should be the link between planners, builders and community leaders; and to that end, the architect’s knowledge should go beyond means and methods of construction to include the community itself, allowing them to advocate for what really matters.
Throughout his forty-year career as an architect, educator, poet, philosopher, and activist, Jan Wampler has received numerous awards. Needless to say, his 1968 Progressive Architecture (P/A) Award, conceived long before the famous Pritzker Prize, is the seminal benchmark of his career as a pioneer in architecture and urban design. The P/A Award – an annual award that recognizes exciting architects furthering the progress of the discipline – reconfirmed his reputation again in 1972 for the sophisticated design of 110 Monticello Avenue. Wampler has also received a nomination for the AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion, considered the most prestigious award bestowed on an architect, and was also honored as the 1999 recipient of the ACSA’s highly esteemed Distinguished Professor Award, which recognizes supreme excellence in architectural education. Wampler’s own architectural education began at the Rhode Island School of Design where he received his architecture degree in 1963, followed by a graduate degree in urban design from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, under the auspices of such modernist legends as Sert, Soltan, Tyrwhitt, Maki, Sekler, Gideon, and most importantly Aldo van Eyck, whose ideas on an architect’s social responsibility have had a lasting impact. Wamler has lectured extensively, holding honorary and visiting professorial positions at institutions all over the world, including the University of Hong Kong, the University of Sydney, Tsingua University, and the University of California, Berkeley to name a few.
Jan Wampler has been a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since the late 1970’s, and it was here that I met him as a student over a decade ago. Today, as colleague, continuing mentee, and friend, I sincerely cannot find the words to describe the honor of writing this essay on his behalf. Jan’s work and writings have inspired me and many of my colleagues to think about architecture critically with the goal of not only maintaining its respect among other disciplines in today’s highly capitalistic system, but also to enhance its often-forgotten ability to contribute to society as a whole. Jan has always reminded me that we have only have ourselves to blame if others do not take our profession seriously. “The medical profession was built upon a history of knowledge over a period of time, but it has always maintained the goal of helping people. We don’t have a goal like that, and that is where we’ve gone wrong,” says Jan.
When I first started learning about architecture, I too naively thought that excellence was equated with distinctiveness – and to be distinctive and architect would have to invent something from scratch. Unfortunately, as I have also learned through personal experience that when distinctiveness is created for its own sake, the excitement often dies quickly, giving way to architecture that is soon looked upon as hackneyed, mundane, and obsolete. As an advocate for architecture based on local knowledge, many of Jan Wampler’s works might first appear to be “conventional,” particularly at a point in time where the discipline is dominated by computerized form-creating tools. Yet, in the past four decades, Jan’s work has not only stood the test of time, but has become a teaching tool for how architecture can achieve transcendence through its use by the community rather than though its imagery alone. Personally, I credit my architecture education under Jan’s mentorship with my current academic career studying history and anthropology. While Jan would probably never admit that he is as much an anthropologist as he is an architect, I am always reminded by his teaching that regardless of what I do for a living, I will always be an architect – not because I was trained as one, but because like him I hold paramount the goal of making a better living environment for all.
Here is a disclaimer. As much as we would love to confidently claim that our two-year involvement with the community through the SEANNET project has helped to spark these positive signs of improved social engagement, we could only speculate that our humble assistance and support for the local residents in empowering them with design thinking approach may have a small role to play in inducing these projects (interested readers may like to read our previous post on design thinking and Nang Leong community development). To be precise, the observed two cultural events and one “unknown” physical improvement project are, to us, examples of cultural movements with the synergy of global connectivity their effort to promote the sense of "updated sense of belonging" through local tourism.
For decades, Nang Loeng has been at the center of a lot of public discourse and debate and numerous studies for its uniqueness as a spiritual, multi-ethnic and urban community. As the city of Bangkok grow, Nang Loeng, a low-rise neighborhood consisting of “shop-house” styled buildings constructed more than a century ago, has become outdated in the mind of those who seek to develop the area. Yet, the appearance of these low-rise structures is, too many, a unique charm of the city that is on the verge of losing its battle to the urban renewal programs spearheaded hand-in-hand by the public authorities and the private hands.
This essay is written for the blog of South East Asia Neighbourhood Network (SEANNET) program which is funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, New York. The contents of this website are the sole responsibility of UKNA and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the Henry Luce foundation.
The International Doctoral School of Future City and Architecture, organized by CAUP of Tongji University, is held on July 1--July 13, 2018. This is the third International Doctoral School organized by the college after the success of the last two sessions in 2016-2017. The purpose of this activity is to improve the quality of doctoral students' education, to develop the academic vision of doctoral students, to strengthen the research ability of doctoral students, to promote the internationalization level of doctoral students' teaching, and to optimize the construction of doctoral training systems.
成都大学-新西兰怀卡托理工学院联合培养项目2018级研究生黄铃焱，张籍匀也有幸参与了本次活动，在终评现场担任翻译。伦敦AA建筑联盟学院研究院设计系主任斯图尔特·多德，德国德绍包豪斯建筑研究院客座教授彼特·鲁格，麻省理工建筑和城市规划硕士王光亮共为城市空间创意设计的评审团。
两位同学都表示，能够近距离的与大师沟通交流，这样的机会非常难得。一天时间下来，不仅锻炼自己的英文，还有幸在许燎原老师的介绍下参观了他个人许多的作品，开拓了很多设计与创意方面的知识。
เมืองเคมบริดจ์, รัฐแมสซาชูเซตส์ - 22 กรกฎาคม – มหาวิทยาลัยฮาร์วาร์ดได้ริเริ่มแผนการจัดตั้งโครงการไทยคดีศึกษา และจัดตั้งกองทุนเพื่อสนับสนุนตำแหน่งนักวิชาการระดับศาสตราจารย์เต็มขั้นเพื่อบริหารโครงการนี้โดยเฉพาะ โดยที่แผนการนี้ได้รับความสนใจ และการสนับสนุนจากภาครัฐและเอกชนภายในประเทศสหรัฐอเมริกา และประเทศไทยอย่างกว้างขวาง
แผนการจัดตั้งโครงการไทยคดีศึกษานี้อยู่ภายใต้การการประสานงานของศูนย์เอเชียศึกษาแห่งมหาวิทยาลัยฮาร์วาร์ด ซึ่งเป็นที่ชุมนุมของนักวิชาการระดับสูงที่มีความเชี่ยวชาญด้านภาษา วัฒนธรรม เศรษฐกิจ สังคม ประวัติศาสตร์ การเมือง และความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างประเทศในภูมิภาคเอเชียทั้งหมด
ทางศูนย์เอเชียศึกษาเองให้ความความสนใจในการศึกษาเรื่องเกี่ยวกับประเทศไทยเป็นพิเศษ โดยที่ศาสตราจารย์อาร์เธอร์ ไคลน์แมน ผู้อำนวยการศูนย์เอเชียศึกษาได้ให้ความเห็นอย่างหนักแน่นว่า “ประเทศไทยนั้น เป็นประเทศที่มีสำคัญที่สุดประเทศหนึ่งในเอเชียอาคเนย์ เป็นพันธมิตรที่เก่าแก่ที่สุดในทวีปเอเชีย เป็นผู้ริเริ่มก่อตั้งประชาคมอาเซียน และมีความผูกพัน กับมหาวิทยาลัยฮาร์วาร์ดอย่างแน่นแฟ้น เพราะเป็นที่พระราชสมภพของพระบาทสมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัวภูมิพลอดุลยเดช พวกเราที่ศูนย์เอเชียศึกษาที่ศาร์วาร์ดจึงเห็นความจำเป็นที่จะต้องให้นักวิชาการชั้นนำจากทั่วโลกได้มีโอกาสศึกษา วิเคราะห์ และติดตามอย่างใกล้ชิด ซึ่งสถานการณ์ด้านเศรษฐกิจ การเมือง และสังคม วัฒนธรรมของประเทศไทย”
ทั้งนี้ มหาวิทยาลัยฮาร์วาร์ดได้จัดส่งคณาจารย์ผู้ประสานงาน มานำเสนอและชี้แจงแผนการจัดตั้งโครงการไทยคดีศึกษานี้ ต่อผู้นำและผู้บริหารระดับสูงทั้งในภาครัฐและเอกชนในประเทศไทยอย่างต่อเนื่อง
ระหว่างวันที่ 29 กรกฎาคม – วันที่ 3 สิงหาคมที่จะถึงนี้ จะมีคณะผู้แทนนักวิชาการจากมหาวิทยาลัยฮาร์วาร์ด มาดำเนินการดังกล่าวอีกครั้งหนึ่ง นำโดย ศาสตราจารย์ ไมเคิล เฮิร์ซเฟลด์ ศาสตราจารย์ เจ โรเซนการ์ด และอาจารย์ นน อัครประเสริฐกุล โดยจะเข้าพบผู้นำด้านวิชาการ นักธุรกิจระดับสูง ข้าราชการในกระทรวงการต่างประเทศ และผู้แทนสื่อมวลชนหลายแขนง
สโมสรฮาร์วาร์ดแห่งประเทศไทย (Harvard Club of Thailand) จะจัดเลี้ยงรับรองเพื่อเป็นเกียรติแก่คณะผู้แทนดังกล่าว ณ โรงแรม J.W. Marriott ถนนสุขุมวิท ในวันที่ 1 สิงหาคม ตั้งแต่เวลา 18.00 น. – 19.30 น. โดยมีศาสตราจารย์ ดร. สุรเกียรติ เสถียรไทย อดีตรองนายกรัฐมนตรี และ ดร.สุรินทร์ พิศสุวรรณ อดีตเลขาธิการอาเซียน เป็นเจ้าภาพร่วม
虚实转化产生着奇妙。而当你伸出手，用指尖滑动眼前的屏幕，将晃动的一幕幕声音与影像缩小、再缩小，看到麓湖建于河流之间，共享自然；看到人们生于星空之下，于城市里迎接朝阳。
所有的看似偶然、清风明月，何尝不暗流汹涌、息息相关。若失去河流，梦想便不会长大；若失去河流，失眠、抑郁、焦躁，会像荒草一样无处不生。流水、飞鸟、游鱼，普通的自然，正是人类崇尚的文化、艺术、科学的灵感来源，关乎城市、生存与灵魂安放。
The group of scientists consisted of Dr Maarten Michiel Leezenberg (University of Amsterdam), Dr Gerard McCann (St Mary's University College), Dr Non Arkaraprasertkul (University of Sydney), Dr hab. Oleh Petruk (Ivan Franko National University of Lviv), and Prof. Paul Vincent (Keene State University). The Jagiellonian University was represented by JU Rector’s Proxy for Internationalisation Prof. Adam Jelonek, Head of the JU MC Chair in Medical Biochemistry Prof. Piotr Laidler, and Head of the JU International Relations Office Dorota Maciejowska.
The meeting was devoted to organisational issues. The participants discussed the professors’ accommodation, conducted courses, duration of their stay, and the number of students attending their lectures. It was followed by a brief conversation about the contemporary issues regarding the European Union, globalisation, and internationalisation.
According to Professor John Redmond, Dean of the Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning, the injection of new talent from Sydney, interstate, Europe, Asia and the United States brings industry specialists, international experts and global thinkers to the School.
Dr Non Arkaraprasertkul previously held teaching and research positions at Harvard and New York universities, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of South Florida. His research addresses the urban design and problems of Asian cities, including mega-cities, through the lenses of design and social science.
...Dr Non Arkaraprasertkul previously held teaching and research positions at universities in the United States, including Harvard and New York universities, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of South Florida. Recently, he was a design consultant and expert in-residence in urban anthropology at the global design consultancy IDEO. His research addresses the urban design and problems of Asian cities, including mega-cities, through the lenses of design and social science.
Located in the heart of Rattanakosin Island, also known as the Old City of Bangkok, this community has a comparatively long history dating back to the reign of King Rama III (1824 – 1851). Locals from the surrounding neighborhoods know the “Nang Leong Community” as a place where one can find the finest local cuisines inside its crisscrossing alleyways. Almost as old as Bangkok itself, it has rich and complex multi-ethnic settlements. The community has gone through many phases of transformation beginning with the city’s expansion toward the outer wall of Bangkok in the late 1850s, the construction of the city’s first tram line making the community an attraction on the city’s spine, and the building of many shop houses after the Second World War. The three decades following that last phase of development saw a famous street food market, temple, theatre, Bangkok’s premier commercial college, national library, and the racecourse built in the community, drawing the largest urban settlement in the community’s history.
Today, the community is facing a trilemma similar to many emerging “global” cities. Similar to what is happening throughout low-rise neighborhoods in the inner city of Bangkok, it is facing pressure from the Crown Property Bureau, the de jure owner of the land on which the community is located, to not only “beautify” but also to “renew” itself in order to yield more profit. Factors constituting to this trilemma include pressure to be developed into high profit-margin project with the arrival of the newly constructed metro system that will connect the city to the rest of Bangkok. The old community’s concern over the loss of community identity and therefore its commercial uniqueness, and anxiety over the non-local residents moving into the area.
ช่วงบ่ายจะเป็นการทำเวิร์คชอปด้วยการนำเอากระบวนการมาทดลองใช้เพื่อสร้างนวัตกรรมใหม่ ผู้เข้าร่วมจะมีโอกาสได้ลองปฏิบัติด้วยตนเองและสามารถนำเอาผลิตภัณฑ์ของตนเองมาเข้ากระบวนการ เพื่อทดลองสร้างนวัตกรรม
去年10月，当时正在澳大利亚悉尼大学任教的他，专程到成都，担任《麓客》思享会演讲嘉宾，并担任了工作坊导师。
当时共有14位学员参加了课程，包括美食家孙阿姨，“问对教育”ceo李勇，“一筑一事”创意团队的Ada、老美，“丸家 ”创始人谭天，“远远的阳光房”团队文娅、小笨，设计师王俊，还有专程从广西南宁飞来的“正面管教心联盟”创始人邹璐、“NOVO HOME” 创始人刘娟等等，人才济济。
设计思维，设计是个动词。不是从事设计工作的思维方式，而是所有人所有行业，如何获得创新，是如何实现创新的路径、方法。
通过这样的方法和路径，从而提升我们的产品水准，做到适宜的创意、更好的服务、更有效的管理，从而提升我们的工作效果。
在课程中，例如从“产品”上来说，王光亮通过解析事物本质的方式，教大家通过本质特点，完善自己对产品的诸多思维。比如一个咖啡杯，通过对咖啡杯的观察解析，让我们更好思考如何设计，如何写文案，如何推广，如何销售等等。
从工作方式来讲，王光亮用“设计思维”的方式来教会大家如何舒服、高效的开会。
无论大小企业，会上当各自有了自己坚持的论点，就容易在会议当中产生争执，会七嘴八舌的插嘴。王光亮教大家，用一支笔或者一个物件来当做说话人的“话筒”，当拿到笔或者物件的人才能表达自己的观点，没有拿到的人，要等对方传递给你后才能表达自己的观点，并且表达之前要先肯定对方的，再来说自己的想法。
Based on a 3½-year-long ethnographic study, Non will talk about how the demand for the “authentic Shanghai experience” has shaped and reshaped the meanings and value of these houses. He will also explore the concept of “gentrification from within”: unlike in most places where gentrification has had a negative impact, Non argues that this process has benefited the original residents and made the community more diverse.
In this talk, I aim to establish the true basics of design thinking, emphasizing its democratic commitment to benefit everyone and not just designers. The goal of this talk is twofold. First, to present the simple principles of design thinking and therefore demystify the misconception that design thinking is reserved only for designers. Second, to discuss the meaning and evolution of the concept of design thinking, its practical methods and its unfortunate misuse. The main thrust of my talk is to defend design thinking.
Like liberal arts education, design thinking provides the foundation for the way in which we partake, think and ideate in the creative process -- and are all immensely valuable skills no matter your profession: As a thought process embracing the love of knowledge gained from keen, careful observation, design thinking practically can help us re-evaluate our beliefs, rethink our preconceptions, and re-realize our true needs and therefore make us happier, smarter and more innovative.
In China, the spread of multi-functional mobile messaging platforms combined with government-backed policy on local innovation has created fertile ground for such bottom-up economic processes. In this presentation, I argue that China’s digital revolution is a massive democratization of opportunity that has arisen out of a creative process, commonly known as “design thinking.” In this instance, however, design thinking has definite “Chinese characteristics” distinguishing it from what we see happening in the developed world. With technology as the tool and design thinking as the process, the critical mass of creative operation we see in China today is poised to create a unique era of socioeconomic empowerment worth watching closely.
In this talk, I aim to establish the true basics of design thinking, emphasizing its democratic commitment to benefit everyone and not just designers. The goal of this talk is twofold. First, to present the simple principles of design thinking and therefore demystify the misconception that design thinking is reserved only for designers. Second, to discuss the meaning, evolution of the concept of design thinking as well as its practical methods, as well as unfortunate misuse. The main thrust of my talk is to defend design thinking.
Like liberal arts education, design thinking provides the foundation for the way in which we partake, think and ideate in the creative process -- and are all immensely valuable skills no matter your profession: As a thought process embracing the love of knowledge gained from keen, careful observation design thinking practically can help us re-evaluate our beliefs, rethink our preconceptions, and re-realize our true needs and therefore make us happier, smarter and more innovative.
เวิร์กช็อปประกอบด้วย 3 ส่วน คือ แนวคิดกระบวนการคิกเชิงออกแบบ กรณีศึกษาการคิดเชิงออกแบบ กระบวนการ และนวัตกรรม และเวิร์กช็อป โดยเปิดให้ทุกคนที่สนใจในหัวข้อนี้โดยไม่จำกัดอายุ ประสบการณ์ และอาชีพ
ผู้เข้าร่วมจะได้เรียนรู้หลักการสำคัญในกระบวนการคิดเชิงออกแบบและกฎการระดมความคิดพื้นฐานจากการอธิบายผ่านตัวอย่างต่างๆ รวมทั้งได้ทดลองการระดมความคิดและทดลองทำต้นแบบอย่างรวดเร็ว เรียนรู้วิธีการเล่าเรื่องและทดลองปฏิบัติจริง ผู้เข้าร่วมจะได้เรียนรู้การใช้กระบวนการความคิดเชิงออกแบบในการประยุกต์ใช้ชีวิตประจำวัน อาชีพการงาน และทัศนคติต่อไป
ดร.นน อัครประเสริฐกุล เป็นอาจารย์อาวุโสประจำมหาวิทยาลัยซิดนีย์ เขากำลังพัฒนาแนวทางการสอนแบบใหม่และกระบวนการวิจัยที่ใช้ความร่วมมือระหว่างการวิจัยทางมานุษยวิทยาและกระบวนการคิดเชิงออกแบบออกแบบ และทำงานวิจัยในลักษณะสหวิทยาการระหว่างการออกแบบกับสังคมศาสตร์ ดร.นน จบการศึกษาจากหลายสถาบันดังนี้ PhD & MA (Harvard University); MPhil (The University of Oxford); SMArchS and Urban Design Certificate (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
In Shanghai, one can not only see but live in the remnants of the city’s semi-colonial legacy through the remaining lane houses known as the lilong. These houses were originally built for middle-class residents during the semi-colonial era and subsequently altered to accommodate the massive influx of residents during the era of high communism. While these houses are parts of the memories of local Shanghainese residents, they represent, to the outsiders, the historical uniqueness that renders them “heritage.” In this talk, I look at the local residents’ savviness in capitalising on the cultural capital of these “heritage structures” as a source of income, and more importantly, a defence against economic precariousness.
In rethinking classic gentrification whereby residents of higher income simply push the original working-class residents out of their own neighborhood, I argue that the high level of flexibility regarding the notion of “heritage” is giving rise to another form of gentrification. Based on a long-term ethnographic research, I expand the perspective on existing notions of gentrification, developing the concept of “gentrification from within” to explain this unique process of social and demographic change to which the processes of capital investment and cultural reproduction are central.
Unlike classic gentrification, the original (often retired) working-class residents themselves are the key actors in the diversification of the traditional neighborhood. The incoming middle-class residents, who are the usually responsible for gentrification, are passive recipients of housing as commodities whereby the original residents take control of their situation through making their houses suited to middle-class taste.
Talk#2: Triumph of Design Thinking: How Design Makes Us Happier, Smarter, and More Innovative
What’s “design thinking?” Many believe that it is about the idea of design as a key principle to the thinking process. But what exactly, then, is the “idea of design?” Even more confusing, what does it mean to use design process as a key idea guiding the thinking process? What does it mean to think by-design? In this presentation, I aim to establish the true basics of design thinking, which begins with the deeply empathetic mode of observation derived from anthropology and our practical desire to reconnect ourselves with our social nature.
From the design of the iconic Sydney Opera House to decluttering of our daily routines through the doctrine of contemporary minimalism, design thinking is a conscious process from which not only designers but individuals can benefit. This presentation will discuss the meaning, evolution and development of the design thinking as well as methods by which it could be used to enhance your way of thinking. In particular, I will focus on how architects, urban designers and planners, and designers can use design thinking to create a positive impact on a societal scale.
In the epilogue of this talk, I will discuss the misuse of the concept design thinking in global consulting companies and entrepreneurs, shedding light how might we avoid making the same mistakes and the similar kinds of pitfalls brought about by the current ever-connected state of global finance.
This workshop introduces ethnography as a much-needed lens in the study of contemporary China, aiming at creating a deep and critical conversation across the field of contemporary Chinese studies, especially urban studies, anthropology, cultural and media studies, and urban planning and architecture.
The Conference was jointly organized by the Committee of Science and Technology, Ministry of Construction (MoC), PRC and the Center for Housing Innovations, Chinese University of Hong Kong. Co-organized by the Housing Department, HKSAR, the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, the Center for Housing Industrialization Promoting, MoC, PRC, the China Academy of Building Research and the Center for Science & Technology of Construction, MoC, PRC.
What is the most rewarding thing about living in a lilong?
Every Shanghainese who lived in Shanghai before the economic reform and opening up era of the 1980s-90s have memories of the lilong — a typology of western-styled low-rise rowhouses first built by the foreigners in the concession areas during the Treaty Port period (1842 - 1942). Houses built in this particular typology would become homes to most Shanghainese for decades. These lilong houses were once everywhere in the former concessions areas. Since then, more than two thirds of them have been demolished to make way for a very different building typology -- the high-rise.
The most rewarding thing about living in a lilong is the sense of community unique to Shanghai. I had been coming to Shanghai every year since 2006, but only really learned about the lives of its people after becoming a long-term resident in the summer of 2013. Living in a lilong allowed me to discover Shanghai beyond the idealized and grandiose “postcard images” of Pudong high-rises or the historic waterfront of Puxi.
Will all of these neighborhoods eventually be replaced by high-rises?
Luckily, bulldozing lilong to replace them with high-rises will only be possible in some areas. However, like human beings, buildings do age. Many lilong have suffered a great deal from a lack of maintenance and intensive use over a long period of time, to the point of becoming unhealthy places. For these, it is better to thank them for their contribution and say farewell and make space for buildings that better suit the lives of today’s residents. When I was living in my lilong, I had an ear infection twice, alongside chronic respiratory problems because of rainwater leaks through wide cracks on the walls and the wooden floor where dust easily collected -- cleaning them thoroughly seemed an impossible task.
What is the case for preserving any lilong that have seen better days?
The local government has a vested interest in preservation to keep their level of intervention with residents’ lives to a minimum. In fact, some preservation efforts may seem rather superficial, but still better than nothing for two reasons: First, it’s doubtful that Shanghai needs more high-rises. There are many lowly-occupied, if not empty, buildings in the city that could be put to good use. Second, these low-rise lilong buildings add architectural diversity and medium density to the urban landscape. Now that some of them will not be bulldozed, we should come up with a set of policies to make them sustainable for the long term.
What can you tell us about the cramped, shared living situations that have to accommodate the lives of several families in these neighborhoods?
These spaces were by no means convenient or desirable, especially when they’re shared by 3 families of 6 residents. I often walked to the public toilet in a mall across the street because there was always someone using the bathroom when I needed to use it. The corridor was also small, so was the staircase -- from time to time I’d worry what would happen in case of fire, since the interior of the building was made of wood.
Are shared spaces (like kitchens and bathrooms) typically inconvenient necessities?
At first I didn’t think that these shared spaces had anything to do with the community bond, until one morning my neighbors and I happened to be cooking together in the corridor where both of our gas stoves were located. (I didn’t usually have time for breakfast, often buying a piece of bread from a nearby bakery -- but that day I was in the mood for a stove-top espresso and soup). In the cramped, shared kitchen, there wasn’t anything else to do but to stand. It was too small to fit a chair, so both my old neighbors and I stood together, waiting for our food to be cooked. What else could one do in that situation if not strike up a conversation?
Located right by the staircase, the kitchen would welcome any neighbors walking up or downstairs. Whenever two people started talking, the congenial sound of conversation often attracted nearby neighbors to join in. Some were just curious about what we were saying, some were lonely or didn’t have anything else to do, and some just wanted to be seen. Over time, we’d learned more about each other, and became more trusting of and helpful to each other.
How does the internationalization of Shanghai impact the sense of belonging in these communities?
In interesting ways! On the bright side, new residents, such as the 20 foreigners and more than 50 young entrepreneurs living there with me, bring much desired diversity, as well as income, to locals, contrary to what many may think. For many old residents, newcomers bring contemporary forms of livelihood. Some become friends with their older neighbors, helping children in the community learn English, for example. With the decline of the “iron rice bowl” safety net, older locals also benefit from much-needed extra income by renting out their spaces. My landlord, for instance, always booked an appointment with his doctor on the Thursday of the first week of the month — right after he came to collect my rent, which he needed to pay for his medical bills.
The young gentries -- to use a political economy term -- also made the old locals more aware of the time and place in which Shanghai is in. Many shared with me that they felt as though they had to make a conscious effort to change personal behaviors -- spitting on the street, using loud voices, and not keeping the front of their houses clean--so as not to embarrass themselves in front of their new neighbors.
There were of course, negative impacts, such as the decline of trust among neighbors. With a more diverse community, there were more strangers and passers-by in the neighborhood. Some of these strangers did not understand the local lifestyle and disturbed the peace by drinking ferociously at night and being too noisy, preventing the locals (mostly retirees) from sleeping. Also, some neighbors might be financially better off than others because they were able to rent out their places at a higher price. Those who did not enjoy the same benefits were often jealous. Making matters worse, some tenants become landlords themselves, thereby deceiving the old residents and subletting their spaces for large sums and pocketing the difference.
Can regentrification be made to work in lilongs?
In my research, I have come up with the concept of “gentrification from within” to explain the phenomenon whereby lilong communities have become more diversified thanks to the recognition from the international community for being "culturally and historically significant,as well as located centrally.” Yet unlike in most places where gentrification has had a rather negative impact by depriving the underprivileged of their homes, the process of "gentrification from within" so far has made the community more diverse (as more new residents are moving into the lilong), more financially sustainable (by way of the original residents renting their extra spaces to outsiders), and more livable (as people from different age group, class, educational and socioeconomic background are living together and learning from each other). It is still too early to say whether this process would be considered viable in the long run because it relies solely on the effort of individuals who are trying to make the best out of the situation in which they find themselves. Local policymakers need to understand this dynamic and the benefits of involving ordinary residents in the process of sustainable social change.
คุณนน อัครประเสริฐกุล เป็นผู้มีความมุ่งมั่นในการเรียน เรียกได้ว่าเป็นนักวิชาการก็ว่าได้ เราจะมาสัมภาษณ์และขุดค้น ประวัติและชีวิตของเขา และเส้นทางชีวิตของเขาที่ได้ผ่านมาจนถึงปัจจุบันนะครับว่า เขาผ่านอะไรมาบ้าง และอะไรที่เป็นจุดตัดสินใจ ในการเลือกเส้นทางของเขานะครับ คำถามที่หนึ่ง อยากจะถามว่า คุณนนท์ในอดีตตอนเด็กๆมีแรงบันดาลใจ ในช่วงไหนที่ทำให้มาถึงจุดนี้ การที่เราได้ไปร่ำเรียน หลายวิชา หลากหลายสาขา เป็นยังไงครับ