The Rise of Asia

Apologies for the inability to embed the video, I will provide the LINK to watch it instead.

Hans Rosling gives a very informative and humourous presentation about the economic changes in our world in the next 50 years. He also examines our progress in terms of health and wealth.

He recongnises the obstacles that could hinder the progress of various Asian countries and prepares in a possible shift in power balance from the West to the East as Asia grows.

The face of the world has been changing. The impact of colonisation brought on changes and adjustments in the culture and outlook of colonies. Compare ethnic Chinese groups in Singapore and Hong Kong and compare them with the Chinese nationals in China to understand the impact. With the rise of Asia, the West will graduate to living on different terms. They will also start to experience different paradigms and perspective, therefore, what Rosling speaks about will have a huge impact on our space.

The recent opening of immigration policies in various nations mean that we have to open our eyes to the similarities and differences between different races and ethnic groups. It is also our opportunity to deal with difference, until the power shift happens.

Spiritual spaces- Laurie Baker

I first got to know about Laurie Baker in my second year of university, when we studied the materiality of bricks. As I began to know more about him, he became to me a figure of admiration and deep respect. He wasn't know simply as a wonderful architect, but also an architect who expounds on and give architectural shape to his spirituality.

+click on images to find source+

Because of his spirituality, he was able to infuse into his work spaces that speak to our inner being. Hi philosophy and ethical mindset would set example to many architects today who truly aspire to build "green" buildings.

Baker was unassuming even in his designs. He would allow the initial design for any building to change as he further understood the nature of the topography. His idea of "treading lightly on the earth" was to preserve the state of the topography as much as possible. He would rather adjust his design to accomodate the tree instead.

Baker Model Building

He always aspired to deliver spaces that spoke to the inhabitant. Rather than creating "signature Baker architecture", he was more interested in being the spatial voice of the spirit of the clients.
He once said,

"My feeling as an architect is that you're not after all trying to put up a monument which will be remembered as a 'Laurie Baker Building' but Mohan Singh's house where he can live happily with his family"

What I enjoy about Laurie Baker's work is also his dedication to craftsmanship, not just in terms of the use of materials, but also in crafting a building that suits its topography, and crafting a home for the living patterns of its inhabitants.

"I can never understand an architect who designs 500 houses all exactly the same. It doesn't take much to put all the components into at least half-a. dozen other combinations. It's perfectly easy to mix materials on any give site so the possibilities for variety are endless... If only we didn't level site and eliminate trees but instead plan to go around them, then we wouldn’t, get the long monotonous rows to begin with. Most materials have their own special characteristics and if used honest and simply they contribute to the 'looks' of a building merely from their colour, their texture and the patterns formed by joining them together There is no need to cover them over with costly finishes. Let a brick wall look like a brick wall and a stone wall look like a stone wall. Concrete shout look like concrete and not be plastered or painted to look like marble."

Baker passed away on 1st April 2007 at the age of 90. His family continues to honour his work through a website that is rich with his writings, and images of his work.

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