Exotic More or Less
What is exotic about Singapore? What is exotic about WOHA? What is exotic about
W Architects?
From March to May 2006 two voices from Singapore - WOHA Architects and W Architects - will engage the world in an exotic conversation.
WOHA will undertake a playful investigation and overview of their work. In a second part, the studio led by Wong Mun Summ and Richard Hassell will present a selection of projects that focus on the issue of high-density living; W Architects – a studio led by Mok Wei Wei will provide a complementing sound of the voices of tradition.
WOHA draws the attention of most architectural enthusiasts in Singapore and the rest of South East Asia. They have a reputation for daring and groundbreaking innovations. In their work, they address themes like spatial diversity in high-density housing, urban landscapes, reinterpretation of vernacular elements and typologies, climatic performance and materiality. These topics are developed on different scales and to different extents in projects in Sydney, Bangkok, Bali, etc, and of course Singapore. For example: Moulmein Rise (high rise condominium), the Duxton Plain competition (high rise housing), St Mary of Angels (church), Odeon Towers (urban show room), and the Met (a high rise condominium).
W Architects is a practice conscious of its traditions. "Chinese more or less" is an idea that underlies the explorations of W Architects. Their forms are very modern, sleek, cool; and the concern with the aspects of Chinese traditional culture or the longing for a perceived tradition is not very apparent in the images they create. By walking through these spaces an experience of Chinese tradition is slowly appreciated and comprehended. This consciousness of tradition is masked in the contrast of forms and the contrast of experiences that unfold with the creating of spaces and the void. A crafting of voids between solids characterizes the works by W Architects. For example: LOFT (a condominium), 33 Robin Apartments (high rise condominium), Beijing Villa (a residence), Morley Road House (a residence), and Da Paolo e Judie (an old shophouse turned into a restaurant).
Aedes will be a venue to get to know Singapore, what is in Singapore, what is happening in Singapore, how are things done in this little big island of Singapore. Through the works and working methods of WOHA and W Architects, it will be possible to get a glimpse of the city that is the home of these two voices. Two films are featured in the exhibition to give an introduction to the context of Singapore from which WOHA and W Architects work: "Singapore: 699.1” was produced for the Sao Paulo Architecture Biennale; while "80 km/h” is by award winning filmmaker Tan Pin Pin. The films offer two views of the context of the design and cultural challenges that face the architects.
The exhibition is initiated and organized by Ulla Giesler, AedesBerlin and curated by Erwin J.S. Viray, Editor at a+u, Tokyo.
Speakers at the opening:
Kristin Feireiss Berlin
Erwin J.S. Viray Editor at a+u, Tokyo
Diese Ausstellung wurde ermöglicht mit der großzügigen Unterstützung von:
