Names Can Be Named, But Not The Eternal Name ---SPACE!

I have always love travel, seeing different cultures of different human, gives me a psychological retreat where I see anything is possible; reflection, rethinking overwhelms. I gained something huge out of my recent trip, a rethink, a redefinition of an issue we human acknowledge so well but failed to understand.

Bearing the expectation on architectural discovery, my empty mind during this trip were suddenly hit by an questioning of something core to architecture---SPACE. I finally have the time to compile all those sudden influx of ideas on 'SPACE', here in the form of a blog entry.

Whence does space originated?
Can space exist independent of man?
(if no one witnessed the life of an orchid in an empty valley, did the orchid actually bloom and wither?)
Is space a necessary extension of man's consciousness? ( I think, therefore space exist?)... Then,

The book of Lao Zi and Bible, two great oriental and occidental classics, both declared that nothingness existed prior to our appearance.
Lao Zi said:" As the origin of heaven and earth, it is nameless; as the Mother of all things, it is nameable."
名可名，非常名。無名天地之始；有名萬物之母。
The Bible stated:" In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Earth was formless and empty; darkness prevailed while the spirit of God hovered over the waters."

Lao zi clearly said that heaven and earth existed for a long time in a nameless state, but man gave a name to everything, thus established a relative significance of his own existence. Since man was not able to name what he could not see or sense, the incorporeal which received no name was assumed not to exist. Our notion of space is therefore totally dependent on our limited ability to comprehend it, as if its existence is only an extension of human consciousness.

LAo zi continued to speak of the "way"(道):" So, as ever hidden, we should look at its inner essence; as always manifest, we should look as its outer aspects." Simply speaking, we should try to learn the essence of the "way" from what is not apparent, and its operation from what is obvious.

OK, now finished taking clue and quotes from the old man, back my questioning of SPACE...
Are we then really able to grasp the existence of space?
What is the true relationship between space and man? Is it clear and definite, or confused and uncertain?
Does space require form to exist, as light needs shadow to be perceived?
It is extremely interesting that the Bible describes the earth in the time before man as being formless and empty: a space not only without man but also without form and empty, what is then?
The Bible continues:" And then the Lord God said, 'let there be light', and there was light." This is rather intriguing: why should there be light? Is it a preparation for the advent of man, so man will be able to see? Heaven and Earth have existed in darkness, what is light for? Is it an attempt to bear witness for man's perception?

The 'light' mentioned here is perhaps similar to what Lao Zi described as a "name". Light allows man to have perception by its illumination, while man gives a name to everything, suggesting that a world without light or name nevertheless exists.

Look at it but you cannot see it, its name is FORMLESS
Listen to it but you cannot hear it, its name is SOUNDLESS
Grasp it but you cannot get it, its name is INCORPOREAL
These three attributes are unfathomable; therefore they fuse into one. Its upper side is not bright: It's under side not dim.
Continually the Unnameable moves on, until it returns beyond the realm of things.
We call it the formless Form, the imagineless IMAGE.
We call it the indefinable and unimaginable.
Confront it and you do not see its face! Follow it and you do not see its back!

What a perfect description of the essence of space! Not only does it insinuate that space cannot be completely understood via our sensory organs, it also vividly portrays the elusive, formless, posture-less, neither bright nor dim qualities of space, and in a friendly manner further postulates the convoluted, both distant and close relationship between space and man.

The Conventional Wisdom - argumentum ad populum

The title of this post might be puzzling, but you have to accept that architecture student questions everything. This time the simple theory is more ecumenical, is of the question what shape our Conventional Wisdom?

This wisdom, scientifically named 'argumentum ad populum' (Latin) in logic, is a fallacious argument that concludes a proposition to be true because many or all people believe it; it alleges, "If many believe so, it is so."

For example, morale, culture, way of life, world view, tradition, taboo, what your mother told you to follow when you are small, education, constitutional and inconstitutional law....etc

There are thousands of examples/things in life that can prove that human have overdependent on this simple wisdom. Do you ever question yourself of why war or any verbal dispute can ever happened in life? Of course many will eventually blame that it is just a crash of different agenda and courses, the good person/party will always win/be the correct one. Someone inside the dispute who act/think out of this Conventional Wisdom would always be considered the wrong one by the majority. The Concentional Wisdom overwhelme those 'Unconcentional' one, which proposed by someone who are being able to jump out of the concrete barrier of the CW. This nature has yet to be questioned by human and it is this nature that has manipulate human from the very start of human history. Believe it or not, the catastrophe of human species, brought about by the damage of our earth environment in near centuries, is believed to be caused by our own 'CW'!

CW widespread from the first page of human history, because human born without an ultimate guidebook which state what things in life is right and what is wrong. Then religion born out of human's unconcious faith and fear. Then, human-made 'guide', ex: Bible or Quran, emerged out of nothing. People then treat religion and its guide as the undisputable truth, as an comfort zone of priceless psycological support. But no one ever question why religion could not give answer to eveything, they could just provide guide to life and only be able to promote a WAY OF LIFE. This guidance, if under logic scrutiny, are all born out of our human's own CW. So, simply, RELIGION = NORMAL HUMAN CONVENTIONAL WISDOM. The only different between the two is just that the former one being tagged 'SACRED', seemingly conveyed by that very special SOMEONE. Human who challenge the CW in life would be told to refer to that SACRED GUIDE, constitutional law also based on the senses of that guide, really, human never have greater autonomy to challenge truth since that CW is born. which I think is merely looping in the same circle, futile. If religion really provide the truth, human race will not heading towards extinction in the future caused by their own over-developement; life of human would not be treated unequally; Holocaust may be prevented; discrimination worldwide would no longer exist...etc, because the GUIDES are said to be bringing us to a better tomorrow. But we keep on refer, refer, and refer back to our CW(religious guide), after all no way finding the solution to human's problems.

Meanwhile, a battle could not be happenning without the present of some human that understand that we need to climb beyond the blurring wall of CW. They challenge the conventional 'truth', break rules, rethink orders, question those indisputable, make change and IMPROVE. We can name some examples of individuals who did that. Galileo Galilei, Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher, once imprisoned, house arrested and sentence to death ( "abjure, curse and detest") by the catholic church owing to his opinion that deny earth as the centre of universe. A genius nearly being killed by the self-acclaimed CW of that religious doctrine (GUIDE). The 'sacred doctrine' is merely a CREATION of human creativity and not the truth. This simple example has since disturbing human indulgence in overdependent of our own CW. But since, also human failed to accept those who opposed the CW.

Apart from Galilei, many other individuals or parties who see beyond the paradigm of CW and tough enough not to sway away from by the lying 'truth', have contribute trimendously to the improvement of human life. Amongst, Renaissance forefathers, industrial revolutionists, French revolutionists, architecture modenists, and many more. After all, they do not saw the truth, but assertive enough to have faith in their own new 'truth'. Change happenned. The world could see a further horizon, a greater enlightenment.

Play'in it Cool - Coldplay

I was once doubtful of the influence of the classical entity to our present world. Classical era very much means the civilizations of the Greeks and Romans for me at first. In architecture, classical architecture once only a single chapter of the past. But after few encounters on how modern humans have empowered from the classical influence, I started to base everything in life with the basic senses of the classics. I have since started to understand why there exist modern edition of Classical music, writing, architecture and art. I have since discovered that many influential and great work in the modern time have the base in the classical entity.

Le Corbusier spent formative years travelling in the Classical ruins in Greek and Italy before he eventually found his enlightenment in architecture, Modern architecture then born. Mies van der Rohe and Luis Kahn also had experienced that power of Classics before they 'found' themselves. Their greatest work always dubbed to have sort of reference and tie to the Classical world, of great monumentality and dignity, although they are being tagged Modern. Eventually their work last for eternity. Many other Pritzker prize winning architects or famous masters also share this precedence.

Coldplay, my sole favourite music band since years ago, also has the Classical bloodline, found in their ever creative and great music. The head vocalist Chris Martin studied at University College London, Ramsay Hall where he read Ancient World Studies and graduated with First Class honours in Greek and Latin. People can easily found how those classical influences on the band shapes their music. From their first work Parachute, to A Rush of Blood To The Head, to X&Y and the recent Viva la Vida, they all show endless creativity of genius quality. Every single song in those albums is distinctively great and timeless. These music videos below are among the greatest ever made, music videos that dare to declare themselves as A WORK OF ART.

The Resurrection of KOMTAR

KOMTAR (Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak), once the tallest building in Asia, has now amidst her "take 2".

A building once caught my very intuitive attention, like a giant Buddha statue, inspiring, providing timeless grasp of identity for Penang people, has now reincarnated after a 10 million ringgit rejuvenation by the Penang state government.

After all, I have no faith in any 'take 2'. The notion of reinventing the glorious past in present state is an exercise of self-contradictory and complacentment. Architecture must include the concept of the spirit of time, although the geographical and the physical dimension of KOMTAR are still remained, very much in the heart of its local dwellers. One of my two favourite high rise in Penang, the other is the MBF HQ Tower by the mighty Ken Yeang, KOMTAR has a place in my accumulative memory of architecture since the old days. The picture of KOMTAR in memory is a dim yet crowded mall, plus a cloud-scraping modern stacko with its distinctive satellite dishes on the top floors. KOMTAR is very much a landmark of Georgetown or even of the greater Penang State. Even the rapid growing skyscraper condos, churning out in recent years, may not have that solemn and gratitude KOMTAR has since accomplished and deserves. Not even any of KL's can match. Its geodesic dome, spanning the space for exhibition and sports reminds us of the great Buckminster Fuller. The concrete tower , the plaza, the 4-storey podium and the dome, combined to be one of the great Modern Architecture newborn in Asia then in the 80's. Not just a pinnacle of Modern Architecture in Malaysia, it is like the 'triumphal arch' of Penangites' long hard fight toward better life. It witness the golden economical prosperity of Penang during her heyday until Penang faced relentless discrimination from the central government, part of the gradual planned policy to exclude Penang from the mainstream nation's development. Penang's Free-port status were raid, the entrepot trade declined. Late 90's, early 21th century, see the once economical hub of Georgetown stumbled into a 'haunted' giant mansion, heartbreaking, an eyeshore, a mirror of Penang's economical state of that time, helped by its communicative architecture.

The 10 million bid now includes renovation of the main shopping podium and the construction of a public space (leisure walk) flanked by street side cafes under high steel roof. The plan also include a new shopping mall 1st Avenue on the parking lot next to KOMTAR. Sincerely, I am disappointed by the plan, it is too modest, uninteresting and it is NOT DISTINCTIVE. This is because every new born comes with a BANG, not a lame repetition of something which had been done before or in any other place. Besides, we can't see the Penang spirit. A 'lifestyle leisure walk' means we are nurturing the lazy culture of the west, simply a direct contradict of the culture of Penangites. There can not be any lifestyle leisure concept in urban design in Penang or even in Malaysia. It is a fatal architecture moulding of self-complacency and self-consciousness. Western cafe lifestyle will always be a cannabis for the orthodox diligent of Penang Chinese. The widespread of these 'lifestyle' cafe concept for me, is just another capitalist colonization that has the effect of nullification of our long-erected culture. Someone who has the common senses of Penangites would know it is not the Penang way of progress.

That is why it is always worrying about what kind of new community that the new KOMTAR will bring. Another humiliating Bukit Bintang or Central Market? A new urban weekend gather place of illegal immigrants? A popular truant destination for the lads? We will hope Penang have the ability to withstand this disasterous culture persist in place like Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.

The Pearl of the Orient...your future laid in the past...!