Wooden structures: works of art or blots on the landscape?
19 10 2007Audrey Ng | audrey_a@nus.edu.sg
the ridge News
A NUSSU Publication
Oct. 18, 2007
Have you noticed the wooden structures along the walkway from central forum to Techno Edge?
They are constructed by a group of students from the Department of Architecture.
According to Professor Tsuto Sakamoto who is in charge of this project, the structures aim to evoke “sensation and intrigue.”
For instance, the passage-like structure is meant for people to “hear the squeak and feel the softness of the wood when they walk through,” Sakamoto said.
Another structure placed on the path was meant to create a slightly unbalanced experience when passer-bys walk over it.
(Photo by Audrey Ng)
Sakamoto said the project was based on “innovation”, where the students had to come up with new designs to model their plywood into, instead of just coming up with the same old traditional designs.
Students also took into account the trees and topography of the environment when designing their structures, Sakamoto added.
Also, the reason for using plywood as the main material also relates to the concept of “innovation” because plywood is usually not the main material used in a building structure. This allowed students to come up with something new.
However, not everyone reacted positively toward the structures.
Second year engineering student Meryl Song said, “the structures are interesting at first, but the passageway is too small to go through and after a while, people get bored and walk on the path to avoid them.”
“The ideas behind the designs are rather interesting” second-year philosophy student Charlene Koh said. “But they could be a bit more interactive.”
(Photo by Audrey Ng)
[...] Wooden structures: works of art or blots on the landscape?Have you noticed the wooden structures along the walkway from central forum to Techno Edge? [...]
One reason I found why the students here are not willing to step on/walk through it is because they are not informed. I think many people think of them as displays and are scared of stepping on it (instead they step on the lawn and destroy the grass) - ‘do not touch’ attitude seems common here.
i think the structure in the first picture didn’t need much instruction- when i encountered it placed so purposefully in the middle of the path, I figured we were supposed to walk through it.
Since it was midnight and there was little chance of embarrassing myself mightily if I did get stuck in there, I decided to give it a shot. The swaying of the structure and the tight squeeze has led me to believe that being size 8 is not enough to get through that thing, hence defeating its purpose. And my ankle got stuck– fatso.
Either way, it was fun =) But I agree that lots more has to be done to make it more interactive. Now it seems more like a half-hearted attempt.
very nice. as a semipro in the arts field its definitely great designs and artwork
also brings inspiration
SDE and architecture should continue this trend.
Though environmentalists may complain..haha
Creativity is the utmost importance
These structures lend ingenuity to what we typically see in the design in NUS. What makes it a blot in the landscape is the ill-positioning. These things are really good that they should be placed on their own in some places where they could be a center piece.