Picasso to Julie Mehretu modern drawings, the British Museum collection

Picasso to Julie Mehretu modern drawings, the British Museum collection
7 October 2010 –25 April 2011


Currently, the British Museum exhibits many of the great artists' drawings of the 20th century collected over the past 35 years.
The collection starts with Picasso’s study for his masterpiece Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and concludes with Julie Mehretu, the Ethiopian-born artist who is one of the stars of the international contemporary art scene with acclaimed solo exhibitions at the Guggenheim in New York and across the world.

The collected drawings are not selected artists' famous major works. But, I believe it is rare opportunity to enjoy their practice pieces and early studies. (unfortunately, taking photos was exhibited.)

Cradle to Grave by Pharmacopoeia

The theme of British Museum's Room 24 is Living and Dying and when I visited Brisith Museum 'Cradle to Grave by Pharmacopoeia' was attracting people's attention.

a 13m long 0.4m wide fabric incoperates over 14,000 drugs. According to the description of the piece, It is the estimated average prescribed to every person in Britain in their lifetime.

Cradle to Grave by Pharmacopoeia explores the approach to health in Britian today.
It contains a lifetime supply of prescribed drugs knitted into two lengths of fabric, and illustrates the medical stories of one woman and one man.

Through this object, Susie Freeman, Dr Liz Lee and David Critchley wanted to say that maintaining a sense of well-being is more complex than just treating episodes of illness.

Ecobuild 2011

Ecobuild is the world’s largest event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment. This year Ecobuild was held at the Excel Centre in east London with more than 600 speakers and 1300 exhibitors, all held over 3 days from Tuesday 1st March.

I attended two days and interestingly in this year Kingston University launch a library of 1200 samples of sustainable materials that use fewer virgin resources and that are easily renewed.

To be honest, comparing with last year, I felt Ecobuild have become a giant commercial event. There were a lot of material and product companies and some parts lost point for sustainability and future environment.

For me, the most interesting session of Ecobuild was seminars and lectures for sustainable design and landscape. In particular, Grant Associates’s presentation for their winning design ‘Garden by the bay’ in Singapore was really impressive. (Even it was not entirely focused sustainable design..) They described their strong narrative planting scheme with different story and environmental concept. Moreover, I could realise their design consideration for relationship between building and garden. But I still want to know more about their scheme for ecosystem of the garden.

[Stockholm Trip 2011] Hammarby Sjöstad

When I visited Hammarby Sjöstad, it was entirely covered by snow so that it was hard to look. But, the winter night sight view was also offering unique and enjoynable atmosphere of Stockholm's new morden cityscape.This new urban development in residential area is designed environmentally friendly and enough to attract an urban population. The public space is designed to take advantage of the proximity to the water and street life is developing along the quays. Most uses at ground floor level create public interest.

My small aim of visiting Hammarby Sjöstad was exploring details of landscape design. I focused on how designers considered for materials, delicate shape and elements for designing morden residential landscape.

[TED] Don Norman: The three ways that good design makes you happy

“Design is to transform the world from the current to the desired state for other people. ” - Brian P. Baily(UIUC)

What is good design?
and What matters should designer care for their final design. During my university studies and when I do my studio projects, I am mostly seeking this questions to get good solution. and I have found my interests are focused in the relationship between space, nature and people and the interaction between these. In my designs I like to develop this relationship further.

In this video, Don Norman indicates some important point for people who hope their design makes good experience to its user.
he studies how real people interact with design, exploring the gulf between what a designer intends and what a regular person actually wants.

but he is himself and that makes him so pleasurable to listen to. So enthusiastic about his subject that i carried on lstening to him and started looking at more of his talks.

I believe his thinking and theory are of course hugely related with landscaep designing. Because Landscape architecture is also the design process to solve exisiting problems and offer good experience to its users. Urban designer and landscape architecture have to care about how their design will effect to its users and visitors.

I also recommend his books.

UK Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010, Heatherwick Studio

I am hugely inspired by this facsinating pavilion which is the winning design of Shanghai Expo 2010. The design team is Heatherwick Studio based in London. The theme of the Expo is “Better City, Better Life” and a key client objective is for the UK Pavilion to be one of the most popular attractions. I believe they strongly accomplished that aims with fabulous design concept and story of 'The Seed Cathedral'. The Seed Cathedral is a platform to show the work of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew and their Millennium Seedbank.

This video describes well the narrative of their design concept.



Their works are always strong and creatvie. I also like and want to recommend their lots of other creative architectural works and sculptures susch as rolling bridge in Paddington Basin, London.


Here is their website : http://www.heatherwick.com/

Images, section drawing and original information from - http://www.heatherwick.com/uk-pavilion/

'Landscape is.. Undertanding' _ Sam Johnston from Gustafson Porter

The forth speaker for question of 'what is landscape?' is Sam Johnston. Recently, He is working in Gustafson Porter landscape practice and teaching at Kingston University landscape studio.

His presentation was also about the answer for the question 'what is landscape?'. He described how should we feel and think for 'landscape'.

I like the way he define landscape.
He said,
"everything is under the sun.. out there and in here."
It means we need to have an understanding of the other and an awareness of self.
Those things contain character, emotion, opinion, culture, history, and future, past, present.

Also, He defined; landscape is 'Two sides of our skin, the two sides of consciousness and the two sides of our responsibilities.'

After his lecture I have found that I need to concentrate and be honest to what I taste, smell and see.
I need to try to understand everything around my every day.
Because it is landscape! :)