IN ADAPTATION (ARC 1133)

IN ADAPTATION (ARC 1133)

This exercise is in preparation in the lead-up to the Final Project of adapting the literature Invisible Cities to the local conditions of the Greater KL.

The everyday life of cities and its banality is a scene that has been taken for granted. While the experience of the everyday life is banal, there are a plethora of mediums/channels by which stories of cities are told/expressed, one of which is literature. Literature is a medium in which stories are told, some of them original but most are tales from across the centuries adapted to a contemporary or different context, or to a modified theme to enhance the storyline. Using the literature, Invisible Cities, as the basis, students are to study, analyse and creatively adapt it using a graphical representation.

Exercise 1 - The Art of Adaptation 

“In Adaptation” aims to explore techniques and practise methods of creative knowledge-sourcing and critical analysis. When designing, it is commonplace for emphasis to be excessively focused on a singular concept as the be-all, end-all solution to manifold problems. In this module however, the act of designing is more so an act of problem-solving, one that therefore requires the ability to generate multiple ideas of substance rapidly. In order to do so, it is crucial to have a broad range of information and knowledge from which to draw upon, as well as to engage with a subject matter in depth. Through a series of discussion-based

workshops, forums, exercises and lectures, the module introduces the process of reading, translating and adapting disparate creative mediums such as film, art, and most importantly, literature in relation to architecture. It is through this critical process that students will begin to build upon their wealth of knowledge

as well as exercise discernment in matters related to architectural design such as context, content and cultural relativity and relevance.

Concept of Isaura, city of thousands wells, where city is built within the green thick forest boundary line. People who live in Isaura worshipped water as they believe god is living inside the underground lake. And, people built up their home in vertical stacking tiers with strong pipes extruding to the ground providing them sufficient water for their living. People respect to the great nature by not touching the green portion and being humble that they know the world is dominated by the great nature, not human supposedly and so they worshipped water as their god for supplying their main needs.

Underground Rendering

Underground photo during photo editing

Middle plate Isaura City rendering

Inner section photo before editing

Isaura City Surface Rendering

Surface photo before editing

Isaura City when seen from far rendering

Work in progress photo:

The "surface photo" of the study model

The sectional photo of the study model

Exercise 2 - PJS7 morning street market + Marilyn Manson

Board 1 - About the site and user

Board 2 - About the ideology that we  are about to bring in

Final Project - Invisible Cities RE-SYNTHesized: An Experiment

Exercise 1 is an attempt to adapt literature into graphics/visual expression of the city, while Exercise 2 is an attempt to ‘see’ the ordinary city in an extraordinary or unique way. The final project is a synthesis of the surrealism and imaginary in Exercise 1, and the realism and physical fabric of the urban conditions in Exercise 2. It stretches further the idea of ‘adaptation’ in the style of how a film maker would overlay an imaginary (utopian/dystopian) city into the real space. In brief, this project is about the exploration of an adaptive process between the imaginary and the real, and non-physical and the physical.

Final Submission

Art Statement : 

“Kuala Lumpur, where thousands of resources go to waste.” 

The presentation board illustrate the city of kuala lumpur with the essense of the Isora City, the city of thousand wells. The main message and idea is to create a scenery of Kuala Lumpur with thousands vertical long lines across the city of Kuala Lumpur just as the Invisible City: Isora City where the main message revolve around one of the main issue of Kuala Lumpur in my own opinion: The Talents (resources) of Malaysia often found to set their foot on other country and serve others none than theirs own Motherland-Malaysia. Besides, Malaysia known for being blessed with tons of natural resources are not able to fully utilize, secure and appreciate the resources given by the Nature. Within the illustration, the city are not developed with proper grey water city where the city are unable to secure the rainwater where most of the groundwater goes underground and are mostly wasted, leaving behind a piece of dry empty land. This will be the future of the KL city given if the current state of the city continues to proceed, ignoring all these issues and not providing any solution about it.

Extra Information

- Presentation Board are composited with a section-like scenery drawing where the upper part and bottom part of the middle symmetry axis lies the good water god and the bad water god, referenced the two different religion from the Isora City, ultimately trying to create a scenery sectional drawing between the battle between the “Good” and the “Bad”, where the Good provides rainwater to the earth (KL City) where the “Bad” try its best to destroy the earth into making the groundwater goes underground and to be wasted away from the people. 

-Rainwater are illustrated in a way where its all aligned nicely to form a sense of the city being in a thousand “wells”, the kind of scenery the Isora City possesses. 

-Water being one of the main element and media relating the storyline and city behind the main intention and message to be deliver, as it is strongly related and desired within the Isora City while closely related to our beloved Kuala Lumpur City. 

Schematic sketch of the final project during tutorial

Interim submission, decided to make the upper surface much more harmony instead to enhance the feeling of the good will above surface and the evil beneath the ground which takes away the groundwater.