BODY & LANDSCAPE AS WAYS OF SEEING

Before the lecture started, I was thinking that is one more ordinary "architecture" sharing session, sharing the idea of design, how good looking of the building. I'm glad and happy to attend this wonderful sharing session from Eric Chen. The architect who is from the different background and culture, from the big island, Taiwan.

Let's share some of my knowing about Taiwan in art, life style and culture before I go into the title. So I have been Taiwan once, I get a lot of information of Taiwan from internet, books and TV, Taiwan is a country that gave a lot of opportunities for the one who wanna show their talent in any field especially in art.

The lifestyle and culture of Taiwan also took my attention and I'm willing to know the way of living in Taiwan. For me the lifestyle and culture is the most important thing that we should look into in designing. That's why I felt lucky to have the lesson from Eric Chen, he is talking landscape and body, the culture and lifestyle.

Heard from our lecturer, Mr. Teoh, Eric Chen was a very hard working student while in the college as his junior. He's just wondering why Eric seem like never stop working and did not showing any of tiredness.

The answer from Eric Chen is just enough simple," I love it". The momentum is come from the passion and it will never satisfied when you are really loving in something and challenge the toughest situation. From Eric Chen.

I would say this is really motivate me in keeping working while there is tough moment that we will been through in this architecture field. There is no easy way to achieve you dream.

The Body and Landscape as Ways of Seeing

Eric Chen has been working in this project for almost 3 years since 2015, Eric was argued that body is the only one which will giving the direct respond and feeling while in any spaces that you been. The landscape is the spaces that we created that contain those information and comfort to the people, the most direct way.

1. Collecting: Genealogy of urban archipelago, the theme that Eric working in this project. There is three parts of contents in this project, which are:-

- spontaneous renewal of intervening body on the site and construction

- survey of landscape resources, drawing of moving maps from internality

- redefining the relationship of boundary and village

It is also made as drifting platforms that can fill urban spaces, the "urban archipelago project" trying to develop a new architectural scale is able to drift and change between the body, the city, and the landscape, transforms different area into theaters, school zones and stages. Built with a combination of tectonic elements and formal conditions, the designs investigate the capacity of people to engage with evolving urban morphologies and different methods of making art.

Small temporary brings Taiwan unused space to life. The pavilions can be disassembled and others that can be moved on wheels, which host activities designed to activate underused public spaces and that vary on a case by case basis. The constructions are inspired by the infinite number of spontaneous solutions that can be seen in Taiwan’s streets, squares and parks, especially at night selling food: makeshift restaurants where a hob, a corrugated metal roof, a table and some stools bring otherwise deserted sidewalks and spaces to life.

A system of lightweight metal struts and plastic panels are assembled to create small, lightweight kiosks, which are used as exhibition galleries, graphic production centres, and temporary radio stations. In the tropical night, the diaphanous apparition of these little buildings stands out against the backdrop of the city thanks to the artificial light that filters through their translucent shell and their white colour. New routes and social relationships are therefore triggered by this network of objects, which accepts and reinterprets the transitory nature of Taiwan’s urban space.

2. Reworking archives：Dynamic LandscapeDistance & Engagement of Archive

Reorganisation of historical archives, oral interviews, writing, material research, old photo restoration, documentary, community context and landscape texture survey, in urban and rural exhibition space, showing the collection of the context can be seen and the relationship between the visible and invisible, but also to continue the creative practice, based on the link to the land, linking the relationship between the vertical and horizontal multi-level development.

Eric using the rectangle box and playing with different level of platform. You will not know what is above the block before climb into it. The top of the blocks area placing wit the site model which area above the blocks.