WINDOWS ON THREE WORLDS

Always interesting to figure out what is precast and what in-situ.

The tell-tale joints are an obvious indicator. In this case, often flat panels, but with an exposed aggregate finish that benefits from the greater control of a workshop setting.

I'm guessing that the column caps were cast upside down in a two-part mould, maybe 4 part. To my eye, the moulding in the top right panel was run in-situ.

These shots were all taken at the condo development I was staying at in Singapore. Quality job all round for my money.

 

I think these are from the second day of my recent stay in Singapore. A family outing to Chinatown : brunch, walkabout, snapping away at shophouses, exchanging chitchat with Tom and Vicky

The range of variation is just vast and my limited energies spread quite thin. But it's good to have this image bank to draw on.

 

At first glance there is a pervasive flavour to all these buildings. They belong together. And yet, zooming in, there is that incessant variety. It's like some kind of magic trick. Unity and diversity all bound up together.

We need more of that.

 

Did I leave the house intending to take pictures? Sometimes it just happens. Early morning walk.

In some ways International City reminds me of the Barnsley that I grew up in. A fair amount of waste ground, unused plots, "failure to landscape" On the one hand a coal mining town in decline, on the other a dormitory suburb for lower to middle income aspirants in a global economy.

I love them both for their nitty gritty honesty. Barnsley has changed of course and I was just a child when I knew it in the 50s and 60s. Just hit 72 a couple of days ago. God knows how I ended up here, but it's OK, fun even 😜.

 

As a boy, I could always waIk to school, although many of my classmates after 11+ would take a bus from outlying villages. Here there are hordes of yellow buses, American style, distributing pupils to various fee-paying establishments.

There are strips of land between the plot boundaries and the pavement. Some businesses have put them to good use. Most lie barren, often with damaged kerbs from "informal" parking.

Outside my block there's a team of guys setting new kerbs. I live in hope that it's a prelude to some planting. Call me an optimist 🤣🤣🤣

 

  

Flashback to 2014. This work was done at the height of my obesity, just a few months before the diagnosis that would put me on a crash diet to lose 30 kg

I had done a study of sliding-sash windows a favourite from my 20s in UK and decided to follow up by looking at the steel windows I became so familiar with in Zimbabwe in my 30s and 40s

Revit is not designed for this kind of work but that never stopped me. The aim was always to deepen my own understanding of building technologies, architectural styles, construction processes... in short "the way we build"... which has differed widely in time and place. It's always interesting to speculate why and to delve into cultural and historical context.

But for now, just marvel with me at how my younger, fatter self managed to conjure up these forms using native Revit geometry. OK it's not that special but... Let's just say I rose to the challenge.