The discrepency between the reader's authentic experience of a space and the perception of the same place conveyed by an AR Publication

Personal ramblings about the AR article from May 2004
I browsed through many issues of AR and picked ones that I considered depicted architecture that was qwerky or beautifully seamless. In May 2004, the main article features Koolhaas' Dutch Embassy (pictured on the front cover). I visited this building three years ago with group of friends and recall the jaw-dropping journey inside and outside. Towards the end of the visit, an alarm went off and the tourguide told us to "run run, this is a fire alarm" in a german accent. It was strange way to end the subdued walk and had a strange performative element to it. Apparently it wasn't a fire alarm afterall, but George from the other group who had offended the staff by putting his feet on top of coffee table in the waiting area. It seems like the building was too beautiful to be touched or to live in.

The photography and the article differs from my labyrynthine and uncanny memory of the place. However, being able to see plans and sections enables me to understand better the relationships between the different spaces, that don't seem so obvious when you are there. The article makes reference to an iconic German expressionist film "The Cabinet of Dr Caligari". I haven't seen the film but read the plot overview and appears complex and labyrinthine. Querky film sets such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, that defy pre-concieved perceptions of the everyday or create uncany situations always fascinate me. Brensing describes the building to have uncanny qualities such as "Surfaces jump out at you".

The AR articles give cultural and historical context to new constructions, making critical judgements on the quality of the finishes and how well the architecture fits in the local setting.

Today aside from research, I attended a meeting with Richard Lumb at MODA to discuss the materials I will be using for the workshop next saturday called 3D Utopian Enclosures. Children will be creating an enclosure at about 1:50 scale, with scale 1: 50 human figures to guide them. It will be interesting to see where their imagination leads them.