First thought, best thought

RAVE

2011-08-25T22:24:00.001+01:00

The Mount

2010-10-15T12:01:00.002+01:00

Death

2009-11-09T09:28:00.002Z

Go here

www.architek10.co.uk

This place is dead.

Blog ressurection

2009-07-08T19:53:00.004+01:00

I plan to bring this blog back to life, kicking and screaming. I'm up to lots at the moment so there's plenty to write on.

For lack of a better phrase, I plan to be a lot less 'wanky' this time around. I plan to write about issues and developments with projects, real and theoretical, that I am involved in, keeping the procrastination and editorialising to a minimum (although not eradicating it completely).

Reading some of my previous posts I feel my anus tightening. I was afronted and confused on my year out. I was out in the big bad world and feeling like an imposter. Now I feel a lot more comfortable in my own skin. I know what I want to do, I know how I want to do it and by God I'm doing it. Maybe I always knew what I wanted to do, I just didn't know how to go about getting it done. But now all these opportunities are falling into my lap and I'm starting to realise that I just need to grab them with both hands.

Fuck it, lets get it done. Keep an eye...

Possible new tattoo...opinions please

2008-03-02T18:47:00.006Z

Well, this is it. A little bit more adventurous (bigger, more complicated, more painful) than the last one, but with a bit more meaning. Some of you may recognise it, but for the non-architecture geeks out there, it is a plan of Daniel Libeskind's Jewish museum in Berlin. The most powerful and moving building I have ever encountered.

I feel the need to try and commemorate this building and the emotions it inspired in me as I would consider it to be one of the pivotal moments in my life in architecture. The memory of this and the mere idea that buildings like this exist, and not just on paper, is what has encouraged me to continue on the path I'm on. In my last post I'm sure you can detect a dejection and disillusionment. Buildings like the Jewish Museum allow me to continue.

The question is, is it tattoo-able?

I have included an image of the actual museum below, so you can have an idea of what exactly this is...

"The Empire jazz night is shite"...and the train of thought that followed this revelation

2008-02-27T19:20:00.004Z

First and foremost I wish to make clear the fact that I do not think the Empire jazz night is shite, although I can understand how the title of this post could lead some of you to believe this. This was just my initial reaction. I now understand that my only problem with the Empire jazz night is the fact that it isn't jazz. Far from being a jazz afficianado, I do know that I never heard a note perfect cover of 'Hey Ya' by Outkast in the Aalto jazz cafe in Amsterdam or the B Flat club in Berlin, but I did in the Empire. I did however have a good ol' night there and I don't want to discourage anyone from going...just don't expect much jazz (don't get mad at me Christine!).

That said, there were similar people in all these clubs. People wearing turtle necks and scarves sitting with their eyes closed, heads bobbing maniacally to the beat. To those people in the Empire 'Roxanne' by the Police is as much part of the jazz genre as an improvised vocal drum solo in B Flat. This led me to apply these same ideas to Architecture in Northern Ireland. Being out in the everyday working world is helping me realise a few things about the local profession, and as good old Royal pointed out, not all of them can be blamed on the small minded planners or the troubles, but lets save that discussion for another time and place.

The Empire experience got me thinking about artistic integrity, and in particular, my own artistic integrity (as pretentious and narcissistic as that sounds). I often find myself in a dilemma, stuck between doing what I feel is right and doing what other people feel is right. I feel like I am still not totally contented in my position as an Architect, basically because I have not decided what sort of Architect I want to be. Should I follow the stereotype of an Architect as a suited, slightly smarmy, businessman raking the money in or go with how the University of Ulster taught me, that is the 'barefoot architect.' The artistic designer who goes against the flow to go with their gut, regardless of their popularity.

Either way has it's pitfalls, one leads to arrogance, stupidity and the other leads to struggle and possible pretentiousness. Those who know me will know exactly which one I want to go for, but I struggle to find this path at times. I find myself being eager to please (rather like the jazz musicians in the Empire), the antithesis of the creative route. I find myself trying to please people and fooling myself into believing that this is an affirmation that I am following the route I wish to take. I realise in hindsight, however, that I have been trying to please the wrong people.

...or maybe I am just falling in the pretentious trap...

The pointless post of mystery...

2008-01-30T19:35:00.000Z

I feel the need to keep some things secret. Revealing what needs to be revealed whenever it becomes relevant to reveal it. Things happen, concerning certain individuals, that are pretty unacceptable, whether they intend it or not, and if the full meaning of what they were doing were to be revealed would not be fully understood, so for the time being is best not told.

It annoys me not putting this stuff into words, because the major things that I have experienced and then not put into words somehow feel wasted, as though I have not learned anything from them. To vocalise my experiences centres my thoughts and allows me to understand them, perhaps something more personal is needed, as not all thoughts are intended for a public realm, even one as personal as this.

Lets see what happens!

This is a post I wrote a couple of months ago when I'd had a couple of pints and then decided against posting it. Recently, some things have happened that have brought the situation discussed in this post to a head. I'm still not going to reveal anything about it because I think it would be pretty humiliating to the party involved, and whether they deserve or not, I'm going to preserve the dignity for now. Saying that, those who need to know already know and if you ask me about it and I feel like talking I'll probably tell you about it.

I know this is a pretty pointless post, but I feel compelled to discuss things and vocalise them, as I said above. I apologise for being so clandestine, but needs must!

Unapologetic ... And Part 1 of a graphic novel saga

2008-01-21T13:47:00.000Z

I'm not even going to bother apologising for or attempting to excuse the lack of posts recently. The fact is, for good or ill I haven't posted in yet another month and I don't really want to write another sniveling apologetic post citing a load of bullshit reasons as to why I haven't. Waste of words, time and intelligence, both mine and yours. So lets just get into something interesting, to me anyways. Here goes...

My brother came up with the idea for this post and I really liked the idea of it. I've been a big comic book fan for a long time, and with me being slightly geeky, my interest has prevailed much longer than it should have. The comic book is often written off as being childish or nerdy (a stereotype I fell into in my last sentence, but hey, it's easily done) that is somehow inferior to other media such as books or film. It is, however, just a different type of media. If anyone says they don't like comic books it is as nonsensical as saying 'I don't like music.' It is due to this popular opinion that the comic intended for an adult audience has been renamed the 'Graphic Novel.'

'From Hell' by Alan Moore is a good place to start as it seems to be the antonym to the popular opinion of what a graphic novel is. A huge amount of work must have went into this expansive volume detailing the crimes of Jack the Ripper and putting forward one of the more popular theories on who exactly he was.

The grimy, unrefined and monochrome artwork (see above, lets hope I don't get sued!) combine with the intricately researched details of the crimes and their context to create an incredibly uneasy feeling which must surely be reminiscent of the feeling in the increasingly globalised and media-savvy London in the grips of ripper hysteria. Like much of Alan Moore's work 'From Hell' by no means reads as a story or even as entertainment, but rather as a factual documentary about the ripper mixed with a dark and poignant social commentary. Moore himself has said that 'From Hell' is less about who the ripper was and much more about the social climate that produced him and the effect he has had on the rest of the 20th century (and by the way, avoid the film at all costs, it bears a passing resemblance to the book except they removed all substance and meaning and didn't even bother to make it entertaining).

One of Moore's more accessible creations is 'V for Vendetta' (also turned into a film, this one worth seeing). This is much more of an entertaining story than 'From Hell' and certainly much easier to read. While the artwork is not the best I've ever seen, the visuals can be quite cinematic, and the main character design is very striking. He wears a long black cloak, a wide brimmed hat and a smiling Guy Fawkes mask ('Remember, remember the 5th of November, the gunpowder treason and plot. I can think of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot').

The main protagonist goes by the name V, or Vincent, and is cut from the same cloth as most of the tortured superheroes found in comic books all the time. He has a troubled past, a secret identity and runs around wearing a cape and a mask. This, however, is where the similarities with 'V's' peers ends. V is a killer, living outside society and intent on destroying as much as he can. V performs various acts of terrorism (such as blowing up the Old Bailey and killing various political figures) which seems both extreme and justified. The reader is never lead towards one particular opinion of V, but rather left to make up their own mind. Hero, villain, freedom fighter or terrorist.

Maybe I should explain it better. V for Vendetta is set in an imaginary (but not hard to imagine) Britain in the aftermath of a nuclear war. After society crumbled a far right political group seized power, removed the 'undesirable' elements from society and currently rules it's populace with an iron fist. V is an escapee from Larkhill 'resettlement' camp bent on vengeance. As the story progresses it emerges that V isn't merely intent on destroying the individuals who wronged him, but the society itself.

Although written amid the political atmosphere of Thatcherite Britain, V for Vendetta still resonates strongly in today's context. The underlying message is not so much the importance of personal freedom, but rather the importance of fighting for your own freedom and, rather controversially, securing it by any means. V for Vendetta is a 'comic book' that surpasses all genre imposed expectations, set in a believable context and posing some poignant and relevant questions about the basis of our society, democracy itself.

This post has become considerably longer than I originally intended, so I'll split it in two. I've still got a couple more to talk about, but I'll leave that post til next week sometime. Now go read some comics...

Blog silence broken...Uncle Andy...Self harm...And going to get 'em

2007-12-06T20:05:00.000Z

First of all, apologies for not posting over the past month and a half. And also, apologies for the complete lack of Whiny Maas coverage. It's been an busy month full of fresh experiences, some bad some good, all resulting in massive fatigue.

First of all, I am now an uncle! Lisa, my brother Stephen's wife, gave birth on the 17th of November. The newest addition to the family is called Caitlin Sloveig Molloy-Lynch. Rather agonisingly, they live in Menlo Park just outside San Francisco so the only contact so far has been through photographs and a couple of Skype video conversations, but hopefully I'll get over sometime soon. Congratulations to Stephen and Lisa!

In other news, I got this burnt onto my arm. Having always had the thought of getting a tattoo swimming around inside my head for the past 2 or 3 years I went and bit the bullet. For those not in the know, it is the Red Eye of the Crimson King from Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Beyond that and the fact I like it as a design it has no real deep meaning, a fact which has caused awkwardness at times.

When you reveal a new tattoo to people you know well the first thing they ask, with few exceptions, is 'What is it/What does it mean?' which is a perfectly natural question to ask. But when I explain what it is it all seems a trifle silly. When it comes down to it though, its a hell of a lot more personal than a random tribal design, lotus flower or flaming skull logo picked off a wall of a studio. It's something I chose and thought about for a considerable length of time, and a month in the healing process if finished and I'm feeling no regrets. I'm already planning a second... although I think I'll stop short of a full sleeve!

Work is going pretty well. I really get the impression my employers are pushing me and going out of their way to make sure I'm learning new things and gaining the experience they think is important to make me a good Architect. Real practical experience with things that sound bland (fire regulations and drainage being the big two so far) yet I'm finding them interesting and I know they are a great thing for an Architect to know.

The thing that worries me, however, is a lack of involvement in the more exciting aspects of the profession. This is not for the seemingly obvious reason of being under-stimulated (in fact the opposite is true!), but rather the more pedestrian reason of not having anything substantial to put into my portfolio to get back into uni next year. The thing that excites architecture lecturers is meaty design based work that pushes a boundary or two, but to tell you the truth I think I'm benefiting more from practical experience, the much debated topic of coming 'down to earth.'

Maybe it's a bad idea for me to get home and simply sit and twiddle my thumbs when I get home from work.

Maybe I need to keep up the university level of involvement, total saturation. Although that does start to burn after a while.

It's up to me to go get what I want I suppose, go and get 'em. I guess I'm not totally sure what I want or who to go get at the moment...

Plagiarism...passable if done well

2007-10-23T19:53:00.000+01:00

I'm posting this for the benefit of any Belfast ex-pats who visit this blog (and there is at least one). You'll probably have the same initial reaction as the rest of us, being 'What the fuck!?'

I'm no totally sure what I think of this so far. It's obviously a blatant and shameless rip off and the idea is kind of laughable, but I do have to admit that standing at the mouth of Royal Avenue and gazing upward at this mind-boggling piece of engineering, you can't help but be impressed (I can only hope that my photos convey this).

And even though the name is crap (yes, the official name is actually called the 'Belfast Wheel'), I think this is an excellent example of a poor idea being salvaged by great execution.

MVRDV and the possibility of entering a more public realm

2007-10-15T22:28:00.000+01:00

As a sneak peak of of next week's lecture by Winy Maas of MVRDV I thought I would share this with you, an excellent example of MVRDV's work that showcases their ingenuity (don't worry, there's very little writing and a lot of pretty pictures)

Gemini Residence - MVRDV

The project utilizes two disused seed silos, using the existing structures as circulation for apartments that are literally clipped onto their exterior. The developers tearing down valuable Victorian detached houses on the Newtownards Road and replacing them with inadequate luxury 'villas' could learn a lot from this. Even the most undesirable construction can be turned into something beautiful, let alone things that are perfectly fit for purpose in the first place. But let's not start ranting now, eh? We've already been there.

I am planning on writing a report on Maas' lecture with a view to possibly getting it published in some local Architecture Journal..but lets not get too excited yet. I just need to get my foot in the door! But regardless of what happens, I'll post whatever I come up with on this blog.

I'll keep you posted.

Confidence and the facelessness of the internet...an identity crisis

2007-10-14T18:18:00.001+01:00

Today I found out that my brother-in-law Nigel seems to think that I come across differently on this blog as I do in person, namely that I'm more confident online. This has caused me a little bit of concern, as I really try to talk from the heart on this thing, but am I being honest?

I remember a couple of months ago, before this blog was created I left a lengthy comment on Micah's blog (something to do with local politics I think) which caused Peter, a friend from uni, to remark that when anything is being discussed I tend to sit back and listen, not saying a thing, when the comment I left proved that I have strong views and opinions on such things.

Why is this? Am I merely posturing as a bit of a loud-mouth, pretending to be far more assertive than I really am?

It must be due to the facelessness of the internet, the lack of immediate, real time reaction creating a sense of security, even though I have no reason to feel insecure in expressing my opinions among friends. After all, the very same people I would be expressing this stuff to read this blog and I often get a face to face reaction from it.

What's bothering me, however, is am I being fake, a big fat phoney? Or is it OK to have this dual personality? Could I possibly force this more confident side into my everyday life, or does this personality only exist in a virtual form? Or maybe none of this matters, the blog is more for myself than anyone else after all, a place for me to vent, albeit in a semi-public way.

When I started writing this post I hoped to reach some sort of conclusions, but none have presented themselves ...

Fear and loathing in Belfast...strange vibes and retroactivity on Donegal Street

2007-10-08T20:28:00.000+01:00

Finding a Hunter S Thompson book in a second hand bookshop round the corner from my office today has inspired a bout of retroactive creativity, retroactive because it first appeared in my imagination more than 3 years ago, in the middle of my ill-fated first year of architectural education. For those who don't know Hunter S Thompson and his own unique style I'll try and explain it to you, although this is no mean feat.

Thompson is accredited with creating a brand new style of journalism in the late 60s/early 70s dubbed 'Gonzo' journalism. This basically means that the journalist or writer begins to investigating a story without having any knowledge of what they are going to write about, or indeed what conclusions they may draw. The journalists are therefore normally the main protagonists of their writing and may even instigate events themselves and then write about both their actions, and the reactions of those around them. As you can imagine, it would take a talented and insightful writer to pull this off in any interesting or insightful way, but luckily Hunter S Thompson is just that.

Thompson possesses an almost dangerous disregard for his own mind and body, let alone those of other people. Simply put, he just doesn't give a fuck. This, combined with a fierce intelligence, an aggressively casual dependency on a wide range of pharmaceuticals (as the line in the infamous Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas demonstrates 'The trunk of (our) car looked like a mobile police narcotics lab. We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter-acid, a salt shaker half-full of cocaine and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... also, a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls') and an unparalleled way with words makes for hugely entertaining, hilarious and often frighteningly thought provoking reading.

A lot of Thompson's work documents US politics from 1960 to present day in a refreshingly honest way. This all started off with the 1968 primaries, just before Nixon became president. Thompson slated Nixon from the start, even before it was trendy. In 1994, when Nixon died, Thompson was quoted as saying

'Richard Nixon has never been one of my favorite people anyway. For years I've regarded his existence as a monument to all the rancid genes and broken chromosomes that corrupt the possibilities of the American Dream; he was a foul caricature of himself, a man with no soul, no inner convictions, with the integrity of a hyena and the style of a poison toad. The Nixon I remembered was absolutely humorless; I couldn't imagine him laughing at anything except maybe a paraplegic who wanted to vote Democratic but couldn't quite reach the lever on the voting machine. His casket should have been launched into one of those open-sewage canals that empty into the ocean just south of Los Angeles. He was a swine of a man and a jabbering dupe of a president. He was an evil man—evil in a way that only those who believe in the physical reality of the Devil can understand it.'

Starkly honest, shocking, and extremely funny. Thompson committed suicide in 2005, something he always claimed he would do. Always wanting to leave on his own terms and alluded to briefly in some of his writings as far back as 1980. They do say that there is a fine line between genius and madness.

Reading the book I found today took me back to a guest speaker from my first year of uni, an architect named Dominic Stevens who is based in rural Leitrim. In his lecture he discussed his affection for the 1950s beat write Jack Kerouac who pioneered a 'stream-of-consciousness' style of writing (that no doubt influenced Thompson in his writing, this and a car full of hallucinogenic drugs). Kerouac famously said 'First thought, best thought' and this was something that Stevens tried to carry through to architecture. This lecture was incredibly inspiring for me, as a young architecture student, and it sparked a brief moment of clarity, understanding and tangible excitement in that murky, unpleasant year and I have no doubt at all that without this lecture I would have given up totally after falling on my ass at this first hurdle.

Since I set up this blog to attempt to trace the change in my perception as my education continues I thought I'd hark back to this catalytic moment and post the piece of coursework, reviewing Steven's lecture, which also took inpiration from Kerouac's 'spontaneous prose'. The following passage is every word I wrote back then (along with every image I chose, even the strange and out of place picture of the university pre-renovation, probably used to pad the essay out!) in a totally unedited form so please don't be too critical. Remember I was young and not particularly 'together' at the time. Also bear in mind it represents a threshold, an art student becoming an architecture student. I look back on this time with mixed emotions, joy because it was when I realised that architecture really was what I wanted to do; sadness and regret because I very nearly pissed it all against the wall; relief because I didn't and everything is now exactly as it should be!

Reviewed - Dominic Stevens

On the 15th of March 2004 Dominic Stevens, award winning Leitrim based Architect, gave a Talk to first year Architecture students at the University of Ulster, Belfast. Stevens achieved his Batchelor of Architecture in 1989 and then joined Langhof and Leipe Stegelmann Architects of Berlin, Germany. In 1995 he set up Dominic Stevens Architects, based in Dublin, in 1995. In 1999 he moved to rural Leitrim where he works alone in a private office near his home. He received the “Architectural Association of Ireland Annual Awards for Architecture, Special Mention” for Building the Home, which formed the basis of the lecture, and Precast lines, which was also mentioned in the lecture.

The lecture took the form of two simultaneous talks occurring at the same time, each one reacting to the other; both presented using two slide projectors. Using the projector on the right Dominic outlined the design and construction (although not necessarily in that order) of his own house in Leitrim. This project is better known as ‘Building the Home,’ which he recently won an award for. On the left hand projector he took us through other projects, including some of his own. These served to highlight various points raised by the ‘Building the Home’ project and also show how the project has affected his other projects.

The lecture started by detailing how Dominic and his wife moved from Dublin to set up his own private practice in the peace of rural Leitrim. He purchased a piece of land in the countryside and began about designing his own house. The initial idea behind the design was ‘A building with two parts.’ This being a solid structure with a lighter frame attached. Dominic, however, had not completed the design by the time construction had begun. This was to allow total creative freedom, and allowed new concepts and ideas to be introduced during the construction process.

Dominic chose construct the house himself, engaging help of several friends and students. All involved slept in tents at the site as it was such a remote spot in the middle of the Leitrim countryside. They began by building a large wooden structure on the sloping site, setting the supporting beams in concrete. Dominic described this as ‘Taking the first move within the Landscape.’

The presentation then moved onto the second projector where Stevens introduced us to Jack Kerouac, a prominent American author from the 1950s. He was famous for his ‘spontaneous prose’ method of writing in which he would sit for days writing on one long roll of paper, often not stopping until the novel was finished. This method attracted a lot of negative criticise which Kerouac combated by simply saying “First thought, best thought.” This seems to be Stevens’ method of Architecture. You take the first move without thinking and then analyse that move. He also likened to this to jazz music, whereby one musician starts playing and the rest follow, trying to compliment what they are playing and possibly trying to take it in a totally new direction. This concept makes for exciting, edgy and worthwhile Architecture.

Throughout the talk Stevens discussed the work of Walter Segal, who set up the Walter Segal Self Build Trust. Stevens quoted Segal who said “I wanted to learn how to build first, and perhaps do Architecture later if I was able to.” This illustrates what Stevens was trying to achieve with ‘Building the Home.’

Gio Ponti, an Architect from the start of the 20th century was also quoted. “The true Architect should fall in love with in love with the owners…of the house he is going to build.” Stevens highlighted this point by saying “The design process is never fully completed. After construction it is a good learning experience to return to the site and see how people use the space unexpectedly.”

To demonstrate this Stevens discussed a homeless man in New York who built his own house on a derelict site out of bits and pieces of rubbish and waste materials he found. He went through the process and showed how the house went together, sometimes taking steps back as well as moving forward. The man calculated his current position and decided his next move.

Dominic presented several of his own projects which helped illustrate his point. The most impressive of which was the ‘In-Between House.’ This design consisted of several building blocks with set functions, i.e. bedrooms, bathrooms, etc, arranged around an ‘in-between’ living space with no set program. It has “atmosphere but no function.”

The talk was very well presented and the method of presentation was very coherent. Stevens’ interaction with the audience was very good and the very conversational style of oration engaged the listener and kept them interested. The dual lecture style utilising the two projectors, however, was sometimes difficult to follow, the audiences eyes roaming from one image to the other. This seemed a little gimmicky as the lecture could easily have been merged into one, making the whole thing a lot simpler.

For me, the most interesting aspect of the lecture was concerning the fact that the design process is never fully completed to an acceptable extent for the Architect. As an Architecture student I have already started to observe this. If a project was just one week longer or one week shorter the outcome would be entirely different, and often on the day of the final crit I wish I could have just a few days longer to see where a certain thought or process would lead. I think Dominic Stevens said this well in the lecture by saying “Process has no end product, but is actually a series of fixed points.”

The design process is not a straight path from point A to point B. The designer takes a step out into an unknown world that they must ‘feel out.’ Steps along the way and where-ever the journey ends can often not be imagined at the beginning. Each should be spontaneous and unpredictable, but yet dictated by the last step taken. This method of design makes for an exciting process and also creates vital, forward thinking and creative architecture. It’s also great fun to implement.

Andrew J Molloy, 20/04/04

Fatigue...and the defence of the word 'grounded'

2007-10-07T15:32:00.000+01:00

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted, they've been keeping me busy in work and normally when I'm not in work I enjoy a good kip these days. This 9 to 5 is hard to get used to!

After my last post some people picked up on my use of the word 'grounded' and seemed to believe this to be a negative thing. I rethought my use of this word and tried to think of another term that would describe how my initial few weeks of placement have affected my perception of architecture and simply can't. I can see how being 'grounded' could signal an end to creativity and adventurous design but this isn't what I was implying in that post. I'll try and explain myself better in this post!

Recently I've been dealing with a housing development in Ballinamllard in Fermanagh. It's not the prettiest of things, a typical housing development comprised of 'cells' for the middle class, but I have learned so much concerning the technical side of designing buildings from this project. I started off by converting the design drawings into construction drawings (that a builder could look at for dimensions, positions of walls, floor heights and drainage), and then moved on to writing up the specification document. This document details every last detail of how the building is to be constructed, and this has taught me so much about the make-up of a typical house, and indeed, just how much information is the responsibility of the architect. Rather than producing evocative and 'pretty' drawings, I am producing drawings that display pure, unambiguous information to enable the building to be priced and eventually constructed. The fact that it is a development without much architectural merit or excitement does not bother me in the slightest. This ensures that the detailing and specification is standard and uncomplicated and, therefore, a good starter project for a novice such as myself.

This is exactly what I meant by the word grounded. This information and process can be taken and applied to more exiting and extravagant designs. Therefore , I can move on from the theoretical and conceptual work in uni and make it more buildable and realistic. In other words, much more grounded but by no means any less theoretical or conceptual.

Also, for anyone who is interested, Winy Maas (who set up Dutch architecture practice MVRDV) is hosting a lecture in Queens' MBC building on the Lisburn Road on the 24th October. Should be an interesting night!

Update: after e-mailing the RSUA it turns out the event is free and there's no need to book seats! Bring your friends!

Lisboa '07

2007-09-11T20:25:00.001+01:00

It's becoming a bit of a summer habit for me and Christine to have a summer adventure. This involves booking flights for somewhere, and then having to commute a long distance to get where we need to go at the other end without knowing a thing about the local transport system. This year it was Lisbon's turn.

We got a flight to Faro, which was considerably cheaper than a flight to Lisbon. The only problem was that Faro is over 100 miles from Lisbon. However, as it turns out, the Portuguese transport infrastructure is excellent. A rather enjoyable four hour bus journey later and we were in the heart of the Portuguese, the most beautiful city I have ever seen.

Our first view of the city was from the majestic Ponte de 25 Abril (a rather impressive double decked suspension bridge reminiscent of the Golden Gate) and it was literally breath taking. The city sprawled out before us, a sea of orange/red roofs occasionally interrupted by bursts of green foliage, all overlooked by the 100 meter tall statue of Cristo Rei (Christ the King), a replica of the much more famous Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) in Rio. The bus made it's way into the city, taking us under the 18 kilometer long and 65 meter high Águas Livres Aqueduct before we got to the bus station and our next challenge, negotiating the Metro! This, however, was not a difficult task (how come every country but Britain can successfully maintain a reliable mass-transit system?!).

We only had a week and there was a lot to see, but we'd planned out what we wanted to do each day so we managed to cover quite a lot to the detriment of our bodies and (at times) our tempers. It was worth it though. I'll just give you the highlights!

The neighbourhood of Belém is a little bit off the beaten track (ie, not served by the metro) but theres quite a lot of iconic Portuguese buildings to see round and about this area. The two images you see are of the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoverers) with the Ponte De 25 Abril and Cristo Rei in the background and Christine taking in the beautiful cloisters of Jerónimos Monastery.

More spectacular sights were seen at the Parque das Nações (Nations' Park), the former site of the 1998 World Exposition. Upon arriving at the park (either by Metro or overland train) you are greeted by the Gare Do Oriente, a magnificent train station designed by the famous Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Arriving by metro, you find yourself in the guts of the station, and this is exactly what it feels like. Massive curved concrete elements loop and twist overhead. As you rise up through the station you find yourself on frosted glass walkways entwined with this chunky, almost organic structure. This all serves to hold the upper train platforms, which are covered by a light, airy and delicate steel roof structure.

The actual park houses the original Portuguese pavilion from the expo (designed by Portugal's most famous architect Álvaro Siza Vieira), the Vasco De Gama bridge (the longest suspension bridge in the world), the Vasco De Gama tower and a large (and expensive) Oceanarium. A lot to take in but a great place for a dander!

The final day saw the highlight of the holiday, a trip to the southern side of the Tagus river, through a small suburb called Cacilhas to the foot of the mighty Cristo Rei. Even as an atheist I must say that I was moved by the experience. A lift brings you up 80 meters to the viewing platform at the foot of the 25 meter tall statue, giving you excellent views of Lisbon, Cascais and Sintra to the north, and most of the Alentejo region to the south. Very impressive indeed, humbling would be the word.

This, however, was not the end of the holiday. We got back on the bus, and after another four hours we found ourselves back in the Algarve, where we spent the next two weeks. Here, we did as little as possible, lying in the sun by day, eating and drinking by night. A sharp and welcome contrast to the packed first week!

Out into the big scary world...

2007-09-04T19:11:00.001+01:00

Well, the time has finally come, the whole reason this blog was started. I have begun my year out placement with White Ink Architects at last! Everything is a bit messy and up in the air at the minute due to a change of offices which is happening on Thursday of this week, but despite this my first two days have been successful.

I've been assigned to a design and build project of a hotel in Watford. Naturally, I haven't done a lot of work yet as I'm still learning the ropes (which I'll have to relearn after the office change), but I'm already learning stuff and performing (hopefully) useful tasks (and for a building that is actually going to site in the new year, gadzooks!). I think this year is going to be very useful if not challenging.

It's quite refreshing after the forced, relentless creativity of university to listen to Architects discussing brick dimensions, window widths, the number of parking spaces etc etc. I can already feel my perception of Architecture shifting and becoming far more grounded (but no less exciting) than it was through my education up to now. The whole thing feels far more tangible than it ever was and I'm really enjoying the way that feels. If this is how I'm feeling after two days, imagine what I'll feel like after two months when I shall hopefully be getting stuck into some real work.

I've never been so glad to be doing what I'm doing!

(By the way, due to a hectic weekend and busy week I shall hopefully get some stuff up about Lisbon this weekend. That is, if I can be arsed.)

Back In The Saddle

2007-08-29T10:55:00.000+01:00

I'm now back from holiday! The blog silence will be broken! I'll put up an extensive post on the things I did and saw in Lisbon (and the total lack of things I did in the Algarve!) when I've got all my photos sorted. For now it'll just be enough to say that I had a great and relaxing time all in all, except for the last week where I picked up a mutant version of what can only be described as 'The Shits.' The worst case I have ever experienced... anyway, the less said about that the better!

I am also now less than a week away from starting my new job with White Ink and I am still in dire need of brushing up on my AutoCAD skills (I haven't used it in several years now). But I think (I hope) I'm on top of that one. I'll post again soon!

And I almost forgot, my brother has started a new blog. All cocked full of sciencey goodness this one! Disccusses everything from Creationist theory to cooking hot dogs via mains electricity. Check it out!

Developers developing what exactly?

2007-07-31T17:34:00.000+01:00

On my travels about this small part of the world in which I reside, I've noticed a lot of changes happening recently. I suppose these could be referred to as the physical Belfast shifting as the political Belfast mellows out. Belfast is beginning to boom as people come to realise that the political and idealogical shifts we are experiencing seem to be the real thing this time, or at the very least the closest we've come to the real thing. Individuals and companies see the possibilities that lay buried in Northern Ireland by years of the troubles and the place is starting to come alive, people now want to live and work here. With this, however, come the leeches to take advantage of this happy situation and the individuals it attracts.

Unfortunately, the arrival of the leeches is the most evident change in East Belfast at this moment in time. I am particularly talking about the stretch of the Upper Newtownards Road from Ballyhackamore to Stormont. This part of the road has a large amount of large late-Victorian houses, each with an extensive stretch of garden to the front and the back. In my, and many others, opinion these are beautiful houses and form a vital part of the fabric of this part of the city. You see one of these houses, you know where you are. The problem is, about half are uninhabited. This means the developers sweep in buy them up, bulldoze them and throw up some 'luxury town houses' or 'deluxe 2/3 bed apartments' in their place. It's bad enough that they knocked the houses down in the first place, but in their place they build characterless development properties, and where one family would have lived (extremely) comfortably, up to 6 'luxury' apartments are crammed in. Then they have the cheek to ham handedly mock up the architectural style of the houses they destroyed in the first place (the worst example of this can be seen left). There are about eight of these types of development being built along this one two or three mile stretch of road, most of them masterminded by 'Lesley developments.'

And this sort of stuff is happening all over Belfast. No-one seems to sell houses any more, instead signs appear outside saying 'POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY.' With all this recent talk of being 'carbon neutral' does it not make more financial and environmental sense in the long run to renovate these properties (along with the thousands currently sitting empty all over Northern Ireland) rather than demolish them and build houses that will be (probably) be demolished in a decade or two. Even the Victorian houses of the Upper Newtownards Road could be renovated and adapted to contain apartments if needs be. This seems to me to be a perfectly viable way of solving the problem of rising housing needs in a way that retains our city's unique character.

Anyway, rant over! Feel free to comment! Just time for a quick personal update for those who are interested. I'm still doing absolutely nothing, simply waiting around waiting for holiday to start, which will then give way to my White Ink placement pretty much as soon as I get back. Next Tuesday I head to Lisbon for a week followed by the Algarve for two weeks. The first week is going to be cultural and enlightening. Museums will be visited, streets explored and architectural highlights examined and extensively photographed. The last two weeks will be lazy, relaxing and mostly involve sleeping, lying by a swimming pool, drinking beer and eating. A beautiful mix of activities I think you will agree!

After that, the blog will (hopefully) really come alive. The main reason for starting this blog is to document what I get out of my placement and order my thoughts as I progress. It's main purpose is to document my experiences, but I can also see it developing into a thesis or examination of architectural education to be used/created if and when I do my doctorate (early days though!).

See you in a month!

Graduation!

2007-07-17T17:29:00.001+01:00

This image can be found right in the middle of page 19 of the Belfast Telegraph, dated Thursday the 12th of July. The future of the profession...god help it! We were all outside before the ceremony getting a breath of fresh air (those robes are warm!) when we were approached by a strange fella with a camera. Without knowing what was really going on I just went with the crowd and posed with the rest of them. He then asked us to sit on the steel sheep outside the Waterfront (see left) which we politely declined, fearing the images could be used against us in the future.

After asking around after, no-one was quite sure who the guy was exactly, but whoever he was he had our names and our faces! A week later, by pure chance, Sam, my girlfriends dad, was looking through the Tele and spotted the picture. And thus, the mystery of the graduation day peeper was solved!

Heres some more images of the big day, just click on any of them to view them bigger. And yes, i did have to wear a silly hat...

Is it just me, or does the hat make me look horribly smug?

Well deserved rest or lazy shit - you decide

2007-07-14T13:40:00.000+01:00

I apologise for not posting for so long, but this is for one simple fact. I have not done a thing in the last couple of weeks...

At the moment my lifestyle is in a bit of a limbo like state. I find myself caught between finishing my degree and waiting for my placement to start. My upcoming position with White Ink Architects has been delayed somewhat due to a 3 weeks holiday in Portugal and the fact that the firm are currently moving offices as we speak. They quite understandably don't want to pay me to sit about watching them pack things into boxes for 3 weeks and, even more understandably, don't want to give me 3 weeks of holiday right at the start of my year long placement.

While I am looking forward to beginning the job and getting some real hands on experience, I am quite enjoying doing so little after doing so much in the last year. The course made me quit my part time job, so I literally have nothing to do. I've been caching up on my reading, playing games people have bought me over the past year and had to leave to the side to concentrate on work, and I've started drawing again (and we're not talking about technical drawings!!).

I did graduate last week however, so I am now officially Andrew John Molloy BA Hons Architecture. I even managed to get my picture in the Belfast Telegraph. I just need to get all the photos and stuff together and I'll put up a post all about that in the next few days.

Just though I'd post an update, so any regular visitors don't think I'm neglecting my blogging duties!

Censorship and Double Standards

2007-07-02T12:50:00.000+01:00

I was watching ITV news a week or two ago and a very serious and grave story came on about an incredibly violent video game called 'Manhunt 2' being banned by the BBFC. This was being hailed as a massive victory over the sadistic developers of the game who were being described as 'morally bankrupt,' 'irresponsible' and 'sick.' Imediately after this, a light-hearted story came on about how the silly old censors had banned the rerun of a 50s egg advert, featuring the delightful Tony Hancock and the spiffingly retro slogan 'Go To Work On An Egg.' The crazy idiots at the board of censors had banned it because it doesn't promote a balanced diet. Itv news helpfully informed us that it was political correctness gone mad.

Is it just me that sees the shockingly stark display of double standards on show in this 10 minute segment on the ITV news? Did they not realise when they put these stories back to back how riduculous they would sound? Who the hell are they to decide that one example of censorship is good and just, for the common good, and another example of censorship is ridiculous and just plain silly? Who the hell are they to present opinion as fact?

And in yet another display of double standards, the good old Daily Mail also slammed the game, describing it as glorifying killing and 'brutal slaying,' while also saying that the game had an atnospher of 'unremitting bleakness.' This very same paper described new mini-series Dexter as 'delisciously dark.' For those who aren't aware of the series, it is about a black comedy/drama series about a charmingly down to earth serial killer. So why is this positive portrayal of murder acceptable in one medium and unacceptable in another?

The original Manhunt ran into a spot of bother a year or 2 ago when it was blamed for the murder of a teenager in England and the developers were almost sued by his parents. The case, however, was thrown out of court when it was revealed that it was not the killer who owned the game but the victim. Take from that what you will...

New family member!

2007-06-26T02:10:00.000+01:00

Have a look here!

I'm going to be an uncle! Who let my brother become a dad? Have they heard the stories?

If I'm going to become Uncle Andy I'm going to have to make some serious alterations to my appearance...

The Exhibition, Awards and Results

2007-06-19T17:47:00.000+01:00

Well, that's it! The exhibition opened on the 14th June at 6pm, all the work is done. Below you can see what you are presented with upon entering the lobby of the university. The whole thing was designed by Paul and Jenny, two of my lecturers.

It was a great night, full of free wine , architects and (finally) some high praise from Hisham (the professor of the course).There was also a couple of student awards given out, two of which went to Micah (who also got an honourable mention for his blog controversy at the start of the year!) while I managed to land the award for the dissertation (resisting urge to mention names or rub it in!).

The exhibition from above.

My stuff

My stuff from a different angle

Christine pretending to examine my work

One of my key images (another 1 is in the header)

So that's it, the past 4 years of my life have led to this, and I think it went rather well! The results came out on the day of the exhibition and I managed to land a 2:1, which I'm pretty chuffed with! That's that part of my life over, just have to wait a few weeks til the next part starts. At the moment I'm quite happy doing as little as possible!

Changing Northern Irish attidues

2007-06-18T18:56:00.000+01:00

Well...it makes a change from KAT or IRA...

It seems we just want to hate someone regardless of the reasons.

Censorship is a bitch

2007-06-12T20:07:00.000+01:00

For reasons that I cannot freely discuss, this blog has been censored. This is mainly due to veiled threats of legal action. Unfortunately, it appears that I am unable to post whatever I want to post, even if I am posting fact, not even opinion. While part of what I posted was out of order the rest of the post was fine and, in my eyes, did not require revision. However I was requested to remove it, and against my better judgment and purely out of respect to the party involved I doctored the post to say something I had no intention of saying, and something I don't even think is particularly interesting.

If anyone leaves a comment containing the name of the party involved it will be removed, not for reasons of legality as nothing illegal happened, but out of respect for those involved.

All I was looking for was to open a discussion with my friends, as Charles Bradlaugh said "Without free speech no search for truth is possible... no discovery of truth is useful." So what's the point of this blog now that it's been censored?

The whole thing brings the Rage Against the Machine fan out in me.

The end continues! Dissertation up for Award!

2007-06-12T14:39:00.000+01:00

aEvery deadline I reach always feels like the last one until it passes. Then the deadline after that seems like the last, until that passes....and it goes on! Having completed my final review (22nd May), my internal examination (7th June) and my external examination (11th June) I now truly believe the final deadline is close. On Thursday the 14th June the degree show opens. After that, I'll probably just have to take it all down in a week. I can't see any more deadlines after that, but I'll refrain from making any "IT'S ALL OVER!!!" statements as yet ... just in case! Don't want to tempt fate.

Just for the sake of bragging, my Dissertation is being entered into the RIBA presidents medals by my tutor. It is called 'Explaining Stylistic Shifts' and in it I compare 'The Architecture of Happiness,' written by Alain De Botton, with a text he refers to called 'Abstraction & Empathy' written 100 years ago by a guy called Wilhelm Worringer. Here's hoping it does well! Although it's causing me nothing but bloody problems at the minute (printing problems).

From comparing the two writers and attempting to find the reasons for any differences that exist I attempt to explain the reason for stylistic shifts in art and architecture. I could go on, but it'd be easier for you just to read it if you're interested!

The end, the beginning

2007-06-11T05:31:00.000+01:00

I'm not totally sure why it's taken me so long to start one of these, but the fact remains that it has, so lets not worry about that too much.

This blog begins at the end of quite a significant part of my life, the end of the first part of my Architect degree. In fact, the main reason I've started this blog is to attempt to document all the crap I learn while I'm on placement, with a view to someday write something that somebody somewhere will be interested in (hopefully some sort of journal!) I also want a bit of a platform to spout my opinions, because despite being quite quiet I am very opinionated about a great many things.

I suppose I should explain a bit more who I am and what I'm about. My name is Andrew, but most people call me Molloy (or a variation there of). I live in Belfast, Northern Ireland (I have a lot of mixed emotions concerning this). I have a lovely girlfriend called Christine who I've been seeing for 3 years now. I am weeks away from graduating from a BA Architecture degree and roughly a month away from starting a year of placement with White Ink Architects http://www.whiteink.co.uk/. I am looking forward HUGELY to starting my placement and getting my hands on a bit of tangible experience, but also approaching it with a touch of trepidation, which I suppose is natural.

I just hope my life is interesting enough to sustain this blog, but I suppose that's something I'll discover as I go along.

I'll post again soon!

Sláinte!