Man Made Marvels: Songdo City.

Long time in this blog, I did not write any post on architecture, and now it is a right time for it…Why? Because just now I have just checked on a TV programme called Man Made Marvels: Songdo City in National Geographic Channels…

  

I love National Geographic…sometimes I can learn a lot of things related to architecture, building technology, engineering, and history. Songdo City is a new (constructing) city in Incheon region of South Korea. The whole project needs around US 35 billion dollar and sits on the 1500 acres of reclaimed land. The master plan is designed by Kohn Pederson Fox.

It is the world largest private construction project and is scheduled for completion by year 2014, ten years after construction began. The workers only had ten years to build the whole city from flat ground to green city of skyscrapers and high quality living.

There are three man made marvels listed in the project, first of all the Incheon International Airport. It is among the world best and greatest airport. It is very large and built on a man made island in the middle of sea.

Next, is the new Songdo International Convention Center. The most interesting part of it is it’s engineering breakthrough. The large curved roof that resembles the traditional roof form of Korean architecture had no column supporting it from below. The load has to be transferred to the two ends of the each roof joined together and then transferred to the 30m deep foundation. The structure will be the city center and is designed by famous architectural firm; Kohn Pederson Fox.

Next, is the new Incheon Bridge. This 12km bridge (8m above water) will be linking the airport directly to Songdo City. It will be the world fifth longest cable-stayed bridge when completed. The bridge pylon stands at a staggering height of 238m. This bridge undergoes various weather constraints like strong winds, low tides, strong mist, heavy rain, etc.

There will be a Central Park in the city, similar to the Central Park in New York City. The park will symbolize the high quality of living of residents in the green city. Artificial lake, river, gardens, pavilions, gazebos, etc are all available in the park.

There will be few soaring skyscrapers around the city center, residential and office towers above 60 floors high. Northeast Asia Trade Tower is now topped out at 70 floors, with a height of 305m, the tallest building in South Korea. It is designed by KPF too; a square plan with a triangular top for helicopter landing pad. Every buildings in the city ( around 500 to 600 ) will be LEED (Leadership in Engineering Environmental Design) certified, marking the status of a green city.

Wow..I’m great, I can remember so many information I have watched just now.

(Almost) End of July 2009…

The month of July, year 2009 almost coming to an end…

It is the month of my semester break, which I enjoyed the most…

And perhaps it is my greatest month of the year…

Why is that so? Everything explained below…

 

Holiday is always lovely for us, students without assignments…

Furthermore, there are a lot of happy events going on this month…

Like my eldest sister’s wedding which took place on 11^th July 2009…

Quite tired after the event but it leaves me unforgettable memory…

 

One more event, related to architecture, but I don’t think so…

The ARCHIDEX, architecture, interior design and building technology…

A large exhibition with a lot of booths in KL Convention Centre…

Luckily it is free, and I learnt nothing from there…

 

In this month, I had watched two movies which are very popular…

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince…

First movie, is cool, full of action, full of wars between…

The latter, is quite long but with a nice story with some humorous parts…

 

Not only movies that I watched during the whole month….

I love to watch TVB series, Hong Kong is excellent in producing dramas…

Namely Burning Flame 3 and A Bride For A Ride…

One serious, action series, another one funny, comedy series…

 

Outings are usual during holiday, outings are nice…

Friends are gathered, because this is the time everyone is free…

But some were back to their hometowns, cannot attend…

Too bad, nevermind, we will see again when school reopens…

 

Time for next month, August, the month when we will be back…

Attending classes, completing assignments, and handling stress…

It is also the month when Malaysians celebrate the nation’s independence…

But now, I’m curious why this post looks like a poem…

A ‘can-be-said’ weird outing…

Today went out for outing…as usual, singing karaoke session, at the favourite place…Neway Puchong…do not judge the book by its cover…eventhough the appearance of the building looks bad, but the services in there is very good…

Before that, I have to clarify why today outing is kinda weird…because we have a tutor attending…first time go outing with a lecturer, weird, isn’t it? He, Chris, anyway, is a good guy that can mix with us easily…so no problem after all…

Before K session, time for breakfast at one Dim Sum Restaurant near the area…quite delicious but still not as delicious as those in Taman Connaught…wow, over RM 45 for four person, that’s quite expensive…maybe we ate a lot..haha…

Time for K session, weird again! Singing with a tutor…haha…but after sometime, can cope with it already..Chris sang quite good oso…don’t play play with him…haha…we all ‘cin cai cin cai’ sing lah…just for fun only…but I felt boring oso…bcoz very cold in there and the time in there was too long…

Less than RM 90 for four person in a quite-a-large room with own washroom…sang from 1pm till 7pm eventhough the time stated for our session to end is by 5pm…extra 2 hours, it is why I said that place Neway is good…services oso excellent…

After that, time for dinner at OldBoy Cafe at Bandar Puteri near the area too…there, we are treated with fish’s spa…our legs are on a pond filled with cute little fish ( I don’t know what fish they are)…they will like bite you (of ocurse no pain)…just very ‘geli’…especially when there are a lot surrounding your legs….they focused on your feet, removing dirts and cleanse it…felt very comfortable after all…

 

But too bad, I was being splashed by water..whose fault? Yeeh…Jeff, he scared of it and suddenly took out his legs which cause havoc…all over my body was wet…pity me….after over fifteen minutes of spa, time for dinner and time to go back home…

World Games 2009 Kaohsiung ended!

In less than two weeks ago, I have mentioned before in my previous post on the World Games…it was the opening ceremony that was held successfully (eventhough it is still far behind the Beijing 2008 Opening Ceremony) in terms of everything..the opening ceremony was kinda weird, the performances were not so good, and the fireworks were boring…anyway, it still marks the beginning of the games which China boycotted. 

The logo and the main stadium:

  

Now, it’s time for the closing ceremony after ten days of the games…so fast the games ended, the preparations for the games that had started few years ago (which I did see too) finally came to a stop…yesterday is the night of the closing ceremony…again, I didn’t watch it also because it was not broadcasted live…have to wait for tomorrow to watch the show…it marks the end of the games… 

 One video here, the audiences play with LED light to form the LED Galaxy in the stadium…quite nice…:

 

Wow…Malaysia got a gold medal (by Nicol David in squash) which is predicted…I can’t believe our bowling team only earned us bronze. Malaysia had 1 gold and 3 bronze, that’s considered good for Malaysia… Even Kaohsiung had hosted World Games (world second largest games), it is really the time for Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) to seriously think on putting a strong bid with full preparations in plan to host 2020 Summer Olympic Games to mark Wawasan 2020 (Vision 2020)…hope it will (which is highly impossible)…Everybody know why… 

What a great night…ASQ 2009 Final…

Yesterday night, Astro Star Quest 2009 Final which I attended with my dad was successfully held…

 

By 6pm, we are already ready to go for dinner (among the earliest dinner) at nearby mak mak tang so that it will be faster…fetch my relatives go too…actually, we no need to hurry because our tickets are numbered, no need to rush for first come first serve basis…

Get a car park, then we moved from the area near the Bukit Jalil National Stadium to the Bukit Jalil Putra Indoor Stadium, the place where the event was held…the stadium can hold up to 16 000 capacity… 

A lot of people are there by 7pm…all queuing, all chatting, all gathering for different finalists they are supporting…this group wear red shirts, that group wear black shirts…etc…five giant banners of the five finalists are hang up on the main entrance… 

Okay..time to get into the stadium eventhough it was still early after bought sweets and drinks nearby…We sat on quite an nice place..the ground floor is for VIP and fans seats…we sat on first floor, almost directly in front of the stage..but quite far from it due to the size of the stadium….now, at the back of stadium is useless as it is blocked by the large stage, now the stadium can hold around 10 000 people only…but still a lot!

 The stage:

Competition started and aired live on Astro Wah Lai Toi and radio MYFM. There are five rounds, and the special guests are ASQ 2008 winner, Yean Wan Chean (she only performed a song) and Hong Kong singer, Janice Wei Lan. Seniors from previous years’ competition were attending also. The stadium is almost fully crowded with people…the emcees are Jojo and Jentzhen.

 The beginning, with five finalists singing theme song of the competition (same every year):

First round came, themed on Dance and Fast Song…finalist number one, my favourite and many people’s favourite, Juztin Lau Kah Fai, who is very professional in singing Cantonese songs…yes, in first stage, he sang Cantonese song…cool…but he got nervous a little bit, maybe because he was the first one to sing on stage…then, Alvin’s  turn, only an 18 years old boy which had a lot of supporters coming…but that night his performance dropped…next, Yee Min’s turn, she is the best among the girls…she sang very good too….next, Ryan’s turn, the only-know-how-to-dance finalist with poor singing skill who can still enter the final because of his star-look, this stage is a luck for him….finally, Yoke’s turn…not bad…

Second round came, themed on Love and Slow Song….Kah Fai sang a superb song, he choose a girl song to sing, great, he sang it well, no more nervous, show all his skills…next, Alvin, not bad, but still slacking, next, Min, again, sang until perfection, next Ryan, haha…this time he will be surely tested, and he show all his poor singing skills out…good for him!….finally, Yoke’s turn, a lovely song from her…

One has to be kicked out and to be the fourth runner up, and top two finalists, Min and Kah Fai were allowed to continue to next round, with many people cheering….Alvin, Ryan and Yoke had to stand on spot and which undergoes light display…the spot which does not have light on it at last will be eliminated…and that is Alvin…sad…he sang pretty good last time, don’t know why his performance dropped that night…nevermind…last clap of hand for him…do not think that fourth runner up is no good…

Next, round three…themed on Pure Voice and Skill…and yes, Kah Fai show all his strong skills again in Cantonese songs…he had not yet sing any Mandarin song yet that night…Min again, huh…didn’t make a mistake, almost perfect again…she must be praised…next, Ryan, haha…your problem quickly arises in this round…this is why people with no singing skills can’t stay long on stage…very poor…Yoke’s turn, lovely song from her again…

This time, top two, again Min and Kah Fai can proceed to next round as predicted…Ryan and Yoke had to undergo light ‘game’ again…and this time, Ryan lost…yes!Happy!…anyway, he is the third runner up too…counted as not bad already. 

Round four, left three finalists….themed on Cooperation with Janice…Janice Wei Lan was out to stage, but she was so sick that she can’t sing her song few times to test the three finalists…hence, she only sang one time for demo and back behind stage (her appearance is kinda useless, she was sick until need people to accompany her to stage)..she caused all the finalists to be confused during the round especially Kah Fai…luckily he was not eliminated…Min had to sing again to clarify again…this time, light ‘game’ again…Yoke was out, but she is still the second runner up…actually this round, Min is kinda in dangerous situation, because she was almost out this time…only need to be tested again…

Now left two finalists, competing for champion title…fifth round, the last round…both had to sing fast and slow songs in a very high feeling…called as Ultimate PK Round…this time, Kah Fai seems nervous again and his performance slack a bit…he did not sing first two words, something like that, which was detected by everyone, I supposed….but Min’s performance oso slack a bit…she shouted during the last final song which is a fast song…she supposed to sing one…

Okay…time for judges to raise up their choices which is a very hard decision…there are seven judges…I predicted 4:3….Min came out first to be given points…if this time, she had four or more points, she will win directly…here something unfair happened..the emcees said that the judges who choose Min should raise their cards (or something, I don’t know what is it) together…3,2,1…three out of seven judges raised at the same time, which means Kah Fai wins, but then at last, another judge raised his card…This is really unfair…that judge checked on others before raising his card…UNFAIR! Nevermind, Kah Fai is still the champion for all of us…many of us felt disappointed…pity Kah Fai, nevermind, Kah Fai will have a bright future ahead a star…he had the star-look, he had the singing skills, he had the charisma…nothing can stop him from becoming a star in near future…

The final time when Yee Min won the champion title and sang a song while crying:

Now ends up Kah Fai as the first runner up and Min as the champion…The top three finalists will be competing on International Chinese Talent Quest Competition 2009 in the end of the year…hope they will do their best by the time too…

Picture below showing top three finalists (From left: Kah Fai, Yee Min, Yoke)

Result:

Champion: Yee Min.

First runner up: Kah Fai.

Second runner up: Yoke.

Third runner up: Ryan.

Fourth runner up: Alvin.

Most Favourite Finalist: Kah Fai. (Through SMS)

Best MV Director: Forgot the name, but is from the MV of Yee Min.

Best Song Producer: Kok, defeating Aquila.

Time to leave the stadium and walked back to the car park there…wow..serious traffic jam…all leaving at the same time…reached home exactly by 12 am midnight…tired, time to sleep….Today morning, now, writing this post…

Huh…what a news…Janice was admitted to hospital right after leaving the stage singing a short song for demo…pity her…supposed to be the special guest for the competition, now becoming guest for the hospital in Malaysia…

Anyway, felt very enjoyable of the Final competition…done successfully…grateful for that! Can still feel the excitement of the crowd in the stadium too…really cool!

Cool Google Earth…

Have been too boring lately…

So nothing to do, go check out the Google Earth further…

  

I love the 3D buildings option which you can view buildings on that location in 3D..cool…these 3D buildings are probably sketched by those professionals in Google Sketch Up.

Cities like Chicago and New York have almost all their highrises in 3D form. It is like almost seeing the whole city, from any angle, making it more real…those professionals are very hardworking in sketching all these..and it is very nice…with all the façade treatment, proportion, almost everything correct.

Chicago…

Other cities like Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai only had some (very few) buildings in 3D form. All other flat….nothing much too see…just looking the city from top is not interesting ….no one wants to sketch buildings for these cities…how come? Anyway, now I can see more and more 3D buildings seen in these cities too…grateful for that…

My home city, Kuala Lumpur:

Some places look interesting from top too. Check this Olympic Green, Beijing…and 3D form of Beijing National Stadium…cool…but still not correct totally…

Cool? There are more….it is always updated!

Modules I like and hate in previous semester…

Holiday time reminds me of the previous semester….Semester One of Year One in architecture course…

Before the previous semester began, some people including lecturers had said that the semester would be easy for us…Instead, it is among the hardest semester we have ever seen…

Yes, there are only five modules in the whole semester, better than Foundation year…but there are a lot of tasks in these modules…anyway, I love some of the modules too…The list in order from most loved to hated below tells all:

Communication Principles 111 — 80% love, 20% hate.
This is basically an English language class, but it focuses more on communication , our speaking and sentence making skill. Everything is go-and-easy in this module…less assignments, assignments can be completed in a short period of time….no stress at all…fun during the class….we had a nice lecturer who can sometimes joke with us during the class….and this module ended very early…giving us more time to focus on other module…how considerate…

Architecture and Culture 101 — 70% love, 30% hate.
Eventhough this is among the hardest module I have ever seen, but this is also one of my favourites. This module is among the most important subject in the whole semester. I have really learnt a lot from this subject….thinking and sketching through abstract way, creating and figuring out idea while exploring architecture especially during site visits…this is no joke, a serious class, especially when strict lecturers are teaching, eventhough sometimes hard to be understood….I miss journal and big chart now, the two main assignments of the module…

Building Technology 101 — 60% love, 40% hate.
This is also one of my favourites. This time, this module is easier…focusing more on practical ways rather than theory. We build, build and build, this is what we have to do for the three main assignments; Wunder Wall, Tower of Terror and Plane of Pain. We have a lot of fun during these assignments when we are working in group….yes, the same group…eventhough we have put a lot of time, energy and money on it, it is something valuable as we see our outcomes (the finished works)…final examination is easy too…

Design Communication 101 —50% love, 50% hate.
Drawing class…I personally dislike drawing class…anyway, it is still important for an architect…but honestly, I don’t have a good drawing skill…what we have to do in manual section is that we need to draw everything again from a sample house shown…with addition of few new drawings not shown…in AutoCad section which we had never been taught on, this is fun as this is the first time we are using AutoCad to draw…new to it, learnt it, and now know how to use it probably…and redraw again everything…haiz…

Architecture and Design 101 —40% love, 60% hate.
The most important subject of the whole semester, even every semester….design, the key in architecture…and this module, I hated the most…I personally felt that the syllabus does not match the real requirements…maybe we are not up to that standard yet…Three main assignments; Flying Egg (no use, ridiculous, weird), Container (Extra-Ordinary Space) and Habitat…all the models and presentation boards which need to consume a lot of time in finishing them makes me to dislike this subject..anyway, I can’t run out from it ,it is compulsory…the systems in the class are bad too…

Now, my university friends and I are waiting for the next semester which is predicted to be tougher, more stress, and crazier…more modules is expected too…aah…let’s enjoy the remaining holiday first (around two weeks left)…don’t think of that first…

And sorry for a long long essay in this post here..Haha…

Finally got the tickets…

Two days ago, when I checked my mail..uui, I found a mail sent by Astro…then it reminds me of few weeks ago when I am too boring, surfing the Astro website, and registering myself with my dad’s Astro account for the tickets giveaway for first 200 customers registering.

At first, I thought I won’t be the first, but just try my luck anyway. I have tried this kind of competition few times and I never make it. So this is not exceptional.  This time, I am trying on two premium tickets for Astro Star Quest 2009 which I have been watching it every year.

Back to the mail, I quickly opened it and found out that it is the mail I wanted to see. The result is SUCCESSFUL. Wow…first time making this…kinda happy by the time…Fill in the form from website and do nothing while waiting…and now got it!

Aah…need to go to Astro main office near National Sports Complex there…there I do not know how to go ooh…then check for Google Earth for direction to go there…Google Earth is quite helpful by this time…Went there, undergoes health-check by the security guards to see whether I got infected by H1N1 virus or not….my body temperature was just 36.1 degree Celsius…no problem…

The two tickets:

Finally got the tickets after a long drive…planning to watch the event with my dad, since my dad watch this competition every year. Same with me too, same interest…haha…the Final is on this Saturday, 8.00pm, at Stadium Putra (Indoor) Bukit Jalil (near the Astro office too)…we have to be there by 7.30pm…hope to get a nice seating place, since ours one is premium seats with number. Others, first come first serve basis.

22.07.2009..Total solar eclipse across Asia…

Today, in the early morning, dated 22^nd July 2009 as reported, total solar eclipse will occur across Asia. The total solar eclipse is the longest in the century that will lasts over six minutes long. It can be seen from northern Asia till Japanese islands until it goes to the Pacific Ocean. Anywhere in the route will plunge into darkness in the early morning after dawn…

Picture below showing full solar eclipse seen at SouthWest China’s Chongqing Municipality at 9.16am:

 

Many people, who believed strongly in religion, believed that something bad will happen today, and a giant disaster will strike in the following months after the eclipse. Furthermore, this time the eclipse is the longest one, so they predict the future upcoming tragedy to be really disastrous…

I am in Malaysia, Malaysia can observe partial eclipse too this early morning. Did you see it? Through your naked eyes? I did not. I am still sleeping by that time, unable to wake up so early to watch it. However, it is a golden opportunity for scientists and researchers to know more on the Sun. Do not forget that Sun keeps us alive in the Earth. 

Too bad I didn’t see it by myself, but they said it is better not to see it, as it will bring bad luck too, as believed. During the solar eclipse, every people’s mood will be affected too, but not mine probably, because I’m still sleeping by that time…Haha 

Just found out the news that in Malaysia, it is hardly to view the partial solar eclipse because the weather is bad, thunderstorms are approaching, sky is covered by thick clouds…great disappointment to Malaysians who wished to watch it…

How is it? If you are anywhere around Asia, like in China or Japan, may you share what you see to me?

Now 2-0…Haiz…

After the Saturday’s friendly match between Manchester United and Malaysia that ended up in 3-2, tight fight…all the fans are pushing forward to watch the immense match between them again on Monday, yesterday night…

However, the results seems that there is no way Malaysia can beat Manchester United, unless miracles come…the results is 2-0, Malaysia can’t even score a goal, while MU scored two comfortably…

I’m sure this time around, MU really played in their usual form, unlike on Saturday ones, when they played like…’ooh, let us be nice to them…’ the 40 000 fans in the stadium cheering for MU had lost confidence on Malaysia who put a great fight with MU on last Saturday…

Malaysian team did their best, but they are still not up to the level, performance and skill are still lagging behind, not up to expectation as well…Anyway, they tried their best, good luck for them too…MU is the best, they are so popular…I didn’t watch the two matches, but I can still feel the ‘heat’ of these matches from my ears…