ARCH1101: May 2008

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Saturday, May 10, 2008

WHEN Donatella Versace attended the White House Correspondents' dinner on Saturday evening, the talk wasn't all politics - especially when it came to discussing presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.

"Hillary should wear Versace - a dress, not trousers," the designer mused. "She doesn't need to wear trousers to show she's strong."

And despite her attendance at the dinner, which was hosted by George Bush himself, Versace was candid about her views on the president.

"I'm happy to see Bush go; I'm very proud of Mrs Clinton," she added, according to The Daily. "To have a woman president would be amazing, but I also like what Obama says." (April 29 2008, AM)

Vogue Daily News, “The Politics of Donatella”, Vogue, http://www.vogue.co.uk/vogue_daily/story/story.asp?stid=52200 (accessed on 10 May, 2008)

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive and field general, has Napoleonic dreams of global conquest for his 10-month-old wonder gadget, the iPhone. So it may be fitting that he has encountering his most serious resistance in a city called Waterloo.

That is where, 110 kilometers, or 70 miles west of Toronto, 19 nondescript, low-rise office buildings constitute the headquarters of Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry.

RIM is the North American leader in building smartphones, those versatile handsets that operate more like computers than phones. But RIM may have trouble dominating the market's next phase. Once the exclusive domain of e-mail-obsessed professionals, smartphones are now prized by consumers who want easy access to the Web, digital music and video even more than an omnipresent connection to their in-boxes.

Since the iPhone went on sale last summer, amid long lines of shoppers and media adulation, the contours of the smartphone market have begun to shift rapidly toward consumers. An industry once characterized by brain-numbing acronyms and droning discussions about enterprise security is now defined by buzz around handset design, video games and mobile social networks.

International Herald Tribune: Business with Reuters, “RIM fights to keep its edge on smartphones”, International Herald Tribune, http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/27/business/RIM.php (accessed on 10 May, 2008)

Zhang Yin

HONG KONG: Just five years ago, Zhang Yin and her husband were driving around the United States in a used Dodge Caravan minivan, begging garbage dumps to give them their scrap paper.

She and her husband, who was trained as a dentist, had formed a company in the 1990s to collect paper for recycling and ship it to China. It was a step up from life in Hong Kong, where she had opened a paper-trading company with $3,800 to cash in on China's chronic paper shortages.

"I remember what a man in the business told me back then," Zhang Yin said. "He said, 'Waste paper is like a forest. Paper recycles itself, generation after generation.'"

Zhang took that memory all the way to the bank. As a result of her entrepreneurship, she is now richer than virtually any other woman anywhere in the world, including Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart, and the chief executive of eBay, Meg Whitman. Her personal wealth is estimated at $1.5 billion or more.

International Herald Tribune: Business, “China's 'Queen of Trash' finds riches in waste paper”, International Herald Tribune, http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/15/business/trash.php (accessed on 10 May, 2008)

The Mash-Up

HONG KONG: Just five years ago when Donatella attended the White House Correspondents' dinner on Saturday evening, the iPhone went on sale. Versace was candid about her views on Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive and field general who has Napoleonic dreams of global conquest for his 10-month-old wonder gadget, the iPhone. Versace said "He said, 'Waste paper is like a forest. Paper recycles itself, generation after generation." And despite her attendance at the dinner, which was hosted by George Bush himself she and her husband, who was trained as a dentist, had formed a company in the 1990s to collect paper for recycling and ship it to China.

Since last summer, amid long lines of shoppers and media adulation, Versace, as a result of her entrepreneurship is now richer than virtually any other woman anywhere in the world. Versace said "Hillary should wear Versace - a dress, not trousers,", "She doesn't need to wear trousers to show she's strong."

Monday, May 5, 2008

Link to Map

My Exp2 Map

Explanation

I felt that without explaining the things that i did in my Exp2, they would be overlooked and perhaps mis-interpreted. My model is based on key themes that i extracted from the two quotes.

In Stephen Hawking's quote, i felt two things stood out: virus and destruction. Therefore, i constructed a laboratory that is very dangerous, sterile and awkward to move in, to emphasise the word destruction. In addition, i added a number of large rectangles that impale the laboratory to suggest a viral and infested sensation.

Jane Goodall's quote, i felt was much about life and change for the better. Hence, the inside cavern that Goodall's lab is located in, i filled with plenty of vegetation and other organic factors, such as crystals. I created the ramp that takes you to this laboratory to be a dangerous and awkward one, to emphasise the notion that life is precious and to further enhance the experience once that journey across the ramp is completed.

In both laboratorys I also created a destination point. Since Hawking's lab is constructed on the basis of "destruction" and "virus", I added a relic that symbolises the heart of this "virus", the origin of destruction. On the other extreme, in Goodall's lab I added a relic that symbolises life. I emphasised this aspect by adding bright and different coloured lights.

Overall, there is a gradual transition between the two laboratories, ranging from an unpleasant and dangerous one, to quite the opposite.