Rankings periodically come out listing various cities and countries in terms of GDP or "gross national happiness" or other measure of the quality of life. The process is inherently reductive and tries to judge widely different contexts against the same measure. GDP is the simplest means of comparison, roughly calculating the sum total of economic... Continue Reading →
04/06: Diagrams of Diagrams
This post, like yesterday's, is a reproduction of an assignment for a class called Visual Epistemologies taught at PennDesign by Orkan Telhan. The assigment asks for summary, quotations, questions and personal responses. Today's writing is on Diagrams of Diagrams by Anthony Vidler. Anthony Vidler sketches out a thorough history of the use of the diagram as... Continue Reading →
04/05: The Agency of Mapping
The following is a written response to The Agency of Mapping by James Corner. Corner - Agency of MappingDownload James Corner objects to the depiction and use of mapping as a tool for representation, a means of describing objective and neutral truth. To Corner mapping is an active, engaging and revealing process which is able... Continue Reading →
03/31: Moneo on Type
Rafael Moneo came to PennDesign to speak this evening, and I'm taking the opportunity to show two projects of his that I had the chance to visit while in Spain, in addition to a short response I penned to his essay On Typology. Rafael Moneo's On Typology takes a direct, thorough, and academic approach to a discussion... Continue Reading →
03/24: Ant Colonies and Microchip Urbanism
The following is a consolidation and elaboration of a few thoughts and interests: A few years ago I saw a clip of a morning talk show interviewing Dr. Walter Tschinkel and his unique method of documenting the structure and spatial arrangement of ant colonies. He would pour molten aluminum into the ant hills and then excavate... Continue Reading →
03/22: Stadium Architecture
The following is a proposal written for a traveling fellowship from last year. The grant was not awarded: "As participation in organized religion continues to decline and economic troubles plague Western Europe, the religious and economic phenomenon that is football (soccer) continues to thrive. The national teams of Spain, France, Italy have had tremendous recent... Continue Reading →
03/14: Cricket
A few images from Sri Lanka's victory over Pakistan in Saturday's Asia Cup cricket final. Cricket has a coupe of arrangements and structures which I haven't found corollaries for in other sports. Most of the action originates in the center of the field, with the direction of bowls (pitches) and batters alternating direction. The field (ground) is... Continue Reading →
03/13: Traffic
Dhaka traffic, off all kinds and modes, is a paradox of spatial efficiency and a complete waste of time. A spare-no-inch mentality has every vehicle darting forward until they are physically unable to advance or, rarely, and existential threat (speeding car, merging bus) stops them in their tracks. The traffic is worse than anything I've... Continue Reading →
03/10: Garment Factory
Yesterday we visited a garment factory shipping a relatively small batch of clothes to a boutique Italian clothing firm. About a year ago a garment factory collapsed outside of Dhaka near Savar, west of the city. That event marked a surge in interest on the part of the international community and western consumers as to... Continue Reading →
03/09: Ferry Boat Junction
Today we took a bus ride west of Dhaka to the meeting of the Ganges and the Jamuna Rivers, crossing the river by ferry and exploring the ferry town on the other side. Traffic volume and etiquette takes some getting used to. Two lane roads mean three, as a game of chicken plays out as... Continue Reading →
Adam Achrati 