THE OBENSON REPORT

Covering Cinema From All Across The African Diaspora

Architecture Is Sexy!

I'll let you all in on a secret of mine: if I weren't a filmmaker, I'd probably be an architect. That's right! I've had this clandestine love affair with architecture for some time, and with recent developments, especially those in some UAE states, as well as in certain south east Asian territories, my attraction has grown even stronger. No worries, I'm not going to suddenly abandon film to pursue architecture, but one thing I've learned to do is to never say never. One of my sisters is an architect, and from what I've learned from her experiences, it's a challenging industry to get ahead in, especially in this country, where creativity and risk are often suppressed in favor of conformity. The rooms in a building don't always have to have 4 walls, nor does the building itself have to be shaped like a rectangle or a box with a pointy hat on top. Just as I'm sometimes the frustrated filmmaker, I think I'd be just as frustrated, and maybe even more so, as an architect.

But it's always such a thrill when I see images of the works of people I would call renegade architects like Zaha Hadid (the first female recipient of the Pritzker Prize - architecture's equivalent of the Nobel Prize), Rem Koolhaas (also a Pritzker recipient and owner of probably the coolest name that an architect could ever have - or should I say KOOLest), and Santiago Calatrava. Their creations are masterful, brave and inspiring. They challenge every notion of what the average human being probably thinks of when they consider the idea of a building structure.

There are other architects who also inspire and challenge, like David Fisher, whose rotating Dynamic Tower, is the world's first "building in motion." I don't know what the downside could be in bringing a structure like this to life, but I can't deny how intriguing an idea it is, whether you like it or not.

Watch the clip below. You can also learn more about the Dynamic Tower HERE:

1 comments:

  1. The Wendilicious Wonder said...
     

    LOL! Funny you should mention boxes with pointy hats. That reminds me of the houses I was always drawing when I was a kid.

    Actually, after I realised that air-hostesses were little more than glorified waitresses, architecture was my second career of choice... Until I realised that I'd have to bone-up on my two scholastic bug-bears: mathemetics and physics. Urgh!

    The main (actually only) reason I'd like to visit Dubai is for the architecture. I've often sat up in the middle of the night watching TV shows about the property developments going on over there. It's like architecture heaven! And even the craftmanship and finish is so precise that it's been known to impress investors/buyers who work in the building industry in other parts of the world.

    Mind you, as much as they love to encourage architectural creativity in Dubai, sometimes I feel they do run the risk of becoming a bit of an architectural Vegas or maybe theme park.

    Still, it's on my list of places to visit some day. For window shopping, obviously, as I probably couldn't even afford a parking space!

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