The Production Of Space - Henri Lefebvre

The Production of Space by Henri Lefebvre, challenging piece to read at first so I read it to my colleagues at work, who where not too happy I was taking up valuable time from there lunch break, but by doing this little task I think I understood a fraction of what Henri was trying to get at, about ten percent of what I read made sense but the other ninety was absolutely a waste of paper.

The bit I did understand was the production of space, who creates these spaces and why? As a product why do we like certain spaces so much?. Well the discussion we had in our seminar went in a different direction to what I thought we were going to discuss, almost a mirror image of the night before watching question time on TV and seeing the leader of the BNP publicise himself on the BBC , this was an incredible advantageous tactic for the Labour party, they almost looked like heroes on the same stage as the BNP party. Yes it was theatre, but not the kind that had a light entertaining feel, it was rather deep, uncomfortable and entertaining.

I commend the Labour for the orchestrated performance, yes they seem to have the power, a very clever power, but ‘silly rabbit tricks are for kids’, lets see you takes the bait.

How did we connect back to the original thought of the day? I don’t seem to recall that moment but we bounced on the Marxism, the exploitation of the class system….right I think we get on top the production of space again here somewhere….the bourgeoisie who create the hallucination of spaces which we all strive to enjoy! I think we are all guilty in that department. How does Marxism and the production fit together? Henri describes that Marxism theory as being “eroded” one of the core values quoted from Wikipedia is “The productive capacity of society is the foundation of society, and as this capacity increases over time the social relations of production, class relations, evolve through this struggle of the classes and pass through definite stages (primitive communism, slavery, feudalism, capitalism). The legal, political, ideological and other aspects (ex. art) of society are derived from these production relations as is the consciousness of the individuals of which the society is composed”, so nostalgia allows us to see the pattern of the past, it allows you to think what may come in the future. We have the means but do we know how to apply?. I once heard something similar which came to mind during this discussion ‘we are drowning in information but starved for knowledge’.

I just wanted to post this video as well as I know that we all imagine a reality that is tailor made for us, but as we have not reached that stage yet I like to think that it one day it could be done just like in this video.

http://vimeo.com/3365942

After Theory Terry Eagleton

Terry Eagleton, is he stressed or what! By the pace in which I had read it , knowing that it had probably been written in this manner as well to leads me to concern. He is obviously passionate about his findings on theories, but does he need moments of verbal diarrhoea?.

The several points in the chapter of The Rise and Fall of Theory are as follows, He talks about the bourgeoisie society, and the class systems, he makes a point of the culture we live in today, capitalism, It is very strange the moment in life when you realise that you are in a system of bigger systems, he brought back the memories of when I was about fifteen working in a restaurant and suddenly becoming an angry person, I didn’t like the way customers treated me, I didn’t like my pay and I didn’t like my boss who played favourites with the tips at the end of the evening. Eagleton suddenly brought out this angry memory in me, what was he trying to evoke? Why was he trying to shake the emotions?

His observations of mass society and trends clearly is not his cup of tea, but for a theorist he seems awfully hypocritical to be saying one thing and doing another, I get the sense that he feels the end of capitalism will be a good thing, but will it? My feeling towards it that there are advantages and disadvantages to capitalism and communism!

I almost want to scream at him and say you wannabe anarchist! It is almost inevitable that the future will bring anarchy though some sort of political revolution or another, but it will occur when the masses come together, there are groups which revolt but never make a dent in the system they are trying to demolish. Every day we all come across an event that just isn’t to the same time frame or pattern that we would like to live at, but we do so…..consciously….make decisions that leads us to the next event ‘cause and effect’ Eagleton quotes, I do like this very simple but very truthful quote, it make me feel that I do have somewhat some control over my everyday life, choice is however an Illusion, but a very sane illusion, it makes you feel the control, that you made a decision and you controlled that outcome of you choice.

Eagleton refers to the 60’s and the universities involvement in the shaping of the young, the young however had a long time to ponder and read at these institutes, they had the freedom to read what they wanted and to create a new outcome, the revolutions that occurred in the 60’s saw a new generation of free thinkers emerge into the public eye, the artist became who they wanted to be, they where enlightened, and they where expressive in all manners and forms, sexuality, politics, education, equal rights and religion.

As culture continues to evolve into other shapes and forms, we will inevitable see the cycle start over again to bring new ideas so that it can shape the future of society.

Fear and Money in Dubai

I wasn't too thrilled on Wednesday this week, just as I had sneakily printed this article out at work I had place it on my desk to await my return from a Sainsbury quick walk lunch break with my Covent garden soup, as I came into the office, one of my colleagues told me just had a visitor round, not flinching as to why they where telling me this, did they soon say I turned you piece of paper over on your desk! Did something just click in my starved brain, let me set the office scene for you, I sit next to a big sectional model of a stadium we are designing in Abu Dhabi it’s a glass box that greats the visiting guests and on the other side of the glass is me, so I can only imagine what had happened, the visitor coming up to the model admiring the great feet of design only to look to the other side and see the title of the article ‘Fear and Money in Dubai’. I know I better do my cheeky doings after hours.

All the isms in this article for one gave me an ism to deal with myself, it seems from the description of Mike Davies that they really like it large out there, and why not! There is an ego competition out there in the Gulf and only one family gets it all. The city of sin, or was that Vegas?. Vegas was the original, the one, this is just an imitation that thinks it may do better, maybe it will? I don’t think I could survive in Dubai, not just because it’s hot all the time but also my political view would defiantly conflict with there laws.

This global cash well is doing well for it economy maybe not for the people who live there, the slaves who work for the big construction companies work long hours for poor pay and poor conditions, the oil it sells is the big money and the relationship between the neighbouring countries is….well. Dubai cam into a huge boom with palm island and the high risers, the country saw an increase in popularity for properties, celebrities came to buy houses that they never used, it was so tacky but everybody loved it. The description Mike uses in the opening to the article is quite clear to describe his uncomfortable state on the inside and oddly his sublime comfort on the outside.

Dubai just seems to be in world of it’s own, its like candy its really nice and sweet but soon it will root your teeth.

Zaha (moreintelligentlife.com)

At first the author of this article Jonathan Meades takes notice of Zaha’s office, he mentions ‘there is little sound other then the click of keyboards and the low murmur of from earphones’ sound a little like my office when the bosses are away, this sort of etiquette is quite normal in offices, while live streaming you can listen to your favorites while clicking the mouse like a monkey….I mean like an architectural assistant, but what I have learnt about this office tool the earphones is that it can work to your advantage, at the moment you are at the peak of high deadlines I use them as a deterrence to other to not disturb my intense staring at the screen and click of the mouse, but also I use it as a way do not get distracted by the other goings on around me, I almost feel sorry for the employees of Zaha’s office, I’m sure that they are getting the best experience in life but I also know some who want to run a mile.

It can be said that the computer is a tool and in Zaha’s case she describes the relationship between the computer an fabrication as ‘exciting’, as a strong believer in the digital world we have developed our minds into a tool as well for processing, it can sometimes be a matter of draw the line and it is done, but there are times when you have to process as much as a computer has to.

The language of the architects, oh what a mystery, when Meads says that Zaha cannot describe the style of her designs, does it mean that if its indefinable the theory of her work can never be learnt, that’s a shame, Zaha’s legacy should live on in the future.

http://www.moreintelligentlife.com/story/zaha-hadid

Theory2 The Beggining

To be frank I was displeased to say the least by the idea of writing a blog, for my PG Dip Arch theory 2 course, I thought don’t I do enough on the internet already, with facebook, twitter, myspace and whatnot, I have enough trouble remembering the login for all theses things plus your user accounts for your mail plus on top of that I have two for work as well, I really need to start writing theses things down…., but I thought I better stop moaning because that wrinkle inset on my forehead is getting longer and deeper the more ponder over it, so hey lets get to it.

What is it? It’s a blog about my thoughts on theory 2 lectures with Paul Davies, you know the one who writes about Vegas! So thinking about this article in moreintelligentlife.com about Zaha Hadid, and the points Mr. Vegas wants me to think about I suddenly realized that going though the points I faced about ninety percent of the points on a day to day basis so how hard could this be?