An Adventurous Endeavour …
Is this the end of my journey in urban design? First of all, please pardon me, as I will be writing more casually to sum up my thoughts. And pardon me again, for jabbering (I tried to be as precise as I can in all previous writing but …) Countless times, I’ve questioned myself about taking on an additional master’s elective program while juggling an already demanding workload. Yet, at the end of the day, or maybe today, I know the struggle has been absolutely worth it.
As an international student first time being in the UK, or first time leaving the Asia, the whole experience has been an eye opener to me. Knowing myself come from a very different culture background, I pushed myself to the furthest to gain the most and I believe that is why I am here writing this blog. To talk about it as a whole, from a design project last year, to the weekly reading, blog and seminars this semester, it wasn’t the easiest but it has been the best time of my life.
A tiny secret is, I didn’t do well in last semester’s project as my first proper attempt of designing the urban, struggled to grasps what defines a good and effective urban design, basically just drawing beautiful lines on site to make it “Pinterest-able” as I have zero knowledge before joining the other students. I was devastated from last semester’s grade. Coming in this year, I wasn’t expecting much. However, I am really grateful to be exposed to tonnes of knowledge and fresh perspective that I wished to have obtained last year. Nevertheless, I believe I now have a stronger foundation in my approach to urban design after another year of learning, so better late than never! Special thanks to Professor Ali Madanipour, I truly respect the knowledge shared in his sessions and the reading prepared in the other module, the resources and the way he unpacked has assisted me in completing my blog research and also framing my MArch thesis in a more comprehensive way with a fresh perception in mind.
I am not a fast reader and a good writer, this semester has pushed me to read more and faster, and I do enjoy listening from a brand new (even conflicted) perspectives, they never fail to amaze me. Although timetable clashes prevented me from attending the blog seminar with the group as often as I would have liked, I truly value the opportunity to engage with others through the blog and learn from their insights (my favourite part being debating over the cultural difference in urban strategy between Asia countries with the Europe, and now I have additional knowledge from each part of the world!! ). It’s refreshing to exchange perspectives with peers when we meet and discuss our ideas, what is common here might not be in my home country and vice versa. As Shakespeare once said “there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”, I genuinely appreciate the tension and dynamic interplay of differing thoughts, it will be a valuable reminder to myself to remain open minded, resourceful, humble, curious, and also critical as a designer.
Another little secret is that I’ve been travelling around Europe as much as possible during term breaks. It’s been incredible to finally experience firsthand what I’ve read about in books, seen on the slides, or heard from my peers that I can better resonate with. This short journey as a whole has enhanced my perspective on exploring cities and architecture, allowing me to connect with each city in a more intimate and enriching way. As I mentioned in the first writing, my aim is to perceive beyond the boundary of merely architecture, realizing the importance of integrating urban design and architecture for a more holistic approach to shaping a city.
Lastly, I recently browse through a interview of Koolhas where he says, ““as a designer, when you travel, you feel home everywhere… you cannot be a tourist. You need to understand people. You need to listen to a place because the place has a story to tell. If you love that place, you feel at home.” I will not make this journey a waste, and continue to be inspired by every beautiful or ugly city.
