Thursday, December 25, 2008

04 . Decoding the ac façade 01







Decoding the ac façade is our attempt(s) to unveil urban spaces defined by agglomeration of ac condensers. Boat Quay seems appropriate as a good start for our probe into the realm of ‘Condensing City’. Step aside from the bustling flow of tourists into the back lanes of Boat Quay, you will find something really phenomenal, a city of air-con condensing unit. The narrow streets are filled with humming noise and hot air generated from those little metal boxes. These old shop houses were initially designed for residential or small business purposes, once converted into restaurants, discos or bars with extra demand of energy combining with the scarceness of space, installation of condensers on the building façade is inevitable.

1 comment:

Spiderfornicator said...

the buildings are kind of architectural cyborgs....condensers are the parasitic additions that are part and parcel of each shop houses transformation. Interestingly, although quite organic and random to the eye, the condensers are still organized within the confines of each shop house facade, opportunistic placements within limits, perhaps a microcosm of the city itself?