The Basilica of the Sacré Cœur vs. The Taj Mahal

I was in Paris this weekend and spent the afternoon at Montmartre. The Basilica of the Sacré Cœur immediately reminded me of the Taj Mahal; perhaps a French version? Notice the overall resemblance: white marble, domes, symmetry. The Taj Mahal was constructed in the 17th century while the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur was built two centuries later. I'm sure there wasn't any sort of historical/ architectural influence between the two, but I found it rather interesting how the two monuments look so alike.

Eiffel Tower

We also visited the Eiffel Tower - France's global icon. Lit blue in the evening with yellow stars (representing the European Union) - It was spectacular! The symmetric like shape amazed me the most. Apparently the tower's shape was determined by mathematical calculation involving wind resistance.

Psycho Buildings Made by Artists Gone Wild

Over the summer I visited the Psycho Buildings exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in London. Ten artists from around the world designed architectural environments to transform Hayward’s exterior and interior in celebration of the gallery’s 40th anniversary. Truly fascinating. Three of my favorites:

Normally, Proceeding and Unrestricted With Without Title



Installation by Austrian art collective Gelitin. You can go rowing on Hayward’s roof in an odd wooden boats floating in 4 feet of water. The water is the same level as the existing wall so it looks as though you can paddle right off the edge (although you won’t!) while viewing London’s beautiful view.

Village



Installation by Rachel Whiteread. Made up of 250 eerie doll houses, each illuminated by a single light bulb, shown in Britain for the first time. Feels like you’re in some sort of spooky fantasyland.

Fallen Star





Installation by Do Ho Suh. Inspired by The Wizard of Oz, this is a house crash of the artist’s Korean childhood traditional home in Seoul into the 4-storey New York apartment building. The interior is unreal, with over 2,000 miniaturized components! The attention to detail is incredibly lifelike – from furniture to cereal boxes, clothes and novels, FedEx boxes on the hall table and scattered dollar bills on the floor.

Doritos Tribe

Doritos is my favorite snack. This commercial is priceless.

V&A logo

V&A logo: simple, yet powerful. I really like the way how the serif of the '&' completes the A.

China Design Now

While interning with Ink Publishing, we took the afternoon off last Friday to visit the China Design Now exhibition at the V&A. I've never been to the V&A before - it was massive and filled with such enriching pieces of art. The exhibition we visited was interesting as well. It presents "a critical survey of the development of design culture in post-reform China" and explores it throughout various forms of media: graphic design, youth cultures, architecture and urban planning, designing for sustainability, and much more. China Design Now was divided into three areas: Shenzhen, 'Frontier City', Shanghai, 'Dream City', and Beijing, 'Future City.' A few striking pieces:

Han Jiaying, Mei (Beauty) , poster for Frontier magazine, 1997



Maleonn, Days on the Cotton Candy #4, photography series, 2006



Herzog & de Meuron, National Stadium – the Main Stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China, completion 2008. (Photograph by Iwan Baan, May 2007)



It was fascinating to get a glimpse of how China's new design culture began, how it's developing, and above all, where it is going.

Havaiana Flowerbed

This is wicked. I think BBDO New York has not only done a fantastic job in making this a memorable piece of ambient media, but it also implies that you won't have smelly feet wearing Havaianas :)