​Ventilation Grilles
I N S I N G A P O R E & A R O U N D
Going Back in History | September 2013
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As I was thinking about the ventilation grilles and the possible origin of the patterns on them, it came to my realization that many of them largely had a Chinese cultural slant. This was particularly true for the ones I saw in Penang, which had motifs of Chinese lanterns, family names, to name a few. The ones I had seen in Singapore thus far however were more geometric and hence universal in that sense. I actually found the simple geometric ones in Singapore more intriging and beautiful, as they had a certain abstract and timeless quality to them.
Following from my previous point – as inferred from the grilles in Penang, it suddenly occured to me that these motifs could in fact have originiated from Chinese sources. One of the most striking example I saw was the wooden-carved screens in the Prenakan House at Penang. Since the Prenakan culture is a fusion of the Malay and Chinese culture, what came to mind was the Chinese window and door lattices and their patterns. Those architectural fittings were something that I only vaguley remembered coming across before, and hence decided to dig deeper into that.
After pouring into a number of classical Chinese windos and doors books, I conjectured that some of the window and door grilles patterns that we see in this part of Southeast Asia, could have possibly been inspired/immitated from those we see on Mainland Chinese lattice window and doors.
Below are some possible reasons for this:
Going back in history, ​The first wave of Chinese Immigrants to Singapore was in about 1819, after Raffles founded modern Singapore. Due to the abolishment of Slavery, more manpower was needed to build up the new colony. As with immigrants, the first wave of immigrants had brought with them, their own culture. These Immigrants came from Southern China, of which the climate there was similar to that of Singapore. It can thus be inferred that culture from the South of China was imported to Singapore, along with the artistic and architectural language of the place.
Below are some of the designs that I have seen on the grilles around Singapore that were also recorded as Chinese Lattice Window and Door Designs.
Reference materials :
Dye, Daniel Sheets. Chinese lattice designs. New York: Dover Publications, 1974. Print.
Dye, Daniel Sheets. Chinese lattice designs: CD-ROM & book. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover, 2008. Print.
Chinese Lattice Windows and Doors
Thoughts on Joo Chiat
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
51 Koon Seng Rd, Singapore 427072 ‎
Tembling Center
51 Koon Seng Rd, Singapore 427072 ‎
So what was it about this place that relates to who I am today?/What has this walk reminded me about?
I guess walking out that long way from school to the bus-stop was one of the first steps my parents gave in having me learn about independence and as their way of trusting me to find my own way back. I’d say that going through this route provided me a sense of certainty, as I knew what to anticipate. This psychological sense of security/familiarity was manifested in the physical environment through landmark shophouses in their old charm. Perhaps I took comfort in knowing what to expect. Also, growing up in an environment like this, it ingrained in me from a young age, an appreciation for structures of heritage value. So, why grilles you ask? Perhaps it is because I tend to look into the details of things and more often than not find myself liking what I see. At first glance, one would most definitely notice the concrete/brick walls/structure.
The beauty I see in the grilles are as such: In the same way as how the grilles' sense of certainty is reinforced through the repititon of geometric patterns, a sense of predictability is visually reiterated everytime I cast my gaze on them.
Today, I have gained a greater awareness that these grilles can be found beyond just being windows and doors. I always find myself pleasantly surprised when I turn the corner and chance upon their various adaptations. It fascinates me how varied the scale of the grilles can be, for it can range from a small peep window to entire balconies of them. Also, I love that I am still able to discover 'new' patterns from time to time. To think that every one of them has its own embedded stories and meanings from previous owners who requested to have them made, the pattern possibilities for these grilles are but endless!
At an Intersection
Friday, 1 November, 2013
I was talking to W about feeling stuck at the crossroads of a millon possibilities when she shared how she actually managed to overcome hers. She also gave a few other pointers which got me thinking. Initially I was all defensive and confident but after that barrier was broken down i just listened, and listened hard.
W had mentioned how the concept and meaning of 'simplicity' has changed over the years in responnse to various times and contexts. For example, simple Swedish design was actually born out of a necessity for the lack of resources after the WWI ended. Designs were stripped down to fulfill their basic functions as that made the most economic sense.
Thereafter, simplicity served to become a symbol of certain cultures' character. It became a distinct contemporary style in itself, directly contrasting with the extravagance of past styles.
Today, simplicty has become a crucial means to distilling the essence of things. Given the 24/7 bombardment of information we face everyday, simplicity is needed to simplify and bring out only what is required, from an otherwise complex life.
Another thing W mentioned was that I was being too narrow minded in looking at old grilles for new (grille) designs. She suggested at me looking to other sibjects/objects for inspiration. What W always found interesting was how 2 seemingly unrelated topics could be linked together to create a hybrid product/design/etc. She also raised the example of what a friend was doing for his FYP, which was also to look at local archiecture, develop his own designs from nature, and apply them to fashion. That was also the kind of clear direction I lacked.
That got me thinking for the entire weekend.
Sunday, 3 November 2013 | Ramblings
What grilles were used for: Ventilation and security. With the window as a black canvas, home owners embedded in their mild steel grilles, their sense of identity and beliefs.
These patterns were inspired by things around them, of which some were perhaps derived from those seen in Chinese furniture and architectural decorative fittings that were imported from Mainland China. Traditional Chinese motifs were inspired by nature, chinese characters, animals, religion etc.
fast Forward to the 21st Century, what would our point of inspiration be for a new-age (grille) design? If the concept of grille-making was to be applied to today's context, and if they were to embed a certain knowldege for the generations to come or even tell a story of the poeple who lived (here), what would they say? What could these grilles be inspired by?
how about a grille of an ipad/keyboard, largely playing w rounded corner squares (as seen in apps) and squares, pixels, the basis of all electronic images?
Eventually, perhaps we can also play on the ideas of (CMYK/RGB) white as the final product's colours.
Why do apps have rounded corners?
''There's a note somewhere in Apple's documentation that I can't find right now, but I believe the line of thinking is to make it feel like the app is the device.''
''So at last, skeuomorphism is dead, and human evolution has reached the stage where we recognise buttons on phones, even if they don't look like buttons. But iOS7 also points to a future where information is routinely presented three-dimensionally.''...
Pixel is short for Picture Element; a pixel is a single point in a graphic image. Each pixel is a sample of an original image; more samples typically provide more accurate representations of the original. The intensity of each pixel is variable.
Graphics monitors display pictures by dividing the display screen into thousands (or millions) of pixels, arranged in rows and columns. The pixels are so close together that they appear connected.
The number of bits used to represent each pixel determines how many colors or shades of gray can be displayed.
On color monitors, each pixel is actually composed of three dots - a red, a blue, and a green one. Ideally, the three dots should all converge at the same point, but all monitors have some convergence error that can make color pixels appear fuzzy.
Source: http://www.videoconverterfactory.com/glossary/pixel.html
The final breakthrough| Friday, 24 January
After exploring the screen divider idea for about 2 months, the screen was removed completely because it was limiting and suffocating. I was just not feeling it despite all the numerous attempts at getting around ill-developed concepts that could not substantiate themseleves. However, the idea of reinterpreting the grille motif designs as pixels/products of the square grid remained.
​I then went back to the main focus of this project which was the patterns on the grilles. I also re-visited my initial train of thoughts about involving the users to be involved in the process of pattern-making and creating something of their own.
I asked myself what would be the way forward for something so simple and rich in heritage? I felt that they could definitely be more than just regurgitations in varying colours and materials. Also, digging deeper into the cultural significance of them was just too ambitious for the limited resources at hand to continue. Furthmore, that part did not excite me at all.
And then I went on to further analyze a few selected grille motifs using design concepts and laws, mainly symmetry and gestalt. That led me to the link that Design is culture. It is embedded in culture and not something that necessarily needs to be taught. This is seen in the first generation of people who designed the grilles despite not being educated. Also, the clients who chose and customized their own designs for their houses' grilles, saw them as functional pieces that were also ornamental objects of self-expression.
Out of curiosity, I then put 5 selected grille motif designs against a square grid and deconstructed them as a sum of smaller parts. This allowed me to see each motif in a different light. Each motif can be seen as a sum of many other basic shapes that could give you new designs with every different arrangement.
So that was the start of the second part of an amazing journey.
