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There's something pleasant about getting a call out of the blue from a potential client. They heard from someone who knew a guy who saw your project over the shoulder of someone on the internet... and they called you and want to work with you!? That period, before the meeting actually occurs is dripping with potential. What is the scope of work? How interesting with the client be? Will they pay their bills on time?
Surely many of these hopes will be dashed within the first 5 minutes, but for a day, let me hope.
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Ok. I'm a sucker. I told myself I wouldn't buy an iPad when they were announced, then I played around with one at the store and within a week, I had my own. And though it has become an expensive toy for my 2 year old son every morning, it has also become a great tool for me. Drawings being worked on are dropped nightly into a "INBOX" via Dropbox and before going to bed I can review all the work being done in the offices and plan the next day or make notes on revisions. So I was pretty happy to hear about AutoCAD WS which came out this week. So far, I'm not as happy. Only works when connected to the internet? Doesn't connect to Dropbox? These are deal breakers. Not to mention that the release seems really buggy when using it.
Let's hope for a quick upgrade, because there is potential here.
Recently there was an RFQ put out for a new Bollywood Museum. We tried desperately to find a partner firm for this project, but ultimately had no luck. We did manage to put a lot of the documentation together, one portion being the APPROACH & METHODOLOGY section, which I'm posting below:
The fact that there is not already a Bollywood Museum is a shocking revelation. This is an idea that is long past due, and refreshing to hear that it will finally become a reality. In our ever globalized world, a Bollywood Museum will become as much a part of the international scene as any building created in the last 20 years.
For too long the use of the phrase "World Class" has become a misnomer - an overused superlative that often indicates that a project will meet a bar that is far below World Class. To not see this project as a truly a world class museum is a not only a missed opportunity for the whole country to take it's place on the international cultural stage, but an injustice that will be hard to ever get over for the fans of Bollywood film all over the planet.
The desire to make this a world class should not be misconstrued as a call to ape western architectural styles or copy the aesthetic success of any other museum. The Bollywood Museum should stand on it's own as a unique proclamation of modern india, not a nostalgic recollection of ancient structures or a quixotic mishmash of formal incoherence that is just trying to be weird instead of profound. Indians all over should be proud of the statement this building makes to the world, as proud as they are of the Bollywood films that they love so much.
Museums as a building type are notorious for being difficult to run and financially support after the "newness" wears off. One way to combat this is to augment the building with complementary pieces - all of which rely on each other for longevity. An obvious opportunity is the creation of a Bollywood Hotel, a place to stay a night among the stars and live like a celebrity. In addition there could be a film academy, a school for young actors, directors, and writers to learn their trade in the middle of the greatest film industry in the world.
3 objectives will be at the heart of our proposal:
EDUCATION
The long history of Bollywood should serve as a central focus of the visitors experience - a chronological journey through the last 97 years of Indian film, starting with Dadasaheb Phalke's Raja Harishchandra right up to the present day blockbusters like Om Shanti Om and 3 Idiots. Not only is the history of great importance, but also the process. How has filmmaking changed over the decades, how is a modern Bollywood film created? The education of the foreigner with no understanding of Bollywood as well as keeping the interest of the longtime Bollywood fan will be a challenge we look forward to.
INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE
Through exhibits it will be imperative to create an interactive world for visitors, wether it is the opportunity to stand on a real Bollywood soundstage or for someone to be able to create a short film and have it end up in their email inbox before they reach home. In our digital world, nothing should seem impossible. These interactive experiences will give visitors a new perspective on their favorite films and a deeper understanding of what actors go through to make this beloved form of entertainment.
REPEAT DESTINATION
The experience of this building should be like a great film - one that you want to see over and over again, bring your friends to, and persuade your children to love. Too often our modern buildings are fueled by wow factor, inside jokes, or the desire to be overtly unique. These qualities will quickly fade and loose the attention of patrons. Great architecture should hold up to time - giving a new feeling based on time of day, season, weather, or by simply changing the lights. The creation of a permanent collection that is augmented by special exhibits will be paramount to the long term success of this Museum and the building should respond to this important distinction.
This project is one of those rare defining moments in a culture and should be considered a part of any Indian Tour along with the Taj Mahal or the City of Chandigarh.
We look forward to the opportunity of a lifetime.
After months of work, our new website is now live. We are really excited about this new site and plan to use this blog space to document our work and present some of our ongoing research projects.
The new site allows many ways to filter our work, by person, office, and type. This will start to give you a sense of how we work - often alone but more and more together. With new projects across India we are starting to take advantage of our collaborative framework in big ways.
I've spent a lot of hours in bookstores (and way too much money) over the years. It's the thing I look for in a new city when traveling and the place I return to regularly where I live. I buy less than I used - thankfully - but the act of browsing is a habit I don't think I'll lose anytime soon. Over a year ago we heard that a local bookstore was planning to open a new outlet. We tried to contact the owner to get a meeting, but nothing came of it. Then a few weeks ago, we got a call. The owner found us. So we have a new project... a bookstore. I've been looking through some great projects, seeing what can be done with this very well worn typology and I thought I'd share a few here.
Livraria da Vila | Brazil | Issey Weinfeld Architects
Times Bookstore | Singapore | The Asylum
Selexyz Dominicanen | Netherlands | Merkx + Girod
V&A Bookshop | London | Vitsoe
This are a few of my current favorites, but I'll try to update with more when I find them. What will ours look like? No idea yet, but we have a very tight schedule, so we'll find out soon.