NYC: Greatest Suburb on Earth?

viviankcheung: High Line 3.0 - The Creative Container...

Mon, 24 May 2010 16:01:21 -0400

viviankcheung:

High Line 3.0 - The Creative Container Presentation Part 2/3

viviankcheung: High Line 3.0 - The Creative Container...

Mon, 24 May 2010 16:00:54 -0400

viviankcheung:

High Line 3.0 - The Creative Container Presentation Part 3/3

(via houseofsubourbon)

Mon, 10 May 2010 08:22:51 -0400

(via houseofsubourbon)

Film Clips from 4/27/2010 in order of screening: “True...

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:48:56 -0400

Film Clips from 4/27/2010 in order of screening:

“True Stories” directed by David Byrne, 1986

”Mon Oncle” directed by Jacques Tati, 1958

“2 or 3 things I know about her” directed by Jean Luc Goddard, 1967

Self-storage in America Does the rise of the mini-storage in NYC...

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:21:51 -0400

Self-storage in America

Does the rise of the mini-storage in NYC mean that New Yorkers are becoming more American?

L.Kim's Blog: We Want More Parkour!!!

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:59:15 -0400

L.Kim's Blog: We Want More Parkour!!!:

Last Tuesday, muscles ached and bruises appeared but that didn’t stop people from enjoying parkour! Parkour has definitely changed my opinion of NYC. I found it fascinating how it started in the suburbs because the surburbs usually provoke the thought of strollers. Parkour makes New York City so much friendlier. The whole idea of the world being your playground is just so fun. When we first arrived at the park, I had no idea what to expect because the only impression of parkour I had was a clip about it that I saw on the tv show, The Office. I had a lot of difficultly jumping properly and distributing the force when my feet hit the ground and I found myself the other day running down the stairs and trying to make as little sound as possible.

Parkour brings together all sorts of different people but the people that do parkour share the same interest in training their body and mind. I thought that was so cool. As bizarre as it sounds, it’s like a very active way of being zen. Although other people who were watching our class didn’t actually take part in parkour, they were talking and 2 of them did clap when Philip jumped through one of the higher rails. Also, when one the other men who were watching us climb across the wall told us an easier way to hold the rail, it was really interesting that he knew that. Not to sound kind of cheesy but it really does bring people together. Parkour in New York City is very interactive. Whether it’s other viewers, or people who want to take part in it, or just people in passing asking about what it is that they’re doing. It’s funny because New Yorkers are stereotyped as these cold people who are always in a rush to do work but parkour opens up this new door. It opens the door to a community, that the city is obviously not known for.

Getting over it.. Parkour

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:55:21 -0400

Getting over it.. Parkour:

This is daring for me to write about this but I think it will help me get over something personal going on in my life. I am going through something extremely hard right now that I have been dealing with for a while. Parkour actually helped me. The first exercise was so scary. I didn’t want to jump over the railing. I couldn’t. I went through it. I looked at this like I look at my personal life. I know I could jump that high over it but I just wasn’t ready for it. I didn’t want to except it that I could move through it. I am sure everyone reading this could figure out what I am going through but pretend you don’t. Pretend I am talking about the physical objects in Parkour. Going into it that day I wasn’t expecting it to tie in so well with what is going on with me right now but it did. It was fun and it made me realize that I can get past anything I put my mind too. It was like that the whole day. It took my mind off of everything for a little while but reminded me of it at the same time. I could have left and walked away from Parkour and my problems. I stayed but just watched most of the time. The thing is I was not ready to jump and I hope I am ready soon. I promised myself when I do get over what I am dealing with I will go back to that park and jump over the railing. I will not be scared, I will be ready to get over it.

Vivian Cheung: Parkour

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:53:17 -0400

Vivian Cheung: Parkour:

Overall it was a fascinating workshop to conclude this class. The concept of “rethinking” a norm is one I apply to this class and also to the parkour. Parkour made me examine our daily actions when moving across an urban space. While this class made me reevaluate NYC. Initially prior to NYC: The Greatest Suburb On Earth, I would of never considered NYC as a suburb. It was 100% city to me. Now coming towards the end of the class, I’ve thoroughly revisited the notion of a city and a suburb in terms of NYC.

ripe frustrations: HARDCORE PARKOUR

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:46:46 -0400

ripe frustrations: HARDCORE PARKOUR:

Yep. That’s my leg. Wound number one.
Not Pictured: 10 other scattered wounds.
Overall result: SO MUCH FRIGGIN’ FUN.
I had a blast. I don’t know why I thought we were doing tai-chi, but my overall mood for that day was very relaxed and then, BOOM. We began warming up. I never knew what Parkour was, and yes, I saw it in Madonna’s video, but I never considered the poetry behind the sport. It was very interesting for me just to see how much I trust myself to jump over a rail, or swing across the wall, relying only on my upper body strength. It showed me a lot then, and now as I write about this day. At the moment, I truly felt the need to defy the designated environment. I felt the need to disregard what the office of Parks and Recreation imagined me as a used of the Brooklyn Bridge Banks would do. Of course I cant flip and flop all over the place, but I felt the need to jump over instead of going around. Now, as I write this post and my scabby shins tingle, I realize how into it I was. I swear…no joke…I told everyone about it. The session gave me so much energy, I was exhilerated and wanted to share my experience with whoever I talked to. Why was I so excited? Afterall, I was the dumbdumb that got scratches and bruises all over his legs and arms, and I clearly was not the monket/ninja/Zhang Ziyi everyone that does Parkour is? I’ll tell you why I was excited. I believe it was the fact that I was defying rules. Defying the norm, without breaking it. It is this mild form of rebellion that caused so much angst and excitement in me. It is an innocent way to tell the man-imposed rules F-U. This reminded me of Caroline from Splinters and Logs ( another trippin’ experience). and how she “rebelled” against the subway. It was so pure and naive that it was “okay” to do so. Parkour gave me such a freeing experience, an experiece that I kept remembering as I still interacted with the city. In my monlty-payment gym, while climbing stairs, dodging people, Parkour was just such an honest way of dealing with the environment that I have never experienced before. It was refreshing, pure and hardcore.
BOGO!

Last Trip Brooklyn Bridge

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:39:51 -0400

Last Trip Brooklyn Bridge:

I was really excited by visiting under the Brooklyn bridge because as a crazy Parsons student i have been almost 3years didn’t do any exercise :) (That is why i am getting so fat right now ). When Adriana talked about how they use the negative space of the Brooklyn bridge i can feel the same thing in my home country Taiwan ( We built alot of bridge by solving the busy traffic problem). The different between here and Taiwan is that we keeping up the maintenance of the place. Since we staying here longer and longer. Lot of people started to pay attention about us. By having so much people looking what we’re doing. I knew most of them really wanna join us. It was excited by using body as a “tools” to do the exercise. But the sad thing is my body is getting to hard to swing by space to space.

People = Community No Matter Any Place Any Where.

the parkour burn

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:38:45 -0400

the parkour burn:

When I received the email about our parkour outing, I somehow misinterpreted it as an email saying that we were going to a Tai Chi outing at a place called Parkour in Brooklyn…Obviously, I just skimmed. So, I was expecting this relaxing day of tai chi and peace. Instead, I learned that Parkour was not a place but a thing, more specifically a physical activity or training that was anything but relaxing. I loved the idea of having Parkour for our class though. I thought it was the most amusing thing to do for a class in New York City and just absurdly funny in my weird mind. I couldn’t help but laugh throughout the time we were there because of how random and ridiculously great the whole experience was, which is everything that I love to do. It was a beautiful day and a fun new experience. Its also a great alternative to exercise as opposed to going for a jog because this seriously works your WHOLE BODY. The next couple of days I was in the most pain I had ever been in. I had to run up and down stairs and hoist myself out of chairs because my whole body hurt in places I didn’t even know it could if I moved too slowly. I don’t know how I’d feel having my own little parkour session though…I’d probably be stuck dangling somewhere giggling hysterically at the thought of myself…hehehe

But I would definitely do it again

Something that I realized though was that all of these things we were doing were things that I did constantly as a child. I was a monkey when I was little and would come home with scrapes and bruises and blisters everyday from falling and tumbling and doing different things. My traditional Korean grandmother would make a face of disapproval and shake her head and make this sound I can’t describe at me everytime because I was always so dark and scarred and messy as a little kid. Sadly though, when I was trying to do these movements that once came so naturally as a fearless child, I could no longer move freely without any self consciousness or fear like I used to. My innate sensibility of movement and control and ability of my body was gone. It was a very sad realization at how out of shape and physically pathetic I was. I went from going surfing and hiking and soccer and taekwondo to nothing in college. There are no waves or glorious mountains in this alternative “island” that I now dwell in so I guess what’s left are these railings and walls that I can try to conquer through Parkour…parkour…i love the office :)

From public space to urban playground

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:36:20 -0400

From public space to urban playground:

Parkour is a form of physical training that embodies the concepts of movement and utilizing everyday surroundings. It teaches participants to embrace their surroundings and to view obstacles within each setting as a potential pathway. During a Parkour session participants may run, jump, crawl, swing, and climb over, under, and around any structure within an urban space. Parkour encourages fluidity and creativity in movement.

Parkour Experience

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:33:54 -0400

Parkour Experience:

The Parkour aka urban ninja experience was interesting which reminded me of my childhood memories. When I was very little even before the computer systems were widely published, I used spend my entire day running around with my friends. I was glad to share simliar experience on last Tuesday.

Sub-Urban Design: Run your Will off

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 10:45:04 -0400

Sub-Urban Design: Run your Will off:

The Parkour experience was amazing like always.

I got introduced to it few years ago when my friend and I was talking about breakdancers and how some of them are parkours participants. Back than we referred to parkourists as Free Runners and Urban Ninjas. I didn’t know what that meant until my…

An Urban Ninja in an Urban Playground

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 10:44:47 -0400

An Urban Ninja in an Urban Playground:

When Adriana told us to wear sweatpants and sneakers and to join her under the Brooklyn Bridge last Tuesday, I had no idea that within the next two hours; I would be jumping through metal railings, hanging off of bars, crab-walking, and hoping to God that I would come out of this alive.

I had…

Ni-Ra-Mi-Chi-Cho: Where are all the men?

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:30:59 -0400

Ni-Ra-Mi-Chi-Cho: Where are all the men?:

OPERATION HOOTER IS BACK!!! He’s alive!!! And he’s looking out for the future of all MAN-KIND! We missed your voice in the blogosphere!

so working at google seems all great and dandy, yay we have bouncy balls and scooters…. its a playground for grown-ups, but am I the only person who is happy to have passed all the ridiculous colourful simplified ideas and realities of childhood behind? I think that the biggest difference between…

Frances Gabardo: Great Googley Moogley!

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 07:26:37 -0400

Frances Gabardo: Great Googley Moogley!:

Google brought out the inner child in me. As a student of Design and Management at Parsons it seems that everyone takes themselves sooo incredibly seriously. From the way they dress to the way they talk it is as if everyone is on their way to an interview (though some may very well be). However, with all these “kids” acting so professionally it can seem that they lose sight of what they are aiming for. It is like that girl you knew in high school, “The Mom” who managed to get herself into Harvard by sacrificing her social life and her sanity only to later have to drop out due to utter burn-out.

The trip to Google reminded me that the corporate world doesn’t have to be so serious. If people are good, no the best, at their job then why do they have to dress up and act for it. I was truly inspired by these corporate headquarters. I must have made about 6 phone calls afterward that started with, “Guess where I was today?”

Some of the things that I observed while I was there:

1. Multinational

-Main offices in New York and California.

-The food was from the 5 boroughs. NYC is international in and of itself.

2. Nature

-potted plants

-lego creations

-plush animals

-consistent lighting thoughout

-fitness and game centers

3. City

-subway map paraphenilia

-dirty windows with graffiti

-scooters! many modes of transportation

-conference room names

4. Town

-everyone seemed pretty jolly (or maybe I was just reflecting my good mood onto them)

-small little self-contained village

-really no reason to leave unless you are going to the neighboring “town” aka the other building

-however no signage on outside of building

5. Lifestyle

-family oriented, kids and nannies dining

-pregnant woman

-many different food items

-cafeteria

-young and hip

6. Workstyle

-constantly working

-on computers even in the cafeteria

-cubicles facing back to back

-iphones

The new complex in Seoul should have a feeling of a private gated self-contained community. It should not be visible from the street, but have a feeling of security and safety inside. It should also be inviting to the participants family members, and security detail (nannies).There should also be some sort of element that they are outside in a perfect world. Make sure to include exercise rooms, ping pong tables and the odd plush snake hanging from the ceiling. Also, food food food. Put it everywhere make sure they do not have a choice but to snack. Oh and don’t forget scooters! Or at least another way of getting around, maybe something that a pregnant woman could also use.

New York Parkour! Our parkour guru: Jesse Danger

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:24:44 -0400

New York Parkour!

Our parkour guru: Jesse Danger

Sub-Urban Design: NYC Theme in Seoul

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:01:32 -0400

Sub-Urban Design: NYC Theme in Seoul:

Through my observation at Google and NYC, I decided to research Seoul to see what already exist there. I discovered many similarities between Seoul and NYC.

First, Seoul is currently renovating its waterfronts such as the Hangang River to remove pollution and create a place for recreations….

L.Kim's Blog: v2.0 Seoul Corporate City

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:59:34 -0400

L.Kim's Blog: v2.0 Seoul Corporate City: v2.0 Seoul Corporate City

After researching the Google office in Chelsea, there are many things that the new corporate city in Seoul can take away from it.

An example of a successful design parameter at Google was naming different areas and conference rooms after different landmarks and subway lines. This gives a city like feeling within the building. It also makes it easier for the people working there to set up places to meet and work. The working spaces looked like it came out of an IKEA catalog. It may seem tacky but it works in the favor of creating a successful working environment. While employees can sleep over at the office when working late nights and take showers to get ready the next day, the workstyle and lifestyle do not overlap too much. Even with the excercise rooms, scooter stations, and candy machines, there’s an air of formality because of the simple and clean furniture. The more “fun” things balances itself because of a sort of articial feeling from the furniture and therefore the employees won’t get too comfortable.

It was interesting how Google decided to try and incorporate nature into the complex with fake leaves over some of the desks and plants scattered through the hallway. This was a failed attempt. The plants were too stiff and some of them weren’t even real. I would suggest plants but ones with a more organic look and feel (even if they are fake). There were wide hallways and spacious offices which was another successful design parameter. It doesn’t feel like everyone is trapped in the office when working overtime. The wide hallways were also successful because they make you feel like you’re walking on a sidewalk and with the people riding on scooters going past you, there is a suburb feel. There were telephone rooms but they aren’t necessary. They just made me feel like I was in an airport.

Lastly, there is sound. The sounds, or lack thereof, makes the employees less likely to get distracted. When you’re in the building, you can’t really hear what’s going on in the streets and I thought that was successful. Also, the building is pretty quiet and with all the employees constantly talking about work, that’s all you hear and that’s probably what everyone is thinking about.