SOPHRONIA
Invisible Cities of Italo Calvino
"The city of Sophronia is made up of two half-cities. In one there is the great roller coaster with its steep humps, the carousel with its chain spokes, the Ferris wheel of spinning cages, the death-ride with crouching motorcyclists, the big top with the clump of trapezes hanging in the middle. The other half-city is of stone and marble and cement, with the bank, the factories, the palaces, the slaughterhouse, the school, and all the rest. One of the half-cities is permanent, the other is temporary, and when the period of its sojourn is over, they uproot it, dismantle it, and take it off, transplanting it to the vacant lots of another half city."
In Sophronia, the city that divided into two, the fixed part and the temporary one: circus, rides and carnival, and other mass building, palaces, banks and factories. The one that is demolished in Sophronia is the city while the theme park remains suspended to wait for the whole life to resume once the caravans return or the new city arrive. With this has already indicate the contradiction between invisible cities and the reality where all the cities and buildings stay at place and the park move around to different places. Bangkok is one of the most alive and sleepless city. There are always events happening throughout the city that help filled up the lively atmosphere to those places. Even though both cities are different, they work in a similar ways. When half of the city get abandon it gives opportunity for new things to come in allow people to experience new things continuously. However, during the abandon time, it can cause effect to people physically and mentally. The empty space in the city and people heart could make them feel lost and overcome with loneliness until it is time to move on.
Sophronia City Collage
Shopping Malls Analysis
- Atrium -
Continuing on to the next phase of public interiors, the main concept is about "Ever Lasting Transformation". Time is always changing at different parameter: minutes, hours, days, months, years. Connecting to the idea of ever lasting transformation, I focus on the atrium and voids space inside the malls. However it is contradicting to the idea in Sophronia were what actually stay is the building, while the events always changes.
Siam Paragon - Amarin Plaza - Central World - Gaysorn Plaza - Central Embassy - Zen - Groove - Siam Discovery - Siam Center
The two plate of images are focusing on the atrium, voids and skylight in the middle part of each malls. The function of atrium can be use for installation, decoration and displaying the arts, bringing in the natural light, connecting floor to floor, define the circulation of the buildings and a place for events hosting. The first plate shows the perspective of looking upward to the skylight and ceilings that can be use for hanging the installations and decorations. While the second plate shows the perspective of look straight forward and looking down to the ground where the place could be use for gathering people or hosting an events.
