The Silver Tower, A vertical factory for collective hedonism and production

The Silver Tower

A vertical factory for collective hedonism and production

01 Research

3. An Emerging Subjectivity 13. The Collective Production of Hatsune Miku 27. Andy Warhol and the Silver Factory / Mircea Eliade’s The Sacred & The Profane 43. Singapore 1:1

An Emerging Subjectivity Social phenomenon that happens on a everyday basis A community that has collevtive identity

A typical popular Idol concert in Tokyo

AKB48 Tokyo handshake event

Emerging Subjectivity: Metamorphosis of the ‘Virtual Idol’ Definition of the word ‘Idol’ in Japanese pop culture, as an emerging phenomenon; In Japanese pop culture “idol” (アイドル) is a term typically used to refer to young manufactured stars/starlets marketed to be admired for their cuteness.

Idols are intended to be role models and they are supposed to maintain a good public image and be good examples for young people. Idols aim to play a wide range of roles as media personalities: e.g. pop singers, panelists of variety programs, bit-part actors, models for magazines and advertisements.

[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

The term is commercialised by Japanese talent agencies,[8] that hold auditions for boys and girls with little or no prior experience in the entertainment industry, often as aspiring stars/starlets to be adored for their sweetness and innocence[8] with the intent of creating a passionate following. Most idol singers work across genres of Japanese pop music, usually in the genre that is most popular at the moment, but since many idols sing cute sentimental songs,[8] one can say that those kind of idols form a sort of music genre of their own.[6] [8] Their songs typically do not require great singing skills; their popular appeal comes largely from the attractiveness of their public image. Idols are often not considered “serious” musicians[1] or “serious” actors. Consequently, many young stars now reject the idol label in their desire to be seen as professionals rather than as objects of fanatical devotion.[9] Many Japanese people who are fans of female idols see them as akin to sisters or girl next door types;[6] they empathised with the idols and love the way in which they are presented as ordinary kids who happened to become popular, enthusiastically following their growth from inexperienced amateurs to famous experienced artists.[8]

References: 1. William W. Kelly (ed.). Fanning the Flames: Fans and Consumer Culture in Contemporary Japan. p. 65.

2. “Islands of Eight Million Smiles: Idol Performance and Symbolic Production in Contemporary Japan (Harvard East Asian Monographs) [Hardcover] - Book Description”. Amazon. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012.

3. Idols and Celebrity in Japanese Media Culture - Google Books. Palgrave Macmillan. 2012-08-31.

4. Carolyn S. Stevens. Japanese Popular Music: Culture, Authenticity and Power.

5. David W. Edgington (2003). Japan at the Millennium: Joining Past and Future. UBC Press.

6. William D. Hoover. Historical Dictionary of Postwar Japan. p. 202.

7. Minoru Matsutani (2009-08-25). “Pop ‘idol’ phenomenon fades into dispersion”. The Japan Times.

Archived from the original on 13 August 2011.

8. Timothy J. Craig (ed.). Japan Pop!: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture.

9. “戦隊モノ、 アイドル...、 グループにおける色と役割の関係”. Nikkei Business Publications. 2011-12-05.

Series of advertisment using Idols as front promotion

The phenomenal influences on Media, Economy and Community; The influence of idols in Japanese culture is complex due to various factors.

Idols are seen everywhere in Japan from television advertising, dramas, films, variety shows, to magazine ads, posters in shopping malls, and train stations, not to mention concerts and fan events. The image of what an idol is, affects every aspect of their career and the idol’s contracting office (jimusho) are responsible for crafting this image and market the idol. The image of an individual idol is crafted based upon fluctuations in the market and is crafted to generate as much revenue as possible, and their image is what is presented to the public.[10] The proliferation of idols in Japanese media today reveals how tightly tied media such as television and idols are to the economy in Japan. Idols are used to advertise products much like other celebrities around the world. Idols are a key part of advertising in Japan with 50-70% of commercials featuring an idol.[11] The commercials themselves are promoting a product, but are also promoting the idol. Pitches for commercials are often made with a specific idol in mind, one that matches with the image of the company, and the product being advertised. Idols sign contracts with strict agreements not to do things that could damage the image of the company, or to work for a competitor. However, they do not endorse products like celebrities in other countries; they simply lend their image to the product being advertised. These advertisements serve to promote both the idol and the product by keeping both at the forefront of consumers’ minds. Magazine ads, online videos, and appearances in dramas, and other advertising all constitute part of this agreement.[11] Idols have also shaped the development of television programs in Japan.

Beginning in the 1980s there was a shift in Japanese television production.

Companies would compete to secure contracts for dramas which lead to the current four-season system of television in Japan. Variety, talk, and music shows also became popular, in part for featuring idols as guests or the stars of the show. Idols also began providing the image music for commercials. These different forms of media served to promote and further strengthen the ties between idols, advertising, and media.[12]

References: 10. Marx, W. David (2012). The Jimusho System: Understanding the Production Logic of the Japanese Entertainment Industry. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Limited. pp. 36–37.

11. Karlin, Jason G. (2012). Through a Looking Glass Darkly: Television Advertising, Idols, and the Making of Fan Audiences. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Limited. pp. 72–75.

12. Galbraith1 Karlin2, Patrick W1 Jason G2 (2012). The Mirror of Idols and Celebrity. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Limited. p. 5.

Kyoko Date, the 1st Virtual Idol in 1997’s Famitsu Weekly (Gaming and Anime magazine)

Hatsune Miku and her Vocaloid members

Emergence of the ‘Virtual Idol’; Virtual Idol emerged as an offshoot of Japanese idols in the late 1990s. The world’s first ‘Virtual Idol’ was Kyoko Date in 1997[13][14] She has a fabricated history, statistics, and her own songs. Eventually the idea of the ‘Virtual Idol’ did not considered successful until the emergence of a turquoise haired ‘Virtual Idol’ named Hatsune Miku, which stared the resurgence and rocketed to stardom in Japan. Crypton Future Media created the character using Vocaolid engine, a synthesized voice technology developed by Yamaha that was able to autotune notes in a human-like manner based on user input. This gave Hatsune Miku a unique voice and personality that enabled users to create original music and dialogue for the character. She became a digital phenomenon due to the collaborative nature of her multimedia content, which was openly shared on Nico Nico Douga, a popular Japanese consumer-streaming platform where fans were encouraged to write original music and remixes, create and edit videos, and illustrate and animate 2D and 3D renditions of her.

Hatsune Miku performs live as an animated holographic singer at concerts around the world. Her fanbase numbers in the millions, and she has hundreds of millions of views and listens across the internet. She has appeared in TV commercials, TV shows, animations, books, and magazines, as well as on billboards, promotional cars, and online soundtracks.

Due to the popularity of Hatsune Miku and low-cost hardware and software, the proliferation of “Virtual YouTubers” has been increasing in Japan. Virtual YouTubers are animated characters generated in real time using reasonably priced motion capture software, motion capture hardware, and open source animation software MikuMikuDance(MMD).

References: 1. “Kyoko Date: The world’s first virtual pop star”. https://ew.com/article/1997/05/16/kyoko-dateworlds-first-virtual-pop-star/ Retrieved 14 April 2018 2. Vertinsky, Patricia; Hargreaves, Jennifer (28 November 2006). “Physical Culture, Power, and the Body”. Routledge. Retrieved 14 April 2018

Different types of Virtual Idols in Japan, 2018

Technologies of the ‘Virtual Idol’; The technologies and tools for animating CG characters in real-time are now more accessible to companies, educators, and content creators. Mostly, they require either low-cost facial tracking software or a gaming engine such as Unreal or Unity installed on mid- to upper-level consumer laptops with powerful GPUs. A new generation of mobile apps with facial and body tracking technology will take advantage of ARKit and ARCore, making it easier to animate characters from mobile phones.

Since the technology is becoming simpler and more cost-effective, computer generated personalities and avatars will become more prevalent in the virtual space and online for live events, corporate communications, customer support, and training, and avatars will be integrated into more presentations.

Content producers will find new ways of using these tools to improve on how people interact with their clients to achieve their creative and business objectives. Production for cinema, television, gaming, and live streaming will be merged into one common pipeline.

Virtual Idol is segregated into 3 different types The Virtual youtuber Kaguya Luna (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQYADFw7xEJ9oZSM5ZbqyBw) Mirai Akari (https://www.youtube.com/user/bittranslate) Kizuna Ai (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4YaOt1yT-ZeyB0OmxHgolA) Siro (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLhUvJ_wO9hOvv_yYENu4fQ) Virtual Girlfriend Yomemi (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy5lOmEQoivK5XK7QCaRKug) The singing synthesizer software voice bank Hatsune Miku (https://www.crypton.co.jp/miku_eng) Vocaloids (https://www.vocaloid.com/en/) The collective creation of Avatar by communities Reality Avatar (https://le.wrightflyer.net/reality/)

The Collective Production of Hatsune Miku How the community collectively produce the spectacular goddess

Crypton Future Media’s Hatsune Miku

Magical Mirai Concert, 2013

The spectacular production of the Virtual Idol, Hatsune Miku Hatsune Miku, as an emrging subjectivity of the collective production as a community; The project is about an emerging subjectivity that has been growing for the past 10 years in Japan and outside of the country. Hatsune Miku, which is synthesis voice music program, created by a Japanese company call Crypton Future Media, in the virtual world, that was given the persona and identity through the collective creation of music, illustration, videos and performance in the openness of the virtual world. This is produced through the community online, that comes together and celebrates her as an idol, essentially created a cult around her as the virtual goddess. She is not real, but her impact in the internet world is humongous as various different people of different fields join together in the creation of her visual image and her music through the openness of the virtual world.

Evolution of the Business Model by Crypton Future Media

Paradigm of the Business Model; The business model of Crypton Future Media is simple from the start – using the typical corporate business ideology, they form business collaboration with other companies and independent illustrators and artistes to gain popularity within the common market. The company then engages in multiple activities that heavily promote the brand and product through resources, which are easily available to the masses. The product valuation will come when the products get popular over the internet, as well as other marketing channels which make targeting audience and community a much more easily done. After which the company will then reap the rewards of the revenues that are generated over time.

Over the years, there is a growing demand for the product, which saw increase in popularity from other resources which are directly linked to the company. Product valuation took a different turn as there are many different types of target audience, who got attracted by the product and begin to collectively produce using the product as a base – that reached out to an even wider range of audience that was way different from what the company set out to do.

The increase of online popular illustrators, composers, animators, artistes as well as community created a whole new market itself; the community engagement and popularity segment.

Crypton Future Media realized that the community have started to engaged itself and created a whole new personality to the product, and decided to bring even much more content and engagement to the community as this might increase the product popularity well over the location market. This is turn led to the collective collaboration between big companies and the common communities, opening a entirely whole new archetype of collective collaboration through mutual production.

The popularity of Hatsune Miku leads to; Collaboration between real music artistes and her in a music video.

A massive concert every year which draws the community together in a singular space and celebrate her through the performance of the music created by the community, with dress for each song, visualized by different illustrators and choreographers that are part of this community or cult.

Cafes that are the meeting point for different fields of people to come together and collaborate works from music making, to illustration and performance of her music Development of AR software to further bring her musical performance to real time viewing through hardware that is readily available to anyone.

BUMB OF CHICKEN featuring Hatusne Miku; Using Crypton Future Media’s advance technology, called 14 Model, Hatsune Miku is able to be projected live in the space behind BUMP OF CHICKEN, performing together with them. She was singing a duet of “ray” with the band, while the band is performing live on stage consistently having interaction to and fro with her.

The collaborative nature of creating the music video, have been given a extra impact of introducing another whole new set of disciplines to be collectively producing the spectacle of the music video. The production video shows different fields of production running in parallel as the collective engagement of the creators of the music video. The most basic forms would be each disciple perfecting the production as individuals’ fields, before coming together at the first layer to incorporate different elements – as it builds up over different layers, the final production would be the music video that is produced. The act of these productions gave birth to a new working methodology of collective production across different fields and element.

Mapping the community collaboration with Hatsune Miku; The drawing that I have been developing shows the collaboration of the music video, where different people of different fields are within an open architectural space, collectively in the production of the music video and the performance of Hatsune Miku.

The Plan shows the precise positioning of each maker, producing the spectacle that happens on the stage. The performative articulation of Hatsune Miku and the artiste’s music reflects back as a spectacle of light onto the makers.

The architectural space showcases the openness of the collaborative space, but how different fields of people work together tightly in the production of the music.

Mapping the community collaboration with Hatsune Miku; The Axonometric shows the different scale of work from each field in relationship to the interaction between their work, people around them and the stage.

The line of sight is constantly articulated towards the stage and each reflection symbolizes the different ephemeral spectacle that was viewed.

The elevation attempts to analyze the layers that create this space, through the juxtaposition of different spatial representation. The Collaborative instrumentality layer, the supportive element layer and the production of the collective layer. The deconstruction of the elevations informs how simple the openness of the architectural shell, could lead to the complexity of the production of the music.

Andy Warhol and the Silver Factory / Mircea Eliade’s The Sacred & The Profane Readings on the urban commune and cosmic surrounding of the central divinity

The Silver Factory

Andy Warhol and the Silver Factory Abalos Inaki’s ‘the good life’ In Inaki’s the good life, he wrote that within the space of the Warhol’s Silver Factory; one can imagine the blending of the ideas of Freud and Marx which was undertaken by Wilhelm Reich ‘s The Sexual Revolution (1945) which analyzed the problems of everyday life in the communes of revolutionary Russian. It gave rise to a typology of lifestyle in American, which developed a new technique of living by appropriation of industrial spaces. Andy Warhol was not interested in Marx, Freud or Reich as well as the contemporary communeal movement as a whole, but still created The Factory as a lifestyle of seducation and glamour by architectonic terms.

Warhol welcomes his visitors into the space of openness, which translated into a form of domesticity of the enjoyment which minimal initiation is necessary.

A place of party and work, a collaboration and production and a space which is its own machinery in the production of art and creativity to museums and masses. Warhol have subconsciously developed and decontextualized the ideas of the European avant-gardes, setting up The Factory as like many others in attempts to set up the urban communes. The Atompshere of constant partying and creative work, Inaki thought that we could recognize the spirit of the Situationist manifestos on the creative construction of the individual.

Warhol uses the loft to give meaning to a new sense of space for accidental collaborative nature, an unintentional creation of the idea of co-living/working within a spatial condition. And a note that although it’s called a co-living space, essentially they do not sleep in there, and Warhol goes back to his Mother’s house to sleep.

A typical party night in Warhol’s Silver Factory

Space of collecive production, The Silver Factory

Influence of the Silver Factory; Counterculture The communal space was unintendedly developed by Warhol through the usage of The Silver Factory as a collective collaboration for production of the ‘spectacularities’, but not a space for sleep – as discussed in ‘The good life’.

In this instance, where the project will counterculture the idea of self-production within the isolated environment like the home; and bring different fields of people together as an collective collaboration entity. This is further engage by bringing the community together to further enhance the collective production of the spectacular space, by involving the community into the production process.

Anti-authoritarianism The spatial development of the project also materialised the anti-authoritarianism process through the building of bottom up process, the construction of the architecture of production from the community up. Similar to what Marx developed where the commune is the logical way of habiting in a state of crisis, the project envision the community taking control of the collective production – separated from the authoritarianism control. The project then becomes the deconstruction of the foundations of classical humanism through community-production analysis.

The tribe In ‘The good life’, the tribe was a form of elective kinship based on mutual aid, hospitality, need, and friendship in protest against a callous society as formulated by Inaki. The project will also bring together like minded people of different fields, or communities that require different collaboration to achieve the final production together, in a singular spatial cosmos where these are celebrated through the continuity process of production and engagement. The group of people or the communities then becomes under one banner as the peg community, through the single specularity space.

The plan of the Silver Factory, drawn by ETH Zurich

Analysing the plan of the Silver Factory; The silver factory developed from not thinking about acquiring huge spaces in abandoned industrial and commercial buildings but rather to snatch up a space of low rents, and organised themselves in a most unusual way invented in the 20th century. The New York loft now turns to a formula for thinking, building and inhabiting an archetype of the contemporary house. The New York loft selling point is that its rented at very low prices, set up in an industrial space or warehouse in a central but economically depressed location, and in white the private and work environment are in principle combined without any break in continuity. The alluring romanticism of getting a New York loft space depends on the collective or individual income, as well as any kind of creative interests or social commitments of the resident or residents. It is also an affirmation of belonging to a particular community, opening up new social codes of parties and social gathering as a communal aspect within the space. All these came as a result of the ideology on appropriation, which could also be presented as the integration of present and past within the context.

The Warholian in moving his home and studio to buildings and city areas abandoned by the speculative dynamic sees the opportunity to appropriate the city and insists on all the values which is of positivism. This act was seen as a revival of urban memory through the rejection of tabula rasa and the embrace of urban context. While in the house of Arpels, everything was subject to regulation and vigilance, in the Warholian loft there is no order or surveillance.

It can be occupied by anyone seen as the tribe, which also does not holds any impositions or habits on others. As Warhol says; “I always like to work on leftovers, doing the leftover things…”, the factory itself could be seen as a castoff, a recycled industrial building that becomes an object through spatial appropriation – to reproduced and recycled into beings.

The mother’s room that Andy Warhol slept in

A day in the Silver Factory

From the bedroom to the New York Loft; The Warholian in moving his home and studio to buildings and city areas abandoned by the speculative dynamic sees the opportunity to appropriate the city and insists on all the values which is of positivism. This act was seen as a revival of urban memory through the rejection of tabula rasa and the embrace of urban context. While in the house of Arpels, everything was subjected to regulation and vigilance, in the Warholian loft there is no order or surveillance. It can be occupied by anyone part of the tribe, which also does not hold any impositions or habits. The factory itself could be seen as a castoff, a recycled industrial building that becomes an object through spatial appropriation – to reproduce and recycle into beings.

It becomes an alluring romanticism of co-habitation and co-working within the space depends on the collective or individual, as well as any kind of creative interests or social commitments of the resident or residents. It is also an affirmation of belonging to a particular community, opening up new social codes of parties and social gathering as a communal aspect within the space. All these came as a result of the ideology on appropriation, which could also be presented as the integration of present and past within the context.

Rem Koolhaas / Madelon Vriesendorp in The City of the Captive Globe Project, New York, 1972

Rem Koolhaus Delirious in New York, 1972

From Freudo-Marxist communes to the New York Loft Rem Koolhaas once tried to describe the cosmopolitan New York lifestyle in his Delirious New York (1978), which is based on the surge of more progressive and irrational tendencies in the city. The idea of Manhattanism had already produced the grand residential hotel in the 1930s, a new form of life as avant-grade as it was frivolous. Although he dissected the main properties that made up New York, and have tried to include the fantasies that created the conditions which maps out the cityscape; he woulvd not have known that there is a particular phenomenon being reproduced in the lofts of SoHo, which Andy Warhol became the chief object of desire. The existing city, New York, is the natural environment of the inhabitants of the Warholian loft – yet the maximum expression of the cosmopolitan, New York is built by appropriating everything that seemed attractive and interesting in the modern world. A city that Rem Koolhaas was putting together like a great celebration of the city, and by appropriate them, to be endowed with new beauty.

The streets might be the only thing that modern urbanism wishes to suppress, an experimental drift through the streets so as to constructs a subjective psychogeolograhy of the existing city is another way to appropriate the city through the reverse understand of the urban context as traffic. Warhol did not just wanted to appropriate the SoHo areas, but also wanted to extent its ideology to public space which is the whole city. A perfect consumerist which he appropriates counterculture techniques and aesthetics in return for the perverse and sophisticated decontextualisation of the cosmopolitan.

Simon Sadler The Situationist City, 1998

Guy Debord in TheNaked City, a Psychogeographical map of Paris, 1957

The Naked City, Situationist’s influential manifesto; Guy Debord wrote the situationists’ most influential manifesto of ideas under the title Society of the Spectacle (1967). The main concept behind the manifesto is that mass media and advertising create an artificial reality in which true everyday existence is hidden behind. This artificial reality Debord called the Spectacle. As a way of reacting to this dominance over society by the media, the situationists developed methods for everyday experimentation, the most notable being psychogeography. Guy Debord defined the term Psychogeography as “the study of the specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals.”

The Situation derive - an experimental drifting through the streets so as to construct a subjective psychogeography of the existing city - is nothing other than a practice that reclaims the existing city. The practice of reclaims the city of memory and subjective experience, the city devalued and currently nearing extinction, as a revolutionary framework against the determining factors of the objectivist modern city.

The situationists also used maps, making alterations to them in order to help instigate unpredictable trajectories. Debord himself produced a map in 1957 under the title The Naked City. The plan of Paris is cut up and divided into 19 sections that are randomly placed back together. The users of the map choose their own route through the city by using a series of arrows that link parts of the city together. Other experiments with maps existed including one undertaken by a friend of Debord who wandered through a region of Germany whilst following directions from a map of London. The situationists encompassed other intellectual devices into their walks for example, when they were manoeuvring within the landscape they would try to be aware of how their surroundings could be used to draw them toward the past. Cities were seen as historical landscapes, whose structure and appearances were shaped by temporal events that were buried but never completely erased.

Arunta Tribe and the Sacred Totem

Phallic Woship of sacred pillars

Mircea Eliade’s The Sacred & The Profane Sacred Space and making the World Sacred Consecration of a Place, Repetition of the cosmogony; Mircea talks about the understanding of cosmicization of unknown territories, to organise a space is to repeat the paradigmatic work of the gods. He cited references of nomadic Australians like the Arunta Tribe, the Achill, as groups of people that understand the importance of cosmicized territories through the understanding of axis which dictated the areas surrounding it as habitable, hence transforming into the world. The idea of the axis creating the boundary around a point ties to the idea of imaginary sacred and the creation of the cult around the sacred.

For the pole to be broken denotes catastrophe - this example illustrates both the cosmological function of the axis and its soteriological role. Establishment in a particular place, organising it, inhabiting it, are acts that presuppose an existential choice - the choice of the universe that one is prepared to assume by ‘creating’ it. Until their conversion to Christianity, the Celts and Germans sill maintained their worship of sacred pillars – In the town of Eresburg, it was recorded that Charlemagne destroyed the temple and the sacred wood of the famous Irminsul during the war against the Saxons (772), and adds that this famous pillar is the ‘pillar of the universe which as it were, supports all things” The analysis of these readings brings the understanding of the urban context surrounding the project, why it should be in a city and not outside, why should it be a tower and not a low building, why should it be seen as a spectacle and not as part of the city skyline. The readings supports on how the tower, a singular entity of collective production acts like the axis of the city or the urban context – informing the areas around as the habitable space of production; but the tower provides the mixture of different disciplines, a vortex of different members of the society to come together and produce the spectacular production as a tribe. As the collective production goes higher in the tower, the amount of spectacular production increases as more different fields of entity get mashed up as an collective collaboration. This becomes a spectacular production itself as the production moves on to the celebration of its final completion.

Singapore 1:1 An emerging city-state of the world

Map of Singapore, and her expanding costal areas, 2018

1st Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew (Father)

2nd Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong

3rd Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong (Son)

Singapore An emerging city of technology, virtual commercialisation and governmental regiment Top-down programmatic adjacencies; “Almost all of Singapore is less than 30 years old; the city represents the ideological production of the past three decades in its pure form, uncontaminated by surviving contextual remnants...” written by Rem Koolhaas in Singapore Songlines (1995) – Singapore is an young emerging city-state where increase advancement of technology and virtual commercialization drives the country.

The perception of western production within Asian cultures, are seen strongly applied in this small city-state. As an island, its territory is known and is endowed with indispensable elements for the construction of mythology; it’s government constantly promoting the usage of technology advancement and commercialisation through commonising its process.

It’s leader have always stress about catching up with the world, with no natural resources; Singapore could only rely on its massive workforce and production to take in new technologies and research and propel it further through nationwide commonised system of these products. The rapid growth in technological aspect and production have seen increase in land usage for industrial parks and research & development hubs, a move that affect greatly on planning as land in Singapore is scare.

Map of Singapore, smaller then the land of Johor, Malaysia - in the northern region

Central Business District, Singapore

Planning land usage wisely; Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) The Urban redevelopment authority is in-charged primarily with urban renewal, designing Singapore’s land use master plan and various other initiatives.

Their role spans residential dwelling, entire townships design which includes commercial, industrial as well as residential zoning and density.

URA also acts as agent for the State in carrying out land sales for commercial, hotel, private residential land industrial developments. In addition, URA also sells sites for special uses e.g,heavy vehicle parks, conservation shophouses and recreational developments.

Housing Development Board (HDB) The housing board involves itself in building low cost public homes for Singaporeans as well as Permanent Residents, apart from that, HDB is also involved in many other facets of properties.

HDB manages a total close to 12,000 ready-built factories and industrial land leases located island-wide catering to a wide spectrum of customers’ needs.

These properties include low rise workshops, warehouses, high-rise factories with vehicular ramps for access, specialized high-rise food factories and motor-vehicle service and repair complexes, and land-based properties. Majority are for rental. Most of the trades that can be accommodated within these properties and developments are Clean and Light industries and some smallscale General industries.

HDB also acts as agent for the state to sell land for various uses, though the bulk of these land is residential HDB or EC use, it is not restricted to these.

Singapore Land Authority (SLA) Singapore land authority helps the government to manage its land sales system. Its role is to make sure that the land is to achieve optimum returns. SLA is also to manage the land title system. SLA is also in-charged of appoint sales agent for state land. Hence it is the authority responsible for appointing sales agent such as HDB, URA, JTC, LTA and make sure that compliance and statutory guidelines are adhered to for the land sales process.

Certain parcels of land are also available for sale by the state under SLA. These lands are remnant lands (landed development) which cannot be economically used by the state and could also be odd shaped. These lands hold great value to the land owner as they can extend their development and combine it with these remnant lands to create better economic value, or more luxurious consumption. Other lands such as Agricultural land on short leases are also sold by SLA to bidders.

Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) Jurong town corporation (JTC) is mainly focused on building Singapore’s industrial infrastructure. “JTC has developed 7,100 hectares of industrial land and 3.2 million square metres of ready-built facilities across the entire spectrum of industrial space.”

JTC roles is to help Singapore to concentrate industrial and economic clusters together by grouping the suppliers, services close to the end users coupled with funding and support, to promote the growth of Singapore.

JTC is also appointed to be the sales agent of state land, hence it launches land under the government land sales program (GLS).

Imagining the future: What would Singapore be like in 2030, The Straits Times, 2017

Singapore initiative - Smart Nation

Emerging city of technology; Once a sleepy fishing village, the island city-state has emerged as a prosperous technology hub, a “miniature Silicon Valley,” according to Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) CEO Meg Whitman in the heart of Southeast Asia. Today, 80 of the top 100 tech firms in the world have a presence in Singapore, reinforcing its status as a major East-West trading center and the gateway to the lucrative Asian marketplace.

Invention and innovation are an integral part of its business culture. Here, global enterprises and startups frequently collaborate on projects — and analysts have taken notice. The 2017 Global Innovation Index ranked Singapore as the most innovative country in Asia, while the 2017 Bloomberg Innovation Index ranked Singapore sixth globally. That’s a big reason why companies like Amazon and IBM are using Singapore to pilot groundbreaking new projects before they roll them out globally.

Singapore’s plug-and-play business environment lets tech companies hit the ground running almost immediately. In Singapore, businesses get instant access to one of the most technologically advanced IT infrastructures in the world. Singapore was ranked first in digital infrastructure in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Asian Digital Transformation Index. Companies can tap into that infrastructure to easily test and pilot new products as soon as they set up their WiFi network.

Singapore’s IP laws are not only tough — they’re well enforced. The Singapore government’s commitment to a strong IP regulatory framework gives companies confidence that their R&D investments will stay protected. The country ranks first among all Asian countries, and fourth in the world, for intellectual property rights protection, according to the World Economic Forum.

Singapore offers one of the most well-educated and highly skilled talent pools in Asia. The most recent Global Talent Competitiveness Index ranks Singapore second in the world and the only Asian country in the top 10 when it comes to attracting talent. More than that, Singapore’s diverse population is among the most Western-friendly in all of Asia. With few cultural and language barriers — English, one of four official languages in Singapore, is widely spoken — managers from the U.S. and Europe find it easy to assimilate their workforce here.

Taken together, these conditions make Singapore a near-perfect incubator for IT and tech companies looking to establish or expand their foothold in Asia.

But don’t take that claim as mere hype: Look at how these three companies, from a growth-minded startup to a cybersecurity leader, are thriving in Singapore.

Community living in Singapore’s past

KCLOUD - co-working space by FARM, Singapore

From Warholian Factory to the Silver Tower; As one of the highest population per square kilometer of land area (7915.73 people), Singapore defines itself through rapid commonise of new technology and promotion of virtual commercialization as land is scare. Will the typology of the Warholian Factory or the production of the Hatsune Miku suit this emerging city as an urban commune, or using these to redefine and translate to a contemporary form of production through architecture?

The Silver Tower

A vertical factory for collective hedonism and production

02

Development Sketches

Understanding the typology of Tower

Understanding the typology of Tower

Understanding the typology of Tower

Understanding the typology of Tower

Vertical massing typology

Vertical massing typology

Understanding visual exchanges

Searching for architectural language

Searching for architectural language

Searching for architectural language

Demarcating different spaces

Studying curated views

Plan study of different voids

Tracing reflections internally

The Silver Tower

A vertical factory for collective hedonism and production

03 Spectacular models of experimentation

Showing spatial qualities, materiality and traces of reflection, refraction and optical illusion

Testing of lighting qualities using resin cast

Testing of lighting qualities using resin cast

Testing of lighting qualities using resin cast

Testing of lighting qualities using resin cast

Experimentation of layers, filters and colours

Experimentation of layers, filters and colours

Testing of design and structure

Testing of permeability qualities

Massing study

Studying the lighting spectacular

Massing study

Massing study

Scaled Models of the Silver Tower Creating the spectacle within the vertical factory

Test model of the design language and the spectacle materiality

Test model of the design language and the spectacle materiality

Testing out the qualities of layering and reflections

Testing out the qualities of porosity and reflections

Scale 1:250 of the Silver Tower

The materiality of the tower

Scale 1:250 of the Silver Tower

The porosity face of the tower

Scale 1:250 of the Silver Tower and her spatial relationship between levels and voids

The elevation and the section - The reflection and the porosity

Scale 1:250 of the Silver Tower and the urban context (Evening)

Scale 1:150 3-segment fragment of the Silver Tower

The relationship between the work-production-play levels

Scale 1:150 3-segment fragment of the Silver Tower

The reflections and the connections

Scale 1:150of the Silver Tower and the urban context (Evening)

Scale 1:150of the Silver Tower and the urban context (Evening)