Taiwan 2011 / Part 3 / IDA Night One

so like i wrote before, it was now about 7pm, and the night had fallen, and something special was planned for the night.

it was time to party, and what a party it would be. 

 

one of the best things about international symposiums like this are the opportunities provided to network among each other simply to get to know each other just a little better. we would be given time to chat and mingle, usually within the context of festive, party - like ambience, and here at the IDA in taiwan, it was no different.

but what really was surprising here was that there would be a party planned EVERY night from about 7.30 pm till about 11.30 pm for the next 3 days during the convention, and the venues were iconic cultural and historical landmarks that were simply breathtaking to look at.

and so on the first night, we were shuttled from the IDA venue to a huge complex that architecturally oozed with a sense of ancient chinese opulence and magnificence. this was one of the most important buidlings in the city, indeed, the country itself,  and being there admring the grand luxury of it all was simply an amazing affair. 

this was the National Theater and Concert Hall in taipei and the festivities here, were in full swing. 

once i arrived, i walk through this modern temporary vibrantly coloured arch into a vast cobble paved peoples' square, that formed the central space within the entire grounds of the traditional complex. 

i see two huge grandiose buildings, clearly oriental in nature, where one was on my left and the other on my right. both halls were designated as major venues for the performing arts both on a local and international level, but what really strikes me is just how intricately and beautifully designed these centers were.

in particular, the grand and expansive sweeping roofs, graceful and golden beneath the starless skies of the city, that really captivates me.

at times the main roof seems over empowering, both in design and structure, and its very presence seemed to be  supported only by an array of thin and slender red columns, that formed the exterior perimeter of the hall.

 

and in between these 2 wonderful buildings, an open air banquet takes place. 

and as i walk around, unexpectedly, i meet some familiar faces from back home. a malaysian delegation of sorts were there for the convention too, and it felt good to reconnect with something from back home. and of course, the next thing on the agenda ... dinner.

while dinner was being served, a concert was taking place featuring a mix of the traditional, peppered occasional with bouts of the modern. at one moment, the ear - piercing haunting sounds of the erhu resounded in the air, and the next moment, a attractive all girl musical band started belting out mando - pop hits to us audience members.

and then there was even a time during the concert, where they put the two together, the traditional and the modern. 

 

 and a diva makes an appearance.

pretty soon though, i go back to what interests me more, and i just love what i see. 

 in particular, as i get closer to these 2 huge theaters, straining my neck as i look up, i begin to appreciate the seemingly endless mosaic of construction details that form the ceilings and the panels underneath the roof.

the mixture of carved posts and adorned beams, of enriched lintels and painted columns, of a thousand ornaments and a thousand more decorations was simply astounding to look at, and i can only imagine the countless hours it must have taken to so painstakingly complete these intricate designs for these buildings.

and to see this kind of rich, almost infinite amount of design detail on almost every exterior surface of the edifice simply boggles the mind.

part of the agenda of the night was a planned cultural performance that was scheduled to take place inside the halls of both the buildings. we had a choice of either entering the building on the left or the right, where one would be a percussion performance, of beating drums and vibrant rhythms,  and the other a slice of taiwanese opera, of theatrical wailings and dramatic engagements. 

i chose opera. 

 

and i was delighted by the choice i made. 

again, the central theme of luxury and opulence is clearly reflected throughout the theater as its primary design inspiration. the choice of materials, light marble and dull gold being the most obvious, coupled with superficial added on floral decorations and gigantic crystal chandeliers all seemed a bit too decadent for me, but i suppose that was the purpose of buildings of this nature and function. i observe what i can and proceed with the masses.

i then move in for the show. 

the show was about to start.

i take a shot for posterity just before it does.

and soon, the show begins!

colorful characters in chromatic costumes soon make a dramatic appearance, accompanied by both narration and music by a group of immensely talented live musicians to tell a story in mandarin. i try to appreciate as much as i could.

and when the shows over, a final bow to wish us good night. and we applaud them.

walking out of the hall, i notice 2 hauntingly serene statues of damsels playing instruments, frozen in time eternally as i make my way to the exit point.

taking just a little longer to take my final shots of the night, i was truly entertained by the events of the evening and of the day itself, but now it was clearly time to go back to our respective accommodations. we would be shuttled back to certain pre-planned drop off points that were nearest to our hotels and hostels, and i needed to hurry to avoid missing my commune back home.

and just as i was about to leave, i took one last shot of this grand, commanding gateway, subtly and outstandingly illuminated in the dark that marked the entrance of the entire grounds of the complex. it somehow seemed befitting that the last shot i take for the evening of this venue, was also the first one i had taken when i arrived hours earlier and once i took this piece, i truly felt the day was done. i was content.

one last surprise greeted me however, once the bus dropped me off and i had to walk back to my guesthouse. everything at this hour, the stroke of midnight, was dead as a doornail, and all i could think of was my bed and a good night sleep. just outside the guesthouse, however, was this collection of alluring orange hued paper lanterns, that were suspended outside the facade of an shoplot, that created a beautiful vertical array of illuminated orbs, seemingly floating in the dark, eminating an eerie kind of radiant beauty. 

i couldnt help but to stop and stare for a moment, appreciating its hypnotizing presence, before heading back to my room and i thought to myself, what a beautiful end to the night this was. 

a day full of excitement, and a night that ended with a curtain of light. truly, a wonderful day. 

on to the next day of the congress.

Taiwan 2011 / Part 3 / IDA Day One

and so the day was finally here. 

the 24th of October, 2011. crisp and clear on a Monday morning, i was all set to attend the very reason i came to taiwan .

       IDA 2011

the international design alliance conference was the first of its kind, and its inaugural summit was held here in Taipei and the purpose for this amazing event was to bring together the unified voice of designers around the world in a themed framework to advance the vision and mission of the IDA by engaging with government leaders (commerce, trade, culture, etc.), INGO’s, business, science and technology, education, the social sciences (ethnography, sociology, etc.) 

the International Design Alliance (IDA) is itself a strategic venture between the international organisations representing design. the alliance was created by founding partners Icsid and Icograda and ratified by their respective General Assemblies in September 2003 and in September 2008, the IDA welcomed the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI) to the alliance as the third partner. the alliance is based on the desire of its partners to 'do together what they cannot do alone,' concentrating on opportunities arising from multidisciplinary collaboration. 

it was honestly an exciting moment, and the atmosphere was electric to say the least. i had come the day earlier to register, and now here i was among designers from every corner of the world just waiting to engage each other in deep discussion and dialogue, in powerful presentations and processions ... its days like this that make me tremendously joyful that i'm a designer, and that i too can partake in such amazing experiences with like minded individuals from all over the planet. 

soon we were about to start. and what a show it was. 

immediately after the opening speeches and the formalities that tend to ensue international symposiums like this, we were treated with a visual cacophony of wild streams consisting of blinding green and blue lasers projected in every nook and corner of the huge auditorium. earlier on, were were given pocket sized stainless steel mirror finish panels and we were told that we would need them for a surprise later. 

well, this was the surprise and just before it started, we were told to take them out and flash  them all over the place, supposedly as an attempt to enhance the intensity of the laser beams through sparkling and twinkling reflections and such. 

nice idea to say the least, but lets just say, perhaps a little more thought needed to go into it. i'm sure i wasn't the only confused soul in the audience that morning. but hey, the show was spectacular, none the less ... and almost like a rock concert was about to begin. guns n roses sadly however didn't make an appearance. 

the show ,however, goes on.

showers of light spewing out from all over the place! 

fountains of lasers hitting high and mighty! 

and streams of light bursting radiantly! 

and when that fabulous light show was over, a forum  of individuals representing the organizing committee of the event were called on stage to talk about the event itself and explain whats' it all about and was arranged to get things moving, starting with the explanation of the theme of the event, which was design at the edges. 

as one speaker pointed out earlier, was a significantly appropriate theme for taiwan itself as a country and as a host, as it was an entity itself defined by its edges in the eyes of the world (an island in an ocean, where its shores demarcate its land from the seas in which it sits).  

"a very profound insight," i thought and it led me to think, are we human beings defined by our "edges" as well? philosophical and psychological edges that keep out what we don't want and keep in what constitutes who we are? 

food for thought. hmmmm......

and 'design' of course was the theme of the day. 

presentations went on for a couple of hours before we broke for lunch, and once we did, the first thing i wanted to do was to explore the public design exhibitions that were being held simultaneously at the venue. just crossing the street took me into a whole new world, populated with a vast treasure trove of designs from every industry imaginable. products and concepts galore, from both professionals and students were displayed all over the venue, showcasing the best and the brightest the country had to offer. 

and i was in (design) heaven. 

the entire atrium of the building next door connected to the IDA venue was filled to the brim with panel after panel after panel of creative design ideas and proposals, ranging from everything to try to make the world a better place from new concepts for houses to cities, from furniture to vehicles, from software to hardware and a thousand other things.

i naturally gravitate to the architectural - centric exhibitions. of course. 

and its clear, that a lot of love for ones work poured into some of these projects. 

literally, designed with the heart in mind. 

the atrium itself was interestingly designed, where its spaces were demarcated with array after array of intermittently arranged tall and slender bamboo trunks, creating a semi - transparent division and filter, with a multitude of short colourful branches attached to each pole, again as a conscious effort to incorporate an eastern cultural influence within the layout and scope of the conference. 

nice touch. 

 

and undoubtedly. these bamboo divisions enhanced the creative atmosphere of the exhibition spaces quite interestingly, especially through how lights bounces off its exteriors.

within the spaces demarcated by those bamboo filters, individual booths showcasing certain selected products were isolated and displayed in an eye catching manner to pull the visitor in for a closer look. i get drawn in too.

i spent quite a bit of time just browsing through as many wonderful things as i could, but soon, i had to leave to have a quick lunch and head back to the conference, but just before i do, something mysterious and lively catches my eye.

one of the more interesting things that really held my attention was this concept of a "living painting" where this screen showing a monochromatic traditional chinese painting seemed to come to life, where individual artistic elements within the artwork started moving. 

essentially, it was a projection of an animated piece against a translucent screen, but it felt so much more than the sum of its parts. it was a wonderful reinterpretation of a traditional art form from a static slice of frozen artistry to a dynamic collection of vibrant images that took inspiration from a thousand years of history and condensed it into a momentary presentation. 

truly captivating, i thought.

after spending an hour or so here admiring the last booth that i could at the time, i had to head back to the conference for the next session, and i was quite excited to be there. a world famous super designer was scheduled to present his work strategies and philosophies to us fortunate audience members, and i wasn't gonna be late. 

and the world famous speaker would be none other than kenya hara.  

the one and only.

 

this was him of course, the genius design maestro and brilliant art director, behind some of the worlds best designed graphics and products, through cleverly innovative ideas and strategies, and also the prominent driving force behind the japanese design and commercial powerhouse MUJI. he takes the stage and starts off his presentation.

starting with a car that smiles. yes, smiles. 

this "mood car" has the power the sense your presence and visually displays its delight when you're around. the car smiles, and so do you.

other interesting products include quirkily designed double-face watches and minimalistic elegant timber and steel benches ...

... and playful fabric cladded chairs to boot.

he speaks in japanese but we were equipped with  immediate translators ( devices that look like walkie - talkies ) so we knew exactly what was going on. he spoke on a myriad of issues pertaining to the design industry both locally and internationally, and the impact of design both good and bad on society as a whole.

this man is a living legend of sorts when it comes to design, and so each word he uttered was taken with utmost attentive consideration by us audience members and i really felt very fortunate to be able to hear this genius present his thoughts and opinions to all of us.and of course towards the end of his presentation, a Q & A a session follows expectedly to briefly delve into more of what he presented earlier on for those of us with an extra question or two. a few other presentations had taken place after this one, and when the last one ended, the conference had come to a close for the day.  

the day was filled with eye - opening speeches and presentations, with stunning displays and products and ended with the sharing of professional wisdom by one of the most respected designers in the world and at the end of day, i couldn't have been happier.

but it was now about 7pm, and the night had arrived.



the skies above taipei 101 were cold, dark and cloudy, but the falling of night wasn't the end of the day. there was something special planned for the night and i was just as excited as i was earlier on in the day. a grand dinner and concert was planned for the evening as a way to successfully end the first night of the conference, and the venue for tonites festivities, i was informed, was one of the most magnificent locales on the island.

so its time to party. yes....party. 
lets go.