Sagrada Familia

Gaudí was a genius.

Page in Progress..

Seoul Station's Dome Complete!

Today I finally topped off my Lego model of Seoul Station. It was quite a challenge, but I am happy with the final design. I was able to finish it because the updated version of Lego Digital Designer is a lot faster and does not give error messages.

Now I have to work on the minor details and side wings of the station.

My Historic Architecture Project

Recently I began to pursue an unique project: recreating Seoul's lost and often neglected architectural history. I chose my medium to be... Legos. :)

The picture above is a postcard dating back to 1920s, showing Seoul during the colonial/modernization period. The first building pictured is today's old Seoul Station (서울역), while the second building is Seoul Central Post Office (서울중앙우체국), which was called before the liberation of Korea from Japanese rule as Keijo Post Office (경성우편국; 京城郵便局). Seoul Station is one of few buildings that survive to this day, while the post office was sadly lost by air raids during the Korean War.

These eclectic western-style buildings were built in the first half of the 20th century to reflect progress and often awe the traditional Korean public by the Japanese. Many Japanese were living in Seoul during the colonial period, and these buildings were meant to serve their needs; this was a time when Korean was forbidden and the Japanese government worked hard to "eradicate" Korean culture.

Perhaps not surprisingly, these colonial yet historic buildings did not survive more than a century; often they were either destroyed during the Korean War or demolished in order to make way for new modern development projects. Most notable demolition happened in 1995, when the former Japanese General Government Building was symbolically demolished in order to restore Gyeongbokgung Palace to its former form. (An irony here is that the Japanese Government building itself was built by the Japanese after systemically demolishing Gyeongbokgung Palace, a symbol of Korea's traditional royal authority)

However, the Korean public today is beginning to realize the historic and cultural importance of buildings created during this painful period. Even the most painful and bitter history is still history worth preserving, and often these buildings served for many decades after Korea's liberation, thus making them endearing to Koreans as well. Many are now active in preserving these historic buildings for future generations, because this act is more meaningful than destroying these buildings and thus losing all memories attached to them.



I loved to play with Legos when I was a child, but stopped playing as I grew older. Recently, though, I rediscovered childish joy (and perhaps nostalgia) of making things when I assembled my Cafe Corner and Eiffel Tower.

Lego Group supplies a freely-downloadable program called Lego Digital Designer (LDD). It allows me to design a virtual Lego building without that much of brick constraints and to even purchase my creations online.

The screenshots of my models of the old Seoul Station and Seoul Central Post Office are shown above. Neither of these models are currently finished because my laptop (MacBook) does not let me to add more by freezing and showing error messages. I think this is due to my laptop's inherent weak graphic card. :(

Still, I had a wonderful time designing and assembling my models. It was a tedious and tiresome process, for I had to constantly compare my collected photos of these buildings with my models and rethink ways of assembling Legos; but in the end, I am quite satisfied with my creations. Now I can actually see these buildings in three dimensions instead of just two with my computer, and can even dream of owning one.

This project is still not finished, and I probably will continue with a different computer in the future. :)

Legos are just amazing in their flexibility. I love them.

My Favorite: Casa Batlló

By Caribb, Flickr

By MorBCN, Flickr

By guercio, Flickr

By (Erik), Flickr

Casa Batlló, one of Antoni Gaudí's most beautiful masterpieces, is located at Passeig de Gràcia of the Eixample District in Barcelona. The Eixample literally means "extension" in Catalan, and the district was constructed accordingly between the 19th and 20th century.

Locally also known as Casa dels ossos (House of... Bones), Casa Batlló was actually already built in 1877 in a conventional style; Antoni Gaudí only "remodeled" the building during the years 1905 to 1907. At the time, Barcelona was expanding rapidly and emerged as the largest city of Spain, and its economic prosperity brought the cultural movement known as the Catalan Renaissance or Renaixença.

The building's stunning architectural details show Gaudí's creative and deeply individualistic style, and some parts of the building (like the corridor shown) are very modern in design. It seems to me that Santiago Calatrava (another Spanish but contemporary architect) is inspired by Casa Batlló.

Gaudí certainly was aware of Art Nouveau and was deeply influenced by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc's writings and by his architectural visions regarding Gothic architecture. The building features organic motifs, including a colorful roof that resembles dragon's spine and skin and windows flanked by skeleton-like columns.

It is one of my favorite buildings by Gaudí. I am always stunned at how he used so many colors to decorate this building while not making it look kitsch.

Stradivarius and Piano Collection in the Palacio Real de Madrid

The Palacio Real de Madrid
(By Kaunokainen, Flickr ID)

Grand Piano
(Original Picture by Jorge Louzao Penalva)

Stradivarius Cello
(By Terence Wei)

Stradivarius Violin
(By Giant Ginkgo, Flickr ID)

El Palacio Real de Madrid, located in Madrid the capital city and once the residence of the King of Spain, is notable for its royal art collections and its immense scale. The current building was constructed between 1738 to 1755 by the orders of Philip V of Spain, and Italian architects Filippo Juvarra, Giovanni Battista Sacchetti, and Francesco Sabatini were mainly responsible for its Baroque design.

Antonio Stradivari, an Italian luthier who was born in 1644 and died in 1737, arguably crafted the most beautifully sounding string instruments of all time, and an instrument by him is known as a "Stradivarius."

The royal collections of the palace include the World's only complete set of Stradivarius instruments, which consists of two violins, a viola, and two cellos (One of the two cellos, pictured above, is an extra guarded by the palace, dated around 1700). This collection is named as "del Cuarteto Real" (meaning the Royal Quartet), or "los Stradivarius Palatinos." These rare instruments were acquired by Charles (Carlos) IV of Spain in 1775.

The grand piano shown is also a part of the palace's royal collection, but sadly I could not find much more about it other than that it was probably manufactured by Collard & Collard of London. It certainly is very beautiful, worthy of royalty.

I would love to try one of these priceless instruments.

Art Nouveau

Casa Van Eetvelde, Brussels, Belgium, by Victor Horta

Hotel Tassel, Brussels, Belgium, by Victor Horta

Job by Alfons Mucha, 1897

29 Avenue Rapp, Paris, by Jules Lavirotte; Picture by photigule, Flickr ID

Art Nouveau was an influential artistic movement of the late 19th century that aimed to break away from the tradition of Europe's "academic" art, which emphasized proper standards, repetition of historic art forms, and correct tastes. Its name, a French term, literally means "new art," and is also known as Jugenstil, a German term for "youth style."

Art Nouveau is generally characterized by the use of flowing and curved lines, which are inspired from organic and floral forms. Because the artists of Art Nouveau shunned using clichés of elements and styles that were already created in the past, including those constituting classicism, they instead explored "uncluttered" forms that are found in nature in order to create "new art."

Another very interesting characteristic of the Art Nouveau movement is that it refused to distinguish between lower, "applied" art and higher, "free" art. From decorative arts, such as ordinary household utensils, furniture, silverware, jewelry, to architecture and visual arts, the artists of Art Nouveau wanted to equally control, give attention, and exquisitely design all of them. Art is to permeate and influence a way of life.


The Writing in Progress...

References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Nouveau
http://www.nga.gov/feature/nouveau/exhibit_intro.shtm

One of My Favorite "Edifices."

(By Kiko Llan)
(By Andrea Kirkby)
(By Dan Taylor)


"A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral."

Antoine de Saint Exupéry

Amiens Cathedral, or formally called Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens, is one of the most beautiful and breathtaking monuments from the Middle Ages.

The construction started in 1220 and was not complete until the north tower was finished in 1401. The beautiful nave, pictured above, is the tallest completed nave in France.

The cathedral is my favorite Gothic edifice. A vision of anonymous architects and craftsmen of a bygone era is beautifully perfected and imaginatively executed in this building, and I marvel at how they, with handful of primitive tools and without having knowledge of the modern engineering, can dare to create such an inspiring monument.

The rib buttresses, traceries, stained-glass windows, and sculptures add to the interior's dynamic movement towards the sky. Sadly, many stained-glass windows of Amiens cathedral were destroyed during two World Wars, but one can still easily conjure and imagine a solemn atmosphere of the cathedral before the destruction.

Architecture once was a vocabulary, a statement, of the society as a whole. Now it became a voice of divided individuals and economic interests..

Probably no society today would devote this much time and effort to build such a glorious edifice. Such is the fate of architecture.

One can stop and wonder, what happened? What drove these ancient people, who probably were impoverished and more susceptible to diseases, to build a pyramid or a cathedral, while we the modern men cannot possibly imagine to do so?


Some day I want to visit and pay tribute to this cathedral, and to all the hands that created it, in person.

Prague, Antonín Dvořák, and Piano

(By peragro, Flickr ID)

Prague's Astronomical Clock
(By wwwleraar, Flickr ID)


Charles Bridge
(By rodliam, Flickr ID)

The Museum of Antonín Dvořák:
A historic Baroque house by an architect Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer

Dvořák's Bosendorfer grand piano
(Last two pictures by Hung Chieh Tsai)



Antonín Dvořák is one of my favorite Romantic composers. His music has a lively spirit and simple yet beautiful melody, which I love and admire. The piece introduced here is Dvořák's Slavonic Dance No. 1.

Prague, today the capital of Czech Republic, is a beautifully-preserved historic city. The oldest parts of Prague's famous astronomical clock were made in 1410, and Prague's beautiful Charles Bridge, which is lined with sculptures, was finished in the 15th century. The Gothic cathedral shown in the first picture is St. Vitus Cathedral, which was completed in 1929, almost 600 years after its first stone was laid in 1344.

Dvořák was born near this city, and was buried here also. Thus not surprisingly, a museum dedicated to the composer, the Antonín Dvořák Museum, is in Prague. This museum, founded in 1932, is housed in a beautiful 18th-century Baroque house by an architect Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer.

A Bosendorfer grand piano (made in 1879; pictured above), owned and used by Dvořák, is currently housed in this museum.

Great composers perhaps need a great setting.