This is what they initially planned to do to Penang's Balik Pulau!! I didnt even know they were going to do that. It's urghhh-ly. Hopefully i won't get sued for saying this! Now I know why it was such a horrendous drive around the back of Balik Pulau when Ping, Ying and I went last time. I have always enjoyed my trips to the back of the island, be it to Bukit Tinggi or for the famous Balik Pulau Laksa, and I don't think I will be a very happy Penangite if this was to be done to it!

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Asymptote to Spice Up Penang's Skyline

November 27, 2007

By Rebecca Ward

During the 18th century, spice attracted both traders and pirates to Penang, an island harbor for ships on the Strait of Malacca in Malaysia. Now, government officials are hoping that 21st-century vanguard architecture and luxurious beachfront resorts will once again draw international visitors to the island—this time, investors and tourists. To aid in the effort, municipal authorities have tapped Asymptote Architecture to design a $7 billion, 256-acre mixed-use complex called Penang Global City Center (PGCC).

Lise Anne Couture and Hani Rashid, principals of the New York–based architecture firm, unveiled their design for the nearly 11-million-square-foot PGCC development in September. Their project takes the form of two sinuous, 60-story steel-and-glass-clad towers that reach skyward from a stagelike plinth. The towers will house luxury residential units and five-star hotels; the plinth will function as a public plaza and contain retail, a performing arts center, and a convention center.

“(Our project) is a harmonic assemblage of distinct historic and cultural references set against contemporary dynamics of fluidity, transformation, and flux,” Rashid says. Asymptote drew on Penang’s heritage of Chinese, Indian, and Arabian influences to create fenestration patterns inspired by arabesque motifs. “The towers allude to Asian mythical symbols and Islamic minarets,” he adds.

But the PGCC will also have a high-tech, sustainable sensibility: The project aims to be carbon-neutral. A central mechanical system will utilize trigeneration, including wind turbines and a thin-film photovoltaic facade.

Penang’s government expects to begin construction in 2008 and finish by 2012, but it is facing criticism about the site’s master plan, overseen by the Parisian firm Atelier Seraji. Opponents say that the PGCC fails to provide enough affordable housing and that it will create traffic congestion.

Alright..

After doing some research, i must have mixed up the PGCC project with the BPpp (Balik Pulau- Pulau Pinang) project .

The thing was I was browsing through this architecture/design magazine that was lying around in my house, and came across the pictures of the two twisted towers- which they referred to as the "Penang towers".

Then I decided to google it and found this blog entry. They were planning to build some RM700m "Penang Tower" on some hill in Balik Pulau. This plan was in Nov 2005.

Then I decided to google the names of the architects and out of the ~368 hits that I got, I clicked on the first one (my previous entry), which so happen does not mention where the project was situated- so I assumed it was the same project and it was happening in BP. Obviously, it was at a totally different time line! Haha.. yeah, I know I made big boo- boo

But I have this to contribute- 17 Jan 2008: The plan for PGCC has to be revised. I don't know how far this will go- but we'll wait and see. I'm not one who's very receptive to change, and my first response tends towards conserving what is already there. I would still like my Penang to be known for its cultural heritage, old houses, lush forrests etc. And most importantly, I wouldn't want Penang to bear the reputation that KL has now- totally urban, sky-scrapers, traffic jams, pollution and all that jazz. But I also realise that we can't keep building "old houses" and there is a limit to the refurbishment that we do to the houses.

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On a lighter note, here are some pictures from a country with more sheep than humans. This is an awesome picture which sums up my city campus. My house is the second from the right (the green house). So, obviously the university is across the road, or actually, it starts from next door- Kohanga, the Catholic Chaplaincy. Though, from the past 2 weeks, I have figured out that it takes me slightly over 5 mins to get to class because it's all the way on the other end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 of us fitted into the Harry Potter room- you'll realise why it was such a feat because you'll never think that Josiah who's almost twice the height of the door frame would fit into one of the shelves in there!

Meet my flatmates from left: Peter Jackson (yes, it is peter jackson- I can't help but call him by his full name), Elaine, Andrew, Jan, Josian, Ruth, Jordan.

And rumour on the street is that we might have another flatmate, so that makes eight of us. It's a big number I know, but really, seven and eight? There's not much difference. The only thing I wish is that we have a commercial stove in the kitchen rather than those silly flat electrical stove. With a commercial sized gas burner, we'll be able to have a kuali (I wish!) and a massive pot to cook in!

It's proving to be quite a challenge to juggle between study and spending time with flatmates. Dinners which used to last for an hour are now lasting 2-3 hrs plus clean-up time- of course you would expect that when you have so many people, and so many things to talk about! Our dinner conversations are always very interesting! But that also meant that I dont get settled down until 10pm, and by then I would be too tired to do any work before I go to bed. I shall be attempting to finish most of my work in the day so I don't feel so bad about not being able to spend time with flatmates- but I know it will be a very big challenge.

 

Ahhhhh... Finally I feel like a real person now, I have been working way too hard and I hope it's not because I've been working inefficiently. But anyway, it is Micheal's 21st, and we had a yummy dinner at Speights Ale House followed by a lot of catching up with my old flatmates. I actually miss hanging out with them, but change is good, and I absolutely love my new flatmates too.

I'm looking forward to Taranaki for the long Easter weekend- will be at Micheal's farm for his 21st from Sat till Monday- Sounds like his parents are organizing a massive bash, a marquee will be set up!  It should be fun, and I think being out of cell phone coverage for a few days might do me some good. And Maxy, his jack russel.. I'm excited.

So many things have been happening, but they're mundane stuff, so I shall not bore you.  Will put up photos of my flat and flatwarming when I get back.

Easter is quite a "tradition" over here, the same way Christmas is. But let me encourage you to discover what Easter is about and for those of us who already know- what does it mean to us personally? I know I will be contemplating these questions too.