Sunday 16 January 2011

what makes a great place?

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Absolutely love this series. Is it just for the blog or did it go on exhibit somewhere?

Philip Pawlett Jackson said...

Thanks, I'm presenting them as a pecha-kucha to my office as part of their series on the question on Tuesday (18th). Any critical feedback appreciated. :-) Or indeed further contributions - I kept myself to things which I had photographed, but the question is one the keeps me up at night..

Anonymous said...

Phil, Phil, Phil...

I LOVE the passion and thought that has gone into this, the sense of possibility it brings and the spaces it evokes. It is a great series.

I just wish you had been able to express the concepts in your head without having to make up words...

Philip Pawlett Jackson said...

Making up words displays a certain laziness on my part, or even arrogance, or more forgivably expediency - I don't think I have made myself misunderstood, so I'll muddle along.
I quite enjoyed the exercise, which equally you could profitably apply yourself to in your portfolio, of why here, why this place and moment, did I choose to photograph, why on these business cards. What are the Placed preconditions for human happiness?

Philip Pawlett Jackson said...

*'preconditions' is too strong.. what are the placed possible sources for..

Mary Frances said...

Glorious. "a great place dignifies the mundane" Yet another reminder of why I am obsessed with Phil Jackson...

Mary Frances said...

PS Ruskin is in the mail - can't wait!

elleyukar said...

Hey Phil,

I thought 007 Beer was a funny one. I recently went to a field trip with my university and out of the whole itinerary of buildings we saw. The American bar in Vienna, designed by Adolf Loos was in my top 3!

There is something satisfying sitting in a space that has cigarette smoke, deep seats and a nice collection of alcoholic beverages.

p.s: are you still working at HTA?

Philip Pawlett Jackson said...

I am at HTA off and on, forever. How are you Elle, are you still alive? Glad you enjoyed the beer, it was not intended to be as facetious as I realise in retrospect it sounds, there is a brilliant everyday example of the power of place to draw londoners out of their london apartments, across an overcast london to buy over-priced london beer - a premium paid for the placeness of the place they are paying just to BE in.

If you are in London I would/will ask you these in person, elsewise they are here:

What wisdom have you of the virtues of London's part ii courses?
What, for Elle, makes a great place?

elleyukar said...

Hi Phil!

I am so sorry for the slow reply, I did not check the blog again till now.

Q. What wisdom have you of the virtues of London's part ii courses?

A. I know a bit... My best friend studies at the Bartlett, so I do have some insight.
My mate always tells me the best students at the Bartlett are from Nottingham University and they have brilliant hand drawing skills.

Overall I have heard some good and bad things about the Bartlett, there was one unit last year that my friend was in and because 70% of the unit failed. This later lead to the closure of the unit and the sacking of the two tutors.

Depending on the unit you go to, it can be a hit and miss. You should be would be wary of 'new tutors and new studios'.

Also you have to be interviewed by the studio tutors before you can be accepted into their unit. I have never seen your work but, CJLim can reject you from his unit just because he doesn't like your portfolio.


I am still at Westminster for my part 1 and I won't lie, the course has been very hard. Sometimes I wished I opted to go to somewhere else, so I can do easy sketchup models and box like buildings.
I could only imagen the standards of part 2 would be a lot higher.

When I used to sit next to Ming in the office, he would tell me "Do you REALLY want to go to Westminster? Its very conceptual..."
He was not kidding.

The studio I would look out for is Susanne Isa. She teaches at Bartlett and Westminster.

Oh by the way, do not apply for London Met! My friend's flatmate goes there for part 2 and she said they are incredibly unorganised.
Kingston has poor management as well, my friend studied there for part 1 and till this day, still complains about it.


If you need someone to show you around Westminster Architecture department, please let me know.

I can also give you contacts of people who studied at the London unis. Also didn't Andrea from HTA studied at East London for part 2?

Also, do you know if Alex Burton is still at HTA?

I will answer your 'place' question later as it will take awhile to write!

Anonymous said...

Ironic, I don't (to a point) participate in social networking and, yet, I am happy that there still exists a window from which to see a bit from you...one day, not so long ago, we discussed c. alexander and ruskin over flan in a cookout...I still smile when doctor who brings back those afternoons that went into the night

Michelle J. Gallagher said...

You delight and surprise once again, dear Mr. Jackson. :) Thank you for these.

I have a few other ideas:
1. Friendship: almost like your building with the laughing face, places seem to take on the personalities of the people we have known and loved there.
2. Dirt: to remember, for God's sake, where we came from, and that we need it to survive. Nothing really grows without it.
3. Room (or space, or whatever you want to call it). Even in crowded cities, one needs it. One needs to hear one's own heart and one needs to hear God speak.
4. Trees: this is one of the things that makes Toronto a great place. Trees mean air and life and just plain beauty.
5. Confrontation (for lack of a better word): there are a few places to dine near my home that literally force strangers to sit together because the tables are long. It's very hard to avoid people there.

This is such a good question.