Mechanical Passion

In the world of architectural publication, the best technical magazines come from 2 countries which were also the world’s worst enemies during WWII. They are a portrait of a people obsessed with the way things work; the hows and the whats, and the way things are put together. They are a nation of engineers. And they produce detail drawings of their architects’ work that are drawn to scale and published as such. The Japanese have “JA details”, and the Germans have “DETAIL”. (Alright, strictly speaking, “DETAIL” is published in Basel, Switzerland, but the town of Basel is predominantly German-speaking, with good beers and bland food.) It is not just the drawings that are excellent in these magazines; the photography is nothing short of first rate too. There is clarity in the layout and writing, a no-nonsense editorial policy with no space for obscure semantics… (And at the risk of being shallow, I shan't talk about their paper quality.) These magazines are not cheap. But they have buyers, and have survived the industry for decades.

Not surprisingly, the world loves a German or Japanese car for the same mentality behind the world standard publications; their reliability, efficiency and performance. You want style, go get a French or Italian car, but be wary of the parts. But solid craftsmanship and precise detailing-- now that you have to get from countries with the great engineering traditions. Incidentally, when I was staying with a friend in Basel last autumn, the feel of closing the main door; the handle, the joints, the grip, the weight, the sound; was what you get from closing the car door of a BMW or Merz; a damn shiok feeling.

I’m thinking about these things because in the coming academic year starting next week, I’ll be teaching Building Construction in the 3rd year instead of History & Theory in the 1st. The aim of these subjects are quite different; no longer a longing glance to the past but a rational survey of the present and future technologies. 3rd year students will deal with more complex and larger projects, namely a 16-storey mix-use tower in the city centre. In year 1, it had been a single residence built in basic materials. I’m somehow supposed to inspire the students to love the task of putting things together beautifully. It should be more than competence—that’s too dry and basic. They have to want to craft their buildings together to a level amounting to lust. If I can make them lust, I needn’t worry about the methods; they’ll learn the ‘how-to’ themselves. And 2 of the best ‘how to’ manuals must be “JA Details” and “DETAILS”. How is this subject taught in the schools of Japan and Germany, I wonder. Wish I can do a study trip to these countries to find out…. After all, we are Singapore’s one and only polytechnic teaching the science of construction, aren’t we?
Chup