<![CDATA[N!CO HSU

<![CDATA[N!CO HSU - Life]]>Mon, 09 Mar 2026 06:54:17 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Osaka World Expo 2025 Part I]]>Sat, 24 Jan 2026 18:49:58 GMThttp://www.hsunico.com/life/osaka-world-expo-2025-part-iThis would be my third time participating in a World Expo. I've attended the Shanghai one in 2010, and the Milan one in 2015. The first one occured during my pre-architecture life, I got to experience it as a tourist with no expectations. I was blown away by the sheer scales of all the superstructures. For a high school student, it was like going to another kind of amusement park. The second one happened during my senior year while studying abroad in Spain. This one I had too much expectations, I was at the full peak of design curiosity so didn't properly calibrate my enthusiasm. I was frustrated throughout that visit whenever I could not get into the starchitects' pavilions due to the wait time of the lines. By the time I visited this third one, I've worked in the industry for 6 years, I gained some better understanding of masterplanning, architecture design, structure, details, landscape, interior design, and coordinations so there was a lot more to pay attention to this round, and not just merely chasing after all the famous pavilions.

I learned a lot about the expo masterplan after visiting Sou Fujimoto's exhibition, I could see his thought process and ambition all manifested. The Grand Ring was truly magnificent as the largest timber structure by humans, the modularity and the scale really accentuated the momumentality. It was an absolute beauty in any weather/lighting conditions. It is a shame that they are dismantling it after the expo and don't have a proper plan to reuse all the pieces - it could easily become one of the new wonders of the world. This just shows the constant political challenges the architects are facing daily, and how limited the architects have a say in today's settings.

Image from the Expo 2025 Mater Plan document. The final layout might be different.

Instead of rushing to lines for the pavilions, I took a different approach this round, focusing on the master plan, overall layout, and the logistics first. I wanted to understand what it takes to plan out a whole expo and learn the entire surrounding.

I noticed how they nicely grouped the pavilions into different zones, and have back of house/service space all behind the pavilions with restricted access (see diagram below). Service cars could drive freely underneath the Grand Ring, especially the southern portion where it overlaps with the water since no pedestrian access. For the rest of the Grand Ring, they would do a temporary close off whenever service cars need to pass through, similar to when a train passes on ground.

Back of house and service diagram.

There are 5 escalators to take people up to the top of the Grand Ring (see diagram below), aside from that there are egress stairs and elevators nested within the Grand Ring. Whenever there's an escalator, they did reserve a plaza space to accommodate the discharge and the foot traffic.

Escalators.

The wayfinding through these infrastructures/layout quickly became familiar to me, I was able to recognize and locate landmarks without the use of map after few hours. The forest of tranquility was the center anchor of the master plan. Several circulation spines were established from that park and then all tie into the escalators (see diagram below).

Circulation diagram.

]]><![CDATA[Pre-Expo: Architecture of Sou Fujimoto]]>Tue, 30 Sep 2025 12:41:23 GMThttp://www.hsunico.com/life/pre-expo-architecture-of-sou-fujimotoArchitecture of Sou Fujimoto
Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan

We were lucky enough to visit Sou Fujimoto's first major exhibition while in town. This was a great 'pre-game' to Expo since we get to see his body of work throughout the years, and gain a deeper understanding to his design philosophy.

The exhibition was extremely impressive, they did a compress and release technique right at the beginning, after reading his bio, you would take a left turn and be exposed to hundreds of physical models on display.

The amount of inspirations was immeasurable, these physical models display all kinds of architectural theories in various scales, materialities, proportions, circulations, and forms. One could quickly observe Sou Fujimoto's diverse architectural languages and versatility, he not only expresses architecture in lightness by layering, but is also able to show heaviness through carving and stacking. Instead of focusing on the programs, I think his architecture is more about the 'in-between' spaces and circulations leading to the programs. His design also ties in nature closely, as if he's also designing a space for nature at the same time.

We then get to see the iterations on the Expo masterplan. The architect tested out lots of different configurations/layouts, some focused on the grid systems, some were emphasizing the circulations. We can also see he switched up the scales here and there just to make sure to consider the whole site, as well as mixing in section drawings so he's not just designing planarly.

The exhibition also included a scaled model of the Expo Grand Ring, again, this was before we visited the Expo so it really hyped it up for us.

Image from https://www.world-architects.com/en

As if all the physical models were not enough, the second part of the exhibition featured a timeline from 1994 when Sou Fujimoto first graduated from school until 2030 when his latest work will be complete. This reminded me of the timeline I did when I was back in school, I recorded all the different architectural learnings and trips I took to visit buildings. What's more interesting is that there were three rows for the timeline, first was his own architectural jouney, second one was the key architectural events happening in Japan, and the third was for the world architectural milestones. When you compare all three rows together, you get to see the full picture and context of his work. This timeline pointed out that we shouldn't be doing architecture in a silo, we as designers should be more self-aware and globally conscious.

Sou Fujimoto systematically tracking his architectural explorations throughout the year.

Last part of the exhibition was a research project collaborating with an university. It feels like a new wave of Japanese Metabolism architecture mixing with biomimicry and parametricism. They imagine a city where humans have jetpack so they can freely float around the space and really removed that y-axis constraint. It really changed the "ground rule" of architecture.

The project reminds me of the Megalon city from the movie Megalopolis by Francis Ford Coppola, the architectural consultant of the movie was Neri Oxman who also specializes in that field.

It's refreshing and impressive to see such seasoned architect still engaging in speculative academic thinking and pushing the boundary of design medium while still practicing the foundamentals.

]]><![CDATA[Post Competition Debrief]]>Fri, 08 Sep 2023 17:40:37 GMThttp://www.hsunico.com/life/post-competition-debriefJust wrapped up a major project deadline today so have some time to jot down some thoughts of the weekend competition before I forget some of the details. Here's a link if you want to see our winning competition entry: The Icon.

There have been lots of workshops on refining the design process within the firm, but theories can only take you so far, we'd still need to test things out on an actual project. Shravan and I visited the Graham Foundation for their annual book sale on a Saturday, and after that we chatted a bunch on the issues of current design process/design directions/manifestos, which ultimately led to the talk of participating in the weekend competition. And for our intent to fully realized, we'd need to recruit Wyatt so we can both test things out across all levels (Senior PA - Designer II - Intern) and at the same time, the result can effectively traverse through the levels as well.

We spent some time simply chatting and aligning the goals about a week before the competition. It really helped us all to be on the same page. Here are couple key items that we discussed:

The jury will judge the project on a social media platform, how do we take advantage of that.
What are the jury and the hosting organization looking for?
Since it's a social media based competition, the end result/product, aka the graphics have to be superb in order to win.
How do we fulfill personal goals and the same time align with firm's design ethos?
How do we achieve excellent quality without pulling all nighters?

Right after they announced the competition brief, instead of immediately start drawing, we decided to go grab dinner and just chat through it the whole time. We then have a long tracing paper just for everyone to shoot their ideas and get all the possibilities out there. After an hour and half, we then started to categorize all the ideas and slowly eliminate the ones that didn't fit with our core concept. Some ideas got eliminated not because they were bad, but because they wouldn't necessary give us advantage in the competition, we were making decisions based on a very logical and strategic manner. After another hour of discussion, we then funneled it all down to a more straight forward direction, but not too commit to a point of no return since we'd like to sleep on it and revisit it the next morning.

In the morning, everyone brought some inspirational books and exchange thoughts and expectations again before designing. All these conversations turned out to be super critical in terms of helping us make decision quick and consistent. Here is the precise timeline of our competition process:

Saturday

9:00-10:00 am
10:00-10:25 am
10:25-10:35 am
10:35-11:00 am
11:00-12:55 pm
12:55-1:40 pm
1:40-3:20 pm
3:20-4:00 pm
4:00-7:00 pm
7:00-7:45 pm
7:45-11:00 pm
11:00-11:30 pm
(Shravan went on until 3 am on his own, voluntarily, to do post production work)

Prep and regroup
Locating the project onto the site
Sketching massing
Initial round of modeling massing in Rhino
Finalizing overall massing
Lunch and coffee run
Massing puzzle piece development
Materiality and rendering prep
All drawings/diagrams/renderings production
Dinner
Continue all production
End of the day discussion

We spent as little time as possible on the actual massing design, we were able to achieve this all because of the preliminary conversations, for us, coming up with a perfect form was not the objective of this competition, it's the idea behind it and the representation that matter in the end.

Sunday

9:00-9:15 am
9:15-11:50 am
11:50-12:20 pm
12:20-1:30 pm
1:30-3:40 pm
3:40-5:15 pm
5:15-5:40 pm
5:45 pm

Regroup with bakery goods
Production
Regroup
Lunch and coffee run
Production
Graphics and board layout discussions
Final project description writing
Project submission

Out of the total working 25 hours across three days, we only spent 7 hours on the design, the rest 72% of the time was dedicated to graphics and representation, which breaks the stigma of "you always design until the last minute" in architectural competition. It also challenges the preconception of "designing should take more time than production". One critic I have for most of the real-world competition pursuits is that we never have adequate time to push for final production, lots of good ideas were not reflected on the graphical representation in the end. Balancing the design time and the production time is a reoccurring challenge.

Two methods we found extremely successful were to switch up tasks and frequent check-in among teammates. Whenever someone hit a roadblock, we'd immediately discuss or switch up the task for maximum efficiency. It was really helpful at the beginning for the initial massing, we collectively agreed on a sketch and then Shravan started to loft off some volumes in Rhino and then passed it on to both Wyatt and I to test it out, and then give it back to Shravan to complete the final form. Another example would be when I was stuck on photoshopping a rendering, I'd switch with Shravan to have a different perspective and fresher take. This way, everyone has equal ownership to the design and investing the same amount of energy into the project.

Overall, the competition was a success in terms of testing out the design progress with three different levels across the firm (Senior PA - Designer II - Intern). Everyone contributed the same amount and equally important. We will see how we can slowly implement some of the strategies into real world applications.

]]><![CDATA[Public Space & Boundary & Ownership of Tainan City (2/2)]]>Sun, 30 Apr 2023 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.hsunico.com/life/public-space-boundary-ownership-of-tainan-city-22Two other projects I would like to share from my recent trip back to Tainan City: Tainan Spring from MVRDV and Tainan Library by Mecanoo & MAYU Architects! Both perfectly fit the topic of public spaces / boundary / ownership in the urban context. Something interesting and "coincidental" (?) is that the Tainan City was colonized by Japan and Netherland back then, and now the city is visiting back designers from the respective countries to help improve the city.

Tainan Spring / MVRDV / 2020

The site was originally a landmark shopping mall called "Chinatown" built in 1980, but has slowly lost attraction since 1990s and caused some environmental controversy by polluting the adjacent river.
The adaptive reuse initiative started in 2010 and eventually MVRDV proposed an urban planning scheme in 2016 called the "Tainan Axis" that aimed to revamp the entire canal area by creating a defined axis with a lagoon landscape feature.

MVRDV's proposal for the Tainan Axis during the competition phase. Image from MVRDV.

Site Plan

I admire the approach a lot since it shows that architects don't have to over-design all the time. By emptying the lot and preserved some of the structures, it creates a void space within the urban fabrics that can serves as a public park/plaza and retains the historical context at the same time, in a sense, this is the opposite approach of the Little Island in NYC by Heatherwick. Good design idea doesn't always have to be $$$.

Tainan Library / Mecanoo & MAYU Architects / 2016-2019

Design illustration by Mecanoo

This one was the least hyped project for me out of the three, but turned out to be extremely successful both design and construction wise!! I always love Mecanoo's massing and materiality approaches, I felt like they could be weaker on the contextual side, but that's why teaming up with local firm MAYU Architects was a great choice (I almost intern there!).

For me, that thick frieze on the top resembles the roof of Chinese temple, and the massing is reading like an inverted Chinese tower. The way the perimeter columns lifted up the volumes is also common in Chinese architecture. And according to MAYU Architects' website "An ancient map of Tainan is transposed onto vertical louvres and represents the city’s evolving relationship with its past and the direction towards its future." (https://mayuarchitects.com/tainan-public-library)

Physical model of the project during competition phase.

BIM Technician's blog about their BIM execution:
https://www.johanhanegraaf.nl/portfolio/tainan-public-library/

Detail Drawing from MAYU Architects' website

The interiors follow the same principles as the core and shell, it's bold and simple. For me this is a satisfying example of a project that just carries an idea throughout the whole operation. The cohesiveness and level of coordination were really inspiring.

That's enough update for my hometown, til next time!

]]><![CDATA[Public Space & Boundary & Ownership of Tainan City (1/2)]]>Sat, 04 Feb 2023 19:49:17 GMThttp://www.hsunico.com/life/public-space-boundary-ownership-of-tainan-city-12This is the first time I've been back since 2019, I feel like in recent years, every time when I visit home, I'd apply everything I learned abroad to reinterpret and re-appreciate the beauty of Taiwan. For example, I'd study the urban planning layout and the history of certain city, and then come back and apply that same critical lens to re-think the entire heritage of Tainan City. In a sense, as I mature and hone my skillset, my hometown is also growing with me proportionally.

With that being said, there had been lots of new architecture happening while I was gone so I got to do my rounds and check out some updates. I've done a brief blog on my city back in 2017 so make sure you check out the prequel of this blog post with the link below:

www.hsunico.com/life/hometown-love

Tainan Museum / Shigeru Ban / 2019

This was one of my most anticipated one for the trip, there is just something about your hometown getting a Pritzker Prize winner building that absolutely excites me. Shigeru Ban won the competition back in 2014 and the building was finally completed in late 2019. The massing itself stacks up as a vertical city to create elevated parks and niches that reflect on the surrounding context. The massive signature roof hovers over the "city" as a canopy that reads like a veil. This one is like a cousin of both the Centre Pompidou-Metz and the renovation project of the former architecture school in Nanterre. In terms of the spatial experience, it does remind me of the Louis Vuitton Foundation by Frank Gehry in Paris.

Below is one of the renderings from the competition submission back in 2014 and the physical model showing the dense urban fabric in the historic quarter of the city.

Tainan City is an old town, and the site is right next to the first Confucius temple in Taiwan, therefore Shigeru Ban was bold to introduce a new way of public spaces and parks. The project inevitably received a lot of local backlashes, it is always interesting to observe the disconnection between architects and users.

The monumental veil on the top was developed together with Professor Satoshi Sakai of Kyoto University, this project allowed him to take the research into reality and at a bigger scale as well.

Hardware impact was one thing, the software - cultural part was also a challenge. The museum curators had to go through trial and errors to test out the general public's appetite for contemporary arts. This is something I never thought about, I always travel to world-class museums and simply enjoy whatever the current exhibition is, never occured to me how museum had to carefully curate the shows to nurture local cultures and reflect city identities and values.

Interesting signage design that tailors to the massing of the museum.

The exhibition I visited at the time showcased how new generation of indigenous fashion designers implement their cultures and textile techniques into contemporary fashion design.

]]><![CDATA[Poem Collaboration 2021.01.25]]>Tue, 26 Jan 2021 04:56:11 GMThttp://www.hsunico.com/life/poem-collaboration-20210125This is a collaboration project between my Honduran homie Daniel Padilla and I. The idea is for him to practice more writing and for me to practice digital art. The series don't really have any direction. If you'd like to do any sort of collaboration with me on this blog please don't hesitate to contact me!

'1 in the am pm'

starting over.
again.
one more time.

as thrilling as this prospect is,
and as hard as I've yearned for this,
I am left to wonder
just how many more new beginnings
will be spared to me
before I no longer long for them
anymore.

D. Padilla

Digital Illustration by Nico Hsu

]]><![CDATA[B. V. Doshi: Architecture for the People]]>Tue, 13 Oct 2020 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.hsunico.com/life/b-v-doshi-architecture-for-the-peopleIt's been a strange experience trying to navigate around in this unprecedented time since every aspect of our life is impacted by the pandemic. On one hand, everyone has to figure out a new way of maintaining their physical and mental health, on the other hand, the world still goes on so you'd have to fit in simultaneously. This applies to architecture as well, the whole typology shifted with additional design criteria mainly regards to circulation and occupancy. Many things we learned from school or design trends in the market are now outdated or not suitable anymore. However, the situation does promote a nice re-connection between humanity and the natural world with people moving outwards away from metropolis.

Back to the main topic! I was fortunate enough to reserve a spot back in July for the latest Wrightwood 659 exhibition: "Balkrishna Doshi - Architecture for the People". B. V. Doshi is the first Indian architect to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize back in 2018 (I was working in Taiwan during that time), and this is his first ever U.S exhibition sponsored by the Vitra Design Museum.

It's always exciting to track and follow the Pritzker Prize winner each year. It was a lot more simpler back in the school years, I had since learned that there's certain political agenda involved and there are groups of people systematically trying to promote architects to get nominated and etc., but by all means, this is not trying to discredit any laureates.

I'm not going to cover everything since it's a quite overwhelming exhibition with a life-long worth of work. Took me about 3 hours to walk through it and it was difficult to take everything in immediately. Needless to say, if you're in Chicago, it's a must visit.

B. V. Doshi worked under Le Corbusier for about four years in Paris, and worked on a project with Louis Kahn in India so I was looking forward to see how he introduced and merged that notion of modernism and brutalism into his own practice and society. After visiting the exhibition, I think what fascinated me the most was that, you not only can find Le Corbusier's technique of lighting/shadow and Louis Khan's monumentality, but you can also see his own complex interpretation of architecture in the work that involves users, religion, social context, and environmental context of his country.

"When I left Le Corbusier, I took a vow that I would not use the elements - apparently the same elements, associated with him. When you decide this, then you are left only with his spirit, which is expressed in proportions, modulations of space, creation of rhythms, tonalities. My greatest discovery was that I found freedom."
-B. V. Doshi

"Form should not be finite but should be amorphous, so that the experience within is loose, meandering and multiple." -B. V. Doshi

Amdavad Nu Gufa, Ahmedabad, India

Amdavad Ni Gufa is a project that demonstrates just how far B. V. Doshi was willing to push the construction in order to manifest an idea. This kind of design might not be super impressive in this era of computational design and parametricism, but it was done in 1994 and built by unskilled workers from the nearby tribal villages using only simple hand tools, and that's something you have to keep in mind when studying his architecture, it's not just about the form and space manipulations, but there were many layers of challenges and obstacles to overcome in order to achieve such results.

I'm a big fan of architectural illustration, and I love how B. V. Doshi did these oblique master plan murals with traditional color palettes and local entourage.

Shreyas Foundation Comprehensive School, Ahmedabad, India, 1994

This school complex dated way back to 1963. This one stands out from many of the projects and reminds me of Noguchi's landscape work (last blog post) with the organic configurations and the interaction with the natural topography.

Sangath Architect's Studio, Ahmedabad, India, 1980 & 2010 (extension)

This is where the magic happens! This is B. V. Doshi's design firm 'Sangath' located in Ahmedabad, India that demonstrates many of his believes in architecture. We can see many of the modernist gestures in one project: the stepping grass amphitheater (reminds me of Alvar Aalto's town hall), water feature & reflecting pond, axial carving into landscape, etc. The project anchors nicely into the topography and its surroundings.

Premabhai Hall, Ahmedabad, India, 1976

The Premabhai Hall stands out to me as well since it resonates with many of Le Corbusier's public projects. Form wise it's less organic and more rigid than Le Corbusier's projects in Chandigarh. The massive brutalist landmark sits in the middle of plaza, but has a inviting ground level due to the pilotis. The building also has jumping windows on the exterior like Ronchamp. The second level atrium space somehow reminds me of Rafael Moneo's L'Auditori amb els Grans D'Europa in Barcelona, not in terms of materiality, but like the spatial organization with vertical wall on one side and the auditorium wall on the other, and just a sliver of skylight on the top.

"...similar to our Hindu concept of Trinity, which depicts Creation, Preservation, and Reincarnation. [Like] Brahma the creator, Vishnu he preserver, and Mahesh the destroyer I too attempted to touch the society at large, and learned that time and energy is the real sense. If I can redefine and touch this energy in all my attempts in layouts, designs of cell clusters, neighborhoods maybe I can reach the ocean of harmony tolerance, togetherness, humility, and forgiveness and corporation."
-B. V. Doshi

What really got me excited was all the philosophies behind B. V. Doshi's practice because it's one of the questions that I constantly ask myself, like how to digest all the religious, mythological, and vernacular aspects and turn them into part of the design strategy and reflect it on the architecture to achieve a deeper layer of context. And this is why architecture is such a unique profession because it's a summation of humanity. Seeing a master architect like Doshi practicing with these in mind was absolutely inspiring.

The last part of the exhibition mainly focuses on the modular affordable housing, it's something Doshi dedicated a lot of his time to give back to the community and the country. His mission is to break down the economic boundaries and overcome stigmas relating to social hierarchy by fostering identities and empowering the inhabitants.

We can see the influence from Le Corbusier in terms of proportions, scales, and modularity. Doshi's low-income housing project is very different than Le Corbusier's however, simply due to different climate, constructability, and local housing typology. It's a rather horizontal community than Le Corbusier's vertical city say Unite d’ Habitation in Marseilles, France.

This perfect timing exhibition really brightened up my quarantine life. Wrightwood 659 did a great job hosting the exhibition and made sure everyone still have a quality visit with limited occupancy. Doshi's work is all about the people, which brings up the question of how do we move forward now with the pandemic being the new normal and human interaction can be extremely risky.

If you want to learn more from the architect himself, here are some youtube videos that perfectly showcase his passion and philosophy of architecture and life.

Until next time!

B. V. Doshi and Le Corbusier. Image from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/71776187797434748/?nic_v2=1a5CGFSk4

]]><![CDATA[Poem Collaboration 2020.07.25]]>Sun, 26 Jul 2020 04:44:02 GMThttp://www.hsunico.com/life/poem-collaboration-20200725This is a collaboration project between my Honduran homie Daniel Padilla and I. The idea is for him to practice more writing and for me to practice digital art. The series don't really have any direction. If you'd like to do any sort of collaboration with me on this blog please don't hesitate to contact me!

Untitled

my bags were packed
almost to capacity
yet, when I opened them
upon arrival
as heavy as they were
I found they were completely empty
for everything that ever really, truly fucking mattered
had unfortunately been left behind.

-D. Padilla

Digital Illustration by Nico Hsu

]]><![CDATA[Noguchi: Wholeness & Timelessness]]>Fri, 03 Jan 2020 03:01:09 GMThttp://www.hsunico.com/life/noguchi-wholeness-timelessnessThis blog is now entering its sixth year milestone! I haven't been keeping up since last October. Let me jump start the year with the amazing Noguchi Museum at Long Island, NYC!

The humble entrance of the museum.

I didn't really know much about Noguchi's work before the visit, I only knew about his table collaboration with Herman Miller in 1944. The visit was absolutely phenomenal, even though it's a little bit far at Long Island, I still recommend any sculpture lover or architecture enthusiast to go check it out because his work is something you have to see in person to understand.

"When an artist stopped being a child, he would stop being an artist." -Isamu Noguchi

Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) lived an intriguing life, in which I think every bits of it reflected on his work with honesty. Noguchi's mother was an American writer and his father was a Japanese poet. His father was mostly absent from the family since his childhood, he had to travel a lot with his mother and adpat new environment and cultures. I get a sense that Noguchi was constantly seeking his own identity throughout his life. Even though he grew up in the U.S, he still longed to connect with his Japanese heritage.

One of Isamu Noguchi's career mentors was Constantin Brancusi. After finishing sculpture school with a high note, he went to Brancusi's studio in Paris through Guggenheim Fellowship and returned to New York after the completion of the program and a trip to Asia. We can see many influences and homage in Noguchi's work coming from this period.

"Brancusi made me realize that what I had learned previously — the quick ways of doing things — was all wrong... It is not the quick solutions. It is not something you learn and apply. After all, it is a search you have to enter into yourself." -Isamu Noguchi

Eventually, the war happened and following 7 months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Noguchi volunteered to enter the internment camp in Arizona from New York to try to represent a good image for all the Japanese-American. For me, this was really a selfless act that shows his compassion and how much he values his roots and seeks balance between his nationalities.

There were several phases throughout Noguchi's career that helped shape his work and expand his creativity. He had worked with different scales from small sculptures to set design to large landscapes as well as various materials. Just to name a few, he designed the Constellation piece for Louis Kahn's Kimbell Art Museum, the Black Sun at the Volunteer Park in Seattle, and the gardens for UNESCO headquarter in Paris. There was a phase where he combined the western sculpture technique with Japanese inspired joinery and eventually experiemnt it with bronze-plating to play with the weight & weightlessness. During his late life, he worked primarily with the materials themselves, instead of depicting the form and outcome as his design, he allowed the stones to guide him.

I get a sense that Noguchi wanted to preserve his legacy as much as he could. From publishing his autobiography to founding his own museum in 1985, Noguchi understood that his work could have a long lasting impact in this world even after he's gone.

The museum was originally part studio and part exhibition space, and they still keep it like an atelier after Noguchi passed away. Instead of being a delicate enclosed exhibition space, the museum is mainly juxtaposed with open workshop area and enclosed storage space. For me, the architecture is just as honest as Noguchi's work, not flashy nor pretentious, and the space allows the sculptures to breathe. The switching between indoor and outdoor is brilliant since it makes you hyper-aware of the weather and environment, and thus, adds that fourth dimension 'time' into the exhibition. There's no pre-determined circulation, visitors are simply guided by what attracts them, it could be from the lightwell, it could be from the outdoor garden, it could be from the aroma of coffee from the gift shop, you never know what is going to show up at the next corner. It's a museum that you can explore on your own pace and actually appreciate art work.

"The essence of sculpture is for me the perception of space, the continuum of our existence." -Isamu Noguchi

What I like about Noguchi's work are the wholeness, timelessness, and the transparency. His accurate perception of space and form makes sculptures more than just tangible objects, but an manifestation of human emotions. And his multi-cultural background is something I personally can relate to as well. It's amazing to see an artist that can break from the shackles of Eastern and Western arts and elevate his work into something deeper.

I can't really cover much about Isamu Noguchi in one single blog post though, if you want a more thorough understanding, you should check out the lecture linked below. I also highly recommend his autobiography.

'til next time!

"For me it is the direct contact of artist to material which is original, and it is the earth and his contact to it which will free him of the artificiality of the present and his dependence on industrial products." -Isamu Noguchi

https://hypebeast.com/2019/11/isamu-noguchi-museum-hisamu-noguchi-museum-online-archive-news

]]><![CDATA[Poem Collaboration 2019.10.09]]>Thu, 10 Oct 2019 02:56:46 GMThttp://www.hsunico.com/life/poem-collaboration-20191009This is a collaboration project between my Honduran homie Daniel Padilla and I. The idea is for him to practice more writing and for me to practice digital art. The series don't really have any direction as for now. If you'd like to do any sort of collaboration with me on this blog please don't hesitate to contact me!

Knocking

Hello
Would please open the door?
I just want to see you again.
Walk through that corridor again
Make my way into your room again
And bury myself in the sheets
Of your bed once more.
Wake up before you
Get ready to face the world
In the quiet darkness while you sleep
And kiss you on the cheek
And whisper
“I love you. Have a good day.”
And leave before you even noticed.

Knights

Listen
I didn’t want to leave
But buses drive away
And planes take off.
Now I resent these modes of transport
They were the vessels that brought upon
The most sour of goodbyes
In the history of the universe.

Family Heritage

I still don't quite know how
To be at peace with
The fact that
Everything in this universe
Is finite
One day
My last capable hair follicle
Will produce its final amount
Of melanin
One day
The last remaining star in space
Will fuse its final supply
Of hydrogen
And that will be
The end.

-D. Padilla

Image by Nico Hsu

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