A lesson learnt

What is charity? “Give” is probably what many will think when they come across the idea of helping. However, while greater power comes with greater responsibility, to “give” has its own responsibility to be observed as well.

For nine days, I was tasked to help out a group of volunteers whose goal was to improve a room space at a near by elementary school. To be specific, it’s a renovation. The group consists of a group leader and a main designer, both are young architects. The rest of the group consists of students from architecture and non-architecture majors.

A few years ago I read about this group of volunteer professional construction and wood working specialists who will gather as a group and help people in need. They use weekends to help build or repair houses, such as wall reenforcement, roof repair or build a bathroom for the poor. They bring their own tools and materials and serves the needs of people they help directly.

This was not like that at all. At the first moment of arrival, the group had already been working on the project for a while and immediately, I can tell that they don’t really have much experience in construction and wood working. The scene is a bit chaotic. There were too many people doing the same job, and the use and choice of materials was questionable. Right away, I noticed that they were painting PVC pipes with wall paint, and told them that it’s a matter of time before the paint starts flaking.

I have no part in the design, so I don’t really know what the final goal was. I was merely doing what I was told. I was tasked to do some simple wood working. What’s simple to me was new to most. I had to teach them how to use the electric jig saws, how to make slit-cuts, things to watch out to prevent injury and so on. I had to stress the importance of using something firm to clamp down the wood, like a C-clamp, the use of safety glasses and so on.

The pieces that we were cutting had curved edge. However, the only tool we had to do that are the jig saws. We didn’t have a table saw for the straight sides, and we did not have a belt sander to help smooth out the curved edges. The cuts looked horrible, but the architect didn’t seem to care.

It seemed that we were making some kind of book shelf with slits in the pieces so they intersect each other when assembled. From experience and physics, given the limitation of the kind of tools and experience we had, I thought it was a bad choice of design. It’s not my call, I was just there as a coolie. Then I noticed that the ply wood we were using were pretty bad in quality. Splinters everywhere as we made the cuts. Well, that’s not the worst. What’s worse was they had no idea how to treat wood. We did not have enough wood tints to do more than one layer and the right environment to have it cleanly done. The tools weren’t right, and the job was rushed. The wood looked like absolute crap.

There were a lot of assembling to be done at the final site, which means there is a high level of precision required especially given the intersecting locking mechanism. The architect said they have very detailed design and plans, but I call bull shit on that because no matter how good it looks on paper, it’s shit in its execution.

So it started to take shape, bad shape. It was supposed to be two big wall-mounted book shelves measuring about 10X8ft. They used lazer guides to mount vertically 1x1” stock wood on the cement walls using nail gun. Then they mount the vertical shelve pieces onto the sides of the stock wood, using nail guns as well. I didn’t really understand why they did that, but assumed that they knew what they were doing.

Then they started to put the horizontal pieces on to try out the positions. Obviously, the curves did not match, they were off by quite a bit and required more adjustments. All this while, my mind kept thinking about those stock wood and nail guns. I thought they were just place holders. After all, they were just nail guns.

Then as time went on, I didn’t see any further reenforcement being put in. You know, like a proper rubber stud and screw to for the concrete walls and steel angled brackets to hold the shelf pieces. Nope, none at all, just those puny tiny skinny nails. That was it, that’s how they are going to mount a 10X8ft book shelf onto the wall, in a tropical climate right beside the ocean. What about the salt in the air? What about the high temperature and humidity? What about being right on the Pacific Rim of Fire? Did they not care about the accelerated rusting? Did they not care about the accelerated rotting of the low quality stock wood? Did they not care about frequent earthquakes? Did they just not care at all?

Later in the project, I realized why.

I was deeply concerned with the safety aspect of the mounting method, without going into the ridiculousness of the design, I voiced my concern four times and made specific suggestions on how to reenforce the mounting without affecting the design, schedule and can be done with little cost. It was simply by adding angled brackets at hidden spots to the shelf that will act as the real support points for the weight of the book shelf. They seemed confident about the choices they’ve made and did nothing.

The schedule of the final hand over had already been delayed by a weekend. It was still about half a week left, but the real nightmare just started. The reason why they were pressing for time was for another reason. “They” were going to create an installation in the room.

The installation design was based on what they called “Parametric Design”. It’s basically a digitalized process to create a “design” that is independent of the user needs and cultural reference. It was done because technology made it possible, and they were going to put it on the ceiling of the room.

The design itself were made of plastic parts to be put together using nuts and bolts to create a module. The modules are then put together using more nuts and bolts. 3 pieces makes one leg. Each half module has a main piece and four legs. Each module has two half modules. They needed 1500 modules. That a shit load of bolts and nuts to screw!

The modules can then be adjusted to fit different curves and positions. They say it’s supposed to create organic surfacing. Woooo Organic surfacing! This sounds exciting for an ex-CAD junky! I call it bullshit, again. So the bunch of us worked like those workers in Foxcomm, screwing bolts and nuts day and night for whatever noble reason we think it was for.

On the last day before completion, they said they needed to turn the back of a old shelf into a black board. All they gave me was a bucket of black board paint.

Wait, what about the surface of the wood?
What about primer?
What about the brushes?
What about….. fuck, there was nothing, and I had to poop them out.

So I basically just sanded the really bad ply wood as much as I can and painted the black board paint right on it, knowing that it was going to be terrible. There surface will be really bumpy, making writing on it with chalk difficult. Essentially, they promised a black board, so they tasked me to do it. They didn’t care about how bad and pointless it will be due to the lack of decent quality. They didn’t care that they left it until the last day to get it started.

The architect didn’t care about the quality of the shelves. She didn’t care about the quality of the black board. She didn’t care about the safety of the users. All she really cared was to complete her installation in time.

So I am pissed, absolutely upset about this whole thing. I felt so much arrogance in this whole project. It was a selfish act by a few individuals in the name of “charity”, but in reality, was just wanting a space to prove themselves as designers and architects. It was nothing more than stealing an opportunity to build their own portfolio without respecting the real needs of the users. It was a robbery.

The “interior space improvement” was an excuse.
The book shelves were decoys.
The “free of charge” part was a cover up, because it was sponsored to begin with.
The real purpose was to get free gallery space and media time and a portfolio piece. How smart!

So let’s think about what it really means by charity. Charity is on the basis of giving, but in this case, giving did not turn out to be what it sounded like. What these people gave was not convenience. Their work did not improve the quality of life of its users. Yet it took so much money, time and the efforts of so many volunteers to accomplish a selfish goal. At the end of the day, the users will find that it’s more inconvenient to use the space because half of it is now occupied by this ugly piece of installation that they didn’t ask for. Not only that, because this is a public space, what gets put up won’t be taken down for at least more than a decade unless there’s a strong need budget to do so. The school will be left with a constant problem of having to work around the mess that was being created. It was a crime.

The lesson learnt here is as mentioned above. “Giving” in itself holds great responsibilities. As designers, we really have to leave our egos at home and question what is the real value of what we give to the society. Are we giving, or are we destroying? Are we improving the quality of life, or are we making people’s lives more difficult? Are we maximizing the use of social resources, or are we wasting precisous generosity? Are we building credibility of the design industry, or simply reenforcing the arrogant impression of designers?

上了一課

什麼是”慈善”? 通常會想到”給”, 但是就如名言所說的, 越大的力量賦予著越大的責任,”給” 也附帶著很大的社會責任。

我最近九天在附近的一所學校幫一群義工做” 空間改善”。 講白一點, 其實就是輔導室的翻新。此團體有一位主辦人, 一位總設計師, 都是年輕的建築師。其他的義工是建築和非建築系的大學生。

幾年前, 我看到了一篇有關義務建設的報導。一群專業的土木工自己準備材料和工具趁週末的時間幫需要的人修繕房屋或蓋基本需要的設施, 如房屋補強, 屋頂修繕和蓋廁所。所貢獻的都是跟使用者的需要有直接關係的, 而且是以專業的工法和品質執行, 不偷工減料。

不過這次的跟我想的不一樣。到達的那刻, 看得從出來義工們以及開始做了一鎮子, 但是也看得出來他們對土木的實戰經驗很有限。場地有點混亂。一項工作有太多人擠在一起做, 而且對材料的運用令人質疑他們的專業知識。我馬上就看到有問題的地方。他們當時正在用水泥漆塗PVC水管。我就跟他們說不用多久, 漆就會開始剝落。

這個設計沒有我的份, 所以我不知道完成的效果目標是如何。反正我是來當苦力的, 需要我做什麼就配合。我一開始是做一些木工的工作, 不過對我是很簡單的工作對其他義工確是新的體驗。我需要教他們如何使用電鋸, 如何切缺口, 如何避免受傷等。我也強調使用C-夾等工具的重要性, 以及護目鏡的必要性。基本上是要他們培養基本的安全及處事觀念。

我們當時在切的形狀是有弧度的, 但是除了線鋸, 我們沒有桌鋸或磨邊的工具, 所以切出來的邊都很難看, 但是設計的建築師好像都不怎麼在乎。

我們當時在切的木板好像是用來當書架用的。每個木板都有切細長的缺口, 像是用來交叉組合。以經驗來說, 這種設計需要高精準度的裁切。以我們有限的資源, 工具和經驗, 我覺得要以這種工法實在不實際。加上我們所使用的木材品質很差, 切出來的一堆尖尖的很難收邊。再者, 這些義工對木頭的加工根本沒概念。染色漆不夠塗超過一層, 也沒有適當的環境施工, 然後每一道程序都沒有讓塗料有足夠時間養生, 所做出來的結果根本就不能看。

由於書櫃的設計需要很多組合的動作, 所以需要高精準度。建築師說他們把所有的細節都考慮了, 圖也畫得很精準, 所以不會錯。可是圖畫得準又怎麼樣? 現場的狀況沒掌握, 施工的技術欠佳, 說什麼精準都是紙上談兵。

繼續做下去, 我們在做的書櫃漸漸看得出樣子。原來是要被釘在牆上的書櫃。書櫃本身大概10x8尺大。他們用雷射水平儀定位後把1X1寸的木條用釘槍垂直的釘在水泥牆上。我當時不知道他們的用意是什麼, 就慢慢的觀察。

然後他們開始把橫向的木板架上檢查定位。之前切的曲面當然銜接不上, 所以都要做修改。在此, 我還在懷疑那些木條的作用。我以為那些只是幫助定位的暫時性的, 畢竟用的只是釘槍固定。

不過後來也沒看到他們再做補強的動作, 比如在牆裡鑽洞然後用塑膠拴和螺絲固定, 再用鋼的角鐵把書櫃鎖上。他們就只用那些細細的釘子來固定, 不管這裡的空氣多潮濕, 海鹽的成份有多高, 夏天的溫度有多高。他們不擔心生鏽, 不擔心地震, 不擔心木頭受潮而迸裂。他與其說他們不擔心, 不如說不關心。

後來, 我才發現原因。

我非常擔心他們使用的工法及安全。設計上的問題不說, 我對工法提出質疑四次, 但他們還是一副漠不關心的樣子。我還具體的提出不會變更設計, 不會影響進度也不會對預算造成太大的負擔的補強辦法, 用角鐵架在看不到的地方承受重量。但是他們還是無動于衷。

移交的日期本來是禮拜五, 結果被延遲到禮拜一。當時距禮拜一還有大概半個禮拜, 但是才是惡夢的開始。時間上不夠的原因是他們還要製作一個裝置藝術。

這個所謂的裝置藝術是以參數設計的理論設計的, 基本上是靠科技及軟體所產生出來的設計, 跟空間使用者的需要完全沒關係。而這件作品將會被裝置在天花板上。

這件作品是以樹膠零件及螺絲和螺帽組合成的。半模組有四隻腳。一隻腳有三個樹膠零件組成。一個模組就有八置腳, 而總共需要1500個模組。所有的組裝都是人工的。

組成的模組可以以需要來變角度, 形成不同的曲面。聽到曲面, 對我這個以前在瘋CAD的人來講根本是班門弄斧, 狗屁一通。我們跟義工們就這樣, 像富士康的員工一樣一直鎖螺絲。鎖到眼花, 鎖到手指長水泡。

就在最後一天, 建築師說要我做一個黑板, 把一個舊的櫃子後面變成黑板。他什麼都沒給我, 就一桶黑板漆。

那木板素地的處理呢?
那底漆呢?
那油漆刷呢?
那….. 幹! 什麼都要我大便拉出來。

由於一天根本無法完整的製作黑板, 我只能硬著頭皮把現有的木板磨平然後上黑板漆。我知道結果會是很糟糕的。凹凸不平的表面根本不好寫
, 但是建築師答應要弄個黑板, 就意思意思給他們生出一個黑板, 不管黑板可不可以用,所以自然就不會在意要提前準備製作。

建築師根本不管書櫃的品質。她也不管黑板的品質, 當然也不管使用者的安危。她最關心的是如期完成她設計的裝置藝術。

所以我對整件事非常的生氣。我覺得這個案子充滿了傲慢, 是一群少數的人利用” 慈善” 的名義來正面自己在建築設計的作為。這根本是個人自私的作為, 犧牲別人的方便, 目的在建立自己的作品集, 根本是搶劫。

“室內空間改善” 根本是借口。
那兩個書櫃是在誘騙的道具。
“免費” 根本不成立, 因為錢是別人贊助的, 不是他們提供的。
而真正的目的是在為自己的作品找個免費發表的場地。

所以慈善到底是什麼? 慈善是建立在”給” 的基礎上, 但在這個案例,”給” 的結果跟所想象的完全不一樣。這些建築師所給的不是方便。他們提供的服務沒有為使用者的生活和環境的品質帶來正面的價值, 卻花了這麼多善款, 義工的時間及心血來完成了一個自私的目標。到後來, 使用者會覺得這個空間會因為這個跟他們毫不相關的作品而覺得更不方便, 加上因為是公家機關, 被裝上去的東西, 除非是有特別的需要和預算, 是不會在短期內被拆下來的。也就是說, 往後使用者必須跟這個”麻煩” 共存。這根本不是在建設, 而是在搞破壞!

“給” 的責任相對的是非常重大。以設計師而言, 我們有相當大的社會責任。設計師不能把”自我”帶到工作上, 要不斷的反省自己對社會到底帶來了什麼樣的正面的價值。我們是在分享還是在破壞? 我們在幫人改善生活品質還是在製造麻煩? 我們是在好好的利用社會資源以達到最大的功效, 還是根本在浪費別人的善心。我們是在建立設計業的形像, 還是在提醒人們設計師不食人間煙火的傲慢?

It's been a long while!

New roof for the god!!!
I am not sure how long the temple has been around for, but for as long as I can remember, and for as long as my grandpa can remember, the temple has never had a face lift. Some time last year, the divine spirit spoken. The roof is leaking, it's time for a new roof!

So there it is, a complete make over! New roof, new decos, new paintings and new everything else, even new LED sign!!! Everything was hand built on site, every painting was hand painted on sight, just like how it was done in the old days. It's beautiful, fresh yet reminds me every bit of the original. It's like all of a sudden, the village got a few decades younger.

Photo Entry: Yao Shan Elementary School

Yao Shan Elementary no longer exists, I mean the school. It has been abandoned for decades but the school structure remains. The school closed because there were too few students and so they moved the students to a bigger school. On the way up to the school, I can't imagine there's a school there because it is really remote. The road up there is tiny and it just kept going and going into the deep mountain. After about a good 30min of constant riding up with a scooter, we were there.

The school is in surprisingly good shape considering how long it's been sitting around without any maintenance. The class rooms are now empty, but the walls were left with very time sensitive paintings. These are paintings from the anti-communism era, probably painted by the students then. It's interesting to see how time has passed by and how people have moved on, but what's remained is also presents a warm past to be missed. From the slogans on the wall to the daily student on duty calendar, one can just sit in the class room and began to imagine the days when the school was filled with students.

Yao Shan, in Chinese means medicine mountain. According to the historic records, the area was populated once because people came here to cultivate a kind of herb that were in great demand for making certain medication back in the Japanese colony era. As the demand drops, so did the means to sustain the community. Yao Shan Elementary school once had more than 100 students. That's really impressive given the location. Now, it's a quiet spot for those who know and who appreciates this little part of the local history.



































































And a bonus waterfall!