My OperaNYC and a new outlook on urban design
Tuesday, January 5, 2010 3:32:28 AM
Manhattan had this particular feeling much similar to that in Sai Gon. My first morning there, in a friend's rented apartment, started abruptly by noisy swearing and banging on the door by someone whose possession and money had been stolen during the night. My first meal in the city was Japanese, my second was Mexican, and among the next ones were Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Sandwiches, Chinese, Japanese/Korean. Like a typical tourist, I visited museums, schools, parks, churches, or just wandered around the streets and got interested in things I happened to stumble upon. Binh, a sophomore in Architecture at SCAD, and Evan, my boyfriend, kept me accompanied.
Evan said he would have arranged something with his uncle had he known how strict and limited Columbia dorms would be; but if given an option I would still choose to stay at Columbia the way I did. Otherwise I wouldn't have known anything about Columbia; and that would be sad. For example, I wouldn't have known how this other girl in the dorm came to the kitchen (where I slept) every early morning, turned on the light, made an omelet with six eggs, and just had to do everything really noisily, or how two girls on the third floor came home after midnight on New Year Eve, threw up and passed out drunk in the hallway, or how the chandelier in the big lounge, the lights in the hallways, and the bathroom lights were usually left on all the time. I wouldn't have been able to appreciate Random, its sense of community and security.
We spent too many minutes waiting for the subway trains, which came and went even more sporadically and less reliably than the trains in Boston. I have yet to see any city in North America with a subway system as reliable as that of Toronto - that said, I haven't been to that many cities in North America. Nevertheless, I liked NYC. Uptown Manhattan is a grid system with numbered streets and avenues, which contributes in aggravating the cold whether with its long and unobstructed wind tunnels. Downtown is more unpredictable and, as Binh said, allow further organic growth of households and neighborhoods. Downtown has more of a personality - as you casually walk along the street, you don't know what to expect and what the place will have to offer. And that was what I did. I came to NYC without any plan in mind, but left the city wishing that I had more time.
I met interesting people on this trip. Binh was an enthusiastic sophomore in Architecture who I had known for a while, but had not had a chance to meet until now. On my first night at NYC, staying at his apartment, I also spent some time around his roommate Karna (or at least that's how I think it's spelled), who was a chemical engineering major at Cooper Union, a humorous/fun/well-rounded person, and a Boston resident. I spent 4 hours with another friend whom I knew during ACCESS in HCMC two years ago but never since then. I had lunch with my cousin and her family - someone I had heard about since last year in Houston.
I also saw interesting things. For example, I ran into a snowman - the first snowman I'd seen - during a random walk in Central Park. I had heard and read about Cooper Union's new engineering building and its sustainable design, and now I had a chance to take a look at it (although just from the outside). It was my second time to the Museum of Natural History - this time at the animal and people section - and while the animals were furry and cute, I'd prefer to have seen them at a zoo. The Museum of Sex was fun and a bit confusing. I never got pass the gate to (and the store of) Guggenheim Museum, due to a really long line and the late hour of the afternoon at which we arrived. I spent my last morning in the Cooper-Hewitt's Museum of Design - and loved it! Binh would love it too - such a pity he couldn't come. This design museum reminded me again of that quote at the end of a 12.00 guest lecture: "Never lose your sense of wonder." It was just creative and motivating - I really wish I had more time exploring it.
I loved the look of the Guggenheim Museum. Jesse once told me that he wanted to make the world a stranger place - and this just reminded me of him. During my few days there, Binh had been trying to convince me to study Architecture or Urban Studies - and suddenly I found myself thinking: I, too, want to make the world a stranger place. Motivation, creativity, imagination and inspiration were what NYC gave me. I wanted to read, to study, to draw, to think, to design, to innovate. And although on second thoughts I'd like to make the world a more livable place before making it any stranger, these two are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
Evan said he would have arranged something with his uncle had he known how strict and limited Columbia dorms would be; but if given an option I would still choose to stay at Columbia the way I did. Otherwise I wouldn't have known anything about Columbia; and that would be sad. For example, I wouldn't have known how this other girl in the dorm came to the kitchen (where I slept) every early morning, turned on the light, made an omelet with six eggs, and just had to do everything really noisily, or how two girls on the third floor came home after midnight on New Year Eve, threw up and passed out drunk in the hallway, or how the chandelier in the big lounge, the lights in the hallways, and the bathroom lights were usually left on all the time. I wouldn't have been able to appreciate Random, its sense of community and security.
We spent too many minutes waiting for the subway trains, which came and went even more sporadically and less reliably than the trains in Boston. I have yet to see any city in North America with a subway system as reliable as that of Toronto - that said, I haven't been to that many cities in North America. Nevertheless, I liked NYC. Uptown Manhattan is a grid system with numbered streets and avenues, which contributes in aggravating the cold whether with its long and unobstructed wind tunnels. Downtown is more unpredictable and, as Binh said, allow further organic growth of households and neighborhoods. Downtown has more of a personality - as you casually walk along the street, you don't know what to expect and what the place will have to offer. And that was what I did. I came to NYC without any plan in mind, but left the city wishing that I had more time.
I met interesting people on this trip. Binh was an enthusiastic sophomore in Architecture who I had known for a while, but had not had a chance to meet until now. On my first night at NYC, staying at his apartment, I also spent some time around his roommate Karna (or at least that's how I think it's spelled), who was a chemical engineering major at Cooper Union, a humorous/fun/well-rounded person, and a Boston resident. I spent 4 hours with another friend whom I knew during ACCESS in HCMC two years ago but never since then. I had lunch with my cousin and her family - someone I had heard about since last year in Houston.
I also saw interesting things. For example, I ran into a snowman - the first snowman I'd seen - during a random walk in Central Park. I had heard and read about Cooper Union's new engineering building and its sustainable design, and now I had a chance to take a look at it (although just from the outside). It was my second time to the Museum of Natural History - this time at the animal and people section - and while the animals were furry and cute, I'd prefer to have seen them at a zoo. The Museum of Sex was fun and a bit confusing. I never got pass the gate to (and the store of) Guggenheim Museum, due to a really long line and the late hour of the afternoon at which we arrived. I spent my last morning in the Cooper-Hewitt's Museum of Design - and loved it! Binh would love it too - such a pity he couldn't come. This design museum reminded me again of that quote at the end of a 12.00 guest lecture: "Never lose your sense of wonder." It was just creative and motivating - I really wish I had more time exploring it.
I loved the look of the Guggenheim Museum. Jesse once told me that he wanted to make the world a stranger place - and this just reminded me of him. During my few days there, Binh had been trying to convince me to study Architecture or Urban Studies - and suddenly I found myself thinking: I, too, want to make the world a stranger place. Motivation, creativity, imagination and inspiration were what NYC gave me. I wanted to read, to study, to draw, to think, to design, to innovate. And although on second thoughts I'd like to make the world a more livable place before making it any stranger, these two are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
