Final Fountain of the liquid stone (Beta)

Manifesto :

Water, the driving force in nature,
 a source of life,
a source of myth,
a foundation of human life
and
inseparable from faith

Water in Hinduism is a significant ritual medium.. It has a power to purify one’s soul. By bathing at the sacred river, lake or ocean, one lifetime‘s sin could be omitted. It also has a power to unite people together. In Kumbh Mela, the largest human gathering on earth, more than 30 million people gather here every 12 years to take a dip at Ganges River, Indian River of life.

Water, in an urban environment, flows through city’s infrastructure in various shapes and logics to the city inhabitants. Pipe system is equivalent to our blood vessel that keeps the city alive; fire hydrant is an object to ensure the city’s fire safety, water bottle has been manufactured to ensure a cities’ water supply. With this type of containers, people can access to more natural or pure water sources around the world. Water becomes a valuable resource and it is expensive.

Architecture has performed its role as both spiritual and practical purposes. In religious, architecture is an embodiment of God through massive structure, ornamented wall, scared column, divine artifacts, and holy water fountain. In Hinduism, believers are speaking to architecture, and non-believers are overwhelmed by this unique experience. In pragmatic world, architecture serves through network of pipe infrastructure providing supports and feeding the city.

Fountain of the Liquid stone has brought architecture to life; it is breathing, groaning, sweating, shivering, singing, chanting, praying, greeting and talking to you. It is a drinking fountain, a street cleaning machine, a heat and cold generator and most importantly a space for Hindu spiritual practice.

VDO presentation :
 

Fountain of the Liquid stone (Beta) from Veerasu Saetae on Vimeo.

Project Description
PART 1

I am exploring human interact with water both spiritually and practically. In Hindu belief, water is an important medium to its spiritual belief in that it has a power to purify one’s soul. It is such a powerful force that it could attract millions of Hindu pilgrim to gather to the Sangam (most scared spot of the Ganges River to take a holy bathe where their life-time sins would be cleaned.

As in our daily basis, we are consuming and using a lot of water for manufacturing, agriculture, drinking etc. Water infrastructure in the urban environment is relying on pipe system as a main actor to transport water to the residence. As, Hong Kong is one of the most highly populated city in the world, the region has a limited amount of water sources; natural lakes, rivers and groundwater. Thus, 70 percent of the fresh water is imported from Dongjiang River in Guangdong province in mainland China. More than 70 percent of Hongkong‘s water is used by industry, service and manufacturing. Therefore, drinking water is one of the valuable resources that keep the city to function. However, Hong Kong is still lacking public drinkable water sources.

My project aims to create a new form of how human would interact with water both spiritually and practically in the urban environment of Hong Kong. By manipulating water infrastructure including water pipes (tap water, drinking water), water reservoir, water tank and water delivery method, a new urban sacred space would be created. Hindu believers would be able to perform its ritual on site and citizen of Hong Kong would be able to experience this urban atmospheric space and to access to this drinking store.

PART II

Project location

 

At the heart of Hong Kong city, the fountain of the Liquid stone lies along a slope of Pottinger Street also known as the stone slab street. The entrance starts at Queen Central Street-which is the busiest pedestrian area- intersecting with other sub-street, Stanley Street and Wellington Street.

At noon the street is full of businessmen and women wearing suits; they walk fast. Street vendors make this area a unique characteristic place with adapted container shops, which fit perfectly to the slope of the street. The shops are selling miscellaneous and various stuff, from clothes, shoes, bags, watches, newspaper, ribbons, and bows, smoothie to Chinese talismans, fancy wigs, costumes and masquerade masks. 

At night, when the shops are closing, the atmosphere of the street is complete flipped. Shops are shrinking; street lights are turning orange. It becomes a quiet and calm space. Shops are shrinking; street lights are turning orange. It becomes a quiet and clam space. 

PART III 

Hinduism

Brief :

The ‘Om’ sign is the sacred syllable used to represent the old living religion in the world, Hinduism. It goes back at least 5000 years; it has no single founder, doctrine, scripture and no definite starting date. The Vedas is the source of Hindu scripture. Hinduism is a flexible religious; it has adapted and adopts many exotic cultures and beliefs which then melt to its own. That is the reason why it could survive from Muslim invasions, British colorization and emerging of Jainism and Buddhism.

Hindu people believe in the eternal soul, the cycle of birth and death, Law of Karma and God. Once the soul committed bad karma, the soul will degrade and transform to lower spices: land animal, bird, reptiles, insect, plant and aquatic. The ultimate goals of all Hindu are to achieve Moksha, the liberation from birth and death. There are many paths for ones to achieve the salvation and reunion with their God: path of action, path of wisdom, path of devotion and path of mediation.

There are 33 million Deities in Hinduism; the Tritunitr are the highest god, Brahma, the creator of the world, Vishnu, the preserver, source of all things, Vishnu sleeps floating on the shoreless cosmic ocean and we are the stuff of his dreaming. Shiva, the supreme soul, the destroyer, the king of dancers, his dancing keep the cosmic in motion of destruction and creation. There many temples in India dedicated to Lord Shiva.

Festival and Rituals

Many of the Hindu practices, rituals and festivals are related with water and gathering of people. 

Lingam worship

Lingam, rounded cylindrical image, the symbol of Lord Shiva. It usually made of stone, wood earth crystal or precious gem. To the starting the puja the bell will be rang. During the Lingam puja, will be the stone will be washed with Ganges water, milk and yogurt while the devotees chanting the mantra, uttering” om namah shivaya”. After this the Lingam will smeared with sandalwood paste and decked with flowers. This will make a Lingam cool. Finally, ringing of bells or blowing of conch indicates the end of the puja.

Ganesha Chaurchi or Ganesha birthday

This festival held in early September, it will last for 10 days. On the last day, there will be the farewell procession in which the statue of Lord Ganesha is carried by the devotees to the heavenly adobe, in the river. The procession involve 

Holi Festival

It is the festival of colors occurred across India; it celebrates the triumph of good over evil and welcome the season of spring. People will spray and applying colored water and powders on friends and family.

Maha Khumb mela 2013

The commitment of the devotees to the physical contact with scared water is so strong that it had brought more than 30 million Hindu together on 10 February 2013, to take a royal dip in the most scared spot on earth at the Maha Khumb mela festival at Allahabad in Northern India, which occurred every 12 years.

It is largest human gathering on this planet; 30 times more than the pilgrims to Mega. They are here to bathe in scared river, Ganges River, which will remove one’s life-time sins. A temporary city had been constructed for this festival: temporary tents, sanitary, electricity. 14 of temporary iron pantoon bridges crossing the river.

The festival has brought millions of holy men together; they dedicated themselves to religious, using path of action. There are many types of holymen, namely: Preist, Yogi, Saudhu, Nagas sadhu. Sudhu, they are wearing orange robe, which signified fire. Nagas is naked a sadhu who smears their bodies with ash and have long matted hair.

The Sadhu daily practice is involve chanting mantra, fire offering, practice self-discipline, self-torture practice such as sleeping upside down, take a vow of silence, surrendering a hand by holding it up all the time. Some are they believe that smoking marinara will aid their enlightenment.

Bathing day

The evening before the main bathing day, Hundreds of Naga Sadhus gathered before going in a procession to take a holy dip in the Ganges. They were performed all kind of feats, to show off their warrior skills, with their weapons, which include sticks, tridents, swords and spears.

At 3 Am, they will start to form a line and marching and crossing to Sangam, the scared spot, convergence of the Ganges and Yamuna River. They shouting, chant along the way “All glory to mother Ganges”

When the sun rises, the Nagas sudhu will lead the ceremony; they will take a bathe first for several hour. They will take a dip, chanting mantra, praying, mediating. Some will carry godly weapons with them. After the sadhu is done, other pilgrims can join the ritual. After one take bath in the most scared spot, all their life time‘s sins are be forgiven. 

PART IV 

Hong Kong

General Intonation

An estimate 40,000 Hindus live in Hong Kong, they are treated as a second class people. Most of them have a domestic job: security, butler, construction worker etc. This is can be witness in main business area of Hong Kong 

Hong Kong is one of the world leading financial centers in the world. It is one the dense populated city. The habour is one of the biggest and busiest deep-water ports in the world. It is a key factor in the economic development of Hong Kong. A port handling 23.9 million of 20 foot container a year; 456000 vessels arrived in and departed from Hong Kong. The Quayside cranes, gantries, reach stackers are working synchronizingly to gain the maximum profit. The faster it moves, the more money you make.

Since Hong Kong is an island, it lacks natural lake, river, ground water and resources, so it has to import food and raw materials to city. It has always been difficult to provide an adequate water supply to meet the demand of high populated city. Thus, 70 percent of the fresh water is imported from Dongjiang River in Guangdong province in mainland China. More than 70 percent of Honking’s water is used by industry, service and manufacturing. Therefore, drinking water is one of the valuable resources that keep the city to function. However, Hong Kong is still lacking public drinkable water sources. Water infrastructure in the urban environment is relying on pipe system as a main actor to transport water to the residence.

PART V

Fountain of the Liquid stone

Fountain of the Liquid stone is a place for Hindu spiritual space and urban public space. The project speculates on architecture as a religious commutative device that could convey the experience to both believers and non-believers. The task of the project is to explore the notion of physical contact with water, both in Hinduism and urbanized city like Hong Kong. 

Inspired by the Hindu rituals and festival, the fountain of the liquid stone has designed to perform those ceremonies in an outdoor urban environment. The project offers a public drinking fountain, a street cleaning device, a heat and cold generator and a space for Hindu spiritual means. The design begins by integrating water infrastructure system, water reservoir and pipe, with Hindu‘s artifacts and ornaments. 

 

  

Drawings :

ISOMETRIC

Fountain of the Liquid stone has 4 main layers of pipe lines running along the project; each line contains different types of water.

The first level is the drinking water pipes: containing natural spring water, Mineral Water and Sparkling Bottled Water. Each type of water will run in its own pipe cycle and has its own loop.

The second layer is the rain water pipe; this pipe is connected to the street washing nozzles which are installed every 6 meters along the project.

The third level is the spiritual water pipes; these pipes carry water from Ganges River, Milk and yogurt that will use to perform a Lingam puja, washing a lingam ceremony, every morning. Those pipes will place above the 3 meter height stone lingam at the top of the street.

The last layer is the temperature pipe; these pipes could radiate heat during winter and could cool down the space in summer. It would reduce stress to the people passing by, and create controllable experiential atmosphere.

 

In the near future, the project would eventually become a central of containing various types of water, a new water tower of the city as water tank are being installed.

Any water brands could rent to advertising their brand or Hong Kong administration would consider accommodate and facilitate Hong Kong people by providing a free pubic Evian drinking fountain for instance.

As more and more pipes are installed, the street vendor could begin to integrating their shop with pipe structure. Most importantly, it will become a center of Hindu community in Hong Kong and it will be full of energy, joy and faith during the major festival such as Khumb mela and Holi

LONG SECTION

The section illustrates the atmosphere of the space during one of the Hindu festival, Holi