ASIAN BANK CREATES TOWER IN ROBOT'S IMAGE 

AS TIME AND CHANGE BRING NEW CONCEPTS TO OUR LIVES, OUR OUTLOOK CHANGES.

CHANGE AFFECTS THE WAY WE PERCEIVE OUR WORLD, AND SO, IN SOMETIMES REMOTE AND EXOTIC PARTS OF THIS PLANET, NEW ARTISTIC FORMS EMERGE.

OFTEN THESE ART FORMS SIGNAL AN ACUTE AWARENESS OF CHANGE NOT EVIDENT IN SOCIETIES THAT RESIST CHANGE AND HANG ON TO A TIME AND VIEW LONG PAST. THIS HAPPENED IN THE ANGLO-SAXON WORLD WHICH CLUNG TO VICTORIAN PRINCIPLES LONG AFTER SUCH ALLEGED VIRTUES VANISHED: EXCLUSIVE MALE BASTIONS; WAR IS GLAMOROUS; EMPLOYEES CAN ONLY CONTRIBUTE PHYSICAL LABOR TO A COMPANY, ETC.

AN EXAMPLE OF TODAY'S NEW LOOK IS THE ARCHITECTURALLY DISTINCTIVE HEAD OFFICE OF THE BANK OF ASIA IN BANGKOK. IT CERTAINLY IS A PHYSICAL EMBODIMENT OF THE BANK'S COMMITMENT TO THE FUTURE. THEY WANTED TO GIVE SUCH A PROFILE ... "A SOUL AND AN IMAGE READILY IDENTIFIED WITH THE FUTURE". THE BUILDING'S AFFECT ON THOSE WHO SEE IT MAY SAY MORE ABOUT WHAT GOES ON INSIDE THAN THE EXTERIOR APPEARANCE DOES.

MANY NORTH AMERICANS BECOME APPREHENSIVE WHEN THE WORD ROBOT IS MENTIONED. THEY THINK THE ROBOT WILL TAKE THEIR JOBS AWAY. SOME ORIENTALS VIEW IT AS A LIBERATING FACTOR: FOR EXAMPLE, THE LOGO OF THE JAPAN INDUSTRIAL ROBOT CONVENTION DEPICTS MAN BEING RELEASED FROM A PAST OF DRUDGERY INTO A NEW, CREATIVE BUTTERFLY, BY THE GENTLE HANDS OF A ROBOT.

THE JAPANESE SEE THE ROBOT AS A HUMAN INVENTION AND A HUMAN DREAM... AS A FELLOW WORKER, DOMESTIC HELP AND FRIEND. WITH BEAUTY IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER, ARE WE FAILING TO SEE SOMETHING INVISIBLE TO US YET VISIBLY CLEAR AND POWERFUL TO OTHERS?

IS THERE INSIDE THIS ROBOT-SHAPED (THE WORLD'S FIRST) BANK BUILDING, SYMBOLIZING ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY A COLD, STERILE ENVIRONMENT? NO ... THERE'S A DAY CARE CENTRE AND A WELL-DESIGNED STAFF DINING ROOM THAT SEATS 300. IS THE LATTER IN THE BASEMENT WHERE WE PUT MANY STAFF CAFETERIAS? NO. IT'S ON THE 18TH FLOOR WITH A PANORAMIC VIEW OF BANGKOK.

IN JAPAN, PEOPLE I TALKED TO ABOUT ROBOT NURSES AND ROBOT BRAIN SURGEONS, AS WELL AS SHOPPERS INTERVIEWED AT THE ROBOT SUPERMARKET IN THE NOKENDAI SECTION OF YOKOHAMA, CONVEYED A GENERAL BELIEF THAT AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE ROBOTS ARE USED IS MORE "HUMANE". HAVE THE ASIANS LEARNED SOMETHING WE HAVE NOT?

THIS BUILDING IS EFFICIENT. THE NORTH AND SOUTH SIDES OF THE BUILDING ARE TINTED CURTAIN WALLS WITH BALCONIES FOR CLEANING AND MAINTAINANCE. EAST AND WEST ELEVATIONS, WHERE THE SUN IS STRONGEST ARE MASONRY OR REINFORCED CONCRETE WITH FEW OPENINGS. THOSE INSIDE ARE THUS SHIELDED FROM THE SUN'S DIRECT HEAT. SUCH A BUILDING CONSUMES LESS ENERGY IN AIR CONDITIONING. THE BUILDING ALSO HAS DOORS AND WINDOWS. NO LONGER "TRAPPED" INSIDE A STERILE UNHEALTHY MONOLITH, LIKE MANY NORTH AMERICAN URBANITES. THE DENIZENS HERE ARE ALLOWED TO BREATHE FRESH AIR.

THIS BUILDING WAS DESIGNED, BUILT AND CONSTRUCTED BY THAIS WITH 80 PERCENT OF THE MATERIALS BEING SUPPLIED LOCALLY. IT WAS COMPLETED ON TIME AND WITHIN BUDGET. THE NEW CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES, USED HERE ON THE THIRD SUCH BUILDING IN BANGKOK, RESTS ON A 2.5 METRE-THICK MAT FOUNDATION, WHICH PROTECTS THE BUILDING FROM VIBRATIONS AND EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE. AS CONSIDERATION TOWARDS THE CITY'S CITIZENS, WHILE UNDER CONSTRUCTION FOUNDATION PILINGS WERE DRIVEN NOT WITH NOISY DIESEL MACHINES BUT BY A NEW 'ELECTRIC AUGERPRESS METHOD' WHICH REDUCES NOISE AND VIBRATION TO NEARBY PROPERTIES.

DESIGNER: DR. SUMET JUMSAI AUTHOR OF "THE OCEANIC ORIGINS OF CULTURE", A WORK WHICH TRACES THE "WATER-BASED" VERSUS "LANDBASED" BACKGROUNDS OF CULTURES -- OBVIOUSLY A MAN WHO HAS SPENT TIME READING MORE THAN MANUALS ON CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS.

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