上星期為大家介紹了橙縣 Orange County Great Park 的十大好玩之處【點擊閱讀文章】，大家有機會一定要去玩玩看。這個佔地 200 公頃的綠色空間，是在 2002 年由 El Toro 空軍基地逐步開發改造而成，既有各種遊樂設備、文藝展覽、更有多個大型運動設施，鼓勵大家多運動，多享受南加的美好陽光。
這天，三位丫丫小記者 Bianca、Kyle 和 Matt 相約了空間建築師 Vivian Ngo 在公園見面訪談，地點就在她親自負責的新建成的足球場館前，小記者們向 Vivian 請教了許多有關公園設計規劃的過程，和其中遇到的種種困難和挑戰，也瞭解了她成為一個傑出建築師的歷程，獲益良多。
來自香港的 Vivian 是一位資深建築與城市設計師，她負責規劃整個公園的體育設施，在這之前 Vivian 曾參與許多國際性的建築案子，足跡遍佈澳洲、南韓、香港和中國多個城市，包括宏偉的騰訊深圳總部大樓；她也是一位傑出的插畫和平面設計師，香港島的舊海岸線在她的筆下美不勝收，Vivian 分享了她遊學歐洲時在不同城市的寫生手稿，非常漂亮，簡直可以集成一本畫冊！
Book cover illustrated by Vivian Ngo
特別的是，這次小記者訪談的整個製作，包括錄影拍攝和幕後剪接，都是由幾位小記者親自出馬，過程中大家邊做邊學，收穫很多呢～～大家覺得效果如何？請給幾位非常努力的小記者一些寶貴意見吧！
Vivian Ngo 專訪 ～～
丫丫小記者專訪 O C Great Park 規劃建築師
小記者：Bianca (12)、Matt (11)、Kyle (10)
錄影剪接：Jaslyne (11)
助手：Amber (8)
Interview with Vivian Ngo
By: Matthew Cheng
Whether in drawing, design, or planning, Architect’s dreams live on.
On September 2nd, 2017, Vivian Ngo, the architect who helped design the OC great park, was interviewed by three young journalists from Lajaja Kids. Vivian gave us a bigger idea on what she did in the sports area. But only after she started taking a 3d design class as a middle schooler, did her lifelong love for art and architecture began to flourish.
“When I was a student, I loved drawing on the street during my backpacking trip to Europe.” On her spare time, she would sit on the curb and draw the roadside shops and the shapes of other people. I was amazed at the detail of every little sign such as the coffee cup sitting on a table near the coffee shop. Everything seemed so real and artistic all at the same time. It was like I was in an outlined matrix.
Vivian says a big a part of what made her project experience so great was her team. For example, when she designed a skyscraper in China, she had to work with the structural engineers to make sure that the building won’t fall down. The biggest obstacle to designing the project was to keep up with the deadline. “If you don’t keep the timing right, the city would have to spend more and more money on the project.”
In addition to the family fun area of the park, Vivian found a natural affinity for the sports complex. She said that she related herself to the softball court because of her love for softball and how she helped design the hexagonal cuts in the canopy above the bleachers. On early Saturday mornings, there are also soccer games held on the soccer field. We heard the crowd go wild after a shot was blocked by the International Iranian Soccer team.
After we interviewed Vivian, we went to go ride the zipline, climb the “beehive” and go to the rock climbing area. Children were laughing and giggling when they went on the carousel. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to go on the big orange balloon because of the big clouds in the sky. The orange balloon is the main landmark of the OC great park. Even from the parking lot, you could see it go up and down.
In conclusion, this would be my first interview that I would have attempted out of my many other future interviews. Vivian dreamed to do a big project as an architect and through persistence, Vivian had the chance to design the great park where families and kids can enjoy.
Interview With Ms.Vivian Ngo ~ the Architect that Designed a Part of the Orange County Great Park
by Kyle Chiu
On September 4, 2017, I, Kyle Chiu, went to the Orange County Great Park with two other Lajaja Kids Junior Journalist, Matt and Bianca. We were going to interview one of the architects that helped designed the sports section of the Orange County Great Park, Ms.Vivian Ngo who met us next to the soccer stadium, which we checked out too. Then, it was time to go meet the architect who designed all of it, Ms.Vivian Ngo.
When we met her next to the soccer stadium, we first introduced ourselves and thanked her for agreeing to let us interview her. Then, we began the interview. Here we have a few of the questions we asked her:
Q: What inspired your designs for the Orange County Great Park?
A: Well, I figured that I could do a lot with canopies, and they are a very crucial part of the sports complex, so I started making more different designs of canopies so that each one was unique to the sport that was played in the stadium.
Q: What was the most intricate building you have ever designed?
A: It is the Tencent Binhai Headquarters in Shenzhen, China because the that building was two twin towers with a bridge in the middle that connected the two together. In the bridge it contained a gym, library, and other rooms filled with things to do.
Q: What kind of advice would she give to future architects?
A: If you want to become an architect, you need to have the passion to design buildings, good communication skills and that you need to work well with your group to make sure you finish designing the building before the deadline.
Q: What inspired your designs for the Orange County Great Park?
A: Well, I figured that I could do a lot with canopies, and they are a very crucial part of the sports complex, so I started making more different designs of canopies so that each one was unique to the sport that was played in the stadium.
Q: In your opinion, what is the most rewarding part of being an architect?
A: Personally, I think that the best part of being an architect is seeing a building you designed done, because not all of them get done. I’ve been working on this job for 15 years, and only like, 6 or 7 of all the buildings I’ve designed have actually been built, because like, sometimes, they’re pushed over, or cancelled for financial problems, so when I see a building that I designed actually done, it is very fulfilling.
Q: Which part of the park can you personally relate to?
A: I would probably say the softball stadium—I love softball, and I also really love the hexagonal-patterned canopy of the stadium, because it makes it look sort of like a beehive, which I find very unique.
After asking all of our questions, we said goodbye to Ms. Vivian and we went to take a few pictures of the activities in the sports area. There was a playground where children can play and we had a little fun there. There were slides, swings, and other very interesting things to play with such as a special monkeybar, a zipline, and even a special climbing challenge! There was also a hot air balloon, but it was closed due to the cloudy sky. Finally, we went to the visitors center and ended the day there.
I had a great time at the Orange County Great Park and I would recommend you to go there too. It was fun to meet Ms. Vivian Ngo and interview her! Hope you have a great time if you go there one day.
Interview with Vivian Ngo
by Bianca Chiu
Nearly as huge as the enormous Central Park in New York, the Orange County Great Park is a wonderful place where you can spend your day with family and friends. With a hot air balloon for you to ride, a cool carousel, playgrounds for your little ones, and a newly updated sports stadium, you can simply spend the whole day there and still have not finished exploring the park!
After the retirement of the Marine Corps Air Station in Irvine California during the year 2001, many proposals were submitted regarding what to do with the piece of land the air station once occupied, including an international airport, a housing area, and the Great Park. After citizens voted, it was decided the the land would be used as a nature reserve/central park, which eventually made way for the forming of the Orange County Great Park.
Luckily enough, three LaJaJa Kids Junior Journalists (Matt, Kyle, and me) were able to schedule an interview with one of the architects who designed the sports complex in the OCGP—Vivian Ngo!
When interviewed, these were the questions asked by the journalists, followed by Ms. Ngo’s response:
Question: When and how did you first decide to take a career in architecture?
Answer: Well, when I was in middle school, I took something called “drafting” classes and later on became interested in expressing my thoughts through not only words, but graphics as well, so after graduating high school, I started taking classes in architecture to pursue my career as an architect.
Question: What inspired your designs for the Orange County Great Park?
Answer: Well, I figured that I could do a lot with canopies, and they are a very crucial part of the sports complex, so I started making more different designs of canopies so that each one was unique to the sport that was played in the stadium.
Question: What was the most intricate building you ever designed?
Answer: Well, the most intricate building I ever designed would probably be this skyscraper in Shenzhen, China, which is basically twin towers connected by a bridge, and on that bridge there’s all types of buildings like a gymnasium, shops, etc.
Question: What is the most challenging part of being an architect?
Answer: Being an architect, sometimes it’s pretty difficult to put everything in your schedule and adjust so that you can do everything within the due date and not miss anything else.
Question: In your opinion, what is the most rewarding part of being an architect?
Answer: Personally, I think that the best part of being an architect is seeing a building you designed done, because not all of them get done. I’ve been working on this job for 15 years, and only like, 6 or 7 of all the buildings I’ve designed have actually been built, because like, sometimes, they’re pushed over, or cancelled for financial problems, so when I see a building that I designed actually done, it is very fulfilling.
Question: What advice do you have for future architects?
Answer: For that, I would say that to be an architect, hopefully, you really have the passion and will to do it, because architecture isn’t something that you can take lightly, as a hobby, or an avocation, you have to really devote yourself to it in order to succeed.
Question: Which part of the park can you personally relate to?
Answer: I would probably say the softball stadium—I love softball, and I also really love the hexagonal-patterned canopy of the stadium, because it makes it look sort of like a beehive, which I find very unique.
After the interview, the journalists were able to see exclusive drawings made by Ms. Vivian, such as landscapes she decided to draw during trips and sketches from the time she studied abroad in Europe.
Now that you know a bit more about the history of the Orange County Great Park and about one of its amazing architects, hope you stop by and visit it someday!
