RECOUNTING MY JOURNEY IN ARCHITECTURE AS AN UNDERGRAD
My journey into Architecture begun with a haphazard result of my HSC (High School Certificate) that was neither too great nor too bad. Initially, I wanted to do Law and after much persuasion from my former mentor, the late Ar. Charles KK Chua, the only route to the career of being an Architect using my HSC was by enrolment into University Science of Malaysia (USM), School of Housing, Building and Planning (HBP). Honestly, I had no idea as to what it meant by studying in HBP and unlike studying Architecture in the AA, I was told at the end of the 4 years of study, I may be a Town Planner. What is a Town Planner anyway?
ARCHITECTURE IN HBP
|
HBP in USM apparently was unique and unlike other School of Architecture, it was modeled against the United Nation (UN) charter on housing, building and planning bringing all the sciences required to bring about a modern city in developing nation such as Malaysia. The forerunner of this School was mooted by the first Vice Chancellor (VC) of USM, the late Tan Sri Hamzah Sendut, whom once, posted in the UN New York as the Rural Development Director for the World Bank. The School was modeled along the lines of what Professor Otto Koenigsberger and Markus had envisioned to meet the needs of a developing country. Thereafter, the School was primarily led by Town Planners and Architecture is only a subset of the 5 core disciplines within the curriculum of the School namely, Physical Planning, Architecture, Project Management, Product & Interior Design and Building Services.
|
STUDIO 100
|
|
Year-One was a Mass Studio without specialization. The semester-01 was modeled as an Arts and Crafts School. The undergrads were “taught” painting, drawings (usually technical), perspective and the artistic subjects that will distill the non-artistic undergrads into doing something else like, planning and calculation cost accounting. By the end of the semester, the undergrads will roughly know which direction one would be aligned to. As the mass studio was a melting bowl among different undergrads of different backgrounds such as HSC, Polytechnics and Matriculation, obviously the undergrads from Polytechnics stand a better chance to excel.
|
|
The semester-02 witnessed a Studio Brief that covers the entire 5 disciplines of the School. The Brief called for:
|
|
No doubt lacking in depths, the undergrads were exposed to the entire process of deliveries of the built environment from Planning to Project Implementation. By this time, the undergrads were able to choose for themselves their own inclination towards a specific specialization, that the School called, Major. At that point in time, I was personally inclined to the works of Dr. Ar. Ken Yeang through his visual provoking house, the Roof-roof House was just at the beginning of his full blown concept in Bio-Climatic. If it can be utilized for a house, it too can be utilized in a walk up apartment. Precisely that I recycled a workable apartment layout, connected them to a core and upgraded its roof, alas, a Roof-roof Apartment.
STUDIO 200
|
Year-Two was a year where the undergrads were streamed into 2 streams of specialization namely, the Design Studio and the Planning Studio. The Design Studio covered the disciplines of Architecture and Design while the Planning Studio covered the disciplines of Planning, Project Management and Building Maintenance. In the account of the Design Studio, the Studio Master at that time, the late Wan Burhanuddin Wan Abidin or fondly known as Che’Wan, took the theme of Design and the City as the vehicle for the entire Studio. The city in question was Georgetown Penang. The entire semester-03 deliverables were intense covering major and minor projects. Alongside with the publication of the fortnight studio’s newsletter. The onset of the studio was set by a minor project allowing the undergrad to categorically define who am “I” and to define their very own egos and personas through their groupings. This is the first taste to the philosophical discourse in the studio on existentialism. Brought forward, the next major project was to read Georgetown in the Urban Design vocabulary and structure. The studio’s discourse was slanted to Lynch’s Image of the City emphasizing among others the very notion of Nodes and Paths. At the very end, each team was responsible to present their findings as to what Nodes and Paths meant in the city of Georgetown. Taking a page from the AA, a gathering of undergrads from burning of the bon fire to projection of slides onto the building created yet another memorable night never to be forgotten. Such impact has caused the studio to the Dean’s office for an explanation.
|
|
|
|
Alongside of the formal curriculum, involvement into Architectural Workshop was also taken into account as a studio participation. The undergrads were hoarded to UTM for a workshop where the discourse of the then eco-Architect Tay KhengSoon from Singapore had sparked interest within the undergrads on the philosophical discourse of Jungian Psychology of Egos and Personas into Architecture. This set a theoretical framework within the context of the Production Model, spearheaded by the Studio Master himself that he often called, Intention – Action – Product trinity.
|
|
The after-party of the workshop brought the undergrads back to their sanities as to how shall they engage the city? This brought upon them after underlying Design and the City to Intervention of the City. Falling back to the Production Model of Intention – Action – Product trinity, the undergrads foiled the Stage – Scrip – Play as an alternate reality to the intervention of Georgetown. The studio geared towards the making and building of 1:1 scale of children playground as the “Stage”, the making and design of individual Apparels, Masks and a Single Liner as the “Script” and finally, the entire coming together in a real life Performance as the “Play” in any part of the City of Georgetown without any permit whatsoever. Another memorable event never to be forgotten with such impact that has caused the studio to the Dean’s office for an explanation, again. These two events drawn the curtain down for semester-03.
|
|
|
Semester-04 brought yet another twist to the Design Studio. An international competition for Housing in Barcelona. The underprivileged studio were tasked to actually participating and going to Barcelona for site visit. The visit did not materialized due to insufficient funding. The morale of the studio were low. As a last ditch to salvage what has left, the studio master, taken over by the late Haidar Kassim, embarked on the notion of obsolesces. Built in obsolesces to be précised. The studio eventually lost its momentum, while others were looking for some other directions, I salvaged what had been overlooked in the past Design and the City with the Intervention of the City theme. A drastic realization the carcass of the past could be salvaged, in the Design and the City, I had trail blazed a series of networked nodes and paths that I was able to interject with “Follie”, an idea of Parc-de-la-Villette that was borrowed from Bernard Tschumi. I had the concept crystallized into a series of proposal but yet to have been carried out real-life in Georgetown, if my proposal was failed to be included in our submission for the Barcelona’s competition. Neither both came into realization. Just before the curtain of Year-Two semester-04 was closed, I had the same proposal beefed up, generally refining the “Follie” into some kind of a usable solar voltaic generator that could power the entire network of the cities now being able to be plug in and out of “buildings” that operated as the concept of “Lego”, not forgetting my initial Roof-roof apartment, being at that time, morph into something more complex. The Year-Two modus operandi (MO) has been absolutely exhausting, adventurous, thrilling at times taking the cue from the Bauhaus movement of “Living-Architecture”.
|
|
STUDIO 300
|
Year-Three is a year of grinding. The studio was broken up into majoring or specialization in Architecture or Interior Design. The Architecture Studio was led by a team of lecturers who believed into execution and management of design rather design for design sake. For the start of semester-05 the brief called for a performance hall within the university’s ground. No provocation, no exploration, only dry execution of precedent studies and application onto the design that entailed compliance to uniform building bylaws (UBBL). It is more technicality inclined and less flamboyant in design approach. I took the precedent studies of the newly minted Tokyo International Forum by Rafael Vinoly and I took the most undignified means to bastardized it and incorporating it as my design. I am fully aware that my emphasis is mainly on technicality, not design. By this time, I had a good grounding on technicality such as column grids, buildability and functionality, while having a very hard time confronting Ar. Yeoh OnnSoon our master at that time that seemed to have been biased towards my fellow undergrads from the technical school or polytechnics.
|
|
The second assignment came as to design a fairly reasonable sized restaurant in a fictional given site. Again the MO was the same, dry execution of precedent studies and application onto the design that entailed compliance to uniform building bylaws (UBBL). Contextual-less and clueless, most of us undergrads took the liberty to salvage from Time-Savers, took a few local case studies here and there and synthesis what made tropical architecture ticks. Marrying these – another obscene creation has been created. A product of literally soulless. For such, I took the liberty of garnishing the stale plate into applying the most rotten core of Post-Modernism into my work – Façade-ism ala the late Michael Grave in pastel color. I had to admit, I was a lost soul and semester-05 was the most torturing part in my education as an architectural students, lifeless, soulless and truly a zombie. I decided to move on by applying to the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) for a fellowship in the National University of Singapore (NUS) to further my education as I don’t quite see the light at the end of the tunnel in USM. I seek solace from my Year-Two studio master, Che’ Wan and he wrote me a very strong letter of recommendation just to make sure that I got the fellowship. However, the fellowship didn’t came in time and I had to hover on to the next semester.
Semester-06 started with the undergrad hoarded to a resort up north to Kedah. Apparently visiting a privately owned orchard by one of my lecturer whom I believed had vested interest in the resort itself. The undergrads paid heftily by their own pocket money for a one night stay. That was our site analysis, jungle tracking only to be served with “rotten” overnight durian in a humid wet and hot summer in Kedah. Back to the studio we were grouped and we had to present our finding of site analysis. Led by my fellow undergrads from the polytechnic, now senior lecturer in his alma mater, Halim Baharudin, the undergrads managed to produce a rather significant site analysis. Individually, we crafted our own masterplan as to what we seen deemed fit.
Capitalizing on the site given contour and a natural stream, this exercise had given me the first time opportunity to design in a Greenfield context. Taking cue from the nearby resort that was designed in such an insensitive means of Post Modern Architecture mistakenly construed as Tropical Architecture, I moved away from consolidating the building mass as a huge megastructure into fragments as nodes and linkages as paths, something that has been in-built in me. Clustered of chalets power generated by solar voltaic had been designed taking cue from my earlier work on Intervention of Georgetown. A connecting bridge to a common structure – a restaurant that I had recycled from my earlier assignment. Even with a displaced soul I had managed to glue myself together awaiting the result of my application for a fellowship to NUS Singapore. No doubt that I may not be entirely happy with my work in semester-06 as my estranged relationship with my lecturers in studio and how I perceived them to be lacked in coaching and leading the studio, my tropical architectural exploration and technical inclination has given me a foundation as to how my architectural direction is going to take its form.
Before the closure of semester-06, the final assignment was a site specific boutique as an insertion to the existing fabric in Georgetown. The task is what you would do to a site smacked in between rows of existing shop office in Georgetown? By then, I had received an offer letter for the fellowship to Singapore and in the delight of having to leave behind my living nightmare, I had to attempt such exercise clueless. Less spoken about this, in my opinion, was better as I had deliberately inserted a monstrosity within the double storeys pre-war commercial shop houses in Georgetown. Indeed, it was some works that wished I had never had done.
STUDIO 400 – PART 01
|
|
Year-Four, the final year for my Bachelor of Science in Housing Building and Planning (BScHBP). The semester-07 begin much earlier compared to the semester in NUS, Singapore. Meaning, I had to stay put to complete a few more studio assignment before leaving to Singapore. The opening semester project called for a design of a golf club in Kedah. We visited the site on the way to Langkawi for an undergrads excursion. Came back to the studio, the undergrads were mobilized to produce their very own architectural design. As my mindset was rather fixated to the late Michael Grave’s version of postmodern façade-ism and Tang GuanBee’s version of postmodernism for Singapore, I borrowed the superficial form of postmodernist vocabulary in my work resulted in having arch roof, classical order of base-torso-head and rounded windows in-lieu of the common rectangular one with unreserved splashes of muted color palate to work on. In the spirit of tropical architecture, I took the easy way to marry the use of natural materials, in this case, granite stone wall as the base with louvre and huge overhangs. I continued to religiously abide to the use of water color as my medium of design communication, somewhat has become a hallmark of HBP since time immemorial as my seniors were awarded heavily for using water colors.
|
THE SINGAPORE EXPERIENCE
The semester break came and I had to pack and leave Penang for Singapore. I was granted transferring of credits from NUS back to USM as to allow for graduation at the same year despite having to consolidate the different schedule, I had to literary forgone my semester break to catch up things back home in USM. In Singapore I was placed in the graduating year of Year-Three for their Bachelor of Architectural Studies (BArchStd) as they only have 3+2 system. I was placed under the then, Senior Lecturer Dr. Edward Ng, formerly from Cambridge England. It was in NUS, I had a total re-education in Architecture especially so in the area of Urban Design and Tropical Architecture. The first project I had attempted in NUS is a design for a neighborhood center. Haven’t able to shed my preconceived mental constraint in postmodernism, I had repeated the same “sin”, that is to have drawn a “perfect” plan and later, to think about the best possible façade to go along with. That is a serious mistake. The MO of the Architectural Studio in NUS is mostly Model Based Paradigm (MBP) as opposed to our USM’s Drawing Based Paradigm (DBP). Eventually blending into the new MO, I began to realize that it was just too meaningful to actually conceived spaces and built form simultaneously using model making as a predominant method. By completing the study model, you practically left with a product that is architecture in itself. There is no need to gloss over with any “perfect” façade as the imperfection of the model itself transcend space and form simultaneously and any afterthought or “accident” were construed as part and parcel of architecture. In NUS I practically found Deconstruction.
|
|
The next project paved way to my deeper understanding of Urban Design. I had to immerse myself to the ongoing discourse of Urban Design in the Tropical City of Singapore. A short hiatus from the common studio work into the outdoor of Sembawang Camp, linked my connection with the legendary Tey KhengSoon again. He was responsible of designing the Sembawang Scout Camp and the toilet seems to be the best construed tropical toilet one could design using natural ventilation to dry the toilet. The undergrads were not given any camp. We literally built one using bamboo and building paper. What must we consider first in a tropical conditions? Postmodernism? Any idiot would know you have to first get rid of rain and sun. Orientation became important and locating your camp became fundamental. You would not want to use the most limited materials available to make a basic shelter. Time is ticking. Night is coming very soon. I had chosen a site sheltered by existing tree with a back higher so as I don’t have to construct the rear elevation. The natural property of bamboo was its tensile strength. So, it was the natural thing to do to bend it forward to make a natural curvature as the roof, lowering the entrance as to minimize exposure to wind, sun and water. Both sides were sandwiched with moveable walls to allow ventilations. That was all, simple unpretentious approach to Tropical Design – taking advantage of the elements. Now, experiencing such, I began to read Tey’s book, Line Sheds and Shadows. It began to make so much sense. Having researched that, my conclusion of topicality stems from the very notion of transparency, translucency and opacity. I took these themes as my fundamental in design vocabulary. My next question was, how would I make do with these?
|
Coming back to the studio, the design brief called for an urban intervention of Balestier Road Singapore. My group led by Dr. Edward Ng took an unconventional approach as he allowed us to choose our site. Not only shall we choose our site, we had to “link” our proposal with that of our neighboring existing building or in some instances, our neighboring proposals. All hells broke loose, as I found convincing others, negotiating, give and take, mediation and sorts were very time consuming often resulted in emotional outcomes as if everybody stick to their egos, nothing can be achieved. That ultimately strung a chord in me as to what Urban Design is really about – Your Building Design is NOT IMPORTANT, what matter most is Your Building Design elevate your neighboring building, that is URBAN DESIGN. At the very end, we managed to put down our dented egos and produced a link megastructure that sits comfortably with the existing building. We produced models at table length.
In the very same exercise, I was a changed person. I no longer seek solace in something of a comfort in postmodernism. I discarded the limitation of DBP and embraced MBP that resulted in me accepting the inconsequential approach of Deconstruction. I managed to put meaning into the discourse of Dialogue-Do-Document, something that has not been fully understood in my Year-Two of HBP. I attempted to prioritize spatial linkages before actually designing the necessitated spaces according to the brief. These were priceless take home experiences that had molded me in my Thesis Year to come.
STUDIO 400 – PART 02
When the semester break in Singapore finally came, I had to start semester-08 project with information sent to me via email by my fellow undergrads Ar. Vivian and for such I owed my gratitude to her. My studio master in Singapore Dr. Edward Ng saw me working through the night alone in an empty studio came and ask as to what am I doing there while others are having a break. We had a long chat throughout my stint to complete my assignment and I must say, I am indebted to him for all the unreserved constructive criticisms he has showered upon me. I brought home to USM many of my completed models, employing urban design to an existing fine grained urban fabric in the new found architectural vocabulary of lines, shades and shadows. To the surprised of my studio masters in Year-Four semester-08, they had never encountered the MO of MBP. Practically without any water color presentation boards, my submission was absolutely monochrome with loads and loads of models for explanation and I found such ease of explaining using models that I had not managed to mustered using drawings. It was a total jaw dropping experience and I for once managed to make a paradigm shift back home in HBP.
In the final semester the final project required by the Board of Architect (LAM) Part 1 Accreditation Requirement shall be a multi-storeys building in high complexities allowing for residential inhabitation with complex Mechanical and Electrical (MnE) requirement. The brief called for the 4 star hotel in Langkawi. The site gave the context of a Greenfield with no neighboring lot to address to. The brief called for and has to be a multi-storeys building, challenging the brief will be a straight fail, no question asked as it is a mandatory requirement by LAM. Wrapping books as my mass model, I investigated a few options and finally drawn to an option that most justified in terms of financial and architectural feasibility. I took the option to further break down the vertical mass into 3 portions capitalizing the 360 views. By such doing, I am able to treat the building mass as though it was horizontal, now being vertical. In other words, I was making a horizontal proposal, vertically. As a result, my proposal comprises of 3 translucent forms having different structures stacking above one another. I had not forgotten about my “Roof-roof apartment” in Year-One and now, being morphed further. I am lack concerned about how my space planning may end up as I employed an existing built 4 stars hotel as my precedent studies with all the MnE services intact. I concluded my final year in BScHBP with no flaw in technicality yet enable me to embrace a significant paradigm shift in design exploration notably in the area of Urban Design and Tropical Architecture. For this effort I was awarded my degree of BScHBP with Second Class Upper Honors.
STUDIO 500
Year-Five of Bachelor of Architecture (BArch) and while other schools of Architecture namely University Malaya celebrating their maiden Master of Architecture in lieu of BArch, LAM hasn’t been very ready to accept the change and adamant in maintaining the British Education of 4+1 or 3+2 MO for the recognition of Part 2 of LAM. The studio master at that time was Ar. Azmi Luddin, assisted by Assoc Professor Dr. Julaihi Wahid. Ar. Azmi was very professional in his conduct, he probably only manage the studio meaning doing administrative work, making sure that the entire school’s Architectural lecturers and critiques were present and timely and orderly enough to put their constructive criticisms on paper for the graduate students to follow through.
Just like any graduate school, the session begin with the graduate students’ proposal for the topic of their thesis. If they are allowed by the majority of the lecturers from Year-One to Year-Four, the graduate students were allow to proceed to the next step. Failing so may result in wasting precious time for the students. So, the technique is to have a topic that is site specific, feasible within a year time to complete, sufficient enough in terms of breadth and depth for in research and finally complex enough to enable the candidate to be awarded to a degree equivalent to part 2 of LAM. I had practically detailed out my proposal in an A4 document comprising the designated site, the extract of the approved planning guidelines, the relevant stakeholders, the purported design brief, the timeline and finally the construct of the thesis title to reflect on the accompany topic for my dissertation.
As an overview, the BArch curriculum was grounded on two main areas such as: -
- Design Dissertation – A research document almost equivalent to a Master Thesis on a subject of research that enable the graduate student to formulate a theoretical backing for their design proposals. My dissertation was called INVESTIGATION INTO THE VISUAL ARTS AS A MEAN OF URBAN REVITALIZATION IN THE HISTORICAL CITY OF MALACCA.
- Design Thesis – A design proposal or a thesis put forward by the graduate students based on the theoretical background of the design dissertation encompassing the site analysis, the conceptual design, the detailed schematics and technical drawings. I called my thesis title to be, TEMPLE OF THE CONTEMPORARY VISUAL ARTS IN THE HISTORICAL CITY OF MALACCA.
|
|
THE SITE ANALYSIS
Comprises mainly the following MO:
|
THE URBAN DESIGN INVESTIGATION AND MASTERPLANI took the following MO:
|
|
|
|
THE SKETCH DESIGN EXPLORATION
Moving forward, I attempted to address a portion of the masterplan to be fully developed into my architectural proposal such as:
|
THE MODEL BASED PARADIGM APPROACHED
- I singled out the vertical connection called, core and remodeled them individually to be reinserted back into the edge defining building.
- I mimicry adopted the “party wall” profiling to construct back the five footways on one side and an external balcony and ramp on the other side. I was left with the center to be dealt with.
- The central space were double loaded studios with a central spine preferably opened up to the atrium allowing natural lighting into the building, almost liked the traditional Malacca shop house. Profiling the elevation fronting the road to allow full height signage as a resembling of the old Malacca shop house typology.
- Such MBP resulted in my architectural design biased towards exoskeletal structure with no apparent set of structural grid yet feasible to construct. I had managed to move away from the constraint of the grid.
- I utilized the artistic means oil painting to amplify the structural members and cladding while allowing translucent plastic as glazing. Again it was a first attempt in HBP.
- Based on these huge sized study models, I produced an entire set of working drawings and perspective.
- A presentation was carried out to the full panel of architectural lecturers delineating my methodology employed towards crafting of my narration to the work including proving that the UBBL has been mutually complied, leaving no ground for technical dispute. At this time, Ar. Yeoh was very concerned with the full blown of my work beyond the accepted norm of the school that has for generation shunned deconstruction.
THE TECHNICAL STUDIES
There is practically no computer graphics to aid the production of my technical studies. I had to construct and practically analyze one item to another manually and that cost time. I took the liberty again to fall back on MBP as follows:
|
|
FINAL PRESENTATION
|
For the final presentation, the external examiner’s opinion can ultimately sway the opinions of the other internal examiners especially when a “heavy weight” Architectural Icon of Malaysia was present as the external examiner, namely (Dr) Ar. Hijjas Kasturi. He went through the entire fifth year work at a glance and categorically singled out mine to be examined at the last. Now that has increased my pressure significantly. Ar. Azmi Luddin pulled me aside and say this blankly to me, “he either like it so much or he hates it so much that he is going to tear it apart later. There is no in between for you.” True enough he examined me for 2 solid hours and offered me a job in his establishment on the spot! As the result of the entire dramatic presentation witnessed by the whole school, I was awarded BArch with double distinctions in design and dissertation. For such I was also awarded the Best Students for BArch LAM Part 2 for USM by the PAM Education Fund.
|
|
In conclusion, Architectural Education in HBP USM is far from being ideal but yet with the influence of a significant few lecturers of unconventional distinction and in wisdom, one is able to see beyond just studying or doing architecture but living architecture. The prominent figure in my architectural education has since passed away and left a lacuna that it very difficult to be replaced. However his doctrine has been immortalized by the paper I wrote in architectural education pedagogy combining the doctrines from the now, Professor at HongKong Chinese University, Dr. Edward Ng’s contributions in my architectural journey in education that I vowed to uphold.
|
|
|
