Talk Architecture

Send us Fan Mail A Commentary on the March 2025 episodes on the Balanced Education Model, an interview with Kevin Mark Low, with an eye towards writing thoughts on this to be published. Important core quotes and key statements from Kevin Mark Low: 1. On the obsession with formalism and branding 2. On the power of relationships 3. On guidance and mentorship 4. Broader critique of current systems 5....

Send us Fan Mail The first episode in a two-part series on designing from first principles (as suggested by Kevin Mark Low). The concept of “first principles” in architecture can be understood in two main ways: 1.  The most fundamental, timeless truths about what makes good architecture (the Vitruvian foundation that has survived 2000+ years) 2.  First-principles thinking as a problem-solving meth...

Send us Fan Mail Second episode of a two-part series we dive deep into how architects such as Kevin Mark Low design from first principles. Analysis from literature search shows that Kevin Mark Low has 5 main core elements to his first principles-inspired design process: 1. Primacy of Context Specificities 2. Radical or Critically questioning and identifying problems 3. Details as the Resolver of R...

Send us Fan Mail This is an addendum to the second episode on how architects Kevin Mark Low design from first principles, discussing the Safari Roof House (2002-2005). How designing the Safari Roof House embodies First-Principles thinking Kevin didn’t start with “let’s make a modern tropical house” or copy regional precedents. He decomposed to basics: •  Human thermal comfort in 30–35°C heat + 80–...

Send us Fan Mail Designing for every citizen: Engineering inclusive urban landscapes(street environments and public transportation) for the Institute of Engineers Malaysia - Webinar Talk on March 10 2026 by Naziaty Mohd Yaacob, Director, Xiron Engineering Services Sdn Bhd. Talk includes problems of existing inaccessible street environment, development of Version 1 and Version 2 Universal Design Bu...

Send us Fan Mail The first episode of a two part mini series on - Formalism and Non-formalistic Approaches in Architecture - where the teaching of architecture and guidance inform how we approach architecture practice, where it needs to be more critical rather than mere form-making generated and embellished from schematics and passed as aesthetics. "Architecture is often approached in a forma...

Send us Fan Mail Four weeks ago I commented on the idea of collaboration, as if the ability to collaborate is necessary in order to have leadership skills.  What are the essential qualities and why is it important that an architect have leadership skills? There are a lot of other skills associated with that - adaptability, understanding context and the fit, steering based on processes which are re...

Send us Fan Mail In the first episode of the series on design approach and methods, we discuss the Preface of Christopher Alexander’s 1964 seminal work, Notes on the Synthesis of Form, the 1971 paperback.  The discussion highlights Alexander’s pivot from a rigid "design method" toward the profound simplicity of the diagram—later known as a pattern. This approach moves beyond the academic...

Send us Fan Mail A scenario of the architectural design studio project for a community that would have made a better impact in terms learning for the students, when site-context specific rather than a project that objectifies for 'citation', ' data' and 'research agenda'. How this sort of project would "fail in the rankings" and not encouraged in schools of...

Send us Fan Mail Last 29 December 2025, the Vice Chancellor of Universiti Malaya in an article says “Let me be clear: rankings are not the goal; they are a means. The goal is, and has always been, to create knowledge and graduates that make the world a better place. If climbing the rankings comes as a result of doing that goal well, then we should welcome it. We must remember that our true rank is...

Send us Fan Mail The conclusive episode (Part 3) to underline the bigger picture of problems in architecture education where we need to deal with the following: 1. Architecture design studio curriculum needs to be clear on the "design problem" identification and solving them as complexities in the final year project (Part 1) and design thesis (Part 2). 2. The role of the architect as col...

Send us Fan Mail Part 2 continues the discussion on the systemic problems where "the burden of education has quietly shifted from academia to practice", by referring to Seshan Design SB Handbook and points discussed in Part 1 of the same topic. Naziaty started by what went wrong in architecture education and how and why we lost our direction. It will span from when I  started architectur...

Send us Fan Mail A frank discussion on a commentary based on Seshan Design's post in a Facebook Group. They highlighted on systemic problems where "the burden of education has quietly shifted from academia to practice", and later gave comments on the problems specifically: the lack of fundamental skills on: 1. Drawing clearly 2. Understanding how buildings put together 3. Accuracy 4...

Send us Fan Mail We explain further in depth on the dialogic studio critique methods to explain how we can transform architecture education. In Part 2B, we delve into: Common Dialogic Critique Methods Round-Table or Harkness Method Peer Crits (Structured Peer Feedback) Group Crits or Panel Discussions with Student Involvement Formative Desk Crits as True Dialogue Narrative-Based Dialogic Design (N...

Send us Fan Mail We frequently speak of students as "products" or "graduates"—metrics to be optimized for Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia (LAM) Part I and II exemptions, high QS subject rankings, graduate employability rates, and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). But where is the student's voice?  Do aspiring architects truly seek personal and societal transformation through des...

Send us Fan Mail Dialogic studio critique methods shift traditional architecture design studios from 'hierarchical, tutor-dominated feedback' (often called "desk crits" or juries) to collaborative, multi-voiced conversations. These approaches, inspired by Donald Schön's "reflection-in-action," Mikhail Bakhtin's polyphony, and Vygotsky's socio-constructi...

Send us Fan Mail We dive into the conversation on "reforms in architecture education" to understand further how education affects the profession in a profound way. The principles from Mark Alan Hewitt's 2020 reforms explained in arch daily —emphasizing embodied cognition through hand drawing, physical model-making, haptic engagement, and sensory-rich practices—can absolutely be inte...

Send us Fan Mail Another “unfiltered” critic argues that architecture education is the root cause of the profession being undervalued and widely misunderstood. The defense of the profession, we contend, must begin in academia, where the core problem lies in situating architecture schools to comply with—and be dictated by—non-architects who neither understand nor uphold the profession’s essential c...

Send us Fan Mail This podcast episode is a one-off reaction piece to the discussion on "What makes a good studio master?" It refers to the Malaysian Architecture Education context and the premise from the problem of bureaucracy.  The assertion here argues that formal qualifications (PhD, Part 3 registration, 5+ years industry/teaching experience) proposed by the Malaysian Board of Archit...

Send us Fan Mail Architecture education and the problems of competent graduates have been discussed elsewhere in Talk Architecture podcast, but this topic shows how much things have changed in architecture education and how it affected the curriculum. So, this morning I asked Grok: Do you think that more and more architecture education and the ranking system serves the developer’s agenda than soci...

Send us Fan Mail The “research-framework” approach to design theses is a myth and must end. Best industry preparation: give the entire studio one real, complex, shared urban site and force students to solve 10–15 genuine, layered design problems from day one. This final episode of a 3-part series explains how using two cases almost a decade apart. 2008–09 (wrong way): 24 students → 24 different (o...

Send us Fan Mail In the second part of this three-part series on the “context specificity” approach, we explain a design thesis studio philosophy that insists on “real site + real community issues only,” with the focus placed on identifying and solving authentic design problems. The studio runs for a full academic year, structured as:   7 weeks of Special Semester (Brief proposal on site analysis...

Send us Fan Mail For a design thesis, context specificity approach is the answer, the only way to get students of architecture to be ready, equipped, going into the architecture industry because that's the way the industry works. There is no place for speculative design, prototypes or fantasy design, as you will not be able to overcome the challenges of the industry. This episode is the first...

Send us Fan Mail For Architecture Academics, a special podcast on: Why Research Framework cannot be used in Architectural Design, specifically in the Architecture Studio Design Thesis Curriculum. An introduction to a topic addressing what is currently wrong with the way we teach architecture in universities where research and publication becomes increasingly important and how we have lost our way...

Send us Fan Mail The seven principles of sensory-driven architecture, which focus on engaging human senses to create meaningful and immersive built environments, are often derived from the broader concepts of sensory design.  1. Sight (Visual Engagement) 2. Sound (Acoustic Harmony)  3. Touch (Tactile Experience) 4. Smell (Olfactory Design) 5. Temperature (Thermal Comfort) 6. Movement (Kinesthetic...