Talk Architecture

Send us Fan Mail Merdeka Edition!  This is the First Part of Sharing Conversations with Kevin Mark Low plus 5 former students who are now graduate architects with 2-6 years of experience in practice: Kwan Seng (2017), Ameelia Rokhaza'ain (2018), Joo Yin (2019), Raymond Bu (2020), Gan (2021) - M Arch graduating years in the bracket.  Much of this episode focused on Kevin interviewing the forme...

Send us Fan Mail Coming up soon!  This is a Teaser on Sharing Conversations with Kevin Mark Low plus 5 former students who are now graduate architects with 2-6 years of experience in practice: Kwan Seng (2017), Ameelia Rokhaza'ain (2018), Joo Yin (2019), Raymond Bu (2020), Gan (2021) - M Arch graduating years in the bracket.  We will publish in 2 parts - interviews and discussions on these to...

Send us Fan Mail A commentary on the topics of the "culture of reading that will result in more critical thinkers that can differentiate truth from lies" and "bringing awareness on social media", was addressed, by Kevin Mark Low, for the first part of three episodes which has to do with "influencers and leaders ".  To create the "culture of reading", I assum...

Send us Fan Mail An introduction to the possible challenges that architects face in this day and age based on some research on LinkedIn in terms of what jobs architects do worldwide, and some insights from design practitioners, and direct reference to the 10 points addressed in this article written in 2017 entitled: 10 Challenges Faced by Every Architect [Architizer Journal]. © 2022 Talk Architect...

Send us Fan Mail A commentary on the last 3 podcast episodes conversation with Kevin Mark Low. What is half an architect? Solely focusing on the idea that schools of architecture are graduating conceptual designers and not architects or half an architect, the podcast host, Naziaty Mohd Yaacob, illustrates an example by giving a detailed account of what went wrong in schools of architecture nowaday...

Send us Fan Mail Keep on listening. The second part (Part 2a) of a conversation with Kevin Mark Low talking on Leaders in Architecture Education & Practice, with Naziaty Mohd Yaacob, Talk Architecture podcast host. Topics include: 1. Architecture education is set by the "professional employability" factor - architects graduate to prove marketable to developers who create jobs for arc...

Send us Fan Mail The concluding part (Part 2b) of a conversation with Kevin Mark Low talking on Leaders in Architecture Education & Practice, with Naziaty Mohd Yaacob, Talk Architecture podcast host. Topics include: 1. The problem in schools of architecture are teaching students to be a successful designer (not 'architect' - there is a difference!) "You cannot be half an archite...

Send us Fan Mail Listen in. The first part of a conversation with Kevin Mark Low talking on Leaders in Architecture Education & Practice, with Naziaty Mohd Yaacob, Talk Architecture podcast host. Topics include: 1. Influencers versus Leaders - how influencers use soundbites, always changing their stand to follow fashion and trends, copy and paste and have no fundamentals. Whereby true leaders...

Send us Fan Mail Coming soon is a Special Feature Interview.  Kevin Mark Low in conversation with the host of Talk Architecture on several issues such as architecture education, architecture practice, and also a general outlook on what's happening to society in terms of influencers and leaders.  In 3 parts series, Kevin will touch on the importance of reading, critical thinkers, the idea of &...

Send us Fan Mail Relating to the topic of mental health in architecture , we refer to schools of architecture and architecture companies and offices as the things that one could look at in terms of personal boundaries and relationships. We found out after observing and speaking to individuals that the boundary settings are not that clear. The complexities arise from a multitude of relationships, e...

Send us Fan Mail We had a recent clubhouse event hosted by the clubhouse room Design Disability Access on 18 July 2022 on generally talking with those who are present on Architecture and Mental Health. Do check the replay available at the CH room. The topic includes personal boundaries which I am introducing here. Do reach out if you want to talk about the architecture profession and mental health...

Send us Fan Mail What is the right definition of a community project?  Firstly a community project needs to be authentic, genuine, and originally based on the needs of the people around it (in the vicinity), not just anyone in Kuala Lumpur city for example that would like to come to the area.  Secondly, if we as designers in the built environment profession are not truthful in our intent, and in o...

Send us Fan Mail Another review ( this one is for 15 minutes) on advocating schools of architecture to consciously create design studio programs that deal with society’s problems. Like social housing and community buildings. School of architecture will be doing a better service when creating learning programs that innovate on real problems rather than regurgitating programs that are merely tourist...

Send us Fan Mail Special Review - this is a conclusion of the few recent episodes that we had published and emerging theme which could be dealt further in the future.  The architectural profession serves the elite group or rich people and not others, the vulnerable and marginalized group. Everyone wants to be in the rich group of course but we are not being inclusive. However what is sad is that a...

Send us Fan Mail The concluding part of the conversation featuring two fresh graduates, Ee Von and Afaf, on Architecture Education, starts with discussions on: Part 2 episode Architecture education approaches and methods; Other issues that are increasingly being emerging in architecture education and; The future of architecture education. Cheah Ee Von tutor at UCSI in Kuala Lumpur, graduated from...

Send us Fan Mail This is an interlude to discuss about the recent tweet by the Malaysian Prime Minister on community projects. If we are not clear on what is a community project and how it will benefit the neighbourhood and community, there will be conflicts and would not serve the purpose on sharing resources using common land and property that is governed by the local authority and Government. I...

Send us Fan Mail A two-part conversation featuring two fresh graduates, Ee Von and Afaf, on Public Housing and Spaces Plus Architecture Education, starts with discussions on: [Part 1] The recent inaugural Public Housing Liveability Conference under the Rights to the City Programme (16 June 2022) in  Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, and what they feel about the event and the role of ThinkCity; H...

Send us Fan Mail Teaser Alert!  Introducing two fresh graduates, Ee Von and Afaf, who will be interviewed and featured in the next two podcast episodes, coming soon! The duo will be discussing: Part 1 episode The recent inaugural Public Housing Liveability Conference under the Rights to the City Programme (16 June 2022) in  Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, and what they feel about the event and...

Send us Fan Mail "Pain is inevitable. Suffering is Optional" (Murakami, 2008). There will be challenges. Such as when a critic gives feedback to the student or the company director comments on the designer's work. There could be 'pain' inflicted, perhaps of the emotional kind. And there could be many of these. However, that is part of the process of learning. How does one...

Send us Fan Mail "Design is the Conversation Between Creativity and Context" (Kevin Mark Low, 2014) . The quote under Context Specificity from the book published in 2014, called "Small Projects" is used to explain Form + Context, defining further with quotes from Christopher Alexander's "Notes on the Synthesis of Form". Taken from the Architecture Theory lecture...

Send us Fan Mail The main protagonists in the architecture design studio are the master (tutor) and apprentice (student). The tutor needs to take time to coach the student so that the latter work on their "learning brain rather than the survival brain". When left unattended the student falls back to bad habits or previous ways of designing that may not be enough for the level that he or...

Send us Fan Mail A sequel to the previous podcast - "SketchUp & other 3D Design Software is not the answer to architecture design skills", focused on why fewer and fewer architecture students end up being an architect and went into more detail about the problem; (1) The poor design of the architecture curriculum affects the students to have lack of confidence in being an architect, a...

Send us Fan Mail SketchUp & other 3D Design Software is not the answer to architecture design skills. The underlying message proposed in this podcast on why fewer and fewer architecture students end up being an architect is: 1. The poor design of the architecture curriculum affects the students to have lack of confidence in being an architect, and not wanting to pursue architecture; 2.  School...

Send us Fan Mail A brief explanation of what happened before the few years of the architecture studio program leading to the Site Context Specificity units 2016-17, 2018-19 & 2019-20, with sites at Kampung Baru, Bukit Ceylon, Kampung Kerinchi, and Petaling Jaya old town. However, one year earlier 2015-16 batch, I was working with GDP architects, and I learned what was not working. It is all to...

Send us Fan Mail The second part discussion on why everything is personal, in your work and what you do, because professionalism is not a form of detachment from feelings, inspiration, and motivation.     Inspired by comments that I got from Facebook on Part 1, I will explain what and how it was done ( my role ) in the architecture design studio programme at the university. The reason why it was i...