Talk Architecture

Send us Fan Mail Why did we create a collaborative learning environment where the architecture students need to be challenged comprehensively, covering all bases including be able to read the whole building from the plan. You cannot do this by teaching students to design from software. Students are builders of architecture not merely design a building and wrap it with green. As early as possible,...

Send us Fan Mail I would like to argue that Architects are Artists, ‘artists with a background of science’ (Pandikar, 1959). I take some theories from Ismail Faruqi's 'Cultural Atlas of Islam', Gottfried Semper (19th century philosopher), Christopher Alexander's 'Notes on the Synthesis of Form' and Colin Davies' book on 'Introduction to architectural theory&...

Send us Fan Mail The debate arose in India, when Professor Paknikar in a 1959 seminar on architecture practice said: With the increasing influence of science and technology, they (architects) are termed as ‘scientists with a background of art’ rather than ‘artists with a background of science’. This sets off the discourse on the importance of architectural theory and how there is a difference betw...

Send us Fan Mail This discussion focused on Chapter 1 on "Representation" from Colin Davies' book called "Thinking about Architecture: An Introduction to Architectural Theory". It's that time of year again when we have to prepare for our classes before the semester starts. I was also thinking about the 'Artistic Process vs Architectural Design Process' at th...

Send us Fan Mail If you are an examiner and you need to evaluate an architecture studio curriculum of a school of architecture, how would you go about it? Should you evaluate the poor (just passed) student, the average student or the best student? And how do you benchmark the performance of that school of architecture compared to other schools? This is an opinion piece on what to look for when you...

Send us Fan Mail Further discussion on the issues of the social responsibility of an architectural educator or an academic that teaches architecture design, reflections based on the article by Kimberley Kramer on the topic of "Social Responsibility in Architecture Education" (2012) . This discussion focused on the policy and implementation by a country's architect board (on accredit...

Send us Fan Mail The concluding episode on the future of education and the changing role of universities. What is the pace of learning and how we perceived learning, that could make universities as what we see now, obsolete. Reflecting on being a Part 1 graduate doing practical training in London in an office, 5 minutes walk away from the AA school's evening lectures, and how that is a simila...

Send us Fan Mail I quote Mr Tan Eng Chye, the President of the National University of Singapore: The pandemic has brought a crystal clarity to the role that universities play. To find solutions to humanity’s most pressing problems, we need talented individuals who have the breadth and depth of knowledge and skills, the ability to synthesise and think across conceptual and technical boundaries, and...

Send us Fan Mail What is "beyond architecture"? Why was the Part 1 architecture degree important for a person who undertook it? Low Pey Sien felt that her experience studying architecture in Part 1 (BSc in Architecture) course was essential in her current growth and development although she is taking her time to decide whether to do the Part 2 course. She is currently working with Kongsi...

Send us Fan Mail A brief teaser before the big interview with Low Pey Sien, University of Malaya's Bachelor of Science in Architecture Part 1 Graduate who is now an Art and Craft Manager at KongsiKL. I asked her "why aren't you continuing your architecture course for Part 2?". One of our best students, gave a "teaser" answer with promise to tell all in a future interv...

Send us Fan Mail Thinking out loud on the issues of the social responsibility of an architectural educator or an academic that teaches architecture design, reflections based on quotes from Kenneth Frampton's book Modern Architecture: A Critical History, particularly the chapter on the Bauhaus. This discussion is purely reflections which will in turn be more focused on the current state of arc...

Send us Fan Mail Irfan Mahzan's honest opinion on what had transpired in his design thesis journey in 2019-2020, on how he left it late to get the concept right in semester 2, where he did the UiTM PJ Old Town, School of Built Environment. The criticism centred on the role of higher education institution such as UiTM, and the blue and white collar workers knowledge and skills. Touching on the...

Send us Fan Mail TEASER Introduction! We will interview Irfan Mahzan on his design thesis project: UiTM PJ Old Town, School of Built Environment. The sad state of neglect is pervasive in PJ old town, where Irfan mentioned about "how old spaces are not utilized", reflected on the state of the campus at Jalan Othman.  For the design thesis, the focus was on higher education and how in Mala...

Send us Fan Mail A critical piece of a story, where the designer started by asking the pertinent question of "what do we do with an under-utilized high rise building", Wong Joe Yee from the 2019-2020 design thesis batch, did what he needed to do. He designed the Vertical Neighbourhood Shared Space , taking the Menara Mutiara, a 13 storey building, and transforming it into a place for the...

Send us Fan Mail INTRODUCTION TEASER! Watch out for the next interview with Wong Joe Yee on his design thesis project called: Vertical Neighbourhood Shared Space at Jalan Othman, Petaling Jaya. We will discuss about how in the year long 2019-2020 project, Joe Yee conceptualized at once: (1) adaptive reuse of a high rise building that is under-used and unpopular thus rejuvenating the use of the bui...

Send us Fan Mail This is what I discovered at FAUP (Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto) in 2015 when I did the Erasmus Mundus exchange programme. The "architecture design process" is not confused with the "art process" in the first year course, unlike in many other schools of architecture. This is my kind of school! Where else should I have went in search of the...

Send us Fan Mail Francis Poh in his interview talked about how being sensitive to "gender" issues helped him design the Petaling Jaya All Girls' Primary Schools. After exploring Section 4, in the earlier stages of the design thesis, he discovered the interesting waterways network that created pedestrian linkages and shortcuts for workers and students in that area. That led him to th...

Send us Fan Mail Students from time to time would choose to do 'school of architecture' for their design thesis topic, and obviously all of us, architectural educators would love to say something about it. I came across the name Hannes Meyer, the 2nd director of Bauhaus as I was reading about both topics (him and the school) and I quote from this blog: Graham McKay, "Architecture Mi...

Send us Fan Mail TEASER & PREVIEW OF WHAT'S TO COME! SEASON 3! COMING SOON - End of August & Early September 2020: Interviews with the studio masters of Unit 2 Design Thesis Studio where we will chat about the way we conduct the studio programs and the biggest challenges we face and why we run the studio as we did, especially when it comes to site context issues driven projects and co...

Send us Fan Mail A reflection on the topic of "Re-examining community architecture: site specific issues in local context situations" provides an introduction to proposing for a case for a new agenda and preparing for the book publication. Referring to the interviews that we had been doing with the graduates from the  Kampung Kerinchi batch and the graduating students fresh from finishin...

Send us Fan Mail INTRODUCTION TEASER on Francis Poh's PJ Old Town All Girls' Primary Schools This design thesis successfully explored the opportunity that can be done to bring the 2 girls’ primary schools together with a shared programme that is the canteen and the library. It is strategically located along the edge of the monsoon drain to provide a certain level of natural surveillance...

Send us Fan Mail A hidden and unassuming church in Section 4, Petaling Jaya, the Assumption Church was actually a significant first religious building in PJ Old Town, built and established beside the Assunta Hospital. During our walkabout, we stumbled upon it as a unit and Geraldine, a Protestant, took the challenge, by first interviewing the pastor and later did a study on Catholicism, leading to...

Send us Fan Mail INTRODUCTION TEASER on  Geraldine Bong's The Assumption Catholic Church and Columbarium, the podcast interview is coming soon. Do listen in to this teaser, about the exceptional enigmatic design (can we say that for a building) testing our usual beliefs on what a church should look like. A brave attempt to deal with the symbolism and at the same time challenged by technical i...

Send us Fan Mail A revival of the 40 year old market to meet current demands yet being self sufficient. Another podcast on Raymond Bu, who loves details, presenting to you The Market Hub, a contemporary local marketplace that still retains the authenticity and core functions of a traditional market located in the heart of Petaling Jaya Old Town. The interview outlines how Raymond dealt with the di...

Send us Fan Mail TEASER INTRODUCTION on a highly commended The Market Hub at Jalan Othman, Petaling Jaya Old Town by Raymond Bu. unit 2, design thesis studio, 2019-2020.   The issue here is the relevance of the market building, often called the "wet market" in Malaysia, a social hub especially with a higher than average older persons population in this community. Seen as a sight for sore...