方向

自从毕业回来后，总觉得自己好像一只失去了方向的鱼，在大海中漫无目的的漂流，把自己的方向主宰权托给潮流，任由海浪把我四处推送。

在了解了自己目前的缺陷后，我不再执着以追求属于自己的建筑理念。

一切随缘。

所以自回来后都没急着找工作。

干不干建筑以无所谓了。反正这里的人都不懂得欣赏好的建筑，也不懂何为好的设计。

可最不舍得的就是放弃在KL的工作机会。

跟Tressie聊了一个下午，聊个天南地北。

本来无精打采的我，突然间又见一线曙光，怎么不就往那个方向？

综合环境设计与建筑。既然那是我一直以来提倡的设计宗旨。

习俗的做法是把建筑设计为壳心，然后造设环境配合建筑设计。

那我就提倡以造设环境为设计的中心，然后再造设建筑以配合环境设计。

这样的反传统建筑设计理念，我认为是最为适合我们沙吧州的环境。

建筑与环境设计，应该就像一对手掌，两掌相拍才能发出声音，唤醒人类回归自然。

建筑与环境设计，也像一双手掌，紧紧的相握。共祈一个祥和的生活环境。

洗礼

总算告一段落。

感谢主神的恩赐，让我熬过了那些痛苦的日子。

虽然那些是灰色暗淡的，但却是生命中最重要的洗礼。

所谓洗礼，因为它像是一种思想改造程序。

艰辛的日子，却让我觉悟到过去的种种过失，腐败和颓废。

上一段的开始，是因为前一段的结束。

而上一段的结束，也意味着下一段的开始。

生命像是由许多小节段组成，许多的开始和结束，

若每上一段都是一种洗礼，那每下一段就会更好了。

经过无数连续的洗礼，人生也逐渐进步。

而所谓生命，即是一段的开始和结束。

这一生，要比前一生更好。

serendipity

I never expected it.

I have been single mindedly thought what I have been doing is just something personal, and no one would bother, or would I capture attention of anyone.

I thought with the end of the course, I would then commence a plain mundane life.

I never thought that I still have a choice; to choose what kind of life I am to live ahead, to choose where I would be and to be what I would like to be.  However, if situation allows.

By the way, doesn’t that mean I don’t have any choice already?

*****

It was the longest dream I ever had.

A dream lasted 3 years.

A dream I was not ready for its commencing, but it has ended abruptly on 3 August 2013 morning when I pressed the ‘send’ button of the last email attached with my portfolio.

Should I know how the past 3 years were to be, I would not have had the guts to go for it.

It begun with a simple intention to end a badly corrupted life.  A life I could no longer endure, a life no different from the living dead, a life I must end before it takes over me.

Serendipity?

It seems that every encounter is destined with a purpose,

I was destined to meet with someone, although he was not my final destiny.

I was destined to meet him in order to be redirected to my next destiny.

Hence I had the longest dream of my life, a dream I had never thought I would ever have.

*****

I am grateful that whatever the past has been. It is now history.

beauty in repetition

Some objects do not have much presence if they are placed in solitary.

Some objects look mundane if they do not have unique feature.

Yet these objects induce awe when they present in many.

It is the magic of repetition.

Objects in repetition reveals spatial depth, projects dynamism and denotes orientation.

In photography, ordinary objects in repetition could be animating, interesting and captivating depends on the angle of perspective, picture composition and present of tonal variation.

In architecture, the aesthetic derives from repetitive present of tectonic elements is beyond beauty, a well-ordered repetitive elements generate a sublime atmosphere.

Experiential Space

picture courtesy http://www.lbi.org/2012/09/albert-einstei/#4

"life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance, you must keep moving."

- Albert Einstein -

The building is about experience, personal one.

according to Bernard Tschumi, architecture is to be experienced, and could only be experienced when space, event and movement are interrelated.

Thus architecture is to express how space, event and movement are interrelated.

Therefore sequencing is critical to engaging space it's users, as it generates a relationship between time, space and movement.

just like riding on bicycle.
The building takes analogy from the essence of cycling.  The sensation could only be experienced when one is riding on one.

human perception, perceive from 5 senses or 7 senses (as - per Juhani Pallasmaa), the most immense one I would say, is the one that denotes total emotional experience - about gravitational resistance.

spatial concept derives from the nature of bicycle riding - movement.

the building is about sequential movement.  spatial articulation ensures circulation clarity, provides extensive horizontal and vertical movements...kind of depicting experience in bicycle riding, the routes are diverse, flexible and spontaneous.  The environment and architecture delineate spatial freedom and provoke imagination.

the ramp bridge connecting the 2 buildings and the slanted gallery floor intend to provoke awareness of the often take for granted gravitational force.

Environment and Technological Response

1.  Maximum use of daylight, glass curtain walls provide visual connection with outdoor, abundance dayligth fro retail space and galleries instead of conceal static conventional galleries
2.  Flexible space for progressive adaptation
3.  Passive design where upper floor provides shade and thermal buffer to the lower floors
4.  Cross ventilation and stack effect
5.  Bike Walls is the billboard that draw in visitors and customers.

impermanence . photography

The impermanence of life is what makes it so very precious. 

- Carpe Noctem -

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” - Elliott Erwitt -

picture credit : Donna Murdoch

impermanence . photography


for all compounded things are impermanence, 
only the presence of present counts.

and thus present is everything.

some say photography is an art of observation,
and that a picture is the expression of an impression.
hence photography is a channel to express our acknowledgement.

photograph registers the presence of present.
photograph captures the precious moment in time.
photograph is a proof for all things impermanence.

all things degrade with time,
all lives aged with time,
all memories fade with time,
but photograph preserves the presence, 
photograph is a legacy left behind.

Query List for Client

I was shocked to see a new Job Order placed on my desk this afternoon when I first step into my workstation.  It was written 'ATY Standard Sample - Query List for Client'.

Almost hesitated to believe such a new task being assigned when I have left just 2 more days in this office.

For better understanding of the new Task, I asked the Boss for her direction.

The Boss said that the Task is sort of sequel from the Task I have done before (Tender Drawing Checklist).  She explained the need to have a Checklist to identify or clarify items that is subjected to Client's right from the early stage of a Project, instead of the situation in the Office now - having to call up the Client from time to time or whenever query arises from the drafting person while preparing the Tender Drawings.

I understand this problem well because I have experienced personally the trouble of not knowing the brand, type of materials or finishes the Clients preferred when I was preparing Tender Drawings and Materials Schedules.  We have to wait for days to obtained Client's confirmation, which is kind of causing delay in completing the Tender Drawings production.

There were cases where Client does not have provision for external floor tiling, skirting, kitchen wall tiling etc. yet the drafting person assumed such works as a standard practice and had since prepared the drawings with.  These items were then omitted from the drawings after having been issued for Client's perusal, which means, effort and time has been wasted while it could be avoided in the beginning of drawings production.

In fact when I was first told to reduce the floor areas for the proposed Alamesra Bungalow, which inevitably resulted in omission of the total room number, I doubted the necessity in doing so - why is not the budget allocation been identified before building plan is drawn?  Is it because such consideration was overlook at the first place, and not that a bigger house could be charged at higher consultation fees.

the Big House

There was a man, a single man, unmarried bachelor, who works as a hairstylist to my Boss. His parents are retired fishmongers, who had worked their whole life selling fishes at the Fish Market. Apart from the hairstylist, the other children are all married and no longer attached to the parents.  

They are just 3 of them living together.

The retired fishmongers have bought 2 bungalow lots side by side at the Alamesra.  These 2 lots are to be joined to form 1 single bungalow lot, to accommodate a Big House soon to be built according to the requirement by the Alamesra management - all houses shall be built before December of 2014.

They are now our Clients.

The house design has been finalized and Building Plan has been submitted to DBKK. According to my Boss, the building as shown in the drawings is what the Clients want, and is the best the office can deliver.

I was very disappointed looking at the floor plans.  Bedroom 1, Bedroom 2, Bedroom 3, Bedroom 4, Bedroom 5, Bedroom 6 and a Master Bedroom.  All bedrooms are planned with attached bathroom. Living Room 1 and Living Room 2 on the ground floor and a huge Family Area on the upper floor.  Huge staircase with tiny study room next to it, many wide corridors and unnecessary balconies.  Just 2 car parking space.  Squarish outlook.

It is hard to believe that this is the house for 3 human beings.

Yet they intend to spend just 1.5M for the house, inclusive of interior furnishing.  

Money not enough.  So I have to reduce the floor areas from 760sq.m to 510sq.m.  No big deal since the changes are just on the drawings.

But, why at the first place, they want a 7 bedroom house?  The most they can occupy is 3 bedrooms.  The rest will be left vacant.  Are they not worry if the vacant rooms turn haunted?

Don't they know building has life span?  Building needs maintenance? 

Building ages with time.  It is not wise to build such a huge house just to avoid building cost inflation.  Of course most of all, big house is also a big waste of money and resources.  And who knows, due to the great physical distance from room to room, it might loosen the tie between family members?

the Truth

This task is a very ‘sad’ and ‘insulting’ job for any designer.  What a designer hesitate most is to be ‘forced’ into a certain ‘outlook’ of a building when he is asked to ‘design’ a building.  This usually happen if the client is a ‘layman’, especially the typical old fashion business man.

The task I was assigned to do was to reduce the floor areas of a proposed 2 storey bungalow house at Alamesra Desa Saujana - due to budget constraint.  I couldn't understand why this kind of hustle happens because it usually can be prevent from the early stage - asking the clients how much money they are willing to spend before proceed to design their house. 

When I was first told to assume the task, I was very happy because the most I like is to design a private residence, and I am always a die heart proponent of ‘small residence’ (which I regard as most efficient and ‘green’).  So when I first heard the word ‘reduce’ floor areas, I was very excited and determined to do my best for the good of everyone, especially for the environment.

I spent almost 1 whole day studying the building plans and drawings. I was very disappointed to discover that the design was really crude, I believed that the boss herself has not look into the design and trusted a very junior draft person to do the job.  There are too many design errors, waste of space, bad circulation, poor orientation, dead ends, lack of natural lighting, bad indoor and outdoor relationship (huge garden not responded to the interior) which I think is not doing justice to the client.  So I started to redesign the floor plan the next day.  I managed to finish redoing the ground floor and just about to continue for the upper floor, I sent an email to the Boss in order to notify her on my progress of work (my Boss was having 10 days leave in Singapore).

However, the Boss replied me a very simple message that the house has to be that ‘look’ because that is what the client wants!  I can only shrink the house but the external looks shall remain the same.  Furthermore she said, the Building Plans has been submitted to the local authority.

This also means all my earlier effort went in vain.  I have to start work all over again, shrinking the floor areas while accommodating the lousy design.

the Villagers and the Government

What kind of Villagers do we have?  These Villagers are left in the remote interiors, far away from the hustle of the so called modernized cities.

How many of the people in Malaysia know what the Villagers are thinking and has been doing?

When the Villagers have learned that their lands or any government land nearby would soon be acquired by the Government for public purposes, including building roads, hospitals or schools which they have been eagerly expecting since the day they were born, they would quickly build some buildings or plant some crops on that land, in order to claim for monetary compensation, taking advantage of rural development programs and exploiting the Land Ordinance.

This is a common practice widely practiced by the Villagers.

The first cost for constructing some simple buildings/structures and planting some seedlings is far more insignificant as compared to the amount of compensation they would received once the land is acquired by the Government.  Yet the Government would only interfere the usage of any Government land when it is needed for development, and acquire lands from  the Villagers when there is a need to build some public facilities on their lands.

And for whom the facilities are built for if not for them the Villagers.

So here is the problem.  One of the problems causing delay in Site Possession for construction of the new school is due to strong objection received from the Villagers, who claimed that their crops on the Site have NOT received any monetary compensation from the Government.  Despite at the same time , they wish to have a new secondary school in their village as soon as possible.

Suddenly the 23 acres forested Government land has 8 Farmers who claimed that they have their crops planted there.  Besides the common crops, they have even planted Bamboos, which should be compensated based on 'clump'.  Bamboo?!!  Since when did the Villagers have learnt to plant Bamboo?  This is NOT China, this is PITAS!!! Since when did the Villagers are taught of Commercializing Borneo Bamboo?

The most critical crops according to the Contractor, is Pineapple which, is not counted by unit, but based on the number of 'flower shoots' it has above the 'main / mother plant!  A Durian tree of 5 year old is rated at RM150 per tree.

Obviously the crops are planted recently, just as a gimmick to claim for monetary compensation.  If the crops have been there since the beginning of time, it would have been included in the BQ, as the case of the graves.  In addition, the terms to compensate for relocation of graves has changed from a pig to a buffalo for every grave, which is a great different from the initial agreement: a pig for a ritual ceremony to relocate the whole cemetery.

But why are the Villagers acting in such way?

What is wrong with the Government? What is wrong with the Country, the Nation?

It seems that they are desperately in need of money, not little money, but BIG money.

Why?  What have happened to them?  

Are they not all landlords on their own lands?

活在当下

不对过去有什么追悔，也不对未来有太多忧虑。
只是当下的日子，要如何过？


这些日子，没有想象中的容易，
也根本就没想象中的简单。
而这些日子，并非为了未来的日子，
那些所谓的未知数，我不在乎，
更何况未来，会到吗？罢了。

这些日子，实在不容易熬啊。
陌生的面孔和疏离的人际。
但这些日子再坏，也是我能拯救自己的最好选择。
至少这些日子，不再有过去的腐朽，颓废和堕落。

我只希望以当下忙乱的日子，
让自己沉浸在无念和空无的状态。