more work sketches

Rushing to finish work in the office so that I can go to Bangkok with the PAM Committee; so here are more work related sketches. This building used to be the Sibu Municipal Council; recently re-adapted to become Sibu's Heritage Centre displaying artifacts relocated from the Dewan Suarah where they were half heartedly displayed in the undercroft of Sibu Town Hall.

The 'funnel' directs visitors into the building.

As part of the conservation, we refurbished the adjacent park as well - making it into the Centre's entrance forecourt as well as pedestrian thoroughfare between two major roads. We added several sculptural outdoor elements such as the 'terrain' on the left of the pictures - a shaded timber platform that gives the park some (man-made) topography. It is designed to give the site an urban edge; a subtle demarcation of the Centre's boundaries.

Man made topography

 

Work takes over

This long stretch between entries can be explained as follows - there was an interruption in the blogspot service and also extra work load in the office due to a number of people on leave. This coupled with the datline for the PAM AWARDS submission meant limited time to post new entries. 

This is one of the projects occupying my time; this sketch was drawn from the window of our site office - the different shaded 'panels' are actually cement render divided by groovelines and painted in different shades of grey.

The 4-storey block in the background is completely new; the two double storey buildings in the foreground were part of the original office that are conserved and re-furbished to form part of the new. This is part of our on-going interest in finding new usage for exisitng structures in our projects; to find new exciting usage woven from the old and new.

Partial Front Elevation

I'd rather be sketching

After the hectic weekend, it is good to get back to doing what I enjoy as much as running; sketching.

The Fata Hotel is located in one of my favourite parts of Kuching. A rich confluence of childhood memories defined by my school, St. Thomas's Primary School and our sister school St Mary's Girls School to the right of the sketch. My grandmother's house is just a short walk up the hill to the right of the sketch; along Jalan Tabuan.
I remember a chendol stall just outside the St. Mary's school gate - doing a brisk business through the steel bars of the school fence during recess. An old man helped by his daughter. Then years later, only the daughter whom I still saw when I returned to Kuching. Now there is just a bus stop where the stall used to stand.

The temple on Wayang street has its counterpart across the street - a Chinese theatre on an elevated plinth which served as a stage. The audience brought their own seats and were entertained with old Chinese plays and drama pieces which (in the old days) were equivalent to news snippets from the home country. It was a versatile civic space; built, maintained and accessible to the local community.

Across town, the modern version of a Civic Centre; a pompous structure that is a far cry from its predecesors.