1 April 2022 Friday 30-day running streak

 This is the cover for our last issue of INTERSECTION for the term - PS selected one of her photos (of herself). I had asked her for a photo of Kuching. 24 issues of NEWS & Flash for the term, and I haven't tired of it nor the people I work with. As committee members, we're volunteers as we're explaining to CK over a nice Japanese lunch - you continue to do your bit as long as it interests you, and you do as much or as little as you're able during your tenure. Just remember that we're doing this for our members, and our profession. 

31 March 2022 Thursday Learning outcome

 

As usual, Tay kindly collected me from home to head to the university this morning, this time in a nice new car (a Toyota SUV of some description). So, to entertain him I retold the story about how I would buy new shoes each time my friends buy new 'rides' for themselves. I think it is timely - that I break in another pair of running shoes, something to look forward to on the weekend. It takes very little to keep me engaged.

Feedback from crit 31.3.2022

Site analysis

Generally thorough briefing on the history, background and physical aspects of Bau as described in the colourful panels pinned up. However, there was not enough analysis of the findings on site.

To continue - I think the students can look at their panels/ the areas of study/analysis and do this exercise:

 

Record a current situation; traffic, street-scape, movement of people, etc. (already in the colourful panels)

1. Try to explain why it happens this way.

2. What are the steps I can take to improve this situation?

These are potential site forces that will shape your design outcome; orientation and placement of buildings, roading, pathways, building  heights.

 

Historical and cultural studies

1. How did the shape the town?

2. How has it changed since then?

3. Is the population dwindling? If so, why?

4. What occupations do the local have now? If it is tourism-based - what business do they carry out during the week? (Did anyone interview the locals?)

These are potential factors to consider when formulating your brief, (the locals are your end-users as well) and point the direction for the building type you design in P2b and P3.

 

Authorities

A description of the relevant clauses that might affect our project, perhaps it is better to apply this knowledge to analyse current built environment: (based on area in and near Sites A, B and C)

1. Setback rule - determine which are the original approved buildings and which parts are the later (illegal or not) extensions. Students can easily do this by marking street of drone photographs.

2. Height limitation - does this apply in our assignment?

3. Car park requirements - determine original approved buildings and the allocated car spaces based on planning guidelines. Suggest ways to tackle sudden increase of cars on the weekends.

4. Fire requirements - hydrant requirements, dry powder, etc. We discussed the turning radius for BOMBA trucks etc but did not mention where the nearest Fire Station is (how long to get here)

 

Case studies/Architectural Idol

Much of the presentation was in describing who the architect is and what buildings they built, students must learn to explain the design ideas/ thinking of the idol. Some of you were successful - talking about a pre-occupation with ventilation, cooling, maintenance of their buildings.

To continue this thinking, all students must select their idol(s) and conduct a similar investigation in the thinking, and:

1. List 3 of their design preoccupations (Renzo Piano - with structures, lightness, transparency; Kere - with contribution to community, Correa - community, equality in providing good architecture for all, etc)

2. Make a model(s) to depict these preoccupations - it is not a model of a building we are looking for. Think of it as a stage set (imagined) or an installation (temporary)

3. Compare and contrast these factors amongst yourselves.

These will guide you design direction in P2 and P3.

 

We can discuss this in detail on Monday. 

30 March 2022 Wednesday RK MWA

 

29 March 2022 Tuesday NUS MWA

 

28 March 2022 Monday - at school

Taking to Sandra about façade treatments and modules. 

We usually have a good chat on the way to the university; work, family, mostly about design assignments and our expectations from the students - the teaching outcome. We push the students for more than what the school asks of them, we encourage to them bend the rules, and to be brave.

M is less clear, he seems to have lost track of the teaching outcome, more intent on satisfying Board requirements. He confuses the students, and allowing us to have a say in the design brief further confuses them. I should be quiet. Our values in architecture and design are markedly different, but that's ok because that diversity in teaching styles means more choice for everyone.

Later that day we went to the showroom and then to Yvonne to review floor tiles. It seems that we might not be moving to new premises after all, there is hesitance from the buyers. But that's ok, we are closer to buying mom's house. Pam is arranging for the transfer as part of 'love and affection'. 

27 March 2022 Sunday

Shatwell Farm CLANCY MOORE

‘The intention was to make something finished enough to be enabling,’ says practice partner Andrew Clancy, ‘but not so finished as to shut down potential’.

Posting it here so that I can find in in the future - the phrase about the design intent caught my eye.

I am babysitting mom as usual on Sunday - this time she is having 'high tea' at the club while I work on my laptop. She asks endless questions but stops when she senses that I am busy with work. I order her an iced latte and shave corn kernels from the cob for her to eat and to keep her occupied. She is now asking about growing bananas, and wonder if we can plant them from the seeds after we eat them. She is in good spirits as she usually is when with Sam and I - chatting about 'stuff' while we chat and make silly jokes (Sam) and rude comments (me). 

As I continue our conversation, I realise that we have the easier task of just babysitting and ferrying from Eldercare some days of the week, whereas Ni and her family has mom living with them and 'disrupting' their routine. I also realise that they don't deal with mom the same way we do; with a balance of firmness and tough love, of humour and affection, with hand-holding and 'shut-ups'. 

It seems to work and she enjoys her time with us, perhaps we are simply more patient people. Or perhaps it is because we don't have mom all the time. 

Later that evening, we had dinner with Pam before she departs for NZ on the 4th of April. She thinks that we are not confrontational as a family and things tend to get bottled up. 

26 March 2022 Saturday Tea party

 

25 March 2022 Friday Naik Tangga Turn Tangga

 

24 March 2022 Thursday - Making Sandwiches

Once in Amsterdam, we stopped at a small coffee shop for a mid morning snack. The man serving us looked in his late 50s - he was cheerful and chatty and introduced us to the barcalao sandwich. While he made the sandwiches, he told us that he was retired and worked here a few days a week because he enjoyed talking to people and making food for them. I made a note for myself.

On the drive back from Cove, AS asked me what my plans for retirement were - and I told him I would to work a couple of days a week making sandwiches and coffee in a cafe. I told him people are always happy to receive food - so I was sure that I would be surrounded with good vibes.

23 March 2022 Moving on after almost a year

The study which became Dad's room until he passed away

Today, Liew's kids went to the old house to collect Dad's bed and transport it to PoPo's house, other items of furniture were picked up as well to be donated to his temple network.

It has been almost one year since Dad passed, and it has taken this long because Mom and Ni does not really want to deal with this. They don't even go into the house when we drop by to pick up things or water the garden. Ni has a strong sentimental attachment to this house, as does Khoon I think - I don't. 

Even in the 4 years Sam and I lived there, there were no fond memories; I never cooked there, we did not have friends over for dinner or anything you would do in a home. We worked, we went home, we ate and slept. When Sean was 40 days old, we moved into our own house. 

I can't really explain the reasons for this, perhaps listing down the best memories there would help - preparations with Koko (Auntie) for her Christmas celebrations, reading through old library books (The Count of Monte Christo, The Scarlet Letter) from my father's tenure at the State Library. All the other activities including ones related to leisure seemed like chores to me - so playing badminton with my father and his friends was similar to painting the house (at least when painting, I managed my own time and could day-dream while I moved furniture and painted all the internal walls of this house).

The kitchen and storeroom to the left

The dining room where we ate dinner, made CNY cookies and aunties gossiped out of earshot

Under the stairs, tennis rackets, bicycles and the good shoes

The living room where we watched telly and did other family things; I sat here and did past papers to prepare for my registration exams.

 

22 March 2022 Tuesday - Woven or Stacked

 

21 March 2022 Monday is a good day

 Today is a good day. Sara rang me early in the morning to chat about plans; plans to exercise and get out more, as well as plans for mom's house (if we were to buy it from my siblings). We chat about Sean and his habits and how they should benefit more from this experience of being away from home. 

She has not been calling regularly and missed talking to her. Over the weekend, I decided that I would let her know this and told her. Hopefully this will become a habit; of calling dad to disrupt him in the middle of the work day. 

She said she'll ring again tomorrow. 

20 March 2022 Sunday - still eating too much

 I can't see physical results for the IF yet, but I am getting the hang of it; no food for 12 to 16 hours means missing breakfast (which I think will be difficult when we travel). I am not convinced I am eating less food despite eating one meal less because I am not controlling the portion sizes when I can eat. 

April means more stringent measures. 

19 March 2022 Saturday

(extract from INTERSECTION editorial)

It started as an inside joke to list down our work scope; Information (SY), Money (PS), Design (HJ), and Words (me). It then grew to record other tidbits of information about ourselves, for no other reason than to signal the conclusion of another issue - as the very last thing to put in print (at the bottom of the front page). These footnotes are so obscure that many of our readers only discovered them recently. What is clear though is that we are quite different in personalities and abilities - it makes a complex task easier. 

We have put out 37 issues of NEWS and Flash since Oct 2020. We are glad our members share our vision to record and promote their work, ideas and opinions; starting next term we will be accepting submissions from non-Sarawakians so long as they are well-executed and expressed. We are also expanding our team; formalising our relationship with Suan Lam and Tay Tse Yong, and including 2 roving reporters in Yasmin and Sean.

We are always looking for more work partners, features, articles, funding, free food and drinks and support of any nature, write to us. Needless to say - I am very proud of our little team of 4 plus 4; we work while you sleep. 

Nanu nanu, 
Min

18 March 2022 Friday

A wet day today, so I decided to treat myself by working-from-home. I still feel guilty doing so especially when folks from the office ring me about work matters. I got over this by sketching scenes from travel photos, and trying new drawing materials and methods such as pastels and collage. 

17 March 2022 Thursday

We found out today that we'll get taxed if we sold the family home within a year after its transfer to us. So, that put a stop to the idea of selling it and sharing the proceeds amongst the siblings and mom. 

Which got Sam and I thinking about 'what if we bought it from my siblings?'. We don't really need another house, and I don't have much sentimental feelings related to it. But it will be a cheap purchase as I have a share in it, and I have some ideas about how to re-design its internal spaces. 

 

16 March 2022 Wednesday

A busy work day with two site meetings in the morning, so I wasn't able to cook lunch for the staff. We went to the Kantin at the Marian, because LH confirmed working with SML starting May, because I wanted to treat the new Part 1 'Ah Boy' and coincidentally because it was Yvonne's birthday. 

We had beers with our lunch, and it felt like a Friday. 

A few months ago, we completed roof over the Batu Kitang school court. 

A few days ago, IPUE completed the floor lending and painting

14 March 2022 Tuesday

.

 

13 Mar 2022 Monday

 

12 March 2022 Saturday Jalan-jalan with Sam

 

11 March 2022 Friday 2 kilograms lighter

I'm not sure if it's due to a month of intermittent fasting because I'm 2 kilograms lighter. I can't see the effects in the mirror and can't feel the difference in the courts, but facts are facts. 

10 March 2022 Thursday

I knew the time would come. 

Time when the registered members of the tennis club commented on my using 'their' courts without registering as a member, enough was enough - there is a limit to their hospitality. So, ok - no more tennis with Patrick after work.

Patrick is a registered member, and found it hard to understand why I couldn't simply join and pay the monthly RM 20. To explain - there are 4 courts, 3 good ones and 1 not so good one which we normally use because the registered members prefer to play doubles on the good courts. So, I thought everyone was happy; no objections, everyone and everything in its place.

But no, even if the courts are unoccupied between 4 and 7pm, non registered members cannot use them. Those are the rules apparently; exclusive and narrow minded, entitled and precious to a select few, although our club fees paid towards the recent upgrading of 3 courts.

I am not upset, (I can still play in the mornings) but I'm sad that after what we collectively gone through in the past 2 years, there are still people who are selfishly guarding 4 rectangles of concrete for 3 hours each evening, and for what? The betterment of their favourite sport? I think not, injecting new blood and welcoming new people is a better way. There can be one court (the not so good one) retained for anyone to show up and have a hit; young people, beginners or players like Patrick and I who want to hone our skills.

But no, it is to be very exclusive, for registered members only. Which is why I can't become one of them. Sorry, Patrick. 

9 March 2022 Wednesday Opening our borders

I have been in the Media and Publication sub committee for the past decade, and Chair for the last four to five years. We have always tried to do things differently, turning left when people were going right, which made it quite difficult for the Editor of our Institute's magazine to get us to march to his tune.

We're doing a series on Cities, he said. - we'd like to have one from your chapter.

Hmmm.. we said. 

We don't want you to be left out, he said. 

You could make it easier for members to contribute, I said. 

Hmmm.. how do you mean? he said. 

Well I told him then. 

And asked a few questions of my own. The answers seemed to say that the privilege of getting published in AM was the reward for contributors. I recalled being thanked with a complimentary copy of the issue I was featured in, and given a high resolution PDF of my article to share with clients, the builder, the plumber, etc. He doesn’t recall and didn’t look like he would issue the PDF as it would  'cannibalise’ itself. 

I felt bad for being difficult and rude, so I spoke to SY who confirmed that I was. But he agrees with my response. After that chat, I made up my mind to feature non Sarawakian architects and their projects, we want to make it easy for good work to be published. 

After this decision, I felt better immediately. 

8 March 2022 Tuesday Shall we move?

I cooked lunch on Tuesday, the chicken was in the fridge for long enough; celery, carrots, onions, olives and tinned tomatoes meant chicken cacciatore which the young ones seem to enjoy with a bit of rice. SML's latest addition is a young man from Miri 'Ah Boy' he joined us, followed by Arlene who sat down with a proposition - to relocate our office to the suburbs. Leong was worried that I would be reluctant to move, being so infatuated with the old town area where I grew up. But after almost 6 years, I don't mind a bit of change I told her - a larger place would mean distancing is easier, we can reinstate our library and maybe even have accommodation. I offered to install a full scale kitchen and dining facility on site, I wanted the proximity of food and books.

Fingers crossed. 

7 March 2022 Monday 220 Pakington Street

 

6 March 2022 Sunday A busy weekend

thinking about possible screens for an old shophouse

Sketches in an A3 sketchbook bought from IKEA (I think it is for children to draw in with crayons) - there are many pages, they are quite thin but it takes fountain pen ink well. I am going to make it a habit to sketch and scribble in it each night in front of the TV or each morning when I come downstairs. 

Sketching freely helps me to explore more. It is a good habit to cultivate, even at my age and this stage of my career. I will pass these on to one of the young ones to CAD, so that it stays in our database.

continuing the verandah at the TV room

stairs details at the LV House

remedial works at COVE

more stair details (need another round before construction)

 

5 March 2022 Saturday - family ties

view through our apartment window in Paris

I was halfway through my laps when I stopped to call Sean; he had mentioned earlier that much of the work seemed to have stalled, or reduced to uninteresting stuff. I guess that comment still played on my mind. 

I reminded him that he was there for new work experience, to learn and to prepare himself for professional exams. So, if not many of those things are happening - he should speak to the partners and see what they can do to change the situation - so that Sean has options. I suggested that he can think about stopping after his trip to Scotland for graduation ceremonies. But he wanted to keep his verbal promise to stay the two years, which times out nicely with Sara's studies. 

I told him about the work which is coming in the office and also about our impending registration as a Sdn. Bhd. and partnership with Freddie and Penghui both of whom he will be working with (instead of reporting to me all the time.) We talked about the succession plan; people in their 40s, 30s and him 20s. He mentioned that he would like to come home to live here, that he can't imagine staying in West Malaysia. We chatted for 22 minutes, and he rang off saying that he will treat Sara to a nice lunch; it is her birthday today. 

 

4 March 2022 Friday Designing toilets

 

Architects joke about how they started their career as young architects drawing up toilet details, before working their way up to 'real' architecture. Last Friday, Sam and I visited a site, to meet a client about upgrading some toilets and lift lobbies. It's a small project, it's a familiar client, and it's an opportunity to train a young graduate through the various stages of an architectural project. And yes, it is architecture. 

3 March 2022 Thursday

Seaside villas at the Cove

Today marks the beginning of a new working relationship. It is not completely new as we have worked together before at DNA, but this is the first when we're partners on equal ground. 

And I felt that we are both aware of this as he and I both took special care to explain the 'terms and conditions' to each uther.

1. We'll use the company as a platform to get a wider range of work.

2. We will share workforce and workload, though not usually in the same split as the company shares.

3. There is freedom to bring in work, and decide to work on it collectively or separately.

Later that morning, we presented an updated version of the hotel, which was accepted by the client and immediately rewarded with our appointment. After which we had lunch with Allister, chatting about work like colleagues, there was warmth in that relationship and this is a highlight for me.