31 March 2023 Friday, a productive day which became a lazy day

 

30 March 2023 Thursday

 

29 March 2023 Wednesday

 

28 March 2023 Tuesday - good day for work

 

27 March 2023 Monday

 

26 March 2023 Sunday - cooking pasta

 

25 March 2023 Saturday feeling alone

 

24 March 2023 Friday

 

23 March 2023 Thursday 'a bit hard but can la'

 

Today we sent off a proposal for a plot of land in Sibu, before lunch time as agreed internally with SL. Later I asked SL if it was difficult to coordinate a design proposal between Kuching and KL, she said 'a bit hard, but can la'. I thought that it was quite a successful exercise but then I am seeing it from top down, from a junior architect's point of view it would have been more stressful. 

Nonetheless, I am happy - because SL has been reluctant to initiate design projects thinking that it would take up too much of her time, leaving less for her projects. I wanted to show her that this is not the case, and that we do not have to solve all for the concept design stage. (she has been too well trained by PH; looking into details, etc). I am teaching her the importance of locking in the main points of a scheme first, in this case; the river views, the east-west orientation, the street frontage and spaces in between commercial and residential.

MC texted me about CPC and warranties, I rang her back using the opportunity to make contact and have a natter about things. She was worried about certain things but I think our chat cleared things up for her, being reliable and useful. 

To reward myself, I went off to an early tennis game. 

22 Mar 2023 Wednesday - ran 5km

 

21 Mar 2023 Tuesday - talking on the phone can be confusing

 
 

20 Mar 2023 Monday - talking about levels

 

19 Mar 2023 Sunday

 

18 Mar 2023 Saturday - a watery sort of day

 It rained hard the whole morning, hard enough to Sam to brave the dirty water and move the cars into the house. By 11 a.m., our whole garden was flooded, slippers and dog bowls floated away, cockroaches crawled out of the drains. Sam and Sean attacked them with insect spray, Sara drew up toilet plans for No. 40, I dug out an old book and read it. I was still reading it after the rain stopped and the water subsided enough for us to go out for lunch, and book shopping.

17 Mar 2023 Friday. A lazy day

Today felt like a watershed; my work week ending a day earlier. All of my tasks for the week completed and I'm not motivated to start on new ones.

I had earlier promised Airell a spaghetti lunch in the office, and she promised to help me. So that's something to look forward to. I found out as we were cooking that today is her last day with us, she will go back to her third Form classes next week. I wonder if she formed a clearer picture of what an architectural career feels like during her 3 weeks with us. She is a quiet one, and not out of shyness but more out of a teenage defiance. Hard to teach when there is little feedback from the student. 

Today is also Syaidah's first day; a student from UiTM. She will work with Sean on the student hostel; a model to warm up, rough but to scale to be completed by the end of the work day. She seems willing to learn, quite confident and polite. She joined us for lunch, despite bringing her own lunch probably buns or sandwiches, because she ate the spaghetti bolognese lunch with us. There is much to learn from sharing a meal with someone, there is even more to learn from cooking with them - the office is divided into the ones who will wander into the kitchen with sleeves rolled up before the meal is ready; to set the table, to wash, to plate, to make the salad dressing without being asked. And the ones who wander in when the meal is cooked, ready to eat. Luckily there are only a few of the latter group.

Sam thinks it is largely due to upbringing (meaning that parents had a hand in this) but I think as adults we learn through observation, and learn to be mindful. I know who I would not willingly invite for lunch, they are selfish people and simply take as if it is their birthright.

 

16 Mar 2023 Thursday Hiroshima House

The breeze-block framed entrance of the Hiroshima House

2019. Kok Ming and I turned down a side street from the Foreign Correspondent's Club in search for a late lunch, when we came upon the brick facade of the Hiroshima House. There was no one about, the place looked deserted but curiosity got the better of us. We set our lunch plans aside to quench our appetite for interesting spaces, which this place was bound to have. 

The open doorway led into a large atrium space 3-storeys high, we could see that it was capped with a concrete butterfly roof. The interiors were dominated by the bare concrete structure that supported the corridors surrounding the atrium, and the bare brickwork of the internal walls. From the second floor a long flight of stairs cut across the atrium to reach the roof deck. 

As we wandered further in, we heard the sounds of children reading; a class was being held in English, and Khmer. A teacher came out and wondered if we needed help, we asked if she could tell us more about the building and what the children were studying. She did not tell us much about the building, and seemed more interested to tell us about the volunteer work that she and her team were doing with the local street children. They have been conducting English classes to about 20 to 30 local kids; classes are free of charge and the children are given a mid morning meal each time they attended class. 

She asked if Kok Ming and I would like to come and speak to the class about our hometowns the next day. Dutifully we agreed and showed up the next day to chat to the class about MRTs and orang utans, universities and Universal Studio, but mostly to answer questions about our daily lives and routines. Their ages range from 8 to 14 years old, curious, 'bright-eyed and bushy-tailed' and not shy to pose questions for these two old men to decipher and answer the best we could.

The angled concrete columns around the central atrium, someone wondered if the architect was tracing the lines of falling bombs. 

History of the building

The idea behind this building started in 1994, during the Asian Games in Hiroshima - atomic bomb survivor Keiko Kunichika was inspired by a Cambodian athlete's desire to see his country as Hiroshima had after the Second World War. The Association for the Exchange between Hiroshima Citizens and Cambodians was founded. 

Japanese architect Osamu Ishiyama designed the building, which was named after the houses built in Hiroshima by American peace activist, Dr. Floyd Schmoe. The building in Phnom Penh was built by volunteers from Japan began building 'brick by brick' from 1995 until its opening in 2007. The original concrete roof was later capped with a traditional (and architecturally ungainly) Cambodian roof requested by the chief monk of Wat Ounalom, a temple complex where the Hiroshima House sits. 

Many of its original functions such as an orphanage, woodworking studio and accommodation could not be realised as the architect and builders envisioned. This is likely due to a mismatch in the original planning with local lifestyle, and building features with local climate. Currently, a lack of maintenance and creative adaption of the spaces to new functions pose the greatest threat to the building's future. Fortunately, it is situated within a temple complex and (at the moment) protected from market forces. 

The columns telescope upwards to support a concrete butterfly roof over an open air-well

Classes are free of charge and the children are given a mid morning meal each time they attended class.

Despite the harshness of the materials, the interior is cool and breezy. The children play football in the central courtyard, their shouts echoing up to the roof deck.

One of the original functions was a library for Japanese children's stories to be translated into Khmer.

Kok Ming and I were invited to come and speak to the class the next day. 

 

South elevation (and street front entry)

Section through the central courtyard

Second floor plan 

The original concrete roof was later capped with a traditional Cambodian roof, partly due to climatic issues 

The architect's model of the scheme

Volunteers arrived from Japan on brick building tours to construct the building.

Sources:

1. https://nmb-nmk.com/hiroshima-house_realism-architecture/

2. https://cityofwater.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/hiroshima-house-library/ (Shelby Elizabeth Doyle)

3. https://hyperallergic.com/364076/brutalism-and-traditional-khmer-design-come-together-in-phnom-penhs-hiroshima-house/

15 Mar 2023 Student housing

 

14 Mar 2023 Tuesday

Three of us were sitting by the pool, drinking beers and eating satay, waiting for a late dinner to start.  The conversation shifted to company size and projects in hand, when I referred to ourselves as a small practice, he said 'you're not small'. But we are 9 people only - I countered. 'yes, but most are Part 2 architects' 

13 Mar 2023 Monday - a conversation in the locker room

 

He: are you still working?

Me: yes..

He: from home?

Me: no, we have an office.

He: plenty of work still?

Me: ..yes. we are quite busy (there was another architect within earshot and I could not resist it)

He: I see..

I related this conversation with Sam later that evening, she said he can be forgiven for thinking that I am retired. Many of fellow class-mates have retired, I dress like I am not working, I show up at the squash courts in the middle of the afternoon.

12 Mar 2023 Sunday - cooking lunch for friends

 I felt like cooking, it is a form of self expression; showing off, showing that I care. It is an act of love. When No. 40 is ready - I will do this more often; for Sam on date nights even. For now, my kitchen at the office, Sara helped, Ivy watched ' it is so nice to watch people at work, and doing it well'.

Burrito 

11 Mar 2023 Saturday.

 

10 Mar 2023 Friday.

 

9 Mar 2023 Thursday - today felt like a good day but I forget why

 

8 Mar 2023 Wednesday - PH is on leave

 Penghui is on leave it seems. He asked Fiona  (jokingly I think) how to apply for leave. We don't have a strict leave application format in the office, I know that we should but it seems unnecessary after so long. Folks used to fill in a form for me to sign, nowadays they simply text me and ask. I remind them to tell their team mates and that's it. We have not turned down a leave application so far, and nothing has gone badly wrong.

7 Mar 2023 Tuesday