11.8.2025 Monday - lessons from teaching

At the Rock Road showroom site with the UPM cicaks

I recall a conversation with Eric, I mentioned that one of his students is a lovely person and I would like to have her in our office. We don't look for top students or those whom their school says has good design skills. That is the school's opinion. Besides, the principals in the office are the key designers, what we need are people who are interested to learn, quick to understand ideas when explained to them and people who care about other people.

 

One of these interns applied for a job at a friend's firm, who criticised his lack of design ability and rejected his application. Lost of an opportunity, I thought

The latest crop of interns - from CYCU, Taiwan - the kind hearted girl in this photo.

29th October 2023 Sunday - Fiona

Penghui sent me these photos which he took at my 36 birthday, we had it at the McDonalds in town.

Fiona has an interesting life, we first met her while she was working in an interior design company with Sam. Sam introduced her to KDI, where I was working, we became firm friends (even gym buddies at one time) Coincidentally, I stayed at her brother's flat while I was studying for my Year 12 in Oakleigh High. 

After KDI, she moved on to work with one of the firm's multi-national clients. In these years, we saw her bloom and take charge of her life, she left her unhappy marriage and found new love. She travelled the world in a yacht, staying in different places in the world, even Rwanda at one time. She now lives in Scotland, so when she is in town we meet up to hear what she has been up to. 

28th of October 2023 Saturday - 30th Anniversary

This is photo from our early DNA days - when we worked and dined like a family. We all worked hard and towards similar goals, easier then because there were only a few projects. I departed after 15 years and while the company still exists, we who left have found our footing and are doing well in our own ways.

This evening, I attend the KAISU's (named after the owner's uncle) 30th anniversary at the Hilton, filled with familiar faces. I sit with the PAM folks, I recently decided that I will leave the PAMSC committee after this term. I have been there too long; time to move on and let others take over and most importantly, I am not enjoying it so much anymore. The newsletter - it will likely stop for a while, and our fortnightly issues is a high benchmark for others to adopt. Someone might take up the challenge, change the format and frequency though I cannot think of who this person might be in the moment. Likewise PDF will stop as well, no one foreseeable to take over. After all, this year is under CW's care - it was postponed, then re-formatted, delayed and then nothing until SY and I took over. 

I don't mind doing it, it is not hard with a good team, the same people from the newsletter. 

24 July 2022 Sunday - Sean Chew

Sean in blue, with cap

Sean was the catalyst for an invite to a bike ride from Mingi on Sunday morning. I suggested breakfast and chose to run to meet them instead. 

It was a nice experience for several reasons - I hadn't run into town for breakfast in a while, it had been loops since I started running solo. I hadn't met up with Mingi and Suh Chee over a meal in a long time, surprising since we share many common interests; architecture, travel, food, their children. We were directors in the same company before. And thirdly, it was good to see Sean Chew again, to hear how he is settling down in Singapore. It was especially nice to have Freddie join the breakfast, he and Sean completed 3 generations of architects from DNA.

16 May 2022 Monday - Goodbye Toffee

Toffee a.k.a. Mr. Brown passed away last Saturday, at Rosalind's house where he had been permanently staying since we left DNA in 2015. He was 14 years old, and much loved. Rosalind referred to him as 'her perfect gentleman'.

This is an excerpt from a blog post from 2011.

Toffee the dog is two timing us - Sam and I rescued him from a short life on the streets (at the end Lorong Stampin 19) and gave him a home at DNA. One day, he escaped. We thought that we had lost him for good, because we looked everywhere. Then Rosalind from down the street rang up and said "I think I have your dog; I am now his mummy, he has been with us for several weeks and we call him Mr. Brown".
So, we agreed to have a time-share dog who would benefit from twice the loving.

Toffee rolls in mid morning like a CEO; checks in with Leong and I before having a nap. He stays for lunch with Arlene. In the afternoon, he wanders around taking part in our group discussions. At 4 pm, Bobby, the black and white dog comes to the office gate and barks for Toffee. Mola opens the door for Toffee, and Mr. Brown joins Bobby to return home to mommy and dinner.

Sometimes, Life should be simple like that.

Mr. Brown (eyes)

the perfect gentleman

Bobby comes calling at 4pm each work day (but never once entered the office)

and they are off, like two teenagers after school.

 

People

At the eve of the New Year, a friend asked if I counted and reflected. 

I think he meant my blessings, so I told him ‘yes’ - this year more than usual. Many people showed their true colours in positive and not-so-positive ways when I made the important decision to leave my former practice. The responses from these people showed up clearly like a litmus test. Fortunately, the blues of greed and self-interest were outweighed by the pinks of support and encouragement.

Colours that confirmed that my decision to leave was correct.

I am grateful that two young former partners invited me to share space, work and ideas in their new venture.

I am grateful for the colleagues who keep in touch and drop by for lunch, for the students and interns who continue to visit our studio to offer help with models or to take me out for lunch.

I am grateful that my friends who now use our office as a base for running, eating and teaching (soon).

I am grateful to have such a nice destination to cycle to everyday, and for the interesting people that I meet there.

I am grateful for my quirky team, and for clients who showed genuine support with new work and prompt payment.

I am grateful that Sam is working with me and that our children are 'safely' in Uni.

I am grateful for the clarity and purpose in my life now.

The pessimist in me expects problems from the past to resurface this year – but I am ready. 

Change

At my age, most would settle into a comfortable routine and cruise into retirement. So, my decision to relinquish my shares in DNA to set up a smaller practice would appear strange to some, financially foolish to others and a step in the right direction for those who really really know me. One such friend summed it up by saying "time to do good rather than to do well for oneself"

So by July this year, I will working with people whom I like, doing work that I enjoy, in a part of Kuching town that I love. There is still plenty to be done; logistics and paperwork but I won't bore you with them.

This is my first impression of the new premises.

And later, when I visited the shop with Leong and Arl - I made some more sketches and impressions.

The shop house has a small frontage, dwarfed by its neighbours and forgotten by its owner for nearly ten years. Someone had padlocked the front door; using it as a store illegally, we cut the padlock and went in. The inside was dirty and filled with debris of human life from a decade ago when it was last occupied. But looking beyond the filth and water damaged wall plaster, the timber structure was sound and many of the building elements such as the double hatch front windows and the metal window frames are original and intact.

five foot way entrance

first floor

 more soon...

Lines in Steel

I am an architect, I draw lines. Sometimes, they get built.

The initial pencil drawing of the scheme

The completed building sits on a high verge with views of Singapore across the Causeway

Whenever possible, we delineated the various elements of the building with a shadow recess, a drop or a gap

The over-sailing roof modulates and unifies all the spaces and gives the building its final form.

The 2-storey amenities block is linked to the offices by a series of bridges over a ‘street’.

The roof turns down to become a rain screen for the street, the amenities are in the concrete structure.

The original idea used the gentle slope of the roof as a ramp to a look out station

The western facade is shielded with sun louvres to minimize heat entering the work space

An exploded axonometric showing the different components that make up this building, rainwater is collected for use in the toilets

Planting seeds

Sometimes in the midst of the mundane and tedious; comes a reminder that we are doing the right thing, that we are on the right track and the seeds we sow are bearing fruit.

This one came in the mail.

This is good tonic.

The 10 o'clock Talk

People often think that to be a good architect, one needs to draw well. True but it is equally important to think clearly, speak well and listen carefully. A skill we are constantly practicing amongst our interns and colleagues. So when 30 students from Kolej Laila Taib visited our office, we arranged to share some of our work and ideas in a series of 5-minutes talks. During Q and A, someone asked Claudia, 'how did you convince your client to walk such a long way from his car to the house?' She replied, 'Give him a nice garden to walk through.'

Groundbreaking for the newbies, good practice for the experienced.

Young architect, Michael talking about Cat's Playhouse

Sara talking about her installation for World Architecture Day

While the others shared ideas..

...some of us baby-sat the tutor's young daughter.