8th November 2023 Wednesday - convocation

Tay and I go to the university this morning to see the graduating class; he is very accommodating. I dont think he shares my interest in seeing the graduating class as I did. I wanted to congratulate them and see them perhaps for one last time. Many are from out of town, and will start their lives elsewhere. 

I especially wanted to see those from out of town. We have not seen them for about two years now, since the end of their Year 2. Some have stayed in touch, I wonder about the others who have not - Joo Wei, Carol, Chong, etc. But I did meet some of the Malay boys, I love the way they salaam the elders when we meet. 

But we leave before lunch to meet with SY and SL to persuade SY to attend tomorrow's meeting to get answers for the centre carpet, ceiling, aircon; about the competition next year; about meeting the visitors from Sabah, Kalimantan. He agrees to come, good.

16 July 2022 Thursday - last class of the term

 

Tay remarked that I was in a good mood this morning - 'you are not like your usual self'. I did not give one of the students an earful for not submitting her work as agreed. He claimed that I would have done so in the earlier years.

He was right - I was in a good mood. Our students took up our challenge to have the studio pin up one week before the actual deadline. All but 4 students prepared their boards, and half would have passed if they submitted this work as their final submission. This was reason to be happy, when young people challenge themselves and succeed (some were surprised at their own efforts, and those are the ones I was happiest for)

He was also wrong - my usual self has evolved, I am calmer about set-backs now. I believe they happen for a reason; karma, the world righting itself, life teaching me lessons - I pause and then continue. I do my best given the circumstances and wait for the results. 

Today is likely that last class we will have with this batch, They seem to enjoyed our tutorials. Many have grown bolder, producing better work and asking more questions. Tay told me that our group sessions were more productive, he thinks it is a result of the constant 'push-push-push' at the students to produces ideas, sketches, models, words. 

14 May 2022 Saturday - extra class

 

 

18 April 2022 Monday - peace talks

 

28 Jan 2022 Friday End of Year Review

 

20 Jan 2022 Thursday renewing connections

 

It rained the whole night and the whole morning so work was from home. I rang the planner and we reminded ourselves that we had worked on a project before years ago. I felt that it was good to re-establish the tie and start this new project on some common ground, even though the former experience was not so fruitful. 

Later the day, we visited a built project to look at the flooring - the site coordinator was Ah San, I reminded him that we had met 2 decades ago when he called himself 'Sam' while working with a carpet supplier. Again, I felt that the re-establishment of familiar links would pave the way for easier conversations and coordination if we were to work on projects together. He immediately opened up and became quite chatty, speaking in Hokkien.

As we were touring the site, Sonnie rang me to ask if we were interested in a potential project in JB, he was working with Poh Hon, who trained with us in 2003 and now a senior design manager in a development company. She was making connections as well, we spoke later and she was very frank and warm as usual - though it is unlikely that we can take up the job; a bit too far and hard to monitor. PH wisely said it depends on how well we do on Saturday afternoon at the Sime Darby competition.

13 Jan 2022 Thursday. Final crit

collection of sketches from this morning's crit

I am still troubled about the quality of the drawings from our students - I have offered to give additional classes on Saturdays but there has been little or no uptake. The pandemic is one of the reasons, but there is a general lethargy to learn more manual drawing skills - perhaps they think that digital graphics will serve them well. Even the lecturers seem to think that way - I have an idea to combine manual drawing with a digital platform. Describe - using sketches and text to document a location/building/space, Dissect - cutting a section through the same subject, and De-construct - breaking down it down into the component/parts of the whole in sketches. Text can be used to help explain, but these should be kept to a minimum.

 

10 Jan 2022 Monday

This Monday was less hectic because there was no tennis, there was no tennis because it rained and because it rained I stayed at home to work; on the new hospital, and printed some drawings for the potential new hotel in Kuching. I also spoke to HJ about AS showroom - it is a new generation of environmentally friendly buildings for them. This will be the first - I promised a scheme in two weeks' time. I have a good feeling about this job, whereas I did not have the same positive vibe about the hotel one; it was not the project itself but the people - they seemed a little impulsive. I will have to decline their offer.

Teaching in the afternoon was good therapy; discussion design solutions and drawing technique and presentation short-cuts. 

Sash

Vic

Tas

3 Jan 2022 Monday

hospital wards and how their design is reflected in the external facade

Mondays are hectic, I am not sure if staying at home to work helps or not. In any case, it proved to be a long day of listening to people, asking questions and offering opinions. Consultation - that's what it is. 

The morning started with a quick chat to organise our thoughts for this afternoon's meeting with OMS; sorting out our material based on the agenda, and there was the M&E candidates to interview today. The rest of the morning was spent with Tay and  the Year 2 students, all doing their best except for 4, Hfz, Sfn, Az and V - instead of a firm rebuke, this time we kept our doors open and asked them to contact us to discuss, and told them there is still time to do a decent project to pass. 

This continued until 1pm and a little beyond, soon the Segamat meeting would start and there is always a bit of tension in the air when meeting HL (with her staff). It seems that we will have plenty to do in the next three months for the planning submission and that the project will be three years in its construction ending in early 2025 ( I'll be 60!)

learning from our first hospital, the high level windows were omitted from this scheme

These slides were used earlier to explain the design of the ward rooms and its relationship with the building's elevations, we also talked about passive design, about borrowed light, looking out windows and using money efficiently. We also interviewed 3 candidates - I learnt that clients value working bosses, and honesty; I made up my mind about how to recommend the QS for this job that afternoon.

The strip windows from Bagan were especially effective, so we are re-adapting them here for Segamat.

the draft overall south elevation and some case studies

2022 - New Year's Day Saturday

 A funny sort of day - Sara left for KL yesterday, Sean and Sam seemed out of sorts probably from the booster injection on Wednesday even I felt a little sluggish and heavy. 

So, I did what I felt most like doing and marked the students' interim crit submission. 

Excursion

The best way to know a city is to walk her streets.

Armed with that thought and a faint memory of Kevin Lynch's The Image of the City - we headed off with 40 students in tow, walking from the Pullman Hotel to their project site. Along the way, we aimed to point out EDGES and how they differed from PATHS, and how NODES are quite distinct from LANDMARKS (although some nodes are also landmarks, and vise versa). We also talked about how landmarks are not always built elements, or prominent structures in the urban landscape - a favourite eating place can be a social landmark such as the Open Air market, which  was a landmark from my school days; stopping there for a drink before heading home on a public bus. It was also a node as the bus terminal was next to the market. All the while, the fire lookout tower loomed high above the market roofs - it is one of a pair of fire lookout towers (it’s companion is at the end of Jalan Padungan). These two towers defined the extent of Kuching town and her DISTRICTS for many years; the Main Bazaar, Chinatown, India Street, the Golden Triangle, and the Administrative Centre. 

I was pleasantly reminded that there used to be a river (Kuching) near the Tau Pek Kong temple, I recall a petrol station there in my childhood.

They were excited to be out and about, a local guide called out 'I have not seen this for a long time, keep it up' - I think he meant tourists/visitors roaming our streets.

Since the walk was expected to take about 90 minutes (in the rain) - we devised a ‘walking’ quiz; many of the answers can be found during our excursion. some of the questions are:  

- Where would you find Corinthians in Kuching?

This one was to make sure they remembered their lessons from Architecture History - I read that this building was originally designed as an Art Gallery (perhaps for the Ranee Sylvia?)

- Get a mehndi tattoo.

This one is part of the immersive experience.

- Why is it called Wayang Street?

The companion structure to the temple is often overlooked, we wanted them to see hidden urban patterns and links.

- What's the local name for KaiJoo Lane, and why?

Many place and street names were given based on original features, buildings or people of the place; Upper China Street was known as (insert Chinese characters for me please) my mom still refers to Bampfylde Road as (mandarin characters) or Water Reservoir Road.

While the quiz was conducted like a game, it teaches the students to delve beneath the surface to uncover history and stories which might guide and enrich their design narrative. It is also the type of learning that you have, when you are not aware that you are learning, hopefully it teaches them to be intuitive in their design response.  

We shall see.

This photo must have been taken before Electra House was completed, here you can only see the Bank Building behind

One of my earliest memories of the Open Market was the bus terminal next to it; I loved the economy and the elegance of the concrete bus shelter (since demolished)

Challenging the brief

 

Teaching again

I have always wanted to teach.

Those close to me say that it is because I want people to listen to me. I feel that the opposite is true, that those close to me do not hear what I say.