Duomo Siena

I started this sketch standing in between the striped column bays of Siena's Duomo (also known as Santa Maria de Assunta) - and now as I put on the final touches, it seems surreal that two months ago we were in Italy visiting the buildings that I have only ever encountered in books and lectures. I started so many sketches that I am still discovering them in my sketchbook; prolonging the enjoyment of my first trip to Europe.

Garden Studio

Recently Sam and I decided to set up a small studio to teach architectural drawing; a dying trade in our part of the world. So I decided to make use of a small portion of our garden for a studio.

The drawings for this project are done when there is time in between work and play and between projects and tutorials. I am showing them here to demonstrate to our students friends that the design process does not stop after the project goes on site, nor do the drawings need to confirm to conventional paper size and draughting techniques such as CAD.

The butter paper sketches were for the aluminum and glazing contractor to use as a reference to measure up on-site and order the material and products required.

The other drawing is a 'parallel projection' of a SketchUp section for me to add details for the steel fabricator to understand how I want to install the Breezeway louvre windows. I am installing them vertically and up close against the brick lace wall. I find it easier to add the enlarged details by hand.

It is not neat and pretty, but it does not have to be for things to work.

 

This is a view of the study just below the apex of the roof; I imagine a loft with a spare bed would fit in well. The washing facilities are at the far end; I plan to put in a small cooker for coffee and such.

The floor screed goes in early next week after that the glazing and plumbing.

Kuching October Sketch Crawl

This Month's sketch crawl is in conjunction with a walking tour organised by the local Architect's Institute to welcome delegates to the ICOGrada Graphic Design International Conference in Kuching.

image courtesy of the VirtualTourist

We started at the Court House with Peggy in charge, which left me with plenty more time to sketch; even taking stage by stage photos (with Sean's help) to show how to frame first and add details later.

Birds of a same feather

These drawings are done by mentor and good friend, Marcel; I knew he is a good architect but did not know that he is a good painter as well. Not until these series of drawings were send to me, they are part of 80 in his bird series; each finished in pen, pencil, wash and crayon.

I have not seen Marcel for more than ten years; he now lives in Canada with his family. This photo of him was taken when we were working in the same firm; as part of a photo record of all the people in the office. I took this picture of him while he was busy preening himself; getting his cuffs straight and so forth.

Moments later when he was ready, I took some posed shots of him.

But this is still my favourite because I remember he was humming to himself - obviously happy to be in the centre of all the attention.

Sean and Sara

As my children grow up; they start to develop their personal interests - many of which are different from mine. And as much as I would like them to share some of my interests, it is difficult to do so without seeming to force them. And as democratic as I try to be; family and friends tell me that my 'forceful' personality may think it is not imposing. But it is....

So it is with some degree of pleasure that I re-discovered these sketches that Sean and Sara painted with me on Sunday afternoons about ten years ago. We stuck them on the wall of the study, until they were eventually hidden by furniture moved in front of them. Sara's bold strokes and Sean's ink and wash combine to form a slice of our personal history.

Of course, those days are gone now, and I am left to run, sketch and garden on my own most of the time.

On a brighter note, Sean has decided to give Architecture a try - he starts his Foundation course next January.

Market Strategies

Photo courtesy of Yusuf Muhammad

The demise of a social landmark

When I was growing up, the Sunday market was located near the old State Mosque at Jalan Haji Taha – this is the predecessor of the present day Satok Market; popular with locals seeking out local produce and exotic fruits. This ‘tamu’ was dismantled and re-emerged in its new form and location – filling in the gaps between shop houses at Jalan Satok and there it stayed for many years. 

This will soon end; as there are plans to relocate the Market across the river.

 

The Satok Weekend Market grew - out of a need for part-time traders to do business, and into the nooks and crannies of our townscape, insinuating itself like a live organism with its own ebb and flow. Its free spirit may be mistaken for untidiness, its grass-roots beginnings construed as a lack of care or hygiene, the shoulder to shoulder traffic and the long walk to find car parking is social pilgrimage for many locals (and even more tourists) 

Therein lies its downfall perhaps, as these are reasons cited for its relocation. 

 

There is nothing for fear and much to gain from grass-roots occurrence like this one; many of us have travelled overseas to visit similar venues. It has a symbiotic relationship with the adjacent shop houses, perhaps its temporary nature makes the cohabitation easier to accommodate. Its various sections; jungle produce, livestock, plants, clothing and pets divide themselves into precincts accessed by streets that exist only from Saturday noon to Sunday afternoon, after which it packs itself up and is gone for another week. 

It has become part of our urban and social landscape; written into travel journals and our memories. As an architect and a local; I do not favour the relocation. It should not have to conform into neat rows and tidy habits; to do so would dilute its original character and cause it to forget its mother tongue.  

courtesy of Azie

Postcards from the Edge

While in Florence recently, I decided to send postcards of my sketches to friends back home - here are some of them. Some were copies of favourite sketches from my pad; others I sketched straight onto the card as I grew more confident. I posted them from a hill town near Florence called Fiesole, known as 'the sky over Florence' - you can see why from the photograph.

The Sky over Florence

This post box is to the right of the doorway (above)

I was sketching a postcard in the courtyard of a church as Sam pointed out a post box on the wall next to me. It was a sign! So we posted all of them from the little red post box in a church courtyard in Fiesole.

Brunelleschi's Duomo looking from the Ospedale degli Innocenti

One was folded in half otherwise all arrived at their destinations unscathed. I call them my expresso sketches because they were painted quickly and with coffee...

...and now back in Kuching; the postcards continue. This time painted with soy sauce from coffee shops.

My friends overseas, send me your postal address via email weehiimin@gmail.com if you want a sketch postcard from Kuching.