To be an Architect
Architectural Design Studio 4
Project 1 - Exploring the Environment Poetics
In a group of three, we were required to design a 'Green' sports equipment shed for a site in uni chosen by our lecturer. The site is located near the basketball and futsal court, at the back of Taylor's University. Our task was to design a sport-related shed that can assist not just the player on the court but also for the public use, in order to attract and encourage more students and staff to visit and use the court often. Beside, we were also to come up with solutions to solve any site-related problems. For example, circulation, equipment storage, and etc. The overall process of the design, took us weeks before we could really finalise, as we had to visit the site a few times to analyse the problems found on site and figuring out the best way of solving these problems, in addition to adding more benefits to the site via this sports equiment shed. From this project, I was able to understand a site better via observation, research and interviews with the students that often uses the court to play sports. Besides, this project has also taught me to come up with designs that benefits not just the users, but also the the other students, staffs and surrounding environment. When it comes to designing a shelter or a building, it is crucial to always be cautios of the surrounding as it can affect the circulation on site. Hence, I have learnt to be more aware of the surrounding environment and other possible factors that might affect the placement and positioning of a particular building, as well as learning to design from everyone's perspective view. Below are the final A1 boards to Project 1.
Project 2a
Project 2 required us to do a thorough analysis and research on the chosen site's history, climate, circulation, culture, and so on. The task was to be carried out together by the whole class and later segregated accordingly into groups of eight as well as an addition of another group that is in-charge of the model making. Overall, there were nine groups altogther. Each group had to complete their own boards and later on compiled together for presentation. The boards were all in A2 sizes while the site model is a 1:100 scale. The entire process took us a week plus to complete in time. The site that was chosen by our lecturer was the Mah Meri Cultural Village located at Kampung Orang Asli Sungai Bumbun, Pulau Carey, Selangor. The Mah Meri community are a group of indigenous people that has a long timeline history and culture. They believe in Animisme and dream world. Besides, many of their crafts and trades are still pass on even to this day. For example, Wood carving, 'anyaman' and etc. As a conclusion, I have manage to learn and gain new knowlledge regarding the Mah meri people via communication and interaction with them. It was an interesting project as we learn to also understand and adapt to their culture during our site visit. By understanding their way of living and history, we were able to see things from their perspective and gain new insight on their architecture. Below are the research and analysis A2 boards based on different topics of the site and the Mah Meri people.
Project 2b
For the final project, using the same Meri Meri Cultural Village site, I was to design a community Development and Engagement Centre with some complexity that includes the complexity of site topography and vegetation, socio-cultural events, and variety of strategies for sustainable design. The communal facility also has to accommodate several related functions such as meeting and learning in a suburban context. Throughout this project, I had learnt to develop my own concept for the communal space based on the research and analysis of the site and the Mah meri community's need. In addition, this project also helped me to explore the design solutions that harness environmental qualities and conditions for human and environment sustainability with a specific community of users. The design solution helps to reduce the environmental impact utilising clustered spatial typology and passive design approach. I have come to learn and appreciate that the design works should contribute to and merge harmoniously with nature and the site, and provide the best of experiences for the users. The objectives of this project is to develop awareness of the environmental sustainability in architectural design as well as to develop the my ability to meet the imperative and inter-related environmental and social needs. Hence, I was able to gain new awareness and ideas from this project alone by taking into consideration of the surrounding environment on site and cultural history when learning to design a particular building. Below are the final boards to my final project proposal for the Development and Engagement Centre.
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