Archinect - National University of Singapore (Adib)

It feels like forever sometimes

2006-11-02T02:07:45-05:00

Its that feeling where the project just refuses to end..where it continues to haunt you day and night..you toss and turn to see your structural problems to haunt you. You close your eyes and you imagine a 3d model of your project in your head..

it just feels like forever...

I know I'm supposed to but just excuse me for a moment.

2006-10-17T13:01:04-04:00

Its 1am right now and i know i'm supposed to be reading so that i can write my Urban Design essay which is due in 2 weeks time.
I also know that I should be reading the disserations assigned to me so that i can do a critical review of them for my Research Methodology module.
I also know that I should be working on my design which is 4 weeks away from submission.

But right now i am uninspired. Tired from all the exertions of the few interims and submission for my tech module. Not to mention the UD essay which took forever to be completed.

I know i'm supposed to work hard like what architecture students are expected to. I know that i need to press on for another 5 weeks before the semester is over. I know that its all in my head.

But i also know that life is not all about work. life isn't about how exciting your building looks, how good your essay is, how much money you make. So, please excuse me for a moment while i take a little break from the screwed-up part of the world and...

Tech Module is over..

2006-10-14T13:55:15-04:00

Its been a long and tiring journey for this module. We have to inherit a thesis project and then resolving its M&E systems, structural systems and curtain wall to a higher degree of resolution.Given the nature of schemes from NUS, projects are usually not exactly resolved, if one is lucky, one will find some thought put into M&E systems. Not to say that we dont put any space for services but rather little thought is put to EXACTLY how that works.Also, we have to ensure that the project meets the fire regulations and building code. Therefore, the key word for the module was "technology integration". We are supposed to be judged by how well all the services, construction, etc come together.

First i have to say that my studio worked really hard for this module. We worked our butts off, designing the service cores, designing the floor framing system, designing the integration. Given the nature of the project, a change to one part leads to a change in everything. Very much like a real d...

How do you all do that?

2006-10-13T21:50:27-04:00

again..another long time since my last post. I really wonder how all you other bloggers have the discipline to blog ever so often.

Its been crazy to say the least. But one major submission for my technology module is over. However, i'll be having an interim design crit on monday so..it isn't REALLY over yet.

anyways..i will do a series of blog entries to let everyone in on life in NUS which has been quite crazy for this semester. Stay tuned..

Term Break (Not)

2006-09-24T10:05:51-04:00

Its supposed to be the one week term break now.. But as usual, there's no such thing as a break. Its really a time to catch up on all the readings and essays that have been left behind due to studio commitments.

at last count, there are 5 essays to write, 1 museum to design,another museum to resolve for the technology module, 1 book to layout and design, 1 set of publicity materials to be designed and probably one mag/newsletter to work on. phew..

May God bless me.

5 signs that you've just finished interim crit

2006-09-13T10:02:45-04:00

5 signs that you've just finished interim crit:

1- You feel tired but you know you are only halfway there
2-You only have conceptual diagrams and you are wondering how to manifest the concepts.
3-Everyone in studio hopes that studio will be suspended for a week so that we can have some time to respond to the critique
4-You start to find the date for the next crit
5-You wonder if you can take just another extra hour of rest before you start work again.

Singapore Biennale 06

2006-09-09T02:54:09-04:00

The Singapore Biennale is now on.. its a contemporary art biennale so we have a few interesting artworks around Singapore now. This year's theme is belief and its the inaugural year. I read in the papers that there've been good reviews on it especially on how Singapore managed to put together such a big exhbition in such a short period of time. Well, thats Singapore for you, hyper-efficient.

Interestingly, we have Shigeru Ban and Zaha Hadid lending their names to the Biennale. Shigeru Ban designing the main pavilion for the biennale (made of paper tubes of course) and Zaha contributing a styrofoam sculture that aims to redefine the spaces of the Singapore Art Museum. I haven't manage to visit the art museum yet but only have some pics of the part of the installation which is in the courtyard.

Shigeru Ban's paper tubes in action.

A floating mass of paper tubes.

Zaha Hadid's sculptures at the forecourt

Site pics

2006-09-09T02:40:50-04:00

This building is where i will be locating my design. A multimedia art museum. A poor abandoned and forgotten school that was the first few bilingual (English/Chinese) schools in Singapore.

Pin up properly and aesthetically

2006-09-06T08:08:05-04:00

Its interim crit next monday and right now frantically digitizing all my sketches and little diagrams. My tutor for this semester insists on a high aesthetic value even during discussions and since tomorrow will be the last studio session with him before interim, i'm trying to get as many done as possible so that he can give me a more constructive critique.

quotes from tutor's email to the studio:

"Dear all
So far we've been looking at loose sheets of papr and lots of words in notebooks...
Need to chang the format of how we communicate in studio turoring sessions"

"Please organise your content aesthetically
Make your study drawings and models objects of desire,inspiration, curiosity"

"PLEASE PRINT OUT YOUR GROUP WORK AND INDIVIDUAL STUDIES AND PIN THEM UP ON YOUR STUDIO SPACE FOR REFERENCE
Pin up properly and aesthetically"

Takagi Masakatsu Museum of Multimedia Art

2006-09-01T09:11:11-04:00

Been some time since my last post and like all architecture school goes, a lot has happened since then. Its been really busy in school with stacks of readings for the other modules and also discussions for design studio and our technology module. But for now, i'll focus on my design studio.
We've spent the last 3 weeks discussing the program and doing site studies as a group and we are now beginning to move towards individual designs. I've selected the site at Queen St (near Singapore Art Museum) and will be developing “The Takagi Masakatsu Museum of Multimedia Art”. Discussions on the programme and also the nature of museums has been pretty exciting so far and i still need to figure out a way to share these exciting studies with all.
My proposal is to create a Museum of Multimedia Art with Takagi as the
inspiration for the building. I also plan to feature Takagi-san's work
in this museum. It is my believe that the museum should embody
Takagi-san's design principles.

I do no...

My studio space

2006-08-19T22:28:24-04:00

thats my table in my studio.finally, a window seat!!

The programme: Art gallery

2006-08-16T11:01:01-04:00

My studio will be exploring the issue of creating an art gallery in Singapore. The direction of the whole project isn't exactly set in stone yet and the studio is currently engaged in preliminary readings of essays written on museums and art galleries.

To kick off the project, we will be going down to the Singapore Art Museum tomorrow where the director of the museum will give us a little presentation. From there, we will proceed to a quick visit of the 2 proposed sites. Another presentation by a museum curator/ exhibition designer has also been scheduled for Friday.

So, the first real studio session will be on friday where by then we would have some grasp of the issues we are dealing with.

In fact, at this pt of time, some questions are already forming inside my head.

1-What are the challenges faced by museums in the short-term and the long-term?

2- Is there enough audience in Singapore (population of 4 million) to support another art gallery/museum? Note that now we already...

A mac and a studio space (soon)

2006-08-16T10:34:39-04:00

Lets start by announcing that this is the first ever entry made using my new macbook! just collected it today and it'll be my good friend as we embark on another semester.

I've been assigned a studio and we are having our first site visit tomorrow.Haven;t gone to my studio space yet but once i know which one is it, i'm sure to colonize it, just like all gd archi students do.
All i know is that we will be assigned a crit room to ourselves so it'll be pretty muc like a small office. Hope to post some pics of it in the coming days.

I just want to be myself this time

2006-08-06T20:42:04-04:00

the semester officially starts today.Its going to be the typical briefing and go through the handbook lecture today and i wonder what will be our focus this year. But all i really want is to be myself this time.

I just want to be myself this time. I want to explore design and create and not create 'something elegant' because my tutor wants it. I don't want to churn out drawings just because my tutor says 'i want to see 5 schemes for next studio session'

I just want to be myself this time. I want to question and explore the design issues and research it from my own angle. Not research what my tutor wants me to although i don't believe in it. I want to solve and explore using my own logic and not someone else's.

I just want to be myself this time. I don't want to spend hours in studio cramming over books. I realise that's not me. I want to go out and learn from the world. Learn through experience and internalise these experiences into mine.

I just want to be myself this time. I wa...

Design Blog

2006-07-16T12:03:47-04:00

I have started my very own design blog. A place to discuss edgy issues on design but with a focus on the Singapore scene. I hope some of you will drop by and help to provide comments (and hopefully come back to it again next time)

I am slowly building up the coding of the site in my free time (very bad at all these coding, so will take forever) But i hope the content will continue to grow and drive the site forward.

http://www.dibster.net/ButterPaper/

ACAU is over

2006-07-14T09:34:41-04:00

ACAU workshop ended yesterday. It has been intense and exciting to say the least. As stated previously, my studio explored the concept of senses in the city. We ended up with a sub-theme of 1 site, 5 senses, 13 stories.

As the subtitle suggests, we ended up with 13 different manifestations of our reflections of the site. I.E, each one of us created an installation which expresses the senses that we want to focus on in relation to the site. And from there, we curated an exhibition from the 13 installations, recreating an intense sensorial experience within the studio to express our ideas of how the concept of using senses to create a space can be pursued.

We also compiled a book, documenting our analysis and our installations.We then gave a book to each of the participating universities and might just print more copies for the rest.

In all, i think it was a success. Too bad i dont have the pics of the installation and the workshop right now but i will provide a link once i get hol...

ACAU so far- sonic identity?

2006-07-08T07:46:26-04:00

The previous post is the brief that was given to my studio to explore. Its been 3 days of ACAU and its been pretty eventful to say the least. I'm on medical leave today, so missing one day of the workshop.Should be back in action tomorrow though.

So far, we've had a few paper presentations during the workshop. Mostly the papers presented issues on how one can deal with the creation of an urban waterfront. Especially considering the colonial history of most Asian countries, elements of colonial interventions are still strong in the urban fabric. Others also presented ways in which interventinos can take place at such a site.

On another note, we've been down to site everyday since the workshop started. Walking by the river and really trying to sense the city. We've had a few discussions on what we feel about the site. We discussed each one of our reflections on the site, an attempt to approach an urban study away from the formal documentation of the area. In a way it is similar to t...

ACAU project brief

2006-07-08T07:24:03-04:00

Studio B- Sense in the City: Singapore River Banks

How do we sense the city? How do we feel the city? Beyond the visual, what are the sensorial qualities that make up a city? How would we use the senses in sensing the city?

This studio will explore to answer these questions. What do we sense in the city? How do we sense the city? How do we transmit the sense of the city?

This studio aspires to discover a way of describing the city. This studio also aims to find ways of developing a sensation to the city. The studio will also imagine how these senses could impact urban design and planning of the city.

The studio in line with the theme 'city at the waterfront' will analyze the site of the Singapore River banks (Boat & Clarke quays and including the river mouth at esplanade) as the main area of discussion. Through the filter of the five senses, the studio will be creating a description of the experience and observation of the site: luminosity, greenness, colours; Site sounds, Site...

ACAU workshop

2006-06-28T07:32:36-04:00

Currently working on the Universal Design project but will be taking a break (not exactly a break actually) and going to participate in ACAU workshop which starts next week.

The workshop is supposed to be about rediscovering the urban waterfronts in cities. Its basically an urban design workshop and will be participated by a few asian countries.

ACAU offical Site

I'll be in the studio that will explore the issue of senses in a city. I will update a bit more on the workshop as the date gets closer. Will post the brief, info about the site and whatever stuff that i can put up.

For now, i've got to go back to my Universal Design project.lots of stuff to do..

Archinect Discussion: Dissertation/Thesis

2006-06-19T20:11:36-04:00

Started a thread of discussion at Archinect a few days back. Trying to ask around for some guidance and direction on how i can formulate my dissertation/thesis.
Discussion can be found here

Its been an interesting and informative especially for someone like me with a weak base of knowledge and also to get a feel of what the fraternity thinks of approaching such a topic. (BTW, i'm thnking of pursuing something about the link between graphic design and architecture) It has to be said that it is nothing close to a thesis topic but what 'm trying to do is to set a trajectory towards it.

The Archinect community has been helpful suggesting some readings and also their viewpoints. I hope it will carry on and guide me to more doors within architecture.

Universal Design

2006-06-18T03:09:40-04:00

Currently doing research work on Universal Design. Reviewing the local codes and guidelines and then supposed to recommend a new set of guidelines. So what this involves is an extensive reading of codes and guidelines (both local and overseas)

I'm placing updates on this project on my own blog (which has recently been reconfigured). Will also occassionally put updates on the Archinect blog.

Dibster Blog

Introducing Cultural Studies

2006-05-16T23:32:56-04:00

The importance of cultural studies was highlighted in this lecture by Mr William Lim. He emphasizes the point that for us to critically understand the world as we know it today, it is important for one to appreciate and understand the key events that has passed. In the lecture, he put forward certain events such as the stabilization of the populations of the world, the economic situations around the world and also the political conditions which all have an impact on today's contemporary situation.

What was most significant to me was the discussion on postmodernity as a result of the baggage of past centuries. Similarly, the concept of multiple modernities was discussed and in my opinion, it will be an important issue especially in a cosmopolitan country like Singapore. The concept of postmodernity as discussed by Mr Lim suggest the acceptance of differences, plurality, divergence and a celebration of chaos. With this, comes along the idea that one must shift away from the Eurocentr...

The Art of being profound

2006-05-09T20:32:25-04:00

How many times have we heard that our concepts are no depth.Have no substance, simply scraping the surface. All of this trying to point that we lack the profundity, the art of being profound.

I was recently involved in a project where the commissioning panel decided that the project was not profound enough. The interesting discussion from the team revolved around..what is profound? how do we know if it is profound enough? Could there be a situation that it is profound to us but banal to others and subsequently vice-versa?

So..in our search of a profound idea, one asks oneself..when on this path of profundity do we stop searching? What is profound?

New plans for hols?

2006-05-02T10:28:19-04:00

I just came back from a meeting at MICA. seems like the job as a curatorial assistant will take a considerable amt of time. So..i might have to re-think the part about intern-ing at DP.

Cant say much abt this new job but i can say something about the other thing which i'm doing. Well..doing some measured drawings..which i will start cadding out in a while. Spent a few hours at the house measuring the stuff so..hope to finish it up ASAP so that can send it over the architect by the end of the week.

The list of students who have to go for external crit is already out. I'm not in the list though. Still baffles me as to how it comes about. But anyway..as far as i'm concerned, i can now concentrate on doing the other stuff which i wont get to do during term time..

External Exams

2006-04-27T08:18:52-04:00

The school will have selected work from the yr 3 cohort for a 2nd round of crit. These selected works will be reviewed by professionals (not tutors) and then make recommendations to the eventual design grade. (well, at least thats what the students know)

the list of names will be out next week on 2nd May. No-one really knows how this selection goes about.. some say that theese reviewers just walk around and pick randomly according to which one interests them. Some say that the selection goes such that those borderline cases (almost C grade) will be selected to try and save them and the other group will be those really good ones (the A and A+) to see if they really deserve it. There's also another group that believes that the students who will be called for this external exam are those who are at the B+ and A- grade..to see whether they are B students or A students..

Which one is true? I know no one who knows it. Or maybe just that no one really wants to say it. Maybe the students...

Exams and then..intern-ing

2006-04-22T21:35:14-04:00

Its the exams period now and school is almost officially over. 2 more papers to sit for and then..no more school till August.

i should be going out to work as a student intern.Already applied for the position and waiting for a reply. I've applied to DP architects, (a conglomerate kind of architecture firm-->www.dpa.com.sg) I figured it would be a valuable experience to see how such a large firm function. It will be a good comparison to the previous firm which i interned at (MAPS Design Studio-> www.mapsdesign.com)

Although NUS have discontinued their year-out system, most of us still go out to find temporary positions at these firms in order to gain some really priceless experience. I have to say that when i was out on my first internship stint, it really made me see architecture in a different light .

Crit-Comments

2006-04-19T04:48:34-04:00

I had my crit on monday..panel was Philip Bay, Chan Yew Lih and Ruzica..

i'm not really sure how to classify the crit.. the main points of contention was why it was such an inward-looking space and Philip insisted that the elderly wants to be outdoors although i argued that air-conditioning helps them to keep the changes in temperature and humidity under control . My design ws based on the idea that by default, its air-conditioning but you'll have the option of opening the sliding doors and let the space be naturally ventilated and also the option of working at the cafe(with the wireless network connection). But as all crits go, there was never a conclusive answer.

The second point was the expression of the rear facade towards Duxton Plain Park. Programmatically, all the residences and offices had little decks and opened up towards the park. The intention for this link between the interior space and the park to be linked was there but..the tutors felt that it wasnt expressed very...

Uploaded PDF portfolio

2006-04-12T07:22:17-04:00

tomorrow is submission day and thank god i've completed my work..anyways, i've uploaded a pdf format of 20 of my works onto my site. hope for some comments..

Dibster Portfolio

back from the dead

2006-04-09T20:26:27-04:00

i would like to apologise for not making an entry for the past 10 million years. To make it fair, i havent even been updating the blog on my own site for some time until recently(last 2-3 weeks)

but anywyas, i have just completed my project!! yeah.. i have uploaded it onto my site so..perhaps you all can click on the below link and view it. feel free to email me your comments please..

link

i will try to update this blog more regularly from now on since the workload has been taken off me.. meanwhile, take care all.

been away..

2006-01-26T22:29:02-05:00

its been some time since i wrote an entry..well..the next project that we are dealing with is the 'center for new elderly'..

currently we are at the site analysis stage and also in the process of writing a detailed brief for the project. My site will be somewhere near duxton plain where singapore's tallest residential project will be there.

Briefly, the project will attempt to define the concept of the new elderly.“New elderly” is a term referring to those who will be over 65 in 20-30 years time and who are now actively coping with the speed of the global world market. Once in old age their number and probable social and economic background will require spaces that promote cross-sectoral approaches; encourages interchanges between young and old; and fosters connections with busy everyday life. Research proves that even now almost 30% of elderly wish to be active even after retirement and feel fit for it. The “new elderly” not only wish and expect, but demand to continue to play...