arkrab.blogspot.com

happy new year - welcome 2011

2011-01-01T15:01:00.005+08:00

wishing all arkrab.blogspot.com viewers a "happy new year", prospering and beautiful life a head, insyaAllah.

today is THE DAY:

2010-09-06T00:59:00.006+08:00

lately i may seriously have less TIME to write in this blog, BUT today seriously i have to make TIME to remember my IMPORTANT DAY i.e OUR 25TH. ANNIVERSARY. thank you to my WIFE for the beautiful life we have been together. May Allah blessed US always!

happy new year to all friends and arkrab.blogspot.com readers

2010-01-04T20:45:00.004+08:00

while celebrating the new year, the 2010, i think it wise for us NOT to forget the past. without the PAST there would be no PRESENT and the FUTURE. learn something from the past and be prepared to improve our future. hope there would be MORE activities and ideas for this 2010. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI 1430 HIJRAH KEPADA SEMUA RAKAN DAN TAULAN ARKRAB.BLOGSPOT.COM, MAAF ZAHIR BATIN.

2009-09-13T18:34:00.005+08:00

New Technology - It's Significant Benefits

2009-09-06T11:56:00.008+08:00

NEW TECHNOLOGY

Oh aaaaaah i had to wake up early today. MY TRUSTY OLD & RELIABLE NOKIA N73 phone shook me up to remind me of the important date today! How come my wife and I NEVER remembered anything after SAHUR [the month of RAMADHAN's night time supper or LAST MEAL before the next day fasting time starts] this morning and recklessly gave the trust to my loyal phone to remind us instead! No choice, we always and forever will owe significant benefit to the NEW TECHNOLOGY whenever our DEFECTED MEMORIES seriously getting more & more into trouble.

THE DISAPPEARING HERITAGE - RUMAH HELANG TANGKAK [2]

2009-08-20T12:34:00.026+08:00

the actual photo of rumah helang tangkak

ooah! what a surprise!. how to express my excitement, when i was so busy searching for old photos of old close friends to be scanned and loaded to my new new cyber club corner i.e FACEBOOK, this important photo of RUMAH HELANG TANGKAK that i had taken on the STUDY TRIP as mentioned in my earlier post on this building [14 Dis 2008] suddenly showed itself up as though trying to tell me "PLEASE TAKE ME OUT AND SHOW ME TO THE WORLD, as a proof that i was at one time existed".

i know my "defected memory card' seriously destroying my memories of the trip. i still can not remember the actual date of the trip. but the other three photos do give strong evidences of the trip. we were travelling on En. Ahmad's Talib's bike from Labis Segamat [my home town] through Tangkak [some other northern parts of Johor] around some parts of Negeri Sembilan [Gemas, Kuala Pilah, and Seremban] and ended up in Melaka.

as i said earlier , my sketch of the building was not that something to be proud of, but at least my old trusty NIKON FM2 manual SLR camera, had done a GOOD JOB for me to capture this ONLY ONE image of the disappearing heritage building. HAS CAMERA WILL TRAVEL and as what one of the famous old sayings said 'a photograph will tells 1001 stories or a photo worth 1001 words' : This photo [unfortunately i didn't care to take a closer detail shot of it - this would be my biggest mistakes i admit! or i had no choice then not to waste too many films because they were so expensive for a poor student like me to spare at that time] will be able to tell us how unique the building was and here what we sadly have to say "what a great LOST to our GREAT ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE".

MY BELOVED SLRs: NIKKORMAT EL, NIKON FM2 AND NIKON EM

2009-08-02T13:25:00.021+08:00

KAMERA MATI MENINGGALKAN . . . . . . . . . ?

unless you were born with great [could be abnormally gifted] brain processing power in storing information [in an abnormal manner as probably the case would be] which commonly considered as having unbelievable “photographic memories” which allows you to remember every minute of your past life scenes, than only you would not necessary need to own [well not everyone could effort them sadly said] these wonderful equipments i.e. cameras. cameras may not have the brain as what we human beings have, but they photographically, do own a special way to store memories in the form of ‘photographic memories’.

anyway!, i am here not to talk about the different between humans’ photographic memories and camera photographic memories because i was not born to be specializing in both of the cases. i am now just want to express my gratitude and salute to my already deceased beloved photographic toys which i once owned – NIKON SINGLE-LENS REFLEXES: NIKKORMAT EL, NIKON FM2 AND NIKON EM. they may have GONE FOREVER [ i would be forever sinful for not bordering to bury their death bodies until now], but their “photographic memories” have left me with beautiful treasure of past recorded sweet living memories.

as everyone of you out there surely agree with me for the fact that “photography” is a form of memory. a century ago, EMILE ZOLA [a french novelist] wrote, "you cannot claim to have really seen anything until you have photographed it." in a way what he tried to tell us was that: we can never able to really remember anything until we've seen a photograph.

despite being photographic documenter, cameras normally treasuring images, which photographically creating work of art as a record of a moment in time. at the same time, they let us remember our world in the form of photographic images i.e pictures. and what we see in a picture is always a mix of why we photographed them. one of them is for sure for what we wanted it to be i.e to document our invaluable SWEET MEMORIES of what our past was!

and NOW even though i have lost my beloved SLRs, but with full respect and salute to them [ NIKON SINGLE-LENS REFLEXES: NIKKORMAT EL, NIKON FM2 AND NIKON EM ], they had left me with the pictures above [part of the collections of sweet memories which would forever and ever be with me]:

what's next . . . . .?

2009-02-08T23:10:00.012+08:00

WHAT TO CONSIDER TO SUIT THE TROPICS [when designing a building in Malaysia in particular]

just to remind my own self, of what to consider when designing a building to suit the tropics [a response to the climate]:

first and for all, some of the factual points for us to remember is that after completing the BASIC building requirements such as the necessity of constructing the floor, columns and the roof of the building, effective sun control to prevent undue heat load on the building and occupants is the next step to consider.

it is very important to reduce solar heat gain on the building envelope to maintain the building internal comfortable environment. the following are some strategies to be adopted to construct buildings in the tropics or to be specific in the Equatorial Malaysian environment, to ensure they are comfortable for the occupants:

appropriate orientation of the building at site to gain and catch prevailing breezes,
constructing steep pitched roof with large roof overhangs, wide verandahs and generous landscaping schemes to ensure the buildings are effectively shaded,
provision of extensive operable louvre windows, screens, timber slats, large sliding doors, screen walls and part height internal walls to maximise cross-ventilation through the buildings,
rotary and gable vents are also good ventilation system to be considered to exhaust hot air,
roof lighting system is good alternative to provide natural lighting to deep rooms. however, excessive glare and sun penetration through windows should be controlled by adopting appropriate screening system, vegetation and effective building orientation; and last but NOT least
other active system normally used to modify the internal building climate is the practical installation of ceiling fans in all habitable rooms to complement natural ventilation and provide a low-cost means of increasing internal air-movement within the buildings.

Ya ALLAH, save the land of Palestin

2009-01-23T01:25:00.006+08:00

Ya ALLAH, forgive me! i cannot just lie down, see and watch only . . . . .

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T01:53:00.001+08:00

Salam Ma'al Hijrah 1430 Hijrah [1 Muharram 1430 Hijrah]

2008-12-29T01:14:00.004+08:00

let me take you there and bring back all the old memories

2008-12-20T22:57:00.003+08:00

the time may be too long to be remembered, but these architectural sketches are still around to bring you back there for the memories [these drawings were done in the years between 1983 to 1993]

the disappearing heritage - rumah helang tangkak

2008-12-14T23:44:00.008+08:00

THE RUMAH HELANG TANGKAK, JOHOR - HAVE GONE FOREVER?.

may be my fast sketch above [which was only done on white A4 size paper which is a pen and ink drawing, touched a little bit with a simple water colouring wash technique] is not as good as the etching work of the same building done by Ilse Noor, which was recorded in Ilse Noor’s Warisan Nusa Shell Book of Malaysian Heritage printed in 1991. But the Rumah Helang in Tangkak [Eagle Brick House in Tangkak], Johor that i visited in 1989 while i was doing my Malaysian Architectural Style Field Study Trip to the Northern Part of Johor, Negri Sembilan and Malacca as part of my approach to collect some factual understandings of the various architectural influences on the development of our Malaysian Architecture in Malaysia, in early preparation for my final year dissertation at the University of Sheffield, HAVE ALREADY GONE! . . . . . . FOREVER? oh God, i only shocked to know this when i happened to come across an article in BULETIN WARISAN printed in July – September 2005 which sadly mentioning of the bad news.

i can still recall of the state of the building when i did the sketch. It was a very mysterious building because it was not actually a completed one. But the brick construction techniques of it were astonishingly a good one though. As though, it was also not actually done by the local. i tried to ask an old lady who was at the house then, but she was unwillingly able to give me any help. not trying to hack on other people’s personal privacy, i just keep on focusing to complete the sketch. The colouring was later done at my cousin’s [En. Ahmad Talib who accompanied me on the trip - by the way, thanks for the bike used En. Mat!] friend house in Batu Berendam in Malacca. but now it must be very unfortunate for us to lose such a good piece of cultural heritage. it may not be eligible to be listed in the Frommers.com’s ‘Places to See Before They Disappear” [source: yahoo.com] but the truth is we have lost a good piece of our good architecture. i am pretty fortunate NOT to lose a memory of what had been disappearing from our valuable heritage archive, even though the sketch that i did may not be GOOD enough to be RATED as a masterpiece work of arts.

CAD SOFTWARE - ALAT MELUKIS CANGGIH

2008-11-26T16:48:00.006+08:00

“ Pergh! zaman sekarang semakin canggih. Saya mula berkenalan dengan Architectural 3D software ini sejak setahun dulu. Mula-mula kuat juga ego ini tak mahu terima hakikat bahawa “ZAMAN DAH BERUBAH”. Tidak sesekali mahu di CONTROL oleh MACHINE [komputer] kerana KONONnya “kita ini berbakat tersendiri dan boleh lukis tanpa bantuan mana-mana COMPUTERISED SKILL”. KONONnya "personal touch originality" itu begitu tercabar jika menggunakan mana-mana CAD SOFTWARE terkini di pasaran sekarang.

Tapi! saya kantoi dengan software CAD yang satu ini. Memang ia "is a WONDER". Dia boleh buat SKETCHY STROKE macam yang kita selalu buat sketches menggunakan MARKER PEN, FELT PEN atau PENCIL. Dahlah tu! ia [lukisannya] PERFECT & PRECISE pulak.

PRESENTATION BOARDS ini disiapkan untuk memenuhi kehendak seorang kawan yang mahukan satu rekabentuk rumah yang berharga KOS SEDERHANA tetapi MESTI MEMENUHI KEHENDAK-KEHENDAK CUACA DI TROPIKA. Reka bentuknya MESTILAH mudah [SIMPLE] sahaja, tetapi hendaklah direkabentuk supaya dapat memenuhi keperluan biasa rumah-rumah di kampung2 seperti ia mestilah ada ruang luas untuk lepak-lepak seperti di verandah. Ruang tetamu mestilah luas sedikit dan bersuasana REDUP serta praktikal terutama untuk tingkap-tingkap boleh dibuka untuk ventilasi yang baik sewaktu hari hujan. Sebab itu dinding dibina 1 meter ke dalam sedikit dari hujung bumbung. ”

TEMA REKABENTUK INI:

AN EXTRA 1 METER EXTENSION TO MAKE IT SUIT TO THE TROPICS.

etch your memory of old good creative skill – work of arts [1]

2008-11-08T21:05:00.007+08:00

it was exciting to find some of my old collection of artworks in the dusty portfolio cases i kept under an old katil kayu [wooden bed] at my mother-in-law’s house in my kampong [village].

one still surviving is this etching art works, done during my 1 [one] year stint in AA [Architectural Association School of Architecture] London way back in 1985 before i left to further my study at Humberside College of Higher Education School of Architecture in 1986 – 1987. i did this [under the supervision of the then Mr. Steve Gettler] as part of the school’s requirement that every student must choose one art media class or workshop in the exercise of exploring their drawing skill and with the intention of giving students a better understanding of drawing technique in presenting their architectural art works.

what is etching ? etching is a form of printing technique in producing an art works.

in the process of doing etching, the line, tone and textures of the art works are obtained by corroding the plate [metal printing plate] which already had art works on it, with acid [this is what etching is referred to].

how it is done ? : first a metal [usually copper, zinc or steel] plate is covered with a waxy ground which is resistant to acid. the artist then scratches off the ground with a pointed etching needle where he/she wants a line to appear in the finished piece, so exposing the bare metal. the plate is then placed into an acid bath for about 10 to 15 minutes; after which it is taken out, rinsed with water and the ground removed with white spirit. the plate is later ready for inking up and finally the plate is then put through a high-pressure printing press together with a sheet of paper [often moistened to soften it]. the paper picks up the ink from the etched lines, making a print.

for more on etching Visit http://www.artmondo.net/printworks/articles/process.htm

architect, architecture & it's influences [1]

2008-10-12T12:09:00.029+08:00

CAMBODIAN COUPLE SAW HOUSE IN HALF IN DIVORCE

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A couple in rural Cambodia has terminated their 18-year marriage with a divorce settlement that entailed sawing in two the wooden house they once shared, villagers said Friday. The husband, 42-year-old Moeun Sarim, has taken away with him all the bits and pieces of his half a house, said his 35-year-old wife, Vat Navy.

"Very strange, but this is what my husband wanted," she said by phone from a village about 62 miles east of Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. She said they ended their marriage last month.

"He brought his relatives and used saws to cut the house in half," she said, adding that she now owns the other half that is still standing. The house is made from wood with a tile roof and propped up on wooden pillars, a typical style for a Cambodian country home.

She said her estranged husband and his relatives, after ripping apart half of the house, carried all the debris to his parents' house nearby.

She said the divorce was prompted by her husband's jealousy about her alleged relationship with a policeman in the village. She denied having an extramarital affair.

"He wanted a divorce, and I said, `Let's divorce,'" she said.

The husband could not be reached for comment.

Bou Bout, a village chief, said local officials and police were present as witnesses the day the couple split their 20-by-24 1/2 foot house into half.

"Local officials tried three times to get them to mend their differences, but the husband would not budge," Bou Bout said by phone.

Source: Yahoo.com

What had happened as reported above is what I think we had been unknowingly or probably had carelessly ignored to include it [marriage] in our list to be one of THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE OUR ARCHITECTURE.

A good lesson though!, BUT where is our stand as an ARCHITECT, if this building happen to be our so-called master piece of our egoist approach in portraying our philosophical personal architectural product without compromising to unpredictable potential factors that may have direct influence to it?

I THINK YOU HAVE THE ANSWER FOR YOURSELF TO THIS DILEMMA.

satu hari di hari raya

2008-10-02T22:48:00.015+08:00

apa lagi yang seronok di hari raya kalau bukan bertemu sanak saudara dan sahabat handai.
saya juga tidak ketinggalan dapat bergembira bersama yang tersayang.
sketsa di atas amat menarik sekali.
jangan terperanjat! saya sudah ada 16 orang
cucu saudara.
sempena hari raya ini cucu saudara saya yang satu ini mahu bercerita tentang dirinya.
namanya
OMAR YAZID.
terhibur melayan keletahnya.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA

2008-09-30T11:05:00.007+08:00

arkrab wish HAPPY HARI RAYA PUASA TO ALL MUSLIMS FOR THE YEAR 2008 [on 1st. Oct 2008]

Hari Raya Puasa or Hari Raya Aidilfitri, is one of the most significant celebrations for Muslims. It marks the culmination of Ramadan, a month-long fasting period and a time for
abstinence, reflection & worship.

So what is actually Ramadan?
Ramadan is the name of the one-month fasting period when Muslims fast for a period of almost 12 hours. They fast from dawn till sunset. It is a known fact that during the period of fasting, apart from eating and drinking Muslims are also forbidden from smoking and having sexual relations. Only the sick are excused from fasting during this month. Muslims are expected to avoid lying, breaking promise or cheating during the month of Ramadan. The primary purpose of fasting during Ramadan is to remind all Muslims of self-control and submitting to Allah, the holy one. Even young kids are taught to fast when they are young.

Why The Muslim Celebrate Hari Raya?
After fulfilling their one-month of fasting, the Muslims would be joyful to celebrate Hari Raya Puasa. On the morning of the festival, the Muslims with a faithful heart would go to the mosque to pray. They offer their thanks to God and after that they would ask for forgiveness from their elders. This is an important custom practice by the Muslims.

While asking for forgiveness from the almighty god ALLAH, Muslims would normally seek permission from Him to humbly celebrate the festival occasions:
SO TO ALL OF US MUSLIMS: LET’S CELEBRATE THE HARI RAYA GLORIOUSLY WITHIN THE LIMIT OF ALLAH’S WILLING. MAY ALLAH BLESS US WITH MORE OF HIS BARAKAH AND HIKMAH FOR THE MORE COMING YEARS OF LIFE AHEAD, INSYAALLAH?

how HIGH can we go architecturally?

2008-09-15T11:58:00.011+08:00

with the possibilities of present advanced technologies in construction techniques, it's arguably proven that as though there is nothing impossible in this tiny world of Allah's kingdom - the beautiful world.

BUT still! how HIGH can we go architecturally is yet to be seen! because only Allah knows better.

click 1, click 2, click 3, click 4 for more reading.

celebrating arkrab.blogspot.com 1st. annivesary - special 88888 slide show

2008-08-08T15:04:00.004+08:00

8 slides of 8 bungalows on the 8th. days of the 8th. [AUGUST] months of the year 2008

click photos to view big images

CONTEMPORARY TROPICAL REGIONALISM STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE [No.2] - Khas Buat Shamsul

2008-07-31T13:01:00.005+08:00

Shamsul! Thank you to react fast to my essay.

This is what I stressed in the essay that the Contemporary Tropical Regionalism Style of architecture is WORTH EXPLORING.

Macam saya maksudkan bahawa arkitek kadangkala perlu dengar ‘kehendak-kehendak end-users’ atau Clients. Bukan ikut kehendak Arkitek sendiri penuh dengan EGOnya.

Ada 2 jenis ‘end-users’ [Client]:

1] yang pilih Arkitek kerana dia suka ‘design approach’ arkitek tersebut; dan

2] yang pilih Arkitek yang boleh menasihatkannya tentang kesesuaian bagi mana-mana pemilihan rekabentuk senibina dan perancangan ruang dalaman rumah atau bangunannya: yang lebih menepati kehendak dan cita rasanya.

Beruntung kalau kita dapat Client yang pertama. Bukanlah maksudya: “senanglah kerja aku”, tetapi kita ada sedikit kebebasan untuk memperagakan kreativiti kita. Bergantung kepada kemampuan Client, kita mungkin boleh mengekploitasikan fahaman senibina kita sendiri. Kalau kita suka ‘Deconstuctism” contohnya, inilah peluang kita tampilkan kehebatan ‘ism’ kita itu. Atau, kalau kita sukakan konsep ‘minimalist’ inilah peluangnya juga dan macam-macam lagilah. Yang penting produk akhirnya mestilah practical supaya bangunan yang kita reka itu ‘ism”nya tidak menjadi ‘GAJAH PUTIH’ism, bilamana ia gagal berfungsi sebagaimana ia diperlukan.

Bagi Client yang kedua pula, ada kalanya kita tidak ada pilihan. Kehendak dan citarasa mereka perlu kita fahami. Tanggungjawab seseorang Arkitek dalam konteks ini kadangkala lebih mencabar. Arkitek mungkin perlu menasihatkan Client secara lebih akademik terutama dalam memenuhi kehendak-kehendak keperluan teknikal dan kehendak undang-undang. Ikut ‘ism’ Client tetapi pastikan produk akhirnya tidak bertentangan dengan kehendak lazim dalam amalan senibina. Namun begitu, ini bukan bermakna rekabentuk senibina yang kita akur mengikut kehendak Client tersebut sesuatu yang tidak ada nilai langsung dalam pendekatan fahaman kita sebagai Arkitek.

Sebagai Arkitek kita lebih arif memberikan nasihat yang terbaik kepada Client kita.

Adapting to Tropical Climate: Practical Contemporary Tropical Regionalism Architectural Design [No.1]

2008-07-30T15:22:00.003+08:00

The progressive state of architecture [be it Malaysian or the world as a whole], as well as that of the many other forms of human disciplines such as literature, interior design or interior architecture, or fashion is so complex that one will normally do not always manage to differentiate its intricacies using clear and meaningful criteria. Some architectural critics have the opinion that architectural styles in many cities within the Asia-pacific region or perhaps to be specific in Malaysia itself, undeniably is beginning to exhibit a stultifying sameness: an endless architectural products reproduction of the many cities in the west or in Sydney, Seoul in Korea and even of the cities in the American continent.

“Zaman sudah berubah, dunia dah maju” as one favorite saying in an advertisement in our recent TV broadcasting media. As though, the ideal argument that “Architecture being a product of climate, social customs or cultures, need not be identical between two countries within a region” has since been slowly fading away from every individual’s confused understanding. Like it or not, everyone has to participate in the evaluation of global network, both real and electromagnetic. We are all as it seems to be now, more or less only a keytap away from each other. This widespread of ‘persamaan’ or togetherness tends to encourage rapid and unavoidable translation of architectural styles from one community country to another. However, for many Architectural Critics if not all in consensus to agree, still had pointed out that: “local, specific and critically regional cultures still, paradoxically, bear relevance for us despite the increasing dissolution of national boundaries”.

As for Malaysian architectural records [if any? or . . . . . of course there really are!] over the last decade also has reveals a huge variety of styles and trends, which has produced undeniable riches. I’m not trying to be smarty academic to give an analysis on the fate of the present Malaysian architecture as resultant to or with respect to the many unwelcoming or probably unapologetic international influences towards our general approach in reading our architecture: though in certain circumstances, in my own personal view, it has respectfully been more beneficial than destruction. My intention in this essay merely to express my gratitude to the one architectural style which worth exploring in the context of our own Malaysian climatic condition and requirements

One of the favourite styles that exist within the context of our present in fulfilling the demand of our climatic condition and requirements, is what most of us would agree to describe it as the Contemporary Tropical Regionalism style of architecture.

Contemporary Tropical Regionalism style of architecture – in the general understanding of the many, can be described as a representation of dialogues between modern and conventional traditional values or styles. Some may even proudly have the attitudes of saying “Something traditional can look Modern if it’s abstracted to an essence”. In normal circumstances this can be achieved with the proper recipe in the exercise of manipulating the mixture of conventional traditional building styles and design characteristics which accommodating the climatic requirements, with the practical local materials in the effort of fulfilling the current modern trendy demands of the societies. Of course, functionality which faithfully honoring culture needs must be forever preserved to exceptionally maintain its final taste. The majority architects in trying to creatively portraying their skill to manipulate his or her architectural language in styling his or her design thus can never run away from the necessity to fulfill the strict practical functionality requirements of the space he design.

As for the many local practicing Architects in Malaysia, most of us would surely still believe that design solutions in architecture should be climate and culture responsive. So, Contemporary Tropical Regionalism style of architecture is more homage to practical and functional architectural language in the Malaysian context which dearly respecting the local tropical climate as compared to some other contrasting architectural language which tries to create new vicinity divorced from its real context with the environment.

And of course, Contemporary Tropical Regionalism style of architecture is extremely loyal to its dependent on current, present or existing external factors such as the surrounding context and the climate in which the building is located and on the internal factors such as the comfortable needs of the occupiers rather than the mere personal wild intention of the individual Architect.

sketch them up the arkrab way [no.2] - the un-built projects

2008-06-19T17:27:00.008+08:00

most of these illustrations were done for clients who required them especially to illustrate their feasibility studies reports of the projects proposed. architectural illustrations would provide some impression of the proposals and indirectly would reflect the quality and standard of the building to be constructed which in certain circumstances would give some ideas for the early basic 'cost of construction' estimation.

why i decided to become an architect? - a flashback memory

2008-06-12T15:15:00.021+08:00

i remember when i was 10 when once i had no choice but to pull out my painful tooth with the help of a piece of string and a door leaf, and angrily decided to throw it as far as possible away from me after it had been giving me weeks of horrific nightmares, when suddenly my mum asked me what would be my future dreamed profession?. she advised me not to throw away the loosen tooth BUT to keep it somewhere in the house which could possibly makes my dream come true. she advised me to insert/hide the tooth in between the wall timber boarding if my dreamed profession was an architect [probably if you dream to be a singer insert your trouble tooth inside your mum's old speaker boxes ... he, he, he . . ]. my mother knew that i was pretty good [bolehlah sikit2 . . .] at drawings and had for many times being told of my dreamed future profession i.e an architect.

in Islamic Teachings, we are not allowed to believe in others other than Allah Himself. Only Allah decides what our future would be. i would surely not going to say as the result of the above incident or act, that, i am NOW is an architect. what I knew Allah had given me opportunities for me to pursue various level of architectural trainings and courses [after gone through all the endurances of being architectural student – i think most of you architects out there will agree with me that architectural courses is one and the only one toughest course . . . . argh!] here at last, i am thankfully praised Allah for His will to have let me be what I wanted to be i.e an architect, [one of] THE BEST profession in this world.

believe me, you probably would not be a successfully [rich?] architect but if you are an architect as what an architect is supposed to be, that is really what a successful architect is all about.

for other reasons why one decides to become an architect, read more at http://www.aia.org/nac_n_feedback_0602.

adapting to equatorial/tropical climate [2] - the plan

2008-06-11T17:28:00.002+08:00

teratak rimbun - an attempt in adapting to equatorial/tropical climate [1]

2008-06-10T17:02:00.007+08:00

interpreting equatorial malaysiana [5]

2008-06-10T16:39:00.006+08:00

FACTORS INFLUENCING HOUSE DESIGN [AN AFFORDABLE PARADISE?] IN TROPICAL OR EQUATORIAL MALAYSIANA FOR A CLIMATICALLY SUSTAINABLE RESULT.

“DISCOVER HIDDEN PARADISE – Welcome to the Newly Discovered, Tropical and Pacific Paradise of ………………………….., in Tropical Malaysia where we can offer large hillside lots from only US$1 per sqm, tailor made bungalows, of all kinds – from only US$39,000.00. We have fantastic, pristine beaches, corals, caves, rivers, waterfalls, wildlife, tracking, bicycling, canoeing, A CLEAN NON POLLUTED ENVIRONMENT and more to offer . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

WELCOME TO OUR AFFORDABLE PARADISE”

i think everyone must feel pretty fortunate of being born and so live in this part of the world, the TROPICAL MALAYSIA. i myself am very proud every time i flip through glossy traveling or properties magazines, when most of the ADVERTISEMENTS in trying to win the heart of travelers and properties buyers, relate and equate tropical climate as being merely paradise [ i don’t know to be frank, how actually ‘paradise’ be like because i myself still pretty unsure whether i am really qualify enough to be there. may ALLAH bless me with His generosity and fulfill all the dreams of me the humble being in this tiny world ].

anyhow that would be my future luck but the present true fact is ALLAH has been so generous for what we already have here now in malaysia, His rewarding gift of TROPICAL CLIMATE.

malaysia lies within the most exotic, the most beautiful sector of this beautiful earth, at the southernmost tip of asia i.e. between latitude 1º N to 8º N and from longitude 99º E to 120º E. the countries comprises the malay peninsula [west malaysia] and sabah and serawak [east malaysia]. eventhough malaysia generally classified as one of the tropical countries because it also lies within the tropics, but climatically, malaysia’s climate would be more perfect to be classified as warm-humid equatorial climate.

equatorial climate characteristics:

high temperature – air temperature averages between 22ºc and 32ºc.
high humidity throughout the year – with heavy cloud cover and high water vapour contents, solar radiation is filtered but occasionally it can be so strong and can cause painful sky glare.
low variable wind in general but strong winds can occurs with the rain. winds come from two dominant directions, from the north-east and south-west.
high rainfall throughout the year averaging from 250cm to 300cm annually and can becomes more intense with the monsoons.
vegetation growth is prolific and is sometimes difficult to control under favorable conditions of moist air, moderate heat and high rainfall.

climatic comfort requirements in designing tropical houses:

the main causes of climatic stress in malaysia are high temperatures, solar radiation, humidity and glare.

exposure to the large areas of land surfaces with less vegetation growth and with less cloudy covered sky under an extreme high heat, may cause problem of unfavorable stressful climatic condition. the relatively high percentages of reflected solar radiation from the land surfaces or even the sky sometimes make glare in houses dominantly be a forever problem if necessary protection and prevention not cleverly taken.

SO, to achieve climatic comfort in designing houses in malaysia, the above factors must be controlled besides the control of rain, floods and occasional strong winds.

sir john soane, a distinguished english architect, once said:

“before we apply the orders of architecture in the exterior of buildings for domestic purposes, we shall do well to pause for a moment and reflect that they were first used in climates where it was desirable to exclude the too powerful rays of the sun, and to produce shade and fresh air from about the building”

from the above preceding explanation of the climatic characteristic of malaysia, it is therefore obvious that to attain optimal climatic control in the process of adapting to the tropical and equatorial malaysiana, a perfect ALLAH’s gift the equivalent of an affordable paradise comfort as what it has been frequently equated to, an house form in malaysia should provide the followings:

1. allow adequate ventilation for cooling and reduction of humidity,
2. use building materials with low thermal capacity so that little heat is transmitted into the house,
3. control direct solar radiation,
4. control glare from the open skies and surroundings,
5. protection against rain; and
6. ensure adequate natural vegetation in the surroundings to provide for a cooler micro climate.

sketch them up the arkrab way

2008-04-21T17:03:00.000+08:00

keep live with the new technology, BUT!

2008-03-31T14:10:00.006+08:00

architectural sketches – the poetry of expressing ideas of architecture

‘in this time of computer-aided drawings, computer generated perspectives, and 3D animations, what more with software bearing the name of “Sketch-up”; the physical act of sketching and drawing BY HAND seems to be losing favor among the younger generations of architects who are more at ease and proficient in “drawing” and “sketching” with the keyboard’- Ar. Lee Chor Wah – Pertubuhan Arkitek Malaysia’s President 2007-2008.

what a good introduction by our honorable PAM President in his short note for the PAM’s 2008 specially printed ‘sketch book’ made available by the generosity of Johnson Suisse [Malaysia].

i personally do agree with our mr. president. i myself too in the same understanding with him. nothing is wrong with the introduction of whatever new technologies to improve the drawing skill of the new generation of architects. but we must never forget our ROOT basic. never let loose our craft of creativity to genuinely preserve the art in exploring ideas of architecture. as defined by our mr. president that ‘sketching’ is the act of drawing in search of ideas and it has always been the repertoire of many great architects of the world.

i had the opportunity to pay a visit to an exhibition of original drawings by one of the notable [the 1990 Pritzker Prize winner] Italian architect Aldo Rossi at the York City Art Gallery, in York, England on the 5th. December 1987. everyone agreed including the then Secretary of the Royal Institute of British Architects Mr. Patricik Harrison, that Aldo Rossi was more influential by his rough architectural sketches and his final formal architectural hand drawings than his finished works. however what more important was Aldo Rossi with his elusive, simple and practical but at times powerful approach in architecture, had created an effective visual language for others to view not just his own architectural ideas but also the world in which they [his architecture] took place. this has been forever be part of a great poetic gift to the world of art in architecture that they [Rossi’s sketches] forever remains as bearer of a unique message: the architecture of Aldo Rossi.

a citation from the 1990 Pritzker Price Jury on Aldo Rossi:

“Known for many years as a theorist, philosopher, artist and teacher, Rossi has spent time developing his architectural voice, and pen. Words as well as drawings and buildings have distinguished him as one of the great architects. As a master draftsman, steeped in the tradition of Italian art and architecture, Rossi's sketches and renderings of buildings have often achieved international recognition long before being built.”

when winning the above prestigious Pritzker Prize for architecture in 1990, an architectural critic who was one of the Pritzker juror, had described Rossi as:

"a poet who happens to be an architect."

the story of encik ahmad [1] - the drawings

2008-03-03T14:16:00.003+08:00

the story of encik ahmad [2] - the drawings

2008-03-03T14:12:00.003+08:00

the story of encik ahmad [3] - the drawings

2008-03-03T14:09:00.003+08:00

the story of encik ahmad

2008-03-03T09:56:00.034+08:00

common language used when communicating with the client will never be the same with the language normally architect used to instruct contractor to construct the building.

for an architect to visualize and materialize the building he/she design for his/her client, some informative architectural perspective drawings or architectural illustrations would be good enough to illustrate architect’s ideas. what client interested to know basically will be what the end product that he/she will get. in normal circumstances, the client would never ever border to know the detail of how a wall plate supposed to be fixed to the top of the wall or which parts of the brick wall requires stiffeners.

anyway when dealing with mr.builder the contractor, architect can never run away from the necessity to prepare all necessary construction drawings [working drawings or detail drawings] which would be the technical tool to convey method of construction of the design. working drawings or detail drawings would normally enable architects to exchange information with the contractor on the technical solution of design.

i was asked by ENCIK AHMAD to design for him his new house. the brief was so simple:

”buatkan aku rumah kecik dan simple aje! 3 biliklah! [please think for me a small and simple 3 bedroom house!]“.

But, ENCIK AHMAD’s requirements did not end there when he unexpectedly asked me this question:

“Li ! macamana nak bina rumah? [RAMLY!, how to built a house?] ”.

this never surprised me for the fact that ENCIK AHMAD is not a normal kampong folk. ENCIK AHMAD is a FELDA ASSISTANT [FA - working with Felda’s Authority] and has been serving Felda for almost 30 years. even though he is an expert in agriculture but his desire to acquire more knowledge yet to reach to the full stop because at the moment [at the brink of his working life for the retirement at the age of 52] ENCIK AHMAD is still pursuing his degree course in 'human resources' at UNIVERSITY PUTRA MALAYSIA [UPM].

being the architect who must always be responsible to his client [whoever they are], i have no choice but to come out with various technique of presentation to brief ENCIK AHMAD on what are the basic processes in building of a house. I might not have to go in depth in term of the technical information on what actually make up a house, but at least I must gave ENCIK AHMAD an assurance that he had appointed the right person to give him advice on architecture. after going through the slides [see them in the next 3 posts - post 1, post 2 and post 3] that I had prepared and after I was very sure ENCIK AHMAD had understood what being explained to him, my only final advice to ENCIK AHMAD is by asking him to understand part of Section 70 of the Akta Jalan, Parit dan Bangunan 1974 [The Street, Drainage and Building – Act 133], which reads as follows:

70. Notis mengenai bangunan baharu [Buildings].

(1) Tiada seseorang boleh mendirikan sesuatu bangunan tanpa mendapat kebenaran terlebih dahulu daripada pihak-pihak berkuasa tempatan.
No person shall erect any building without the prior written permission of local authority

(2) Seseorang yang bercadang mendirikan sesuatu bangunan hendaklah mengemukakan –
Any person who intends to erect any building shall submit -

(a) kepada pihak berkuasa tempatan apa-apa pelan dan penentuan sebagaimana yang dikehendaki oleh mana-mana undang-undang kecil yang dibuat di bawah akta ini; dan
to the local authority such plans and specifications as may be required by any by-laws made under this act; and

(b) kepada pihak berkuasa berkanun yang relevan apa-apa pelan dan penentuan berkenaan sistem pembentungan sebagaimana yang dikehendaki oleh mana-mana undang-undang bertulis lain.
to the relevant statutory authority such plans and specifications in respect of the sewerage system as may be required by any other written law.

at last, this is what ENCIK AHMAD has finally had to say to me: “If that is the case, I MUST appoint architect and other relevant consultants to advice me and must make sure a building plan approval is secured, before I start building anything on my land”.

* the only thing I am not expert in is I cannot advice ENCIK AHMAD of HOW TO FIND HIS DREAMED WIFE – [psst … only for you!, you! yes, only for your information! ENCIK AHMAD is still a bachelor]. InsyaAllah, with the blessing of ALLAH, I pray for ENCIK AHMAD to finally meet his loyal dreamed HOUSE MATE [mate for this house I designed for him]. [Jangan Marah ENCIK AHMAD! – you are forever my friend].

QUOTES OF THE DAY

2008-02-19T14:35:00.005+08:00

"good architects will value creativity, originality, and innovation above all other virtues".

"architects must always fervently strive to be at the cutting edge of design".

"architects also must consider themselves to be independent thinkers".

"architects should be leaders, not followers".

Only with the above missions and visions, Architects’ creativity and ingenuity would be rewarded by plaudits as well as envy from all their peers and colleagues and of course praise from their clients.

So, be truly yourself, creatively create your original ideas and stand by your own principle and be an architect of your own self.

pre-user friendly computer programming & modelling software era

2008-02-15T17:28:00.023+08:00

in the olden days when there were not a single user-friendly computer programming and digital modelling software available yet, the only friendly drawing tools and drawing materials were the fantastic classic 'tracing papers' and 'butter papers' as they used to call them. with the aid of shaver blade [Gillette Shaving Blades] everything can be drawn on tracing papers. 'srcapping' skill probably one of the 'must have' and 'important' skill to be possessed by almost every designers and architects which is as equavlent to the present 'delete' and 'copy and paste' functions of the digital drawing software tools.

to certain extent these drawings [see above] had gone through the above mentioned process: scraping and retracing or redrawn [depending how much times available before the next morning submission dates]. what was important was what the end products that you get. everything would depend on the generosity of the tutor that would evaluated them during the crit session.

but for me for these drawings that i did when i was in the 2nd. year class in UTM [University of Technology Malaysia], that i was only told by my the tutor that he could only gave me a 'passing marks' if i could count the GRASS that i had rendered on the drawing. not a surprise though, because that is what at the end of the day had tought me a lot in the process of learning architecture.

new generation skilled expertise in 3D illustrations vs old timer skilled sketches

2008-02-12T16:32:00.002+08:00

i envy the new generation 3D skilled illustrators. they produce remarkable WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET illustration materials to be presented to the potential clients. we the old timers, however were not in the position to do so because during that time there were no such technologies. we had to rely on skilled illustrators [architects] who tried to potray the closest possible manually illustrated ideas of the design proposed for the client. there were nothing wrong with that because what we did were to propose the look of our design in 2D, in fact [ they were in the form of pen & ink sketches, sketchy isometric drawings, detailed sectional perspectives to show the interiors, water colured artist impressions and etc but not 3D of course!]. BUT they still representing our ideas and our intention. the truth anyway is that, technology keep improving our life but our intention are all the same - TO BE A GOOD DESIGNER and MUST ALWAYS BE GOOD IN REPRESENTING OUR IDEAS to the clients: that is the skill of an architect.

i still keep my manually illustrated artist impressions until now. they may not as good as what at present 3D modelling software could produced, BUT they still had at one time, became the most reliable presentation materials to convince the clients of our ideas.

New Platform For Discussion

2008-01-29T18:18:00.000+08:00

oh No! i've been so quiet for the last 2 weekls. anyway! NOT REALLY not doing anything. i've been busy to push on my new blog [HALAMAN ARKRAB] which i sincerely didicated it to be a new platform for discussion among us Arkitek Melayu, in Malaysia especially. it is in MALAY language to discuss on the architectural practices. it could be a good start to have an exclusive series of practice notes in Malay language, which i hope with the help of those interested architect colleagues out there who willingly to contribute, so that the notes can be a good daily professional practice references to us. HOPE SO!

just a little 'Kick Off" statement for 2008

2008-01-15T10:51:00.000+08:00

aaahrgh . . . only NOW i realize that it is NOT EASY to be a writer . . . . . . . But a CPD Seminar on 'The 'Massification' of Architectural Knowledge: strategy For The Production Of Books, Media articles and Publication Spin Offs" By Prof. Dr. Mohd. Tajudin Mohd. Rasdi from UTM last 15th. of December 2007, that i attended had sparked some mission probably to some participants who realized how bad the status of our present architectural write-ups [or books]especially in Bahasa Melayu versions. Well it is a true facts especially for the Malay Architects out there, that we have been so quiet all this while. Someone has to look into this matters seriously and lets put up some effort to build up our vision to "Memperkasakan Budaya dan Senibina Nusantara Kita". Apa akan jadi pada anak bangsa kita? perlukah mereka selamanya ketandusan ilmu dalam proses menghayati keunikan senibina melayu kita? Peranan siapakah ini? . . . . . . tak perlu kita menoleh ke kiri dan kanan lagi kerana KITA [not me alone i persume] perlu bertanya kepada empunya diri dulu : SUDAHKAH AKU BERSEDIA?

Personally, I myself have to look for the answer to the above question, but for a start for this 2008, why don't we look at the content and the intention of this blog which had been rated as follows [oops! . . . only for fun. No other intention for the intention sake]:

Your Blog Should Be Purple

You're an expressive, offbeat blogger who tends to write about anything and everything.
You tend to set blogging trends, and you're the most likely to write your own meme or survey.
You are a bit distant though. Your blog is all about you - not what anyone else has to say.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL FRIENDS

2007-12-31T10:20:00.000+08:00

SONG OF SILENCE

FOR THE 2008
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008

all the years gone by, full of sweet memories, bad incidents and tough experiences will forever be the life recipe for me. whatever the cake it would later be, only ALLAH the almighty knows better.

MAY ALLAH BLESS US ALWAYS FOR WHATEVER WE ARE PLANNING FOR THE COMING 2008

BUT I WILL STILL SING THE SONG OF SILENCE
the arkrab way. insyaAllah.

ALARIDO - Cara Nov...

tradition, wedding & architecture

2007-11-26T15:07:00.001+08:00

we know tradition is part of our life. we live with tradition. in fact tradition in most circumstances, dictate our life. traditional malay wedding is full of fun and joy. and it should be so because it’s a day of special remembrance for the couple and their close ones - a day they grow up and enter a new phase of life, changing their lives forever. memories of a wedding day live forever in the minds of the wedded ones, and it is those happy and joyful memories which should live forever until death do them part.

during the wedding day, a ceremonial wedding procession will normally takes place. during the procession the wedded couple will normally walk hand in hand for the bersanding ceremony at the gaily decorated pelamin (dais) set up normally at the living room or in front of the house.

before reaching the house, the bride and the groom will be greeted with a silat pulut performance (the Malay art of self-defense) and sprinkled with yellow rice and scented water by the hosts.

culture and tradition will always come hand in hand with whatever we do in our life. so is the tradition in our architecture. after the joyful marriage celebration, the couple will need a home to settle down. for those who have to stay under the same roof with their parents or in-laws parents, the house probably need to be expanded. extra rooms probably needed to accomodate additional occupants. before the procession started, i managed to snap this photo of one of the house nearby which i persumed had gone through the process of expansion. this time is upwards instead of to the side or to the back of the normal two storeys low cost house. what struck my mind, does the building approval have been granted for the owner to be such creative if we were to consider the structural requirements or any other factors especially on the fire prevention requirements?

anyhow, i'm not in the position to question more on the matters, BUT the second & fourth picture taken have sparked some excitement to me architecturally, because the house had proven to be a good setting during the wedding procession.

tradition [2]

2007-11-26T13:02:00.000+08:00

tradition [1]

2007-11-26T12:49:00.000+08:00

last saturday i was given the task to photograph and record my nephew’s wedding ceremony. not a good wedding photographer though, but i tried my best to get good shots as possible. the location of the ceremony was somewhere in the district of petaling jaya, selangor.

no doubt the ceremony was so glorious and full of memories especially for all the relatives who traveled from far distant destinations to celebrate the day. it has been the malay’s tradition that wedding day would be the best get together day for all the long separated relatives. GET TOGETHER, CELEBRATE AND TIE BACK THE LOOSED RELATIONSHIP [menyambung silatuurrahim]. this would be the day when everyone in the family would gotong royong [works together hands in hands] to make the celebration the best memorable day for the family.

the best way to record those moments would be to photograph them. and of course there were beautiful moments that deserved to be recorded and forever would be the sweet memories for everyone involved. [more photos see above].

architectural illustration - 3D drawings [2]

2007-11-23T10:38:00.001+08:00

3D architectural works illustration [1]

2007-11-21T17:11:00.000+08:00

arkrab is prepared to take any commision to provide architectural design study and 3D illustration works.

these are [see above set of drawings] sample of the latest commision by arkrab to provide alternative design studies for an architectural practice client. for this kind of illustration normally the time frame required is 2 weeks subjected to the nature of the proposals.

arkrab will be able to give proposed alternative design scheme to the already proposed design. however, a thorough discussion normally required to the satisfaction of the client.

DEMI PEMBANGUNAN - mari kita ingat-ingat sikit [muhasabah diri INSYAALLAH]

2007-11-05T13:36:00.000+08:00

PETIKAN KHUTBAH JUMAAT BERTARIKH 20 JULAI 2007 UNTUK PEDOMAN SEMUA

Allah S.W.T. menjelaskan didalam surah al-Rum ayat:41

Maksudnya : " Telah timbul berbagai-bagai kerosakan dan bala bencana di darat dan di laut dengan sebab apa yang telah dilakukan oleh tangan-tangan manusia, timbulnya yang demikian kerana Allah hendak merasakan mereka sebahagian dari perbuatan-perbuatan buruk yang mereka telah lakukan, supaya mereka kembali ( insaf dan bertaubat ). "

Oleh itu, kita mesti rasional dan menerima kenyataan ini secara terbuka, di samping mengenepikan sikap menuding jari dan tuduh menuduh, bukanlah alasan kita untuk duduk berdiam diri atau berpeluk tubuh sahaja. Berdasarkan pengalaman-pengalaman yang lalu seharusnya menjadi panduan serta pengajaran berguna dalam mengatur dan merancang sesuatu plan pembangunan. Diantara faktor yang perlu dihalusi ialah :

1. Plan pembangunan yang dirancang hendaklah tidak hanya memikirkan nilai komersial semata-mata, tatapi perlu mengambil kira faktor-faktor keselamatan, pencemaran atau taksiran kerosakan alam sekitar dan ekologi sistem yang mungkin berlaku pada masa yang akan datang.

2. Sentiasa mematuhi garis panduan yang dikeluarkan oleh pihak yang berkuasa dalam melaksanakan sesuatu plan pembangunan.

3. Sentiasa merujuk kepada pakar-pakar yang dapat memberi khidmat nasihat dalam bidang-bidang berkaitan seperti jurutera-jurutera berpengalaman, pakar Geologis iaitu berkaitan kaji bumi dan batuan, pakar Ekologis iaitu berkaitan kaji hayat dan alam sekitar serta sebagainya.

4. Pemantauan berterusan dan penguatkuasaan undang-undang yang lebih tegas terhadap sesiapa sahaja atau mana-mana pihak yang melanggar peraturan dan menyebabkan kerosakan atau terjejasnya alam sekitar.

5. Menghentikan pembangunan yang berisiko tinggi serta membawa kerosakan sekiranya pembangunan tersebut diteruskan.

Di sebalik apa sahaja masaalah alamsekitar yang sering berlaku sawajarnya dijadikan ikhtibar dan mendorong kita mendekatkan diri kepada Allah s.w.t. kita hendaklah membuktikan sikap dengan menjadi orang yang bertanggungjawab terhadap penjagaan dan pemuliharaan alam sekitar dan segala nikmat yang dikurniakan seharusnya disyukuri agar ia terus terpelihara.

Allah S.W.T juga berfirman dalam Surah Al-A'raf ayat:56

Maksudnya : " Dan janganlah kamu berbuat kerosakan dibumi sesudah Allah menyediakan segala yang membawa kebaikan padanya, dan berdoalah kepada-Nya dengan perasaan bimbang (kalau-kalau tidak diterima) dan juga dengan perasaan berharap-harap ( supaya makbul ) sesungguhnya rahmat Allah itu dekat pada orang-orang yang sentiasa memperbaiki amalannya " .

starchitects at works - adapting to the climate

2007-11-02T09:55:00.000+08:00

human architects are taking inspiration from the animal architect - termite the master builder
in adapting to the climate.

the Eastgate Centre is a shopping centre and office block in central HARARE, ZIMBABWE. the building was designed by architect MICK PEARCE, to be ventilated and cooled entirely by natural means. PEARCE decided to design this shopping centre building based on termite ingenuity: the termite mounds [see picture inset].

due to its altitude, HARARE thus has a temperate climate despite being in the tropics. Its typical daily temperature varies between 10ºC to 14ºC. and this makes a mechanical or passive cooling system a viable alternative to artificial air-conditioning. the Eastgate Centre had been designed and constructed with full of sophistication which use natural cooling system to maintain comfortable thermal value within its interiors.

architect MICK PEARCE found inspiration to design the Eastgate Centre shopping centre from the SOUTHERN AFRICA's mound-building termite. termites keep cool by puncturing the mounds structures with air-exchange tunnels and by layering the floor of the mounds with wet soil. the temperature inside the mound incredibly stabilized at 30.5ºC [87ºF] – [even when temperatures outside continuously varies between 0ºC (32ºF) at night to 40ºC (104ºF) at high noon] – studies showed that this climatic condition in the mounds is necessary to farm multicelled organisms, called fungi, which become food for the termites.

the termite mound’s air-exchange tunnels or flues will normally vent through the top and sides, and the mound itself is perfectly designed to catch the breeze. as the wind blows, hot air from the main chambers below ground is drawn out of the structure, helped by termites opening or blocking tunnels to control air flow.

for detail go to : z+partners

super starchitect [2] - the contact

2007-10-31T16:48:00.000+08:00

i met these collegues of us, Ar.Termites while spending my celebrative hari raya holidays. they had taken over the whole stretch of my mother in-law super development corridor and had caused her real headache.

i had no choice but tried to be-friends with them and managed to grab this business card for further negotiations [ for more info on them get them from http://www.amonline.net.au/factSheets/termites.htm ]

super starchitect [1]

2007-10-31T16:14:00.000+08:00

super starchitect at works

i hate talking about them but the followings truth will surely prove me wrong and forever will readily be apologetic to their notoriously unforgiving crimes to our building environments [especially to my own mother in-law house (see inset photo) which awaiting for the right moment to vanish in the air if no urgent rectification followed by efficient precaution and prevention taken].

[though they sometimes responsible for significant damage, these super starchitects can also come to our aid in realizing the reality of life].

we are sorely wrong to be self-acclaimed as starchitect while forgetting our fame and glamorous colleagues who never had to attend any specialized courses to be successful architect planners. our good friends Ar.Termites are the premier architects of the natural world.

in desert countries like australia and africa [arid tropical savannas areas], certain mound-building specialist Ar.Termites, construct extremely large and elaborate skyscrapers look-alike mounds [which house their colonies], that can stand up between 2 feet to 20 feet in height. Ar.Termites are no doubt the smart architect planners in planning their living quarters. Ar.Termites normally will mix their saliva and soil to build a single giraffe-size mound. if we are able to take a closer look at these mounds, we will see that they consist of miniature marvels of architectural and spatial organization. these mini-marvels of construction come complete with a sophisticated air-conditioning system comprising of a series of channels and ducts through which air circulates. porous corridors allow stale air out and fresh air in. this ventilation system thus provide a large thermal mass to keep the interior at a comfortable temperature. these mounds also serve to protect the colony from unwelcoming visitors and any possible damage by floods.

not just a marvelous achievement of ecological engineering in adapting to the climatic requirements, Ar.Termites skyscrapers [mounds] are masterpieces of social organisation, too. the internal spatial layout are brilliantly planned to fulfill their necessity space hierarchy. at the base of the mounds are normally will be the living and working quarters and the royal chamber in which the king and queen reside. other chambers serve as pantries for the storage of food and nurseries for the care of eggs and young. there are even sub-basement mushroom gardens in some colonies, diligently tended by worker-gardeners.

in our tropical malaysiana, though no specific 50 years post-merdeka Ar.Termites’s architectural records of high mounds skyscrapers as high of those in australia and africa or our own petronas’s twin tower ever been built, but the self-thought local Ar.Termites are mostly very specialize in constructing good networks of smart tunnels [termites’ passageways or shelter tubes] built interconnecting compact units of Ar.Termites’ busut [termite nests as they normally called].

the followings are some site conditions that are normally to be chosen by Ar.Termites in their design consideration to site their residential colonies:

1. untreated wood materials which are in contact with the ground such as timber stilts unsupported with proper stumps.
2. wood decking built on the soil surface or untreated wood members in contact with the soil.
3. excessive timber members exposed to moisture due to poor surface drainage system.

why don’t we without hesitating to humbly taking inspiration from these proven hardworking intelligent smart planet's master builders – the termites the animal architects?

pondering and wondering [3] - the role of architects

2007-10-01T13:32:00.001+08:00

malaysia is naturally blessed with a generous climate that allows us to have indoor and outdoor spaces luxuriously. thus in planning and designing our built environments, we cannot run away from being automatically unique in our attitude towards architecture especially for being tropicalist / equatorialist as per se. however, some probably agreed of the danger of using climate as the only solution to design decisions. how about the culture which is as equally as important and how about the present increasing impact of the interconnected borderless world and vigorously speedy advancing digital global communication? with all these respects, do we need to define our own brand of architectural character or identity?

as for the facts, architecture must be able to bridge between reality and utopia by offering solution to resolve the present for the benefit of the future and the role of the architects NOT ONLY deals with whatever built fabrics ‘ism’ they entrusted to, but also be responsible to contribute for the benefit of the community’s socio-economic.

pondering and wondering [2] on malaysian architectural background and it's future

2007-09-26T09:49:00.000+08:00

basic notes on factors affecting the construction of malaysian architecture

in initiating ideas to design a building, physical factors in the forms of climatic influences or site topographical conditions and cultural factors in the forms of social values or social belief have become not only as constraints but also as the source of factors of consideration for the forms, content and the look of the malaysian building‘s architecture despite the acceptable philosophical approach by many practicing architects that ‘form follows function’.

one way to basically understand malaysian architectural characters is by visualizing the forces which frequently shaped it’s form and content. sometimes it is also very necessary for us to examine and study it’s background from ancient times to the present days.

history have thus proven that 2 obvious factual factors have been affecting the types of architecture in building construction activities, here in malaysia, which can be identified as follows:

1. rural buildings were normally and still constructed of easily or cheaply available local materials which were/are subjected to quick deterioration. the forms have been comparatively simple and have changed very little through the times.

2. in normal urban areas [and recent development in rural construction activities too], most buildings constructed would focused on quality wise. they are normally built in permanent materials and conceptually designed to suit their functions and their intricacy in the forms and architectural designs are determined by the cost expended for their purposes.

due to the rapid advancement of the malaysian governmental management and ruling both politically and economically times to times, the urban architectural scene changed comparatively more frequently and quickly than in rural areas.

problems maintaining architectural records in malaysia

due to the ease of deterioration of the rural buildings and due to the destructive activities of man, the ravages of nature and to certain extents the lack of maintenance exercise initiatives carried out, very few buildings especially ancient buildings, survived up to the present day which left rare records of the malaysian historic architecture traces.

another factor that play its important role in influencing the malaysian architectural characters and identity in recent times will be the architect himself/herself. architect’s own personal and conceptual approach in designing his/her building will determining the values of architecture he/she would like to portray. there is no single set of laws that restrict the freedom of expression in architecture now in malaysia nor does it obligatorily necessary? well, if that’s so, every architect is free to exhibit his/her own personal architectural attitude. BUT/however for the sake of the architecture itself, it would be wise to exercise it with respectful values.

with the above facts, will malaysian vernacular architectural characteristics or identity and its regionalism vitality be strong and powerful enough to compete with the proclaimed universality and world–wide applicability of certain values of the international modernism? do you have the answers?

* mencius

songs for the pensioners

2007-09-18T14:04:00.000+08:00

house to retire [4] - more views & elevations

2007-09-18T13:00:00.000+08:00

house to retire [3] - the plan [2]

2007-09-17T14:39:00.001+08:00

architecturally, not much to talk on architecture for this house. it is just a conventional design that you would probably can see mostly along the road on the way to my kampung in segamat, johor. the only things i want to say is that, it has been a new trend for many pensioners resorting back to their home towns to spent the rest of their life. most of them are normally just a living couples, staying away from their kids and grandkids who are normally so busy with their metropolitan's fashionable and hectic life.

what else do you want? what's that you could not reach at in kampung: internet communications? on line movie or other forms of latest communication? these are now a global business.

house to retire [2] - the plan

2007-09-17T14:32:00.001+08:00

a house to retire [1]

2007-09-17T14:22:00.000+08:00

it was hard on last weekends to merely stretch laying on cosy sofa without bordering to hit the computer keypads and think of a simple bungalow design proposals.

as if someone suddenly came knocking on my doors, introducing himself as one of the government staff who was on his way to unwelcoming retirement episode. while kept complaining about his painful knees problems in his pure malay language, he suddenly smiling at me and explained to me that he had to spent his EPF’s money for a house for him to spent the rest of his life happily ever after.

with respect and honest explanation that I could never have the expertise to resolve his troublesome knees’ problem, i could only suggested to him to think of this simple single storey bungalow proposals which would try to fulfill his other life’s [NOT his knees’] requirements, at least.

never let loose of our cultural spirit, heritage & value

2007-09-14T10:18:00.000+08:00

GLOKAL architecture - pondering and wondering

2007-09-14T10:11:00.001+08:00

what is the fate of our malay traditional architecture or malaysian architecture, if there are such?

in the healthy spirit of adopting iconic global hyperaccelerated development in architecture, it is however very necessary for the malay/malaysian architectural characters and cultures to remain meaningfully regional.

local architectural characters and cultures MUST NOT be let to become less important or less necessary in the context of global communications. it must be preserved to display the different, for it’s interesting and surely for it’s vital potentiality.

a window to the sky [2]

2007-09-14T10:06:00.000+08:00

a window to the sky [1]

2007-09-14T09:58:00.001+08:00

however, whatever it is /was, Allah will decide what our fate to be. the windows have to be opened when times come.

architectural details

2007-09-12T12:28:00.000+08:00

to personalise arkrab's architectural character marks [instead of merely a trade marks] on buildings arkrab will focus on detailings.

arkrab will detail the construction NOT to construct the detailing.

integrated petrol chemical industries complex - close up view [3]

2007-09-11T17:04:00.001+08:00

integrated petrol chemical industries complex - close up view [2]

2007-09-11T17:02:00.000+08:00

integrated petrol chemical industries complex - close up view [1]

2007-09-11T16:57:00.000+08:00

masterplan for a petrol chemical industries complex in sabah

2007-09-11T16:49:00.000+08:00

a recent commision to prepare a presentation panels for an integrated petrol chemical industries complex conceptual proposals for a company which is in the process of opening up it's business wings in oil & gas industries.

the approx. areas of the development is 1818 acres.

small village cottage [4]

2007-09-05T10:06:00.000+08:00

ground floor plan, first floor plan and view from the road

local river stone will make a beautiful decorative wall to the front side and one of the side wall of the cottage which aesthetically will suit the surounding image of the kampung.

small village cottage [3]

2007-09-04T17:40:00.000+08:00

more views

small village cottage [2] - for cikgu ismail

2007-09-04T17:29:00.000+08:00

the plan

the proposed flat roof system funtioning as the roof terrace will try to reduce the normally heavy cost on the roofing sytem.

small village cottage - everyone can own a house

2007-09-04T17:02:00.000+08:00

a recent visit home to my remote kampung [village] during the 'merdeka days' holidays', i met my elder brother who desperately need to built his own house on his wife's land.

with a budget cost of only RM60,000.00, he asked me to design a comfortable house but at an affordable cost.

i tried to propose to him this design - a compact 2 storey with minimal material usage at the begining, BUT the house is ready for further improvement at the later stage. the roofing system is of the lightest metal decking system with bare floor and wall finishes.

architectural illustrations - the poetry of architecture

2007-08-29T15:10:00.000+08:00

architectural illustrations or architects' drawings help lay men/client to visualize buildings which doesn't exist yet.

architects make use of architectural illustrations to show how buildings will look in the context of other buildings and the surroundings.

architectural illustrations convey the POETRY and atmosphere of architecture because architectural illustrations are the perfect tools for architects to make others to understand their conceptual approach in designing their buildings.

one media of producing architectural illustrations, other than the traditional media making a B&W pen & ink drawings and later touched with various type of colouring media, is using computer generated drawings - 3D drawings.

3D drawings - computer generated architectural presentation drawings are normally used or prepared to assist architects in creating architectural presentations in both two [2D] or three-dimensions [3D].

bungalow MELOR [4] - other views

2007-08-28T10:48:00.000+08:00

an inviting front porch marked by a towering structure fronting the house which housed the main entrance hall and the staircase leading to the guest room, will friendly welcome the guests to this house.

bungalow MELOR [3] - first floor plan

2007-08-28T10:45:00.000+08:00

MELOR not only welcome guests but preserves owner’s privacy. spacious family area on the first floor connected to large roof terrace which provide additional exterior areas for private family activities.

bungalow MELOR [2] - ground floor plan

2007-08-28T10:43:00.001+08:00

inside, the split leveled plan with open plan approach for the living area and the dining area, creating a sense of spaciousness and openess.

privately situated off the living area and dining area, the guest room is also served by its own bathroom and private balcony entered from the bedroom itself. this obviously offering total seclusion.

wrapping around living or lounge areas is open terrace which perfectly be the place for open air relaxing areas looking towards the landscaped garden.

2 storeys bungalow - MELOR [1]

2007-08-28T10:35:00.000+08:00

MELOR is a 2 storey bungalow designed for owner who likes to welcome guests to their home without sacrificing the 'HOME SWEET HOME' private spirit.

in islamic practice and value, guests are honoured with special welcoming treatment because they will bring prosperity and barakah to the owner.

what is architecture?

2007-08-27T10:44:00.000+08:00

architecture has been defined by most as an arts and sciences of enclosing spaces. but as many may also agree it must be structurally functional and architecturally beautiful.

how to materialises architecture? architect will interprets it in the form of drawings and the builders later translate those drawings into finished building.

however architect's interpretation will be subjected to client's requirements, client's budget, the condition of the building's site and the availability of materials and structural technologies and last but not least, possibily will be what allowable by the building localities's laws/by-laws.

anyway, what's your definition of architecture?

some other old b&w pen and ink architectural illustration drawings

2007-08-24T15:00:00.000+08:00

a few other samples of architectural illustration drawings that i did way back before the paintful recession times in the 90s.

it was really a hard times when most of the architect offices were offered less commisions to sustain their offices. as a freelance illustrator then, i also had to experience the same situation and was forced to resort to other job as a project manager in one of the project management consultant in jb. thank God, i had lost nothing because there were so much to learn too in project management. remember! architects are project managers too.

architects are the main professional in building industries. as an architect or project manager, our responsibilities and expertise starts as early as the inception of the project up until we die because we hold responsibilities as the lead consultant who issue CCC.

medan selera [3]

2007-08-24T11:22:00.000+08:00

this will be a very busy food courts. tradition had proven that for a food courts to be practical it must not be approached by unnecessary staircases/steps. so a single storey building will be the best solution.

medan selera [2]

2007-08-24T10:48:00.000+08:00

low cost building

the client's brief also called for a small budget cost. one approach to this is to design a very light construction building by reducing the tendencies to construct heavy roofing structure. wedges shape building thus proposed to achieve roof slope supported by a short span of i beam without the necessity to provide heavy roof trusses.

illustration works for food courts proposal in kuala lumpur

2007-08-24T10:33:00.001+08:00

food courts [medan selera (1)]

this food courts had been proposed to serve the local surrounding residential communities.

the site is quiet strategic because it is also very close to a busy commuter station.

the layout tried to fulfill client's brief which called for minimum 16 stalls to be provided and at the same time to accomodate enough parking spaces despite its tight site.

call for prayer

2007-08-21T16:27:00.001+08:00

minaret

as well as providing a visual cue to demarcating a muslim community center and territory, the call to prayer traditionally given from the top of the minaret.

in the early days, the main function of the minaret was to provide a vantage point from which the muezzin can call out the azan, calling the faithful to prayer.

in recent time, mosques, surau or madrasah the azan is called not in the minaret, but in the musallah, or prayer hall, via a microphone and speaker system.

surau taman tasek kesuma

2007-08-21T14:19:00.001+08:00

designed for a closely-knitted muslim community in a flourishing new taman, somewhere in the district of kajang.

on a restricted lot only 1,137.90m³ [0.291 acres], this proposal tried to make use of the tight boundaries by pragmatically links main praying area with the open balai, a general communal activities area at the back which will function as additional praying areas to house seasonally big crowd for special prayer performing during yearly religious celebrative occasions.

the high ceiling level in the praying area has been designed and oriented to make the best use of the characteristic prevailing equatorial breezy wind. high level ventilated louvers windows and maximum provision of windows on both side facades of the building will introduce cross ventilation through this main praying area

community venue for community value

2007-08-20T09:47:00.000+08:00

a surau

this project proposed in taman tasek kesuma, semenyeh kajang selangor. the tight site and the necessity to orientate the building towards Mecca in a way posed a little problems to accomodate generous building spaces and parking areas.

multi-functioning of the building without sacrificing sacred value of the spaces thus planned. a library on the upper floor above female solat [praying] area/room would be the place for general religious educational activities. communal open air balai at the back, can be converted into additional praying areas when time comes.

more b&w pen & ink sketches

2007-08-16T15:46:00.002+08:00

mixed development in johor bahru

one sketches for a mixed development in taman perling johor bahru for mssrs. perling setia sdn. bhd. it comprises of commercial podium with three towers for a service apartments, hotel building in the centre and office spaces. the podium also housed a localised bus terminal with wet market in the basement.

banglo tropika [3] - the plan

2007-08-16T11:37:00.000+08:00

luxurious spaces provided both on ground floor and the first floor but the rooms layout have been arranged in a manner to attain a compact unit under one roof.

tropika house [2]

2007-08-16T11:00:00.000+08:00

the provision of sun-shaded anjung space overlooking sparkling sea surface, surrounded by cooling water element is one vernacular approach trying to respect the traditional value.

'think globally, act locally' - GLOKAL? [1]

2007-08-16T10:50:00.000+08:00

tropika house - tropical beach house
creating dynamic architecture adaptive to the localized climatic requirements.

briefed to produce an environmentally conscious building that could response to the site condition and it’s hot, wet and windy localized microclimate, both passive and active environmental design solutions are thus introduced to fulfill the demand for comfortability such as the use of practical local building materials largely roofed by deep overhangs and the use of sun-blinding mechanism and louvered windows which provide shading, natural ventilation and which technically allowing considerable sunlight penetration.

‘think globally, act locally’ – GLOKAL in architecture: set out to create a locally responsive architecture capable of expressing the cultural and geographical demands without neglecting the call of universal Modernist valuable traditions.

banglo 3x3 [5] - equatorial malaysiana

2007-08-14T13:06:00.001+08:00

EQUATORIAL MALAYSIANA

one of the pleasures of living in the equator is an awakening of the senses that brings us closer to nature.

banglo 3x3 [4] - equatorial houses for comfort

2007-08-14T09:59:00.000+08:00

equatorial countries, where it is hot and humid the whole year round - for that, large roof overhangs, sun-shaded verandahs/balconies, one-room deep buildings to facilitate cross ventilation and excessive open air openings and shaded external green landscape are the solution that makes sense here in Malaysia.

banglo 3x3 [3]

2007-08-10T17:18:00.000+08:00

adapting to the climate

the first task to adapt to the equatorial climatic conditions for comfortability is to keep heat from penetrating and warming the interiors.

interpreting equatorial malaysiana [4] - banglo 3x3 [2]

2007-08-09T18:25:00.000+08:00

banglo 3x3

this bungalow's deep overhang, excessive windows/openings, open planning concept on the ground floor, and the widely used of timber structure in the construction elements are some of the approaches implemented to make this house adapted to the equatorial climatic requirements.

‘coming to terms with our equatorial environment is the beginning of an architecture that is distinctively MALAYSIAN’ – AR DR. TAN LOKE MUN [PAM PRESIDENT 2005 -2007]

interpreting equatorial malaysiana [3]

2007-08-09T14:12:00.000+08:00

some background on malaysia's weather

to be able to adapt house designs to suit the site localised weather, some undertanding of the weather is important.

malaysia has an equatorial climate with fairly uniform temperatures throughout the year. temperatures range from 32°c during the day to 22°c at night. it can be slightly cooler in the hill country. (rainfall is common throughout the year, averaging 200-250cm a year.) relative humidity is high, sometimes exceeding 80%. daytime cloudy hours are also high while haze lately is a frequent occurrence that will contribute to acid rains.

malaysia's weather characterised by the equatorial climate, and has an average annual rainfall of more than 2500 mm with spatial variation as shown in figure a the west coast of the peninsula is subject to localised and convective storms generated by the inter monsoon seasons/sumatera wind system in the months of april/may and october/november. the highest monthly rainfalls in kuala lumpur are in april and october.

the south-west monsoon (normally from may to september) produces less rain in the west coast of the peninsula whilst the north-east monsoon, from november to march, carries longer and heavier rains to the east coast of the peninsula, north sabah, and inland sarawak [figure b].in the peninsula wettest area is taiping in perak whilst the driest is kuala pilah in negeri sembilan [figure c].

source: http://www.water.gov.my

interpreting equatorial malaysiana [2] - banglo 3x3 [1]

2007-08-09T14:10:00.001+08:00

house designed to suit the weather

start your daily early days with smiles

2007-08-09T09:30:00.000+08:00

bungalow for tuan haji idris kaparawi johor bahru [lower floor level plan]

2007-08-08T17:50:00.000+08:00

bungalow for tuan haji idris kaparawi johor bahru [upper floor level]

2007-08-08T17:42:00.000+08:00

the spaces are arranged to suit the client's requirements who wanted to fully taking the advantage of the slopy site. two parking areas are proposed on the upper level and the lower level to resolve the problem of tight site [refer lower floor level plan]

bungalow for tuan haji idris kaparawi johor bahru [more illustration works]

2007-08-08T16:51:00.000+08:00

some more views of the bungalow.

bungalow for tuan haji idris kaparawi johor bahru

2007-08-08T14:56:00.002+08:00

adapting to equatorial climate

interpreting equatorial malaysiana [1]

2007-08-08T14:29:00.000+08:00

this bungalow for tuan haji idris will be located in johor bahru. the main request by the client it must suit the climate where it will be constructed.

the spaces also have been arranged to take into consideration of the existing slope at site.

open spaces underneath the first floor [kolong] was proposed to be the main attraction to the house because it will be a universal areas meant for various personal activities of the owner.

AO size b&w pen & ink drawing

2007-08-03T15:45:00.000+08:00

illustration works for a client in johor bahru for proposed islamic tower at danga bay, johor bahru.

'setting up' sketches was first done on butter paper** to get the basic forms of the various components of the building complexes. tracing paper of the same size later overlaid over the first sketches, where further detailing of the renderings were done. normally, for this size of drawings, the time spent to complete it would be 2 to 3 days.

this was a speculative government privatisation project proposal in johor bahru. a mixed development on an approx. 200 acres area facing the danga bay adjacent to the present sultanah aminah hospital.

the project brief required a comprehensive usage of the land to accomodate and develop an islamic one stop centre which would comprised of twin office towers, commercial spaces on the podium level and attached islamic medical centre.

the building could be approached from the existing jalan along the selat tebrau/danga bay area and jalan mahmoodiah.

the drawings were done on AO size tracing paper with finely detailed pen & ink sketches using rotring technical/draftimg pen.

** butter paper = a soft tissue like paper normally used by architects to sketch their conceptual ideas on building design.

illustration work on a mixed commercial development

2007-08-02T15:44:00.000+08:00

this is one example of my pen & ink b&w drawings done for a client in Johor Bahru. the building was a mixed development consisting of commercial floor spaces and a private institutional buildings. This drawing was used to illustrate the preliminary concept of the proposal for submission to the client.

done on tracing paper which later printed on a white A4 papers and touched with water colour. digital print copies were done to be included in the feasibility reports submitted to the client.

b&w pen & ink sketches on tracing paper

2007-08-01T18:20:00.002+08:00