INITIATION AT GUNUNG LAMBAK ECO RESORT, KLUANG, JOHOR

It is a tradition that all of our new student of architecture to undergo an initiation program or 'Masuk Jurus'. This year, the whole Unit Fundamental members had attended a 2-day initiation program at Gunung Lambak Eco Resort, Kluang on July 17 & 18, 2009. There are 12 invited final year students from Regionalism Unit to assist the program. There are several tasks that take into action in which during the action the students will naturally fall under various categories: a leader, a thinker, a follower, or a backbencher. It is also a self-discovery: are they conventional or unique, activist or conformist, egocentric or eco-centric.

Day 1
program 1: Intrduction of self
program 2: Portrait of a Place, Sensorial Walk & Mental Map
program 3: Inconvenient Truth
program 4: Creative Expression
Day 2
program 5: Environmental Project
program 6: Lessons from the Seniors
program 7: Lesson from the Masters

The program ended at 4.00pm
The unique creature in the above photo is amazing, named as Lantern Bug and was taken at Gunung Lambak crawling on a tree trunk near my chalet. Now, people hunt and sell them indiscriminately. Please protect these beautiful insects from extinction. HELP SAVE THE BEAUTIFUL CREATION OF GOD, THE ALMIGHTY. Click first photo to enjoy the rest......

WELCOME ABOARD

I wish you all a warm welcome and are pleased to have you with us to begin your architectural journey. As before, I will be teaching Fundamental Unit. Fundamental Unit is a 1st year core studio subject. Fundamental Studio plays a role as a transition from school life to campus life. Our responsibilities are to make this transitition occurs surely and conciously, so that you will accept the new learning culture in university. Fundamental studio also plays an important role to initiate you to the architectural discipline. Here for the first time, the students will be introduced to the broad parameters of the discipline.

We believe in the 5 essential skills in learning architecture that you must acquire:

- awareness of self
- awareness of environment
- knowledge in architecture
- effective communication &
- positive attitude & good ethics
This will help you to develope love of self which leads towards development expressive and distinguished individuals; to sharpen perception of the environment which leads to better cognition and critical thinking; to sharpen decision making; designing and communication ability; and to maintain integrity within the profession and mankind.

It is a Fun da Mental year to Fund a Mental!

I would like to share with all of you what my Guru Jak used to say about an architectural philosophy. All those mystical enough shall understand this. Life is linked to a river that one has to cross. Architecture is linked to a boat that takes one across the river of life. As such it is only a means to an end. But it does not mean that one should not make it a beautiful boat. After all there are bound to be passengers hitching a ride acoss. Although the means is not the end, one may realise that having made the crossing, the means is nothing less than the end. Should one reflects further one may also realise that end is nothing more than the means. Life is linked to the river and architecture to a boat that take one across.

Wish all of you good luck & have a bless journey....