EARTH HOUR

WE DID THIS….. EVERY SINGLE HOUSE UP AND DOWN OUR STREET AND THE NEXT ONE OVER HAD THEIR LIGHTS OUT. I WAS IMPRESSED!!!

Portrait of Nature.

Portrait of Nature is a series of paintings done by my students from Workbase3 which most of the time they call it Architorture Workbase. Workbase refers to our architectural studio, i.e our work station. It is a one day painting project as part of their final project on An Artist Beach Retreat House and to get the soul of an artist. Zakii Anwar, a Malaysian professional artist, again being selected as our client for our hypothetical project for this semester. Our site is at Pandak Beach on a hillside in Terengganu facing the South China Sea. Allow me to quote what Edward Hopper said about abstract painting.
One of the weaknesses of much abstract painting is the attempt to substitute the inventions of the intellect for a pristine imaginative conception. The inner life of a human being is a vast and varied realm and does not concern itself alone with stimulating arrangements of color, form and design. The term 'life’ as used in art is something not to be held in contempt, for it applies all of its existence, and the province of art is to react to it and not to shun it. Painting will have to deal more fully and less obliquely with life and nature's phenomena before it can again be great.

Edward Hopper- Artists

Enjoy&Godbless

A Visit to Denai House

Razin Architect designs sophisticated sustainable bungalow.

This private house was designed in 2007 for an 8000 sq.ft site in Johor Bahru. The house, completed in 2009, is organised in an elongated manner perpendicular to the main road. The basic planning house is one room thick, to promote cross ventilation for all spaces, as well as ensuring every room has a view to the 3X15m long lap pool.
There is no formal enclosed living room. House layout was done strictly on practical everyday functions. Kitchen is located right near the entrance as the main activity centre with family tv area next to it. Sliding folding timber doors open up the family to the lounge, turning it into a spacious combined area where kitchen, family, dining and lounge spread across the 6X18m area without any dividing partitions.
Floor to ceiling aluminium framed glass sliding doors replace typical windows for bedrooms. The roof cantilevers out 2m above the room openings for protection from the elements. Bedrooms are like balconies where one side of the room wall disappears when the doors are fully opened. Sliding and pivoted timber slats provide privacy while allowing fresh air to come in.
External colour palette was purposely limited to using black for metal works, natural stain for timber and unpainted gray cement plaster for wall surfaces.
The house is designed to allow for conversion into a true sustainable design house in the future. Enjoy & Godbless.

Good design is obvious. Great design is transparent.

"Good design is obvious. Great design is transparent." - Joe Sparano"

An interesting property of great design is that it is taken for granted. It works so well that we forget that creative effort was involved to bring it about. Sometimes, like with the lowly spoon, the object is so simplistic that it seems obvious, and we disregard that at one point in history it wasn’t. Other times, like with the automobile, the object is so sophisticated yet easy-to-use that we’re blinded to the fact that millions and millions of human-hours went into getting it to this point. That’s a shame…every great design has a rich history. And every design has behind it a designer or designers who tried to make the world a better place by solving some problem or another.Bad design is obvious because it hurts to use. It is awkward, difficult, and complex. In a great irony of the world, bad design is much easier to see than good design. It raps us on the head like a bully. Because of its success, great design is often invisible."

(from the 5 principles of design by Bokardo)

Wise Words From Guru

Every time a student walks past a really urgent, expressive piece of architecture that belongs to his college, it can help reassure him that he does have that mind, does have that soul.
Louis Kahn

QS WorldArts Tour

Asia’s First-Of-Its-Kind Festivals for Enrolling Students to Design Education and to the Creative and Performing Arts. The event was held in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai. Find out more about studying one of the University’s many creative disciplines, please come along to the World Arts Tour and will be available to talk with you about undergraduate and postgraduate study in Architecture, Planning, Urban Design, Dance, Fine and Visual Arts and Music. You will study alongside other creative people, sharing ideas and collaborating on projects within a stimulating interdisciplinary framework.

the World Arts Tour:

Kuala Lumpur - 21 February 2010 - Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre

Singapore – 23 February 2010 - Raffles City Convention Centre Singapore

Hong Kong – 25 February 2010 - Hong Kong International Trade & Exhibition Centre

Seoul – 27 February 2010 - COEX World Trade Centre, Seoul

Shanghai - 1 March 2010 - Grand Hyatt, Shanghai

Exhibitors At A Glance:

IE University

International Islamic University Malaysia

Instituto Marangoni

Kaywon School of Art & Design

Lasalle College of the Arts

Mahidol University

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

New York University

Tisch School of the Art

Savannah College of Art and Design

Swinburne University of Technology

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

University of Auckland

University of Huddersfield

University of Kent

University of Melbourne

University of Technology, Sydney & UTS: Insearch

QS World ARTS Tour 2010 @ http://www.qsworldarts.com/