i. technical here generally referring to the ability or knowledge on construction, working drawings, structural understandings, services, by-laws, costing and so on. basically it's the science of making a building work. it's halfway towards the "engineering" part of architecture, although we dont really go that far.

so UTM diploma is now going back to its roots, by training students to be able to produce highly technical designs. this means they should be able to figure out how the glass frame sits on a steel hung structure and draw it on paper. which means most of their reference books will be about that.

ii. it's been toned down because of several reasons. one, LAM or even RIBA requirement dont need them to be able to go that high on technicalities. back then a diploma student could already design a complex 4 storey building complete with everything on it. whereas that is a requirement for degree part 1. so we have been overburdening the students for things they should learn later. imagine teaching add maths at primary school.

it is also have been toned down to make way for other emphasis on architecture such as theory, research, experiments, philosophy, culture, human behaviours, sustainability and so on. making the building workable technically is of course important. if u cant draw ur building properly, how do u expect people to construct them? but the other aspects of making a building work is also extremely important. if ur building can be built but is a magnet for crime, what's the point?

these are some of the aspects that were not focused before. so in light of specializations that UTM adopts, we realized that we need to open the students up to more possibilities. in doing so, we have to let go of certain things that have been preoccupying the students, mainly the extremely high emphasis on the technicalities.

we believe that technicalities can be learned on the go in the first 3-5 years of practice. students can refer to books and magazines, or even the firm's previous works. but the other aspects such as philosophy, they need to really understand about it before going off to work. u just have no time to develop an understanding of philosophy, culture, or human behaviours during practice, because that's where people expect u to apply ur knowledge, not gather more.

so for those joining UTM degree from 1st year, u'll be trained holistically in the early years, balancing all the aspects of architecture. towards the upper years, u'll be exploring into highly technical complexity while juggling on the other aspects. towards the end, u'll be specializing into a niche area which u're interested in and hopefully develop further more.

the UTM diploma students on the other hand will develop strong technical sense. when they join UTM, they will mix with the degree students and this is where peer-learning takes place and hopefully those skills/knowledge acquired earlier will rub off each other. the degree students will share the design exposures with the diploma graduates, while the diploma graduates will share their technical expertise.

and yes, it does mean in UTM, u cannot survive alone. we put about 60-70% of learning from peers, about 20% from lecturers and the rest on ur own. so if u're a passive, introverted KIASU, u will not survive here . knowledge sharing is where it's at.