I apologize for not checking out the SEGI's website properly concerning its Architecture course before coming to the conclusion that the university presently (Already) offers an Architecture course. I guess that SEGI's new Flagship University Campus is "Just" currently planning to offer the traditional courses such as quantity surveying, architecture, and civil engineering etc...At present, I noticed that they still do not have architecture listed as one of their current courses on offer yet...

Anyway it is alright, I was also excited to discover that the Flagship Campus also offers Interior Designing! (Perhaps I could study I.D. in that Flagship Campus instead of in the U.S.J. Subang Jaya one; if I should ever choose to pursue I.D..)

I have been really wanting to transfer over to that new campus ever since the beginning of the last semester when it was ready, but it has seems that the photography department was having some cost factors that was preventing them from setting up a photography course/department in that new flagship campus...Even until today, the Photography course is still not being offered in that new flagship campus. (Which is a pity in my humble opinion.)

Anyway, I would be interested to know which college/universities would be recommended for architecture studies...(Would that M.S.C. Limkokwing University in Cyberjaya be one of the more ideal option?)

Regards.

Benjamin.

This post has been edited by Benjamin911: Nov 8 2007, 04:32 AM

well, i'm not sure what to add other than what have been mentioned before. if u'd kindly browse the first page of this thread, u'd see the list of schools that u could choose from, both IPTA and IPTS.

maybe if u could narrow down on ur preference like IPTA vs IPTS, budget, environment, expertise and so on, i could suggest a few schools that might be suitable for u

I am curious to know that as an Interior Designer; will I be allowed (Or rather be having the authority) to design the "architecture" of interiors? (Such as the interior of houses for example.)

For example, would an Interior Designer be allowed to design interiors involving suspended catwalks, stairs, and balconies as such?

E.G.;

Perhaps as an interior designer, I may like to design the hall of a house concept to have its dining area raised a few meters above the ground, surrounded by railings, and perhaps being lead to the area by a long winded flight of stairs guided by railings too. Then perhaps, I may also like to add a stylish spiral staircase in the middle of the hall, that can also lead up to the library constructed at the roof top.......As an Interior Designer, will I be able to do things like that? (Or perhaps, only the architect would be able/allowed to perform such things? )

Regards.

Benjamin.

This post has been edited by Benjamin911: Nov 8 2007, 09:55 PM

as a general rule, interior designer involves in the "interior" of the building. so technically anything that goes inside it would be ur turf. however, there's a limit of how much structural change u could impose/utilize upon a building, bcoz now u're threading on the architect/engineer's realm. balconies and stairs for example, may or may not be included under the IDs frame of work. it depends on to what extent the change would be.

other than that, the example u've given above are quite well in the ability of the IDs. but u also need to know that the example above is also under the architect's abilities. it's just a matter of who gets the job .

Thanks a lot, that is certainly very helpful to me.

Regards.

Hi guys,

I spend my whole day reading this thread from page 1 till the last page. Found lots of information. I'm now currently studying in Curtin International College after SPM and I'm had enrolled into University of Newcastle next year for the Bachelor of Design (architecture) first year . It was kinda tough to enroll into university in Australia as all the university requirement for architecture course are mostly high. The requirement are 81% and above , its nearly close to medicine course. Next year is my 1st year , any advice for me, what to prepare in the first year or what to expect , azarimy ?

so u're coming here to the UK next year? i dont think i'd have to repeat the usual preparations to study abroad, so i'll just focus on architectural stuffs. to study architecture here in the UK, u need to:

i. do nothing.

honestly, there's nothing u really NEED to prepare. it's just a matter of whether u want to or not. it would be better if u could settle some of the stuff in malaysia, but it's not necessarily so. stuff that u might wanna look at are:

i. buy stationaries in msia, bcoz it's cheaper there.
ii. get a laptop or PC, bcoz it's cheaper there. try and atleast get original OS and office software.
iii. attend short courses on drawing/draftmanship just to warm up before u go there. u dont really need it, but do as u please .
iv. get a decent digital camera.

i cant think of anything else. u dont need to:

i. buy books, bcoz there's absolutely NO TEXT BOOKS in architecture - ever.
ii. train urself in expensive cad softwares like autocad, 3dsmax, lightwave or maya. chances are, it is already integrated into the syllabus.

No , its in australia ! lol
Every time i tell people im gonna study at University of Newcastle , people always thought that is in England. but its actually located in New South Wales, Australia. I had actually studied a Built Environment foundation in Perth Australia , thats how i enroll into the university of Newcastle . I had basically all those stationary and laptop and camera as well. Now i'm just worried about the studies whether can i cope up or not ! My dad is an architect (graduate at Dundee university in Scotland) and he keep scaring me about "they dint sleep and stay up all night about their assignments and stuff" , in fact i had a few friend advice that during the 1st year nobody smokes , and when reaches the 3rd year everybody smokes !! So what type of mind should i go in the first year in university with ? a scary year which needs lots of work to be done ? or a year which relax and clubbing every weekend ?

well, one point u should be aware is that newcastle (UK) architecture school has quite a good reputation, not to be confused with the australian one. not that newcastle australia is bad, just that newcastle UK's reputation might overshadow its aussie counterpart.

ur dad is not trying to scare u. architecture demands alot from u, and it's not just for assignments or academic advancements, but also for u to develop ur social and people skills, leadership, situational awareness as well as being up-to-date with what goes on around u. this may cause people to resort to something out of their normal habits - people started smoking, drinking, become rebellious and so on.

so what type of mind would be suitable for architecture? well, i can only advise u to be very, very open yet strong minded. 1st year is one of the hardest, bcoz this is the "make-or-break" point, where we sort out those who're not suitable and tell them straight in the face to better find something else to do for a living. in 1st year, u will also go through a sort of mind-bending experience. u will be exposed to extremely different way of learning, some have dub it as "a process to unlearn what u've learned, and reprogramme ur mind entirely the other way around".

but it's not a process where u get stuck on ur table studying. no way. architects are social beasts. clubbing, hanging out and socializing are parts and parcel of the architecture game. if u're the sort of person who cant manage between studying and fun, better not be sucked into this world.

thou hath been warned.

woot..i think i can manage between study n fun those ppl start smoking,drinking to de-stress?lol..i can play my guitar haha...strong determination is needed too...woot XD

hann@
i am a student from newcastle university, but my campus is in UK!
Architecture quite busy.. for example, i had stay in the studio whole night yesterday to complete my model.. I just come back now (7.30am) to take bath than have to go back school for presentation at (10am)

i will advice you get sketchbook in malaysia. i don know the price in aus but in UK the skechbook is so damn expensive, is like 9 pound for a A3 size sketchbook..

Im really looking forward to take up this challenge and fight with it all year long ! Hope my university life over there are not cover with boredom or relax. I heard that the studio is open 24 hours 7 days per week, is it true ? hmm , so that means we can even sleep in the studio ?? =p Hope there are some chicks over there , so i wont be bored and wont run out of idea ! I guess I go have some leadership in me ! but do leadership helps me in architecture ? can u list some example that it could help me in the future during working days ?


Your in UK ? I dont think australia (university of newcastle) is linked to the UK. I actually did had some taste of "the never-ending-work" during my foundation year in perth. When i was doing the assignment , i just cant stop asking my self when is this work gonna finish ! and after i finish my work , just have 1 hour for a small nap. Even though u have 1 hour , but when i lye down at the bed , i cant sleep ! Too tired till cant sleep i guess after the next day , was so sick !

yea , accessories are expensive as here as well !

erm, i don know whether there is a link between this 2 uni, maybe mr azarimy can answer this...

now that u've had a taste of what's to come, u should be adequately prepared for architecture. yes, most architecture schools allow 24/7 studio usage, although some do limit the use solely based on extreme power consumption by architecture students. back in UTM, the architecture department that basically consists of 2 blocks consumes power more than an entire faculty with 8 blocks from other courses. i've encountered the same issue while in bartlett (UCLondon) and univ of sheffield. they would try to limit the usage at night anyway they can . and dont worry, there are plenty of chicks to play with, it's just a matter if they wanna play with u or not

leadership is very important for an architect, bcoz the nature of the profession requires u to BE a leader. in a project, architect is the highest person in the group and sits right below the client. literally, anything that the client wants is reiterated by the architect, who plays the role of a trustee that keeps the client's interests first and foremost. the engineers, quantity surveyors, contractors, town planners, landscape, interior design and others in the group also need to be managed by the architect. client dont do these stuff, and they dont wanna know about it.

imagine a top class kitchen (if u watch ratatouille, gordon ramsay's kitchen nightmares or hell's kitchen u should know): u have the head chef, sous chef and all those under him. the customer doesnt wanna know what's going on in the kitchen. they wanna order the best food for their money, and the head chef will deal with everything. he will manage his kitchen personnels, food and everything else. if he doesnt have leadership skills, his kitchen will fall apart.

I just found out this thread today and I'm quit surprise this thread is exist. Hereby, I just want to drop my opinion and experience about architecture. For those who thinking to study architecture, I wish you can think twice before you move because any mistake in the first step will lead to disaster.

It is my plan to get into UTM but my SPM result don't allow me for that. So, I changed my way and get into college. I'm graduated with an non-recognised and non-acredited Architecture Diploma. It was a nightmare for me when I was told that local-U don't accept my diploma for furthure study even it was a distinction. I was like trapped in the middle of the road. However, my luck doesn't end here, I was offered to work with an architecture firm with basic salary of RM1500.

Working with the company revealed a lot information for me. The hierarchy as what explained by azarimy, from the lowest is a draughtperson > architect assistant > architect/manager > associate > director.

The director usually will be those old man holding part 3 with abundance of experiece. The don't have to do any drawing but just to sign the drawing.

The associates is the leader of the design team. They in charged in the most project matters from design concept to *documentation. They are the most busy person in the company as they need to visit site, attend tender, and meeting. They usually sketched up the basic concept that later developed by the young architects. The drawing later was pass down to draughtperson who will do the **detail parts.

For those who wish to step into this field, there were some software you have to mastered. It included Autocad, Architectural Desktop, Powerdraft, Sketch-up, and Photoshop. Basically, those architectural firm will prefer to use Autocad or Powerdraft rather than Architectural Desktop. For draughtperson, they don't need to know about Sketch-up or Photoshop because they mainly focused on 2D detailed drawings. However, when you climbed up to architect, sketch-up and photoshop is compulsary. And also not to forget, please master your Microsoft Office as documentations work need it a lot.

To become an architect, you also have to memorised all the standard construction methods and measurement (do not ever throw your build cons. text book). You also have to know what's the types of materials available in the market (please do more visit to Architex Fair). When you can mastered these two things, I can guarantee there is a smooth way for you in architecture.

* Documentation is the text documents usually in word or excel format. There are a lot of documentation to be done for a project that should be submitted to Dewan Bandaraya, Bomba, TNB, JKR and so on.

** Detail drawing is 2D drawings that shows only specific part of the building in a very big scale, usually in 1:2, 1:5, and 1:10. The drawings include door details, window details, floor details, railing details, and so on. Basically there are more than 100 of details from a single project.

I think that's all for this session. I will add in more info when I'm free.

The studios here in NUS is also opened 24/7. But I think they will switch off some air-con on Saturday night. I'm not very sure coz I never stay overnight in my studio, though my 1st semester is coming to an end.
I'll try to bring all my assignments back to my student residence where there are alot of function rooms/meeting rooms, with big big tables and air-conditioned. When I am sleepy then I'll just go upstairs to my room and take short nap, leaving all my stuffs downstairs. LOL. I think I shall try to work in studio next semester because it seems to be more happening there. But back in my student residence there also not too bad la. We work together with my friends from other studios. And I like it as I can still sleep on my comfortable bed, rather than sleeping bag in studio.

And oh my, I am still writing my essay on CCTV building in Beijing. Gosh. Totally no idea how to write 1000 words...

Hopefully next year i manage to cope up with the "lifestyle" of architecture. Thanks for giving such useful information regarding the profession ! can i ask after we graduate with a Bachelor of Architecture which equals to part 2, how do we get the part 3 done ? work for 2 years or take another exam ?

azarimy , are u an architect ? My dad told me university of sheffield is good, he said he actually wanted to go there. haha



I think diploma is kinda hard to get accredited and not so well recognize. Correct me if i'm wrong.

after graduating with a part 2 degree, u will need atleast 2 years relevant experience (by filling in a logbook) and going through the part 3 exam. if u're going for RIBA, u could acquire this through a masters programme (part 3). malaysia is also thinking of organizing such programmes, but not in the next 5 years.

well, currently i'm not an architect. i'm a lecturer in UTM on study leave in university of sheffield .

Yeah, diploma is kinda hard to get acredited. So now I was like hanging in the middle, dunno where to go. Furthure my study or continue as an AA. But even if I wanna go back to study, I also blur about the way.

This post has been edited by violet world: Nov 11 2007, 10:41 AM

Oh your a lecturer. So may i ask , how do u marks your students ? is it by their performance or by their determination and effort or is it by your opinion ? For example, if a study works really hard and put a lot of effort in , but the standard of the project produce is under average, will u still give him/she a pass or ? I heard some lecturer if they do not like your work , then they fail u ; if they like your work u pass. is it true that this exist ?