well, i cant say for REAL, but that's the feedback i've received from friends studying in australia as well as other forumers here. they can testify their experience, and some have made detailed calculations.

my suggestion is, do ur part 1 in malaysia, preferrably recognized IPTA bcoz it's cheap and obviously recognized. UTM, UM, USM and UIAM are ur top choices. for the three years studying, try and save money to study abroad for 2 years part 2. this is the best combo that i could suggest to anyone at the moment.

er anyone know what is palimpsest drawing? i really confuse of this..
The lecture expert me to do a series of A1 drawings expressing the layered nature.

azarimy...
what is it about?

eugh, i was hoping that i wont have to explain to anyone ... cilakak punya justin. ahem.

intro: my degree thesis was not about a building nor an architecture per se, which was the main cause why it caused a stir in the architecture department a few years ago. i mean, are they gonna award an architectural degree to somebody who defied the system by NOT doing a building as a thesis?

background: my thesis looks into the future possibility of architecture in malaysia. it started off by looking into parasite architecture, which was the earlier intention of the study. i guess i dont have to explain what parasite architecture is. however, it is quite impossible to do parasite architecture in malaysia. well, not in the near future, that is.

so in order to actually construct a parasitic architecture in malaysia, instead of adapting the architecture to malaysia, i opted to design the entire future of malaysia in order to find a possibility of using parasite architecture in malaysia. does that make sense? so i invented a timeline, projecting current happening in the world starting off from globalisation, how it impacted malaysian economy and eventually socio-politics, the rise of transnational corporation, the formation of nation-states based on corporation instead of socio-geography, the fall of government and the dissolution of physical borders, and eventually the birth of corporate wars.

it draws alot from science fiction novels but also future projections written by prominent writers like future shock/third wave writer alvin toffler and 1984/animal farm writer george orwell. there were also film and game references used to imagine a dystopian kuala lumpur in the year 2025, where corporations took over the world and literally dissolves the traditional government.

the thesis should not be seen as an architectural project, bcoz it's not the point of the thesis. i had minimal drawing of a building, which lead to a lot of fuss by my peers as to why i was actually allowed to be graded (incomplete dwgs usually leads to failure). the thesis challenged the whole idea that architecture students should only do architectural stuffs. well, we've been doing lots of non-architectural stuffs but never in academic terms and at this scale. the thesis was an anomaly that the department wrote a report on mine and 3 other theses that shared the same approach. the other three were:

bio-morphic architecture by ramesh kumar - architecture created by genetically engineering organisms that forms a living, functioning building.
reprogramming defunct building by fauzan maidin - technically producing a matrix or guideline for other architects to reuse old buildings.
evolutionary habitat by ang boo chung - a housing scheme that is so flexible, u could literally move ur house to another location and evolving like a cellular automata

the report details the approaches adapted by the 4 theses that defies the conventional thesis approach. however, a group of radical but visionary lecturers led by dr. rashid decided to defend this approach, which was also detailed in the report. eventually the department gave way to them, which gave birth to a new approach in architectural thesis in UTM. this was also one of the reason they called me back to join as an academic right after i graduate.

this new approach towards architectural thesis now dominates UTM's final year projects. there's a drawback to this approach though. in order to attempt this approach, u must be very fluent in the area u're specializing into. the ideas will be challenged more aggresively than conventional thesis, and the risk of failure is extremely high. there have been lots of wannabes attempting the new approach just for the sake of looking cool but crashed and burned. sometimes it's safer to just attempt a building for the thesis.

btw; boss wat is parasite architecture?
taking architecture from overseas and apply to home country ?

btw explain more of the thesis and malaysia context of future architecture management ~
and the impact of such architecture to current situation


This post has been edited by KVReninem: Nov 18 2007, 05:37 PM

hmm... parasite architecture is a building system that attaches itself to another building or architecture, utilizing its services and facilities for its own good. technically refer to a parasite organism, i'm sure it is easier to understand. to put in context with buildings, parasite architecture is additional constructions that is built to be attached to a building to provide additional space or function. here's an illustrated example:



on the left is a normal office building.
in the middle, a parasitic component is introduced.
on the right is the office building being taken over by the parasite components.

so now the question is, why do u need extra spaces on a hirise? this was the question raised in the issue. i wanted to do parasitic architecture, but in malaysia u DONT need it, bcoz there are still alot of spaces where u can build new buildings to cater for ur needs. unlike in tokyo or hongkong where the spaces are very limited, so if the company/corporation needs to expand, they need to expand on their building, not build new ones.

hence i've designed a world where this COULD happen in malaysia, kuala lumpur to be exact, by eliminating the access to available land for new construction, as well as introducing each corporation as its own nation-state. like singapore, the nation state expands its "land" by reclaiming the sea, adding more land area to accommodate its need. in this situation, so does the corporations. they need more space, so they expand using parasitic architecture. does this makes sense? LOL...



i will answer the thesis thingy later. got things to do.

Assalamualaikum, i was the 2006 SPM candidate and have been offered a place in UiTM faculty of architecture, planning and surveying recently for the 2nd intake. The course is Ijazah Sarjana Muda Seni Bina. I understand that this course is upgraded from a diploma to a degree quite recently. I'm a little confused as to why it is a degree course straight away for a ex-spm student like me.

But the main question here is, what are the subjects that are taught to newbies like me when i go there next month? I need some basic subjects guideline and know what i need to buck up on etc. I've tried to look for it in uitm's website but to no avail. I guess it might have not been updated just yet. Help please? Mr Azarimy? I want to atleast be abit prepared before i register myself next month.

Thank you.

UiTM's 1st degree in architecture is actually a 4 year course compared to other universities which are 3 years. the intake is ofcourse straight from SPM, mainly bcoz the 1st year is actually a foundation course that is integrated directly into the degree. so the year when everybody else is learning matriculation or STPM subjects, u're learning the basic design subjects. this is very similar to other design/architecture foundation courses offered in IPTS.

i'm not sure exactly what is offered in foundation in UiTM. one of LYN members here is in UiTM. we'll have to wait for her to inform what the list of subjects are. no point in me speculating bcoz i may give the wrong impression.

okay thank u for the explanation..anyways, can u give me a rough idea? in general or something like that..wat can i do now b4 i go there next month? practise on my sketching? buck up my maths? physics? hahahaha im very nervous..

thanks.

I would say learning how to colour/ draw properly

Since now is the school holiday season, why don't you go for an intensive marker/watercolour class.. ?

in essence, thats wat u'll b learning in the first yr classes. dun think u'll need intensive classes. On the other hand, you might wan to ask any of ur relatives who are architects n pop by their office n get a feel on how architects work. that'll truly b an eye opener and a better way to spend ur holidays.

OR

if Shah Alam is not that far from where u are, and the students have not gone back for holidays, you can always check out their works and c whats it like to b an architecture student. Im sure the ppl there will be helpful towards a 'virgin' like you

This post has been edited by xtracooljustin: Nov 20 2007, 10:19 PM

hello coysmith..for uitm..we'll be having our crit on the 21st..but its for the perak branch..not sure about the shah alam ones..mebbe same kut..hehehe..sowiee..mebbe can go there tomm if you want too..

and yea..for all those interested in architecture..you guys should really visit the respected schools (if in malaysia la) to see what they've been doing and so on and so forth..it'll actually give u a head start on things..

This post has been edited by arcanawar: Nov 20 2007, 11:42 PM

haha okay..btw im from penang..so i cant visit shah alam yet la for now..hehe oh okay..coloring eh..im not so good with watercolor and stuffs..LOL..n physics too..hahahaha anyways thanks evryone!

there's no applied physics in architecture. nothing more than what u study in form 5. the most that i've studied that is similar to physics are in structure subjects that talks about force, loads, bending moments and stuff like that. pretty basic stuff. even if u've never studied physics before, it's not something u cant catch up from scratch. most of my friends from art stream managed to fare very well.

if u're going through foundation years, u dont really have to learn anything else, bcoz all u need for architecture will be taught in foundation years from scratch. that's why it's called foundation .

some students even asked whether they need to take autoCAD short courses before joining degree/diploma. these courses can cost up to RM1500. tell u what... these courses are for those who DONT plan to further study. since u're popping into the course soon, u'll be learning autocad by 2nd year, and it's already included in the course fees.

this goes for everything else like draftmanship, painting, sketching, public speaking and all sorts of stuff. these skills are taught in architecture, unlike in other courses where these skills are 2ndary, and not taught formally or integrated into the syllabus.

er.. learn to draw properly, is quite useful.. beside.. learn some software such as 3d studio max, photoshop and so on... no need go for course, just download some tutorials will do

Really? yea RIBA is so important though. Do anyone know any inexpensive uni/college in US that is RIBA accredited? what about japan? thinking of getting a scholarship too.. cuz my parents sure cant afford sending me abroad.. =(

This post has been edited by Authentic.Chic: Nov 21 2007, 10:33 AM

yea..stuff like chem and physics are the basic ones only..like those learned in form 5..nothing to be worried about..owh..theres econs too..haha..dunno why we have to study econs.. anyways..physics like what mr aza said are applied to structure more..its like physics+add math..

the lects will basically teach you everything..some of cuz you gotta learn by yourself..you'll learn basic autocad the first sem itself..but just basic..will be learning more by 2nd year..all those computer aided design..but..if you want..you can do like what yawhong suggested..



i've check riba site..hurm..only University of Maryland is accredited..are there any else ?

Azarimy, i've PMed u.. =)

as arcanawar have said, the only RIBA accredited school in the US is university of maryland. this is bcoz the US uses a totally different system for architectural practice. in fact, they probably have different systems depending on states, bcoz that's the structure of their country. it's like 50 different countries, each with its own autonomy, united under a single federal government. hence called the united states of america. it is the same with the UK, uniting 4 countries under one government. anyways, here's a list of RIBA accredited schools worlwide.

RIBA validated schools


in reply to authentic.chic's PM:



1. & 2. u can apply through UPU during the next opening (april/may 2008). just fill in the forms (online) and submit whatever u need to submit based on the yearly requirements, which can be different from this year's intake.

3. since u've already got a diploma, then u should be able to fulfill the minimum requirement. but be aware that since ur diploma is not accredited and with a low cgpa, chances are u'll be starting 1st year from scratch. this is the same with other STPM/matric intake, and most probably u wont be able to transfer any credits there. so just set in ur mind that u'll be starting from zero.

4. fees are usually RM1500+- including accommodations, services and facilities. u can pay cash at the university's bendahari, or bank in (using a slip that u can get from the bendahari), or cheque. i'm not sure about credit cards, but u can also request to spread ur fees over 4 months, paying monthly or whatever deal u made with the bendahari.

5. at the moment, only fulltime architecture courses is recognized in malaysia (by LAM). even if u did a RIBA part 2 in top UK schools, but if u do it part time, u're gonna have a hell of a struggle to get recognition from LAM.

6. in campus, u can use any vehicle u own, or use the free internal transit bus. the campus is quite large, although not as large as UPM, but it's still one helluva walk. getting to the campus, the best way from sabah would be to take a flight to Senai Airport, and take a taxi (which is about 30-40minutes to campus). u could also go via singapore, and take a bus to JB, and another bus to UTM.

7. subjects in UTM are design dominated, which makes up more than 50% of the total subjects. this in particular is a new change in order to shift UTM from solely a technical school into a design school. other subjects are divided into several categories: technology (enviro, structure, services etc), culture (history, philosophy, theory, sociology, psychology), communications and management (law, economy, practise etc). in addition to that, students are also encouraged to take electives in order to boost their marketability.

8. to complete part 2 it takes a minimum of 5 years after STPM. this is the standard worldwide, and also the standard in msia. just look at ur diploma as equivalent to STPM.

9. for part 2 degree, the course is only conducted in UTM skudai (JB). no branches in sabah... yet.



not all universities have diploma courses. infact, UTM is the only IPTA that conducts architectural diploma course (sub part 1). all other universities have upgraded their diploma to part 1 degree. with a diploma from a non-accredited school, the best bet is to assume that u're gonna start everything from scratch. ofcourse it would be wonderful if u could transfer a few credits and skip 1 or 2 semesters, but dont put ur hopes up high.



nope. not that i know of, atleast.

I am curious to know that in Architecture, what are the main aspects that you really have to be good at?

E.G.;

Engineering: Really need to be good at Mathematics to begin with.

Mass Communication: Really need to be good at English and communication skills to start with...

Architecture: _?

I am really interested to know, thanks a lot in advance.

This post has been edited by Benjamin911: Nov 21 2007, 08:37 PM