architects would often take charge of the appointments of consultants on behalf of the developers, assuming the developers did not appoint anyone yet. even if they do, the architect has the authority to say yes or no to the suggested consultants. heck, they could even fire consultants if they want to. remember, the architect holds the plans. they have authority to give or not give it to anyone. the architect has the obligation over the client/developer, protecting their rights and interests.

usually, the architect already have a list of consultants that they could work with. so when the developer selects an architect, they always come in a package, so the developer/clients dont need to look for the consultants themselves.

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Added on March 30, 2008, 9:53 pmusually, the construction consultancy consists of:

architects
civil/structural engineers
town planners
electrical engineers
landscape architects
interior designers
quantity surveyors
builders (contractor, construction manager, clerk of works etc)

all except builders have technicians that work under them, usually those holding a diploma in specific course. other specialists are not always needed, unless the client/developer/architect specifically requires one. for example, specialist on EIA (environment impact assessment), conservationists, historian, mechanical engineers etc.

This post has been edited by azarimy: Mar 30 2008, 09:53 PM

actually, the construction team usually refers to the builders that includes the contractors and what not. basically phua chu kang is the leader of the construction team, while phua chu beng is the leader of the entire consultancy.

detailed. very detailed and preferably everything. refer to the section drawing below:



this is just one portion of a technical drawing that architects produce on a daily basis. u can see that the architect will not only design the building, but specifies what material, dimensions, colour and other properties on every single part of the building.

landscape architects - design landscapes and the surroundings
town planner - involves when the design involves large scale planning that includes roads/traffic planning and multiple land properties.
who else u wanna know about?

well, it depends on the syllabus. certain diploma courses may depend on computers more than others. i'm not that familiar with poly syllabus.

the bridge competition is both architecture AND civil engineering.

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Added on March 31, 2008, 12:29 amu need to acquire a part 1 equivalent degree to qualify to take the exam. diploma is below the part 1 equivalent, so u cant sit for the exam directly. u still could though, but u need about 5 years experience just to qualify.

my advice - go for unaccredited degree, not diploma. or atleast plan for a degree straight after diploma.

wind tunnels is to check the cross-ventilation in the interior through fenestrations. we dont test buildings to withstand wind shears. civil engineers do that. architects dont .

This post has been edited by azarimy: Mar 31 2008, 12:29 AM

yes, it's a design of a wall. specifically, a cavity wall that is common in 4 seasoned countries. it is a two layered wall with a gap in between for insulation. in malaysia we use single layer walls, but the detailing on the connections at the windows, doors, roof etc are still the same.

melbourne degree, or any overseas degrees, are NOT accredited by LAM. it is accredited by the regulating board of each country - UK = RIBA, australia = RAIA and so on. but bcoz commonwealth countries follow RIBA system, then the examination is considered "equal" to each counterpart. what this means is that, if u take RAIA part 1, it is considered equivalent to LAM part 1. but this does not mean u automatically get LAM accreditation. u still need to sit for the LAM exam as a final verification of ur abilities.

the reason for this is that, LAM has no way to check whether an architect graduated through the proper ways or some illegal/obscure/cheating ways at ana overseas university. so what they do is to require all overseas graduate to sit for the LAM exams. the exams are divided into 3 sections. if u've really gone through the proper ways, sections 1 and 2 should be very easy, and u can skip section 3 altogether. those who did not follow the proper syllabus will have some problem at sections 1 and 2, and would have to sit for section 3.

no, u will need a part 1 before a part 2, anywhere in the world.

if u somehow obtained a part 2 five years after SPM/O-levels, LAM will not recognize u. the requirement is clearly stated: it's either 5 years after STPM/matrics/A-levels or 6 years after SPM/O-levels. any shorter way, LAM will assume that u've cheated ur way through.

u can apply again and again for as many times u want/are willing. we also dont have an age requirement, and we've had a 35 year old guy doing his degree during my time, so it doesnt really matter. remember, rejection doesnt always mean u dont qualify. it usually means there are more people better qualified that u are, and the number of places available are not big enough to include u. earning more working experience boosts ur chances, so ur chance of getting a place is always better the next year round.

u'll hardly loose any knowledge if u work, bcoz architecture is a well rounded, applied and practical knowledge+skills. meaning, u will never stop learning during practice, and learning is life long process in architecture. it may be hard to comprehend now, but u'll understand what i mean later on. it's a skill that needs to be practiced, like chess, where the more u play, the better u become. and the knowledge can never be enough.

there may be those who tells u that they have enough skills and knowledge that they can stop learning architecture. honestly, i believe this is a complete bull and the persons are too naive.

i've included the interview format in the first page. refer to the FAQ.

same results with what? from where? i dont get what u mean.

it depends on what u wanna do. apart from the option u've mentioned, u could come back after finishing melbourne's part 1 and sit for LAM part 1, or u could continue to any non-LAM part 2 universities (RAIA or RIBA), and then come back to sit for ur LAM part 1 and 2. whichever's easier for u.

i cant say if it's easy. if u can score 10As in SPM, i'm pretty sure it's very easy to get 4.00cgpa

UM is harder to enter because of their small number of students. UM is now what... 40-50 students per batch? compared to UTM which currently running at 100 students per batch. so based on the total number of students per year, u can see how much students from diploma they're willing to take. it's usually between 5-10% of the total.

i'm inclined to say yes, but to tell u the truth, i tried looking back at the conversations, and i still dont understand what u're asking. could u take some time and write the entire question including the example/context?

if u're talking about IPTS, ofcourse u can. they have lower intake requirements, but ofcourse with higher fees. but u can always obtain PTPTN or some other loans .

to tell u the truth, during my studies, i've always found myself competing with poly students, simply bcoz they are very fast workers. however, i know that i'm good at theories, concepts and formulation, which i use to gain advantage. typically poly students are well trained in technical aspect, but some of them struggle at theories and concepts, bcoz these are not given emphasis during their poly years. so although they can draw pretty fast, they spend more time trying to come up with new ideas, concepts and so on. well, i'm not saying that STPM/matric students are good at idea formulations, bcoz most of them sucked anyways hahaha!

ok, sit down and grab a cuppa.

ambition

architecture was never my ambition. i was interested either in fine art or graphic design. i was so keen in becoming a comic artist that i submitted a portfolio to marvel comics in 1994 and was short listed for a junior penciller post (but didnt follow up bcoz SPM was too near).

deciding architecture

i was in pure science, but i was never really good at it. so i took extra subject - arts. no objections from anyone at this point. it was only until i received my results did i realize i was quite good (LOL), and would sure to qualify to any courses in IPTAs except for medicine and law. but i wanted to take fine art or graphic design.

this decision came to a full opposition from my parents and virtually ALL my relatives. my science subject was strong, it'll be waste to take arts instead. so for a period of 2 weeks it was chaos, i never felt so rebellious. eventually my dad stepped in, and we talked man to man. i was headstrong in taking art & design that he eventually suggested architecture, which is a blend of art n science. i had to say i was tempted, but i was still going for art & design. so we came to a compromise.

i was going to apply to ITM (now UiTM) for art & design, and at the same time apply UTM for architecture. if i get ITM, i'll go there. if not, i'll go to UTM. i was pretty sure that i'll land a place in UiTM. (back then, application through UPU is only for UM, USM, UPM and UKM. all other universities must apply individually). so i sent the applications. in the mean while, i went into form 6 in highschool klang for about 2 weeks.

the interviews

i got both interviews. i went for UTM's architecture first. bcoz i didnt really wanna go to UTM, i was lalala happy go lucky and just be a cocky little prick. i turned the interview into a casual chat and talk cock. funnily enough, at they were very impressed and offered me a place right then and there! now that really boosted my ego.

so 5 days later i went for UiTM's art & design interview. i was still my cocky self, but unfortunately, that's a complete turn off in ITM. they even blasted me for applying a place there, bcoz with my results, they told me i could apply virtually ANY course i wanted. it's a waste of brainpower they told me. i tried to fight off, but realized it was circling down the drain pretty fast. so i gathered whatever integrity i had left and went home.

into architecture

so 3 months after getting SPM results, i was strolling down UTM's corridor in skudai registering for my diploma course (3 years). i never received an offer from ITM, so i had no where else to go but UTM. i never thought i'd like doing architecture, but the first exercise was right what i wanted to do - painting. right then i knew this is what i wanted to do. i'm able to apply both my artistic and scientific side at the same time. i couldnt imagine doing anything else.

revelations

it was until i graduated my diploma that i realized what really happened. 2 days before i went to ITM interview, my dad made a few calls to ensure that i wouldnt get a place in ITM. yes, most fathers would use their influence to ensure their children gets a place, my dad did the exact opposite. so that's why my interview in ITM was quite harsh. coz i'm pretty sure if my portfolio could get me short listed at marvel comics, how the F couldnt it get me a place in ITM? haha. but that's that.

practice

i love architecture. and fortunately i've got pretty high rank to qualify straight into degree (only 1 out of 3 would get the offer). i've had no problem finishing the degree. even before finishing i was offered a place in akitek karya budi (PM saari omar's from UM). i took the offer after i graduated, and worked part time for a year while teaching part time in UTM. after that i was offered a full academic post in both UM (via PM saari) and UTM, but i decided to stay in UTM, which where i'm at until now.

the end

i'm inclined to say taylor's as well as UCSI, as some of my friends teaching in IPTS mentioned that a lot of good lecturers have moved to these colleges. other than that, both should be enough to provide good education for a sub-part 1 diploma.



theories are technically very straighforward. u can learn about them by reading LOTS of books (and not look at pretty pictures, mind u). a lot of theories have been written and published, literally hundreds of them. u just need to pick a few up and formulate ur own concepts later on.

now that is the hard part: formulating the concepts and developing it through the design process. this is a practice that u will go through in design. it is a process where the designer is involved in a series of dialogs with his design, questioning purpose, objectives, method, problems, issues and so on. and then he attempts to solve it in a unified manner, and test it out. after understanding the results, the designer might wanna come up with a new improved design. and the cycle goes on and on.

it's quite hard to summarize the design process. concepts govern the design process. so it's an entire chicken and egg thing. tell u what, google design process to know more about this. but remember, design process is not just another theory that u can learn by reading it. u MUST go through the design process to really understand what it's all about.



most of them did well, hardly any of them quit halfway. they are mostly mature students, usually 2-3 years older than the other students in their batch in degree. so being mature allows them to concentrate more, doesnt really care about anything else but study, study and study so that they could go out to work as fast as possible. what u need to be aware is that the poly path is not the shortest of all routes, but have a more lenient learning curves.

there's always low end job lying around in architecture. there are only a handful of architects, and some offices require a lot of draftpersons or technicians to get the job done, especially in the big offices. small offices would rather employ well-rounded architects who can do from idea formulation to submitting the drawings all the way. this way they can save money from paying dedicated technicians. big offices prefer to have more specialists so that they can do the job faster without having to do anything else.

and u must also understand that there are two levels of poly grads: diploma and certificate. certificate is valued as a pre-u programme like matrics or STPM. look at it as architecture foundation from taylor's or LKW - u need a lot of luck finding jobs with those. so always go for poly diploma.

jobs highly depends on the person, especially when they're in architecture line. alot of my friends didnt end up in practice simply bcoz they enjoy doing other things: one opened a boutique in melaka, three of them now in business of supplying furnitures and equipments for schools, a few opened restaurants in skudai, gombak and kota bahru, another opened a cyber cafe, and another bunch went into academics like me.

academic line is not as easy as u think, especially since it requires masters and phd that is simply another extra 5 years of studies. to be honest, i've spent 3/4 of my life studying until now... .

and yes, archtiects can work past government retirement age bcoz they're technically self-employed (assuming u own ur own practice by then).

i wont say u dont have a chance, but it's quite slim. competitions are high. usually we dont have to look beyond 2nd choice to fill all the places. if u did, consider urself lucky .

no. u can complete parts 1, 2 and 3 in malaysia. parts 1 and 2 in local universities, and part 3 via practice.

there's no IPTS that offers part 2, and actually, there's no IPTS in malaysia that offers part 1 either. check the 1st page again to see the list of which school is accredited and which isnt. IPTAs accept IPTS degrees/diploma, but not as equivalent to part 1. so u wont be competing with part 1 students from other IPTAs.

yes, if u take ur part 1 exam independently, u will compete with part 1 from IPTAs.

if not, taking ur example above, u could find out which overseas university UCSI have partnership with, and make ur way until part 2 there;

or

u could wait until UCSI offers a part 2 equivalent degree and continue there;

or

u could find other malaysia universities that offer part 2 equivalent (UIAM, UPM, UKM and LKW).



after all these, u still need to take ur LAM part 1 and 2 exams.

both are using more or less the same theories in architecture. it's the same game, but the playground is different.

in architecture, u will learn more about interior design than landscape. infact, there i cant even say u'll spend 5% to learn landscape architecture, but atleast 1 semester to learn interior design.

SPM is not a requirement for LAM examinations, neither it is a requirement for anything in architectural practice other than intake into diploma/degree course. even so, u could still use O-levels or american high-school equivalent.

fulfilled the requirements AND passed the exams. yes. there are a lot of people out there who've fulfilled the requirements but continuously failed the exams u know .

IPTAs treat ALL diploma as the same. however each IPT would always give priority or special treatment to diploma holders from their own school simply bcoz of integrated/unified syllabus that is often used. for example, UTM will allow UTM diploma holders to go straight into 3rd year instead of 2nd year for other diplomas. it's the same with UiTM, taylor's, LKW and UCSI.

but for diploma holders from any other institutions, they'll be treated the same.

yes, u will be eligible to apply for UTM.

on the other hand actually they will look into ur SPM too, but just to verify that u have fulfilled the minimum requirements. in most IPTAs, u still credit in BM, BI and maths. so they will need to check that first. but they wont use ur SPM results as a determining factor. they will do so the same with SPM-equivalent results.

in relation to mrg18's questions, i'm gonna expand on justin's answers:




1) Average starting pay varies.... currently in Malaysia is Rm2500...can be as high as Rm3000 if ur really good/impressive.

to be more accurate, the average pay in urban areas like KL/lembah klang, penang, kuching and JB should be about RM2300-2500. but sub-urban areas or less densely populate urban areas have considerably lower starting pay average, usually between RM1800-RM2200.

2) Architects are not really that hot in demand but wif a good portfolio, u can eventually get someone to employ you.

i would say the demand of architects is quite ok. meaning there's not much to worry about for the next few years. but architecture is a field depending highly on expert skills. if u're an average student, i'd say "good luck finding a job". the profession craves the very best. u will also find that architecture is one of the courses that have consistently high drop out rate.

3) NOBODY IS GUARANTEED A JOB. Like i said, wif a good portfolio, you can always get urself hired.

agreed. but at the moment architecture graduates (with full parts 1 and 2) has a pretty high employability rate, near 100% within 1 year of graduation. but what this doesnt tell u is that, how many students were "held" in school bcoz the school doesnt think they're good enough for practice .

4) Architecture is not hard... a lot of mental stress n physical stress though.

well, i would say no. architecture is even HARDER than u think

5) You do not need to b good in drawing, if you can imagine da spaces and put it into paper for others to see well enuf. When most ppl cant draw, they use computer tools to substitute that.

yup, as what he said.

although this is a very common situation, there's no single answer. every parent is different, and since they're ur parents, u're the best person to choose which approach is best. some points that u could ponder upon:

i. architecture HAS future, as much as any other fields. however it depends heavily on the individual's skills and capabilities. graduating with minimum achievements DOES NOT GUARANTEE anything!

ii. i've mentioned earlier that architecture dont need form 5 maths. but it doesnt mean u wont use form 5 maths at all. architecture uses geometrical maths and a blended/applied physics calculations. to learn these, u dont need form 5 maths, but there will be applied maths that u would need to grasp.

i could expand and touch every other thing, but like i said, every parent is different. go back through the entire thread, u're bound to pick up a few points. i just cant bring myself to repeat it again and again.