well, i cant promise u anything about entering 3rd year. at the moment there's no provision for poly students to skip to 3rd year. and it has not happened in the past.

and good luck in ur decision making .

congratulations, and above all, good luck!

which university did u get?

i'm not sure if it's an actual change, but previously they've only mentioned for the students to bring any sample drawings that they've done previously. they were never specific about it, just general work would do. if they havent informed u to bring anything, it doesnt hurt for u to prepare it. there will be aptitude test during the interview where u'd be asked to draw or sketch, but we all know u could produce better product WITHOUT pressure, right? believe me, i've seen lotsa crappy stuff during aptitude test, but in actual fact, they are really good in producing meticulous artwork in their own time.

anyways, details of what to do or what goes on during UTM's interview can be found here:

tanggam.com. u might need to register first if u cant view the topic.

UTM do accept O-levels, but only under two circumstances:

i. u're not a malaysian citizen; or
ii. u're a citizen, but SPM was not available to u (bcoz of living abroad with parents etc).

those who chose to study non-SPM certificates despite being available to them are highly unlikely to be entertained. but u can try though.

+ other unis might accept IIUM's foundation, but i'm pretty sure it's not UTM, or else i would have heard it. or maybe they just didnt bother to tell me LOL. but do remember that it is not the policy of IPTAs to accept each other's foundation students. foundation is a programme that feeds directly to a degree course of a particular university. it is never meant to serve as a feeder programme to other universities like matriculations.

+ u can do it online, or by post, or by going there urself.

+ yes, u would have to apply just like anybody else regardless of when u took ur SPM.

+ it's not called 2nd intake. 2nd intake is for those who didnt make the first cut, but were called eventually to fill in the empty slots left by the 1st intake. in UiTM, there's two intakes: july and january. so it's a totally fresh process entirely. if u've applied for july but didnt get it, it doesnt mean u'll automatically be put into january intake.

+ no, i dont know ID programme's requirement. but u can find it out as easy as googling UiTM's diploma programme or checking out their website .

lets compare in english.

polytechnic:

architectural drawings, architectural design, material and constructions, building services, structure, CADD, architectural history, environmental science and architectural practice.

UTM diploma:

design, architectural theory and history (from early civilizations to modern history), structure (short to long span), building services, environmental physics, architectural practice, architectural computing, material and constructions (steel, bricks, concrete and timber) and measured drawing. there are also elective subjects that u could take (optional) to enhance certain aspects of urself - architectural presentation (both verbal and presentation), advanced computings, management, detailed history, behaviours, socio-cultures and so on.

generally it's about the same. but the content might be different. emphasis are different too. for example, design subjects in UTM accumulates about 50% of the entire education. so u can imagine how design is being given extra emphasis.

+ i'm not sure. i guess they may let u skip 1 semester the most, assuming they'd accept the subjects in ur foundation for a credit transfer. it all depends on how much UiTM's ID would recognize the subjects u've taken. but just assume u'd start from scratch, so that u dont get any hopes up.

+ i'm studying architecture education and the virtual environment at phd level in university of sheffield. i graduated my diploma and degree in architecture from UTM (skudai), and my masters (in virtual environment) from the bartlett school of architecture, university college london.

+ well good luck and all the best to ya! (that's me prayin'...)

just concentrate on FLW, gehry and le corb for the international architects. i doubt u're gonna spend more than 10 minutes talking about them in the interviews. knowing what they've built, just 1 or 2 prominent buildings is fine.

then u go and pick up one or two local architects (ken yeang and tr hamzah is from the same office, so counts as one ). maybe add hijjaz kasturi, jimmy lim, zaini zainul or kamil merican or something. also, know which building they've done. if u cant find those architects, look for local firms instead like GDP (group design partnership - kamil merican), ZDR (zaini dubuz richez), TR hamzah & yeang, PAB (perunding alam bina) and so on.

i'm not sure. for malaysian buildings, u could try tanggam.com.

for dual professions like architect+engineer, they need to be qualified in both. literally meaning they would need to get a degree in both architecture and engineering. experience alone is not enough. but there are architecture-engineering joint degrees available, like the one in sheffield. taking those courses will accredit u both as an architect and an engineer. the course takes slightly longer than normal architecture degree.

architecture education is very different from normal education. we're more constructivist and highly depends on cognition rather than passive absorption of memory. most of the time, the way u learn in architecture is through output rather than input. strange isnt it? and architects always try to solve problem. it's part of their cognitive process. even edward de bono who wrote the manual about cognition and the whole problem solving deal derived a lot of his material from how architects think.

aside from that, architecture isnt called the mother of all arts for nothing. u master architecture, u could master in any branch of arts u want. in malaysia, notable figures who used to do architecture or at least study it are: afdlin shauki (actor, singer), halim othman (radio DJ) and azhar sulaiman (actor). internationally, u might know bands like suede or the tears, who're alumni of the bartlett.



well, no. those doesnt help engineering skills directly.

and both would wanna make the world a better place, but architects do have a bigger role to play in it.

almost every architect i know have gone through a phase similar to that video, myself included.

it's normal, day-to-day occurrences. worse yet, that might not be a PC, but a person

i. most architects are expressive. they are very good at displaying affection, and not embarrassed to show that they love another person. this can be very dangerous if u're against a PLAYA who's an architect haha.

ii. ALL architects think that they're dr. house personified. havent met one who didnt think so about themselves, even one bit.

maybe, but u cant expect everyone interested in architecture to grow in LYN specifically hahaha. i've got a few who contacted me directly from my contacts in LYN, but they've never involved in the discussion at all.

to tell u the truth, architecture was never popular in malaysia. from my own school back in 1995, about 350 SPM leavers, but only 6 applied for architecture. 2 made in UTM, 1 in UiTM. that's it.

in 2004 we did tabulate the percentage of each school. the most that ever applied from one school was 16. average is about 2-6 students. so as u can see, the number had been small consistently throughout the years. so we cant really say it's losing its popularity. it was never popular to begin with .

normally, graduates would go into architectural support services. some of them are:

i. design services
ii. plotting/printing
iii. visualization (3D, perspectives etc)
iv. model making
v. architectural photography
vi. draftmanship

there's no difference whether u hold a diploma or degree here.




it's 1.27am at the time u edited ur post. yes, it's normal for architects to stay up late, even after graduating. midnight is the best time to race online in GT5prologue.

ofcourse. this happens all the time actually. lecturers have a very good view on the capabilities of the students, and have the privilege to choose which students are best for the job. draftmanship and technical drawings are almost always be handed to poly students, while 3D visualizations are usually given to those who're computer savvy. but most of the jobs are back room jobs, meaning, jobs that dont require u to be involved with the clients, authorities, suppliers or other consultants. dont get me wrong, it's perfectly legal. back room are just jobs that dont require u to go out.

bbut like bridgestone've said, u dont usually have time for it. maybe early in the semester or during breaks, but definitely not during mid to end sem, coz u hardly have time to do anything else - even take bath.

well, u kinda explained why UTM wants u to use 2B pencils urself. there are certain techniques to master the 2B pencil beyond what u often use in school. but that's just a small aspect they're gonna look for. just make sure u bring a sharpener or a cutter for the pencils.

well, we do ask some general knowledge or current issues, but only to warm up. whatever u answer wont affect the outcome of the interview, but how u answer it might. some people have a wealth of general knowledge that the interviewers would be astounded. in the UTM's interviews, we're looking for students who're outstanding. it doesnt matter if u cant draw if u can speak ur mind articulately. whatever it is, they're looking to be amazed, dazzled or to be blown away.

but to tell u the truth, we've never asked who the menteri besar or stuff like that, coz it doesnt do anything to calm u down or warm u up. asking those questions would make candidates even more nervous. so we usually asked more general questions, like "did u join the hindraf rally? what do u think about it?" or "do u drive? what car do u drive? how do u compare that to proton?". these questions have more than one answer, so u can just say yes or no and elaborate on ur answer. this will warm u up. questions like who the menteri besar of selangor has only one answer, and u will automatically be nervous if u dont know the answer.

personally, this is bad practice on behalf of the interviewer. if they were from UTM, they wont be interviewing anyone in the future .

+ i worked as a part time lecturer and a part time architect straight after degree. and after a year of doing part time, i was offered fulltime lecturer with UTM whom sponsored my masters in the bartlett, london a year after.

+ on average, starting salary is between RM2200 to RM2500 in the urban areas, and RM1600-RM2000 in sub-urban/rural areas. i'm not sure about ID. model makers can have a pretty high income, but it highly depends on their skills and how fast they could cook up a model. u can only earn on how quick u can produce them.

+ it's all the same. perhaps interior decorating is actually the act of beautifying the interior, but yeah, it's generally the same.

hmmm. it's been awhile since i've involved in crits. here we go:

first, i honestly dont think that ur solution is suitable for the shape u're going. i strongly URGE u not to do that roof as a solution. backtrack a bit, and rethink of ur form. the curved roof structure had almost one time banned in UTM bcoz it is the most simplistic solution u can have for a such a dramatic plan. students use it as an escapism. it's too easy, yet looks damn ugly!

it is pretty obvious to me that u've approach this design from plan. here's where i tell u to backtrack. now u've already know what to put in ur building (via plan). put that aside for a moment, and focus on form making. what do u think is the best form to house ur plan? think in 3D. dont think from plan, but think from section. u need a unified form to establish a character, a flare, a drive for ur design. u dont want to design something that indistinguishable from the next free standing building u see. my suggestion, if u cant find a suitable form of roof, detach the roof entirely from ur building. start looking into envelopes instead, where u can have a roof that totally separate from ur wall. i mean, u can design a dome covering ur building if u want, and it just stands free on the ground.

anyways,

if i failed to convince u to change, then lets go into the details of ur curved steel roof. first, for a curved roof, there's always a certainty that it will use a lattice frame or trust underneath it. work from top to bottom. to maintain the curve, u need curved frame. now design the frame. look at the span of the room to determine the depth and complexity of the frame. then move to the next one: u need to support the frames with columns. how do u do that? u have to locate specific points on ur building to put columns to support ur roof. here's the tricky part.

with one glance i already know u'd be propping up free standing columns that is not part of ur wall just to support the roof . if this is so, then u'd better off with my earlier suggestion to design a freestanding envelope instead .

it is usually conducted with emphasis to english. u need firm command of english for UTM architecture interviews in the last few years. back before then, most of the interviews were conducted in BM, with a small portion in english. but nowadays we start in english straightaway, unless the student struggles with the earlier questions, hence it will be asked again in BM. the best thing for u is, regardless of whether the question is asked in BM or english, u can always answer in english. but there will be time they'd just have to ask u to speak in BM for a brief moment just to test u out.

as bridgestone have said, there have been a multitude of talents applying to UTM lately, and his batch specifically has a number of experienced english debaters during 2ndary school. if the trend sticks, then u not only have to compete with some of the talented artists, but also debaters and other talents as well. not to mention those who can sing really well. oh yes, if u claim u can sing, we WILL make u sing during the interview. it's all about character!

+ depends on the requirement. u usually construct a model to communicate certain things that can be done efficiently in drawings or virtually. so it depends on what u wanna show others. if u wanna show form and solve roof problems (like yawhong's example), then u obviously dont have to do the interior. in other times, u might wanna show what ur interior really looks like, so u focus only on interiors. there's hardly any time for u to do everything.

+ it depends on the type of model, the scale, and the complexity/detail of it. model types such as conceptual, form making, rough or working models are very quick to do. i personally spend 1 to 2 hours on them. finished models, structural, visualization and so on are more complex with higher accuracy, so they take a lot of time to do. it can take between 2-6 days.

+ u do as often as u need to. 1 model saves u the time of doing plans, elevations and perspectives during idea formulation stage. so u might do that early on to quickly explain and establish ur ideas. personally i've done atleast 50 models during my diploma years, but mostly are conceptual models. but some design classes require u to submit a finished model, so that's a different story.

+ yes. and this is one of the parts where u will spend lots of money on.

+ yes. usually there's no restriction in what material u can use. most of the time my models came from discarded boards, boxes and crates from around taman universiti's factory area (near UTM skudai). so it's free. remember, it's not the material u use, it's how u use it to deliver the idea. u can spend literally hundreds of RM and still get a C, while ur friend spent only on glue and cutter and can score A.

ok. i'll check on it.

yes. it can be offered immediately to the next qualified candidate if u inform them soon enough; or it will offered as a 2nd intake which is 2-4 weeks later than the 1st intake; or in case of UTM, it will be kept so that they can take more diploma students (in to that batch) the next year.

well, for one thing, IPTAs dont often take fresh graduates to become part of the teaching staff unless they have some serious achievements under their belt. when i graduated in 2001, there wasnt any permanent vacancies, so the faculty had to apply to the administration for more fundings. so i had to wait for the opening, which apparently took 10months. so i became a part time lecturer rather than just wait and do nothing.

only if there were an opening readily available, and a 3.50++ with a bunch of dean's list and other awards, could one be taken directly into the teaching staff. even so, the faculty will have to screen them through interviews. great at learning doesnt mean u'll be good at lecturing. in my case, i had a 1 year long interview (via part time teaching), so the real interview was pretty much nothing.



no. at the moment interior design does not have an accreditation system, but they do have a society for it. check out MSID.

could u describe ur interviewers for me?

the reason why they mentioned about 2nd choicers is not about UTM, but about other universities. universities such as UM can bypass UTM's preferred candidates and "steal" them based on technicalities. if UTM sees that u have the talent, the character and the qualifications for the course, UM could steal u away based on qualifications alone (assuming UM is the first choice). i mean, if we think u're good, for damn sure other universities would think the same as well. so it boils down to which university u've put as the 1st choice.

and yes, UTM's interviews are conducted in a relaxed or casual environment rather than formal. we feel that students perform best when they are comfortable.

how about age? language proficiencies? skin colour? was the lady wearing tudung or not?

i'm just trying to figure out who ur interviewers were, bcoz i personally know all of them, and i know there are certain things that they say or do will indicate that u've got it. but they will not say it straight away so that u'll not put ur hopes up too high. one of the things that could be said is about the 2nd choicers that we've discussed earlier. to some, that would mean "i want to offer u the place right now, but UM might steal u away" (which is good), but to others it could mean "i have nothing else to talk about, so i'm just gonna say something ambiguous" (which is not really good).

very well. hope u achieve ur best in ur future endeavours!

trials? not for IPTAs, no. but i believe u can for IPTSs. IPTA intakes are usually well after the official SPM results are announced, so there's no reason why u need to apply using trial results. however, IPTS may have 2 or 3 intakes per year, and in light of saving time, they may allow u to apply to their courses using ur trial results. later they will still request ur official results.