E-JOURNAL

INDIVIDUAL

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WEEK ONE

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The first week of the Semester Five module, Community Service Initiative, was an introduction class to the subject and general overview of the class learning outcomes, project requirements and schedule. In our first morning class, we were provided with the following information: Community Service Initiative is a compulsory MPU subject that promotes charity-focused work in relation to our course of architecture. This term, our subject only has one semester-long project. Our objective would be to use our sensitivity and skills as architecture students to create something that would enrich the space. Splitting into groups of eight members each (I have form a group with Max, Josh, Coco, Yik Xin, Sheau Hui, Natalie and Yushi), we had ten weeks to design a structure that would benefit the community of the location chosen with the help of third party members such as Veritas and our module tutors. From the project brief, there are four different beneficiaries type: Charitable Homes or Organizations (CH), Community Centre (CC), Street Community (SS) and Environment Enhancing (E2). I was quite excited that this was something different from design studio - which would allow us to walk out from the classroom. The subject seemed like it would provide us a chance to expand our architectural culture and environment which could enhance the living environment of the community. It makes us fully use our knowledge of architectural theories in school and do a practical design practice in real-life experience. We had a short meeting after the lecture to choose the beneficiary type. As the project of Environment Enhancing is a collaboration with OCBC bank, JCI and VERITAS Architects, we came to an agreement to choose it for our project proposal.

 

WEEK TWO

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During this week of Community Service Initiative, we had a workshop presented by our lecturer and a few guest speakers explaining the project and different past year assignments. After the explanation of the brief and the sites involved, we met in our groups to determine which site we want to use for the project. The site chosen by us was Metro Prima in Kepong. After the site was chosen we decided it to be imperative that we visit the site as soon as possible. We then drove to Metro Prima after the lecture to choose and analyse our site so that we could begin to understand what kind of qualities it had we could use for our design. Upon arrival, we strolled around the site determining the issues and the qualities of the site. We then returned to further analyse the problems of the site and had a preliminary idea of our solution to the site. Once that was completed, we headed back to discuss about the idea and refine it.

 

WEEK THREE

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There was a workshop organized on the end of week three by the Veritas group. Outside of the workshop, we worked on developing an initial concept for our submission the week after. Some ideas had already been discussed, and we met in the Studio to select the one which was the most suitable. Using the information we collected from the site and our observations, we all agreed there were two main concerns we wanted our design to address. The first was that the alley is used as a pathway for people to cross to the back lane, but otherwise it is a severely underused area. The second one is that the site itself is very plain, and there is a lack of anything serviceable to the public, which might explain why it is so underappreciated. To counter this, we wanted to create something simple, and freeing to still allow the pedestrians to use it as a crossing, but also provide spaces for them to linger, such as seats. These seats should be provided with shading and the overall idea should be constructed out of recyclable materials.

 

WEEK FOUR

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The fourth week of the module was the week for us to submit the initial design proposal. The rough idea and intention for the design was confirmed in our group meeting, then scripted while another member worked on compiling the information into the presentation format we were required to submit. The design was dubbed “Vivacity” and majority of us took to Photoshop to simulate the images that would support the design intended. Several images were borrowed from the internet to convey the intention of the design and the general layout/configuration was drawn out on AutoCAD and Photoshop. We would expect feedback from our tutors after our submission at the end of the week.

 

WEEK FIVE

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On the fifth week of the module, we were given feedback from the initial proposal submitted on week four. From the comments, we needed to refine the initial idea and develop a more well-rounded design. The basis of the idea had been accepted, but general feedback stated that we needed to create a more experiential space instead of a merely functional one. A variation of the design was sketched out during group meetings and then handled by another member for the constructability issue and exploration of materials. We referred to comments from the tutors and external parties when we redesigned the structures. By majority opinion, we decided to keep the base design similar to the initial proposal. We had various discussions over WhatsApp to highlight concerns on the constructability. We tried to keep material choices recyclable and ended up with settling on bamboo and fabric. There were few concerns on the constructability for the shading devices, which needed to be mounted on the adjacent buildings. As another member pointed out initially, the attachment of the fabric had to be changed to a triangular formation to avoid the stress of the tension from causing the fabric to sag.

 

WEEK SIX

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The sixth week of the module focused on the ePoster submission. All design changes and adjustments made from the week previous was collected to the following days could be used for transferring the material into AutoCAD and Photoshop. Two team members worked on the 3D modelling software, another on writing, and the rest on Photoshop or AutoCAD. By the end of the week, I spent most time compiling and arranging all the diagrams on an A1 board that would be submitted in week seven. The theme chosen was taken from an inspiration seen on Pinterest, and then approved by all members of the theme. We kept the layout fairly simple and straightforward, and the words were condensed to simple sentences to keep things neat.

 

WEEK SEVEN

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All members of the team were somewhat occupied on the seventh week due to many submissions from other subjects, so not many changes were done. I spent some more time adjusting some minor changes on the digital board on Photoshop before submitting it online.

 

WEEK EIGHT

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On week eight, we began to turn our attentions to the prototype required for our video submission in week ten. We began by looking for the materials for our prototype. As we had chosen to stick to very simple and recyclable materials as in our improved proposal, we needed to source for the bamboo from outside and book a time for us to return to the site to take more accurate measurements. On Saturday, we visited the site again to take pictures and sketch a quick layout while several members measured the dimensions for the plant pots the bamboo structure would wrap around. Using the drawings and 3D model, we could estimate how much material we would need. We planned to only make part of the seating structure (bamboo) while we contemplated the shading device. We found a supplier who deals with bamboo and jute crafting along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman (Chow Kit) in Kuala Lumpur. Plans were made to visit them sometime in the following week to make the prototype.

 

WEEK NINE

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We began working on the prototype for the seating on the ninth week. It took a few days to prep for it due to other subjects getting in the way, so the prototype was made beforehand and would be installed on the site itself to record responses from the public. As there were issues on receiving approval to access the adjacent buildings of the site, we were unable to create a simulation of the shading devices overhead. On the weekend, we travelled back to the site in Kepong to install the seating prototype and record responses from the pedestrians passing by. The videos were recorded in segments that would be edited later next week.

 

WEEK TEN

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Around the mid-week of week ten, we picked up work again for the video editing while various other members worked on the final presentation board and their individual eJournal submissions. I found this to be the busiest time for me, as I was working on the entire video editing. There were many videos that I had to go through and edit on my computer. I refined the clips and timing while ordering the segments of clips taken from our visit the week prior. In the meantime, other members worked on finishing the final presentation board on Photoshop in order to have it printed before deadline.

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VIDEO SUBMISSION

GROUP