Marking George Town

Window to the Past

The proposed George Town marker design was inspired by the traditional ‘5-Foot Way’ that functions very efficiently as urban connectors as well as public spaces. The idea is to use these arches as guiding apparatus to lead visitors to places of interests and framing major landmarks at the same time. The form of the arches was inspired by the ‘Cloud-Shaped’ openings that can be easily found on most of the façade of George Town’s shop houses.

Aesthetically Functional:
The intention is to not only consider the proposed design as merely markers but as urban sculptures as well. They are however ‘practical’ sculptures as they also double up as public furnitures to complement that state’s initiatives in making George Town a livable city. While fulfilling the function of markers and public amenities, these sculptures would also ensure that the existing heritage buildings remain as they are without any intervention onto their building fabric. Their external outlook would enhance the character of the buildings and streetscapes where they are located.

Flexibility:
By constructing the arches in 5 different sections for a single standard unit, the sculpture could be rearranged and twisted as situation requires. In addition, 2 standard units could be combined to form a larger unit at more spacious locations pointing at several landmarks in opposing directions at the same time. The ‘Cloud-Shaped’ arches which will be made of steel could be easily dismantled and relocated to elsewhere whenever such situation arises.

Colours:
The proposed markers come in several colours depending on where they are located. Their colours will follow the nearest landmark which they are located. For example, the colour of the arches will be blue when the marker is located near Cheong Fatt Tze mansion and white if placed in front of St. Georges Church.

With its distinctive colours and unique form that are inspired by the aesthetics of historic George Town, the proposed Window to the Past marker/sculpture would definitely enhance and add to the rich architectural quality of this World Heritage City.

Desire to Win

They are fired up and they want more. Those who won competition must have this feeling every time they successfully beat the rest to climb to the top. Now that they have tasted the sweetness of victory, they must not stop but keep competing even after they leave college. Winning competition is the guaranteed way to gain recognition in the design industry.

Hip Hop Graffiti 2009

Nick and Jamie with their winning art work.

Melinda and Cat with their winning art work.

Once again you guys have made it! This event has been held annually since 2007 and you all have participated in it enthusiastically. Congratulation to Nick, Jamie, Melinda and Cat who have won 3rd and consolation prizes respectively. I'm sure that it must be an emotional moment for both Nick and Melinda who have participated in 2007 to have finally won the competition. This prove that as long as we persevere and never give up, we will succeed eventually!

Duality

Reconciliating duality has been my approach in design for a while. I guess I was very much influenced by the writings of the late Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. Personally I feel that Kurokawa's writings were better conceived than his architecture. I was interested in the way he tried to identify the differences between Western and Japanese architecture because I think his theory is also applicable to Asian sensibilities in general.

In this design for a proposed 'Future School', the idea is to stay away from the conventional classroom layout by introducing nature into the interior of the learning areas. The classrooms are physically enclosed but 'consciously' open to the outside. 2 classrooms sandwiched a garden in between which also serves as outdoor learning area. The wall adjacent to the corridor stops short of the ceiling and floor to allow lighting penetrate into the interior. Colored boxes of inspiration are inserted on this wall which appear to be sliding against each other. Translucent color coated glass will be used to allow natural light illuminates the classroom.

A few display areas will be located along the corridor as a transcient exhibition space for students' works. The design is to create a 'performing stage' for students' presentation. As they are located along the public circulation area, more exposure and interaction among students is expected.

The Creators of 'Tomorrow's Penang' The One Sculpture

Besides the elegance and creativity of its form, the winning design also has a very meaningful concept. The form was inspired by butterfly, as Jerry put it eloquently when interviewed by The Star:

“This metamorphosis is one of the most amazing events in nature. Therefore, we feel Penang too should be transformed from a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly and continue enjoying sustainable growth and prosperity,” - The Star Metro, Wed 14 Jan 2009.

Metamorphosis is indeed one of the greatest inspiration from nature. Although the end product, butterfly, is beautiful, the transformation process is however a struggle. All the eight pairs of caterpillar's legs will have to be shed before it can form the pupa. It will stay there for about 10-15 days (it could take longer if the surrounding environmet is not condusive) when during this time its body part will have to be disintegrated and reintegrated to form the body of the butterfly. After the cycle it will then have to push itself out of the pupa before it spreads its wing to become butterfly.

It is really appropriate for Jerry and Eilise to use metamorphosis as their concept to depict Penang's future. Penang has a lot to offer but because of the lack of political will, it has not yet achieved its true potential. There are a lot of struggles ahead of us to make this island a model of excellence. Like the caterpillar, we will strive harder to make Penang a butterfly one day!

Jerry and Eilise, the masterminds of the winning design. Well done!

Tomorrow's Penang

I received good news today that our students have won 1st Prize for the 'Tomorrow's Penang' Sculpture Competition. This is indeed one of the greatest achievement KDU design students have achieved so far considering the fact that the winning design is going to be eventually built on the site at Bayan Lepas.

I'm glad to see the growth of the students not just in terms of their academic achievement but more importantly their confidence as well. Even when all odds are against them because they have to compete with university level students as well as one of the judges is from the university itself.

Congratulations to Jerry and Eilise! Keep up the good work and soon it will be time for you to go out to show the world what you can achieve!

Hitting the Right Note

There are times when we scribble sketches which could look like drawings so bad that even a three year old could do better. We would continue to explore our ideas through these sketches until our dustbin is full of crumbled butter paper that spilled onto the floor. And at the end of the day we still haven’t got the slightest clue of what the buildings is going to look like. We then take a break, go for a walk or even play some games sort of to relax our mind and hopefully we would be struck by an inspiration. Sometimes these repetitive exercises could continue for days without any apparent materialization.

However, there are also times when we just know it! When every lines we draw fall onto their correct positions effortlessly. When there is no other option except the one we drew in front of us. The experience is like when a painting reflects exactly the aspiration of the artist. We have hit the right note within us. Such is the moment when we whisper to ourselves that: “Yes, there is truth in architecture after all!”