Ko-Fu Zen

Making Waves

KDU 2009 Booth Design

From The Star Metro North - Saturday February 14, 2009
New attraction at college boothsBy ANDREA FILMER

Magnet for students: An artist's impression of KDU College Penang's booth design for the education fair.

Pillars of Expression

Today I happened to browse through Marlene's and Melissa's blogs and found these wonderful pictures. It is the project we have been talking about for so long and it has finally materialized! This is indeed one of the best news I ever have since I left KDU. I'm really touched to see these pictures because they reminded me of all the struggles everyone have been through in the Design Department.

Maizul jokingly said that these columns are dedicated to me, however I would rather think that it is a contribution from all of you to show the importance and relevance of art in our society. Thanks to Maizul's creativity and the hard work of the students, the execution of these art works marks a big step forward for KDU aspiring to be the premier art school in northern Malaysia.

Well done and once again thanks to those involved for making this possible!

Seberang Prai City Shopping Center

A new shopping center has opened its door to the public at Bandar Perda, Bukit Mertajam. Went there over the recent long weekend and was impressed by its size and quality of finishes. The interior is as classy as Gurney Plaza just that it is even more spacious! The facade of the building as shown in first image is impressive! It gives prominent character to the building. How I wish shopping centers on the island side have face like this! In terms of quality of its architecture and spatial treatment, I can safely say that it is the best in Seberang Prai.

Unbuilt Works

For those of you who take design as a career will know or will soon find out that it is a long journey that you have decided to take. You find yourself doing a lot of proposals but only a handful that will eventually be built. Such is the thrill and despair of the design process. The only way to sustain your endeavor is through passion and the desire to create a better living environment. The 3 images shown here are my initial proposal for the KDU's Walk Of Fame or commonly known as the 'tunnel' area at ground floor where the new curve white wall is located. This original proposal cost too much (about 5 to 6 times higher to be exact) and the management asked me to come up with a revised design. The 2 curve white walls that is there right now is the result of the cost cutting measure. Although never got built, the 3 images up here represent the unborn creation that will unfortunately remain forever in my imagination.

Gallery@KDU

I joined KDU College in December 2005 and one of my first duty was to design an art gallery for the Design School. Due to time constraint and the management wanted the gallery to be completed ASAP, I came up with proposal that I thought would create an impact to the dull interior that the college had. The idea was to insert a few dominant structures that will make the gallery instantly recognizable. I consider these structures as sculptures in their own right besides being practical props for students' art works to be displayed. I'm glad that I leave something behind for the college as well as students which I hope will help in motivating them to produce more creative works for display.

Hidden Treasure - Penang High Court

I participated in the site visit organized by Penang Heritage Trust a few months ago. We discovered this fantastic dome during the visit. The level of details is just amazing. The funny part is that this feature is actually being hidden behind a layer of unassuming 'skin' before the renovation. It was discovered while the renovation is in progress and the architect decided to expose it. At last, one sound decision from the architect!