An Architecture of the Seven Senses...

Talking about this topic, in the first place, senses are important, not only for architecture building, but in our life as well, we need senses to feel the surrounding, to taste, to smell, to hear and to touch.

In this topic, an architecture of the seven senses consist of building, structure and even landscape. To build a high rise building or even a small project, senses are important and it play important roles in building it. Through my experience, the architecture building that has leave great experience to me is my elementary school, SRJK (C) Kepong 2. It was the school that grown me up and gave me the basic education.

Basically, when i first step into this school, the first thing i could see is the big entrance hall which gave me the feeling of height and wide space. The space were surrounded with big column and the floor with just cement finishes. Every monday we will have an assembly in the hall, and i still remember i can smell the "freshness" of the concrete and cement material which lay on the floor, and sometimes there were few pot holes on the floor which i always like to touch it to feel the sandy texture of the cement flooring, and that makes me automatically to know that isn't a thing to play with because it cause dusty. But when in the library, the flooring were made of marble tiles, and it gave me the feeling of licking it because it was so smooth and shinny, hence, i know how to differentiate the type of material. What makes me to feel that the place i studied is a school is the noise that made, for example, whenever my teacher wrote on the blackboard made me think back of the studying life in primary school, the chalk that cause the sound on the blackboard. Senses are not only can be touch, smell, hear, see, talk, but there are other senses can be taken, which is logic, whenever i hear the sound of the chalk writing on the blackboard, it will reflect back it is school that will have such scenery.

Peter-John Cantrill and Rebecca Maxwell had given their opinion of senses of architecture through their interview with Alan Saunders. "I find that when I see a well-weathered building, that's what delights me, and when I see a building that's kind of caught in its moment of conception and destined never to change, I'm a little saddened." This shows that Peter-John Cantrill prefer a solid and strong building that can stand longer by looking at it.http://www.ebility.com/articles/beyondappearances.php

Last but not least, I do hope everyone can appreciate the building by not just looking at it and judge by its cover, but to use all the senses to feel the uniqueness of the architecture. Seek and explore more on the structure and texture =).

Monuments, Testimony & Memory..Museum..

Museum, usually people take it as a place of history or a place to commemorating the dead, a place for heritage purpose, keep the culture and tradition of certain things from one generation to one generation.

In Malaysia, there are a few of places consist memorable of the dead and heritage purpose, for example National Monument and National Museum, these 2 are one of the famous heritage and cultural architecture building. During the ancient time, there were alots of history of Malaysia that being told from the old time till this generation. It is very important for us to know our own history of our country and even those heroes that had contribute to out country during those war. Hence, museum and monument is the place for the history being taken down and things that had heritage.


Whereas if to compare with Jewish Museum which located at Berlin, the design of the building different with the design in Malaysia. Jewish Museum has 2 elements in their concept of design. One if it was in zig-zag style, a continuous linear form of building, which is the latest building, whereas the other is in fragmented style, tortuous line, but continuing indefinitely, is the older building. The purpose of having these 2 combination of building is to formed the link of Jewish tradition and German cultural. The inspiration is from Libeskind, a musician himself, took inspiration from music and considered the museum the final act of Arnold Schoenberg's unfinished opera, Moses und Aron. The design of the architecture begins with the history of Berlin, then integrate the consciousness and memory city of Berlin. Lastly, through the acknowledgement and see through the void of Jewish life in Berlin.


In Malaysia, National Museum is mainly focus on local culture, history and also traditions, arts and crafts. Hence, the design of the building is based on wooden house, which brings back the old village style before Malaysia Independent Day. It has the uniqueness of back to the past instead of futuristic, hence it successful in commemorating the dead because the heroes has sacrificed for Malaysia during the ancient time, so it should be shown in respect way by using the concept of atap style.


Last but not least, museum is a historical heritage place to visit and be respected, as it consist of our ancient time tradition and cultural. In different country has different background, and build in different design, but as long it has the functionality in it.

Remembering the home..

HOME, in my definition it is a place where we stay and rest with our family or beloved one, and a place to store our personal property. After reading the Mies Van de Rohe's "the house that made Mies", I totally agree with it as home has always influenced my thinking on design.

Actually I don't have a fix house, I have shifted to many houses since i was born. When i was born to this world, I live in Brunei, I still remember I stay in a "long house", which is a staff quarter with my family and also other neighbours as well, everyone stays at a same house, as that was the cheapest house to stay in Brunei. I still remember the house was very long and i can run here and there, its like i have a very big space to do what i want! And I always play with the few kids behind my house, which there was a yard there. The house was different with Dayak House, as it is built with bricks and painted with white colour painting. Its like a modern style of rumah panjang, but slightly shorter than rumah panjang.

Till when im 5 years old, we have move back to Malaysia, and that time we stay at my grandpa's house in PJ. My grandpa's house was a terraced house, I have not much memory about that house because we were like staying there in short term, till we shift to other place at Damansara Jaya, which my parents had rent a single-storey house there. That time was the time where my mum starts her own business, which is a saloon, so its like we were staying in a home-based business house, my mum started with a single saloon bed as her first working space in a room, there was where i learnt how my mum and my dad arrange a working space in such a small house, just a single bed, with some saloon products, lighting, and curtain to cover up to make it feel very cozy and relaxing.

Soon the time passed, from a house to a shop, and finally we have our own house to stay which is a true HOME to us, in my memory, i love this place so much, its more to classical concept. Most of the furniture were made of timber, something like Pakistan furniture, with a lot of craving decoration on it, and there was an antique gramophone as well. The whole place made me feel so relaxing, and that was where i started to love timber material, because it gave me a comfort feeling. Besides, I have a garden at my backyard, as my parents likes gardening, it has a table and chair there for chit chatting purpose as well. Overall it gave me a back to nature feeling, somehow, now we are no longer staying there, as it was too far for us to work from the place, hence now we are staying in a double stories house, which is just a simple but nice.

Although the house now is not as comfort as the house before, still home is home, as long there is my family, im happy with it, because a house without family or beloved one is not a home yet. I really appreciate the moment i had throughout my life in different type of houses=).