Case Study: Basic building design strategies

From this assignment, our group had a chance to investigate and analyse the design strategies that had been applied in the building chosen. Although the weather was hazy when we visited the place, we managed to obtain the information required.

I gained knowledge about the comfort level of the people and design strategies that can help to achieve the thermal comfort. From the building, I learnt that passive design can really help to create comfortable environment. For example, the atrium in the college have air ventilation that can cool the area. The place was windy when we last visited. Passive design is really unnoticeable without the knowledge about basic design strategies. From building materials to the plants and greeneries to ventilations and sunshading to zoning, all these strategies are important to create building that are environmental friendly. From the module, I am able to learn about basic design strategies and passive design. I am able to identify the passive designs with what I learnt.

Other than that, I realised that aesthetic and green designs can be balanced. The campus is aesthetically pleasing while it is also categorized as one of the green buildings in Singapore. None of the two were be sacrificed.

In a nutshell, I learnt a lot from the module.

Organisational culture of ARUP

Project 2: Understanding Forces in Building Construction

In this project, we had chosen gridshell structures over tensile structure as a challenge for the building construction. We done research about the gridshell structure and chose SUTD library pavilion as our gridshell structure.

From the modelling process, it was challenging for us as we need to build the structures piece by piece. In conclusion, I learnt about the construction process of gridshell structures and manage to test and verify what I learnt in the module in the assignment. 

Individual board

Project 1: Shelter for one

For this project, I had a chance to team up with my groupmates to complete the shelter construction. We started with designing of the shelter and started to find source of the materials. After finalizing the design, we started the construction of shelter.In the process of construction, it was a brand new experience for our group. With the help of the carpenter from the workshop, we successfully built up the shelter. Most important point is we managed to build the shelter with recycled or reused materials.

In a nutshell, this project helped me to understand better about the skeletal structures. It was an eye opener for me as I gained new experiences. Besides that, I learnt about different types of joints, materials and structures. I also understand better about load distribution in a structures.

 

Project 3: Visitor Interpretive Centre

Continuing from the project 2, space planning and spatial qualities of the design are changed and improved. In the end, I am able to produce digital presentation board about the V.I.C.

From this project, I learnt about the ways of incorporating the site context with design. I know more about how to apply the concept into design. Other than that, I also learnt about designing bigger buildings that are to accommodate large number of visitors. Size of spaces and basic spaces are important as practicality of design should be taken care  as well as the aesthetics and poetics of building. 

Project 2: Genius Loci: Site analysis and concept development

Worked as group, we were required to discover about the genius loci of a place. Genius loci of Sungai Lembing will then be development into a concept to be applied in the V.I.C in project 3.

In this assignment, I sketched about different scenes that I found interesting about Sungai Lembing. All of the sketches had different elements that can be noticed in Sungai Lembing. It shows a timeline of Revival in Sungai Lembing. Hence, the concept developed is Revival.

From this assignment, I learnt about methodology of site analysis and understand the SWOT of a place. Besides that, I am also able to generate concept from sketches and translate the concept into design of a building. The process of designing are more interesting with the introduction of genius loci of the place.

Project 1: Memorials

For the first project of Design Studio 3, we were assigned to do precedent studies and design a Sabah Earth Quake Memorial and a Rohingya Crisis Memorial.

After we decided to choose Holocaust Museum and Santa Costanza for the spatial typology studies, we done research on the spatial qualities and poetic。

From the precedent studies, we applied what we learnt to design memorials for Sabah earth quake and Rohingya Crisis.

In this assignment, I learnt how a journey can be applied in linear building or even concentric buildings. It helps me to understand about poetics of architectures and spatial qualities. These qualities are the elements that is important to the environment around and inside the memorial. From here, I learnt to design memorial spaces and architecture elements.