CHARLOTTE CHOO
|CV + SELECTED WORKS|
BEETHOVENSTR. 1, 06844 DESSAU-ROSSLAU, GERMANY +49 176 751 310 63 CHARLOTTECQY@GMAIL.COM WWW.CHARLOTTECHOO.COM
Hello! I am currently in search of an exciting and challenging job opportunity to pursue my career as an architect. I have recently completed my M.A in Architecture with excellent grades. My curious nature drives me towards a design philosophy centred around its people and its place. I was born in Malaysia, studied in the UK and returned to Malaysia where I worked for 2 years with an award winning conservation practice. I have experience in delivering small to medium sized projects from the drawing board to construction and, if given the chance, I truly believe I would be a positive addition to your office. My international exposure and multi-lingual abilities enable me to communicate and express myself well and adapt to any new environment easily. Currently, I am based in Germany, so please feel free to contact me for any interviews. I look forward to hearing from you! - Charlotte -
EDUCATION October 2014 - July 2016 (2 years)
MASTER OF ARTS IN ARCHITECTURE Dessau International Architecture Anhalt University of Applied Sciences // Germany - Final Grade 1.2 (ECTS Grade A)
September 2008 - June 2011 (3 years)
BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE Mackintosh School of Architecture Glasgow School of Art // United Kingdom
January 2007 - June 2008 (18 months)
GCE A-LEVEL Bosworth Independent College // Northampton, UK - Mathematics, Economics, Art & Design
WORK EXPERIENCE July 2012 - August 2014 (2 years)
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER Arkitek LLA // Penang, Malaysia Two years with Arkitek LLA gave me the opportunity to assist as well as work independently in several commercial and residential projects. Projects which I managed independently dealt with adaptive reuse in existing buildings. I have amassed the relevant expertise in this field, including heritage material sourcing, preparation of condition investigation survey documents, feasibility studies, initial concepts and proposals. I have experience with: - Local Authority submissions - Client Consultant meetings - Site inspections - Preparation of tender and construction packages - Structural detailing - Interior detailing Completed Projects: - Mission Houses, Penang (commercial + adaptive reuse, design stage to handover) - Peel Mansion, Penang (commercial + adaptive reuse, design stage to handover) - Balik Pulau Mansion, Penang (commercial + adaptive reuse, design stage to construction)
ACHIEVEMENTS 15 July 2016
Dessau International Architecture, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences Highest Final Grade in the Course - 1.2 (ECTS Grade A)
30 June 2016
Dessau International Architecture, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences My Thesis “A Common Tale of Two Cities” was shortlisted for the Robert-Oxman Thesis Prize
22 September 2015
Kompetenzzentrum Stadtumbau Selected to present my second semester studio project ‘House of Learning & Prayer’ to the Sachsen-Anhalt City Council in Berlin
October 2014
Architecture Malaysia Magazine vol. 26 issue 5 My completed project “Mission House” under Arkitek LLA was featured among the top conservation & adaptive reuse projects in Malaysia.
COMPUTER PROGRAMMES
AutoCAD Rhino Grasshopper Revit Sketchup Adobe Photoshop Adobe InDesign Adobe Illustrator Microsoft Office Suite
LANGUAGE SKILLS
English - native, fluent Malay - native, fluent German - intermediate written & spoken Chinese - basic spoken
ONLINE PORTFOLIO
www.charlottechoo.com
- high proficiency - high proficiency - basic proficiency - basic proficiency - intermediate proficiency - high proficiency - high proficiency - intermediate proficiency - high proficiency
*references and certificates are available upon request
CONTENTS
SELECTED ACADEMIC WORK : Prague Commons: Svejking in the Karlin Barracks pg 7 Leipzig Commons: The Productive Cinema pg 13 House of Learning and Prayer pg19 Arthouse pg 25
SELECTED PROFESSIONAL WORK : Mission House, Penang pg 33 Peel Mansion, Penang pg 39
7
pg 7
pg 19
pg 33
pg 13
pg 25
pg 39
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ACADEMIC
PRAGUE COMMONS: ŠVEJKING IN KARLIN BARRACKS Masters Thesis Project // Anhalt University of Applied Sciences
Cedric Price designed around the philosophy of impermanence, and said that buildings should serve the needs of those that use them and be either transformed or demolished when they no longer served their purpose. The Karlin barracks is a place which can allow the said transformation. Imagine a place with no rules- a place where we could easily bring objects of our desire to inhabit, to tear apart when we no longer desire it, and maybe put it together again as something new. And this process shall repeat itself. In the spirit of “The Good Soldier Svejk”, the Karlin Barracks is itelf a serious monument waiting to be annoyed, maybe even frustrated. Once a stately military complex, the barracks is now ageing and decaying along with its promise of miitary sovereignty and power. Karlin Barracks should be, like the adventures of Svejk, a place for random occurences within a rigid system. Svejk’s Anti-War attitude in line with Cedric Price’s Anti-Architecture and Non-Plan, is a fun and satirical way of dealing with the series of unfortunate events that has occurred to the barracks.
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„ONE MAN’S TRASH IS ANOTHER MAN’S TREASURE“ A local neighbourhood facility for collection of recyclable waste. The commons participants sort the waste and lay objects in demand along the conveyor belt, which are then distributed to individual production studios to be reappropriated as building materials for various projects within the commons.
ROHANSKÝ OSTROV..
Lots of abandoned buildings and materials here! Come get them before the new developers bulldoze the entire place!
KARLÍN BARRACKS
Artists and builders in need of more materials!
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I love this movie! Maybe I should make one of my own.
Why isn’t anyone here? Perhaps I got the wrong date? or time?
I heard the chef is a total drama queen, but makes the best tomato soup in town.
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Prague Commons Site Model
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ACADEMIC
LEIPZIG COMMONS: THE PRODUCTIVE CINEMA Winter Semester 2015 Masters Thesis Project // Anhalt University of Applied Sciences
Leipzig is considered as a ‘shrinking city’. The German Reunification led to the displacement of the people resulting in suburbanisation & migration to the West. Shrinking is often associated with decay, but this does not have to be the case. Shrinkage can have a positivenegative dualism. This allows architecture to play a significant role in rebuilding the city. This can be an opportunity to create new infrastructure towards a more sustainable future. Today, Leipzig is dubbed as ‘the new Berlin’ and there are great potentials for this booming East German city. With the abundance of abandoned buildings due to the declining population in the last decades, the city is now seeing a slow increase of young people into the city. The appeal of cheaper rents as well as a growing local arts and culture scene have contributed to this influx. Mediating between three major themes of ‘Ostalgie’ (nostalgia for GDR times), Commoning and Adaptable Architecture, the forgotten IG Fortuna cinema and its former gasworks site is given new life. Through a process of spontaneous and informal usage by community participation, the site becomes a productive commodity and a catalyst for regeneration through commoning.
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Leipzig Commons Site Model
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Circulation Modules
Outdoor Cinema
GDR film archive / Exhibition space
Existing Cinema Walls of the former GDR Youth Cinema
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Room Modules
Circulation Modules
Existing Gasometer Walls
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Room Modules
Folly Modules
Circulation Modules
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ACADEMIC
HOUSE OF LEARNING AND PRAYER
Masters Summer Semester Studio Project // Anhalt University of Applied Sciences The House of Prayer And Learning in Mansfeld is a community center which aims to educate both visitors and locals about spirituality and religion. Two historical typologies are used to convey a joint message of open-mindedness and acceptance for three religions as well as create a differentiation between public and sacred space. The ‘missing tooth’ adjacent to Lutherplatz is filled with an arcade on one side while a public walkway connects visitors from the main street to a residential street. A library and cafe is located at the main entrance. Here, the visitor comes with an open mind to read about different religions and spirituality. Rythmic openings along the arcade act as a collonade allowing people to weave through the space or niches with seating, acting as an informal meeting place. The visitor is led through a staircase to a sunken courtyard which houses the sacred prayer spaces. From the outside, each prayer space is only distiguishable through the thick copper doors with inscriptions from the respective holy texts. Here, the visitor can perform religious rituals in a quiet atmosphere. The gound floor houses two common spaces which functions as teaching rooms. The openings from the teaching rooms face directly to the prayer spaces.
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Front view of the library and cafe from Lutherplatz
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Design Development Models
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Ground Floor & First Floor Plan
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Cross section showing the prayer spaces, courtyard, learning rooms and arcade walkway
Longitudinal section showing the copper doors of each prayer room
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Interior of the Muslim prayer room where large copper doors are inscripted with Koran verses
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ACADEMIC
ARTHOUSE: AN ARTIST’S STUDIO Bachelor Degree Thesis // Glasgow School of Art The Artists’ Retreat is situated on the Boathouse Site of the Mount Stuart Estate where views along the coast are abundant. The juxtaposition of the rocky sandstone coastline to the dense forest is the driving concept of this proposal. The exterior is a simple and monolithic concrete form. The spaces within mimic the topographical layers on which it sits. Each space is designed to dictate the resident’s activity in conjunction with ‘slow architecture’whether is it dining with a view to the sea or painting the seascape from looking out the window, time is now determined by the sound of the waves or the movement of the trees’ shadows.
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Communal Studio
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Ground Floor Plan 1 Communal Studio 1A Storage 2 Living Room 3 Kitchen & Dining 4 Patio 5 Resident Artists’ Bedrooms
First Floor Plan 6 Main Artist’s Studio 7 Main Artist’s Bedroom
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‘Trees’ Corridor
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Main Artist’s Private Studio
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PROFESSIONAL
MISSION HOUSE, PENANG Restoration & Adaptive Reuse of Heritage Category 1 Buildings (completed) // Arkitek LLA The restoration of two Colonial Mansions, one of which was the earliest Protestant Mission House in Penang built in the late 1800’s. The houses were in an advanced state of dilapidation brought by neglect. The purpose of this project is to revive and revalue the dignified monuments by restoring the building to its original structure according to old photographs and a structural investigation. Adaptive work was also done to cater to the new usage of the buildings. Responsibilties included: - Submission of relevant applications to the Local Authorities - Assisting in submission of the Heritage Impact Assesment - Independently dealing with clients and consultants throughout the design and tender process - Preparation of tender and construction packages - Managed site visits and conducted weekly site inspections - Laising with the main contractor, sub-contractors and suppliers during tender and construction - Sourcing of materials, interior furnishings and accessories
Published: October 2014 in Architecture Malaysia Magazine vol. 26 issue 5 “Mission House “Retrofitting Adaptive Reuse”
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Adaptive Work: The additions of a new annexe behind one of the mansions is to cater to a new restaurant. The material choice of steel and glass are deliberately exposed to differentiate itself from the old structure
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Installation of a dumb waiter for the building’s new usage
Any new internvention attempts to blend in rather than stand out. The landscape, consisting of grey concrete slabs with brick lining punctuated by slim trees is deliberately minimal not to impede on the prominence of the house
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BEFORE The Mission House before Restoration works
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AFTER The Mission House after Restoration works and in use during Georgetown Festival
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PROFESSIONAL
PEEL MANSION, PENANG Restoration & Adaptive Reuse of a Heritage Category 2 Building (completed) // Arkitek LLA This 1920s colonial mansion has undergone several alterations by previous tenants using inappropriate materials. The mansion, now intended to be used as an office space required some alterations to its interior. Most of the facade has been kept to its original design. Major refurbishment works involved identifying and removing parts of the building which were added throughout the years from ad hoc renovations by the previous tenants and altering the internal layout and design to suit its new function as a lawyers’ office. Responsibilties included: - Submission of relevant applications to the Local Authorities - Independently dealing with clients and consultants throughout the design and tender process - Preparation of tender and construction packages - Prepared landscape design package - Managed site visits and conducted weekly site inspections - Laising with the main contractor, sub-contractors and suppliers during tender and construction - Sourcing of materials, interior furnishings and accessories
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Front View of the Porch
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Main Hall’s interior proposal
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View of the completed Main Hall
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Images of the mansion’s completed interior
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Interior drawings of the director’s washroom
Thank you for your time! Here are my contact details again, just in case: BEETHOVENSTR. 1, 06844 DESSAU-ROSSLAU, GERMANY +49 176 751 310 63 CHARLOTTECQY@GMAIL.COM WWW.CHARLOTTECHOO.COM