PORTFOLIO 2020

weekend lodging interpretive centre learning centre

class

of

2020

//

2017-2020

cultural experienc centre

architecture portfolio ong huey chyi

DESIGN STATEMENT

PERSONAL STATEMENT

Art and architecture is a living thing. They coexist in order to mark a place within a space. A Building is not built only to cater to one’s needs, it is a form of art that helps awaken the dormant emotions within. But a building should not be all about aesthetics as well, it should convey a certain message and humble itself within a place through the language of the context.

For me, it was never “Function over Form”, its “Function as Form”, vice versa. Not one is more important than the other, it’s only a difference of sequence during the design process.

I strongly believe that architecture should reflect the texture of a certain place. As the users journey from the outside in, the appeal of the building is important as it either attracts or intimidates the users. Thus, it should remain a certain language that’s continued from the neighbouring context so that it does not seem foreign to the users. By mimicking and maintaining the typology of the surrounding buildings, or remaining some elements of the old, the building continues the conversation with the neighboring buildings, instead of putting a full-stop to the context.

In my projects, I perceive art as a medium that evokes emotions. As much as

DESIGN STATEMENT

the appeal of the building says a certain language, the personality of a place should reflect into the building as well. For me, the personality of a space can be reflected through materials with the play of scale and voids. Each wall tells a story, the choice of material speaks for the spaces and the building, and then comes the scale of these walls, as they define the voidal spaces in between.

I perceive voidal spaces as a kind of negative space that attracts and brings in the functionality of the building into the spaces. Be it an alleyway or an empty room, they are defined by the walls that encloses or surrounds them. The activities conducted in these voidal spaces are the kind of emotions and senses induced by the types of surface and the scale that houses and defines these functionalities.

Thus it is our job, as an architect, to create these “walls” that houses not just the function, but a wall that tells a story, a message, through art and emotions induced by the context. We don’t just design a building block, we are making a medium.

Art and architecture is a living thing. They coexist in order to mark a place within a space. I hope that in the future, a building is not built to only cater to one’s needs, but it is also designed as a form of medium that tells a certain story within a site. It should convey a certain message and humble itself within a place.

CONTENT LIST

01

WEEKEND LODGING

02

INTERPRETVE CENTRE

03

LEARNING CENTRE

04

CULTURAL EXPERIENCE CENTRE

WEEKEND LODGING

SITE PLAN

01

WEEKEND LODGING

WEEKEND LODGING Semester 2 BRIEF INTRO

A weekend lodging that plays with the availability of space to the public, and privately, given its unique location of a private building placed admist a public park.

TO SITE / PROJET

02

WEEEKEND LODGING

The design intention emphasizes the idea of "dissolving" and "blending" in with the context, as a park accessed by public can rarely have anough privacy of their own, The main aim of this project is to have a weekend lodging that is not too isolated from the public context.

thus by playing with planes, it provides a blurred boundary between the voids and the solids. It creates opportunity for interaction, but can also blocks one from another depending on the placement and location.

03

WEEKEND LOSGING

Given its unique location, it is important to give back to the community what was taken away by having a private building placed admist a public park. Thus, by giving the ground floor structure back to the public as a public structure, that further enhances the site, that allows growth and interaction between the public and the ground structure

DESIGN INTENTION / PROGRESS

First, by starting off with identifying the different parts that will be given back to the community and the part where is kept privately, two masses were intersected together at a certain orientation and angle to ensure that the building does not just speaks to the users on one side, but it can interact with the users at different side , angle and perspective. It opens up the visual opportunity that leads to interactive opportunity of the building and the community.

Then, By altering the orienntation of the planes from front that blocks and sides that allows permeability, It creates the "dissolving" character of the building, by altering between public and private depending on where you perceive it from.

CONCRETE ROOF CONCRETE ROOF

LIVING ROOM

DRYING AREA

OUTDOOR MEZZANINE FLOOR

FOYER VOID

CONCRETE ROOF

PANTRY

SHOWER ROOM

GUEST BEDROOM

GUEST BEDROOM

OUTDOOR BALCONY

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

SECOND FLOOR PLAN

THIRD FLOOR PLAN

04

WEEKND LODGING

05

WEEKND LODGING

D E S I G N S C H E M E

With the idea of “dissolving” ad “blending in” with the context, the building plays with gaps, slits, voidity and solid through planes It further engages the users with the context through the building as a medium, instead of an obstacle that blocks them.

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INTERPRETIVE CENTRE

00

INTERPRETIVE CENTRE

INTERPRETIVE CENTRE Semester 3

I N T R O T O P R O J E C T

There are still remnants of the past left in the people of Kampung Pulai. They are very proud of their history and upbringings, but never had the chance to share it to the world. There were stories left untold in this village. By creating a platform where the locals can remember and reminiscent about, and the visitors to engage, feel and experience the history of site and having direct connection with the locals themselves. Thus, the locals get to share their side of stories, the visitors gets a piece of essence of the site.

08

INTERPRETIVE CENTRE

The building is designed in such that conveys its past to the users. The idea behind it is to have the buidling as a medium to portray and convey the remnants of the past ofthe local community, their emotions, thei fragments of memories to the visitors.

By bringing in the elements of the past, the gesture of a submerging boat, bring forth the memories of the sail boat that their ancestors took from China to settle here in Kampung Pulai.

The metal decks produces a sound when it has been stepped on and is crushed against the stone below it.

This stimuli reminds the people of the gold mining activity that their ancestors were greatly involved.

Gold mining has a huge meaning to the local especiall the elderlys, it was what brought them to Kampung Pulai

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INTERPRETIVE CENTRE

D E S I G N I N T E N T I O N

This phase marks the hidden emotions of the local community, when some that came to Kampung Pulai from China made a fortune, and was able to get themselves back, but some were not very forunate had stayed and eventually settled down. These emotions left by the people were uneasy, it was being portrayed as a journey they couldn't reach. It is like walking up a long steep corridor, trying to reach the light that could never be reached. It is a hidden emotion inside them that has be portrayed.

10

INTERPRETIVE CENTRE

11

“Submergence”

“The Arrival”

“Boundaries”

A mimicry of the motion of descending into the boat, Sampan, that the ancestors from China used to sail to Kamoung Pulai.

With the floor that’s exposed to splashing waters below ground, and tiered seats that mimics the seatings of the traditional chinese boat, it gives the visitor a feeling of how the ancestors felt when boarding onto

The sound of the wire mesh panels , crushing against the ground and rocks of the site when stepped, remind the user of the work condition of the gold minigsite. With the water splashing onto the contours and sometimes flowing thourgh the perforated wire mesh during tides, shows the activity of gold panning back in the days.

Standing beneath one side of the wood textured concrete wal, gives a sense of pressure, but on the other side of the slanted wall, it gives a sense of exposure. Such contrast of feeling induced by the slant wall is used to resemble how conversion into rubber tapping was at first unsure of until it had opend up opportunity to the local communities..

INTERPRETIVE CENTRE

“Hidden Desires”

“Formation”

This stairs and open gallery were dedicated to “The lucky ones” who had successfully made a fortune here and went back to China to reunite with their families. As going up the stairs, this side of the slant wall slowly opens up the view, to create a feeling of Achievement and Glory, that they had felt during the event.

With it’s different height in platform from the “Glory” it creates a boundary that the people who were left behind could never cross. The hidden desire and enby that they felt when they see people going back to China. But looking past all that, this platform frames the community behind. As how it’s because of this desire, is what brings them today, Kampung Pulai.

With the slit between the walls behind that frames the rubber plantation, light shining through the slits in the evening, as walking down the stairs, it is an annotation and mark of a new start of of Kampung Pulai as it continues to grow.

D E S I G N

“Glory”

A P P R O A C H

12

INTERPRETIVE CENTRE

13

INTERPRETIVE CENTRE

D E S I G N

S C H E M E

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LEARNING CENTRE

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LEARNING CENTRE

L E A R NIN G CE NTE R Se me s t e r 5

I N T R O

Located at Klang, this learning center aims to induce empathy to site through the convergence of the two needs on site; the needs of conservastion of culture, and needs of space.

The site is mainly seperated by a back alley, The area where it is mostly dominated by the existential users are places like Little India street, that is full of life, and always busy, WHILE the other side of the alley,always lays dormant, and shy.

The businesses on site are mostly run by empathetic users, they have been there for generations to genertions, it is a site that is full of essence and nostalgia. Time to time, existential outsiders also come to enjoy the dormant-ness of the street, that is filled with traces of culture and age.

T O

EXISTENTIAL INSIDERS

OBJECTIVE OUTSIDERS

They are the ones that create the culture of the region and has attachment to site

They are people who are attracted to incidents. Their existance is defined by the potentials of site.

They are peole who views the site on first dimension. They identify the site based on setting and activities

P R O J E C T

EMPTATHETIC INSIDERS

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LEARNING CENTRE

As an art learning centre, this building gathers traditional cultural arts that has been quite forgotten, like timepiece work, and glass work. It aims to provide a platform for the empathetic users to teach the young and continue the culture to generations.

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LEARNING CENTRE

P U BL IC RE AL M

The public realm right beside ours ite act as a catalyst for activites.

There are existing stalls that have been there for years. Thus, without moving the stalls, this building aims to give back to the community its existing essence through extending the public realm into the ground floor of the learning centre.

D E S I G N A P P R O A C H

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LEAERNING CENTRE

Ground Floor Plan

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First Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

LEARNING CENTRE

LOUVRED WINDOW Front Elevation

The adaptation of the foldable louvred window responsds to the function inside, creating a dynamic and everchanging facade at different times

D E S I G N

Side Elevation

The remaining of the old facade plays a role in acting as a entity with the stalls and responds to the identity of the region

A P P R O A C H

OLD FACADE

PERFORATED BRICK WALL Vastly available on the site. some of the original brick wall in the buidling are remained. The perforated brick wall is to maintain a certain visual connection between the interior and exterior

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CULTURAL EXPERIENCE CENTRE

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CULTURAL EXPERIENCE CENTRE

CU LTU RAL E XPE R I E NCE CE NR E Se m e s t e r 6 In this project we werew given a brief of designing a cultural experience centre that focuses on empowering the people's appreciation of their own culture.

T O P R O J E C T

But over the years, it has been neglected and became a dumping ground until the RIver of Life project has been introduced to enhance the physical condition of the river.

I N T R O

Sandwiched between 4 different contact points, our site is located in front of the Central Market, Pasar Seni, Kuala Lumpur. Through a series of morphology studies, it can be known that the river is the nucleus of the city that drives Kuala Lumpur into development.

But that is just the physical impact, what about the social and cultural impact of the river to the local community?

People tend to forget the river is one of the huge contributors to one of Malaysia's arts and craft culture, which is pottery making.

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CULTURAL EXPERIENCE CENTRE

In the older days, people tend to go to the river bank to collect clay to make household utitlities before electronic devices took over our lives, but it is now slowly dying away as this industry is no longer profitable and there's no heir to the craft Thus. Kuala Lumpur coudl be the best host for this project as it is a culturally rich and diverse city where their love of art has been celebrated, But Pasar Seni faces a problem of its own..

According to CEDENA research report 2018, the creative industry in Malaysia is still on the low side in terms of income generation. This can be seen through the user groups in Pasar Seni where it is no longer only visited by locals and tourists, but also the foreigners that work as a street vendor that sells arts and crafts to the tourists that was supposingly be locally made, but were actually mass produced in oversea countries like China and Indonesia.

This results in a decline in the local artist community where they will have to compete with commercialized art retailers and street vendors for space to display and sell their artwork.

Thus, by combining this social issue of artist lacking their platform, with the dying cultural arts of pottery making, the project aims to provide a platform mainly for the potters to interact and communicate and to create a community of potters to bring back the dying art of pottery making in Malaysia. Whilst the impact of the programme is to encourage and enhance the local artists community at Kuala Lumpur so that they will be able to educate local community about arts and crafts of pottery making

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CULTURAL EXPERIENCE CENTRE

(SPATIAL PROGRAMMING) In terms of spatial programming, it is boken down into phases starting from the contact pointsthen to resting and connecting, then experiencing and participating, educating, exibiting, and working.

(SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT) The spatial arrangement is arranged using the language of pottery making where the clay were pushed to the side to create a vessel in between, the spaces are organized in a way where it faces outwards into the streets so that the inside of the building are overlapped with voids that connects upward to form a ‘vessel’.

Water is added to clay is air-dried soften the clay after molding

N A R R A T I V E

Clay is collected from river bank

D E S I G N

(DESIGN APPROACH) Just like the star of a pot is not what was created, it is what it was created to hold. Thus, the main design approach is to emphasize on the use of voids as a vessel that connects both the users and the building. The permeability, openness and materiality of the building is considered to integrate the 4 elements of pottery making (earth, water, fire, air) into the language of the building.

Pots are put into kiln to be heated

FIRING / GLAZING STUDIO

COURTYARD VOID BEHIND EXHIBITION SPACE

PERGOLA WALKWAY

POTTERY WORKSHOP

SEMI - OPEN LOUNGE BEHIND

OPEN GALLERY

VOID

OFFICE BEHIND

LIBRARY

RECEPTION

VOID

Section C-C'

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CULTURAL EXPERIENCE CENTRE

(WORKING) Artist studio (EXHIBITING) Exhibitiong space Gallery space (EDUCATING) Workshop Library (PRIVATE) Artist living quarters Collab space (EXPERIENCE & PARTICIPATE) Retail Cafe Gallery (RESTING & EXPERIENCE) Seating spaces Workshops Public Spaces

IDENTIFYING POINTS

CONTACT

Personalities of the contact points, Central Market, Kasturi Walk, Riverside Walk, Main Vehicular Pathway

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CREATING AN AXIS

INTERSECTING POINT

SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT

'VESSEL'

By connecting the approaches and form a continuous axis that goes through the building

At the point where the axis intersects, a void is cut out

The spaces are then placed around the void facing outward to create a ‘vessel’ in between.

The voids connects upward to create a ‘vessel’ that anchors the building vertically

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CULTURAL EXPERIENCE CENTRE

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LOUNGE BELOW

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GALLERY

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TEMP. STUDIO

POTTERY WORKSHOP

LIBRARY

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TEMP. STUDIO RECEPTION

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OPEN GALLERY

OFFICE

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LOUNGE

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WORKSHOP

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LIVING AREA

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COLLAB

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RECEPTION

LIVING

BALCONY

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SECOND FLOOR PLAN

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SEMI OUTDOOR GALLERY BELOW

LIFT

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DESIGN / MOLDING STUDIO

UP

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STORAGE

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SERVICES LIFT

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COURTYARD BELOW

VOID BELOW

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EXHIBITION

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LOUNGE BELOW

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GROUND FLOOR PLAN

GLAZING / PAINTING ROOM

BELOW

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FIRST FLOOR PLAN

BEDROOM 4

VOID DN

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BEDROOM 3

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10M 10M

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THIRD FLOOR PLAN

FOURTH FLOOR PLAN .

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ROOF PLAN

BASEMENT PLAN

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CULTURAL EXPERIENCE CENTRE

SOUTH ELEVATION

SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE B-B'

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CULTURAL EXPERIENCE CENTRE

NORTH ELEVATION

WEST ELEVATION

D E S I G N

EAST ELEVATION

S C H E M E

SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE A-A'

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