Lessons from a 9-yr-old

Last Saturday, my youngest sister made my day. There are 2 reasons for that;
one for her courage to speak up for what she believed in and second for her willingness to give up something that she loves for a greater cause.

We were buying our monthly ration when I heard my 9-yr-old sister forbids our mum from buying a Nestle product. She went on lecturing my mum about the importance of boycotting companies that support Israel and kept on saying that we shouldn't contribute to the killing of Palestinians in Palestine.

My mum smiled and immediately put the product back to the shelf.

I smiled too, gave my sister a thumbs up, and started to help her looking for an alternative product.

It was just amazing to see her voice out her opinions on this global issue.

One thing about her is that she loves to eat. She is already obese at her age now.
Once, I brought her to a park for a jog. She ran for a few seconds and thats it. I kept on pushing her to jog, and up till now, she kept on nagging about it and refuses to run with me. Cute.

However, because of the boycotting campaign against certain brands that support the cause of Israel, she gave up a lot of her favourite food such as Oreo, Maggi, Kelloggs cereals and many more, knowing that when she buys the product, it is similar to killing the Palestinians.

Amazing. Sometimes, we can really learn something from children.
That day, she has tought me to stand up and make sacrifices.
Thank you Izzah. :)

Antara cita-cita dan amali

Ramai yang melaungkan cita-cita hendak mengembalikan kegemilangan Islam.
Menegakkan daulah Islamiyyah.
Unjuran masa depan ialah ke arah Islam menaungi seluruh alam.
Cita-cita yang sangat besar, memerlukan mereka yang seimbang dalam semua aspek kehidupan.

Tidak hairanlah, semangat ini mendorong mereka untuk terjun ke dalam tarbiyyah sampai basah kuyup.
Usrah tidak akan pernah tinggal walau apa pun terjadi.
Program buat sebaik mungkin.

Tapi dalam bab akademik, ponteng kuliah dan tutorial.
Kerja rumah tidak dibuat.
Masa untuk study tidak diperuntukkan.
Tali unta tidak diikat kuat-kuat, hanya mengharapkan tawakkal kepada Allah.

Bahan bacaan pun kurang.
Ditanya tentang waqi semasa di kawasan setempat, tidak tahu.
Ditanya tentang perkembangan politik semasa, tidak tahu.
Ini baru bab tsaqafah.

Dengan sikap sebegini, bagaimana hendak sampai kepada daulah Islam, hatta Baitul Muslim sekalipun.
Ironi sungguh, antara cita-cita Islam dan usaha praktikalnya.

Jadi ayuh ikhwah! Perkasakan tarbiyyah dalam segenap segi!
Jangan kita sekularkan tarbiyyah hanya pada hal keagamaan sahaja.

My Neighbourhood

Surau Kpg Tupong, right at the heart of the neighbourhood.

One of the best moments in Malaysia is when the multiple azans are heard from many different mosques and musollas around the neighbourhood. The call for prayers harmoniuosly synchronize with each other; glorifying Allah, calling people towards success, inviting the local community to pray together in the houses of Allah. Imagine we are sitting in front of a mosque, right at the gates. We can start to see people coming out of their houses; walking, cycling or driving to the nearest mosque. This scene repeats itself five times a day.

The sad thing is, the only people we see going through the gate are old men. Also a few little children. So where are the young men?

They are right next door, near the small stall that sells DIGI Prepaid, handphone housings, cekedis and jajans.

Maybe, we need to set up the stalls inside the mosque. (attn architects!)
Let reverse psychology play its role.

The fiqh of architecture?

Being so far away from homeland, here in Australia, I learned about tarbiyyah & da'wah. Some people had some skepticism about it. For the others, including myself, the externalization of Islam as his/her religion in a Western country changed our lives forever. In just a few years, our perception towards Islam is no longer a mere religion; it has become our way of life. Every single thing that we do would be sourced back to the al-Quran and as-Sunnah be it in our speech, feelings, interaction with other people, appearance, time management, studies, financial, activities and many other aspects of life.

At a certain point during this 4 year period, probably during my first year, I started to think about the Islamization of architectural knowledge. Is there such thing? The thoughts come once in a while. Once, I quoted and wrote about Le Corbusier's accounts when he visited mosques in Istanbul, and went on commenting on the modern perceptions (or rather misconceptions) of the role of a mosque. At some other time, I criticized the millions of money spent on a grandeur mosque, which is in close proximity to another big mosque in one of the prominent cities back at home. I also found ArchNet, an international online community that focuses on 'Islamic' architecture. Recently I did some study on the geometrical aesthetics of medieval Islamic architecture in Isfahan, Iran.

So, there are minor efforts, here and there, to get my architectural understanding in touch with an Islamic point of view. Now, out of a sudden, I started to question, is there really any connection between architecture and Islam. (Lets put aside the modern perception of Islamic architecture ie. mosque, dome, minarets, calligraphy carvings, etc.. I think those are the Western interpretations of Islamic architecture, a point of view that is not based on the fiqh/understanding of Islam.)

Can a true understanding of Islam sets a framework for a design solution? Is there such thing like an architecture that is based on the al-Quran and as-Sunnah? Is there such thing like the Islamization of architectural knowledge?

Could there be something called The fiqh[1] of architecture?

"Another famous Hadith of the Prophet (S.A.W) that has become a maxim in Islamic built environment principles is

لا ضرر ولا ضرار

(La darrar wa la dirrar)
No harm and no harming

This defines clearly the role of builders, including those involved in design and planning, that one is to have total respect for oneself as well as others so that no unwanted impact is brought by a development, either directly or indirectly. A city is for the purpose of sustaining civilizations and this is where Islam builds a living environment for its adherents or the Ummah. ... For Islam, this is not just an objective but a system manifest."[2]

It sounds a little bit like sustainable design. However, as oppose to sustainable design, which is specifically aimed to create a sustainable built environment, the Islamic point of view is that sustainability is not the ultimate aim (maqasid), instead the architectural design is just one of the ways to answer the call of Islam. (Sounds familiar to me - Bukan matlamat utama, cuma wasilah.)

Probably, if I could rephrase it, architecture is a subset to Islam. There should be no secularization between Islam and architecture, as a body of knowledge.

Okay. This is a start.

If there really is an Islamic framework for architectural works, lets give it a trial next semester.

.........

[1]
"In Quranic parlance, the word 'fiqh' does not have the terminological meaning it has in today's language, ie. jurisprudence, but it refers to understanding (and learning) of Allah's words and His practices in the universe, life and society. There is a similarity between the usage of the word 'fiqh' in this sense (understanding in these verses of the Holy Quran) and its use in the following hadith of the 'If Allah wants to do good to a person, He makes him well-versed in the religion'. It means that Allah will enlighten his vision so that he may delve deep into the truth, secrets and aims of religion to understand them better instead of contenting himself with mere words and superficial meanings." (Dr Yusuf al-Qardhawi, Priorities of The Islamic Movement in The Coming Phase)

[2]
Ismawi Zen, Shireen Jahn Kassim & Norwina Mohd Nawawi (ed), "Anthology of Essays on Integrating Islamic Values in the Theory and Practice of Architecture and the Built Environment", IIUM KAED.



Wallahu a'lam.

Kenapa Media?

.
Design of a train station for Epping, as part of 'Green Linkage' strategy.
Design Studio 8, semester 2 2010.

4 tahun berada di alam senibina banyak mengajar saya tentang peranan imej untuk menyampaikan mesej kepada orang ramai. Imej (lukisan, gambar, photomontage, etc) yang kita hasilkan perlu ada kemampuan untuk 'bercakap' dan 'menerangkan' idea kepada orang ramai tanpa kita mengeluarkan sepatah kata pun. Mereka kata, "An architect speaks through the drawings."

Skil menghasilkan imej ini diasah hari demi hari, minggu demi minggu, tahun demi tahun kerana ianya bukannya mudah untuk dilakukan. Seseorang itu perlu mengetahui 'fikrah' yang hendak dibawanya sedalam-dalamnya.

Pemikiran sebeginilah yang perlu ada dalam setiap aktivis dakwah, terutamanya mereka yang berada dalam unit media. Segala wahana media perlu dikuasai dan dimanfaat sebaiknya bagi melawan arus ideologi duniawi yang menyerang pemikiran dan jiwa pemuda Islam sekarang. Ini era baru. Cara kita bergerak perlu kreatif dan inovatif.

Secara peribadinya, saya merasakan tidak cukup dengan hanya mengetahui sedikit tentang penerbitan majalah, sedikit tentang pembikinan video dan sedikit skil fotografi. Setiap jiwa yang sudah berjinak dengan salah satu wahana ini perlu meningkatkan skil mereka ke tahap maksima. Biar skil itu dikhususkan dalam diri, biar kita menjadi pakar dalam skil masing-masing. Kalau pandai ambil gambar, belajarlah ambil gambar dengan sebaiknya. Gambar perlu ada mesej. Komposisi yang cantik. Bukan sekadar ambil untuk penuhkan graphic card, akhirnya akan tersorok di dalam arkib atau 'recycle bin'.

Secara kebetulan, saya terjumpa kata-kata Hasan al-Banna mengenai peranan media dalam bab 'Dakwah Kita' di dalam Majmu' Rasail.

Pendokong
Pendokong ideologi hari ini tidak sama seperti pendokong dahulu kerana mereka hari ini berpendidikan, terlatih dan berkepakaran (terutama di negara Barat). Kini setiap ideologi mempunyai pasukan terlatih yang mampu menghurai segala kerumitan. Masing-masing mampu menonjolkan kelebihan ideologi masing-masing dengan bantuan pelbagai kaedah penyiaran dan propaganda. Dengan ini mereka mampu mempengaruhi masyarakat dengan cara yang paling mudah dan paling meyakinkan.

Wahana
Teknik propaganda sekarang juga berbeza dengan zaman dahulu. Kaedah penyiaran zaman dahulu hanya menggunakan medan ceramah atau perhimpunan atau penulisan melalui risalah atau surat. Berbeza dengan hari ini kerana pelbagai bentuk penerbitan, mahjalah, akhbar, risalah, pementasan (fiksyen), drama dan radio. Semua ini begitu mudah sampai kepada masyarakat; wanita mahupun lelaki, di rumah mereka, di pusat perniagaan, di tempat kerja dan di ladang mereka.

Oleh itu menjadi kewajipan para pendokong gerakan dakwah menguasai dengan baik kesemua kaedah ini supaya gerakan dakwah setiap usaha mereka dapat mencapai sasaran yang dikehendaki.

Ayuh bergerak arus media Islam! Semoga setiap 'klik' di papan kekunci dan tetikus membawa ke syurga!

ps: Salah satu hasil media kreatif yang dicungkil semasa sambutan kemerdekaan Ogos lepas.

Bekalan untuk 2011

Dakwah ini tidak akan kekal dalam diri seseorang yang merasa besar segala usahanya.

Pengorbanan besar yang dituntut dalam dakwah ini tidak akan mampu ditanggung kecuali ketika jiwa melupakannya.

Bahkan jiwa pendakwah itu tidak merasai pengorbanan yang telah dicurahkannya kerana tenggelam dalam perasaan bersama Allah, merasa bahawa apa yang dilakukannya adalah kelebihan dan kurniaan Allah Taala.

(petikan kata-kata Syed Qutb)

Sneak Peek Design Studio 8

Kangaroo grass, burgon, Gippsland Red Gum, small sparse shrubs.
There are so much perfection in them that the architecture should be humble,
sympathetic towards the landscape.

Let men ponder upon the creation, not the created.

'Green Linkage'
Final presentation 26/10/2010
Design Studio 8
studio Tree Sprawl

Girih Tower project : a parametric modelling experiment using Digital Project V1R4

I enrolled for a SIAL subject ('Flexible Modelling') for my elective this semester. Almost all students thought that the subject would be an advanced modelling class for Rhinoceros, only to be told by the tutors that its not. We were asked to used a different software called 'Digital Project' V1R4, a parametric software developed by Gehry Technologies. (Frank Gehry's company)

Never thought that I'd be learning about parametric modelling this semester.

Apparently, parametric modelling is about the flexibility to change the design easily, either by changing the parameters (height, width, depth, curvature, etc) or via scripting. The experts in parametric design don't have to re-model a project if changes are to be made, instead they will just alter the figures in an excel spreadsheet or the script that they use to create the model, and voilà, they can produce numerous variations in a very short time.

The subject comes with another great opportunity. We were given the freedom to choose our own project. I chose Islamic tiling.

I get to learn about the complex geometry tiling that the Muslim civilization discovered during their peak period. This unique geometry system, which is still considered a breakthrough even today, is called Girih tiling.

They are made of 5 unique tiles, that can be arranged in many different ways so that the deco lines in each shape would form one continuous pattern. Here is an example in Darb-I-Imam shrine in Isfahan.



The amazing thing is, this was all done without computers. Pure genius, subhanallah.
Here's another image that I like. A dome structure, also somewhere in Iran.


There is something that we should reflect upon ourselves here. When we see all these achievements by our predecessors, and compare them to ours, where do we sit?

The Muslims used to be the best of nations. They were the leaders in every aspect of life. Here we are only talking about aspect ie knowledge. They became researchers, pioneers in their field and set an example to the rest of the world. It is a legacy that we cannot deny. On the other hand, we have become something else. We can't really say that we are the best of nations, judging from the reality that we live in. The modern-day Muslim is always associated with laziness, corruption, extremist, etc.. There are some great Muslims out there, but their voices are unheard off. There is a great lecture by Dr Yusuf Qardhawi, have a look.

Anyways, here are some snapshots of my work so far. Final presentation is next week.

Housing in EVC 55 Precinct, Design Studio 8

Bring back EVC 55.

Plains Grassy Woodland should be there, shaping the site.
Gippsland Red Gum, Burgon and Kangaroo Grass.

Houses should be vernacular in looks, industrial in presence.

Nasionalisme dalam Islam

Sikap pertengahan yang diajarkan oleh Hasan al-Banna dalam nasionalisme ialah, beliau tidak menentang penganjur-penganjur kefahaman ini dengan menolaknya secara mutlak dan tidak pula menerimanya secara mutlak, tetapi beliau membezakan mana yang dapat diterima kerana sesuai dengan fahaman Islam dan mana yang harus ditolak kerana bertentangan dengan Islam.

Jika nasionalisme ditakrifkan dengan memperkuat hubungan antara anggota-anggota masyarakat suatu negara dan memberi petunjuk kepada mereka bagaimana cara menggunakan kekuatan untuk kemaslahatannya, kami setuju dengan hal itu, dan Islam memandangnya sebagai suatu kewajiban yang mesti dilaksanakan.

Dalam risalahnya Da'watuna fi Thawrin Jadid, HAB mengatakan'

"Kita adalah orang Mesir, yang dilahirkan dan dibesarkan di negeri yang mulia ini. Mesir adalah negeri mukmin, menerima Islam dengan penerimaan yang baik, mempertahankannya dan menolak dari padanya serangan musuh dalam banyak fasa sejarah serta menganutnya dengan ikhlas dan perasaan yang mendalam, Mesir tidak dapat diperbaiki melainkan dengan Islam dan penyakitnya tidak dapat disembuhkan melainkan dengan Islam. Disebabkan pelbagai situasi dan keadaan Mesir telah menjadi pengasuh fahaman Islam dan penggeraknya. Mengapa kita tidak berjuang untuk Mesir dan kebaikannya? Mengapa kita tidak mempertahankannya dengan sehabis kekuatan kita? Mengapa orang mengatakan bahawa menganut nasionalisme Mesir tidak sesuai dengan apa yang dianjurkan oleh penganjur Islam?

Sesungguhnya kita merasa mulia kerana kita ikhlas kepada tanah air tercinta ini, berjuang dan berusaha untuk kebaikannya dan kita akan tetap demikian selama kita masih hidup, dengan keyakinan bahawa ini adalah tahap pertama dari rentetan kebangkitan yang diidam-idamkan.

Mesir adalah sebahagian dunia Arab, dan bila kita berjuang untuk Mesir, bererti kita berjuang untuk dunia Arab, dunia Timur dan dunia Islam."

Petikan dari Pendidikan Islam dan Madrasah Hasan al Banna, Dr Yusuf al Qardhawi.

Ada segelintir yang menolak perjuangan menyatukan Melayu di Malaysia kerana dikatakan rasis atau assabiah bangsa. Atau akan dipersoalkan pula tentang keutamaan Melayu vs Islam. Patut memperjuangkan Melayu atau Islam?

Dalam konteks ini, perjuangan Melayu perlu dilihat sebagai perjuangan memantapkan Islam di Malaysia, bukannya perjuangan politik bangsa superior. Dalam usaha ini, adalah menjadi keperluan yang besar untuk menyatukan bangsa Melayu kerana mereka membentuk majoriti umat Islam di Malaysia. Kalau bangsa majoriti Islam di sesebuah negara berpecah, berperang saudara, kemungkinan kita akan menyaksikan masa depan Malaysia yang akan dikuasai oleh parti yang memperjuangkan sekularisme. Akhirnya Malaysia akan dilihat sebagai sebuah negara sekular yang melihat agama sebagai satu juzuk kecil dalam kehidupan. Lihat Eropah, Turki, dan semua negara lain.

Kita kena sedar betapa beruntungnya kita dilahirkan di Malaysia yang meletakkan agama Islam sebagai agama rasmi (pada masa yang sama tidak mengetepikan kebebasan beragama untuk agama lain). Kita bebas untuk mengamalkan Islam dalam kehidupan seharian. Kita mampu melahirkan universiti Islam yang menjadi madrasah kepada jutaan umat Islam dari seluruh dunia. Azan masih boleh berkumandang 5 kali sehari setiap hari sepanjang tahun. Kuliah agama bebas untuk disampaikan kepada semua orang melalui media television, radio dan media massa yang lain. Muslimin dan muslimah bebas memakai jubah dan hijab di jalanan.

Semua ini akan ditekan di bawah pemerintahan sekular ataupun mana-mana negara yang tidak ada majoriti umat Islam. Kalaupun ada majoriti bangsa yang beragama Islam, kalau tidak bersatu dan menjadi kuat, kehidupan mereka tetap akan dikongkong oleh agenda bukan Islam.

Memetik kata-kata Yusuf Qardhawi dalam buku Pendidikan Islam & Madrasah Hasan al-Banna, kebangkitan bangsa merupakan salah satu siri awal kebangkitan Islam.

SIRAM 2010

Satu program kesenian dari Persatuan Belia Islam Nasional yang akan menemui anda semua akan berlangsung tak lama lagi..

Satu program yang menyediakan pementasan teater sejarah jatuh bangunnya tamadun islam diperhebatkan dengan persembahan bertenaga artis nasyid tanahair..

mempersembahkan..

SiRAH MUZIKAL 2010

Merentas Kegemilangan Ummah

http://www.sirahmuzikal.com/

untuk pendaftaran tiket online :

klik sini : http://sirahmuzikal.com/v1/?page_id=12

program yang membentangkan sebuah sejarah yang hebat....

dari permulaan kedatangan Islam di Mekah..perkembangan di Madinah..merentas arus..terus...

kepada kejayaan dan kegemilangan Islam pada zaman kebangkitan kerajaan Islam Umayyah & Abbasiyyah..

sehinggalah kejatuhan satu persatu wilayah dan kerajaan Islam..dan detik2 terakhir kejatuhan Khilafah Islamiyyah pada tahun 1924..

dan apa terjadi di akhirnya sehingga sekarang?

apa tindakan kita untuk mengkaji dan menelusuri sejarah silam kita semua yang gemilang?adakah kita lupa kita ada tanggungjawab yang besar untuk mengembalikan kegemilangan tersebut?

apa tindakan yang perlu kita lakukan?apa yang telah kita usahakan?atau jadilah kita seperti singa yang kehilangan taringnya....

temui semuanya di SiRAH Muzikal 2010,Dewan Auditorium D8,Blok D8,Kompleks D,Bangunan Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, Presint 1,Putrajaya [bersebelahan JAKIM & Kementerian Luar Bandar]..



Untuk keterangan lanjut dan tempahan sila hubungi :

Syauqi :013-3078097
Hamdan : 013-6286991
Rosezalina : 013-6784972

Portfolio Design Studio 7 (presentation layout)

Design Studio 7, semester 1 2010

Studio : Alter

Brief : Alteration/extension/addition to Melbourne Airport

Project: Glocal Terminal
Tutor : Brent Alpress

(to be laid out side by side.)
(this should've been posted last semester, anyhow, here is the layout for last semester.)

Merdeka dan Bebas

Fahamkah kita akan kemerdekaan sebenar?
Ya, merdeka dari pemerintahan penjajah itu satu bentuk kemerdekaan.
Tetapi ideologi penjajah semasa pemerintahan ratusan tahun pasti sudah berakar dalam jiwa masyarakat.
Akhirnya merdeka hanya pada nama, belum lagi bebas.
Sejarah, ideologi, identiti, cara hidup, neraca pertimbangan, jiwa.
Semuanya mesti merdeka.

Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan ke 53!

Erti Kebahagiaan

“Sesungguhnya kebahagiaan itu ialah, anda hidup

Untuk pemikiran yang benar dan kukuh

Untuk akidah terbesar yang menyelesaikan,

Permasalahan alam yang lampau

Menjawab persoalan mereka yang kebingungan

Semasa mereka sedar dan cerdik boleh berfikir

Dari manakah aku datang?Ke manakah aku hendak pergi?

Kenapa aku diciptakan? Adakah aku hidup kembali?

Lalu bersinarlah keyakinan di dalam jiwa

Terusir segala keraguan yang degil

Terdidiklah fikiran yang waras

Terciptalah akhlak yang mulia

Dan kembalilah setiap akal yang menyeleweng

kepada jalan yang benar dan lurus

Hidupmu akan dikurniakan nilai

Oleh Tuhanmu agar hidupmu terbina

Supaya matamu memandang di segala ufuk

Ke arah cita-cita yang tinggi

Lalu hiduplah kamu di dunia untuk akhirat

Di sanalah kamu hidup kekal dan tidak fana’

Kau tudung bumimu dengan langit

dan para malaikat menjadi saksi

Itulah akidah Islam untuk muslim yang bahagia

Itulah asas, itulah tiang serinya

Sesiapa yang hidup memikulnya sambil memekik

dengan namanya; dialah orang yang berbahagia

---

Yusuf al-Qardhawi, Majalah a;-Tarbiyah al-Islamiyah, Tahun ke-6, m.s. 278

Stopped, Saw and Smiled

Merri Creek, the hidden gem between Campbellfield and Epping.

Buildings should be designed to give justice to this.
Let men ponder on the creations.

Of Birobidjan, Palestine and prison

Try typing this is Google Map.
Birobidzhan, Jewish autonomous district, Russian Federation

It turned out that Isreal was not the first Jewish state. There was actually another land that was proposed as the Jewish homeland, at least 20 years before Israel was born.

Say hello to Birobidzhan, or alternatively spelled Birobidjan.

Here is the government homepage (let google translate the website first if you can't read Russian), and here is a 48-page booklet that was published by the American Birobidjan Committee in 1948, the very year in which Zionist seized Palestine with the mendacious claim that only a new state of Israel could offer a safe Jewish homeland. (source)

However, for some reason, Palestine and the Palestinians became the victims of the illegal occupation, having absolutely nothing to do with the antisemitism issue in Europe.

Allahu'alam. Allah knows best.

Maybe, this is His way of reminding us Muslims to wake up and free ourselves from prison. He brings us calamity to remind us that there is something wrong with how we live our lives nowadays.



Are we in a prison? Oh yes we are. The prison of mind. We have been taught that the world is everything and that we should work hard for it. We have been brainwashed by the media to think that the Western lifestyle is the best for mankind. They are all in the TV, internet, magazine, newspapers, radio, soap operas, theatres, cinemas, posters and everywhere else.

Pro-gamers

Our children believed that in these modern world, they should play Playstations, watch TV all the time, and hang out with friends after class in shopping complexes for no reason.

Prada in Tokyo

Our sisters believed that being modern is to shop at Prada, wear very little clothing (but unbelievably expensive), and have a stunning body for the boys to look at.

Money

Our brothers believed that being modern is to flirt with girls, have lots of money and spend them like there is no tomorrow.

KL Party

Our whole generation believed that the modern lifestyle is sex before marriage, drug dealing, and all-night party.

Are you in that prison? If you are, it is time to wake up.
Question ourselves, "Who are you?"

The answer is not in your name nor your father's, not even your ancestors'.

Look at the sky, look at the trees, look at the sun, look at the moon.
Observe every single thing around you.

Who are you?

First Year presentation

This is the story of our own Malaysian Pavilion in the recent Shanghai Expo.

"Our architecture, it is not typically Minangkabau per say. Minangkabau is two buffalo horns. Ours is a tilted rooftop. Why? We have to have a pavilion that catches the eyes of everyone that comes in... Ours is so, so Malaysian tradition."

"There will also be an interactive traditional games and activities such as congkak and batik printing, foodstalls featuring hawkers' delight and even a putting green.

The 20 million ringgit Pavilion project was led by the Tourism Ministry, with the participation of other ministries. (apparently it took RM 35 mil to construct)

This is the first time that Malaysia is building a pavilion of its own for the prestigious event held every 5 years."

source (thestaronline)


It really sounded like a first year presentation. Assuming that we, as readers (particularly architecture students who read this) were to be the guest crit, what would we have to say?

I'd say,

Its a good effort. Really. I mean its the first time, and its large scale and what not.

But, next time, please don't involve politics. Architecture is a knowledge of form. You'd need 5 or 6 years to learn how to do more with less. Have a look at Australian pavilion. It was designed by a well-known architectural firm Wood Marsh, not a government body.

Goodluck with portfolio.

Ps:

• Putting green? Apa kaitan Malaysian tradition dengan golf? Aduyai. Kalau sawah padi faham la jugak.
• I heard a lot of local architects (Australian) criticizing Malaysia's architecture as figurative. I would have to agree, sadly. Figurative is like, you just like looking at the Quran, instead of reading its content, glad tidings, warning and so forth. Get it?
  
• RM 35mil. Ya Allah. Berapa banyak rumah dah boleh buat di Palestin.
  

Portfolio Design Studio 7

Design Studio 7, semester 1 2010

Studio : Alter

Brief : Alteration/extension/addition to Melbourne Airport

Project: Glocal Terminal
Tutor : Brent Alpress

There is already enough architecture around us. All we have to do is to take and re-construct it in an-other way. It is the act of misappropriation. It may actually be an appropriation of the previous one.


Melbourne Airport has undergone a series of extensions over the years. Almost everything was designed badly; everything seem ad-hoc. Hence, the Glocal Terminal was proposed. It is essentially an-other terminal, extended from the International Terminal (T2). The difference is, it is for public. It stands on the other side of the ‘gateway of Melbourne. If the airport terminals are only for certain people, the Glocal Terminal serves both the local and international visitors. Public events take place such as exhibitions, conferences and lectures.



It uses the same generic construction systems, but composed carefully to enhance the spatial quality. Some of these generic systems include the traveletors (which is used as ramp in the architectural institute), array of columns (which defines the edge of the spaces, juxtaposed against the slender window frames), and roof structure (which are exposed to mimic the hangar environment for the aviation archive).


The landscape (the hexagonal rose garden) was a great discovery. Almost no one goes there, despite the fact that it used to be a major part of the Airport design. Even the early renders were drawn to include the hexagonal landscape elements.

Therefore, part of the design strategy was to bring the landscape back in the public realm. This was done by remotivating the existing garden, bringing back the demolished landscape and doing some landscape design. The landscape shall adopt the typical landscape elements that are available in runways.

LOVE (is not supposed to be controversial)

I have always wanted to write about love. Unfortunately, I'm not poetic enough. I can't write beautiful phrases. It would sound plain. Boring. So, I was really really glad that I found this article by Tariq Ramadhan. Its a really beautiful piece of writing. Here it goes:

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It will be noted that the ancient spiritual traditions of both East and West systematically direct the human consciousness towards Nature. Nature is a school, and an initiation. The elements are there, have surrounded us since childhood, and we are used to them. The awakening of spirituality consists in seeing them differently, in seeing in them signs, celebrations and songs, hymns and prayers to the cosmic order, universal archetypes, the gods or the One.

That conversion in our gaze is a conversion of the heart, and marks the transition from the state of one who observes to that of one who loves.

Our capacity for knowledge [connaissance], recognition [reconnaissance] and wonder comes from the depths of our subjectivity, from the ‘self’, our consciousness or our hearts. It means that we must distance ourselves from the ‘immediate’ gaze, a disposition of the mind and heart, a yearning for proximity, and often for meaning.

The old and the familiar then become new.

We see other things, things we had overlooked, failed to see or notice … or neglected altogether. The elements reveal themselves to us to the precise extent that we are revealed to ourselves, that we see more deeply into things, and that our gaze changes and becomes more intense.

Our hearts becomes more understanding, our spiritual discernment grows, our imaginary horizons expand ... and we feel more LOVE.

Whilst the age of frenetic progress and speed encourages us to escape boredom by constantly offering us something new and an ever-expanding range of ‘new products’ and blind consumerism, spiritualities, religions and philosophies ask us to look more closely at what is old, and to find something that is perpetually new within it because, to paraphrase Heraclitus, we never look at it twice in the same way. It is a question of finding something extraordinary in the most familiar and ordinary things: Nature, the sky, the elements, our environment and the people with whom we are most familiar. It is a matter of changing the way we see.

(source)
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Certain people are just not into reading. So, here's a video that could help convey the core message. A video that narrates to us the purity of love.



When we are in love with Him, anything is possible.
This is the first step that we need to take before tackling all other issues.

ps:
the month of love is coming soon. Ramadhan al Mubarak!
I'd suggest we start training ourselves to fast now. Every Monday and Thursday, yeah? InsyaAllah.