KUMPULAN DPI OFFICE

Finish illustration back in July 2005

This was one of my freelance works that I did with DOT (Design Option Team) several years ago. Unlike other illustration services that DOT’s offered, this assignment was inclusive of designing the exterior façade.

Initially, the client had a schematic plan designed by their own architect. I was then appointed by the client to design the exterior facade.


Re-visited diagram

1. My approach for the design was to divide the huge massing of building created by the architect’s schematic plan into several proportional cubes.

2. This cube would provide a building mass that could easily be tailored into a practical design facade.

3. The central part of the building (central cube & stair cube) was designed with sleek, sharp and clean design. This was introduced to bring a strong corporate feature to the client.

4. Both right and left side of the cube was designed with more highly structured detail. The use of vertical and horizontal louvers had also been introduced. This would not only reduce solar gain but also expose the beauty of its details. A sloping roof had been chosen instead of a flat roof on the central cube.

5. This design approach should break the “fat” massing into slimmer, elegant, sexy and proportionate building. The detail of each side keeps the main focus and intention of the building towards the simple entrance. The simple solutions portray a strong statement of business foundation.

Re-visited building massing

Re-visited building section

The client loved the solution and design but unfortunately I couldn’t further proceed the work to the next stage. I had to surrender the design back to the architects as I couldn’t commit to work on it on a full-time basis.

This simple exercise proved to me that I also had the capability to manage and make decisions in real life design. But in my full-time office (during my younger years), I was only the background figure who assist the senior designers.

The success of this exercise (and many more jobs similar to this) however doesn’t mean that I should be a senior designer straight away. It also doesn’t mean that I should just lay back and become a follower. I believe that in the long term learning process I should also learn to give design direction.

If you could not have that opportunity in your office (due to inexperience) you could start doing it on your own...gaining experience.