PAPAN 9

PAPAN 9
Original Artwork by Papa, Azhan and Nine (click image to link)
‘In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. By Time, indeed humanity is in a state of loss. Except those who believe and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of truth and in the mutual teaching of patience’ (Surah al-`Asr, 103:1-3)
"Professional Architect lives almost by faith. When called upon he can do the job without fear or favour. He possesses aspecialized skill and lives by a code of ethics cloaked in honour andintegrity. He is expected to speak his mind and give his views. Whenfaced with absolute wrong, he can resolutely disagree and walk away." quote from THE PROFESSIONAL MAN by Ar Dr Tan Loke Mun PRESIDENT PAM

Monday 3 May 2010

Malaysia Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010

Photo by archhale2008

A friend commented:
I got really angry when i see the malaysian pavillion at the word expo!!! BENCI!! can someone sue this people yg design benda bodoh tu??!!!! We can design better la kan!!! BODO!

This comment is quite harsh or too emotional in one way, but I could understand why my friend felt that way .What I could say if only they have learn from a Malay movie called "Ali Setan" if not the whole Malaysian history, they could find straight, honest and professional opinion about the "Minangkabau" roof.


Si B : Aku ada satu bangunan sebijik macam nie. Aku nak taruk dia bumbung minangkabau supaya dia bercirikan kebangsaan.

Jali : Tak buleh!Tak buleh!

Si D : Awat tak buleh?

Jali: Macam mana pula buleh, Minangkabau tu Negeri 9 saja!

Si E : Habis, awak mau pilih Kelantan aje? Mana adil!

Si F: Jali, hang jangan emosional sangat Jali. Kita tengah discuss problem bumbung nie tau tak? Cakap pasal semangat negeri ja...boring betul la.

Ada group member tido dan mereka terus bertengkar...

Si G : Apa asyik bertengkar saja nie?

Si D : Rilex2, nanti kita panggil Ali. Ali mai sat!

Ali : Ha, apa nie?

Si B: Kami nak minta kau punya advice. Kami nak tukarkan bangunan tinggi nie kepada bumbung Minangkabau supaya bercirikan kebangsaan.

Ali: Bumbung Minangkabau, tak semestinya bercirikan kebangsaan. Ia hanya berfungsi untuk mengalirkan air keluar. Ciri2 kebangsaan boleh didapati drpd integrasi ruang, drpd sirkulasi ruang dan penyatuan unsur2 yang tertentu. Ia tak semestinya terletak pd bumbung sahaja. Kalau bangunan tinggi kita taruk bumbung Minangkabau, tak harmoni dan tak mengikut scale. Samalah macam koboi dgn pistol pakai songkok! Haha, apalah susah sangat..hah, kacang la!

Many would then blame the politicians and their cronies on this. Some have suggested : a minister should study architecture? or architecture graduate should be a minister?

And my answer would be:
Both are not going to resolve the problem. A minister should become a real minister and an architect should become a true architect. Although, they can at least have a basic knowledge of both area which may help to a mutual understanding, when it comes to a decision related to design/architecture the minister should not have the power to intervene. Decision should come from PAM/LAM professional members.

Even when the minister has professional qualification in architecture, they must be prevented in taking part in the design decision making because it could lead to a conflict of interest. Why minister should only listen to doctors and lawyers’ advice but not architects? If the minister wants to take the design decision themselves, they must also take the liability.

A crisis like this will happen more often when an architect dreams of becoming a politician, and a politician who acts as an architect.