Damn it!
I felt anger rising within me the longer I work in my current firm. It is so wrong, so, so wrong. Nothing is in proper way.
First of, the corruption of thoughts. We will definitely lose our innocent view on design and Architecture the longer we work. It needs not to be so, people would say you will and have to compromise, but from my observation, I have to disagree. Because we are only as good as our bosses allow us to be and as our bosses want us to. I have experience the leadership of lousy bosses in my current firm. Bunch of old conservative minded fools who think they know, who think they are better. Ironic. Ridiculous.
I practice self-meditation every single morning in order to keep my purity of thoughts and let the innocence of mine survive. Six more months, I told myself constantly every single day I am here.
Books and writings are my only consolation. Things that keep me alive inside.
I need those.
People at your work place, be careful of them. Be aware, listen to what they say, listen very carefully. But believe only in yourself. For they say nothing of the Truth but their own opinions, most will talk bad about the other colleagues, they may not be right. But this people, be cautious of them and realize that if they are able to talk bad about others, there lies a chance that you will be talked by as well.
Those who are quiet are no better. Even they may not belittle others, they may possess harm by their actions.
It is therefore better to be armed and practice self-cultivation.
To realize that everybody is the same.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
To Record What I Have Been Through
I think. I observe.
It has almost been half a year now I am working in Batam office. I find the office stagnant in design and lead by a bunch of old conservative men who have no talent nor hardwork, surviving solely with decently good ass-kissing skill. No coordination between departments, between the consultants and the contractor, between the consultants and the clients are observed, even if there is, it will be very subtle and insignificant.
I am recording this in hope of me not losing my innocence in Architecture the day I was first introduced to it, the day that I saw wonder and hope. The day I saw Beauty.
I am in constant fear that I might lose my ideal, that this office, instead of teaching me, will corrupt me. I have to always put myself in a neutral position, to stand outside the system and to see the system itself, the way I did for the last two years of my study at Singapore Polytechnic. I must be aware of this.
There are a lot of things that I am not in agreement with my current office.
I dislike the design method: Addition-and-Covering. Addition-and-Covering is a last minute way to resolve design and problems on-site for practical purpose. I have not objection towards solving problems on-site, a circumstance inevitable. But the way the office do it has to be very clear. In this office, instead of the architects/designers solving the problems, the problems are thrown to the contractor and asked to produce shop-drawing. Such way of throwing responsibility is very unprofessional and in a way, asking the contractor to design, while we the architects should have been the one who solve and design.
What role do we have now but a whore for the clients trying to earn as much money as we can?
This office lacks integrity and ideal.
I learned a lot on what not to do.
It has almost been half a year now I am working in Batam office. I find the office stagnant in design and lead by a bunch of old conservative men who have no talent nor hardwork, surviving solely with decently good ass-kissing skill. No coordination between departments, between the consultants and the contractor, between the consultants and the clients are observed, even if there is, it will be very subtle and insignificant.
I am recording this in hope of me not losing my innocence in Architecture the day I was first introduced to it, the day that I saw wonder and hope. The day I saw Beauty.
I am in constant fear that I might lose my ideal, that this office, instead of teaching me, will corrupt me. I have to always put myself in a neutral position, to stand outside the system and to see the system itself, the way I did for the last two years of my study at Singapore Polytechnic. I must be aware of this.
There are a lot of things that I am not in agreement with my current office.
I dislike the design method: Addition-and-Covering. Addition-and-Covering is a last minute way to resolve design and problems on-site for practical purpose. I have not objection towards solving problems on-site, a circumstance inevitable. But the way the office do it has to be very clear. In this office, instead of the architects/designers solving the problems, the problems are thrown to the contractor and asked to produce shop-drawing. Such way of throwing responsibility is very unprofessional and in a way, asking the contractor to design, while we the architects should have been the one who solve and design.
What role do we have now but a whore for the clients trying to earn as much money as we can?
This office lacks integrity and ideal.
I learned a lot on what not to do.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Idea and Practice
Idea lives forever. Practice does not.
Think of the books and all the text we've read. The ideas and philosophy by Plato which were written for more than two thousands year are still read until today.
But the manager of let's say a certain company will not be remembered.
Even some of the texts written to convince us regarding the importance of practicality are theorized. Perhaps it is not a fair comparison, because there is certainly no contradiction between theory and practice because theory supports practice and vice versa. We often forget that though things appeared to be contradicting, they actually compliment each other.
Think of the books and all the text we've read. The ideas and philosophy by Plato which were written for more than two thousands year are still read until today.
But the manager of let's say a certain company will not be remembered.
Even some of the texts written to convince us regarding the importance of practicality are theorized. Perhaps it is not a fair comparison, because there is certainly no contradiction between theory and practice because theory supports practice and vice versa. We often forget that though things appeared to be contradicting, they actually compliment each other.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
My Current State of Mind and The Office I Am Working In
There has been quite a number of arguments in my head regarding a type of drawing called shop drawing. Shop drawing is a drawing or set of drawings produced by contractor, supplier, manufacturer, subcontractor, or fabricator, which typically required for pre-fabricated component such as elevators, structural steels, trusses, pre-casts, windows, appliances, cabinets, air-handling units, and millworks.
Hence, the architect does not produce the shop drawing, but evaluates and decides whether to approve the shop drawing proposed.
I dislike this idea of shop drawing, and I would decide for myself to have as less of this kind of drawing as possible because the architect will lose the control over the design. If possible, I think the architect should provide all of the drawings with close consultation and collaboration with the specialists and contractors. Because only by doing this, we, as a participant of construction, are able to cut the loss time waiting for approval and checking and re-checking all the submitted drawings.
It has been almost five months since I worked in my new office here at Batam. I observed many things and what crossed my mind today is the management system.
I find the people here very inefficient and produce less impressive work, and I am being very kind with my comment. I wonder whether it is in our culture as an Indonesian to work in such lenient manner. I felt hopeless to the people here and at some point I was thinking of firing everyone and replacing them with new staffs.
I might be wrong.
Lately I got to thinking that the employees are just as good as the leader's skill to lead. I started to analyze how the management works and slowly I can grasp the management system in this office. It is not good, in fact it's horrible.
There are too many hierarchy in an architecture office for small size projects, it hinders the progress of the construction and Design, if there is any Design at all.
I also notice that my boss, though quite smart and charismatic, not wise nor Design oriented. He is not a nurturer but instead an autocratic leader who expects and demands. I can see this by the people who works for him and whom he surrounds himself with: the yes-men.
Those who have opinions will not stay long in the office, and those who stays are nothing but cowards looking for decent salary to survive in this world.
Hence, the architect does not produce the shop drawing, but evaluates and decides whether to approve the shop drawing proposed.
I dislike this idea of shop drawing, and I would decide for myself to have as less of this kind of drawing as possible because the architect will lose the control over the design. If possible, I think the architect should provide all of the drawings with close consultation and collaboration with the specialists and contractors. Because only by doing this, we, as a participant of construction, are able to cut the loss time waiting for approval and checking and re-checking all the submitted drawings.
It has been almost five months since I worked in my new office here at Batam. I observed many things and what crossed my mind today is the management system.
I find the people here very inefficient and produce less impressive work, and I am being very kind with my comment. I wonder whether it is in our culture as an Indonesian to work in such lenient manner. I felt hopeless to the people here and at some point I was thinking of firing everyone and replacing them with new staffs.
I might be wrong.
Lately I got to thinking that the employees are just as good as the leader's skill to lead. I started to analyze how the management works and slowly I can grasp the management system in this office. It is not good, in fact it's horrible.
There are too many hierarchy in an architecture office for small size projects, it hinders the progress of the construction and Design, if there is any Design at all.
I also notice that my boss, though quite smart and charismatic, not wise nor Design oriented. He is not a nurturer but instead an autocratic leader who expects and demands. I can see this by the people who works for him and whom he surrounds himself with: the yes-men.
Those who have opinions will not stay long in the office, and those who stays are nothing but cowards looking for decent salary to survive in this world.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Design is Personal
Personally, I always believe that Design should come from one person and one person only. Hence, with this belief, I spell Design with a capital 'D'.
Design is personal. Some of the greatest Architecture ever built were built for very selfish purposes: the pyramids for the tomb of the Egyptian kings, the Gothic Cathedrals for God, the Taj Mahal for an emperor's wife, and so many more.
Tough it is undeniable that there are also great Architecture built for less selfish or selfless purposes, those Architecture appealed less than those of which built for selfish reason. Hence, Architecture to me is very personal.
For the mentioned reasons, therefore I do not believe that there is either right or wrong in Architecture Design, because Design is subjected to personality. Each of us have or should have our own take and taste on Design, we should design individually to contribute to the diversity of Architecture and Design.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Brick
I used to dislike bricks. I thought bricks were such an old fashioned and obsolete material for construction, I thought of bricks as boring and outdated.
It was not until I was told that bricks are beautiful material with its beautiful colors. This simple statement was uttered by my teacher when I was in Singapore Polytechnic. Yes, it was just a purely simple statement of his opinion but it stroke me hard. The thought of bricks as obsolete was so obvious to me that I did not even consider it as possible for people in the contemporary period to regard it as beautiful. My obviousness was shattered, how could I see things so shallowly?
Then there came Louis Kahn with his conversation with brick:
You say to brick, "What do you want, brick?" Brick says to you, "I like an arch." If you say to brick, "Arches are expensive, and I can use a concrete linter over an opening. What do you think of that, brick?" Brick says, "I like an arch."
The significance of the conversation lies in our respect towards materials. We cannot just do whatever we like towards the materials, because materials, too, have feeling and pride. It is our task as architects to bring out the best in it, Our skill will determine how good the materials will be once constructed.
I had the urge to record this thought because I happened to come across an article at Domus about brick. I thought and daydreamed of how wonderful it will be if I have a chance to do a building with just bricks.
It was not until I was told that bricks are beautiful material with its beautiful colors. This simple statement was uttered by my teacher when I was in Singapore Polytechnic. Yes, it was just a purely simple statement of his opinion but it stroke me hard. The thought of bricks as obsolete was so obvious to me that I did not even consider it as possible for people in the contemporary period to regard it as beautiful. My obviousness was shattered, how could I see things so shallowly?
Then there came Louis Kahn with his conversation with brick:
You say to brick, "What do you want, brick?" Brick says to you, "I like an arch." If you say to brick, "Arches are expensive, and I can use a concrete linter over an opening. What do you think of that, brick?" Brick says, "I like an arch."
The significance of the conversation lies in our respect towards materials. We cannot just do whatever we like towards the materials, because materials, too, have feeling and pride. It is our task as architects to bring out the best in it, Our skill will determine how good the materials will be once constructed.
I had the urge to record this thought because I happened to come across an article at Domus about brick. I thought and daydreamed of how wonderful it will be if I have a chance to do a building with just bricks.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
A Visit to Construction Site
There are a lot to learn and a lot more not to, my visit to the construction site for the renovation of Turi Beach Resort East Wing has been very educational.
I thought of building construction a lot. I think of how can I carry out construction with my desired result. It is tough to control so many workers and most of them do not know how to read working drawing and they do not have the proper knowledge of how to construct correctly.
I set a role for myself that I should be a teacher to the workers, I should teach them on the proper way to construct. When the time has come for me have my own firm, I will be the architect and the trainer for the workers. I should establish a solid ground, starting with small and intimate numbers of workers then slowly build up the firm and proper construction worker.
Construction and design should stand together in Architecture. I have always considered the skill of the workers when I design, because it is pointless to design like Zaha Hadid or Frank Gehry without the capability to execute the design, it is utterly pointless for it is better to get things right than to get it nice but atrocious. Getting things right does not even mean it is not nice, the beauty of simplicity and the quality of good workmanship never fail the test of time.
I thought of building construction a lot. I think of how can I carry out construction with my desired result. It is tough to control so many workers and most of them do not know how to read working drawing and they do not have the proper knowledge of how to construct correctly.
I set a role for myself that I should be a teacher to the workers, I should teach them on the proper way to construct. When the time has come for me have my own firm, I will be the architect and the trainer for the workers. I should establish a solid ground, starting with small and intimate numbers of workers then slowly build up the firm and proper construction worker.
Construction and design should stand together in Architecture. I have always considered the skill of the workers when I design, because it is pointless to design like Zaha Hadid or Frank Gehry without the capability to execute the design, it is utterly pointless for it is better to get things right than to get it nice but atrocious. Getting things right does not even mean it is not nice, the beauty of simplicity and the quality of good workmanship never fail the test of time.
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