The following news video from TheStar again made me sick, and what follows after the video is the Shanghai World Expo website showing Malaysia Pavillion making no references whatsoever to 'Minangkabau-inspired' roof/architecture.
It seems childish to link our nation's architecture with only one type of hut. Yeah, Minangkabau houses are all over in Minang (Indonesia) and also Negeri Sembilan(Malaysia) but to what extend should we copy and paste and with no articulation at all exhibit this particular style at the World Expo?
Why not Kutai house? Why not Kelantan/Terengganu houses? Why not go for a Sarawakian long house? Dato Seri Ng said, she wanted the pavilion to be 'eye-catching' to the visitors as they come into the site. Well, are other types of huts/houses not 'eye-catching' enough? I am pretty sure if you put a big steel box and colour it with glossy silver or gold paint, it will be indeed VERY 'eye-catching'.
Plus, the design of the traditional hut does not reflect this year's World Expo theme anyway, which is Better City Better Life. Ideally, at least to me, it has to show what our Malaysian architecture has come into terms with latest design and technologies. Yeah, recylable plastic wall is fine but the principle and gist of the pavillion itself has gone to dust.
Great architects like Ken Yeang, Hijjaz Kasturi, Jimmy Lim, and some others should stand up to this great shame! In one month time, we will be unveiling the pavillion for the eyes of the world to see. I'd say, Good Luck!
Read on and click on these articles. If you are a Malaysian, you will be ticked. *wink*
1. World Expo Shanghai 2010 - Malaysia Pavillion
2. Some Political Relations
3. Final Design Proposal - Spatial Organisation and 'Translation'
Wednesday 7 April 2010
So Our Architects Are Not Good Enough eh?
This video showed that Minister of Tourism, YB Dato Seri Ng Yen Yen underestimating Malaysian architects who will not understand the construction and nature of Shanghai. Fair enough, but I do think we are allowed to "collaborate" with other local organisations. Very close example - Norman Foster and GDP Architects or the best example - Cesar Pelli and KLCC Architects for our very own Petronas Twin Towers.
Project Info: 3,000 sqm site at Shanghai World Expo
Dear friends, please tell me that I heard it wrong. She actually said:
1. She only understand when she was briefed IN Shanghai, not BEFORE. ok, sound fine with me. with the benefit of the doubt I assumed that she is indeed a busy 'wakil rakyat' (trans. people's representative)
2. She is very confident of the local company which did the design and construction of this pavilion.
3. You can't take things from Malaysia. Aik, cannot ar? We have a new thing called globalisation and for this reason, the internet will be handy for research and learning. Time to travel has been minimised by the advent of our aviation industry with hundreds of flights a day direct to Shanghai.
Please tell me I didn't misheard what she said because this pavillion's design is simply appalling!
The minister's comments should be recorrected because she is implying that Malaysian architects are not good enough. To me, this is a generalisation but the finalised design of the pavilion is just pathetic.
I hate to say this; I think I can do better design than that. Learn this Malaysia: please organise an open competition for this sort of things so that we dont get bombarded by racial-slurs and comments as this article on ArchDaily:
Malaysia Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010
This is a disgrace to the architecture industry! No wonder we are having the 'brain drain' phenomena at the moment.
Project Info: 3,000 sqm site at Shanghai World Expo
Dear friends, please tell me that I heard it wrong. She actually said:
1. She only understand when she was briefed IN Shanghai, not BEFORE. ok, sound fine with me. with the benefit of the doubt I assumed that she is indeed a busy 'wakil rakyat' (trans. people's representative)
2. She is very confident of the local company which did the design and construction of this pavilion.
3. You can't take things from Malaysia. Aik, cannot ar? We have a new thing called globalisation and for this reason, the internet will be handy for research and learning. Time to travel has been minimised by the advent of our aviation industry with hundreds of flights a day direct to Shanghai.
Please tell me I didn't misheard what she said because this pavillion's design is simply appalling!
The minister's comments should be recorrected because she is implying that Malaysian architects are not good enough. To me, this is a generalisation but the finalised design of the pavilion is just pathetic.
I hate to say this; I think I can do better design than that. Learn this Malaysia: please organise an open competition for this sort of things so that we dont get bombarded by racial-slurs and comments as this article on ArchDaily:
Malaysia Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010
This is a disgrace to the architecture industry! No wonder we are having the 'brain drain' phenomena at the moment.
Malaysia Pavilion at Shanghai World Expo
First of all, apologies for not be able to keep up with times and update this blog.
Secondly, I am truely and utterly disgraced by what I have stumbled upon this morning. And have been enraged ever since.
Well, I should be proud that Malaysia has its own pavilion design this year at the prestigous Shanghai World Expo 2010. BUT... I am feeling very very very disappointed by the sheer fact that there is no articulation of design in its conceptual diagramme thus reflected on the form for that matter. In short - Badly Designed.
Put politics aside, RM20million would be spend to promote Malaysia as a nation and to be able to do so, one has to design a pavilion to reflect my beautiful country. Architecture wise, one has to be able to demonstrate that Malaysia has deep mixed cultural roots that can be traced back to the 12-14th century. One has to articulate the best design/features for the pavilion.
So what do we get? A direct copy-paste rendition of one of the traditional houses and blown up to accomodate "commercial" scale. I will paste them in my next post so that I can put my own commentaries on them. (More like scrutinizing)
Apparently the pavilion was designed by Design Evolution Architects Sdn Bhd, and the final design was their second submitted to the ministry. Honestly I liked the first proposal because the architects have injected some intelligence into it.
This is their first proposal:
I liked it as much as I have liked our National Library on Jalan Tun Razak, KL.
I admitted that this one has a little bit more thinking on the spatial features.
I found that this design incorporated Sarawakians' tribal motives, Chinese letterings (because it is in Shanghai), more generic and Malaysian-theme elements.
This pavilion simply answered our theme for this year's expo - Better City Better Living
Secondly, I am truely and utterly disgraced by what I have stumbled upon this morning. And have been enraged ever since.
Well, I should be proud that Malaysia has its own pavilion design this year at the prestigous Shanghai World Expo 2010. BUT... I am feeling very very very disappointed by the sheer fact that there is no articulation of design in its conceptual diagramme thus reflected on the form for that matter. In short - Badly Designed.
Put politics aside, RM20million would be spend to promote Malaysia as a nation and to be able to do so, one has to design a pavilion to reflect my beautiful country. Architecture wise, one has to be able to demonstrate that Malaysia has deep mixed cultural roots that can be traced back to the 12-14th century. One has to articulate the best design/features for the pavilion.
So what do we get? A direct copy-paste rendition of one of the traditional houses and blown up to accomodate "commercial" scale. I will paste them in my next post so that I can put my own commentaries on them. (More like scrutinizing)
Apparently the pavilion was designed by Design Evolution Architects Sdn Bhd, and the final design was their second submitted to the ministry. Honestly I liked the first proposal because the architects have injected some intelligence into it.
This is their first proposal:
I liked it as much as I have liked our National Library on Jalan Tun Razak, KL.
I admitted that this one has a little bit more thinking on the spatial features.
I found that this design incorporated Sarawakians' tribal motives, Chinese letterings (because it is in Shanghai), more generic and Malaysian-theme elements.
This pavilion simply answered our theme for this year's expo - Better City Better Living
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