ARC2615INTERNSHIPREPORTSTUDENTNAME:ALANKOOKALOKSTUDENTNO:0318757This2monthssemesterforinternshiphasbeenaneye-openingexperienceforme.Asanarchitecturestudentwhoarealwaysinthemidstofastudiodeadline,IalwayswonderifthestressandsleepdeprivationthatI’vealwaysbeenexperiencingisanythinglikeworkinginthe‘realworld’.Startingtheearly2017,Ifinallyhavethechancetoenterarealarchitecturefirmtoworkasanintern,whichisagreattimetoputmyskillstothetest.I’velandedafulltimeinternshipwithDualArchitectsPracticearchitecturefirmthatisledbytwoprofessionalarchitects:Ar.AndyNguTaiKong&Ar.BongKuekLongandfewassistantarchitects.Inthearchitecturefirm,IamtheonlyarchitectureinternandIusuallytaketasksandordersdirectlyfrommyboss,a.k.asupervisor.UsuallyinthemorningIstartthedayoffinsortingandorganizingimagesandfilesthatcontaintheprogressoftasksthatIwasassigned,orifIhavecompletedthem,Ineedtocompiletheminasimplelayoutjustsotoletmysupervisorconfirmwiththem,thenonlytoproceedwiththefinalsubmissions.Ireallylikedoingthisbecauseitputsmeonthesamepageandkeepmefocused.Fromthere,everydayorweekisdifferentandisusuallydrivenbyacertainproject.ThefirstprojectthatIwasassignedisforasemi-detachedhousewhichislocatedinLot3105&3106inJalanBatuKawa,Kuching.Mysupervisorwantedtotestmy3dmodellingskillssohejustsimplyhandedmethehalf-completedautocadplansandelevationsandIneedtoproduceacomplete3dmodelofthesemidetachedbuildingoutofthearchitecturedrawingsgiven.AtthetimeIwasnottoofamiliarwiththe3dmodellingapplicationthattheirofficeareusing-3dSketchup,asIusuallyonlyuse3dsMaxinschool.So,itwasatoughtimeformetogetusedtoit.DuetotheincompletearchitecturedrawingsthatIhave,therearealotofdesignimprovementthatareneeded.Hence,I’mresponsibleindesigningafewpartofthesemid.Theintentionofmysupervisoristoallowmetoexpressmyideaswhiledoingthe3dmodel.Otherthanthat,inordertoletmeunderstandaboutthewholestructuresystemofthebuilding,mysupervisorhasrequestedmecreatea3dstructuresystemofthebuildingbeforeproceedingwiththe3dmodeldesigning.The3dstructuresystemshouldconsistofthemainstructurememberssuchasbeams,columnsandslabs.Bydoingso,itletsmeunderstandhowthestructuresrunthroughoutthebuildingandhowtheysupportthebuilding.Italsohelpsmeindesigningthepositionandplacementofthesupportingmembersforthebuilding.Thefirstprojecttookme2-3weekstocompleteasthereweresomeconstantchangingaboutthedesignuntilthefinaloutcomeisconfirmed.Inthemidstoftheproject,Iwasalsogiventasktocreateafewdifferentpresentationswithdifferentdesignofthebuildinginordertogiveclientdifferentselectionandchoices.Thecompanyhasstandardsforsettinguppresentationdocumentssoitwasinterestingtolearnabouthowtheyareorganized.Ialsohadneverworkedwiththemultiplelayoutstoolbefore,whichisareallycoolfeaturethatwilldefinitelycomeinhandyforfutureprojects.Aftercompletedthefirstproject,Iwasimmediatelyassignedtoanotherprojectwhichcovers2typesofproposed7storeyapartment-Spektramedium&liteapartment(lowcost)andSpektraplusapartment.Thedifferencebetweenthesetwoapartmentsarethecostandsizeof

units.Theseprojectsbasicallyrequiremetoimprovefewpartsofthebuilding’sdesign.Duringthedesignprocess,I’vereferredtofewdesignmagazinesandwebsitesthatareprovidedbymycolleaguesandsupervisors.Afterafewtimeschangingofdesignaspectsandupdatingarchitecturedrawings,mysupervisorsfinallyconfirmedwithitandletustopreparepresentationdrawingsthataregoingtobeshowntotheclient.Aftertakingpartinquiteanumbersofdesignaspectsofafewprojects,Islowlybecamefamiliarizedwiththeessenceofthehouse,andgettingbetterwithsenseofthedesignstyleofthearchitecturefirm.Inschool,studentsaregivendesignfreedomforpersonalexplorationandgrowthwhichusuallyinvolveshavingtotalcontrolovertheproject.Wewilloftenspend90%ofthesemesterthinkingaboutthedesignconceptandthenproducingtheprojectinthefinal10%oftheclass.HoweveratDualArchitects,carefulconsiderationistakentobalancedesignfreedomwithrealworldexpectationsregardingfeasibilityandbudget.Sinceprojectsactuallygetbuiltinthefirmenvironment,thetimemanagementswitchesandnearly90%ofthetimeisspentexecutingthedesign.Afterfinishingtheapartmentsproject,Iwasalsoassignedtocolourfewsubmissionsthatconsistsofbuildingsiteplan,buildingpipingsystem,fireescapesystemandetc.Colouringthosesubmissionswasreallyexhaustingastheytookalongtimeandrequirealotoffocusastherewerealotoftinydetails.Inweek7justbeforetheinternshipwouldend,IfinallyhadthechancetogoforasitevisitinJalanEnsingTimurnearBatuKawa.Iwenttoa1.63acresitewhichconsistsofanexistingonestoreysingledetachedwarehouse(5000+sqft).Iwenttomeasureandtookdimensionsofthebuildinginordertoproduceabuildingplanoftheexistingwarehouse,astheintentionoftheclientwastoremainandrefurbishthewarehousetoturnitintoaworkshopcumwarehouse.So,I’vespentthefollowingweeksproducingthe3dmodelandarchitecturedrawingsofthewarehouseinaccordancetothedimensionsandmeasuresthatI’vetaken.Inthefinaloutcome,I’veproducedacompleteSPAdrawings,whichconsistofproposedbuildingsiteplan,buildingfloorplan,elevationsandsections.Throughouttheinternship,I’velearntalotofthingsthatIhaven’tlearnbeforeinschool.Inschool,ithasbeenmyexperiencethatstudentsoftencompetewithoneanotherinordertohavethebestlookingprojectinclassortogetan“A”whichmakesforacompetitiveandsometimesstressfulenvironment.Whilethereisstillcompetitionintheprofessionbetweenfirmsgoingafterprojects,withinthefirmthereisastrongsenseofcollaboration.Ideasarebouncedbackandforthandeveryoneworkstogethertoaccomplishtasksandfinishdeadlines.Besides, studentsusuallyfocusonasinglebuildingfortheentiresemester,conductingresearchandproposingmultipledesignideas.Wearetaskedwithdesigninganentirebuilding.Thisisquitethetaskforasinglestudenttoperform,sinceitusuallytakesanentirefirmtodesignabuilding.Inthearchitecturefirm,weareresponsiblefordesigningallaspectsoftheproject;inafirmsetting,eachindividualtypicallyhasanareaofexpertisethatheorshefocusesonforallprojects.Architecturalschooldoespreparestudentsforacareerinarchitecture,butnoexperienceisgreaterthanlearningandseeingfirsthandhowafirmisreallyrun.DualArchitectsfirmdoesagreatjobineducatingitsstudentinternsaboutthearchitectlicensingprocessaswellasallowingustolearnabouthowthefirmisrun.Ihavetheopportunitytositinandbeapartofweeklyofficemeetings,go

onsitevisits,andbeapartofoffice‘LunchandLearns’andwebinars.ThisfirstexperienceinarealofficesettinghashaditsfrustrationsattimesbutthegrowthandknowledgeI’vegainedinthis2monthsshortinternshipissomethingIwillcarrywithmyselfwellintothefuture. Images&Drawings:Iwas assigned to create a structure system of the semi-detached building so that im able

to understand how the structures run throughout and support the building.

3dmodellingprocess-Semi-detachedhouselocatedatLot3105&3106,JalanBatuKawa,Kuching.

Presentationdrawingspreparedbymyself

3dmodelling&caddrawingprocess-proposed7storeyapartments

SitevisitonanoldwarehouselocatedatJalanEnsingTimur,BatuKawa.

3dmodellingprocess–proposedworkshopcumwarehouse

SPAdrawingsoftheproposedworkshop