3. Profession
requirements
Most of the world’s architects are
required to register with the
appropriate jurisdiction, where
they have to meet the three
common requirements which are,
education, experience, and
examination.
Education consist of a university
degree in architecture. The
experience requirement for the
degree candidates are usually
fulfilled by a practicum or
internship (two to three years).
Finally, a Registration Examination
or a series of exams is required prior
to licensure.
The formal study of architecture in
academic institutions played a
pivotal role in the development of
the profession as a whole, serving
Understanding
an architect.
Who is an
architect?
An architect is a person
trained and licensed to plan,
design, and oversee the
construction of buildings.
What do they
do?
They provide services in
connection with the design,
construction of buildings and the
space within the site where their
purpose are mostly for human
residence and or for the usage in
commercial.
The architect hired by the client is
responsible in creating a design
concept that meets the client’s
requirement and also to provide
facilities that are suitable for the
building. In which, the architect is
need to comply with the brief
(guide for architect in generating
idea concept) provided by the
client.
Architects also deal with local
and federal authority about
regulations and building codes,
such as, the local planning, land
use, height limitation, and etc.
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4. WITH WALLACE ONG
INTERVIEW
Design Director of designstyle. A 30 years experienced Architect and Interior
Designer.
allace Ong, an Architect and also an
Interior Designer for the last 30 years.
He owns a studio called Design Style which is
located at Damansara Damai, Petaling Jaya,
Selangor. He’s been traveling between New
Zealand and Malaysia a lot for his work during
the past few years.
What inspires him to be an architect is that he
loves drawing when he was young. He likes
creating pictures of the buildings of the
surroundings during his leisure time back in his
younger days. “It all started from my love for
drawings, and eventually, it lead me to be an
architect and an interior designer which is also
a part of my love” said Wallace Ong.
W
Who do you work with?
Normally, an architect work directly
with the client, be it a private home
or a hotel project. Apart from the
client, the architect also need to
work with a lot of consultant, which
are one of the part and parcel of a
good design. The Project managers,
mechanical engineers, structural
engineers and exacta are important
as well, but all in all the main person
in a project would be the client.
What does the client expect you to
provide?
During a project, the architect would
need to comply with the brief that the
client provides. But the expectations
of the client is more than just the
brief that we have to comply with, the
buildings would have to look not only
good, but modern enough in keeping
with the time, and the material used
during the construction process of
the building is also important. These
are all very important.
2
5. “The
PHILOSOPHY of the
design need to be
RIGHT from the start“
3
How do you establish the fees?
In terms of the fees, there is a certain structure of
fees that we are proposed to use, which is about
10% of the total construction costs. Some
architects tend to charge more if the project is
small, like a bungalow house, and as for big
projects, the fees could be slightly lesser. It varies
between projects, the bigger the project, the
lower would be the percentage and vice versa.
Other than that, it also depends on how famous
you are in the architectural field, if you are well-
known in the field, you can command a higher fee.
Do you have your own design philosophy?
Design have changed a lot since the past 5-10
years, unlike many years ago, where the designs
tend to be similar all the way through. For
whatever changes that comes into our way or life
time, I think that the philosophy of the design has
to be functional. Green has been the ‘trend’
lately as people are getting more aware of the
environmental issues the earth is facing now, so
the buildings need to be green and the
orientation of the buildings are extremely
important too. If you design a building that is
west facing for example, it would create a lot of
problem in the future. The first thing that we
need to ensure is the philosophy of the design
has to be right from the start, the main point is
that it has to be functional, apart from that, you
can play with a lot of features that is
contemporary to our time. So whatever nice or
beautiful building that we see today, if the
philosophy is not correct, it may not look right in
the next 5-10 years’ time.
How do you manage your personal time and
working time?
From time to time, personal time and working
time do overlap a little. Sometimes, we are very
passionate towards our work to the extent that
we even think about work during our private
time. When you are passionate about things, you
will always be aware of it. Even when you are
walking in the jungle, you will think and look at
the trees and say, “Wow, maybe I can design a
nice tree house on the tree!” But also, there
comes a time when you need to switch off
between works. Try to make weekend your
personal time and weekdays as your working
time. At times, you can take a few holiday off in
between, which I think it would help a lot.
What are the responsibilities of the architect?
As an architect, we are responsible for the safety
of the building. Apart from that, we as an
architect would also have to be very cautious
about the environment. Whatever we do or
specify in our project has to be eco-friendly,
which is the main thing for me, as I think that
‘think green’ will be a way to go in the future.
Other than that, we also have to comply with
everything that is in the brief or documentation
provided by the client.
6. 4
What are the biggest challenges of this job?
The biggest challenges for most architect is the
cost, as the architect or the client have a set of fee
or a certain amount that they want to spend for
the house. This is one of the key challenges, if you
have a 2 million dollars for a house, most of us
(architect) would like to design a bit more than
that. Also, lands are getting smaller these days,
because of that, the architects have to be very
good in his design to utilize the space well. If a
small piece of land is well designed, it can also
have a view of a bigger space. For example, the
apartment in Kuala Lumpur is getting smaller and
smaller these days, and the client would request
a lot with 2 bedrooms or so when the space is only
800 square foot. So to do that, our biggest
challenges is to create a space and utilize it to its
maximum.
Do you enjoy being an architect?
Yes I do, I have been in this job for 30 years. It is a
good job and an ever changing job as it is never
static. The building design is always evolving
throughout the years in which it inspires us to
move forward.
Is there any advice that you would like to
give?
Yes. Firstly, you got to work really hard and
have passion in what you do. You got to love
what you do and push the boundaries. If you
believe what is right, you got to push forward
to it and go for it. Also, try to be a progressive
architect so that things are never static.
Whatever is right today might not be the way it
is in the next 5-10 years’ time. So be progressive
and forward looking.
“ Be
PROGRESSIVE
and
FORWARD
LOOKING “
FUN
FAC
TsS
The word
Architecture
comes from the
Greek word
arkhitekton,
meaning “chief
builder”
Sustainable architecture is
increasingly used for
energy conscious designs,
incorporating aspects for
solar electric, solar
thermal, geothermal,
wind power, energy
conservation techniques,
and using sustainable
building materials.
Building materials
have evolved from
brush, ice, mud, clay,
sand, stone and
timber to cement
composites, concrete,
Solar Panel
7. Famous historical works
of architecture include
the Leaning Tower of Pisa
(Italy), St. Basil’s Cathdral
(Moscow), the
Colosseum (Rome),
Angkor Wat (Cambodia),
Pyramids (Egypt), or
Machu Picchu (Peru)
SOURCES:
HTTP://BLOG.ODYSEN.COM/2013/11/19/10-
INTERESTING-FACTS-ABOUT-ARCHITECTURE/
Sand
Concrete
Tower of
Pisa
Colosseum
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