internship report

1. ARC 2615 INTERNSHIP REPORT
STUDENT NAME : ALAN KOO KA LOK
STUDENT NO : 0318757
This 2months semester for internship has been an eye-opening experience for me. As an
architecture student who are always in the midst of a studio deadline, I always wonder if the stress
and sleep deprivation that I’ve always been experiencing is anything like working in the ‘real world’.
Starting the early 2017, I finally have the chance to enter a real architecture firm to work as an
intern, which is a great time to put my skills to the test.I’ve landed a full time internship with Dual
Architects Practice architecture firm that is led by two professional architects : Ar. Andy Ngu Tai
Kong & Ar. Bong Kuek Long and few assistant architects.
In the architecture firm, I am the only architecture intern and I usually take tasks and orders directly
from my boss, a.k.a supervisor. Usually in the morning I start the day off in sorting and organizing
images and files that contain the progress of tasks that I was assigned, or if I have completed them, I
need to compile them in a simple layout just so to let my supervisor confirm with them, then only to
proceed with the final submissions. I really like doing this because it puts me on the same page and
keep me focused. From there, every day or week is different and is usually driven by a certain
project.
The first project that I was assigned is for a semi-detached house which is located in Lot 3105 & 3106
in Jalan Batu Kawa, Kuching. My supervisor wanted to test my 3d modelling skills so he just simply
handed me the half-completed autocad plans and elevations and I need to produce a complete 3d
model of the semi detached building out of the architecture drawings given. At the time I was not
too familiar with the 3d modelling application that their office are using-3d Sketchup, as I usually
only use 3dsMax in school. So, it was a tough time for me to get used to it. Due to the incomplete
architecture drawings that I have, there are a lot of design improvement that are needed. Hence, I’m
responsible in designing a few part of the semi d. The intention of my supervisor is to allow me to
express my ideas while doing the 3d model. Other than that, in order to let me understand about
the whole structure system of the building, my supervisor has requested me create a 3d structure
system of the building before proceeding with the 3d model designing. The 3d structure system
should consist of the main structure members such as beams, columns and slabs. By doing so, it lets
me understand how the structures run throughout the building and how they support the building.
It also helps me in designing the position and placement of the supporting members for the building.
The first project took me 2 -3 weeks to complete as there were some constant changing about the
design until the final outcome is confirmed. In the midst of the project, I was also given task to
create a few different presentations with different design of the building in order to give client
different selection and choices. The company has standards for setting up presentation documents
so it was interesting to learn about how they are organized. I also had never worked with the
multiple layouts tool before, which is a really cool feature that will definitely come in handy for
future projects. After completed the first project, I was immediately assigned to another project
which covers 2 types of proposed 7 storey apartment - Spektra medium & lite apartment (low cost)
and Spektra plus apartment. The difference between these two apartments are the cost and size of

2. units. These projects basically require me to improve few parts of the building’s design. During the
design process, I’ve referred to few design magazines and websites that are provided by my
colleagues and supervisors. After a few times changing of design aspects and updating architecture
drawings, my supervisors finally confirmed with it and let us to prepare presentation drawings that
are going to be shown to the client. After taking part in quite a numbers of design aspects of a few
projects, I slowly became familiarized with the essence of the house, and getting better with sense
of the design style of the architecture firm.
In school, students are given design freedom for personal exploration and growth which usually
involves having total control over the project. We will often spend 90% of the semester thinking
about the design concept and then producing the project in the final 10% of the class. However at
Dual Architects, careful consideration is taken to balance design freedom with real world
expectations regarding feasibility and budget. Since projects actually get built in the firm
environment, the time management switches and nearly 90% of the time is spent executing the
design.
After finishing the apartments project, I was also assigned to colour few submissions that consists of
building site plan, building piping system, fire escape system and etc. Colouring those submissions
was really exhausting as they took a long time and require a lot of focus as there were a lot of tiny
details. In week 7 just before the internship would end, I finally had the chance to go for a site visit in
Jalan Ensing Timur near Batu Kawa. I went to a 1.63 acre site which consists of an existing one storey
single detached warehouse (5000+ sqft). I went to measure and took dimensions of the building in
order to produce a building plan of the existing warehouse, as the intention of the client was to
remain and refurbish the warehouse to turn it into a workshop cum warehouse. So, I’ve spent the
following weeks producing the 3d model and architecture drawings of the warehouse in accordance
to the dimensions and measures that I’ve taken. In the final outcome, I’ve produced a complete SPA
drawings, which consist of proposed building site plan, building floor plan, elevations and sections.
Throughout the internship, I’ve learnt a lot of things that I haven’t learn before in school. In school, it
has been my experience that students often compete with one another in order to have the best
looking project in class or to get an “A” which makes for a competitive and sometimes stressful
environment. While there is still competition in the profession between firms going after projects,
within the firm there is a strong sense of collaboration. Ideas are bounced back and forth and
everyone works together to accomplish tasks and finish deadlines. Besides, students usually focus
on a single building for the entire semester, conducting research and proposing multiple design
ideas. We are tasked with designing an entire building. This is quite the task for a single student to
perform, since it usually takes an entire firm to design a building. In the architecture firm, we are
responsible for designing all aspects of the project; in a firm setting, each individual typically has an
area of expertise that he or she focuses on for all projects.
Architectural school does prepare students for a career in architecture, but no experience is greater
than learning and seeing firsthand how a firm is really run. Dual Architects firm does a great job in
educating its student interns about the architect licensing process as well as allowing us to learn
about how the firm is run. I have the opportunity to sit in and be a part of weekly office meetings, go

3. on site visits, and be a part of office ‘Lunch and Learns’ and webinars. This first experience in a real
office setting has had its frustrations at times but the growth and knowledge I’ve gained in this 2
months short internship is something I will carry with myself well into the future.
Images & Drawings:
I was 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.
3d modelling process- Semi-detached house located at Lot 3105& 3106, Jalan Batu Kawa, Kuching.

4. Presentation drawings prepared by myself

5. 3d modelling & cad drawing process - proposed 7 storey apartments

6. Site visit on an old warehouse located at Jalan Ensing Timur, Batu Kawa.

7. 3d modelling process – proposed workshop cum warehouse
SPA drawings of the proposed workshop