ALFA College Visits Thailand’s Silpakorn University
Lecturers and students of ALFA College’s School of Visual Communications recently visited Silpakorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. It was a return trip for many of the visitors who had made an initial visit 12 months earlier. This year’s visit gave students and lecturers the chance to reacquaint themselves with old friends and to build new relationships.
Architecture Alumni Panel Discussion
ALFA College recently hosted a workshop for SPM leavers interested in the AR diploma programme. A panel of Architecture graduates shared how their experiences at ALFA College served them to launch their careers, advance as team leaders and establish their own businesses.
In this video, Daniel See, Charles Lim, Damon Kok and Heng Thor Gan share their experiences of:
- personalized attention from ALFA lecturers during their three-year programme
- career advantages provided by the ALFA internship
- long study and training period demands persistence and dedication
- opportunities for career success in the industry without becoming a registered architect
Watch Part 1 video
Sustainability in Design: Pearl Academy of Fashion
Sustainability in design is a growing movement worldwide. Here is an elegant and effective example of sustainability put into practice. The project was recently completed in India which experiences similar tropical weather conditions as Malaysia.
How our Malaysian forefathers managed to survive in the tropical heat all day without aircon is difficult to imagine, but they did. This solution of stepwells and passive cooling systems points to old-school, practical thinking to solve basic environmental design challenges. As Malaysia and the rest of the world faces issues of mounting population, dwindling fossil-fuel reserves and the threat of global warming, our ability to find workable solutions to house ourselves in an eco-friendly manner grows paramount.
Jaipur, India (CNN) — How did buildings keep cool before the invention of air conditioning? As architects consider how to reduce the energy demands of new buildings, some are turning to the past for simple, low-tech solutions.
At the height of summer, in the sweltering industrial suburbs of Jaipur, Rajasthan in north-west India, the Pearl Academy of Fashion remains 20 degrees cooler inside than out — by drawing on Rajasthan’s ancient architecture.
While the exterior appears very much in keeping with the trends of contemporary design, at the base of the building is a vast pool of water — a cooling concept taken directly from the stepwell structures developed locally over 1,500 years ago to provide refuge from the desert heat.
Award-winning architect Manit Rastogi, who designed the academy, explains that baoli — the Hindi word for stepwell — are bodies of water encased by a descending set of steps.
Architecture Workshop: Tower Design Challenge
ALFA College hosted a day-long workshop for recent SPM leavers who are keen to study architecture. The workshop included a design exercise where participants formed teams to design a one-meter high tower made of plastic drinking straws and masking tape. Team designs were judged on aesthetics, stability, teamwork and presentation.
Watch Part 1 video as teams work against the clock to transform abstract concepts into working designs.
ALFA Alumni Success Stories: ZX Atelier
We visit ALFA College Alumni, Charles Lim and Damon Kok, who joined forces and formed their own design firm, ZX Atelier, in 2010. Charles and Damon graduated in 2003 (when ALFA College was known at the time as ALIF Creative Academy) and then moved onto the University of Tasmania to complete their degree studies. While Charles remained overseas following graduation, Damon returned to Malaysia where he apprenticed under incredibly demanding conditions for a large local establishment.
In this video they share with us how:
- their experience at ALFA College enabled them to focus their energy and talents
- their education abroad expanded their vision and fortified their self-confidence
- the challenges of employment fueled their decision to form their own design firm