Darren C.Y. Tham

CV + Architectural Design Portfolio

IPOH SOCIAL-HISTORY CENTREDesign Studio 3 | 2009 | Dip. in Arch. Tech., Taylor’s College

Design a synergestic and multiple use building which can rejuvenate its immedi-ate site context and sympathetic to Ipoh’s architectural heritage.

TUTOR: Gerard Sim

SITE SOLID & VOID SPACE RIGHT OF WAYS

SUN PATH HUMAN TRAFFIC GENERATORS NOISE

SHADOW PATTERN morn.-aftern. SHADOW PATTERN aftern.-eveni. SITE PROFILE

PREVIOUS BUILDING USES FUTURE DEVELOPMENT NEGATIVE ACTIVITIES

CURRENT USES PARKINGS VIEWS

solidvoid

pavement5-ft walkway

riseset

nightdayday & nightarea of effect

day-permanent

night-permanentprojected future noise

traffic once a month

moves away from site moves toward site

residence/shophouse

prostitution/gambling/druggreen lungs

retails + F&Bdemolishment

officesbankingpoliticalF&Bretails

residenceabandoned

legalillegal

positivenegative

SITE ANALYSIS

The historically short but rich Ipoh still having its inner city functioning although it is publicly known as experiencing decay, due to the isolation planing of new developments around, the departure of

younger generation and the rise of the average age of the population.But, thanks to its past gloriously brilliant city planning that promised harmony among people, transpor-tation and places than other cities in Malaysia the tin-built city still carrying such factors as pride, wide array of programmes and community and placed-based planning that will reverse the process of decay-

ing.

international style

neo-classical

chinese classical shophouse

art deco

glass - facade

simplified modern

simplified neo-classical

classical malay shophouse

ARCHITECTURAL STYLES

Kinta River

points of attraction

traces of history

back alleys

Hale Lane: 1st concubine street

Panglima Lane: 2nd concubine street

Market Lane: 3rd concubine street

PLACE OF INTERESTS

commercial / retail

F & B

industrial

residential

lawyer firms / property firms

PROGRAMMES

SITE STATUSAge: majority old people; minority middle age people, teenagers and kidsFood: coffee shops / hawker stallsLanguage: Cantonese, Bahasa MelayuMajor religion: TaoismSocial Status: average to lowBusiness: Business: trading & commercial; normally 8am-5pm; majority runned by old people; multiracialAttitude: friendly and welcomingAtraction: famous hawker food; historical building structuresAtmosphere: peaceful

Hale Lane, Panglima Lane & Market Lane are known respectively in the local Cantonese dialect as “First, Second & Third Concubines’ Lane”. Before the Japanese occupation, the 3 lanes were full of brothels, gaming houses and opium dens. Residents related how, whenever an opium addict dropped dead, his corpse would be thrown out of the window and into the street, waiting for municipal sweepers to cart its way the next morning. The neighbourhood was cleaned up when opium was banned and stricter

anti-vice laws introduced.

PPanglima Lane, one of the most picturesque of the narrow streets in Old Town of Ipoh, was probably built before stricter building codes could be enforced. As a result of the 1892 fire, many house-owners took out fire insurance. In those days, fire brigades were runned by insurance companies, and fire-marks bearing the name of the insurance companies informed the residents whom they should call in case of fire. Metal plates embossed with the logos of Commercial Union, Queensland Insurance and Taiping In-

surance, can still be seen on the facades of some houses along Panglima Lane.

community squarecafe

storage

gallery

W.C.

temple

bookstore library/archive office

W.C.

roof garden

treating the 2 seperate sites as 1, as a solution to embrace back alley

slim set back on left and right to respond to nearby users habitu-al walkthrough and not damaging agine buildings

ground floor designed as void for community purpose;galery and land temple allocated un-derground for meta-phoric purpose;other spaces designed above ground for site surrounding, admin purposes.

disconnected infinity loop replacing rectan-gular planning form for better view of sur-rounding from spaces,more experiential usage of both interior spaces and commu-nity spaces.

DIAGRAMMING / SPATIAL PLANNING

A Social-History Centre......Sanctification the act of tin-mining and the role of water that had nurtured Ipoh to

its glory.

Image above: Temple/Sanctum space

A Social-History Centre......A place / platform recording everday people and their lives and families; instead

of political and military history that formed museums.

Image above: Gallery space

A Social-History Centre......Supported by community and commercial purposed space that bring people to-gether, hinting a livable place.

Image above: Focus on voided ground floor, community space

Basement

Gallery space

Temple/Sanctum

Ground Floor

Community space

Cafe

First Floor

BookStore

&Public reading space

Library & Archive

&Public reading space

Third Floor

Adminstration office space

Roof

Public green rooftop garden

FLOORPLANS(scale 1:750)

A

AB

B

CD

A

AB

B

CD

A

AB

B

CD

A

AB

B

CD

A

AB

B

CD

A

AB

B

CD

A

AB

B

CD

ELEVATIONS(scale 1:500)

Section A-A

Section C-C

Section B-B

Section D-D

PERSPECTIVE SECTIONS(not to scale)

community space

community space

gallery space

bookstore adminstration office library + archive

temple/shrine/sanctum

community space

roof garden

POP - UP SPACENike Sportswear Launch | 080808 | Pavilion, Bukit Bintang, KL, Malaysia

The wire-mesh frame being welded to the beams of the container

Fishing lines suspend the checkmark below to create a situation as a glowing object is floating in the middle of the container

Checkmark was formed by joining fragments of bended steel-wires with masking tape

Colourful LEDs being wrapped around the checkmark steel frame

The “rubber mini human” were sticked on the surface of the steel-frame and LEDs cable layer upon layer till overall visually pleasant, at the same time, to give the illumination a transluscent quality

THE RUBBER MINI HUMAN (scale 1 : 3)

AXONOMETRIC (nts)

PLAN (scale 1 : 50) ELEVATION (scale 1 : 50)

SECTION (scale 1 : 50)

GU-LIGHTThe Light Show 09 | 2009 | The Annexe Gallery, KL, Malaysia

SECTION A-A

(scale 1:15)

PLAN

(scale 1:15)

ELEVATION 1

(scale 1:15)

SECTION A-A

(scale 1:15)

PLAN

(scale 1:15)

ELEVATION 1

(scale 1:15)

ELEVATION 2(scale 1:15)

ELEVATION 2(scale 1:15)

DARREN C.Y. THAM . 375560

By tracing parts from the previous section drawing iterations, the lines are being

pushed and pulled into perspective form.

At this point, realising the drawings will affect the design generating stage of final project, these study drawings and refined version show obvious spacious potential.

And my style of aspiring, of course.And my style of aspiring, of course.

They played a video of Greg Lynn from Ted Talk, like expecting his 3D ability being

downloaded to everyone of us in 100mbps of speed and installed.

Bearing aspiration in mind, with some random clicks in 3DsMAX...

An outcome show obvious sign of got An outcome show obvious sign of got caried away by unfamiliar software.

Referring back to the perspective itera-tions, producing 2 study models and a re-

fined model.

Material: greyboard & wiremesh.

The wiremesh costs a bomb,

The most succesful outcome of my work-shop series.

SITE ANALYSIS

Federation Square, the trademark of Melbournians, contains the wow effect within its architecture among the building crowds. Although virtually voted by tourists the 5th ugliest architecture in the world, its ability to generate gatherings,

had strengthen its value and success, as a representation of the place.

The site, sits right at the corner of the junction, surrounded by 3 major nodes by the other 3 corners. This shows that the site is strategic to become the landmark of the place, the head of the masterpiece, a device that evenly spread the

nodes of the surounding, and the sense of sequence within Federation Square itself.

Hence, the project is aimed to express the glorious of the place more, by introducing a new spirit of aspiration to the Hence, the project is aimed to express the glorious of the place more, by introducing a new spirit of aspiration to the people, and the place itself.

Looking back at history, Domes and Spires were used by the Romans for temples and public buildings. Eventually, it became the common feature of grand civic archtiec-

ture. In odd cases, it can be found from grandest houses.

Domes and Spires tells the story of the building. It’s a symbol of wealth, political stand, and impression of strength.

The appearence of boldness, the gesture of reaching up towards the sky, reveal the morale level of the place.

The red marks the spires, the blue marks the domes.

As the city grows, skyscrappers with domes and spires crawling up to the sky, are not uncomon. Yet, bit by bit, the origins of spire and dome are forgotten. Some of the

domes and spires are so tall until you only realise it from gogle map.

Hence, one of the aim of the project is to reintroduce the quality of spire and dome Hence, one of the aim of the project is to reintroduce the quality of spire and dome to the surrounding, right in front of the existing Flinders Street Station and the St.

Paul Cathedral, to form the Bermuda Triangle of Dome & Spire.

SPIRES & DOMES STUDY

CHOSEN ITERATIONS

Quality of height.

Infinite aspiration

The section drawing shows obvious sense of verticality.

At the same time of lines At the same time of lines climbing, potential depth

and pocket spaces formed.

The sense of hierarchy in par with meditation centre and

office

Aspiring flowting intersected planes.

Forming potential semi-enclosed spaces

Brief showcase of small com-ponents as interlocking de-

vices.

Stiring the sense of ascen-sion

Allows continuous human flow both sides of planes/ in

& out of planes.

Applied to major spaces of my design, allows the suc-cess of Fed Square flourish

in mid air.

Distinct, piercing form

Major hint of design gesture

Formal quality of landmark

DESIGN FORMULA

PERSPECTIVE SECTION 1not to scale

PERSPECTIVE SECTION 2not to scale

FLOOR PLANSscale 1:400

7th floor, 6th floor,

5th floor, 4th floor, 3rd floor,

2nd floor, 1st floor, mezza-nine floor, ground floor

CIRCULATIONnot to scale . in red

PRECEDENTS? You want some aspirin?

STAIRS TO MEDITARIUM

The further one aspires, the lighter ones heart...Eventually, meditate with a peaceful soul

HEADING TO THE OFFICE

Observatory Deck

An open observatory deck, allows flexibility of programs, and the successful gathering spaces to

be continue in the middle of the air

BETWEEN SPACES

PLANETARIUM LOBBY