A Script for You to Follow

Football has a script. The actors, if they’re great actors, can interpret the script and lines according to their creativity, but they still have to follow the script.  (Arrigo Sacchi – famous AC Milan football coach)

There was further discussion on this where – individuals are adapted to a system, then only the team will work.

The idea that all players must play an equal part in the system. Every player is as important in attack as in defence, and that the players must have the mentality and the capability to accept that the team’s full potential can only be exploited if every player understands and implements the system fully.

No, I am not training football players, but future architects. That I am very focused on. I am using analogies and the conceptual framework of certain managers and coaches when they have a winning team. I use the theories to apply not only in managing and facilitating the design studio and the philosophy of the studio curriculum but also in the department of architecture.

I want to know how systems work. We are not robot but this fascination with systems… that consists of humans performing with emotions and work outputs where its allowed to have huge margin for errors.

Perhaps that system must allow for this “huge margin for errors.” I reckon we did that for some students…we gave them such a long time to find their ideas, because that was how long it took for them. We gave them the time so that was fair.

Did we give them a script to follow?

Did they interpret the script according to their creativity?

This will keep me thinking for awhile.

Forum on this.

Options anyone?

There was an earlier posting on Process versus Product.

Interestingly we had a debate about that during the Portfolio Review session for 5th year studio. At one hand, Kevin absolutely underlined the importance of Process over Product, whereby Ferozan was adamant (you can see it in his seriousness demeanour) on Product being more important.

Ferozan believed in “options” and criteria of design performance (hello…I think I am reading something from your research thesis!) and Kevin was more on the start and beginnings of design and following through the process, again and again…

I was thinking about this when I was coordinating the studio this semester. At first I was in the “options” camp, but I have decidedly gone into the “one original thought” camp. To me actually, it is like this – the more mature you are, the more you are into the “process driven” theory, rather than “product driven” theory. But how is it for students, who are less mature than say Huat Lim, who will visualise in his mind’s eye from the start and realise it with his strong visualisation skills. Many students don’t have such visualisation skills, hence having to rely on options A, B and C?

For the first time, I did not insist on options all the way in the studio design process. I use to insist on options. But if the students decided to do options, they may do so. Because I do not want to overkill some slow but talented student with insisting on options. Yes, that’s correct – options can be overkill.

We can continue discussing about this some other time. Even make a thesis out of this!

Winning Mentality

Riera, Liverpool football club player said today, about when he was in Real Mallorca facing Rafa Benitez’s Valencia team:

“It was difficult to beat them. A Rafa Benitez team doesn’t always have to play well to win because they are very strong tactically and mentally. The idea is always very clear and that’s very important – every player knows what they are doing when they go on the pitch.

“The mentality of any Benitez team is always strong. It’s always a winning mentality, and that’s the feeling I had when I came here (Liverpool FC).”

Winning mentality is difficult to obtain. It takes a lot of concentration and focus. To get there you want to be able to compete at the highest level possible.

Why should we go through all that trouble? For all sorts of reasons. As for me, I want to be able to have an impact on what I do in life. I want to make a difference every minute of my life. Not just for the sake of making a difference to stand out, but to actually do something for society, or create a new idea where other people can inspire or work on later, or to just make something work or make someone work easier…could be so many things depending on what your job is.

Football is entertainment, and yet for some football is their religion. But to me football, is about skills, and about team work personified and magnified for us to take heed of, for us to learn something from.

To have a clear view of things and know exactly what to do when you are given a task is for many people is something basic that people need to do, but in order for that to happen, the coach needs to be clear himself. The correct application to the problem should be diagnosed.

In a studio programme, the studio master needs to be clear in his diagnose of the problem, then the students can go down to the “field” and compete. It’s not just for the crit or presentation, but for the whole learning programme. The students need to be strong mentally, tactically aware and able to apply the correct solution to the problem.

Everyone starts with an A grade

Everyone starts with an A grade

Why am I saying this?

For each student, the design thesis really began when we finalised the thesis topic.(The slower you finalised, the more time you lose to work on getting the A grade.)

Why was it so important that the studio masters were involved in this finalisation of the topic?
Because when a student propose a topic and explain to us along with the site studies and research done, we’d soon begin to see a picture or vision of an A project. Yup, its in our heads. My vision may be different from Kevin, Helena or Anthony’s, but it’s my A vision. For a winning studio masters team to happen, the visions must be “A” visions. (Hence the people we invited for the interims…the quality of the guest critics…)

If we cannot see an “A” vision, we cannot and should not approve the topic.

So in a way, everyone started with an A vision formed in the studio masters head.

The challenge was for the student to realise that “A” vision.

At the end of the 1st semester, it is “half-time” or 45 minutes in a football match. Its a half-way point between getting that A.

So in theory its possible for everyone to get that A grade at the end of the 2nd semester.

How long and how much work to get there is another story. Obviously it depends on how intense, how often (frequency) the students want to sharpen the design into and how much (magnitude / depth) the student will be getting into the thesis.

By right everyone who got into the B Arch course could get an A for the design thesis. Minimum requirement B for Design in 3rd year for entry into the B Arch course, says it all, because the student have a year after entering B Arch to get up to scratch and ready for the design thesis.

This is my theory. You may not agree with it, but after my first semester’s experience being a studio master and many other times reviewing the 5th year design thesis, I come to this hypothesis.

UTM Thesis Projects

Check this out, the list below was taken from the Tanggam website, specifically a Design Thesis Studio Unit (called HOME)  this semester at UTM’s School of Architecture.

There are some really interesting projects here ( I highlight in blue)…

I just would like to ask UM’s Design Thesis Studio what they think of these projects by the UTM students.

Which of these topics do you feel is interesting?

I get more excited at this list than UM students list really. Having been a lecturer at UTM, I see a more explorative approach by just seeing this list.

However, the process maybe different. Would love to hang-out at UTM to check out their crits…

The Panel

1. Prof Dr Tajuddin b Mohd Rasdi
2. Mr Halim b Hussien
3. Ar. Marzuki b Mahadi @ Mohammad

The Topics

1. Mohd Fildaus Abd Halim – Evolving Architecture
2. Noor Aini Khalid – Offshore Village
3. Siti Rohaini Mahmud @ Mahmod – Forest Kindergarden
4. Hafsah Sakinah – Women Mosque
5. Khalilah Kamaruddin Iskar – Hip Hop Mosque
6. Noor Fatiha Razali – Muslim Elderly Academy
7. Malinja Teh Shean Ee – Democratic Campus
8. Rafidah Ismail – Students Religious Centre/Park
9. Noormazeerah Madzlan – Organic Tropical Growing House (High Rise)
10. Kamalia Ismail – Teens Community Centre
11. Loh Mei Ee – Chinese Columbarium – Community Culture & Interaction
12. Wong Mei Teng – Christian Community Place for Fellowship
13. Najwa Mohd Thalha – Underground Housing
14. Norishah Mohd Hairy – Islamic Cemetery
15. Amirul Hafizan – Public Security Centre
16. Hor Chee Weng – Disaster Architecture – Global Warming
17. Ismail Ali – Zero Electrical Housing