QWA Podcast

Ar. Azizul Azwar is a trailblazer. Running multiple companies in the construction industry, from an architecture practice to a project management company, developing apps and education platforms. We discuss the nuances revolving around building approval submission and why educating the public about the legal framework and building process is important for a safe and pleasant build environment.

We have Ar. Azlan Syarawi, principal of Syawari Architect and director of Seshan Design. We talked about the challenges of running an Architectural Consultancy Practice (ACP), NFT project, and what we think about Ai-generated art. Join us, as we explore these topics and more in the episode.

In this episode, we talk to Hazman, the CEO of KITAMEN, an E-Sports outfit pushing E-Sports industry through advocacy, event curation, and talent development.  Previously a graduate architect, Hazman shares his experience transitioning to a technopreneur.

It's the 5th day of the Eid Celebration. We talked to Abdurrahman about how he been doing in the midst of the latest lockdown. As the unofficial ambassador of Cyberjaya, he share what Cyberjaya has to offer even when the tech city is highly stigmatised as dead and far from the city center. The evolution of the township is now almost complete, with its 24th birthday mark, the city has blossomed into a thriving and complete township. We also reminisce about the European trip 11 years ago.

We talked to Salam Chempreng, Firdauz Ahmad and Zenko, about their architectural journey and formative years of GARISPXL. The decision to register a business trademark seems to be a logical route to deter any copycats from cashing on their brand. They shared their aspiration to document lost mosques that have been forgotten.

Ar. Adrianta Aziz is a man with a mission to empower young architects. He has mentored hundreds of young architects at various stage of their professional journey. His passion for education is manifested with his contribution to advance architectural education in Malaysia, and Asia, trough ACAE. He runs multiple businesses related to architecture professional consulting, training provider and property development.

Hakim and Shafiq had their architectural internship of six (6) months in the middle of COVID-19 pandemic. Working from home, remote supervision and endless Miro edits, became the new reality of both young designers. In this episode, we relive their internship experience, how they felt about their design syllabus and what their future is.

We talked to Ar. Ridha Razak this week. Covering his initiative in Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM) and ARCASIA Committee on Young Architects (ACYA) to build young architects capacity. Besides taking a leadership role in the architectural organization, he runs a practice and Rumah Tangsi, as the event space for a youth event in Kuala Lumpur.

Devina is an architect and a tea lover dedicated to redesigning traditional shophouses in Indonesia. She aims to propose a more empathetic approach towards architecture to achieve a balance on three pillars of sustainability: social, economy, and environment. The shophouse project was a part of her master thesis project during her study in the Netherlands.

In this episode, we talk to Hedzril Jaffar about his architectural journey, from a salaried architect to a principal of his own practice. He shares his point of view, how the architectural service can be improved, by becoming more approachable with the public, reducing the fear/worries associated with rendering professional service. We talk about the financial paradigm of startup practice, and how it influenced the practice direction.

In this episode, architectural designer Pamela Tan shares the inspiration behind some of her work that embodied a dream-like quality. We also discussed her work that allows the community to participate and adopt the structures to create their own meaning and narratives. Combining a stunning visual depth with a rooted and democratic approach to design, she has developed a distinct design language that offers a new perspective looking at the world around us.

Munif Malek graces our podcast this week with his adventurous architecture journey, only second to the best of Final Fantasy grand storyline and plots. He shares his love for education, practice and creative opportunity in his architectural pursue. We also elaborate on the impact of Malay drama depiction of architecture to the profession.

We talked to Khairul Amin, a landscape architect in one of the city council in Malaysia. He shares his experience of participating in Khazanah Design Residency 2018 in Politecnico di Milano, Piacenza. He also shares his thoughts on the trend of community park/farm in Kuala Lumpur and the impact of the gentrification of cities undergoing massive urban-scape transformations.

In this episode, Effendy from ENDO.KL shares his good and bad experience running a successful interior design firm. We discussed the heighten appreciation of quality interior design among homeowners, and what are the design prowess required to deliver the ever-demanding market. We also talk about the future role of a professional organisation to improve the industry at large.

Jowin Foo of JFXA shares with us his research initiative in this episode. The 'Supermarket' research the relationship of tangible goods with the data interface that helps track, manage and curate our food throughout the supply chain. He also talks about architecture education and its politics. Disruption of AI technology in architecture is also a subject of our conversation.

In this episode, we talk to Chan Hui Sim (Sim) about her adventure exploring a new paradigm of architecture trough coding binary languages. Her explorations manifested into commissioned work and a coding teaching collective, 'kod-kod'. We discuss the mismatched talent pool hinder the progress of interactive installation design in Malaysia.

We talked to Kartini Kasmuri, a dedicated educator on architectural education post Covid-19. We unpack how persuing this profession can still appeal to a whole new generation of school leavers, and the challenges of architecture being taught remotely. Students were working independently, away from studio settings which demanded self-resolve.

In this episode, we talk to Ar. Firadaus Khazis, a young architect that has established a Design & Build (D&B) firm to complement services offered by his Architectural Consultancy Practice (ACP). We discuss the dynamics of both practices and the common miscalculated undertakings by local architectural startups.

In this episode, we talk to Megat Muhammad Aiman, an architecture graduate turned BIM specialist that finds his true calling after working in Singapore.  We unravel his journey leading to the resolution to move to Singapore, and challenges of a long-distance relationship with his young family.

In this episode, we are delighted to talk with Shamin Sahrum (Sam) from notoscale. A design research platform responding to current issues trough act of design and also socio-political commentary to the various issue. We talk about their latest work, and behind the scene of their proposal for Malaysian Pavillion for Venice Biennale 2020, Sepermainan.