LEONG CHING WEI

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO
SEM 1 - SEM 6

chingwei3698@gmail.com
ARCHITECTURE STATEMENT

When a building goes wrong, people blames architects for it ; When a space is cold, uncomfortable and often left
unused, there is no lawsuit for that. People often define architects as someone who design attractive architecture,
but the truth is architecture should be about the people and spaces more so than the building.

This misconception is caused due to the attention and publicity of these beautiful buildings but not necessarily the
most beautiful architecture. Flip through an architectural magazine today, we see plenty of eye catching images
which worship obscure angles and the place where multiple materials meet, but how often do we see people in the
photographs?

My design ought to begin from where the question ends : The marriage of people and spaces. A design should be
erected from humanist stand point, serving for the people and for the place. I believe building should not just be
purely functional and be recognize from the exterior, but to be felt by our senses and to be able to create an
emotional dialogue with its user. Architecture should not be simply an object to be viewed. It must form a
relationship to everything that surrounds it, everything which constitute its context in both tangible and intangible
way. This relationship creates a special connection both with its place and with the people who enter that realm,
creating a unique experience for the user.

Architecture should also be extremely thoughtful to its surroundings. Our buildings should not just invites the
people but to also opens up for nature, sunlight and wind to be part of the content. The experience of entering a
building should not leave the user feeling like they are detaching themselves from the outside world but to
consciously bringing the outside along with them, constantly keeping the connection between the two. These
connections with the context and nature helps elevates the spirit of the entire atmosphere.

My wish as an architect is to serve not just the client but to a broader interest of the public, creating spaces where
people would actually want to be, not merely to serve its specific function or making an artistic statement, and
ultimately to serve more than shock.
I II III IV
Temporary Single Parents Performing City Lobby
shelter Community Art Centre (SEM 6)

(SEM 1) Centre (SEM 5)

(SEM 4)
 Project 1 | Temporary Shelter

The project brief requires us to design a 4 cubic metre square

temporary shelter based on the user's personality. The shelter was
set up in Port Dickson by the beach side and we were only limited
to a few materials: egg carton, timber, manila card, bubble wrap,
bamboo stick.
THINKING INSIDE
THE BOX

I TEMPORARY SHELTER

The 4 cubic metre square

temporary shelter was an
installation project held in Port
Dickson and was completely
constructed from recyclable
materials. The main structure
was made of timber and
finished with egg carton and
bubble wrap.

‘Thinking Inside The Box’ was

designed for a thinker. The
shelter aims to create diverse
viewing points with movable
egg tray walls and uses
modular sitting blocks to help
user visualise things in
different perspective and
generate the user’s creativity.
FUNCTION | PURPOSE

Thinking Inside The Box was

designed to allow the user to
customise his own space within
for different usage and
occasions.

The foldable roof and vertical

louver facade enables the user
to invite the sea breeze and
natural light to enter the space
anytime of the day, and be in
one with nature.
SELECTION OF MATERIAL
The consideration of materials surrounds
the relationship towards the context as well
as its function towards the design.

TIMBER FRAME
Timber was used as the structure as it
is versatile and easy to be transported
to site. Besides, it also blends in with
the surroundings.

EGG CARTON
Double layer egg carton is used as wall
panels for heat insulation.

BUBBLE WRAP
The egg carton reflects the color of the
sky is wrapped with a layer of bubble
wrap to protect the shelter from rain
and act as an extra layer of heat
insulation.
SENSITIVITY TO ITS USER
Zip Tie
The 450mmx450mmx450mm modular blocks made out of egg cartons are
created to cater to the user’s wild range of emotions to fully utilize the space
according to the user.

The different configurations of the modular blocks grants the user the ability to
modify the space to cater to different activities and purpose.
Egg Cartons

| Modular Blocks
Types of configuration |
PROCESS SKETCHES
A
X
O
N Bubble Wrap

O
M
E
T Timber Frame

R
I
C

Egg Crate
 CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

Roof Construction detail

Beam to Column connection

SIDE ELEVATION VIEW

Louver Connection detail

 Project 2 | Single Parents Community Centre

The project brief asked for a Single Parents Community Centre

located at Medan Istana, Ipoh, Perak. The project aims to help
improve the life of the single parents around the site as well as to
provide a gathering space for public use.

The site is located on a 8368 sqm empty land surrounded by

diversity of residential and commercial zones. However, there is a
lack of mutual connection around the site due to the poor
circulation and a lack of common space which divides the
community.
WALLS

II SINGLE PARENTS COMMUNITY CENTRE

Brick by brick and cinderblock by cinderblock, a Wall

was built in the heart of a single parents to shade
themselves from the trauma and pain that they
have been through. Wall, is a personal barrier which
seem impossible to cross, penetrate and overcome.
They protect people not from danger, but from
anxieties and fears.

The wall in their heart forms the two 6m height

Concrete Walls running from East to West and
standing right in the middle of a diverse community
–– massive, firm and reassuring. With walls come
mental comfort, tranquility and even a vague
promise of happiness. Their presence provides the
single parents a place to dwell within, where their
fears and anxieties can be contemplated in all their
nakedness.
SITE ISSUES
Diverse yet Disconnected
Even as the site is diverse with
different zones such as the
commercial, residential and
nature, the community
remains disconnected.
Circulation
The intersection points are scattered
around the site and there is no focal
point for the community to gather.
Besides, the circulation from one end
to another require a long route which
discourage the relationship among
the community.
Single Parents
Single parents want to be accepted by
the community and be part of them,
Thus, seeking for help has always been
their last solution as they does not like to
be seen as victims.
Our site located at the focal point of the 3
diverse zones further discourage the
single parents from approaching it.
DESIGN INTENTION

Encourage single parents Maintain the single Provide a healing space for
to approach the site parents’ privacy on site the single parents
 CONCEPT DIAGRAMS
Privacy & Sense of Security
Concrete walls which extends
up towards the sky to provide
privacy and give a sense of
security for the single parents
family.
Circulation Axis
The walls runs from East to
West with openings at the
North and South side which
forms two axis that connects
all the main access of the site
to one another creating a focal
point where the people from
the community meets each
other and ease the circulation
flow around the site.
Sense of Harmony Clustered Organisation
One side of the wall is The two walls cut
curved gracefully along across every
the walkway to give a programme serving as
sense of harmony and a dual interior and
comfort as it invites the exterior wall on both
approaching visitor. sides.
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
FIRST FLOOR PLAN

SECTION BB’
SECURITY

Two firm concrete

walls run along the
building appear
strong and constant
give a sense of
security protecting
the single parents
from the chaos of life.
CALMNESS

Concrete screed
finishes was used as
the language of the
building for this raw
material evoke a
sense of peace and
calmness which is
instilled in the heart
of the single parents.
 Project 3 | Performing Art Centre

The Performing Art Centre is an infill project located at the heart

of Kajang Old Town, .where it is rich in historical value. However,
the new development is slowly over shadowing the heritage value
of the site and causing it to lose its unique identity and a sense of
community.

The project aims to reconnect the community through the

Performing Art Centre to rejuvenate a once lively and animated
town to relive the lost essence of Kajang Old Town.
EXTENSION OF
PUBLIC SPACE

III PERFORMING ART CENTER

The design intention of this

Art Centre is to bring the
people of Kajang together as
a society once more and
re-engage the connection
between the old and young
that was lost long ago
through incorporation of
public spaces.

The Art Centre serves as an

extension of open space
which bleeds into the
building, taking the life on
streets along with it. A central
opening pierces through the
building is a three-level space
made available for public use.
MASSING
Multiple Approaches
The ground floor is open to
the public, furnished with
chairs and tables for
universal usage.
Integration of different
programs cater to different
user and approaches.
STRATEGIES
Sensible to Human Scale
Recess at upper floors and
offsetting the dance studio
slightly off the streets to
break down the massive
scale and block of the
building to embrace the
concept of welcoming.
Angulating Plane
Expression of facade
surrounding the site is
plain and uninviting, create
engles to capture different
corners of views to
enhance the view from site.
MASSING
Using Context as
Strength
Event hall opens facing
South towards Metro Plaza
using its plain facade as a
backdrop while allowing
natural light to bathe the
performance stage.
STRATEGIES
Visual Permeability
The transparency of the
building further manifests the
wish to avoid the museum
being perceived as a large,
introverted mass. Transparency
of the facade and the ease of
transition between the
building’s exterior and interior
spaces embody the idea of an
open and welcoming place.
Leveling of Spaces
Conceived as a literal stacking of
open spaces, defined by
horizontal concrete slabs, it
creates a more intimate
interaction space between the
user at each floors.
Subtle Vertical Transition
Multi-purpose upper terrace
pierce through the building
bringing the public realm
along. The stairs also doubles
up as a public seatings facing
the amphitheatre tieing the
interior and exterior together.
SECTION AA
 The musical room pierce through the wall to meet the
PERFORMING FOR ALL dance floor where the violinist and the danseuse perform
together at the heart of Kajang, breathing color into the
streets. The shadows created by the louver facade dance
along in the space adding vibrance and rhythm to the
context.
ECHOES

A Wall featuring the stories of the Old

Artisan of Kajang bathe in soft light
extrudes all the way up towards the sky
cuts through the core and main corridor
of the art centre.
As the users pass by these corridors and
the gallery wall everyday, the stories of
the Kajang resonates in their heart.

VERTICAL DIALOGUE

A void cuts through the center of the art centre with

earth below and sky above allows the building to breath
and the spaces to speak to each other in both horizontal
and vertical dimension.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
SECOND FLOOR PLAN
 Project 4 | City Lobby

The project calls for designing a ‘City Lobby’ located at the heart of
Johor Bahru Old Town, which will engage and re-engage the city’s
local population and visiting tourists from other towns or countries.

Located at a city which is vibrant with diverse culture and ethnic

groups, the different user groups come to celebrate different
activities/events respectively throughout the entire day at different
time zone.

During the day, the town is filled with tourist and Chinese locals that
came for the food. At night, the Malays come to celebrate Bazar Karat.
The hidden order and pattern of the community creates an intangible
gap which does not allow them to meet and interact due to the time,
place and people.
CITY CANVAS

IV CITY LOBBY

The City Lobby acts as a blank

canvas to provide the people
with a platform to express,
enjoy, learn and share. It is
designed with the approach
of “close to the people” which
expresses the artistic
conception of Johor Bahru,
painted by the community
itself. The City Lobby aims to
close the intangible gap
between the different user
group and allow the people
and activities to meet in the
form of art.
MASSING STRATEGIES

Capturing Axis Open Space Reaching Out Multiple Approach

The building is cut across The block is set back to The planes are angled and The block is further broken
in the middle capturing create an open space for protrudes out to respond to down to create multiple
the axis of the activities to spill out and at the nodes around to attract entrance around the site.
pedestrianized back alley the same time to bring the surrounding crowd.
which acts as a people in.
continuation and using the
same tectonics to create an
almost seamless transition
into the site.
Scale Expression
The building blocks are The spaces which purpose
step up towards jln Segget is to inject life to the streets
to lower the huge contrast and attract public
between the 2 storey shop attention is slanting down
lots and mid rise office towards the streets with
buildings. the expression of a
mono-pitch roof.
Natural Light & Facade Placement
Ventilation
Louver facade is placed
The central spine is mostly along the East,
covered with glass roof to South and West side for
allow natural light to pierce sun shading purpose.
through the space and its
broken down in different
levels to allow hot air to
escape.
Folding Facade Rooftop Bar

Sculpture Exhibition +
Rooftop Garden

Projection Wall

Fabric Workshop

Fabric Exhibition

Light Panel Facade

Cultural Dance Studio

Mural Art Wall

Batik Exhibition + Food Hub

Featured Staircase Bazar Karat

Pivot Panels

Art Gallery + Beverage Store

SECTION AA

SECTION BB
SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE