By AP Dr. Alice Sabrina Ismail (Director Architecture program)

The International Open Design Colloquium is a unique online forum where academician and students in architecture and related design disciplines gather in an intimate setting to exchange ideas and experiences with peers from different backgrounds and cultures. This event which was conducted on the 22nd March 2021 was attended by almost 150 participants from the UK, Malaysia and India Architecture Schools. The Director of Architecture Program officiated it; AP Dr. Alice Sabrina Ismail, and the welcoming speech was delivered by the Head of Department of Leicester Architecture School – Ms Kate Cheyne. Four academicians represented DMU Leicester Architecture School – Ms Kate Cheyne (HOD DMU), AP Dr. Ben Cowd, Dr. Tim Barwell and Dr. Yuri Abdul Hadi as design crit panels with eight Masters of Architecture students – Ben Harrel, Madonna George, Can Ozerdam, Aminah Altuwaini, Hannah Bird, Jan Moore, Will Dudley and Lilie Bumford. Each architecture student from DMU Leicester Architecture School presented his/her architecture design projects in various UK sites covering heritage, culture, technology and the built environment. Four academicians also represented the UTM Architecture school – Dr. Aiman Mohd Rashid, AP Dr. Lim Yaik Wah, Mr Azari Mat Yasir and Dr. Leng Pau Chung alongside eight UTM Architecture students – Lee Siew Jing, Chuah Kok Sheng, Thing Kai Ren, Ahnaf Samsury, Akmal Hakim Jatmi and Beh Ming Yi. This four-hour design critiques session was a fruitful session, where the students and lecturers gathered together to comment on many aspects of design work in progress. It was an opportunity to enrich solutions between the divergent/generative beginning and the convergent/decisive end of a design cycle among students design thinking, process and outcome from both institutions. This event was beneficial because students and lecturers can gather valuable feedback from various aspects and dimensions. This kind of activity created an intellectual discourse that increases collaboration and peers learning among students and academicians that is valuable in building linkages and strengthening the relationship between international architecture schools from two continents. Many participants gave much positive feedback, and the UTM Architecture program will organise more international design crits events in the future.

Prepared by: AP Dr. Alice Sabrina Ismail (Director Program of Architecture)

As part of the initial effort on the International collaboration between Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Architecture Programme and School of Architecture and Interior Design (SAID), SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST) in Chennai, India, SAID had organised the first Master of Architecture (March.) Discussion on Architectural Dissertation event on 17 February 2021.

This was a subsequent event to the first collaborative initiative, the International Open Design Crit UTM-SRMIST, in connecting both the faculty members as well as promoting ideas and design produced by students that was conducted on 4 February 2021.

This event was a review session where the March. students from SAID had presented their thesis works for constructive feedback and comments. Hosted by Prof. Aravind and Prof. D. Sukheshini from SAID through the Zoom online platform, five students had presented their current design works ranging from the behavioural perception study using Space Syntax analysis, urban design regulations, thermal performance of buildings, to the rejuvenation concept in adopting sustainable waterfront design strategy. Dr. Roshida Abdul Majid and Dr. Nor Izura Tukiman from UTM Architecture Programme were the invited guest panels to review the students’ works.

The presentation and feedback session were fruitful as it had instigated critical ideas and discussions among the students, reviewers as well as the online audiences. Students benefited from the session and gained alternative insights from reviewers with diverse perspectives and from different continents.

While the COVID-19 pandemic had restricted the physical movements of people worldwide, this collaboration event had carved the way for a productive scholarly environment among the academics and students from both institutions. The 4-hour session had gathered at least 29 online visitors from India and Malaysia.

UTM Architecture Programme and School of Architecture and Interior Design (SAID), SRMIST has outlined multiple collaboration events in the coming months to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the universities, faculty members and to further promote collaborations in research as well as in the teaching and learning of architecture and design.

For more updates on the collaboration between UTM-SRMIST and other events conducted by UTM Architecture Programme, please visit their facebook page.