Reflection on Architectural Design

Throughout this project, I have gained new insights and knowledge regarding the factors needed to plan and "produce" a good building, factors such as location, use of space, "value-adding" as a architect and many more. The lessons helped in letting me know more about the different buildings with exceptional architectural features and going through the processes of deciding the area to work with as well as going to the place itself allows me to know more about the need of understanding different plots of land to be able to come up with the required type of building for the area. Architects have to go through various essential decision making sessions, such as when deciding what type of building to build and in what category (commercial, industrial etc.) that the building would fit in and how it would cater to the masses to benefit the economy. This project helped me to get first hand experience on such decision making and this knowledge allowed me to change my perspective of viewing architecture.

Designing the building's exterior and interior proved to be quite the challenge for me, and this allowed me to be able to express my creative factor as well as critical thinking to decide on what is best to place on the building and into the building. My chosen building is a boutique hotel with a small mall below, allowing people to enjoy retail "therapy" and traveling businessmen to have a place to stay near the Central Business District. I learnt more about boutique hotels through this project (I never actually knew they existed) and hence gave me more insights to this different and more unique type of hotel, which has a particular theme.

Interior designing the building allowed me to be able to understand more about the power of the use of colors and textures to bring out the different feelings and themes of a building itself. Colors can express emotions and can help to either agitate or calm down a person, and having the right use of colors, whether on the interior or exterior of the building can determine how much a building stands out amongst its surroundings.

All in all, this project gave me valuable experiences and knowledge regarding the world of architecture and design, much to the favor of the subject name Art, Design, Media and Technology, and has fulfilled all the aspects especially in Design (interior and exterior design), Technology (the use of the online application, Google Sketchup). Art and Media was brought out more during the making of the presentation boards for our final product, using the application InDesign from Adobe, whereby the lessons and training from the trainer, Mr Ronald, allowed me to further understand how to use the application InDesign and Photoshop. This project is a very fruitful one.

The Railway Hotel @ KTM Mall

The Railway Hotel @ KTM Mall is a place where people can either dine and shop or find a place to comfortably stay in at the 5 floor high boutique hotel above the KTM Mall. The design of the building is inspired by the original building occupying the area—KTM Railway Station. The base of the building, a place to shop and dine, has a british-influenced theme, meaning that the walls have unique textures and colors. It has a high ceiling to give the place a more spacious and free feeling and this idea was taken from the KTM original architectural design, as the building also had a high ceiling.

In The Railway Hotel, traveling businessmen or women can enjoy excellent service and stay at this boutique hotel, where each floor has an individual theme to allow them to have a different staying experience every time. The quiet atmosphere and comfortable hotel rooms as well as the available meeting and wifi rooms can provide the perfect place to do work and conduct meetings in.

What makes a good architectural design?

Location— surroundings of the building will match, the people who would be in the area would “need” it. (height, matches the type of surrounding buildings, road access, demographics.)

Sustainability— To be distinctive such as to allow people to know what it is most likely used for at a glance. (Not dull.)

Eco-Friendly—Proper use of materials to be able to leave a smaller carbon footprint.

Sculpting Space— To be able to use space wisely to allow target audience to feel comfortable. (height-wise, interior and exterior design)

Aesthetically Appealing— To be able to leave a good impact on people (visual, emotional, etc.)

What is Architectural Design?

"Architectural Design is the art and science of designing buildings, which include the design of the total built environment, from the macro level such as town planning, urban design and landscape to the micro level of the furniture and the product design.Architecture is the product of such a design."

—Edited from: http://www.bernardmarsonarchitect.com/architectural-design-new-york.htm

"Architectural Design is a form of solving a problem by adding value."

—Edited from: http://bluearchitecture.wordpress.com/2011/06/18/what-is-architectural-design/

"Architectural Design is the concept that focuses on unifying components and elements of a structure or system into a functional whole in order to achieve an objective."

—Edited from: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/architectural-design.html