"If the powers-that-be are not concerned about the world and their own country, then it is difficult to produce creative individuals worth any salt, and the kind of profession these students will eventually become a part of is only slightly above that of a glorified clerk or technician"

-- Prof Dr Mohamad Tajuddin

Wrong practices and unbalanced education

By Prof Dr Mohamad Tajuddin

You don’t send boys out to do men’s work. Yet, that is what we are doing in designing our country’s edifices of the future.

EVER wonder why low- and medium-cost housing in this country is characterised by poor design? Ever wonder about the state of our schools, homes for the elderly, orphanages and libraries?

At the other end of the spectrum, ever wonder why administrative buildings and mosques are built in grandiose fashion without an ounce of thought about user values or the concept of Islam and democracy?

After two decades of teaching and observing architects in action, I surmise two culprits are behind this maladies.

The first is the use of diploma holders as architects and the second is the unbalanced planning of studio projects that lean more towards elite rather than public buildings...>>> Read More

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