SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & DESIGN

FOUNDATION IN NATURAL AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT

(JULY INTAKE 2013)

CULTURE & CIVILISATION

MS NORMAH SULAIMAN/MS DELLIYA MD ZAIN

FINAL PROJECT: POSTCARD SERIES

MOHAMAD HAFIZI SIDRATUL MUNTAHA 0315470

Assignment Brief

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & DESIGN

Research Unit for Modern Architecture Studies in Southeast Asia

Foundation of Natural and Built Environments

CULTURE & CIVILIZATION (FDES 0815)

Prerequisite: None

Lecturer: Normah Sulaiman . Delliya Mohd.Zain

__________________________________________________________________________________

Project 3 (Individual Assignment) : Art + Architecture + Culture 40 % marks

Submission date: 3rd June 2014 (Week 17)

Introduction

"What travel teaches us is that we are all essentially the same. There is not a

'them' and an 'us'; there is really only 'us.'" The stunning photographs capture

the theme of places of visit. A good coffee table books serve a number of

purposes: they're decorative, informative, and attractive.

Objectives of Project

1. To introduce the Western and Eastern culture and civilization through an

overview of archeological discoveries, ancient monuments, artworks, philosophy

and achievement of great leaders from prehistoric to present.

2. To show basic skills on enquiry, investigation, application and

presentation of relevant information.

Learning Outcome

1. Able to describe the historical development of human civilization.

2. Able to recall the development of Eastern and Western human

civilizations in the past as well as present.

3. Able to demonstrate good documentation and presentation skills.

Tasks

Part I: You are required to do a literature research on places of interest of your

site visit. From the literature review, you are to study the theme given and its

connection between the historical, architectural and social aspects of the place.

Documenting the right building, spaces and places with the right content is

important in this project. You are advised to work closely with your tutor to

ensure you are on the right track.

Theme:

1. Food Culture

Kopitiam

Street Food

Coffee Culture

2. Architecture

Malaysian Architecture

Fusion

Religious Places

3. Spaces and People

Part II: You are to design a graphical expression of your findings in a postcard

series with a proper packaging that complement the final postcard design. The

postcard series will create awareness and educate your audience on the subject

matter or focus of the study. This includes design & layout, purpose, content,

writing style, colours and etc. You are strongly encouraged to meet with us

regularly for further assistance.

Submission Requirement

Part I: Compilation of literature review in A4 and comb bound format.

(Guidelines of content will be provided during class)

Part II: Coffee Table Book – A5 format size

Part III : PDF compilation of individual work in a CD* with proper cover and

information.

THEME & CONCEPT

ARCHITECTURE (SUNRISE VS. SUNSET)

Sunrise vs. Sunset:

My theme is basically about the view of Kuala Lumpur during sunrise and sunset.

Most of the people might not notice this, but Kuala Lumpur is a very beautiful

city as it’s developing very fast year by year despite the busy constructions going

around and in the city. During sunrise, I could see the skies bloom from darkness,

and changing colours with a mixture of blue-orange as the first sunlight hit the

sky while during sunset, I could see the blue sky turns orange and then orange,

(and sometimes purple too!), followed with the clouds reflected by the last ray of

sunlight. With high vantage points, the source of light (sun) is mostly at the back.

With this, a silhouette could form and this would make the skyline much more

breathtaking.

SUMMARY OF RESEARCH

I chose sunrise and sunset because I want to get out of my comfort zone- waking

up 4:30am in the morning to go to the vantage points to take photos of Kuala

Lumpur skyline before the sun comes out. Not only that, I had to go to the city

during peak hours immediately after class so that I won’t miss the sunset and I

could get stuck in traffic for hours because everyone was going home from work.

I started doing research by asking my relatives and friends on where to take

photos of Kuala Lumpur from a high position. Then, opened up my laptop and

started surfing the web. I’ve founded a photo blog where this person had a lot of

Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) photos from various angles of the city. So, I

started contacted him via e-mail and fortunately he replied within 2 days. I have

also found a forum of photographers and I sorted out the places I needed to go.

During my shoots, I was lucky because there were some photographers too at the

places I was at and I had the chance to ask them more places to take the skyline

of the city. They also gave me a few tips on landscape photography and photo

editing.

After shooting, I have downloaded a software called Lightroom and Photoshop to

edit the photos that I have taken and applied the tips that some of the

photographers taught me. I have also learned some editing by watching videos

on YouTube and it have taught me a lot of things.

MAPPING

1) Suria Jelatek, Jalan Jelatek.

Suria Jelatek is a private apartment located at Jalan Jelatek, off Jalan

Ampang. The view of the swimming pool is Kuala Lumpur. Kuala Lumpur

is quite a distance from there but the sunset is breathtaking. I had the

chance to access to the apartment because my cousin lives there and he

brought me up to the swimming pool. I’ve also had meet a kind filming

student where he taught me the angles to take the skyline of Kuala

Lumpur. I had a chance to do my first time-lapse there.

2) Flat PKNS, Kampong Bharu.

I had to wake up at 4:30 o’clock in the morning to get to this place

because I didn’t know where it was. A photographer whom I e-mailed

when I saw his photo blog recommended this place. I had to climb to the

highest point of the apartment to take the view of KLCC. It was really

beautiful because the twin towers were so near. Unfortunately, I was a

little late for the sunrise but I had the chance to take a silhouette picture

of the skyscrapers there.

3) Independence Square, Kuala Lumpur.

The Independence Square of Kuala Lumpur is the main tourist attraction

because of the colonial building, Sultan Abdul Samad building. The

structure takes its name from Sultan Abdul Samad, the reigning sultan of

Selangor at the time when construction began. The building was designed

by A.C Norman and was built in 1894. When I was there, it was during the

sunset and the sky was a mixture of purple, blue and the clouds were

orange. The sky was really beautiful, so as the buildings there.

4) Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) Park.

After waking up early in the morning, I rushed to the KLCC park so that I

wouldn’t be late for the sunrise like last time. During that time, it was

windless so the park’s pond was really calm. I took the chance to capture

the skyline of Kuala Lumpur with the reflection of it on the pond. The sky

was breathtaking as it was purple turning into soft blue. There were also

some photographers there taking a time-lapse video of the sun breaking

into the sky and it was blocked by the building so it had a very beautiful

silhouette.

5) PPR Flats, Jalan Jelatek.

This location was beside Suria Jelatek and the photographer whom I e-

mailed told me about this place. It is a very famous spot as I’ve always

seen it on the Internet. I had the chance to meet a professional

photographer from Iran and we exchanged some ideas and places to

shoot KLCC and its skyline. He had also gave me his Facebook page so that

we could share our photos. The spot was great as I had photographed a

long exposure shot where you could see light trails from headlights and

rear lights of the vehicles across the highway just in front of the building.

In the photo, you could see the contrast between the urban Kuala Lumpur

and the rural area of Ampang and Jelatek where it gives so much meaning

of how we live in this developed country.

DRAFT LAYOUT

F

FINAL LAYOUT

MAIN PHOTO

Name of the location/time

Main photo with the skies clearly seen for the viewers.

FINAL PHOTOS & PACKAGING

FRONT & BACK COVER

SELECTION OF PHOTOS

SUMMARY

This assignment has taught me to appreciate architecture even more because of

the exposure to the urban city. Not only that, it has taught me the importance of

environments and it’s surrounding too. I have also improved on my

communication skills as I had meet a lot of people with interesting views and

ideas of photography and architecture. Furthermore, I improved on my

photography skills and editing skills as it is a huge part of this assignment.

REFERENCES :

Forum.lowyat.net, (2014). Where Is The Best Place To Take Vantage Shot of KL. [online] Available at: https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1724579/all [Accessed 9 May. 2014].

Lightroom 5. (2014). Kuala Lumpur: Adobe.

MacBride, C. (2014). Lost in reflection. Digital SLR Photography, pp.74-75.

Photoshop CS6. (2014). Kuala Lumpur: Adobe.

Shah, A. (2014). Blog azmanshah.com landscape nature travel photography fotografi tutorial. [online] Azmanshah.com. Available at: http://www.azmanshah.com/blog/blogs/blog1.php [Accessed 9 May. 2014].