Ever wonder what Architects and Nurses have in common?

Tune in to this bonus episode of Architecture Siol! with my wife Estee is also a nurse at NUH.

We discuss the following:

- Her thoughts of me and what architects do before and after meeting me.

- Digitalisation in the Healthcare and Architecture Industry in Singapore

- The need for deeper collaboration in both industries

- Importance for mentors for fresh graduates starting out

- Recogition (pre COVID post COVID) for nurses

- Misconceptions of nurses "Nurses do not only clean shit, they also evaluate the shit"

- Push and pull factors to stay in the Healthcare or Architecture Industry

- Underpaid architects as agreed by Estee

- "Architects receive "shit" from authorities, nurses receive "shit" from patients"

- The need to raise awareness for what we do as Architects

- Design considerations vs Human Behaviour

- Must buildings be perfect?

- Constraints that not many people understand Architects tackle

- Brain drain is becoming a real issue

- Who dictates the SOPs for hospitals?

- The need for bottom-up and top-down approaches for standardisation of best practices/workflows

- The importance for regular discussion

- Estee's view and wishlist for her hospital / ward design

Estee is a Senior Staff Nurse at National University Hospital. She has worked as a nurse for nine years and is currently working in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. She loves traveling around the world and experience different way of living. Most importantly, she is my wife!

Watch/Listen to all of my Architecture Siol! podcast episodes at http://gabrielchek.com/podcast

If you would like to join me as a podcast guest, feel free to contact Gabriel at hello@gabrielchek.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Considering a career in architectural education after years of practice?

Tune in to this podcast episode with Lee Siang, where we discuss the following:

- Lee Siang's Architecture Journey from school to working at URA, to a partner at DP Architects, Ong and Ong, BCA and eventually Singapore University of Technology & Design Architecture and Sustainable Design pillar head (SUTD ASD)

- Importance of getting QP (but after sufficient experience)

- Why you should take the Professional Practice Exam and not limit yourself to be a designer without license to practice.

- Why you should sound out if you feel that certain design is not compliant and/or can be improved.

- How and why his supervisor at DP Architects allowed him to explore his short stint as a counsellor.

- How hearing people's stories as a counsellor has affected the way he view architecture.

- Why fresh architecture graduates should consider and join the best employer they can find.

- How a homestay experience in Thailand has shaped his second half of his architecture journey

- The difference working at DP vs Ong and Ong where the focus shifted towards a more entreprenurial and pioneering mindset.

- "The key challenge right now is how to retain talent"

- His invovlement as Singapore Institute of Architects President and Singapore Green Building Council

- Why he transitioned to SUTD ASD.

- His role in SUTD (ASD, DAI and DesignZ).

- His first action as a new Head of Pillar at SUTD ASD after observing as a Board of Trustees

- Why SUTD ASD graduates are ahead of the curve

- How an Architect should deal with rapid changes in technologies and changing views on sustainability, especially after COVID.

- Why there is a reduction of intake of new architecture students not limited to SUTD ASD.

- Why there is an issue with demand and supply of young Architects, who are overworked and underpaid (after the 2000s).

- Why SUTD ASD has started to focus heavily on the use of artificial intelligence to aid/augment architectural design.

- The goal of involving cutting edge firms in the studios at ASD and interactions with students.

- How SUTD ASD is collaborating and supporting their alumni in various initatives.

- How I will be involved in the ASD Alumni events.

- Why SUTD ASD is working on Continued Education Programs for alumni as well as opportunities for knowledge sharing.

- His message to current students and young architects.

- "Architecture in Singapore should be more _____."

- "SUTD ASD students should be less ______."

- "Lee Siang's secret skill is ________."

Lee Siang has dedicated over three decades to his career in architecture. In 2016, he was elected chairman of the World Green Building Council. During his two-year term, he traveled to nearly 30 cities, advocating for advancements in green building initiatives. After returning to Singapore in 2018, Lee Siang worked closely with the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore to promote the Industry Transformation Map among industry professionals, marking a pinnacle in his career until the onset of COVID-19 in 2020. The following two years proved challenging as he navigated the impacts of the pandemic, learning about the resilience of the built environment sector. In August 2021, he began a new chapter by joining the Singapore University of Singapore as the head of the Architecture and Sustainable Design Pillar. Additionally, he launched the new design center, DesignZ, in October 2021. This return to education and research has reignited his enthusiasm at this stage of his career.

Watch/Listen to all of my Architecture Siol! podcast episodes at http://gabrielchek.com/podcast

If you would like to join me as a podcast guest, feel free to contact Gabriel at hello@gabrielchek.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Shanty and I discuss the following:

- Her work in public housing projects at Surbana Jurong (SJ)

- Challenges faced at the start of her career at SJ and how she overcame them - The importance of having a mentor in your office

- Her views on the increasing complexities of public housing projects in Singapore

- Her views on the implementation of sky gardens in a public housing block (some people love it some people don't)

- Things that Shanty did not expect residents in public housing blocks in Singapore think about

- Why most Architects do not like to design linkways across a junction and only from the development to the nearest bus stop

- What Shanty feels are soft skills that an Architect needs to have

- Her experiences of working on competitions during COVID - How Shanty juggles her work and personal committments

- "Maybe I should find a hobby!"

- The importance of communication and understanding with your kids when you are a working Architect

- "Architects should be more _______."

- "Residents in Singapore should be less _______."

- "Shanty's secret skill is ________."

- Her aspirations for the upcoming years.

- The differences of public housing design in Singapore vs Indonesia

- Her thesis during her masters in Bartlett.

- Whether she is keen on working together on an architecture project with her architect husband.

- Any advice she has for fresh architecture graduates and young architects.

- Her view on the most underated skill an Architects needs to have.

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ABOUT SHANTY

Graduated from Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia, Shanty took up the challenge to work in Singapore to broaden her knowledge about architecture. It continued by taking up a degree in urban design from Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. Currently, she holds a position as Principal Architect at Surbana Jurong Pte. Ltd with 15 years of experience, mainly focusing on designing holistic public housing development in Singapore. She participated in a collaborative R&D initiative in 2014, reimagining and projecting the concept of vertical living in cities for the year 2050, which gave her the opportunity to join a business visit to Tokyo, Japan. During the visit, together with the team, she presented the proposal to the students and lecturer of architecture department at University of Tokyo as well as to the architects and management level of Nihon Sekkei. The initiative was eventually published during World Architecture Festival 2015 with the title Project 2050. In 2021, She was invited as a speaker to share about public housing to architecture students of Calvin Institute of Technology, Jakarta and subsequently being invited as speaker at events held by Indonesian Institute of Architects (IAI) , the likeness of Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA).

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Watch/Listen to all of my Architecture Siol! podcast episodes at http://gabrielchek.com/podcast

If you would like to join me as a podcast guest, feel free to contact Gabriel at hello@gabrielchek.com.

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ABOUT THE PODCAST

Architecture Siol! is a podcast from me, Gabriel Chek, featuring Stories, Issues, Opportunities, Learnings within Architecture.

Tune in as I chat with fellow architects, designers and students to discover more about them and their ‘badass’ work in the built environment industry in Singapore and beyond.

siol - Singaporean slang (Singlish). Commonly used at the end of a sentence to emphasize the 'badass' qualities of someone/something.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.