Architecture students receive three awards at PAASWE 2022

It was a proud moment for UTAR Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science (LKC FES) Department of Architecture and Sustainable Design (DASD) when its students won three awards at the 16th PAM Annual Architecture Student Works Exhibition 2022 (PAASWE 2022).

The Architecture students beamed with joy when they were awarded the Best Booth Display Award (Honorary Mention), Best and Creative Wind Chime Design (Silver) and Best Presenter Award at the event.

PAASWE 2022 was organised by Pertubuhan Arkitek Malaysia (PAM) which is also known as the Malaysian Institute of Architects. It provided a platform and an opportunity for 20 Malaysian public and private architecture education institutions to display their works in the public physically after a few years of virtual isolation. The exhibition was held on 5 October 2022 to 9 October 2022 at 1 Utama Shopping Centre, Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Themed Unveiling the Imagination, PAASWE 2022 proposed a method of revealing the architecture students’ works through window louvres and other opening mediums. The word Imagination represented the students’ imaginations which were depicted in every project they completed and exhibited in the exhibition booths.

Each university was required to design and build an exhibition booth according to the theme, within the build-up area, 2000mm(W) x 2000mm(L) and the booth should also include window louvres in their exhibition booth design inspired by Breezway products and any method of opening e.g bi-fold door with louvres, fixed lite windows with louvres. The event was sponsored by Breezway Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

The achievements of the DASD students are as follows:

1. Best Booth Display Award (Honorary Mention)

Students happy to win the Best Booth Display Award (Honorary Mention)

The winning booth consisted of 25 DASD students, namely Project Manager Koh Wei Jun, Co-Project Manager Yau Lye Shiuen, Ler Teck Ho, Soo Zhi Yi, Cho Chi Kei, Chow Yuen Ting, Lim Zhi Heng, Liew Yin Ping, Ong Chun Yi, Teng Kai Yuan, Yap Win Sheng, Travis Then Kai Hong, Tan Wei Siang, Soo Rui Jie, Yap Kah Zhen, Wan Jia Wei, Liew Yu Beam, Loo Jet Shen, Thoong Lee, Lee Huey Yi, Kennath Selvanesan, Goh Shien Hung, Gan Zi Jun, Wong Heng Kian and Lee Jian Cheng.

Representing the team, Koh shared, “Our booth’s concept is a shooting star. A shooting star passes through many planets, stardust and asteroid belt, splitting the night sky. It has always brought hope to people; it has always been a symbol of hope and wishes. People’s wishes come from a desire in their imagination, and that desire is often hard to reach.”

He enthused, “The return of physical events not only helps to strengthen our bonds but also allows us to gain meaningful experience. Despite encountering final examinations during the process, our team still managed to do it in less than a week, not to mention winning the prizes as well. What a wonderful team!”

2. Best and Creative Wind Chime Design (Silver)

The Best and Creative Wind Chime Design (Silver) was won by six students, namely Group Leader Yap Kah Zhen, Gan Zi Jun, Thoong Lee, Yap Win Sheng, Soo Zhi Yi and Ho Ying Xuan.

They expressed, “Teamwork means a lot to us as it makes dream work. We supported each other to create and come up with something special. We used our creativity to produce the blaster sound “pe-, -ow” in the design. The blaster sound “pe-, -ow” is unique and you can never hear it from a Windchime.”

They added, “There was nothing to be afraid of because we are still young. Although we faced a lot of obstacles and even failed once when constructing the structure, we didn’t give up and kept thinking of ways to solve the problem. Our members put in a lot of effort to win this competition.  Now, we shall aim for the champion next year.”

3. Best Presenter Award

From left: Kennath (third) and Ho (fourth) won Best Presenter Award

Furthermore, Kennath Selvanesan and Ho Ying Xuan also took home the Best Presenter Award at PAASWE 2022.

Kennath said, “It was our great honour to represent UTAR. This is my first time participating in PASSWE 2022. Winning the Best Presenter Award is amazing! We would have not won this award without the support and motivation of our team members. I would like to express my gratitude to Ho and also the team for their hard work and dedication. I also hope we can achieve greater success in the upcoming PASSWE events or any other competitions in the future.”