ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS WIN CHANCE TO HELP DESIGN SALES GALLERY FOR MAJOR HIGH-RISE KL PROJECT

4 young architecture students have won the opportunity to design a key part a new sales gallery for the upcoming RM1 billion-plus residential project, Circadia@Belfield.

The students comprised one of the five shortlisted teams from UCSI University’s School of Architecture and Built Environment (SABE) who have been vying to win the unique competition.

The successful team have won not only the opportunity to showcase their skills on a major urban project in KL, but also RM3000 as the first prize.

The winning ‘Blend’ Team comprised the following team members: Oon Wu Han, Scarlet Koon Si Qiu, Gasten Gan Yi Hong and Yew Wei Zen.

The competition was organised by SABE and Circadia’s developers, Eupe Corporation Berhad.

Each team developed their design for the Circadia’s Sales Galley community space based on a design brief prepared by the SABE and Eupe’s senior project team.

The five shortlisted entries were judged today by a panel comprising the Deputy Dean of the School of Architecture and Built Environment, Professor Teoh Chee Keong, Eupe’s Director of Strategic Projects, Mr Paul Chang, and Circadia’s external architectural consultant, Ir. Ng Wai Keong will take place on Tuesday morning.

Eupe plans to launch the Circadia project by the end of the year and the Sales Gallery will be constructed over the next few months.

Professor Teoh said the competition was an invaluable opportunity for students to apply the skills and knowledge they have learned in a university setting in a practical and challenging way.

“In the process, they’ve gained invaluable real-world experience of working on a key aspect of a major urban project.

“The project has offered the opportunity for students to understand the challenges and constraints of designing for the real world, which is not always possible in an academic environment,” he said.

“I’d like to thank Eupe for collaborating with the School in such a unique way and giving our students such a rewarding experience.”

Mr Tan Ming Siang, Eupe’s Director of Property Development, who also delivered the keynote speech praised the high quality of the designs contributed to the competition.

“The entries all showed an impressive range of innovative thinking and practical design solutions.” he said.

“It’s given us a lot of insights into how a new generation of architects and designers think about and approach project design.”

The ‘Ethereal Playground’ team (Team Members - Waleed Esam Abdulwahab Al-Samawi, Tong Lai Mun Joanne and Chua Li Cheng) was placed second by the judges and won a cash prize of RM2,000.

The ‘Antara’ Team (Team Members – Peter Christanto, Kok Pui Kee, Kong Wei Hoong and Hee Hui Ern) was judged third for their design and won RM1,000.

The two teams who entries were designated second and third by the judges won a cash prize of RM2000 and RM1000 respectively.

The USCI School of Architecture and Built Environment and Eupe recently signed a MOU which will see both parties collaborate on projects and activities in the future.

The MOU will see the exchange of learning and ideas that on the one hand, will benefit the company and its project designs, and on the other, the School through opportunities for both staff and students to apply their skills and knowledge to project environments.