Journey to be an Architect

Knowing who you are to be a better Architect

Interviewing Architect Azman Zainal had made me think further on how to continue with my journey becoming an Architect. With 30 years of experience, he has amazed me by portraying his own character in his Architect journey. Ar.Azman made me rethink that passing Part 3 exam does not mean that you have become a real Architect. Don't be overly excited about telling people you’re an Architect. You will still have to get through a long journey to become a real Architect by understanding and finding the real "you".

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"Find your own character will train you to be confident to say No" - AR. Azman Zainal

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Setting up a firm at his age of 30 is not easy for him, that time he has an Indian AR. partner, knowing that he is a "water" person, Ar. Azman very particular in employing staff. He understand China's Five Elements Philosophy, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. He made me realizes that a lot of knowledge can be useful in your career if you understand it well. Ar. Azman is an expert in dealing with interactions and relationships between things. His uniqueness has made him a confident person when dealing with client. He normally designs residential houses according to the husbands and wives character, the spaces are created in a way that husband and wive will stay in harmony. Believing that energy exists everywhere, this make him an expert in designing spaces for specific characters.

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In built-environment sector, there are a lot of consultants involved. However, who are the one who can care for the people, the society and the public? The answer would definitely be the Architect. Architect is the knowledgeable person who needs to convince developers, quantity surveyors, engineers, etc. to make things different. Ar. Azman had trained himself to be firm to say "No" when he knows where he should stand. He even recommends a show "The Dog Whisperer". It is about a dog controlling the owner. He gave us an idea that an Architect always will have a stand to fight back to client, developers, etc. Because Architect is the real generator of any idea. They should respect the Architects. Since then, I realize being an Architect is not an easy task.

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However, Ar. Azman indeed inspires me to train myself becoming a confident person in pursuing the Ar. title. It is somehow very interesting that Ar. Azman mentioned finding your own character is parallel to an Architect's journey. So, why not give it a try? He spent 6 years to design his own house. Why? It took him that long to find and merge his personal character into the house design. Today, anyone who look at the house definitely will know the character of the owner. This is how wonderful architecture can be.

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So thankful for Ar. Azman sharing his knowledge and experience to us, hopefully us, young future architect can also be successful by learning his lessons. Biggest lesson I would share to everyone is that to know who you are, what you want to be, and then you will know how to help others.