Ancestral House

In the course of the work as an Architect, very often we design buildings for the livings. Occasionally we designed memorial and monuments in the western sense. However, there are times when we were called in to design the Ancestral house for the Tycoons. Similar to the one we often see in Malacca, called the Chee Mansions, ancestral house is where all the ancestral tablets were displayed and worship. This is one of those monuments that must fit into the templetes of FengShui, so it is by default a square building, with or without courtyard and multiple rooms for the Guests, living and deceased.

JKID - Grafting 2

JKID - Grafting

JKID - Option D

CityHall reverted with a lower plot ratio from 4 to 3. This called for a revise layout option - D. Herewith are the commentaries: -

Hi David,

Having looked into the revised JKID’s option and as per our discussion just now, I would prefer the above development’s option – Option D, where the proposed retail mall ( the dragon head ) is positioned fronting the Jalan Kuching ( not hidden behind fronting the cemetery ).

10 reasons why I support it. :-

The mall being in front, will give an identity to the whole development,

The mall being in front, will promote vibrancy to the whole development,

The mall being in front, will give attract larger patronage,

The mall being in front, will fetch better rental value and in return higher yield & better sales value,

The mall being in front, can enable exciting concept such as having al-fresco concept at Grd and 1st Floor, which will give immediate attraction to travellers ( rather than relying on the shops to do the attraction ),

The mall being in front, is better positioned to take in traffic from the proposed underground ‘tunnel’,

The mall being in front, will improve car park traffic,

The mall being in front, will be beneficial to the car park, as it can attract higher volume of traffic, thus improve car park’s value,

The mall being in front, has better frontage and thus give advertising value,

The mall being in front, will improve the value of the proposed hotel ( to be built at the previous car showroom ),

Apart, no worry to the shops behind, so long as we open up a direct access to Jln Ipoh (behind), the whole development will not be isolated.

Besides, can you name me a hidden retail mall which is successful ??????

Hopefully, you can give your consideration to the above.

Regards.

Next Contemplation ...

For whatever reasons, will have to wait until the Local Plan has been reviewed in 2010. The Town Council seems to have left this lot out while rezoning the entire areas from residential to commercial. The previous owner dis not protest while the draft is put on gazette during the public hearing. So, the lesson is to look out for the zoning of the land one owns while the local plan is being tabled for public scrutiny before it is too late.

Current Renovations ...

It is just a pitch. Renovation jobs are too time consuming with very little returns... It is good for a new start up liked J&H in the architectural scene.

Current Projects ...

Previous planning submission was earmarked for a higher plot ratio. The funny thing is even when the local plan is still a Draft basis, the City Hall is holding it as a pre-conditions and cast in stone! Computing the amount of GFA that needs to be reduce, would the profit margins still hold water? This is yet to be seen as we are working on a watered down version.