Page 79 - AEI Insights 2019 - Vol. 5, Issue 1

Yaacob and Kun, 2019

During her stay and afterwards, Naziaty is very much an admirer of FAUP's architecture
curricula, which concentrated on developing the technical as well as the analytical and
intellectual strength of the graduates. At FAUP, the first year immediately starts with an
architecture process or the very least an artistic process of a hypothetical site with a measured
scale to it, where the basics are mastered whilst the learning process is step-by-step rather than
complicated in the beginning, directly working with models and the material, in dealing with
space, seamlessly taking abstract (artistic) exercises and quickly converting into a more
architectural design process. At UM, where Naziaty is teaching, however, the curriculum had
been the same since its inception 24 years ago where the artistic process is learned in the first
year’s first semester but the human scale is not seamlessly incorporated.
Ever eager to learn more, Naziaty had many discussions with each of the year’s studio tutor.
Mario, the first year tutor explained that the students created an abstract model in the larger
1:1000 scale, translated it step-by-step to the 1:50 scale, then the students worked with a 5 x 5
x 5 metres cubic space. As well, the use of ‘styrofoam’ allowed for the excavation of spaces.
Although it started with an artistic process (abstraction) the immediate process where they put
a scale to it, gave a sense of space that had a reference to real life space in the minds of the
designer. In Naziaty’s mind, such exercise is significant because doing mere artistic exercises
and not putting it in human scale will not teach the students to understand the sense of the
human scale and measurement.
Naziaty quickly learned that at FAUP, the architecture faculty members were not mere
academics, they were design practitioners too, and this dual teaching-practice situation is
similar to many of the best architecture schools in Europe. Moreover, almost all FAUP’s
graduates managed to gain employment after graduation, mostly in the United Kingdom even
though their English is not that good. Their employability was due largely to their highly skilled
architectural drawings. The students’ projects from first year to third year were using mostly
manual drawings. Later in fourth and fifth year the students were allowed to start with
computer-aided drawings, unlike at UM, where the use of digital means is rushed in the second
year. Also at FAUP, each student was expected to produce “notebooks” in which the students
would use to practise and reflect on their work. Luis (the third year tutor) enthused that the
better notebooks are the ones that get drawn over and over. (Photo 1). Pedro, the second year
tutor, explained about a year-long project located near the Trindade metro station in which the
importance of topography and the students therefore need to be sensitive to changes of levels.
(Photo 2). The program is a cultural centre and a teaching block. The medium is totally in
pencil or pen, which is on tracing paper. At FAUP, students are not allowed to do digital
drawings in second year. This reminded Naziaty of her own student days at Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia in the early 1980s, where the students’ rigorous technical competence was
taught to be consistent with the philosophy and training of a skilled and good designer.
Traveling around the city, Naziaty visited many places including parks, markets and religious
buildings. Porto has noteworthy outstanding buildings and places such as the Casa das Musica
by Rem Koolhas; the contemporary museum, Boa Nova Tea House, swimming pool and the
FAUP building by Alvaro Siza; housing and office buildings by Souto de Moura and many
more. The investigation on ‘accessible transportation’ using participant observation techniques
included Naziaty traveling to Sao Bento from where she lived by using the bus service and the
Metro. She noted that although Porto sits on a hilly terrain, the construction of the sidewalks
and the availability of public transportation including relatively cheap taxi rides made it
affordable and accessible to older persons and physically disabled persons (Naziaty is a
wheelchair user). With the assistance of a tutor from FAUP, Clara, she managed to meet Lia
Ferrera, an access officer at Porto Municipal. Lia gave a lot of insight regarding accessibility
as she was a wheelchair user, more from the advocacy point of view. (Photo 3 and 4). Clara

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