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Pam Lecture - Hatta


Hatta, as he is popularly known, is no stranger to Malaysian design circles. An educator, designer, conceptualist, generalist and mentor to many, Hatta's work encompasses many interests and domains, driven by an inquiring intellect and deep passion. His expansive fields of operations and collaborations with diverse practitioners promises to serve up a rich and insightful lecture.

"ACQUIRE, understanding, is the idea of relating senses to objects and spaces towards a consciousness allowing greater insights into art, object, form and space.”

Hatta is fascinated by the Japanese aesthetic so called Wabisabi. From the art piece he showed, it can be observed that he follows the gesture of sketching, of laying and repeating lines to bring about a deeper appreciation of those lines, and of the object being drawn. The understanding of objects and spaces are furthered through this practice of appreciation rather than the conflicting interpretations inherent within them. He focuses primarily on the intellectual functions of objects and visual expressions of colour and texture, to assist in the orchestration of objects and spaces, which are only a natural reaction to architects intent.

SILALIMA@Alor Akar

It is an adaptive reuse from an old residential area to a public guest house. The whole building is applied with the concept of simplicity which can be observed from the materials and in terms of the space itself. The choice of using concrete for almost the whole building, without any plastering, it gives us a sense of honesty in architecture while Hatta does not want the structure to be concealed that people could find the beauty from the building primary materials and even from the structure itself.

Hatta also loves to apply glass as to allow the penetration of sunlight into the building, and of course to allow a pleasant visual to the people in the building. He applies a pivot door in the building so that the space itself won’t be restricted and could be more opened and flexible.

The entrance seems to be hidden somehow to achieve a sense of invisible and it mixed well with the surrounding context. A pond located right beside the entrance, acts as a medium to blend in with the nature and the materials of the building, following by a hierarchy element that draws the attention of the public. Many detailing is added in the building, such as gravels on the floor, plantations along the walkway and so on, has made the building to be more precious and unique in terms of architecture.

NR NEXT HOUSE@Kuantan

It is a guest house which is raised a step higher to highlight the building and to define the boundary of the building itself with the surrounding context. Same as Silalima, the materials used are mostly concrete and glass.

Initially Hatta does not want a proper entrance in the building, but then he has to create a proper door due to security constraint. A high door is provided at the entrance, with one level height, as to welcome the publics. And a concrete walkway to lead and guide people from the entrance to the building.

" I like to put on art piece on wall, it increases the quality of it, just like we use marble and granite."

There is one commonality that Hatta always has painting or artwork in his buildings. The artworks always suit the building and it’s simple and direct in form with the mixture of various colours. The painting focuses more on the feeling that he wants to express in terms of the line, thickness, the colour, and the texture based on simplicity.

In conclusion, I like the way Hatta treats his building honestly, which is without much ornament, following by exposure of the raw materials he uses. The lighting effect also increases the identity of the building. With the aid of vegetation around blending in with the buildings, the architectural style is simple yet meaningful.

"Hatta transformed our house beyond our expectations. Borders have disappeared, spaces flow into each other naturally. Living has indeed become a new experience"

Robert T. van den Berg, client Kuantan.


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