Architect Nina Lee

Thrilled to be the external examiner for the USM Master Degree Interim Industrial Crit session 2024! The creativity and innovation on display this year were off the charts. The students truly raised the bar—what an amazing experience to witness such high-caliber work!

It’s an incredible honor to work with such a passionate team— architect, engineers, and top-notch medical specialists. Together, we're making big things happen for the future! Here's a glimpse of the Kek Lok Si Charitable Hospital's building expansion kick-off meeting.

Excited to be appointed as the Building and Planning Director at Kek Lok Si Charitable Hospital. Working hand in hand with a dedicated team of specialists, Architect ADM team, Engineers, and consultants.
This 400-bed full-fledged hospital is the Yayasan Kek Lok Si's commitment to providing affordable, high-quality healthcare to all segments of society in this region. With seven specialized disciplines and a Center of Excellence focused on areas like Oncology and Cardiology.

Accredition - Photo by Architect ADM (KLSCH illustration)

"Embracing the Uncharted : Journeying through an Untamed Paradise" -
As an architect, these experiences that are exceptionally precious and rare, not readily found in typical urban development projects. The jungle offers us a unique canvas for our work, where every step is an adventure, and every discovery is a testament to our ability to harmonize with nature's raw beauty.

Nature always has surprises in store for us - scorpions, thorny thickets, and encounters with untamed wildlife were all part of the journey during my site visits. These experiences are a regular part of my work alongside the dedicated labourers who meticulously craft these ecotourism sites.

These thrilling encounters with the wild remind us of the profound importance of preserving and cherishing our planet's untouched beauty. We face them with a smile, and it's more than okay; it's a testament to our commitment to nature's conservation and our unwavering spirit in the face of the untamed.

Working in the jungle is akin to navigating blind through uncharted territory. In the heart of this wilderness, where information is scarce, we often find ourselves disoriented and without clear directions. Our approach demands meticulous attention to detail – we diligently follow the existing path, using numbered markings on trees and boulders as our guiding beacons.

Especially in the initial phases, the site is cloaked in an incredibly dense thicket, a labyrinth of tightly intertwined shrubs, bushes, and small trees that presents a formidable challenge for us to traverse.

Thrilled to be part of the USM Architecture Master Degree Final Year 2022/2023 Industrial Crit! Had the honor of sharing the crit panel with the distinguished architects Dato' Ar. Zulkarnain, Dato' Ar. Zaki, and Ar. Chin. Engaging discussions and inspiring designs are on the horizon!

One of Our Upcoming Flagship Projects in Penang

Architecture should paly to all the senses - the smell of vegetation after rain, the sound of birds and the wind in the trees, the texture of clay floor tiles and rough plaster, even the taste of monsoon air...

Keep the plan subservient to the landscape. The natural landscape should always dominate the scene.

Creating buildings to look out from rather than buildings to look at...

Walk out into the air through the treetops, dramatize the experience of nature and the larger landscape room

The barriers between inside and outside are dissolved to allow building and its surrounding landscape to merge

21 Bishop | Coffee Affairs
Before and After

Feeling grateful that I was invited to USM Architecture Studio to share about the ideology of a good environmental management practice in the ecotourism project.
It focuses on how we can bring back humankind back to nature, minimal disturbance to the existing natural environment during the planning and construction stage, incorporating modern comfort in the end product and finally producing a bespoken operational ecotourism site.
'Intention', 'Act' & 'Consequence', an idea which has been thought by our belated lecturer Che Wan Baharuddin, and now I am upholding it as a guide in any of the projects I am undertaking and now I am passing the same knowledge to the architecture graduates that I met today.
The implementation of this project was also guided by the spirit of Geoffrey Bawa who was the pioneer of Tropical Modernism in Sri Lanka.
It was a two-way learning, I have invited the students to participate in this page and leave their thinking about what do they believe in natural environment conversation and preservation while bringing back humankind back to nature. The best short write up will be given a traditional camping light. :-) They are so lovely!

Nina @ 15/11/2019

This is the Google Trend Showing searches on 'Glamping' keyword in Malaysia has increase and keep increasing over the the year of 2014 to present 2019. There is another chart showing no search on 'glamping' word before 2008 which is our launching year. Interesting

Google Trends See interest over time on Google Trends for glamping - Malaysia, 2004 - present.

This is the Google Trend Showing searches on 'Glamping' keyword in Malaysia has increase and keep increasing over the the year of 2014 to present 2019. There is another chart showing no search on 'glamping' word before 2008 which is our launching year. Interesting

Google Trends See interest over time on Google Trends for glamping - Malaysia, Past 5 years.

Upcoming Ecotourism Project -an Orchard Farmstead. Looking forward.

Terrarium
The first terrarium was developed by botanist Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward in 1842. ... A fern spore in the jar grew, germinated into a plant, and this jar resulted in the first terrarium. The trend quickly spread in the Victorian Era amongst the English.

We have created countless macro and micro-environment inside out in Boulder Valley.
The plants evolve by itself depending on the amount of rainfall. The plants may be disappearing or look like dying during the dry season but they are actually hibernating and then blossoms again in the rainy season.
The plants in BVG grew taller in sudden into a gigantic scale without any fertilizer due to the day-night-temperature-differential.
The ever-changing micro-environment in BVG is so just so fascinating and awesome!

微景观生态瓶
现在潮流着自制微景观生态瓶terrarium。
大环境微景观,小环境微景观,我们在岩谷野营里里外外都创造了无数的微景观。
我们国家虽然没有四季，但却有明显的雨季和旱季。由于许多植物随着雨天和旱季雨量的多少而千变万化。在这里，由于它特殊的微景生态环境，有许多植物长得特别壮大特别美，而且是非常非常大型的那种。
访客在不同的季节可以欣赏不同的微景观。若你在旱季期间来到岩谷，你可以发觉到很多植物因雨量少了从而顿然间消失，平时被攀登植物遮满着巨石，一颗颗的冒了出来，重现英姿美貌。只有亲身到访的来客才能够体会到大自然有多震撼，一般上他们都会发自内心的惊讶，‘槟城怎么会有这样一个地方呢，震撼！’
但，一旦来到雨季，岩谷野营又有另一番风貌，以为在旱季时冬眠的植物现在又茂盛的长出来了，特别青葱！雨季也正是微生植物青苔之类的佳节。
在岩谷野营的雨季，正是最大型的微景观自然生态。
你可以看到许许多多意想不到的景色在每一个角落出现，在这手机自拍为上的时代，无论专业或否，一定会拍爆手机，疯传脸书!

写于15/12/2016