The Consolation Prize winners of the competition holding their award certificates and mock cheques (from left to right): Ar Chang Choong Yew, Programme Leader, Bachelor of Science in Architecture (Hons) programme, Ms Wong Wai Fang, Associate Dean, Department of Architecture and Building, Ar Toong Yong Seng, Senior Lecturer, Sing Chun Wah, Siew Jin Ming, Jeffrey Kong June Jeck, Poh Su Ann, Lee Phaik Kee, Wong Wan Ting, Ng Ka Jun, Sr Ooi Lay Yong, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment (‘FEBE’), and En Fadzil Mohd Ali, part-time lecturer.
Two teams of students from TAR University College’s 3rd-year Bachelor of Science in Architecture (Hons) programme won six consolation prizes out of a total of 21 prizes in the KVMRT Bench Design Competition 2015 organised by MMC Gamuda KVMRT (T) Sdn Bhd and MRT Corporation Sdn Bhd. The award ceremony was held on 26 February 2016 at the KVMRT Training Centre in Sungai Buloh.
The aim of the competition was to seek creative input for the seven underground stations of the first MRT Line in Malaysia, the SBK Line. The competition was open to students pursuing courses in architecture, interior design, product design and industrial design in local institutions of higher learning. Students of local institutions were invited to create forward-looking and innovative bench designs for the MRT underground station platforms. Creative bench designs, as art pieces, invigorate public spaces and enhance passenger experience by providing unique and refreshing experience within the usually utilitarian environment of a station platform.
Over 130 designs were received from 19 colleges and universities in Malaysia. Of the 130 designs, 21 entries were shortlisted by a panel of industry experts. The models and drawings of the shortlisted entries were displayed at a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur from 9 January to 17 January 2016 for public viewing and voting. Public voting contributed 30 per cent of the total score, while 70 per cent was from the panel of industry experts. Three prizes, which consisted of one grand prize (RM7,000) and two consolation prizes (RM3,500 each), were allocated for each of the seven underground MRT stations.
The two teams from TAR University College were Team 1, ‘The Surrealists’ Group, comprising Siew Jin Ming, Ng Ka Jun and Sing Chun Wah and Team 2, ‘Kinetic Art’ Group, comprising Lee Phaik Kee, Poh Su Ann, Wong Wan Ting and Jeffrey Kong June Jeck. They were guided by two design studio tutors in the process of producing the creative design schemes for submission in the design competition. TAR University College’s six prize-winning entries included one in each of the four stations, namely Pasar Seni, Merdeka, Tun Razak, and Cochrane, and two entries for Maluri station.
