Ceiling Price for Low-Cost Homes in Malaysia - November 24, 2010

By Architect Nathaniel 3X Rhine

Prices of low-cost houses will not exceed RM42,000 ($13,550) in Peninsular Malaysia and RM50, 400 ($16,260) in Sabah and Sarawak to ensure people from the lower income group will have shelter, said Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung.

Under the 10^th Malaysian Plan, the government planned to have 161,000 affordable homes. Of this, private developers would build 83,000 homes while the rest would be built by the government.

Architecture and the Social Media

By Nathaniel Rhine

Increasingly, architects, including myself are tapping into social media to connect with peers and promote our work to the general public and to network. It is something that is relatively new to me as well as others I am sure. However, it is never too late to utilise such tool. And yes, social media is a tool. A tool used to let the entire world know that you exist and that you have a wonderful service to render.

I have used blogging as a means to share my knowledge of architecture and other things with others who may be interested in whatever it may you do and services I have to offer. In my case, it is architecture.

Generally, when one mention that they are an architect, almost immediately one would think of high fees, without actually knowing what it is that architects do. They may be clueless as to what architects do and how we charge for our professional service. That is the primary reason as to why I being blogging, to help educate the public as to the important role of the architect in every society.

Not only do I blog, I also tweet; use Twitter. I find it to be a wonderful place to share ideas, statements, comments etc with 140 characters or less. I even liken it to my architecture which is to produce the very best architecture within a restricted or limited budget. Such restriction encourages creativity.

Tweeter has given me the platform to communicate with other architects who also tweet. Therefore, I am not the only architect out there using social media.

At the moment, social media for me has yet to bring in new clients. Actually, I do not think it was meant to bring in new clients. Rather, it was designed as a platform to share one’s ideas and views with others around the world. It is a tool to help one to achieve something, namely that of sharing oneself with others on a global scale.

Over a period of time, I am confident that people will gain clients by means of using social media. The business of architecture is a service. All architecture firms do the same thing which is to provide design services. However, why does one architecture firm get a particular client when another architecture firm may not get that client? It all boils down to chemistry between the architect and the potential client. Social media is a tool to enable one to develop that chemistry. The more a potential client knows about you and what it is that you have to offer, the greater the possibility of business could be created.

Therefore, I am a strong believer that the blog sites are more powerful than the web sites, due to the fact that blog sites are very personal in nature. They are always changing with the times. Whereas websites are usually very static, never changing, or shall I say, change very seldom. Blog sites are updated regularly; to some that may mean once a week, to others it may mean once a day and still to others it may means several times a day! That is the excitement of blog sites. That is way I have this blog site.

This is a very interesting subject matter that can not be concluded so easily. Therefore, I intend to write more about this in future posts. I hope to talk more about how it may help in getting the word out about your firm, how it may even help in recruitment and other areas.

Thank you for your time and enjoy your day.

The Power of Small – Little Things Make all the Difference

By Nathaniel Rhine

Today we are told to think big and look at the bigger picture. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being ambitious. Unfortunately, we have lost the value of little things.

Have you had the opportunity to open a door for a woman and she said,”Thank you”? How did you feel? Have you ever been sick at home for a few days and an associate of yours gave you a call to see how you were doing? How did you feel? Those simple yet small gestures meant a great deal.

When it comes to our business, there’s no difference. A doctor wrote an article in a medical journal and it was later brought to his attention that the word medicine, which is the correct spelling, was spelled: m-e-d-e-c-i-n-e. What impression did the readers of that article have? Perhaps the reader would think twice before allowing that doctor to perform a surgery on him. Surely because of a small spelling mistake, the doctor’s potential patients may have lost trust and confidence in him.

If the doctor had taken an extra minute to proofread his article, he perhaps could have left a better impression on the readers. It only required a small amount of time and effort.

As an architect, I must pay close attention to every detail of my designs. It literally could mean someone’s life or death. A detail could be a small nut and bolt that may cost only a few cents each. However, if I failed to pay attention to such a detail, and omitted the nut and bolt, I could possibly jeopardize the safety of an occupant of that building.  

At Nathaniel Rhine Architecture, we separate ourselves from other architecture firms by focusing on the details, no matter how big or small they may be. Our aim is to be the best at what we do, not the biggest or the best known. By being small and focused on the details, we are in a better position to satisfy our clients. When our clients are satisfied with our service they will proudly tell others about our firm. Ultimately, we will become better known.

Yes, at times we had to decline offers to design for potential clients. Not because we didn’t want to do it and didn’t think the projects were challenging enough. Rather, we had declined some offers because we felt we would be spreading ourselves too thin. If we were to have taken on additional projects that were too much for us to handle, we would be providing less quality service to our existing clients, which is both unprofessional and eventually unprofitable. We can not afford to lose our current clients who are valuable to our practice.

Therefore, by our firm being small, we are in a better position to do many other small things that do make a lot of difference.

In conclusion, the power of small things really does make all the difference. Today, everyone is sending emails and text messages because it’s convenient and fast. Very impersonal as well. However, to prove that small things do make a difference, why not spent a small amount of time and send a hand written letter thanking someone today. See the results. Whatever they are, let me know. Thank you for your time and have a great day ahead. A simple house can be a beautiful home. A beautiful home will encourage peace and tranquillity, calmness and a sense security. It all begins with the architecture of the house. The architecture of the house must be simple as well. The architecture mustn’t be a collage of many styles, whims and fancies. It must have a goal in mind and it must speak that to the occupants and visitors of the house. A simple house does not have to be big and/or expensive. Nor does it have to be boring and uninviting. A simple house is a building type that is made up of walls and openings such as windows and doors to help create a space for living. To live freely, peacefully, and calmly. One can not and will not achieve and experience such wonderful states of being in a cluttered house. Change it with minimalist architecture, an architecture that may be simple yet very beautiful.