The One Academy Students Advocate Sustainable Design Concepts

Three groups of students and alumnus from The One Academy Interior Design faculty recently garnered Silver, Bronze and Consolation awards in the O2 City Recreate Dreams Creativity Contest (Youth Category) organised by Perfect Eagle Development Sdn Bhd. The contest aimed at accelerating creativity of youngsters, increasing environmental awareness whilst promoting sustainable living to the public. 

Located in Puchong, O2 City is a mixed development comprises of boutique offices, retails, serviced residences and hotel. Participants were challenged to be innovative in the use of recyclables in designing and building of an arch structure which will be used as design inspiration for the grand entrance of O2 City. Besides, participants were also encouraged to come up with designs that not only embodies eco-friendly ethos but also helps give impetus to sustainable living. 

Encouraged by their lecturer – Dr Eric Leong; 3 teams, each consists of 5 members were formed to take part in the contest. From idea conceptualisation, search of recycled materials till prototype assembling, it took all teams almost a month’s time and dedication to prepare their 3D miniatures before they were shortlisted as one of the 10 finalists.

“Brainstorming helped us visualise on how to relate to the contest’s aim better,” quipped Siok Kim, team leader of the Silver award winner whose team swept away RM5000 cash prize along with certificate of appreciation. Inspired by O2’s sustainable design concept, her team chose Water as the main design element by using plastic bottles, PVC, wrought iron and wire net to portray how a welcoming grand entrance would look like. Online research on different forms of water e.g. water drops and water twist was done to produce a design that is both expressive and catchy.

Time constraint was the main challenge faced by all teams in building the prototype. “We spent time to collect and gather recycled materials of the same size especially the plastic bottles,” highlighted Cammy, team member of the Silver award winner. Apart from that, some teams also encountered minor shortcoming in terms of schedule coordination with fellow team members as some of them were of different intakes.

The overall designs were judged based on creativity, concept, and final artwork in which each team was asked to assemble a 3D miniature of grand entrance at O2 City site. Panel of judges were made up of the organiser as well as architects and designers from overseas. Interim presentations in front of the judges were carried out in which all teams were required to convey their design concept and logic within half an hour at O2 City site.

Partaking in the contest had since heightened understanding of all teams when it comes to incorporating sustainable design concepts in every aspect of their works. The teams learned that being meticulous is not the only key factor determining their success as they also need to acquire technical skills in developing a sustainable, well balanced design concept which is complete in terms of functionality and style.

When being asked what advice they would dispense to fellow college mates, Yen Han of the Consolation award winner said “Try taking part in more competitions because we can learn extra stuff that we didn’t learn at school. Nothing is impossible if you willing to do it!” Winning the award brought a sense of achievement for all teams whereby they would like to express their gratitude to Dr Eric Leong, who guided and provided them with valuable feedback. Likewise, they would also wish to extend credit to faculty members for their recommendations in making the 3D miniature.   

The One Academy has a distinguished reputation of being an art & design college with courses offering wide range of skills designed to enable students to think independently and creatively in the commercial environment after graduation. In line with our ‘Masters Train Masters’ teaching philosophy, we are determined to enhance quality of students’ works whilst enabling them to realise their inner creative potential through participation in such contest.