Ct3 Final Report

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UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN

Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering & Science


Department of Architecture & Sustainable Design

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONS) ARCHITECTURE


UEBA 2213 Construction Technology III
Final Report

Group 1

Advisor: Mr Leong Hung Sek

No. Name Student ID

1. BEATRICE YONG MENG HUI 2005364

2. KHOO SZE XEAN 2002279

3. LIEW YIN PING 1903244

4. NATASHA HA 2002776

5. WONG JUN XIANG 2200400

6. WONG YEW QUAN 1803895


Table of Contents

1.0 Objectives Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.0 Introduction Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.0 Background Information Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.1 Project Brief Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.2 Site Information Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.3 Building Usage Occupancy Error! Bookmark not defined.

4.0 Geographical Information Error! Bookmark not defined.

5.0 Walls and Columns

6.0 Ceiling

6.1 Warped Ceiling

6.2 Flaking Paintwork

6.3 Cracks in Ceiling

6.4 Mouldy and Damp Ceiling

6.5 Exposed Ceiling

7.0 Fire Staircase

7.1 Metal Fire Staircase


7.2 Handrails and Steps
7.3 Fire Door Issues
7.4 Accessibility height issue
7.5. Smoking in fire staircase
7.6 Ventilation Problem occur
8.0 Absent of Underground Analysis

9.0 Roof

9.1 ETFE Glass as Skylight Materials


9.2 Aluminium Roofing issue
9.3 ETFE Glass Study
10.0 Flooring

10.1 Floor Tiles Cracking


10.2 Floor Tiles Lifting
10.3 Slippery / Moisture Floor Tiles

11.0 Laws and Regulations on Overall performance on site

12.0 Conclusion

13.0 Reference

14.0 Learning Outcome

14.1 Group Learning Outcome

14.2 Self Learning Outcome

14.2.1 Beatrice Yong Meng Hui

14.2.2 Khoo Sze Xean

14.2.3 Liew Yin Ping

14.2.4 Natasha Ha

14.2.5 Wong Jun Xiang

14.2.6 Wong Yew Quan


1.0 Objectives

The main purpose of group 1 for studying construction technology III assignment are

1. Inspect and evaluate the design problem of the selected commercial building along with
providing few solutions for future maintenance or prevention for future damage.
2. Inspect and evaluate the performance of the selected commercial building due to
environmental factors along with providing few solutions for future maintenance or
prevention for future damage.
3. Analyse the cause and effect of defects in the selected building
4. Observe and analyse sustainable design on a building.
5. Understand and observe if the selected commercial building follows the requirement of
the building by law (UBBL)
2.0 Introduction
Based on the site visitation and our general observations, we have compiled all
information and data to write a report and to assess an overall construction management and
the process encompasses based on the option topic we selected. From the report we have
propose several solutions and preventive measurements to overcome any weaknesses of the
overall design and management skills. Moreover, we have also identified the strength and
weakness of the project, areas of opportunity for improvement, application and integration of
design principles to rectify or improve on current condition, opportunity of changing the
building to be more sustainable, and studied the requirement of building by law. Not only
that, we have further analyse whether construction can be sustainable adhering to the industry
practice.
3.0 Background Information

3.1 Project Brief

Select a building minimum 3storeys and no more than 5 storey high and identify the various
building defects. Proposed solutions and preventive measures to overcome further
deterioration.

3.2 Site Information

Figure 3.2.1 The Mines Shopping Mall


Source: https://nry.com.my/portfolio/the-mines/

- Architects: NRY Architects


- Location: Jalan Dulang, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 43300 Seri Kembangan.
- Was built in 1988
- Project Status: Completed and Operational
- Property type: retail
- Gross Floor Area (SQ FT): 1,257,085.98
- Size: 31,214 m² (335,985 ft²)
- Net Lettable Area (SQ FT): 716,804.96
- Owner/Platform: CapitaLand Malaysia Trust
- Located approximately 15 km south of Kuala Lumpur city centre and about 1 km east
of Seri Kembangan town centre, surrounded by numerous highways and expressways,
The Mines is easily accessible from all corners of the Klang Valley. It is a
contemporary shopping mall providing a one-stop shopping experience and houses
DigitaMart, the largest IT Centre in the south of Malaysia.

Features

Sky-lit atrium and a new entrance block for an existing shopping mall with a man-
made canal.

The canal is part of the larger attraction of a lake cruise on the former tin mines called
the North Lake and South Lake. It is reputedly the only mall in Malaysia with such canal
facility that connects both sides of the lakes, as well as a means of transportation for guests of
nearby hotels by the lakeside area.

The new mall owner, CapitaLand, has proposed for a major redevelopment of the
building that includes an additional 23,226 square metres (250,000 square feet) of floor area
on top of the existing 93,561 square metres (1,007,086 square feet). The expansion work has
created a new and fresh look of the mall internally and externally, thus strengthens the brand
image of the new mall owner.

One of the two main components of the proposal is the introduction of a new entrance
block that features a skylit atrium. The retail route has also been repositioned with a wet
playground created on the top floor, flanked by an array of F&B outlets. The new design has
transformed the mall imbued with simplicity and openness via the use of high glass curtain
wall and skylit atrium throughout the mall building.

.
Figure 3.2.2 Location Plan

Source:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Mines+Shopping+Mall/@3.0285941,101.7
169723,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x31cdcaae03d20ef9:0xa339f82aeb3c01e!8
m2!3d3.0285941!4d101.719161?hl=en

Figure 3.2.3 Site Plan

Source:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Mines+Shopping+Mall/@3.0285941,101.7169723
,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x31cdcaae03d20ef9:0xa339f82aeb3c01e!8m2!3d3.02859
41!4d101.719161?hl=en
3.2.4 Floor Plan

Source: https://alyasygsanda.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-mines-directory.html
3.2.5 Fire escape plan
Source: From Site
3.3 Building Usage Occupancy
The building usage occupancy is 78.2%. According to a report compiled by the
Malaysia Shopping Mall Association in 2020, the average annual occupancy rate in the
nation's shopping malls was 88%. (PPK Malaysia). According to the results of a survey
conducted by PPK Malaysia Shopping Industry, the monthly gross rental rate (per square foot
of net lettable area, or NLA) averaged RM6.73.
In the meantime, monthly mall expenses per square foot of net lettable area were estimated to
be RM2.50 in the year 2020. These expenses ranged from 27 Sen to RM5.77. Electricity,
water, insurance, marketing, sewerage, quit rent, assessment, and property maintenance were
some of the things that contributed to the costs. (Malaysia’s shopping malls See Average
Annual Occupancy Rate of 88% in 2020, 2021).
4.0 Geographical Information

Then Mines is located in Seri Kembangan, Selangor. The city is close to the equator,
which influences its climate with ample rain and warm temperatures ranging between 31°C
and 33°C throughout the year. Figure 4.1 shows the average maximum and minimum
temperatures in Kuala Lumpur throughout the months. Figure 4.2 shows the average rainy
days throughout the months. The temperature and rain affect the building which will be
discussed in this report.

Temperature

Figure 4.1 Average maximum and minimum temperatures in Kuala Lumpur


Source:
https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine,seri-
kembangan-selangor-my,Malaysia

Monthly Rainy Days

Figure 4.2 Average rainy days in Kuala Lumpur


Source:
https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine,seri-
kembangan-selangor-my,Malaysia
As shown in figure 4..3, there is a canal in the middle of the mall, connecting the
Mines North and South Lake. The Lake, formerly known as Sungei Besi mine was the
deepest open-cast mine on earth. The mine was shut down when the tin mining business
collapsed in 1980, and subsequent floods caused the lake to form. This plays a role in the
moisture level in the mall which will be discussed in the report.

Figure 4.3 Illustration of the surroundings of The Mines


Source:
https://traveloghort.blogspot.com/2013/08/pergi-ke-mines.html

The North-South Highway serves as a crucial link between The Mines and other major
highways, including Besraya, SILK, North-South Central Link, Damansara Puchong Highway,
KESAS, and MRR2.
5.0 Walls and Columns

PROBLEM ANALYSIS

The growth of mould can be found throughout the walls


of the mall, especially on level 1 which is closest to the
canal in the middle of the mall. This presents serious
health risks as mould can lead to respiratory issues,
skin problems, and headaches.

Causes
a) Humid condition
Moulds on the walls can be caused by humid
conditions and lack of proper ventilation. The
canal that is going through the mall causes the
air to be more humid; therefore, poses a higher
risk of having moulds on the walls.
b) Lack of maintenance
Moulds can be seen throughout the mall, this
suggests that maintenance is not done properly
Figure 5.1 Mould growth on and regularly, and the issue has been neglected
walls for some time.
c) Plumbing leaks
There may be damaged pipes behind the walls
which causes the build-up of moisture that leads
to mould growth.

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS:

a) Anti-mould paint
Due to the extra moisture in the air and the level of humidity, it is advised to add a
layer of waterproof coating or anti-mould paint on the walls. Anti-mould paint
works as it contains a mould-preventive chemical called benzisothiazolone.

b) Maintenance
Conduct regular check-ups and maintenance on the walls and hidden piping to
prevent mould growth. Carry out preventive and corrective maintenance to inspect,
repair and replace when needed.

c) Remove existing moulds on the walls


If the problem continues and the moulds are not removed, they will continue to
spread and can cause more damage. Using bleach or hydroperoxide-based products
have found effective in removing moulds.

d) Using the right materials


Bricks and concrete are porous materials which absorb moisture and create a good
environment for mould to grow. Using materials such as tiles or stones can help
prevent this issue. Adding a layer of sealer on top of the concrete can also prevent
moisture from being absorbed into it.
OTHER IMAGES:

Figure 5.2 Figure 5.3

PROBLEM ANALYSIS

Moss and mould growth on the wall at the fire escape


staircase. This causes serious health risks as mould can
lead to respiratory issues, skin problems, and
headaches. Further water leakage may also cause
damage to the building structure.

Causes
a) Plumbing leaks
Due to the severity of the moss and mould
growth, it is believed that the pipes behind the
wall are damaged; therefore, allowing water to
escape from the wall
b) Lack of maintenance
The severity of the moss and mould growth
suggests that maintenance work is not done
properly, and the issue has been neglected for
Figure 5.4 Moss and Mould on some time.
the wall c) Lack of proper air ventilation
This issue is located at the fire escape staircase
where it is quite dark without natural or proper
air vents for ventilation. This creates a good
environment for moss and mould to grow.

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS:

a) Maintenance
The severity of this issue calls for emergency maintenance, where pipes that are
causing water leakages need to be fixed. Since it is evident that this issue has been
ignored and neglected for some time, it is suggested that the management carry out
regular maintenance in the future to prevent issues like this from occurring again.
Having planned maintenance allows issues in the building to be noticed earlier and
proper fixing could be done as soon as possible.
b) Remove the moss and moulds on the wall
The issue of moss and mould growth needs to be tackled immediately as it can
spread fast and destroy the material it grows on. Iron-based moss control
treatments are quite effective at eliminating moss because they pull away moisture,
causing the mosses to dry out, turn black, and eventually die.

c) Proper air ventilation


There are air vents seen around the staircase area, but it is proven to not be
effective in controlling the moisture in the area. Building the fire staircases at the
side of the buildings allows the opportunity to have natural ventilation, which can
be more effective than using air vents.

d) Material used
It is unclear what material is used for the piping system but using the right
material can make sure that the pipes do not damage easily and last longer. For
example, using galvanised steel pipe. The lifespan of galvanised steel pipe is
increased by the protective zinc coating, which guards against rust, corrosion, and
the accumulation of mineral deposits. Galvanized piping materials also offer a less
expensive option than steel, offering rust-free defence for up to 30 years while
preserving equivalent strength with a tough surface coating.

OTHER IMAGE(S):

Figure 5.5
6.2.1 Warped Ceiling

Defect Analysis

Observation
The warped ceilings have been noticed during the site
visit.

Possible Causes
1. Building settlement
Movement or expansion in materials due to the
changes in indoor ambient temperature.

Warped Ceiling 2. Failure of internal components


It is reasonable to assume that some of the screws
supporting the ceiling hanger are loosed or aged.
Hence, the ceilings are not at an even level but in
warping and sagging condition.

3. Water seepage
Prolonged exposure to water such as water leakage
causes the plaster ceiling to be soft and sag.

Safety Risk
Collapsed ceilings can seriously injure the passing
occupants.

Proposed Solutions/ Improvements:

1. Identify the existence and location of the water leaks, fix it and replace the soft and
damaged warped ceiling with a new one.
2. Consult a professional to assist in the solution of the warped ceiling.

Other Figure(s):

6.2.2 Flaking Paintwork


Defect Analysis

Observation
The ceiling paint is peeling off over time. It was
found blistering and peeling off in either small or
large pieces throughout the ceilings on each floor.

Main Cause
- High moisture level
The occurrence of flaking paint is mainly affected
by the environment with high humidity and
condensation. The canal in the building raises
indoor humidity, which causes moisture build-up
Peeling Paint on Ceiling and leads to the blistering of the paint coating. As
a result, the layers of paint chipped off.

Other Possible Causes


1. Low quality of paint
Applied low-quality or expired paints will
result in poor adherence. Hence, the paint
cannot dry properly and stick well to the
surface of the material.

2. Thick coating
Too many paint layers on the surface cause the
coating to be heavy and fall off in pieces when
unable to support the weight of the layers.

3. Water leakage
Water leakage is happening on the above floor
slab. Therefore, the water that penetrates the
paint causes the layers to separate from the
surface.

Safety Risk
An excessive condensation environment will
stimulate the growth of mold and fungus, which
may be one of the root causes of blistering. The
mold and fungi can be a hazard to human health.

Proposed Solutions/ Improvement:

1. High moisture level


Natural or mechanical ventilation systems should be installed to reduce the moisture
level. Due to the canal, a large opening has been made in the building. It is therefore
recommended to install a mechanical ventilation system to help to control the airflow
and humidity. For example, the building can install more return air vent systems to
suck the humid internal air and return it to the air conditioning system. Eventually,
this system also helps in saving utility costs.

2. Low quality of paint


Apply high-quality paint that will last longer and be durable. Also, waterproof paint
can be used to prevent the presence of moisture from affecting the cracking of the
paint layer. For example, ‘Zinsser b-i-n’, one of the famous waterproofing paint is
recommended for application to interior ceilings. It blocks any stains and has a higher
adhesion to any surface. However, it is not intended as a ‘finish paint’ and may need
to be covered later with acrylic paint, which is also moisture resistant.

3. Thick coating
Prevent applying the coating with inadequate preparation work, and seek out expert
painting in applying the paintwork to prevent poor as well as wrong application
methods that will further lead to the failure in adhering the surface.
4. Water leakage
Instantly determine and locate the source of water leakage. Repair and fix it
according to the problems issued.

Generally, due to safety and aesthetic reasons, it is best to remove the old coat layer and
replace it with a new coating. Ensure the surface of the material is clean and ready for a
new coat of paint layer. It is not necessary to remove or repaint the defect, however,
continuous monitoring should be done to ensure that it is not caused by the water leakage,
which further leads to serious consequential repair. Therefore, authorities or management
should carry out maintenance regularly to ensure that there is no water leakage
happening on the above floor slab and ends up destroying the paint layer on the ceiling.

Other Figure(s):
6.2.3 Cracks in Ceiling

Defect Analysis

Observation
Straight ceiling cracks have been noticed in
the toilet starting at the downlight or the
ceiling mount ventilating fan.

Main Cause
- Poor installation framework
The cracks are mainly caused by improper as
well as poor installation of ceiling mounted
Cracks in Plasterboard Ceiling
services such as downlights and ceiling
mount ventilating fans. These services do not
conform to the given framework which leads
to cracking over time. Or the internal
components of the system degrade over time.

Safety Risk
Ceiling cracks that are not caused by
structural damage or run in a long continuous
line from ceiling to floor will not bring
significant harm to occupants or the building
itself. However, cracks can affect the
appearance of the ceiling and inadvertently
affect the effectiveness of building services.

Cracks in Gypsum Board Ceiling

Proposed Solutions/ Improvements:


1. Remove the old ceiling, readjust the frame size of the downlight and ceiling mount
ventilating fan, and finally replace it with a new ceiling.

2. Ensure the joint between the plasterboard is touched up in good workmanship.

Other Figure(s):
6.2.4 Moldy and Damp Ceiling

Defect Analysis

Observation
Damp patches are found on the ceiling along with
the mold. It mainly appears on the ceiling of the
ground floor, where the ground floor is a food
street and also close to the canal in the mall.

Main Cause
- Water leakage from the above floor
It is reasonable to assume that the defect was
Ceiling with Damp Patches and Mold attributed to a leak at the upper component. The
kitchen of the KFC store is located above the
ceiling which might lead to unintentional water
leakage. The moisture caused by the kitchen was
soaked into the ceiling through cracks or gaps.
Coupled with that, the environment is in excessive
condensation due to the canal next to it, which
gradually becomes a breeding place for mold
growth.

Other Possible Causes


1. Failure in the suspended ceiling plumbing
system
A suspended ceiling plumbing system
contributes to the fire sprinkler system during
the fire event. However, lack of maintenance or
failure in the plumbing system will then cause
water leakage as well as water accumulation in
the ceiling. Pinholes or cracks happened in the
suspended ceiling plumbing system will further
lead to mold growth either inside or outside the
ceiling if the water issues are not addressed
properly.

2. High ambient humidity but inadequate


ventilation
Since the location has s a lot of culinary
activities happening. Therefore, it environment
may be more humid. Coupled with that, poor or
inadequate ventilation will contribute to the
accumulation of moisture inside the building.
Eventually, condensation droplets accumulate
on the ceiling which cannot be properly drained
and will cause the mold to grow.

Safety Risk
1. Due to poor indoor air quality, occupants will
be at higher risk of experiencing health
problems such as respiratory infections,
asthma, and allergic rhinitis.

2. Water-damaged ceilings will collapse over


time if no remedial measures are implemented.
The added weight and stress of the water will
cause the ceiling to gradually sag and
eventually collapse.

Proposed Solutions/ Improvements:

1. Water leakage from the above floor


To solve the above issue, the cracks and gaps where moisture from the above slab
seeps to the below ceiling should be located and repaired. The gaps should be sealed
with good workmanship to prevent further leakage. Other than that, a good
mechanical ventilation system such as a kitchen duct system should also be installed
in the kitchen of KFC store to ensure the moisture is properly drained Consequently,
reduce the humidity level in the kitchen. A kitchen duct system would help to remove
the hot air and excess condensation from the kitchen.

2. Failure in the suspended ceiling plumbing system


- The failure part should be identified and fixed.
- Seek plumbers in repairing.
- Carry out regular maintenance to ensure there is no water seepage happening.

3. High ambient humidity but inadequate ventilation


- Install a better mechanical ventilation system that is able to drain the humid air from
the building to the outside.
- Allow more natural ventilation instead of continuously using the HVAC system
which causes the internal environment to be more humid.

Overall, to prevent similar issues occur excessively or frequently, it was suggested to remove
the damaged materials by replacing a new material that is more mold resistant. For
example, replace the current plaster ceiling with mold-resistant stone wool ceiling tiles. Not
only mold-resistance, but this material is also resistant to water and humidity. Thus, it is not
easy to destroy by the water leakage and high humidity environment. Besides, it is
recommended to install mold insulation such as fibreglass insulation in the ceiling to
prevent mold growth after water damages the material. Coupled with that, fibreglass
insulation is able to reduce energy consumption by mitigating the cold.
Other Figure(s):

Figure
6.2.5 Exposed Ceiling

Defect Analysis

Observation
During the site visit, ceilings without coverings
were found in some areas nearby the toilet
zone. All the structural as well as mechanical,
electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems are left
exposed in their normal colour and condition.

Exposed Beam Structure The exposed ceiling is found in sparsely


populated areas where people would not easy
to notice and discover it. Hence, it is reasonable
to assume that the exposed ceiling is intended
to reduce the overall costs.

Disadvantages
1. The unfinished appearance of exposed
ceilings can develop an unaesthetic
pleasing view. The poorly designed ceilings
may cause the materials to be damaged
easily, eventually shortening the lifespan of
the material.

2. Exposed ceilings require periodic


maintenance in terms of cleaning and
repainting to ensure a good appearance and
to secure the structural system in good
condition as it was exposed to the air for a
long time.
Proposed Solutions/ Improvements:

1. Frequent maintenance should be carried out to ensure the structural work is effective as
well as maintain the quality of the material.

6.2.6 Malfunctioning Sprinkler Heads

Defect Analysis

Observation
Numerous rusting sprinkler heads were found
on the ceiling of the public space.

Main Cause
- Exposed to air and lack of maintenance
An average lifetime of a sprinkler head is
mostly 20 years and this building is built over
20 years ago. Thus, the steel sprinkler heads
may have corroded due to daily exposure to
the air and lack of regular maintenance.
Corroded sprinkler head

Safety Risk
It might not able to function when there is a
fire event happening. Thus, it could not
effectively play its role in reducing the fire
spreading.

Proposed Solutions/ Improvement:

1. Remove the old sprinkler head and replace a new one.


Other Figure(s):
6.2.7 Performance and Maintenance Culture

1. Regular maintenance

Authorities or management should take initiative in checking the ceiling system regularly to
ensure there is no water leakage or any other serious problems undergoing. Water leaks usually
are the major problems or components that lead to ceiling damage. Hence, it is necessary to
check out the system within a certain time.
7.0 Fire Staircase

Appendix
Fire safety design is important and necessary in building nowadays to reduce the risk of
injury to users and the damage to the facility or building. There are few main aspects that
shall be consider:
1. Exit that can lead users escape as soon as possible
2. Materials performance
3. Fire detection and suppression
4. Fire protection measures
5. Smoke and heat exhaust ventilation systems.
From the site that we selected, we are mainly focus study on the defects and solution, fire
laws and regulation should be consider and the fire design applied in the mall. First, we found
that most of the fire staircase are facing the similar issue which been ignored by the
management office and lack of maintenance. We had interviewed the few of the janitors who
in charge of cleaning the staircase and the mall. They reflect that management office do know
about the issues but didn’t take any action on it and some of the defects might endanger life
in long-term.
The materials that applied on the fire staircase are metal and concrete in generally. For the
site that we selected, they are using concrete staircase for the lower part and metal staircase
for upper floor.

7.1 Metal Fire Staircase


Defects Analysis
The wrought iron has applied on the selected site for the fire
staircase, it might be due to few reasons compare with using
concrete staircase:
- Save cost
- Durability
- Easy to maintenance

Figure 7.1.1. Rusty Fire


From the site, we have observed that most of the metal
Staircase Handrail
staircase and handrails surface are rust, there are few of the
leakage part on the ceiling and some mosses on the wall
also. The problem that might occur on site which caused the
rusting problem:

1.Burst Pipe
The location of the staircase is mostly placed besides or near
the toilet which will cause mould wall due to the probability
of burst pipe.
Figure 7.1.2. Rusty Metal
Fire Staircase
2.Lack of maintenance
As we can see, they are applying the layer of paint on the
handrails when having the rust problem. But the paint can
only stay or long last from month to years only which need
to base on the site condition, normally need to be repaint
every two to three years.

Considered about the safety of users, the stairway hazards


might cause falls or broken due to rusty and lack of
maintenance.

Proposed Solution / Improve


a) Micaceous Iron Oxide Paints (MIO)
MIO (Micaceous Iron Oxide) paint prevents steel from rusting normally work as a
protection layer by a shiny barrier that protect against water and oxygen ingress,
UV light and degradation of steel surface. There are available to buy from Nippon
Paint and the price will be around RM120 for 5 litre which is economical solution
than other proposed solution. MIO paints also offer long durability and aesthetic
look.

b) Industrial coating or galvanizing


By applying a protective layer such as zinc to prevent the rusting, this solution cost
low due to require less manual labour to work, also will be long lasting and
aesthetic than the paint.

c) Materials replacement (Most expensive)


The best solution which is more durable compare with the other solution is just
replace wrought iron to stainless steel, there are few pros of using stainless steel
stair which it can be customise, easy to maintenance and having the high resistance
to the fire. It not even began to melt when the fire temperature reach to 1,400°C.
However, it cost high and require frequently to clean.

Even we had proposed few of the solution, but still needed the regularly checking to find
out the problem that caused humid condition to remove the problem from its roots which
can be maximise the ventilation within the stairwaysalso to maximise the function or
benefits of solution that choose to be apply.

Other Figures
Figure 7.1.3. Humid condition that caused the growth of mould on the stair wall.

Performance and Maintenance culture


The relevant department should always get alert for keeping the stairway in a dry condition
and work with the local authority based on the laws and regulation on fire safety. Other than
that, fix and maintain on time also essential for preventing the emergency happen.
7.2 Handrails and Steps
Defects Analysis
Handrails
The main function of handrails is to provide stability and
safety, especially when users escape and run in a rapid
speed and designed for children and the elderly. If there are
no handrails, or if they are not sufficiently secured, they
cannot help preventing falls.
Figure 7.2.1 Missing
handrails on one side
It falls might be due to:
1. Hit by the huge or heavy object
2. False installation

According to By-Laws 107, the mall should set handrails


on both side when the width of the staircase is over 1100
mm, which the staircase on the figure 7.2.1 is 2500mm.

Figure 7.2.2 Surface of step


Steps Surface
broke or crack in fire
Steps surface cracking or broke in concrete is one of the
staircase
serious problems that will adversely affect the building as
well as pose risks to building occupants. In addition, the
cracks are found to be occurring in the fire staircase. This
will subsequently cause a more serious impact on occupant
risk when there is an emergency event happening.

Might cause by:


1. Ground settling
2. Lack of maintenance
3. Hit by huge or heavy object

For the safety risk, we considered people will escape or run


in a rapid speed when emergency happen which might take
the wrong steps and caused the injured.
Proposed Solution / Improve
The solution for the handrails is the relevant department shall repair and reinstall by the
skill labour for preventing the false installation, also need to follow the standard of
handrails height that set by UBBL.
For the surface crack, the easiest way is repairing the nosing and reinstall the tiles.

Laws and Regulation

UBBL 1984 – By-Law 107. Handrails


(3) In building other than residential buildings, a handrail shall be provided on each side
of the staircase when the width of the staircase is 1100 millimetres or more.

(4) All handrails shall project not more than 100 millimetres from the face of the finished
wall surface and shall be located not less than 825 millimetres and not more than 900
millimetres measured from the nosing of the treads provided that handrails to landings
shall not be less than 900 millimetres from the level of the landing.

7.3 Fire Door Issues


Defects Analysis

Fire door been blocked


Fire door should be always accessible to allow people
escape from the building as soon as possible when fire
happening. But we found that few of the fire door has
been blocked by the sundries and caused the door can’t
fully open. The landing area also stored few of the items
that cause people can’t easily accessible.
Based on our observation, we found that there are no
storeroom or janitor room to store all the sundries.
It might cause the problem of:
1. People kicked and falls
2. Fire door can’t fully open that caused people
can’t escape in sufficiency way

Fire Door Falls


Figure 7.3.1&2 Fire Door been We found that one of the fire door has fall down and
blocked by the sundries blocked the accessway which means this fire stairways
has been abandoned.

Fire door often damage caused by:


1. Holes and breaks
Fire door often see increase damage due to trolly,
malicious push and other equipment. Wood doors
tend to see more damage than metal doors which
might deform caused that door can’t fully close to
Figure 7.3.3 Fire door fell delay the spread of fire.

2. Fire rated hinges break


Fire door might hit by heavy object that caused
hinges loose or breaks.

For the Safety problem, we afraid of it might cause


people to get injured by blocked the access way when
fire happening and increase the risk of users can’t escape
sufficiency.
Figure 7.3.4 Difficult to push
the door
Difficult to push the door and Fire door’s hardware
broken
When we going to access the stairway, we found that we
can’t push the door easily which even need us to hit the
door by using our shoulder to force it open. Based on the
UBBL, the fire shall be easily accesses and open it
without any effort by the users. In addition, we found
that this problem might be due to the damage of the
components on the door so caused door can’t function
very well.

Figure 7.3.5&6 Fire door’s Safety issues that might occur:

hardware broken 1. Procrastinates the escape time by trying to open


the door when fire happening

2. Fire Door can’t work functionally which might


not block the fire

The problems above are not only occur in one stairway


or fire door, but there are also occur on most of the
stairway with different kind of problem. At this point, we
assume that the relevant department has not regularly
checking or plan to repair it after we did the interview
from the janitor.

Proposed Solution / Improve

Fire door been blocked


Provide a janitor room that near the toilet to store all the equipment.

Fire door falls


a) Having regularly checking and maintenance on time to make sure the quality and
function of the fire door.
b) Repair and replace the door with better quality and durable materials.

Difficult to push the door and Fire door’s components broken


The relevant department should take attention on all the problem occur on the fire
components, should having regularly monthly check and repair to prevent emergency
happen. Besides, we think that local authority having responsible on it. They should have
spot check on all the elements that related to the fire safety and set the laws and regulation
for who didn’t get maintenance to receive the penalty for ensure the safety of users. In
addition, local authority should encourage any user that report actively to the relevant
authority department when see any misconduct to monitor the all the department.

Laws and Regulation

UBBL 1984- 173. Exit doors.


(1) All exit doors shall be openable from the inside without the use of a key or any special
knowledge or effort.
(2) Exit doors shall close automatically when released and all door devices including
magnetic door holders, shall release the doors upon power failure or actuation of the fire
alarm.

UBBL 1984- 164. Door closers for fire doors.


(1) All fire doors shall be fitted with automatic door closers of the hydraulically spring-
operated type in the case of swing doors and of wire rope and weight type in the case of
sliding doors.
(3) Fire doors may be held open provided the hold open device incorporates a heat
actuated device to release the door. Heat actuated devices shall not be permitted on fire
doors protecting openings to protected corridors or protected staircases.

7.4 Accessibility height issue


Defects Analysis
Most of the upper floor stairways are occur the same
problem which the access clearance height is not reach the
minimum 2.1 m. We did some measurement on site, and we
found that there are only 1.7m access height from the
ground to the beam.

The reason of the problem occur that we assume:


1. Miscommunication between the architect and the
Figure 7.4.1 The error of the engineer when design and construct
placement for the beam 2. Error had been ignored occur on paperwork
3. Construct an error beam at wrong location

For the safety risk, we are afraid that users will get injured
when escaping in a very rapid speed which normally users
won’t notice about the barriers in a panic mood by hitting
their heads or falls.

Proposed Solution / Improve


Based on the research, consulting and discussion with tutor and teammate, we think that
there are few of the way can overcome this issue:

Before applying the action mentioned below, our suggestion to the mall at first is should
stop using the fire staircase from now to prevent people get accessibility to the place that
might cause injured.

1) The relevant department/ authority / architect should redesign the stairways


circulation to the measurement and standard or find another possible access way in
the stairways to construct by consulting local authority and professional team for
maintain the use of Fire staircase without abandon it.
2) Contact engineer, architect and professional team cooperation together to redesign
the position of the beams by without affect the function and let it move upwards to
achieve 2m minimum height for people access.

Other Figures

Figure 7.4.2 The extra place that cant be use due to the failure of the placement for beam

Laws and Regulation

UBBL 1984- 46. Height if rooms in other buildings.


(1) In building other than those specified in the preceding provisions of by-laws 44 and 45
the height of rooms on the ground floor shall not be less than 3 metres and on any floor
above the ground floor shall not be less than 2.75 metres.

(5) The height of any verandah-way shall be not less than 3 metres.

7.5. Smoking in fire staircase


Defects Analysis
When we across the fire staircase, we can smell
strong cigarettes smells on the stairway and they did
provide the ventilation system for discharge the
smoke when accident happen. However, there are
also sticked the no smoking sign on the wall to

Figure 7.5.1 No Smoking Sign prevent people smoking on the fire staircase.

paste on the fire staircase Because it might be due to the safety risk:

1) Might cause fire happening


2) Ventilation Problem occur on stairway
3) Smoke detectors

However, we found that smoking is banned in some


of the area based on Control of Tobacco Products
Regulations:
Figure 7.5.2 &3 Found cigrattes
a) Hospitals/Clinics
butts on the staircase floor
b) Airports
c) Public Fire Staircase/Lifts and Toilets
d) Air-Conditioned Restaurants
e) Public Transport
f) Government Premises
g) Educational Institutions
h) Petrol Stations
i) Internet Cafes
j) Shopping Complexes
k) Private Office Spaces with Central Air-
Conditioning
Fire staircase purpose is providing an escape way to
let people escape from the fire that happening inside
the building and block the fire by the fire door. But
for now, there are some people smoking inside the
staircase (most probably labour inside the mall),
which might cause the fire happening inside the
staircase and cut off the way of people escape.

Proposed Solution / Improve

Relevant department need to be more actively and strictly to control and carry out the
rules that set by the Control of Tobacco Products Regulations.
1) Install CCTV inside the fire staircase
By installing CCTV inside the fire staircase, relevant department can stop the
behaviour on time and can find out the suspect if accident happened inside the
stairways.
2) Strictly Punishment
Relevant department should give strictly punishment to the labour that caught by
making mistake (Fine or Fire) to provide a warning to other labour.
3) Redesign the ventilation system and ensure the fire components are working
well.
This action can stop the fire growth on time and lower the damage that might cause
by the fire.

Laws and Regulation

Control of Tobacco Products Regulations 2004 - reg. 11, P.U. (A) 324
Impose a fine of up to 10,000 Malaysian Ringgit (RM) (about US$2,444) and up to two
years of imprisonment on anyone caught smoking in a prohibited area.
7.6 Ventilation Problem occur
Defects Analysis

For the problem that mentioned on 7.1 and


7.5, the ventilation system is the main
concern part occur on the staircase. Based
on site visitation and mentioned on the 7.5
analysis, even they got few of the

Figure 7.6.1 Ventilation system existing at ventilation system can’t help to disperse the
stairs now smell of cigarettes and we even found the
cigarettes butts inside the ductwork (Figure
7.6.3).

We feel hot and stifle when using the


stairways because lack of the ventilation
inside stairway, it might cause:
1) Carbon monoxide poisoning
Figure 7.6.2 All located on the side wall 2) Failure of pressurization systems

The mall should consider enhancing the


natural and mechanism ventilation on the
stairways to prevent the failure of
pressurization system on the staircase.

Pressurization System is means of exterior


pressure and interior stairs pressure are
difference which will cause the fire to get
inside the stairways.

Improve the ventilation system, either


mechanism system or natural ventilation can
help to reduce the moisture level and
disperse the strong smell on cigarettes for
daily use.

Proposed Solution/ Improve

1) For the fire staircase that near the external which contain final exits can according
to the floor plan to coordinate with the architect to design the opening such as
windows to maximise the natural ventilation and can provide natural skylight.
2) For those fire staircase located on the middle part, the mall can design the
mechanism ventilation for reduce the moisture level of overcome the mouldy
problem on stairs.

Laws and Regulations

UBBL 1984-198. Ventilation of staircase enclosures.


(1) All staircase enclosures shall be ventilated at each floor or landing level by either
permanent openings or openable windows to the open air having a free area of not less
than 1 square metre per floor.

(2) Openable windows shall meet the operational requirements of the D.G.F.S. (3) In
buildings not exceeding three storeys above ground level, staircase enclosures may be
unventilated provided that access to them at all levels except the top floor is through
ventilated lobbies.

UBBL 1984-202. Pressurized system for staircases.


(d) where the mechanical system to prevent smoke from entering the staircase shall be
automatically activated by a suitable heat detecting device, manual or automatic alarm or
automatic wet pipe sprinkle system.

Other Figures
Figure 7.6.3 Cigarettes butts found inside the ventilation system
8.0 Absent of Underground Analysis

Figure 8.1 Analysis on Why the Building Don’t Have Underground Basement
The Mines was constructed beginning in the late 1980s on the site of what was
formerly the largest open cast tin mine in the world. The site had a giant hole in the ground
that was two kilometres long, one kilometre broad, and 200 metres deep. After mining
operations came to an end, the pit was eventually filled with rainwater, which resulted to the
formation of two lakes.
In comparison with the other shopping malls in Malaysia, The Mine could not have
underground basement carpark due to its topographical terrain as the former mining site. One
of the main reasons was due to its location near to the lakes and higher water level
surrounding the site. Hence, it was not suitable to have a basement carpark. Moreover, as the
former mining site, the shopping mall was built in between the two lakes. The soil conditions
of the ground tend to absorb water from the lakes and thus became softer for building the
foundation. In general, the construction cost for basement carpark under such conditions
would be difficult and enormously high. Thus, elevated car park levels above ground would
be more preferred.
Furthermore, the existing ground level of the site was lower than the existing
incoming main access road level. Hence, it would be more sensible to design and construct
few access ramps connecting the existing road to the lower floors as carpark with natural
cross ventilation. This design was chosen to adapt to the existing site conditions and to reduce
the construction cost. Please refer to the illustration of the sectional sketch diagram as per
attached.
9.0 Roof

Appendix
There had been a reconstruction in 2011 with the primary objective of increasing intake of
natural lighting into the building. Before the reconstruction, there was only a small skylight
that allows natural lighting to penetrate through but after the reconstruction, 500 m2 skylight
was implemented to allow more natural lighting to penetrate the building. Additionally, while
maintaining transparency, a partial print pattern on one foil layer creates shade for improved
climate management.
Before Reconstruction After Reconstruction

9.1 ETFE Glass as Skylight Materials


Defects Analysis
The ETFE glass is high performance sustainable material
suitable for all types of climates. It doesn’t require much
maintenance due to it low friction coefficient which prevent
dirt and dust to stay on the surface; even if there were dust
on the surface, it can clean the outer surface by itself from
rain.

1. Indoor Temperature Issue


ETFE is a very transparent material where a single of foil
allows around 88%-95% of natural light to penetrate
through. From our research and observation in the highest
level of the building, the skylight should have only one
layers of ETFE because we experience an increase change
in temperature as we stood underneath the skylight which
ETFE glass Skylight system reduces the user’s comfort level which can be seen in figure
A where each store booth is mounted their own individual
fan even though the building is ventilated using air-
conditioner.

In addition, during our survey of the building we have notice


there are a repeated circular silver shape on the ETFE glass
shown in Figure B. The silver pigments are printed onto the
glass to reflect the solar radiation from the sun to increase
comfortability of the interior space and the efficiency of the
reflection of solar radiation depends on the layer of foils and
shape design of the silver pigment.

Proposed Solutions/Improvements:

1. Without changing the entire Skylight system to another material or another type of
roofing, Extra layers of ETFE glass can be added onto the existing ones to increases
the number of silver pigment stacking over which increase the reflection of solar
radiation. With this method, the building would have a reduce in heat gain and UV
radiation thus improving the comfort level of the interior space.

2. To reduce heat gain for better comfort level, the silver pigment of ETFE skylight can
be replaced with ETFE glass with a sombra of 70% silver pigment. It increases the
proximity of silver pigment with each other and increases the number of silver of
pigments in one panel which increases the reflection of solar radiation while the
interior of the building being able to receive natural light.
Other Figures:

Figure A Figure B
9.2 Aluminium Roofing issue
Defects Analysis
From our observation, the roof consists of aluminium
roofing with the repetition of skylight panels and
aluminium roofing at the centre of the roof. The use of
aluminium has its advantages such as environmentally
friendly, cost effective, corrosion resistant, etc; but it has
its own disadvantages.

1. Material Damage from Climate


The first disadvantage of using of aluminium roofing
sheets has a higher expansion from heat gain which would
create damage and tear around the nail hole. Malaysia has
a tropical climate which consist of mostly hot sunny days
and monsoon days thus making the aluminium sheets to
expand and shrink as day passes causing the nail hole to be
Aluminium Roofing Sheets further damage.

2. Galvanic Corrosion
The second disadvantages would be galvanic corrosion.
The moisture in the mall is higher due to a lake circulating
within the mall which causes the rust to occur within the
interior metals. As shown in figure A and B, the metal
trusses are corroded thus making it slowly losing its
strength and stability as the rust increases to support the
roof above. From the same figures, it can be seen that the
aluminium sheet has no rust due to galvanic corrosion
making the metal trusses to corrode even faster.
Proposed Solutions/Improvements:

1. An alternative is to replace aluminium roof with Steel roof. Steel roof are
recyclable, higher weather tolerance and has similar advantages as an aluminium
roof, but the cost of steel roof is slightly lower than aluminium roof.
2. The metal trusses can be replaced with Timber trusses. Timber trusses are highly
flexible and versatile, there are various interlocking design which can be recycle or
reuse after the building reach its building lifespan and the trusses can be connected
to existing steel beam. Furthermore, timber trusses have high insulation which
helps to keep the interior space to stay cool and comfortable.
3. Another option would be laser rust monthly, annually or once half a year to prevent
remove any rust on the material and reapply a layer of Acrylic paint or Standard
paint with an extra layer of water repellent solution.

Other Figures:
Figure A Figure B

9.3 ETFE Glass Study


The ETFE glass is a new form of sustainable material as an alternative option towards
transparent cladding. It has a lot of environment benefits such as recyclable material, natural
lighting which reduces the use of artificial lighting, environment control due to its ability to
reflect the sun’s radiation and installation of ETFE glass is much faster and easier compared
to transparent cladding or glazed glass systems.
The durability of the material is extremely durable and long-lasting because it doesn’t
get affected by UV light, Pollution, climate weather or fungi due to its transparency. Due
those factors, the material doesn’t discolouration or aging like other glass which turns grey
due to dust or yellowish from UV light. In addition, the maintenance needed for the material
is as low as none needed because it’s a self-maintenance material which can be cleaned by
rain. If the client chose not to deflect the UV light from the natural light, silver pigment
within the can reduce to allow the transmission of UV light and increase visible light of
penetrating the interior space. Just like any other material, there is a life expectancy. For this
material, the life expectancy approximately 20 – 25 years.
The material can be used for any unique form of design due to its flexibility to be
moulded into any kind of shape thanks to the material properties and characteristic which are
high tensile strength, tearing resistance, excellent light transparency and low in flammability.
From its flexibility comes elasticity, ETFE is very thing and lightweight but strong which act
as a very recommendation to be used for the building’s envelope system. Its weight is lighter
than the weight of the volume of air the interior building contains but due to its elasticity it
can flex and remain undamaged if there were a build-up pressure of air The standard sizes of
an ETFE glass can be changed to suit the client design regarding on the shape, size,
illumination, and transparency.
Other benefits of ETFE glass are its acoustic insulation. Due to the glass being
lightweight and thin, the sound created from the occupants or users within the interior space
of the building are not reflected into the interior space causing more noise or echo. The sound
passes through the ETFE foil towards the exterior void or space.
The last benefits of using ETFE is Solar control. The material itself are added with
silver pigment to reflect solar radiation; the silver pigment can be customised by graphic
pattern or colours varying from light, medium and dark. The pigment is chosen to be silver
colour is due to the factor that silver compared to all the colours in the colours spectrum is
better at reflecting solar radiation. The thermal performance also varies between the client
request of the number of ETFE foil layer per panel, Proximity, and size of silver pigment
between on foil. As the ETFE foil increases and the Proximity of silver pigment increases,
the higher the thermal performance thus not allowing the exterior temperature to interfere
with the interior temperature therefore temperature control of the interior space would be
more efficient and successful.
10.0 Flooring
Appendix

Any architectural design must include flooring since it has the capability to make or
break a room. The first physical contact a person will have with your area is with the flooring,
even if our first encounter with a space is visual. It provides the framework for your design and
ultimately has an effect on how successful it is.

It is essential to choose a flooring option that complements the design style you have
chosen. Flooring is one of the most often used surfaces in our homes, thus it must resist constant
use without losing its sublime beauty. Given the numerous flooring options available, it is
simple to get carried away and overlook the practical considerations that need to be made.

The most crucial quality a good floor should have is waterproofness. Water won't
penetrate into the floor's sublayers and cause it to grow and bulge over time if the flooring is
properly waterproof. Additional benefits come from being water resistant. The floor is simple
to clean. Wet floors and spills are easily cleaned with a mop. This indicates that the floor is
also simple to maintain. This will not only maintain the floor's quality and look, but it will also
make the floor more affordable over time.

When choosing a type of flooring, the ability to prevent slips is particularly crucial.
Particularly for the young and elderly who are more prone to slipping and falling, it helps to
keep the user safe. Indoor air quality is also improved by a decent floor. Long-term health
problems will result from floors that emit smells. It is essential that the flooring always
maintains a high standard and is secure for users.

The mentioned characteristics are important and fundamental to a decent flooring. But
when we had our site visit, we found that the flooring at The Mines still have some issues need
to aware as it will affect the safety of customers.
10.1 Floor Tiles Cracking
Defects Analysis

Main Causes

10.1.1 Cracking Floor Tiles

1. Kids train with heavy load.


- The floor tiles are designed for resisting human
live load. The moving heavy kids train will cause
the scratch and crack of the floor tiles.

Other Possible Causes


- Changes in load, temperature, and humidity.
-Unexpected loading such as Kids train, a sudden
temperature changes due to some accident, and low
humidity cause the tiles become more fragile.
- Installed on improperly spaced joists.
-Hiring unskilled worker and reckless worker.
- Cracks in the concrete substrate.
-Improper way to construct concrete slab such as over
vibrate during concrete pouring and cause the surface
layer of concrete slab become weaker.
- Heavy item being dropped on them.
-Heavy and sharp item drop from a high place may
cause the floor tiles to crack.
- Can be a sign of a foundation issue.
-The failure of foundation causes the floor tiles crack
gradually.

Safety Risk
- When water leaking reaches supporting structures, it
can cause serious and expensive structural damage.
- Cause an injury to the customer's foot
- Damaged tiles can lead to even more damaged tiles
before long.
Proposed Solutions/Improvements:

- Replace it with new tiles, ensuring that the replacement tile matches the original in terms
of size, shape, colour, and material.
- Apply glaze to the cracked surface to fix the cracked tile. Although the cracked tile won't
look better after using this technique, it will be filled and protected from further harm.

Other Figures:

Figure 10.1.2 Worst Tiles Crack


Figure 10.1.3 Poor Workmanship on Floor Tiles
10.2 Floor Tiles Lifting
Defects Analysis

Main Causes
- Improper Reinstatement of floor
- which means the last booth owner did not reinstate the
floor level properly and follow back the original level of
floor tile of the mall.

Other Possible Causes


1. Swell with high moisture absorption
-Due to high humid environment, causing the floor
loses its strength and collapse.
2. Using poor quality bonding agent
Figure 10.2.1 Lifting Floor -Worker uses poor quality and unsuitable bonding
Tiles found on beside Food agent to fill the tiles.
Stall

Safety Risk
- May cause people susceptible to falling and hurting
- Damaged tiles can lead to even more damaged tiles
before long.

Figure 10.2.2 Inappropriate


Surface of Floor

Proposed Solutions/Improvements:

- Apply the epoxy along the crack, allowing it to seep down into the gap
- Replace it with new tiles, ensuring that the replacement tile matches the original in
terms of size, shape, colour, and material.
10.3 Slippery / Moisture Floor Tiles

Defects Analysis

Main Causes
1. Lacking maintenance.
-The project run out of budget will cause the
maintenance being ignored. Non-skid floor treatment
should be applied to avoid tragedy happen.
2. Poor ventilation on fire escape route cause higher
humidity.
-The higher the humidity, the slipper the floor.
Figure 10.3.1 Lacking
Maintenance of Floor Found at
Fire Staircase Landing
Other Possible Causes
1. Using wrong cleaner or polish detergent.
-Applying cleaner and polish detergent will aggravate
the slippery of the floor which may cause tragedy
during the fire.

Safety Risk
- Danger for the user if a fire occurs
- Cause an injury to the customer especially
accidentally fall

Proposed Solutions/Improvements:

- Install Anti-Slip Floor Coating make the floors have additional friction it needs to stay
safe to walk on.
- Make sure the humidity in the staircase area is not too high so that the floor will always
maintain dry condition
- Regular maintenance also need to make sure by certain department of the shopping mall
so that the safety of shopper was protected
- Wipe away the slightest sign of moisture on your floors at once.

Other Figures:
Figure 10.3.2 Mould Growth of the Concrete Floor

Figure 10.3.3 Watering Surface of the Floor


Performance and Maintenance Culture
1. Clean spills right away
Ignoring stains simply makes them worse. Spills can be kept to a minimum and the
floor can be protected by swift clean-up. Keep stains from drying out on the floor. It
might leave a permanent stain, which is compounded worse by dirt accumulation that
adheres like fly tape. Regularly sweep and mop the floor. Quickly eliminated dirt is
prevented from grinding up on tile's surface. Be thorough and consistent. The job will
be simpler because dirt won't want to linger around if you sweep and mop more
frequently.

2. Suitable Cleaner Agent


Check with the floor manufacturer for recommendations on what kind of cleaner to use.
Some of the cleaners may burning through the dirt but can damage your floor in the
process. There will be better to choose a brand that’s environmentally conscious.

Sustainable Design
1. Biodegradable Linoleum Tiles
Linseed oil, wood flour, pine resin, and eco-friendly colours are used to make linoleum.
It is available in a variety of colours and can be carved to make ornamental motifs. It is
a wonderful ecological flooring option because it is biodegradable, warm underfoot,
and strong.
11.0 Laws and Regulations on overall performance on site

11.1 Fire Exit Door

Figure 11.1.1 Fire Door connect directly to exit are open all the time

Figure 11.1.2 Panic bolts fulfil the require height and width
Figure 11.1.3 Manual Fire Door

Exits doors is mean by the door that connected directly to exterior, and we found that
the exits fire door located on the mall ground floor level is open and accesible for users all the
time. But based on the laws and regulation, even the sign they put on the door also mentioned
that door should be closed all the time. We assume that the fire door need to be open
manually which doesn’t install the automatic components so they just keep the door open all
the time.

UBBL 1984- 164. Door closers for fire doors.


(1) All fire doors shall be fitted with automatic door closers of the hydraulically spring
operated type in the case of swing doors and of wire rope and weight type in the case of
sliding doors.
(2) Double doors with rabbeted meeting stiles shall be provided with co-ordinating device
to ensure that leafs close in the proper sequence.
(3) Fire doors may be held open provided the hold open device incorporates a heat
actuated device to release the door. Heat actuated devices shall not be permitted on fire
doors protecting openings to protected corridors or protected staircases

UBBL 1984- 186. Exit doors in places of assembly.


(1) All doors used by the public as exit doors from any part of the place of assembly or
leading to the open air, shall open only in the direction of exit.

(2) In place of assembly all exit doors and doors through which the public pass on the way
to the open air shall be without lock, bolts or other fastenings while the public are in the
building: Provided that doors used for exit only may be fitted with panic bolts.

(3) Panic bolts fitted to doors in a place of assembly shall be not less than 750 millimetres
or more than 1100 millimetres above the floor.

11.2 Sprinkler

Figure 11.2.1 Fire Detector and Sprinkler


The sprinkler and fire detector are rust and broke on the site, the details part are
explained on the analysis part of 6.2.6.

UBBL 1984- 228. Sprinkler valves.

(1) Sprinkler valves shall be located in a safe and enclosed position on the exterior wall
and shall be readily accessible to the Fire Authority.

(2) All sprinkler systems shall be electricity connected to the nearest fire station to provide
immediate and automatic relay of the alarm when activated
228. Sprinklers systems. Sprinkler systems shall be designed and installed in accordance
with MS 1910.

11.3 Fire access way

Figure 11.3.1 Access Road

Figure 11.3.2 Breeching Inlet provided on access road


Figure 11.3.3 Fire appliances access requirements reference picture 1
Source:

Figure 11.3.4 Fire appliances access requirements reference picture 2


Source:
Based on the laws and regulation stated, the access road should provide fire pumps
and breeching inlets for fire fighter and the minimum width is 4.5 m, minimum clearance
height is 4.5 also. (Figure 11.3.3 & 4) Based on site visitation, the width of access road are
reach to 10 m and the clearance height is over 7m. ( Figure 11.3.1 & 2)

UBBL 1984-140. Fire appliances access.

All building in excess of 7000 cubic metres shall abut upon a street or road or open space
of not less than 12 metres width and accessible to fire brigade appliances. The proportion
of the building abutting the street, road or open space shall be in accordance with the
following scale:

Volume of building in cubic meter Minimum proportions of perimeter of


building
7000 to 28000 one-sixth
28000 to 56000 one-fourth
56000 to 84000 one-half
84000 to 112000 three-fourths
112000 and above island site

11.4 Exits Sign

Figure 11.4.1 “Keluar” Sign been thrown at the floor

Figure 11.4.2 Normal Exit Sign


Some of the exits sign just random throw on the floor and for those exit sign still hang
on the wall is fulfil the requirement of measurement on UBBL 1984-173 (3).

UBBL 1984- 172. Emergency exit signs.

(1) Storey exits and access to such exits shall be marked by readily visible signs and shall
not be obscured by any decorations, furnishings or other equipment.
(2) A sign reading "KELUAR" with an arrow indicating the direction shall be placed in
every location where the direction of travel to reach the nearest exit is not immediately
apparent.
(3) Every exit sign shall have the word "KELUAR" in plainly legible letters not less than
150 millimetres high with the principal strokes of the letters not less than 18 millimetres
wide. The lettering shall be in red against a black background.
(4) All exit signs shall be illuminated continuously during periods of occupancy.
(5) Illuminated signs shall be provided with two electric lamps of not less than fifteen
watts each.
12.0 Conclusion

Since the development of The Mines in 1988, refurbishing and reconstruction have
taken place but there are still issues that have yet to be solved. Throughout the report, various
hazardous issues observed at the mall have been analysed and proposed solutions for future
maintenance or prevention of further damages have been given. This report is divided by the
defects observed in different building structures, all of which are structures above ground.
These structures include floor, roof, ceiling, staircase, walls, and columns. Notably, sustainable
designs were minimal since it was not popular back when the mall was being developed. Hence,
various sustainable design solutions have also been proposed for the mall. Lastly, after some
research the question “why is there no basement in this mall?” has been answered.
13.0 References

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EnviroVent Ltd. (n.d.). Do anti-mould paints really work. EnviroVent Ltd. Retrieved
December 1, 2022, from https://www.envirovent.com/blog/do-anti-mould-paints-really-
work/
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problems-how-to-fix-them/

Holmes, J. (2021, May 1). Types of floor and wall cracks and what they mean. Extreme
Epoxy Coatings. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from
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mean/

How to kill lawn moss and keep it gone. Moss Out!®. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2022,
from https://www.mossout.com/killing-moss-tips/how-to-kill-lawn-moss-and-keep-it-
gone

Januaries, F. S. (2015, October 1). 15 causes of peeling paint on walls and ceilings.
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McCain, T. (2021, May 7). Tips for maintaining your tile floors. Coles Fine Flooring.
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for-maintaining-your-tile-floors/

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compare? MEP Engineering & Design Consulting Firm. Retrieved November 23, 2022,
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from https://www.clmt.com.my/mines.html

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14.0 Learning Outcome

14.1 Group Learning Outcome

Our group consists of 6 members which are from 3 different studios. We all take
different subjects and have different timetables. This causes issues where it is difficult to match
our timing for meetings and site visits. We would try to meet every week to check on our
progress and make sure that everyone is doing their part and are on track with the scheduled
timeline. The initial meetings were done online but we realised that it is not efficient as not
everyone would speak up and give their input. We overcame this problem by conducting our
meetings physically. We agreed that meeting at night after classes worked best for everyone.
Having the meetings physically helped us in having better discussions as we were more open
and felt more comfortable.
Even though finding a specific time when everyone was available to go for site visits
together was a little difficult, some made compromises and we were able to go for two site
visits together. The first site visit was during the first week of classes when we just got the
assignment brief. We went and did the initial survey to look around and understand our site.
We also took pictures of the defects we found while we were visiting the mall. After the second
tutorial with Ar. Ong, we realised that we still needed more information from the site to look
deeper into the defects found and the cause of it. We made sure that we got all the information
and pictures needed to continue with the assignment. The second visit was more efficient as
we delegated specific tasks, and everyone was clear with what they needed to do.
Another problem we faced was the initial delegation of tasks. We initially assigned our
tasks based on topic. For example, one of the members would do the introduction and
conclusion, another on the background information, and another on the defects found in the
building. We quickly realised that it was unfair as some tasks were more difficult than others.
We then agreed to change the way we assigned our tasks and divided them into structural parts.
For example, one of the members would do research on the defects found on the walls, another
on the ceiling, and another on the staircases. This new method of delegation of tasks allows all
members to have an equal number of tasks and a similar level of difficulty.
Overall, we were able to work together efficiently as a group. We were bold in voicing
out problems and were not shy to ask for help when needed. We also made sure that we were
not only focused on the tasks delegated to us but also read through and understand what the
other members did. We would also ask questions and give suggestions to other members
whenever needed. The tutorial classes with Ar. Ong were also very beneficial for us to be able
to complete this assignment. We believe that this assignment has allowed us to have a deeper
understanding and made us more interested in learning this subject.
14.2 Self Learning Outcome

14.2.1 BEATRICE YONG MENG HUI

During the process of this assignment problems and challenges have been faced, but it
is also the reason that I was able to learn and improve. Being part of a group meant that proper
communication among teammates is essential for this assignment to be completed. As a group,
we would conduct a meeting at least once a week to check on the progress and make sure that
we were on track with the schedule made. We would try to meet physically but there would be
instances where certain members could not attend physically due to transportation or family
issues. To tackle this problem, we would have a hybrid meeting where members who could not
attend the meeting physically would join online. We would make sure that everyone
participates in the meeting and is active in coming out with ideas and asking questions when
needed. Something to note that was done well by the group leader, Khoo Sze Xean is that she
would write down and send the group minutes to the WhatsApp group, making sure that
everyone was clear about what was discussed in the meeting. Writing down the minutes of the
meeting is also beneficial to everyone as there would be evidence in black and white in case of
miscommunication.
Another issue that came up at the early stage of the assignment was task allocation. The
initial method that we distributed the tasks when we first got the assignment brief was by topic.
After the first site visit and the first tutorial session, we realised that some members were doing
more than others and quickly changed it. It was good that we realised this issue earlier and
were able to amend it. This is another example of the importance of communication among
group members. Group members were bold enough to voice out about the issues faced and
discussed to be able to complete the assignment efficiently.
Other than that, I think it is important to learn from other subgroups too. During the
progress checking in lecture classes, listening to the presentation done by other subgroups help
me take notes and learn from what is done right and improve from what is done wrong. Seeing
the progress of other subgroups helps me make sure that I am on the right track and if I am
behind, I should buck up and finish my tasks on time. When we were focusing on the defects,
it was pointed out by Mr Leong that something another subgroup has done well was to observe
the layout of the building, the fire escapes and not just the defects.
Additionally, I find myself learning more by going to site visits and attending tutorial
classes. During the site visits, I was focused on finding the defects in the building. This helps
me to be more observant and I was able to notice things that I would not have if I went there
without the purpose of trying to complete this assignment. I was able to learn about the
importance of the materials used and the elements of construction and how it affects a building
in a long run. For example, the use of metal as a material for staircases in a high-humidity area
without proper ventilation will cause the staircase and railings to become rusty which poses
safety issues. This teaches me to be more aware in the future when designing a building to not
only think about the aesthetics but also the functionality. The use of materials in different
climatic conditions can have different pros and cons; hence, research should be done properly
in order to find the right materials to design a safe and functional building. Another thing I
learned from the site visits that stood out to me was the importance of communication between
architects, engineers, and contractors. We noticed that the height between the fire staircase and
the ceiling does not fulfil the minimum of 2.1 meters. We believe that the calculation and
placement of the beam were incorrect which resulted in this issue. This shows how important
communication between architects, engineers, and contractors is important is the issue is a
threat to the safety of occupants.
Having consultations and tutorial classes with Ar. Ong has also helped me have a deeper
understanding of this assignment and this subject in addition to lecture classes. I am able to
learn more than what is taught during lectures. One thing that stood out to me during a tutorial
class was that the cost of building a basement is 3 times the amount of building a floor above
ground. This topic was brought up when we were discussing the reason why The Mines does
not have basements. Although it is believed that the main reason for not having basements is
the water table, as there is a canal running through the mall, learning about the cost of building
basements was also interesting. I believe that information like this is normally acquired by
working in the industry and this shows how important it is to talk and learn from someone that
has experience working in the industry.
Overall, I have learned a lot by completing this assignment, from the importance of
communicating and working as a group to paying attention to my surroundings even if it is not
for a site visit to complete an assignment, and also learning from tutors and lecturers as they
have more experience and knowledge.
14.2.2 KHOO SZE XEAN

Throughout this assignment, I have learned and benefited from various new things.
Working in a team is not easy since it consists of individuals from different intellectual
backgrounds and personalities. Therefore, communication is crucial. Good and effective
communication can help us to achieve desired outcomes in the end. Initially, the first hurdle
we face was that our online meeting was too silent that most of us did not intend to speak up
initiative. Therefore, to tackle this problem, we changed to conduct our weekly meetings from
online to physical and it turns out that communication is more effective and efficient when
discussing the project or sharing ideas with each other.

I have learned quite a lot from the group members who would share their ideas and
thoughts during the meeting. For example, one of the team members, Liew Yin Ping, initially
organized all the information about government policy and shared it with us. Hence, I am able
to have a better understanding of the information and the way to apply it to the building. In
addition, I have also learned a lot from other subgroups. During the class sharing sessions or
when sharing information with other subgroup members, I was able to ensure that our group
was on the right track and if there was any room for improvement in our group report. I learned
that not only buildings with a lot of defects are suitable or recommended for study, but a
building with fewer defects could also be a good learning topic. A building with few defects
can inadvertently focus on why the building has fewer defects and how the management
department maintains and services the building as not being damaged by any external factors.

Another hurdle we faced was that, after communicating with other subgroups as well
as our group members themselves rise out about the task allocation issue, we found out that
our method of assigning tasks was poorly distributed across our group. Initially, we allocated
according to a short simplified focused list given by our lecturer, Mr. Leong. But later we found
that this method will cause some members to lack the opportunity in discovering more
knowledge in structural related issues. In this case, we then changed our task allocation so that
each member had their own research section and was able to gain in-depth knowledge related
to construction technology along with the government policy and also the environment that
will impact the issues.

Other than that, site visits also help to develop my observation and critical thinking
skills. During the site visit, we were to find the defects in the building. We need to be observant
when finding the issue and need to think deeply about the purpose of this design as well as the
reason that causes the problems to occur. Additionally, we discussed the problems with each
other to get more understanding or ideas about the issues related. This then helped me to gain
a lot of knowledge regarding the construction technology issue that I might not be able to learn
from the textbook but was useful in life. For example, I can try to avoid related problems in
my future design. Coupled with that, this could save a lot of troubles in the cost and manpower
unintentionally due to less repairment needed.

Furthermore, the consultation that was held with Ar. Ong every week also helps me in
gaining more understanding about the issues in terms of the defects on the cause and solution.
Ar. Ong will share the information and give us some guidelines to discover the cause of the
defects and how we can address the defects without providing general answers such as only
regular maintenance. One could be said that the lectures and tutorials made me think deeper
about the questions rather than just finding the answer directly from the website. There may be
many kinds of answers which should be analysed according to the situation but not simply
applied. For example, the building we chose for our study had many deficiencies that were
mainly due to humidity and condensation issues. This is because of its environment with a
canal and lakes next to it. Therefore, the deficiencies in the building in terms of material are
mainly affected by this problem and should be addressed accordingly instead of simply
repairing and replacing with new ones. The root cause should be solved to prevent the same
issues from rising over time.

Overall, this assignment helps a lot in developing my knowledge in construction


technology as well as my interpersonal skill. By completing this assignment, I learned how to
analyse the defects and analyse the problem. Also, understand the importance of
communication and cooperation between the group.
14.2.3 LIEW YIN PING

At the beginning of the project


14.2.4 NATASHA HA

- Lectures are given really loud and clear.


- After taking this class, i have understand building construction and know in which
situations to apply them.
- I can identify situations in building construction issues and know to apply and
describe the proper actions to take in response to them.
- Able to understands the new concept of every lecturer topics that are being taught.
- In terms of groupmate measures performance, I am able to know and share the
knowledge on what we learned in a real-world situation.
14.2.5 WONG JUN XIANG

From this assignment we have faced few issues as a group. The first issue we have
faced is the timing of site visit and meeting schedule. Due to our group having 3 members
from studio 2, 2 members from studio 3 and 1 member from studio 6, we have different
subjects and timetable which clashes with each other reducing our option of time
arrangement of our meeting and site visit. There are also some members who doesn’t live in
Sungai Long and doesn’t have their own transportation therefore they have to go home right
after their classes have ended. For this issue, our solution for this issue is to have meeting in
during the night in hybrid mode around 10pm or 11pm so ensure everyone are able to
participate in the meeting is free of classes and unforeseen family issues, other group meeting
or assignment as a result leading to no misunderstanding or miscommunication issues; For
site visit, we allocated the time on either Saturday or Thursday after our discussion with Mr.
Ong allowing us to have a clearer understanding on what we must account and analyse in the
site. I have learned to organise my time schedule towards the benefits of the group rather than
the benefits of myself.
For our second issue is the allocation and distribution task. At first, we have separated
the task according to the method of the brief where one member would take building
information, one member take the geographical information and so on but we soon realise
that the distribution of work is somewhat unfair where some part are more difficult thus
needing more time on research and explaining as if 2 to 3 members are focuses on the content
and objective of the project while the other 3 act as support. In addition, with this method of
task distribution, only members with task regarding on the content would have an in-depth
understanding of the project and research done so we decided to change the method of task of
distribution after realisation. We have distributed the task according to the building element
such as ceiling, floor tiles, roof, etc. With this method, everyone has the opportunity to
analyse and research on the building; some building elements have relation with each other
thus implying that the members have to work together which helps the communication and
teamwork between members.
In this assignment where I have been distributed with the task of surveying and
analysing the building’s ceiling, I have understood and learned a few things. The first is the
renovation of the ceiling, the ceiling a skylight implemented into it during the renovation due
to inadequate lighting during both daytime and night-time as a solution but as they have
solved the issue of lighting, they have created another issue on the indoor temperature and the
user comfort level. From this I have understood that even if a solution is proposed, the
solution might have overcome the initial problem, but it might create another issue to be dealt
with.
From this issue, it leads to the second thing that I have learned which is the ETFE
glass. They have used ETFE glass for the skylight which is a sustainable material that is able
to reflect solar radiation depending on the layer of silver pigment and the proximity between
the pigments within one panel of glass; in addition, no maintenance is needed due to its
material properties and characteristic allowing itself to be clean through natural weather such
as wind and rain. Through my research, I have found that the ETFE glass only uses one layer
of silver pigment which leads to a higher indoor temperature at the upper levels of the
building which we have experience and observed during our site visit. During the site
visitation, I was unsure what was the cause of the issue and thought it was mainly caused by
an imperfect design of the ventilation system but soon I have soon realised that was not the
real cause. After understanding ETFE glass, which was the main cause of the issue, I have
learned few options of solution to target the problem without removing or redesigning the
entire skylight system.
To conclude from what I have learned throughout the project. I have learned to be
more effective at tackling the assignment through a clear and well method of task distribution
and how to organise my time to allow my assignments to collide with one another. In term of
construction technology, I have learned how to find the main cause of defects rather than
guessing through observation only and providing a solution to target the issue; and through
understanding the material, I have learned a new type of sustainable material.
14.2.6 WONG YEW QUAN

First, I am grateful for this opportunity to be able to take part in and have a deeper
understanding of construction technology through this assignment. From this project, I know
more about how a real architect needs to observe on a particular building in the practical life
of architecture. Participating in this assignment has taught me to be observant and be more
aware of my surroundings. As an architecture student, learning should not be in the classroom
but everywhere we go.
I realised that site visit is a very crucial process for us to observe the building. This is
because when we locate on site, we will directly know what issue happened to the building.
When we move on with group, we can even discuss issues of the building. Sometimes we need
to find out the reason why some problems will be occurred in the buildings. So, site visitation
is a very important process in this project.
For my own report writing, it was fun to explore and gain knowledge about the flooring
in The Mines. In the very beginning, I thought that the floor tiles were broken or damaged. It
must be related to the quality or the material of the floor tiles. But after doing a lot of meeting
discussion, tutorial sessions and research. I realised that sometimes the floor has issues that are
not always related to the quality of the tiles. Sometimes it may be caused by the environment
of the surrounding area (changes in load, humidity, and temperature), unprofessional worker,
cracks in concrete subtrate and may be a sign of foundation issue. Besides, I also know that
problems with floor tiles may affect the safety risk of the occupants in the building. I would
also like to discuss with group members and AR Ong to discuss the action to be taken to prevent
the similar issue happen in the future.
Moreover, I also learnt a lot of things from my group members. They are doing research
on other topics such as walls, ceiling, and fire staircase. During the site visit I realised that the
main issue with the wall and ceiling would be the mould growth. After we discussed it with
AR Ong and discussed with our group members, we are very sure this issue is caused by the
humidity in The Mines. The Mines shopping is designed with a pond which causes the humidity
to be very high and causes there to always be more mould growing anywhere in the buildings.
During every week meeting among my group members, I also learnt how the fire staircase
plays an important role in a building. The fire staircase is done by Karen, she said that the fire
staircase in The Mines had a lot of problems, such as the fire staircase missing handrail, the
fire door was hard to push forward, the back of the fire door was blocked by things and other
problems. During tutorial sessions, AR Ong will always explain to us what will happen to the
occupants in The Mines if the fire occurs such as the evacuation route will be blocked due to
the lack of maintenance of the respective people of The Mines. I also learned how to apply the
UBBL by laws in the coming semester, especially in Fire Regulations.
In a nutshell, I am thankful that I have improved myself in terms of communicating and
applying practical knowledge about construction technology. This is not just individual
learning as I also learnt a lot from my peers. The things we do as a team, the practice of making
mutual concessions made this project go well till the very end. I would like to express my
gratitude to Mr. Leong and AR Ong. This experience is a steppingstone for me towards a better
self.

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