A great reason to get into architecture is because you love to design something from nothing. A poor reason to get into architecture is because you love to build something from bare materials, not to say craftsmanship doesn't exist but it's rare you get the chance to be a craftsman.
Growing up I always enjoyed the building of something from a few bare materials. If we didn't have something we'd make it, the joy of having created something and then it becoming a tool, a piece of furniture, a cubby house or even damaged car to new car was extremely rewarding.
A worrying trend in Architecture is a growing majority of architects solely dream of the end design of a building with varying levels of understanding of how it's actually pieced together. The Design and Construct contract or the handing of the design over to another party to worry about how it's pieced together has become common place, typically due to economics, local laws and mitigating risk. The hands on experience and understanding of creating something from materials is fading.
In my frustration of drawing lines that might become buildings, I set about trying to find a place where I can design and make something, anything, to satisfy my urge to create. A workshop of some description is all too common in Australian backyard sheds, but in Singapore, they are few and far between. I was told by a friend of a workshop in the industrial area of Tie Seng run by the owners of Home-fix DIY hardware stores, I had found my new playground for the weekends.
I designed a shelf, something I need in my small flat in Chinatown, and I spent 6 Saturdays sourcing materials, measuring, measuring... measure once more, cutting, testing, cutting, making jigs, staining and gluing, clamping till finally I had my shelf. I learn't a lot of lessons along the way and I've noted some of those lessons below.
Finding materials and good suppliers here in Singapore is a mammoth task. You can't just go to your local Bunnings and pick up everything you need. It typically takes a few stores that have varying (usually low) quality materials and tools.
I chose to make the frame of my shelf from a new bamboo composite flooring material, it had a nice grain and feel to it, but it turned out to be an enormous drama. The compression of the bamboo and the resin holding it all together made an extremely soft material into an extremely hard material. The Mitre Saw blade would warp, fill the entire room with smoke and struggle at cutting a straight line. If you're looking to build a bomb shelter to protect your family from future zombie attacks I'd highly recommend using a bamboo composite. For a small shelf for your home, don't use it!
Cutting a mitre edge is a lot harder than you'd think, especially with such a hard composite timber. Don't forget also your saw produces a waste side and a pretty side, as shown above.
Router Jigs are important to cut with mm precision. This can be quick to make, or take a lot of time.
I had the genius idea to interlock every piece. It was a worthwhile exercise, I learn't try not to put a joiner / mill-worker through interlocking timber together unless absolutely necessary.
The housed joints made a simple project take a very very long time, they look cool though.
The mitre idea worked, how pretty it looks.
Fitting and testing prior to staining and gluing. 0.02 mm precision was necessary to create snug fitting joints.
The final glue up! Practice this if you want perfect results. If's easy to add too much glue or tighten the claps too hard, the result is you have a lot of messy glue to clean up which is near impossible to clean off 100%.
The final product. I had my friend Basir Amir help me take some final photos and transport it home.
The rum fits!
The overall aim of this project beyond giving me a place to store my rum was to get an understanding of how hard or easy it is to make something in Singapore. The workshop was great, but with limited opening hours outside of work hours it's hard to do anything fast. The supply and quality of materials can add it's difficulties to the process, however over time you build an understanding of where to buy and the logistics in moving things around Singapore, it can get expensive if you're not organised.
Another thing to note is much of the time taking to build such a small shelf is, measuring, checking your measurements, securing your materials while cutting and making jigs to ensure you get everything perfect. Saftey, testing and attention to detail is parmount to getting a great result while keeping all your fingers.
After going through the process of building one piece of furniture I came to the understanding that I wouldn't build a one off again. Lessons learnt, the jigs created and tha material costs really mean you should make 10 of whatever it is you want to build.
I haven't built anything since, but it reignited my passion for creating things and reminded me just why I got into the Architecture and the design industry.
