Derick CHAN

handbook

28/01

Meeting with my teammates for the first time, discussing the theme of presenting our topic "WINNING A PROJECT" and work distribution. Also, we have done a self-introduction video within our group. I think it was a precious chance for us to understand the background and interests of different groupmates and a reflection on our 2-minutes video, how can we represent ourselves efficiently within 2 minutes to let the future boss or HR understand and remember you? And what kind of information should we include in the video is a big consideration!

04/02

Part 1 Sharing from the first group, the topic is "HOW TO BECOME A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT". I find it more difficult to become a landscape architect than I have imagined after the detailed introduction from team orange, it is time to rethink my future career as well while I am still frustrating about rather work as a landscape architect and a spatial design in the future, it will be a difficult challenge for me to jump out of my comfort zone to try new things in this discipline. I love the way how team orange is presenting and explaining especially the engagement part, maybe our group’s presentation can learn from them.

Part2 Ringo from Earth Asia sharing session, he talked about the structure of his company and the projects they have been done before. It is a valuable session for me as I didn’t work for a landscape firm before.

11/02

Part 1 Sharing from the second group, the topic is “WHERE DO YOU WORK?”. This session is talking about a wide range spectrum of the possible workspace we can work for in the future, including mainland China’s companies and Hong Kong ones. I think becoming a landscape architect as soon as possible is everyone goals but I think I am the exception as I don’t think I have the ability to become one yet, I think I still need more time (Maybe 3-4 years) to absorb knowledge and experiences from different projects as I have never work in this industry yet. But I am confident in myself I can overcome all challenges in the future! Part2 Ringo from Earth Asia sharing session, he talked about the job duties of his company and a tour inside his company. Two interviews with a senior landscape designer and one with a MLA graduate landscape designer talking about their duties and the advantages of working in Earth Asia.

18/02 No class

25/02

Part 1

Sharing from the third team, working on “ARE YOU THE BOSS?” about setting up an office and the difficulties of running a company. There are interviews from 5 different companies which gave me an insightful understanding. There are some remarkable question raise by the bosses, they are

1. Is office space necessary in today’s situation?

2. How to keep a good connection with clients?

3. Finical issue of the company

Setting and running an office is not an easy task definitely and we shouldn’t start a company in the early stage of our career as we don’t have enough experience to bear the responsibility of maintaining and ensure the benefits of the staffs

Part2

Mini quiz 1

04/03

Part 1

Sharing from the fourth team, the topic is “DEVELOP OR CONTROL”. This season is talking about the process of a development project especially focus on different kind of assessments, including OVT, TPRP, HIA, EIA, etc. I think this informative presentation allows me to have a better understanding of the complicated process of completing a project or even a small change on-site, we can always design what we want in our academic design projects, but there are a lot of constraints in the reality, there is a lot of processes needed to go through by different department. In our future practice, there are a lot of knowledge and experience needed to gain to complete a real project!

Part2

Mini quiz 2

11/03 An early interview opportunity from LWK partners. A different set of question regarding to landscape professional practice have been asked during the interview, but I can only answer very few of them. I think it is a shame as I cannot demonstrate a good understanding to the employer. I must work harder to understand that knowledge! On the other hand, I think my design skill is an advantage as I got a design background, maybe I will consider working for a more design-driven company in the future! I am always hoping to work overseas in Europe so I have started to learn German! Hope my dream will come true someday!

18/03

Part 1

This session is our team’s session! Our topic is “WINNING A PROJECT”. Our theme is a game show which asks both audience and our teammates to pass information to our classmates! I think we got a good response from all of our classmates and I think we need a big shout out to my teammates as we have finished our task effectively. If we have a second chance to improve our work, I think the explanation part can list out in a more detailed way and the engagement part can also be improved!

Part2

Visiting the office BLEND which is a small firm, they explain difficulties in handling projects with limited resources, also the biggest challenge “TIME”! Although there are plans that set at the earlier stage of the project, there always uncertainties that happen all the time, just like our thesis! We always plan to do a lot of things for the final, but we should always work effectively by selecting the right things to do and don’t waste time!

25/03

Part 1

This is the sixth sharing session by the green team, the topic is “ORGANIZING A PROJECT”. This is an excellent presentation in the clarity, presentation style and attractive animation create by them.

This team gave us a detailed explanation of the procurement process and design & built process. It is a super informative present that takes time to digest! I would keep this presentation in mind and learn from their creativity in the future! Part2 Mini quiz 3

01/04

Part 1

This is the seventh sharing session, the topic is “AWARDING A PROJECT”. This session is talking about tendering such as the documentation, drawings and contract etc. It explains the difference and importance of different process. I think the presentation style of this group is pretty straightforward while I personally prefer a more playful presentation style which makes the atmosphere more lively! But I have to say it is a very clear presentation! Big thanks to the Pink team!

Part 2 Visiting the office Urbis, the dream firm of most landscape architect in Hong Kong. They have introduced the SENT project which is the long term planting scheme for the landfill in Hong Kong. Before the introduction, I never know there is such effort needed to change and maintain the landfill to green space, can’t wait for next online on-site visit!!

08/04

The on-site explanation of the SENT project gave me a better image of how a ongoing project looks like, how a landscape architect/ designer involve in this kind of restoration project, not just sitting inside the office draw madly haha! I am looking forward to work on that kind of project which contribute to the environment in the future!

15/04 HIRE ME!!! The main dish of this course!! It explains how important a cover letter and CV in the application process, a lot of people are sending the same cover letter for all application while it should be tailored according to different job nature and background of different company. We try to exchange ideas with our group-mates and learn from other groups, I think it is a crucial moment in this course!

22/04

This is the last session! A peer assessment form has set up to evaluate our groupmates contribution which I think is a good chance for us to reflect also on myself during the semester! First of all, I have to say thank you to my groupmates, who work hard together in a tight schedule, Although the outcome might not be perfect at that time, it is always a useful experience for our future. Our group is getting along quite well as we all keen to listen to others opinion and work out a plan which all of us agree on at the end of the day. During the interview session, we share our view along this course. I think the covid situation is a very crucial opportunity to change our working mode, maybe it is a turning point of the while industry no matter working and studying.

17/05

Thesis Final Review Finally Finally! It’s time to review my work! The feedbacks from all guest critics are super useful, one of them pointed out my argument is not strong enough as I didn’t look into the relationship between heritage and commerce. Another guest pointed out the positioning of the project can be more related to the site and the community, not just acupunctures but a whole system! It is a very good opportunity to get feedback from fresh-eye people! More work has to be done! Thank you Barry for leading this insightful course letting us reflect on ourselves!