back on the horse

Just in case anyone was wondering – yes, we’ve been back for a week now!  By the way, Happy New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone!  Hope your festive season was safe and well.

We’ve had a busy past week mainly to do with restructuring and re-evaluating where we stand in the industry after we’ve just celebrated our 10th anniversary in December 2016.  This then informed us of how we want to work and what we want to focus on moving forward.  During the hiatus, I’ve had time to contemplate where I’d like to take Gerry Kho Architects and the ideal way we’d like to practice architecture [physically + philosophically] as well as how the ‘practice’ will more intensely intertwine with the creative, design, development and construction aspects to what we do.

I’ll continue with my teaching role at Curtin University this year – a role that I enjoyed immensely last year.  Teaching is a way that I ‘pay it forward’ and to educate the future generation of architects – to instill in them not just knowledge but values i.e. the meaning of quality, rigour and pride.  And yes, I know I sound Howard Roark-ish…

That’s all for now.  Keep your eyes on this website for more updates throughout the year!

GK

happy festivities!

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year!  May 2017 bring us good health, success, prosperity and happiness!

A reminder that our firm will be on leave from today till Monday 30th January 2017.  Any packages can be delivered to PO Box 1389, Booragoon WA 6954.  As I’ll be away in the Amazon, I’ll have limited access to the internet and phone reception but if urgent, I’m reachable on my mobile on +61 403 980 117 or email to gk@gkarchitects.com.au.

Stay safe + take care of each other

GK

10!

Today is a milestone for Gerry Kho Architects.  We’re quietly celebrating our 10^th Anniversary!  That’s right – we’ve been around for a decade!

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our past and more current team members for their contribution to the vast range and number of projects both completed and currently progressing.  My heartfelt thanks to the team members [and you know who you are!] who have become good friends whose dedication, hard work and loyalty meant more to me than you’ll ever know.  And also, thanks for putting up with my nonsense and eccentricities all these years.

I’d personally like to thank the current and past clients who have treated us and our profession with respect, paid our fees and made the journey worthwhile.  And no thank you to the despicable few, who have taught me valuable lessons and sharpened my legal knowledge.

Thank you to the competent contractors who have worked with us.  Those not-so-competent contractors – thank you for trying anyway.  We hope you’ve learnt a few lessons about quality and integrity from working with us but I will not apologize for my blunt opinion of your poor quality and incapability because my words got the job done at the end.

Thanks to the consultants whom we’ve worked with over the years.  Some of you guys have serviced our projects since the beginning of this practice.

Thanks to one particular supplier and friend [you know who you are!] because on the very day that I started this firm, he was the only one who took me seriously enough to drive all the way to my place [which was quite a distance!] to drop off catalogues where I was working in the corner of my tiny bedroom with just a laptop and printer and a few dollars to my name!  Thank you for the years of collaboration and many hours of conversations.

For those who are reading this, thank you for visiting this website and reading this blog.  The work showcased here are only a small fraction of what we’ve created over the last 10 years.  This website does not express the blood, sweat, tears, time, stress, late nights, sleeplessness, headaches, heartaches, commitment, sacrifices, discipline, heartburns, moments that initiated untimely bowel movements and resilience that went into not only this firm, but each and every single project that emerged out of this studio.  Also left unseen are our hands-on approach and provocation – we’ve challenged councils, consultants, contractors, tradesmen and others involved in the process so that we can deliver a project that we can all be proud of as a team.  And not one person who has been involved in the process with us can deny this fact.  What you see are only the results.

This is just the beginning.  The last decade was just practice and sharpening our swords.  We’ll journey through the next chapter – prepared and ready to create more wonderful architecture, meet new characters, make more allies, fight more enemies, slay more dragons and basically writing more stories.

Thank you

GK

silly season!

Greetings Earthlings!

With Trump winning the US presidency, I’m now in need of some time off to figure out what the hell is going on around here??!  Both candidates shouldn’t even be in the running in the first place so my head is sore from the absurdity!  It is like watching a painful Jackass video where you just think ‘who are these idiots?’ and the more important question – ‘why am I watching this??’!  And should I be laughing or crying?

Seriously though, in preparation for the weeks ahead, we’d like to let everyone know that our office will be on hiatus from Friday 23rd December 2016 and we will commence again on Monday 30th January 2017.  Of course, that depends on whether the world is still orbiting around the sun then!  Or will that change too??  Anyway, if anyone of you want to see me before I go hide in the jungle to retain my sanity, you still have time.

As usual, any urgent emails can be sent to gk@gkarchitects.com.au .  I’ll have limited access to the interwebs or the telephone but will try to attend to emails when I can [I was serious when I mentioned that I’ll be in the jungle].  Those who can still afford to send things by post or need things delivered to us, please send to PO Box 1389, Booragoon, WA, 6954.

That’s all for now.  I think I need a drink…or several.  I probably need to start praying too and take up a religion now that apocalypse seems to be the next major event coming up.

with humour,

GK

as well as being a racist, trump is also an ass to architect/s…no surprise

When the presidential debate in the US is placed under the ENTERTAINMENT section of the news, you know that something is very wrong with this blue ball.  Anyway, my political opinion aside, here is a link to a piece about an architect being screwed over by Trump:

https://www.fastcodesign.com/3064121/the-architect-trump-screwed-over

Unfortunately, this kind of behaviour by clients is common in our industry globally.  Yours truly was a victim of such malpractice before and I’ve learnt my lesson.  This kind of unethical and despicable behaviour by unscrupulous individuals and corporations is especially prevalent in this bleak economic climate.  If the allegations are true – I feel for the Architect, Andrew Tesoro, mentioned in this article who had to take it up the ass because it would cost too much to take legal action against Trump, who no doubt knew that the architect had little resources to enter a legal battle.

The gentlemen’s way of doing business is seemingly a dying practice.  When both parties benefit from an agreement/arrangement [i.e. one party gains from being provided the service and the other party gains from being paid for providing the service] is the ideal and objective business scenario.  Where there is a winner and a loser and where the game is won through breaking an agreement, that is no longer business – that’s a swindle!

heads up!

Greetings, Boys and Girls

Just a heads up – you may notice some minor changes to this website and our letterheads soon.  I’ve been tinkering on our corporate branding including our firm’s logo [as well as the logos of our other business arms – GKA Products and GK Property Developments] to mark Gerry Kho Architects turning 10 this year.  We’ll journey into our second decade with a fresh new look.  So keep your eyes on this site!

GK

ronald mcdonald house winner of mba awards!

On behalf of our team, we’d like to congratulate Doric Contractors for winning the Master Builders Awards for Best Multi-unit Development Over $20M!

kick start semester 2!

Orientation day for final year Masters students was today.  I’ve introduced the new Professional Practice unit to the students and it was well received…I think they were just pleased that I’ve managed to remove the examination at the end of the semester! :)  The classes officially start on Monday.  I have 5 thesis students to supervise this semester and I’m unit coordinator, lecture and tutor for the Professional Practice unit.  Yayy for me!

So if there are any of my students reading this – my tip?  Get as much sleep as you can over this weekend because there won’t be much of it over the next few months!  But remember to enjoy these last 5 to 6 months of your university career and I hope that you look back on it in the future and realize that these were in fact – great times!

semester one 2016…complete!

So semester one is finished [at Curtin University anyway] with exams rounding it all up.  As many of my clients and colleagues know, I began a part-time gig at Curtin University architecture school as a unit coordinator, lecturer, tutor and then quickly becoming a supervisor to four dissertation students as well.  This whole ‘being an educator’ thing was as much as a surprise to me as it is to many!  I mean, who would have thunk it…Gerry a lecturer??  Donald Trump running for President?  What the f@#k is going on around here??  Frankly, it wasn’t something that I planned on doing and it just landed on my lap suddenly and like how I treat many things in life – I just gave it a go.  What was more surprising was that [yes, I’m going to say this] I actually enjoy teaching!  And for those of you who are still in shock, yes it is true and here is my staff profile as evidence:

http://oasisapps.curtin.edu.au/staff/profile/view/Gerry.Kho

So do you believe me now?  Anyway, it has been a blast so far.  And I’m locked in for next semester.  I’m forming up a super innovative outline for the Professional Practice unit so if you’re one of my students in that class this coming semester – GET EXCITED!!  I can’t reveal anything yet but I can say that it’ll be interesting, very very educational and if everything is given the stamp of approval by the ‘higher ups’, no other universities have anything that comes close to this teaching method and/or outcome.

Also, I’d like to congratulate my students who managed to survive the semester so far, especially the final year Master students.  Rest well…because you may not get the chance again in semester two! muahaha muahahahaha *strokes invisible white cat*