Ar Melvyn Joachim Kanny – A Sonnet Of Forms

A Sonnet Of Forms

Every architecture project undertaken by Ar Melvyn of MJ Kanny Architect starts with questions that address the essence, fundamentals, and starting point of any project. Delving into the origins allows Ar Melvyn to create works with astounding results.

THE EARLY YEARS

Back in high school, teachers would organise a career talk for students, where most of this career advice and options are given based on an individual’s academic qualifications and their strengths. Very rarely do teachers and parents ask a child where their interest lies and that is something architect Melvyn Joachim Kanny can relate to.

Born in a charming old tin-mining town in Perak called Taiping, Melvyn explained that the Malaysian education system from way back when has always focused on scoring as many A’s as possible and securing a professional career instead of pursuing one’s passion. The path to securing a professional career is through academic excellence and because of the deep seated notion, the creative sphere is often neglected.

“Though I have always been the artistic one in the family, I wasn’t able to pursue it the way I would have liked to, because like many parents back then, mine too thought a better future would await me if I spent many hours
memorising and regurgitating textbooks instead of following my heart and interest and I don’t blame them because back in the days most Malaysians were from a poor background and the only way out of poverty and to better oneself was through academic excellence. After Sijil Rendah Pelajaran (Lower Certificate of Education), I entered the Science stream and took Art as an additional subject because I was passionate about it,” recalled Melvyn.

While he doesn’t practice the same principle on his three children, Melvyn doesn’t regret the past because he understands that his parents wanted the best for him and his three brothers and luckily for him, he grew to love architecture and the challenges that come with the profession.

THE JOURNEY

Taking a walk down memory lane, Melvyn recalls that his journey in architecture began when he received a scholarship from JPA – applying for architecture as his first choice and civil engineering as his second, Melvyn was fortunate to be given his first choice. He was off to Bartlett College, University College of London to complete his degree for 3 years and thereafter to South Bank University for his post graduate studies.

“I opted for architecture because of my inclination towards arts and it was also something more structured which was perfect due to my science upbringing. I was lucky architecture is unique in that manner, where it allows me to flirt in both faculties, said Melvyn jokingly.

“Heading to London for my tertiary education was exciting but at the same time it was hard because the way knowledge is learnt and consumed is different from how it is back home so for the first year it was a struggle but eventually I caught up and it got better. The course was long and took me almost seven years to complete it but it was also very rewarding because I gained so much from my time as a student in London – i studied architecture from one of the world’s leading institutions, became a well-rounded student, developed independence and even managed to backpack to some parts in Europe when the opportunity presented itself,” recalled Melvyn.

“As an architecture student, the hours were punishing and I to this day; I think we had it tougher than the medical students because to complete one simple drawing, it takes days. There is a lot of thought process that goes into the drawing of a building, because what we draw is what gets built and if there is a mistake, it can’t be fixed after it’s built. When it comes to design, I demand perfection from myself and the team because as architects we have the mammoth responsibility of keeping the occupants within the building safe so it is always better to be perfect and careful,” he said pensively.

THE DESIGN ETHOS

While Melvyn is a self-confessed traditionalist who prefers penning his design ideas the old school method of using a pen and paper to allow the ideas to flow better, there is nothing traditional about his design ideals. Describing his work as progressive architecture, Melvyn explained that most of the times, his approach to design is subject to many elements and one of it is the site recce. Melvyn expounded that in many instances the site provides him with many clues such as shape of the land, topography, features of the land, the view, and general environment. Equipped with this knowledge, he then takes the client’s brief to heart to design a draft which can veer between radical, crazy or subdued.

“Designing a home is always fulfilling because not only is it a personal in nature but every project differs from the other which makes it exciting for me. The brief usually gives me an insight into who the clients are and what makes them tick and this becomes my navigating factor,” explained the 53-year old. “often times, I like to draft a design that provides the shock factor because it pushes the client to the limit before we scale it down – this way our design can still be aggressive but they’re more accepting to it. But again, how far we push the envelope rests solely on our clients and what they are comfortable with,” said Melvyn who has been practising the trade for 27 years.

An advice he would give to all architects – upcoming or otherwise is if the client is married, be sure to speak to both husband and wife to ensure the design idea is something both the husband and wife agree on, as there are many instances he has between the couple where the wife doesn’t like the design. He stressed that it is imperative for an architect to listen to the couple and marry differing ideas into an aesthetically pleasing space – an art Melvyn has perfected over the years.

Melvyn believes that for architecture to move forward it needs to be progressive. Undoubtedly, architects learn from vernacular design and traditional buildings but according to Melvyn, there is no point in copying and repeating what’s been done before but it is imperative as an architect to take the vernacular designs and apply it in a contemporary manner similar to what he has done with the Funnel House, located in Planters’ Haven in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.

Designed for an adventurous couple who are both engineers, who wanted to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. The site was on a slope opening up to a vast landscape and from the roadside, it appears unassuming with a small frontage due to its funnel-like shape which opens up to the garden behind. Melvyn and his team proposed a simple single storey house that ‘floated’ on the landscape with a tunnel-like entrance that opens up to the garden as one enters the house. This was done to create a dramatic unravelling of the house towards the vast landscape beyond and it was designed with green initiatives infused into the concept. The Funnel House won the PAM Silver Award in 2019 and also been published in numerous magazines.

AR Melvyn who set up MJ Kanny Architects in 2002 has been creating a positive buzz within the industry for his design ethos that tells a different tale with every project. Listening with his heart to his client’s expectations and brief as well as when the land speaks to him has led to Melvyn creating homes that are astounding yet comfortable and liveable.

“Most architects have the ability to create interesting work, the question is only if they are allowed the space and time to create it.” – David Chipperfield

Ar Melvyn Kanny,
Founder of MJ Kanny Architect