Architect Quck Zhong Yi Tells What We Can Learn From It Pandemic

Architect Quck Zhong Yi, a partner at Asolidplan, addresses how the pandemic has disrupted his projects, the challenging process of resumption and what we can learn from it.

After months of planning and building, two of our newly-completed houses were finally scheduled for Temporary Occupancy Permit (TOP) inspections on April 8 and 9 this year. This inspection is a critical milestone that allows owners to move into their new homes. In preparation for it, the hoarding was removed, the swimming pool filled and dust washed off. Gradually, the construction sites started to look like homes.

Then on April 7, the circuit breaker kicked in and the scheduled inspections were cancelled. The sites were closed off and no one could enter. The finishing line of our marathon, to which we were madly rushing, vanished. Like our clients and contractors, we experienced a bundle of emotions: disappointment, incredulity, and a smidgeon of anger.

However, the unprecedented gravity of the pandemic quickly put things into perspective. We looked on the bright side and started to prepare all we could for the resumption of works.

Our practice was quite ready for the lockdown because we were already using laptops with a cloud server and had integrated flexible work-from-home arrangements into our operations. It is fortunate that, as design consultants, we could still work on the design and tender phases of our projects while at home. In a way, the suspension of site works was a chance for everyone to slow down and catch up on paperwork and planning.