AMOS TAN CHI YI 0318330
PROJECT 2 - SITE ANALYSIS & CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
Society, culture, history, memory and the landscape of a particular place echoes the meaning of that ‘place’, or its ‘genius loci’. These qualities will inform the architectural concept and generators for Project 2. In Project 2, the design brief calls for an architectural response toward the sense of place with a strong engagement and relationship to the site and programmatic requirements
Project 2 starts off with us being given a site, Bukit Cina, Malacca. Bukit Cina is a historic place in Malacca, as it is often regarded as the starting point of the Chinese community in Malaysia. It is also the site of the largest Chinese burial ground outside of China, and thus there exists a strong cultural and historical element here. Within Bukit Cina we were designated three sites, one in an urban context and two on a hill. We analyzed these three sites, and produced a video showing our findings. The video is done as a group.
After our video analysis, we were then off on our own to select a site to design a visitor interpretive centre. The visitor interpretive centre, or VIC, is similar to an experential walkway as done in Project 1, but has to feature practical building amenities such as toilets, shops, etc.
I chose Site 3, the only site with an urban context as I was touched by the community's warmth and permeability while I was there.
Project 2 and 3 places a strong emphasis on the genius loci, or the spirit of the place.
Within Site 3 there exists an existing building called the Chin Woo Athletic Association building, built in the 1930s and currently in use as a de facto community hall. This design calls for an interaction between the visitor centre and the CWAA building, and does so by promoting permeability via its unique walls and community-centric programme.
The VIC design doesn't end here, however, and the design shown here is extremely preliminary and subject to a lot of design changes. The final VIC design is produced at the end of Project 3.