Design Inspiration
Design inspiration for final project
Currently, I’m taking the design 4 in this semester, and it is really fun and challenge to design an existing building but also tough to handle. For our final project, we have to create insightful and innovative designs to convert the exiting community hall, ‘Dewan Orang Ramai’ of Sungai Buloh Settelement into a story museum, and it is a place to commemorate the history of Sungai Buloh Settlement. We also encouraged to think a new museum typology that redefines the idea of museum in contemporary culture.
Sungai Buloh Leprosy Settlement also referred to the ‘Valley of Hope’, it is located in a fertile valley on the northern outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, it is be gazetted as national heritage site in 1969. This settlement is created by Dr. Traverse and built in 1930, He was inspired when there are so many leprosy patients were isolated from society at leprosarium, it felt like a hell on earth, so Dr. Traverse created the settlement that surrounded by nice natural confinement that enable for their self-sustain, and also named it as ‘Valley of hope’, that he hope one day he can fully cure the disease and let leprosy return to the society. It is one of the biggest leprosy settlements in the then-British Empire, and the second biggest in the world.
But unfortunately, after Dr. Traverse can cure the disease successfully then it attracts some developer to develop at the place since it is a very nice environment. Today, around 230 hectares of the settlement place has been demolished and develop into hospitals and university.
After my analyse, I have find that today’s people is slowly forget about the history and background of the place. All they know just only the nursery, it is very pretty and with cheaper price, when people decide to buy some plants for their garden, here will be the place that they must consider. So the nursery is more power than the background of this place, it just cover the history and people also don’t want to know about it. It is very sad to know it and shame too. Human is selfish that to build their happiness on other’s tough and struggle life.
According to this situation, my mind came out a sentence, ‘For leprosy, here is their everything; For other, here is nothing’. What I want to say that is people can’t get a same feeling like leprosy, so they don’t appreciate and don’t care about that.
Therefore, my concept will be like integrate, that bring people assimilate into the place and experience it. So they know the story, know the feeling, and they will do some soul-searching on their mind and start to appreciate the place.
In my design, I would like to create the leprosy’s life since they were isolated from the society and live in the settlement. All the design will giving the feeling or expression like what leprosy get.
Using kind of mirror effect that allow people can’t see full of their body part. In another way to say is like even they don’t have a complete full body part, but doesn’t means they are abnormal, they may have a good attitude. By reverse mode, normal people have complete body part but their attitude also not the best yet.
In façade design, I would like to design it into half, which left side present the past and left side present the today development. Lest I remain their current façade but at the right side, I removed it and create something new.
Design development, from the abstract concept to the space planning.
Section to show the activities, people when get into the museum, they will facing the struggle structure that make them to bend down, and it is more smaller walking space. After that is a freedom that allow them to choose where they want to go, staircase, ramp or remain the floor level.
Mockup Model:
