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Narrative
Misconception and fear surrounding diseases (leprosy and covid-19) has lead to stigma which has affected people's lives. The patients and medical staffs are discriminated, ostracized, and seen as harm or flaws to the society. Even after time passes, they still feel inferior to the society - some lepers prefer to stay forever in the Valley of Hope as they feel shameful to step back into the society, recovered patients and medical staffs of Covid-19 being labelled as carriers of the diseases. Unable to live a normal life, as a normal human being, they too feel lonely, sad and despair. If people are able to understand their feelings and experience from their point of view, maybe, we can unite again, treat each other with respect and understanding.
Design inspiration
There was a boy who was only around 10 years old, he had a normal childhood. Until one day, his fingers started to curl, red patches appearing on his face. He had contracted an incurable disease. He was then sent to an isolated settlement, separated from the outside world. The disease brought him pain and took away his limbs. Years went by and he grew old. He has now recovered from the disease, but with amputated legs, the distorted face and the history of contracting the once incurable disease made him stand out from the healthy people out there. When he tried to find back his children that were separated from him, they didn't want to acknowledge him as a part of the family anymore. He was seen as a shame. When he tried to go back to the society, he was ostracized and discriminated. He was seen as a harm. He started to feel inferior and ashamed of himself, all he hope for was to be treated normally and to go back home, to the place where there is no barrier between us and them. He then decided to stay in the settlement for the rest of his life, away from the outside world.
- True story based on the life of leprosy patients in the Valley of Hope
Presentation Boards
Reflection
Through this project, I learned how to generate designs through conscious consideration of spatial typologies, section-plan relationship, contextual conditions and considerations of human scale, natural light, materiality and textures. Furthermore, I am able to resolve basic building construction, materials and environmental considerations with my tutor's guide and advice. I have also explored ways to produce a design of a small-scale community building within an open/suburban context, following analysis and exploration of the site, the user requirements, environmental sustainability, buildability and spatial poetics. Lastly, I have learned ways to communicate the design and drawing effectively and clearly through visual and expressive verbal presentation to peer, tutors and architects from industry. However, I think I have a lot more to be improved to achieve an effective visual presentation.