Project 1a
The Preliminary Studies is a preparatory assignment that focuses on investigating basic notions of the city, and learning from examples of Community Centre around the world. This assignment aims to firstly introduce students to the basics in urban design and its relation to architecture, and secondly, studying and determining the programmatic function, societal role and spatial layout of an Community Centre and architectural responses for urban blocks.
As I went for the site visit, the pre-war shophouses, historical landmarks and the traditional business that are passed down through generations caught my attention. The site is rich in historical values. But contrastingly, the intensity of activities carried out at the site is also quite low, especially at night, where the street becomes dark and empty as there is no street light and activity to light up the area. I simplified my experience in Klang into a phrase, "An Aging Town", which is also my sense of place, explaining the town that is rich in historical value but is also slowly "dying".
