RUANG SS15

 

sector // urban regeneration

location // selangor, malaysia

year // 2017

stage // conceptual

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OBJECTIVE

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The proposal focuses on a township that is in need of a biophillic intervention. Townships in Malaysia built in the 70s and 80s have adopted a frramework that is hardly pedestrian friendly and has little regard for green, open spaces. Project Ruang SS15 sets out to help the township of SS15 in Subang Jaya to fight off reoccurring problems of pest and rodent infestation, through using the food chain method; identifying natural predators and natural repellents to control the population of these pests. By doing that, the project explore ways to accommodate new flora and fauna in the township. 

 

DESIGN CRITERIA

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Project Ruang SS15 has outlined a few key criteria for the proposal: 

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• To respect the existing urban fabric as it holds a lot of nostalgic values to the community

 

• To reanimate the open spaces and investigate under-utilised urban commodities

 

• To integrate solutions with the needs and appropriateness to the existing demographic

 

• To come up with practical solutions that can be easily replicated in other Subang Jaya townships.

 

METHODOLOGY

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The way the project is carried out as outlined below:

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• After identifying a suitable food chain, design settings that can accommodate plants and animals that will inhabit the town

 

• Use Kevin Lynch’s Five Elements of a City to analyse the existing conditions of the site, and to propose accordingly

 

• Reanimate the masterplan with greenery and natural landscape, while also focusing on connectivity

 

• Develop new architectural typologies to integrate with the proposed urban interventions

 

NARRATIVE

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Project Ruang SS15 puts nature first, designing a new ecosystem for a dense urban fabric, to integrate new flora and fauna to the existing township. Rather than viewing the town as a forest, the project envisions the city as a yard, or a patio for various life forms to inhabit. New public squares take shape near highly populated areas such as the university prescient, and the market area, streetscapes will be reimagined with pedestrians and plants instead of cars, housing districts will adopt more neighbourhood liveliness, alleys will be reanimated to accommodate pets, more recreational spaces will be created with the proposed water network and built-forms will adopt a more sensitive and humane typology. SS15 is a thriving township populated by a young demographic of mainly young professionals and university students, if done right, it can become a very vibrant and cohesive township, that can be adopted to townships all around Malaysia.