Lecture 9: Design Inspiration
- OLIVIA TAM SIE WEN 1001540443
- Apr 7, 2016
- 3 min read
What inspired your current Design Final Project? Please include your sketches and diagrams to further inforce your statements.
The Final Project for this semester is to convert existing community hall 'Dewan Orang Ramai' of Sungai Buloh Settlement into a story museum, a place to commemorate the history of Sungai Buloh Settlement. Through this project, we have to create insightful and innovative designs to redefines the idea of the museum in contemporary culture. The museum is functioned as a narrator and as a memory container.
'Local Community and Outsiders'
I was inspired by the relationship between local community and outsiders. My idea in this project is to create a community space between the locals and outsiders. The museum becomes a gathering space for the locals and outsiders to share their different stories and knowledge to each other. The idea had been created because the history of the settlement and the story of the leprosy patients had been forgotten by the outsiders like us. This situation had created a huge gap between the locals and outsiders. For instance, there is a large different of living quality between the locals and outsiders. This can be seen when the living environment of locals which is poor whereas the outsiders live in a very advanced and comfortable environment.
Living environment of local people
Abstract drawing of relationship between locals and outsiders
I would like to describe the relationship between the locals and outsiders is just like the leaves and roots of a tree. The roots grows in the soil represents the locals who trapped in the settlement and the leaves grows freely in the air represents the outsides who have a lots of knowledge and advanced technology. A tree cannot grow well without the roots (collect water) and leaves (obtain oxygen and carry out photosynthesis). The outsiders need to learn about the history of the settlement and the story of the local people so that the past of the settlement and the locals will not be forgotten. Besides that, outsiders can give a hand on them to improve their living environment. The locals can improve their economy by selling their planted flowers (they works as flower farmers) to the outsiders to earn more incomes. Therefore, the relationship between the locals and outsiders should be maintain because it is complementary.
The sketches about the development of conceptual abstract model.
The conceptual abstract model.
'Inside-out and Outside-in'
The new spaces created in the story museum are inspired from the concept 'inside-out and outside-in'. For instance, a tunnel (space) which is linked between the building and the site surrounding. The tunnel helps to create 'inside-out' effect because visitors will not realize they are actually walking on the outside of the museum when they are walking in the tunnel. They will only realize it when they see through the distorted openings which have been created on the wall of the tunnel. While experiencing the space in the tunnel, visitors will move into the building again without noticing. Therefore, 'outside-in' effect has been achieved in the space design too.
Sketch of tunnel which linked between existing building and site.
This concept inspired me because I think it is important to relate the building with the site context. The site and its surrounding elements had recorded every single memory of the locals. Therefore, it is meaningful to preserve the site and the building itself so that the history and the story of Sungai Buloh Settlement can be known by our next generations.
'Life Cycle of Leprosy Patients'
In addition, visitors can experience different emotional effects and feelings throughout the museum. The spaces created in the museum helps to deliver messages to the visitors about the life that had been experienced by the leprosy patients. For instance, tunnel creates an enclosed space and people will feel trapped while walking in the tunnel. There are five stages of life cycle that experienced by the patients which are 'Before the Siren', 'The Segregation', 'Sorrowful Life', 'A New Hope' and 'The Day After Tomorrow'. Through visiting the story museum, the outsiders can experience these different feelings when they are inside a space which creates different kinds of atmosphere and feeling. From these spaces, visitors can know more about the experiences of the locals from the past.
Other drawings and sketches which derive from the concept.
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