In Studio 4, themed “engaging environment and community”, the studio explores design by harnessing environmental qualities and conditions for human and environment sustainability through a project with a specific community of users within a given context.
Studio Tutor : Ar. Ari Methi
Project 1 : A Personal Space
Project 1 deal with user experience that require students to design a personal space which is intended for a specific user based on an in-depth study of the user’s need. It is to develop awareness of environmental sustainability in a design and student’s ability to meet the imperative and inter-related social needs. In addition, the project will prepare students to programmatic requirements of specific group of users for Project 2.
1. To develop awareness of environmental sustainability in architectural design
2. To develop the student’s ability to meet the imperative and inter-related environmental and social needs, as well as make poetry with the buildings
3. To further develop understandings on human scale, proportion, ergonomic and materiality.
Project 2: School for Alternative Education Program
The project calls for a design of an alternative school in a suburban area with some complexity that includes the complexity of site topography and vegetation and socio-cultural events. Students are required to provide full design proposal incorporating precedent study and site analysis at appropriate level of presentation. It explores design solution that harness environmental qualities and conditions for human and environment sustainability. Students explore design solutions that reduce environmental impact utilizing clustered spatial typology and passive energy. The design should contribute to and merge harmoniously with nature and the site, and provide the best of experiences for the users.
Alternative Education Program (AEP) is increasingly popular in Malaysia in the recent years due to various reasons. The way the programs are structured are vastly different from the main stream education programs in the country. The various approaches in educating the children provide alternative experiences in education, in responding to the need of the parents who prefer something out of the main stream approach.
Taking a closer look into these programs such as the Waldorf system, Reggio Emilio approach, Green School, Forest Schools; one will realize that the need for the environment in educating the children is vastly different from the one we have in the main stream schools. The type of spaces required, sizes, spatial experience required, planning approach, and all the various design consideration can be totally opposite to the one we have in the main stream education.
It is great opportunity for the students to be exposed to this area, and explore the possibilities in built environment to provide for the AEP. The project aim to provide a design for a school for a chosen AEP, provided for children at the age of 7-12.
Site Location
The site is located at Minden Height, Pulau Penang, a suburban community. Its proximity to the natural surroundings provide one of the important elements for many AEP, which is getting in touch with natural environment.
