Kuala Lumpur (KL) has seen rapid economic growth in recent years and this has indirectly resulted
in the increase of the cost of living in the city. To some KL urbanites who are earning meagre income
and irregular income, it has become increasingly challenging even to rent a space to call a night and
rest after a day’s work or activity. Many end up on the streets, living under bridges and public
spaces.
in the increase of the cost of living in the city. To some KL urbanites who are earning meagre income
and irregular income, it has become increasingly challenging even to rent a space to call a night and
rest after a day’s work or activity. Many end up on the streets, living under bridges and public
spaces.
Their daily needs, are sometimes provided, subsidised and assisted by the DBKL and several caring
Non-Governmental Organisations, but these on-going assistance currently seemed not well
structured or organised. DBKL has been providing temporary shelters in the city, but will soon not
be sufficient as the number of homeless is on the rise. Various ‘Soup Kitchens’ can only do so much
in providing food and other daily needs as they are merely charitable organisation that operates
solely from donations and volunteers.
Housing the homeless is not about creating permanent homes for the less fortunate. It is more of
creating a conducive transient shelter that could provide the much needed communal temporary
relief for the homeless. The design of these temporary shelters should not compromise on the
quality of the product or construction techniques. Instead, it should provide good creature comfort,
low construction work force requirement to construct, easy and low maintenance and good usage
of sustainable building material, environmentally friendly and low energy, durable and capable of
lasting. It should definitely test new boundaries of architectural design.
