Excerpt from the conclusion of my final year thesis, in redefining the traditional kampung house for a 21st century renaissance..
How
to become modern and to return to sources. How to revive and old dormant
civilisation and take part in the universal? – Paul Ricoeur, History and Truth,
1965
Malaysia, as a multicultural society,
possesses a diverse wealth of design history. The agenda lies in its
refinement, conservation, and sustainment. It is not enough to only accept and
acknowledge these architectonic narratives. It is crucial that the design
inheritance is reclaimed, at any given point in time, to be activated, adapted
and explored, pushed to its perimeters in order to justify its inception.
Vernacular, regional, traditional architecture, as is the case of the kampung,
cannot die. It can only be regenerated, rehabilitated, and redefined, as a
Neoteric Kampung, recreated from its past impressions.
The Neoteric Kampung is an amalgamation
of values. It is a tapestry, a collage, a montage of its histories,
contemporaries and futures. It is an enabler to the spirit of the kampung, that
which is rooted in the people and the place. It is a redefinition of form,
construction, materials, spatial programs, exterior activities, and design
details. It is urban, induced by the density and physical make up of its
current society. It is modern, in the multifarious interpretations of
innovation and novelty. It is three dimensional, traversing across horizontal
and vertical planes, growing as organic as its technological conditions allow.
It is domesticity on an iconic level, a prototypical living system that serves
its users en masse. The Neoteric kampung promotes self-sufficiency within its
dependable framework, where the spatial and physical materializations are a
direct reflection of its interior and exterior culture. Moreover, it
accommodates an attitude of programs to reflect the universal and multi
diverse understanding of Malaysia, a country which, in the context of the
Neoteric Kampung, exists as an eminent territory.
Following the
global phenomena of nationalistic emergence, of post Trump, and post Brexit,
there is much needed evaluations on the position of countries and its fields of
major significance. The architecture of Malaysia, an embodiment of its
intangible qualities, should be shifted to a paramount status, for its
relevance in establishing a position of identity for the country on an
international level. This period following the events above is not a
foreshadowing of a topical oppression. Rather, it is a pragmatic and opportune
moment in which to step up and prescribe an architecture for Malaysia,
specifically for the people, distinctively by the people. This matter is
especially pressing in light of the future developments in urban areas in the
country.
‘The acceptance of certain realities doesn’t preclude
idealism. It can lead to certain breakthroughs’
Overall, the Neoteric Kampung is a hybrid of values.
It is an idea, recouping the kampung spirit in an exercise of celebrative
examination, injecting a contempo curiosity into an ancestral piece of
architecture. This thesis recognizes certain fields in which it is lacking in
expertise, which are the technical concerns, together with the more
comprehensive complexities of the social and economic landscape of Malaysia,
both tendering the feasibility of the project. A more extensive and thorough
research would examine the kampung, its identity, and full suite of
applications on a more exhaustive scale, comprising of extensive examination
and provisions, of specific site, case studies, industry policies, qualitative
social commentaries, structural strategies, and detailed analysis of existing
and proposed urban developments. To summarise, this thesis’ augmentations on
the theories of a 21st century kampung will create, advance,
refresh, and propagate the discourse of Malaysian architecture, its
interrelated themes, schemes, industries, and impacts, to resonate on an
international platform and scale.
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