Community Service Initiative(CSI) Site Brief The project required the architecture students to identify and evaluate the needs in a community. This project takes place in Jinjang Utara, 52000 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. The area is a segregated area with poorly constructed longhouses. The inhabitants of the village are mostly Tamils and Chinese people.Their children are commonly drop-outs of primary schools. The main reasons are as follows: 1.
Discrimination of being inhabitants of the biggest slum in the city
2.
Short of finance to run the family
3.
Household responsibility
Why for the children of Jinjang community? During the site visits, the children were seen to spend their day in activities such as collection of rubbish, cycling and teasing people passing-by. While interviewing one of the kids, he mentioned to be the child of a gangster. Messing around with people is one his pass-time and has a gang of his own at a very young age. Other kids were likely to have given up on education and girls ending in teenage pregnancy, drug and alcohol intake by youngsters.
Childhood development is known to shape an adult emotionally, socially and physically. Jinjang long house community is seen to force the children to grow and take on household responsibilities at a very early age. Hence the continuous structure of the parenting there.
• Solution in terms of architecture Our group proposed a playing structure that helps to induce the creativity and communication. A point for the kids to unite and to explore their abilities. Age range of kids: 7-12 years old
PLAY HUT CREATIVITY • EXPLORE • COMMUNICATE • UNITY
• Design Exploration • Features
CONTENTS
• Model making • Final Model • Reactions • Conclusion
DESIGN EXPLORATION
FEATURES • Net climbing • Use of wall as Blackboards • Space for reading, gossips • Climbing on the structure’s roof • Slide
MODEL MAKING
REACTIONS THE PLAY HUT ATTRACTED A LOT OF KIDS PARENTS FOUND THE IDEA GREAT TO KEEP THEIR KIDS ENGAGED
PLAY HUT
CONCLUSION • Through the project, the exposure to real life situations have given us the experience of changing people’s life through architecture. • Taking time for these community service projects are more problem solving than architecture as a busy business market.
• Keshni Devi SOBARUN
WRITTEN BY
• Lecturer: Ms Ann • Taylor’s Lakeside Campus University