Preamble

As part of the Bachelor and Master of Landscape Architecture (BLA/MLA) programmes in the National University of Singapore (NUS), a design studio was undertaken this semester titled “Liveable Kluang” which saw 48 students and 4 tutors visiting Kluang at the start of the semester to better understand the needs and desires of the residents and stakeholders.

This booklet is a compilation of student developed design proposals as part of our final review and is the result of a semester’s worth of work from the individual students. To diversify the range of project outputs to cover as much of Kluang as possible, a purposeful decision was made to allow students to align their projects with their own individual interests.

Guided by their respective tutors, the result is 48 completely different projects each with a different approach, site and ultimately design for various aspects of designing for liveability in Kluang presented in this booklet.

While we are highly encouraged to see so many design ideas being churned out by our students, we understand these are all purely academic in nature. The very short time we had on site, the lack of accurate data as well as the lack of constant consultations with local stakeholders results in some of the projects ending up seemingly unrealistic either in cost or scale. However, it is precisely within an academic setting in which students can push these limits to seed ideas of what might be possible in Kluang.

We would like to end off by giving the heartiest of thanks and appreciation to the people of Kluang who graciously welcomed us with open arms into their hometown. Without their support, guidance, and in-depth knowledge about Kluang, none of the work seen in this booklet would have been possible.

In particular, we would like to thank the following people who have been pivotal in making our trip a success. YB Chew Chong Sin for his hospitality and genuine interest in the betterment of Kluang, YB Wong Shu Qi for spending the morning showing us the possibilities of revamping the Kluang Riverside Market, Mdm Yokesuan and her team at KLAB for organizing and managing our field trip itinerary, Mr Tai Seng Yee and his team at Zenxin Organic for opening the doors to Kluang as well as to his farm, representatives from the Kluang District Government Office for their hospitality and walking tour of Kluang town, Members of KRT Taman Intan for their wonderful display of urban farming at work, our guides for Gunung Lambak as well as Yap Tau Sah Village, the speakers who took time to explain their personal stories related to Kluang, our drivers who chauffeured us around Kluang and any others we failed to mention here.

We thank you once again for your time, guidance, and hospitality and hope that some of the ideas in this booklet are of some use to nudging Kluang towards a more Liveable future.

Dr. Lin Shengwei, Ervine

Agnes Soh Joo Min

Liu Huei-Lyn

Varit Charoenveingvechkit

Alyssa Julianne Tee Xin Yun

Amber Yong Ling

Brina Choo Si Min

Chen Hui Lin Tammy

Chen Sizhe

Chen Yanxin

Chen Yuxin

Cheong Shao Yin

Chester Lee Yong Lin

Chye Qing Yun

Galapon Ma Allaine Corpuz

Guo Zhiyi

He Xinrui

Hia Siew Yi

Ho Jing Jing

Jiang Jiaxin

Jin Xin

Julia Tong Wai Shan

Li Xinyi

Lin Cancan

Ling Wei Shuen, Benjamin

Liu Runhan

Liu Siwen

Liu Wenjia

Liu Xuan

Long Siyu

Magan Lam Wan Kay

Nicole Foo Jiaxuan

Nur Qiyanah Binte Azmi

Ouyang Luoman

Shi Yi

Tan Jie Min

Tan Sok Vin

Tang Yanqi

Verma Medha

Virginia

Wang Junyu

Wang Yujia

Wu Yueyang

Yang Yikai

Yap Sit Kee

Yeoh E Ming

Yulin Teo

Zhang Wen

Zhang Yu

Zhang Ziyuan

Zou Lipeng

Zou Xiaoqian