Journal of Design and Built Environment

Unveiling the Potential of Green Facade Retrofit for Commercial Shopping Malls in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Mohd Tajul Izrin Mohd Tajul Hasnan — 2024-10-24

In dense metropolitan areas like Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, commercial buildings encounter challenges from deteriorating conditions and insufficient maintenance. Building owners are increasingly adopting sustainable strategies to mitigate environmental impacts and improve urban life quality. Among these strategies, green facade retrofitting is a promising solution for commercial shopping malls. This study investigates the potential of green facade retrofitting in Kuala Lumpur's commercial shopping malls, particularly within the Golden Triangle, using empirical data, typological studies and case study observations. Next, the four primary criteria that Qualitative Comparative Analysis evaluated are Geometry, Optical, Thermal, and Physical features. The study also employs a scoring matrix which extended from relevant prominent studies for evaluating rating scores for each selected building. The findings show that the majority of older shopping centres constructed before the year 2000 have higher score ratings compared to newer ones. This also highlights opportunities for green facade retrofit development in these targeted areas, aiming to inform policymakers, urban planners, building managers, and stakeholders about sustainable urban transformation strategies applicable to Kuala Lumpur's Golden Triangle area.

Trends and Influential Factors in Shaping Tomorrow’s Workplace in Malaysia

Puteri Mayang Bahjah Zaharin — 2024-10-24

The design and function of high-rise office buildings have evolved over the past century to accommodate changing working lifestyles and trends. Technological advancements and the recent pandemic have further influenced workplace dynamics, leading to challenges such as redundant office spaces. Despite the productivity of remote work, office environments foster human connection and collaboration, which are crucial for innovation. Ensuring sustainability in high-rise offices demands adaptation to evolving work trends through future office designs. This study examines the evolution of high-rise offices in Malaysia, exploring factors influencing workplace trends and identifying emerging design concepts. Using qualitative methods, including literature review and case studies in Kuala Lumpur, the findings underscore a transition towards versatile, user-centric environments in Kuala Lumpur's high-rise buildings, driven by the city's ambition as a global financial hub. Holistic approaches addressing social, physical, and economic factors are essential for navigating challenges and opportunities in this evolving landscape. In addition, integrating advanced technologies and community-centric environments into office design is crucial for creating future-proof workspaces. Ultimately, the findings could inspire practical and creative designs for promoting productivity and a human-centred workplace within high-rise offices.

Observing Spatial Change in Malaysian Terraced House Design Through the Context of Working from Home

Mohd Fairus — 2024-10-24

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many individuals and families to work from home (WFH), a condition where employees perform their role from home instead of in an office environment, hence increasing the need for appropriate home workspaces and improved work-life balance. In Malaysia, the terrace house represents the most prevalent housing type for Malaysian middle-income families, but its space limitation, lack of natural lighting and ventilation, and rigid planning provide challenges for accommodating WFH requirements. This study intends to investigate the impact of working from home (WFH) on the spatial design of Malaysian terraced houses. By using qualitative case study method, this study explores such an impact on nine double-storey terraced houses located in Shah Alam and Puncak Alam townships. The terraced type of selection involved modified and unmodified conditions ranging from the link, intermediate, end lot and corner units. Further, the respondents are the homeowners, characterized as a nuclear family which belongs to a middle-class group of higher educational sectors that is compatible with the nature of WFH. Through interview and house observation, this study applied content analysis and comparative study as analytical methods. The findings suggest that the success of WFH in terraced houses is determined by the notion of ‘dedicated shared workspace’, which is influenced by lifestyle preferences, spatial perception and spatial proximity. Such a condition indicates a reconciliation between dedicated and shared spaces, where it provides specificity within an integrated space and promotes commonality in individuality, which is beneficial for the development of a particular organization, in this case, household growth.

Public Perception on the Functions of Minaret for Contemporary Mosques in Selangor

Nur Amira Ramlan — 2024-10-24

The traditional function of minarets as a place for the muezzin to announce adhan and as symbols of Islam has changed due to modern advancements, which raise doubts about their significance in contemporary mosques. This perspective risks overlooking the community preferences, the diversity of Islamic architectural practices, and the minarets' growing cultural, historical, aesthetic, and symbolic value. This research investigates the importance of the minaret for contemporary mosques in Selangor. Utilising on-site observation and survey questionnaires, the study assesses public perception of the function and significance of contemporary minarets. Findings reveal that traditional elements of minarets such as their form, height and the presence of stairs are still adopted in contemporary minaret design, while some elements like materials, openings and ornaments are less common. The study also indicates that people continue to view minarets as essential for calling the adhan, serving as city landmarks, and marking the mosque's location. However, components such as a balcony for the muezzin, excessive ornamentation, and tiered gradation are no longer deemed essential. This research provides valuable insights into the functions and values of minarets for future mosque designs, serving as a guide for architects to align with community needs.

Influential Stimulus of Form-Generating Towards Neuro-Aesthetic Design

Zalina Samadi — 2024-10-24

Students explore design to achieve design aesthetics, values and constructability; implementing design requirements can lead to creative-led, practical designs in architecture education. While most students have concentrated on identifying the essential criteria that lead to the creative deployment of the neuro-aesthetic design thesis projects, the influencing factors still need to be discovered. None of the architectural studies focused on identifying the form generator as influencing stimulators and their supporting facets delivered under the institutional syllabus system. Therefore, this study has three objectives: to identify attributes of design exploration phases, categorise them, and establish which phase influences neuro-aesthetic design by nurturing this value into the architectural education syllabus. The methods employed were distributing semi-structured questionnaires to managers and applying focus group discussion to students’ respondents. The process was used in ten (10 aspects), and the analysis revealed the design stage's generators and critical-influencing stimulators in this action research. The investigation revealed four for the pre-design phase, six for the design development phase and three (3) in the grooming phase. The Form Generators (FG) identified to provide a framework for such four FGs in the pre-design stage related to the design aim, issues, objectives, and client. Hence, to the best of the author’s analysis, the design process is the design development, and the grooming through internal and external panels is involved in the studio. At the design exploration stage, alternative designs and innovation are developed.

Community Support Toward Village-Based Tourism Development in Indonesia

I Nengah Tela — 2024-10-24

Practitioners have shown interest in village-based tourism. Nevertheless, it has only been subject to a restricted amount of scholarly examination, especially in Indonesia. In order to gain a deeper comprehension of and provide effective assistance to village-based tourism, it is imperative to examine the extent of community endorsement/support for the advancement of tourism. This study sought to investigate the intermediary function of tourism's influence on the economy, culture, and environment in the connection between community attachment and community support for the development of village-based tourism. The focus of the study was on residents of Pariaman City, located in West Sumatra, Indonesia. A survey was conducted to collect data, resulting in a final sample size of 54 respondents. The subsequent data analysis utilized the structural model equation (SEM), specifically Smart-PLS. The findings demonstrated that the economic impact of tourism effectively acted as a mediator in the connection between community attachment and community support for the development of tourism destinations in the village. These findings had significant ramifications both in terms of practical application and theoretical understanding. In theory, this research made a contribution to the social exchange theory. In practice, it highlighted the significance of residents recognizing the economic advantages of promoting village-based tourism in order to cultivate a favourable attitude towards these endeavours.

Collective Housing Concept for Riverside Settlement; Case Study in Padang, Indonesia

Desy Aryanti — 2024-10-24

Collective living is specifically built to house multiple families or individuals in the same complex or building, where they can share common facilities. This concept aims to use land efficiently, reduce construction and maintenance costs, and improve social interaction and community cohesion. This study explores the idea of collective housing in the Batang Arau riverbank area with a case study in Koto Baru Nan XX Sub-district, Lubuk Begalung District, Padang, Indonesia. The biggest problems in this area are vulnerability to flooding and lack of basic infrastructure. This research aims to find a settlement concept that can increase community resilience to disasters and improve a better quality of life. This study employs a qualitative methodology and uses many data-collection techniques, including literature review, field surveys, in-depth interviews, and Focus Group Discussions (FGD). Thematic analysis approaches were employed to analyze the data obtained from interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) to uncover prominent patterns and themes. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the observation data and field surveys, providing a comprehensive overview of the current conditions. This research is expected to make a real contribution by mapping the problems and needs of riverside settlements in Koto Baru Nan XX Sub-district, Lubuk Begalung District, Padang, Indonesia.

Neighbourhood Environmental Health: Relationship between Neighbourhood Quality, Physical Activity and Health

Siti Nur Afiqah Mohamed Musthafa — 2024-10-24

Human health, especially the non-communicable diseases (NCDs) was associated with the quality of neighbourhood environments. NCDs are also related to the level of physical activity, which can be influenced by the quality of the neighbourhood environment. However, past research has focused on public perception without being verified by researchers’ on-site observation of the neighbourhood environment. This research aims to analyse the three relationships among neighbourhood environment, physical activity level, and health. It involves a questionnaire survey for the perception of the neighbourhood environment, self-reported health status, and engagement in physical activity, as well as on-site observation. Correlation and multiple regression models are applied for the analysis. As a result, this research uses a case study in USJ, Subang Jaya, to suggest a significant relationship between neighbourhood environment and health and physical activity level and health. However, the relationship between neighbourhood environment and physical activity is not significant. The multiple regression analysis for health status shows that 89.7% of the variance is due to other variables. The findings will be beneficial to all parties involved in urban planning and design in order to improve environmental quality and encourage physical activity for better health.