PROJECT 5: SENSE OF PLACE: NEIGHBOURHOOD & COMMUNITY

All man-made structures must be designed to suit the people, climate and site where it is located. A house for instance, should be designed not only with its occupants’ needs in mind, but must also consider its surrounding environment and the larger community. This is because several houses that are collectively located in one vicinity  will indirectly form a neighbourhood area, where each individual unit is ‘linked’ with each other and in turn, affects the local population. In the modern era, where the population is denser and the demand for quality living is higher, a well-planned neighbourhood area like a housing scheme is a more appropriate type of settlement to suit those situations. However, to create a sustainable and liveable neighbourhood area, every single element of neighbourhood planning like effective movement networks, appropriate size and locations of public spaces, facilities, amenities, services and the whole layout plan should be planned and designed holistically, because the real value of the neighbourhood lies in its people, and a good neighbourhood fosters a sense of belonging and safety. Neighbourhood design and street layout are also important to consider. The relationships between buildings, streets and open spaces form the urban fabric help give a neighbourhood its physical identity. So, observing and assessing the current conditions of these elements in the existing neighbourhood areas is indeed very important, not only for us to learn about our good practices and initiatives so far in planning and designing our neighbourhoods, but more importantly for us to plan for future neighbourhoods.§  The main objective are to enhance students’ understanding of basic elements and components of neighbourhood planning through their observation of the existing neighbourhood area while enhancing students’ understanding of the main physical and non-physical factors that should be considered in planning and designing a layout plan for neighbourhood area.Other than that, we are expose with basic planning technical knowledge not to forget enhancing ours ability in critically analysing the common issues of neighbourhood or residential area development, especially in terms of site context, human and community needs and the possible effect of the development to its surroundings. We are also expose to the task of gathering information from local authorities and incorporating relevant information in their planning-related studio projects which help to improve students’ skills in analytical thinking, observing, sketching, rendering, colouring, writing description and composing graphical images.