Re-Alley

Following the national brief with a theme of sustainability and regenerative design, Re-Alley responds to the overurbanisation of cities in Malaysia at the expense of recreational areas.

2022 SONA Superstudio TAS State Winner

by Pei Kai Tan & Xing Ting Ng

Overurbanization

Malaysia’s cities are facing a problem. There is an increasing demand for residential and commercial projects in fast development cities. As we witness the rise of new apartments and shopping malls, the other end lies Malaysian’s access to recreational areas to be sacrificed.

Overurbanization.

With the global pandemic and the internet, people are more isolated than ever. Now, Malaysians face the threat of losing more public community spaces. Is there any other way to bring society back again? Following Superstudio’s theme of sustainability and regenerative design, repairing community through design; can we ‘regenerate’ spaces to help our communities?

NRPA (National Recreation and Park Association) states that for every 1000 person, 10 acre of recreational spaces are needed.

However, in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, every 1000 person only have access to 8.4 acre of recreational spaces.

Back Alleys

Looking over the vast concrete jungle, we found these spaces that were unused.

They were often associated with dirtiness, undesirability, criminal activities... which is probably why people don’t go there often.

But were they really this bad?

Back alleys used to be a famous spot for kids to play with their neighbours, while adults chat and watch over their kids.

Despite their past, some alleys even became famous tourist spots today, blooming with liveliness, such as Ipoh’s Concubine Lane.

What happened in between?

Is it possible to change people’s attitude and mindset toward back alleys?

Can we regenerate them?

The Design Process

Site 1: Pasar Karat, Kuala Lumpur - Outdoor seatings and shading for the often-crowded restaurants and people to sit and enjoy graffities.

Site 2: Jalan Kelabu 3, Johor - Installations featuring performance and markets as a common neutral event in hope to bring the two communities together.

Site 3: Jalan IM 8/28, Pahang - A space hosting multiple sports such as soccer, badminton, and basketball for families to come together and play sports in their back allies.

Public Space Regeneration

We have two interpretations on regenerative design. Firstly, public space regeneration.

Our proposal features three stages: rebuild, reunite, and regenerate. During rebuild stage, the community comes together to build the design responding to the back alley. An event is then held to celebrate and reconnect with each other, as ‘reunite stage’. After a week, the installation is taken down and the process takes place at another alley. We rebuild, reunite and regenerate, and it moves on and on to other alleys.

We hope to shed light, start a discussion to change the way we view back alleys, from a negative space to a positive one where it can be utilised for better purposes. We hope that after we left, people will start to rethink about back-alley spaces, regenerating them for better uses.

Circular Economy Regeneration

Secondly, circular economy regeneration.

Malaysia is one of the biggest metal scrap import countries in the world, but we only have a recycle rate of 17.5%.

Aluminium is chosen as the main material because it is an infinitely recyclable material. It can be remelted and cast without ever degrading. Besides that, we aim to raise awareness to the Malaysian community the capabilities and benefits of recycling and to encourage them to do so too.

With that, waste can be eliminated to create more circular economies. We can boost local recycling sites and will start regenerating through offsetting transportation costs and our carbon footprints.

In hope, we aim to create regenerative design in both physical and psychological aspects.