KEBUN KOMUNITI PLUS

ARCHKK PORTFOLIO

A Gardening Community Project

USJ2, Subang Jaya

Living in an urban area isolates people from nature. We rarely get to smell or touch the texture of the soil. Getting vegetables from the grocery store is the easiest and most convenient way for us, leading to city dwellers who would never know where those vegetables come from or when would be the best time to plant certain vegetables. Not to mention, every city has food deserts. Vulnerable people, such as lower income residents, might have a difficult time obtaining healthy foods grown without pesticides. A community garden could help people to add organic vegetables to their diet in an affordable way.

The community garden is not only a garden to grow food, but also a place to heal and find fulfillment in our lives. It also gives us an opportunity to participate in enriching our senses and help ground ourselves. We could go to urban gardens to get close to a form of abstract nature, but we would never know how the trees and grass in the gardens grow, because someone else takes care of them for us. The difference between the community garden and a garden in the city is participation. In the community garden, we are not only enjoying natural beauty, but we are also responsible for creating and maintaining that beauty.

Sunlight, earth, wind, the color of the plants, and every element in the garden can be a supplement that enhances mental health. Simply weeding, watering, and picking the fruits of their labor could bring people back to reality and keep themselves focused on the present, and the feeling of accomplishment during the harvest season is a strong way to boost your mood. It is also a simple but very powerful way to remind people to take care of themselves in the same way that they would take care of the plants.

We are designing Kebun Komuniti PLUS, a Neighbourhood Garden Center with communal facilities. Work within the neighbourhoods of USJ2, Selangor within the vicinity of Kebun Komuniti USJ2. The entire site USJ2 Park will be considered as the context, although the boundary for the building is demarcated. The mature neighbourhood exhibits a multi-dimensional context.

The site is located on top of a slopping terrain surrounded by 2-3 storey housing area. Thus, it does not have obstructed views being blocked by buildings. Only by using existing trees which are denser to provide shading. Therefore, on this vast and exposed site, strategic site planning for different program and spaces should be integrated to minimised heat gain yet maximizing natural daylight and exploitation of natural ventilation simultaneously.

Anson Ong Kah Kit Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Architecture

The site consists of a main approach on west side and 3 secondary access point. Every access point has its unique way for different kind of user reaching site, ease and save users’ time. A communal node in the center of the site to convenient users especially elderlies to reach out each clustered spaces easily.

Healing both mentally and physically, by promoting mindfulness, healing through social interaction, gardening activities and the satisfaction of harvesting in the community. Simple weeding, watering and harvesting activities could bring people back to reality in the new normal after staying indoor too long time. The feeling of accomplishment during the harvest time is a strong way to boost our mood positively. The garden i am proposing is a healing garden which designed to facilitate interaction with the elements of nature. Gardening activities encourage positive social interaction and promote mindfulness between people and nature.

Anson Ong Kah Kit Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Architecture

Mentally as in improve awareness and performance, eases depression, boosting mood and etc. Physically like detoxifies our body, lower blood sugar level, promote heathy digestion and many more. From what i am focusing, i want to create a public realm space by uplifting the space to enhance the feeling of light in weight. Using the existing hill site as advantage, bring inside out will improve the individual health being with greens. And provide shading to get thermal and visual comfort for a largely outdoor activities. This is an overview of my KEBUN KOMUNITI PLUS.

As said, the site is located on top of a sloping terrain. Thus, is does not have obstructed view being blocked by buildings. Therefore, on this vast and exposed site, strategic site planning for each spaces should be integrated to minimised heat gain yet maximising natural daylight and natural ventilation. At the initial stage of organising the space, i arranged then into categories, and start to figure out how they relate and affect each other in-terms of spatial relationships or programs.