The Healing Machine -AYDA

The Healing Machine was designed and inspired to ‘heal’ the issues on-site, where a future linkage connecting vital nodes in the Johor Bahru City Center, intended to rejuvenate a ‘healthier’ city. The ‘healing’ concept aims to aid the ‘sickness’ by, (1) redirect attention, (2) reconnecting user groups and finally (3) recreate a livable city.

How to 'Heal'?

The primary ‘sickness’ was informed by the local interviewee suggesting that the town has lost its essence due to the function-focused transient users, namely the working-class groups and tourists from Singapore. The Healing Machine redirects their attention by utilizing the programs displayed on the façade as a tool to accelerate possible passive contacts. The idea of enhanced legibility was inspired by the vending machine with neatly displayed information to allow understanding of content within seconds. It adapts to function-focused users for understanding the building in a short time. The provided programs stay in their mind and will be revisited when needed. Several main ideas were implemented in the design exploration stage where maximum façade exposure to users on-site is fundamental. To further enhance the browsing and selection of programs, the linkage from the Persada building extended to a loop of ‘jogging track’ supported on steel structure around the building to allow maximum visual permeability.

Secondly, the rise of young entrepreneurs struggled to grow their business in an opportunity packed city-centre due to the lack of support and financial difficulties.

“Cities are very complex organisms where everything needs to be in balance”, furthermore “It is a place where everyone can equally take part in mobility and social life,” said Evelina Ozola on TEDxRiga in 2015.

Therefore, using the advantage of the site as a connector, bringing in experts of all fields to locally enhance ideas, thus creating an innovative environment for the emerging startups to enhance the quality of products and services. A ‘Creative Cycle’ was designed to support the young startups with desired low-cost modular hubs, a place where innovative ideas turn into reality. There are makerspace and work areas with machinery for testing out prototypes of products or services. Then they bring it to the market-street or multifunction hall and present it to possible clients or getting feedback to enhance the idea. When they expand with a sufficient business model, they could move out for new users to occupy.

And finally, to support the local government’s plan to attract the live-in population plus reducing carbon footprint, the machine incorporates natural elements such as a bioswale pond and wide coverage of terraced vegetation to enhance the livability of the city.

“A simple view of nature can radically improve health outcomes,” said Michael Murphy, Director of MASS Design Group in a TED Talk 2016.

The IIBD or Ibrahim International Business District transformation plan aims to enhance the city’s connectivity with infrastructures to support the investment hub. Besides, Maimunah Jaffar, the IRDA Head of Planning & Compliance, commented in the issue of ThinkCity publication stating that “The population remains transient, users commuting in and out for work, and the city quiets down significantly after office hour.”, “A live-in population required to make the city more sustainable.”, “We are looking to attract residents in the city and raise residential population by 10,000”. The statements brought up important questions such as ‘How to create a livable city?’, ‘What is a city that heals?’, and ‘How to improve city health?’. It seems reconnects humans with mother nature will be the most beneficial to attract human flow and enhancing user’s health in the high-stress cityscape. The machine has vegetation scattered in most of the floor area, terraced vegetations serve as the first layer of stormwater catchments then channels to the bioswale pond which further removes debris and pollution in the water.

I believe a balance must be achieved among the ecology, sociology, and technology of the built environment with the assistant of one and another as they are the building block of the future space. Current technological advancement should support the development of ecology and sociology growth. The Healing Machine is future-proofed by supporting the local businesses with on-site resources and further enhancing the vibrancy of the city while reducing the environmental impact. Renewable materials must exist in future-proof designs as we should ‘recreate with used’ more than ‘create from new’. Law enforcement should compulsory future buildings built with a high percentage of renewable materials and support the development of new recyclable building materials.

“A good city is like a good party – people stay longer than necessary because they are enjoying themselves” – Jahn Gehl, ‘Life Between Building’.