The ubiquitous community hall on the Malaysian landscape, as it stands now, has long passed its use-by date. Here’s a
look at how such spaces can be redesigned to make them truly relevant to today’s community.
CALL it what you will: dewan serbaguna, dewan orang ramai or even balai raya. But as it stands today, the community
hall in our midst is nothing more than a large empty space used for games like badminton, ping pong and the occasional
event.
The changing modern Malaysian society demands more of this simple outdated facility.
Architecturally, there must be a place for the various ethnic groups to meet and fulfil modern needs such as family days,
health checks, child’s play, music lessons and many more.
The present dewan serbaguna (multipurpose halls) are, to my mind, in dewan serba-tak-guna (unused halls).
The idea of an all-functioning room dates back a century ago to Mies van der Rohe’s â€oeuniversal space― idea. This was
logical, attractive and simple: put up a long span of space with no interior columns and make it high enough to suit
functions such as sports and community gatherings.
The problem with this idea is that the room is valid for two purposes only: a community gathering that occurs once in a
blue moon and a weekly badminton game.
Try playing chess in a big hall. Try going there for a chit-chat and see if you can pass beyond the closed steel gates. And
if you do pass through the gates, where are you going to sit?
The high ceiling is only for one function: to enable people to play badminton. For other functions, it means a waste of air
conditioning and light energy. With the ceiling at 24ft (7.2m) or more, it takes strong lighting and plenty of fan energy to
reach ground level.
And, why are we closing the windows that give better lighting and ventilation to the hall? Is it to prevent any wind from
interfering with the shuttlecock?
So just because of one function – to be able to play badminton – the building fails to provide for other functions and
perhaps even makes it difficult to hold a gathering. Consider the echo effect in a huge volume of closed up space when
you’re trying to announce something on the speaker system.
This present structure MUST GO!
First and foremost, a community centre building must have a cafeteria, or a warung type, atmosphere. The food stalls or
the cafeteria is one of the most important ice-breaking social elements. It is a neutral cultural entity since all of us have to
eat.
Next, a small library space for students to study would be a big help to our children in the low cost housing flats. Our
reading habit is poor not because our children don’t like to read but simply because they cannot afford the book prices.
There are no libraries in the housing estates and the kids are never given enough time to spend in the school library.
They don’t have time after school because of they have sekolah agama (religious school) afterwards and finally, their
parents lack the joy of reading.
Add a nice and safe playground with seating under a clump of shady trees to the community centre and it will draw
parents and toddlers.
Of course we must have the multi-functional space but that does not require a two-storey high building; just a volume
that’s over 12ft (3.6m) high will do fine.
The administration space should include rooms for a director and two assistants with ample storage and a workroom for
organising activities such as exhibitions and family sports day.
There should also be one or two smaller rooms for classes and children’s tuition. The car park should be designed to
allow for tents and similar temporary structures.
Outside seating is a must and should be integrated with the landscape that provides for both semi-private activities and
rowdy ones.
The architectural language should incorporate ethnic vocabulary with natural materials such as stone, brick and timber
with support from the usual reinforced concrete structural frames.
Make it a bit resort-like and not like a sports centre or an abandoned small factory. I see sheets of metal decks being
used as walls and curved roofs in today’s dewans – a â€oenatural― evolution of a badminton hall into a small and medium
industry workshop?
Avoid the urge to make strong Putrajaya-style symmetry compositions for such buildings. Instead, make them
asymmetrical with broken up massing to lower the building scale and provide good natural lighting and ventilation.
Apart from the physical building, there are two other important ingredients needed to make this space viable in today’s
local context. These are community programmes that are culturally neutral but can provide self-advancement and are
able to meet some aspects of national concerns; and a director with a team to design such a community curriculum and
ensure its implementation.
In order to address the perceived social stresses in our Malaysian society, we must pool our resources, be it academic,
professional, organisational or political. As there are many new social variables being introduced into our community
contexts, so must we follow suit with the introduction of a new cultural catalyst – the community development centre.
I think with the abovementioned suggestions, we can then live like a community. Perhaps we might even clear the
cobwebs over the half buried notion of a â€oebangsa― Malaysia.
ï‚· Universiti Teknologi Malaysia lecturer
Prof Dr Mohamad Tajuddin passionately believes that architectural design that
respects cultural values, religious sensitivities and the ideals of democracy is vital to nation-building and harmony.
http://web.utm.my/today - UTM Today
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