Sem 3 Project 2 Visitor Interpretive Centre
Sungai Lembing Visitor Interpretive Centre
Concept - Segregation
Sungai Lembing was once a bustling tin mining town, but since the fall of tin prices in the 1980s, the town slipped into a recession. Like a tin can that degrades when it loses its coat, the town lost its function and purpose of its existence. The tin mining industry that once act as a binder for the townsfolk wanes and segregation ensued. The young and able left the town to seek for greener pastures, leaving the aging population behind. Robbed of its youth, the town starts to rust, decay and slowly dies with its aging population.
The Visitor Interpretive Centre (VIC) act as a canvas for visitors to interpret the segregation by framing the various views of the town. The views reveal the ways in which geography, economics and differing mindsets can lead to segregation. The intention is for the visitor to draw the conclusion that discrimination should not be tolerated whether within the small context of township of the larger context of the country.
The VIC's architecture attempts to reminisce the past, embrace the present and reunite the community .
Genius Loci
Beginning of a Journey
From a distance, the worn concrete surfaces with its intentional marks of time remind me of an abandoned ruin. The rustling of the grass beneath my feet and the thump of my footsteps against the concrete pavement echoes the sentiment of abandonment. It has just stopped raining and puddles had formed on the undulating concrete pavement. An Ah Gong sat hunched over a newspaper; I would imagine he thinks of his younger days as a miner. The laughter of the children playing soccer on the filed punctuates my reverie. An Ah Sou and a Mak Cik stand at the entrance exchanging gossip and a pair of curious eyes peers at me from the VIC above. The haunted structure with its rusty steel frames reflected on the water puddle felt strangely familiar, like an abandoned mining mill.
Approach - "Rusted, Faded"
An elderly Pak Cik sits on a bench clutching his tongkat, the sands of time etched on his face. Like the VIC, he reminds me of the beginning of this tin mining town, the collapse of the industry with the subsequent exodus of the youngsters and the eventual remnants of the aging population. I step past the Pak Cik into an open foyer, a neutral zone with the benches facing one another, encouraging interaction between whomever who care to sit on them whether for a chit chat, or to watch the soccer match of the children on the field.
Journey - "Hope, Light"
I walk past the Geology Gallery and climb the stairs onto The Plaza. Rows of chiffon like fabric filter the sunlight illuminating the space with a warm and cozy glow. The space feels cheerful. I can imagine having a picnic gathering here. Rays of light from the skylight above nurture the growing tree within The Plaza. I close my eyes and lift my head allowing rays of light to bathe my face. I can feel the "rejuvenation" represented in this space. Tourism is injecting life into Sungai Lembing once again.
Climax - "Capturing Lines"
I walk on the polished concrete stepping stones in the Water Gallery. In the shadow of the darkness, the openings that framed the different views of the town become prominent. I see children playing soccer on the field beyond the metal deck roof, the the bus station in the distance. To my right, a couple is enjoying the view of the town centre on the deck. Their image is reflected on the water. I can imagine them growing old together.
I ascend the VIC, each subsequent space I passed grows dimmer, higher and narrower interspersed with multiple viewing decks offering segregated vistas of the town. The rattling sound of metal below my feet and the echo of the hard concrete floor add to the sense of isolation and I thought to myself, "People has always segregated themselves due to geography, economy and differing ideologies".
Resolution - "Acceptance"
I climb the steep double stepped stairs and arrive at the attic. This is the highest point of the VIC. In this attic I am able to see the entire town of Sungai Lembing. A little girl (probably the same pair of eyes that peered at me earlier) sat with her dog gazing at the scenic hill of Sungai Lembing. The translucent poly-carbonate, corrugated metal roof, timber walls and floor in this space evoke the atmosphere of an old mining mill and abandoned factory. This is the perfect place for solitude and contemplation. Sitting on the timber floor, leaning against the wall and observe the town throught the steel trusses, interrupted by the occasional cranking of the old mining lift, I am transported 'back in time' to when it all began.
Model and Drawings
Geology Gallery - "Shadows of the Past"
I take the old mining lift down to the Geology Gallery. The sky has started to drizzle. The Geology Gallery is a space with no roof and open to the elements, to educate visitors about the geology of Sungai Lembing and how it gave birth to one of the most effective mining town in the world. The gallery appears to be interconnected to every part of the VIC via sight-lines and physically, by an old mining lift. I look up to the sky where a thousand silver strands of rain bathe my face. My eyes take in the tall concrete structures and rusty steelworks overshadowing the gallery creating a dim setting reminiscent of the old mining tunnels and in the distance above, I thought I saw the shadow of a tin miner holding a torch....