Cultural Sustainability in Architecture : Case Study of Bung Bratak Heritage Centre

Culture is an intangible aspect of humanity, often unique to its place of origin. The Bidayuh tribe, also known as Land Dayaks, is the second-largest indigenous group in Sarawak, East Malaysia. The tribe's traditional architectural feature of the baruk, accompanied by longhouses, is more of a cultural symbol today. Most traditional structures have given way to modern, individual village houses accessible by inland roads. With the worth of their rich heritage background and diverse dialect groups, efforts are made to preserve their culture for future generations. The purpose of this study is to look into the possibility of preserving tangible heritage by analyzing the built vernacular architecture of a heritage center. This study tends to explore the cultural sustainability representation by the Bidayuh traditional baruk and longhouses. A qualitative approach through a case study research is used as a research method by choosing Bung Bratak Heritage Centre as the case study. The analysis is conducted based on literature review and on-site observation of the case study and concludes the attempt to preserve the culture of the Bidayuh tribe tangibly. The findings indicate that cultural heritage can be sustained in architecture and stir a much-needed sense of appreciation for the vernacular architecture of the Bidayuh tribe. Keywords: Cultural sustainability, heritage, bidayuh, baruk, Bung Bratak heritage cente

Revealing the Street Vendor Phenomena for Better Urban Life

Street vendor is one of the phenomena that has been discussed frequently by many scholars in the urban informal sector studies. Due to the limitation of jobs opportunity in the formal sector in the city, street vendors are becoming an option for urban communities to sustain their income. Informal street vendors’ activity grows spontaneously because it is a simple operation as compared to formal businesses, and sometimes, there is no standard procedure to regulate them. Many scholars supported that the existence of informal street vendors in urban spaces contributed to a positive impact on the sustainability of urban life. In Medan City, for example, street vendors grew tremendously, especially at night, and dominated the public spaces along the street corridors. This study attempts to reveal the causal factors and the utilization of the street corridor dominated by street vendors and its positive impact on the livability and sustainability of the city. Mixed-method research approach is applied in this study to analyze the descriptive and qualitative data obtained through observation, mapping, photo-trekking, and interviews at three (3) selected street corridors in Medan City. The results of the study reveal that this phenomenon contributes to the sustainability of urban life at night and becomes a popular place for people to gather. It helps to pull the crowd that may contribute to the livelihood of the city economy. On the other hand, it is the place that indicates the high level of place dependency for street vendors to sustain their income. Keywords: street vendor, street corridor, urban life, urban sustainabilit

Towards the Betterment of Workers’ Quarters Within Construction Site in Light of Covid-19 Pandemic : Case Study of Workers’ Quarters in Kuching City South, Sarawak

Covid-19 pandemic has been the cause of the most significant global revolution in recent times. The attack from an invisible enemy had caught the world unprepared since its first reported outbreak from Wuhan, China, in 2019. As a result, challenges arising from that of unimaginable proportions soon followed suit, and the world felt the impact of those challenges on so many levels. Most of the economy’s industries had been greatly affected, with the construction industry being one of the hardest hit. Sarawak’s construction industry is not spared either, as several construc-tion site clusters resulting from workers’ quarters popped up from the circle. The scenario creates awareness of the importance of improving the quality of workers’ quarters. The Sarawak State Government, through its Ministry of Public Health, Housing and Local Government, had formulated a guideline for Local Authorities on the temporary permit application for workers’ quarters’ building within construc-tion sites. The response of the permit is studied using a qualitative approach through a case study of workers’ quarters within construction sites in the jurisdiction of Kuching City South as the primary research method. The study is mainly based on observation and literature review and discusses the permit implementation response among the construction industry players. The findings from this paper conclude that the implementation of the permit could be observed further to capture a greater level of compliance and accountability to improve the quality of workers’ quarters for occupational safety and the general health of labourers

The Unresolved Design Issues in Malaysian Prefabricated Housing and Their Corrective Steps

Globally, prefabricated housing has been successful but in Malaysia, tremendous challenges still happening. We still face design issues which hinders industry to maximize the benefits of prefabricated concept. Research proves that we still practice improper way of design, where the drawings preparation is similar to conventional method, only convert into prefabricated design at mid-level. As a result, prefabricated housing cannot achieve its full advantages, thus many regard it as just to meet the government agenda. Many studies reported that the current design in prefabricated housing has no much different to conventional, thus lead to payment dispute, delay, contractual arguments, design clashes, rivalry relationship, and loopholes in warranty and insurance. Many also presume that prefabricated housing brings heavier risk than conventional housing. In this research, questionnaire surveys were distributed to address this issue, and the result was then verified through in-depth interviews with experts. Respondents consist of developers, contractors, prefabricated manufacturers, installers, architects, quantity surveyors, and engineers. The finding reveals the root problems on how and why the current design cannot meet prefabricated optimization. The contribution of this study is it highlights the main causes of design problems and suggests solutions that ensure prefabricated housing to reap maximum benefits

Towards the Betterment of Workers’ Quarters Within Construction Site in Light of Covid-19 Pandemic Case Study of Workers’ Quarters in Kuching City South, Saraw

Covid-19 pandemic has been the cause of the most significant global revolu-tion in recent times. The attack from an invisible enemy had caught the world unprepared since its first reported outbreak from Wuhan, China, in 2019. As a result, challenges arising from that of unimaginable proportions soon followed suit, and the world felt the impact of those challenges on so many levels. Most of the economy's industries had been greatly affected, with the construction industry being one of the hardest hit. Sarawak's con-struction industry is not spared either, as several construction site clusters re-sulting from workers' quarters popped up from the circle. The scenario cre-ates awareness of the importance of improving the quality of workers' quar-ters. The Sarawak State Government, through its Ministry of Public Health, Housing and Local Government, had formulated a guideline for Local Au-thorities on the temporary permit application for workers' quarters' building within construction sites. The response of the permit is studied using a quali-tative approach through a case study of workers' quarters within construction sites in the jurisdiction of Kuching City South as the primary research meth-od. The study is mainly based on observation and literature review and dis-cusses the permit implementation response among the construction industry players. The findings from this paper conclude that the implementation of the permit could be observed further to capture a greater level of compliance and accountability to improve the quality of workers' quarters for occupa-tional safety and the general health of labourers. Keywords: Covid-19, Pandemic, Construction Industry, Construction Site, Workers Quarters, Temporary Permi