Reka bentuk mukaan bangunan awam ke arah pembentukan seni bina bercirikan identiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Abstract

National identity in architecture is vital for a developing country as it indirectly symbolises national unity, inculcating love and pride towards the nation. However, the implementation of national identity in the Malaysian built environment has been neglected by most parties involved. This has become a focal issue which has led to most public buildings not having a ‘sense of belonging and ‘sense of place’. This problem is apparent in many typologies of public and government buildings, especially in academic buildings namely at higher educational institutions. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify and analyse the relationship between national identity and the architecture of higher education. The typology of educational architecture is chosen because higher educational institutions produce intellectuals who are able to transform the pattern of life and influence the development of a nation. Hence, this study utilizes a qualitative research approach using a narrative method through interpretivism paradigm to understand and analyse the façade design of three public university administrative buildings in Malaysia; Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) and Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM). The analysis on the façade design of these three case studies is based on two key indicators which consist of fixed regional factor and dynamic regional factor. The finding shows that USIM and UIA façade designs have more national identity characteristics compared to UKM as the appearance of UIA and USIM administrative buildings fulfilled the criteria of the two key indicators. The main characteristics that are apparent to both appearances are due to the local culture approaches, design considerations in Islamic architecture, continuity in the architecture of regional heritage and local building materials that are mainly used on building façade designs to adapt climate and topography. Based on this finding, a higher education façade design is recommended for local designers and authorities as future reference for an extensive and effective implementation of architectural national identity in order to create a more unified architectural development in Malaysia.