Rethinking the Post Pandemic High Rise

Project idea

Rethinking post- pandemic high-rise is a shift in mindset of redesigning high-rise after the Covid-19 pandemic. The city is known as a landmark and a symbol of nation’s development, economic growth, and stability. Companies competed intensely for prime office space in major urban centers. The rapid urban sprawls resulted in urban expansion and densification in the cities. Next, excessive use of automobile, pollution, congestion and vanishing urban open spaces were the battle cries. The city is a public space. The expansion of cities vertically should maintain the paradigm of the activities and experiences associated to urban life today. In order to stimulate the vertical expansion of our cities, there is a need to aim for voids in high-rise building that are public and can be utilised in a flexible manner. The integration of this voids creates the means of escape to high-rise urban dwellers in their hectic daily lives. The mixed-use development approach in the urban areas is a way forward towards communal living within urban dwellers.

Project description

The recent pandemic impacted the city in adapting towards the new norm that changed how people lived and work. Reimagining work shifted the paradigm of work culture and experiences of open plan concept, collaborations and social interaction rather than individual working. The current trend in the 21st century put great emphasis on bringing people together and creating buzz concepts like high-density open- plan working as well as flexibility of space. The coming transformation will see an options of owned space, standard leases, flexible leases, flex spaces, co-working spaces, and remote work in adapting towards post-pandemic. Emphasis of post-pandemic working environment is on worker’s empathy relating to work-life balance as a holistic approach to workplace wellbeing. Coping with post-pandemic resulted in immediate transformation of working environment such as social distancing, secured access involving thermal screening, office layout modification and redesigning of individual and collaborative spaces.
Based on this scenario, this project is aimed at imparting experience to students on reducing building footprints by going vertical in alleviating some of urban sprawl in Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone, Penang. Rethinking the post-pandemic high-rise development should address the new norm of living in vertical cites whilst re-engaging in a stimulating work environment.

Technical information

Fluidity in Design is being implemented in this proposed building's main concept. Fluidity in design is not only being adapted in the form of the building but it is also impacted on how the interior spaces is being integrated together in order to form a seamless and effortless flow between private, semi-private and also public spaces. All this spaces also being designed in consideration of our current pandemics situation thus, several technologies and innovations is also being integrated together to ensure the wellbeing of the occupants, the sustainability of the building and also the environment.

Documentation

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