The Malay people and the flood in Kelantan

Abstract

This thesis explores suitable design of dwellings on a floodplain that assist people to coexist with the rising water level of seasonal floods. The inadequacy of current approaches to managing floodplain inhabitation in Malaysia has driven this thesis study.

Every year, seasonal flood forces local people to leave their homes and stay at relief centres. This circumstance has become a norm and is repeated every year without any architectural response being introduced to minimise the impact of the event. In response to this, management of floodplain inhabitation must shift from flood prevention to adaptation.

This research explores vernacular and modern practices to the flooding problem. Providing a safe residential environment and maintaining accessibility through the site project while maintaining Malay culture and heritage is the ultimate aim of this thesis. This research also studies traditional Malay houses as the main design precedent, the flood nature of the chosen site and the culture of the Malay people. Following a literature review and investigation of the design parameters, iterative design processes help develop flood resilient design sympathetic to local context.

This thesis concludes with an architectural outcome that is resilient to flood, culturally responsive and provides a positive social scenario at individual, community and neighbourhood levels. The neighbourhoods are planned to enable interchangeable modes of transport and maintain access during floods, while maintaining the unique cultural needs of the Malay women and their families in their homes and through the community. A hexagonal arrangement has been determined as the optimum solution, after investigating numerous options.

The findings of this thesis will enable plans to be replicated in other flood prone areas in Malaysia. This project is developed to generate discourse among government bodies and city developers and to initiate change that is long overdue.

So, let it rain, let it rain, let it rain.