Iskandar Malaysia is a special development region in Johor covering a large area of 2,217sq. kilometres, three times bigger than Singapore. Tourism is one of the sectors that has been given special attention by Iskandar Region Development Authority (IRDA) to attract tourists to Johor. Iskandar Malaysia Tourism Promotional and Training Centre is a project designed to provide comprehensive facilities for tourism sector promotional activities, information and training centre to make Iskandar Malaysia a premier tourist’s destination in Malaysia and the Asian Region.
The project is the first design project in an urban environment and proceeded by a short design exercise at the Crocodile Sanctuary Interpretation Centre, Pasir Gudang, Johor. The introductory project is a two-week exercise to explore ideas and to introduce issues in architecture for tourism. A two-day site visit was conducted and two interesting locations were chosen for the studio project. The sites were within one kilometer apart, situated at Jalan Wong Ah Fook and Jalan Bulit Meldrum.
Thorough site analysis was carried out followed by a synthesis and a site model as a group work for both sites. The sites were assigned by studio coordinator to equal number of students. For experiential learning and to enhance tourism understanding amongst the students, an educational trip to Bali, Indonesia, was conducted for two weeks. Besides visiting various places of attractions, students were also required to attend a conference and a short architectural workshop in Udayana University, Denpasar and two architects offices; Rumah Intaran, in Singaraja and Bensley Design Studio, in Sanur, Bali.
The design brief for this project calls for the total maximum area for the complex to be approximately 5000 sq meter which consists of a lobby, gallery and travel agent outlets, seminar and training facilities, office spaces for specialized sectors in the tourism industry such as leisure, ecological, historical, retail, trade, expo, medical, sports and agro. Other spaces required are restaurants, souvenir shops and services areas. Students were given flexibility to work the brief to suit the site and design concept without compromising the intended functions of the centre. This opportunity allows creativity to flourish as evidenced in the following emerging talents and works in the design of the sustainable and tropical environment for the Iskandar Malaysia Tourism Promotional and Training Centre.
