MBEA1126 | 20242025-02 | PRE-THESIS 02
MBEA1126 | 20242025-02 | PRE-THESIS 02
Kampung Pandan Dobi: Laundry Service, Appliances Resource Center & Local Business Startup
A human-centered space where the act of ‘bersidai’ both hanging clothes and lingering while waiting creates a warm, welcoming environment rooted in kampung traditions. The visible presence of drying garments softens the building’s edge and evokes familiarity, while the people who sidai around the dobi animate the space with everyday life. This simple act opens up opportunities for sociability, spark local business initiatives, informal learning of traditional cleaning methods, and community exchange. Together it creates a kampung setting with human-centered built environment and personalised territory.
DESIGNER PROFILE
CHIAM XIN RU
Head of Panel
| Assoc. Prof. Dr Sharifah Salwa Syed Mahdzar
Matric No
| MBE231094
Official Email
| chiamxinru@graduate.utm.my
Personal Email
| chiamxr@gmail.com
Contact No
| +60138135646
This manifesto envisions the revival of the kampung spirit through a human-centered business model that acts as an urban catalyst, transforming the old dobi into a personalized and inclusive social hub. By drawing inspiration from the welcoming essence of traditional Malay kampung environments where communal life, trust, and mutual care thrived the design seeks to reintroduce a spatial identity rooted in belonging and everyday interaction. The built environment will reflect the informal, porous edges and shared spaces of an urban village, where boundaries between public and private blur to encourage spontaneous social encounters. Through design strategies that prioritize warmth, accessibility, and cultural memory, the revitalized dobi becomes more than a business it becomes a place of gathering, storytelling, and continuity, reconnecting Kampung Pandan to its resilient local identity amid the forces of urban transformation.