LIFESTYLE CENTRE DESIGN BASED ON CULTURE AND SOCIAL SPACE IN LITTLE INDIA, MEDAN CITY

• Main Author: Adhalia Sharif, Shania
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/59852
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Little India is an area in Medan city inhabited by three ethnicities, which are Tionghoa, India, and Bataknese. This situation could lead to the beginning of a discord, especially when the ethnicities does not have a mutual understanding of each other. Medan city itself has a unique issue regarding ethnic relationship, whereas the dominant ethnicity poses no discrimination towards other ethnicities. Instead the minority group (such as Tionghoa and India) tends to be more private and kept to themselves. Therefore, there needs to be familiarization to each ethnicity to strengthen diversity without sacrificing unity. Familiarization of each ethnicities needs to be repackaged in a way to gain more interest for users. It also requires the occupied space to be comfortable as well as able to withheld all the major celebration from all three ethnicities. Therefore, it was decided to create a lifestyle center which design centered around cultures and located near existing social space to strengthen their existence. The selected site has several issues that needs to be tackled. The site is located in downtown area that are crowded with vehicles and shop houses at its four sides. This area also had a hot and dry climate with no trees nor green spaces. For these reasons, it was decided to sink the building underground and used the rooftop as a city forest. When designing, it is decided that the more acceptable design would be an organic concept that blends with nature. Due to this the massing is made to flow like a river with hilly landscape on top. Moreover, anchor from the lifestyle center are made to be culture centers for Tionghoa, India, and Batak ethnicity. The design also includes a plaza to withheld the three ethnicities’ major celebrations.