Recognising the need for lifelong learning, the Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE) has presented with the idea of establishing a community college in every parliamentary constituency that responds to the specific needs of the community as well as a local vocational and technical training institution.
The brief called for a prototype design with standard core spaces and a flexible module of workshops that could be manipulated to different socio-needs and different site conditions. This is part and parcel of the institutional project package that comprises 100 sites all across Malaysia for over 10,000 student population. Thus, the package has adopted the fast pre-cast construction method that was accomplished within four years timeline.
The design aims to create permeability between learning and teaching spaces and promoting integration between students and staff members, and this has been manifested in its spatial configuration which focuses on a series of courtyards as a dynamic place of interaction. A ‘head’ section has been created, accommodating all main spaces and a ‘spine’ part carrying the entire relevant workshop module attached to it. The ‘head’ section also includes the administrative and academic areas, resource centre, food court, cooperative shop and surau.
Among the successful prototype is the Kuala Langat Community College, located in Banting, Selangor. Sited amidst a vast palm oil plantation, it comprises a four-storey main academic block with four-storey workshop buildings arranged and attached to the central circulation axis, perpendicular to the access road for service purposes and the rear section of the site.