COVID-19 has affected the lives of many people around the world. We are now two to three years afer the pandemic, the question now is what is next for our city? Should urban development follow the path it took before the pandemic hit? I think our city should be allowed to freely re-imagine possible futures and experiment with more sustainable and creative ways of life. At the very least, local communities, and creative and cultural organizations should be encouraged – designers, architects and artists should be allowed to create spaces that inspire the creativity of the city’s dwellers.
To this end, PAMSC’s World Architecture Day (WAD) celebrations have become a ‘testing ground’ for promoting creativity, and reimavgining our future cities. In the past, INTODESIGN Lab has taken the opportunity to work closely with PAMSC to organise events such as Cardboard City, the ‘Walking City’ and other installations involved in efforts to foster creativity and sustainability within local communities, particularly among the young generations.
In conjunction with this year’s WAD 2022 celebration – The temporary installation of the Moon Pavilion has been set up in the public park at the Palmerium, MBKS (Majlis Bandaraya Kuching Selatan). This place-making project also aims to promote the cultural event through the celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival (Mooncake Festival), promote community engagement and celebrate endemic. We foresaw that it could serve as a backdrop for lectures, mini concerts and night movie screenings in the park. Aside from PAMSC, the event was a combined effort of MBKS, SCACA (Sarawak Creative Art and Culture Association) and FECCA (Free and Easy Chinese Calligraphy Association).
The concept of the Moon Pavilion was derived from the poems of the Song Dynasty:At Lantern Festival – Tune: Song of Hawthorn by Ouyang Xiu (欧阳修): <生查子·元夕> 之‘月上柳梢头，人约黄昏后‘When the moon hung behind the willows, young people went out on dates under them’. This verse aims to illustrate the artistic conception of the Moon Pavilion during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The design process for the Moon Pavilion was also inspired by the Serpentine Gallery by OMA – We envision the Moon Pavilion to be simply a white spherical object floating in the park. It would be translucent in the day with shadows cast from the internal frames and illuminated at night.It can be seen from the main road or within the park, intentionally creating interest for the public. Some children claim it is a Star Wars spaceship ready to take off, a Kongming lantern, big eggs, a lantern that you can hide in, etc. it can be interpreted in any way. Most importantly, to connect architecture, art installations, and creativity to the local community.
In terms of building materials, the structure is made of bamboo,just like traditional lanterns. Bamboo was harvested and cured earlier in August by the skilful Bidayuh community from Puncak Borneo. It took a month from harvesting to installation in the park.
There is a one-day university students event held at MBKS Auditorium and Palmerium Park amid the Moon Pavilion construction – ‘PAM-SC WAD 2022: The Moon Pavilion Installation and Students Workshop’.The event consisted of a bamboo crafing workshop, and bamboo design lectures led by Dr Bambang Karsono and Cr. Wadel Boyod, site visit and installation of the Moon Pavilion. This event was participated by 110 students across five universities in Sarawak (UNIMAS, Swinburne University,UITM from Kuching, Kolej Laila Taib and UTS from Sibu).
Kuching has a rich and diverse culture and community. Our heritage is made up of the tangible, the intangible and the natural. Ultimately,we might consider what we could do next to ensure that the city’s development allows organic intervention in creative, cultural and community spaces. We could also re-imagine what our city needs soon. With that in mind, it is hoped that the Moon Pavilion will continue its mission to inspire.
