Reinterpretation the Indigenous of Alor Setar Old Town

Mobility . Programme . Architectural

To preserve the culture of the place, understand the reason behind the fact is the important thing to make it a success. The young generation is not interested to inherit the local business. Abandoned public space and lane does not serve the original purpose. Empty riverfront due to the shift of the transport mode from water to land. As the original purpose has been changed over the years. The people started to pay attention to the area that the vehicle easy to access and lead to traffic congestion.


The mobility planning for the old town is an important strategy to bring back the vibrant town. As the town is built before the vehicle popularized, the town is not built for the car mobile but the pedestrian. However, we cannot eliminate what current had existed but integrate to make the planning more sustainable. Re-image and bring back the water transportation system is a good way to solve the high demand for land transportation. Bring back the neglected courtyard and back lane to serve the original purpose to mitigate the traffic congestion of the main road.


The local industry especially the craft industry in the town create a strong identity to the place. The craft always can represent the culture of the place. The long and narrow of the shophouses cannot meet the need of the craft industry today. New architectural intervention is needed to extend the craft industry. The building has the power to extend the local craft industry through architecture design strategy.


The architecture intervention in the old town is the main concern to preserve the identity of the place. The architectural style keeps changing over the years. Architectural intervention should not be building the same historical building. However, architecture should represent the current or future. This will create a strong story line for the place and remind people to appreciate the historical value of the building. It is because what currently exists will be the history of tomorrow.