SEBERANG Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) and Think City are in collaboration to optimize the use of land located under the Butterworth Outer Ring Road (BORR) which is about 250m from Penang Sentral.
Both entities launched the country’s first ever design competition for ‘dead space’ under the flyover at BORR. A site briefing was conducted today at BORR with interested participants to provide them a better understanding of the site context.
This project envisions the effective use of dead spaces in town by turning them into attractive sites and functional open spaces for community gatherings which also benefit the public. The whole intention is not only to beautify the place but to make them useful to the people at large.
There are namely three island sites under the flyover which are termed as the competition’s location. The three island sites collectively measure around 4,338 sqm and are bound by Jalan Bagan Dalam. The Competition is open to Malaysians (foreigners can join as a member of a group with other Malaysians). Registration will be closed on Jan 25, 2019.
Institute of Landscape Architects Malaysia (ILAM) president Assoc Dr Suhardi Maulan said that with the small size of the BORR underpass, he hoped the competition will allow participants to come up with solutions that are holistic in nature and can be a catalyst for future landscaping and developments in Butterworth.
“Working together with Think City allowed us to engage in collaborative community work which is a good platform for ILAM to be involved to resolve the complexity of turning vision into reality. It is a dream to see dead spaces under the BORR transform into a beacon of greenery, biodiversity and community resiliency,” Suhardi said during the site visit briefing.
Interested members of the public can join in this competition as they need to come up with a design which can revive the dead space. The first prize winner will walk away with RM10,000. For further details regarding the competition, visit www.ilamalaysia.org/borrcompetition.
Don’t miss the chance to bring Butterworth back to life as a happening place in town.
Story by K. Thaarshenii
Pix by Noor Siti Nabilah Noorazis