A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project

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A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project

Information

  • Project Name: A Community Stage
  • Student Name: Liew Yao Rong
  • Softwares/Plugins: Autodesk Revit , AutoCAD , Procreate , Adobe Illustrator
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Excerpt: ‘A Community Stage’ is a Bachelors Design Project by Liew Yao Rong from the ‘School of Architecture, Building and Design – Taylor’s University.’ The project aims to transform Kampung Attap into a shared creative and cultural hub where the boundaries between making and experiencing art are blurred. It seeks to foster community interaction, dialogue, and connection, turning everyday activities into a collective, participatory performance, while respecting the neighborhood’s heritage and urban context.

Introduction: In the heart of Kampung Attap, there is a place where creativity thrives in the unseen corners of studios and workshops. But what if these hidden worlds were brought into the open? What if art, learning, and making were no longer confined behind closed doors but became a shared experience?

This project reimagines Kampung Attap as a living stage, where everyday interactions become part of an unfolding performance. Inspired by the audience–performer model, the design blurs the line between frontstage and backstage, inviting the community to step into the creative process rather than observe from a distance. By inverting the traditional frontstage–backstage layout, spontaneous encounters between artists and visitors emerge, turning the act of making into a shared spectacle.

At the same time, the studio briefly frames the project as the creation of a third space, a realm beyond home and work where people can gather, linger, and exchange ideas. Within this setting, art becomes not just an outcome but a catalyst for dialogue, connection, and belonging.

Here, an informal conversation unfolds between audience and performer. The act of making is no longer hidden—it is revealed, celebrated, and shared. Because behind every masterpiece is a story worth telling.

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Site Context

A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
Site Plan Presentation Board | Rotan Street in front of the site. The Creative Street, is holding an annual art event, Peszta Event

Kampung Attap, located on the fringe of Kuala Lumpur’s city center, is a neighborhood known for its blend of cultural heritage, small creative studios, and emerging art spaces. Tucked between older shophouses and contemporary developments, it carries the character of a place in transition, where traditional communities and new creative energies intersect.

A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
Roof Plan
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
View Form Site

The program responds directly to this condition by positioning Kampung Attap as both site and stage. Workshops, studios, and exhibition spaces are reorganized to blur boundaries between the private act of making and the public act of experiencing. Instead of separating audience and performer, maker and visitor, the design fosters overlaps and informal exchanges.

Through this reconfiguration, the project aims to establish Kampung Attap as a third space for the people, a platform for creativity, dialogue, and shared cultural production within the everyday fabric of the city.

Design Process

A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
Site Surrounding Activity Analysis Sketch

At the early stage, the design explored the idea of inverting backstage and frontage, which led to the introduction of a large central atrium. This atrium becomes the heart of the project, providing visual permeability across different levels and drawing visitors into the creative process. Surrounding the atrium, the upper storeys are arranged as a series of performance stage balconies, allowing everyday acts of making to be seen, shared, and celebrated.

A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
Section Sketch

Responding to the corner-lot condition, the building leans into a terraced form that softens sharp edges and creates a more welcoming entrance statement. A plaza extends from this entry, offering the local community a space to gather and engage.

The design also respects its urban fabric by following the site’s existing context, working with the levelling, façade sectioning, and rhythm of the shoplots so that the new intervention blends in seamlessly while introducing a fresh identity.

Final Outcome

A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
Ground Floor Plan | First Floor Plan
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
Elevation | Section

The final outcome presents a building that reinterprets heritage through a complimentary façade inspired by the shutters of old shophouses, expressed in a contemporary architectural language. This heritage reference is paired with layers of greenery that wrap the structure, softening its edges and creating a sense of continuity with the surrounding streetscape. Integrated urban farming pockets extend the building’s role beyond a creative hub, transforming it into a public green realm.

A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
Series Of Activities Sketch
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
Exploded Axonometric | Final Model Perspective View

Here, everyday interactions, whether informal, formal, or casual, become part of a shared performance, a ritual of drama that lights up the community. In this way, the project enriches both the street edge and the daily life of Kampung Attap, where making, sharing, and growing coexist as part of the same civic stage.

A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
Axonometric
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
Final Model Perspective View

Conclusion: Ultimately, this project transforms Kampung Attap into a living stage where art, making, and community intersect. By revealing creative processes and blending heritage with contemporary design, it fosters dialogue, connection, and a shared cultural experience, turning everyday life into a collective performance.

[This Academic Project has been published with text and images submitted by the student]

Site Context

A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project

Design Process

A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project

Final Outcome

A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project
A Community Stage: A Third Space for Dialogue and Belonging through Cultural Architecture | Bachelors Design Project

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