UCSI ARchitecture
Site Visit to Kota Lukut, Negeri Sembilan by Design 4
Norizan Bte Daud & Lin Yola
The design project for design 4, a Visitor Impetrative Centre requires the students to visit Kota Lukut a national heritage site located in Negeri Sembilan. To fit with our teaching plan, the visit was organized immediately after the Hari Raya Aidil Fitri weekend. Prior to the visit, students made their way to Museum Negara for a lecture by Encik Rosiswandy, curator of Kota Lukut Museum for 13 years.
Site visits play a crucial part of an architectural students training to develop and sense the spirit of the place. Kapitan Yap Ah Loy fame began in Kota Lukut as a cook before he moved to Kuala Lumpur and ventured into an entrepreneurship mining ‘taukeh’.
As part of the design process the students were to develop their own interpretation history of Kota Lukut. The most striking incident which most students found fascinated was the unjust administration of the ruler Raja Busu putting a heavy tax on the tin miner, which resulted in the miners infuriation with anger causing his life and his entire family burnt to death. Perhaps the whole history is necessary to be told in a broader spectrum to understand the whole picture of why Kota Lukut is considered to be the national treasure to this country. I will leave this open for your inquisitive mind to find out.
The trip took place on the 2nd August 2014. This heritage complex is situated in Lukut district, about 7 km from the famous beach resort Malaysian’s know well. The access to the complex is via the old road to Port Dickson. Thirty three students and 3 lecturers managed to stay at the Waterfront Hotel located in a new development area in the central town of Port Dickson, about 10 minutes’ drive to the site.
The following the morning, we arrived at the site to meet with Mr. Peterson, the new curator for a briefing and a heritage trail, highlighting features such as a man-made retaining walls as high as 6 meters made of laterite rock which are commonly found around the area.
Mr. Peterson briefing the history of Kota Lukut to the students.
The fort was built with laterite rocks available in the area.
Examples of archeological discovery such as remains of foundation of the palace once belong to Raja Jumaat and his empire. The building was believed to have been demolished by the following rulers to remove any evidence of the Bugis power. The footprints of activities during Raja Jumaat reign can be sense clearly. Few numbers of water containers made out of brick walls stand to facilitate the miner’s needs. A private sunken bathing area with a ‘well’ filled up daily brought from the nearby river for the royals use. A well-known legend of a poison well located outside common view for unwelcomed activities such as stealing. A theory believes this poison well acts as a deterrent used by Raja Jumaat to control his people from menacing. Others believed this well was used as an escape route to the nearby river. However the later it is yet to be proven the authenticity.
Students were grouped (11 students per group) into 3 zones to study, observe and collect data based on the criteria provided such as natural and man-made features and typology of architecture which made up the neighborhood context of the site. This project intends to promote contextual relationship of his architecture and encourage the young mind to be interested in their local history therefore enriching cultural values.
Economic sense - materials and nature of the construction coexist.
Students works establishing the heritage trail.