M.M. Tahir

Sustainable campus design in malaysia: An evaluation of student's perception on four research university campuses

The issue of sustainability has been around for a long time. However, it has become a hot issue after the Earth Summit taking place in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro and in 2002 in Johannesburg. Conference in 1992 led to the formulation of Agenda 21, an action plan containing broad principles to help governments and other institutions in carrying out the policies and programs for sustainable development in their respective countries. The aim of this research was to examine the effectiveness of campus physical development planning in Malaysia in creating a sustainable living on campus by assessed the problems that exist. The study was conducted in four public university campuses and limited to only the campus physical planning. Selected campuses are the research universities campus. The case studies were conducted on each campus. The methodology used in this study is qualitative and quantitative techniques. Quantitative technique involves collecting data using questionnaires distributed among 100 respondents for each campus. Meanwhile, the qualitative technique involves collecting comments and opinions from the respondents obtained from questionnaires, behavioral observation and visual research. The results were then compared for each campus for an explanation of the problem. The findings revealed that all campuses had a similar problem. However, there are some differences about the extent or severity of the problems based on campus physical development plan that is different. The result showed that there are minimal problems occurs on the campus that planned more compact compare to a wide and dispersed campus. It also indicates that a compact campus tend to create a sustainable life on campus.

A Preliminary Study on the Sound Absorption of Self-Facing Date Palm Fibers

Sound absorption of self-facing natural date palm fibershas been investigated.A single layer sample of the fibers was tested for its sound absorption properties. The sample was then faced with the originally date palm fiber netted structure. Experimental measurements were conducted on the impedance tube at the acoustic lab, Faculty of Engineering, UniversitiKebangsaan Malaysia, to determine the sound absorption coefficient.The single layer was also tested using an aluminum perforated plate, as facing, for comparison purposes.The results show a good improvement in the sound absorption for the self-facing panel for the whole frequency range. However, when using the aluminum perforated panel an improvement in the sound absorption was observed only above 2500 Hz. The effect of introducing air gap thickness was studied. The results show improvement for the sound absorption the low frequency.

Recycled Paper Fibres as Sound Absorbing Material

Noise pollution is a workplace hazard which causes loss of hearing, depending on the sound pressure level and duration of exposure. Because duration of exposure is usually uncontrollable, sound absorbers are used to reduce the value of sound pressure level. A common method to reduce noise is to use porous sound absorbers made out of mineral wools or glass fibres. However, these materials pose health risks and are non-recyclable. This project aimed to fabricate a sound absorber using recycled paper which is in the form of egg cartons as an alternative to the abovementioned fibres. Paper fibres posses high fibre porosity and can be manufactured in a manner which the properties can be easily controlled, making them ideal to be made into sound absorbers. Furthermore, they are biodegradable, do not pose health risks and can be manufactured into different shapes easily. Recycled paper was first turned into pulp, blended and poured into moulds. Different amounts of pulp was compressed until the sample size was approximately 20 mm thick and then dried in a furnace dryer at 600C for 12 hours. The samples were tested using a two-microphone, transfer function impedance tubes according to the ISO 10534-2 standard. Its porosity was determined using a modified wash basin method. The results indicate that the optimum panel has an average noise reduction coefficient, (NRC) of 0.50, which qualifies it to be used as a sound absorbing material. It also encounters its maximum value of 0.98 which occurred at the 1575-1675 Hz range. When compared to other materials, recycled paper has similar properties as coir fibre and is quite comparable to other commercial sound absorbers at the same thickness.

Redefining sustainable outdoor learning environment in Malaysia from the understanding of natural school design and approaches in Indonesia

With current development in the pedagogy of teaching and learning approaches in the world, not many studies have been done on outdoor learning in Malaysia. Most of the study was focusing on the development of curriculum and the delivery of knowledge but not many writing and approaches has been done to see outdoor learning as one of the alternative methods of learning in school design. This paper tries to briefly explain the philosophy and approaches of one of the alternative school in Indonesia which is the Natural school or Sekolah Alam which grow tremendously fast in Indonesia. With its unique methods and learning philosophy, this Toto Chan’s style of learning has been considered one of the fastest growing alternative school in Indonesia. With its successful attempt in grooming un-ordinary children this school has proofed to be the most effective implementation of outdoor learning study methods in Indonesia. The discussion itself will consist of four (4) main parts First part will discuss on the current problem and situation in teaching and learning in Malaysia, while the second part will try to explore and review on the definition of outdoor learning with its importance and character in learning environment. The third part will focused on the lesson from Natural School approaches and philosophy of learning while the last part will do some analysis and comparison which result on the suggestion and recommendation for outdoor learning facilities design in Malaysia.

Sound Absorption Properties of a Low Density Date Palm Fibers Panel

Sound absorption properties of a natural waste of a date palm fiber panel have been presented in this chapter. The measurements were carried out for a single-layer sample using an impedance tube. The experiments were conducted for the panel with and without perforated plate facing. Three air gap thicknesses of 10, 20, and 30 mm were used between the date palm fiber sample and the rigid backing of the impedance tube to study the effect of the air gap on the panel sound absorption. An improvement in the sound absorption coefficient at higher and lower frequency ranges is found when facing the palm date fiber sample with perforated plate. Further investigation was carried out to test the effect of air gap backing and perforated plate facing combination on the sound absorption coefficient of the date palm fiber sample.

Sustainable approach in library design in Malaysia: Lesson from frank lloyd wright approaches in space and landscape design

In 1982, the National Literacy Survey carried out by the National Library reported that Malaysians only read an average of one to two pages a year. Fortunately, the reading habit among Malaysians improved to two books per year when the National Literacy Survey was repeated in 1996. Nonetheless, the last National Literacy Survey carried out in 2005 reported that Malaysians still read an average of two books a year. In short, there had been no improvement. The main objective of this paper is to initiate and open a wider discussion on library design and learning facilities in Malaysia. It tries to take some lesson from one of the greatest modern American Architect which is Frank Lloyd Wright. The discussion itself will consist of four (4) parts. First part will discuss on the current problem and situation in reading and library issues in Malaysia while the second part will try to explore and review on the definition of outdoor learning with its importance and character in learning environment. The third part will focused on the Frank Lloyd Wright’s sustainable approaches in spatial and landscape arrangement while the last part will do some analysis and comparison which result on the suggestion and recommendation for outdoor learning facilities design in Malaysia. With some understanding from the established environmental approaches of Frank Lloyd Wright’s above it is expected that we can reconstruct and redefine some framework and guideline for future outdoor facilities design in Malaysia.