Community Service Initiative Journal

1. COMMUNITY SERVICE INITIATIVE
UCM60102U
E-JOURNAL
TUTORS:
MR MOHD ADIB RAMLI
MS ANN SEE PENG
STUDENT: LIM JOE ONN
ID : 0318679

2. PROLOGUE
Community Service Initiative reveals us to the real community and work together as a team. Activities
done in this module can enhance designated communities, making their lives more convenient. This
individual e-journal documents the entire process of our project since the start until the end of the
module.
Community Service Initiative gives us the opportunity to integrate theories with design practice. We are
required to incorporate the theories learnt in school into solving real life issues. For this module, my team
and I decided to address two major issues in our city of Kuala Lumpur, namely the growing amount of
waste due to used banners and the demand of shelter by homeless people.
Image of an alley in Kuala Lumpur, where many social issues could be observed:

3. ISSUE 1: WASTED BANNERS
Numerous banners are printed for school events, political campaigns and propaganda. These banners are
made of strong waterproof materials such as vinyl and polyester mesh that are able to withstand outdoor
conditions such as strong tropical sunlight and heavy rainfall.
Images of banners:
However, most of these banners are thrown away after their period of service or end of an event, creating
huge amounts of trash. This is due to the fact that the printed side of these banners are permanent and
are not subjected to editing, shortening their life span. These banners have weather-resistant properties
and are capable of being shades to temporary shelters.

4. ISSUE 2: HOMELESS PEOPLE IN KUALA LUMPUR
According to malaysiandigest.com, the number of homeless people in Kuala Lumpur have increased by
three-fold, from 600 in 2014 to at least 2000 people last year, based on a survey conducted by the Kuala
Lumpur City Council (DBKL).
Image of homeless person in Kuala Lumpur (image source: Says.com):
Image of homeless person in Kuala Lumpur photographed by me:

5. Homeless people are commonly found in downtown Kuala Lumpur. Some of them end up on the streets
due to gambling habits and debt. They typically sleep by the roadside when they are not scavenging food
or begging, desperately needing shelters that can protect them from the scorching tropical sun. Besides,
their presence leaves a negative impression to tourists. Proper and affordable shelters can solve this
problem.
Federal Territories Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Adnan Md Ikhsan said the ministry was working
hard to provide shelter for the homeless. As charity begins at home, why not we as citizens lend a hand
by creating cheap yet durable shelters for them. Simple actions of social engagement may leave a huge
positive impact on people’s lives.
SOLUTION
After thorough discussion with my teammates, we came up with the idea of killing two birds with one
stone. By recycling these readily available banners, we can create shelters for the needy. Since there are
so many used banners available, we can modify them into weather-resistant shelters for the wandering
homeless. Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman was selected as our site due to the abundance of homeless people
in that region.
Group discussion in campus:
Productive conversations between teammates challenges our creative and critical thinking skills as we
need to think of ideas on ways to utilize our resources and transform them into something functional.
Albeit the final solution is generally rather simple, design is a rather long process. The prototype needs to
be cheap, durable, functional, easy to carry around and structurally stable.

6. Our team is formed by various members from different cultural backgrounds and nations, namely Mexico,
Tanzania, South Korea and Malaysia. As communication plays an essential role during the whole project,
I learnt that interpersonal skills are vital when completing a task. Good communication skills enable
members to understand one another, making sure that correct messages are conveyed. Group
coordination is difficult as each of us have our individual hectic schedules. Not all people are free at
the same time.
Our initial idea was to create a rigid cuboid frame to support the weight of the banner but PVC joints with
three axes X, Y and Z are not available. Our survey at hardware shops only found L-shaped and T-shaped
joints. Besides, a rigid frame design requires more PVC pipes, making it heavy and slightly more expensive.
Inspiration can be found anywhere even when it is unintentional. We firmly believe that new ideas can
sprout in our gray matter by keenly observing items or activities around us in our daily lives. In our team
member Iche’s room, we came across a simple foldable laundry basket designed by Ikea, a world-
renowned furniture company.

7. The unpremeditated noticing of this simple device that is used in our daily lives sparks the euphoric sense
of eureka in our minds. This type of foldable structure decreases the amount of PVC pipes required,
making it easier to carry around. Our structure can be similar to this laundry basket, but at a larger scale
covered by a banner.
Thus, our idea is synthesized by creating a model using the digital software 3D SketchUp.
Next, I was in charge of making a draft for a poster that proposes our idea. It will become the catalyst to
produce the poster that will propagate our idea to viewers.

8. Image of draft poster:
The name for the shelter, Sleepod, was decided together much later via our team’s WhatsApp group.

9. PROTOTYPE & PROCESS
Asides from that, I volunteered to do the task of getting a used banner. Thus, on the 3rd
of June 2017, I
drove to my previous high school, SMJK Katholik to scavenge for unwanted banners.
Image of SMJK Katholik’s Block E:
With the assistance of a senior, I was fortunate to find two available banners dumped beside the school’s
Grand Hall. After further enquiry, I knew that these banners were abandoned since National Day last year
and are currently under the possession of the school’s Purple Sport House. With permission from the
person-in-charge, I rolled one of the banners and carried it back to studio.
Image of unwanted banners:

10. Image of me carrying one of the banners back to studio:
To ensure that a project runs smoothly, I fully utilized my contacts to enquire for required resources.
Having plenty of friends and contacts can proof to be advantageous. Keep in touch with your high school
friends, you may never know when do you need them.

11. I also volunteered to take photographs of the whole cleaning, cutting and testing processes. Images are
essential as they provide proof and material to our individual reports and submission.
Hong Jie and Iche measuring and cutting the PVC pipes bought by Sham:

12. Pablo, Iche and I cleaning and drying the banner:

13. Sung Ho, Pablo and other teammates drilling holes and setting up the prototype:

14. Testing out the prototype:

15. One modification is done to the prototype, which is replacing metal rods with rope as rope is readily
available and are strong enough to serve as a tensile component that holds the structure together.
Sometimes we should be flexible in design so that options that are more practical can be considered.
Many hands make light work and we managed to construct the prototype within a few hours. Teamwork
and cooperative spirit is totally manifested among our team. Everyone was punctual to the meeting and
finished their given duties with excellence. We are glad that this prototype did function well as expected.
The shelter is big enough to house a person when assembled and rather easy to carry around when
disassembled. Moreover, the time taken for a homeless person to set up his new home is roughly 5
minutes, which is easy as there aren’t many joints to work with due to its ingenious simplicity.
Pablo lying down in the Sleepod:

16. MEETING POTENTIAL USERS
On the 6th
of June 2017, we went to our site, which is at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, more widely known
as Jalan TAR in downtown Kuala Lumpur. After some safety considerations and parking issues, we finally
settled nearby TNB substation, hoping to meet some homeless people for their feedbacks. Homeless
people are easily found in this area and we had to step up our courage to interact and engage with them.
Some of them replied with rude stares and some of them refused to receive our offer. After much trial,
we finally got to meet Mr Aziz, an old and gentle homeless man that is sleeping beside the pavement.
Image of the Sleepod and us having a conversation with Mr Aziz:

17. Mr Aziz trying out the Sleepod:
After some degree of persuasion, Mr Aziz agreed to try out our Sleepod. He personally admired the shelter,
mentioning how cool and comfortable it is to be within it. He also liked how portable it is. To his surprise,
the assembly of Sleepod took no longer than 5 minutes. We then concluded the Sleepod to be successful
and gave him an A&W set meal to ‘buka puasa’ as a token of appreciation.
Group photo at site:

18. To avoid rush hour jam, we left at 4pm. On my car (I was driving), we discussed on the team’s task
delegation and I worked on the script for the video after arriving in campus together with uploading all
my photos from my SD card to Google Drive so that the whole team received my photos to be put in their
journals.
CONCLUSION & REFLECTION
In a nutshell, this project gave us a valuable opportunity to implement the architectural design skills learnt
in campus on solving social issues. I felt happy that together as a team, we are able to contribute back to
society. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, shelter is one of the basic necessities of humans yet
there are those who are not fortunate to have one, living in the same city amongst us. Every day we come
across these people, but we give them momentary glances most of the time without providing much
assistance.
This module inspired me to be a person of compassion. A morally upright and kind person that utilizes
his knowledge to improvise the lives of others and make the world better. In terms of team effort, I
believed that my team and I worked collaboratively in making this prototype happen. Soft skills such as
communication skills, problem-solving abilities, adaptability and teamwork are clearly emphasized in
this module and I firmly believed that these skills were enhanced within me through the completion of
this beneficial project.
Full group photo: