Mangrove Visitor Centre Part 1 Project 2011 Chzesiang Choot University of Malaya | Malaysia The project sits in the heart of Kuantan, a city in Malaysia. Like many Malaysia cities, Kuantan is developing rapidly, the consequences being a loss of mangrove swamps area due to the pollution. The mangrove visitor centre intends to raise the awareness to the people about the important of mangrove as a part of the city. With that in mind, the ultimate intention of the design is to incorporate the unique characteristic and behaviour of mangrove with the site`s element so that it is not just a building, but an architecture with natural feature.The buildings is raised on stilts offered more benefits to the site than on the ground. It creates a public space underneath the building so that it encourages the movement from the city to the river. Not only that, the building somehow denote that the site as the most significant entrance to the river esplanade. Building acts like a mangrove, provide a large canopy to the pedestrian underneath it. The space was inspired by the spaces between the roots of the mangrove as the space where interactions happened. In addition, the stilts give a sense of fisherman village like what it has along the Kuantan River.The form of the building appears to be two different languages are speaking to each other in a unique way. Again, it tries to enhance and highlight the paradox in the mangrove and the site. Besides, it also ties back the river and the city which has somewhat disconnected in the sense and also fully utilize the site as a threshold of city to the river. Elevation design is taking consideration into the views from city towards mangrove and vice versa. The skin of building is designed so that the each block do not look so stiff and monotonous, the formal block appeared to have informal and random skin pattern while the informal block possessed the formal and regular skin pattern. Chzesiang Choot Tutor(s) Ezlina Adnan