I READ with great interest the letter by Michael Singho (Dec 24). As a professional and academician working every day with these kinds of issues, I would like to draw the attention of Malacca’s civil society to international design contests as a democratic tool to support constructively the claim of the Portuguese minority for a church to serve the needs of the local community.

An International Design Contest is an open competition sponsored by a private or public local organ-isation (or both) and aimed at attracting architects and planning firms worldwide to come up with a concept for a project. It doesn’t need to be expensive. Much of the resources invested depend on the target the local community wants to achieve.

In particular, if it is the case that the Portuguese minority of Malacca want to advocate the construction of a church serving the community; acquire the necessary technical knowledge to build it; use architectural blueprints to estimate costs and impacts; push the local authorities as well as the federal government to raise funding for the construction; obtain a worthwhile production (the church) which is functional, well integrated in the urban context of Malacca, and perhaps capable of strengthening the city’s assets for social cohesion, economic development and cultural milieu – then organising an open International Design Contest is perhaps the best choice.

But such a contest would have other positive follow-ups for

Malacca under certain conditions. First, at once it would be possible to acquire many significant design proposals and select the best to serve the ideals of the community. To achieve this target, it is crucial to design carefully the jury panel and competition guidelines.

Second, an International Design Contest would drastically improve the transparency of the process, considering costs and time. If the competition is “open” to any architectural firm, there would be fewer risks than to have a project imposed by some “hidden hand” in the establishment. The community of Malacca itself therefore will choose the best project in a more democratic way. In this respect, the local community must be involved in the competition process.

Third, the International Design Contest would encourage professional partnerships between local architects and the best international design firms – just like centuries ago when Malacca was built as a result of cooperation between locals and foreign merchants.

Opening up cooperation in the field of architecture and urban planning would regain Malacca the respect of the worldwide cultural community and contribute to making the city a best practice for urban rehabilitation and contemporary architecture in the region.

Agatino Rizzo
via email

Source: The Sun – December 29, 2009