PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Institute of Planners (MIP) is organising a design competition for the master plan of the 484-acre (193.6ha) Bandar Malaysia, a brown field redevelopment project on the former site of the Sungai Besi airbase in Kuala Lumpur.

Organised jointly with Bandar Malaysia’s master developer 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), the competition is open to all local and international planners and design consultants.
Deadline for submissions is Nov 15 and the result will be known in July 2012.

The design competition, officially launched yesterday, follows a stringent three-stage selection process with a judging panel consisting of members from Kuala Lumpur City Hall, 1MDB, the Malaysian Institute of Architects, the Association of Consulting Engineers, the Institute of Landscape Architects Malaysia, the Institute of Surveyors Malaysia, representatives from non-governmental organisations and international professionals nominated by MIP.

“MIP is well connected to an extensive network of global consultants and we are confident of getting the top talents to pitch their ideas in this competition. The selection of the master plan for Bandar Malaysia will be done in the most transparent manner possible,” MIP president Prof Datuk Dr Alias Abdullah said at the launch.

He said the master plan must be able to address urban solutions such as traffic issues and transportation services, grey and green infrastructure besides being sustainable economically, socially and environmentally.

“Sustainability of the design to ensure the livability of the development is of utmost importance,” said Khairiah Talha, the competition manager appointed by MIP.

“Recent findings concluded that 36% of carbon emissions are emitted from urban developments and we want to contribute in lowering this figure in the future especially since studies have shown that 70% of the world population is going to be urbanised,” she added.

There are no particular guidelines on the allocation of residential, commercial and leisure spaces for Bandar Malaysia. Designers are free to be as creative as possible, Khairiah said, and she hopes the contest will bring forth a feasible yet unique design which will wow the judges.

While 80% of the scores will come from a panel of judges through a three-stage elimination rounds, 20% will be decided by the public in the final stage.