Red Rig

The ‘Red Rig’ is a proposal that aspires to provide an alternative perspective on how sustainability could be defined, to reinterpret itself as a catalyst for further investigations upon the sustentation of local fishing villages and the vernacular architecture of Malaysia.

With climate change and the global capital challenging its sense of place, with ruthless development erasing local fishing traditions in Johor Bahru, with a huge number of abandoned oil rigs and with the 1MDB scandal impacting Malaysia’s status and economy - the Red Rig will become a strong symbol of new “sustentation”. It is a steppingstone towards becoming “One Malaysia”. Explored through process-based experiments termed “Infra-type”, it is a process where an infrastructure of a cultural typology (podium, façade, column and roof) is extracted and amplified.

A ramped up Red Book, established by Former Prime Minister Abdul Razak Hussein, guides form, programs and spatial arrangements while becoming a strong reminder to Ex PM Najib Razak of his involvement in 1MDB and his father’s great achievement.

The Red Rig is a path for Malaysia’s resurrection of a lost vernacular. The Red Book and repurposed oil rigs establish a new ground of sustained hope towards “One Malaysia” designed by PM Najib Razak himself.