Memories on reclaimed land: The defamiliarization of Weld Quay in George Town

Memories on reclaimed land: The defamiliarization of Weld Quay in George Town: How does the memory of place correlate with the transformation of Weld Quay over time and defamiliarizing the experience and perception of place?

Neoh Ke Ling, Ke Ling (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment; TU Delft History & Complexity)

Sennema, Hilde (mentor)

Delft University of Technology

Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences

AR2A011

2023-04-20

Penang was once an important port along the Straits of Melaka, connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans, serving as a major stop point for ships sailing between Asia, Europe and the Middle East. In the 19th century, the British colonial authorities decided to undertake a massive land reclamation project to expand harbour and trade activities, resulting in the creation of Weld Quay. As a reclaimed land, Weld Quay had undergone a series of political changes imposed by different governmental administrations, including the British settlement, Japanese occupation, formation of the Malayan Union, Malaya independence and the qualification of George Town as a UNESCO heritage site. Through the notion of time, Penang‘s significant shift in the political landscape has resulted in the gradual transformation of Weld Quay‘s urban redevelopment within the physical and sociocultural realm. Evidently, the progressive transition over time erased and reconstructed the history of Weld Quay, providing opportunities for creating new memories. However, at the same time, it erodes the memories of the local community that the original land accommodates. With the concept of defamiliarization, this study seeks to trace stories that occurred on the reclamation ground through the historical perspectives of everyday life by examining the public and private memories of Penangites. Despite the change in Weld Quay‘s urban landscape caused by several major historical events, the recollection and retention of an individual‘s past experiences will eventually continue to influence one‘s perception of the present condition. Thus, this study intends to reflect on the gains and losses of urban redevelopment through the sense of defamiliarization by unveiling the overlapping history of Weld Quay in relation to the individual, social, collective and public memory of place.

AR2A011
History Thesis
Urban Landscapes
Socio- spatial transformations
place identity
cultural identity

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