THERAPEUTIC LANDSCAPE DESIGN FOR SOCIAL REPAIR: REVITALIZING THE SUNGAI BULOH LEPROSARIUM

Abstract

This study repositions the Sungai Buloh Leprosarium into an environment for potential social restoration through the lens of the therapeutic landscape theory, biophilic design principles, and human settlements development history. The research examines how spatial, environmental, and symbolic dimensions of the site may contribute to psychosocial healing and community reintegration. The methodology employed by the study are on-site observation and systematic photographic documentation of the current spatial organisation, environmental condition, architectural heritage, and landscape character of the site. Through qualitative site synthesis, the research establishes the most important narrative layers of environmental and social elements embedded within the settlement. The output from the first phase of the research is a comprehensive site synthesis and articulation of preliminary therapeutic landscape design strategies to transform the leprosarium into a dignified, memorable, and inclusive public engagement space. The first phase of the research presented in the paper will enable the subsequent phase to translate these strategies into a landscape master plan proposal. By framing landscape architecture as a form of social repair, this study contributes to design discourse on how historically stigmatised healthcare sites can be reimagined as resilient, healing environments grounded in human rights and collective memory.