SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & DESIGNResearch Unit for Modern Architecture Studies in Southeast Asia

Bachelor of Science (Honours) (Architecture)

Architecture and Nation Building

Project 2

CREATE YOUR OWN NATION

Tutor: Dr Nor Hayati Hussein

Name:

Chong Yu Xuan

0317950

The Nation of Kappassa

The Nation of Kappassa, is a nation located on the Cayman Islands in the western Caribbean Sea. It is a small cluster of islands comprising of the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. The island is known for its beautiful beaches and scenery, it’s often considered a major world offshore financial haven. Being an ideal place for relaxation and rejuvenation, it serves as a good first base for a nation. It has a total size of 264 kilometre square, less than half the size of Singapore, a country well known even of its small size. A small area to govern makes micromanaging inside the country much easier and much smoother.

A nation benefits greatly from the resources that it has, surrounded by clear waves overlapping the seashores and breath-taking scenery could be one of the greatest assets of a nation. I personally feel that waking up to the sound of crashing waves and cool breeze of the sea, gives a positive impact on my outlook for the rest of the day. The nation has a tropical climate with pleasant and warm climate all year round, the temperature declines during the “winter” where the temperature drops slightly to 24°c. Christmas is celebrated with white sand instead of snow. During this time, there is little rain, brilliant sunshine, and a constant cool sea breeze. These months also coincide with peak tourist season. People around the world come to enjoy the cool weather and the cultural festivals of the islands.

Land of healing

USA is known as the land of the free and Paris as the city of romance. Kapassa is nation that excels in the field of medicine and healings of different kind. It will be known as a place of healing and rejuvenation of the body and soul. The health and wellbeing of its people are the main priority of the nation. Which is why the nations pours a lot of time and money into development in the field of healing. “Employees comes first, if you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients”, this is Sir Richard Branson’s principle in running a business. He prioritizes his employees and makes sure that they are proud of the brand and given the tools to do a good job and they are treated well. I think that this principle can also be used in a nation where the people are prioritized over anything else. Ensuring the happiness of the residents can eventually lead to easy development of the country in all aspects. The people are given free healthcare, the health care system is highly decentralized, three-level publicly funded healthcare system and a much smaller private sector. district governments are responsible for providing healthcare to their residents, including prevention of diseases has been the main focus .Resulting in the eradication of certain communicable diseases and improvement in the health of population.

Aqua culture

Blessed with resources of the sea, Kappassa utilises the rich resources available to it. The ocean provides food in the form of fish and shellfish, making them the primary cuisine on the islands. While seafood is a delicacy of the people, Kappassa has a strict law that limits the export of fishes and only allows the people to catch what is required to them. This law is imposed to prevent overfishing, that might drive the fishes to extinction. The ocean also

produces pearls, pearls are one of the major source of income for the nation. The oysters and mussels are kept and bred to produce pearls for export, craft and production of medicine and rejuvenation products. As pearls are known to contain “signal proteins” that help to maintain youthful skin tone, stimulate new bone growth, and increase existing bone density. The other resources of the ocean include crude oil and minerals. Crude oils could be found offshore near the islands, which are mined and exported, they contribute greatly to the income of the nation. Only a small amount is stored for the nations own use, as the nation has developed beyond using the use of crude oil. Renewable energy are used on the Cayman islands as the islands has a continues source of sunlight and wind due to its location in the tropics.

Districts and Ruling system

Kappassa is divided into four districts each with their own leader and government. The district leader governs their districts independently from the rest and could have their own set of laws, rules, and system if the capitol approves it. Each district differs slightly in terms of governs and culture. The breaking down of the nation can help the managing of each district go smoother as the area of govern is smaller, this ensures that no part of the country is forgotten or forsaken. The district practices socialism independently, but the nation uses a monarchy system. The royal family governs the capital of the nation, the Grand Cayman. The monarch overseas the districts. The monarch's title is called “Grand Tribal Leader”. The current monarch and head of state is Oat. She undertakes various official, ceremonial, diplomatic and representational duties. the monarchy is constitutional is also responsible for appointing the district leaders. The monarch doesn’t intervene in the governing of other districts unless necessary. The capital governed by the monarch act as a symbol of strength and a role model for the other districts. This system allows individual growth of each parts of the nation while supporting and monitoring them, if a district leader is unfavourable to the people and nation, the monarch will replace the him/her with another candidate from the people. Corruptions in the government could be limited or prevented this way.

New Cayman

The districts are the three islands and the body of water in between the Grand Cayman and the other two islands. The New Cayman is a new district created by Kappassa to make up for the lack of land areas. The end goal of the expanding district is to connect the three islands

of the nation. New Cayman is a futuristic city that consist of man-made islands and buildings on water. It’s the central for experimentation and research for both architecture and medical. The New Cayman is the district that advance the fastest, making it the futuristic identity of the Kappassa nation. The other islands will slowly adapt the methods of the New Cayman and move forward. The expansion of a new district onto open waters allows the nation to move forward without disturbing the traditional ways of the locals, giving time for the elder generation to accept the advancing change and avoid conflict within the community. The construction on the islands are mainly built using bricks, concrete, stones and wood. Due to the presence of salty breeze, little to no metal is used in the local architecture.

Religions and Believes

The fast-paced development of the nation led to a majority of youngsters embrace scientology. They seek of self-knowledge and spiritual fulfilment through graded course of study. The traditional ways and cultures of their ancestors are still practiced to ensure a continuation of traditions. The older generations of locals’ practices paganism, they pray to the sea and the mountains for protection and prosperity. The advancement of technology has made the locals more open-minded and accepting of other religions and beliefs. Majority of grand architecture on the islands are crafted for man use rather than religion, as the people worships knowledge more than faith. The nation celebrates different kinds of festivals from different parts of the world to bring together the local people and the tourists. This can create a strong bond between the people, thus avoiding possible petty conflicts.

Education

A nation is only as good as the people in it, the students are first taught to respect people and animals, mimicked from the Japanese. Japan is long known for its disciplined and respectful people which is a major impact on the image and the development of the country. While the students learn the basic academic knowledge in middle school. Their experience of high school greatly differs from it, high school is treated as a transitional phase and also a choosing phase for the students. Academic subjects are abolished, there won’t be any lessons in physics, math, literature, history, or geography. Students study

events and phenomena from different perspectives. For example, second world war will be examined from the perspective of history, geography, and math. And while studying a course ‘working in a café’, students will learn knowledge of English, economics, and communication skills. The idea is that a student gets to choose what subject they want to study based on their capability and interest. This can better help develop of direction of interest in students, rather than the conventional academic systems that often results in most students blind and lost after high school as they are suddenly forced to choose their field of study without prior exposure to it.

A nation is a large group or collective of people with common characteristics attributed to them - including language, traditions, customs, habits, and ethnicity. It revolves around the people, grows when the people grows and falls when the people falls. Thus, the development of the people mentally, physically, and spiritually is crucial in building a great nation that can sustain itself in the days to come. For the nation to strive it will need people that are smart to move forward, loyal to serve, understanding to forgive and strong to protect and uphold its principles. All which could be achieved if the proper education is provided. As Ed Markey once said “Our nation’s security, economy, and place on the world stage depends on the success of our educational system”.

Reference:

1. Hancock, L. (2011, September). Why Are Finland's Schools Successful? SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE.

2. Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. United States of America: Scholastic Corporation.

3. Cayman Islands. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.caymanislands.ky/