INTRODUCTION TO THE

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY !

PROPOSAL FOR A COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT

!AMOS TAN CHI YI 0318330

AMIR AZMI 0318091

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INTRODUCTION

Based on the surroundings of the site as well as the users of the said site surroundings, it has

become obvious that the most optimum and suitable way of utilizing the site is to construct a

commercial building that is related in some way to automobiles. Among the various options

deliberated and suggested to be built were petrol stations, car washes and even a multi-storey car

park. In the end, an automated car wash proved to be the most sensible.

PART 1: LOCATION PLAN

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PART 2: SITE ANALYSIS !The chosen site is located within the vicinity of the free parking located north-east of the

campus. The chosen site is a wide flat area which is littered with old workshop equipment and

abandoned playground equipment. The primary reason the site was chosen was because of its

strategic location in which we have decided to build an automated carwash. The chosen site is

located in before the entrance to the free parking and this makes it easy for students and lecturers

who use the free parking area to clean and wash their cars before or after leaving the university.

The existing natural landscape is retained except for the trees and old unused playground

equipment where indicated. The general ground cover is the natural grass found in the area

(unirrigated).

VIEWS

Below is the general panoramic view of our site and features a relatively interesting view of its

surroundings and features lush greenery. The site can split into 3 views which are (view A),

(view B) and (view C).

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View A - Southern View

View A shows that the site is located next to the entrance and makes it easy for drivers to wash

and clean their cars.

View B - Northern view

View B shows a less desirable view because of the metal fence which obstructs most of the

horizontal view and shows the ongoing construction going on and the residential apartments

which dominate the skyline.

View C - Eastern view

View C shows the main site where the automated carwash will be constructed and used. The

trees, workshop equipment and abandoned playground equipment will be removed.

!SUNLIGHT

At the site, the sun is already visible at 7.15am in the morning, as it is horizontal and very flat.

Afterwards, the sun travels roughly in a parabolic arc until it

ends at sundown at 7:15PM in the direction of around 225 degrees North, with a last light at

8:10PM.

SOUND

In terms of sound, there is a very loud (circa 90 decibels) low frequency droning noise due to

the air conditioning compressors located opposite of the site. This noise is noticeable

until mid-way through the site. There is also traffic noise coming from the South-east that is

benign, and louder traffic noise coming from the South-west. Noise from the people located in

Block C is quite low. Wind noise is barely noticeable.

CIRCULATION

The site is very wide and empty and thus the accessibility to the site by walking or car is very

easy and does not create a jam or congested route.

CLIMATE

The temperature and climate of the site is typical of Malaysian sites, with a low 24 degrees

Celsius reading at 6 o clock, peaking with a 39 degrees Celsius at 2 o clock, and decreasing to 26

degrees at around 7 o clock. The wind comes from two directions depending on the time of

day, with a 2.6 MPH wind blowing from the South to the North at 12PM, and a light 0.8 MPH

breeze from the South-west to the North-east in the evening at 6PM.

SMELL

Exhaust fumes generated from the vehicles are extremely prominent, and drown out any other

smells that might have permeated from the grass or other environmental elements.

CONCLUSION

Overall, the site is located near the entrance of the free parking located towards the North-east of

the campus. It is completely featureless save for a concrete fall that depress 5cm from the rest of

the greenery, a 3.5 metre wide concrete pavement which covers the centre are of the site . It is

subject to the typical Malaysian climate. Secondary noise is due to the air conditioner

compressors with

primary noise coming from traffic. Views are good, with a good sight of the setting sun and

the surroundings. The site is also extremely accessible, and visible all the way from the upper-

tier library levels located at Block C.

PART 3 : COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL

We propose to build an automated car wash on our site. It will be built towards the Eastern part

of our plot of land. The automated car wash building (1) will be approximately 25 metres long

and 15 metres wide and 6 metres tall, be made of concrete and glass and be operated by an

independent car wash company. Connecting the building to the main road will be a smaller road

(2), entering and exiting the building. Planted around the building will be a softscape of grass,

shrubs and trees (3). The building is estimated to be able to serve as much as 3 cars a minute,

generating a large source of revenue for both the operator and the owner of the land.

PART 4: COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT BENEFITS

This automated car wash is built adjacent to the car park that is very dirty, sandy and dusty. The

automated car wash is designed so that it could wash the cars very quickly, taking approximately

up to 20 seconds per vehicle. This allows the users of the car park to very quickly wash their cars

for a nominal fee while either exiting or entering the car park. This development aims to benefit

three parties:

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1. Automated Car Wash Operator:

This automated car wash will be operated by a 3rd party that will pay a monthly rental fee to

operate the site, in addition to a predetermined percentage of the profit earned both monthly and

annually notwithstanding any loss due to but not limited to: negligence, both criminal and/or

unintentional, natural disasters, both minor and/or major and/or criminal activities. The operator

will benefit from the construction of this service, chiefly from the profit obtained during the

operation of this service.

2. Site Owner (Taylor’s University)

The site owner will benefit from this site primarily through monetary means. The site owner will

obtain profit from the operator of the automated car wash, through both the set monthly

percentage of the profit obtained during the operation of the car wash as well as the monies

obtained through the monthly rental fee. The site owner will also benefit, albeit secondarily, from

the improved morale of its students.

3. Car Park Users

The users of the car park will also benefit through the development of this commercial area.

Chiefly, the car park users will have the facilities to swiftly clean their vehicles conveniently as

they are exiting or entering the car park. Using an auto car wash service is a good way to be

environmentally conscious and help to protect the resale value of cars. Automatic car washes

save water, reduce ground water pollution, preserve the car's paint and finish, and help to retain

the resale value of the vehicle.

PART 5: COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT RATIONALE

The automated car wash is built on a strategic site, that is, directly adjacent to the car park. This

allows a very steady flow of potential customers. In addition, the adjacent car park is very dirty,

as it is only paved with only sand and rocks, without any asphalt. This dirties the vehicles,

providing a steady demand for car wash services.

The automated car wash is also relatively simple to build and construct. This is very important

due to the nature of the site: it is a very high traffic area and directly opposite a high density

residential zone. This necessitates that the development should have as little impact on its

surroundings as possible, so not as to, either directly or indirectly, deliberately or otherwise

disrupt both the traffic and / or the lives of those who live in the opposite high density residential

building.

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!!PART 6: PROPOSED AUTOMATED CAR WASH IN DETAIL

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Site Layout Sketch

The automated car wash buildings (A) and (B) are built at the Eastern-most part of the site. The

softscape (E) is built in between the main road (F) as well as a car wash building (B), the

entrance road (C) and the exit road (D).

The entire automated car wash building site is filled with 2 automated car wash buildings, the

entrance and exit roads and the softscape.

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A. AUTOMATED CAR WASH BUILDINGS (A) and (B)

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Exterior Design

The exterior of the automated car wash building is shaped like a parallelogram and has a fixed

entrance and exit. This modern design encourages the users to peruse the facilities, and also acts

as an advertisement tool just by looks alone. The entire length of the building is around 10

metres. The width of the building is around 5 metres. This size allows vehicles to fit inside the

car wash comfortably.

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Interior

The interior of the car wash is like the above picture: a set path for the vehicle to go through

alongside vehicle washing facilities. The facilities include but are not limited to: a conveyor for

the vehicle to rest upon and pulled into the car wash building, tire sensors, point of sale units,

side and top brushes as well as water jets.

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B. ENTRANCE AND EXIT ROADS

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The entrance and exit roads exist as proper asphalt roads that lead into the entrances both

automated car washes.

C. SOFTSCAPE

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The softscape is designed such as to provide adequate groundcover in the form of grass, with a

middle layer of shrubs and a canopy of tall trees. This softscape functions primarily to beautify

the otherwise ugly space.

PART 5: OPERATION OF COMMERCIAL AREA

The customer drives up to a point of sale unit, where he pays the amount set by the operator.

Aftewards, he drives his vehicle up unto the conveyor, where the tire sensors determine the

length between tires, and, through that, determine the size of the vehicle.

When the customer is on the conveyor, the attendant (or signage) will instruct the customer to

put the vehicle into neutral, release brakes, and refrain from steering. Failure to do so can cause

an accident on the conveyor. The rollers come up behind the tires, pushing the car through a

detector, which measures vehicle length, allowing the controller to tailor the wash to each

individual vehicle.

The carwash will start cleaning with pre-soaks applied through special arches, where chemical

formulas spray the vehicle with special fluid to prepare the vehicle for cleaning. The customer

next encounters tire and wheel nozzles called CTAs (Chemical Tire Applicators). These will

apply specialized formulations, which remove brake dust and build up from the surface of the

wheels and tires. The next arch will be wraparounds. These wraparounds should rub the front

bumper and, after washing the sides, will follow across the rear of the vehicle cleaning the rear

including the license plate area. Past the first wraps or entrance wraps is be a tire brush that will

scrub the tires and wheels, after which the vehicle encounters the top brush. After the top brush

the car passes through a second set of wraparounds. This is where high pressure water streams

are used to clean difficult to reach parts of the vehicle. The car then passes over an under carriage

wash and/or has high pressure nozzles pointed at it from various positions. After that, the vehicle

exits the automated car wash and drives away.