ARC61303 Comparative Essay Analysis

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE

THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE & URBANISM (ARC61303) PROJECT PART 2 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ESSAY

SERANGOON ROAD VS JALAN SULAIMAN WESLEY WONG 0330496 TUTOR: MR NICHOLAS NG

01

Table of contents \\ Introduction

2

Background \\ Serangoon Road

3

Background \\ Jalan Sulaiman microsite

4

Types of outdoor activities \\ Degree of contact intensity

5

Contacts point \\ Serangoon Road

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Contact points \\ Jalan Sulaiman microsite

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Contact point 1 \\ Urban corridor as sidelanes and five-foot ways Active frontages Streetscape Ornamentation Road barrier Shading greeneries

10Contact point 1 \\ Urban corridor as sidelanes an Active frontages Streetscape Ornamentation Road barrier Shading greeneries

Contact point 2 \\ Public spaces Corner lot as public food node Old meeting new

14Contact point 2 \\ Public spaces Corner lot as public food node Old meeting new

Contact point 3 \\ Cultural attribute Religious building Mural arts

17Contact point 3 \\ Cultural attribute Religious building Mural arts

Conclusion

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References

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02

Introduction \\

Similar to particles, the denser a populated area, the more the human coming into contact with each other, be it actively or passively. One can imagine in a dense country with limited land area, Singapore with total 5.6 million population interacting with each other on a daily basis. To substantiate the Part 1 case study, Part 2 of this project requires a complete comparative analysis between the findings from the case study Asian street, Serangoon Road and local microsite mainly Jalan Sulaiman, Kajang town, Malaysia. The project`s framework includes similarities and dissimilarities based on the patterns of social activities, types of ‘contact points’ and the varying degrees of contact intensity between the two streets in different cities.

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Background \\ Serangoon Road Fondly known as the "back of the port road" and “Road leading across the island� by Lieutenant Jackson in 1828 (History of Serangoon area, 2017), Serangoon Road is actually an unplanned designated area for the Indian community in the Raffles Town Plan of 1823. Today, it is proudly known as Little India, one of the cultural centres standing assertively for the Indian community in Singapore.

Many sidelanes can be found here namely Campbell Lanes, Buffalo Road, Hindoo Road and Belilos Road.

Historical timeline 1820s Serangoon Road evolves as a crucial arterial commerce and transport to Serangoon Harbour. Brick kiln industry and cattle farming begin setting foot here.

1820 | Cattle farming

2 to 4-storey Art Deco shophouses line Serangoon Road which moves in a Southwesterly and Northeasterly direction. This fine-grained urban fabric consists of the grid of main streets, side streets, back alleys and open spaces.

1826 | Oil plant farm

1826 Thousands of Indians from Southern indian Muslim and Middle Caste Hindu groups migrate to Serangoon Road as farmers and construction workers.

1860s The brick kiln factories ceases operation. Then onwards, development of Serangoon Road is centred around agricultural enterprise and trading.

1880 The indian population grows in immense number including the Northern Indians.

1936 Cattle farming ceases. Indians in the area continue residing here.

1880 | Indian population 7 July 1989 Little India is conserved and gazetted by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Streetscape of Little India today

1989 | Little India is conserved

Today Serangoon is a hub of activiity for indian community, livelier especially on religious festivals such as Thaipusam and Deepavali.

04

Background \\ Jalan Sulaiman Fondly known as the boundary between Kajang old and new town, Jalan Sulaiman is situated just at the edge of old traditional shophouses flanking new modern high-rise buildings at the opposite road. It signifies the semi-metamorphosised condition of Kajang town as it is constantly progessing towards the gigantic timewheel of modernisation.

Morphology 1820s Sprouts of Kajang The Mendeleng people settle by the river bank, living as nomads.

1870s-1890s Infrastructural development After the Civil War, Balai Polis Kajang and brick houses are built, followed by Kajang station to provide transportation service. Local industries are introduced to attract more immigrants

1960s Diversity Kajang becomes a Chinese trading and tin mining town surrounded by Malay villages and Indian Plantation labours.

1980-Modernity Development continues with more hophouses bult in the town and more public buildings and areas.

2000-Present-A New Direction Mass development across the river, addition of modern buildings dsiplacing old buildings and MRT line further invite people into this administrative hub.

Streetscape of Jalan Sulaiman today

05

Types of outdoor activities \\

Degree of contact intensity \\

To promote contact intensity, in terms of visual and auditory experience and, there should be no (urban) walls, short distances (between buildings and routes), low speed (pedestrian walking and vehicular), one level (similar contact horizon) and face to face orientation.(Gehl, 201, p.63)

According to Jan Gehl, there are three type of outdoor activities, namely necessary activties, optional activities and social (resultant) activities.

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Contacts point \\ Serangoon Road

1

2

4

Serangoon Road

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1

3 3

4

5

2

Fine-grained ďŹ gure ground of Serangoon Road.

Contact points 1 Sidelanes 2 Traditional shophouse eatery 3 Abdul Gafoor Mosque 4 Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple 5 Back alley mural arts

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Type of Contact Points

Degree of Contact Intensity

Pattern of Activities

Sidelanes (Buffalo Road, Campbell Lane,etc)

Moderate Passive contact to close relationship

Necessary activities .Shop vendor spilling out trading goods. .Pedestrians walking to destination.

Optional activities .Pedestrians choosing groceries to purchase. .Passers-by stop and take closer look at shopfront.

Traditional Eatery House

High 1 Close contact .Close friends and family visit the eatery and enjoy the food.

2 Local acquaintances .Meeting neighbours and catching up over a cup of coffee.

3 Passive contact .Tourists and locals hearing the chatter of strangers from cafe and interaction between sellers and customers.

Abdul Gafoor Mosque and Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, Little India

High 1 Close contact .Local families paying and respecting rituals.

2 Chance contact .The sharing of similar ideas, beliefs and cultures among believers.

3 Passive contact .Passing of one another when praying or washing feet.(Muslim)

Back alley mural arts

Low to Moderate 1 Chance contact .Tourists and local (artists) communicating on the art pieces.

2 Passive contact .Passers-by at back alley watching the art.

Necessary activities .Local and visitors ordering food and drinks and its consumption is the most activity bond.

Optional activities .Consumers ordering more than one drink or meal to extend the stay.

Social activities Locals gathering here in the day to have a conversation and greet each other, sharing of stories with friends or family.

Necessary activities .Locals come here for prayer and ceremonies.

Optional activities .Tourist visits the temple. Local attend special sermon by the “priest”.

Social activities Conversation initiated among worshippers, “students” of the temple school and the “priest”.

Necessary activities .Mural arts as a platform to showcase uniqueness of Kajang identity.

Social activities Sharing of similar aesthetical value among locals,tourists or local and tourists.

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Jalan Besar

Jalan Sulaiman

Contacts point \\ Jalan Sulaiman

1 Jalan

3

4

Mend

aling

5

2

Fine-grained ďŹ gure ground of Jalan Sulaiman microsite.

Contact points 1 Five foot way 2 Medan Sate 3 Shen Sze She Yar Temple 4 Tin Hong Si Temple 5 Urban wall mural arts

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Type of Contact Points

Degree of Contact Intensity

Pattern of Activities

Five foot way

Moderate Passive contact to close relationship

Necessary activities .Shop vendor spilling out trading goods. .Pedestrians walking to destination.

Optional activities .Pedestrians choosing groceries to purchase. .Passers-by stop and take closer look at shopfront.

Medan Sate

High 1 Close contact .Close friends and family visit the eatery and enjoy the food.

2 Local acquaintances .Meeting neighbours and catching up over a cup of coffee.

Necessary activities .Local and visitors ordering food and drinks and its consumption is the most activity bond.

Optional activities .Consumers ordering more than one drink or meal to extend the stay.

Social activities Locals gathering here in the day to have a conversation and greet each other, sharing of stories with friends or family.

3 Passive contact .Tourists and locals hearing the chatter of strangers from cafe and interaction between sellers and customers.

Shen Sze She Yar Temple and Tin Hong Si Temple, Jalan Mendaling (within microsite of Jalan Sulaiman)

High 1 Close contact .Local families paying and respecting rituals.

2 Chance contact .The sharing of similar ideas, beliefs and cultures of Buddhism among believers.

3 Passive contact .Passing of one another when praying or burning incense.

Urban wall mural arts

Low to Moderate 1 Chance contact .Tourists and local (artists) communicating on the art pieces.

2 Passive contact .Passers-by at back alley watching the art.

Necessary activities .Locals come here for prayer and ceremonies.

Optional activities .Tourist visits the temple. Local attend special sermon by the “priest”.

Social activities Conversation initiated among worshippers, “students” of the temple school and the “priest”.

Necessary activities .Mural arts as a platform to showcase uniqueness of Kajang identity.

Social activities Sharing of similar aesthetical value among locals,tourists or local and tourists.

10

Contact point 1 \\ Urban corridor as sidelanes and five-foot ways As the primary circulatory route for vehicular transportation and pedestrian walkway, both urban corridors, which are the sidelanes (Buffalo Road, Campbell Lane, etc)at Serangoon Road (known as Little India), Singapore and the five-foot ways around Jalan Sulaiman, (including Jalan Mendaling and Jalan Besar within the microsite) at Kajang are first compared at the first glance. Today, both urban corridors have been evolving into functional spaces, merging the spatial perception of public and private effectively.

Active frontages Shophouses in Serangoon Road and Jalan Sulaiman displays active frontages as open shopfronts and spill-out trading goods from shops into the sidelanes and 5-foot walkway draw the user’s attention inwards respectively, giving a clear sense of their function.The open storefront typology animates the edge of the building and engages with the public, adding a dimension of interest to pedestrians. However, some shophouses at Jalan Sulaiman start replacing their storefronts with glass doors, adding private boundary and hierarchy to the interior space. However, the neighbouring Jalan Besar in the old district (within same microsite as Jalan Sulaiman) is suffering from owners opting to close off their storefronts, hence diminishing the street’s activity.

Open storefront

Spill-out trading goods at Jalan Besar, Kajang draw passers-by`s attention. Groceries being spilled out into sidelanes at Serangoon Road functionally.

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Streetscape The comparison between streetscape at both cities is shown as follow.

Streetscape of Jalan Sulaiman

Streetscape of Serangoon Road

Narrower road Wider road Drainage

Side lane

Parking lot

Jalan Sulaiman

Five-foot way

1 Five foot way provides shading,provoking social activities 2 Narrower and congested road, slowing down vehicular movement 3 Road flanked by building with various height 4 Linear pathway leading to main road Different building height

Congested road

Drainage Side lane

Drainage Serangoon Road

Vehicle from sidelanes

Sidelane

1 Trees provide shading 2 Wider and less congested road, increasing vehicular movement 3 Road flanked by buildings with almost similar height 4 Road branches into multiple sidelanes Similar building height

Less congested road

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Ornamentation vibrant, bright and bold to draw attention in both areas Myriads of disproportionate signboards of contemporary businesses than traditional ones, indicating the commercial-driven economy. They acts as architectural ornamentation that cover ups facade features and treatment like the jabolee window and stucco ornamentation. Nonetheless, the signboards cause visual clutter with opposing typography, colours and sizes distracts the pedestrians attention. Its horizontal rhythm of architectural elements (awning, cornice and roof line) disrupted by disproportionate signboards that take up majority of the building’s facade.

Vibrant and disproportionate facade covers the building facade along Jalan Sulaiman

Variety of hanging elements between building add colours the Serangoon Road street life (moving vehicles) in between. The splendour of night street provokes the tourists to take picture and locals to stay longer savouring the beauty of the night colour.

Tourists taking picture in Little India

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Road barrier The use of bollads is commonly found at both areas as the road barriers. Along the oldest arterial road, the Buffalo Road, road fences are erected to promote sense of security among the users (pedestrians), increasing the the quality of physical environment.

Fences at Buffalo Road

Bollads at Campbell Road

Bollads at Jalan Mendaling

Shading greeneries To further enhance physical quality of place-making environment, sturdy standing trees are planted alongside the road, forming clear boundary between vehicle and pedestrian pathway besides providing shade to increase thermal comfort.

However, Kajang old town is lacking greeneries to enhance the local public realm in order to increase people stopping opportunities to contact with each other actively and passively.

Trees providing shade at Serangoon roadside

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Contact point 2 \\ Public spaces If there is a well-functioning piazza, people congregate there, but if there is no piazza and no city life, then street corners at traffic intersections become meeting places, where at least there is something to look at. (Gehl, 2011, p.127) Different public spaces, be it at corner lot, in-fill buildings or isolated area promise wide range of optional and resultant activities that invite people to stop, sit, eat, play, and so on.

They develop in connection with the other activities because people are in the same space, meet, pass by one another, or are merely within view.

Corner lot as public food node Both places extensively make use of corner lot as public gathering places. Cornerlot appreciation and vibrance is greatlly practised among the public. As a result, streets leading down in these areas are more populated and more entertaining to be in and look at, and chances for frequent, informal meetings of neighbours and acquaintance are increased.

The corner lot that draws public interest together is used as local cafe serving authentic delights situated at Campbell Lane junction, Serangoon Road. On the other hand, the landmark Medan Sate as the significant fusion of food court and a waiting area for taxi-drivers while waiting for passengers.

Semi-open With glass storefront

Open entrance

Traditional cafe at Campbell Lane junction with spill-out dining tables and chairs.

Famous Medan Sate as the landmark fuses with motorcycle parking lot and taxi waiting area at Jalan Sulaiman corner end.

15 Both eateries vividly play their vital role to unite people through food intimately. Within this context, the contact intensity gradually increases from medium to high as people are attracted to other people. Necessary activities are carried out like dining to fulfil basic need. As it is a semi-enclosed space, Serangoon Road eatery owners strategise their business expansion by spilling over their dining tables and chairs onto the walkway, solving not only the prevailing issue of overcrowded consumers, but also serving a direct, clear introduction to its reknown business. Situated at the strategic corner lot as the starting node of Jalan Sulaiman, the more open typology Metro Satay draws a variety of user groups especially the motorcyclists and taxi drivers into its eatery, diversifying the demographic pattern. A crowded eateries soon continue the consuming intent of other on-lookers or passers-by. Both eateries successfully attract local and tourist paying visit to both streets.

Being able to see what is going on in public spaces is an element of invitation (Gehl, 2011, p.168)

Authentic satay at Medan Satay

Potato rice at Serangoon Road eatery

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Old meeting new

Traditional Eatery House

One interesting common fact both streets share is no other than the essence of old and new coexists, overlapping each other harmoniously. The distinctive Little India precinct and Jalan Sulaiman (bordering the new and old Kajang town) melds the old with the new, hosting trades from the past beside modern businesses, old conserved shophouses next to high rise buildings. In this precinct, you can find flower garland vendors next to restaurants serving both traditional and fusion meals, small traditional businesses alongside multi-storey departmental stores. These are just some ways in which the precinct retains aspects of its history within today’s modern context.

Modern Indian Heritage Centre, Campbell lane, Serangoon Road.

Traditional Medan Sate

Modern High Rise KFC

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Contact point 3 \\ Cultural attribute Religious Building Little India and Jalan Mendaling (within Jalan Sulaiman microsite) are both the melting pot for people from all walks of life regardless of race, religion, culture and skin colours.

Intangibly, religious ambience can be profusely experienced here.

In Little India, necessary activities like Indian paying ritual activities at Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple and Malay carrying out prayer (sembahyang) at Abdul Gafoor Mosuqe are prominent whereas Chinese burning incense in both Tin Hong Si Temple and Shen Sze She Yar Temple at Jalan Mendaling. Gazetted as national monument at 1979, the Little india heritage trail, Abdul Gafoor Mosque showcases beautiful and well mix of Eastern and Western architectural elements. Furthermore, every detail of the Jalan Mendaling Chinese temple is a cue for some myths, and each scene prompts the recollection of their common culture. Human cultural activities are upholding both streets, making its environment visually sacred. These religious building have become the landmark and visiting hub for the tourists and local.

The environment is an integral part of primitive cultures; the people work, create, and play in harmony with their landscape. Most often, they feel completely identified with it, are loath to leave it; it stands tor continuity and stability in an uncertain world. (Kevin Lynch, 2014, p.123)

Abdul Gafoor Mosque, Little India

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, Little India

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Shen Sze She Yar Temple, Jalan Mendaling (within microsite of Jalan Sulaiman)

Tin Hong Si Temple, Jalan Mendaling (within microsite of Jalan Sulaiman)

19 Mural arts

The city was no longer merely a tool but became to a greater degree a work of art, conceived, perceived, and executed as a whole.Mural arts painted on urban wall create passage of interest. As they are visually appealing, users stop and spend longer time enjoying the arts, alone or with another use of same interest, crafting the uniquely stimulating experience.

No longer were the areas between buildings and the functions to be contained in them the major points of interest, but rather the spatial effects, the buildings, and the artists who had shaped them took precedence. (Gehl, 2011, p.41) Place-making using motive of public art as public interest in both streets imbue an character among respective street and turn it into a wonderful landmark. They attract tourist to savour this unique cultural background of both streets.

Mural art at back alley of Serangoon Road

Mural art at open public space, Jalan Mendaling

First life, then spaces, then buildings the other way around never works.

Conclusion \\

To summarise, both streets possess their very own unique sidelanes and five-foot ways to increases human contact and urban intimacy between people.

One improvement that can be done to further improve the quality of built environment include adding primary seatings to both streets. Besides, the appreciation of cornet lot as public food node have greatly enlivened the street life within the context. The wonderful elements of old buildings meeting new one display the harmonious living behavioural rhythm of both streets.

Undoubtedly, art can be utilised as an architectural and cultural platform to create public realm in order to increase social interaction among the local community. All in all, we should uphold the life between buildings as a good city is like a good party people stay longer than really necessary, because they are enjoying themselves

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References \\

Best things to do in Little India Singapore - Once In A Lifetime Journey. (2019).

Retrieved from https://www.onceinalifetimejourney.com/lux-singapore/things-to-do-in-little-india-sin gapore/ Coulter, J. (1943). Fiji, little India of the Pacific. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press.

Gehl, J. (2011). Life between buildings. Washington, DC: Island Press Little India Heritage Trail - Walk through 200 years of history. (2019). Retrieved from https://ifonlysingaporeans.blogspot.com/2017/01/little-india-heritage-trail-walk.html Kevin Lynch. (2014). Image of the city. Boston: Birkhauser.

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