School of Architecture, Building & Design (SABD) Bachelors of Science (Honours) in Architecture
Theories of Architecture and Urbanism (ARC61603/ARC 2224)
PROJECT PART II: Cognitive Mapping
Name: Gennieve Lee Phick Choo Student ID: 0311622 Tutor: Datin Dr. Nor Hayati Hussain
CONTENT 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction of site 1.2 Introduction of cognitive mapping 1.3 Subjects background info & maps 1.3.1
Cognitive map 1
1.3.2
Cognitive map 2
1.3.3
Cognitive map 3
2.0 COMPARISONS 2.1 Similarities of maps 2.2 Dissimilarities of maps 3.0 DISCUSSIONS OF FINDINGS BASED ON KEVIN LYNCH’S THEORY ON IMAGE OF THE CITY & IMAGEABILITY 4.0 CONCLUSION 5.0 REFERENCES
1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction of site – Dataran Merdeka
Located along Jalan Raja and directly opposite the Sultan Abdul Samad Building as well as the Royal Selangor Club, the Merdeka Square is the old colonial heart of Kuala Lumpur, where remnants of the British Empire rule still remain. This historical place is where the Union Flag was lowered and the Malayan Flag was raised for the first time at the struck of midnight on 31 st August 1957. This signified the Independence Day for all Malaysians. From then on, the Merdeka Square has been the venue for the annual Merdeka Parade. As a remembrance to the Independence Day, a 100 meter high flagpole, which is the world’s tallest, was erected, displaying the Jalur Gemilang flag. Besides, the Merdeka Square was also once a field for the Selangor Club cricket pitch. Today, the Merdeka Square is a popular venue for open-air concerts, carnivals, and so on. Occasionally, it will turn into a battleground for the cricket match, just like the old colonial days. Beneath the Merdeka Square is Plaza Putra, an underground food, leisure, entertainment complex and a large parking garage. Unfortunately, the plaza is not as well maintained, and it looks a little lapse. In addition, parts of the underground complex never recovered after major floods in 2003. On the left of the flagpole is the National History Museum, which was once a former commercial bank dating back to 1910. The museum has then opened its doors in 1966 as the National History Museum and enables visitors to discover the wealth of Malaysia's historical heritage through its permanent exhibition of artifacts and materials.
The most beautiful building at the Merdeka Square is, without any doubt, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. The Sultan Abdul Samad building was constructed in 1897 and designed by a British architect, A.C. Norman, who worked for the Public Works Department at that time. He took into consideration some of the features of buildings in several Islamic countries. The predominantly Moorish appearance of the building suitably reflects the cultural background of Malaysia. The unique Moorish-style building has a 41meter clock tower, dubbed as the 'Big Ben'. The Sultan Abdul Samad Building was originally known as "The New Government Offices". It was to be the largest building of its day, constructed entirely of brick and what appears to be cream stone is actually plaster-covered brick. 1.2 Introduction of Cognitive Mapping Cognitive mapping are mental representations of physical locations. Humans and animals use them to find their way and to help them recall important features of the environment. The term was introduced by Edward C. Tolman to explain how rats learned the locations of rewards in a maze. A cognitive map provided the rat with a useful model of the environment. Irrelevant or unimportant information was excluded from the mental map. Thus, cognitive map can be different from an actual place. The differences between the mental representation and the physical characteristics of a location may reveal what humans and animals consider important. The cognitive map is likely to show where they go and the routes used. Factors that influence knowledge and recognizability of places include: •
Proximity: nearby places tend to be more familiar to us than places that are distant.
•
Size: Large places tend to be better known than small places.
•
Location: Places on the border are better known than places in the interior.
•
Shape: Places with a distinctive shape are more easily recognized
•
Social-cultural factors: Places with important history or cultural distinction are better known
1.3 Subjects Background Info & Maps There are all altogether three maps collected from three different people. The author wanted to conduct a study and compare how different people from different age group view the journey to the Merdeka Square. The first cognitive map drawn was from a late 40’s female tourist; the following one was from a mid 30’s female local who works nearby the Merdeka Square; and the final one is a college student in her early 20’s. 1.Siew Phing is a female tourist from Sarawak, who is in her late 40’s. She recently came to the city of Kuala Lumpur for a visit and holiday. She enjoys exploring around the city by foot. That way, she can discover new local food to try on, as that is her main aim. Before arriving to the Merdeka Square, she visited a few other places, like China town and central market to have a taste of their local cuisines. She told me of her journey and experiences as she walked along the old cultural buildings and stalls. Her impression of the area was that everything is very centralized and convenient because they are all within walking distance. Besides, she can also easily find various types of food and cultural heritage buildings along the way of her journey. 2.Lily is a female local in her 30’s, working in a museum close to the Merdeka Square. Everyday, she uses the Light Rail Transit (LRT) from Kerinchi to Pasar Seni. The reason why is because the Pasar Seni stop is the nearest to China town, where she can easily get nice and cheap breakfast early in the morning. After breakfast, she walks through the central market to get to the museum. Along the central market route, there are also many other malay delicacies like ‘nasi lemak’ and ‘kuih-muih’. This can sometimes be an alternative from her usual breakfast in Chinatown. However, she uses the masjid Jamek LRT on the way back home as it is nearer to the Merdeka Square. She normally eats at home for dinner and eats out for breakfast and lunch to avoid the hassle of preparing food early in the morning as well as the morning traffic jam from her house.
3.Janet is a 20 years old university student from Bangsar. She often comes down to the city area of Kuala Lumpur to do research for her projects. Some of her projects even cover areas like Chinatown, Bukit Bintang and many more. However, her most recent project is to study the Moorish architecture in Dataran Merdeka. She had to do research and take pictures of the site. Due to her frequent visit, she is somewhat familiar with some of the route in KL. Because of the heavy traffic and difficulty of finding parking in KL, she will normally leave her car at the car park of the LRT station and uses the LRT or bus to come down to the city area. This time around, she chose to stop at the Pasar Seni Station and travel from there to the Merdeka Square. The reason was because the stop was nearer to China town, where she could easily find various hawker stalls to eat as well as many other stalls to purchase a bag, before proceeding to the site. On her way to the site, she might also be able to discover some other Moorish architecture buildings and using it as subjects to compare with the ones at Merdeka Square.
1.3.1 Cognitive Map 1 Name: Siew Phing Age: late 40’s Gender: Female Background: Tourist from Sarawak
1.3.2 Cognitive Map 2 Name: Lily Age: 32 years old Gender: Female Background: Local, working at a museum nearby the Merdeka Square
1.3.3 Cognitive Map 3 Name: Janet Age: 20 years old Gender: Female Background: University Student
2.0 COMPARISONS 2.1 Similarities of Maps All three Subjects expressed the following as part of their image of the routes taken to Dataran Merdeka; i.
LRT Station
ii.
China Town
iii.
Food and shopping points
iv.
Heavy Traffic and busy pedestrian road
v.
Cultural heritage shop houses and old architecture
vi.
Convenient and centralize, easily to explore by foot as they are many Public transport around the area as well
Out of the three subjects, Lily and Janet are more familiar with the routes from Pasar Seni to Dataran Merdeka, as they are locals who often come down for work and projects respectively. The first person, Siew Phing was fairly new to the place because she only came for a visit from Sarawak. Even so, all three of them pointed out almost the same points and landmarks in maneuvering around the route to reach Dataran Merdeka. The first point they highlighted out was the Pasar Seni LRT station, which was always their starting point on the map drawn. Although the Masjid Jamek LRT station is nearer to the Dataran Merdeka, they all had the same reason for arriving at the Pasar Seni LRT station instead. The reason was because it was the nearest to the food points to purchase the cheap local Chinese food. Besides, the next stop they pointed out was the Chinatown area, where most of the local Chinese hawker stalls are set up. Although the route to Chinatown was on the opposite direction, they originally came to Pasar Seni with one thing in mind, which are the various food choices in there. Chinatown is also a famous gathering area for not just the tourist but also the locals as well, as everything is sold at reasonable and affordable prices. Another highlight point of the map is the road along the Central Market, which was for the pedestrian use only. Vehicles were not allowed to use this route, as it is an area that sells all the local souvenirs, local artwork and traditional food to promote the Malaysian Cultural heritage as well as to preserve the heritage buildings and shop
houses. Notice for the cognitive mappings, all three of them drew the box like shape along the route, those are actually the set up stalls that sells all the local souvenirs, food and even clothes. Because all of them were walking on foot, it was more convenient and faster to take the shortcut route through the central market. After turning to the left side from the route of the central market, is the next road, which is the Lebuh Pasar Besar. Along this route, they all highlighted the same things again, which is the bank and the bridge crossing over the Kelang River. The reason was because they are both the most significant and obvious landmarks. The bank is a skyscraper building, which could be easily seen from far away. As for the bridge, it is a landmark that could be easily identified as well as it is the only one along the route. The final highlight point is the Sultan Abdul Samad building, known as the ‘Big Ben’ of Malaysia. It is one of Malaysia’s most famous and significant Moorish architecture. The building also holds the history of Malaysia, which was once ruled by the British Empire. The Sultan Abdul Samad building is a landmark that no one can miss because of how it stands out as a historical and unique heritage to all Malaysians. 2.2 Dissimilarities of Maps All three subjects emphasize on different elements on their cognitive maps. Based on my understanding, they all had different objectives and reason for travelling to Dataran Merdeka. Hence, the different elements that each of them pointed out has something to do with either their travel, job, or work. The first cognitive map is by a late 40s female tourist named Siew Phing, from Sarawak. Her aim was to visit most of the historical places around and to try out the various local foods. Because she is a tourist, she highlighted all the banks, hotel and food stalls around as she has already research about them beforehand for her convenience. Compared to the others, she highlighted the banks, hotels and Central market by drawing them in 3D form. The second cognitive mapping is by a mid 30’s local woman named Lily, who works for the museum nearby the Dataran Merdeka. Because she often comes down to work for the museum on a daily basis, she is very familiar with the main architecture landmarks of the area. Hence, she emphasizes more on the architectural styles of the building like the Sultan Abdul Samad Building,
Textile museum and KL Gallery. Besides, she normally stops at the Pasar Seni LRT station in the morning for breakfast in Chinatown before going to work. However, she uses a different route to return home in the evening by walking to a nearer LRT station, which is Masjid Jamek. This way, she could avoid the jam and reach home faster. Hence, she also drew an alternate route to Masjid Jamek LRT station from Dataran Merdeka. Thus, her boundary line or edges are slightly more different than the other two cognitive mappings. Finally, the last cognitive map is by a 20 years old university student named Janet, who came all the way from Bangsar to do a research on the Moorish Architecture in Dataran Merdeka. Because she has often comes down to KL area to do her study and research for her projects and assignments, she has become more familiar with the surrounding landmarks and passageways. The things she highlighted are a mix of the architectural styles of buildings, landmarks, soft-scape, and even public transportation spots.
In the map,
Janet marked the Geo Hotel, as that was the first building she saw after coming down from the Pasar Seni LRT station. The other two cognitive maps did not mention of this hotel. Next, are the stalls that she drew with a gable roof, instead of just drawing square boxes like the other two maps, as the stalls are to depict the traditional Malay ‘kampong’ Houses. Another highlight point she drew was the nodes found along Lebuh Pasar Besar. The nodes found on the right side of the route on the way to the Dataran Merdeka, is a huge open space, gathering area, where the famous Clock Tower is located. The gathering space is surrounded by old heritage shop houses that have hints of the colonial style of architecture. Right in front of the Clock Tower, is a huge bus stop area for the public busses to park. Therefore, in the map, Janet actually drew those mini buses in cuboid forms to depict that. She also drew other public bus and taxi spots in the previous routes. After crossing the Kelang River via the bridge, she highlighted another architectural details, found on the left side of the journey. It was a wall with the mosque silhouette cutout repetitively on it as openings to the skyscraper office behind it. That was part of the Moorish architectural detail that she was researching on as well. The last but not least is the 100meter flagpole displaying the Jalur Gemilang flag, which she drew on the Dataran Merdeka field, as well as some trees to represent the green pockets in contrast to the hardscape of KL.
3.0 DISCUSSIONS OF FINDINGS BASED ON KEVIN LYNCH’S THEORY ON IMAGE OF THE CITY & IMAGEABILITY
FIGURE 6.1: MAP BASED ON KEVIN LYNCH’S THEORY (5 ELEMENTS) SOURCE: GOOGLE MAP
FIGURE 6.2: AERIAL VIEW OF PASAR SENI TO DATARAN MERDEKA SOURCE: GOOGLE MAP
Based on the theory from Kevin Lynch’s book, ‘The Image of the City’, the author stated that cities can give a special pleasure, however commonplace the sight may be. Like a piece of architecture, the city is a construction in space, but one of vast scale, a thing perceived only in the course of long spans of time. On different occasions and for different people, the sequences are reversed, interrupted, abandoned, and cut across. It is seen in all lights and weathers. At every instant, there is more than the eye can see, more than the ear can hear, a setting or a view waiting to be explored. Nothing is experienced by itself but always in relation to its surroundings, the sequence of events leading up to it, the memory of past experiences. Besides, the various physical forms discovered on site can be classified into the different types of elements listed by Kevin Lynch, which are paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks. Referring to the map shown in Figure 6.1, there are a few significant elements that can be found along the route or journey from the Pasar Seni LRT Station to the Merdeka Square. The first element that can be seen after coming down from the Pasar Seni LRT station is the landmark near Chinatown, which is the Geo Hotel building. The second landmark that can be spotted is the Central Market with a huge ‘Wau’ sign in front of the main entrance. Other significant landmarks that can be easily identified are the Clock Tower, bridge crossing the Kelang River, Textile Museum, Sultan Abdul Samad Building, and 100meter flagpole displaying the ‘Jalur Gemilang’ flag. The second element is the nodes found almost in every point of the route, which are the taxi point opposite the Geo Hotel, stalls area route in front of the central market, open space area where the Clock Tower is located and bus stop right after crossing the bridge. For the open space area with the Clock Tower, it is a resting place for the tired pedestrian walking around the city, as fixed benches are prepared. The open area also has a water fountain to cool the temperature of the surrounding environment. Besides, the place also acts as a bus stop area, which is a great spot for the public to wait as the surrounding open area are occupied with various shop houses, where they can easily purchase food and rest under the shades while waiting for the bus to come. The third element is the path and passageways that is used to reach the Merdeka Square from the Pasar Seni LRT Station. Some of these paths can only be used by the pedestrian while roads are possible for both
vehicles and people. Normally, the roads used by the vehicles are farther away from the destination point. Therefore, it is more convenient and faster to use the shortcut, which is for pedestrians use only. This example can be seen from the route along the central market. Finally, the last element is the edges surrounding the site or the city. For this case, there are not much edges or boundary line surrounding the area that I was researching on as most of the roads are connected to one another. Hence, there is no definite line to draw them apart. However, the most obvious edge that can be seen from this area is the Kelang River, railway tracks, highway and flyover. All these are mostly evident towards the west side of the map based on Figure 6.1.
From left to right: Front Entrance of Central Market, Geo Hotel and view of Pasar Seni LRT Station and Open Area along the Lebuh Pasar Besar road, where the Clock Tower is located.
From left to right: The Bridge crossing the Kelang River and End Junction of Lebuh Pasar Besar.
From left to right: The 100meter flagpole, displaying the ‘Jalur Gemilang’ and The KL Gallery.
4.0 CONCLUSION The areas that was covered from the starting point of the journey, which is the Pasar Seni LRT Station all the way to the Dataran Merdeka has different density of people and traffic population depending on the time and location. The road along Jalan Hang Kasturi, which is where the LRT station is located, is always packed with vehicles, as it is one of the busiest road in the KL area. Surrounding the roads is a combination of both old shop houses and skyscrapers, which are actively operating in business. There are also many public transportation passing up and down the road. Thus the traffic around this spot is normally heavy all day long. In addition to all that, Jalan Hang Kasturi is also connected to the infamous China Town, which is a Tourist hot spot even to this day. Hence, the entire nearby area is always packed with not just traffic but also for most of the pedestrian walkways, they are often filled with people from all walks of life, from locals to foreign tourist. However, as the route goes deeper along the Central Market, the crowds slowly decreases in number as it is more narrow and is only for the use of pedestrian only. The choices of food and shopping are also lesser compare to the China Town Street. After passing the Central market area, the next route is after the turning point on the left hand side. This entire road, known as Lebuh Pasar Besar is another one of the busiest road in town. There are many foreign tourist and foreign workers waiting at the nearby bus stop area, which is located right in front of the open Square, where the infamous Clock tower is also. It is another one of the famous tourist and local hangout spot as the shop houses here were design and build in the old colonial period. The entire road is always packed with traffic and people. However, the roads can sometimes be dangerous for pedestrians to cross over, as there are no crossover bridge and zebra crossing for the people, who wish to take the public bus on the opposite side of the road coming from the Central Market. The roads are also always heavy with traffic. The final area is after crossing the bridge on the Kelang River. Most of the roads in this area are highway and is connected to other parts of KL area, where most of the skyscrapers are. Therefore, these roads are mostly occupied by heavy traffic. The pedestrian walkway is also limited. Thus, reducing the density of people. Because it is one of the main tourist attraction areas as well, the Merdeka Square often has
lesser people in the afternoon due to the hot and humid weather in Malaysia. However, the density of people increases when towards the evening, when the sun is less glaring. Overall, the entire area is easy for the pedestrians to maneuver around and there are many easily found food stalls, heritage spots and historical landmarks. The public transportation spots are also very convenient. Hence, this explains the high density of human and traffic population around this area. The only downfall to this place is that there are not enough pedestrian friendly sidewalks and bridges for people to cross over safely.
5.0 REFERENCE Kuala-lumpur.attractionsinmalaysia.com,. "Merdeka Square | Dataran Merdeka Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia Tourist & Travel Guide". N.p., 2015. Web. 16 Dec. 2015. kuala-lumpur.ws,. "Merdeka Square In Kuala Lumpur - Kuala Lumpur Attractions". N.p., 2015. Web. 16 Dec. 2015. Tolman E. C. (1948). Cognitive maps in rats and men. Psychological Review, 55, 189-208. Wijnen, Ben. "Merdeka Square". Malaysiasite.nl. N.p., 2015. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.