1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Site Introduction
Figure 1. Location of Brickfields (Section C)
Flood that kept on sweeping through the area in 1881, Frank Swettenham, a British Resident of Selangor, ordered that the buildings within the area to be built with tiles and bricks. Hence, Kapitan Yap Ah Loy bought a sprawling piece of real estate for the setting up of a brick industry which would spur the rebuilding of Kuala Lumpur. This place is the eponymous Brickfields. After much exploration around the site, it is obvious that this site is an educational district as it is filled with places of religions, schools and institutions. But the most prominent landmarks that is located within the site was the Temple of Fine Arts Malaysia and Annalakshmi, and the Buddhist Mahavihara.
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Figure 1.2 Temple of Fine Arts Malaysia and Annalakshmi (Source: Google Maps)
The Temple of Fine Arts is located right in the centre of the crescent-shaped Jalan Berhala. It sits directly on the banks of the Klang River and it is adjacent towards the 100-year-old Buddhist Mahavihara. The aim of the institution was to help the younger generation of Malaysia rediscover the cultural, artistic and spiritual wealth of their forefathers and to make it relevant for themselves and for the future generations to come.
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1.2 Introduction to Cognitive Mapping The cognitive map, which was introduced by Tolman in his article “The cognitive map in rats and men” (1948), refers to the encoding of large-scale environments into memory and the use of such memories to aid navigation. Of particular influence has been Kevin Lynch’s The Image of the City (1960), which centred the environmental component of spatial memory, introducing the “imagibility” and the discussion of spatial cognition into the discourse of architefcts and urban planners. More recently, cognitive mapping has been challenged by the notion of the “cognitive collage” (Tverdky 2001: 12.1), which recognizes the mutil-sensory nature of spatial memory and the pre-perceptual structures that lead to memory creation.
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2 DISCUSSION ON FINDINGS BASED ON KEVIN LYNCH’S THEORY ON IMAGE OF THE CITY Cognitive mapping is of practical use in many fields including community design, architecture and recreational planning. Lynch focuses our attention on the effects of physical and perceptible objects which are fundamental forms in evoking a strong environmental image. The various techniques for optimising and creating the perfect city using these specific forms are defined as physical attributes and are distinguished as five elements; paths, edges districts, nodes and landmarks.
Paths: Paths are channels along which the observer voluntarily, occasionally or potentially moves. They may be streets, walkways,
roads etc. Edges: Edges are the linear elements not used or considered as paths by the observer. Edges could be shores, railroads cuts, edges of development, walls etc. They can be penetrable barriers which closes off one region off from another. Although they are not as dominant as paths, are for many people important organizing features, particularly in the role of holding together generalized areas, as in the outline of a city by water or wall.
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Districts: Districts are the medium to large sections of the city, which the observer mentally enters “inside of” and which are
recognizable as having some common, identifying character. Nodes: Nodes are points, strategic spots within the city into which an observer can enter. They may be primarily junctions, places of a
break in transportation or a convergence of paths. Landmarks: Landmarks are another type of point reference, but the observe doesn’t not enter within them, they are external. They are usually a rather simply defined physical object, buildings, statues, sign, store etc.
Based on the theories of the five elements implemented by Kevin Lynch, the Brickfields area (Section C) is most recognizable by its edges, primarily by the Klang River as it sits just at the edge of it. Edges created along Jalan Tun Sambathan and Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad were not as clear as the Klang River due to the fact that it shares the same area, and it is almost alike as the other parts of the area. Paths within the area were clear as to where users should go because of its continuity. This can be seen by the patterns on the pavements along the walkway (Figure 2.1). They used the colour of the red brick in particular, with a little bit mixture of grey stones, accompanied by the yellow line walkway for the blind people.
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Figure 2.1 Continuous pattern along the walkway (Source: Google Maps)
Spatial experience along these paths were adequate, provided with enough shading from the trees along the paths, making it a comfortable experience to walk through this area. However, there are always pros and cons with these trees, and the negative side about it is difficult to observe certain landmarks as the view is blocked by these trees. At a certain junction (Figure 2.2) in Jalan Berhala, the walkway ends at a certain point, making users to walk on the narrow road where cars or trucks passes by, making it unsafe.
Figure 2.2 Walkway ends at a junction in Jalan Berhala (Source: Google Maps)
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As you go through this area of Brickfields, you can tell pretty much that this area is an educational area. Filled with a several institutes as well as religious places, this area is certainly the focal point for the younger generations to come and nurture their cultural background. Most observers including myself would come to a conclusion that this is an educational district simply by an external reference as users pass through the area. There are a number of nodes within the area, mainly on road junctions, the Tun Sambanthan monorail station and in front of schools. These nodes were there mainly during peak hours, which is in the morning as well as in the evening where people usually came back from work or when school starts/finishes. Nodes were created on occasions at certain landmarks. Landmarks such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Church of Our Lady of Fatima, The Buddhist Mahavihara and the Temple of Fine Arts Malaysia and Annalakshmi are one of the prominent landmarks located within the area. How it is significant is by just looking at the structures, which is a contrast to its surrounding. These significant landmarks aid the image of the districts within the area which are mainly for cultural purposes. The Tun Sambanthan Monorail Station is another landmark, whereby it is a transportation hub that people use in order to get around the city.
3 CONCLUSION In conclusion, based on the theories of the five elements omplemented by Kevin Lynch, this part of the Brickfields area is mostly recognizable by its districts. This area are mainly educational and cultural purposes due to the fact that it is filled with schools, cultural institutions and religious buildings. My point of view about the path within the area is that it can be strengthen by enhancing the spatial experience as users walk by. Although it has a continuity in terms of the walkway patterns, maybe in some areas trees could be trimmed in order for users to notice a bit more of their surroundings, which in turn could reveal more landmarks that could prove significance of their whereabouts. The sudden break of continuity of streetscape in certain paths should be more careful.
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In addition, Lynch believes that a city should not only be organized, but it should speak of the individuals and their complex society. And finally, it must carry some poetic and symbolic meaning and be able to retain as much of its historical past. This for example can be done by preserving the landmarks within the area such as the Buddhist Temple of Mahavihara, as well as the Temple of Fine Arts Malaysia and Annalakshmi. These two places are significant landmarks which provides the cultural history of the site as well as a way of preserving the culture for the future generations by having cultural events, which they already have. Thus, these two are the dominant landmarks that has the possibility of creating permanent nodes and cultural district as it stands out and contrast from the background.
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