THE EMBEDDED CITY JALAN TAR URBAN INFILL THE LIBRARY PROJECT
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INTRODUCTION Architecture Design Studio V focuses on the theme of place-making for the urban community .It aims to explore urban conditions pertaining to movement, events and spaces within urban street context and to provide appropriate architectural solutions in designing a community library for the city’s inhabitants. Students will begin by conducting preliminary studies in that introduces them to the studies and context of urbanity through the analysis and documentation of the current urban condition through legibility analysis of a selected inner-city site. This will done in concurrence with the research of urban infill and community library precedents, and their architectural responses. By the end of the module, students will have developed an appropriate scheme for an urban contemporary community library within a dense inner-city street environment that takes into consideration an understanding of applicable currently legislations, building technologies and cultural imperatives of the site and its surroundings. The definition of place-making is seen as a proposal that is sensitive to the context, local character and distinctiveness of the space. The students are to design a community library as an attempt to place making.
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ANALYSIS PURPOSE The site analysis is about the urban contect of Jalan TAR, KL. There is a real life scenario to establish the possibilities for a Community Library to connect to the urban community, the young adults as being the user-group.The study has to be done in two levels of complexity, namely, the macro and micro contexts. Whilst the macro study is about the role and how the location fits into the city. In micro study the students are to make a comprehensive study on urban form, activity and movement-pattern. ‘Legibility Analysis’ which is a method through the exploration of Kevin Lynch’s Elements of legibility is employed here as a study method. The students are to establish possible opportunities to sustain and to offer legibility by the community library. The main purpose of the analysis is to propose a conceptual urban framework along Jalan TAR to promote a greener and more people-friendly urban spaces.
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CONTENTS URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS Introduction Urban Morphology Site Facade Studies Street Sections Building Stock Human Culture Street Culture District Edges Landmarks Nodes Serial Vision
Embedded CIty Lightly Covered Firmly Fixed Fully Integrate
MICRO SITE ANALYSIS Legibility Studies SWOT Analysis
ISSUeS Disconnected Fading Way Finding
Library & infill analysis Bridge School Casa de las Ideas Library
URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK Disconnected Fading Way Finding
sketches CONCLUSION
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS INTRODUCTION
JALAN Tuanku Abdul Rahman was the main street in Kuala Lumpur at one time. It was originally known as Bata Road , so named because it began as a track leading to Batu village, limestone caves and tin mines. Later, it was renamed jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, after our first Prime Minister. It is also the city's longest road with shops set up in pre-war buildings along both sides. These buildings reflect changing trends in architectural design. The pre war buildings still stand though the more derelict have been torn down to give way to modern multi storey buildings. Jalan TAR was famous for the Coliseum Cafe and Coliseum Cinema. Then Globe Silk Store opened and shoppers flocked here to pick up affordable clothing. Like a magnet, Jalan TAR attracted businesses with shops and restaurants selling all kinds of things from shoes and clothes to watches and souvenirs. The neighbourhood flourished and in the eary 1980s, Jalan TAR was turned into a one way street to ease traffic flow. Narrow alleys between the rows of shops offer a huge range of clothes and accessories.Today, Jalan TAR may have lost its initial shine but it still retains part of the charm.
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS Urban morphology 1895 The arrangement of settlements in Malaysia during the 1895's were of a natural formation, configured to hug the path of the Klang and Gombak Rivers and eventually forming a "linear configuration". Made up of the Chinese, Malay & British communities, each race found reason to settle in the country for trade, business and politics.This eventually led to the establishment of a transportation network that linked the people to the various tin mines, administrative capitals and trading ports
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS Urban morphology
1939 As growth of Kuala Lumpur continued, there was a need for expansion to accommodate the town the fulfill the needs of the people. Shop houses were set up by the Chinese community, serving two functions - as both homes and shops. Various streets lined with these shop houses became marketplaces of trade, where goods were exchanged as an act of symbiotic living. Many of these shop houses still boast features of British Colonial architecture, reflecting the image of the city during its time.
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS Urban morphology
1962 The boom of technology and economics in Malaysia in the 60's saw to the flourishing of many high rise shopping complexes, such as Pertama Complex, Campbell Complex and the Odeon Cinema. The increase in wealth and powerful figures allowed development to occur rapidly, attracting tourists and seeing a rise to the attendance in social establishments.
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS Urban morphology
1989 Consequently, to the evolution of the city's development, more shopping complexes were built, such as Sogo Shopping Mall - which replaced the Suleiman Court - and Maju Junction Mall. Cultural landmarks like Masjid Jamek also followed in suit. With the city catering for more people than ever, traffic congestion along popular roads and shopping streets became near unbearable. Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman then became a one-way street, easing the flow of traffic, but possibly costing the popularity of shops to drop due to the fast-moving crowd..
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS Urban morphology
2017 During the gap between the 90's and the 21st century, development of Kuala Lumpur became explosive, seeing to many advances in the urban fabric with the help of technology. High rise buildings and modern architectural structures sprung all over the city, diffusing the concentration of tourists and business in Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman and many other hotspots. Inhabitable buildings were demolished or renovated with new modern implementations, erasing some evidence of the past era. Now, in the year of 2017, it has become a relatively quiet area, save for the Hari Raya and Deepavali festivals. The trade market, which does not see to the same crowd as before, is lacking the mix of the Malay, Chinese and Indian community, and foreign immigrants have overtaken most of the business in Jalan TAR entirely, quite possibly due to the affordable cost of living in the surrounding land.
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS SITE
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS SITE
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS SITE
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS
FACADE STUDIES - ALONG SITE
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS
FACADE STUDIES - ALONG SITE
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS FACADE STUDIES - OPPOSITE OF SITE
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS STREET SECTIONS
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS BUILDING STOCK
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS HUMAN CULTURE
A,G Areas A & G consist of mainly middle-aged office workers and young adults. Comparatively, it is also more hygienic.
B Area B comprises of families and young adults. It is here that informal activities take place, especially at the Plaza, where Pop Culture has attracted crowds of people.
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS HUMAN CULTURE
C Area C has a distinct amount of foreign workers, as well as a mix of families and young adults. It is an area for the middle and lower classes of society, evident in the lack of hygiene, especially near the markets, where a shortfall of proper garbage bins has led to an environmental issue.
D,F Similar to Area C, Areas D & F constitute of a mix of foreign workers, families and young adults. Shopping is one of the main activities that occur in this sector, attracting crowds during the weekends to the textile stores.
Human Density : Day E Area E comprises of families and young adults. Though there is a variety of different business in this region, it is also a residential area, as proved by the presence of low-cost apartments, where several "loan shark" flyers are plastered, indicating a middle to lower class society.
H Majority of the people in Area H are foreigners, families and young adults. It is here that the Heritage building is often obstructed by tourism buses, creating a hindrance for others.
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS STREET CULTURE
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS DISTRICT - LAND USE DISTRIBUTION
Jalan TAR is predominantly a commercial area. Several bookstores are located along Jalan TAR which will in turn effect our community library. Offices and tourist hotspots are located away from Jalan TAR.
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS DISTRICT - SUPPLY AND DEMAND
The supply districts are located mainly around JALAN TAR while the Demand districts are the commercial highrises surrounding the supply district. This shows the importance of Jalan TAR in supplying the needs for the demand district.
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS DISTRICT - FORMAL AND INFORMAL
Informal activities are usually occuring in small pathways in between building, filling the void, which adds liveliness to the area.
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS EDGES
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS
LANDMARKS - PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS LANDMARKS BY CONTENT
Landmarks indicated as primary are the main landmarks that embeds the first impressions of the site of the community library to tourists. Landmarks indicated as secondary are mainly discovered through first hand experiences and are identified through visual identity, social activity and noise.
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS LANDMARKS BY FUNCTION
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS NODES
global local public
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS NODES by form
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS vertical NODES
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URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS SERIAL VISION
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EMBEDDED CITY LIGHTLY COVERED
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EMBEDDED CITY FIRMLY FIXED
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EMBEDDED CITY FULLY INTEGRATED
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MICRO SITE ANALYSIS LEGIBILITY STUDIES - PATH
The activities on both side of the street show minor leakage between the path using the alleys. The zebra corssings are approximately 100-125m away , preventing the ease of use of cutting the direct circulation. Fast moving traffic of Jalan TAR prevents people from parking their cars infront of the shops which blocks the visibility of community library.
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MICRO SITE ANALYSIS LEGIBILITY STUDIES - NODES
The community of Jalan TAR tend to flock to certain nodes, the hotspot being the linear node of Lorong TAR itself. Linear confguration of the street bring publicity to the shophouses lining the path. Point nodes are formed at G.S Gill and plaza draw people to the site.
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MICRO SITE ANALYSIS LEGIBILITY STUDIES - LANDMARK
The Coliseum Cafe and Coliseum Theatre are both important landmarks of the area which have been present since the road’s earliest period. These two reference point are situated beside the site and can provide crowd to the library.
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MICRO SITE ANALYSIS LEGIBILITY STUDIES - EDGE
Jalan TAR and Lorong TAR, together, form physical edges. The site itself is relatively quiet in contrast to the opposite site, where vigorous activities by both locals and tourists alike have made the area more lively. The elevated staircase of G.S Gill is also another edge, but is a presumed one, alternatively, with its elevated height causing it to seem less welcoming than the other shops.
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MICRO SITE ANALYSIS LEGIBILITY STUDIES - PATH
Jalan TAR is a shopping street with districts separating the functions. It is populated by an abundance of retail and trade, majority of the shops being textile traders. The introduction of community library will create a new character to the site with its function.
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MICRO SITE ANALYSIS SWOT ANALYSIS
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SITE PERCEPTION DISCONNECTED
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SITE PERCEPTION
FADING
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SITE PERCEPTION
FADING - past
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SITE PERCEPTION FADING - present
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SITE PERCEPTION
WAY FINDING
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LIBRARY & INFILL ANALYSIS BRIDGE SCHOOL
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LIBRARY & INFILL ANALYSIS BRIDGE SCHOOL
SOCIAL UNITY
CONNECTION
The site lacks a formal public space that bridges the two separated lands. The purpose of the building is to fulfil this need, as well as serve as a place of education and social connectivity.
The project turn the inward looking community of Tulou into an open public communal society.
SPATIAL UNITY
INTERACTION + KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE
BRIDGE
The building creates link between the two separated lands. It is an important example of social sustainability of the community.
After school ends, the education continues. The library acts as a communial which attracts people thus interaction and knowledge interchange occurs.
An alternative narrow bridge under the structure was created to help circulation of the space.
DISCONNECTION The Bridge School is in the Xia Shi Village, Fujian, China. A creek that runs through acts as a physical separator that segregates the two tulou communities.This social division is what leads to the design intention of enlivening the neighbourhood.
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floor level
PUBLIC X PRIVATE
The different floor levels of the building helps divide the open plan into zones. Multiple functions can then be carried our in classrooms, libraries and the bridge itself. The project is then able to turn the inward-looking community of tulle into an open, public communal society and the bridge itself.
Both ends of the structure have a large fenestration that can be opened to allow a unification of the indoor and outdoor space.
TRADITION & MODERN
ventilation
The building is in an area of subtropical climate. The installation of slim timber slats is used to filter the harsh sunlight and temper the interior temperature with natural ventilation
The building is in an area of subtropical climate. The installation of slim timber slats is used to help filter the harsh sunlight and temper the interior temperature with natural ventilation.
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LIBRARY & INFILL ANALYSIS
CASA DE LAS IDEAS LIBRARY
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LIBRARY & INFILL ANALYSIS
CASA DE LAS IDEAS LIBRARY
BLEND IN The building is relevant to the site context in terms of height and lot layout. This is to prevent the building from being overwhelmed by the surrounding structures. This ensure the building is within the architectural typology of the area without feeling disconnected.
GRAFITTI
ECONOMICAL
FACADE STUDY
The presence of grafitti among the neighbouring buildings has had an unwanted and negative impact to the immediate community. Despite its unfavourable regard, the architect has chosen to embrace the expression instead, and has dedicated a part of the facade to allow graffiti, where it reflects the murals on the surrounding structures.
The size of the building is kept as a minimal to prevent interfering with the existing market place and to keep within budget constrains.
The facade of the building itself has minimal fenestrations. This was due to concern over the contexts high crime rate and safety issues. By reducing the number of openings, it allows for passive safety and crime prevention without the need for added security.
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UNDISRUBTED SITE
RAIN SHELTER AND SHADE
passive design
A noteworthy observation is the way the architect has chosen to respond to the site’s natural typology and existing slope. Instead of choosing to flatten the land, the building has been designed in a way that allows the angled land to serve as seats to the outdoor amphitheater, linking the structure to the context inextricably.
With the site’s lack of infrastructure and public facilities, the structure creates a collective space where learning and interaction goes beyond the simple accessibility of services provided. This allows the building to be multi functional even after hours.
The building was designed with passive design implementations that consider its electrical consumption. A skylight in the structure illuminates the main library spaces and allows the interior space to become less constricted and more freeing.
PUBLIC AND SOCIAL
spatial programming
deep overhang
The design concept is heavily tied to the relationship of public and social spaces, as well as the way it has led the betterment of the society. By providing spaces meant for interaction and conservation. The design is intended to connect and bring people closer together.
The building has a unique approach towards its spatial programming. By purposely leaving them bare and unfurnished, the vagueness of the space then allows the user to decide its function per their respective needs. This opens up the educational opportunities and capabilities of the building by giving the user the freedom of choice in concerns to the spatial function.
The deep overhang of the structure serves two main purposes. The first is to provide shelter from the natural elements such as sun and rain. The second is to reduce the amount of heat gain in the building’s core interior. This keeps the internal space at a comfortable temperature whilst allowing the users to make use of the external space without being ‘ inside’ of the building.
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Casa De Las Ideas Library is located in Tijuana, Mexico where two main commercial roads come together. It is built on a vacant land within an existing community which surrounded by residential and commercial buildings.
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URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK
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URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK DISCONNECTED
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URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK DISCONNECTED
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URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK DISCONNECTED
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URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK
FADING
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FADING
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FADING
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URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK WAY FINDING
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CONCLUSION At the end of the process of Site Documentation, Site Analysis and Precedent studies of Urban Infills and Community Library, the second part of the individual project which is the design of a Community Library on the analysed site. The first part of the project aims to further deepen the students preliminary understanding of contemporary urban societies . The heritage and history of the site remains at stake with the upcoming rise of more commercial buildings and high rises based on fast paced globalised society . The community library aims to be architecturally responsive towards the site in terms of typology and style with hopes of being impactful positively to the local community regardless of the new and old era.
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REFERENCES Casa de las Ideas Library. CROstudio. (2014, November 24). Retrieved April 14, 2017, from http:// www.archdaily.com/571046/casa-de-las-ideas-library-crostudio NewSchool of Architecture and Design Instructors receive prestigious progressive architecture award. Laureate International Universities. (2013, March 15). Retrieved April 14, 2017, from http:// www.laureate.net/OurNetwork/ExploreLaureate/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?contentId=6817344BEEC8-4E86-A97A-16CE7CE9016A Zaragoza, A. (2013, March 13). Tijuana library wins prestigious architecture award. Retrieved April 14, 2017, from http://sdcitybeat.com/culture/tijuana-library-wins-prestigious-architecture-award/ Modulo Prep Library. Hanley Wood Media, Inc. (2013, March 01). Award: Modulo Prep Library. Retrieved April 14, 2017, from http://www.architectmagazine.com/awards/p-a-awards/award-moduloprep-library_o CRO studios: public library wins award, gets hijacked. (2013, March 20). Retrieved April 14, 2017, from http://www.designboom.com/architecture/cro-studios-modulo-prep-library-wins-award-gets-hijacked/
School Bridge / Li Xiaodong Atelier. (2010, January 04). Retrieved April 14, 2017, from http:// www.archdaily.com/45409/school-bridge-xiaodong-li Bridge School by Li Xiaodong Atelier, Xiashi, Fujian Province, China. Catherine Slessor. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2017, from https://www.architectural-review.com/today/bridge-school-by-li-xiaodongatelier-xiashi-fujian-province-china/5218319.article Bridge School at Pinghe by Li Xiaodong. (2011, August 11). Retrieved April 14, 2017, from https:// www.dezeen.com/2009/12/23/bridge-school-at-pinghe-by-li-xiaodong/ TheAgaKhanAward. (2011, June 02). 2010 Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Recipient - Bridge School, Xiashi, Fujian Province, China. [Video file]. Retrieved April 14, 2017, from https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnXr7ii3l8s Archello - How It's Made. Discover the products, stories and building teams behind the project. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2017, from http://www.archello.com/en/project/bridge-school
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TUTOR: Mr. Hafiz Amirrol
URBAN DESIGN ANALYSIS BY: Afrah Abdul Rasheed Evelin Devina Liu Jyue Yow Loh Wei Shuen Louis Stanley De Rozario Lovie Tey Yiqing Low En Huey Naseem Naajid Natalie Ki Xiao Xuan Neoh Jia Wen Ng Hong Bin Ng Ke Ning Ng Zheng Si Saw Hwei Ying Sia Hong Jie 80
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