Theories of Architecture & Urbanism Analytic paper

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Architecture THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC2224) (ARC61303)

PROJECT PART B

NAME:

ID:

LECTURER:

TAN ZI JIAN

0318291

Mr. NICHOLAS NG

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction .................................................................................................. 2 1.1 Site Introduction .......................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Introduction of Kevin Lynch Theories ............................................................................ 3

2.0 Cognitive Mapping ........................................................................................ 4 3.0 How Kevin Lynch Theories Achieve Imageability of the Site .......................... 6 3.1 Path ............................................................................................................................. 6 3.2 Edge ............................................................................................................................. 8 3.3 District ....................................................................................................................... 10 3.4 Node .......................................................................................................................... 11 3.5 Landmark ................................................................................................................... 12

4.0 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 14 5.0 Reference .................................................................................................... 15

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1.0 Introduction 1.1 Site Introduction

People know Kuala Lumpur Sentral as an exclusive urban center built around Malaysia’s largest transit hub, offering global connectivity, excellent investment opportunities, business convenience and an international lifestyle. At the nucleus of Kuala Lumpur Sentral is the world-class transit hub, Stesen Sentral. Its infrastructure supports six rail networks, namely the KLIA Express Rail Link, KLIA Transit, RAPID KL (Putra), KTM Komuter, KTM Intercity and KL Monorail Services. Kuala Lumpur Sentral is spread over 72 acres of land bordered by Jalan Travers, Jalan Damansara and Jalan Tun Sambanthan, situated in the southwest of Kuala Lumpur City and just 1.5km from the central business district. After successful completion of Stesen Sentral, development of other components surrounding the station was initiated through a Master Plan inspired by a ‘City-within-a-City’ concept. Designed by a renowned architect Dr. Kisho Kurokawa & Associates, who is also the designer of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), the Master Plan has come to life with many completed as well as ongoing developments comprising prestigious residential and commercial properties.

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1.2 Introduction of Kevin Lynch Theories

For Kevin Lynch, key to the process of teasing out the individual and collective perceptions of a city was the concept of imageability. Many of these concepts are fairly fluffy, based on feeling and expressions rather than science. But that’s the whole point.

Lynch is more interested in the sense of people who live in the space than the science behind the structures within it. That said, “imageable” is a term Lynch invented to indicate how well a place can be taken in, mentally mapped, experienced. Lynch came out with an idea of cognitive maps and mental images that people in the city compile about the spaces around them are mainly composed of the paths, edges, districts, nodes and landmarks. None of these elements are mutually exclusive and KL Sentral can be describe by the terms of these imageability supporting elements.

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2.0 Cognitive mapping

Figure 2.0.1 Cognitive Mapping

KL Sentral contains all five of Kevin Lynch’s imageability elements (paths, edges, district, nodes and landmarks) and each of the elements is relatively distinct and unambiguous. Most of the building stock and the building style are uniform and the street grid is not typical but there are somehow arranged in a framework pattern. This commercial zone is not just bounded by Jalan Tun Sambanthan but also Jalan Rakyat, Jalan Travers and Jalan Damansara. These major streets act as physical edges to define this zone. However, the mesh-wire wall along Jalan Sambanthan and the lifted transit routes connected to the KL Sentral Station are perceived as the notional edges since they are visually dominant and in a continuous form which will give a sense of being a blockage of the circulation. There are a lot of sub-streets connecting each areas within these boundary which are in an order of Jalan Sentral Stesen and form the street framework.

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KL Sentral Station will be the landmark that located right in the middle of this framework.

It is mostly surrounded by high rise buildings in the areas towards Jalan Rakyat and Jalan Travers. The pedestrian paths lead people towards the transit hub is mostly shaded and ornamental streetlights are located along them. KL Sentral Station is a landmark that acts as a node for the residents or the people that enter or leave the site by LRT, particularly during the peak hour such as the period before and after the working hours. The following landmarks will be the designated, steel-glass constructed pedestrian bridge just next to NU Sentral. A node is happening at the junction next to the NU Sentral as it gives people a sense of direction by the surrounding context such as a blank street at the opposite and a bus stop is located nearby. Another node is brought out by another landmark which is the steel-glass constructed pedestrian bridge as it having the directional qualities and as well. Therefore, due to the area which KL Sentral Station and NU Sentral is more happening, this area acts as a district within the framework. The area consists of a large amount of high rise building which Suasana Sentral Condominium is located in considered as a district since they are having similar physical characteristic as Kevin Lynch pointed out. The main street (Jalan Tun Sambanthan) entering to this zone is defined by some visual landmarks which are the zigzag form high rise building, Menara Shell and an Indian style fountain. Along this road, there are two pedestrian bridge which are designed with different elements and allow people to easily capture the image of the bridges in their minds. There is also one post office between the bridges which is very noticeable since there is a big open carpark next to it. What is behind the second bridge will be a long steel wire-mesh wall which span until the Sentral Exhibition Hall. Along Jalan Rakyat, there is an Indian style arch gateway located in the middle and a well shaded pedestrian connecting the commercial zone to the other. At the end of Jalan Rakyat, a lifted street, Jalan Travers act as an obvious physical edge to define the commercial zone. The high rise building located along Jalan Damansara are mostly business orientated which form a district since they are having the same physical characteristics.

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3.0 How Kevin Lynch Theories Achieve Imageability of the Site 3.1 Path

Figure 2.1.1 Indian Style Arch Gateway

Figure 2.1.3 Shaded Pedestrian Pathway

Figure 2.1.2 View in front of NU Sentral

Figure 2.1.1 Designated Streetlight

Lynch loosely describes path as “channels along which the observer customarily, occasionally, or potentially moves. They may be streets, walkways, transit lines, canals or railroads.”(Lynch, 1960) With paths in mind, KL Sentral can be defined as a highly imageable city. Urban designer usually come out with a city planning that arrangement of it stick to a proper street grid. However, it is lack of street grid in the mapping and there are a lot of sub streets, in an order of Jalan Sentral Stesen. They are connecting to the middle of the other sub-street and form a framework within this zone. These sub-streets are walkable due to the pedestrian walkway in different width at the sides of them. An American-Canadian journalist, Jane Jacobs, which is best known for her influence on urban studies, described a good urban planning as “there must be eyes upon the street, eyes belonging to those we might call the natural proprietors of the street.” (Jacobs, 1961) There must be people walking on the sidewalk fairly continuously to increase the interaction within the people inside and outside of a building since human have a nature of entertaining themselves by watching a sufficient number of people walking on the street.

An empty street as the view out of a window will create a negative atmospheric effect of 6

the specific zone or the city which can be effectively perceived by people. This planning not only successfully increases the connectivity and interactions within people in this zone and indirectly emphasizes the characteristics of commercial zone by allowing people to go somewhere on foot. For instance, people that walk along Jalan Rakyat will notice a large size Indian style arch gateway which give a sense of entering a different zone and the distinct species of trees planted along the middle of the road are having a contrasting effect between the commercial zone and the zone opposite it without cutting off the visual connection between them. Therefore, it increases the opportunity of people looking at greater building heights, modern construction and the materiality of buildings which stand for the characteristics of the commercial zone. Moreover, it can be seen in the middle part of the cognitive mapping that most of the pedestrian pathway surrounding the centerlocated KL Sentral Station are shaded and the streetlights are designated to be ornamental. They provide a strong directional quality which lead people towards the transit hub. This design and planning passively form a unique identity and the design elements which are much different from the other path. As people walking on it, an obvious atmosphere difference created can be visually conveyed to them. According to Kevin Lynch theory, a path must be identifiable, and then followed by its continuity. Thus these paths which consist of strong identities are contributing in creating the city image.

Furthermore, there are some “personal paths” to grab tea, quiet paths, loud paths, fast paths, et cetera within the framework which the identity of the path will give an impression of the specific area or indirectly providing sense of direction in KL Sentral. For instance, the mapping has shown that there are trees planted in front of NU Sentral and there is a café at the ground floor of it which is facing Jalan Tun Sambathan. People who pass by the walkway in front of the main entrance of the NU Sentral will have a view of designated greenery and the smell of coffee from the café will emphasize the experience of being around NU Sentral. Therefore, one of the areas of the framework which NU Sentral is in will have its own identity as what Lynch theories required to contribute in crafting the image of partial city in people’s minds on the site. The mapping is showing that there are a large enough number of paths in this zone. With this benefit, a big mental grid is perceived, while the uniqueness of each path is retained. All the walkways, main streets,

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personal path in KL sentral are having their strong identities and some features in them which allow them to shape and tie this zone.

3.2 Edges

Figure 2.2.1 Jalan Travers

Figure 2.2.2 Lifted Transit Route

Figure 2.2.3 Wire mesh wall

Lynch describes edges as, “the linear elements not (necessarily) used or considered as paths by the observers. They are the boundaries between two phases, linear breaks in continuity: shores, railroad cuts, edges of development, walls.�(Lynch, 1960) He goes on to point out that edges are not always impenetrable and, in fact, are often seams between two districts or areas. There are different kind of boundaries on site that are perceived by people living there or even the newcomers. The mapping has clearly shown that this zone is bounded by four physical edges which are Jalan Tun Sambathan, Jalan Rakyat, Jalan Travers and Jalan Damansara. Jalan Travers is an obvious highway in KL Sentral which can be seen far away from its position span along the site. It has become a strong impression of separating the commercial zones and the districts around.

However, a physical form like this also contain directional qualities as people move towards the end of Jalan Rakyat, a dominant edge is acting as a blockage at the front

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and somehow leading them towards the direction of going to KL Sentral station. This edge is playing a role of binding the city together which is exactly what is stated in Kevin Lynch theories that how edges should work in a city. Furthermore, this zone is somehow having some notional edges which have a common with the physical edges of being visually predominant and in a continuous form. A well example of notional edge is presented by the lifted transit routes. It is still able to walk below the lifted routes but the height and the scale of the routes are presenting a prevailing sense of separating the zones. Normally, people will unconsciously make a turn when they meet such a virtual blockage. There are also some streets which are unable to walk on or do not provide a comfortable walking experience have virtually transformed into notional edges. For instance, in the mapping, there is a steel wire mesh wall acts as a barrier along the street in front of Sentral Exhibition Mall. Their dominant visual continuities give a sense of being a blockage within two spaces or areas but it leads people moving along it without turning at any point. The edges in KL Sentral has presented the idea of Kevin lynch. They act as unity seams rather than isolating barriers and the image of KL Sentral is partially formed. It not only provide a sense of direction but also helps creating how and where the impressions of the site should be concluded and ended. Both physical and notional edges shown in the mapping encourage people to move towards the center where the nodes are happening. As Kevin Lynch theories stated, these edges are not actually impenetrable but passively strengthen the bonding inside of a city instead of separating them.

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3.3 District

Figure 2.3.1 Suasana Sentral Condominium

Edges often (but not always) separate what Lynch calls districts or, “medium-tolarge sections of the city, conceived of as having two-dimensional extent, which the observer mentally enters ‘inside of,’ and which are recognizable as having some common, identifying character.” (Lynch, 1960) However, there is a district in this commercial zone of KL Sentral do not completely match the idea of Kevin Lynch’s theory. There is a residence area, Suasana Sentral Condominium as shown in the left lower corner of the cognitive mapping are surrounded by high rise building which are having different business activities. According to Kevin Lynch theories, this kind of planning is not contributing in picturing the image of KL Sentral because districts, like paths, can be official or political, but they could also depend largely on the individual who is perceiving the surroundings. “Neighborhood,” for example, could be considered a district that may or may not overlap with other districts. In this case, the definition of district in KL Sentral is unclear and unable to create a completed image. The physical characteristics that determine districts are thematic continuities which may consist of an endless variety of components: texture, space, form, detail, symbol and so on. Kevin Lynch pointed out that these components are imaged and recognized in a characteristic cluster in order to establish a striking contrast. However, the condominium is having similar or same physical characteristics with the buildings in the same cluster. There is no certain reinforcement of clues to produce a strong image of an entire district. This district is obscured by wrongly locating a residential high rise building among the almost identical blocks. On the contrary, the district in the middle part of the mapping which consists of NU Sentral and KL Sentral Station and quite a lot of high rise building. The materiality chosen for the building in this area are mostly steel and glass glazing which creating a 10

contrast effect as what Kevin Lynch mentioned in his theories and the buildings are normally known as having prevailing heights within the macro site. These reasons will mentally allow people walking by having a sense of going inside a commercial zones. The direct reflection of the people is helping to create the stronger identity of this district and the image of KL Sentral.

3.4 Node

Figure 2.4.1 Junction outside of NU Sentral

Figure 2.4.2 Designated Pedestrian Bridge

Lynch refers to two distinct types of nodes. Some nodes are junctions of paths and are therefore often transportation-related, while others may simply be a concentration of some type of use or characteristic. Nodes are important to the whole of how a city is perceived because they are related to the concept of path, since they often represent path junctions. They are similarly related to the concept of district since junctions are often prominent features within them. Lynch asserts that nodal points are to be found in almost every mental image of a place, and in some cases they may represent the most dominant feature. One of the unique nodes shown in the cognitive mapping will be the junction outside of NU Sentral. People that coming to this site or leaving it will need to will be gathering around KL Sentral Station which is just next to NU Sentral since it is a transition hub. Public Bank, CIMB Bank which are located opposite to the NU Sentral in the mapping are playing the important roles in this node as when people start picturing this junction, they will come out at first. This node consist of a sense of direction as people stop at the corner, they don’t only just wait at there but having a visual connection to the views of next direction. It can be the bus top nearby, the banks, the Indian restaurant or the grocery shop opposite the street. According to Kevin Lynch, a good node should be strongly imaged and give a sense of direction. Due to the directional quality consisted by this junction and the easy recognized and memorized buildings around, this area can be 11

strongly imaged in people’s mind and make it a successful node. Location at a junction involving path decisions strengthens a buildings around. They are frequently used clues of identity and even of structure, and seem to be increasingly relied upon as a journey becomes more and more familiar. There is another node which is as shown in the mapping as it is brought out by the landmark, the pedestrian bridge in front of NU Sentral.

This urban node is effectively connected by physical building structure (a walkway of NU Sentral) to allow for the better accessibility. Although there is no any bus stop near to this bridge, public bus can stop nearby it since the entrance of NU Sentral is facing to it. This nodal point is efficiently served by public transportation to increase mobility for residents and others. Thus, this point become a place for people to decide their next direction and a high accessibility, well designated pedestrian bridge is acting as an memorizing element which cause this node to be strongly memorized and consist of directional quality. Both of these nodes have the same qualities with the theories of Kevin Lynch. As showing in the map, they are located in the middle part of the zone. They are purposely designed to become the strategic loci which the observer can enter to promote the city and consists of unique features inside, intensifying surrounding characters as well.

3.5 Landmark

Figure 2.5.1 KL Sentral Station

Figure 2.5.2 Glass and steel constructed pedestrian bridge

According to Lynch, landmarks are reference points external to observers, which can be defined as simple physical elements may vary widely in scale. Singularity is the key physical characteristic of landmarks, creating spatial predominance through contrast with surrounding elements, making them unique or memorable in urban context. As the mapping shown, it can tell that most of the landmarks in KL Sentral are primarily local,

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being visible only in restricted localities and certain approaches. Therefore, the contrast effect is not that obvious compare to the kind of landmark that make its element visible from many locations. However,KL Sentral Station is located right in the middle of the mapping which mean it is designed to be a visually successful landmark. According to Lynch, this landmark have a feature of orienting oneself on the site since it is a transportation point in the middle part of the zone that can increase the human circulation thus increase the exposure of the site. Therefore, it can usually be seen from distance or easily recognizable. Its existence also introduces the modern structure which is different with the surrounding buildings, hence the modern design elements create a unique identity and a visual contrast provided by the physical elements is formed to indirectly help people to remember the ambient or the image of this area. The glass and steel constructed pedestrian bridge in front of NU Sentral is considered as one of the landmarks as well as the design elements applied on it is much different than the other bridges in this zone. The connection between pedestrian pathways and NU Sentral emphasize the uniqueness of itself and giving people a sense of what is happening in and around this landmark which achieve the goal as forming the image of Kl Sentral.

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4 Conclusion In a nutshell, Kevin Lynch’s five elements of urban images are considered successfully contributing in creating the imageability of KL Sentral. Paths in KL Sentral consists of their own identities, edges give a sense of direction, district created a contrast effect by its physical qualities to the surrounding area, nodes are strongly imaged and having directional qualities and landmark successfully draw people eyes to itself and function as orientating oneself from far away. These elements cannot exist individually, they must act together as a while to reveal an integrated city image, just like how they works in KL Sentral. It is a total orchestration of these elements which combine together as a vivid and dense image.

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References

Lynch, K. (1960). The Image of the City. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Jacobs, J. (1961). The Death and Life of Great American Cities. United States: Vintage Books.

Lynch, K. (1960). A Theory of Good City Form. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Yue, W.H. (2013, no-date). Kevin Lynch: The Image of the City (1960). [Weblog]. Retrieved 2 June 2016, from http://architectureandurbanism.blogspot.my/2014/01/kevin-lynch-image-of-city1960.html

Brian, T. (2010). 5 Design Principles for Wayfinding. Retrieved 3 June, 2016, from http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/infoarch/publications/mfoltz-thesis/node8.html

Bruegmann, R. (2008, 8th June). Comprehensible Urban Form. [Weblog]. Retrieved 4 June 2016, from https://placesjournal.org/article/the-architect-as-urbanist-part-2/

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