Project 2

1. BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) (ARCHITECTURE)
THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM
(ARC 2224)
PROJECT 1: PART 2: ANALYZING AND THEORIZING
ARCHITECTURE
NAME : Gertrude Lee
STUDENT ID : 0306265
LECTURER : Mr. Lam Shen Fei

2. ARC 2224 Theories of Architecture & Urbanism
Table of Contents Page
1.0 Introduction 3
2.0 Analysis of Place and Theory 4-6
3.0 Conclusion 7
4.0 References 7

3. ARC 2224 Theories of Architecture & Urbanism
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Puchong is considered a major town in the Petaling district of Selangor, Malaysia
and it also serves a residential town. Puchong is divided into different townships
such as Bandar Puchong Haya, Bandar Puteri Puchong and Pusat Bandar Puchong.
Looking into Bandar Puteri Puchong, Bandar Puteri Puchong is both a residential
and commercial area. For commercial, it consists of different types of businesses
and services such as major banks, different eating places and supermarket and as
for residential area, there are a few housing estates, for example Puteri 6 and also
apartments, for example Sri Begonia Apartment. One of the famous landmarks that
is located at Bandar Puteri Puchong is the Giant Bandar Puteri. The buildings that
are going to be analysed are the 4 commercial shop lots that are located along Jalan
Puteri 1/4. In these shop lots, there are different types of businesses such as
boutique, spa, and restaurants and as for services; there are different types of
banks, pharmacy and clinics.
Since Bandar Puteri Puchong is a developing area in Puchong and it is an urban
area, focusing on planning such as spatial planning and city planning is important in
order for the city to work well. The book that was chosen for this analysis is ‘The
Death and Life of Great American Cities’ by Jane Jacobs as this book focuses on
urban planning of an area and also how the planning is built according on how the
cities work. Jane Jacob was an urban writer and activist best known for her influence
in urban studies. Her writing is based solely on her observations and common sense
as to show why certain places work and to improve those that does not work. In this
book, there are a few theories that are relevant but the most relevant theory that can
relate to these 4 shop lots is ‘The need of mixed primary uses’. From my
understanding of this theory, it means that in a district, one type of function in a
district cannot function as well as having more than one function as one function
restricts human activities in that area. There must have different purposes which
consist of the common facilities for human needs.

4. ARC 2224 Theories of Architecture & Urbanism
2.0 ANALYSIS OF PLACE AND THEORY
Looking at the macro scale, Bandar Puteri Puchong is considered both
commercial and residential area. Surrounding the 4 shop lots located along Jalan
Puteri 1/4, there are different types of commercial blocks, office buildings and
residential areas. The shop lots in Bandar Puteri Puchong have different types of
businesses such as spa, restaurants, boutiques and furniture shops. There are also
different services such as pharmacy, phone shops, clinics and different academies.
Zoning it into the 4 shop lots that are going to be analysed on, this part of the shop
lots are the busiest as it is located along one of the main streets of Bandar Puteri
Puchong which is Jalan Puteri 1/4. Going along Jalan Puteri 1/4, through my
observation, the most common business along this 4 shop lots are food, spa and
boutique and at the intersection of the road, there is Maybank.
Based on the theory, ‘The need for mixed primary uses’, in this 4 shop lots, they
also have different facilities, and as mentioned by Jane Jacobs, one type of function
in an area cannot function as well as having more than one function as one function
restricts human activities in that area. The 4 shop lots provide all the common
facilities that attract people to come. According to the theorist, having different,
common facilities at an area allow people to perform different activities and also
perform those activities at different timing of the day. By having different types of
shops and services such as food, spa and boutique business, banks, pharmacy and
clinic at the 4 shop lots, this will attract different group of users at different timing into
the area where the 4 shop lots are located at as there are common facilities that
each different group of users share.
Diversity in an area increases when mixed primary uses are effective. The
different groups of users are normally working people around that area, residents or
people who are not from that area coming into the area. The most important user is
the residents at that area, without the residents, there would not be as much
business at that area. As mentioned before, by having different businesses, this will
attract people to come to this area. As I observe, the most people will go to an area
to look for good food. Within these 4 shop lots there are a lot of food businesses
such as Korean restaurants, Chinese Restaurants and coffee shops. Different type
of food will give people different variety of choices and also different age group of

5. ARC 2224 Theories of Architecture & Urbanism
people. Besides food, spas will also attract people as spa is one of the places where
people go for massages and it is also a place of relaxation. Food businesses and
spa businesses are one of the best places to meet up with someone or with a group
of friends. These businesses also can help attract people who are not residence of
that area. The infusion of potential uses will result in maximum amount of people at
different timing of the day.
As Jane Jacob mentioned, ‘On successful streets, people must appear at
different times.’ Looking at it in an economical way, diversity helps bring
effectiveness in business. The conditions to make this happen are that users using
this same street at different timing and also among them will be people who will be
using these facilities. The opening hours of the businesses are also important to
increase the economy of the area as users will be spread throughout the whole day.
For example, during lunch hour, the 4 shop lots are congested with people as office
workers, residents and other people from other areas will come to look for food or
other shops as this 4 shop lots have different commercial businesses. Between the
ranges of midafternoon until evening, there will not be as many people and by
infusing all the different businesses into these buildings, this will result in more
people coming to the shops at these hours. These businesses also must not bore
the users if not there will also be a decrease in users from time to come. For
example, in these 4 shop lots, after lunch hour, there will still be people coming in as
there are other businesses such as boutiques, spas and home accessories shop.
During the weekends also, families who are residence of that area and also families
who are staying out of that area also bring their families to this 4 shop lots as most of
them bring their families to look for food as part of their outing activity. Introducing a
new business to a building is also important as also follows the users character as it
must serve an important purpose of why the users must enter the shop.
The accessibility of an area is also important in order for people to enter site.
Streets are important for the circulation of vehicle. As mentioned before, the
effectiveness of businesses in order to generate diversity is by using the same street
at different timing and along this street there must be facilities that users are
interested in. Looking at the streets at this area in a macro scale, from the
Damansara-Puchong Express Highway, entering to Bandar Puteri Puchong, there
would be a street leading to the 4 shop lots which is called Jalan Puteri. The 4 shop

6. ARC 2224 Theories of Architecture & Urbanism
lots are also visible when driving along the Puteri Expressway. The flow of the
vehicles around the 4 shop lots also depends on the direction that the street is
leading them, either 1 way street or 2 way streets. The street along the 4 shop lots is
considered one of the main streets surrounding this area, which is Jalan Puteri 1/4.
Jalan Puteri 1/4 is a one way street and along this street there are parking along
both sides of the road. If there are not enough parking, they would have to make one
big round to come back to the 4 shop lots. Some people would just park their car
along the sides of the street of Jalan Puteri 1/5 and walk to the 4 shop lots. When it
is peak hours, the vehicle circulation would be high as people would be looking for
parking. As this is along the main road, people in their vehicles will be able to see the
4 shop lots along this road. After parking their vehicles, people would walk along the
walkway at the shop lots. Human circulation is also important as people who are
walking in crowds will bring curiosity to other people to follow and to see where and
which shop are they going to.

7. ARC 2224 Theories of Architecture & Urbanism
3.0 CONCLUSION
The theory, ‘The need of mixed primary uses’ basically wants us to analyse
whether a district has one type of function or more than one type of function and
whether this particular area or building works in terms of mixed primary functions.
From this theory, I was able to analyse the 4 shop lots that I have chosen in a
different way, in terms of different types of shop businesses, whether it works in this
4 shop lots. It is interesting to see how the theory is being applied into this 4 shop
lots. It allows me to analyse the surrounding of the 4 shop lots in more details and to
see how the mixed primary uses affect the area in terms of users, economics and
also the circulation of the area.
From this theory, I learnt that mixed primary uses are important to make a
successful neighbourhood as common facilities in that area helps to attract people to
stay in that area and by attracting people to this area and residence are important as
they are one of the main users who will help to start the development of the
businesses around the area. If an area only has one function, it will not be enough to
provide what is necessary for the people leaving in that area. I also agree that having
different function in an area is important in order for people to have different activities
at the area. By having these activities, this will also attract people from other area to
come in this area.
4.0 REFERENCES
Jacobs, J. (1961). The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York.
Jane Jacobs - Project for Public Spaces. (n.d.). Retrieved June 8, 2015.