The document provides a comparative analysis of Statue Square in Central District, Hong Kong and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia based on Jan Gehl's theories of outdoor activities and human contact intensity. It analyzes how the urban design and public amenities of each space influence the types of activities that occur and the levels of human interaction. Both spaces effectively accommodate necessary, optional, and social activities through features like seating, shade, and green spaces. However, differences in climate and urban planning result in varying consistency and intensity of social activities between the two areas.

1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & DESIGN
THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM
(ARC61303/ARC2224)
PROJECT 2: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ESSAY
TUTOR: MR. NICHOLAS NG
YONG YU JOON
0318299

2. Project2: Comparative AnalysisEssay
[ARC61303/ARC2224] Theoriesof Architecture andUrbanism
1.0 Introduction
Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman or Jalan TAR as known by the locals is a bustling street located in the
heart ofthe Malaysian capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Once hailed as the main streetof Kuala Lumpur
known under the name Bata Road, it functioned as a track leading to Batu Village, limestone caves and
tin mines. It was only later in in history when it was renamed Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman after our first
Yang Di-Pertuan Agong. Itis also the city's longestroad with shops setup in pre-war buildings along
both sides. These buildings reflectchanging trends in architectural design. The pre-war 2 storey shop
houses still stand though the more derelicthave been torn down to give way to modern multi-storey
buildings. Jalan TAR was famous for the Coliseum Café and Coliseum cinema before the Globe Silk
Store opened and shoppers flocked to pick up affordable clothing acting as one ofKuala Lumpur’s main
commercial districts from the late 1970s to the early 1990s as spots such as Pertama Complex,
Campbell Complex and Odeon Cinema monopolised shoppers. Due to rapid urban gentrification of
recentyears, many of its once appreciated traditional qualities as well as structures have been
eliminated to make space for modernization. Although attempts to combatthe negative effects ofurban
sprawl were taken by the governmentsuch as widening pedestrian paths and creating more green
spaces, they have failed to reignite the spark lostthroughout the years. Today, Jalan TAR still stands
as a busy commercial districthome to key attractions such as the Coliseum Café, Sogo, nightmarkets
and the HUB ofthe local textile trade during festive seasons.
The heart ofHong Kong city is no doubtthe Central District, which has had rapid developmentsince
the inception ofthe British in 1841. Western style buildings grew prosperously and the early 20th
century saw Hong Kong develop into a modern metropolis. Many mammoths ofarchitecture were
erected in the Hong Kong capital such as the Bank ofChina Tower, Former Supreme CourtBuilding
and HSBC Headquarters. The pedestrian focused Hong Kong streets in the Central exists the Mid-
Level Escalators which is the longestcovered escalator system in the world. The vernacular
architecture and urban planning of Central Hong Kong are pedestrian centred, multifunctional and
spontaneous streetculture and visual communication to create its unique urban identity.

3. Project2: Comparative AnalysisEssay
[ARC61303/ARC2224] Theoriesof Architecture andUrbanism
2.0 Analysis
Based on Jan Gehl’s “Life between buildings”, on the street there are 3 categories ofoutdoor activities
that take place which are as follows:
 Necessary Activity
 Optional Activity
 Social Activity
Necessary activities involves necessary actions that are needed to be accomplished in one’s daily life
such as going to school, shopping,work or waiting for a bus and so on so forth. Optional activities are
activities that take place only when exterior conditions allow it. Activities that fall under this category
include taking a stroll, walking in the park, sunbathing or walking your dog. When the outdoor
environmentallows it, necessary and optional activities will take place at the same frequency. A wide
range of optional activities will occur as the place and situation invites people to stop, sit, eat, and play
and so on. Therefore the condition ofthe place is an influence to how it can be perceived for suitable
optional activities. Lastly, Social Activities are also known as resultant activities are formed from the
mentioned instances and are mostly sparked atany place and time. They depend on the presence of
others in public spaces.Social Activities include children playing, communal activities ofvarious kinds
and finally the mostwidespread social activity which is passive contacts that is simply seeing and
hearing other people. Jan Gehl also included a table showing contactforms, mainly a rough estimation
of the intensity of human interaction.
Figure 2.1 Contact Intensity Diagram Figure 2.2 Activity Occurrence Rate Table

4. Project2: Comparative AnalysisEssay
[ARC61303/ARC2224] Theoriesof Architecture andUrbanism
2.1 Statue Square, Central District, Hong Kong
Statue Square has been a famous landmark in the heart of Hong Kong’s commercial districtfor
many generations accommodating various differentactivities ofhigh intensity. The city council have
succeed in creating a successful public space by implementing various amenities such as seating
benches, shaded pavilions,wide walking paths that include green pockets and water features to
improve walking experience and outdoor conditions along Statue Square.
Figure 2.3 Des Voeux Road Junction beside Statue Square
The picture above is the junction on Des Voeux Road Central and the MTR station, which is one of
the mostprominentcontact points due to it being in the mistof the shopping district, MTR station and
also the HSBC Headquarters. It is categorised as a high intensity major circulation contact pointwhich
acts as an intersection where mostly individuals perform necessary activities.
It can be seen that at the junction, one must wait for the traffic light to cross the street(Necessary
Activity), by doing so itcreates various contactopportunities. AtPoint1 in the picture above, the
individuals are going through passive contact. They can see and hear the actions and conversations of
surrounding people although they are not interacting with surrounding individuals. AtPoint2, is also
categorised atpassive contactas the transparent storefront oriented towards the sidewalk creates a
strong visual connection which encourages passer-by’s to stop and window shop complemented by
and awning that creates a sheltered environmentfor people to stand under. Lastly, individual atPoint 3
is resting under a gazebo which is an optional activity. This is allowed due to suitable external
conditions such as the shade and lush green landscape.

5. Project2: Comparative AnalysisEssay
[ARC61303/ARC2224] Theoriesof Architecture andUrbanism
Figure 2.4 Statue Square Plaza
Mostsocial activities occur in the Statue Square Plaza due to the excellentenvironment. Some
formal seating is provided under a shade which encourages one to sitwhich creates possibility for
passive contactand chance contact. When met by an acquaintance therefore resulting in social activity
at moderate to high intensity. (Acquaintance, Friend, Close Friends). The optimal environmentalso
invites informal seating opportunities created by the planter boxes and water features. Due to the
abundance ofinformal sitters, more social activities such as communal acts are attracted and taken
place in the plaza with high intensity.
Figure 2.5 Graphic diagram of Statue Square Plaza
From the figure above, itcan be observed thatthe streetscape design and plazas plays an important
role in encouraging contactand many different forms of activity. For example, the placementofgreen
landscapes and water features in the plaza help soften the harsh urban concrete jungle. This invites
people travelling to and from the MRT, going to work and waiting for the bus (Necessary Activities) to

6. Project2: Comparative AnalysisEssay
[ARC61303/ARC2224] Theoriesof Architecture andUrbanism
stroll around and admire the plaza (Optional Activities). The edges ofthe water features and planter
boxes create informal seating opportunities that invite people to sit, play and eat(Optional Activities).
This will create a high intensity contact, create interest towards the space and will lead to communal
activities as people attract people.
To sum up the analysis for Statue Square, Central District, Hong Kong, we can see that the
presence ofdesign features on the streetcan allow the execution ofdifferentactivities. For example,
the optimal environmentofthe plaza acts as a catalyst for both optional and social activities. For
contact intensity levels, itchanges depending on contactpoints and activities mostly ranging from
passive contactto high intensity contact levels.

7. Project2: Comparative AnalysisEssay
[ARC61303/ARC2224] Theoriesof Architecture andUrbanism
Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur
Figure 2.6 Picture of the Extended Walkway at Jalan TAR
In recentyears, the local authorities have taken action to improve the walkability in the city by
extending the 5 foot walkway and implementing green spaces in Jalan TAR while the existing awnings
of the 5 foot walkway are maintained in the modern shop lots. The above figure is a recentpicture
taken on Jalan TAR showing the new extended walkway. The walkway is divided into 3 parts which is
the storefront, walkway and the activity area. The walkway is sandwiched by the storefront and activity
is which creates a pulling force for social and optional activities on each side.
As you can see the walkway is the medium for necessary activities such as going to work and
shopping. Similar to the junction in Statue Square, pedestrians experience passive contacts as they
see and hear what is happening around without interacting with the context. Besides that, the
storefronts are also transparent, displaying products which encourage people to stop and look (Optional
Activity) similar to Statue Square. The awnings create an optimal environmentfor people to stand
closer to the storefronts for shelter. This creates opportunities for businessmen to setup stalls under
the awnings (Social Activity). On the opposite side ofthe walkway, seating is provided which invites
walkers to sit and rest (Optional Activity). The shade acts as a catalyst for other optional and social
activities such as eating as resting due to the suitable external environmentwhich opens up
possibilities for chance contacts with medium intensity similar to Statue Square Plaza.

8. Project2: Comparative AnalysisEssay
[ARC61303/ARC2224] Theoriesof Architecture andUrbanism
Figure 2.7 Jalan TAR Extended Walkway Zoning Diagram
The zoning ofspaces between commercial, circulation and activity has made pedestrians on the
circulation zone to be sandwiched by optional and social activities while engaging more than just
passive contactfrom pedestrians. This zoning has its pros and cons, although the sandwich effect
which invites the pedestrians to engage in various forms ofactivities activities, extending the walkway
might cause the social density to decrease leading to lower contacts and relationships compared to the
narrow 5 footwalkway which encourages people to walk in closer proximity to each other.
What is different from Statue Square is the harsh climate of Malaysia. The consistency in occurrence
of social activities ofand density vary greatly from high intensity to low intensity depending on the
weather conditions during rainy and hot seasons.

9. Project2: Comparative AnalysisEssay
[ARC61303/ARC2224] Theoriesof Architecture andUrbanism
Figure 2.8 Picture of Sogo’s outdoor area
The outside ofSogo is an interesting space in Jalan TAR as it has become an unintentional plaza.
Sogo, similar to Statue Square acts as a pulling force inviting high intensity crowds ofwho are people
shopping and going to the LRT stations (Necessary Activity) to sit and rest(Optional Activity). The long
wide steps become unintended seating opportunities and the shade provided by Sogo and surrounding
trees create an optimal environmentfor various optional activities. This causes chance contacts and
increase of interaction from passive contactto a higher intensity (Friends, Acquaintance, and Close
Friends). The presence ofpeople ignites social activities as seen above which acts as a pulling force to
attract more people. As Jan Gehl mentioned in Life between Buildings,“Wherever there are people in
buildings, in neighbourhoods, in city centres, in recreational areas, and so on – it is generally true that
people and human activities attract other people.
Conclusion
After analysing both cities on their patterns of social patterns, types ofcontactpoints and the varying
degrees ofcontactintensity, I have concluded that the differences in climate, urban planning and public
amenities play a key role in the behaviour ifpeople in the urban context. In Statue Square, the
occurrence ofsocial activities and contactintensity levels the due to its location, climate and urban
planning. As for Jalan TAR, we see that the same effect can be achieved as we see positive changes
taken by local authorities by incorporating green landscape and widening pedestrian walkways. Similar
high contact intensity is achieved when local climate is taken into consideration.

10. Project2: Comparative AnalysisEssay
[ARC61303/ARC2224] Theoriesof Architecture andUrbanism
References
1) Gehl, J. (2011). Life between buildings: using public space. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
2) Dobbins, M., & D. (2011). Urban Design and People. Wiley
3) Gehl, J., & Gemzøe, L. (2004). Public spaces - public life. Copenhagen: Danish Architektural
Press.
4) Lynch, K. (1979). The image of the city. Cambridge, MA: MITPr.
5) Statue Square. (n.d.). Retrieved July 04, 2017, from http://www.landmark.hk/en/around-
central/experience-central/statue-square
6) Teams, M. (n.d.).AboutLittle old-fashioned road - Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. Retrieved July
04, 2017, from http://www.malaxi.com/about_jalan_tuanku_abdul_rahman.html