Tales of three cities – mapping the townscape (petaling street and central market)

Tales of Three Cities (ARC61003 / ARC3113)

Mapping The Townscape Introduction
Malaysia
Malaysia
Malaysia is located in the South-East Asia
which consists of 13 states and three
federal territories. It is separated by the
South China Sea into two similarly sized
regions, Peninsular Malaysia and East
Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo). The capital
city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is
the seat of the federal government.
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and multi-
cultural country which includes the three
big races: Malay, Chinese and Indian.
Canada
USA
South
America
Africa
Europe
India
China Japan
Malaysia
Australia
2

Mapping The Townscape
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the national capital of
Malaysia as well as its largest city, and its
surrounding urban areas form the most
industrialised and economically region. It
is the fastest growing region in Malaysia.
Kuala Lumpur attracts a lot of tourists
with its tourist spots such as the Dataran
Merdeka, Petronas Twin Towers and KL
Tower.
Kuala Lumpur
Introduction
Kuala Lumpur
3

Central Market
Central Market is a tourist hotspot which
is located a distance away from the
Petaling Street. It is a heritage building
which was built in 1988 with art deco
design. The Central Market is full of stalls
which sell locally made handicrafts that
showcase the cultural items of Malaysia.
The Kasturi Walk is a remarkable
attraction with a Wau sculpture located
just beside the Central Market. It has a
lot of stalls selling food and souvenirs just
like in Petaling Street.
Introduction
Petaling Street and Central Market
Petaling Street
Petaling Street is known as the
Chinatown with a lot of food
stalls such as asam laksa,
hokkien mee and other local
foods and stalls with
souvenirs. There are a lot of
budget hotels located at
Petaling Street to provide
accommodation to tourists.
4

Urban Grid System
• Deformed grid system.
• Not predictable and irregular lot shapes and
sizes.
• It is hard to build and rebuilt.
• Not easy for navigation because of the roads
that are not well-organized.
• If one street is blocked, traffic cannot easily re-
route to the next street over.
Urban Fabric
• Fine grain focuses at Jalan Petaling and Jalan
Hang Lekir.
• This increases the permeability, making it easier
particularly for pedestrians to move around the
streets.
Mapping The Townscape Figure Ground Study (Built Form)
Location plan showing Petaling Street and Central Market
Central Market
Petaling Street
Jalan Hang Lekir
5

Building Scales
• The subdivision of the block is mostly irregular.
• The block has a mixture of large and small lots
and different building sizes.
• Contemporary buildings have bigger scale and
bigger forms with more that four storeys.
• Historical buildings have smaller scale with
mostly two-storey shophouses.
• This shows the contrast between large and
small lots.
Central Market
Petaling Street
Jalan Pudu
6

Building Typology
Open Space Typology
• There is a continuous overhanging roof
structure located at Jalan Petaling and Kasturi
Walk, and both of the spaces are known as
shopping districts.
Central Market
Petaling Street
Jalan Hang Lekir
Closed Space Typology
• Point form and linear form.
• Rows of shophouses show linear form in plan as
they are located side by side with each other.
• Point typology buildings are shown by the
hotels nearby the shophouses.
7

Mapping The Townscape Cultural Mapping (Activity)
Land Use
Hotels /
Accommodation
Temples (Religious)
Businesses / Shops
Shopping Malls
Central Market
(Landmark)
Restaurants / Bars
Location plan showing the activities around Petaling Street and Central Market
Petaling Street
Jalan Pudu
8

Location plan showing Petaling Street and Central Market Tourist hotspots Local hotspots
Cultural Mapping (Activity)
Hotspots
Entrance of Petaling Street
Taxi waiting area
Kasturi Walk
Tourist shopping hotspot
Petaling Street
Tourist shopping hotspot
Tun H.S. Lee Market
Morning market, and
breakfast and lunch
9

Location plan showing Petaling Street and Central Market Primary nodes Secondary nodes
Cultural Mapping (Activity)
Nodes
The primary nodes
concentrated at the tourist
zones making the area more
lively.
The program proposed has
to attract tourists to the
tourist zones and thus
forming secondary nodes at
the entrance of the Petaling
Street.
10

Mapping The Townscape Sustainable Street Networks (Movement Pattern)
Pedestrian Circulation
Pedestrian Pathways
• The main pathway that connects Central Market
and Petaling Street is Jalan Pudu (in red).
• Smaller pathways are in linear and
interconnected.
11

Pedestrian Density (Function)
• Highest density at Central Market and Petaling
Street, which attract tourists.
• Moderate density at restaurants for people to
enjoy meals.
• Least density along the walkways.
12

Pedestrian Density (Non-peak
hours)
• The stalls are opening at 11.00am.
• Low pedestrian density before 11.00am.
13

Pedestrian Density (Peak hours)
• Moderate pedestrian density at Central Market
and Petaling Street.
• Red: Tourists
• Blue: Locals
14

Pedestrian Density (Night time)
• Highest density during night time.
• Activities around Central Market and Petaling
Street increase at night.
15

Vehicular Circulation
Vehicular Routes
• The high density of vehicular along Jalan Pudu
indicates that it is the main road.
• The main roads are in a two-way direction;
while the secondary pathways are normally in a
one-way direction.
16

Vehicular Circulation
Vehicular Density
• Public transportations such as LRTs, buses and
taxis are provided along the main road to
increase the connectivity within Petaling Street
and Central Market.
• Main roads are congested.
• One-way routes are slightly smoother in terms
of traffic.
17

Mapping The Townscape “Complexity”
Complexity will be defined through building
form, activity and movement pattern
Complexity will be
discussed
objectively through
building form,
activity and
movement
pattern.
18

Mapping The Townscape Serial Vision ①
Defined to Diffused
A
B
19

Defined to Diffused
Visual Magnet (Point A)
• The gateway of double volume height and large
overhanging roof structure contribute to attracting
visitors into the Petaling Street.
• The vibrant colours of the gateway serve as a focal
point for an important vista viewing from afar.
• The street was initially built for vehicles but now it has
turned to a pedestrian-oriented street.
Diversity
• Different people from all walks of life gather in this
particular linear street to engage with the local
community and culture that are of grave importance to
the Petaling Street lifestyle.
• The area turns lively with concentrated node that
creates a favourable place especially for the tourist.
20
A
B

Juxtaposition of Unpredictable Scale
• The shophouses along the stretch of Petaling Street are
covered by the overhang roof structure, creating a
defined volume throughout the street.
• This results in the unpredictable scale of shophouses
under the uniformed roof although they consist of
various scale and sizes.
• The lanterns and billboards hanging over Petaling
Street further obscure the shophouse façade from view,
distorting the scale.
Transitional Slice
• At the junction where Jalan Hang Lekir intersects
Petaling Street perpendicularly, it creates a buffer
space from the sheltered Petaling Street to an open
street.
• Crowd disperses in three different directions further
down from Point A.
• The openness of Jalan Hang Lekir due to the absence
of the overhanging roof provides visual clarity ahead as
natural sunlight floods the street.
Defined to Diffused
21
A
B

Defined to Diffused
Connectivity from Spine
• The spine is used to metaphorically describe Petaling
Street. The connectivity of Petaling Street to Jalan
Hang Lekir is visible through the continuation of
lanterns hung over the street.
• The function of the street is similar to Petaling Street –
vendors selling merchandise from stalls.
Blandness of Facade
• The façade along Jalan Hang Lekir blends well with the
colour palette of red, beige and grey from its
surroundings.
• Its repetitive visual making elements creates a plain
façade which does not rob the attention of the street
below.
• Lanterns hanging over the street further contain the
activity and movement within itself.
22
A
B

Wide Outlook
• Upon reaching the junction of Jalan Hang Lekir where
it intersects Jalan Tun H.S. Lee, the defined area of
Petaling Street and Jalan Hang Lekir with its lanterns
stops abruptly.
• The two-way street of Jalan Tun H.S. Lee creates a
sense of spaciousness in contrast with the narrow Jalan
Hang Lekir that is affected by the stalls’ layout.
• Facing left, Jalan Tun H.S. Lee overlooks a vista of
skyscrapers such as the Wisma Tun Sambanthan and
the Public Bank building.
Visual Depth
• Facing right down the Jalan Tun H.S. Lee, it overlooks
towards the major Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock with its
layering of city buildings of various heights behind it.
• The human density within this area also begins to
lessen, where the pedestrians only consists of locals
navigating through the shoplots lining down the street.
• The area begins to have mixed functions of business,
food and religion. This shows the diffusion of functions
as opposed to the defined function of the Petaling
Street that solely serves as a tourist hotspot/cultural
district.
Defined to Diffused
23
A
B

Dense Layers
• At the end of Jalan Hang Lekir where it intersects Jalan
Hang Kasturi stands the Hotel Geo KL.
• Looking left, the Pasar Seni (Central Market), Jalan
Hang Kasturi bus station and the Pasar Seni LRT Station
are located. The node for public transportation causes
an influx of human density within the area.
• The road which leads to the major Jalan Tun Tan
Cheng Lock further causes vehicular density in addition
to the public transport within the area. Taxis are also
parked along the road to get customers who have
disembarked at the bus/LRT station.
Visual Hiding
• Turning right, one arrives at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock
which is the major thoroughfare of the area.
• Visitors are immediately drawn to the massive Wau
structure which introduces the Kasturi Walk behind it.
• It robs the focus of Central Market which sits behind
the structure and adjacent to the Kasturi Walk although
the building is significantly lower than its surrounding
buildings.
Defined to Diffused
24
A
B

Defined to Diffused
Deceptive Walkway
• The food bazaar and hawker stalls set up along the
Kasturi Walk are shaded by overhanging roof in the
shape of a Wau. The intention of the structure built is
to shade the walkway while tying the Central Market to
its adjacent shophouses sitting perpendicular to it.
• However, the structure itself creates a loud emphasis
which snatches the attention of its neighbouring
building which is the Central Market and its entrance.
Visual Contrast (Point B)
• Upon arriving at the Central Market entrance, one will
notice its lower height and longer width of the building
in comparison with neighbouring skyscraper such as
the Dayabumi Complex and Agrobank KL.
• The massing of Central Market juxtaposes the ones of
its neighbouring building, drawing attention to itself
due to the void it creates above.
• With the addition of the big carpark area and the mass
of the building itself, there is spacious 360 degree view
outwards, granting users visual access across the area.
25
A
B

A
Serial Vision ②
Node to Landmark
B
26

Complex Exit (Point A)
• As the focus of the gateway is to draw in user from the
outside into Petaling Street, one would consider the
gateway will serve as a grand exit also.
• However upon exiting, the gateway is hidden behind
rows of hanging lanterns and billboard sign over the
street.
• Hence, the gateway actually does not point out the exit
of Petaling Street but rather the shophouses and stalls
are the ones that define the end of Petaling Street. The
perpendicular Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock also informs
users that Petaling Street ends at the junction.
Bottleneck Traffic
• Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock is a major road that links
across the city centre, connecting Jalan Tun
Sambanthan in the West, and Jalan Pudu in the East,
ultimately reaching the junction at Jalan Tun Perak.
• The vehicular pattern is heaviest here compared to
other areas within the region. Hence, it strengthens the
node here.
• The two-way road spanning three lanes constantly
shows vehicular movement from one end to the other.
During peak hours, Petaling Street will come to a
standstill as traffic is congested in this area.
Mapping The Townscape Serial Vision ②
Node to Landmark
27
A
B

Node to Landmark
Assorted Scale
• Along Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, rows of shophouses
are seen lining inwards at each junctions. Occasionally,
there are tall buildings within the area.
• In this picture, the scale of Hotel Malaya is enormous
compared to the scale of the shophouses, emphasizing
on the different experience user undergo as they go
through different serial visions.
28
Contrasting Typology
• The row of shophouses change the continuity with
point typologies of buildings such as large offices and
hotels along the streets.
• These such buildings aligned along the main street are
to cater the main vehicular circulation.
A
B

Node to Landmark
Iconic
• Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock ends at this junction where
it connects to Jalan Tun Sambanthan and Jalan Hang
Kasturi.
• The node here is further strengthen by its landmark
such as the Hotel Geo KL as seen here.
• The building footprint which is triangular in shape
eventually affects the massing of the structure, which
reminds people of the Flatiron Building in New York
City.
Visual Contrast (Point B)
• After the spacious junction where three streets meet,
one has arrived at Central Market.
• The low height of the building creates a sense of
warmth as the building scale is more intimate
compared to its surrounding building.
29
A
B

Mapping The Townscape Collage City
Connectivity
30

Displacement
31

Figure Ground
32

Nodes
33

Thoroughfare
34

Scale
35

Mapping The Townscape Comparison of Three Cities
George Town, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching
George Town, Penang Kuala Lumpur Kuching, Sarawak
Morphological Dimension • Deformed grid pattern
• Low-rise built forms
• Shophouses typology
define the entrances
• Deformed grid pattern
• High-rise and vertical
built forms
• Skyline is decorated by
skyscrapers
• Deformed grid pattern
• Low-rise and spaces are
more vast
Social Dimension • Shophouses are for
various activities such
as commercial while
pocket spaces for
relaxation (cafes)
• Heritage area has
various cultural heritage
buildings
• Live, work and play
combination showcases
the city’s characteristics
• Limited use of activities
to express the city’s
lifestyles
Perception Dimension • Heritage value of
Penang is maintained
as conservation of
buildings is prioritized
although function of
shophouses undergo
adaptive re-use
• Urban lifestyle with
cultural background
• Cultural and traditional
that portray life of
Sarawak
• Peaceful and nature-
orientated
36

Mapping The Townscape Comparison of Three Cities
George Town, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching
George Town, Penang Kuala Lumpur Kuching, Sarawak
Visual Dimension • Development within
the area to cater
tourists and gradually
the building forms
• Iconic skyline and
traditional shophouses
are layered at different
points of junctions
• Fusion between
heritage and culture
Functional Dimension • Adaptive re-use of
buildings allow different
functions to take place
such as museum and
cafes to add more
activities to the
previously mundane
residential function for
people to relax
• Mixture of building
types and access of
public transportations
• Tourist-orientated due
to culture and discovery
for locals
Temporal Dimension • Contains deep cultural
and historical merits
• Modernity brings down
the traditional essence
of the existing spaces
through large tower
blocks
• Presence of the past is
reflected into the
architecture and activity
use
37

Mapping The Townscape Tales of Wishes
“George Town, Penang is the best city to live in with a wealth of cultural attraction. All the cultural buildings are
preserved by the Penang government so that the cultural value can be kept for the next generation. However, in
Kuala Lumpur such as Petaling Street, the cultural buildings like those of traditional Chinese shophouses are not
well-preserved and they are losing their cultural identity and some are developed into newer buildings. Kuala
Lumpur has too many high-rise buildings that do not have a humanizing scale to create a sense of welcoming to
the public.”
– Beh Nianzi
“I would prefer George Town, Penang because it preserves most of its heritage buildings and gives them an
identity to the city. It also has a very strong cultural background and allows us to be exposed to different practices
from different cultures. The planning of the city is efficient, for example, the pedestrian across the streets keeps the
users safe and comfortable. The street arts create hotspots in the city to define the spaces and allow us to spot
these spaces easily. The soft side and the hard side of George Town coexist in many parts which provide a good
psychological treatment in a hectic lifestyle.”
– Chia Cheng Wei
“Kuala Lumpur remains as my favourite city to date because it has a very well-organized city planning. The city
planners are still maintaining the greenery within the high-rise buildings which makes the city more lively. The open
public spaces are humanizing in scale are mostly found in streets where people would flock to the morning and
night markets that would pop up at different times of the day. The network of public transports have provided
great convenience for the visitors of the city. It is also home to many high-rise architecture marvels which beautify
Kuala Lumpur as an artistic city.”
– Fong Tze Ying
38

Mapping The Townscape Tales of Wishes
“Kuala Lumpur would be my choice of city due to its different promising landmarks for tourist attraction and
provides interests to locals alike. Modern designs of buildings can co-exist with older traditional architecture that
bring out sensibility to the urbanscape. Nowadays, vandalism to the building walls turns into respectable street
mural masterpieces that can be thoroughly enjoyed by both tourists and locals, which help to create a booming
urban art scene in Kuala Lumpur. The availability of streetscapes despite the existence of tall modern buildings
helps to deliver a tranquil and calm experience to that of a hustling and bustling city of Kuala Lumpur.”
– Lee Xiang Loon
“I would prefer Kuala Lumpur over Kuching and George Town because this city has different lifestyle and giving
various experiences. It is a combination of culture, religion and ethnicity, as well as the overlapping of old and new
buildings. The public transport system is well-planned to prioritize the pedestrian users and it creates a
environment-friendly city. The skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur also injecting liveliness to the city and shaping a city
skyline to show it unique identity to Kuala Lumpur.”
– Benjamin Cheng Jia Yeow
39

Mapping The Townscape Conclusion
Central Market and Petaling Street showcase a city with complexity through its built form,
activity and movement pattern. Through the serial visions of “Defined to Diffused” and
“Node to Landmark”, the complexity shown at Petaling Street in the form of the different
types of architecture, building form and also different cultural activities happening there
that give the chance to experience various things at once. Petaling Street has different
activities in the area that create different hotspots for the tourist and local people alike,
thus the user experience varies. There are different routes and small alleys around Petaling
Street and Central Market which lead to the random movement patterns. These routes and
the density of both vehicular and pedestrian show the complexity.
City of Complexity
40

Tales of three cities – mapping the townscape (petaling street and central market)

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Tales of three cities – mapping the townscape (petaling street and central market)