Urban essay

1.
THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE & URBANISM
PROJECT 2:
COMPARATIVE ESSAY
CHAROEN KRUNG ROAD, BANGRAK, BANGKOK
JALAN BESAR, KLANG
LOONG BO LIN 0321469
MR. NICHOLAS NG

2. CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
1/ PATTERN OF SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
2/ TYPES OF CONTACT POINTS & DEGREE OF CONTACT INTENSITIES
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES

3. INTRODUCTION
In this comparative essay, findings from Project 1 and the local site research from Design
Studio V are to be analysed side by side. The main framework of this paper is built upon the
similarities and dissimilarities based on the patterns of social activities, types of ‘contact
points’ and the varying degrees of contact density between the two cities.
Although both cities are placed in the same context of urban landscapes, they differ in terms of
physical environment: a factor that influences the activities to varying degree and in many
different ways. This essay is focused on the outdoor activities and the number of physical
conditions that influence them. These activities then spark life between buildings, which Gehl
suggests the concept of varying degrees of contact intensity as the basis or outline of various
contact forms.
In summary, outdoor activities in public spaces can be divided into three categories: necessary
activities, optional activities and social activities. Each of these activities places different
demands on the physical environment.
Fig 1. Graphic representation of the relationship between Fig 2. Diagram of the simplified outline of various
the quality of outdoor spaces and the rate of occurrence points.
of outdoor activities.

4. BACKGROUND
CHAROEN KRUNG ROAD, BANGRAK, BANGKOK
Charoen Krung Road is a major road in Bangkok and the first in Thailand to be built using
modern construction method. ​Construction of the road marked a major change in Bangkok's
urban development, with the major mode of transport shifting from water to land. Charoen
Krung Road runs for 8.6 kilometres through the districts of ​Phra Nakhon​, ​Pom Prap Sattru Phai
and ​Samphanthawong​ (dividing the two), ​Bang Rak​, ​Sathon​ and ​Bang Kho Laem​. Charoen
Krung Road was Bangkok's main street up to the early 20th century, but later declined in
prominence. It is still home to many historic buildings and neighbourhoods, which are beset by
changes as extension of the underground ​MRT​ is poised to drive new development.
Among locals and tourists, it’s ‘biggest selling point’ is its street food culture and shopping
districts. The newer phase of Charoen Krung is also famous for colourful nightlife, scattered
with massage parlours, bars and restaurants.
Fig 3. Map of Charoen Krung Road, Bangkok. Fig 4 & 5. Street view of Charoen Krung
​​Road, Bangkok.

5. JALAN BESAR, KLANG
Klang, the Royal Town Klang, which is also known as the former capital of Selangor. It is one
historical places present in Malaysia, exposed to multiple historical events that consisted of
foreign colonizers, discovering and developing resources that can be found within the town,
spurring its opportunity in traders interference, receiving recognition and expansion of the land,
introducing the town to the outside world.
Jalan Besar, Klang is enveloped by water sources, transforming into channel of possibilities,
developing ports that brings about connectivity beyond the small town within. The opening of
the town to the outside world brought about international traders, educating the local residence
with their capabilities in elevating the essence of Klang, bringing new heights and new
exposures.
The essence of Klang has brought about development that expanded connectivity within and
outside town, bringing about opportunity in transportation of resources such as rubber tapping,
which contributed to the establishment of the first KTM station in Port Klang.
Fig 6. Street view of Jalan Besar, Klang.

6. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
PATTERN OF SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
Social activities is defined as such that it is a characteristic of experience, behaviour as well as
interaction of person’s forming group. In ‘Life Between Building’, Jan Gehl had described such
that “social activities are activities that depend on the presence of others in public spaces”.
Looking into the social activities pattern of Charoen Krung Road, the overall social activities
level intensity is very high as it is one of the longest street in Bangkok where it is a popular
attraction due to its well-known for their commercial buildings and street food stalls run along
the street. Many of the local community as well as tourists enjoy visiting here most of their time
spend in Bangkok. There are not much of a proper communal spaces or resting spaces for
people to interact with each other except between the buyer and the sellers as observed on
Charoen Krung Road.
These all contributes to the physical factors where the occurrence of social activity including
route planning of the streets where most of the stalls where most stalls are packed behind the
alleys which become a contact point for people to walk on. The public infrastructure and
facilities offered along the sideways such as the resting seats are poorly lacked however there
the public phone booth which does not used by the used by the local and is viewed as a
hindrance to the walkability of people.
Referring to Jan Gehl’s theory, “social activities also known as the term “resultant” activities,
because nearly all instances they evolve from activities linked to the other two activities
categories”. For instance, the marketing activities on the streets draw more and more public
transportation especially the cabs and tuktuks to stop the roadside where Charoen Krung
Road has become a main public route that become a necessary activities to the locals,
students, workers, visitors and etcetera. The commercial blocks provides to fulfill the needs of
both the necessary and optional activities of the people where people come here to restock
their grocery, have a walk or shopping with their family and friends. This ultimately leads to
generate a form of social pattern through the nature of activities and circulation created by the
people movement within the selected public spaces.

7. In Jalan Besar, its social activities patterns runs mostly inside the five foot walkway on the
street level of the old shophouses as it serves as a sun shading properties protecting the
pedestrian from the harsh tropical climate. The covered space beneath creates kind of
interactive space between the buyers and sellers where shop owner display their merchandise
or temporary plastic seats on the walkway to encouraging human activities and
communications occur.
Fig 7. Jalan Besar, Klang

8. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
TYPES OF CONTACT POINTS & DEGREE OF CONTACT INTENSITIES
Contact points are defined as focal point where opportunities of meeting to communicating
with another being could be found at. According to Jan Gehl, “the concept of carrying degrees
of contact intensity is the basis of the following simplified outline of various contact form”. As
an example, from the lowest intensity of the hierarchy which would be the passive contact and
the highest intensity contact point which is to the degree of relationship between chance
contacts, acquaintances, friend and close friendship.
In Charoen Krung Road, the main contact points could be identified through the major
landmarks on site which supply the local community to realizing their necessary activities such
as running errands for daily needs and going to work.
The first contact point is discovered at the outside of Robinson shopping mall. The interesting
part in this contact point is we can notice the main road in front of the shopping mall had
became a recessed drop off area and pick up point for the visitors and local community as
there are no proper parking space provided. People hail taxis or get picked up by
acquaintances and these create various various contact intensities beside promoting contact
between pedestrian and the vehicular community. Hence, this form a relatively high intensity
contact point as most of the visitors here are mostly family or friends come together and have
a good shop together and the condition engages conversation and interaction as people using
communication to indicate their needs.
Small stalls are being set up in front of the mall as the seller intends to use the contact
intensities as to their advantage for marketing of merchandise. You can hear conversation
between the seller and buyer bargaining prices, the walking steps of the pedestrian walking
across the road, the constant honking of vehicular at the road stimulating the senses of the
users adding a vibrant and interest of life to the street. Distinctively, the large canopy offered
by the mini stalls became a stopping point for shoppers to stop by and have a view of their
merchants as well as shading themselves from the tropical harsh weather.

9. Fig 8. showing different activities occur outside of the Robinson shopping mall.
Fig 9. Tuktuks stop by in front of the shopping mall to pick up customers.

10.
The second contact point would be the intersection near State Tower. However, the surprising
discrete difference between the contact point outside of Robinson shopping mall is that it
appear to be quieter in overall. This can be explained through the necessary activities which is
the people are constricted to a certain time and day otherwise the other time it pretty much is
empty.
However, the streets reflects strongly upon Jan Gehl’s theory where the possibilities related to
the low intensity contact forms offered in public spaces perhaps can best be described by the
situation that exists if they are lacking. The involvement and engagement of the community
here circulate mainly on the lunch hour only more crowd would be spotted otherwise there
seem there is not a obligatory point to walk on the same merchandise displayed everyday as
opposed to the shopping streets which keep up to the latest trends and fashion which sparks
curiosity as well as the attention of visitors.
Fig 10. showing different activities occur at the intersection near State Tower.

11. The third contact point would be the Bangrak Bazaar where shops are arranged in a grid
system accordingly creating directive linear typology enhancing the walkability experience of
users. Bangrak Bazaar located on the border of Charoen Krung Road and can easily grabbed
the attention of the pedestrian across the street through its eye-catching huge bright yellow
signboard at the entrance. Along the rows of market stalls, local hawkers and buyer interact
with potential customers that passes by, establishing chance contact and eventually become a
cohesive social activity space.
A variety of food stalls with atmospheric outdoor seatings along the streets also add points to
inviting customers to taste their food. Another reason for this high intensity interaction being is
that are large range of activities conducted on this space where happenings other than food
and beverages, there are even street performances, music performances and even public
programme held, this increases the chance of people to linger for a longer period and catering
to a social communication space for the community.
Fig 11. showing different activities occur at the Bangrak Bazaar.
Fig 12 & 13. Huge bright yellow signboard at the entrance that attract people to the bazaar.

12. In Jalan Besar, the building form is more different form what is observed in Charoen Krung
Road. The shophouses along the street has a variety of architectural styles that are influenced
by different culture and activities throughout many years, and it is seen through shopshouses
that has become a gathering point through the urban development. Still, most of the
shophouses had been abandoned and not-well maintain, it affects the street level interaction
between the pedestrian and the architecture itself where the visual communication is blocked
away from the eyes and viewers have no intentions to go into the building.
As refer to Jan Gehl, “the trend from living to lifeless cities and residential areas that has
accompanied industrialisation, segregation of various city functions, and reliance on the
automobile also has caused cities to become duller and more monotonous, namely the need
for stimulation”. The diminishing multicultural essence of the local community is being replaced
by the isolation through the increasing of abandoned buildings yet people forget to attain the
sense of belonging of people is the key to imagining public space.
This could be explained through the significant lack of interaction caused by the existing macro
grain buildings found everywhere in Jalan Besar compared to Charoen Krung Road where the
fine grain buildings create high intimacy between people which leads to higher concentration
for human interactions to engage. There is another statement in which Gehl stresses the
importance of sympathetic with human scale and proportion of a city’s urban life consider the
level of interactions relationship between the intimacy of people with the public spaces.
As an instance, most of the shop in Jalan Besar do not setup in mini stalls but more of a proper
architectural settings inside the building. The people tend to utilizes the public walkway within
the area to carry out its activities, where such contact points are the Chong Kok Kopitiam and
the Bak Kut Teh shop.
The engagement of activity is high in this area where the some of the shop owners will display
their merchandise at the 5 foot walkway to increase the pedestrian’s interest with the
merchandises itself as displayed and reduce the distance between the buyer and the seller
which are similar to the Bangrak Bazaar. By comparing both of the contact points, it is
noticeable where both streets has high social activities, mainly due to the nature of contact
point located within the street that are commercial area.

13.
Fig 14. The shop owner of Chong Kok Kopitiam used the five foot walkway as a part of the restaurant by putting
tables and chairs for the customers.
Also, in Jalan Besar, there are some small ‘pop up’ stalls that appears along the small alley
which is likely been used by the pedestrian. Whereas in contrast, the stalls at the outside of
Robinson shopping mall are located at the main street where it has wide enough space for the
stall owners to set up their business and sufficient for the pedestrian to notice it. Although
there are other small stalls along the five foot walkway of Jalan Besar that has higher volume of
foot-traffic, but it has no sufficient width for the passby to dwell and stay for further activity
occur.
Fig 15. Food vendors at the small alley of Jalan Besar.

14. As seen, where the food vendors at Jalan Besar allows a big potential as contact point as its
exterior environment allow such ‘pause’ to occur for people to dwell, similar to the stalls
outside the Robinson shopping mall.
Restaurants sell famous local food act as high intensity contact points during mealtimes
involving both passive and chance contacts as according to Jan Gehl, “people attract people”.
Fig 16. De Salma Mamak in Jalan Besar.
In Jalan Besar, the De Salma restaurant opens up its store to both the front and the side,
allowing passive and chance contact to happen among the customers and passerbys. The
table and chairs of the restaurant spill out towards the five foot walkway as its storefront and
side, creating obstruction to the walkway. Contacts are then made when people who perform
necessary activities such as walking past the tables and chairs. However, same to NaiShang
Little Food Court near the intersection of State Tower, people tend to attract by the long queue
for takeaway food where produces a positive impact in creating contact points and high human
density.

15. CONCLUSION
In a nutshell, visual permeability and communication has become a huge influences on the
level of interactions between human and building scale and proportions.This determines the
activities driven around the context as whether if it provides a suitable condition as a social
platform to invite the people into the building and engaging in various activities. The types of
activities also controls the people’s walkability in a certain area and it drives the operation of
the city to a degree whether the social pattern defines the existence of the space and human
circulation patterns.

16. REFERENCES
Gehl, Jan and Jo. Koch. Life Between
Buildings. 1st ed. Washington, DC: Island
Press, 2011. Print.
Micheal P. “Urban Design and People” Jon
Wiley & Sons, Inc. N.p, 2009. Retrieved 4
July 2017, from http://s1.downloadmienphi.net
/file/downloadfile7/150/1379758
"Timeline of Bangkok Trams"​. ​2Bangkok.com​.
5 August 1995. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
Workman, V., & Danial. (2018, February 08).
Klang Sightseeing: Unique Things to See &
Do in Klang, Malaysia. Retrieved from
https://www.theislanddrum.com/unique-
klang-sightseeing/