Final comarative ty

Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Architecture
Theories of Architecture and Urbanism (ARC 61303)
Project 2 : Comparative Analysis
Jalan Besar, Klang Malaysia & Escolta Street, Manila Philippines
Name : TAN YANG
Student ID : 0328025
Tutor : Ar. Prince Favis Isip
Word count : 2072

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 Foreword
2.0 Introduction of Streets
3.0 Types of Outdoor Activities
3.1 Contact Points of Escolta Street
3.2 Contact Points of Jln Besar
3.3 Contact Points Comparative Analysis
- Contact Point 1: Landmark at Junction
- Contact Point 2: Sidewalks
- Contact Point 3: Frontage
- Contact Point 4: Alleyway
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 References
2
3-4
5
6
7
8-14
15
16

First life, then spaces, then buildings - the other
way around never works. - Jan Gehl
Jan Gehl mentions about how the built
environment of in urban area able to enhance
people's quality of life and the measures which
can be taken to improve life between buildings
and the city life experience.
An in-depth comparative analytical research will
be carried out to investigate how the quality of
built environment affect the social pattern and
contact intensity in certain contact point of two
asian streets: Escolta Street, Manila, Philippines
and Jalan Besar, Klang, Malaysia.
(93 words)
1.0 Introduction to the project 02

2.0 Introduction of Streets 03
DECLINE / 1941-1944
Unfortunately, Escolta was
ravaged by air raids and
Japanese troops, leaving
Escolta Street in utter
destruction from World War II.
Figure 2.1: Street view of Escolta Street (langyaw, 2014)
Escolta Street, Manila, Philippines - A street undergoing renaissance
Escolta Street is historic street in the downtown district of Binondo in
Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Being part of the oldest Chinatown,
it was once dubbed as “The Queen of Streets”, Manileños would flock to
Escolta to shop, work, and dine making it a leading commercial district
starting from the 1800s to the early 1930s. Fast forward several years
later, Escolta has become a casualty of the modern times and somehow
lost its appeal.
Recent initiatives of conservationist groups and individuals, Escolta has
been resurrected as a cultural hub, commercial center for aspiring
artists, and architectural hotspot. On almost every street corner, there
are a few buildings showcasing the original architecture retained from
the Spanish period.
(118 words)
Figure 2.2: Historical timeline of Escolta Street (Manila nostalgic, 2012)
BEGINNING / 1594-1870
Escolta, was concentrated
with immigrant merchants,
mainly from Fujian, China,
during Manila-Acapulco
Galleon trade.
GROWTH / 1871-1940
In the late 19th Century, Escolta
flourished into a fashionable
business district, hosting city’s
tallest skyscrapers as well as the
Manila Stock Exchange.
STATIC / 1945-2018
Reconstruction started immediately
but the glory of Escolta Street was
not resurrected. The street
continued to serve as Manila’s
primary commercial district before
shifted to Makati in 1960s .

2.0 Introduction of Streets 04
Jalan Besar, Klang Malaysia - A street undergoing revitalization
movement
Klang was renowned as Royal Town of Klang, former capital of the
state of Selangor, and one of the oldest towns in Malaysia. Jalan
Besar, located in the Southern area of Klang, is a street with
abundance old buildings rich in historical heritage. Jalan Besar has
now transformed into a mono commercial area. Mainly occupied by
public amenities such as KTM, OCBC bank and post office as well as
food destinations.
Although steeped in history, the street is now being forgotten with an
aging community left as locals especially youngsters moving out to
modern cities such as Kuala Lumpur and tourists turning their backs
on the royal town. The Klang City Rejuvenation programme aims to
inject new life into Klang through urban design planning.
(124words)
Figure 2.3: Street view of Jalan Besar (Liew, 2018)
POWER SHIFT / 1880-1962
Capital of Selangor moved from
Klang to Kuala Lumpur leading to
the shift of development focus.
To ease transportation between
Klang and KL, KTM station was
built in 1886.
Figure 2.4: Historical timeline of Klang (Manila nostalgic, 2012)
BEGINNING / 200 BC-1819
Klang has been the place of human
settlement since the Bronze Age.
In the 14th century, Klang was
marked on the oldest maritime
chart used by Chinese traders
showing its long existence.
GROWTH / 1820-1879
Klang became a tin mining town in
the 19th century. In 1874, Klang
became the capital of Selangor
while settlement just began in
Kuala Lumpur.
STATIC / 1963-2018
Independence of Malaysia led to
the development of KL as city
centre attracting the younger
demographic to move to KL. Klang
development remained stagnant.

3.0 Types of Outdoor Activities 05
According to Jan Gehl, there are 3 types of outdoor activities,
namely Necessary activities, Optional Activities (Fig 3.1) and
Social activities Fig 3.2).
Figure 3.1: Representation of the relationship between the quality of outdoor spaces and the rate of occurrence of
outdoor activities. (Gahl, 2011)
Figure 3.2: Different qualities of physical environment lead to varying degrees of contact
intensity. (Gahl, 2011)

3.1 Contact Point at Escolta Street 06
4
Figure 3.1: Contact points labeled on site plan of Escolta St(Tan, 2018)
1
1.Junction of Santa Cruz Church (Google, 2018)
3.SGI Manilla International Peace Centre. (Google, 2018)
2.Sidewalk at the corner of ministop mart (Google, 2018)
4.Alleyway in between Uno
Seafood and Crown Prince
Seafood. (Google, 2018)
3
3
4
1
2
3

3.2 Contact Point at Jln Besar 07
Figure 3.3: Contact points labeled on site plan of Jalan Besar(Tan, 2018)
1.Junction at KTM Station (Google, 2018)
2.Restoran Bismillah (Google, 2018)
3. 5ft way at Jln Besar (Google, 2018)
4.Alleyway between pawn
shop and aircon retailer
(Google, 2018)
1
3
4
2
1
3
2
4

3.3 Comparative Analysis: Contact Points 08
Landmark at Junction
Contact point 1: KTM Station (Jalan Besar)
Santa Cruz Church (Escolta Street)
Landmarks, as their name says, are prime orientation clues. But good landmarks in cities also
perform two other services in clarifying the order of cities. First, they emphasize (and also dignify)
the diversity of cities; they do this by calling attention to the fact that they are different from their
neighbors, and important because they are different. (Jacob,1989, p384)
Either Santa Cruz Church or KTM Station sits in the most remote location in its own context,
which naturally allow them to become a landmark of that city in its own way. Both landmark
possess different typology, Santa Cruz church is renowned for its significant historical and cultural
value toward its context, its religious built form and scale is highly distinguishable by people. KTM
Station serves as a public transportation hub that increase the connectivity to that place, it has
higher usability compare to the Santa Cruz church. According to research, we find that the contact
intensity of Santa Cruz Church is higher than KTM Station, there are some identified reason will be
explained in the following paragraph.
.
In terms of outdoor activities, lots of necessary activities (running errand, pick up) can be
observed in both junction. But there is greater frequency of having optional and social activities at
Santa Cruz church, lots of street vendor set up their business along the edge from the church until
deep into Plaza Lacson, creating a multisensory environment, a popular meeting high contact point
for pedestrian . On the other side, optional activities are less in KTM station due to its environment
isn’t favorable for conversation and stay, only the passive contact of “see and hear each other”
(Gehl, 2011, p.13)
A frequent difficulty is where major traffic routes cross major pedestrian routes(Davies, 2001,
p.77). Both Escolta St and Jln Besar require pedestrian to cross major traffic routes which is
putting people in risk. To minimize the risk during crossing the traffic roads, there are few traffic
calming solution can be implemented in order to slow down the traffic, such as road hump, road
surface treatment, traffic light and etc.( "Traffic Calming 101", 2008), There are traffic lights and
painted zebra cross assist pedestrian to cross the road at Santa Cruz Church whereas there isn’t
any element that slow down the traffic in front of KTM Station, which decrease the interaction to
the opposite street, decrease the possibility for people to establish contact.
Figure 3.5:Santa Cruz Church (Fuerte, 2014)
Figure 3.4: KTM Station at Jalan Besar (Liew, 2018)
Figure 3.6:Street Vendors along the edge of Santa Cruz Church and Plaza Lacson. (Google,
2018)

09
To sums up the point above, both contact point experience a high density of people, however, the
junction in front of KTM station adheres to the culture of ‘wait and go’ - waiting and to be picked
up; unlike in Escolta St, the junction in front of Santa Cruz Church is favorable as a positive
outdoor space to meet up or gather within the happening atmosphere of the activities. Yet, the
junction in front of KTM station illustrates a higher intensity of passive ‘see and hear’ contact than
social interactions.
(480 words)
Figure 3.8: Junction in front of KTM Station, absence if any traffic calming element, creates
bad walking experience. (Google, 2017)
Figure 3.7: Junction in front of Santa Cruz Church,presence of little traffic calming
element(white zebra crossing and traffic light),which safer for pedestrian to cross. (Google,
2017)
3.3 Comparative Analysis: Contact Points

10
Sidewalks
/ Contact point 2: 5 ft walkway vs partially covered walk
Both contact points are meant to be primary forms of circulatory routes which possess a clear boundary
that isolates the open public space and the privately-owned shophouses. However, along these walkways,
both circulation spaces are merging the spatial perception of private and public. Along the stretch of the
sidewalks in Escolta St, the sidewalks are mostly partially covered, it does not bring much shade to the
pedestrians walking on the street, yet it is merely a “pass by space”(Ching, 2015, p.290) – as shown in
Figure 5. Unlike five-foot walkways along Jalan Besar, shop owners strategize their business expansion by
place their hawker stalls, stoves, dining tables and chairs onto the walkways. Although the issue of being
overcrowded doesn’t get resolved, but it creates “pass through spaces”(Ching, 2015, p.290) along the
walkway. With this kind of more enclosed path-space relationships established on Jln Besar, it allows more
stopping opportunities along the path as it evokes curiosity of the pedestrians, therefore establishing “a
direct relationship to other people and to the surrounding social environment” (Gehl, 2011, p.28), especially
amongst the locals and visitors visiting the streets.
The two streets have similarities in the geographical context and tropical climate of Southeast Asia.But the
difference between the compared sidewalk can make the contact intensity varied. Crowds have a higher
likelihood to gather under the five-foot walkway of Jalan Besar rather than having partially covered along the
sidewalks in Escolta St.
Resonated with the discussion by Gehl, the likelihood of outdoor and social activity is highly correlated to
the quality of the outdoor space. In Klang, the arid climate with unbearable amount of sunlight shining
overhead discourages the occurrence of activities within the outdoor setting as it brings discomfort to the
human body. The five-foot walkway of Jalan Besar provides ample shade from sun and cooler ambience as
well as safety from the vehicular traffic – resulting in a higher quality of space as compared to the partially-
shaded outdoor spaces along Escolta St which doesn’t keep the user avoid from vehicular traffic and
climatic elements. Hence, there is a greater tendency for pedestrians to have necessary activities and
gather in the five-foot walkway, potentially forming higher intensity of chance contact instead of the
passive contact common in city streets.
Figure 3.10: Crowds outside the Chong kok Kopitiam, the shop
owner place their stalls on the walkway. (Bong, 2018)
Figure 3.9:Partially Covered sidewalks. (Fuerte, 2016)
Escolta St Jln Besar
2100 1500
Inside Outside Inside Outside
Figure 3.11: Diagram showing shading condition at sidewalks of
both street throughout the day.. (Tan, 2018)

Moreover, not only favorable physical conditions encourage contacts, its close relations to human scale in
terms of built form of five-foot walkways along Jalan Besar shophouses also establishes its importance in
the roles it plays in influencing the lives amongst people as Jan Gehl suggests the sympathy to human
scale and scope of senses. The intimate scale of five-foot walkways is shown by the close proximity of an
individual personalized passable space whereby the distance between a person to another is within ‘arms-
reach’. This strengthens the formation of contact point in which the relationship between built form and
human scale encourages passive contact among one another whilst journeying throughout - where people
just seeing and hearing other people.
(491words)
11
2100
1500
1200
Contact Intensity with the shophouse opposite:
5ft way(JLN BESAR)- Passive Contact,
Acquaintance
Sidewalk(ESCOLTA) - Passive Contact,Chance
Contact
5 foot
walkway
Infor
mal
parki
ng
Side
walk
Figure 3.14: Section showing the width of the road in affecting the interaction of contacts between the shop houses on opposite
sides. The large width of the road provides visual connection throughout the site, which promotes the formation of ‘see and hear’
relationships. This is important as it allows passive participation in social engagements The diagram above showing that the
visual connectivity at street level in Escolta St is better than Jln Besar, (Tan, 2018)
5ft 5100 5ft51007500
Main
Road
5
f
t
5
f
t
2
5
0
0
5000
Main
RoadP P
2
5
0
0
Figure 3.12 Diagrams and image above
showing the “pass by spaces” in
Escolta St, sidewalks just merely
circulation space.:
Figure 3.13 Diagrams and image above
showing the “pass through spaces” in
Jln Besar, sidewalks as the extension
of business, which have higher chance
where interaction occurred within the
user.

12
Frontage
/ Contact point 3: Restoran Bismilah (Jalan Besar)
SGI Manilla international Peace centre (Escolta Street)
“Wherever there are people – in buildings, in neighborhoods, in city centers, in recreational areas,
and so on – it is generally true that people and human activities attract other people. People are
attracted to other people”(Gehl, 2011, p.23). To justify Gehl’s ‘People attract people”, a place can
be welcoming by having lots of activities happening. Both example are located at the street corner,
having pleasant greenery soften their edge with the road, and an overhanging canopy reaching out ,
which provide pedestrian a comfortable walking environment.
Making frontages ‘active’ adds interest, life and vitality to the public realm.(Davies, 2001, p.89) By
comparing the two example, the Restoran Bismillah has better performance in attracting people to
stay and having activity, one of the most vital element in it is the transparency of the frontage to
the activities inside the building, create a direct interaction of in and out, forming more visual
interests, such as people eating, hawker cooking pedestrian pass by, these activities within the
space encourage the contact to happen within the space, from passive contact(passer-by) until
meeting of close friend(people having high tea) whereas The SGI doesn’t have these properties
that could create optional or social activities.
(197 words)
Figure 3.15: SGI Manilla international Peace Centre, it is a comfortable environment to walk
underneath, people normally wait here to be pick up. (Google, 2018)
Figure 3.16: Restoran Bismillah is a popular tea-drinking spot of the local, it open 24 hour,
sometimes it will be crowded while broadcasting live streaming sports event. (Google, 2018)

13
Restoran Bismillah SGI Manilla Peace Centre
Facade details Richly ornamented, creates visual depth and
interest to passer-by.
Flat surface with little pattern, create little interest
to passer-by
Opening Large amount of opening throughout the facade,
which imply the presence of others.
Little amount of opening
Street level
experience
Fully open allow people to see the activities
inside, interaction of in & out.
Views to inside blocked by wall and tinted glass,
rejection of interaction with outside
Contact intensity Low to High
Passive Contact, Chance contact,
Acquaintances,Friends, Close Friends.
Low to Moderate
Passive Contact, Chance contact,
Acquaintances.
Figure 3.17: Restoran Bismillah (Google, 2018) Figure 3.18: SGI Manilla International Peace Centre (Google, 2018)
Table 3.1:Table
showing the
comparison of
two frontage
(Tan, 2018)

14
Alleyway
Contact point 4: In between Aircon retailer and pawn shop
In between Crown Prince and UNO ONE Seafood Restaurant (Escolta
Street)
Most alley in the city functioned as services lane, but in some cases, backalley could be a pleasant
meeting point as well, evokes a culture that only exist in the back alley. Taking the example at Jln
Besar, the existence of alleyway shortened the distance and enhance connectivity of the context.
Unfortunately, it gives the perception to the people that the alleyways aren’t safe, it is a crime
hotspot.The contact intensity of the alley low, the reason being is because the visitor would avoid
using alley while it gives the perception of danger. But actually it connects to the private entry
point of the shop owner in the place. Furthermore, the sense of enclosure in Fig are too oppressed
for people to stay inside, plus there aren’t any visual interest to allow people have the reason to
stay over. Consequently, people will just walk and pass the space, only passive contact will
happen occasionally.
In the case of Escolta St, the alley between two seafood restaurant forming a unique alley culture
itself, there are street vendors, restaurant workers resting on the steps.Although it is a services
lane, but there are still people want to use it. Only when opportunities for sitting exist can there be
stays of any duration.(Gehl, 2011, p155). The presence of secondary seating (steps) could be one
of the reason that people start using the space , yet it introduce street vendors to set up their
business over there, making the alley become vibrant, which making it become a high contact
point.
In summary, the importance of built environment and how it influence the opportunities of contact
is being emphasized again in these case.
(277words)
Figure 3.19: The alleyway in Jln Besar iis too narrow for people to have optional activities.
(Google, 2018)
Figure 3.20: Alleyway in Escolta St, there are street vendors selling their goods, also a
meeting and resting point of restaurant workers. (Google, 2018)

In conclusion, both streets – Escolta St and Jalan Besar – reinforces the idea that human
behavior is shaped by the built environment, as social patterns and street cultures are
results of the way public spaces are designed as were discussed and elaborated.
Through the study, both sites frame similar characteristics whereby both streetscapes
adapt to the ever-changing aspect of the human life – the call of modernization hence
foregoing interactions to occur in-between buildings. This signifies that both streets are
susceptible to change in accordance to the differences in the vitality of their spaces,
affirming their roles in the success of the public spaces in the urban context which leads
to the accumulation of necessary, optional and social activities along the streets, forming
various contact points with varying degree of intensity.
However, both streets are similar in purpose and experience. Jalan Besar and Escolta
are set to be direct towards the service and commerce function of the city which cause
the action of lingering to be much diminishing. Additionally, in terms of contact intensity,
Klang being a service-purpose city sees a low social interaction intensity among its
society, however the Escolta street of observes a rather high intensity of social
interaction among visitors and locals.
As Gehl said, “such an extension of opportunities for outdoor stays exactly where
everyday activities take place will almost without exception be a valuable contribution to a
given function and to life between buildings in the building project, in the neighborhood,
and in the city” (p.197), he emphasizes the significance of vibrancy and liveliness within
an urban context where the people inhabiting the place. Hence, it is critical to
acknowledge these contact points along the urban streets as these points generate
dynamism and life between building within a city.
(292 words)
4.0 Conclusion 15

5.0 Reference 16
Books
1. Ching, Francis D. K.(2015).Architecture: Form, Space, and Order, 4th ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons
2. Gehl, J. (2011). Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space. Washington, DC: Island Press.
3. Jacob,Jane, (1989). Death and Life of Great American Cities, 1st ed. Random House, Inc , New York.
4. Llewelyn, Davies, (2001), Urban Design Compendium 1, English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation, London
HISTORY:
1. ("Home", 2016)
Home. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.98-b.org/#welcome
1. (LAZATIN, 2018)
LAZATIN, H. (2018). The Glory Days of Escolta, Manila's 'Queen of the Streets'. Retrieved from https://www.townandcountry.ph/people/heritage/what-escolta-
street-was-like-in-its-prime-a00184-20180113-lfrm
1. (PAUL, 2012)
PAUL, L. (2012). Escolta – a rich history. Retrieved from http://www.lougopal.com/manila/?p=83
1. (Planet, n.d.)
Planet, L. Feature: Escolta Revival in Manila, Philippines. Retrieved from https://www.lonelyplanet.com/philippines/manila/in-location/sights/c975732e-c5f7-
4377-9070-261c615a2c9e/a/nar/c975732e-c5f7-4377-9070-261c615a2c9e/357305
1. ("Republic Act No. 10066 Heritage Law", n.d.)
Republic Act No. 10066 Heritage Law. Retrieved from http://ncca.gov.ph/republic-act-no-10066/
1. ("The Artists Who Keep the 'Queen of Manila’s Streets' Alive", 2018)
The Artists Who Keep the 'Queen of Manila’s Streets' Alive. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.vice.com/en_id/article/ywqpny/the-artists-who-keep-the-
queen-of-manilas-streets-alive
Online
1. Traffic Calming 101. (2008). Retrieved from https://www.pps.org/article/livememtraffic
2. Fuerte, G., Fuerte, G., & profile, V. (2014). Explore Sta. Cruz Church, Manila. Retrieved from http://glesfuerte.blogspot.com/2014/02/explore-sta-cruz-church-
manila.html
3. Google Maps. Retrieved from
https://www.google.com/maps/@14.5975043,120.9782014,3a,75y,94.21h,73.93t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1skULYyonjHbQSgDPaILLDbg!2e0!7i13312!8i665
6

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