Comparative Essay

1. THEORIESOFARCHITECTURE&URBANISM
(ARC61303)
PROJECTPARTII:COMPARATIVEANALYSISESSAYOF
UPPERLASCAR ROW,TAIPINGSHAN,HONGKONG
&
JALANBESAR,KLANG,MALAYSIA
NAME:CHONGYIHUI
STUDENTID:0324404
TUTOR:MR.PRINCEFAVISISIP
SCHOOLOFARCHITECTURE,BUILDINGANDDESIGN
BACHELOROFSCIENCE(HONS)INARCHITECTURE

2. contents
1. introduction
2. BUILDINGTYPOLOGY
2.1 economicpatternsand
streetscape
2.2 RESPONSETOCLIMATE
3. CONTACTPOINTS
3.1 typesofcontactpoint
4. conclusion
5. references

3. 1.0 INTRODUCTION
UPPER LASCAR ROW, HONG KONG
A busy antique, curios and junk market is what Hong Kong’s Upper Lascar Row
functions as. It is a narrow alley which spans approximately 200 metres long in Sheung
Wan that runs parallel to Hollywood Road on the north side.
In the beginning, the street was a residential area in a relatively run-down state.
During its early days, there were many Indians in the British military, being referred to as
‘Lascars’. From that point forth, a small community of Indians grew around Upper
Lascar Row and began congregating the area. Nicknamed the Cat Street, some of
the antique stores in Upper Lascar Row sold the items stolen by the thieves to the
public. The origin for said nickname came from the comparison of the thieves and the
people who buys the items stolen by them, being referred to as rats and cats,
respectively. After the events of World War II, Cat Street has developed into a street
which primarily functions as a place for selling second-hand articles.
Ever since their stolen goods selling days, Cat Street has evolved past this in terms of
items being sold. In the present day, visitors are more likely to find vintage Hong Kong
knickknacks, curios, antiques and furniture from these street stalls. The street has since
become one of Hong Kong’s hub of antique treasures for the locals and tourists alike.
JALAN BESAR, KLANG, MALAYSIA
Located at the relatively peaceful area of South Klang, Jalan Besar has a rich history
and distinct heritage, with the diversity of ethnics to go along with it. Formerly a tin
mining area, Jalan Besar has transformed into a place with lots of shophouses and
tourist attractions, with its eating destinations often a talking point amongst locals and
visitors alike.
However, the rich culture in which Jalan Besar boasted in the past is gradually in
decline as though it has not been touched as it has not been awakened for a long
time. It is a result of the younger generation leaving for comparatively modern cities
such as Shah Alam or Kuala Lumpur. The collection of activities in Jalan Besar only
induce the slightest bit of pulse that is barely felt in comparison by the young
generation’s future-hungry cities that is in close proximity.
As a result, the Neo-Classical architecture style of its many shophouses are in a state of
decline as it has not been well-maintained today as they used to. The KTM and Chong
Kok Kopitiam are often considered as the two landmarks of the site as it is a drop-off
point for any visitor and an F&B hotspot, respectively.

4. Figure 1 : Upper Lascar Row site plan
Figure 2 : Jalan Besar site plan

5. 2.1 ECONOMIC PATTERN AND STREETSCAPE
In both Jalan Besar and Upper Lascar Row, traditional shophouses are the typical
types of buildings that are present. For Jalan Besar, this is because of the history of
Klang that used to be a mining town and hub for other activities which has to
accommodate the numerous amount of people coming and going. As for Upper
Lascar Row, it used to be a place of military and became a trading ground for
Chinese, Indians, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans alike. Therefore, the accommodation and
commercial area are needed.
A shophouse normally has two to three storeys. It is categorised as a commercial and
private structure due to the function of each floor of the shophouse. The ground floor
of a shophouse is considered a commercial and public whereas the upper floors are
more private and used as accommodation for tenants. The buildings are connected
to several other shophouses by a pathway and separated by streets and alleys
creating a shophouse block.
The economic activity at both Jalan Besar and Upper Lascar Row are somewhat
similar as shopkeepers at both places embraces the culture of invading the public
realm which is the five foot walkway and alleys respectively. They set up temporary
stalls, table and chairs to increase business. In Jalan Besar, food is considered as the
focus of the town, being the leading income generator. Therefore, Chong Kok
Kopitiam becomes a significant contact point as white collars and locals from nearby
go for breakfast and lunch. It is considered a high intensity contact point. Temporary
stalls and non food related shops are considered as a medium contact point as visitors
and locals do not purchase good often. Meanwhile, in Upper Lascar Row, the
antiques shops area is considered a significant contact point. This is because visitors
and shopkeepers converse through bargaining about the antiques sold in the shops.
Collectors also often come here to purchase antiques into their collection. Medium
contact point for example is Man Mo Dim Sum. Because Upper Lascar Row is famous
for its antiques, food has become a secondary attraction.
2.0 BUILDING TYPOLOGY

6. Figure 3 & 4 : Chong Kok Kopitiam during peak hours.
Figure 5 : Indian accessory shop during normal hours.
Figure 6 & 7 : Antiques stalls in Upper Lascar Row.

7. The walkability of the streetscape of Jalan Besar compared to Upper Lascar Row is
that the streetscape of Jalan Besar is larger than that of Upper Lascar Row. In Jalan
Besar, the street can accommodate cars and parking lots as well as pedestrian paths.
There are walkways along the shophouses and parking lots. In between the rows of
shophouses is a main vehicular road. Vehicles travel at a slow speed along this lane as
it has corner turnings which forces the vehicles to slow down. Other than that, traffic
congestion also adds to the slow speed of vehicles. Due to this, pedestrians have no
problem of crossing the street from opposite sides of the road.
Figure 8 : Jalan Besar streetscape.
Figure 9 : Upper Lascar Row streetscape
In comparison, Upper Lascar Row has a smaller scale streetscape and walkability.
This is because of the inability of vehicle to pass through the street without
creating obstructions for the pedestrians. There are narrow walkways present
along the shop lots that give a sense of intimacy between the opposite shops.
The main walkway is mostly occupied by makeshift stalls that shopkeepers take
advantage to extend their business. This slows down the walkability of the
pedestrians or visitors by creating obstructions that forces them to pause. Thus,
creating an informal contact point along the whole Upper Lascar Row. Due to
the lack of vehicular access, it is also safer for pedestrians to walk about freely
and explore the site.
VEHICULAR LANE
WALKWAY WALKWAY
MAIN WALKWAY
NARROW
WALKWAY
NARROW
WALKWAY

8. Both Jalan Besar and Upper Lascar Row give a sense of direction to pedestrians while
passing through the sites as both sites are a linear path. Both sites also have smaller or
secondary paths and alleys connecting to the main paths which are Jalan Besar and
Upper Lascar Row. This makes the sites more approachable as it acts as a transition
space for people who passes the site to another destination. Another similarity of
Jalan Besar and Upper Lascar Row is the both sites has a lack of public seating
benches. Therefore, people in Jalan Besar tends to sit at restaurants or just go for
standing in the shaded five foot walkway. This creates nodes for contact point for
people that are waiting for public transport or any other reason. It also increases the
contact point intensity in the already existing restaurants contact point. Meanwhile, in
Upper Lascar Row, there are also lack of public seating benches as shopkeeper set up
their business until the main pathway. Locals and visitors alike resort to either standing
in the shade or sitting on the stairs therefore making the stairs a secondary seating
area. By sitting on the stairs, it disrupts the flow of walking. Thus, making the stairs area
into another contact point.
Figure 10 & 11 : Lack of public seating forces people to stand and sit on the floor. (Jalan Besar)
Figure 12 : Lack of public seating in Upper Lascar Row.

9. 2.2 RESPONSE TO CLIMATE
Hong Kong’s climate is subtropical, tending towards temperate for nearly half a year.
There will be pleasant breezes and sunshine from November to December but cloudy
and cold weather from January to February. In Klang, the climate is more to tropical
climate where it is hot and humid with heavy rain that fluctuates at unpredictable
periods. As a result, both Jalan Besar and Upper Lascar Row has designed their
buildings to respond to the climate.
In Jalan Besar, the buildings have recessed entrance which forms the five foot
walkway that also acts as a covered shelter for rain and intense sun glare. The
recessed area give the pedestrians comfortable means of transitioning from one
space to another. It also give higher chance for social interaction as some of the
shopkeepers will pull out chairs or display their goods on the walkway.
In comparison, Upper Lascar Row responds to their climate in a smaller scale through
their individual stalls. There are no recess area present in the site. Instead, their means
of shelter lies within the functionality of the roof overhang from their shops. Due to the
dry climate in Hong Kong, shopkeepers usually display their goods from a makeshift
stall outside their shops.
Example of recessed entrance in Jalan
Besar. The sheltered area allows
shopkeepers to extend their business into
the walkway. This keeps the goods
sheltered from rain and sun glare whilst
also increase opportunity for socialisation
by creating a contact point along the
shops.
Figure 13 : Recessed entrance of shophouses.

10. Figure 14 & 15 : Extended roof overhang and makeshift stalls.
In Upper Lascar Row, the extended roof overhang extends the business while also
shelter from the sun. This helps to create contact point due to a more cooling walking
experience which also leads to optional activities such as shopping and services.
Figure 16 : Extended roof overhang and makeshift stalls diagram.

11. 3.0 CONTACT POINTS
3.1 TYPES OF CONTACT POINT
Contact points are formed as social activities interweave with one another in a public
space. These contact points become the main factor for providing human interaction
while also attracting more human attraction into the particular space. Contact points
can be determine by the level of interaction that add to the intensity to the contact
points. This is because some contact points has lower human density and interaction
than others. Therefore, the higher the interaction level, the higher the intensity of the
contact point. As mention by Kevin Lynch in “Image of the City”, junctions or squares
are define as nodes. Node can be referred to as contact point as it is a place or area
where exchanges of physical and visual are present.
In Jalan besar, most of the contact points are sourced from food and transit places.
The intensity of the contact point is also dependant on the time factor. For example,
Chong Kok Kopitiam is considered a high intensity contact point as itself is already a
landmark for visitors and locals alike. White collars, locals and visitors all come to
Chong Kok Kopitiam to have breakfast and lunch. Due to the limited space, table
and chairs, people are forced to share tables with strangers in an intimate space. This
allows chance contact between customers as they converse with one another and
also necessary contact when the customers converse with vendors for ordering food.
But this particular contact point decreases in intensity towards night time because of
the lack of human activity there. Other than that, the KTM Station is one of the
contact point in Jalan Besar because it is a transit point. White collars, blue collars,
locals, and migrants use the KTM to move between towns an other destination of their
choice. With vehicles parked along the KTM Station, passengers waiting for the KTM
and pedestrians, the density of the road along the KTM Station drastically increases.
Figure 17 & 18 : Chong Kok Kopitiam and KTM Station as contact points,

12. In comparison, in Upper Lascar Row the contact points are from antique shops and
junctions. This is because Upper Lascar Row is more famous for its antiques than food.
Example of contact point for antique is Upper Lascar Row (aka Cat Street) as it has
famous antique shops stretching from one end of the street to the other end.
Shopkeepers set up goods outside their shop along the walkway. This makes the street
congested but more vibrant to encourage more activities along the street. On this
street, chance contact happens when the shopkeepers meet with customers in their
shops. Passive contact happens when people walk past shops while viewing the
goods displayed or going to their preferred destination. Another example of a
contact point is the crossing of Hollywood Road and Square Street. Hollywood Road
itself displays street art on the walls of the buildings. The artworks on the crossing of
Hollywood Road and Square Street has became one of the most iconic street art
along Hollywood Road. With the presence of street art and being a busy junction
between two busy roads, the intensity of this contact point considered high. Passive
contact exist as pedestrians travel from Hollywood Road to Square Street. They do not
stop to talk to one another as they have other destinations in mind. On the other
hand, chance contact also exist along this junction when the artist, tourist and some
pedestrians stops to admire the art or interact with each other.
Figure 19 & 20 : Cat Street and junction of Hollywood Road as contact points.

13. 4.0 CONCLUSION
To conclude, this comparative approach towards Upper Lascar Row and Jalan Besar
has given me a huge insight on the definition of ‘life between buildings’ that Jan Gehl
has repeatedly tried to express. Also gained from this assignment is the understanding
of ‘The Image of the City’ by Kevin Lynch which focuses on the theoretical urban
planning and the empirical aspect of a city respectively. It has allowed me to
become more critical in my analysis towards the structure of the city that was
assigned to me from a macro point of view to the micro, a more thorough analysis on
the finer details of what makes a city as it is.
Visual permeability has through urban pattern has largely influenced the way in which
people interact. The difference of scale and walkability between Upper Lascar Row
and Jalan Besar is observed, as is the level of intimacy as a result of this. At the end of
it all, both are celebrations of their respective places’ rich diversity and social inartistic
values with exciting activities. It is a representation of the strong colonial influences
from their point of origin and its transformation in terms of urban morphology since
then.

14. 5.0 REFERENCES
The Image of the City. (2018, June 10). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
The_Image_of_the_City
Sejarah Daerah Klang. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www2.selangor.gov.my/
klang.php/pages/view/55
Antique Street & Cat Street - Hong Kong Street Market. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://
www.nextstophongkong.com/antique-street-cat-road/
V. (2016, November 20). Chong Kok Kopitiam 中国酒店 @ Klang. Retrieved from http://
www.vkeong.com/location/malaysia/selangor/klang/chong-kok-kopitiam-klang/
Kevin, L. (1960). The Image of the City. Cambridge, Mass, United States: MIT Press Ltd.
Hong Kong Weather. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.travelchinaguide.com/
climate/hongkong.htm
Climate & Weather Averages in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://
www.timeanddate.com/weather/malaysia/kuala-lumpur/climate