SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN

Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Architecture

THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC2224) (ARC61303)

PROJECT PART B

NAME : LING YUAN MING

ID : 0318758

LECTURER : MR NICHOLAS NG KHOON WU

RESEARCH TOPIC

The Image of the City by Kevin Lynch is often read as a literature of urbanism and an

introduction of the theory of the city’s perception based on objective criteria. Furthermore,

the famous Lynch’s 5 elements is acknowledged as a resumption of this line of thought

providing a guide for one’s perception and spatial behavior in cities.

1.0 SITE INTRODUCTION

Brickfields got its name from literally, bricks. After the 1881 flood incident that swept and

destroyed Kuala Lumpur, this land was bought and set up as a potential brick industry as to

rebuild the city. This is because the whole area was a clay pit and Brickfields rose to become

a center for quality brick making. As years passed, it was made the main depot of the Malayan

Railway that soon evolved and transformed into KL Sentral, the main railway hub of the city.

The growth of Brickfields could not be this successful without the local Indians and also the

immigrants from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Now, Brickfields is more commonly known as the

Little India of Kuala Lumpur which is also the biggest Little India in Malaysia due to the high

percentage of Indian business as well as residents. It has grown into a small sized city and is

chosen for the study of the 5 elements of Kevin Andrew Lynch. From the figure below, it can

be seen that the specific zone chosen is zone number four highlighted blue. This paper

investigates if Lynch Theory is a suitable application for a small city like Brickfields.

Figure 1.1 Map of Brickfields divided into four zones

Figure 1.2 Zoom in of Zone D

2.0 COGNITIVE MAPPING

Cognitive map is an overall mental image or representation of a space and layout of a setting.

Introduced by psychologist E. C. Tolman, cognitive map was used in his article “Cognitive

Maps in Rats and Men”. Irrelevant or rather insignificant information is excluded from the

mental map making it potentially different from an actual place. This is because the map is

likely to show where they go and the routes used based on personal preferences or judgment.

Cognitive maps allow people to fuel their knowledge about the physical characteristics of

places at the same time knowing how people view a location provides additional information

about physical characteristics. As Jencks (1969) mentioned, everyone speaks their own

architectural language and have different definition on all that they see including the city,

resulting in different interpretation that are subjective to individual whether are they affected

by personal experiences or preferences. Therefore cognitive maps by every individual is one

of a kind.

3.0 ANALYSIS

Figure 3.1 Cognitive mapping

As it is stated in Pallasmaa’s “The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses” (2007), it all

goes back to our memory in the past of what everything is as well as how they are and what

we do is that we recall to this instance to visualize them. This being said, this paper is written

based on an individual who is a stranger to the city and is purely site-experienced based. Every

decision made was subjective and solely dependent on the individual of how the site is

perceived.

The research began from NU Sentral, a significant landmark that is a combination of a

train station and a shopping mall that connects people from up north until down south. Being

the main railway hub of the city, it serves as a central point for over a hundred thousand

visitors every day. As zone 4 is located opposite NU Sentral, crossing the main road is not

optional. Besides, proper pedestrian walkway was offered on the other side of the road.

Having Jalan Tun Sambathan cut Brickfields into two, available was a magnificent overhead

pedestrian bridge. The glass and timber structure is huge and cannot be missed out as on

travelled along the road. This is because the materiality of the bridge isolated and attracted

all attention to itself as it stood out in the context.

Figure 3.2 Overhead pedestrian bridge Figure 3.3 Exit from Bridge

Figure 3.4 Zone 4 on the left Zone 1 on the right Figure 3.5 Shell Towers

Exiting the bridge, a very obvious segregation line can be seen between the two major zones,

1 and 4. Despite built along the same road, the differences is visually prominent that one side

is full of skyscrapers and the other old shop houses. This evidences Lynch quote that paths

are secondarily edges and edges are secondarily boundaries which made up districts. As the

walk continued, the first thing that caught the eye was the Shell Towers. Built high up in the

skies with rare hexagonal plated design, it can be seen from almost the entire Brickfields. As

Lynch mentioned, the special façade characteristics had become an important trait for path

identity to confirm if one has reached Brickfields. Greeted by the arches along the walking

pavement, Little India was slowly in sight. The atmosphere for the area slowly changed as the

roads were smaller and both sides of the road are filled with old shop houses selling Indian

merchandises. The transition was also aided by the change of road materials from tarmac to

bricks. This brings up the historical story of Brickfields by the use of material together with

the history of Little India itself. As a node, Little India is situated at the junction with great

concentration of food and clothing, and is a gathering space for tourists.

Figure 3.6 Figure 3.7

Another landmark is the fountain and sculpture found at the intersection between the two

main roads, Jalan Tun Sambathan and Jalan Rakyat. Strategically erected, any passerby via

transport or walking will notice as it is easily identifiable. The walked continued until the end

of the arches at another intersection. A left turn into Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad was then taken

as it was the edge of zone 4. Immediately on the left appear the first node which is the Church

of Our Lady of Fatima. The church may not be a huge church but securing a corner lot, it is

highly visible and becomes a gathering space for Christians during the weekends or any events

and festivals. The ironic name also eases remembrance.

Figure 3.8 Church of Our Lady of Fatima Figure 3.9 Shades from trees

Figure3.10 Sheltered walkways

The research continued straight along Jalan Sulltan Abdul Samad. Although it is a sub road, it

is a double lane with only one-way traffic opposing the direction of walking, therefore

travelling via walking was safer and more convenient. This road also acts secondarily as an

edge or boundary to not enter the third zone which is just on the right. No turns were taken

at the intersections until the cross junction as they are less favorable in comparison with the

main. This is because the main road provides shading and is comparatively more pedestrian

friendly with huge shading trees and sheltered walkways along it. The sub-lanes are mostly

plain roads with no trees or any shading devices that have the potential to draw people. The

lack of this feature was repelling. The answer to the preferences of shaded or unshaded path

under a hot sun is obvious.

Figure 3.11 Distant landmark Figure 3.12 Sentral Vista

Figure 3.13 Panorama of the point of decision

Journey was continued until Sentral Vista was reached. The commercial office building with

curvy façade and unique top stands 20 storeys high acting as a distant landmark that people

can see from hundreds of meters away. Below on street level, the cross junction became a

point of decision as there were multiple path options according to Lynch. On the left was

heavy traffic, front where there were rows of shop houses and on the right where elevated

railway track was. The first option was omitted as there was heavy smell of burning fuel that

was unpleasant while the last was picked due to the presence of water and a change of

scenery was desired. Methodist College Kuala Lumpur (MCKL) was at the left side followed by

Tun Sambathan KL Monorail at the end. The monorail station is an important node by itself

as people uses the public transport to travel.

Figure 3.14 Figure 3.15

Lynch stated that an edge is usually but not quite always a boundary but in this site,

the river serves as a clear edge. This is because it is continuous and impenetrable. As a result,

a left turn was made as it was approaching the boundary. The left side of the road received

shadows from the railway track above while the right side had shelters installed and the road

was pedestrian friendly as well. Besides the sense of water, the only features that attracts

people and pedestrians along the entire road is the chiming of the bells and the smell of

camphor, sandalwood or incense sticks. Subjective to individuals, the smound has a very

calming effect and captivating, leading to the end of the road. Depending on the hour and

events, the Sri Kandaswamy Kovil temple acts as a node, where there is a concentration of

people.

Figure 3.16 Sri Kandaswamy Kovil temple

Going into the lane perpendicular to the temple and travelling along the edge, the lack of

interesting spaces resulted in a ‘z’ walking pattern to avoid walking into an ordinary lane of

shop house. The feature that drew attention after the turns was the entire stretch of hawker

stalls. The stalls are so long they stretched over a hundred meters until the main road. During

peak hours, these stalls are packed with students and also office workers for convenience of

food. With both food and people concentrated, this is clearly a node based on Lynch.

At the end of the row, an exit was taken to the main road. The left side of the dual

carriageway were just hoardings and green field. The significant view was the AmMetLife

Tower. With horizontal elements in a frame with brown and white colour combination, it

stood out as it is not ordinary skyscrapers with plain glass façade. According to Lynch, not only

does the tower has clear contrast with its background, it has prominent visible points from

many position, making it a distant landmark.

Figure 3.17 Stretch of hawker stalls Figure 3.18 Distant landmark

Figure 3.19 Hotel Sentral Figure 3.20 Green space

The heavy traffic and human concentration on the left invited a left turn as well. It was

two bus stops and two consecutive traffic lights that created the congestion. The smoke and

smell was repulsive and the first turn available was taken. There were two rows of shop

houses most consist of eatery and one very tall hotel, Hotel Sentral. Due to the very close

distance to KL Sentral and NU Sentral, this hotel is a one-stop destination for tourists for long

or short stays. From there, a shortcut was taken following the monorail track granting a

shorter route to NU Sentral as it was just where the track was headed.

4.0 Conclusion

As a closing, Kevin Lynch’s theory is even applicable to such a small city such as Brickfields.

The content of Brickfields is referable to physical forms which is classified into five types of

elements namely paths, edges, districts, nodes and landmarks. The five elements are obtained

by analyzing three similar but different cities which all set in a different context with different

culture, development and timeline compared to this of Brickfields. What remarkable is that

these elements that were found in very different settings could still be applied after decades

and decades in totally different places.

However in Brickfields setting, not all elements are standalone elements that only play

their own role but are of multiple elements at once. Based on the theories of the five elements

by Lynch, zone 4 is most recognizable by its edges. The edges were clearly bounded by river

followed by the two main roads which are primarily paths. From here, the edges came

together and created a big district, referred as zone 4. The next prominent element of zone 4

is the landmarks. Shell Towers, AmMetLife Tower and Sentral Vista are all easily identifiable

and have their own unique features that created contrast that made them stood out in

respective areas. With all located at corners, they were all unobstructed and considered

distant landmarks and are prominently visible from many places. Despite these two

exceptional elements, the district element is not that significant in zone 4 due to the small

area.

In Life Between Buildings Using Public Space (1986), Gehl mentioned that humans and

their activities have the highest level of attraction and interest and proved by investigating

the various ways on how humans and their activities influenced spaces, their social context

and social lives. This is because people always gather at places where higher density is present.

This is evidence by the nodes which are NU Sentral, Little India and hawker stalls. This result

is not caused by the mere high density but due to it, there are more stimuli, activities and

attractions that would serve more types of human preferences in hoping that a more

successful interaction can be achieved. NU Sentral which is multipurpose building not only

gather people but also uses the people to attract more people. As for Little India, shopping as

an activity managed to attract not only tourists but also the locals to join the crowd. While

the hawker stall might just be another stall, the fact that eatery is a necessity cannot be

denied and people will definitely go.

In the end, despite how glamorous Lynch’s theories are, the elements were just

perceived as the fundamental elements that structure a city. Indeed the elements are useful

as a guide of how one determines the city, however, there is a limitation of the size a city or

a part of it which Lynch theory can be applied successfully. Lynch believes people in the city

needs to be able to orient themselves by means of mental maps and determine their own

meaning but when the city is too small, not all elements are fulfilled or met and therefore the

mental map might not grasp the full essence of it.

REFERENCES

Gehl, J. (1987). Life Between Buildings Using Public Space. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold

Company.

Jencks, C. (1969). Semiology and Architecture.

Lynch, K. (1960). The Image Of The City.

Pallasma, J. (2007). The Eyes Of The Skin. Great Britain: Wiley-Academy.

Tolman E. C. (1948). Cognitive maps in rats and men. Psychological Review, 55, 189-208.