Project Part B: An Illustrated Essay with a Cognitive Map

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Architecture THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC2224) (ARC61303)

PROJECT PART B

NAME: Evelyn Sinugroho ID: 0318217 LECTURER: Mr. Nicholas Ng Khoon Wu

1. Introduction The main objective of this research paper is to identify how an environment is comprehended by and individual or group. This research paper will specifically talks about the observer’s perception and spatial behavior within Brickfield, the cognitive mapping is then used to describe of how much of those elements inside Brickfield affects the decision of travel and how much the observer’s remembers specific buildings or spaces based on their distinctive characteristic that attract the observer’s attention. To justify the cognitive mapping, Kevin lynch’s theory is applied inside the observer’s experience. In aiding the validation of the research, literature reviews such document analysis from case studies, online resources, critical readings and books were carried out to enhance the process.

1.1 Introduction of Site

Figure 1.1: Location Map of Brickfields This research paper is based on a small to medium-sized town and residential neighborhood which is located just outside central Kuala Lumpur named Brickfields. The city has gone through ups and downs, such as the flood and fire disaster in 1881 which destroyed most of the buildings structures of wood and thatching roof within the city, the

structures are then required to be constructed by bricks and tiles. Yap Kwan Seng, the fifth Kapitan Cina of Kuala Lumpur predicted the demand of bricks in near future and since then created a center of brick manufacturing inside the city which has become the main economy that time. Until the 18th century, it was being redeveloped and the railway works started.

This redevelopment leads to large immigration of Indians into Brickfield to work at the railway. Now it is called the little India due to the large community of Indians. Brickfield is currently transforming with the establishment of several government buildings and social institution. It has since then developed in to the largest transit hub in Malaysia.

1.2 Introduction of Cognitive Mapping A Psychologist named E. C. Tolman introduced Cognitive Map in his article “The Cognitive Map in Rats and Men” (1948) to explain how living organism such as the rat and the human studied the environment based on given subjective to create the mental map and categorize which is irrelevant and unimportant to be excluded. It is the type of Human’s mental representation that reflects individual’s ability to store, recall and decode the information of the location based on individual’s experience on the journey to that specific location. It serves as the visualization of images to reduce the cognitive load by constructing and accumulating the spatial knowledge, this therefore enhance the recall and learning of the information. Urban theorists have done the practice by having the citizen to draw a map, from memory, of their city. This practice allows the theorist to understand which parts of the city are more imaginable and salient. As a result, this practice shows how well the urban planning has been conducted.

This research paper will therefore come to two main question: 1. What determinants affect the spatial behavior of the observer inside the city and how it alters one’s cognitive mapping?

2. What determinants contribute in the imageability of identity and structure in mental image?

3. What is the concept and basis for Urban planning to refer back to?

These questions will be answered as we go through the journey that focuses at area D (Figure 1.2) that was drawn by memory, from there we will analyze the how and why those determinants along the journey are affecting the cognitive mapping.

Figure 1.2 Location Map area covered at D

1.3 Cognitive Mapping

Figure 1.3 Cognitive Mapping of Brickfields

2. Analysis Essay “Mind maps are the Meta-Language of the Human Race” (Tony Buzan). Having this said, cognitive mapping has been the nature of living being as the ‘eyes of the mind’ to locate, recall and learn. Thus, it has become human’s nature to adapt to the environment in order to dwell and to survive. The urbanist task is to create an easy and systematical environment for the citizen to live in, enhancing the elements that is more prominent and disperse it around the city to create balance to guide the city dwellers. As Kevin Lynch has stated, “we are supported by the presence of others and by special way-finding devices: maps, street numbers, route signs, bus placards. But let the mishap of disorientation once occur, and the sense of anxiety and even terror that accompanies it reveals to us how closely it is linked to our sense of balance and well-being.”

This cognitive mapping was drawn by myself with background of an international student that has only been to brickfield for two times. From a newcomer’s perception, elements with distinctive cultural factor that is peculiar and unfamiliar are more easily identifiable. Therefore the decorative arches along the pedestrian walkway (figure 2.1) became Brickfields’ icon of social and cultural factor with bold cultural distinction that attracts outside city dweller to visit.

Figure 2.1 Decorative Arcs along the Pedestrian Walkway The Journey started at NU sentral, crossing a salient bridge which overpass an edge which is the vehicle road to the pedestrian walkway decorated with arches. It became the observer’s first landmark due to the proximity of where the observer first arrived and therefore are most familiar with in order for the observer to return home safely. Many thought that distinctive shape and size of a specific building enhances human activity around it. But to the eye of the observer, it is due to the adjacencies to the main transport hub and the performance at the mouth of the bridge (Figure 2.4) which gathers the passerby to watch, the bridge then became a node. Similar to what Jan Gehl stated “Life between buildings is both more relevant and more interesting to look at in the long run than are the combination of colored concrete and staggered building forms.�

Figure 2.2 The Crossover Bridge

Figure 2.3 Street performance

“Proximity to special features of the city could also endow a path with increased importance. In this case the path would be acting secondarily as an edge.� Jalan Tun Sambathan can be considered as an edge that separate the zones with building typology contrast which can be clearly notify by the observer. The shell tower is another landmark that catch the attention of the observer, in terms of the height and shapes, it became the main guidance of the observer to be able to return back to the main transportation hub.

Figure 2.4 Jl. Tun Sambathan Streetscape

Figure 2.5 Menara Shell

As the observer walk through the path, the observer then realize the roundabout adjacent to the Menara shell containing a waterfall and two unique statues. Similar to what Charles Jencks has stated, those statues have become the symbols for the society to give meaning to and thus became another landmark and public attraction.

Figure 2.6 Symbolic Statue at the street junction The stroll continues as the walkway increases in width reaching the little India, the area has the decorative arches similar to the walkway near the bridge and the number of shop lots increases. The wide walkway gave a broad directional relationships, to the new visitor such as myself, it has become customary travel pathway. Wherever the new dwellers roam, this walkway has become the reference point to where the dwellers will come back to.

Other reason why this pathways became so significance is due to the special faรงade characteristic of the building along the road with the bold colored postmodern facade style, creating a strong identity of the street.

The importance of the path along Little India is also supported by the visual exposure from the path of the other parts of the city. Wide view due to the width of the road accentuate the visibility of Little India from Nu Sentral and the bridge.

Figure 2.7 Little India Pedestrian streetscape

La Salle’s Mural Art wall adjacent to the 3 way road gave interest to the observer and therefore initiate the observer to approach it. The image of the mural art itself are burned inside the mind of the observer as the observer decided to turn left. The mural art are then act as a mark to come back to main street again.

Figure 2.8 Mural Art Wall beside La Salle School

The Street and the walkway OF Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad are narrower, the building typology has a lower volume compared to jalan Tun Sambathan and higher volume of vegetation. The shades caused the road to have more pedestrian walkers compared to other pathway.

Figure 2.9 Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad Streetscape For a tourist or first visitor, the unusual buildings are the most memorable. The small saloon adjacent to the pedestrian walkway are distinctively small in terms of size and isolated which stands up amongst the environment.

Figure 2.10 The Saloon Along the events like the two wedding ceremonies were happening at the same time at two different church and therefore both events have triggered the feelings of familiarity with the observer’s past memory event and made these two churches memorable and important inside the cognitive map. Events trigger memories, memories trigger a stronger image of the city. It is an indirect form of contact with the passerby which enhance the vibrancy along the street, similar to what Jan Gehl stated “Living cities, therefore, ones in which people can interact with one another, are always stimulating because they are rich in experiences,..�

Figure 2.11 The Wedding Ceremony

YTL properties wall partition with project advertisement creates a visual barrier which blocked the view to the land and therefore initiate questions of what is happening inside and what is going to happen to the land. The wall partition is visually prominent across the street continuous in form and impenetrable. This barrier initiate the observer’s visual to focus on the right hand side of the path. This is why the observer realize the ceremony even though it is far across the street.

Figure 2.12 YTL properties wall partition The shaded pathway was notable to the observer as the spatial volume and the pathway width changes. The observer experienced changes in terms of comfort which leads to slower walking pace. Slower pace made the observer to notice the surrounding more. The observer noticed the traffic congestion due to the street bumps and the density of public buses. As how Kevin Lynch has stated, “different environments resist or facilitate the process of image-making,� the condominium across the street has become noticeable, it has

no distinctive shape nor important cultural history, but due to environment factor such as the change in thermal comfort that the observer notice it as something important.

Figure 2.13 The shaded pathway Other features such as the Kompleks TLK Brickfield and Thamil Methodist Church both have a distinctive shape and texture. Kompleks TLK Brickfield are distinctive in terms of the contrasting red colored brick that dominate the view of the street scape whilst the Tamil Methodist Church has a prominent sharp triangular shape with strong stone texture.

Buildings with strong send of texture as their façade are apparent in the eyes of the observer. These texture triggers the senses inside the observer, stimulating the ‘body memories’, while they see, they remember the materials with similar texture they touched before. “Vision reveals what the touch already knows. We could think of the sense of touch as the unconscious of vision.” (Pallasmaa, 2007)

Figure 2.14 Kompleks TLK Brickfield

Figure 2.15 Kompleks TLK Brickfield

The context becomes meaningful when cultural fields are discerned spatially and the particularity of the locale is felt (Rapoport, 1982). This is reinforced by the presence of strong nodes like temples which provide a cultural focus. Sam Kaw Tong Chinese Temple is located beside a narrow pathway with a unique contrasting colorful flags, as they were an entrance to another space. These attracts the observer to visit the temple and circulate around the pathway adjacent to it. The cultural element differs the temple from the other postmodern buildings allows the temple to standout out as a landmark throughout the time at the environment.

Figure 2.16 Sam Kaw Tong Temple

Figure 2.17 Prominent Alley

The Ammet Live Tower was visible parallel in the middle of the alley, for the new dwellers, it acts as a guide to return to the main path which is Jalan Tun Sambathan.

Figure 2.18 Ammet Live Tower When the alley has been passed, the pathway at the left side seemed to be more vibrant and compelling due to the vegetation along the pathway hence pedestrian tend to travel along the left hand side path. In addition, the path was also adjacent to the monorail station, thus it is adjacent to the nodes explaining the crowd of the street.

Figure 2.19 Monorail Station

Figure 2.20 Shaded pathway

The street with the mamak stretches along somehow has become the main connector of two primary street of Jalan Tun Sambathan and Jalan Thambipilay despite the existence of other ways that connects back to Jalan Tun Sambathan. The mamak is the strategic loci where dwellers would gather from two street to eat, people gather due to the presence of many other people, giving the sense of security. “Decision must be made at junctions, people heighten their attention at such places and perceive nearby elements with more than normal clarity.� (Lynch, 1959) The decision made by the observer is first of all due to the certainty of the direction. Nu Sentral was seen across the road, New city dwellers will always go to the most identified road to make sure they are not lost.

Figure 2.21 Mamak along the street

3. Conclusion To answer the last question of this research paper, the key concept of urban planning is always to create a clear imageability for the dwellers to grow within the city. The city need to be ‘well informed’, ‘distinct’ and ‘remarkable’; inviting the eye and the ear to greater attention and participation. (Lynch, 1959) From the descriptive Journey around Brickfields, it shows that Brickfields has the clarity that motivate the dwellers’ quality of life. Brickfields successfulness in terms of the imageability of the city are as follow: Landmark: Kevin Lynch stated that the clarity of the image could be strengthen by symbolic devices, those devices has been dispersed throughout Brickfield, they created strong character and meaning to each districts inside Brickfield. In addition, Brickfield’s contrast of building height has become a guide that is visible from many direction for the dwellers to return.

Path: Brickfields has paths with strong identities. Each paths has their own uniqueness and culture that different from each other allowing the paths to be identifiable, memorable and easily be differentiate in the mind of the observer. Each one street described are different, example: Jalan Tun Sambathan has a very wide pedestrian walkway with colourful shoplots and arches whereas Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad is narrower filled and rich of greeneries.

Nodes: Brickfields has nodes scattered around the city. Events and public performances within the city stimulate the senses of the observer and thus the vibrancy of the city. It seems as if everyone is connected with each other.

District: Districts are sections or zones of the city, they are mainly distinguished by the common character of usage, ethnic concentrations, or in some cases the type of buildings within zones. In Brickfields, mix use area and commercial area are located adjacent to each

other, this became the main attraction for tourist to come, stimulating nodes around the area.

Edge: Edges are boundaries between two zones. It may prevent the observer to pass through another phase due to the edge. Edges may include shores, railroad cuts, edges of development, walls, etc. A path in between two different districts may also create a distinctive borderline that separate the two zones. In brickfields, somehow the edge became a path and the path became an edge. For example, Jalan Tun Sambathan can be considered an edge because it separate the zones with building typology contrast which can be clearly notify by the observer. The partition wall owned by the private property initiate the observer to see the right hand side or infront by blocking the view to the left, the wall somehow leads to where the observer is dwelling to.

In conclusion, Kevin Lynch’s theory of five elements supports the imageability of the city, by breaking it down into components. Everything that affect our cognitive mapping and how much we remember throughout the journey is due to strong identity of each components of the city. It is therefore the most essential thing urban planners should consider in designing cities.

4. Reference Rapoport, A. (1982) The Meaning of the Built Environment: A non-Verbal Communication Approach. California: Sage Publications.

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.