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THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM [ARC 2224] PROJECT 2B: An Illustrated Essay with A Cognitive Mapping of Selected Urban Spaces.
MASJID JAMEK
NAME:
TEH GIE ENG (IVANKA)
STUDENT ID:
0316179
LECTURER:
DR NOR HAYATI
SUBMISSION DATE:
19TH JUNE 2015
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 INTRODUCTION TO SITE
1.2 INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE MAPPING
1.3 METHODOLOGY AND SURVEY
2.0 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
3.0 RELATION TO KEVIN LYNCH’S IMAGEABILITY OF A CITY
4.0 CONCLUSION
5.0 REFERENCES
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The aim of this project is to understand the people’s perception and the spatial behaviour in cities today. By getting the public to draw cognitive maps, a critical analysis is done on the selected cognitive maps to understand the urbanism in the selected KL City space with relation to Kevin Lynch’s theory of imageability and people’s perception of the city.
1.1 INTRODUCTION TO SITE
! Fig 1.1.1 Map of area around Masjid Jamek
Masjid Jamek is the area located at the convergence of the Klang and Gombak river. The merge of these two rivers gave rise to the name of ‘Kuala Lumpur’ which means ‘muddy estuary’. At the point of merging, Home to one of the oldest mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Masjid Jamek, it is an area with traditional shophouses fused with modern buildings.

 There is no specific boundary which denotes the edges around Masjid Jamek. According to the various interviewees, each gave a different zone of area perceived to be Masjid Jamek, with most interviewee confused with the area around Masjid India. However, most centralise the Masjid Jamek area along Jalan Tun Perak as this road is one of the busiest road, with the highest traffic (vehicle & human) and activities and is also the road to access


the mosque, Masjid Jamek.
1.2 INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE MAPPING
Cognitive mapping was the term first coined by psychologist E.C. Holman to explain how rats learned and recognise the locations of rewards in a maze. Used in vastly in various field, they are mental representations of physical locations. Cognitive mapping consist of two components; features that are remembered (tangible) and evaluative information about those features (intangible).
In architecture, Kevin Lynch wrote a book “The Image of the City” in 1960, whereby the idea of cognitive mapping is best utilised to explain the imaginability of a city. He argued that people familiarise themselves by using mental maps. In his book, he studied the three cities, Boston, Jersey City and Los Angeles) and looked at how people direct themselves in cities.
“In the process of way-finding, the strategic link is the environmental image, the generalized mental picture of the exterior physical world that is held by an individual. This image is the product both of immediate sensation and of the memory of past experience, and it is used to interpret information and to guide action” (p.4) -Kevin Lynch
1.3 METHODOLOGY AND SURVEY
The analysis of the cognitive mapping are conducted by having site visits. Cognitive mapping are collected from public and interviews are conducted to find out about the background of each map author. Photos were also taken as evidence of research and to support the key points for analysis.
! Fig 1.3.1 Map 1 drawn by Teh Gie Eng

 The first map is drawn by Teh Gie Eng, 21, an architecture student. Having arrived on site via the LRT, she walked along Jalan Tun Perak as well as through the streets of Jalan Ampang, Leboh Ampang, Jalan Tun H.S Lee, Jalan Hang Lekiu.
! Fig 1.3.2 Map 2 drawn by Shelhiel

 This map is drawn by Shelhiel, a 22 year old, architecture student. He was at site to do the survey as well. Done in 3D collage, he graphically used colours and icons to represent the landmarks. When interviewed about his drawing, he explained that he used a collage to illustrate his experiences in Masjid Jamek as a unified blend of culture and noise. His map is chosen over others due to his similar age, and background and similar boundary of site with the author of the Map 1, though he started his walk from Dataran Merdeka.
! Fig 1.3.3 Map 3 drawn by Amirah
MAP 3 is drawn by a sales lady, Amirah who works at the Bazaar Masjid India, selling slippers. She is a new part timer and is new to the area. She used to stay at the area around Campbell Complex. Her map is chosen based on her different background and her different barrier of site. According to her Masjid Jamek is only restricted to the area encapsulating the mosque and the bazaar.
2.0 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
SIMILARITIES
Masjid Jamek is considered to be the precedent to the being of Kuala Lumpur. Most people interviewed along the main road Jalan Tun Perak are aware of the merge of the two rivers at Masjid Jamek and the linkage of this main street to other smaller streets such as Leboh Ampang and Jalan Tun H.S Lee.However most could not pinpoint the edge of Masjid Jamek area and most zones suggested by the interviewees are within 3km radius of the Masjid Jamek LRT station.
! Fig 2.1 The back of Masjid Jamek showing the confluence of the two rivers.
Based on the interviews, 3 cognitive maps ( refer to 1.3) were selected and analysed for similarities and differences.
All maps have featured these landmarks. 1. Masjid Jamek 2. Masjid India Bazaar 3. LRT Masjid Jamek
From the interviews, there were also frequent mentions of:
- the merge of the Klang and Gombak river - Masjid Jamek - Jalan Tun Perak - bricks - traditional shophouses - banks - pavements
There are more similarities between Map 1 and Map 2 as both authors come from similar background with formal architecture education and their barriers of site are the same. Hence both maps display more systematic analysis of the area, such as having the river as an important edge and the LRT Station as a main node of the area. Both maps also indicated the main landmark, Masjid Jamek, is still under construction which diminishes its prominence as a landmark. Across all three maps, Masjid Jamek and the LRT station are illustrated as important landmarks. For the authors of Map 1 and 2, it is because the Masjid Jamek gave rise to the name of the area and the LRT is a prominent dispersion point of human traffic. However for the author of Map 3,she remembered the LRT as a landmark because it is her mode of transport to work and the mosque as her prayer place
The Bazaar Masjid India, located along Jalan Melayu, which is beside the Masjid Jamek LRT Station, is characterized by the loud karaoke singing by blind people right at the start of the bazaar. This is seen illustrated in both Map 1 and Map 2. Map 2 and Map 3 (the author indicated places with high human traffic with an arrow) shows indication of of high volume of human traffic at the bazaar. Due to its name, which is associated to another prominent mosque nearby, the authors were confused on the boundaries of Masjid Jamek. However due to its location beside the Masjid Jamek LRT station, it was included within their perception of Masjid Jamek area boundaries.
! Fig 2.2 Bazaar Masjid India
Map 1 and 2 also displayed another similarity. Both maps illustrated the traditional Minangkabau roof profile of the Bank Muamalat as well as the sculptural rattan ball that is synonymous to the Malay roots of the bank. The public space which the sculpture is
placed provide to be a small node for the public as children are seen to play around the sculpture often. Both authors highlighted on the monumental size and texture of the sculpture and building which allows them to easily remember it when interviewed.
! Fig 2.3 Bank Muamalat
! Fig 2.4 The rattan ball sculpture outside Bank Muamalat
The ubiquity of the brands Mc Donalds and Burger King proved to powerful enough for authors 1 and 2 to make it a landmark along Jalan Tun Perak to identify their location


within the map.
DISSIMILARITIES
 
 Between Map 1 and Map 2 there are differences in how both authors remember the streets of Leboh Ampang. Author 1 remembers it by the repetitive units of traditional shophouses and used colours to profile the street culture (purple is a colour synonymous to the Indian culture). Author 2 remembers remembers Leboh Ampang by the food sold (putumayam) at the street.
! Fig 2.5 Shophouses along Leboh Ampang has similar colour tones and window profiles
Map 3 differs greatly from Map 1 and 2 because of the background of the author who is a sales girl at the Masjid India Bazaar. She zones Masjid Jamek to be identifiable only by the LRT, mosque and the bazaar. remembers it as a transition area to head to other landmarks
in Kuala Lumpur. From the 3 maps, Map 3 offers very little texture and indication of memory of the area because she had just started working at the area and have not explored further. Map 1 and 2 included more textures such as walkways, paths, colours and building profiles, noise, trees as the authors went to Masjid Jamek with the intention to observe and study the area.
The author of Map 3 drew a path along Jalan Tun Perak and Jalan Raja Laut to connect to Dataran Merdeka and Campbell Complex from the Masjid Jamek LRT Station to show the route she takes after work and on weekends. She stays at the area around Campbell complex and usually hangs out at Dataran Merdeka on weekends. However Map 1 indicated Jalan Tun Perak as the main street which links all the smaller streets while Map 2 only indicated Jalan Tun Perak. This is because for Author 3, it a path she usually takes in her routine, whereas for Author 1 and 2 it is the main streets which they orientate themselves as visitors.
3.0 RELATION TO KEVIN LYNCH: IMAGEABILITY
Lynch wrote that an image is “a picture especially in the mind”, an integration between the tangible city image and the intangible human perception. When studying image of the Masjid Jamek area, it is interesting to note how it is made up on the whole. Generally, the shophouses lined around Masjid Jamek area share a homogenous profile, characterised by similar height, material, colour and style. The author, Lynch argues that “the more these characters overlap, the stronger the impression of a unified region.” (pg. 104) This enhances the identity of the area.
! Fig 3.1 Shophouses along Leboh Ampang
As seen in Leboh Ampang, the shophouses still retains the old shophouse typology and along the street, there are many restaurants and music store blasting loud music, making the road very lively; a distinctive identity.
However the intensity of an image of a city is not uniform everywhere but also punctuated with landmarks. Most of the landmarks in Masjid Jamek have simple forms, or at least, in memory, as evidenced in Map 1 and 2. For example The Wisma Lee building easily remembered as the landmark with the form of a rectangle building with a base of different orientation. Lynch stated that a simple form is ‘much more easily incorporated in the image [of the city]�.
! Fig 3.2 Wisma Lee Rubber Building
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! Fig 3.3 Wisma Lee Building in Map 1
Fig 3.4 Wisma Lee Building in Map 2
As shown in Fig 3.3 and Fig 3.4 Both authors remembered the building due to its unique but simple form.
Lynch’s main argument on the physical imageability of a city are mostly based on 5 elements.
Paths: routes which people move throughout the city Edges: boundaries and breaks in continuity Districts: areas characterised by common characteristics Nodes: Focus points for orientation such as squares and junctions. Landmarks: External points of orientation, usually easily identifiable physical object in urban landscape.
Using Lynch’s theory to analyse the maps, one can see that the paths used by all three authors are different based on their usage/starting point. However, all three maps identified Jalan Tun Perak as the main path. Edges are shown most clearly in in Map 1 where she showed the presence of the river which determines the edge of Masjid Jamek. Using Lynch’s definition of districts and by analysing the maps, there are two clear districts within the area of Masjid Jamek. One is the commercial districts where by there a lot of high rise
buildings ( Wisma Lee Building) and bank buildings (OCBC and Bank Muamalaf) along Jalan Ampang. Another are the rows of shophouses along the three streets connected to Jalan Tun Perak which share similar typology and profiles, and has many similar businesses. These streets are Leboh Ampang, Jalan Tun H.S. Lee and Jalan Hang Lekiu. Nodes are identifiable via Map 1 and Map 3 (indicated with arrow) where by the LRT and the Bazaar Masjid Jamek has high human traffic volume as these are main gathering points as well as dispersion points. The most recognisable landmark of the area is still Masjid Jamek, due to the prominence of its name and its unique location at the convergence of the two river (edges). It is also interesting to note the strength of the landmark Masjid Jamek as studies has shown Masjid Jamek to be a stronger image than the Masjid Negara.
The orchestration of these elements has merged together as a powerful image. A result of the mixed intensity of the image of Masjid Jamek area, whereby it is not just well organised but poetic and symbolic as well. The mixed typology of buildings in Masjid Jamek, with various historical timeline till now, supports Lynch’s theory that the image of the city is ever developing. 
4.0 CONCLUSION
Overall, it can be concluded that there is a character of the place that is uniquely Masjid Jamek, with its blend of traditional and contemporary shophouses, and proliferation of bank buildings, which co-exists with the monumental historical buildings. The strong culture in terms of intangible qualities such as sound, texture and smell as well as strong tangible qualities such as the shophouse typology in the streets linking to Jalan Tun Perak, (Leboh Ampang, Jalan Tun H. S. Lee and Jalan Hang Lekiu) are strong personalities of the site that made the streets identifiable to be different from one another. As the LRT track runs above Jalan Tun Perak, this inevitably made the main road to be the central path which Masjid Jamek area is identified with. 
 The renovation of the mosque Masjid Jamek should be proposed to be finished faster as it has been ongoing for more than a year. As a big part of the mosque is constantly covered with hoardings, this reduces the imageability of the landmark and its prominence. The entrance of the mosque could also be proposed to be enlarged to increase its visibility. Renovation and maintenance for the traditional shophouses should also be carried out to retain the image of the area of Masjid Jamek. 
5.0 REFERENCES

Lynch, K. (1960). The image of the city (pp. 4, 96-105). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
Wonderful Malaysia. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2015, from http:// www.wonderfulmalaysia.com/kuala-lumpur-history.htm
ARCHITECTURE URBANISM. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2015, from http:// architectureandurbanism.blogspot.my/2010/09/kevin-lynch-image-of-city-1960.html
Mapping: Cognitive maps. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2015, from http:// psychology.ucdavis.edu/sommerb/sommerdemo/mapping/cogmap.htm
Raad Al-Shams, A., & Badarulzaman, N. (2014, January 26). Evaluating the City Image: A Focus on Landmarks of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Retrieved November 21, 2015, from http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/viewFile/33810/19492