Connectivity & Permeability : A Walkable Neighborhood

CONNECTIVITY AND PERMEABILITY

A WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOOD

‘ KUALA LUMPUR ’ That is where we begin.......

We can see the serious traffic congestion happening every day in our city, especially in Kuala Lumpur. This is all because of the poor public transportation system and the increasing of private vehicle on the road. People are already get used to spend more to own a car travel to destination and the government are crazy on constructing mega-highways and bridges to solve the oversupply vehicle on the road. This has resulted in many deaths in car accidents and construction accidents, no exception.

Should we walk more to reduce carbon footprint......

In Malaysia and its neighbouring countries, there has been an increase in the number of private vehicles owing to growing population. Besides, increased production of cars in the domestic market and the influx of new imported cars to the local automotive market in Malaysia have spiked the number of vehicle registrations in the country. Nevertheless, Malaysia also aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 40% in 2020. Therefore, some of the new townships in the country have been developed by planning them out as a sustainable and green city. For example, Iskandar Malaysia is one of the new townships that implemented the low carbon city concept. The strategy of this city is to reduce CO2 emissions and energy consumption in the four sectors, i.e., residential, commercial, industrial and transport. The city aims to exceed the usage of public transportation over the usage of private vehicles by 2025 (Matsuoka et al., 2013). Although, the designing of this city aims to encourage the use of buses, inevitably it will also result in design and planning issues for pedestrian facilities and infrastructures. Another township known as Putrajaya which was developed in the 1990 had also considered a neighbourhood planning for cycling and pedestrian-friendly infrastructures including accessibility for people with disabilities.

‘ LOW CARBON ’ Malaysia has targeted to reduce carbon emission approaching 2030 with a reduction of 45 per cent and relatively by 2050, Malaysia will be a carbon neutral country. Moving forward, the concept of the Green Mobility is the essential mechanism towards improving the people lifestyle and sustaining the environmental quality which emphasises the movement of people to make it safe, enjoy and healthy likes cycling or walking. However, in Malaysia, the development of the pedestrian infrastructures and the mass public transportation system needs huge investment, which turns out to be one of the challenges for the government. People need sidewalk and it has become an important part of urban transport in many large cities in the world and also became an important part of road traffic systems which pedestrian have to travel at every corner of an urban city centre to fulfill their needs. Public transit provides people with mobility and access to work, community resources, medical care, and recreational possibilities. It benefits both those who prefer to travel and those who do not have a choice to afford a car and must rely on public transportation. These people, as well as everyone else who does not have access to a car, can use public transportation to get around. Through a strong connections with the transits, city can improve commercial opportunities, limit sprawl, and promote a sense of community by incorporating public transportation alternatives and considerations into larger economic and land use planning. By establishing a focal point for public activities, such development fosters a feeling of community and can improve neighbourhood safety and security. For these reasons, cities with effective public transportation networks are economically thriving and provide geographical advantages to businesses and individuals who choose to work or live there. Public transportation also reduces traffic congestion and travel times, air pollution, and energy and oil consumption, all of which benefit both riders and non-riders.

‘ WEAK ’ Unfortunately, almost all of the operating companies of transit services in the world still depend on the subsidies provided by the government for the system operation and maintenance. The ridership's ticket sales of our cities can’t even cover all the expenses that needs to maintain the transit facilities. In Malaysia, the main key problem-causing factor is the interaction between the transit infrastructure and its surrounding area is not strong enough to encourage people to take public transports. This is one of the reason why people willing to own a car rather than taking public transport. Serious traffic congestion happening everyday in our city, especially in Kuala Lumpur. This is all because of the poor public transportation system and the increasing of private vehicle on the road. People are already get used to spend more to own a car travel to destination and the government are crazy on constructing mega-highways and bridges to solve the oversupply vehicle on the road. This has resulted in many deaths in car accidents and construction accidents, no exception. However, in Malaysia, until now, the facilities and infrastructure development for pedestrians have not yet attained a satisfactory level. Therefore, it is essential to identify the characteristics and behaviours of pedestrians in Malaysia as well as to recognise other related issues that need to be tackled. The acknowledgement of pedestrian characteristics is essential in order to develop well-organised pedestrian facilities and infrastructures in the era of pedestrianisation.

‘ TRANSPORTATION ISSUES ’

‘ NEIGHBORHOOD ’ In this few years, Malaysian urban development has produced with several well-planned neighborhoods in cities such as Cyberjaya, Putrajaya, the New Town of Petaling Jaya and Nusajaya. These areas are expected to provide a walkable lifestyle but there are many evidences and observations show that urban people even in the planned areas still depend heavily on cars in their movement. This issue raises the need to relook the connectivity and walkability of the environment of planned neighborhoods. However, the adaptation of neighborhood concept by Clarence Perry in equatorial country such as Malaysia fails to encourage the community to walk even within their neighborhood. As a result, community today still depends on the vehicle as the main mode of transportation to travel from home to their basic community facilities such as jobs, school, local shop and playground. In terms of community facilities planning in a neighborhood unit, Malaysia is still struggling to produce the best designing guideline for community facilities planning towards a sustainable environment.

‘ PUBLIC TRANSPORT ’ Like most cities in the developing world, Kuala Lumpur City Centre has grown at a phenomenal rate driven primarily by the need to create wealth. Today, pedestrian have to travel at every corner of urban City Centre to fulfill their needs. Walking is considered as one of the oldest non-motorized transport mode of transportation, so that every person who travels from one to another is pedestrian and every pedestrian is an element of road space. A major deficiency, especially in the City Centre, is lack of the accessibility pedestrian network. An urban City Centre is not a pedestrian friendly city if its lack of pedestrian network and existence of major deficiencies such as poor maintenance and accessibility. Pedestrian are vulnerable road users which is always have high risky during their trips. In November 2018, local media reported that 20 pedestrians were killed while crossing the roads in Kuala Lumpur. This is a serious issue and everyone was expecting the authorities, especially Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), to do something about it but till today, DBKL has not done much. To overcome of these problems, a good pedestrian network must be implementing for the City Centre to facilitate pedestrian movement at activity areas especially on safety. Overall financial requirement are estimated about one hundred and five million to build pedestrian network the City of Kuala Lumpur with totaling forty kilometres from 2011 until 2020.

‘ WALKABILITY ’ Like most cities in the developing world, Kuala Lumpur City Centre has grown at a phenomenal rate driven primarily by the need to create wealth.

Today, pedestrian have to travel at every corner of urban City Centre to fulfill their needs. Walking is considered as one of the oldest non-motorized transport mode of transportation, so that every person who travels from one to another is pedestrian and every pedestrian is an element of road space. A major deficiency, especially in the City Centre, is lack of the accessibility pedestrian network. An urban City Centre is not a pedestrian friendly city if its lack of pedestrian network and existence of major deficiencies such as poor maintenance and accessibility. Pedestrian are vulnerable road users which is always have high risky during their trips. In November 2018, local media reported that 20 pedestrians were killed while crossing the roads in Kuala Lumpur. This is a serious issue and everyone was expecting the authorities, especially Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), to do something about it but till today, DBKL has not done much. To overcome of these problems, a good pedestrian network must be implementing for the City Centre to facilitate pedestrian movement at activity areas especially on safety.

Overall financial requirement are estimated about one hundred and five million to build pedestrian network the City of Kuala Lumpur with totaling forty kilometres from 2011 until 2020.

‘ FLOW ’

‘ QUESTIONS ’

‘ OBJECTIVES ’

1) What are the current walkable pedestrian condition in current Kuala Lumpur?

1) To understand the current walkable environment issues in Kuala Lumpur.

2) Why the amount of vehicle usage still increasing when public transit station has been increased in Kuala Lumpur?

2) To demonstrate a community friendly compound and increase walkability to reduce vehicle usage in Kuala Lumpur.

3) How to improve the street connections to increase walkability?

3) To increase the connectivity to create a high-quality urban life.

‘ STATEMENT ’ There are numerous advantages to living in an urban area, including a shorter commute distance between home and workplace that is within walking distance, all types of public transportation convenience with improved linkage coverage, and good facilities close to housing areas that make people's daily lives easier to access.

This thesis will concentrate on the walkability of a location where people have better access to a destination and can meet their daily needs safely and conveniently on foot, bicycle, and public transportation.

‘ CASE STUDIES ’ Warming Up.......

Buckhead Park Over GA400 / Rogers Partners + Nelson Byrd Woltz

Landgangen / Cobe Architects

Architects: Rogers Partners + Nelson Byrd Woltz Location: Atlanta, Georgia Project Year: In Progress

Architects: Cobe Architects Location: Esbjerg, Denmark Project Year: First prize in competition 2015, completed 2018

The project calls for a strip of green space to be constructed over a freeway and commuter railway in Buckhead, a business and residential district in Atlanta. The park will stretch 2,400 feet (731 metres) and will offer a variety of activities, with the aim to "make the area whole again, providing the public with safe, easy and efficient access to the many amenities in the district". The design calls for sustainable strategies such as irrigation systems that will use captured stormwater and native flora that will require minimal maintenance.

The bridge is superimposed as a light hovering structure that finds its way, twisting and turning, from the city to the harbour in an unpredictable rhythm that branches out into vantage points, plateaus, stairs and connecting pathways, leaving green surfaces and mature trees untouched. The bridge winds its way through the tree crowns of the city park. The expressive topography and the many beautiful beech trees are maintained in the project, as the bridge gently bends to move in and around the landscape.

Lujiazui Circular Pedestrian Bridge Location: Lujiazui, China Project Year: 2011

Floating 5.5 meters (20 feet) above the Lujiazui Road in the Pudong district of Shanghai is a new circular pedestrian bridge that not only is outstanding in aesthetic standards, but achieves an environment-friendly purpose as well. The very contemporary design and long spans between columns provides a pleasant street level experience. Visitors enjoy the walkway for its privileged views of the city as well as its introduction of clean and easy foot transportation. At night the structure is illuminated to great dramatic effect.

Omock [Youth Lab] Park (Invited Design Competition) / Studio101 Competition: Renovation of OMOCK PARK Architects: Studio101 Location: Seoul, Korea Project Year: Completion: 2021 The renovation designation of Omok Neighborhood Park, one of the 5 Mok-dong Neighborhood Parks. Mok-dong is one of the most dynamic places to change in Seoul in the future. The most important point in the park planning was how to respond to the expected urban change-, and this became the most important fork in defining the character of the park.

Pop-Up Climate Change Adaptation / Third Nature Park 'N' Play / JAJA Architects Architects: JAJA Architects Location: Nordhavn, Copenhagen, Denmark Project Year: 2014 - 2016

Pompidou-Inspired Car Park to Feature Planted Façade and Rooftop Park With the intention of creating a beautiful public space from what is usually a one-function building, an inviting structure that incorporates green facades and a rooftop playground comes to place, making full use of its placement in an up-and-coming urban neighborhood.

Architects: Third Nature Location: St. John’s Park, New York City, USA Project Year: 2016 POP-UP Parking Aims to Revolutionize Climate Adaptation in Major Cities Flooding, parking and lack of green spaces are only few challenges our cities face. And with the climate change we are likely to face growing numbers of cloudbursts. The project aims to adapt cities to the consequences of climate changes. By stacking water reservoir, parking facility and urban space, the project POP-UP solves three challenges at once. As heavy rain falls, storm water fills the underground reservoir and the parking structure will pop up in the cityscape, highlighting the adaption to the forces of nature.

Climate challenges force many cities to establish large and very expensive water reservoirs under existing roads and squares.

Tainan Spring / MVRDV

The Opera Park / Cobe Architects

Architects: MVRDV Location: Tainan, Taiwan Project Year: 2020

Architects: Cobe Architects Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Project Year: First prize in competition 2019, completed 2023

Transforms A Vacant Historic Mall Into An ‘Urban Lagoon’ In A Congested City

628 Trees For Copenhagen

Tainan’s water network served as the basis for the city’s marine and fishing industry since the 17th century, but the 1980s saw the city depart from this historic urban approach. Tainan Spring shows what solutions are possible for unused shopping malls now that online shopping is supplanting physical stores. The mall’s underground parking level has been transformed into a sunken public plaza dominated by an urban pool and verdant local plants and surrounded by a shadowed arcade.

A green lung offering a diverse variation of trees, bushes, plants and flowers; a mixture of local and exotic species reminding us of the history of the area as an epicenter of international trade. Designed with inspiration from the European capital’s historical gardens with winding paths and pavilions, the Opera Park features programs such as a stair and plateau that connects the islands with the water, a café and greenhouse, underground parking garage for 300 cars as well as a pedestrian tunnel connecting the basement with the foyer of the neighbouring Royal Danish Opera.

The Return of a Shopping Street / Zhong YuqinArchitects: Zhong Yuqin Project Year: Thesis project Retail architecture in the new economic era is becoming profit driven. Spaces are designed to boost mall traffic and stimulate users’ desire of purchasing. However, we start to question whether people really enjoy their shopping experience in the current shopping mall settings.

The increasingly massive and fancy designs have resulted in a common situation where users face navigation difficulties within. Design considerations for pedestrians’ way-finding ability are often discounted. At the same time, retail architecture is becoming increasingly enclosed and homogenous. Some of the great street-related features and traditional shopping habits are diminishing. This thesis project aims to explore the design strategies and implementations to create a way-finding friendly and street-based retail development.

The Technion’s Entrance Gate / Schwartz Besnosoff Architects Architects: Schwartz Besnosoff Architects Location: Haifa, Israel Project Year: 2020 A gate that will represent the Technion’s values of Excellence and Innovation

Our project links between two existing but disconnected promenades– the first arrives from the city (ends next to the gate) and the second departs near the entry gate inside the campus towards the campus historic center. The project offers a new interpretation to the idea of a “Gate” – not a brier or a separator but as a bridge that connects the city and the campus through a green promenade.

The Technion’s old entrance, didn’t match its functional or representational needs.

Student & visitors entered through sun flooded sidewalks, along busy roads, creating both an unsafe and unpleasant environment for the beginning of another day on campus. Therefore, redesigning the entrance was assigned to tackle the issue.

The space serves as an unformal square - a place for students waiting for their friends, for leisure activities, a stage for events, as well as a starting point for a campus visit. From there, the pedestrians walk to the Ziloni promenade leading to the Rifkin dorms and further to the campus’s heart. We find in this connection, between the city and the green heart of the campus, a kind of a “green revolution”, an expression of the social and environmental significance, which are the basis of the Technion's values.

UVA Orfelinato National Contest (Second Place) / Labranza Architectura Competition: National Public Contest UVA Orphanage in the City of Medellín Prize: Second place Architects: Ana Lucía Echeverri D. Location: Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia Project Year: 2014 Provide the city with a new public space with facilities that promote events, tours and activities in the intervention area that promote community integration. The new public space is of a cultural and recreational nature, allowing the convocation of the community; giving an adequate response to its immediate surroundings and respecting the operation of the aqueduct service. With the new landscaping, the management of light and water, the proposal seeks to give identity to the equipment and be a new urban reference for the City.

‘ SITE ANALYSIS ’

Sentul, KL

Sentul West

KEY PLAN

LOCATION PLAN

‘ SITE SECTION A ’

‘ SITE SECTION B ’

‘ LAND OWNERSHIP ’

‘ ZONES ’

‘ AMENITIES ’

‘ DISCONNECTED ’

‘ Illegal Stall spreading on public corridor ’

‘ Human crowd is important for Illegal Stall owner ’

The public space was occupied by illegal stalls and parking.

The brick pathway isn't working.

The buffer zone is insufficient.

Side parking is an example of poor planning.

The pedestrian walkway was illegally occupied by a vehicle.

The public walkway was occupied by an illegal stall.

Illegal side parking is a serious offence.

Pedestrian in a perilous situation

There is no adequate pedestrian infrastructure.

All of the pedestrian crossings were occupied by vehicles.

‘ PROPOSAL ’ MASTER PLANNING

‘ MASTER PLAN ’

ABSTRACT ART WORK

‘ INDIVISIBLE ’ A walking-friendly environment and convenience within accessible distances were all part of the original concept. The Art piece depicts an envisioned neighborhood in which all of the elements found at Sentul are connected by a shorter distance. By establishing a focal point for public activities, the relationship in between is much to pay attention and it defines the indivisible boundary of private and public spaces.

Everything is accessible via walking connections and the destruction of normal transportation circulation will be remodeled in the future. The perfect cooperation with the public transport system and the pedestrian infrastructure, creates "useful" attractive nodes. Consideration of pedestrian needs are important or otherwise it is just another "negative" space being created.

‘ LINKAGE ’ The art work can be understood from either a top or an elevation view. It represents the importance of the pedestrian's needs, including all of the provided linkage as well as the shaded area to walk and cycle in a neighbourhood that having a high walkability because there are enough and efficient connections.

‘ HI SENTUL ’ This is also one of the rough elevation idea sketches demonstrating how playing with multi-layer circulations on the ground level and even on the structure level creates a wave and more direct connections. While the vertical living has its own connections, there will be a lot of hello and hello among the human interactions.

‘ PROPOSAL ’ A WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOOD

gradient 1:

12

gradient 1:

12 dn

gradient 1:

12

dn

12 gradient 1:

P1 7.21 ACRE 314,067 SQft

P2 7.27 ACRE 316,681 SQft

up

dn

up

P3

dn

3.98 ACRE 173,368 SQft

Connectivity and permeability idea sketching

‘ SECTIONAL IDEA SKETCH ’ VISUAL CONNECTIVITY

Potential connections

Human connections

Site Planning Idea Skecth

Building Form decision

‘ Overall Master Proposal ’ Nursery and day care service to serve the younger community that have children and they need a place to locate their child before go to work. That is something missing from the surrounding site. Secondly, for the student from all the surrounding secondary school can have a library to use it as a gathering place with friends from others school. Now there is a community hub serving the neighbourhood. People can have a proper indoor sport, a community hall to held any big event, and some spaces for them to run some community’s programs in the building due to the surrounding is lacking of this kind of community facility. A modern vertical living will be a part of the mix-used for the younger communities and also proposing an open-concept shopping street in the proposal. Which is a good upgrade for the local and no more longer distance to travel town centre to buy some special goods.

‘ IDEA DRAFT ’

‘ Overall Master Proposal ’ Walkable Neighborhood View 1

‘ Overall Master Proposal ’ Walkable Neighborhood View 2

‘ Loop Market ’ A WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOOD Schematic Architectural Proposal

Human + Park + Business

‘ Floor Plan ’ The building was designed in accordance with the human circulation planning that I desired for how it would connect to other parcels. The elements highlighted in orange are the pedestrian connections that connect parcels as well as buildings, allowing people to have better experiences walking and cycling on various levels.

Circulation Planning

Shops

Shops

Services

Cafe

Cafe Cafe Market

Cafe Market

‘ What Is IT ’ HI, "loop" is a thing, a path where the end is the beginning and the beginning is the end; whereas "cycle" is more activity-like.

The proposal is to create a new environment in which an indoor programme can collaborate with an outdoor activity to achieve a boundary-less layout. Cycling can be done at the same time as other businesses such as a market, retail, and even a cafe in a building with no restrictions that no one is not allowed to enter.

Aside from that, the loop market encourages more human movement such as walking and cycling to use the building as a park and eliminates the need to worry about parking issues when purchasing something from the market.

Scenario 1

Scenario 2

Scenario 3

Scenario 5

Scenario 4

Scenario 6

Human + Park ROOF PLAN

Total land size

= 314,067 sqft (plot ratio 1:8) = 2,512,536 sqft

Block A ( 4 levels ) = 59,485 sqft x4 = 237,940 sqft Block B ( 8 levels ) = 65,994 sqft x8 = 527,952 sqft cafe ( 3 levels ) = 16,248.4 sqft x3 = 48,745.2 sqft Net floor area = 814,637.2 sqft

‘ Section 1 ’

Total landscape area = 172,339.6 sqft Building - 33 % of total land size ( 1:8 ) Building - 45 % (1:1) Landscape - 55% (1:1) Block A

Block B

‘ section 2 ’

‘ Section 3 ’

‘ Perspective 1 ’ Overall view to proposed building

‘ Perspective 2 ’ Pedestrian Bridge Linkage

‘ Perspective 3 ’ Public Park infront Proposed Building

‘ Perspective 4’ Bicycle Loop Ramp

‘ Perspective 5 ’ Redesigned Wet Market frontage

The final outcome is to create a complete city life to let urban people to have an intimate community and able to reach everything with a walkable distance. At the same time to implement such theory so as to achieve 'sustainable' society as a whole in Malaysia and even global level.

‘ THANK YOU ’