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 citys perception based on objective criteria. Furthermore,
the famous Lynchs 5 elements is acknowledged as a resumption of this line of thought
providing a guide for ones 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 Pallasmaas 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 faade 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 faade 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 faade. 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 3.19 Hotel Sentral

Figure 3.18 Distant landmark

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 Lynchs 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 Lynchs 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.