Central market final

Theories of Architecture & Urbanism [ARC 61303]

Project : The Image of the City

PART 2 : COGNITIVE MAPPING

CENTRAL MARKET

Student Name : Tan Cui Zhi

Student I.D. : 0320826

Lecturers : Pn. Nor Hayati Hussain

Dr. Lakshmi Priya Rajendran

Ms. Ida Marlina Mazlan (tutor)

Mr. Lam Shen Fei

Submission Date : 23 November 2015

The Image of the City (Part Two) – Cognitive Mapping Central Market _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Contents

Page Number

Foreword ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 02 Background …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 03 Comparative Essay ……………………………………………………………………………………. 04 Highlights ………… ……………………………………………………………………………………. 08 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………………... 09 References …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10 Appendix ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11

Cognitive Mappings of Central Market

Kuala Lumpur City Map

Kuala Lumpur Walks and Tours Map

01 | PAGE


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Foreword Predecessor in the 20th century for urban design, Kevin Lynch, is widely known for his concepts

that people perceive cities as consisting of underlying elements of city form such as paths, edges,

districts, nodes, and landmarks in respond to a lucid city image from his book: The Image of the

City (1960). He stated:

”There seems to be a public image of any given city which is the overlap of many

individual images. Or perhaps there is a series of public images each held by some

significant number of citizens. Such group images are necessary if an individual is

to operate successfully within his environment and to cooperate with his fellows.

Each individual picture is unique, with some content that is rarely or never

communicated, yet it approximates the public image, which in different

environments is more or less compelling, more or less embracing.” ( Lynch, 1960, page 479 )

Having such in mind, an attempt has been made to apply and feature the greater notion

‘Imageability’ of Kevin Lynch to investigate the apparent images of a selected urban space and

understand people’s perception of that setting, thus cultivating sensible urban design approaches.

Further, this academic essay will demonstrate a critical understanding of architecture and urban

forms at Central Market within its social, cultural and intellectual context in the cityscape of Kuala

Lumpur. The information provided in this essay is a summary of investigative illustrations,

theoretical reviews, academic literatures, and research studies. Which includes my cognitive

mapping of Central Market and three other participant’s perceptive representation of Central

Market. I myself the interviewer, a current Year 2 student of Bsc (Hons) Architecture in Taylor’s

University Malaysia, and the three interviewees were Banis from France, a law consultant having

his vacation around South East Asia, next we have Siti Umi Umairah Bin Amran from Kampong

Baru, a young lady working at the confectionary shop for two months now in Central Market, and

Ryan from Setapak traveling via Light Railway Transit (LRT) to Central Market on weekdays to

work at The Perfume Shop for approximate two years till present.

Finally, the writer would like to express her gratitude for the empathy and patience shown to her

and never gave up guiding her through all her doubts and fears during her pursuit of the course.

To Life, reminding me all day and everyday of what I am fighting for.

To my grandma, my mom, my aunt, and my uncle thank you, with the love.

To the memory of Tan Mow Soon, my dearest daddy, I miss you.

02 | PAGE


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Background

Figure 01 : The wet market during the early 1900s.

A substantial characteristic of Central

Market in the cityscape of Kuala Lumpur

definitely carries a flavor of socialization,

commerce and cultural diversity. It goes

back to the evolution of newly-established

city, this particular area became the site of

the exchange centers of many miners and

traders arrived in this area of Selangor in

search of fortune with the growth of the tin

industry (centralmarket.com.my, 2015). Central

Market then was built single storey with roof

in concrete tiles and served as a wet market

for the tin miners’ community to get their

daily needs and groceries (figure 01).

After the deindustrialization, with the scarce of tin pushing the city’s economics in declination state,

the urban regeneration programmes adopted ‘place-marketing’ strategies and developed the

tourism, heritage and cultural sectors to emerge a ‘post-industrial city’ which concerned with

‘image reconstruction’, i.e. the projection of an attractive and imageable city (Selby, 2004, page 14 - 17).

“The practice of place marketing……aimed at ‘selling’ the image of a particular locality in order to make it attractive to commercial organisations, tourists and inhabitants.” ( Selby, 2004, page 15 ).

Image courtesy: malaysian explorer, 2015

Image courtesy : centralmarket.com.my, 2015

Figure 02 : The popular tin-mining spot during the early.

03 | PAGE

http://www.nellaterradisandokan.com/localita/malesia/penisola/selangor/


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Comparative Essay In a city, there is always a lot to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. With the image of space and

time sets in different occasions, for different people, the sequences are reversed, interrupted,

abandoned, cut across as described by the urban theorist Lynch (1960). Every of the human

senses are awaken bustling with each of their memories, and meanings as they structuring and

identifying the cityscape as one journeyed along of the definite and constant sensory cues, which

is rather a fascinating phenomenon (Lynch, 1960, page 3).

Figure 03 : The generalized mental picture of the exterior physical

Central Market building’s art-deco façade since 1888.

Upon arrival at ‘Central Market’ (the building) (figure 03), there is an art-deco façade architecture in

colored blue, written on it _CENTRAL MARKET SINCE 1888_. Perhaps the letters has become a

recognizable symbol itself forming a generalized mental picture of Central Market (the place).

Where Chaplin, et al. (2009) explains the attempts of semiotics ‘as part of general human desires

for a natural, commonsensical, immediate way of knowing, of being sure about the world’, with

indications of identity, of structure, and of meaning arising ‘in the collaboration between signs

(visual or verbal) and interpreters’ (Chaplin, et al., 2009, page 146). There is a consensus perceive image

considering a social connotation of ‘I am here’ as the participants begins their first few lines

forming an enclosed space representing their relatedness of the place. This imageability is a

fundamental part of mobility equipment in the city. ‘When a history, a sign, or a meaning attaches

to an object, its value as a landmark rises’ (Lynch, 1960, page 125). Such distinct environmental image

Image courtesy: author’s artistic impression

04 | PAGE


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________


becomes a strategic landmark – an easiest point of assemble, to any people unfamiliar with

Central Market able to sense an orientation in their acquisition of the place. Since the mental

image of one’s environment is produced by categorizing symbols, which Lynch (1960) termed as

elements of city form category into five types: paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks. Then

the efficacy of this cognitive mapping process is tied to the legibility of these symbols. In other

words, easy-to-read environment is produced through easy-to-read symbols.

Figure 04 : the participants recalled the city being broken into named regions, and being linked by the memory of their remembered routes.

Central Market strategically located close to the public transportation hub; just right across the

road there the feeder bus services for Kuala Lumpur, and Pasar Seni Putra LRT station. As

highlighted by Lynch (1960) that stations are always important city nodes (page 74), since it is

functionally vital for commuter, bus rider, and intercity traveler, and is visually impressive for the

sense arrival into Central Market. It is both educational and fascinating to observe the participants

produced yet another consistency of perceptual prominent for such

location. The common concentrations of the junction node on their

cognitive mappings were all towards the edge of the drawing sheet,

seemingly denoting ‘place of a break’ (Lynch, 1960, page 12) which felt a

moment of shift from where you were and to there you are.

In further analyzing the cognitive mappings and the conversations with the participants, it became

apparent that they couldn’t grab hold a totality of the environment, seen evidently on white areas

left on the sheet, concentration only mostly on used territories, connected by two or three

conceptual paths, kelang river is which naturally seen most vividly on the google map turns out

an isolating and indifferent element to them.

“The evident low imageability of this environment was reflected in the image

held even by its long-time residents……Yet even such a seemingly chaotic

set of surroundings does in fact have some pattern, and people seize upon

Image courtesy: participants’ cognitive mapping, 2015

Image courtesy: NODE – Lynch, 1960

05 | PAGE


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________


and elaborate this pattern by concentration on minor clues, as well as by

shifting their attention from physical appearance to other aspects.”

( Lynch, 1960, page 32 )

In this relatively undifferentiated environment of theirs, ‘the efficiency and to the very survival of

free-moving life’ (Lynch, 1960, page 3) eventually leads them to go where they want to go. It is that they

rely on used-locations such as finance and commercial district in fulfilling their daily needs, both

practical and emotional attachment to post offices, train stations, and communal civic places like

dataran merdeka, with the skyline of the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Figure 05 : Malaysian’s common hopes and pleasures – Dataran Merdeka.

Both Malaysian participants simultaneously recognized Dataran Merdeka (Independent

Square) easily on their cognitive maps in the proximity of Central Market. This portrays a

node is more defined if it has a sharp, and coherent spatial form, and it will be ‘irresistible’

describe by Lynch (1960) ( page 102 ). This part of the city has a continuous physical visibility

adequate to support the attention of the observer, other than a certain concentration of

activity during parade and other civic socialization. The continuous

arrangement of buildings staggering proportion and scale enclosing

the square making it a foci of attention. Besides, such urban fabric

attributed the presence felt for all its glory informing the common

hopes and pleasures of the city citizens from its economic, political

and historical façades as a cultural identity,

Image courtesy:

NODE – Lynch, 1960

Image courtesy: yus photography, 2015

06 | PAGE


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________


By comparison of the intuitively hands-drawn cognitive mappings (refer Appendix) with the visual

reality of Central Market Kuala Lumpur. There is a contrast for each individual does have a

differing perception of their environment. This is natural as everyone consumes the same city

differently. Every individual continuously engaged in the attempt to establish their surroundings

on their cognitive map – “up” or “down”, a “left” or a “right”, a “front” or a “back”, go “straight” or

“turn”. Interestingly implies:

“Buildings provide a fully embodied and highly visceral experience arising out of

the movement of the human body in space and this experience is dependent for

its depth and richness upon the fundamental cognitive connections between

perception and action.” (Chaplin, et al., 2009, page 52)

Finding one ways out has always the essential function of any environmental image,

examples directional or locational map, etc. And many way-findings are on the basis on

which it has a social and emotional associations founded. Thus reinforcing the statement

of Lynch (1960) :

“……the image is valuable not only in this immediate sense in which is acts as a

map for the direction of movement; in a broader sense it can serve as a general

frame of reference within which the individual can act, or to which he can attach

his knowledge. In this way it is like a body of belief, or a set of social customs: it is

an organizer of facts and possibilities.” ( page 125-126 )

Therefore the cognitive maps produced does behave as an organizer of activity. Every of the

identified territories and borders gave its form to their daily commute. However the imageability

of a city does not kept only within the effects of the physical and the tangible percepts, there are

other factors that influence the mental structure of one’s environment, such as the social meaning

of an area, its function, its history, or even its name. Appalled by the sight of the immigrant street

traders hawking their wares on the sidewalks, to be potential clues which a man may pick out to

differentiate his city world, they must have struck by the size of this city in comparison to their

countries. Congested with people and cars, there is no parking space, but there are striking

contrasts between wide main streets and narrow side streets. Which brings back to the purpose

is simply consider the need for identity and structure in one’s perceptual world, and to illustrate

the special relevance of this quality to the particular case of the complex, shifting urban processes.

It does not matter how chaotic the surrounding seems to appear, as long as one can fit reality to

the diagram, he has a clue to the relatedness of things, and thus found himself at place.

07 | PAGE


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Highlights Kelang river is one most prominent element on the environmental map, however not the cognitive

maps, which I want to bring to highlight. Riverbanks all over the world has a classic concept of

forming static outdoor spaces, and there are many definition and expression of such a space.

A river can mark as a

path, an edge, a district,

a node, a landmark, or a

combination of them. To

use Lynch’s vocabulary,

a riverbank is a highly

imageable form, and

therefore it has a high

potent force of bringing

order to a city image.

In olden days, rivers act as a source to inhabitants’ daily necessities, from food, water, to

transportation (path) and even leisure. At present, in an urban context, river banks have certain

inherent properties that naturally lend themselves to facilitate the ordering of structure. The most

prominent of these is scale. Rivers largely dominate both the environmental image and

geographical context in terms of scale (landmark). A river is also a very naturally yet strong edge.

Compared to other options, it is often difficult and expensive to build on water, As a result, a river

often becomes a barrier for movement. Nonetheless, an obstacle can be very legible (highly

imageable) as it dominate the hierarchy of one’s mental model of the urban environment..

It is unsurprising in this city, the river appears to be an isolating element and insignificant to the

respondents and even city dwellers. It only carries a verbal image or ‘dirty’, ‘smelly’, ‘dodgy’, and

even ‘filthy’ perhaps. “My quest is why this river was not taken into benefit?”. If integrated correctly,

the river banks will function as a frame of reference for defining and ordering other spaces of a

city in relation to it, constructing a clear diagram for understanding the logic of the city.

An urban river bank has the potential for robust imageability that can help structure great cities.

A good example: London – an excellent development of cityscape winding along the geometry of

the Thames river – a careful crafting of the riverbank considerable impact on an imageble city.

Figure 06: The language of the river bank at Central Market. Image courtesy:

Author’s photography 2015

08 | PAGE


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Conclusion

Heard of the saying “Roman city is not built in one day?” Like a theatre, the city is an orchestra of time, space, and people.

At present, Central Market Kuala Lumpur illustrates how urban forms exemplify a social

construction of place as a process. It provides an avenue for people from all walks of life to

congregate and experience the sense of geographical certainty the city could offer, in terms of

identity, structure, and meaning.

Remarkably, the human brain has the tendency to simplify and categorize the receptors input that

they continuously experience. It takes the visual, auditory, olfactory, etc. information, making the

data symbolically legible, and building vivid, clear, and coherent thought processes. Through such

physiological processes of the operation of the external stimuli and the internal synapses, the

observer perceived a notion of what the environment “is”. “The human organism is highly

adaptable and flexible, and different groups may have widely different images of the same outer

reality.” ( Lynch, 1960, page 131 )

Therefore, I have learned that as an architect in reshaping cities, it should be possible to give the

city a form which facilitates the human organizing efforts for a harmonious and sound mental

structuring of a city’s image. These can be guided through forms and shapes, colour and

arrangement, scale and proportions, etc. in the degree of clarity. That is the legibility of the user

to recognize the parts and synthesize a coherent whole. Also by choreographing the forms of a

city, the architect is molding the identity of the place. A strongly structured image of the city.

However, establishes a harmonious relationship between city and user Thus, given the criteria of

legibility, the language of design becomes of high importance.

This reinforces the definition of what might be called image ability and/or legibility, or perhaps

visibility, i.e. a more legible environment lends itself to greater consensus in perception and,

therefore, a more vivid image, similarly when clarity of symbol and pattern leads to consensus,

which implies a coherent and harmonious image (Lynch, 1960, page 9). Imageability therefore is a

gauge of success in the design of cities

09 | PAGE


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________


References: 1. Lynch, K. (1960) The Image of The City. Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England:

The M.I.T. Press.

2. Chaplin, S. and Stara, A. (2009) Curating Architecture and the City. London and New York: Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group).

3. Edwards, B. (2008) Understanding Architecture Through Drawing. Second Edition. United Kingdom, Oxon: Taylor & Francis.

4. Sullivan, G. H. (2006). Not Built In A Day: Exploring the Architecture of Rome. New York: Carroll & Graf.

5. Selby, M. (2004). Understanding Urban Tourism: Image, Culture and Experience. London &

New York: I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd.

6. Ware, C. (April 2004). Information Visualization : Perception for Design. 2nd Edition. Retrieve from site.ebrary.com/lib/taylorscollege/detail.action?docID=10254679, on 11 November 2015.

10 | PAGE


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Appendix:

Cognitive Mappings of Central Market

Kuala Lumpur City Map

Kuala Lumpur Walks and Tours Map

11 | PAGE