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SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN (SABD) BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONS) IN ARCHITECTURE THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE & URBANISM (ARC61303/ARC2224) “Life Between Buildings Using Public Space” PROJECT PART 2: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ESSAY NAME: EUNICE CHAN YU MING STUDENT ID: 0315729 TUTOR: MR NAZMI

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SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN (SABD)BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONS) IN ARCHITECTURE

THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE & URBANISM(ARC61303/ARC2224)

“Life Between Buildings Using Public Space”

PROJECT PART 2: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ESSAY

NAME: EUNICE CHAN YU MINGSTUDENT ID: 0315729

TUTOR: MR NAZMI

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Assignment Introduction

In this project, students are required to conduct and present an in depth and analytical research study on designated topic. The main task is to explore the “Life Between Buildings Using Public Space” by Jan Gehl. This project consisted of 2 parts; first was to produce A2 boards with the analysis that have produced by examine the relationship between patterns of space use, especially outdoors activities.

Part two is to produce comparative analysis essay, examine similarities and dissimilarities based on findings from case study of part 1 and the local site research of studio that consisting the spatial properties of the physical world in a city that have provided by instructor to identify ‘contact points’ as well as classify the varying degrees of contact intensity.

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Site Introduction

Petaling Street, often to be call as the Chinatown of Kuala Lumpur and cite it by the locals and tourists as a shopping heaven. This famous street lies through Jalan Sultan and Jalan Pudu. It was originally centered on Market Square and it has gone through several historical events such as civil wars that were erupted by the Chinese community as well as changes mainly due to the floods in the past. The famous Chinese Kapitan was Yap Ah Loy, he is the one that brings in the culture of shophouses from China. Until today, Petaling Street still remains as one of the vibrant and rich cultural city of the capital.

Figure 1: Map of the Petaling Street

With the slight similarities of having linearity in map planning, Newbury Street is a mile long stretch that was once a part of Boston Harbour. After filling of the ground due to floods, it became a residential neighborhood with a prestigious and exclusive background. The structures from that time onward lasted till this day. The origins of the street as a retail and tourist destination are unknown although it has been a hotspot for many decades. It is also known as the “Rodeo Drive of the East’ and is Boston’s representative of fashion and style. Most users that visit this street have specific destination rather than aimless shopping.

Figure 2: Stretch Map of Newbury Street

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Comparative Analysis EssayNecessary Activities

Jan Gehl’s research and theories on public spaces can be applied in many other cities, starting with public life and the areas in which it takes place, building design becomes a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. Gehl emphasizes that life between buildings is a dimension of architecture that deserves more careful treatment. It is where social interaction and perception, urban recreation, and the sensory experience of city life take place. Life between buildings comprises the entire spectrum of human activities in public space; the necessary, the optional and the social types of behaviors which Gehl has studied meticulously. Gehl also draws attention to the need for contact, and places importance on low intensity contacts, for example, seeing and hearing people and other mild interactions, as the driving force of Life Between Buildings. He identifies this form of contact as an essential prerequisite for other more complex interactions; a tool for maintaining already established contacts, sources of information and a stimulant of urban life. It is shown how its presence adds to more lively cities, and makes it more livelier because “people come where people are” and how its absence degrades urban life and contributes to lifeless cities and worse conditions of public space and public life.

By applying the studies social patterns of three types outdoor activities, both Petaling Street and Newbury are given the name of shopping heaven and yet they offer vastly different social experiences to their residents and visitors. First of all, the necessary activities, the daily commute and errands occur based on the functionality of district. Human circulation occurs around the well-designated walkways therefore, landmarks of Newbury Street were mostly created by exclusive stores along the street; stores are mostly indoor except for a few restaurants or side walk cafe that have extended their seats towards the outdoor. They are usually one of a kind and are visited by regular costumers that are mostly came from the residents nearby. It is apparent that shopping is dominant in Newbury Street; the narrow sidewalk is by mean one of the strategies that force pedestrian to pay attention towards the stores and eventually generates traffic to the stores. Furthermore, the narrow sidewalk gives a perception of having more people as compared to the broader sidewalk that are having the same amount of people and thus visual contact is developed in a low scale of intensity, because people are attracted to people. They gather with and move about with others and seek to place themselves near others.

Figure 3: Walkway of Newbury Street

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Figure 4: Narrow walkway enhancing visual contact

Next are the crossing junctions, often to be seen as a transportation and pedestrian node which giving a passive contact ranging from low to high intensity, junction is where people from all other places intertwine in a very fast pace. It could also be a tool to attract people or residents from the other streets, as it is more prominent to be seen and found. Junctions at Newbury Street are spacious and suitable for establishing conversations. The straightforward nature of the stretch allow frequent bump at the junctions. The frequent meeting in connection with daily activities increases chances of developing and maintaining contact. Nevertheless in the event of zebra crossing, visual contact might be developed, however contact intensity is lower as compared with the junction. Merely because this event occurs only for a fleeting moment and usually will not lead to other forms of contact. The zebra crossings are not safe to initiate any conversations. However if the duration of crossing or waiting is longer, in to see and hear each other, to meet, is in itself a form of contact, a social activity.

Figure 5: Diagram of crossing junction and zebra crossing

Besides, the necessary activities of Newbury Street also include the weekly worship often in a high intensity with friends, acquaintances or close friends. The conversations tend to take place at the foot of the stairs outside the church. This is due to the lack of space at the upper landing of the stairs. From here, social events evolve spontaneously and it can maintain already established contacts in a relaxed manner mostly after the Sunday prayer. This high contact intensity encourages sociability among people because people tend to stay in places that have most activities happening around them or where there is a high chance of something happening.

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Figure 6: High intensity of contact forms in front of church

Figure 7: Sidewalk full of vehicles during Sunday

Conversely, Petaling Street has a huge contrast of vibrancy between the front shoplots and the street of Chinatown itself, as if there is an invisible edge lying between the two. Mainly due to the diversity of activities, as more necessary activities and temporal activities such as food stalls are involved in it. Whereas the shoplots are mainly for trading and wholesale which only few certain people need it, some are even abandoned, leaving the shell without meat hence the intensity of contact is eventually lower. The entrance of the Chinatown with the visual and cultural richness decoration façade capture the attention of the pedestrian, slowing down the walking speed and giving an optimal visual permeability and audio permeability thus passive and chance contact can be identified in this area. On the contrary, it is irony that the design and façade of the shoplots that full of the culture richness should also be a node to the pedestrian, it could have been a place with high intensity instead of being abandoned and to go through the process of gentrification.

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Figure 8 and 9: Showing the contrast of crowds, evidence of Chinatown being a focal point

Nonetheless, the shophouses have a broader sidewalk as their five-foot walkway has been conserved ever since the eightieth century. The walkway that is meant to provide a shield for the pedestrian has created a bigger space for human interaction. The broader walkway also provides an opportunity for acquaintances network while meeting with neighbor or co-workers. Living cities are ones on which people can interact with one another, and is always stimulating as that are rich in experiences. It is a strategy to increase contact points by providing the space suitable for a passive contact or a chance contact to occur.

Figure 10: Five-foot Walkway of Petaling Street

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Optional Activities and Social Activities

According to “Life between Building” by Gehl, it has stated that the relationship of optional activities is notably important in connection with physical planning. Particulary, these activities are especially dependent on exterior physical conditions. An optimal weather conditions of both Newbury Street and Petaling Street have motivate the optional activities in the street, and the reason of why people spilling out into spaces between blocks. Besides, Gehl also stated that social activities are activities that vary on the presence of others in pubic spaces. In other word, social activities can only take place with the association of optional activities or necessary activity. People attract people, For instance, Chinatown acts as a focal point, drawing people from various directions forming a radial movement pattern and fastering a spontaneous social activities.

The stores in Newbury are indoors and enclose however there are restaurants that provides seats outdoor, causes pedestrians to linger and forming a vibrant contact point therefore relationship ranging levels are high in this point. The seats in the restaurants are mostly orientated to face the street creating a visual permeability for the users thus offers one a chance to observe and being emotionally or mentally participates the human activities outside of the restaurant boundary. At sidewalk cafes, the life on the sidewalk in the front of the café is the prime attraction, as being able to see other people in action constitutes to the area’s main attraction. With this social pattern and situation, relationships can be easily established; from an optional activity that only to be participated in if there is a wish to do so, in this case, coming to the restaurant, and developed into social activity where conversation started.

Figure 11: Sidewalk café of Newbury Street

Figure 12: High chance of having social contacts in the form of having sidewalk cafe

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In contrast with the Newbury Street, Petaling Street has adopted an open plan with temporal activities like food stalls or merchandise stalls displaying along the street, the visual change in the transition of spaces slows down the pedestrian’s walking speed to look into details. Therefore, the passive contact is quite high since most of the view is focused on people circulating through the street. People tend to stop and look at the merchandize that displayed from stalls of Petaling Street and this may lead from passive contact to chance contact. The optional and social activity in the area enhances contact intensity. It creates a situation that results in a direct relationship to other people and to the surrounding social environment. Spontaneous contact is incited when forms of human activity appear, as it is a contributing factor that leads to contact. For instance, the scene of buyer asking price from the seller has creates the possibility of the continuation of topic, therefore indirectly causing the chance contact to increase.

Figure 13: Temporal activities, stalls of Petaling Street

Figure 14: Open air food stalls in Chinatown

Social contact is at the modest level such as visual contact point and chance contact. The advertising boards along Petaling Street, which fitted with shading devices, trees that serves as a privacy tool of some stores in Newbury Street allowing the private conversations of acquaintances or friends to occur beneath it. In addition to imparting information about the social world outside, the opportunity to see and hear other people can provide ideas and inspiration for action. Furthermore, the spontaneous of informal sitting of both streets have also created the chance contact with scale of low intensity. Planter boxes, staircases and shop front grills are informally used as seating areas. For example, men that are waiting for their girlfriends in front of the shop might initiate a topic while waiting. This can be concluded by the lack of proper seating areas along the street. Simultaneously, observation of the surrounding occurs. Jan Gehl’s theory is that, low intensity contact is a situation from which other form of contact can grow. It is a medium for the unpredictable, the spontaneous, and the unplanned.

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Conclusion

In a nutshell, the theoretical framework formed in Life Between Buildings is well analyzed, well presented and given great solidarity through references to actual projects and situations. This principles are widely accepted in the world of urban design, planning and architecture. However, both Newbury Street and Petaling Street are retail and tourist destination. Both of the streets are lacking of seating area and also buffering tools such as trees and stopping tools due to the fact that they wanted to keep the pedestrian from seating and indirectly forces people to walk and having the visual permeability towards the merchandize that they are selling. Nevertheless, both streets may be similar in terms of diversity of users, but differ in terms of the occurrence and intensity of contact points. It is essential to understand the theories are not hermetically designed into precise and final detail but perform an open-ended order. We as a designer should be able to actively identify the elements stated in “Life Between Building” and thus engaging the elements into the design with the most suitable and appropriate way.

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References:

1. "Boston Discovery Guide: Plan Your Boston Vacation". Boston-discovery-guide.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.

2. Bramley, Ellie. "Is Jan Gehl Winning His Battle To Make Our Cities Liveable?". the Guardian. N.p., 2016. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.

3. "Chinatown | Petaling Street In Kuala Lumpur - Location Maps". Kuala-lumpur.attractionsinmalaysia.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.

4. Gehl, Jan. Life Between Buildings. 1st ed. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2011. Print.

5. Jayatilake, Kalpanee. Chapter Review Of Life Between Building. 1st ed. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.

6. Lynch, Kevin. The Image Of The City. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1960. Print.

7. Spaces, Project. "Jan Gehl - Project For Public Spaces". Project for Public Spaces. N.p., 2016. Web. 24 Nov. 2016.