Bachelor of Science (Honours) (Architecture) Theories of Architecture & Urbanism [ARC 2224]

Project 2: Analyzing & Theorizing Architecture

by Kian Soon Jean [0314978]

Tutor: Dr Lakshmi Priya Rajendran

Introduction

This essay aims to study the theoretical intention of place-making in response to historical,

economical and socio-cultural factors. The place selected for this study is the Summit mall (Figure 1),

located in the sub-urban asian town of Subang Jaya UEP, Selangor, Malaysia. It is a part of a mixed

development which includes a hotel and an office tower. However, the scale of study will encompass

only the Summit mall building. It was chosen as it is one of the first malls built in the Subang Jaya

UEP township that was developed in 1974. Malls in Malaysis are observed to be major nodes of

towns where people visit for leisure and necessity. The Summit has become a significant place to

many residents in the Subang Jaya UEP area as it is the oldest shopping mall in that area. Built in

1998 (Propwall.my, 2015), The mall houses several popular tenants such as Giant Supermarket,

Popular Bookstore, Golden Screen Cinemas and Ampang Superbowl that are frequented by many

residents in the township. The Summit is strategically located at the heart of Subang Jaya in USJ

1 (Figure 2) by major roads (Figure 3), giving it high visibiliy and public access. The Summit will be

examined in relation to Roger Tranciks Place Theory. Given that the Place Theory is inexplicably

linked to Tranciks two other theories, namely, the Figure-Ground and Linkage Theory, both will be

covered briefly where relevant.

Figure 1: The Summit Source: (Propwall.my, 2015)

Figure 3: The Summit Located by Major RoadsSource: (Google, 2015)

Figure 2: The Summit at the Heart of Subang JayaSource: (Google, 2015)

The Summit

Subang Jaya

The Summit

Persiaran Kewajipan

Road

Shah Alam Highway

In Malaysia, shopping malls are highly popular destinations with sub-urban & urban city-dwellers. It

is the place for leisure, entertainment, social interaction and obtaining daily necessities such as food.

The Summit is pioneer to the many shopping malls sprouting like mushrooms regionally. It is a mall

that has seen better days with its dwindling number of visitors today. Malls are observed as places

in urban Malaysia wherein the common citizen find pleasure through material consumption (power),

social interaction (a sense of belonging) and attention (fame). It is through this relationship that an

emotional connection is formed between people and malls.

Roger Tranciks Three Theories

The Figure-Ground theory as the first stage of analysis of a space in an urban setting determines

solids and voids that affect the physical experience of users in an area (Trancik, 1986). It also conveys

hierarchy through comparative mass and height. The Summit mall is a relatively high mass but

low-rise building in its immediate built surroundings. However, it is highly visible to pedestrians and

motorists moving along the busy Jalan Kewajipan road across its compound (Figure 4). A generous

building setback coupled with the relatively humane commercial building scale with lush greenery

concealing parts of its facade gives the mall a humble, friendly and inviting persona from the exterior

(Figure 5).

Figure 4: The Summit in Front of a Busy Road

Figure 5: The Summit with an Inviting FrontSource: (Luxabuilt.com, 2015)

The Linkage theory on the other hand, explores the explicit circulatory and implicit links between

places, thereby influencing place hierarchy (Trancik, 1986). The Summit can be subdivided into

different zones of retail such as the F&B Zone, the Fashion Zone, the IT Zone and the Entertainment

Zone (Figure 6). These zones are places within the mall and they are linked by vertical circulatory

paths such as lifts and escalators within the mall. The location of retail outlets based on function and

popularity governs the linkage system in the Summit. As if to immitate the natural hierarchy of needs,

the importance of goods and services sold from a human survival perspective decreases as one

travels upwards, starting with food and followed by clothing, technology and entertainment.

Figure 6: Schematic Section of the Summit

The Place theory speaks about how spaces become places in response to user and environmental

context (Trancik, 1986). Place as defined by a contextually meaningful space by Trancik is essentially

functional to humans. It is observed that each level in the Summit is chiefly defined by popular

destinations such as Oldtown, Giant, Fitness First, Hoops Basketball Court and the Golden Screen

Cinemas. These are spaces that provide for the different yet important needs of the typical urban

dweller in the right time and place, thus, they easily become unique, identifiable places. In relation

to its built environment, the Summit mall was designed to stand out in terms of mass and height,

underlining its significance in the once flat and quiet townscape of Subang Jaya.

Place-making and Facade

At present, the experience of visiting urban malls in Malaysia is observed to be rather similar. These

malls are merely air-conditioned boxes housing pretty much the same mix of commercial outlets

constantly filled with too many young people loitering around. Subsequently, what is observed

to effectively differentiate these urban malls is their form and facade (Figure 7,8). Building facade

involving architectural ornamentation is useful for establishing a unique identity of a place and the

Summit is observed to be designed with that intention in mind. According to Trancik, a place has

character that consists of a tangible substance, shape, texture and colour. It provides richness,

incorporating unique forms and details indigenous to its setting (Trancik, 1986).

Figure 7: IOI City Mall, PutrajayaSource: (kuala-lumpur.ws, n.d.)

Figure 8: Pavillion Mall, Kuala LumpurSource:(Paviliondesign.com, n.d.)

The Summit, built in 1998, is clearly designed in the Art Deco style, flaunting sweeping curves,

geodesic domed glass roofs (Figure 9) and a sunset image (Theedgemarkets.com, 2010) with bold

hues as shown in Figures 10 and 11 (Visual-arts-cork.com, n.d.). Art Deco stood for modernity which

gave the Summit an attraction factor in its early years before the redefinition of modern design with

the onslaught of bigger, flashier, contemporary malls built regionally. The injection of Art Deco design

in The Summits facade that was considered fashionable in the 1990s as it is famously affliated to

the Chrysler skyscraper in New York City is aptly linked to regional historical events such as that of

Western colonialism. About 35km from the mall (Ambankgroup.com, n.d.) is the Kuala Lumpur city

centre scattered with various Art Deco-influenced building designs such as in Figures 12 and 13,

which prospered in the 1930s -1940s (Ho, 2005). Although largely irrelevant to the local climate, the

foreign design is seen to be adaptive. One example of that adaptation is the porte cochere (Figure

9b) which is a roofed structure extending from the Summits entrance over a driveway, providing

shelter from rain for visitors who are picked up and dropped off at the mall.

Figure 10: Radio City Music Hall in Art Deco DesignSource: (Grace, 2013)

Figure 11: Sunset Imagery - the SummitSource: (Molon, n.d.)

Figure 9: Geodesic Dome Glass Roof at the Summit Figure 9b: The Summits porte cochere

Consistent with the employment of international styles regionally in the 1990s, residential buildings

in the vicinity of Subang Jaya were designed to don diversed, multicultural masks (Figure 14) in

which the design of commercial buildings in the same area would naturally follow suit. The Summit

is no exception to this and its trendy facade undoubtedly became a major cause for visitor attraction

in its heyday. Unfortunately, trends fade and newer malls incorporating the latest trends of aesthetics

and building technology casted a shadow over the outdated and boring-looking Summit mall. The

once luxurious and attractive image is dismissed, its bulky, ageing facade remains a fortress to an

unchanging place in times of change.

Figure 12: Central Market in Art Deco DesignSource: (Myceb.com.my, n.d.)

Figure 13: OCBC Building in Art Deco DesignSource: (Expat Go Malaysia, 2013)

Figure 14: Global Design Influence in Residential Buildings of USJ 14Source: (USJ Homes, n.d.)

In 2013, about RM68 million has been allocated to progressively renovate the Summit inside-out which

would commence in 2014 and complete in 2015 (Figure 15; Ganesan, 2013). This would effectively

strip the mall of its Art Deco facade, giving it a facelift that would resonate with the typical urban mall

facade as seen in Figure 16, but devoid of any visual connection to its past. The renovation may be

seen as a negative move as the Summits unique facade would be lost, thus losing its function as

a landmark to Subang Jaya UEP. On a positive note, the make-over can be seen as a contextual

decision to blend in with upcoming developments surrounding the mall especially the Da Men which

is a mixed development comprising of modern residential, office and retail blocks being built right

next to Summit (Figures 17, 18).

Figure 16: The Summits Proposed New FacadeSource: (Luxabuilt.com, 2015)

Figure15: Re-construction Process of the Summits facade

Figure 17: Da Men in Construction Next to the SummitSource:(Skyscrapercity.com, n.d.)

Figure 18: Da Men Proposed FacadeSource:(Skyscrapercity.com, n.d.)

Place-making and Socio-Culture

In Finding Lost Space (1986), Trancik asserts that space becomes place when contextualised

by incorporation of cultural associations with the past, thus embodying character with values and

meanings. His assertion reveals that spaces are literally and figuratively shaped into places by people.

One example is the concentric typology employed in the design of The Summit that is reinforced by

the eliptical concourse (Figure 19). The original implicit circular space is indicative of a shared open

space that encourages social interaction and communal activities in Malaysian vernacular architecture

(Figure 20). The traditional intent was to indirectly enhance public surveillance and promote a sense

of belonging among small cluster of indigenous Malay houses (Samsudin, 2013).

Figure 20: Vernacular House Arrangement

Source: (Samsudin, 2013)

Figure 21: National Kids Talent Search at the SummitSource: (Facebook.com, 2011)

SCHEMATIC GROUND FLOOR PLAN

CARPARK

CONCOURSE

HUMAN CIRCULATION

LIFT CORE

ELEVATOR

RETAIL STORES

TEMPORARY RETAIL STALLS

CONCOURSE

PERSIARAN KEWAJIPAN ROAD

Figure 19: The Summit Schematic Ground Floor Plan

The eliptical concourse in the Summit has catered to many successful social events over the years.

Through observation, people enjoy standing by and resting on the railings that surround the eliptical

concourse to look on down below where human activities and exhibitions occur (Figure 21). It is

inferred from this observation that the design of the concourse through the eliptical geometry embodies

positive social values of unity and cooperation. The strong geometry also gives value to the mall as

it becomes a significant landmark within the building itself. The space transparency that comes with

the design of the concourse in the middle of the Summit furthermore facilitates visitor-navigation

besides improving overall security, curtailing crime opportunities. In line with the reconstruction of the

Summits facade, its concourse is also set to be refurbished as seen in Figures 22 and 23. This may

induce more events held in the concourse which would in turn attract more visitors to the Summit as

the malls shabbiness would have been a deterrant to these opportunities in the past.

Figure 22: Renovation Works for Concourse in the Summit

Figure 23 Existing Concourse (left) and Proposed Design (right) - the SummitSource: (Luxabuilt.com, 2015)

One similarity drawn across all major shopping malls in Malaysia is the employment of a concourse,

defined by a large open area in a public building. The eliptical concourse in The Summit spanning

3-storeys high is one of the smallest in comparison to newer malls such as that of 1 Utama (Figure

24) in Petaling Jaya and Pavillion (Figure 25) in Kuala Lumpur. It is observed that the size of a

malls concourse increases with its ablility to attract crowds. Larger concourses are able to hold

more impressive installations and provide better user-experience with comfortable human proximity.

Human activity in the concourse would attract human activity surrounding it which fuels and sustains

the livelihood of malls. As a result, the concourse also provides value through transient diversed

events which attracts diverse visitors.

Figure 24: Pavillion Mall ConcourseSource: (Molon, n.d.)

Figure 25: 1 Utama Mall ConsourseSource: (Molon, n.d.)

Place-making and Economics

Trancik intends for places to be created where user needs are considered. More than that, places

should allow loose ends for transformation - for needs that change with time and user-manipulation

(Trancik, 1986). Malls in Malaysia are observed to generally fullfill two major needs with the first being

physiological and the second, psychological. These two human needs become demands that dictate

the success and continual survival of a malls retail businesses in the economic sense.

It is observed that all major shopping malls in Malaysia house at least one supermarket in addition

to a high ratio of international to local retail brand mix. The former provides for a constant human

need whereas the latter fullfills the human need for variety. In the Summit, tenant mix is mostly dull

and locally branded with relatively cheap goods and services being offered (Figures 26, 27, 30).

The Ground floor of the Summit however does rather well in terms of varied goods sold (Figure

28). Nevertheless, relatively high-end clothing, food and beverage brands are non-existent in the

Summit which explains the homogeneous visitor type and storefronts appearing low-budgeted and

unattractive in the Summit. There is scarcely any crowd in the mall on weekdays except on the

lower ground floor due to the tenancy of Giant supermarket (Figure 29) which attracts many regular

customers on a needs basis.

Figure 27: Level 2 Stores in the SummitFigure 26: Level 1 Stores in the Summit

Figure 29: Giant Supermarket on Lower Ground Floor in Figure 28: Ground Floor in the Summit

Where urban malls are observed as places to show off material consumption, to get involved in social

interaction and gain public attention, the Summit is weak in its ability to cater to these intangible

needs, firstly due to its low-end goods and services trade and secondly due to its relatively low daily

visitor count observed. The Summit houses many empty lots all across its floors which creates an

unattractive and dingy atmosphere (Figures 31, 32, 33). To make matters worse, the mall is known

to house many illegal trades and criminal activities. A consequence of low human population near

vacant lots in the Summit has led to a recent crime of sexual assault (The Rakyat Post, 2015),

rendering it an unsafe place which would further discourage visits.

The physical retail space allocated for each tenant within the Summit is largely homogenous

with minimal opportunities for physical differentiation. The most flexible spot in a mall in terms of

functionality and differentiation would be the concourse in which users are able to manipulate and

utilise according to their evolving needs. The barren concourse that serves temporal events enables

a mall to stay relevant in the midst of ever-changing trends and needs of the community it serves.

With all that being said, rent per sq metre is relatively cheap in the Summit at RM3.00 per square foot

(Propwall.my, 2015), thus the poor tenant count and mix may well be caused by poor management.

It is evident in the visitor count that the Summits popularity as a place is waning. This may largely be

due to its dull and low tenancy, its poor maintenance and its comparatively smaller size which cannot

cater to bigger, more popular events which are targeted at a bigger crowd.

Figure 31: Dull Atmosphere in the Upper Floors at Summit

Figure 33: Many Empty Lots in the Upper Floors of the Summit

Figure 30: Local Retail Brands Stores in the Summit

Figure 32: Shoppers on the First Floor Discouraged by Vacant Lots

Conclusion

According to Trancik, a place is created through a synthesis of the total environment, including the

social, wherein physical context, cultural context and the needs and aspirations of the User are

considered. The Summit mall designed as a place of leisure barely fullfills Tranciks criteria of a

good public place with the most obvious evidence being the absence of people. Perhaps the generic

range of goods and services offered in Summit have undermined any marketing efforts to stand out

amongst highly concentrated larger capacity malls regionally. The Summit could perhaps specialise

in a potential niche trade and gain leverage on it by creating new demands in an uncontested market.

A good example would be the Low Yat Plaza in Kuala Lumpur which began as a generic shopping

mall that was unsuccessful but has since found success after repositioning itself into an IT Mall

(Figure 34). Another example of a destination mall that would be more relevant to the Summit that

specialises in cheaper trades would be the Amcorp Mall located in Petaling Jaya that hosts weekly

flea markets (Figure 35). These malls are places that have gain unique associative meanings from

local residents and therefore identities that are distinctive. In a sense, they are irreplaceable so

much so that even without the existing building make-up, the IT and flea marketplace will still thrive

elsewhere where economic conditions are good, making these places indestructable; sustained by

people who have come to love them. To what extent does architecture then play a role in creating

places? Ideals of economics, space planning and facade design seem rather superficial in controlling

the subjective user-experience but perhaps these are necessary for great possibilities.

Figure 34: Low Yat PlazaSource:(Zen, 2015)

Figure 35: Amcorp MallSource:(Thestar.com.my, 2014)

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