Theories of Architecture and Urbanism
THEORIZING ARCHITECTURE
Xavier Ooi Win Yang0307620MR. Lam Shen Fei1. Introduction
Putrajaya also known as City in a Garden located on a plot of
4,931 hectares of land where 38% of the land is turned into parks
inclusive of a lake over 600 hectares as a climate moderator.
Strategically located within the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC),
approximately 25km south off Kuala Lumpur and 20km north of the
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) which makes it the centre
of all. Putrajaya is accessible via a network of highways and the
Express Rail Link (ERL Transit) from Kuala Lumpur Sentral to KLIA
via Putrajaya Sentral located in Precinct 7.In this assignment of
theorizing architecture, I chose Jane Jacobs as my study theorist.
In Jacobs book of theories, she had 4 interesting parts which
excites the theory of architecture. The part that caught my mind
was Part 4: Different Tactics. In this chapter, she emphasizes on
different ways on approaching a city planning.Visual Order : Its
Limitation and Possibilities falls under the sub topic of Different
Tactics which tells designers that planning and design cities means
dealing with people's lives. However Jane Jacobs also said that
cities also need art, which cannot be viewed as an architectural
problem and be solved with visual works of art. Streets represents
our visual views of cities where they have different kinds of
buildings and businesses. When these buildings are used intensely,
they need some sort of visual interruptions or they look like they
are endless. This is due to the grid-like nature of streets in a
city. If they aren't gridlike, too many people will get lost in the
neighborhood. I studied Kompleks Perbadanan Putrajaya which is one
of the complex which stands as a landmark buildings along the
Persiaran Perdana. To the west stands the Grand Mosque and to the
east across the Persiaran Perdana there is the Palace of
Justice.Designed as a complex of interconnected spaces that
reflects a distinct presence in Precinct 3, the building is a
contemporary interpretation of traditional Islamic architecture.
The main feature in this complex is the gateway or Gerbang with a
public viewing deck at the top most level that gives a breathtaking
view of the city skyline that includes the Palace of Justice and
the Grand Mosque. The main building comprises of courtyards while
along the Persiaran Perdana, an open arcade is incorporated with a
landscaped called the Qiblat Walk. The front faade on the Persiaran
Perdana is a network of arcades with elegant intricate mesh screens
of geometrical patterns providing protection from the sun.
2. Circulation
Circulation becomes an important role here in Jane Jacobs theory
of Visual Order. In her book that illustrates her meaning of Visual
Order, there must be a gridlike structure in terms of circulation
in a particular city planning. This theory can be seen in the main
road of Putrajaya which is Jalan Persiaran. The theory of Jane
Jacobs applies at the Kompleks Perbadanan Putrajaya where it is
located in the middle of Jalan Persiaran Perdana. At this specific
position of the building, which has the main road from North to
South elongated linearly, the Kompleks Perbadanan Putrajaya is
surrounded by the Palace Of Justice on the east and the Grand
Mosque on the western side. This creates an adjacent cross junction
axis from the top view making it having a gridlike formation.
The theory of having a gridlike structure is also noticed in the
plan and outlook of the Kompleks Perbadanan Putrajaya building.
This complex is separated into 2 main structures which consists of
office spaces. This leaves a gap between them making an obvious
look through the building of the Grand Mosque from the Palace of
Justice; vice versa. What joints the two main office buildings is
the bridge whereby it overlooks on both ends of the East-West side
of the complex. This bridge also acts as a form of internal
transportation between offices.
The Kompleks Perbadanan Putrajaya has a very gridlike design
whereby the circulation is more of an undefined circulation; making
a criss-cross axis at the ground floor. During the Ramadhan period,
stalls and tents are put up to cater those who operates food
business which is near perpendicular to the Grand Mosque. This
alley of the two office bulding has a set of gridlines where
greenery and water feature acts as the visual distruptions at human
standing height.
[Please refer pictures on the A3 board]
3. Landmark
In this chapter of Visual Order, Jane Jacobs also emphasize that
in a city planning, there should be a landmark that brings both
memories and representation of a city. Jane Jacobs state that in a
planned city, there should be a prime orientation that creates a
landmark. This landmark can either be a representation of the
particular city or the emphasis of the city. Jacobs also state that
when there is a landmark present in a city development, it
emphasizes the diversity of the area. For instance, a bored city
would be interesting with a standing out building. Besides that,
when a city consists of a landmark, it makes the area more of an
important city. The entire stretch of Jalan Persiaran is planned
and built with a green belt of trees which carries the greenery
entirely from the North to the Southern end of the main road. This
green belt can be seen as two straight green lines along the long
stretch of road. The stretch of green belt is recessed in when
approaching the Kompleks Perbadanan Putrajaya making it to have a
different approach from the other buildings, standing out from the
rest. With the recessed trees further from the main road, it makes
the building look outstandingly grand or rather more important. The
plot of land which is between the main road and the building is
turfed with grass which also becomes another eye-catcher while
moving along Jalan Persiaran. One would definitely notice the
difference between this building among the rest. This theory that
applies here in this complex allows and directs the users to be
observant and curious of the odd approach compared to the other
government buildings. Besides that the other element the Kompleks
Perbadanan Putrajaya seen as a landmark is the symmetry design of
the two main office buildings. Both of the office buildings are
designed in a modern architectural design whereby vertical louvres
are used just like the traditional Malay house, horizontally. These
vertical louvres acts as a very important role in sunshading device
due to the buildings position. In order to create the gridlike
cross section of the buildings and the roads, the complex is
designed like no other buildings; it is elongated north-south
orientation making it have the largest surface area exposed to the
sun. Due to its design where most the large surface area is exposed
to the sun, water features are placed along the axis of the Grand
Mosque and the Palace of Justice.The other eye-catching sight that
appears to be outstanding is the metal arch that is placed in
between the two office blocks. This metal arch is built to
symbolize the shape of the onion which can be seen is mosque. It
has only one main function of the metal arch which it consists of a
lift that moves vertically straight to the bridge. This becomes
another landmark where passerby will definitely notice this metal
arch due to its outstanding design compared to the other buildings
in Jalan Persiaran.[Please refer pictures on the A3 board]4.
Limitation and Possibilities
Part 4 of the theory of Jane Jacobs, she illustrates the
limitations and possibilities of having art in the city. In this
subtopic, Jacobs states that a city cannot be a work of art.
Designers should not replace art with life, instead to implement
both life and art as part of the design.The other element that
makes the Kompleks Perbadanan Putrajaya is the steel arch structure
which is placed in between the two main office buildings of the
complex. This metal art structure is designed for the
transportation to the link bridge of the two main offices. The arch
design is based on the Islamic symbol which represents our country
as an Islamic country. The arch also allows natural daylighting
(sunlight) to penetrate through it for both morning and evening
from the Palace of Justice to the Grand Mosque. These light rays
are designed in a way where passerby and users are able to notice
the linearlity and cross junction from the main road of Jalan
Persiaran.Jane Jacobs also emphasizes the roles that the street
plays as the principal scenes in cities. A city should not have too
many streets that might confuse the users. Most importantly the
streets should be designed not to be too long creating an endless
sight. In Jacobs theory, there are two ways to produce visual
interuptions as in Gridiron street patterns; one is to have
addition of streets which are far apart, and to have natural
interruptions such as hills. This theory fails on the application
at Jalan Persiaran as the main road from the Prime Minister office
to the other end up north is no interrupted by any visual order.
Standing at any point of the road one can barely see the end of
both sides with the long and linear pathway.Jane Jacobs talks about
a city should not be designed as an infinity of sight when one is
looking at the street. This means that, the natural scape of the
city across the roads should not be destroyed in order to have the
infinity sight. Jacobs emphasized that the city should have some
visual order.
[Please refer pictures on the A3 board]
5. Conclusion
As a conclusion, the planning of Putrajaya is able to manipulate
partial of the theory of Jane Jacobs. It is interesting to observe
and understand the application of the theory with the chosen
building of Kompleks Perbadanan Putrajaya whereby the
implementation works. The theory of Jane Jacobs which emphasizes
the Circulation clearly shows and works in the studied building of
Kompleks Perbadanan Putrajaya where cross junctions and gridlike
structural plan can be seen. This complex is also known for its
design as a landmark of Putrajaya where it has a different approach
in design compared to the other government buildings at its
adjacent.Limitations and possibilities is one of the main topic
that Jane Jacobs brought up and can be seen in this study of
Kompleks Perbadanan Putrajaya, located in the middle of Jalan
Persiaran. I hope and wish to discover more theories by both Jane
Jacobs and other theorists in the near future.
6. References
1.The Death and Life of Great American Cities(1961), Jane
Jacobs, New York2.Part 4, Chapter 19, The Death and Life of Great
American Cities, Jane
Jacobshttp://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-the-death-and-life-of-great-american-cities/chapanal019.html#gsc.tab=0\3.Chapter
19-Visual Order, Limitations and Possibilities, Jane
Jacobshttps://prezi.com/jyzwxkez7v9b/chapter-19-visual-order-its-limitations-and-possibilities/4.Nathan
Storring on Visual order: its limitations and possibilities in
Toronto and
WestHollywoodhttp://citybuilderbookclub.org/2012/04/10/nathan-storring-on-visual-order-its-limitations-and-possibilities/5.The
Death and Life of Great American City
summaryhttp://www.wikisummaries.org/The_Death_and_Life_of_Great_American_Cities
