Theories of Architecture and Urbanism project 2 final

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) (ARCHITECTURE)

THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM

(ARC 2224)

PROJECT 1: PART 2: ANALYZING AND THEORIZING

ARCHITECTURE

NAME : Gertrude Lee

STUDENT ID : 0306265

LECTURER : Mr. Lam Shen Fei

Table of Contents Page

1.0 Introduction 3

2.0 Analysis of Place and Theory 4-6

3.0 Conclusion 7

4.0 References 7

ARC 2224 Theories of Architecture & Urbanism

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Puchong is considered a major town in the Petaling district of Selangor, Malaysia

and it also serves a residential town. Puchong is divided into different townships

such as Bandar Puchong Haya, Bandar Puteri Puchong and Pusat Bandar Puchong.

Looking into Bandar Puteri Puchong, Bandar Puteri Puchong is both a residential

and commercial area. For commercial, it consists of different types of businesses

and services such as major banks, different eating places and supermarket and as

for residential area, there are a few housing estates, for example Puteri 6 and also

apartments, for example Sri Begonia Apartment. One of the famous landmarks that

is located at Bandar Puteri Puchong is the Giant Bandar Puteri. The buildings that

are going to be analysed are the 4 commercial shop lots that are located along Jalan

Puteri 1/4. In these shop lots, there are different types of businesses such as

boutique, spa, and restaurants and as for services; there are different types of

banks, pharmacy and clinics.

Since Bandar Puteri Puchong is a developing area in Puchong and it is an urban

area, focusing on planning such as spatial planning and city planning is important in

order for the city to work well. The book that was chosen for this analysis is ‘The

Death and Life of Great American Cities’ by Jane Jacobs as this book focuses on

urban planning of an area and also how the planning is built according on how the

cities work. Jane Jacob was an urban writer and activist best known for her influence

in urban studies. Her writing is based solely on her observations and common sense

as to show why certain places work and to improve those that does not work. In this

book, there are a few theories that are relevant but the most relevant theory that can

relate to these 4 shop lots is ‘The need of mixed primary uses’. From my

understanding of this theory, it means that in a district, one type of function in a

district cannot function as well as having more than one function as one function

restricts human activities in that area. There must have different purposes which

consist of the common facilities for human needs.


2.0 ANALYSIS OF PLACE AND THEORY

Looking at the macro scale, Bandar Puteri Puchong is considered both

commercial and residential area. Surrounding the 4 shop lots located along Jalan

Puteri 1/4, there are different types of commercial blocks, office buildings and

residential areas. The shop lots in Bandar Puteri Puchong have different types of

businesses such as spa, restaurants, boutiques and furniture shops. There are also

different services such as pharmacy, phone shops, clinics and different academies.

Zoning it into the 4 shop lots that are going to be analysed on, this part of the shop

lots are the busiest as it is located along one of the main streets of Bandar Puteri

Puchong which is Jalan Puteri 1/4. Going along Jalan Puteri 1/4, through my

observation, the most common business along this 4 shop lots are food, spa and

boutique and at the intersection of the road, there is Maybank.

Based on the theory, ‘The need for mixed primary uses’, in this 4 shop lots, they

also have different facilities, and as mentioned by Jane Jacobs, one type of function

in an area cannot function as well as having more than one function as one function

restricts human activities in that area. The 4 shop lots provide all the common

facilities that attract people to come. According to the theorist, having different,

common facilities at an area allow people to perform different activities and also

perform those activities at different timing of the day. By having different types of

shops and services such as food, spa and boutique business, banks, pharmacy and

clinic at the 4 shop lots, this will attract different group of users at different timing into

the area where the 4 shop lots are located at as there are common facilities that

each different group of users share.

Diversity in an area increases when mixed primary uses are effective. The

different groups of users are normally working people around that area, residents or

people who are not from that area coming into the area. The most important user is

the residents at that area, without the residents, there would not be as much

business at that area. As mentioned before, by having different businesses, this will

attract people to come to this area. As I observe, the most people will go to an area

to look for good food. Within these 4 shop lots there are a lot of food businesses

such as Korean restaurants, Chinese Restaurants and coffee shops. Different type

of food will give people different variety of choices and also different age group of


people. Besides food, spas will also attract people as spa is one of the places where

people go for massages and it is also a place of relaxation. Food businesses and

spa businesses are one of the best places to meet up with someone or with a group

of friends. These businesses also can help attract people who are not residence of

that area. The infusion of potential uses will result in maximum amount of people at

different timing of the day.

As Jane Jacob mentioned, ‘On successful streets, people must appear at

different times.’ Looking at it in an economical way, diversity helps bring

effectiveness in business. The conditions to make this happen are that users using

this same street at different timing and also among them will be people who will be

using these facilities. The opening hours of the businesses are also important to

increase the economy of the area as users will be spread throughout the whole day.

For example, during lunch hour, the 4 shop lots are congested with people as office

workers, residents and other people from other areas will come to look for food or

other shops as this 4 shop lots have different commercial businesses. Between the

ranges of midafternoon until evening, there will not be as many people and by

infusing all the different businesses into these buildings, this will result in more

people coming to the shops at these hours. These businesses also must not bore

the users if not there will also be a decrease in users from time to come. For

example, in these 4 shop lots, after lunch hour, there will still be people coming in as

there are other businesses such as boutiques, spas and home accessories shop.

During the weekends also, families who are residence of that area and also families

who are staying out of that area also bring their families to this 4 shop lots as most of

them bring their families to look for food as part of their outing activity. Introducing a

new business to a building is also important as also follows the users character as it

must serve an important purpose of why the users must enter the shop.

The accessibility of an area is also important in order for people to enter site.

Streets are important for the circulation of vehicle. As mentioned before, the

effectiveness of businesses in order to generate diversity is by using the same street

at different timing and along this street there must be facilities that users are

interested in. Looking at the streets at this area in a macro scale, from the

Damansara-Puchong Express Highway, entering to Bandar Puteri Puchong, there

would be a street leading to the 4 shop lots which is called Jalan Puteri. The 4 shop


lots are also visible when driving along the Puteri Expressway. The flow of the

vehicles around the 4 shop lots also depends on the direction that the street is

leading them, either 1 way street or 2 way streets. The street along the 4 shop lots is

considered one of the main streets surrounding this area, which is Jalan Puteri 1/4.

Jalan Puteri 1/4 is a one way street and along this street there are parking along

both sides of the road. If there are not enough parking, they would have to make one

big round to come back to the 4 shop lots. Some people would just park their car

along the sides of the street of Jalan Puteri 1/5 and walk to the 4 shop lots. When it

is peak hours, the vehicle circulation would be high as people would be looking for

parking. As this is along the main road, people in their vehicles will be able to see the

4 shop lots along this road. After parking their vehicles, people would walk along the

walkway at the shop lots. Human circulation is also important as people who are

walking in crowds will bring curiosity to other people to follow and to see where and

which shop are they going to.


3.0 CONCLUSION

The theory, ‘The need of mixed primary uses’ basically wants us to analyse

whether a district has one type of function or more than one type of function and

whether this particular area or building works in terms of mixed primary functions.

From this theory, I was able to analyse the 4 shop lots that I have chosen in a

different way, in terms of different types of shop businesses, whether it works in this

4 shop lots. It is interesting to see how the theory is being applied into this 4 shop

lots. It allows me to analyse the surrounding of the 4 shop lots in more details and to

see how the mixed primary uses affect the area in terms of users, economics and

also the circulation of the area.

From this theory, I learnt that mixed primary uses are important to make a

successful neighbourhood as common facilities in that area helps to attract people to

stay in that area and by attracting people to this area and residence are important as

they are one of the main users who will help to start the development of the

businesses around the area. If an area only has one function, it will not be enough to

provide what is necessary for the people leaving in that area. I also agree that having

different function in an area is important in order for people to have different activities

at the area. By having these activities, this will also attract people from other area to

come in this area.

4.0 REFERENCES

Jacobs, J. (1961). The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York.

Jane Jacobs - Project for Public Spaces. (n.d.). Retrieved June 8, 2015.


Education

Theories of Architecture and Urbanism project 2 final