Re-discovery of urban fabrics

& its historic townscape

of the old district in

Malaysia

Lee Yoke Lai (Ph.D.) Landscape Architecture Program,

Faculty of Built Environment & Surveying,

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)

• Urban fabric is the physical form of towns andcities. The physical aspect of urbanism,emphasising building types, thoroughfares,open space, frontages, and streetscapes butexcluding environmental, functional, economicand sociocultural aspects. (source :

http://rethinkurban.com/2012/places-and-spaces/understanding-urban-forms

• City’s fabric is constituted by its distinct urbangrains. Urban grain defined as thearrangement or pattern of the buildings andstreets within the built form.

• Method to record urban fabric study;✓ History profile✓ Documenting urban morphology (2D & 3D)✓ Townscape appraisal (physical evaluation)✓ Analysis of land use✓ Visual survey✓ Skyline analysis✓ Architectural feature assessment

Urban fabrics

https://www.essexdesignguide.co.uk/design-details/layout-details/urban-grain/

a. Fine-grain street patternb. Coarse-grain street pattern

Malaysia historic cities & townscapes

•Melaka city and George town in Penang honoured as World Heritage sites byUNESCO because of its prominent unique architectural, cultural townscape &multicultural heritage not found anywhere in East Asia and Southeast Asia(UNESCO, 2008).

•Traditional town play the pivotal roles to support cultural values and thrivinglocal community engaged with social cultural activities (Ahmad Basri andShuhana, 2008).

Categories of historic town in Malaysia

• Activity setting: traditional activity, commercial , administrative, worship

•Unique architectural typology such as old shophouses (trading +living ), façade and five foot walkway ; colonial buildings •Street , square (padang) •Compact urban fabrics•Historical background

Profile of historical cities in Malaysia

• Religious and social cultural essentials

• Close proximity of worships likes mosque, Chinese temple, Hindu temple & church

2.C

ult

ura

l att

rib

ute

s

Example case: Melaka historic city

3.Behavioural attributes

1. Physical attributes

1. A policy of deliberate urbanization or town planting, in preference to dispersed settlement;2. Land rights allocated in a combination of town, suburban and country lots;3. The town planned and lay out in advance of settlement;4. Wide streets laid out in geometric: grid-iron form.5. Public squares to emphasis status of empire6. Standard-sized & rectangular plots 7. Some plots reserved for public purposes; and8. A physical distinction between town and country, usually by common land or an surrounding by green belt.

McGee, T. G. (1969)

General model of Entrepot in Southeast Asia

The morphology pattern of Southeast Asian entrepot - Widodo, J. (1996)

Generalised diagram of the main land use areas of the large Southeast Asian city (Developed by MC Gee).

King, A. D. (1976)

The colonial third culture • Resulted from the contact, in the colonised country,

between the selected first cultural (metropolitan society suchlike British) and the selected second cultural (indigenous society).

• The 3rd colonial cultural like the centred rounded institutional system which comprehends ideational system, meaning, symbols, social structure, system relations and pattern of behaviour. (King,1976:65)

• A conceptual framework for the study of colonial urbanisation follow the scale of global (macro), international / imperial (sub-macro); national (major: seaport/district/hill station etc.), urban (intermediate: colonial city); sector (minor) and unit (micro).

Yeoh, B. S. (1996). Contesting space: power relations and the urban built environment in colonial Singapore :Three specific features: “racial, cultural, social and religious pluralism used to distinguish the colonial city.”

Theory of colonial urban development. King, A. D. (1976)

‘Grand Modell’ -Robert Home (2013) Colonial cities components;

Yeoh, B. S. (1996). Contesting space: power relations and the urban built environment in colonial Singapore :Three specific features: “racial, cultural, social and religious pluralism used to distinguish the colonial city.”

Colonial town & entrepôt

IPOH ex-tin mining town

• Ipoh town was the centre of tin collection where the tin ore transportation from the Kinta downstream. It was a meeting point of the river, roads and railways and the commerce centre in Kinta Valley district.

• By 1905 to 1914, due to overpopulation in Ipoh’s Old Town, the new mining settlement was built across Kinta River. During the peak tin mining era in 1920, Ipoh New Town was constructed and the Birch Bridge was linked to the Old town area.

• The most scenic townscape in Ipoh Old Town was the narrow streets layout before the strict building code imposed (‘Concubines lanes’).

• Ipoh main Chinatown (located at the Leech Street or Bandar Timah Road) and the British administration building and European residency sited at the west part of Od Town.

• Ipoh historic urban landscape comprises the impressive historical colonial buildings such as the Town Hall (1916), railway station and hotel (1917), the Court House (1928) and the Birch Memorial Clock Tower (1909).

Urban morphology of Ipoh town from 1820 to 1960. (Source: Draft Ipoh city Special Area Plan 2013 in Ipoh Municipal Council, 2014)

Chinatown

Ipoh City Council was established in 1988

Source: Lazim & Said (2020).

Ipoh was rapidly developed and urbanization had change urban fabrics of the old town area.

Railway station Railway station

Evolution of Ipoh ex-mining town

PadangPadangKinta River

Kinta River

Kinta river has turned into an essential urban fabric to Ipoh town and emerged as a natural and historic townscape.

Sir Hugh Low BridgeJln. Sultan Iskandar Central axis

Kinta River

Ipoh land use

Ipoh old town land use map (Ipoh action area plan report, 2020)

Ipoh railway station in 1940 (source: https://www.pinterest.jp/pin/825636544167937199/)

Current Ipoh railway station and the memorial park. (Source: https://www.train36.com/ipoh-railway-

station.html)

IPOH railway station

Railroad map of Malaya (Palmer, 1935:135).

Ipoh railway, 1880s

Birch Memorial Clock Tower (1909)

The Court House (1928)

Cluster Spatial pattern of Ipoh old town constitute of commercial and adjacent settlement (Kampung Kuchai)

Kampung Kuchai

Hugh Low Street in 1930s https://great-railway-

journeys-malaysia.weebly.com/ipoh-then--now.htmlHugh Low Bridge was built in 1890 Jalan Sultan Iskandar

(https://www.shutterstock.com/)

Old street & heritage building

Restored Neo-Renaissance of De Silva commercial Building (1950)

https://www.solitarywanderer.com/ipoh-heritage-malaysia/

Ipoh Town hall building (http://ipohheritage.mbi.gov.my/index.php/history-of-ipoh/)

Ipoh Club and Ipoh Padang(https://great-railway-journeys-

malaysia.weebly.com/ipoh-then--now.html & Ipoh Action area plan 2020)

Urban Fine grain and skyline of Ipoh town

Ipoh massing and skyline

Melaka UNESCO historic cities (Port town)

Melaka River in 1980s

(Source: Hao (2016).

Current Melaka RiverTrading activity at Melaka River in 1832s

• In 1400s, Melaka River was settled by residents along the riverfront with a fortress and tradingactivities closed to river estuary .

• Main administrative building, the Stadthuys, a main street and a canal constructed across the townwith a settlement.

• The A’Famosa fort in Melaka was ruined by the British with the intention of attract port tradingactivities to concentration in George Town.

• Subsequently, in 1971, extensive reclamation (early 1921) happened at the seashore which affectsMelaka’s historic centre profile and original setting from fronting the sea to facing the river(Shuhana et al, 2002)

Urban morphology of Melaka Port town

The urban morphology of Melaka 1500 -1830s (Source Shuhana et al, 2002)

PORTUGESE COLONISATION

PERIOD

DUTCH COLONISATION PERRIODS (1641-1825)

Fort

Fort

Fort

Strait Melaka Strait Melaka Strait Melaka

Strait Melaka Strait Melaka Strait Melaka

The urban morphology of Melaka : 1900-1960s (Source Shuhana Shamsuddin et al,2002)

Urban morphology of Melaka Port town

BRITISH COLONISATION

PERIODS

The urban morphology of Melaka 1970-current (Source Shuhana Shamsuddin et al,2002)

Urban morphology of Melaka historic City & riverfront

Strait Melaka Strait Melaka

RELAIMATION

BOUNDARIES OF WORLD HISTORIC CITY OF MELAKA

Melaka Land use map

Melaka land use map (source: Melaka Draft Action area plan)

Aerial view of Melaka city Source: https://forum.dji.com/thread-187428-1-1.html

Melaka massing and skyline

Administration zone

Settlement

Baba nyonya’s townhouse

Source: https://great-railway-journeys-malaysia.weebly.com/malacca.html

Stadthuys, Chris Church and Melaka Square

Old shophouses and five footway

Masjid Kampung Kling Cheng Hoon Teng temple Sri poyatha moorthi temple

Dataran Pahlawan Melaka

Hillside and fort

Melaka Fort and Saint Paul Hill

Padang (Open space) Street

Jonker street

Urban morphology of Johor Bahru

Segget River

Port, wet market and the views of Segget river.

Segget River was closed – Dataran Segget

Current Segget River

Johor Bahru land use

A- AdministrationB- Heritage districtC- Commercial district

Heritage district- Tan Hiok Nee

View of Johor Bahru causeway

Johor-singapore causway

Administration buildings

Religious buildings

Johor Bahru massing

Jojor Bharu massing

Johor Bahru skyline

Jojor Bharu skyline

Solid and void map

Bukit Timbalan

Bukit Timbalan

Grand Palace of Johor (Istana besar)

Grand Palace of Johor (Istana besar)

Ipoh Tin Mining town Melaka Port Town Johor Bahru old townU

rban

fab

ric

& t

ow

nsc

ape

Urban form: Nucleated settlement• Chinese town• Administration centre• Kampung Kuchai

(adjacent)

Urban form: linear form settlement & Nucleated • Town size spread irregular pattern.• Fortress of Melaka • Townhouse and shophouses • St. Paul Hill (Chinatown)

Urban form: linear form settlement Highland- Bukit timbalan• First street built parallel to

Segget River • Chinese town (commercial)• Palace

Spatial pattern: • Regularated Grid-iron

Street • Kinta River • Padang (open space)

Spatial pattern: • Melaka river • Dutch build pattern by the riverbank

laid on narrow street.• Influence by the entrepôt

characteristics. • Padang • Narrow plot (lots) and inorganic

street pattern

Spatial pattern: • Irregular street pattern• Segget river • Padang (open space)• Waterfront • Bukit Timbalan (Timbalan hill)

Tin Mining infrastructure Railway stationHospitalIpoh Market (demolished)

Infrastructure• Port• Bridge • Street

InfrastructureRailway stationWet Market (demolished)Bus stationCauseway

Colonial administration buildingTownhall, Clock Tower, Ipoh court

Others: Golf club, Race courseTheatre

Colonial administration buildingStadhuys, Clock Tower & Dutch Square

Others;* Multicultural heritage: A great variety of religious building

Administration buildingSultan Ibrahim Building Johor BahruJohor Bahru High CourtJohor Bahru Central Police Station

Conclusion

Hao, L. W. (2016). The History of Melaka's Urban Morphology.

Lazim, F. S. M., & Said, S. Y. (2020). Townscape appraisal and contribution of physical features towards the character of ipoh old town. Planning Malaysia, 18(12).

McGee, T. G. (1969). The Southeast Asian city: a social geography of the primate cities of Southeast Asia. G. Bell and sons.

Yeang, L. D. (2000). Urban design compendium. English Partnerships/Housing Corporation, London.

Shukri, S. M., Wahab, M. H., Amat, R. C., Taib, I., & Ismail, S. (2018). The Morphology of Early Towns in Malay Peninsula. International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7(3.9), 77-80.

Shamsuddin, S., Sulaiman, A. B., & Amat, R. C. (2012). Urban landscape factors that influenced the character of George Town, Penang UNESCO World Heritage Site. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 50, 238-253

Shamsuddin, S., Sulaiman, A. B., Alias, N. A., Latip, N. S. A., & Ujang, N. (2010). Regeneration of the historic waterfront of world heritage sites in Malaysia–the case of Penang and Melaka. In Uk-Ireland Planning Research Conference 2010. Diversity And Convergence: Planning In a World Of Change.

Widodo, J. (1996). The Urban History of the Southeast Asian Coastal cities (particularly from the 14th century until mid-20 century) (doctorate dissertation).

https://great-railway-journeys-malaysia.weebly.com/ipoh-then--now.html

28

References