JALAN TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN- Urban Design Rationale

These are presentation board during the Urban studio 01 back in year 2001. courtesy from : arkib Negara Malaysia

The group members. Paktam, Fadzil, Ome, Muna, Nora, Paklan (myself), Abg Fir, Khazan. After being in working life, sometimes I feel missing those good times learning together with friends.

This cover CD is made for the project a couple years later after the project. It's hard to beliave that we manage to finish the work. The original printed presentation board is still being kept by me. Still remember how we struggle to print on sveral A3 sheets and combine it together makina an A1 presenttaion board

Jalan Masjid India/JalanTuanku Abdul Rahman , attracts many people to its streets because of the unique appearance and characteristics. Places to walk, physical comfort, qualities that engage the eyes, complementaries, and good maintenance are physical characteristics of this street. In some respect, the problem, if it can be called that, rooted from the issues related to multiple social purposes of the streets.

Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman goes beyond its functional purpose of permitting people to travel from one place to another besides gaining access to places and premises. This street most surely aids social contact, networking and exchange whereby people are brought together in myriad of activities - well, no man is an island anyway. As such, this street encourages individuals to socialize and participate in the community.

The streets within this area of study also serve its role as locations for public expressions. Most of all, a walk along this street is physically comfortable and less hazardous compared to other typical streets in Kuala Lumpur. The environment creates and leaves strong, lasting and positive impressions; they catch the eyes and enrich the imagination. It is also a joyful and cheerful place to be in, where given a chance one usually wants to return for yet another enriching experience.

The site under study derived its name from Masjid India, the mosque which was originally built in 1870 for the Indian Moslem population of that locality. Visiting the site was indeed an experience that defies description. The richness of the place is evident the moment one ventures into this area, which is best explored by foot. The charm of the site's uniqueness lies in its loud, brash, gaudy and smelly atmosphere, not to mention the colours, sounds and sights that assault visitors from every direction. One gets down and dirty with the local people as one traipse along the well-weathered footways in search of the best bargains in town.

This is a world that promises to heighten one's senses in a passionate way. The site has none of the pretensions of an up-market shopping area, while shops vie for public attention with their displays of saree-clad mannequins and brass lamps as tall as adults. Prayer mats, Attar oil, gilded Malay wedding finery, fresh jasmines, latest Hindi movie songs and the best of Indian and Malay cuisine including pots of curries are among the many things synonym to this
well-sustained community.

The Masjid India/Jalan TAR area has always been the quintessential part of Kuala Lumpur, which embodies the raw and earthy aspect of city living. It has managed to retain its charm, flavour and quirkiness over a period of hundred years despite being elbowed in by skyscrapers all around. As Kuala Lumpur continues converting remaining spaces into sanitized malls, the site is still standing proud in its essence and possessing a strong genius loci, reliving a century of history, culture and shopping. There was an art environment, which had been understood and practiced.

Jalan Masjid India/Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman area is indeed a place where myriad activities take place for the public to cherish and to attain this, the site possesses high permeability and legibility within the city of Kuala Lumpur. Variety of activity and culture also robustness of spatial quality enliven the site thus ensuring its vitality for a sustained development.

What can be concluded is that this street is more than anything
else that makes it a public realm filled with richness and energy.

Past Condition
"This stretch of road in its early years was a two-way street which many of its residents
remembered as being so free of traffic…"

"Cars could park on both sides of the road and customers could just stop the car right
in front of the shop to make their purchases."

Present Condition
It has been said that the noise and pollution level in Jalan Masjid India/Jalan TAR area
is one of the highest in the city."

" The present road is narrower since the pedestrian pavement was built…"

"…apart from the difficulty in parking, the types of shops are quite the same."

"…Batu Road surroundings have changed; the present Jalan Raja Laut area
was a squatter land and there was a Central Electricity Board power station
right behind the shops".

"Apart from the increase in the types and number of shops and the type of
shoppers, the road has not changed much in terms of its characteristics".

JALAN MASJID INDIA/JALAN TAR AREA IS STILL VERY MUCH A
shopping paradise TO BOTH LOCALS AND FOREIGNERS.
The JATAR Project PROS AND CONS (1987)