Tales of Three CitiesProject 1 Ideas and Theories in Urbanism

Kuching Waterfront Development Project

MORPHOLOGICAL STUDIES

1890

Sg. Gar-tak

River act as a stronghold for political administration, a symbol of power due to its advantages for transportation and military affairs, mostly occupied by the British Colony.

It act as a natural edge. The riverfront undergone primary urban planning as compared to other area, with nodes forming at the junction that framed views towards the Astana and Fort Margherita.

Astana

Fort Margherita

1917

Sg. Gar-tak

Sg. Gartak shrunk as a result of accumu-lated sand banks for commercial purposes, suggesting growing supplies industry.

Development started to reach inland for the people with civic buildings built, suggesting the ruler’s intention of putting the people at the latter.

The Chinese merchants got a slice of the waterfront due to their affluence.

Chinese CommunityZone with Chinese temple & museum

1930

Commercial

Civic

Colonial Administrative

Road

Waterfront undergone extensions, with docks and wharf built, showing the growing seafaring activities.

With the introduction of the first rail-way at the once Sg Gartak, it boosted thedevelopment of road inland.

Open air markets from the locals started to pepper at the Eastern front along the main road after the Western front had reached saturation.

1960s -2000s

Commercial

Civic

Colonial Administrative

Road

When saturation is met and dependence of river shrinks due to the invention of automobile, city expands towards inland.

Pedestrian walkability improved to boost river-front’s past significance by constructing prome-nades.

1890 1917 1930 1960-2000s

River as a natural edge that separated the two banks, resulting differed development pace and genre.

Major Urban Planning Improvement1989

United Consultant (Kuching) & Conybeare Morrison & Partners

1. Open corridors to the river

1.

Once get rid of the dirt and truck traffic that deteriorated the waterfront, the agenda starts with the idea of linking Main Bazaar to the water and views across it. The waterfront had been dominated by the colonial occupants for centuries, thus it is now to be accessible for the people after independence.

2. Vibrant Shopping Street and Shop Houses

2.Next is to provide a mix of facilities along the waterfront that would appeal to both local and international visitors, and establish a specific local sense of place, whereby all races come together as united. Mainly around Little India and Carpenter Street.

3. Preserve Historical Land-marks

Connecting the Banks

3.

To preserve the historic elements in the area to be 'Kuching in character'. In order to make user to appreciate the historical value witnessed by the city, prome-nades that flow along the front is constructed, so that strollers can enjoy the entire stretch of Historical Kuching.

SummaryTo conclude, the first development project induced good impacts by fulfilling the agendas of opening the water corridor, creating vibrant shopping street and preserving historical landmarks.

2013New Kuching Waterfront Extension Project

IBRACO Berhad

CIVIC SPACES

RETAILS FESTIVAL &CULTURAL HUB OFFICES

CIVIC SPACES

RESIDENTIAL CONDOMINIUMS

NEW STREET AND PROMENADES

The new master plan aims to revitalize the activeness of Kuching waterfront in terms of economy, entertainment, tourism, cultural & social activity in a mix-used planning. The agenda includes:- To capture heart of young people for them to live and work within the vicinity - New growth while historical sites and buildings remain intact - Open-air civic square for general public leisure, gathering and events - Office park that houses both local & expatriate firms- Exclusive waterfront residential development with jetty, riverfront pedestrian mall,

high-rise serviced apartments, Open-air promenade, Semi-enclosed public walk, Festive tourist & entertainment hub built to promote cultural state performance

Connectivity to the city’s structure and within the neighborhood is improved by means of :- Improvement of public access and traffic linkage to waterfront area - New Esplanade road of 600m dual carriageway - Additional car parks - Upgrading and landscaping the current roads

Golden Bridge

1.Connecting the BanksIncreased permeability of the region, whereby it is more accessible and less hierarchical division

Function

Mixed function

It acts as a connection between two banks and recreation area simultaneously.

To encourage the integration between communities in the North and South of the city where the North is more engaged in recreational activities and Malay Kampung settlements while South of the city is more of bustling commercial aspect, the bridge acts as a linkage, to retain a more balanced environment that offers choices to the locals and visitors.

Since south bank is facing traffic congestion issue, the bridge encourages the people to traverse across the banks by walking with improved walkability. By providing an alternative route towards the south bank other than solely depending on Tun Salehuddin Bridge that is located at far eastern end, the hierarchy is reduced. Since the development of both banks are imbalance, Golden Bridge acts as a medium to harmonize the urban density.

Public Realm is provided at the two nodes of the extended piazza, offering 360 degree of the waterfront vista. People can define the function of the open spaces themselves which encouraged personalization of space.

Form

Linear. Intimate pedestrian experience. The S-shaped pedestrian Golden Gate Bridge claims to explore new experience along the journey of waterfront by takes form in a sinuous ribbon, forming two observation decks that offer a 360 degree views of the site, taking full advantages of its elevated height. Instead of a straight linear typology, the curvature offers richness in both visual and physical experience for a pedestrian.

 

Movement Pattern

The Golden Gate Bridge provide linear pedestrian movement. This will ease the traffic flow of the congested Tun Sambathan Bridge and also Jalan Gambier when connectivity and permeability is increased.

Connectivity to the city’s structure and neighbourhood.

Main Street System

In relation to the main street, Jalan Gambir, the New walkway increases the permeability towards the North bank, well linked to the existing street typology.

The bridge offers new linkages to the north bank’s neighbourhood, welcomed by the DUN building, along with increased visual connectivity between the river and the local surrounding.

Connectivity to the city’s structure and neighbourhood.

Immediate Local Surrounding

Sub-ConclusionBy connecting the banks, the gaps between both sides can be narrowed and further provide an optimal platform for the next idea which we are going to discuss later, which is Revitalizing the Waterfront to begin. With improved interaction between, both sides of the lands are rejuvenated.

2.Revitalizing Sarawak’s WaterfrontRevives the vicinity with a new gush of pulsating active lifestyle, by increasing the variety, which means the wide range of choices to accommodate different people, purpose, activities within different time.

Function

Mixed function

Programs in the “ Live, Work, Play” idea can be fulfilled within this stretch of land, due to its high variety. Thus, human flow can be attained at this area, constantly thrusting the vicinity with active human interaction from morning till night, leaving no space for dead zones when the nights fall in a heavily zoned city, further in-creasing itsrobustness.

With the pedestrian walkway built in between the towers, it offers a gradient be-tween public and private, which also act as a buffer zone whereby urban voids can be intro-duced.

private semi-public

public privatesemi-public

Form

Isolated objects, less interactive with surrounding context due to its confined private and public activities within its volume. Further enhanced by its high density and height, the connectivity of point form typology can easily get disconnected.

RETAILS OFFICESRESIDENTIAL CONDOMINIUMS

Court perimeter. Embrace the site context according to building mass, encouraging communal activities that can be opens to the public.

CIVIC SPACES

FESTIVAL &CULTURAL HUB

CIVIC SPACES

Movement Pattern

Pedestrian movement

Mixed pedestrian and vehicular pat-tern

Vehicular movement

Mixed pedestrian and vehicular pat-tern

Vehicles Pedes-trian

Pedes-trian

In Mixed movement pattern, the authority claims to increase the perforation of urban void into the project, whereby pedestrian walkways become a buffer zone between public and pri-vate, aiding in the gradation of the scheme. But in our opinion, this scheme is yet to be localized to our Malaysian context.

Connectivity to the city’s structure and neighbourhood.

Main Street System

The connection with the main street system (Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman) is well connected and provided a by-pass path which can divert the main traffic congestion well.

Secondary by-pass

Primary Jalan Tu-anku Abdul Rah-man

Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman

The new road system introduced new linkages which do not reach as far as the main street before. The nodes helps in linking the site to its immediate surrounding fabrics, besides opening up the permeability towards the shore.

Connectivity to the city’s structure and neighbourhood.

Immediate Local Surrounding

Sub-ConclusionBy having mix-used development, revitalization of the waterfront is greatly enhanced through variations that address the demands of different people, purpose, activities throughout the day and night. Due to the short distance between all destinations, ranging from retail, commercial, cultural, residential and etc., human flow can be constantly retained.

3.Weaving the Past and PresentRespecting the legibility of trails left by the ancestors while retaining robustness to meet today’s needs

Function

Mixed function hub (macro scale) As the eastern waterfront is carefully preserved, untouched and the new hub is speaking of a new lan-guage to regenerate a new era at the eastern part.

The old shop houses at the surrounding are preserved, the inland streetscape is kept at its origin. Modernization set against pastoral colonial taste of Brooke era without disrupting the concord of the ensemble, a swish transformation to bring a spectacle of the 21st century urban up-to-the-minute living whilst retaining Sarawak's most leading sites of historical relics and its rich cultural heritage.

The Mixed function is carried smoothly as a gradation from the old shop houses, whereby all kinds of mixed programs are integrated into a single built form.

Mixed function hub (micro scale)

Form

Landmarks’ significance are relevantly used as focal nodes, with street alignments well position towards and make the most positive use of them, both in the old, which is well preserved and the new, which is well oriented.

Old landmark: Courthouse New landmark: Cultural Hub

Enclosure typology

Linear typology

The past horizontal linear typology is preserved, whereas contemporary linear typology is extended vertically at the new hub, suggesting an adaptation of the new towards the old. Conventionally, linear typology create a public font and pri-vate rear, but in this new planning, the limitations are overcame by extruding the linearity and inserting interstitial spaces which pulls patrons to come from all direction.

Movement Pattern

Mixed Pedestrian & Vehicular

Without changing the existing road, the new development phase infused new road system that dissolved the cul-de-sacswhich abruptly ended, opening more permeability to the riverfront for the traffic.

Sub-ConclusionWith the respect towards the current fabric laid by the ancestors and adaptation towards presence demand, the masterplan answered the latter more proficiently rather than the prior statement. Although all of the buildings are preserved, but due to certain high-rise project, some of the view towards the river is greatly obstructed, reserving the vista only for the residences or patrons.

Criticism

As the term gentrification is explained above, we can conclude that IBRACO BERHAD’s development proposal is blatantly a privatization of the Sarawak river. Despite having claimed to have plans to ‘revitalize’ the city, the development only yearns to get profit by attracting new communities into the area rather than to provide a public space for the local community to use. With its linear arrangement in the plan proposal, we can also observe that the developer intends to keep the stretch of Sarawak river to themselves, rather than creating a space the entire community could share. Its bold proposal of development obviously did not take the local community into much consideration.

The project involves massive land reclamation along the Sarawak River – disrupt natural resources.Reduced visual permeability - views towards Sarawak river are restricted – new high-rise development becomes a barrier to visual richness.

The rejuvenation and regenerated new Kuching Waterfront will inevitably transform the City of Kuching to become a world-class tourist attraction with its riverbank transformation into a vibrant and modern development and ultimately a business district -yet the cultural and historical importance of the area are forsakenThe heritage region is disconnected from the river with the development becoming the dividing factor

Demolition of cultural sphere – the state government’s move to evict the 27-year old Petanak Market (only market in the Kuching City) to facilitate the waterfront extension project, forcing hawkers to budgeUnrestrained approach to gentrification of the development might lead to issues like: 1. Increase in land value2. Increase in crime rate3. Unemployment

Solution

The design could be broken down into smaller typologies such as a grid pattern design. This would create permeability in that space so that the entire Kuching waterfront could be enjoyed by all. Permeability of space grants access to everybody, physically or visually.Design according to the needs of the community – robustness: building depth, access and height that does not affect the existing community, views and functionsControlled gentrification Design with consideration of the cultural and historical contextDevelopment of the country should not only benefit the people with connection, but also the people on the streets, including the hawkers. The existing Petanak market can co-exist with the project just like in big cities like in Singapore to serve the surrounding population. What is important is that it must not disrupt the livelihood of the hawkers.

ConclusionTo conclude the criticism, although the development enhances the social and economic status of all communities in Sarawak, it inevitably brings about an increase in land value as well as neglect to the historical and heritage context. However, these aspects can be solved by designing with consideration to the community.

ReferencesIbraco. (2015). New Kuching Waterfront. Retrieved Sept 18, fromhttp://www.ibraco.com.my/wp/?page_id=337

Johnson K Saai (2013, August 21). Golden Bridge catalyst to closer interaction between both parts of city. Retrieved Sept 18, from http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/08/21/golden-bridge-catalyst-to-closer-interaction-between-both-parts-of-city-says-taib/

Nigel Edgar (2013, August 13). The Golden Bridge – Kuching: next icon of harmony. Retrieved Sept 18, from http://www.thestar.com.my/news/community/2013/08/21/the-golden-bridge-hopes-to-further-unify-communities-of-citys-north-and-south/

Northen Architecture. (2016, May 15). Kuching Waterfront Sarawak Malaysia A Waterfront Park As A Catalyst for Urban Redevelopment 1989 fromhttp://www.northernarchitecture.us/urban-design-3/kuching-waterfront-sarawak-malaysia-a-waterfront-park-as-a-catalyst-for-urban-redevelopment-198993.html

Tuah, Yvonne. (2014, June 26). Revitalising Sarawak’s Waterfront. Retrieved Sept 18, from http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/07/26/revitalising-sarawaks-waterfronts/