Morphological Transformation of Public Place in Historic Town of Melaka

1. THE MORPHOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION OF PUBLIC PLACE IN HISTORIC TOWN OF MELAKAIsmail Said¹ and Nor Zalina Harun² Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi Malaysiab-ismail@utm.my2007

2. INTRODUCTION Historic cities in Malaysia were developed in stages with most of them were part of the Dutch and British colonial settlements during the 18th to 20th century. The character of these cities are formed through their unique and historic attributes like buildings, public spaces and natural environmental elements like trees, hills, rivers and local cultures of multi racial people. One of these many attributes is a public place known locally as padang, a huge green open space in the heart of the many historic cities in Malaysia.

3. PROBLEMS AND ISSUES In the late 1960’s many towns witnessed socio economic changes which impacted the urban structure. Urbanization in many cities of Malaysia resulted not only in the conversion of built form but the loss of urban character and open spaces for recreation and healthy living ground. Many public places in historical cities like padang someway had succumbed to rapid commercial development. In many cities like Kuala Trengganu, Kota Bharu and Alor Setar, the old padang has become either unrecognizable or has been ‘dissolved’. The changes have led to a major effect on the loss of traditional urban form and localized identity.

4. AIM OF STUDY This research aims to develop an urban analysis on Padang Pahlawan and demonstrate its value as well as to explore its architectural meanings in creating good city form. Besides providing morphological information of Padang Pahlawan, it is anticipated the research could discover rules of the existing urban tissues or fabrics to which any modifications and intervention must conform in order to maintain the identity of a place besides proving the morphological study is a valuable design tool and one which all those involved in shaping the built environment should recognize.

5. THE PADANG • Large turfed field. The development of padang begun as esplanade in British India and extended to South East Asia • Huge ground or a grassy plain situated in the heart of a colonial town. • An expanse of green known as a large closely trimmed lawn alien to pre-colonial, equatorial Malaya. • Green nucleus of a town. Lies at the physical heart of the town • Fronting a premier British recreational club and surround by municipal offices, the court house, religious and educational institutions buildings 5

6. PADANG PAHLAWAN, MELAKA • History: • Built in 1912 and completed in 1939 • Built on a reclaimed land of the Melaka Straits • Roles: • Military drills • Recreational ground • Tourist attraction • Cultural place • Place for the first independence proclamation

7. MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY ON PADANG PAHLAWAN, MELAKA Land use pattern Administrative, residential, commercial and religious area. The land use pattern appears to be complicated but highly functional with administrative and commercial activity located along the primary streets while building like shop houses laid parallel with the river. Street pattern Networks of streets together with densely packed individual premises are the two elements that typify the traditional urban form near the Padang Pahlawan area. The early streets can be traced to the well-defined path laid in narrow and radial layout. It was designed to facilitate drainage and fire fighting. The street ended off with the jetty, which was the most important and liveliest hub of the town.

8. MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY ON PADANG PAHLAWAN, MELAKA Buildings Morphological study on the development of Padang Pahlawan indicates that the early components include the Portugese, Dutch, Malay and Chinese settlements and a market place situated at the end of Jalan Merdeka and Jalan Kota. The buildings at this area were mainly shophouses, administrative, fort and religious buildings. Most commercial and residential buildings in the area standing closely side by side along the Melaka River. The landmarks of the area is a fortress built by Portuguese in the 16th century, Studhuys building built by the Dutch and the latter was the Melaka Sultanate palace, a replica built based on the description and reference from the Malay annals which portray the glorious past of the sultanate era.

9. MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY ON PADANG PAHLAWAN, MELAKA The natural components / elements The Melaka Straits which located opposite the padang and Melaka River which located at the far end played a bigger role during the early formation of the padang. Both were by no means an estuary and became ideal route for boat carrying men and goods between other towns to Melaka. Early photographs and map shows that the beach has direct connection with the padang that offered scenic view. St. Paul Hill geographically located at the north of Padang Pahlawan and serve a bigger role toward the ecological balance of the city beside act as a green backdrop in accentuating the padang as a ground for important national events and parades.

10. DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGES: • Excavation works in 2001 • Diminished for vehicles parking • Transformed into commercial buildings and international sport club 1930’s 1970 2008

11. PADANG BANDAR HILIR, MELAKA Nor Zalina Harun & Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ismail Said, Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

12. CONCLUSION • The existing layout of Padang Pahlawan and its surrounding area has not only been shaped by its history and functions, but also by its connections with a larger area in which it is embedded in its context. Each elements is determined in large measures by pattern created by the alternation of street’s layout, of buildings and spaces between. The padang and it surrounding area also conveyed various architectural categories of meanings such as: civic and ceremonial ground, a square, a district, a landmark, a node and a central field. The colonial influence was manifested in various architectural styles. • However, the current planning layout and activity pattern have changed the padang from a landmark that served as recreational ground and place for public contemplation into privatized premises with less architectural meaning.

13. CONCLUSION • The findings suggest that character of a place is a continuous field, the disturbance of urban form in some way affecting all others. Incompatible development and design within historical area like Padang Pahlawan may disrupt the whole urban environment. The changes and its loss character has directed to the weakening of place identity. This scenario should not be prolonged as both scenarios will result to the loss of place meaning and place making. In response to these concerns the need for preserving a stable framework of familiar and valued places within the historical city should become important concerns in town planning and urban design practices.