IMAGE ABILITY OF CITIES A study of maintaining the balance between the preservation of imageability and culture change with special reference to down town of Colombo The Dissertation presented to the Faculty of Architecture of the university of Moratuwa Sir Lanka for the Part of the Final Examination in M Sc Architecture If 2 M 0 2 7\?. o £ 5 U n i v e r s i t y o f M o r a t u w a 78154 Hasamali Alahakoon April 2002 UN Thesis Coil 18151)- 78154 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT LIST OF FIGURES INTRODUCTION i-vi CHAPTER ONE 1 .SEARCHING FOR A DEFINITION OF IMAGEABILITY 1.1 Image 1 1.1- (i) Introduction to the image 1 1 - 1 (ii) Individual image ; 3 1 - 1 (iii) Public Image : 3 1 - 1 (iv) Nature of the image: 4 1-1 (v) Building the image : 5 1.2 Imageability of an environment 7 1.3 Parameters of the imageability 8 1.4 Definition of imageability in broader sense 11 1.5 Imageability of a place 13 1.5- (1) Place and the determinates of the imageability of a place 13 5.1 Structure 15 5.2 Meaning 18 5.3 Identity 19 CHAPTER TWO IMAGEABILTY OF A CITY AND ITS IMAGEABLE ORGANIZATION 2.1 The city 22 2.2 Imageable organization of the city 24 2. 2 - (i) Structure of a city 25 Physical structure (a) Natural organization 26 (b) Man made organization 29 Non physical organization 32 2.2 (ii) meanings Cultural and social aspect 37 Historical aspects: 39 2.2 (iii) Identity 40 CHAPTER THREE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CITY IMAGE / IMAGEABILITY OF THE CITIES THROUGH MAINTAINING AN EQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN PRESERVATION AND NEW GROWTH 3.1 Chang ing as a natural p h e n o m e n a 51 3.2 Establishment of the i m a g e 52 3.3 Balancing the conflicts 54 3.4 Towards a more culture supportive preservation m e t h o d . 57 3.4. - (i) Theoretical basis 57 3.4 - (ii) Method of examinat ion 59 3.4 - (iii) Data Analysis 62 CHAPTER FOUR PRESERVATION OF IMAGEABILITY IN SRI LANKAN TOWNS , SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE DOWN TOWN OF COLOMBO 4.1 Basis for se lect ion 63 4.2 Basis of Examination 65 4.3 Data a n d findings 66 4.3 (i) summery of the literature a n d r e c o n n a i s s a n c e survey 67 (a). Historical perspective of Colombo 67 (b). Physical and social configuration of the area 73 Slave Island 73 Fort 76 Pettah: 80 Kochchikade 83 Hultsdorf 86 4.3.(ii) summery of the cognitive images of the people in the selected area 89 Slave Island : 89 Fort 92 Pettah: 95 Kochchikade 98 Hultsdorf; 101 4. 4 Shared c o r e - characteristics of towns imageabi l i ty Slave Island : 103 Fort 107 Pettah: 110 Kochchikade 113 Hultsdorf; 116 C O N C L U S I O N APPENDIX A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t My sincere gratitude goes to e a c h and every person for their involvement to make this dissertation a reality. Lecturer Ravin Gunaratne for who understand my weaknesses and abilities, and g a v e necessary gu idance and encouragement . Architect Kapila d e Silva for devoting his valuable time , in guiding me on correct time. Aeroshana ayya, Miyuru malli, Nuvan, Kalhara, Mohomad, Deepthi, Charuni And Sammani for helping me in many ways Vanshika akka, Kalyana ayya and family for always giving me a homely feeling specially in my troublesome situations. Finally my heart full gratitude to my parents, brother and my Sumum ayya for every thing. List of figures Page No. 01 Prathibimba and prathirupa 01 02 What w e see & what w e know 02 03 Aborigines landscape 08 04 Chales bridge at praghe 10 05 Imageability changes with the time 11 06 Imageability of a Bo tree 11 07 Image of a European lady 12 08 Indian narrow street 12 09 The infinite extension 14 10 The image of a gypsy c a m p 15 11 Centre 16 12 Enclosure 17 13 Natural and man m a d e p lace 19 14 Hindu kush mountans 21 15 The city 22 16 There is more than physical a p p e a r a n c e 22 17 Manifestation in natural p lace 28 18 Capitoline square 30 19 Spanish steps 31 20 Natural events that giving character to the p lace 33 21 Two side walks 34 22 Enjoying the creaking sound 36 23 The wailing wall of Jerusalem 38 24 A dense clustered stone house on a rock 41 25 Strong natural places.. . . 43 26 Moscow 44 27 Man m a d e organization 45 28 Dubrovnik 46 29 A market city 47 30 Jerusalem 48 31 Islamic city 49 32 Modern loss s p a c e 52 34 selected domains 64 35 map of Colombo 68 36 Map of Colombo 1732 70 37 Map of Colombo 1907 71 38 Fort & pettah 72 38 two significant places 73 40. Map of Slave island. 74 41 Spatial configuration 75 42. map of fort 77 43 York street j < \ 78 44 Physical configuration 79 45 Map of pettah 80 46 Low scale trading 81 47 Physical configuration of pettah r 82 48 map of kochchikade '-'83 49 General pattern 84 50 Sea b e a c h road 85 51 Residential alley 86 52 Map of Hultsdorf 87 53 Spatial configuration Hults dorf 88 54 Refined Image o n e of slave island 89 55 Child's image 90 56 Refined image three 91 57 Refined image of Fort 92 58 Refined image two 93 59 A more detailed image 94 60 Image o n e pettah 95 61 Main transport centre 95 62 Refined image ; junction as a significant p lace 96 63 Image of dense cross srteets 97 64 Refined image o n e 98 65 Image of an individuals 99 66 Refined image three 100 67 Character of Hultsdorf 101 67 symbolic and activity centers of slave island 104 68 Hindu Kovil at Kew Road 104 69 Identified core and peripheral elements of Slave island 105 71 Core characters of Fort 107 72 Identified core and peripheral elements of Fort 109 73 Character of cross streets 110 74 Significant places of pettah 111 75 Identified core and peripheral elements of pettah 112 76 Significance if Kochchikade 114 77 Identified core and peripheral elements of Kochchikade 115 78 Shared characters of Hultsdorf 116 79 identified core and peripheral elements of Hultsdorf 117 80 Identified common Imageablie structure 125 81 Revitalization Proposal 126