Barrier Free Park Designfor the Disabled Persons:

A Case Study of the KLCC Park

Hazrecna Hussein

Department of Archit ectureFaculty of Built Environment

Universit y of Malaya

Abstract

Making green spaces accessible to as many people as possible is now mainstream thinking inplannin g, design and management. Green spaces call be internal or external, integrated orseparatedwith building . The purpose of this paper is to investigate and identify the characteristics in creatingg reen spaces for the dis abled persons' to enjoy. This research is dedicated specia lly for those w ithsensory d isabili ties, i.e. visually im paired ' persons.The research w ill focus on issues and constraintsthat seem to impede their basic necessity, which is a barrier to them in enjoying the green spacesalongs ide the ir s ighted peers. How ever, this research can also be appli ed to other users such aschildren, eld erly peop le, pregnant women and parent with strollers. An example of a case studyse lected is the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) Park, whe re the author w ill ex plore the objectivesand design principles of the Park. The find ings are intend ed to provide recommendation onappropria te design criteria for the vis ually impaired person s in helping to maintain and managegreen spaces. This is also to provide general information on different type of plants, high lightingtheir value and usc in design as advi sed by landscape architects.

Keywords: Accessibility, Gn'(.'11 Span's, Visual1y Impaired

Introduction'It is tilefin II conuiction ofvirtllally everygrollprepresenting illleresis ofdisabled people lilat allfac ilit ies, illcilldillg lnndscape, s!wllld bedesigned toprovide nnioersataccess'(Stonehamand Thoday, 1996(b» .

The above s tateme nt is a reflection ofthe impor tance of accessibility in particularto the design of green spaces. Due to lack ofunderstand ing about the bui lt env ironmentin comb in ation w ith the naturalenvironmen t, green spaces are being abusedand neg lected .

Green spaces such as public parks andgardens have been associated for more thana century with pleasures, providing a gree n

oa si s in the ci ty . Bes ides landscapearchitects, architects, professional bu ildingsand property management sho uld also beaware of the conside rable debate over thecur ren t and future ro le of green spaces andwhether they meet the needs of all sectionsof socie ty. According to Spurgeon (1996),behind such cons ide ra tions is the basic idea

I Disabled person means an individual who hasphy sical or mental impairment that substantiallylimits one or more of herI his major life activities(Dt sabi flt y-Rela ted Terms and Defi nition s,2004 (a).

I Visually impaired arc persons who rely solely ontheirsense of hearing, touch and smel1 (Disability­Related Terms and Dcflnitl on s, 2004(b).

57

[ourna!ofDesign alld tim Buill Environment

that green spaces must be accessible, safeand offer both com fort and maximu menjoyment.

Designers, plan ners and managersought to be J110re concerned and sensitive inprovid ing the due respect and considera tionfor the v isua lly im p a ired pe rsons. Theawareness is enhanced by offering amenitiessuch as having proper designed walkwayswith ramps and railings, access ible publictoile ts and usable telep hone booths in greenspaces. The buil t environme nt must alsoincorporate certain aspects of sound, texturean d aro ma to ass ist the visually impairedpersons in their surrounding. Knowing thebasic necessity of the vi sually impa iredpersons w ill assist the designers, plann ersand managers to improve th e bu il tenv ironment.

Based on the s tudy, the in tention ofthis research is to investi gate and identifythe criteria for designing, maintaining andmanaging green space s that everyone canenjoy. If anyone were to ask whether there isa thin g called 'g reen spaces for the disabledpersons' right now, the answerwould be 'no,there is not'. Here and there, are campaignstowards a garden nation by 2005 (Yeang ,2000). It is d efin itel y a good e ffo rt ofsustainability and conservation; however,th ere is s till lack of p ub li c a wa re nessco ncerning this matter . Hence, visuallyimpaired persons are unable to participateeq ua lly in enjoying green spaces.

Green spaces sho uld be access ible toall d isab led pe rsons to be an equal user inall ac tivi ties that th e p lace has to offer.Below arc the objectives that should be met:

To ensure the success of a green space, theidentification of practical ideas is essentialin th e des ign process . With th isconsideration, the a im of this research is toachieve the age nd a of promoting all g reenspa ce s to ha v e a 'ba rrie r- free bu iltenvironment" ,

Rese a rch MethodologySeve ra l methods ar e being employ ed inmeeting these objectives . Dataand evidencewere collected by the use of two methodsna mely, li te rature surve ys andquestionnaires.

Th e research began by ob taining reliableinforma tion from literatures of related topicto provide the author wit h the knowledge ofexisting works on the subject and for mulatea pe rsonal unders tanding on the issues,requirements and constraints in relation to'barrier-free buil t environment' . It alsoassi sted to devel op research skills inidentifying the keywo rd s and to cons truc tquestionnaire surveys .

Data co llec tio ns from lit e rat urereviews were found from recommendedbooks, journa ls and resea rch reports. O therimporta n t informat ion was ob tai ned bysearching through the Internet Web pagesthat p rov ed par ticula rly u se fu l in caseswhe re suc h info rmation wou ld not besu fficien tly avai lable in lib ra ry bo oks ormagazine articles .

1.

2.

58

To incl ude a 'barrie r-free buil te nv iro nmen t: in g ree n sp ace s,focu s ing on so f tsca p e' andhardscapc': andTo identify issues, requirements andconstraints of visually im pairedpersons in using green spaces.

.1 Softscapc means the natural clement s such asplant materials, water fea tu res .

t Hard scape means the man made dements suchas hard surfaces, signa ges, etc.

5 ' Bar r tcr- Prcc Bui lt Envir o nment ' meansunhind ered , without obs truc tio ns , to enabledisabled persons free passage to and from andusc of the facili ties in the buill env ironment(Minis try of Hous ing and Loca l Governme nt(1999) G"iddillt's Rl.'qll irl.'ml'1l tsfor Am.'ss into Plt/llicBfti/iiillgs for DisalJll',1 Pereons, Kuala Lumpur)

Case Study: Kuala Lumpu r CityCentre Park (KLCC), Malaysia

Mo re than ten years ago, the MalaysianGove rnment was fully aware of the need formore green spaces in the city. As a resultfrom that, the beautifully landscaped KLCCPark had come into reality. The Park wasdesigned to showcase a heritage of tropicalgreenery by integrating man's crea tion withnature whilst offering a calm andharmonious environment in the midst of thehustle and bustle of a bu sy and dy namic city(refer figur e 1).

Figure 1:

The Kuala Lumpur City Centre Park withthe Petronas Twin Tower in the background.

Barrier Free Park Desing. for the Disabled Persons

The case study will be analysed into fivesubjects as follows:

i. The Project.KLCC is one of the largest, most prestigiousreal es tate develop ments in the wo rld and aproud symbol of Malaysia's multifacetedsuccess. It is designed as a people's place;an ideal place to live, work, visit, relax andshop. Over half of the KLCC is a sixty-acrelandscape public park designed by worldfamous landscape artis t, the late RobertoBurle Marx. He was a grea t ad mi re r ofnatural gardening and cons isten tly soug htto recreate the illusion of nature in urbangreen spaces whilst his philosophy andvis ion were a lways g u id ed by th esensib ili ties of an artist (refer figure 2).

Figure 2:A sixty-acre green spilce, which comprises

water features, children pla yground,walkway and jogg ing track.

11. The Master PlanA team from KLCC Berhad is responsible fortransla ting Burle Marx's vision into reality(refer figure 3). He has treated the Park as awork of art, where softscapes such as trees,palms, shrubs, creepers and climbersbecome an attractive composition of colour,form and texture. Much though t precededin the selection of plants, with the intentionof enc ourag ing bi o-diversity. He hasinterpreted the concept, which meets theobjectives of a multi-use area using contoursand hardscapes. The conservation factor

59

[ournalofDesign and tttaHI/ill Environment

w as another key co nsi deratio n in theplanning , ma in taini ng and ma nag ingprocess. About twen ty-thre e of the mat ureand rare specim.ens were saved from theformer Selango r Turf Club and eventuallytran splanted on to the pa rk grounds.

Figure 3:KLCC Master Plan. Courtesy of ArchitecturalDivision Kuala Lumpur City Centre Berhad.

i ii. The Inten tionTun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, the formerPrime Minister of Malaysia menlioned in thebook KLCC Park: A Un ique Work of Art(1998) that 'ln mmu] respects, the KLCC Parkisvery mucha People's Park'.

From the above statement,one of thein ten lions in d esigning the Park, wh ichco mparative to thi s research , is to besens it iv e to the ne ed s and de s ires ofMalaysians from all ways of life and agegroups.

iv, T he Sit eAccording to Hussain (1998), the KLCC Parkwas zoned into three distinctive areas, i.e .the Active area, the Passive area and theWalkway area .

The Active area is a transition areabetween the individual build ing lots and thePark's passive area to provide access and

60

circulation for users. The main componentscomprise the playground, lakes, fountains,bridges and jogg ing track (refer figure 4).

Figure 4:Another interesting element is the decorativebridge, which tales centre s tage of the greenspace. From this bridge, visually impairedpersons arc able to hear the sound from the

Lake Symphony Foun tain.

The Passive area is the inner area encircledby the active area and com bines a blend ofgentl e con tour ing with softscapes.The Parkinterior includes tree canopies which providecool but well-lit open space environments.Th e va riety o f vegetati o n e m p hasiseindigenous plants, provide ornamentation,educational and recreational amenities .Some trees from the form er Selan gor Tur fClub have been preserved and replanted a tselected areas in the Park (refer figure 5).

Figure 5:An accessible walk shaded by tree canopies.

The Walkway area acts as a pedestrianavenue added with resting areas at strategiclocations to accommodate the users' needs.Shaded trees are planted along the Walkwayarea to add comfort and enhance thepedestrian circulation by providing shadeand shelter. With varieties of vegetationalong the Walkway area, they canexpectantly offer texture, sound andfragrance to the visually impaired persons(refer figure 6).

Barrier Free Park Desill,'? for the Disabled Persons

Figure 6:Part of the green space is designed as

haven for birds. Much research went intothe selection of indigenous plant species

whose fruits attract birds. These couldproduce pleasant sound for the visually

impaired persons.

A number of landscape design guides havebeen published in specifying the techniquesapplied to attract wildlife (Emery, 1986;Gilbert, 1989; Baines and Smart, 1991).Besides birds, other common wildlifeinterests that can be found in green spacesare butterflies, bees, insects, squirrels andtoads. Some plants are used to encouragewildlife in green spaces. These plants aregrown in a supportive habitat need toprovide food supplies from berries or flowersfor all stages of the animals' growth; shelter,shade and closure for nesting.

v. The FindingsThe questionnaire was structured basedfrom the five barrier-free principles, i.e,Safety, Accessibility, Usability, Affordabilityand Aesthetics [as discussed in the previouspaper: ENCOURAGING 'BARRIER-FREEBUILT ENVIRONMENT' IN AMALA YSIAN UNIVERSITY (Hussein,2005)].

The first questionnaire was sent toMrs. Noraishah Hussain, a project managerin KLCC, working with the PutrnjayaHoldings. According to her, 'for a parksetting around an urban area like KLCC, theplants chosen must be pedestrian friendly'.

61

[ournal ofDestgn and lila Built Enoircnsnent

According to Hussein (2002), amongcharacters are to provide shade, screeningand defines different spaces .Thorny, spiny,stinging and poisonous plants that produceunpleasant sap or cause allergies can be aconsiderable nui sance . In favour of the'Accessible principle', it is importa nt toensure that plants arc planted ncar rampsand wa lkways as guidance to the visuallyimpaired pe rsons . It is also possible to useplan ts to emphasize pavemen t edges bu tcare mus t be taken in the choice andplacemen t of these plants to avoid peopletripping over. In providing texture for thesense of touch and smell, fragrant plants canbe int rod uced at a scale of shrubs height andeven include creepe rs as well as climbers.

The seco nd questionnaire was aninterview with Dr. Jacqueline Emmanuel.She is partially sig h ted sinc e 1997 andworki ng as a counse llor at the MalaysianAssociat ion for th e Blind (MAB) . Thequestionnaire started off w ith an accesssur vey do ne around the Par k. Along withthat, a series of questionnaire had been askedto inves tiga te co ns traints, issue s andpo ten tia l feat ures in the Pa rk as we ll asrequi remen ts for the visua lly impairedpersons. Mainly she could appreciate plantsby touching and smelling although not allplants produce scent.She also prefers to walkunderneath shady trees while hearing thebree ze blows though the foliage. She woulduse pla nt s as guida nce to walk if they we replanted near the pathway or in a waist heightplanter box (refer figure 7). Fur thermore sheadd ed the Park wou ld be educati ona l ifp lan ts were lab elled wi th Bra ille (tactilesignage) .

The app ropria te and imag inativeselection of plants is critica l to the success ofany green spaces. Sad ly it is often the poorse lection, combi nation of plant material,maintenance and management that letsdown the design of landscapes for them .There were a few issues and constraintsdiscovered for tilevisually impaired personswhen using green spaces . Later the authorhas suggested design requirements.

62

Figur e 7:Visually impaired persons prefer plants to be

planted in a waist heigh t planter box asguidance and appreciation.

Looking into softscapes, trees must receiveregular inspections and main tenance, It isimportant to obta in expert adv ice on thesafety an d he alth of spe cime ns . Old anddying trees ma y need to be felled for safetyreason. Tree branches, which are jointing outcould cause danger to the visually impairedperson s; a minimum clearance of 2 m etersfrom the base of the tree to the first branchw as noted in the guidelin e m entioned byHa rris, et all (1997). (refer figure 9).

Figure 9:Low branches hanging ove r walkways

should be removed .

Research also proves that tree roots couldcause unevenne ss in paths , particularly ifthe underlying subs trate is com pacted andthe roots arc therefore confined to a shallowzone just beneath the path sur face (Stonehamand Thcday, 1996(a» . (refer figure 10 and11)

Figure 10:Tree roots could cause unevenness in paths.This is unsafe for visually impaired persons.

Barrier Free Park Desil/gfor lite Dis(J bled Paso /Is

Figure 11:Tree roots whi ch are jointing ou t could

be hazardous.

Anothe r cons train t w as the unexpectedlevel s of changes wh ich are dang erous forthe visually impaired persons (refer figure12).

Figure 12:Unexpected level of changes .

Requirements in the ParkThe d iscussion for this se ct ion will bedivided into two parts, namel y hardscapesand so ftscapes .

63

Journal ofDesign andnm Buill EJlvir011111£'lIt

i, Hardscapes.The sense of tou ch is vital to people withvisual imp airmen ts. Hardscapes such assigns wit h tac tile should be in raised lellersand charac ters should be used to allowvisua lly impaired to fee l the signs (referfigure 13). A clear system of signs should beused th rough out the park, with a simila rheigh t and formal ateach change of d irection.

As q u o te d by O 'Con ne ll andSp ur geo n (1996), ' lnformntion provided tovisilorsshouldbeovoiloble illapproprintc[orntat(ot least targc prints but ideolly Bmille andcassette oswell)olldsittillgojinjormation poilltssucl:osnoticeboards needs. core/ Ill consideration',

.t'.j

, I

' • .• , ,) ·l ... - : I ~- "A .•.. r ,· ,'··

'! . -...'

......~. .'

.--,..

Figure 13:A suitable dimension of informationboard with Braille (tac tile signage)

is required for d irection.

Other exa mp les of hardscapes are handrailsand ha rd s ur faces . Ha nd ra ils sho uld bebrigh t in colour, to co ntras ting with thesurroundings. A tactile warning surfacesho uld be incor pora ted into the floor a t thetop and bo ttom of the ramp or s tairs (refe r

64

figur e 14). Ramp s must h av e at least agradi en t slop e of 1:12 w ith no n-slipperysurfaces .

Figure 14:Where there a re ramps or s tai rs, wa rningguides should be installed when needed.

Unexpected levels ofchanges are hazardou sand sho uld no t occur in the main line of thepedest rian w alkway. Stairs sho uld includea t least tw o s teps for sa fety reasons andalw ays be easily visible (re fer figure 15)

Fig ure 15:Unexpec ted level of changes . Existing

situations can be modified to forewa rn thevisua lly im paired perso n.

Walkways cou ld be filled with tactile clues(example Braille blocks) as ro ute finders(refer figure 16). Large fea tureless pavedareas in fron l ofbuildings should be avoidedas these can cause glare prob lems for thevisually imp aired pe rso ns and ma ke itdifficult to d is tinguish en tra nces.

Barrier Free Park Deeing for ilu: Disabled Persons

Figure 16:The use of Braille guide blocks should bepromoted and installed in green spaces.

'The outdoors is [ul! of differellt textures,particlliarly tlzose witlz uisunlintpairntents, relyall these to interpret theenuironment' (Lucas,1996)

'A more inmginatiu« selection ofplallts shouldbe encouraged, il/ell/dil/g the lise of [lora!displays, scents and textural int erest'(Stoneham and Thoday, 1996(a»)

Both of the statements above cited thatplants can be selected with differing texturesof leaves, barks and stems but need to berobust enough to withstand examination oftouch and should not contain thorns or sap,which may irritate (refer figure 18).

Further to the above, it is important toconsider plants and garden features, whichappeal to all the senses. Scent is what mostpeople think of when designing a gardenfor visually impaired persons and thi saspect certainly gives pleasure to sightedpeople as well . Some d istinctive trees withscents are kenanga, tembusu, chempaka,tanjung and kemboja (Fragrant Trees, 2000).

Shrubs could alsocontribute with theirscented flowers .The stra tegic positioning ofboundary trees and shrubs can reduce thenoise from busy roads and filter the smellfrom a nearby rubbish area. TIleyare namely,jasmine and melati (Ibrahim, 2000).

In addition to scen ted flowers, plantscan be chosen for their aromatic foli age andba rk, specifically kapur and kayu putih(Fragrant Trees, 2000). These can greatlyextend the season of interest. Some can beused as markers in the landscape, forexample to indicate sea ting or a change ofdirection.

--,.' - . ---.--._-"- "

" '-~' "-- .

--, : ..-..,

· ::c~

---.

Referring to the above statement, Stonehamand Thoday mentioned that plant selectionparticularly for visually impaired personsmust have significant criteria, i.e, scent (referfigure 17), texture (refer figure 18)and safety(refer figure 8). Together with those criteria,the author w ill suggest some commontropical plants.

n, Softscapes.'A good plalztillg design relies all tlze designerIznvillg all understanding of tlze differellt rolesiha! plants play' (Stoneham and Thoday,1996(a» .

Figure 17:'For peopl e who cannot share the visual

enjoyment of a garden, scents are particularly. significant' (Stoneham, and Thoday. 1996 (a)

65

Journalof Design tutd Om Built Enuironmeni

Figure 18:Visually impaired persons could also

appreciate plants by touching the texture.

'Safely is al/ important cOl/cem forfmil peopleand there is little sel/se in inclnding higMypoisonous or allergenic pial/Is in a plm/til/gscheme' (Stoneham and Thoday, 1996(b)).

The above sta temen t iden tified tha t visua llyimpaired person s require greater attentionto the safe ty in the p lan ted landscape. Plantswhich a re thorny, sp in y, s tin g in g an dp oisonous s h o u ld be a vo ided . Thes echaracteris tics refer to some plants, forexample fishta il pa lm, pong pong and bu tabu ta (Hussein, 2000).

ConclusionIt is not always realistic to design all areasof a green space to be accessible to ev eryonebut th is shou ld never justify the se grega tionof d isab led per sons by the provis ion of onespecific area, such as the notorious 'gardenfor the blind '. It is now widely acknowledgedth a t such seg rega tion runs co n trary to theidea l of in teg ration and tha t the demandfrom d isabled persons is for faciliti es tha tprovid e in terest for a broad ra nge of people,w ithout creating barriers for those withspecial needs. The recent fashion for 'sensorylandscap es ' shou ld be a way of introd ucingmuch greaterinterest and variety into parksfor everyone to enjoy and sho uld not resultin 'gardens for the d isab led' under a d ifferen t

66

heading . It is hoped that with carefu lplanning, regul ar mai n ten ance, eff icientmanagemen t and sensi tive approaches, allgreen spaces will be more accessible, friendlyand safe to as many people as possible. In away, if these practises are applied, greenspaces will o ffer advan tage no t only to thedisab led persons but for all users, includingchild ren, eld erly peop le, p reg na n t womenand parent w ith s trolle rs .

References

llm2Jg;

Baines, I.e. and Smart, I'.}. (1 991 ) A Guide 10Habitat Creation, A Londo n Eco logy Un i tPublication. Packard, Chiches ter.

Emery, M. (1986) Promoting' Naturl'ill Cities andT OlLIIIS. Croom Helm for Ecolog ical Parks Trust.

Gilbert, O.L. (1989) TlteEcologycftlrban Habitats.Chapman and Hall, London .

Harris, Charles W., Dines, N icholas T., Brown,Kyle D. (1997) Time-Saver Sialldardsfor LnndscapeArcliilt'C ls. McGraw-Hili, New York, pg240.1 ­240.21

Minis try of Housing and Local Gove rnment:Guidelines Requirements for Access into PublicBuildillgs for Disabled Persons, Administrativedocument (1999) Kua la Lumpur.

Public Affairs Depar tment KLCC (Holdings)Bhd. KLCC Park: A Ulliqlle Work of Arl (1998)KLCC (Holdings) Bhd.

Sloneham. ], and Tboday, P.11996(a)] LmulscnpeDesign for Elderly alld Disabled People. GardenArt Press, UK, pg23, pg127, pgI 58-160.

Journ alsHussein, H. (2005) Encouraging 'Barrier-FreeBuiltEIlllirOlll1lellt' illaMalaysian Ulliversity, The BuiltEnvironmen t Jou rnal, Volume I, No . 1, pg33­39.

Landscape Design: Jou rnal o f the LandscapeInstitute (1997) Issue 257, February 1997, pgl 9­26.

Lucas, B.(1996) A Feast for the Sellses, LandscapeDesign:Jou rnal o f the Land scape Inst itute. Issue249, Apr il 1996, pg27.

O'Connell, J. and Sp urgeon, T. (1996) Gardensfor All La ndscape D e s ign: Jou rna l of th eLandsca pe Institut e. Issue 249, April 1996, pg30 .

Sp urgeon, T. (1996) Gardens for AtI, LandscapeDesign:Journ al of the Landscape Institute. Issue249, Ap ril 1996, pg29 .

Stoneha m, J. an d Thcday, P. [1996(b)] AccessHot Excess, Landscape Desig n: Journal o f theLan dscape Institu te. Issu e 249, Ap ril 1996, pgl 8­19.

Conference paperHussein, H (2002) Parks for All, IFPRA Asia ­Paci fic Congress 2002 : Parks and Recrea tion inthe Information Age, Singapore, 7pages (in cdrom)

HarrierFree Park Deeing for fIJe Disabled Persons

Intern et referencesDisabi lit y-Rel ate d Terms and Definitions ,available :h ttp ://www.d uke .ed u/web/eq u ity / dl sa b­terms.h tm (Accessed: March 10, 2005(a))

Disability- Rel ated Te rms and Definitions,avail able :h tt p : / /w w w . u n c s ca p . o rg / d e ca d c /publicat ions.h tm (Accessed: March 10, 2005(b))

Paper articlesFragrant Trees. Garden Asia. July - September2000, pg1O.Hussein, H . (2000) Scented Garden for theDisabled People. Carden Asia, July - September2000, pg27 .

Ibr ah im, H . (2000) Sce nted Plants: Cre a tingFragrance in the H om e Garden. Cardell Asia,October - Decemb er 2000, pgl5, pgl7.

Ycang , S.c. (2000Oc tober 22) Towards a Gree n,Beautiful Country: New Straits Times, pg 25.

Unpublished paperHussa in, N. (1998) KLCC's Par k for People.

67