IPOH RAILWAY STATION

The Ipoh Railway Station is one of the iconic landmark in Malaysia which is situated next to the Central Bus Station and the Main Post Office. Ipoh Railway Station is affectionately known as the Taj Mahal of Ipoh as it is quite a magnificent structure with it's Moorish architecture. The building was selected by survey to be one of the landmark for my research on colour perception between designers and laypublic on constructed landmarks in Malaysian Cities. The main purpose of the study is to explore the various schemes of colour perception or colour interpretation of the urban environment and to discover their potential part in interactions between the designers and the laypublic or users. It is also of equal importance to identify the differences and similarities in perception between the two groups, and to develop possible ideological (based on the relating to a particular set of ideas or beliefs) presuppositions (when someone believes something is true without any proof) about the realities of urban design in relation to colours, especially in the context of the Malaysian cities. Such findings will facilitates a dialogue between decision makers and users of the urban scene and enlarge possibilities for what can be called a common understanding and communicative action.
The research will also deal with the perception of colour of the constructed landmarks between designers and the laypublic and it is postulated that the colour experience and the landmarks are mediated by the process of perception on the part of individuals. It will also study the aspect of familiarity and its influences on the judgement of constructed landmarks in six Malaysian cities.

The study will adopt categories of constructed landmarks that include towers, buildings and special urban features such as stadium and bridges. The study will be limited to identifying landmarks, investigating the significance of association with meanings and interpretation of colour (but not on the physics of colour), emotional response and physical evaluation based on surfacial values or visual appearance, familiarity, educational background and ethnicity which also formed the main variables.

An exploratory survey was conducted on the six selected cities namely Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam, Johor Bahru, Pulau Pinang, Melaka and Ipoh and former residents are the meant to be representatives of a larger sampling group during the survey. The respondents are the designers and laypublic. The aim was to evaluate the landmarks for each city. The questionaire was open ended and this allowed the respondents to express and answer the quesions freely. The findings will used to help in identifying the range of responses derived from perception, colour perception and evaluation of the landmarks in selected Malaysian cities.