Module 6 Current Practices and Moving Forward

The concepts and reading material in this last module related heavily to my current studio project which is focused on designing a sustainable building. What I found interesting and useful about this reading was how sustainability related back to urban design. There are different natural, cultural, and technical images which focus on how we change the environment and seek balance as place developers. Sustainability in architecture can be vague and hard to encompass sometimes, but by focusing around the natural environment, the economy, and society we can begin to better understand and mold our designs to be ecologically neutral. Sustainable design has been my passion for some times now and I have enjoyed getting to know more and more about how to incorporate it into my work.

Image of Sustainable Urban Design
Source: designingfortomorrow.org

The natural image of sustainability is what I was most familiar with, which focuses more on a local level of environmental place, the ecosystem, health and balance. As the study of local natural systems with an emphasis on the sensitivity and humility in relation to nature helps us to work delicately and protect out world. Passive design principles are often applied in relation to this sustainable image which works with the physical and biological attributes of spaces such as the topography, climate, and ecosystems. The cultural image still focuses on the local level, but looks more at contextual forms, materials, and construction methods and how they echo the local vernacular. By studying local culture and buildings through the emphasis on local involvement, designers can develop more “down to earth” and relatable spaces which locals will want to occupy and retain. Having users of our spaces is the end game after all. The technical image of sustainability is much broader, focusing around the global scale of technologies, global environmental impacts, cost-benefit analysis, and risk management. This is the leading edge of contemporary international systems. Here we study science, economics, technology and how the overlap between the natural and technical. As a global population we have an immense impact on the ecological environment and how it withstands time. And as designers, we have a responsibility to preserve our world and design appropriate urban spaces.

Through the understanding of the images of sustainability, we can begin to make positive change such as through the environmental approach of promoting renewable energy and resources through passive and active systems. The ecological and technical approaches also work with nature and the built environment to make sustainable design a reality. Architecture and urban form are moving forward toward sustainable development through many current practices such as Transit Oriented Development (TOD) which is focused on maximizing access to public transportation in mixed use areas of higher density. This helps create better access to jobs, housing, and opportunities for people of all ages succeed as we as helps to reduce congestions, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions and promotes more healthy communities through walkability. The sustainable development practice of Smart Growth has many similar aspects to TOD but is more environmentally sensitive, economically viable and community-oriented. I admire this strategy and see its importance in improving quality of future developments and life. Current movements, as discussed in the “Moving Forward” lecture, such as Slow Cities, Tactical Urbanism, and Urban Interventionism are working toward the promotion and improvement of urban change. They came about as a response to various ideas and environmental responses as our designs do. Involving the public in the design process helps us to develop responsive spaces in which people can interact within and sustain themselves. I believe, based on what I have learned from this course, that the future of urban design aims to improve the quality of life through the creation of meaningful spaces that respond appropriately to the environment.

Module 5 Urban Design an Urban Development

To better understand urban development is was helpful for me to look at the role of urban design in process of urban change through the effects brought on by regulators, producers, and users. Urban design and the dynamics of urban change occur through the flow of investment spurred by actors, builders, and facilitators. The urban process of creating place happens through human intervention and it is our duty as designers to implement rules of spatial organization to create a regulatory framework for a better developed place.

This set of lectures covered some important information on the regulations and code of urban design and how they influence how cities take shape and form. Regulating urban form requires many components to function properly such as through the implementation of zoning restrictions, guidelines, code ordinances, form-based codes and building codes. Code is a set of rules of spatial organization which helps us to better understand how things relate to one another as in through their context and surroundings. Modern code and regulations have added on a notion of segregated, zoned spaces in a clinical, technical, compartmental manner. Urban design codes in particular are regulatory frameworks of place making which emphasize physical planning and predictable urban form giving a “sense of place”. For example, the American urban landscape, also known as “generic America”, as an urban development process, was set up to solve problems such as sprawl, car dependency, and big box developments. Development and growth boundaries were established to help contain this as well. 

The reading, Production of the Build Environment, highlights urban development as a process to create and transform the city’s socio-spatial fabric. The understanding of this helps with shaping/ designing the built environment. From a broader look at the macro-scale, social and economic processes shape cities. The best way to understand urban process is to concentrate on development agencies and the structures they interact with and the special context within which they operate. The image below, from this reading excerpt, illustrates how the combination of the physical and social environment work together to collaborate resources and rules and ideas to form new urban development. From my own experience as a designer, I know that many aspects of design come from various different sources such as past successful designs and even code book specifications which aim to frame the public realm.

From the lecture on code, form based codes were discusses as an American product to put an emphasis on building relationships and fitting the building to its use and surroundings. This type of urban code calls attention to/ focuses on streets and neighborhoods, mixed use, building to boundary lines, diversity in neighborhoods and the ability to transform and preserve as opposed to what traditional zoning does.  The hybrid code approach combines form based codes with traditional zoning which allows communities to adjust code to fit design goals and resources. With varying objectives in this hybridized code there are degrees of flexibility that can benefit urban development. Code can be a pain to work with sometimes, but having this option of flexibility has allowed for some well-crafted spaces such as Portland’ s Pearl District which was primarily crafted through Piece-by-piece urban design. This typology of urban design consists primarily of incremental district development. General policies and procedures are applied to a district of a city to steer development in specific directions while still giving developers the freedom of choice.

Political Economy Models are the driving forces of the urban development process, which act as its structural imperatives. Capital-labor models the way markets are structured such as the roles of capitol, labor and land. Structure-agency models the state at a central/local level, the financial industry, construction industry, planning regulations, taxes, and public policies which help to govern the development process of urban design. These models set guidelines and the basis of code for which designers can develop urban space. They can be a bit restrictive sometimes, as I known well, but in the end they are for the best and keep the political and economic world in check.

As a design student, I am already seeing the importance of understanding code, and regulatory frameworks in the creation of the physical realm in relation to developing a well-functioning space in which people will want to accommodate. I believe that code from an urban design standpoint can also be about accessibility and safety of the space even through it was not really brought up in this module. Based on what I have learned, political economies are strong influencers in the development of urban space, but there is still some flexibility of code which help designers to develop a responsive environment to its surroundings.

Module 4 Representation of Space

Aalborg Waterfront Phase II

Located in Aalborg, Denmark - Project Year: 2015

Architect and Landscaping: C.F. Møller

Engineer: COWI

Lighting Design:  AF Hansen & Hennedberg

Area: 170,000sqm

 

This urban design project links the city’s medieval center with adjacent fjord (a long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea between high cliffs). The designers made this waterfront more accessible to citizens by tying it in with the opening in the urban fabric. They drew inspiration from the meeting between the dunes and the flat foreshore. This design was a second stage to a “Phase I” which drew together elements to make a more uniform space. The central idea of the second phase is the continuation of the waterfront walkway as a "marsh" in combination with a light curving platform, upon which the buildings are located to represent a raised dune landscape. The building platforms provide a raised base which unifies the area's distinctive freestanding buildings including university buildings, student housing and the concert hall. This urban design project also provides flood protection, so it is not only about access to the waterfront or aesthetic properties, but it acts as a practical structural element. The designers utilized every aspect of their additions to create a usable space. For instance, on the urban plinth there are spaces carved out to create a series of functioning seated steps, protected from the wind by the plinth’s sides. The Aalborg Waterfront urban design project also has spacious plazas integrated into the walkway areas creating a lush green space with dense groves of trees. The planting consists of trees, shrubs and grasses that are native to North Jutland fjord landscape of Denmark. I found this to be a very successful design in the way in which they took into account environmental elements and designed with them in mind to create a comfortable space. I plan to integrate this into my own designs to create a more comfortable outdoor environment, such as through blocking winds and adding more green space.

Dilli Haat

Located in Janakpuri, New Delhi, Delhi, India - Project Year 2014

Architects: Archohm Consults

Area/Site : 16,000sqm (6 acre) Northwest facing contiguous piece that turns southeast towards the end

Located by the main bus terminus. A national prison on the other side and a large commercial road in the front.

The complex has two entrances: a primary face with vehicular and pedestrian zones and a secondary rear entry for pedestrians into the craft-only zone.

 

Dilli Haat is an open-air food plaza and craft bazaar located in Delhi, run by Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation. Unlike the traditional weekly market, the village Haat, Dilli Haat is permanent (Wikipedia). This urban space started off as a design competition entry in 20005 known as ‘Haat Beat’. The site is located in a largely residential area with very few places to go out. The idea behind this urabn design project was to create a space where music can be promoted and bring people together. This acted as the underlying layer that bonded the overall program of formal and informal shops to sell crafts and celebrate culture; to inject a new life into this part of Delhi and be its rhythmic ‘heart beat’. Design philosophy was heavily called upon when taking to account the identity of this haat. They had to be progressive, in tune with today’s times and respecting the craft and cultural centricity of the project. The design solution therefore, is a conversation between the past and the present, acknowledgement of the traditional and its adaptation in contemporary times, in concept and in construction. This urban program thus has a music theme to the center which can hold concerts and sales. This urban space provide a mix of flowing indoor and outdoor spaces such as an open-air amphitheater, a multipurpose exposition space, basket style houses with a music museum, a music store, a music workshop along with tourism offices and cafes. A large, air-conditioned food court extends into shaded courtyards and expansive greens for the basic need of spill overs. Formal, informal and open shop spaces are created to bring in the required sensitive adaptations of malls, markets and bazaars into this haat. So this is a large scale urban design project with multiples program areas that draw in a large crowd. Outdoor shops with roofing canopies and craft shops to hold artisans’ workshops are integral to the Dilli haat theme. There are some air conditioned spaces and even a children’s play area tucked into a small green patch. The site plan is knit together efficiently. Free-flowing open spaces bind various activities on two levels. Huge signage and sculptural elements help with wayfinding in this extensive space. The material palette is a mix of modern and traditional using a lot of bamboo such as in the structures for shading, sculptures, and street furniture. The clusters of spaces are connected with small green patches and paved walkways connecting the urban form to create a flowing interconnected space. I found this project to be very compelling and beautiful. The urban design was successful in my opinion and is a convening place in regards to attracting tourism. 

The Hills

Located in New York City – Project Year 2016

By West 8 Landscape Architects

 This urban design project is located on Governors Island, a 172 acre island in the heart of New York Harbor.  The first 30 acres opened to the public in 2014 and include recreational fields, food concessions, seating, a public plaza, a hammock zone, a hedge maze and more. This new addition known as “The Hills” added on a 2.2-mile promenade encircling the island and picnic point. The park also features ten acres of sloping landscapes that will provide residents and visitors with slides, art and unparalleled views of the New York Harbor. There are four hills with a different urban theme to each. The smallest grassy slope is perfect for naps, relaxation, and overlooks the Manhattan landscape and skyline and even the Statue of Liberty. One area encourages play and activity with four slides that have been carved into the landscape, including the longest slide in New York City. The third hill, known as Discovery Hill, is dedicated to contemplation and a site-specific sculptural piece which embodies the urban fabric. The tallest hill, with a height of 70 feet, offers accessible pathways to the most dramatic lookout point on the island. There is also a more adventurous parkway constructed out of reclaimed granite seawall blocks that visitor climb up to reach the outlook. “The Hills” have been constructed from recycled demolition debris, general fill and lightweight pumice held together with geotechnical reinforcement. This urban development not only celebrates the gathering of people but also serves the practical purpose to combat erosion through the incorporation of shrubs, trees, and grassy lawns. The dramatic topography also does more than just offer views, but it helped to improve the islands resilience to volatile weather conditions and rising sea levels.  “Sculpted topography works in concert with winding pathways and trees to create ‘conceal and reveal’ vistas, choreographing the park experience,” said design director Adriaan Geuze, co-founder of West 8. “It maximizes the sense of anticipation, pulling a visitor through the park or signaling a place to sit and stay just a bit longer. The topography defines the very character of the area.” From a design standpoint, this urban design project was well put together, and aesthetically pleasing, but fails in its accessibility to the site. As an island, you need some sort of water transportation to get there. It is a planned ordeal, and possibility even a cost. But, in turn, this can make the space more desirable to visit. The process to get there is a celebration in and of itself, and adventure of sorts. 

Sources:

1.     “Aalborg Waterfront Phase II / C.F. Møller”. Arch daily. Sep 30 2015

2.     “Dilli Haat / Archohm Consults” Arch Daily. Published Nov. 23, 2015

3.     Lynch, Patric. “"The Hills" by West 8 Set to Open on Governors Island”. Arch daily. Jul, 15, 2016.

& govisland.com

Module 3 Influential Urban Design Thinker - Kevin Lynch

For this module I have chosen Kevin Lynch as an influential urban thinker to research. Lynch was an American urban planner and author from around the 40’s-80s. He wrote The Image of the City (1960) in which he discusses five urban categories and how people in urban situations orient themselves through mental maps. Lynch also wrote What Time is this Place? (1972) which discussed how the environment can be modeled to provide a better sense of time and place through the understanding of the continuum of the mind.Lynch studied at Yale under the instruction of Frank Lloyd Wright and was a professor at MIT which highlights his level in society. He is known for proving empirical research on city planning, how individuals perceive and navigate the urban landscape as well as his interest in environmental psychology. His books explore more upon time and history of the urban environment and how to better understand individual’s perception of the physical environment as a way to design better[i].

Google Images-Architecture of the City

As a designer, Lynch valued the breakdown of urban thought into elements of understanding. Through the comparison of urban areas, Lynch looked at how people orient themselves and made sense of the city scape. He theorized that we create mental maps as a form of way-finding to become involve in the urban fabric. The way we interpret that information leads us to take action within the urban environment and leads us to experiences of place. As mentioned about, Lynch has laid out five urban elements on urban character and legibility which is what mental mapping consists of, being nodes, edges, paths, districts, and landmarks. These elements help to model urban form based on what he values as a designer. Lynch argues that urban designers have the ability to make places more legible and psychologically satisfying[ii]. Lynch was about creating the perfect city through his understanding of normative theories and the value of city to its spatial characteristics. His theories have received some criticisms though such as how he only talks about elements of the city that are publicly visible to all people and another critics believe his five elements are only addressed through movement. Overall though Lynch helped pioneer the way for urban design, and enlightened us about the capacity for orientation and way-finding. [iii]

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[i] Canniffe, Eamonn. “Kevin Lynch: The Image of the City (1960)” Architecture + Urbanism. Blogspot Manchester School of Architecture postgrade course. 2010 Website

[ii] Lynch, Kevin. ""The Image of the Environment" and "The City Image and Its Elements"" Bblearn. The Image of the City (1960), n.d. Web.

[iii] Lange, Michiel. “review: KevinLynch – The Image of the City” Thethermalcity.nl. Mobile Media and Urban Design. 8 May 2009, Website.

Module 2 Contemporary Urban Design Theories

We are a normative society based on a system of social formalities and theories implemented in practice. Social norms and cues tell us how to act, feel and design. But there are theories and philosophies out there to challenge the “normal” and make us think about expression of society and physical culture in a different way. We attempt to express accepted urban design meaning by looking at cultural sign systems and “unwritten” rules and social cues. We have an inherent need to analyze and understand these systems of culture. The Social, Formal, and Environmental theories of urban design focus on livability and quality of life help designers to narrow down critical thought and make more meaningful spaces. The Social theory, as pioneered by Le Corbusier, helps us to understand city as a system of functions; and how change in society occurs due to change in space, and vice versa. So, basically this theory says that society is a powerful cultural tool that has the ability to change physical forms. This of course would occur over a large period of time, it is not as if urban spaces change overnight. Aldo Rossi, theorist of the formal theory in urban design, saw city as a human made objet with values and functions that may change over time, while the form of space remains relatively the same. I find this understandable as populations grow throughout time, we continue to build and repurpose pre-existing spaces for more appropriate functions.  A designer can never truly predict how their space will be used, but rather social formalities take over and form use.

 Similarly, to the Social theory of urban design, is the Marxian Political Economy philosophy which views urban design as an outcome of the social production of urban form. Such as when people come together to produce the urban fabric (such as construction) that process in turn is social. And this philosophy looks at how these formed spaces represent social and cultural existence. Production and labor form social and property relations that help us to produce physical urban aspects such as roads, airports, utility systems and so on. These capitalistic, government mandated forms help us create functioning cities. State policies, spatial requirements, codes and so on form the basis of which designers can work on. But these come from normative theories and how did this “normal” practice come about and be known to be the best? Design is about challenging and questioning what is known.

Everyone interprets place differently, and we need to take that account when designing through the study of things that happen in question which cause a need for explanation. Phenomenology has impacted the study of perception as a function of lived experience in the built environment. This philosophy can be applied as an interpretation of history and theory, as a form of placemaking and authenticity, and in order to design a physical space; which helps with creating “place”/identity. In philosophy there are many ambiguities especially when it comes to making conceptual vs factual observations and analyses. Edward Relph offers a conceptual clarity of own phenomenology explorations to explain the sense of place and insideness. He recognized that our individual insights have parallels with other helping us to take unique viewpoint and perspectives into account. Even though our senses, feeling, perceptions, understandings, and interpretations vary person to person, we can design with the knowledge that everyone will experience space in their own way.

Module 1 Background of the "Field"

As an architecture student I have spent so much time focusing on a small scope of site and structure, to put it in simple terms, compared to urban design which focuses on a much broader scale. And the scale only gets broader as urban design fits into city planning. As it is mentioned in the second lecture, there are many ambiguities to this “field”. But, thankfully there are some goals and principles out there to help us break down all the design concepts and theories. Urban design encompasses many aspects that envelop the built environment. In a way, urban design is about tying together spaces and places. After all, we are all part of the same environment, and even connected to some degree by the same ecosystems. After this first module I am already thinking critically about new concepts and ideas that I can apply to my architectural designs to allow for a more adaptive incorporation into the urban environment.

The breakdown of objectives, frameworks, and goals discussed in this module helps us to understand what specific pieces come into play when designing. Such as keeping in mind the history, culture, conservation, variation/vitality, environment, and architectural values. Urban designers are defining the “in-between” after all. It is the designer’s job to bridge that gap between existing build structures and unify space to multiple degrees. As mentioned in the second lecture, there are many ambiguities to urban design. Ambiguities do pose challenges, for instance, scale, economy, aesthetics, social aspects, objectives and so on are never quite definite. So it is our job to design objectively and take into account other perspectives.

Successful projects in the urban fabric arise from being informed and educated professionals before making design decisions. That is where research and analysis play an essential role. Having a background in urban thinking helps us to have the necessary information to shape the environment. The environment is so important when it comes to designing, since it gives the physical attributes where the design will be implemented.  Research is one of the beginning steps to the process of urban designing.  Studying and understanding patterns is how we make changes to space and influence the use of space. As discussed in the third power point, the morphological dimension of urban design configures the shape and form of settlements over time to understand patterns of development and the process of change. This can also be a great strategy for learning how to design for the future.  

After going through the first set of lectures, readings, and videos, I have come to the conclusion that urban design is a process composed of overlapping disciplines which aims to form not only physical spaces, but a sense of place. Place making and urban design go hand in hand, and are about envisioning and bringing people together. And we all have a need for community. The idea of bringing the new viewpoints, resources, concepts, theories and such together to make design decisions is a great way to make sure all the bases are covered. I guess that is why we usually have design teams. We are a society about taking pieces and coming together to form a whole. Which is how urban design came about, in order to bridge that gap; physically between buildings and socially among communities.  

My Introduction

Hello!
My name is Miranda Freeman. I'm a fourth year architecture student at the University of Idaho. I'm from Walla Walla, Wa, wine country, where I was first inspired to study architecture by all the beautifully crafted Victorian era homes. My passions for design reside with residential architecture and sustainable design. Outside of school I enjoy spending time out in nature, discovering new places, and going on adventures. I just got back from a much needed gap year. Before I took that time off school I went on a 2 month long trip to Rome and completed a semester of school. Studying abroad was a very enriching,but exhausting experience (thus the gap year). But through that experience I have learnt a lot about urban design that shaped the way I think about architecture and the built environment. I'm very excited to continue my studies in this direction and improve my designs with the urban environment in mind!