university of nizwa / department of architecture / fall ...€¦ · examples: chandigarh,...

University of Nizwa / Department of Architecture / Fall 2015-16

ARCH 404: Housing & Urban Design / Prepared by Ravishankar. KR / Handout for MID – 1 1

ARCH 404: Housing and Urban Design Chapters for Mid Exam – 1 1. Introduction Definition, Basics of Urban Design, Role of Architecture, Urban design, Urban Planning

2. Dimensions of Urban Design Morphological, Perceptual, Social, Visual, Functional, Temporal dimensions

3. Basic Frame work of Urban Design Place, density, culture, public realm, environment, Historic & Architectural values, ……

4. Elements of Urban Design Signage, lighting, service areas, parking, landscape, transportation, …..

5. Urban Pattern Planned and Organic cities

6. Urban Forms Five basic urban forms in a city; Paths, Nodes, Edges, Districts, Landmarks

7. Urban Theories Figure-Ground theory, Place theory, Linkage theory

8. Urban Design Process Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation, Implementation

1. Introduction

What is Urban Design?

• Urban design is the process of shaping the physical setting for life in cities, towns and

villages. It is the art of making places.

• It involves the design of buildings, groups of buildings, spaces and landscapes, and

establishing the processes that make successful development possible.

• In practical terms, Urban Design provides a set of descriptive and analytical tools for

working with the tangibles of landscape, built form, land use, and hard infrastructure.

• Urban Design helps to create successful places where people want to live, work, and

play... Help create a place that will be used and enjoyed by a wide range of different

people for different purposes, not only now but in years to come.

• Its concepts and methods enable us to examine and make sense of how people use space.

• The process of giving physical design direction to urban growth, conservation, and

change

• The design of cities - 'a grand design‘

• The interface between architecture, landscape and town planning

• The complex relationships between all the elements of built and inbuilt space the

architecture of public space

• Urban design is not land use policy, sign controls, and street lighting districts.

• It is not strictly utopian or procedural.

• It is not necessarily a plan for downtown, however architectonic, nor a subdivision

regulation.



Role of Urban Design

• Urban design as the interface between architecture and town planning, or the gap

between them.

• An Urban Planner is someone who is primarily concerned with the allocation of

resources according to projections of future need. Planners tend to regard land use as a

distribution of resources problem, parceling out land, for zoning purposes, without much

knowledge of its three-dimensional characteristics, or the nature of the building that may

be placed on it in the future. The result is that most zoning ordinances and Official land

use plans produce stereotyped and unimaginative buildings.

• Architect designs buildings. A good architect will do all he can to relate the building he

is designing to its surroundings.

2. Dimensions of Urban Design

1. MORPHOLOGICAL DIMENSION

– Focuses on the layout and configuration urban form and space

2. PERCEPTUAL DIMENSION

– Deals with awareness and Appreciation of Environmental perception and

experience of a place.

3. SOCIAL DIMENSION

– This dimension deals with the relationship between people and space.

4. VISUAL DIMENSION

– Explains the aesthetic appreciation of the environment

5. FUNCTIONAL DIMENSION

– Deals with how places work and how urban designers can make a better place.

6. TEMPORAL DIMENSION

– Deals with the influence of time on urban environment



3. Basic Frame work of Urban Design The basic framework of urban design includes:

• Place,

• Density,

• Mixed and compatible uses,

• Pedestrianization and human scale,

• Human culture,

• Public realm,

• Built environment

• Natural environment,

• Architectural values,

• Historic preservation and

• Urban conservation.

4. Elements of Urban Design Elements of Urban Design includes

Signage

Lighting

Service areas

Parking

Landscaping

Fencing

Building materials

Building articulation

Transportation



5. Urban Pattern Generally urban areas in the world can be categorized in to two major classifications.

These are planned and organic (unplanned) urban areas.

A. PLANNED CITIES These are cities that are laid with the intention of founding cities.

They are designed on paper and finally realized with careful control of professionals.

General characteristics of these cities are.

• Have regular type of layout,

• Have standard street patterns,

• Well studied land use,

• Fair distribution and location of services,

• Future expansion schemes.

B. ORGANIC CITIES These are cities that have evolved with the need and day to day activities of the society.

They grow by the unintended or unplanned actions of the society.

General characteristics of these cities are

• Irregular type of layout,

• Narrow, winding streets,

• Irregular pattern of land Use,

• Need oriented location of services,

Planned Cities The planned cities are further classified in

to five categories according to their shapes.

1. Grid-iron pattern

A simple rectangle divided up into

square blocks for building with

streets.

Examples: Chandigarh,

Washington, New Delhi, New

York, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

2. Radial pattern

A pattern where roads from different directions

forming a nodal group. Towns established at these

junctions took the form of a radial plan. Examples :

Washington, New Delhi, and Versailles

3. Spider web pattern

When there is a radial plan a series of circumferential

roads are introduced, closed spaces between roads are

created resulting in controlled development.



4. Composite of grid and radial pattern

Where the grid-iron is used for the sake of

convenience of repeating the same or similar unit.

5. Irregular pattern / Organic Pattern

–The difficulties of land undulation,

presence of natural features may demand a

layout befitting the site, an irregular plan

will be obtained

6. Urban Forms Five basic urban forms in a city are: Paths, Nodes, Edges, Districts, Landmarks

Paths Paths consist of the "channels along which the observer customarily, occasionally, or

potentially moves". These can include streets, paths, transit routes, or any other

defined path of movement. It is important to note that the paths an individual

identifies may not correspond to a traditional street network. These are often the most



predominant items in an individual's mental map as this is main mechanism for how

they experience their city.

Edges Edges provide the boundaries that separate one region from another, the seams that

join two regions together, or the barriers that close one region from another. They are

linear elements, but are not the paths along with the individual experiences the built

environment. They can be physical edges such as shorelines, walls, railroad cuts, or

edges of development, or they can be less well-defined edges that the individual

perceives as a barrier.

Districts Districts are "medium-to-large sections of the city". They are typically two-

dimensional features, often held together by some commonality. The individual often

enters into or passes through these districts. According to Lynch, most people use the

concept of districts to define the broader structure of their city.

Nodes Nodes are points within the city, strategically located, into which the individual enters

(and which is often the main focal point to which she or he is traveling to or from).

There are often junctions – a crossing or converging of paths. They often have a

physical element such as a popular hangout for the individual or a plaza area. In many

cases, the nodes are the centers of the district that they are in.

Landmarks Landmarks are also a point-reference (similar to nodes). However, unlike nodes,

which the individual enters during his or her travels, landmarks remain external

features to the individual. They are often physical structures such as a building, sign,

or geographic features (e.g. mountain). The range of landmarks is extensive, but the

commonality is that there are used by the individual to better understand and navigate

the built environment.

7. Urban Design Theories Figure-Ground theory, Place theory, Linkage theory

Figure-Ground Theory • The figure-ground theory is founded on the study of the relative land coverage of Solid

masses (“figure”) (buildings) & Open voids (”ground”) (parks, streets, squares).

• A predominant “field” of solids and voids creates the urban fabric.



• The figure-ground approach to spatial design is an attempt to manipulate the solid-void

relationships by adding to, subtracting from, or changing the physical geometry of the

pattern.

• The figure-ground drawing is a graphic tool for illustrating mass- void relationships; a two-

dimensional abstraction in plan view that clarifies the structure and order of urban spaces

Urban Solids & Voids

Urban Solids:

• Public Monuments or institutions

(Ziggurat, Pyramid, Gothic or Baroque Churches etc)

• Urban Blocks

(Traditional urban block as the definer of streets and square)

• Edge-defining Buildings

-Establish an edge of the district- (Housing district in Amsterdam)

Urban Voids: • Entry foyer space

–Establishes the important transition from personal domain to common territory-

(fore court, mews, niche, lobby, front yard)

• Inner block void

–A semi private residential space for leisure or utility- (courtyard and covered

passage)

• Network of streets and squares

–Places to spend time in and corridors through which to move-

• Public parks and gardens

–Nodes for the preservation of nature in the city, places for recreation-

• Linear open-space system

-Commonly related to major water features such as rivers, waterfronts, and

wetland zones.



Place Theory

• The place theory adds the components of human

needs and cultural, historical, and natural

contexts.

• Advocates of the place theory give physical space

Additional richness by incorporating unique

forms and details indigenous to its setting.

• In place theory social and cultural values, visual

perceptions, of users and an individual’s control

over public environment are as important as

principles of enclosure and linkage.

Linkage Theory

• The linkage theory is derived from lines

connecting one element to another. These lines

are formed by streets, pedestrian ways, linear

open spaces, or other linking elements that

physically connect the parts of a city.

• The designer applying the linkage theory tries to organize a system of connections or a

network that establishes a structure for ordering spaces.

• Emphasis is placed on circulation diagram rather than the special diagram of the figure-

ground theory.

• Movement systems and the efficiency of infrastructure take over patterns of defined out-

door space.

8. Urban Design Process Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation, Implementation

Four basic phases of urban design:

1. Analysis,

2. Synthesis,

3. Evaluation,

4. Implementation

ANALYSIS Gathering of Basic Information, It includes understanding the structure, organization, and pattern of urban areas.

Basic information is gathered on such items as land use, population, transportation,

natural systems, and topography.

Designers also examine the varied character of the site and the structure of

neighborhoods and business areas. Problems and design goals are identified.



Visual Survey The visual survey is a standard part of any urban design study.

It is an examination of the form, appearance, and composition of a city or neighborhood.

To conduct a visual survey, one must have a basic idea of the elements of urban Form,

i.e. the five basic elements of a city form. Those are Paths, Nodes, Edges, Districts and

Landmarks.

Identification of hard and soft areas The definition of hard (e.g. public parks) and soft areas (e.g. business district) helps to

designer to know what parts of the city can accommodate growth and change and what

parts are essentially fixed because they may be occupied, for example, by a historic

landmark.

Such information is of considerable value in the latter stages of the urban design process

when proposed plans must be evaluated for feasibility of implementation.

Functional Analysis The functional analysis examines the relationship of activities among the various land

uses and the way that relate to circulation systems.

This study builds on the work of the land-use planners. However, the urban designer

carries the study into three dimensions. (e.g. changing of building heights to street width

ratio over time.)

SYNTHESIS In this phase, the data gathered and the analysis of the problem must be translated into

proposal for action.

The first component of synthesis phase is the evolution of concepts that address the

problem.

Concepts are followed by the development of schematic design proposals. These

proposals are more specific in nature.

Schematics are followed by preliminary proposals.

EVALUATION

Evaluation occurs at many levels, ranging from meeting technical demands to the ability

to gain public acceptance. After the design proposals are complete, it is essential that they

be evaluated in the light of the original problem or issue they were intended to address.

One of the more complicated tasks associated with evaluation is determining what criteria

should be employed.

There are two basic categories:

(1) How well the solutions fit the problem and

(2) How readily the proposals can be implemented.

IMPLEMENTATION During the implementation, the strategy for actual financing and construction is

formulated. Detailed phasing studies and tools are considered to realize the project.

Note:

For better understanding refer the Lecture PPTs and the Reference Files uploaded in the EduWave.

university of nizwa / department of architecture / fall ...€¦ · examples: chandigarh,...

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