PRINCIPLES
Purpose
Sketch people, places and people in places.
Using a visual language of architecture we analyze and describe urban space with plans and elevations to express: structure, materials, context and meaning (Korkov). Using a social language of environmental design we apprehend human behavior with figure drawing, cameras and where applicable audio recordings.
Theories
A sketching itinerary is selected, proposed and analyzed from a map or an airphoto using Kevin Lynch’s model, then sketched using Gordon Cullen methodologies, critiqued with Jane Jacobs’ principles, understood from Christopher Alexander’s philosophies, and summarized with Gestalt theories.
Ultimately, this collective thinking can be synthesized on stage, where the parallel between stage design and urban design is used to express fundamental messages about place and identity in Calgary, and to originate a discussion between developers, decision-makers and designers about possible urban design directions for Calgary.
Kevin Lynch – mental maps
· Path
· Districts
· Node
· Landmarks
· Edges
Gordon Cullen: serial vision
· Serial vision
· This and That
· Here and There
· Functional Tradition
Jane Jacobs
· Eyes on the street
· Neighborhoods
· Streets and Squares
· Economics, culture and politics
Christopher Alexander
· Pattern language
· Color
· Site
· Space
· Details
· The “I”
· The collective (10,000 “I”)
· Nature of the Universe
Gestalt
· A structure, configuration, or pattern of physical, biological, or psychological phenomena so integrated as to constitute a functional unit with properties not derivable by summation of its parts. In urban design we use gestalt to suggest that perception, experience and behaviour are linked, to analyze how they are linked and design from the linkage.
· Thing
· Context (or environment)
· Relationship “thing to environment”
Methodology
Within the limits of human eyesight, horizon, structures, vegetation and obstructions delineate the landscape.
The distance to the horizon varies as the square root of the observer's elevation for small elevations; at four times the height the distance to the horizon is twice as great. The distance of the horizon on earth is approximately √13h kilometres, where h is the height in meters of the eyes. Examples: standing on the ground with h = 1.70 m, the horizon is at a distance of 4.7 km; standing at a balcony with 25 m in height, the horizon is at a distance of 18 km.
The types of structures, vegetation and obstructions will create recognizable places and these can be further categorized in terms of their radii.
Then there is also a socio-visual radius that starts at a distance of about 500m within which people are perceived, and outside of which they disappear from sight. More details show us that within 300m body shapes and movement can be seen, 100m posture, 50m facial features, 20m facial expressions, and within10m lies the psychological space. Within the latter a high complexity of visual cues can be drawn, and these will change from culture to culture, just as much as the distances within which psycho-social connections are made.
An auditory analysis of the space can be made in a similar fashion. Instead of a pen and camera, a microphone and recorder ought to be used which would categorize sounds in terms of land use, and then in terms of concentric radii of auditory perception of human interactions.
Follow up
Ultimately, our suggested approach borrows from all these theories of urban design, and makes a parallel with theatre, so as to analyze urban space in terms of unity of time, place and action.. Unity of time defines the city (you must drive – city, cycle – town, or walk – village it in one day); unity of place defines the neighborhood; and unity of action describes the land use. We define “place” as a portion of space where there is unity in all three of each context.
Given this frame of reference, the urban setting can be likened to the theatre stage in terms of design. In both discipline, physical space is defined where psychological events take place that lead to social circumstances. The fundamental difference between theatre and city is that the creative process in theatre focuses on unique, unusual and unpredictable events whereas urban design focuses on the mundane, the day-to-day and the predictable. Otherwise, and from a design perspective, the aim is the same, and the principles of unity of time, action and place can be used interchangeably: people enter the place, perform predicated actions, and exit the place. In this model, “place” (genus loci) can be defined by the unity of time, space and action.
Hence, analysis and design can be undertaken that link spaces in terms of entry, actions and exits of people in places, especially of people doing predictable behavior (predicated by the land use), and the place in terms of its social to environmental radius.
Sketch people, places and people in places.
Using a visual language of architecture we analyze and describe urban space with plans and elevations to express: structure, materials, context and meaning (Korkov). Using a social language of environmental design we apprehend human behavior with figure drawing, cameras and where applicable audio recordings.
Theories
A sketching itinerary is selected, proposed and analyzed from a map or an airphoto using Kevin Lynch’s model, then sketched using Gordon Cullen methodologies, critiqued with Jane Jacobs’ principles, understood from Christopher Alexander’s philosophies, and summarized with Gestalt theories.
Ultimately, this collective thinking can be synthesized on stage, where the parallel between stage design and urban design is used to express fundamental messages about place and identity in Calgary, and to originate a discussion between developers, decision-makers and designers about possible urban design directions for Calgary.
Kevin Lynch – mental maps
· Path
· Districts
· Node
· Landmarks
· Edges
Gordon Cullen: serial vision
· Serial vision
· This and That
· Here and There
· Functional Tradition
Jane Jacobs
· Eyes on the street
· Neighborhoods
· Streets and Squares
· Economics, culture and politics
Christopher Alexander
· Pattern language
· Color
· Site
· Space
· Details
· The “I”
· The collective (10,000 “I”)
· Nature of the Universe
Gestalt
· A structure, configuration, or pattern of physical, biological, or psychological phenomena so integrated as to constitute a functional unit with properties not derivable by summation of its parts. In urban design we use gestalt to suggest that perception, experience and behaviour are linked, to analyze how they are linked and design from the linkage.
· Thing
· Context (or environment)
· Relationship “thing to environment”
Methodology
Within the limits of human eyesight, horizon, structures, vegetation and obstructions delineate the landscape.
The distance to the horizon varies as the square root of the observer's elevation for small elevations; at four times the height the distance to the horizon is twice as great. The distance of the horizon on earth is approximately √13h kilometres, where h is the height in meters of the eyes. Examples: standing on the ground with h = 1.70 m, the horizon is at a distance of 4.7 km; standing at a balcony with 25 m in height, the horizon is at a distance of 18 km.
The types of structures, vegetation and obstructions will create recognizable places and these can be further categorized in terms of their radii.
Then there is also a socio-visual radius that starts at a distance of about 500m within which people are perceived, and outside of which they disappear from sight. More details show us that within 300m body shapes and movement can be seen, 100m posture, 50m facial features, 20m facial expressions, and within10m lies the psychological space. Within the latter a high complexity of visual cues can be drawn, and these will change from culture to culture, just as much as the distances within which psycho-social connections are made.
An auditory analysis of the space can be made in a similar fashion. Instead of a pen and camera, a microphone and recorder ought to be used which would categorize sounds in terms of land use, and then in terms of concentric radii of auditory perception of human interactions.
Follow up
Ultimately, our suggested approach borrows from all these theories of urban design, and makes a parallel with theatre, so as to analyze urban space in terms of unity of time, place and action.. Unity of time defines the city (you must drive – city, cycle – town, or walk – village it in one day); unity of place defines the neighborhood; and unity of action describes the land use. We define “place” as a portion of space where there is unity in all three of each context.
Given this frame of reference, the urban setting can be likened to the theatre stage in terms of design. In both discipline, physical space is defined where psychological events take place that lead to social circumstances. The fundamental difference between theatre and city is that the creative process in theatre focuses on unique, unusual and unpredictable events whereas urban design focuses on the mundane, the day-to-day and the predictable. Otherwise, and from a design perspective, the aim is the same, and the principles of unity of time, action and place can be used interchangeably: people enter the place, perform predicated actions, and exit the place. In this model, “place” (genus loci) can be defined by the unity of time, space and action.
Hence, analysis and design can be undertaken that link spaces in terms of entry, actions and exits of people in places, especially of people doing predictable behavior (predicated by the land use), and the place in terms of its social to environmental radius.
posted by Le Cid at 12:44 AM
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