Basics Landscape Architecture 01: Urban Design

184 Pages·2009·30.101 MB·English

by  Tim Waterman, Ed Wall

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BASICS
Ed Wall
Landscape architecture Tim Waterman
01
URBAN
DESIGN
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Urban Design
An AVA Book (cid:2)
Name: The High Line
Published by AVA Publishing SA
Location: New York, USA
Rue des Fontenailles 16
Case Postale Date: 2004–2009
1000 Lausanne 6 Designer: Field Operations
Switzerland with Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Tel: [phone]
Email: [email protected] An abandoned elevated railway
line has been transformed into
Distributed by Thames & Hudson (ex-North America) a linear park or greenway. The
181a High Holborn High Line stretches for over two
London WC1V 7QX kilometres through Manhattan’s
United Kingdom west side. It provides a wholly
Tel: [phone] new way of experiencing the city.
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
www.thamesandhudson.com
Distributed in the USA & Canada by:
Ingram Publisher Services Inc.
1 Ingram Blvd.
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USA
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Copyright © AVA Publishing SA 2010
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
permission of the copyright holder.
ISBN 978-2-940411-12-2
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Design: an Atelier project, www.atelier.ie
Cover image by Iwan Baan © 2009
Production by AVA Book Production Pte. Ltd., Singapore
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Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
All reasonable attempts have been made to trace, clear and credit the
copyright holders of the images reproduced in this book. However, if any
credits have been inadvertently omitted, the publisher will endeavour to
incorporate amendments in future editions.
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Contents
Introduction 06
How to get the most out of this book 12
1 What is urban design? 14 2 Context 38 3 Measure 62
Definition and debate 16 City and territory 40 Street 64
Evolution of urban form 20 City 44 Block 70
Early urban design 24 Neighbourhoods and Buildings and
blocks 50 open spaces 74
Industrial age
urban design 28 Street 54 Person 80
Urban design since Detailing 58 Infrastructure and
the nineteenth century 32 utilities 84
Urban design
ContentsIntroduction (cid:2)
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4 Movement 90 5 Community 6 Projects
Innovations and trends 92 and culture 112 and processes 136
Speed 98 Societies and culture 114 Structure 138
Modes 102 Politics and economy 116 Lines 144
Mass vs individual 106 Community Points 152
Stasis 110 and individuals 122 Beyond 156
Necessities 126 Green 160
Diversions 132
Conclusion 166 Acknowledgements 174
Glossary 168 Picture credits 175
Bibliography 171 Working with ethics 177
Contacts and useful
resources 172
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Introduction
Civilisation is less a thing or an institution than it is a process. It is (cid:2)
a drive to live together in society, in close proximity, and to gain Name: Bryant Park
progressive benefit from that physical association. Human Location: New York, USA
settlements –villages, towns and cities –are the physical Date: 1986–1991
manifestation of human communities and civilisation. The work Designer: Laurie Olin
of orchestrating these environments has come to be known as A crowd fills New York’s Bryant
Park for a special event. Urban
‘urban design’.
design creates spaces for
Urban design is the work of shaping the three-dimensional spaces people, from individual
interaction to busy festivals.
of human settlements with the intention to improve not just the
beauty of a place, but to allow better interaction between people
and between people and their environment. Good urban design
contributes to the overall quality of life in a city. As such, it is not
merely a physical design process, but a balancing of political,
economic, cultural and physical factors that have an impact on
a given place.
Because of the immensely broad base of knowledge, context and
understanding required, urban design is always collaborative work.
It is a discipline that involves a range of professions. Primary
amongst these professions are landscape architects, building
architects and planners. Individuals in many fields work as urban
designers and this is particularly important given that each
profession and discipline brings different training and knowledge,
and a different set of sensibilities to an urban design team. This
book, therefore, seeks to explain the significance of landscape
architecture to urban design and the significance of urban design
to landscape architects.
‘A shared understanding of how cities now function, of the
essentially democratic nature of urban public space, of an
urban landscape aesthetic that is also an ecological and
ethical system, is badly needed today.’ Ken Worpole
Urban Design
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Introduction
Landscape architecture in urban design Urban design in landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is a profession that Landscape architects are often called upon to
combines art and science to shape and lead projects in urban design, given that their
manage the physical world and the systems training gives them exceptional context and
that we are part of. It is a design profession sensitivity. Many landscape architecture firms
that creatively responds to the challenges of base their practice almost entirely around
man’s interaction with the land to propose new urban design, not only because of the specific
possibilities for sites. Landscape architecture range of skills within the firm, but simply
also requires a strong understanding of natural because such a large number of projects fall
systems and sciences, such as geology and within an urban context. When considering the
soils, plants and climatic and water systems. design of a city park, for example, it is not
possible to conceive of a park as separate
The broad, contextual knowledge of ecological
from its surroundings. The pathways taken by
systems is one of the key strengths that
pedestrians through a town to reach the park,
landscape architects bring to the work of urban
the enclosure of the park by buildings, the
design. Cities are, in one sense, simply physical
movement of vehicles and services, and the
manifestations of human ecology. They are
political motivations for any changes to the
human habitat and as such, at a fundamental
space are all urban design considerations that
level, they function like any other animal
fall within the work of landscape architecture.
habitat, providing shelter, protection, refuge,
and the mutual advantage of strength in
numbers. Far from being merely collections of
buildings, cities are interconnected,
interdependent systems of movement and
interaction, which require of the designer the
ability to see the big picture, the confidence to
act in a complex milieu, and the humility to
watch, listen and learn.
Urban Design
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What does the book explain?
(cid:129)The parallels between urban design and
landscape architecture
(cid:129)The landscape architectural techniques and
context that are important in urban design
(cid:129)The urban design techniques and context that
are useful to landscape architecture
(cid:129)How different projects worldwide show the
interconnections between urban design and
landscape architecture
The global population has become increasingly
more urban and concentrated over the course
of the last few centuries. Urbanisation may be
seen as a natural, even ecological process that,
like natural wilderness, is frequently imbalanced,
contentious or dangerous. Designing and
planning for urban environmentsdemands a
contextual approach and an awareness of
overlapping and interdependent systems in
much the same way that planning for the larger
environment does. Indeed, urbanisation has
now impacted on so much of the larger
environment that a new field called landscape
urbanism has come into being.
This book explains, at least in broad terms,
the relationship between the profession of
landscape architecture and the practice of
urban design. This would be a simple task if
one was a subset of the other, or if landscape
architecture and urban design were separate
disciplines that undertook completely different (cid:2)
types of work. However, there are many Name: Gardens by the Bay
overlaps, similarities and complementary Location: Singapore
approaches between the two. This book Date: 2006
attempts to give sufficient background for the Designer: Grant Associates
reader to understand why decisions are made This winning entry from
in urban design rather than to explain specific Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay
competition is based upon
methods or techniques.
providing substantial green
infrastructure for a sustainable
city. The Lion Grove features
imposing ‘Supertrees’ that will
provide shade by day and
lighting by night.
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Introduction
The two main discussions in this Movement– This section highlights the
book are: development of movement systems in urban
centres. The recent trends for shared space
•the relevance of landscape architecture to
are contrasted with traditional approaches to
urban design and
mass transit and the emerging methodologies
•the relevance of urban design to landscape
in contemporary metropolises.
architecture.
Community and culture– Culture has a
There are six chapters in this book, each
profound effect on the landscape and it is also,
presenting a different aspect of this discourse:
in turn, deeply influenced by place. Urban
What is urban design?– This section design processes succeed or fail depending
provides an introduction to the histories, on their acceptance by the community.
theories, design firms, and designers that Cultural and community contexts are essential
have shaped our understanding of urban to understand in order to create meaningful
design. This provides a background for urban form.
understanding the design and planning
Projects and processes– Many of the key
of cities, and the debates that surround
themes of the book are reintroduced in this
the definition of urban design.
section, and the opportunity is taken to
Context– Understanding context, whether highlight particular issues using important
environmental, social, or political, is design projects as lenses through which to
fundamental to landscape architecture. view them.
Techniques for analysing context developed
by landscape architects have become
instrumental to the practice of urban design
as well.
Measure– How big? How much? How fast?
How many? The measure of the city greatly
informs both our understanding of it and the
emergence of new urban forms. This section
discusses measure and scale from the micro
detail to the macro super block, and from the
local to the global.
(cid:2)
Name: Borneo Sporenburg
Location: Amsterdam,
the Netherlands
Date: 1993
Designer: West 8
The landscape architecture firm
West 8 is renowned for its urban
design that is both eye-catching
and functional. This pedestrian
bridge links the two peninsulas
of this development across
the canal.
Urban Design
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