arpl 3012_contemporary
approaches to urban design
hand-out 04_project 4
18.9.2012
in my country, we
are just learning that sidewalks are relatives of parks – not passing lanes for
cars.
enrique peñalosa,
previous mayor of bogotá, colombia
urban design framework
in this phase of the project you will develop an urban
design framework for the retail improvement district as specified in the outline of project 3. the framework
will translate your vision for the area, as developed in urban sos, into an urban design proposal.
the work will be informed by and respond to
- the intense analysis of phase 1 and its findings
- the future development scenarios you ascertained in
your vision
- the design principles of contextual urbanism, the
interpretation of porous urban spaces and other relevant theoretical concepts
to remember:
these three principles of contextual urbanism:… have been constituting the processes from
the beginning:
- it starts with a precise description of everything
empirically encountered, while making no distinction between the planned and
the unplanned or the physical and the non-physical. it aims to avoid qualitative judgements.
- it endeavours to distil a story, an image and a
distinguishing characteristic from what it has encountered, while treating
complexity and in some cases paradox as positive qualities.
- it formulates projects from the standpoint of the
continuity of the city as analysed, and implements these projects as a series
or more or less mutually independent interventions, of limited scale although
with an impact on the whole.[i]
to emphasise again:
the framework is not intended to cover every sqm of
the entire area but asks for a strong idea for the specific identity of the
district within its context and punctual interventions as points of
magnitude to trigger further change for an accessible, mixed use inner city
environment. concentrate on specifics
rather than generalities. the focus is always on the set up of a public realm
as consistent and accessible network through built structure. an imaginary set of spatial rules, the
project code, should be customized for each framework. at this stage, the work
will be concentrated on the organisation of the cross-section to complement the
plan, the most important but strongly under valuated instruments of urbanism
and volumetrical studies. plans and elevations considered as diagrams at this
stage.
to prepare:
the framework will propose specific conditions for the
development of ‘diverse and vibrant edge conditions’. the idea of urban spaces
with ‘porous’ behaviour has to be interpreted and defined as a leading design
principle within your design proposal.
general guidelines:
your framework needs to show your objectives for the
overall area where your punctual interventions will be located. by large the
objective is to create sustainable environments that enable individual
creativity to thrive and contribute to community development, identity,
cohesion and efficiency. this will be done through alteration of the physical
environment. based on your design approach and its localities the following
three levels should be revealed in your project:
i. metropolitan scale (city)
explains the location of your sites in the citywide
context and makes the connection of the contribution of your design to the
creation of a sustainable city.
ii.
local scale (neighbourhood)
explains the location of your sites within an
identifiable functional area. it shows the hierarchy of routes and distribution
of public infrastructure. furthermore, it addresses the broader issues of
access, circulation and open space networks.
iii.
precinct area (block, street and building) – focus design
explains the distinct characteristics of the chosen sites, which will guide the
proposed design of edge conditions. it shows the nature of the proposed
interventions within its immediate surroundings i.e. relationships at street
level.
urban
design approach
it should be guided by the vision of what needs to be
achieved. re-visit your group proposal and develop it further from your own
perspective. generally, the vision should be informed by a set of design
principles:
- principles for creation of vibrant, inclusive
communities
- principles of establishing economic sustainability
- principles for creating sustainable environments
structure
the
framework should consist of the following:
- problem statement
- objectives
- design framework – showing all components of the concept
- traffic flows – hierarchy of transport routes, a new
design of appropriately scaled local movement network
- key installation and infrastructure – hierarchy of nodes
- open spaces – hierarchy, structure of open spaces, hard
and soft urban landscape
- design criteria – strategy for the urban fabric in
relation to sustainability, porosity, programme, form, accessibility and legibility
- design interventions in strategic points for development
– application of the design criteria in the realities of the exiting context
- implementation strategy
the
implementation strategy should be made up of the following:
- phasing drawings – includes economic strategy
- three dimensional drawings of nodal areas expressing
integration of your proposed design in the precinct
- analysis and application of the design framework,
positive and negative aspects. how does the framework integrate with the precinct
and neighbourhood as a whole? how does it envisage economic upliftment in the
area? how does it address social integration and attempt to avoid exclusionary
gentrification?
to produce:
please note that the framework is not intended to be a
‘text heavy’ document but rather asking for illustrations of spatial
development. make use of as many images, diagrams, plans, sections, elevations,
3d models, photo collages, axonometric views or perspectives as you need to demonstrate your argument.
produce the following using the material from your
analysis as base material:
- concept plan that shows the design approach within
the wider urban context (metro scale), based on your broader context analysis
from phase 1. this should be accompanied by strategic diagrams that explain
your general principles in plan, section and 3d illustrations.
- concept plan for urban design approach towards the
overall district. this concept plan
should point out areas where specific interventions are proposed and translate
your principles into spatial layout.
- layout plan of a minimum of 3 selected sites at a
scale of 1:1000, that further translate the concept into urban design. if your
design proposal requires, make use of scale 1:500.
- cross sections at a scale of 1:500 and 1:200 that
show the organisation of your spatial argument. the final number of sections
will be determined by your design, but a minimum of 4 sections per site is
expected. remember, it is important to illustrate the complexity of your
design, not to tick off requirements from this list. these drawings constitute
the visual representation of your
detailed design part of the project, the edge conditions.
- basic three dimensional models or axonometric
drawings for each site, that illustrate the design principles in this format.
again, a minimum of 1 drawing per site is expected, but your design determines
the final number.
- project code: a set of imaginary spatial rules, that
should be based on real by-laws and, if requires, transformed according to your
principles. a valid reference for this part would be michael sorkin’s ‘local
code’.
- project text: 500 – 800 words that describe the
objectives of the urban design framework.
the evaluation of the project is broken down into
three interlinked parts:
- the urban design framework as an overall product 15%
- the edge conditions as design focus in selected
sites 15%
- the visual narrative as representation of the
spatial argument in drawings + text 10%
assessment
as per course outline the submissions will be marked
as follows:
content 40%
idea
and concept for framework and design
scales
and layers covered, understanding of subject matter
originality,
innovation and relevance of scenarios
techniques 40%
research,
method and process, variety of techniques
presentation 20%
clarity
and quality of the presentation
aesthetics
and quality of visuals
language
completeness
dates
02.10
presentation
udf and proposal of focus areas for edge conditions
09.10
presentation
of the design of edge conditions
16.10
presentation
of revised udf, edge conditions and visual narrative
18.10
presentation
of revised udf, edge conditions and visual narrative
23.10
hand in
10 am
sessions will be held in a presentation_feed back
format. in order to prepare the final hand in form the beginning, all
production is to be presented on a3 sheets. if the time is not sufficient for
feedback or presentation of every student’s work, you will get brief, written comments
on the blog shortly after the session, if you hand in work in a format that can
be commented on (no loose sheets or sketches out of context). this part of the
project requires responsible time management. all drawings must contain a
title, north arrow (plans), graphic scale, key (if applicable). Follow the
checklist for acceptable submissions from the course outline.
recommended format
a3 landscape or multiples hereof
the urban design framework is individual work
which makes use of material produced as group work.
Any additions or amendments
to schedule and programme will be posted
on the blog.
[i] WIMBY! Hoogvliet, Future, Past and Present of a New Town, 2007, NAI
Publishers
