arpl 3012_contemporary approaches to urban design
hand-out 01_project 1 + 2
24.7.2012
context_mapping
premise
the initial phase of the
semester is to introduce the groundwork to be used for unpacking the
development of an urban design framework that integrates theory and
contemporary urban design processes through an appropriate mapping methodology. by large the objective is to comprehend
through critiquing the design structures required to create sustainable
environments, which enable individual creativity to strive and contribute to
community development, identity, cohesion and efficiency. this will be done through re-reading and
re-writing the relevant context – interpretive analysis – primarily through
seeing and learning how to look and how to see, to finally, understanding what
one is seeing and looking at across numerous of scales.
demystifying
three colors: red
maybe you're the woman i never met.
"red" is the triumphant conclusion to
kieslowski's "three colours trilogy", a point of convergence for the
three sets of characters in the series. it is the warmest of all three films,
and indeed this also stems from the main theme of the colour red of the french
flag-- fraternity (or friendship). on a deeper level, it is a film about the
invisible connections that intertwine our lives, the nexi that are not always
apparent, similar to kieslowski's earlier film "the double life of
veronique". this theme is best summarized by the opening sequence, which
makes the technology of the telephone transparent to the viewer. we see a phone
being picked up in the film's setting, geneva, and a number is dialled. the
camera then races along the invisible network of wiring, through several
switches, along an undersea cable, and re-emerging in england.
excerpt
from an essay by anthony leong © 1997
architecture + film
films influence our lives. an episode of generations, or days of our
lives to a scene in pulp fiction,
offers a narrative, which we dissect with what we deem as aplomb and great
insight.
we model ourselves on characters we see as cool or
suave, and through them, we are able to represent our true persona, at times
down to the clichéd dialogue and bizarre storyline. we are constantly surrounded by films. in malls, libraries, and reception centres
the din never ceases. this was epitomized by films like ridley scott’s blade runner [1982] or steven
spielberg’s minority report [2002]
with their constant and incessant advertisements displayed across the urban
fabric.
it is through films that we may be teleported to the
past to watch john wayne or ronald reagan set cheeky native american (most
probably referred to as a “red indian”) straight after emerging, all conquering
hero type, through the double swinging doors of the local saloon, into the
dusty street after consuming a shot or two at the bar’s wooden counter or billy
crystal totally blowing off meg ryan at the airport in rob reiner’s when harry met sally [1989], only to
fall madly in love with her by the end of the film, or the climatic scene as
the protagonist, salinger, stalks his
nemesis, skarssen, amidst the roof tops of istanbul, hagia sophia framed for
maximum effect in the distance to give the city scale and tissue in tom tykwer’s
the international [2009].
chances are the action takes place in the city, in
architecture, in a designed space in contemporary films, and therefore
architecture and film are complimentary to each other, trapped in a perpetual
dance. the glamour and idealism of the film world is irresistible. even in its most gritty or lifelike
projections, it has the ability to transcend the mundanities of real life. for architects, however, the fascination with
film extends beyond the surface appeal of the celluloid image. there are tangible parallels and similarities
in the design and production processes of architecture and film. rem koolhaas, who was a movie scriptwriter
before becoming an architect, has said that there is little difference between
the two activities.[1] the architecture in films influences our lives. whether we like it or not. a mondrian hangs on the wall, the actor
swivels in an eames no.670 chair – which
you promise your lover you’ll own by the end of your first year at work – in a
modernist room flooded by light. the
context is a multilayered, multitextured city, full of promise, waiting for the
next analytical discourse in time and space. or simply waiting for the inhabitant to
strike it rich, or just fall in love.
task 1
architecture in film
write
a 600 word essay on your favourite film exploring the theme of architecture in
film. structure your paper so that it is
a fluid read with a clear introduction, main body, and finally a conclusion.
hand in: friday 27 july 2012, 8.00h
format: all information to be
presented on two a4 sheets, portrait, text arial 10pt
weighting: 5%
task 2
from architecture to
urban design
film
reading + architectural interpretation. film enables us to compress space and time,
yet still occupy virtual space on a 1 to 1 scale simultaneously. in your attempt
to understand how urban space is used in the context of the metropolitan city
and its subsequent representations in the cinema requires seeing the city with
double vision. to understand the complexities of the labyrinthine city requires
modernist as well as postmodernist visions[2]
and in the case of johannesburg, the now and then.
to do this, you will have to:
§ identify the unifying and coherent structuring elements in regards
to architecture, urban design and the city within the 2 films.
§ critically analyse and assess the visual data and theoretical
concepts to formulate a position.
§ demonstrate an effective presentation and graphic communication
technique
§ use a acceptable academic writing style to formulate a coherent
argument using theory, design and tectonics.
§ address issues of scale on the following; metropolitan [city], local
[neighbourhood] + precinct area [block, street and building]
music videos done by the band massive attack (to be
sourced utube).
a. protection:
release date: 9.1.95 – director: michel gondry.
location: paris – 21.12.94.
running time: 6m32s.
b. unfinished sympathy: release date: 11.2.91 – director: baillie walsh. location: peico avenue. los angeles – january 1991. running time: 5m20s.
hand in: tuesday 31 july 2012,
14.15h
format: all information to be
presented on a single a1 sheet
weighting: 5%
recommended references:
alexander, c. (1972) the city is not a tree. in g. bell & j. trywhit (eds), human
identity in the human environment. new york: pelican books.
calvino, i. (1974) invisible
cities. secker & warburg. random house, london
jacobs, a. (1993) great
streets. cambridge, mass: mit press.
lynch, k. (1980) good
city form, cambridge, mass: mit press.
madanipour, a. (1996) design
of urban space. new york: john wiley
& sons.
norbeg-schultz, c. (1980) genius
loci: towards a phenomelogy of architecture.
london: academy editions
sorkin, m. (1993) local
code : the constitution of a city at 42° n latitude. princeton architectural press
visualizing the invisible: towards an urban space / edited by stephen read and camilo
pinilla. spacelab 01 / 2006
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