project 4_udf_edgecon_narrative

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.

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[i] WIMBY! Hoogvliet, Future, Past and Present of a New Town, 2007, NAI Publishers