arpl
3012_2016 contemporary approaches to urban design
26.7.2016
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
the city + 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
2
the city in film
write a 600 word essay on your
favourite film exploring the theme of the city in film. structure your paper so that it is a fluid
read with a clear introduction, main body, and finally a conclusion.
hand
in: tuesday
2 august 2016, 10.15h
format: all information
to be presented on multiple a4 sheets, portrait, text arial 10pt
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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