AR 12-92-1 URBAN DESIGN

S9 B.Arch, 2014-19 batch, MES College of Architecture, Kakkodi, Kozhikode

 What is Urban Design?
Urban design involves the
arrangement and design of buildings,
public spaces, transport systems,
services, and amenities. Urban design is
the process of giving form, shape, and
character to groups of buildings, to
whole neighbourhoods, and the city.
It is a framework that orders the
elements into a network of streets, Abu dhabi Airport
squares, and blocks. Urban design
blends architecture, landscape
architecture, and city planning
together to make urban areas
functional and attractive.

Portland

Los Angeles
Urban design is about making
connections between people and places,
movement and urban form, nature and
the built fabric. Urban design draws
together the many strands of place-
making, environmental stewardship,
social equity and economic viability
into the creation of places with distinct
beauty and identity.

Urban design is derived from but

transcends planning and transportation
policy, architectural design,
development economics, engineering
and landscape. It draws these and other
strands together creating a vision for an
area and then deploying the resources
and skills needed to bring the vision to
life.
Urban design practice areas range in scale from small public
spaces or streets to neighbourhoods, city-wide systems, or
whole regions.
 Scope of Urban Design
Urban design has replaced the "civic design" which dealt primarily with city halls,
museums, streets, boulevards, parks and other open spaces since 1960s. However
there is not a consensus about the definition and boundaries of urban design.
Urban Design is,
• The process of giving physical design direction to urban growth, conservation, and
change
•The design of cities - 'a grand design'
•The interface between architecture, landscape and town planning
•The complex relationships between all the elements of built and un-built space
•The architecture of public space

Some theoreticians describe urban

design to explain what it is not:
• It is not land use policy, sign controls,
and street lighting districts.
• It is not strictly utopian or procedural.
• It is not necessarily a plan for
downtown, however architectonic, nor a
subdivision regulation.
 Objectives of Urban Design
Urban Designers increasingly occupy a central role in the development
and redevelopment of cities.
To contribute on the analysis and policy roles of Urban Planners as
well as the form-giving and aesthetic-quality responsibilities of
Architects.
To derive the rules, guidelines, and frameworks that developers,
Architects, and builders must follow for creating and manipulating
the built environment, through collaborative discussion and debate
with communities and key stakeholders.
To provide a set of descriptive and analytical tools for working with
the tangibles of landscape, built form, land use, and hard
infrastructure.
To introduce concepts and methods that enable us to examine and
make sense on how people use space.
To focus on making the most of urban areas to create pleasant places
in which to linger, to partake in public life, and to help build strong,
tolerant and progressive civil society.
 Need for Urban Design
According to WHO, "The urban population in 2014 accounted for 54%
of the total global population. It is estimated that by 2017, a majority
of people will be living in urban areas." Cities worldwide are
struggling with problems of managing this rapid growth.
Urban design professionals of the future will have a huge impact on
infrastructure, land use patterns and the reuse of existing sites and
more.
Urban design offers a good understanding of a wide range of subjects
from physical geography, through to social science, and an
appreciation for disciplines, such as real estate development, urban
economics, political economy and social theory.
Urban design theory aids in the design and management of public
space (i.e. the 'public environment', 'public realm' or 'public
domain'), and the way public places are experienced and used.
Public space includes the totality of spaces used freely on a day-to-
day basis by the general public, such as streets, plazas, parks and
public infrastructure
Urban Design
The basis for a framework defining
urban design can be grouped under
six main headings :
1. Historic preservation and
urban conservation

2. Design for pedestrians

3. Vitality and variety of use

Urban Design
4. The cultural environment

5. Environmental context

6. Architectural values
Relation between Architecture, Urban Design and Urban
Planning
"What is the difference between an urban designer and urban planner, or
between an urban designer and an architect?
An urban planner was some one who was primarily concerned with the allocation of
resources according to projections of future need. Planners tend to regard land use as a
distribution of resources problem, parcelling out land, for zoning purposes, without much
knowledge of its three-dimensional characteristics, or the nature of the building that may
be placed on it in the future. The result is that most zoning ordinances and official land use
plans produce stereotyped and unimaginative buildings.
Architect, on the other hand, designs buildings. A good architect will do all he can to
relate the building he is designing to its surroundings, but he has no control over what
happens off the property he has been hired to consider. There is a substantial middle
ground between these professions, and each has some claim to it, but neither fills it very
well.
Land use planning would clearly be improved if it involved someone who understands
three-dimensional design. On the other hand, some one is needed to design the city, not
just the buildings. Therefore, there was a need for someone who could be called an urban
designer. Urban design, like architecture, has a few techniques that facilitate the
conceptualising process. For example, it is very helpful to think in terms of activity areas
in urban design in much the same way we would think of them in architectural design. It is
also helpful to conceptualise in terms of urban spaces, urban mass, circulation patterns,
urban scale, and the process of urban growth and change.
Relation between Architecture, Urban Design and Urban
Planning

Undoubtedly urban design cannot stand alone between these

three main professions. Urban design is an interdisciplinary
concept and should be considered with the other disciplines
and professions such as Real Estate Development,
Economics, Civil Engineering, Law, Social Sciences and
Natural Sciences.
Urban Design and its Evolution
In the long history from camp
to village a handful of
innovations accelerated the
art of settlement design. In
agricultural societies, such an
innovation may be symbolised
by the plough that etched
parallel furrows which added
up to a number of plots, more
or less rectangular in shape.
As the logic of the plough led
to rectilinear plotting in the
field, the geometry of mud-
brick house construction, as
well as the need for easy land
division, led to rectilinear
plotting in the town.
Urban Design and its Evolution
Rectilinear layout is found in the entire
history of town building. It was used in
ancient and later Greek towns, in
Roman colonial outposts, in Indian,
Chinese and pre-Columbian cities.
The grid layout was followed by an
equally important layout system: the
circular form of settlement. The circle
was originally the product of
herdsmen, the descendant of the
hunter and the ancestor of the warrior.
The major role of this form of town
layout was to be a defensive one. Early
fortified towns, usually built on
hilltops or on islands were more or less
circular enclosures.
Ancient Greece
Inspiring landscape
roused the ancient
Greeks to wide
intellectual speculation.
The high places in the
land became sacred. In
Athens, the high place
was originally a
fortified hilltop, which
with the later growth of
the city, became the
sacred precinct, the
Acropolis with the
temples of gods, their
treasures and their
attendant artefacts.
Ancient Rome
While the Greeks were
motivated by a sense of
the finite in their towns
and buildings, the
Romans were motivated
by political power and
organization. The
proportion and sizes of
Greek architecture-its
scale-were based
primarily on human
measurements, whereas
Romans used a set of They used a system of proportions called a
proportions that would “module”. For buildings Romans chose
harmoniously relate the large modules in order to achieve a sense
various parts of a building of overpowering grandeur. In their towns,
to each other but not they chose another kind of module, one
necessary to human for relating all the parts of the town
measure
Medieval Times
The growth of a town
around either monastery
or castle was a natural
growth starting at
gateways, extending along
roadways and then
fanning out. The growth
logically assumed a radio-
centric pattern. The early
medieval towns were
small, of finite size and
not enlarged beyond
practical limits. These The market place of the medieval town
limits were largely became the counterpart of agora or
determined by the forum. These towns were too immediate,
capacity of a particular tangible and personal. The winding streets
land area to support its preclude long vistas and thus direct one’s
dependent population. attention to immediate details.
Renaissance
The year 1440 marks the
beginning of the
Renaissance. In
architecture and urban
design, Leon Battista
Alberti is regarded as the
foremost early
theoretician. As an urban
designer, Alberti is chiefly
remembered for his “ideal
cities”, star shaped plans
with streets radiating
from a central point,
usually proposed as the
location for a church,
palace or possibly a castle.
He devised designs for
ideal cities on hillsides as
well as flat land.
 Urban Scale
In design there is an additional way of measuring which is not as absolute or simple as
inches, feet, and yards. It is a matter of keeping things in context with each other and
with people. In architecture we call this ‘scale’ and by that we mean that buildings and
their components are related harmoniously to each other and to human beings. In
urban design we also use the term ‘scale’ meaning that a city and its parts are
interrelated and also related to people and their abilities to comprehend their
surroundings-to feel “in place” in the environment. Le Corbusier’s “Modulor” which
has united both scale and module enables to measure in a system of rhythmic harmony
and elegant proportion. It could be applied to a city as well as a building.
We can employ the principles of scale to create different impressions of size and
importance in a building or in a city scene, creating a sense of grandeur in a tiny plaza
or a sense of intimacy in a large square. The range of scale effects extends from
intimate scale to our world of normal human scale, and onto to a world of
monumental scale. Intimate scale is childlike and protective while monumental scale
can create two effects: one ennobling, lifting us above our normal selves to a world of
spiritual feeling; the other, overpowering, oppressing, and overwhelming us with
crushing grandeur.
Intimate Scale
Urban Scale
Monumental Scale
 Scale and Human Vision
Human eyes have a general field of view and a detailed field of
view: the former sees general shapes, the latter, details of objects.
The general FOV has an irregular conical shape, measuring about
300 up, 450 down and 650 to each side. Our detailed FOV is a very
narrow cone within this larger cone, which measures a minute
angle. An important limitation of our vision is that we cannot see an
object which is farther from us than about 3,500 times its size. A
person who stands 3 to 10 feet from us is in close relationship to us,
8 feet being normal conversation distance. In this range we can
speak in normal voices and catch the subtleties of speech and facial
gestures which constitute conversation. We can distinguish facial
expression up to about 40 feet. We can discern body gesture up to
about 450 feet. This is the maximum distance at which we can
distinguish a man from a woman, and is also the maximum
acceptable viewing distance in athletic stadiums. Finally, we can see
people up to 4,000 feet, beyond which they are too small to see at
all. What is the connection between these distances and urban
design? It is this: the “intimate” spaces of a city are usually not much
greater than 80 feet across; the “urbane” space, no greater than
about 450 feet. In monumental vistas greater than 4000 feet,
human beings cease to play a part.
 Scale and Circulation
Urban scale is also determined by the
means we employ for moving around in
our cities as well as the way we move
between them across the country. The
scale of the city, as determined by
accessibility, has expanded tremendously.
At one time, determined by horse cars,
then by street cars(which paved way for
first sub-urbs), the scale of accessibility
in modern cities is now greater than ever
before- and so is congestion. All the
modes of transportation help determine
the movement or circulation scale of the
city, that is, extent of the city which is
readily accessible to use.
 Scale and Circulation
But there is one very basic and ancient mode of
transport which is too often disregarded; it still
remains one of the best systems and one of the
essential determinants of urban scale-our own legs.
As we walk around, we are completely free to stop,
turn around, go faster or slower, go to the left or
right, or change our pace-in short, to enjoy the
greatest freedom of choice and degree of contact
with the people and places we are passing by. Every
mechanical device for moving has limitations on
such contact. Foot travel has the least. Mechanical
devices can extend the scale of accessibility, but the
maximum contact with a place, so essential to every
human settlement is achieved by walking. Most
people performing their routine tasks are wlling to
walk only about a half-mile, and walking speed
averages only about 21/2 miles per hour
Scale in Neighbouring Buildings and Spaces
Buildings and spaces not only have to be in scale with people, they have to be in scale with each other.
A gigantic tower building in the midst of intimate row houses is out of scale. A huge plaza bordered by
tiny buildings is out of scale. This applies to the design treatment of a facade as well as building’s
materials, colour, bulk and siting. If a change in urban space occurs, it is an accent in city’s panorama.
Such accents should be intentional and not haphazard, particularly where urban grain is fairly
uniform. A small church amidst tall skyscrapers can give a needed element of scale. Scale is both a
matter of compatibility and human measure .
Scale and Parameters
Another essential element of urban scale is the familiar objects whose size we have become
accustomed to. A building or a monument whch we know very well, cars, trees, people in the
distance, light poles, windows, an archway, a bridge-all these are objects whose sizes we refer to when
we judge the sizes of things near them. They may be conveniently termed “parameters”, objects whose
familiar size furnishes a scale of reference for the objects near them.
Scale: Time, Convenience, Age and Habit
Our sense of urban scale varies according to our ages and habits. The world of a child is his home,
yard and school. As the child grows, his world enlarges and the separate parts are linked together. In
their years of young adulthood, people explore new things, new places and new people, and thus the
scale of their world enlarges. Our sense of urban scale also varies accrding to what we are accustomed
to. Chicago and Detroit are at first quite awesome for most people, but in time they become
accustomed to them.
 Urban Space
Urban spaces, like architectural spaces, may be self contained
islands, unrelated to neighbouring spaces, or may be interconnected
and best appreciated by moving from one to another. They may be
purposefully designed to display their linkage, to highlight a special
building in the space, or to suggest an important direction of
movement.
Urban as well as architectural spaces may be conveniently pictured
as rooms and corridors of space or as channels and reservoirs of
space. They form a hierarchy of spatial types, based on their size. In
Urban Design, this hierarchy ranges from the scale of small,
intimate court spaces onto grand urban spaces and culminating in
the vast space of nature in which the city is set.
Urban Enclosure
A fundamental requirement of urban space is actual physical
enclosure or its strong articulation by urban forms. Enclosed urban
space, like the space in a bowl or a tube, is formed by material
surfaces. In a plaza, we must be sufficiently enclosed on all sides so
that our attention focuses on the space as an entity. On an avenue
the enclosure can exist on only two sides, but it must be sufficient
to hold our attention to it as a channel of space.
 Urban Space & Enclosure
our normal frontal field of view, the view we see when we look
straight ahead, furnishes us with a major impression of the space we
are in. This determines the degree of enclosure-the sense of space-
which we feel.
When a facade height equals the distance we stand from a building
(a 1:1 relationship) the cornice is at a 450 angle from the line of our
forward horizontal sight. , we feel well enclosed. Since the building
is considerably higher than the upper limit of our field of forward
view(300). When a facade height equals one half the distance we
stand from a building (1:2) it coincides with the 300 upper limit of
our normal view. This is the threshold of distraction, the lower limit
for creating a feeling of enclosure. When facade height equals one-
third our distance from the building(1:3), we see the top at about
an 180 angle. At this proportion, we perceive the prominent objects
beyond the space as much as we do the space itself. When the facade
height is one-fourth our distance away from the building(1:4) we
see the top at 140 angle, and the space loses its containing quality
and peripheral facades function more as edges. The sense of space is
all but lost, and we are left instead with a sense of place.
 Urban Space
Open space is another type of space, and one
which we should be very careful to understand.
Open space generally describes park like areas of
greenery in or near the city. It is often confused
with urban space which is formal focus of urban
activity.. Open space is informal, natural and
park like. It relieves the harshness of urban form
while complimenting it.
Urban spaces are the products of cities,
specifically the juxtaposition of buildings. The
larger spaces of nature in which cities sit cannot
be enclosed by urban form, it can nonetheless be
urban spaces in the sense that they are qualified
by the urban presence. The city, as a whole form,
accents his vast space.
 Urban Mass
The ground surface, buildings, and objects in space constitute the urban
mass. We can arrange these elements to form urban space and to shape
urban activity patterns, on both large and small scales. Our eyes and
light conditions govern the way we see masses. From a viewing distance
which equals the height of the building or object (the 450 angle or 1:1
relationship) we tend to notice details more than the whole facade
or object; at the 300 angle or 1:2 relationship, we tend to see the
object as a whole composition, together with its details; at the 180
angle or 1:3 relationship, we tend to see the object in relation to
surrounding objects; and at the 140 angle or the 1:4 relationship, we
tend to see the object as a forward edge in an overall scene.
Dark objects seen against light backgrounds recede, while light objects
seen against dark backgrounds advance visually. Warm-hued buildings also
advance while cool-hued buildings recede and seem less solid. Warm-
hued buildings in cool light, and cool-hued buildings in warm light, will
appear awkwardly discoloured. Rough surfaces seem thick, smooth
surfaces, thin. Reflections are darker and less colourful than the objects
themselves. Our depth perception on clear, bright days comes largely
from seeing the sizes of familiar objects in relation to each other. On dull,
cloudy days depth is conveyed by varying degrees of haze which increase
with distance.
 Urban Mass
We furnish our cities with all sorts of objects which we must
regard as the city’s interior decoration. Through the skilful
design of building masses we can create successful urban
spaces of almost any shape. The essentials of a successful urban
space are its proportions, its floor and walls, and the activity
which enlivens it.
•Sculpture itself can highlight a plaza, giving it a
focal point.
•A colonnade linking different kinds of buildings
around the plaza or along a street can soften the
differences between them and lend unity to the
buildings.
•A row of regular trees can do the same for an
avenue.
•A long plaza can have prominent focal buildings at
its ends, as well as a sculpture group in the center; a
very large plaza can act as a setting for a major
building; an L-shaped plaza can turn about a tower
building at the corner.
•Facade articulation can bring large buildings down to human scale, and give small ones an
air of importance. A long facade can be sub-divided periodically into more digestible
elements. A very small facade can be more assertive by exaggerating the sizes of its
component parts.
Urban Mass
•A free disposition of trees can act as a pleasant foil to an
overly rigid array of buildings, injecting an element of
relaxation in an area of harsh regularity.
•A screen of columns can act as a fine transition device
between two different kinds of spaces.
•A vista can be framed with flanking foreground objects such
as pylons, or by an arch which centers the vista and acts as a
strong foreground reference.
•Individual buildings themselves may play a very great role in
the total visual cityscape. A tower or dome can be a fine vista
termination, either at the end of a street or on the skyline.
The City Image and its Elements(Kevin Lynch)
There seems to be a public image of any given city
which is the overlap of many individual images.
Such group images are necessary if an individual
is to operate successfully within his environment
and to cooperate with his fellows. Each individual
picture is unique, with some content that is rarely
or never communicated, yet it approximates the
public image. Imageability is influenced by social
meaning of an area, its function, its history, or
even its name. The contents of the city images so
far studied, which are referable to physical forms
can conveniently be classified into five types of
elements:
Paths, Edges, Districts, Nodes and Landmarks.
Paths: are channels along which the observer
customarily, occasionally or potentially moves. They may
be streets, walkways, transit lines, canals, railroads. For
many people, these are the predominant elements in their
image. People observe the city while moving through it,
and along these paths the other environmental elements
are arranged and related.
The City Image and its Elements(Kevin Lynch)
Edges: are linear elements not used or considered as paths by the observer. They are boundaries
between two phases, linear breaks in continuity: shores, railroad cuts, edges of development, walls.
Such edges may be barriers, more or less penetrable, which close one region off from another; or
they may be seams, lines along which two regions are related and joined together. These are
important organizing features, particularly in the role of holding together generalised areas, as in
the outline of a city by water or wall.
Districts: are medium to large sections of the city, conceived of as having two-dimensional
extent and which are recognizable as having some common identifying character.
Nodes: are points, the strategic spots in a city into which an observer can enter, and which are the
intensive foci to and from which he is travelling. They may be junctions,, places of a break in
transportation, a crossing/convergence of paths, and the like. Nodes may also be simply
concentrations, which gain their importance from being the condensation of some use or physical
character, as a street corner hang-out or an enclosed square. Nodes, in some cases are the focus and
epitome of a district, over which their influence radiates, and hence called as ‘cores’.
Landmarks: are another type of point reference, but in this case the observer does not enter
within them, they are external. They simply are defined physical object: building, sign, store or
mountain. Some landmarks are distant ones, typically seen from many angles and distances, over
the tops of smaller elements, and used as radial references. They may be within the city or at such a
distance that for all practical purposes they symbolize a constant direction. Eg; isolated towers,
golden domes, great hills. Other landmarks are primarily local, being visible only in restricted
localities and from certain approaches. Eg: signs, store fronts, trees, doorknobs, and other urban
details which fill in the image of most observers.
The City Image
and its Elements
Perceptions of Urban Environment-Imageability
Imageability is that quality in
physical object which gives it a
high probability of evoking a
strong image in any given observer.
It is that shape, colour or
arrangement which facilitates the
making of vividly identified,
powerfully structured, highly
useful mental images of the
environment. A highly imageable
city would be well formed, distinct,
remarkable and would invite eye
Boston image
and ear to a greater participation.

Image development is a two-way process between observer and observed. It is

dependent upon the elements because those make the viewers their city
imageable. These elements, when placed right, increase human ability to see
and remember patterns and these patterns make the cities easier to learn.
Creating a mental map-Imageability

A person’s perception of the world is known as mental map. It is an

individual’s own map of their known world, which can be investigated:
-by asking for directions to a landmark or other location.
-by asking someone to draw a sketch map of an area or describe that area.
-by asking a person to name as many places as possible in a short period of
time.
Every person has a different mental map according to his/her understanding
of the city.
A sample of such individual unique images can help create a ‘public image’ of
the city, by (1)Interviewing several residents of the city(Verbal interview,
making a quick sketch map) or by (2) field study on foot by trained observers.
 Townscape
Townscape is the art of giving visual coherence
and organisation to the jumble of buildings,
street and spaces that make up the urban
environment. Its concepts were first developed
by Gordon Cullen in ‘The Architectural Review’
and were later embodied in the book
Townscape(1961) which influenced architects,
planners and others interested in cities. It
explores the fact that certain visual effects in
the groupings of buildings were based on quite
definable aesthetic principles.
Vision is not only just useful, it evokes memories
and experiences. The environment produces an
emotional reaction with or without our
volition, it is up-to to us to try to understand
the 3 ways it happens:
1. Concerning OPTICS-SerialVision
2. Concerning PLACE
3. Concerning CONTENT
Townscape-Serial Vision
Cullen believes that cities should be
designed from the point of view of
moving people since residents “apprehend
urban environments through kinesthetic
experience” (Gordon Cullen, 1961).
Gordon Cullen also raised the idea of
“Serial Vision”, which means people can
experience a revelation of views while
walking along the streets at a uniform
pace.
 Plan of Westminster,
Townscape-Serial Vision
Let us suppose that we are walking through a showing viewpoints
town: here is a straight road off which is a
courtyard, at the far side of which another
street leads out and bends slightly before
reaching a monument. We take this path and
our first view is that of the street. Upon
turning into the courtyard the new view is
revealed instantaneously at the point of
turning, and this view remains with us
while we walk across the courtyard.
Leaving the courtyard, we enter the further
street. Again new view is suddenly revealed
although we are travelling at a uniform
speed. Finally as the road bends the
monument swings into view.
The significance of all this is that although the
pedestrian walks through the town at uniform
speed, the scenery of towns is often revealed in
a series of jerks or revelations. This we call
SERIALVISION
 Townscape-Place
Some of the greatest townscape effects are
created by a skilful relation between ‘here’
and ‘there’. Ex: the approach from the Central
Vista to the Rashtrapathi Bhawan in New
Delhi. There is an open-ended cortyard
composed of the two Secretariat buildings
and the Rashtrapathi Bhawan. All are raised
above ground level and approached by a
ramp. At the top of the ramp and in front of
the axis building is a tall screen of railings.
This is the setting. Travelling through it from
the Central Vista, we see the two Secretariats
in full, but the Rashtrapathi Bhawan is
partially hidden by the ramp; only its upper
part is visible. This effect of truncation serves
to isolate and make remote. The building is
withheld. We are Here and we are There. As we
climb the ramp, the Rashtrapathi Bhawan is
gradually revealed, the mystery culminates in
fulfilment as it becomes immediate to us,
standing on the same floor
Townscape-Place

This is concerned with our reactions to the position of body in its

environment. It means that when we enter a room, we utter to
ourself the unspoken words ‘I am outside IT’, ‘I am entering IT’, ‘I am in
the middle of IT’. Here we are dealing with a range of experience
stemming from the major impacts of exposure and enclosure, which
will result in agoraphobia and claustrophobia. The sense of position
becomes a factor in the design of the environment.
1. Possession: Outdoors are colonised for social and business purposes. Occupied territory,
advantage, enclosure, focal point, indoor landscape, and so on are forms of possessing a place.
2.Occupied territory: shade, shelter, amenity and convenience are the usual causes of
possession.
3. Possession in movement: can be understood with the example of a church-walk having a
well-defined beginning and end with a well-defined character; and this may be possessed while
moving through it.
4. Advantage: there are lines of advantage which can be colonised; e.g.: parapet of a bridge
which people seem to prefer for the sake of immediacy of its view and position.
5.Viscosity: found when there is a mixture of static possession and possession in movement.
It is the formation of groups chatting, of slow window-shoppers, people selling newspapers,
flowers,.... The space enclosed by portico, meandering character of the street etc provide the
proper setting to it.
6. Enclaves: the enclave(interior) open to the exterior and having free and direct access from
one to the other is an accessible place or room out of the main directional stream, an eddy in
which footsteps echo and the light is lessened in intensity.
7. Enclosure: this is the end-product of traffic, this is the place to which traffic brings you.
8. Focal point: Coupled with enclosure (the hollowness) as an artefact of possession, is the
focal point, the vertical symbol of congregation. In the fertile streets and market places of
town and village it is the focal point which confirms ’this is the spot’
 Townscape-Content
We can examine the fabric of towns:
colour, texture, scale , style,
character, personality and
uniqueness. Accepting the fact that
most towns are of old foundation,
their fabric will show evidence of
differing periods in its architectural
styles and layout. Many towns do
display the mixture of styles,
materials and scales.
Here, we are concerned with the
intrinsic quality of the various
subdivisions of the environment,
and start with the great landscape
categories of metropolis, town,
arcadia, park, industrial, arable and
wild nature.
Urban Spatial Organisation Theory
(R.Trancik, Finding Lost Space, 1988)
Three approaches to
urban design theory
can be identified as:
(1)Figure-Ground Theory
(2) Linkage Theory
(3) Place Theory
1. The figure-ground theory is founded on the study of the relative land coverage of
Solid masses (“figure”) (buildings) Open voids (”ground”) (parks, streets, squares) A
predominant “field” of solids and voids creates the urban fabric. The figure-ground
approach to spatial design is an attempt to manipulate the solid-void relationships by
adding to, subtracting from, or changing the physical geometry of the pattern. The
figure-ground drawing is a graphic tool for illustrating mass-void relationships; a two-
dimensional abstraction in plan view that clarifies the structure and order of urban
spaces. The best illustration of the figure-ground theory of urban design is Giambattista
Nolli’s Map of Rome, drawn in 1748. It graphically illustrates the figure-ground
relationship of a traditional city where public civic space is carved out of the private
tissue. The predominant field is a dense continuous mass, allowing open space to
become a figural void.
When urban form is
predominantly vertical instead
of horizontal-block towers,
slabs, or skyscrapers common to
the modern landscape-shaping
coherent urban space is next to
impossible. Most attempts to
place vertical elements over a
large ground plane result in vast
open spaces seldom used or
enjoyed. In order to achieve
form on the exterior, the
perimeter of the spaces and
blocks must be well articulated
to establish outdoor rooms
containing corners, niches,
pockets, and corridors.
The solid-void relationships formed by the shape and location of
buildings, the design of site elements(plantings, walls), and the
channelling of movement result in six typological patterns: grid,
angular, curvilinear, radial/concentric, axial, and organic
 Urban-solid types include public monuments or dominant
institutional buildings, the field of urban blocks, and directional or
edge-defining buildings; urban void types include entry foyers,
inner-block voids, network of streets and squares, parks and
gardens, and linear open-space systems.
Urban Voids: Entry foyer space –establishes the important transition
from personal domain to common territory- (fore court, mews,
niche, lobby, front yard)
Inner block void –a semi private residential space for leisure or
utility- (courtyard and covered passage)
Network of streets and squares –places to spend time in and corridors
through which to move-
Public parks and gardens –nodes for the preservation of nature in the
city, places for recreation-
Linear open-space system commonly related to major water features
such as rivers, waterfronts, and wetland zones.
 Urban Solids
The first important type of
urban solid can be
characterised as public
monuments or institutions,
which serve as centrepieces
in the city fabric. These
object buildings, often visual
foci, need to sit prominently
in open space to announce
their presence and express
their social and political
significance.
Urban Solids
The forecourts to public
monuments and institutions,
with their grand entrance
stairs and the open spaces
surrounding them, are often
as important as the
monument themselves, as in
the Campo in Siena or the
Campidoglio in Rome.
 Urban Solids
A second category of Urban solids can be defined as urban blocks; the size,
pattern and orientation of the urban block is the most important element
in the composition of public spaces.
Another category of solids in the city is formed by directional or edge
defining buildings that are generally non-repetitive, specialised forms,
often linear in configuration.
(H P Berlage, Amsterdam South,
Netherlands, 1915.) Berlage’s
linear blocks represent a masterly
use of the edge-defining directional
solid. Its perimeter blocks form
figural street space and squares that
establish a continuity of urban
fabric, setting up a vocabulary
governing building volume, facade
styles and landscape treatment.
 Urban Voids
Five types of urban
voids(with different degrees
of openness and enclosure)
play a part in the exterior
city.
1. Entry foyer space that
establishes the important
transition, or passage, from
personal domain to common
territory. ‘eyes on the street’
surveillance by a doorman
or neighbours peering out of
their windows is a significant
design and social
consideration of the entry
foyer.
Urban Voids

2. Inner block void-a semiprivate residential space for leisure or

utility or a midblock shopping oasis for circulation or rest. Paley
Park in Manhattan and the many courtyards and cloister gardens
of Copenhagen fall into this category
Urban Voids

3. Third type of void is the primary network of streets and squares, a

category that corresponds to the predominant field of blocks and
that contains the active public life of the city. Streets and squares
were places to be-to spend time in-as well as corridors through
which to move.
 Urban Voids
4. Public parks and gardens are
the fourth type of larger voids
that contrasts with
architectural urban forms.
Acting as nodes for the
preservation of nature in the
city, they are incorporated into
the urban grid to simulate
rural settings, to provide both
relief from the hard urban
environment and accessible
recreation. Urban parks and
gardens shape adjoining sites
by enhancing property values
at their edges, but they are
independent landscape
compositions internally.
Urban Voids

5.The final type of urban void is

the linear open space system,
commonly related to major
water features such as rivers,
waterfronts, and wetland
zones. These formal and
informal greenways slice
through districts, create edges,
and link places.
The crux of the figure-ground theory lies in the manipulation
and organization of urban solids and voids. When the
dialogue between the urban solids and voids is complete and
perceivable, the spatial network tends to operate successfully.
Urban Spatial Design Theory (R.Trancik,
Finding Lost Space, 1988)
(2)Linkage Theory
Linkage theory is derived from “lines” connecting one element
to another. These lines are formed by streets, pedestrian
ways, linear open spaces, or other linking elements that
psychically connect the parts of a city. The designer applying
the linkage theory tries to organize a system of connections,
or a network, that establishes a structure for ordering spaces.
Emphasis is placed on circulation diagram rather than the
spatial diagram of the figure-ground theory. Movement
systems and the efficiency of infrastructure take precedence
over patterns of defined outdoor space.
 Urban Spatial Design Theory (R.Trancik,
Finding Lost Space, 1988)
Fumihiko Maki, in his work Investigations into Collective form, addresses
linkage as the most important characteristic of urban exterior space.
From his emphasis on Linkage theory, Maki defines three different types
of urban space: Compositional form, mega-form and group form.
In all 3 formal types, Maki stresses linkage as the controlling idea for
ordering buildings and spaces in design.
Fumihiko Maki: Three types of Spatial Linkage
Compositional
form consist of
individually
tailored buildings in
abstract patterns
that are composed
in a two-
dimensional plan.
Linkage elements
are static and
formal in nature.
Ex: Chandigarh
Government
Center, new city of
Brasilia
In mega-structure, individual
components are integrated into a larger
framework in an hierarchical, open-
ended, and inter-connected system.
Here, linkage is physically imposed to
make a structure. The works of Kenzo
Tange and Noriaki Kurokawa are given
as the models, with particular reference
to the MIT, in the 1960s. The tight
structure of mega-form encloses the
internally covered space and the
perimeter is formally defined, but the
structure is indifferent to exterior
space. Here, the form generator is often
the high speed road network
Group form , is the result of incremental
accumulation of elements in space along
an armature and is typical of the spatial
organisation of many historic towns. Here,
linkage is neither implied nor imposed but
is naturally evolved as an integral part of
the organic, generative structure. This is
characterised by a consistency of
materials, dramatic response to
topography, deference to human scale,
and by sequences of spaces defined by
buildings, walls, gateways and spires Ex:
Greek village and linear Japanese agrarian
village, where 2-storey street front forms
a tight, continuous village facade that links
the individual house to the larger fabric of
houses and connects private family life to
the public life of the community.
Urban Spatial Design Theory (R.Trancik,
Finding Lost Space, 1988)
(3)Place Theory
The place theory adds the components of human needs and
cultural, historical, and natural contexts. Advocates of the
place theory give physical space additional richness by
incorporating unique forms and details indigenous to its
setting. In place theory social and cultural values, visual
perceptions, of users and an individual’s control over public
environment are as important as principles of enclosure and
linkage.
 Urban Spatial Design Theory (R.Trancik,
Finding Lost Space, 1988)
People require a relatively stable system of places in which to develop
themselves, their social lives, and their culture. These needs give man-
made space an emotional content-a presence that is more than physical.
The boundary, or definite edge is important to this presence.
Architecture and landscape architecture must respond to and if
possible, enhance environmental identity and the sense of place. The
essence of Norberg-Schulz’s influential Genius Loci is contained in the
following statement:
‘A place is a space which has a distinct character. Since ancient times, the genius
loci, or spirit of place, has been recognized as the concrete reality man has to face
and come to terms with in his daily life. Architecture means to visualise the
genius loci and the task oF architect is to create meaningful places where he helps
man to dwell’