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Elements of Urban Design Studio Rafa Musadhik PUD21272 CEPT University
PREFACE Studio Brief Studio 2: Elements of Urban Design Studio Tutors: Brijesh Bhatha, Vipuja Parmar, Tapan Shah, Sophia Islam TA: Shradha Gupta The studio is structured as an introduction to urban design representation and design of public places. The studio is based on the premise that urban design is best understood and expressed through study and representation of the built urban environment. The studio is structured in multiple modules running through the semester, each culminating with a review and exhibition of the outcome. All the studio modules will significantly focus on effectively capturing and communicating the spatial qualities of the urban built environment. The first module focuses on perceiving and representing the key elements of urban design (building types, streets, open spaces and urban blocks) that come together to make any functional urban space. The second module focuses on the analysis and design of streets including the detail design of elements. This studio will enable students to explore the scale, form, character of key urban design elements and their relationship with the larger urban context.
CONTENT Preface: Studio Brief
01 Elements of Urban Design »
Streets
»
Open Space
»
Urban Block
02 Street Design »
Street Analysis:Potential and Concerns
»
Objective and Strategies
»
Design Proposal
»
Design Details
03 Key Learnings »
Studio Learnings
01
Elements of Urban Design: 1a.Streets
The purpose of this exercise is to develop a strategic understanding of several aspects of streets, including the functional role of mobility and the social role of being a public space. Exercise requires the student to identify and represent one street with distinct characteristics and develop their skills to draw its three-dimensional form that abstract the character of the street life. Additionally. streets are analyzed based on the parameters that make the physical envelope of the street such as porosity, ground floor use and access.
Lombard Street | San Francisco
Pedestrian and vehicular access to various levels of built form.
On-street parking on either ends of the street maintain access and avoid congestion.
Lombard Street is the world’s most “Crooked Street” (Hill angle 27-degree, street gradient achieved 1:4). It is a tourist destination in a residential neighborhood. Street is designed with an even width of carriageway with 4.5m and 6m as it approaches the major node leading to the main streets.
Street has easy accessibility to Public transport like tram service.
Segregation of vehicular (one way traffic) and pedestrian movement with steps and ramps on both sides of the street. Tactility is provided to maintain slow-moving traffic.
Edge Type
Except for a small portion of the street edge, which is of high compound wall, both sides of the street are residential buildings with semi-open facades directly opening to the street at various levels (access to different floors).
Ground Floor Building Use
Independent bungalows, residential mid-rise buildings, and hotels/ service apartments all contributing to 80% of residential use in the ground-floor.
Individual Bungalow
Mid-Rise Apartment
Building Type
Building Type
Plan
Plan N
10
40 20
Building Name : Ground Coverage :
m 80
25, Montclair Terrace, San Francisco 130 sqmt
N 10
40 20
Building Name :
m 80
1003, Leavenworth St, San Francisco
Ground Coverage :
145 sqmt
Private spaces are achieved at various levels between the public spaces to maintain the livability of the residential neighborhood. Change in built-form interface can be observed with change in street character.
Jews Town | Fort Kochi
Historic Landmark: Jewish Synagogue
Continuous frontage of buildings in pattern of row houses.
Street Elements and Character:
Double storied multicolor façade with a blend of Colonial and Kerala architecture. Pitched Roof and awnings supported by brackets for shielding sunlight and rain.
Jews Town is an important tourist destination, with several retail shops and cafes housed in the 450 years old Jewish settlements located beside Dutch palace and a Vishnu temple. street leading to the Jewish Synagogue has been completely pedestrianized to encourage shopping and tourism whilst preserving architectural heritage.
Major node separating pedestrian and vehicular stretch
Edge Type
Street edge with continuous facade of old structure with new retail shops on the ground floor ensure good porosity and thus more engaging . Predominant building typology are open directly to the street with only 5% of the stretch opaque with compound wall.
Ground Floor Building Use
An inportant tourist destination, Commercial street with antique stores and well known for spice trade.
Commercial
Religious Building
N 10
40 20
Building Name :
80
Sunshine India Building, Fort Kochi
Ground Coverage :
125 sqmt
N 10
m
40 20
Building Name : Ground Coverage :
m 80
Paradesi Synagogue, Fort Kochi 250 sqmt
Synagogue attract tourists as well as localities, it is repurposed as a museum, retaining the clock tower. Predominant built typology has ground floor retail space and museums open to street creating an active shopfronts makes the street vibrant. Cafés and storage space extend to the first-floor.
01
Elements of Urban Design: 1b.Open Space
Exercise is designed to develop strategic understanding of various attributes regarding public opens space such as scale. location. access and spatial configuration. Exercise requires the student to identify and represent any public space with distinct characteristics and abstract the character of the life in that public space.
Monument Circle | Indianapolis
Historic Landmark: Jewish Synagogue
Presence of Church increase footfall on Sundays
Continuous frontage of buildings in pattern of row houses.
Jews Town is an important tourist destination, with several retail shops and cafes housed in the 450 years old Jewish settlements located beside Dutch palace and a Vishnu temple. street leading to the Jewish Synagogue has been completely pedestrianized to encourage shopping and tourism whilst preserving architectural heritage.
Edge Type Soldiers and Sailors Monument, which also serves as a museum positioned at an important city node.
Outer pedestrian lane improves interaction with the built form, facilitating shopping experience without vehicular hinderance.
Restaurants and retail on groundfloor add more pause points and thus activate the street edge.
Ground Floor Building Use
• • •
A public open space positioned at a major city node or junction, which is marked by a landmark at the center. Integration of pedestrian and vehicular lane facilitates public interaction. Mixed use building usage also add to street activation: Office blocks with ground floor retail, hotels, a theatrer, and religious building.
01
Elements of Urban Design: 1c.Urban Block
Exercise is designed to develop strategic understanding of various attributes regarding urban blocks and its components - Building types, streets and spaces between the buildings. Exercise requires us to identify and represent prevailing urban blocks in our cities and abstract the character of the same. Additionally, understanding the landuse. built vs open space ratio in a given block and understanding the block perimeter and us functionality.
Downtown Abu Dhabi | UAE Multilevel parking block, to deal with the with the growing transport and parking needs.
Underground parking (basement) along with robust street network to deal with higher dependency on private vehicle.
Built-Open Private open space 5%
Public open space 75%
Built space 20%
Building Use Utilities 10%
Mixed- Use 4%
Commercial 60%
Residential 25% Institution 1%
Street Network
Religious anchors are an important public space here, which also characterizes this place.
• • • • •
Major arterial roads form a grid street layout resulting in superblock with multi-story buildings. Open block type: There is no restriction in terms of building use or built typology. Robust street network with multiple layers higher dependency on private vehicle dealt with sufficient parking space and internal connectivity. Religious anchors are an important public space here which also characterizes this place. 75% of the land parcel is open space to balance out the built density.
02
Street Design Vastrapur Road, Ahmedabad
The second module of the studio. Design exercise attempts to develop the analytical, conceptual and representational abilities in preparing a frame work for selected street. The site was critically studied with issues and potential and further design strategies to enhance the overall site.
Vastrapur Road | Ahmedabad Vastrapur Lake
Vastrapur Road
Nehru Park Circle
Site Context •
Located 6km from CBD, an importand arterial road leading to Vastrapur Lake.
•
A stretch of 350 m from Nehru Park Circle towards Mansi circle.
•
Nearby BRT stope is in 132 feet ring road, which is in
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si
an
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Scope of Development Due to its proximity to Vastrapur Lake which is a city level public place, if developed well can attract more footfall.
one km distance.
Site Potential Connectivity: AMTS has service along the street, three existing transit stops. Street Edge Plot Type under Public Domain: 85% of the street edge plot is open to public With ROW 32m completely available for public use.
Street Character: Commercial 70% Ground Floor Use
Commercial Retail Residential Office
Institutional Active Public Realm: Religious 95% of the buildings are directly accessible from the street. 80% of them has direct access to two floors (either ground floor-first floor or half basement) by staircase.
Street Elevation: Public Realm
Site Concerns
Movement Pattern On-street Parking Vehicular Movement Pedestrian Movement
80 Pedestrian Footfall in 100m
Lack of demarcation of existing on-street parking, resulting in shoulder space being treated as a carriageway.
Site Concerns
Footpath Encroachment
103
Food Vendors Vehicular Encroachment
Four Wheelers Encroached
Access Road Hindrances
Pedestrian flow is interrupted by access roads leading to private plots and basement parking.
205 Two Wheelers Encroached
SWOT Analysis Strength
Opportunity
•
• •
•
Proximity to Vastrapur lake (a city level public space) can increase footfall on street. Predominant commercial character keep street active
Weakness • •
Unorganized parking / no defined edge for parking pockets. Lack of pedestrian crossing and thus less safe for pedestrians
Sufficient existing ROW Good footfall on street
Threats •
Traffic congestion at the junctions
Vision “To create a safe pedestrian environment by revamping the streetscape adding to the vibrancy and liveliness of Vastrapur road”.
Objectives
Strategies Traffic Calming measures: •
To Provide Safe Pedestrian Flow To restrict enchroachment
Vehicular lanes are narrowed and space exchanged for wider sidewalks to support higher pedestrian volume.
Separation of vehicular and pedestrian traffic: •
To enhance pedestrian comfort
A buffer zone with landscaping, benches, and a variation in level to keep vehicles and vending off the sidewalk.
•
Continuous footpath uninterrupted by access roads to private plots (bollards for pedestrian safety) with sufficient crosswalks at street intersections.
•
Dedicated informal and formal vending zone with restrictive measures to avoid encroachments to sidewalks and carriage way.
•
Sufficient seating is mostly given at the intersections, where majority of the social interaction occurs.
•
Seating is complimented by a green cover that provides shade.
• Continuous sidewalks are achieved by maintaining intermediate access roads at the same level, bollards provided to ensure pedestrian safety.
Sidewalks are provided with ramp access and seatings at frequent intervals making it accessible for most vulnerable users.
Site Concerns Landmark at the node is in poor condition.
Junction difficult for pedestrians to cross: Crosswalk is interrupted by 3m wide median.
Vehicle encroachment on sidewalks due to lack of demarcation of existing on-street parking, resulting in shoulder space being treated as a carriageway.
Pedestrian flow is interrupted by access roads leading to private plots and basement parking.
Pedestrian crossings are made unsafe by vehicular traffic.
Street vendors provide vibrant and engaging environment but lack of designated space cause them intrude on sidewalks.
Most active areas lack street furniture.
Proposed Master Plan informal vending zone
On-street parking
Transit stop
Street Intersection: • Street intersection is designed to provide for safe pedestrian mobility and to regulate pedestrian-vehicle interaction. • Refuge Island designed plays a good role in reviving the landmark at the node.
Unsignalized Intersection • Table top crosswalks are provided at pedestrian-dominated street intersections to ensure pedestrian safety.
Transit stop
informal vending zone
Access road to private plots
Informal Vending Zone and Parklets • Dedicated space for informal vending at a lower level than the sidewalks to avoid spills and easy upkeep. (functions like a service lane)
Enhancing the Context • Multy utilility zone facilitates to spillovers from existing restaurants.
Distribution of ROW
55% 45%
Carriageway Side Walks
Existing Street Section Side Walks Restaurant Spillover
Enchroached Parking
Side Walks
Enchroachment of Informal Vending
Access Road to Private Plots
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Sectional Detail
Perspective Section representing distribution of ROW: Carriageway, sidewalks and encroachment of various activity on the sidewalks.
10%
45%
Carriageway
18%
On-Street Parking Vendor Zone Buffer
5%
Side Walks 14%
MUZ
8%
Proposed Street Section Side Walks Seating Multi-Utility Zone
Parklets
Transit Bay
Infromal Vending Zone
Tabletop Crosswalk
Seating
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent in massa vitae lectus euismod lacinia nec eget tortor. Pellentesque accumsan velit vitae est viverra, a convallis Side Walks
Eye level view
Perspective Section representing distribution of ROW: Carriageway, sidewalks, multi-utility zone, on-street parking, vending zone and buffer space.
Proposed Street Design Raised Pedestrian Crossing
Proposed Parklets
Provision for Informal Vendors
Existing transit stop is facilitated with sufficient seating shading and bus bay to avoid traffic hinderance. Multy utility zone are provided with fitness equipments at the office and residential areas,they add to the spillover space at the restaurants and vending zone.
Street intersection is designed to provide for safe pedestrian mobility and to regulate pedestrian-vehicle interaction. Refuge Island designed plays a good role in reviving the landmark at the node.
Design Detail
Existing Staircase Precast concrete Seating Multi-utility Zone/ Spillover Space Concrete Seating Landscape/ Buffer zone Carriageway Asphalt Median Existing Solar LED Street Light Tabletop Crosswalk On-street Parking Access road to private plots Side Walk
Material Proposed
ASPHALT
INTERLOCKING TILES Cost effective Easy to install Anti skid PCC Quick to install Even surface and uiniformity Easy to clean and maintain CEMENT TILES RED Cost effective Even surface (apt for furniture) EAvailable in varying colors CEMENT TILES GREY For highlighting/Demarcation Even surface Anti skid PERMEABLE CONCRETE BLOCKS Enable water percolation Cost effective Easy installation and anti skid SOFTSCAPE Enable water percolation Buffer zone: accomodates street lights, service boxes, signages and dustbins
TREES PROPOSED Neem Tree Peltophorum (flowering)
RCC BOLLARDS Cost effective Light weight Can be custome designed PRECAST CONCRETE SEATING Cost effective Can be custome designed
SOLAR LED STREET LIGHTS Sustainable in long run
03
Key Learnings Studio Learnings
In the street representation exrecise,both the examples considered in India and abroad are tourist attractions were in Indian street (jew town) is a commercial neighborhood, the porosity of abutting-built help in street activation whereases Lombard street is a residential neighborhood were landscape elements act as a pausing point. Thus, both ground floor usage and street edge treatment plays an important role in street activation. The study of open space and urban block gave a sense of scale and proportion both in human scale and city level. It aids in comprehending how people and places are interlinked. After gaining a thorough understanding of elements of urban design through various examples, we were able to identify key issues and aspects in chosed street for module two. The street design exercise helped us apply our understanding of the street as a public space in an Indian context. The design strategies used on Vastrapur Road include sustaining the street’s character while enhancing its vibrancy and liveliness as a public space.
Elements of Urban Design Studio Rafa Musadhik | CEPT University