Danqing Sun California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Landscape Architecture Study Abroad LA 463 Senior Seminar Fall 2017 Santa Chiara Study Center Professor Rennie Tang
CittĂ , Ville, Ciudad
PARIS, FRANCE
BARCELONA, SPAIN
CASTIGLION FIORENTINO, ITALY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part 1 - Intro 1
Mapping Technique
2
Diagramming Technique
Part 2 - City 3
Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy
7
Paris, France
11
Barcelona, Spain
15
Photographic Essay
ON NOT KNOWING Not knowing has been always considered as a mark of stupidity. The feelings of anxiety and embarrassment might come out when something is unknown. We have been encouraged to increase the territory of what is known since nursery age. As time goes by, our way of thinking is shaped by what we have already learned. However, what can the unknown bring us? It brings unfamiliarity, uncertainty and unexpectedness. It might also be the ground where creativity springs. “Over time, the pleasure potential of not knowing becomes squeezed into designated timeslots called play, breaks of unruly abandon where what is known can once again be rendered unfamiliar, the uncertain or unexpected met with rushes of brief wonder and delight. The beauty of not knowing is not just about its mystery, but also it is about the boundless possibility. Without the limits of knowing, the direction of exploration can be more diverse and interesting. - Emma Cocker On not Knowing
WALKING ALGORITHM - Create a scale in advance for recording before going for a walk. - Follow the direction of conversations. - Take notes for the number of people involved for each conversation. - Stop when there is a conversation happen, record it and mark down the location. - Don’t stop but record when someone pass by while talking. - Walk around for about 45 min.
1
VERTICAL DISTANCE “While within the roof garden, you are both isolated from the city and standing at its very heart. This seperation and connection were made possibly by vertical distance - David Leatherbarrow Gardens and large landscape
2
Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy
Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy
Parcheggio di piazza Garibaldi
Via D
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Bar Duemila
Porta Fiorentina
“Buongiorno!�
Via
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Museo Civico Archeologico
Santa Chiara Study Center
3
As an outsider, observing a city through its own language can be interesting but also challenging. That is to say: the result will be unexpected when an unknown language becomes the tool to understand a city. My walking is driven by conversations happening in the city. By recording the tone and pitch of conversations, the characteristics of different language are revealed. Compared with other languages, Italian sounds more playful. As a final result, each city will have a series of section profiles in terms of its own language. However, what I’ve found out from the walking exercise is more than just the language itself. For example, the length of the conversation is different depending on where the conversation happens. Through the mapping of Castiglion Fiorentino, I found walking through a small alley tends to invite an encounter for short conversation, while a larger gathering space such as (market, cafe or park) tends to have a longer, voluminous conversation. Furthermore, the speed of talking, the intensity of conversation, the frequency of where conversation happens are also revealed. Referring to the Cocker reading “On not knowing�, the beauty of unknown is an unexpected result therefore not knowing the language of the cities I visit forces me to pay more attention to the melody of the language rather than the content of the conversation. Meanwhile, conversation generates a sense of social gathering. The gathering space in each city is also revealed through mapping.
4
GATHERING SPACE View mountain, landscape, roof top, tree top, sky, residential house, agricultural field.
WALL - THE MISSING MIDDLE GROUND
PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY
5
View pathwy, vegetation, residential house.
David Leatherbarrow defines four types of distance in his article “Gardens Larger Landscape�. Vertical distance is an interesting topic, because it shifts one’s perception of the city from one level to another. Depending on where you stand, you might focus on different themes. It can be underground, ground, middle ground or top ground. A person is always connected with the city in terms of vertical distance. It is a very interesting experience to read a city from various vertical levels. Other than that, Barrow also mentions the roof top garden is functioning as a social space. Since more and more land are taken for buildings, the roof top garden has been used as a gathering space. Even though the middle ground is missing due to the height of building, the top ground level and ground level are connected and sharing the same social and cultural characteristic. Castiglion Fiorentino has dramatic elevation change. The steep slope offers me the chance to really look at the city from different perspectives. Vertical distance is revealed after I draw a scaled section of the selected area - the garden right next to Porta Fiorentina. The area is chosen because of its various elevation, which provides the difference in vertical distance. Castiglion Fiorentino is a typical medieval walled city. Walls were built in order to preventing outsider, which also caused the missing middle ground.
6
Paris, France
Paris, France Rue
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Metro Station Ranelagh
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Rue d
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“Bonjour!”
Jardin Christiane Desroches Noblecourt
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Jardin de la Fondation d’Auteuil
7
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Paris is the second city I chose to do my walking algorithm. The main reason is that French is a totally different language than Italian. I’m expecting to discover the difference between two languages and also other differences of these two cities. By comparing the “sound section profile�, French is relatively smoother than Italian. There are much less dramatic ups and downs in French. In terms of length of the conversation, based on the previous walking algorithm I did in Castiglion Fiorentino, I would expect the longer conversation occured on the main street/commercial area. However, during my walk I found most of the longer conversations occured inside a community park in the residential area. There were about 6 or 7 families with their kids. Since my walk is mainly driven by conversation and sound, I spent about 15 minutes there. The unexpected result revealed the difference of gathering space in these two cities. The scale of Castiglion Fiorentino is much smaller than Paris. Therefore, gathering space are most likely located apart from residential area. On the contrary, the communities are well organized in Paris, gathering space are located within the community. Another big difference is that there is a much greater variety of spaces in Paris where people might have conversations, ranging from parks to cafes to community parks. The difference of scale and layout of the city are also revealed through my walking algorithm.
8
STREET LEVEL View river, street, building, tree
ALONG SEINE RIVER BANK View activities, bridge river surface, river bank.
9
The vertical distance encourages us to look from different elevation. Upper ground level, ground level and underground level would provide different perception for the viewer. In Paris, the vertical distance occurs at the Seine River. Therefore, a scaled sectional diagram of a cut through the Seine riverfront would be a great study of vertical distance.
BOAT ROOFTOP View river surface, river bank, building
We walked along the river at both ground level and underground level, they are different in many ways: ongoing activities, transportation method, speed of movement, the way people occupy space, and also the time people spend there. By comparing the percentage of vertical distance being occupied, Paris is the city that has the most activated space. The analysis of vertical distance helps me visualize the space being occupied in a vertical panel. It is an interesting and effective way to study gathering and public space.
RIVER SURFACE View river surface
10
Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona, Spain
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Avinguda Meridiana
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Metro Station Encants
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My third walking algorithm took place in Barcelona. Since Barcelona is also a city that lots of tourists come to visit, I decided to start my walking from a local neighborhood. Therefore, my walk will only be driven by the conversations in local language. From the “sound section profile” of Barcelona, it reveals the character of its language. Even though there’s still ups and downs, the change is gradual. However, the walk revealed a lot more about the city than the language itself. By following the local people conversations, I was able to explore how the locals occupy the public space. Compared with the previous walk I did in Castiglion Fiorentino and Paris, I encountered the most conversations in Barcelona. Similar to Paris, most of conversations happened in the gathering area. But the gathering in Barcelona occurred more disperse due to its highly developed pedestrian zone. And there is not a fixed gathering space, such as a park or a plaza, during my walk in Barcelona. Instead, the whole street is for pedestrian use. People were sitting on the bench and having conversation along the street. With very little vehicle, people were able to walk freely and occupy the public space. Those kind of pedestrian zone appeared several times, which looks like a planned urban system. This unexpected discovery makes me curious. The research I did after the walk approve it -- the new urban system in Barcelona -- “Superblock”. The Superblock is a new model of mobility that restructures the typical urban road network. It is composed of a set of basic roads forming a polygon or inner area that contains within it several blocks of the current urban fabric. It is a solution for urban mobility and also is a way to return the public space to the citizens. Conversations and gatherings show the system is responded by the locals, and the new urban approach is revealed through my walking algorithm in Barcelona.
12
GATHERING SPACE View city overview, bird, park overview, tree top, sky.
COLUMN - THE MISSING MIDDLE GROUND
PEDESTRIAN PATH View groundcover planting, tourist, architecture, vegetation, butterfly.
13
Barcelona is a city rich in architecture. It provides me the opportunity to see the surrounding at different elevation. I’m able to see how architecture and landscape are connected in different horizontal panels. The sectional study between different vertical distance will definitely reveal the characteristic of a city. The vertical distance between each horizontal panels are different as well depends on city. For instance, the vertical distance occurred in Park Guell in Barcelona is really different than in Paris. Even though it is a park designed by Gaudi, there is a sense of natural approach can be noticed in Park Guell due to the surrounding planting and natural setting. Even though both Barcelona and Castiglion Fiorentino have the middle ground missing, the reason are different. The missing middle ground is due to the structure of the column, which is purposely designed for aesthetic reason. By comparing the parks of Castiglion Fiorentino, Paris and Barcelona, I am able to analyze the gathering space for each city through a different approach.
14
Photographic Essay
CASTIGLION FIORENTINO
15
PARIS
BARCELONA
16
Castiglion Fiorentino
Paris
Barcelona