AR1U120 History and Theory of Urbanism
The Idea of the City as Urban Landscape: Cultural view and inclusive practice of contemporary urbanists author: Aleksandrs FeÄźtins 4188810 email: aleksandrs.feltins@gmail.com tutors: Prof.dr.ir.V.J.Meyer, Dr.C.Wagenaar
Delft 2011/12
ABSTRACT Essay addresses the idea of the city as urban landscape in three ways. In Chapter 1, relation of »urban« and landscape is described. First of all, landscape as common term in art and geography, then landscape in culture and finally landscape urbanism as contemporary urban design practice. In Chapter 2 describes some changes of idea of landscape and its relation to city and urbanism. In Chapter 3, idea of the city as urban landscape is mapped in three implemented urban designs from the Netherlands which were implemented under Vinex policy from 1995—2005. In Conclusion meaning of idea of city as urban landscape is summarized.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract....................................................................................................................................................................... 2 TOC............................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Chapter 1:the meaning of idea of the city as urban landscape .......................................................................... 3 Chapter 2: Changing idea of landscape ................................................................................................................. 4 Chapter 3: idea of city as urban landscape applied in practice............................................................................ 5 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................................. 8 Bibliography............................................................................................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER 1:THE MEANING OF IDEA OF THE CITY AS URBAN LANDSCAPE Idea of the city as urban landscape is actualized view to the city and what urbanist practice is all about. One of the major phenomenon which caused this actualization is blurring border between city and open land. De-centralisation of urban growth, caused by profound changes in economy, society, and geopolitical situation, rising importance of physical and virtual connections, all of this makes this view appropriate and revealing to the current state of art of urbanism and town planning. In order to understand the relevance of idea of landscape applied to urban, it is necessary to linger on the meaning of the idea of landscape. Concept of landscape is closely related with landscape painting , the genre within which a rural environment is depicted as a scene, to be surveyed in one glance. The frame packages it as an entity. In addition, them is the concept of landscape in a geographic sense: a landscape as that part of the earth's surface which displays a coherence on the basis of characteristics that reach far beyound the merely visual. [1] Besides these two fixed, commonly accepted definitions, idea about landscape changes in time and differs from culture to culture. To assume that every society shares an American, English French view of landscape, or even that other societies possess any version of landscape at all, is to wrongly impose on other cultures own's image. Indeed, there have been societies and times wherein the notion of landscape simply does not exist. Landscape, as in French paysage, carries with it to this day a sense of nationhood and cultural identity, an image that is also reflected in the use of English term »country« to indicate both »nation« and »that which is not the city«. These instances point to landscape's inextricable bond with with cultural ideas and images. [2]
Concept of landscape in art and geography
Concept of landscape in different cultures
Nevertheless every society has historically been aware of an environment, the same physical setting has not always been elevated to the level of landscape. Environment, factual relationship based on knowledge differs from landscape, which is very personal point of view on environment. It requires perception, expression and representation to become a common cultural view. Throughout the history, idea of landscape obtain new meanings and its importance is alternating, fading to background or gaining renewed significance. Some of these changes are summarized in chapter 2 of this essay. Landscape as noun (as object or scene) is followed by landscape as verb, as process or activity. Here, it is less formal characteristics of landscape that are described in plan or painting than it is a formative effects of landscape and time. The focus is upon the agency of landscape (how it works and what it does) rather on its appearance, emphasizing the activities of design and effects of constructed landscapes in time.[2] Here reference could be made to two significant practitioners, namely James Corner from Field Operations and Fritz Palmboom from Dutch firm Palmbout Urban Landscapes.
Landscape as verb
Corner in his famous essay »Terra Fluxus« sketches four provisional themes of Landscape Urbanism, the practice which puts idea of the city as an urban landscape in its core. The first of these themes addresses processes over time. “The principle is that the processes of urbanization capital accumulation, deregulation, globalization, environmental protection and so on are much more significant for the shaping of urban relationships than are the spatial forms of urbanism in and of themselves.” The second addresses the phenomenon of »field« or horizontal surface, which is understood as »landscape as infrastructure«. This infrastructure connects various scales of urban territory. Thus practice of (landscape) urbanism by means of operating on this surface shape relationships and stage potentials exploited later by architecture and other kinds of physical development. Third theme is representation and instrumentality of practice: here techniques from different disciplines divorced by virtue of modernism re-unite and form new constellations. Virtually any discipline is now welcome to participate in Landscape Urbanism project. Fourth theme is imagination: »a speculative thickening of the world of possibilities« [3]
Landscape Urbanism as James corner describes it
Palmboom describes relevance of concept of landscape for understanding the contemporary city in five points. First, landscape is vast but survey-able in one glance: one can be in motion, but it is important to see whole »picture«. Second, landscape is ambiguous: »countless contrasts can exist within one landscape«. Third, landscape is dynamic though multiple dimensions of time are embedded in one single entity. Fourth, landscapes are material, and hence stubborn, making operations of its alteration time and resource-consuming. The fifth notion is extremely curious and distinctive from the idea of the landscape by american landscape urbanists: landscape is specific and linked to place. Palmboom stresses that landscapes are not transferable or interchangeable. Finally, Palmboom calls city an »Urbanized Landscape«, the term which gathers five above mentioned characteristics. Practice of Landscape Urbanism, or preparation of ground, according to Palmboom, may be understood as »the art (in which landscape) has an architectonic dimension of its own, quite apart from the appearance of physical buildings« [1]
Relevance of landscape to urbanism as Frits Palmboom defines it
Fritz Palmboom shows relevance of agency of landscape architecture, re-discovered in contemporary urbanism practice: “Landscape architecture has been nourished by the art of painting, but in the course of time it has increasingly become more oriented to the landscape as an all-embracing geographic fact. It treats the landscape as an entity in which processes of occupation, cultivation, and urbanization take place. The landscape architects influences and guides these processes, and gives shape to them. Both practical demands and aesthetic desires come into play here. This broader view of the concept of landscape is a condition for being able to enter into a contemporary relationship with urbanism.” [1] Therefore the most simple way to understand basic ideas and techniques of landscape urbanism one should learn the basics of landscape architecture, where design is only part of the activity. Maintenance of trees and shrubs, for example, illustrate the most primitive anticipation of change and time dimension.
Bernard Tschumi's Pare de la Villette in Paris
Perhaps the single most significant project in terms of forging a new architecture of the landscape was Bernard Tschumi's Pare de la Villette in Paris, 1983—1990. While still highly controversial, his park reversed the traditional role of nature in the city bringing the density, congestion, and richness of the city to the park. A formative attitude toward site and landscape deeply informs design and construction, though in markedly different ways. Landscape practice is about maintenance, the time dimension is as crucial as form. This statement doesn't imply that the project is unfinished: it anticipates that there are different layers with different amplitudes of change and actualisation exist within single landscape.
Conclusions Chapter 1
Hence the idea about city as urban landscape exists within culture of urbanists, it is their contemporary cultural idea of the landscape. On the other hand, the notion of single landscape, its definition may be possible only through subjective comprehension and vision: the urbanist should have a position, the viewpoint towards entity which would become a landscape.
CHAPTER 2: CHANGING IDEA OF LANDSCAPE In order to get closer to the meaning of landscape appropriated by urbanists, the topic should be seen from different perspectives and in different historical contexts. In the Netherlands the pre-histories of landscape and urban disciplines are closely interwoven. The development of the landscape, (dykes, drainage and reclamation) and the shaping of the cities (street plans, canal systems), defensive systems (water defences, fortifications) and infrastructure (canals, harbours, roads and railway lines) has for centuries been very deeply interconnected. Surveyors, city carpenters, horticulturists, foresters, military and hydraulic engineers, down through today's urban planners and landscape architects had been participating in city making for many ages.
Great changes during 20th century
In 20th century relationships between disciplines changed dramatically. Under the influence of industrialisation the issue of mass housing came to occupy the central place in urban planning. The connections between urban planning and landscape design therefore loosened; those with architecture became tighter. This was even more the case during the postwar reconstruction period: solving the massive housing shortage was the heart of the urban planning assignment. This relationship has changed over the past decades. The necessity for addressing the housing shortage has decreased. The government has yielded its central role in planning residential construction to the market. At the same time, issues of infrastructure are again of increasing importance. These reach beyond the boundaries of separate residential areas, and even beyond those of the cities as a whole. [1]
Landscape and Space
It is interesting to compare the concept of landscape with the changes of the concept of space. In urban planning, Berlage represented a view in which space was seen as by definition enclosed and limited. For him, urban space exists by the grace of architecture and thus in Brinckmann’s paradigm ’Stadte bauen heisst: mit dem Hausmaterial Raum gestalten!’ (Urbanism is creating space with housing material). Van Eestern, as one of the leading figures among the moderns, embraced the idea of space as a continuum, detached from surroundings and boundaries. It found the strong bound with post-war ideas of egalitarian society and hence space as its reflection. This claim to universality came under fire in the 1950s and 1960s, internationally from the side of Team X, and in the Netherlands from the forum group with Aldo van Eyck as its most important spokesperson. The claim was to shift attention from universal to specific, regional and cultural diversity gained special attention, thus removing tabula rasa approach from the agenda. Just as space was the paradigm for modernism from the 1920s to the 1950s, and place and event were for the 1960s and 1970s, landscape has a contemporary programmatic significance for urbanists.
Landscape as Commodity
In the meantime, while ideas of space and place had been changing, landscape appropriated another cultural meaning, namely commodity to be either consumed or preserved. This was achieved by the virtue of both commercials and preservation groups. In 1960s, the awareness of open air recreation had been risen, thus influencing regional planning. »Hollands Groene Zone« is the project intended to solve the problem of increasing number of city-dwellers willing to escape city for a picnic and make »Green Heart«
more accessible for open-air recreation. [4, 439] However, this plan had never been implemented. [5] On the other hand, desire to keep »Green Heart« as open agricultural and recreational land supported highrise residential construction. S.J. Embden, like many of his contemporaries, believed categorically that high-rise was the only way to prevent the anticipated densification and infill of the Randstad. The ideal scenario was to have a ring of cities in the western provinces of the Netherlands, each separated by fourkilometer buffer zones and set around non-built-up »Green Heart«. The Randstad cities would have built in high densities to the outside of that ring. Thus, for example, high-rise neighbourhoods such as Voorhof 1 and 2 were built in Delft. Later, high rise neurosis caused suburbanisation in 1970s due to the aggravating image of such neighbourhoods. [6] The idea of the city as an urban landscape includes many of the notions of space and landscape. Under current circumstances and pressure both from development and preservation, critique of both suburbia and high-rise, design must find the way to operate and convince.
Conclusions Chapter 2
CHAPTER 3: IDEA OF CITY AS URBAN LANDSCAPE APPLIED IN PRACTICE The practice of urbanism during last couple of decades shows renewed importance of idea of landscape in urban design. Thus, as Marc Treib' argues, that “landscape can no longer be considered solely as decoration around the base of buildings; rather, it has come to assume deeper roles of contextualization, heightening experiences, and embedding time and nature in the built world. It is increasingly recognized that landscape harbours a profound environmental and existential promise for architecture and urbanism, provoking new forms of experience, meaning, and value.” [7] These notions of city as urban landscape can be found in urban designs and their theoretical underpinnings implemented under Vinex policy in the Netherlands during decade of 1995—2005. Origins of Vinex can be found in compact city policy — it was adopted under favourable economic circumstances. Like most European countries, the Netherlands experienced economic crisis in the 1980s which contributed to a decline in prevailing out-migration from the cities. As a result of this trend reversal, but also owing to growth in the more urban-oriented population categories (young singles, childless couples, ethnic minorities), urban population numbers recovered during the 1980s. The late 1980s also saw a marked increase in environmental awareness within Dutch political and societal debate; and this certainly influenced thinking on the spatial development of the country. Under the policy of 'concentrated de-concentration' that had dominated the scene since the 1960s, many new dwellings were provided within designated »growth centres«. However, the development of employment in these growth centres lagged far behind their population growth, resulting in a dramatic increase of commuting to and from the large cities — and thus in significant traffic problems around these cities. The cities themselves suffered large-scale population loss and many neighbourhoods have suffered declining service levels. In response to these problems, the large cities were the first to introduce compact city strategies, gradually convincing national planners to follow their example. In 1988 the Fourth Report on National Physical Planning adopted the compact city as the core strategic concept in national urbanisation policy — although planners had to wait until the publication of the Fourth Report Extra (»Vinex«) in 1990 before the instruments necessary to put the strategy into practice were added. Locations for large-scale housing schemes were identified, both inside the cities (on »'brownfield« sites) and at the urban fringes (at the socalled »Vinex locations«). Following the publication of the Fourth Report Extra, covenants were made between central government, the provinces, and urban regions determining the number of houses to be built and the locations and timetable for redevelopment. [8]Moreover, the need for residential space came less from the demand for sheer numbers of units, and more from "thinning": the desire for more and more space within each family or residential group, the dispersal of the traditional family, and the desire of residents to live with more space around them. The Vinex was, in other words, an attempt to build suburbia. [9]
Vinex policy
Vinex is not a plan but rather a policy. Though it had set up certain qualitative and quantitative goals to achieve, the design was necessary. Only through this medium these goals would be met. Following examples illustrate how policy on the one hand and idea of the city as urban landscape shaped new extensions. Leidsche Rijn is the largest neighbourhood developed under VINEX policy. Many points of the policy were interpreted to the context of the site. Idea of compact city was addressed: close proximity to historical core of Utrecht and surrounding countryside. Plan provided connectivity with the city by different means of transport, and on the other hand, more metaphorical relationships with both city and countryside were maintained thanks to proximity of both. Ecological sustainability was interpreted as a possibility for the future generations to leave their mark on the area.
Leidsche Rijn: addressing the Policy and inter-disciplinary team
Much attention had been paid to identity of the area. Therefore Crimson Architectural Historians were involved along urban designers and planners to make the plan distinctive thus accepting another disciplinary view to urbanism in practice. Wouter Vanstiphout and Michelle Provoost, the principals of Crimson Architectural Historians refer to Sanford Kwinter in order to specify the need for new kind of urbanism, appropriate for today's condition: ’What we seek is a genealogical urbanism that both invents and unearths embedded histories- in-the-making and through such invention transfigures and transvalues the very landscape on which it operates’.[Sanford Kwinter, ‘New Babylons: Urbanism at the End of the Millennium’, Assemblage nr.25, 1995, pp.80-81] They translate these requirements as: “Such an urbanism will only become operative if it can be easily interpreted as a specific response to a specific task for a specific site, but also as a logical component of what urbanism is and always has been. The plan for Leidsche Rijn is related to developments in the avant-garde and international debate, but above all it seeks to place itself in the tradition of Dutch urbanism as a self-assured intervention in an artificial, historical landscape.” [10]
Leidsche Rijn: five elements
Plan of the whole area is a collage of five distinctive elements. First is highway which was regarded as a border between new area and historical part of Utrecht which is impossible to overcome. Thus this was regarded as major obstacle on a way towards compactness and connectivity with central Utrecht. Highway will be diverted from the Amsterdam—Rhine canal thus opening new possibilities for increased densities where they are the most appropriate, namely in the direct vicinity of the old city [4]. Second distinctive element is channel which connects Utrecht with Rhine. Though also of infrastructural nature, it was not regarded as a barrier: this element of landscape was »absorbed« in the plan proposing house construction on both banks and connecting them with two bridges. Third element is central park of exceptional size, which includes most of valuable existing elements of the landscape. “The landscape is the cornerstone of its identity”. Fourth element is giant water reservoir, which supported the idea of ecological sustainability: new hydrological regime on the site of the neighbourhood won't affect that on the surrounding countryside. Fifth element is structure of ditches and country roads which determined new urban structure of the neighbourhood — quite characteristic approach of large portion of Vinex plans. “These exceptional elements are not isolated; they form an unity. They are the characteristic (identity) closely connecting (compact) basis elements that ensure the plan's future flexibility, optimizing the opportunities it offers for exploiting all that is valuable in this region” [4] In Leidsche Rijn four territorial sectors can be distinguished that in terms of scale may be compared with entire Vinex districts elsewhere: Langerak, Parkwijk, Het Zand &De Woerd; Terwijde: Veldhuizen &DeBalije; and Vleuterweide. The Large Leidsche Rijn Park, a green mix of sports, recreation and small-scale housing is in fact numer five. [11]
Leidsche Rijn: Parkwijk sub-plan by Palmboom Urban Landscapes
In Parkwijk, which sub-plan was developed by Palmboom Urban Landscapes, for example, archaeological park dominates the hierarchical structure of urban blocks, each accommodating its own programmatic goals. It offers panoramic view of the city from the inside out, due to its elevation above surroundings which is the result of the landfill operation over the archaeological site. In addition to the archaeological sites, there are medieval canals and waterworks, ribbons of settlement, the dead-straight route of an important conduit carrying drinking water, and a rubbish tip spread through the site in an apparently random pattern [12]. The water carrying conduit is itself important element in overall plan of the area—the Rijnkennemerlaan is conceived as an infinite empty avenue: a sight on the horizon. The perspective on both sides is framed by a row of Italian poplars, which unperturbed residential areas of different signature [13]. This inclusion of seemingly technocaratic element of no semilogical, historical or aesthetical value is intrinsic in Vinex landscape urbanism approach: design makes the infrastructure part of landscape, emphasizing scenic value of very long corridor. Existing and new landscape elements are made visible.
Ypenburg in Den Haag
Ypenburg in Den Haag is the third largest Vinex site, and acclaimed by many as the most successful project implemented thus far. [9] The master-plan is comprised of two components: on the one hand a framework of public space which forms the »skeleton« of the project, and on the other hand the »fields«, which were to be developed into residential and work areas over the course of time by a selection of designers and developers. The framework is relatively independent of the programme and the form of the building. It provided coherence in the long process of realisation, and can incorporate changes in the course of time. This framework would metaphorically solve the issue of isolation and disability to address the changing context of networked city instead of compact city. It is oriented in the same direction as main regional lines — highway A4 and coast of the North Sea. The lines running parallel the coast are continuous, and at points extend beyond the site. The lines at right angles to the coast run across different zones and vary in character. The traffic and water systems are woven into the framework. The network of main roads shows off the most important elements of the plan. The network of secondly roads takes the from of a coarse grid which provides access to all the neighbourhoods — there are no dead end
roads. Main roads and watercourses are combined together in order to achieve a delightful spatial effect. They provide for the clear organisation and accessibility of the new suburb. The Landingslaan, former airstrip of military airfield (60 by 2800 metres) makes the longest dimension of the area visible. The avenue is slightly sunken, with a double row of lindens on either side, totalling 1500 trees. The infinite perspective along its length is coupled with a certain intimacy in its cross-section. The profile becomes more specific at each of the bridges: tram stops, benches, light poles and polished concrete retaining walls with bold inscriptions by the artist Milou van Ham. [14] Plan also incorporates large sheet of water: in this instance, apart from necessity to accommodate large amounts of surface water, the lake becomes a truly image-building element: the distance and reflection created by grace of water makes neighbourhood centre a visible landmark of the area. Ypenburg is probably the most published Vinex project. Internationally, many design qualities and achievements are acknowledged as excellent: despite suburban programme, continuity and identity of the are well mantained. On the other hand, the commonly criticized features of suburbia such as closed character and limited access, had been gracefully avoided, connecting new residential structure with the greater whole. [9]. Driel-Oost is extension of Arnhem, which is situated outside Randstad. Since 1995 Kees Christinaanse Architect and Planners have been working on a master-plan for this area. In the beautiful landscape of »Betuwe« 7'000 apartements are to be realized. In this new area of the city the deficiencies which have, almost without exception, characterized post-war Dutch city expansion must be avoided: the lack of identity, an absence of context, monofunctionalism, lack of explicitly urban or rural characteristics. Authors acknowledged, that it is virtually impossible to achieve truly »urban« characteristics for the area due to the low residential density of 26 dwellings per hectare and disconnection from urban centre of Arnhem and far distance to the railway as it is in Utrecht for example. Therefore Driel Oost was designed as a rural park with an overall low density, which includes internal areas with a higher density (in a concentrated form or in a band or strip form of buildings and retains the intimacy of the »Betuwe Village«. This was achieved retaining pre-exisiting structures and features of the landscape and parcels of the neighbourhood are oriented towards new centre of the area. Thus “new residents have a feeling for the past, but they also have a sense of orientation” [15] This development is officially not Vinex district, nevertheless it shows overall Vinex strategy applied: identification of the elements of existing landscape, trying to introduce »urban« elements in suburban landscape.
Driel-Oost near Arnhem
CONCLUSION City as urban landscape is contemporary idea of the process of shaping cities. It is rooted in the idea of the landscape, including both artistic, geographical and instrumental definitions of this term. Both landscape and relationship of »urban« and »landscape« has changed several times throughout the history of urbanism. Recent implemented projects in Dutch urban design reveals practical implementation of the idea of city as urban landscape. Some extensions of Dutch cities, emerged during Vinex policy, explicitly shows the relevance of the approach to the current cultural, economical and social circumstances and demands.
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