Atlantis #22.2 Urban Form

ATLANTIS

#22.2 August 2011

MAGAZINE BY POLIS | PLATFORM FOR URBANISM

EMU Zhang Qinyi 12

Luisa Calabrese 04 Han Meyer 08

Meta Berghauser Pont 16 Dena Kasraian 20 Vertical Asia 22 Seog-Jeong Lee 27 Xiao Liang 30 Amy Casey 32 Erich Raith 35 Leo van den Burg 37 José Beirão 39 Hans Teerds 42 Samantha Salden 44 Shift A+U 47 Explore Lab 50 Martin Dubbeling 52 Stefan van der Spek 54 Posad 56 Taeke de Jong 60

URBAN FORM 1

Editorial In recent years, student work, as a reflection of the Urbanism department has, in my opinion, focused too little on urban form and too much on research and planning strategies. In the recent Archiprix 2011 competition for best graduate design plans the jury found it remarkable to notice the large amount of thick reports with high quality studies. The jury stated: ‘The shift towards the academic in design education has moved the emphasis from the design itself to its theoretical underpinning. That said, the tie-up between study and design is quite often under par.

At times it seems as though there are two projects, a book and a visual presentation, whose relationship is unevenly balanced.” This is not an unprecedented incident, as juries of earlier editions perceived the same problem. In 2010 the jury uttered: “For those entries that gave much thought to research the jury often has to conclude that the design is relatively weak when compared to the preliminary study.” Especially in Urbanism projects the research is there, but at the cost of the urban design. “The spatial design is weak and the urbanist as choreographer and designer is all but absent.” This might be an inconvenient message for our discipline but we should not turn a blind eye to it. The need to develop the craftsmanship in forming urban places clearly sets itself forth. In my opinion the knowledge of the repertoire, like precise knowledge of building typologies with its logic of access, determining block depths and buildings heights, understanding of the requisite interstitial spaces and natural lighting, as well as exercise in designing well-proportioned urban spaces, should be practiced much more to develop this craftsmanship.

However, when looking at recent results of Archiprix, and the Europan, there seems to be a renewed interest in form, especially on the intermediate level of scale. According to the latest Archiprix jury “the urban design specialism has elicited a batch of mature plans. After a period when the quality of its graduation projects was a cause for concern, urban design seems now to be back in a new role amidst its fellow disciplines.” Issue #22.2 of Atlantis is an endeavour in exploring this revival by displaying passionate ideas and urban design projects.

The outline for Atlantis volume 22.

If you have ideas and would like to contribute, please do not hesitate to contact us at atlantis@polistudelft.nl. #22.1 Urban Society Keywords: society, regeneration, politics, housing, neighborhood.

ATLANTIS

#22.1 April 2011

MAGAZINE BY POLIS | PLATFORM FOR UBANISM

URBAN SOCIETY 1

#22.2 Urban Form Keywords: form, density, typologies, design, public space, urban techniques.

ATLANTIS

#22.1 April 2011

MAGAZINE BY POLIS | PLATFORM FOR UBANISM

URBAN SOCIETY 1

#22.3 Urban Economy Keywords: globalization, urban economy, competitiveness, branding, market, role of

We explored form on all scales with the cultural aspects thereof, taking into consideration density, history, morphology, typologies, public space, urban techniques and transportation issues. Luisa Calabrese will open this issue by providing five provocative propositions about urban form. In an interview Han Meyer talks about the core chair of Urban Design. Meta Berghauser Pont explains the measuring of urban form. Seog-Jeong Lee of Hanyang University in Seoul demonstrates the recently completed project on the future city form of Seoul.

Eric Raith of TU Wien and Leo van den Burg both discuss historical forms and their present-day meaning in Vienna. José Beirão gives us an insight in parametric urban design, while Amy Casey, a talented painter from Cleveland USA, elaborates her expressive work on urban forms. In an interview, Samantha Salden of Notre Dame University pleas for the importance of building community forms. Stefan van der Spek discusses matters of public space, Hans Teerds reviews a novel. Posad and Shift, young award winning offices, present interesting projects and insights derived from practice. Finally, Taeke de Jong of Technical Ecology and Methods will reflect on the topics discussed in this issue.

Along these lines, the work of TU Delft urbanism students will be exhibited.

urbanism, foreign direct investment.

ATLANTIS

#22.1 April 2011

MAGAZINE BY POLIS | PLATFORM FOR UBANISM

URBAN SOCIETY 1

#22.4 Urban Landscape Keywords: landscape, metropolitan, urban-rural, biodiversity, border conditions.

ATLANTIS

#22.1 April 2011

MAGAZINE BY POLIS | PLATFORM FOR UBANISM

URBAN SOCIETY 1

Jasper Nijveldt 2

From the board As Polis board we are proud to present to you the second Atlantis of this year, issue 22.2 Urban Form. The first issue showed us the impact of the magazine and the important role it has in exposing Polis as an active study association.

The basis of our mission statement is ‘… to construct a network for intellectual transmission within the Department of Urbanism and beyond. Connecting students, researchers and practitioners, by exposing and investigating contemporary affairs and academic ideology. We will do this by means of a magazine, organizing excursions, lectures, debates, expositions and other activities’. Atlantis is a great instrument to expose and investigate, correlating the fields of education, research and practice. It has developed itself into an important part of our platform and supporting our aims of this year. The second Atlantis of this year means that we are already halfway our board year. Polis has organized a lot of different activities in the last 5 months and became an even livelier part of the Urbanism department again. The Urban BBQ of June 29th is probably the best example of this transformation. Regardless of the start of holidays around 40 students of all sorts of disciplines and nationalities joined us in the Delftse Hout!

Meanwhile Polis is extremely busy in organizing the Urbanism Week 2011. The theme of Urbanism Week 2011 is: so, you are an urbanist?! This is an open question, sharply reflecting on the importance of the urbanism discipline, looking back, but more importantly looking into the future: What is your discipline? What does the ‘urban’ do for you? What is the profession really about? We can proudly confirm the participation of speakers such as Alfredo Brillembourg, Edward Soja, Rene Boomkens, Alexander D'Hooghe, Maarten Hajer, Tess Broekmans and Adriaan Geuze. Next to this Atlantis magazine you will find a flyer with more detailed information. For updates, backgrounds and registration please visit: www.urbanismweek.nl

Committees 2011 We could not be as visible as we are without the great effort of a lot of active students. In the last 5 months Polis was able to organize a big trip to Vienna, excursions to Antwerpen and Amsterdam-Noord, a double lecture on digital urbanism, the Roadshow on sustainable planning, a casestudy on Spoorzone Delft and several drinks. The board wants to thank all the people involved in this great achievement, and trigger you to join us!

Education. This is a new committee that organizes evaluation meetings in all the directions of Msc education. Especially in these times of cutting down budgets, our education is under great pressure and therefore we should keep sharp and critical. Jenny Nauta & Noor Scheltema

Urbanism Week. This is another new committee, responsible for setting up the Urbanism Week 2011. The Urbanism Week is organized by a big group, but always looking for others to join! Tülay Zivali, Arie Stobbe, Jorick Beijer, Karien Hofhuis, Vera Konings, Tim Ruijs, Noor Scheltema.

Big Excursion. After the great success of the big trip to Vienna this committee has unfortunaltely stopped after the graduation of its members. From here we want to thank Maike Warmerdam, Alicia Schoo and Liselotte van der A for all their effort! Interested in organizing a new big excursion? Let us know!

Lectures. This committee is looking for new enthousiasts! Let us know if you want to join them and organize more interesting lectures! Remmelt Oosterhuis, Sylke Koumans & Thomas Paul.

Small Excursion. The small excursion committee will be losing some members in September so is of course looking to fill those gaps. More people means more creativity and possibilities! Hannah Cremers, Gijs Briet, Andre Kroese, Verena Roell & Wieke Villerius.

For us it is of big importance to keep close contact with our members. The new Polis website is our main platform for sharing information. Besides this we put effort in keeping our Facebook and Linkedin pages as up to date as possible.

These are great places to interact and share your fascinations. Keep in touch!

Borrel. Maaike Zwart, Nazanin Hemmati, Ani Skachokova & Laurens de Lange.

Urban greetings from the Polis board 2011, Jorick Beijer, Karien Hofhuis, Vera Konings, Tim Ruijs & Noor Scheltema

Atlantis. Jasper Nijveldt, Edwin Hans, Jan Wilbers, Jan Breukelman, Yu Zhang, Mike Yin, Wang Jue & Sang Huyn Lee. 3

A key and a hero1 An essay on the current state of urban design ‘Urban design is a powerful tool. It plays a key role in the formulation and realization of strategic urban projects. It is a crowbar for innovation and a gate to unexpected solutions.

It has the capacity to serve as a medium for negotiation and consequently leads to strong, stimulating and simultaneously open-ended plans, leaving margins for evolution and adaptation; contradictions can transcend into productive paradoxes.

While urban design is the ‘key’ to the strategic urban project, the ‘hero’ is urban space itself. No matter how good an urban design might be, in the end it is merely addressing the endless capacity of and possibilities existing space offers, such as making use of the resourcefulness of space and the mediating capacity of space, strategic urban projects deal with urban space and urbanity remaining, by definition, related to an urban place. Organisation, servicing and management of city form are consequently the main tasks for urban policy and fundamental dimensions for a vast majority of strategic urban projects. They are structured in a manner by which the essential principles and concepts – derived from the specifics of the context as well as related to an interpretation of sustainability – are not lost.’

Bruno de Mulder et al., A Project of Projects (2004: 196) This issue of Atlantis highlights the ‘old question’ of urban form and the role of Urban Design2 within it.

This is not without reason. In the past decades remarkably negative opinions were voiced on the urban condition and particularly on public space. In the 1990s Michael Sorkin’s well known Variations on a theme park was given the subtitle ‘The end of public space’.

Soon thereafter Rem Koolhaas spoke of the ‘evaporation of public realm’ in his cult essay The Generic City, and Bruce Robbins named his book The phantom of public realm.

This wave of publications has made it seem as if urban form – of which public space is the most targeted aspect – has suffered permanent erosion and loss of quality, and is no longer a matter of concern to Urbanism.

True? True. We do not need to take overseas examples to admit it. We just need to open the window and look outside. The Dutch case – with a few exceptions – shows that the making of the modern and contemporary city has been characterized mainly by basic pragmatism and bird-eye views. Four concerns were, and in my view still are, leading decision making in Dutch Urban 4

luisa maria calabrese

Planning: accommodating quantities, solving technical problems through sound technical solutions, satisfying the market demands and speculating on ‘new’ urban identities through the experimentation of ‘new’ urban models3. The motto was and is ‘order, control, technique and economic feasibility’; all of this lately spiced up with a flavor of ‘sustainability’, the unavoidable byproduct of global issues.

This awkward situation begs a number of questions.

In the best academic tradition I offer five propositions regarding two specific questions: the possible role of urban design in contemporary (Dutch) urbanism and the role we (urban planners and urban designers) could play in ongoing planning processes. I choose my position. I challenge you to single out yours.

proposition 1 There is no present and no future for Urban Planning without Urban Design.

Planning through politics, policies and bureaucracy is doomed to fail. The present Dutch situation speaks for itself. The Ministry traditionally appointed to produce large-scale planning policies, countless paperwork and toolboxes lost its raison-d’être and has been shut down4.

Infrastructure Planning wins 1-0 on Urban Planning; and even worse than that, public money is currently invested in road development instead of in improving public transportation. People’s needs and people’s voices are unheard, whilst developers and politicians talk endlessly. Effective normative tools are missing, especially at those scales of design and interventions where it’s all about ‘quality of life’. Historical heritage is usually considered a burden; therefore demolition is easier than restoration. Urban composition is arbitrary, even unnecessary when developers and politicians are satisfied with the allocation of functions. Urban Design disappears and Architecture takes over. ‘It’s all about the process’, they say. Should we still believe it? Recent history teaches us that only a few of those planning processes survive the ‘polder model’ and finally get built5.

I usually dislike catastrophic thinking and especially writing about urbanism, however the present and especially the future of our cities and territories ask for a radical change. In my view, urban designers need to get

more engaged in realizing such change through design knowledge, which means producing fewer words and more meaningful drawings. Design is engagement.

Design is politics. A better urban form needs participation, smartness, quality and flexibility. A durable urban form needs durable design. We need to stop supporting blue print planning and big promises. It’s time to focus on creating tangible facts on the ground. In order to do so we should learn to do many things at the same time: we should have the courage to test our ideas in concrete and detailed design (each scale asks for a different knowledge!) even when we are not asked to do so, to run risks, and to anticipate the future by means of meticulous scenarios.

Urban designers need to enter fearless and aggressively into the arena of the real challenges, confronting, contemplating, setting the agenda and engaging the dialogue. Urban designers need to re-think their possible role(s) within the actual planning processes. Most of the tools we need to influence Urban Design in practice with, exist within the present planning system, but we are not explicit enough in using them. It’s our task to make Urban Design evident and effective. We must as well show the awareness that creating quality spaces involves more than just us. Other roles involved in making a development happen also have an influence on the environment and this is often forgotten. proposition 2 Urban Design is an inevitable necessity.

Realizing strategic urban projects sounds almost like a mission impossible. They have to comply with an entire repertoire of difficult criteria. A strategic urban project has to be structural, multi-dimensional, visibly innovative and beautiful. The recent developments in the design discipline offer some necessary help. The reinvention and resurrection of urban design over the past fifteen to twenty years has reinvigorated the field by reformulating the roles and methods of urban design.

Experiments and projects in a wide range of contexts and situations have demonstrated the essential role of urban design – proved through the development of strategic urban projects. The fact that urban design literally contributes to shaping the city is evident – it deals with forms, the quality of urban space and built form. At the same time, there are a series of other tasks for urban design that are perhaps less visible, but by no means less important. Urban design is more inclusive than design of objects as such. Urban design is investigative and can be termed ‘design by research,’ which, amongst other things, includes the acquisition and use of local social

Figure 1. Project from Vertical Cities studio, more info on page 22.

knowledge by communication and participation. Urban design is also a tool for negotiation towards a workable synthesis of conflicting realities. Design helps in the formation of agreements and becomes, in some instances, a legal instrument. Thus, urban design is an essential component that steers the entire development process of strategic urban projects.

Urban design is premised upon a fundamental rethinking of the discipline of urbanism following the ‘crisis’ of modernist planning methods in the post-war welfare state and various self-critical reflections that occurred amongst professionals in the 1970s and 1980s. Unlike the modernist master plan, urban design in general and the strategic urban project in particular, are not considered final. On the contrary, they are seen as intermediate steps, mediums that explore the potential of urban sites, allow for the achievement of qualitative consensus, and safeguard and accentuate existing spatial qualities. They are structured in a manner by which the essential principles and concepts – derived from the specific reading and opportunities of sites – are not lost throughout the long and complicated development process, while also allowing for flexibility to deal with changing circumstances.

Urban design, vision-making and strategic urban projects start as ‘designerly’ research. The process is initiated by a penetrating reading of the site, in which its history, characteristics, the structural grounding of the site in the urban morphology and the problems and opportunities of the given urban site are analysed. Designerly 5

research explores the identity of the study area and creatively speculates upon the possibilities to reorganise or develop the site with qualitative urban spaces and urban activities. A variety of fields of knowledge are deployed in this analysis: urban history and morpho-typology, urban ecology and landscape, societal issues, such as the power game of decision-making or processes of inclusion and exclusion, architecture and urbanism, and, last but not least, local social knowledge concerning daily life in particular places. From the initial stages, architectural knowledge is present as a way to question the existing realities and spatial structures and the desired interplay between future urban space and urban functioning. This type of research work oscillates between analysis and synthesis, between vision and action, between intuition and rationality, between the global scale of the city and the actual scale of a building, and between an existing and desired spatial structure. propositions 3 If we do not re-learn how to design at the intermediate scale Architecture will soon erase Urbanism.

Is design one whole from the spoon to the city? Most architects would answer yes. What is the answer of urbanists? The idea that architects would pursue, throughout their career, a multidisciplinary/multi-scale production is not a new one: they have always looked beyond the boundaries of their discipline, appropriating materials, methods and processes from other industries as needed. Often in history they disguised themselves as artisans, scientists, artists and philosophers all at the same time. In the 1920’s, the Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius famously declared that architects should design everything. His school cultivated a totalizing concept in which Architecture was only one aspect of design. It promoted the idea of the architect as someone who could and would design buildings, cities and objects all with the same involvement6.

Contemporary (Dutch) Urbanism thinks differently.

Scale matters only if it is big. Design matters only when it is regional and metropolitan. Processes are ‘designed’ more than the physical world is. No hidden or manifest ambition to ‘design a spoon’ in urbanism. Why? In his essay Urbanism at the turn of the century (2000), Joan Busquets talks clearly about the importance of the intermediate scale in contemporary urbanism, the scale of the urban project. According to Busquets the urban project is a type of project that focuses on an urban fragment, as a starting point for tackling wider ranging problems in the city. It is situated on an intermediate scale and should 6

have territorial effects outside its area of intervention (de Solà-Morales, 1989). Each urban project must have the ambition to constitute a partial contribution to a consistent overall strategy. The formulation of this wider strategy can be considered a project in itself. This wider strategy is what Busquets has called a ‘project of projects’, a concrete demonstration of the way in which local projects can be part of a wider constellation of projects. This distinction between projects and ‘projects of projects’ corresponds to what in the French tradition is understood by ‘projets urbains’ and ‘projects de ville’ respectively. A ‘projet urbain’ is the expression of concrete intentions to go out and build an urban fragment. Projets de ville, in contrast, are as such not realized. Apart from not-counting exceptions, one does not make cities, but one builds parts, bits and pieces. However, as argued by the ‘urban project’ tradition, that in itself should not keep us from developing projects for the city, from reflecting on the future form of the city, from constructing ‘projets de ville’ as the horizon for and the context in which fragmentary projects can be evaluated (De Meulder, et al., 2004). This view concurs with Salet’s (2006) definition of strategic projects as strategic devices with collective missions, visions and plans, attempting to settle or stimulate certain joint courses in individual actions.

"Most urbanism students lack indeed not only design knowledge, but also basic design skills to be able to work at the intermediate scale."

The city produces grey by itself. Strategic urban projects are of no use if they only add to the greyness of the city.

On the contrary, strategic urban projects must make a fundamental difference and in that sense they are usually very visible. They change the face and perception of the city. Strategic urban projects are indicators of future development, producers of identity. They support and strengthen the identity of the city and its inhabitants. This characteristic necessitates considerable design skills and aesthetic sensibilities, qualities that are often neglected in urban development initiative. propositions 4 Urban form goes beyond morphology. Urban form is about the use that people make of space and the meaning they attach to it.

The city should express the needs of the people and respond to them, including the need to build up a collective memory. By analyzing existing places and the complex relationships between their constituent parts we can learn to recognize and create the qualities of a rich and stimulating urban environment. This means on all scales, on all levels of scale, a city should accommodate change with respect to the past, present and future.

On the other hand, a city consists of certain scale levels. Each level should have a structure that accommodates change in the next level. Each structure should be precious to the ones who use it. For example, the scale level of the neighborhood should have precious street patterns and accommodate changing use of the streets.

The street should be precious in its own. As well as buildings should be. propositions 5 Designing at different scales should be taught consistently throughout the curriculum to all students at our faculty, not only to architects.

Lately I noticed a blooming production of toolboxes7 and oversized metropolitan strategies as main subjects of our graduating students in the Urbanism master track.

Sadly few of them choose to develop a project, I mean, a design project well-articulated at different scales of interventions, from strategic planning to convincing strategic design. At first I thought that the reason why this happens is that there is not enough interest in design, especially at the intermediate scale. I thought that the notion of urban form is outdated, as it’s all about planning processes.

However, talking and working with our students, I realized that design knowledge is what is missing at specific scales, not their interest. Most urbanism students8 lack indeed not only design knowledge, but also basic design skills to be able to work at the intermediate scale. That’s why, when it’s time to choose a graduation theme or Lab, they mostly go for a toolbox instead of for a strategic project. One explanation to this – in my view - embarrassing situation is ‘what you teach is what you get’. Is it a matter of curriculum structure and content?

It might be. On the other hand, it’s also a matter of offer and demand. Students should learn to firmly ask for what they need to become professionals who are capable of seeing the city from multiple viewpoints and who relish working with interdisciplinary teams.

From our (teachers) side, we should reflect upon our choices as educator. In my view, the present curriculum chooses for a vision of urbanism as a pure process, where

the large-scale issues, the planning and technical aspects are openly privileged upon design. A few quick insights in what (urban) design is are offered, however there is not enough space and time to elaborate in depth on why (urban) design is a powerful tool to steer planning processes. There’s no time to reflect-in-action9, neither to find out why “urban design is the ‘key’ to the strategic urban project and why the ‘hero’ is urban space itself”.

(De Mulder, 2004).

Notes 1 I borrowed this title from an essay by Bruno de Mulder et al., A Project of Projects (2004: 196).

2 One important aspect of urban form is the way urban programs are shaped on the ground, in other words, the way they are composed and ‘designed’ in order to be used.

3 The Dutch New Towns, the Vinex, American style CBD’s, etc..

4 After over thirty years the Dutch Ministry of Housing and Planning (VROM) has been merged with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructures in 2010.

5 Examples of lengthy processes are the South Axis in Amsterdam and the missing link of the A4 motorway in Midden Delfland.

6 In Italy the method ‘Dal cucchiaio alla citta’ (“From the spoon to the city”, Ernesto Rogers, 1952) was born precisely from the meeting between the nascent Prussian industry and the visionary educational model developed in Dessau. This utopian sentence defined an attitude that Italian designers have developed and sustained since the 1950’s. This philosophy found its ground in the optimistic belief that a newly-born industrial production once applied to Architecture would be able to produce a better and more affordable standard of living for many people. This social approach was deeply engaged in the political dialogue with a growing post-war country in need of progress. A famous example of this design philosophy was the light switch that Castiglioni designed in 1968 for VLM, which he used to call “his little secret”, because this easily missed piece of inexpensive hardware was for him the ultimate anonymous design typology that improved the quality of life in millions of European apartments.

7 Toolboxes are catalogues of standardized rules for urban (re)development and a methodology to apply them.

8 I say ‘most of’ as we can see a clear difference in design knowledge and skills between MSc students who were previously trained as architects (abroad) and students coming from our own Bachelor program.

9 In this well-known book Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions (1987), Donald Schön argues that professional education should be centered on enhancing the practitioner’s ability for “reflection-in-action”, that is “ learning by doing and developing the ability for continued learning and problem solving throughout the professional’s career”.

References Busquets, J. (2000) Urbanism at the turn of the century. BNSP, The Fifth Van Eesteren/Van Lohuizen lecture 2000, Amsterdam, pp. 3–20 Calabrese, LM (2006). Urban eyes; het stedelijk project en de stedenbouwkundige dienst.

Stedebouw & Ruimtelijke Ordening, 04 (2006), 1-5 Claessens, F., & van Velzen, E., (2006). De Actualiteit van het Stedelijk Project.

Stedebouw & Ruimtelijke Ordening, 4, 32-37 De Sola Morales, M. (1989) Another modern tradition. From the break of 1930 to the modern urban project. In: Lotus, No. 62, pp. 6–32 De Sola Morales, M. (1987) La secunda historia del proyecto urbano. In: Urbanismo Revista, No. 5, pp. 21–40 Koolhaas, R. (1994) “What Ever Happened to Urbanism?”, in S,M,L,XL, OMA, (with Bruce Mau), The Monicelli Press, New York, 1995, pp. 959/971.

Meyer, H., Hermans, W., & Westrik, J., (1998). Stedebouw onder Nieuwe Voorwaarden: Stedelijke Transformaties in Amsterdam, Rotterdam en Den Haag. In Bekkering, H., et. al, Stedelijke Transformaties: Actuele opgaven in de stad en de rol van de stedebouwkundige discipline, Delft, Delft University Press, 73-93 Rossi, A., (1966). L’Architettura della Città, Padua, Marsilo.

Salet, W., (2006). Framing Strategic Urban Projects. In Salet, W., & Gualini, E. (eds.), Framing Strategic Urban Projects: Learning from Current Experiences in European Urban Regions, Oxon, Routledge, 3-20.

7

The fundamentals of Urban Design and the permanent ‘crisis’ Han Meyer

In the previous Atlantis issue we interviewed Prof. Dr. Vanstiphout on the new chair Design as Politics. For this Urban Form issue we approached Prof. dr.ir. Han Meyer of the chair of Urban Design, theory and methods. This chair focuses on Urban Form, how urban form in the Netherlands is perceived, influenced and taught and how it can be designed and transformed in actual practice.

Han Meyer explains the background of the chair and the profession in light of the Dutch context. He gives his views on the relation between Architecture and Urbanism and provides insight into his education and research.

The main line running through the interview is that the

to budget cuts, because as a department Urbanism has grown a lot, having more professors than Architecture, much to their dismay. Which seems off: when comparing the number of Master students, Urbanism has only a fraction of that at Architecture. We can argue why this is not so surprising, especially in the past much more research was carried out at Urbanism and we are not only here for the sake of the Master students, but for a larger audience.

Either way, we will have to shrink down, which will probably mean that when De Hoog leaves, we lose that niche in the regional scale. There might be other ways to get this back, but I can’t say too much about that at the moment.’

absence of a strong common sense on the fundamentals of the discipline is an important reason that Urbanism in itself has never been a self-evident discipline and finds itself permanently in crisis. That is why the core-business of the chair is focused on the research, teaching and publishing of the fundamentals of urbanism. We conclude the interview with a list of books that are a source of inspiration to Han Meyer.

BACKGROUND OF THE CHAIR

‘To explain what the chair of Urban Design stands for, I first need to dwell upon the name Urban Design. This is important because for as long as I have been with the chair we have had the discussion on how to translate Stedebouwkundig Ontwerpen into English. The essential idea in the late 80’s was that Urban Design is a field that has to deal with both theoretical and methodological aspects and for that you need a core chair, which is the chair that I currently hold. Aside from that two more chairs are required to cover the more specific niches. Henco Bekkerings chair, Stadsontwerp, is called Urban Design with the idea that it focuses mainly on the lower scale in relation to Architecture and the urban project. The larger regional scale is covered by the chair which is held by Maurits de Hoog.’

‘This idea is still relevant. However it has to be revised due

8

‘Not only is it hard to translate “Stedenbouwkunding Ontwerpen” linguistically, but also because what we call Urban Design in the Netherlands hardly exists abroad. In a lot of other countries there is actually a very strong separation between Urban Design which is the specific design of the urban projects, and what is immediately called Urban Planning, mainly focusing on zoning and operating on a more abstract level related to Urban Economy. The idea that you can make a design for a very large area that includes a street plan, a worked out allotment plan, and even includes guidelines for building heights, form and size of the buildings with their programmatic layout, that is actually typically Dutch.’

‘The development of this Dutch discipline has everything to do with the development of the Dutch territory, which as a delta could only be made inhabitable by approaching it very systematically. Systematic in the sense of an immediate spatial and technical division, something which emerged already in the 15th and 16th century and much stronger here than in other countries. This is also the reason our discipline has at least as much overlap with Civil Engineering as with Architecture. In other countries you see that Urban Design is actually an enlarged form of Architecture, because there Urban Design originated from

the Architecture faculty. It is pretty much the largest scale that Architecture can handle, and when it gets bigger you end up in Geography and Spatial Economy.

Here in Delft it emerged not only from Architecture, but also strongly from the Civil Engineering faculty. From those two niches something emerged in the 20-30s that was called Urbanism and Urban Design. This particular historical development needs to be explained abroad as to what we mean here by Urban Design. It is very difficult to put just one title on your business card.

At a given moment we thought of Urban Compositions as a term because it explains partially that it’s about spatial compositions, about spatial form and about structure. Then again, lately I am more inclined to just say Urban Design; perhaps it is better to say Urbanism. I’ll leave the exact translation up to you.’

‘In the last twenty or thirty years, research in Urbanism was for an important part comprised of Spatial Planning research, so the influence and occasional dominance of what is normal in Anglo-Saxon countries is something that we did not entirely escape from. We from the urban design angle also did research of course, but did not have such a long tradition in the publishing and making of articles and the like. Therefore the bulk of this came from the Spatial Planning corner. If you go back even further, before the middle of the 20th century and partly during the fifties, then you do see that the profession contained all sorts of aspects from Civil Engineering, but also a lot of things typical for the University of Wageningen, like soil studies and vegetation studies. Those courses were all part of the curriculum, but disappeared over time. When I studied here in the seventies we still had a course on site preparation, but when I came back twenty years later it had disappeared.’

FOCUS OF THE CHAIR

‘One of our main projects now is called “de Kern van de Stedenbouw”, or “the essence of urbanism”, in which we ask ourselves what the fundamentals of our profession are and in what ways this is relevant for now and for the future. What we basically state is that an important aspect of the essence is knowledge of the more technical aspects of the profession, and the ability to deal with specialists from different technical specializations. This way you don’t become completely dependent on the demands of the civil engineering experts which might be difficult to translate into the urban plan. With some basic knowledge you can provide both rebuttal to and a better integration of these demands. The same goes for traffic engineering and eve-

rything that has to do with it, something we don’t really teach anymore. Students who are graduating now and come across traffic design assignments still have to discover very basic aspects like dimensions of roads, turning circles for parking, etc. These are basic skills that students should already be equipped with. I think there should be a very clear distinction between the fundamental aspects and a cloud of other aspects that are interesting and can be added. Perhaps we should work on that more and restore that balance. In terms of education this distinction is not always clear, especially in a situation where everyone finds they have something important to say, and in which we are perhaps too democratic and liberal by giving everyone their say.’

BACKGROUND AND CRISIS

‘A lot of things are changing and to be honest I think urbanism is permanently in crisis, which is actually quite logical. You have to realize that urbanism has never really been self-evident, both as a discipline here at the school, as to how the discipline emerged in the Netherlands. In the period when the BNS (Union of Dutch Urbanists) was founded and the large cities started to get their own planning departments, there was an enormous discussion going on, and there were many doubters concerning the sense of special organizations on urban design and urban planning. Currently, a large change is taking place in the Netherlands concerning the tradition of project based development, a process which entails the development of neighborhoods all the way through to completion of the last dwelling. This tradition was built up predominantly in the 20th century, culminating in the 80 — 90s with the VINEX developments. With the help of the crisis this tradition is now coming to an end. It’s essential to say ‘with the help of’ because arguments against this approach to the profession have existed for long, but are being taken much more serious now. They have everything to do with pleas Carel Weeber held twenty years ago for more freedom to small private initiative, and calls for more flexibility in the urban economy and culture. Conditions should be created that allow all sorts of developments to flourish, rather than fix everything now, pouring the plan into a casting mold.

In our book series on the kern van de stedenbouw, one of the important messages we try to convey is that for a very long time Dutch Urbanism consisted of an approach in which a very strong spatial form is designed, but within which there are still a lot of possibilities for private initiative.

So the post war period in which the approach of strict planning and the management and control of the overall

"...to be honest I think urbanism is permanently in crisis" 9

shape of very large areas came into vogue is actually a sort of intermezzo if you look at the longer term. That’s why it’s very relevant to look at this tradition again in the coming period, not to copy all sorts of old forms but to learn from certain principles, to rearrange these to be used in the 21st century.’

ARCHITECTURE VS URBANISM

‘I think that by definition architects are interested in the city, and that they have always tried to intervene and even claim parts of the terrain of Urbanism. That issue is as old as the difference between Architecture and Urbanism. But in principle an architect designs buildings whereas the essence of Urbanism is to design conditions for the placement of buildings in such a manner that it also benefits the community as a whole, instead of just the private owners of buildings. My predecessor Jan Heeling explained this very clearly for the first time in his inaugural speech: the distinction between architecture and urbanism is directly related to the distinction between private and public.

The hard part is that you have two things to consider. If a project is being executed and buildings are realized within a couple of years, the short-term interests in an urban plan are often about the connection of these buildings to the public space. At the same time you have to consider the long term. What will happen in and to those buildings? The program can change over time and become something completely different in ten to twenty years, on the other hand even whole buildings can be replaced. But once an urban plan has been designed it is much harder to change, so before you actually can start talking about the transformation of an urban area a lot of time has passed. The important thing with an urban design is that it has to contain a high degree of durability, in the sense that it has to last long and should be able to absorb all kinds of changes.’

it a) is realised, and b) also functions well…’

‘I happened to read an article recently in de Groene Amsterdammer, in which IJburg was enormously patronized. They interviewed residents stating ‘it’s boring, there’s nothing to do on the streets, it’s empty, there are street kids terrorizing the place’. I think the case of IJburg was a clever move by the municipality of Amsterdam in order to meet the very high residential demand of people to live in Amsterdam and moreover I think the urban design is one of the best examples of recent urban design in the Netherlands. However every new neighbourhood just needs time to become a real part of the city. First there is the whole building process, which in the case of the harbour island IJburg actually went quite fast: it took only fifteen years from the first design to construction. But to allow this district to develop itself into a living part of the city several more decades will be necessary.’

‘On a very general note I think it is very important for cities that they retain sufficient critical mass, to prevent what is happening now in American cities like Detroit. Detroit obviously is a very radical example, but then again this decay permanently threatens a city like Rotterdam. When the critical mass of the population declines below a certain threshold limit, it directly affects the retail sector, cinemas, health centres, hospital, etc. The city will then enter a downward spiral, for instance in large parts of American cities there is simply nothing to do. The collective interest of a community is very directly related to maintaining a critical mass in a city, and that can only be maintained by keeping the city attractive. This is a very direct challenge for urban design: to ensure that the whole does not fall apart and if possible, to condense it.’

EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

‘Related to that, in one of the first lectures of the urban fundamentals I state: if you want to become famous, you’d better not become an urban designer. Because for most people a building is very recognisable, but the fact that there is an urban design is often taken for granted. ‘Yes, of course there are streets and the buildings are in a row – or not.’ That those things have been thought out, that people carefully drew it all is not so obvious. But when there is suddenly a very strange or special building popping up, the reaction is much more clear and the building is directly associated with the name of the architect. To sum it up Urbanism has to face two aspects that are not always easy. The first is this lack of recognition and the second is its long term character. With a bit of luck, a building is completed within a few years and the architect sees the result of his work. Concerning the urban design however, before

10

‘Lately I'm more involved in the graduation studio Delta Interventions, which is more about the relation between urban design and the very large task of the delta programme how to control the delta. When you add up all of the components of the delta programme a huge spatial transformation of the Netherlands is not unlikely, but you have to take care that it won’t turn into something horrible. The main question is: how can you be on top of that, guide the process and use this transformation to your advantage. Let’s embed water management and flood protection in such a way that we are left with better pieces of city and landscape.

In my research there are actually two main lines, which are related to one another. The first is about the essence of urbanism, focusing on how our profession really developed and what the meaning of that is for the future. A very important part of that is the Dutch situation, which at the

same time is the second line. Over time our profession has always been intertwined, how can you exploit that interconnectedness in the future, taking into account that we have had to build our cities in a marshy delta and also have to keep developing them in the future. That last part, the forward-looking research is actually the most important, which I try to develop together with a number of PhD students. We would like to combine the layer approach (often used as a pictogram but forgotten shortly thereafter) with a scenario approach: to investigate what developments in the long term are both possible and conceivable in climate and spatial change and how those two should be interwoven. On that level of scale it is vital to develop a robust new spatial structure which at the same time allows great flexibility in its use. Combined with the small-scale opportunities of city and surrounding (water) landscape this is actually the central theme the graduation studio Delta Interventions tries to address.’

‘As a consortium named Dutch Dialogues comprised of urbanists, civil engineers and engineering and design firms from practice, we were asked to help reconstruct a large part of New Orleans, which is still largely torn

down.’ As Hurricane Katrina passed through the Gulf Coast region, New Orleans’ federal flood protection failed: 80% of the city flooded. ‘There is this double assignment: how to make a clever new water management system and how to get the city back, inhabited by and functioning for its citizens. This is a very honourable task, but just as important is that this task gets properly addressed here in the Netherlands. We are therefore working on a project commissioned by NWO, which is the Dutch organization for scientific research, to develop a methodology for integral planning and design in the South-Western delta, the area between Rotterdam and Antwerp. This is necessary because we observe that the specialized sector-approach still reigns in our nation’s spatial policy. There are nature people, water people, port people, safety people, urban planners, and so on. In this specialization trend it is increasingly difficult to develop a kind of integrated approach for a spatial area like a delta.’

Since this integration is one of the fundamental aspects of Urbanism, you could say that this too adds up to the importance of reconsidering the fundamentals of Urbanism as an answer to those who state that the discipline is in a crisis. (JB & JW)

SELECTED READINGS Melanie Mitchell – Complexity theory, a

opposed to the artificial manipulation of the

guided tour

landscape – the first wins.’

‘Our visiting professor Juval Portugali

Edmund Bacon – Design of Cities

researches self-organization in relation to complexity theory, which is a very important

‘In the sixties a bulk of meaningful literature

theme for our discipline. In this book the

with high importance today was written by

author describes the complexity that rises in

authors such as Jane Jacobs, Christopher

all scientific disciplines from the mid twenties

Alexander and Kevin Lynch. In my view,

century until the turn of the century where

Edmund Bacon belongs to this list with

they all come to a stop and reflect upon their

his Design of Cities. In this book Bacon as

evolution. An inspiring read.’

head of the Urban Development department in Philadelphia is confronted with migrat-

David Biggs – Quagmire, Nation-building

ing citizens away from the city center and

and Nature in the Mekong Delta

infrastructural monsters. To come up with a new plan he travels through time to create a

‘A book in which the Mekong delta is the

fascinating systematic research-by-design.

subject and the way it is incorporated

This belongs to the mandatory list of must-

into Vietnams everyday life and the way it

reads for any urbanist. Moreover, I often

served as a defense mechanism against the

show this book to students to show how you

oppressors. The interwoven relationship of

can translate a theme into a drawing in the

the Vietnamese and their landscape could

most convincing way.’

not be overcome by attacking nations. This is a strong metaphor for the strength of the landscape and the reconciliation with it as

11

12

Farmin

zhang qinyi (EMU)

Paris 2030 / shaping the city with open space european postgraduate master in urbanism (EMU) Studio:

Frontiers (MSc4 Thesis)

Tutors :

Bernardo Secchi, Daan Zandbelt & Henco Bekkering

Location: Paris, FR/Hongkong, P.R.C Type:

Regional Planning

Size:

2,500 sq km (XL)

Project farmin is located in Paris based on a parallel comparison with Hongkong. The name is derived from farmax, maximized density, where farmin stands for minimized density. farmin is about using open space as a backbone of urban and infrastructural development.

Open space is used in different ways as centralities, connections and interfaces in all levels from territory, district to neighborhood. Nevertheless open space functions as a structuring city layer that connects with the urban envelope and the green rhythm of Paris throughout all levels.

Two concepts are developed: A 2-km city and a 15-km city. These describe the city forms by both the distance from the city centre to the xl open space and the distance between different urban compositions such as cbd, single family housing and social housing. These city forms which are defined by open space can consequently have an impact on society. Socially diversed climates can be achieved from a city form that provides all kinds of open space everywhere, especially those xl ones. The concept is to interpret the ecologic principles into an urban version and use this to guide the organization and design of the open spaces.

Project farmin is both flexibile and specific. It is flexible in the sense that it addresses several strategic key concepts which are illustrated through designs in different scales, rather than build up a fixed master plan for construction. At the same time it introduces a clear syntax of the open space focusing on connectivity and accessibility. The open space is no longer like a field with freestanding high rises, as in Le Corbusier’s Plan Voisin, but embraced by its users and providing them with collective yet distinguisable identity.

13

Problem: open space structures the city

EMU (European Postgraduate Master in

The size and distribution of open space can define the character of a metropolitan area. The xl open spaces are almost all located on the outskirts of Paris, the city is therefore shaped as a circle with a heart and a periphery. In Hong Kong, however, those xl open spaces are located parallel with the city, which shapes the city in a linear way.

Urbanism) is a joint program offered by four European universities: UPC in Barcelona, Spain; TU Delft in The Netherlands; KU Leuven in Belgium; and IUAV in Venice, Italy. All four universities are inclined to link their didactic topics to

Hypothesis: open space and social segregation

their direct cultural environment with its

Open spaces are magnets. The individualising way of living makes large open spaces attractive areas, large open spaces located in the outskirts polarize the city. Can a more porous and isotropic city in the term of open space, in which the whole city has sufficient and equal accessibility to all kinds of open space, help to form a more mixed and stable society?

traditions and contemporary challenges.

That leads in Barcelona to small scale urban transformations and territorial transformations of culutral landscapes.Where in Venice cultural heritage and the ‘città diffusa’ are central topics, students in Leu-

Concept: HKs in Paris

ven work on the mid-sized European city

HK’s 2-km-city condition leads to a more sustainable and integrated society.

Can we insert large open spaces with a nature and suburb-like condition in Paris in order to provide opportunities for alternative ways of living? Can we finally have a metropolis with a Paris city center, and tiny HKs around it? A new Paris 2030?

and deltas facing climate change. Eventually Delft’s focus is on the (Randstad’s) metropolisation and delta condition. The postgraduate master course is a designoriented program, which focuses on strategies and design for cities and territories.

Project: Patches + Linear City

The aim of the program is to produce

First of all, big patches of open space are defined out of the brown fields. The leftovers are used in two ways: some of them are organized as borders of those patches as an interface to enhance the communication and movement across the borders. The remainings are organized into corridors to connect all the patches.

As a result, the project could be re-defined as patches and a linear city.

highly qualified, university-trained urban

14

designers, physical planners and researchers (www.emurbanism.eu/). Atlantis asked Daan Zandbelt to pick a recent project of EMU to demonstrate.

Paris

Hong Kong

Open space shapes the city

10 km

5

0

centre

HK: 2 km city

0

15 km

0

bay centre

1

Paris current

+

périphérique

CBD

suburbia

PARIS: 15 km city

15 km

0

2 km

luxury housing

Paris 2030 2 km

suburbia 2 km

Hypothesis: open space and social segregation

Concept: HKs in Paris

=

+

[

+

]

Project = Patches + Linear City

15

Measuring urban form meta berghauser pont

For many, the notion of ‘measuring urban form’ will sound disturbing.

Urban form is about visual images of cities, experiences, feelings, memories of place, thoughts and intellectual constructs anchored in the realm of the arts and the humanities. Anne Vernez Moudon however gives in the paper Urbanism by numbers (2009) a good argument to study the urban environment quantitatively as it offers urban designers the opportunity to practice their art with its due precision.

Urban density is one of the measures that is used frequently in urban design practice, but is also questioned by many as it relates poorly to urban form (Alexander 1993, Forsyth 2003). The use of a concept with such a large “warning disclaimer” is disturbing. The Spacematrix method has contributed to a clarification of the existing Babel-like confusion in the terminology currently being used by urban planners working with urban density. The most important contribution of the Spacematrix method is, besides a clear definition of density, that density can be related to urban form and other performances and that urban form is thus measurable.

Figure 1. Spacematrix with floor space index (fsi) on the y-axis, ground space index (gsi) on the x-axis, and network density (n) on the z-axis (Berghauser Pont and Haupt 2010).

Spacematrix Spacematrix defines density as a multi variable phenomenon and makes a correlation between density and the built mass (urban form). Spacematrix uses the following measures: floor space index (fsi), ground space index (gsi), and network density (n). fsi reflects the building intensity independently of the programmatic composition; gsi, or coverage, demonstrates the relationship between built and non-built space; and the density of the network, N, refers to the concentration of networks in an area. Measures such as open space radio (osr) or spaciousness, the average number of floors or layers (l) and the size of the urban blocks (w) can be derived from these three main measures. These three main measures are represented in a three-dimensional diagram, the Spacematrix (figure 1). Separate projections of the Spacematrix are in the present context necessary due to limitations in data management and representation (and thus communication) of the results (see for instance the fsi-gsi plane in figure 3).

Figure 2 shows three examples on how different an area can look like with one and the same density of 75 dwelling per hectare. When applying Spacematrix for describing the density of these three examples we get a more accurate description. In all cases the fsi is the same (based on mono-functional areas and 100 m2

1

16

1

2

2

Figure 2. Three different types of urban areas with 75 dwellings per hectare (from left to right, 1-3, see position in Spacematrix in Figure 3).

3

3

per dwelling), but the gsi in the left case is relatively high.

In the middle case, gsi is medium, whereas in the right case the gsi is low (Berghauser Pont, Haupt 2010).

Figure 3 shows the position of the three examples in the fsi-gsi plane of the Spacematrix diagram. Besides fsi on the y-axis and gsi on the x-axis, the measures osr and l are included as gradients that fan out over the diagram. osr describes the spaciousness (or pressure on the non-built space), and l represents the average number of storeys.

Although the examples have one and the same fsi, their position in the Spacematrix is different due to the differences in gsi, osr and l.

The diagram in figure 4 shows, based on empirical samples from various locations in the Netherlands, and Berlin (Germany) and Barcelona (Spain), where different types of urban environments are located in the Spacematrix. The environments with both a high fsi and gsi are areas with mid-rise buildings dominated by perimeter blocks. These areas are marked as a circle with the letter “E”. Conversely, urban areas with both low fsi and gsi (marked as a circle named “A”) tend to consist of low rise single houses with large gardens. Areas with a high fsi but low gsi tend to be areas with high-rise buildings sur-

L

3.0 FSI

13 12 11

10

9

8

7

6

5

2.5

rounded by large open spaces (marked as a circle named “F”). In particular post-war housing areas inspired by Le Corbusier’s La Ville Radieuse design principles belong to this category. Conversely, urban areas with a high gsi but low fsi (marked as a circle named “C”) tend to be low rise row houses with small gardens, but also industrial areas cluster here. The multi-variable definition of density makes it thus possible to quantitatively describe the different urban environments.

These types of urban environment do not have rigid borders, but slowly transform from one to another. What is most important to understand is that the conditions set by density very much influence the performance of a built environment. It is suggested that performancebased descriptions of urban fabrics could become more important than the traditional image- or activity-based descriptions. Instead of naming low-rise block types or high-rise strip types, the fabric type could be described and prescribed solely by its Spacematrix density and the performance characteristics embedded in this density.

Performances that are discussed in the book Spacematrix.

Space, Density and Urban (Berghauser Pont and Haupt 2010) are parking, daylight access and urbanity.

Many more performances of urban fabrics could and should be researched and related to density in the same manner, contributing to a better underpinning of urban plans and designs.

OSR 2.0 0.25

1.5

0.35

1.0

3

0.5

2

1

0.50 0.75 1.00

0.0 0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

0.50

0.60 GSI

Figure 3. The relationship between gsi, fsi, osr and l in Spacematrix (positions 1-3 refer to Figure 2) (Berghauser Pont and Haupt 2010).

/

)6,

265

E

F

D

C

B

A

*6,

A

point type, low rise

D

street type, mid rise

B

street type, low rise

E

block type, mid rise

C

block type, low rise

F

hybrid point/street type, high rise

Figure 4. The various types of urban areas (scale: urban fabric) in the FSI-GSI plane of the Spacematrix (Berghauser Pont and Haupt 2010).

Instead of creating images, urban professionals will then be more involved with defining the conditions under which specific qualities are most likely to be realized.

In the Harvard Design Magazine reader Urban Planning Today such a conditional approach to planning is described when it defines the future role of governments as establishing intelligent and flexible guidelines, or incentives (Saunders 2006). These guidelines should not prescribe solutions or particular built forms, but should define principles or performance criteria that leave the designer free to be creative in solving design problems (Punter 2007).

The performance of the built landscape There is among many researchers and professionals a consensus that compact settlements are more sustainable than sprawl, and that denser cities, be it with high rise or with compact mid-rise solutions, will somehow halt an unsustainable increase of consumption of transport, energy and resources (Newman and Kenworthy 1999; Jenks 2000).

Newman and Kenworthy demonstrated that in lowdensity cities in North America energy consumption per inhabitant for transport is far higher than the same energy 17

used by Europeans, and even more so when compared to very high-density cities in Japan (see figure 5). North Americans are almost totally dependent on the private car, while the Japanese in general cluster in higher densities and are able to sustain a more efficient public transport network.

However, denser urban environments do not automatically mean less transport and energy consumption. Distances between homes and places of work, regulations and fiscal policies probably have far greater impacts on car use than the mere physical layout of cities and regions (Neuman 2005). If the argument is turned around, though, one has to admit that dense settlements are a necessary prerequisite if we are to aspire to a radical cut in car and lorry transportation.

Only dense settlements offer feasible circumstances for the large investments needed for a more energy-efficient and environmentally responsible movement of goods and people. Such settlements are also the only environments that can be successful when it comes to healthy and sustainable modes of transportation, such as walking and cycling.

Figure 5. Urban density and transportrelated energy consumption.

Figure 6. Difference between density of blocks, mixeduse to mono-functional (Berghauser Pont and Mashhoodi 2011).

Figure 7. Accessible areas of a block are unique. They cover 500, 1000, 2500, and 5000m distance from the block and are dependent on network configuration (Berghauser Pont and Mashhoodi 2011).

[ 0

1.125

2.250

Meters 4.500

Based on these findings, we can conclude that fsi plays a distinctive role in predicting energy consumption related to transport. In what sense the other density measures are of importance, and thus urban form on the micro scale, is unknown. In other words, does it matter whether density is realized through

than 2,4 ha, residential density should be more than 54 units per hectare, and distance to the closest grocery store should be less than 440 meter. The finding that less than 440 meter could “make or break” an environmental support to walking was maybe the most powerful lesson that arose from these quantitative analyses.

i) high and spacious developments versus 2) low and compact developments with similar high densities.

Based on results of a study in Rotterdam by Berghauser Pont and Mashhoodi (2011) concerning mixed-use environments, we can conclude that fsi in mixed blocks is significantly higher than in mono-functional blocks.

The fsi is 27% higher in the mixed blocks than in the mono-functional blocks.

When considering all the mixed blocks the share of floor area used for commercial services such as shops and restaurants show the highest difference with the mono-functional blocks, followed by the share of cultural function, social services, offices and industries. In other

Walkability research done by Moudon et al. (2006) shows that besides residential density, also block size, presence of proximate grocery stores, restaurants, and retail facilities are strongly associated with walkability. The findings of this research show that quantitative thresholds, in this case to support walkable neighborhoods, need to be defined with great precision: blocks should be smaller 18

words, the service function and especially the commercial functions dominate the mixed blocks. The share of work is less spectacular as can be seen in figure 6. The share of housing reduces significantly in the mixed blocks. A mixed block has 21% less gross floor area for housing than a mono-functional block. This is not so strange as the other functions need more space in order to make the blocks mixed.

What is also found is that this reduction of residential floor area within a block is compensated for by an increase of residential density in the proximity of the block in question. This can be studied by measuring the accessible residential density. Accessible density (Ståhle 2008) takes into account both the gross floor space of an area (for instance the urban block) and the accessible floor area within a certain radius (see figure 7).

By doing so, the density of a low dense block can increase in case it is embedded in a high dense context. Or vice versa, a high dense block can have a very low accessible density if it is extremely segregated from its context. Comparison between mixed-use and mono-functional blocks shows that mixed-use blocks have a higher accessible density in all the radii and land use classes (Berghauser Pont and Mashhoodi 2011). The difference is more distinctive in lower radii. In walking distance the accessible commercial service density is 77% higher in mixed-use blocks than in mono-functional blocks. Within biking distance, the presence of work is

the most distinctive, where it differs 39% between mixeduse and mono-functional blocks. As general conclusion, mixed-use blocks are more likely when the fsi of the block is higher and the block is located in an area with greater provision of different land use classes.

A recently developed block in Rotterdam has a relative high fsi and is planned with a mixed program, but is located in a walkable neighbourhood (radius 500 meter) dominated by housing (figure 8 & 9). It is therefore questionable whether this planned mix will on the long run survive as not all conditions are optimal for a mixed-use block.

Conclusion and discussion Measuring urban form is to many designers frightening, but could - as is shown here - be of great value to better underpin design decisions. The complexity of designing cities makes that we will never find (and we do not want to find it, do we?) the formula for the best city, but we can understand the performance of the city better based on quantitative analysis. The most important conclusion is the need for precision and accuracy in dimensioning the physical neighbourhoods. In addition, the knowledge how a local change in urban form has effects on the city as a whole, and vice versa. Based on this knowledge we can guide the future city with smart urban rules prescribing performances instead of form.

Alexander, E. R. (1993), Density Measures: A Review and Analysis, in: Journal of Architecture and Planning Research 10(3), pp. 181-202 Berghauser Pont, M. Y., Haupt, P (2010) SPACEMATRIX, Space, Density and Urban Form. Rotterdam, NAi Publishers.

Berghauser Pont and Mashhoodi (2011), Studying land-use distribution and mixed-use patterns in relation to density, accessibility and urban form, ISUF conference 2011, Montreal, August 26th -29th 2011 (forthcoming).

Forsyth, R. (2003) Measuring Density: Working Definitions for Residential Density and Building Density, in: Density Brief, 8 2003, Design Center for American Urban Landscape, University of Minoesota.

Jenks, M. (2000), The acceptability of urban intensification, In: Williams, K., E. Burton, et al., Eds. (2000), Achieving sustainable urban form. London, E & FN Spon.

Figure 8. Mixed-use block (Wolphaertsbocht) measured on block level (Mashhoodi 2011).

Mashhoodi, B. (2011), Bio-inspired Design Support for Enhanced Mixed-use Potential. Understanding the relation between urban form and mixed-use development by means of bioinspired computation, first year PhD presentation TU Delft.

Moudon Vernez, A. et al., (2006), Operational Definitions of Walkable Neighborhood: Theoretical and Empirical Insights, Journal of Physical Activity and Health 2006, 3, Suppl 1, S99-S117, © 2006 Human Kinetics, Inc. Moudon Vernez, A., Lee C.(2009), Urbanism by numbers. A quantitative approach to urban form. in: Making the metropolitan landscape: Standing firm on the middle ground. Ed. by Jacquline Tatom, Jennifer Stauber, New York, Routledge: 57-77 Neuman, M. (2005), ‘The Compact City Fallacy’, in: Journal of Planning Education and Research 25, 11-26.

Newman, P. and J. Kenworthy (1999), Sustainability and cities: overcoming automobile dependence, Washington, Island Press.

Punter, J., 2007. Design guidelines in American cities: conclusions. In: M. Larice & E. Macdonald, eds. 2007. The urban design reader. Oxon: Routledge. pp. 500-516. Original text from 1997.

Figure 9. The same block is mono-functional measured on the scale of a walking neighbourhood of radius 500 meter (Mashhoodi 2011).

Saunders, W.S., 2006. Cappuccino urbanism, and beyond. Harvard Design Magazine, fall 2006 / winter 2007, p. 3.

Ståhle, A. (2008) Compact Sprawl: Exploring Public Open Space and Contradictions in Urban Density, Stockholm; KTH.

19

The urban capacity of the Westland Towards a systematic measurement of capacity for intensification of dwellings and activities

dena kasraian

Under the topic of compactness, strategies for intensification of dwellings and activities are high on the agenda.

According to Randstad structuurvisie 2040 there is a growing need to provide more space for living and working in the Randstad. On the other hand there are fears of extra congestion and over-crowdedness in the large cities of the Randstad. These are the reasons and needs which motivated this graduation project.

It tries to find solutions for the Randstad’s demand for space outside the borders of the main cities but within the existing built-up area, in order to make the most out of the existing potentials. It claims that the policies for intensified development, with the aim of reaching the compact city concept, would be more successful if they can answer these questions:

weak to strong points which show the range of least to most favorable spots for being intensified.The capacity for multifunctional intensification will be derived from the combination of the different categories.

Where should the intensification take place (quality)?

3. Combination Eventually, the intensification capacities of the large and small scales are combined to quantify the amount of densification.

What should the program be (land-use)?

How much should the amount of intensification be (quantity)?

This project introduces a systematic approach to locate and evaluate the potential locations for intensification of each program or mixed uses.

The final superimposition map plays the role of a master plan of the area which suggests the degree (intensity), location (priority) and program of intensification.

2. Small scale At the local scale an inventory of the existing morphology is provided. For each sample, three scenarios of low/ medium and high intensification are predicted and quantified (within a limitation of urban rules and using existing samples).

This method is not dependant on a specific location, the end result of the proposed methodology is a proposal for a master plan, which helps to locate and quantify the strategies of intensification and provides a glimpse of possible futures for policy makers and other stakeholders and allows them to communicate.

Methodology 1. Large scale a) Within the context of Westland (as a case study), and the categories of dwellings and amenities, companies and glasshouses, several decisive factors for intensification are mapped in a gis database (e.g. public transport, densities, goods’ transportation network). b) Values are attached to the elements within each layer regarding their relative importance (e.g. in the “public transport” layer, the areas closer to the stations value higher). Later, different weight factors are applied to the existing layers (e.g. the layer “degree of urbanity” weighs more than the “noise pollution”). c) The valued layers are super-imposed to provide a capacity evaluation for intensification. The result is a gradient of 20

Figure 1. Plan drawing, after applying maximum intensification to a part of Wateringen, Westland. The new additions are in red.

Figure 2. The step by step procedure of assigning values for intensification of dwellings. The gradient of yellow to red colors shows the location least to most favorable for the intensification of dwellings.

Existing situation

Low intensification

Medium intensification

High intensification

Figure 3. Example of morphology inventory and quantitative estimation of low, medium and high intensification.

Figure 4. 1:1000 Model, after applying maximum intensification to a part of Wateringen, Westland

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Vertical Asia

msc urbanism, architecture and real estate

Asia is the urban centre of the world. Although levels of urbanization are higher in Europe or North America, in Asia almost as many people live in urban areas as opposed to the rest of the world combined. Moreover, the current total is projected to double over the course of the next generation. More than half of the world’s most populous cities and urban regions are found in Asia. Equally important, Asia is a site of new and emerging urban forms, phenomena and experiences, but also the site of problems of sustainable urban development.

Vertical Cities Asia project by TU Delft

In recent graduation projects Atlantis noticed an increasing interest in Asia, specifically China. From 120 urbanism graduation projects of 2010 and 2011 nearly a quarter is a project in Asia (Repository consulted 8-7-2011). In this section we will show the results of the graduation studio Vertical Cities Asia as well as a recent graduation project by Xiao Liang. We also interviewed a professor of Urban Design at the Hanyang university in Seoul who is also the project leader on the future vision of Seoul.

Participating universities:

Studioleader: Mitesh Dixit (OMA) Supervisors: Henco Bekkering, Luisa Calabrese, Kees Kaan, Henri van Bennekom

The Chinese University of Hong Kong Tongji University Tsinghua University University of Tokyo National University of Singapore (host) Delft University of Technology ETH Zurich

Vertical Cities Asia competition

University of California at Berkeley

Asia is at a crossroads. Either existing urban architectural models will continue to be recycled with devastating effects on land, infrastructure, and the environment or new models of urban architecture will be formed to take on the specifics of Asian urban development over the next five years. The international Vertical Cities Asia Competition set out a brief to several international universities including TU Delft to investigate ideas and theories in urban growth and architectural form.

University of Michigan

Every year, one square kilometre territory will be the subject of the competition.

Goal is to house 100,000 people, providing the living and working environment.

This area sets the stage for research and investigation into urban density, verticality, domesticity, work, food, infrastructure, nature, ecology, structure, and program – the very tenants of a new environment compressed into a crucible of urban and architectural invention. This year the theme of fresh air will be explored. The playground is Chengdu, a fast growing city in the west of China (figure 1). The city tripled its urban area since 1990 (figure 2). Its population grew from 8 million to 12.2 million today.

University of Pennsylvania

> 90 800 700 600 Chengdu

400

200 100 50 0-

Figure 1. Rising city of Chengdu

On the next pages we show the three TU Delft entries that were sent in to compete with other universities. The international jury with members as Ken Yeang, Wong Mun Sums en Alan Balfour called it a close call, but in the end the team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) was awarded the first prize with the winning entry titled ‘Symbio City’. The project ‘The Wall’ from the TU Delft took the second prize. China’s Tongji University took the third place.

Vertical City Asia is a shared educational programme of the master tracks Urbanism and Architecture. Main mentor of the TU Delft entries is Mitesh Dixit. He works for OMA leading the office in London, and he is guest teacher at the Architecture department of the faculty of Architecture TU Delft. Other tutors were Henri van Bennekom, Luisa Calabrese, Kees Kaan and Henco Bekkering.

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500

300

Figure 2. Growth Chengdu 1990 - 2011 + 250%.The red in the south is the site.

sou

Agropolis

joeri slots, roald roelofs, xin dogterom & drazen krickovic

Our proposal counteracts on the trend of loss of arable land as one of the major concerns in the world due to rapid urbanization. Without intervention, this trend will result in a (global) food crisis. Therefore, the intention of this proposal is to preserve as much of the existing arable land as possible, while still dealing with Chengdu’s urban expansion and the housing demands of its rising population. In the Agropolis, urban and rural life are brought together. This highly dense vertical city occupies only 1 km² of land, yet houses 200.000 people when it has completed its growth phases (figure 1). Urban agriculture can be found throughout the vertical city (figure 3). Local production could be one step towards limiting the causes of the air quality problem. By composing the city with block modules (for flexible lay-outs and usage), maximum roof gardens and terraces are created (figure 4). Living like a true ‘Agropolitan’ would mean having the best of urban life together with the best of rural life.

40m

20m

40m

Figure 1. Vertical agriculture

Figure 4. Block modules

20m

40m

40m

20m

40m

20m

40m

340m

Figure 3. Vertical agriculture

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The Wall

bart van lakwijk, jasper nijveldt & herman pel winter

25

If we would project the estimated population growth in Chengdu in the same space-consuming manner as the last decade, we would almost need to build a second city of a similar size by 2030. But the current fingermodel of the city will grow out of proportion, precious land will be eaten, resulting in urban sprawl and traffic congestion. Because of the growing distances the inhabitants become more dependent on cars and more ring-roads need to be built.

Traffic jams and an increase of air pollution will be inevitable (figure 6 & 7). Chengdu’s development will gradually slow down, become more congested and will decrease in livability and efficiency. The finger model is no longer sustainable. What if we stop the urban sprawl by densifying the current city edge? We call this edge the Wall (figure 8).

The Wall makes the transition between landscape and city manifest. Big openings, vistas, and newly developed courtyards (figure 9) make sure the Wall feels porous and open.

The Wall can not only accommodate the projected population growth, but it can also function as a framework for applying ideas in a larger context. The Wall will not be dealt with as separate masterplans or buildings with air purifiers, air conditioners or more ingenious techniques, but it is an integral plan with a series of parallel strategies (figure 10) that truly can have the potential to tackle polluted air!

Figure 11. The Wall will take on the specifics of city and landscape

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140 120

20

100 80

biking

15

60 40

10

20

autumn

spring

0

5

0

2005

2006 average

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

during rush hour

summer

Figure 6. Decreasing speed (kmph)

Figure 7. 2,5 times more compared to WHO standards

ÀQJHUPRGHO

GRRPVGD\

THE WALL

156 KM2

Figure 8. Main line of reasoning

Figure 9. Courtyard typologies

Figure 10. Integral system

Figure 12. Central Spine

Figure 13. The Wall on the site.

Figure 14. Different relations with the landscape

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High society

steven pootjes, kamran salim, exequiel mulder & dante borgo

We believe in the city as a catalytic component for the environmental preservation. Therefore fresh air for everyone can only be addressed by a series of punctual interventions on the city scale. We claim true sustainable growth by making the urbanisation far more efficient.

This is the basis of our proposal.

The proposal is to create a “sub-city“, in order to balance the city and reduce the car depency (figure 1). Also we increase the cities density and efficiency, and therefore the air quality. This is because Chengdu relies mostly on its centre. By providing new centralities wich will not compete but complete Chengdu‘s city center. By proposing this we will increase the quality of living and contribute to fresh air. Added to this, we integrated Chengdu‘s leisure and laidback culture to the new sub-city (figure 2 & 3). We created a lush and relaxing city to live, but still with a very high density of 100.000 people.

BU

2n

1st

BA

Figure 1. Concept

Figure 5. Typical section

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Figure 4. Model of new sub-city

Figure 2 & 3. Leisure and laidback culture

Toward qualitative growth in Seoul Seog-Jeong Lee

Today, Seoul is looking back at its revolutionary development during the last 40 years, and is exploring the potential of an evolutionary, qualitative growth for the future.

Atlantis interviewed Seog-Jeong Lee, who recently completed a project on the future form of Seoul. She has a multi-faceted outlook on Korean, Chinese and European urban practice from her role as an urban designer (she is partner of ISA Internationales Stadtbauatelier in Germany), professor (urban design faculty of Hanyang university in Seoul) and as member of the city planning commitee of Seoul. She holds strong views on the shortcomings of Korean cities and from her interesting, comparative view of east and west, proposes potent visions for their future.

What is the situation and are the key issues of Seoul in terms of urban form, density and public space?

South Korean urbanism seems to have focused in only a two-dimensional way and has regarded the city as a planning subject with a quantitative process until even a few years ago. Now, the city is gradually being planned in a spatial way that takes into consideration people’s visual and emotional experiences. It is no exaggeration to say that previously there has been no attention on ‘urban form’ or ‘public space’ in Korean cities. It is no wonder that these cities have not consciously urbanized, because agriculture mainly supported the society of Korea until the mid twentieth century in terms of economics and politics, which means that it was a rural and not an urban society.

The city of Seoul has tried to become a global metropolitan city from the 21st century. After the Cheonggyecheon project (transforming inner cities highway with new public spaces) was completed in 2005, the project became a turning point that shifted the view on urbanism from a functional, infrastructural process to an emphasis on the importance of the public street, square and its representative role in the city. At the same time, it is expected to play

an important role in the city not only in a quantitative way, but also qualitatively. The city of Seoul began to realize that the physical form of the city is the outcome of urban culture, and created several regulations to manage the city in terms of beauty and quality.

Nevertheless, there are several obstacles that need to be overcome in order to achieve these goals. There is still a belief in an out-of-date modernism, where many people, even urbanists, are convinced that tall buildings surrounded by vast open spaces are the only solution for achieving high density. This blind belief brought about great failures in the city and its architecture under the modernization of politics and society after the mid 20th century. The building of new super blocks and iconic high-rise buildings over the top of the existing urban fabric has served to erase people’s memories of the city both physically and mentally.

However, the city of Seoul has experienced a paradigm shift. Existing small urban tissue, street and public space and urban compactness are becoming hot topics of debate in Korean urbanism. This phenomenon can be comparable with a similar shift in the European urban planning paradigm of the mid 1970s.

You have been working in Germany, China and South Korea. What kind of image and urban characteristics does the city of Seoul have in comparison to these regions?

Primarily, the term ‘dynamic’ comes up for the image of Seoul. It can be seen as a non-stop 24 hour city with its ever-crowded streets, busy roads, night markets and so on.

In these days, the city is globalized and regarded as ‘the city of opportunities for foreigners’. This multiculturalism can be heard in the multiple languages of the announcements in the metro. In spite of this, it is not easy to describe the image of Seoul’s physical form. The city has many historical locations and amenities that are only known by the locals. Visitors and newcomers can experience 600 years of history by only visiting certain places such as the

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museum and old palace. The physical features of Seoul that we experience daily show a contrast between massive tall buildings and old degraded buildings as well as monotonous high-rise apartments. The confusion between ‘old’ and ‘new’ in Seoul is the most serious problem, which is comparable to Chinese cities. On the other hand, Seoul and Chinese historical cities are entirely different in character. China’s historical cities have an amazingly rich past combined with the urbanization and modernization of the 19th and 20th centuries, while Seoul does not possess these qualities as it stands today.

Consequently, Seoul now needs to confront the major issue of how to deal with fine urban tissues that could not adapt to the radical urbanization that took place in the last few centuries. The city now needs to create a strong urban fabric that is accommodating towards Seoul’s past as well as its future.

Recently, your team finalized the municipality project for the city of Seoul. What are the intentions of the municipality and the position of your proposal?

The city of Seoul is now struggling to be competitive with other global metropolises. Seoul has begun to recognize that the city needs to change its direction from quantitative growth towards a far more ambitious vision.

Our ambition is to remove the stigma attached to Seoul as a ‘republic of apartment blocks’ driven by citizens’ personal financial motives towards a city that possesses genuine cultural value. Although these issues are certainly crucial, it is nevertheless impossible to solve them in the short term, like the work I have done in the last year. Time and a long-term vision are the key ingredients for creating culturally valuable urban space. It is first necessary to modify the way in which urban development is managed before we even consider the physical fabric of Seoul. So what we suggested in our proposal was for evolutionary urban remodeling instead of urban revolution.

20th century. Our strategies categorize Seoul spatially into three types: city core, residential area and nature on the edge of the city (figure 1).

Figure 1. three main topics in the proposals

City core: 14th century historical center and 21st century center

The core of a city generally forms the main image of that city, but Seoul’s urban center does not (figure 2). This 14th century historical area has not adapted well in terms of urban and economic development from the 18th century onwards and instead, development has shifted from the 20th century to the south of the river. It is necessary to manage the historical center as the symbol of Seoul in order to restore its historicity and other characteristics.

Also, we conclude that the core should extend outside of the historical city wall and consider the expansion and evolution of the city. So, we suggested that the new extension of the core should go southward to the Han River, creating a clear legibility between a 14th century historical center and a 21st century one. The 14th century historical center is defined as a walkable and compact urban area surrounded by mountains, and the 21st century center is defined as a high-rise area with a park and waterfront.

High-rise development is shifted to the 21st century center instead of cluttering the historical center. This kind of relationship is analogous to Paris’ historical center and La Defense. The main issue regarding the historical center is how to maintain the existing fine urban grain while forging a stronger organizational structure.

Residential area

What are the main issues and proposals of the project in general?

Above all, my team tried to establish future images of physical space in Seoul. It was our intention to change the development paradigm of function and infrastructure oriented urban reality towards city beautification.

However, beauty in this sense is about the composition of urban tissue rather than creating a merely picturesque environment. In this context, the main aim of our project is to create a harmony between the underdeveloped old urban structures of the Middle Ages with the modern urban structures that were built towards the end of the

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Currently Seoul’s housing types consist of high-rise apartment complexes, detached housing areas, and old housing areas. The first is the most representative housing type in Seoul; the second was built according to a planned grid pattern that now has a deficiency of parking spaces and public spaces due to the individual redevelopment of each parcel into urban villas. The old housing areas are characterized by narrow alleys, a small organic parcel form, poor living quality, dense buildings and so on.

Based on this situation, we suggested basic, gradual interventions instead of total redevelopment. For the apartment complexes, we propose to open up the gated

Figure 2. city core proposal: 14th century historical center and 21st century city center

communities in the surrounding context, and diversify the urban and architectural space by adding or removing buildings and architectural elements. We thought that the second and third typologies could be modified into lowrise, high-density urban neighborhoods that conserve the existing fine urban grain while also respecting topography and urban context.

Nature on the edge of the city (figure 3)

The proposal for the edge between city and nature is due to a radical shift of thought on the importance of water

in urban areas, especially for the Han River. In the 14th century, the river was used for logistics and recreation for the higher social classes. However, it became cut off from the southern and northern parts of Seoul after a massive urban highway was built along both sides of the river during the late 20th century.

Now it is time to change the role of the river Han. It became the central location of the city geographically, because of the city’s huge expansion towards the south.

Moreover, the waterfront will have a crucial role in defining the physical space and image of the 21st century center in our proposal. We also propose ‘artificial urban islands’ on some areas of the river in order to connect the north and south both spatially and programmatically. These islands also represent the old islands that were removed during the urbanization of the city in the 1970s. We expect these urban islands to work as stepping stones on the 1km wide river Han.

What do you think about TU Delft’s Vertical Asia competition and what should be its main focus in your opinion?

Figure 3. nature on the edge of the city: Han river proposal

Vertical Asia? Why not Vertical Europe? I am suspicious towards these supposed ‘solutions’. Increasingly, Asia seems to be the place for the experimental high-rise works of western architects who do not consider the local Asian context. I think that our cities need to discover alternative ways to combine high density with urban quality without resorting to verticality. (MY & SHL)

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Re-public city A strategic planning of public space

Study case - Lujiazui F&T Zone, Shanghai, China by xiao liang

Since the reform and opening-up policy 30 years ago, the Chinese city has undergone drastic change. To gain productivity and prosperity, the focus has been mainly on economic development but the costs in the current dispersed Chinese developer driven growth model are unacceptably high.

Urban sprawl and a forest of monotonous high-rises determine the new Chinese city and Shanghai, one of the largest cities and economic centres in China forms a perfect representation of this.

Figure 1. Spatial concept of the final result

In 1990 Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone was established as the only national developing zone in Pudong, Shanghai. As a result of the planning and PublicPrivate Partnership (figure 1 & 2) the area transformed from a piece of farm land to a dense urban district in less than two decades. Lujiazui’s skyline became an important symbol of economic strength and urban ambition of Shanghai.

However, the urban quality in between buildings has been ignored completely; public space and the living environment still are of poor quality.

Public space is generally mono-functional, spatially separated, highly privatized and mostly inaccessible (figure 3). The main challenge to further develop the districtis to improve the qualities and accessibility of the public space, in order to re-public the area.

Analysis shows that a better ‘horizontal relation’ is required (figure 4), by improving this relation spaces in between the high-rise buildings will be connected. It re-links the district with the waterfront, and also integrates dispersed icons. It provides the crowded district with a regained public experience, it will act as a counterpart to the vertical city. The proposal aims for an integrated horizontal layer of public spaces, which supports a variety of public life, culture and green.

The program to be added on top of this is divided into five types; green open space, public space, waterside square, public buildings and semi-public space. To organize the spatial distribution of these parts a framework is developed.

of international competition in 1992.

Red Line - boundary line of infrastructure & land Infrastructure - developed by government first Building program - developed by private stockholder while government got money by lending Public Space - separated by Red Line and ignored by both developers

Figure 2. “Public-Private Partnership” development model

Figure 3. Vertical city in Lujiazui

1 Most of the program is located within a newly developed main structure which provides more accessible semi-public space (figure 5).

2 Three new layers support public life in between buildings. The local topography enriches this main structure, green open spaces are cut out and at strategic points public buildings attract the public (figure 6).

Figure 4. New horizontal relationship

3 To give the structure a more Chinese experience, the spaces are organized according to principles drawn from the typical Chinese Garden. This complements the global high-rise buildings (figure 7). The result is a new and improved public space in between the buildings (figure 8) This project started with a focus on strategical planning, but the final result is more on the intermediate scale. This is a representation of the current development in urban planning practice in China. Today, the focus is mainly on traditional urban planning, but one can see a shift towards the urban design.

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Figure 5. Main structure

Figure 6. Three layers in between buildings and river. Topography,

Figure 7. The concept of the Chinese garden reinterpreted on the site.

green open space and public buildings

Figure 8. Improved public sphere in Shanghai Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone

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Boost - image courtesy of Amy Casey & Zg Gallery, Chicago

Residential Web - image courtesy of Amy Casey & Zg Gallery, Chicago

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Satellites - image courtesy of Amy Casey & Zg Gallery, Chicago

Painting precarious worlds

amy casey - www.zggallery.com

Artist’s Statement: July, 2011 After any pendulum swing of chaos grinds to a slow halt, there will come a time when you will have to decide if you are going to wallow in the rubble or take what remains and create a new empire.

Building upon recent work, I have been in search of a solid ground. A bit less kinetic than past work, I have been trying to take what was left of the world in my paintings and create a stability of sorts, thinking about community ties and the security (or illusion of security) needed to nurture growth. Cities are fascinating creatures that I am just beginning to scratch the surface of. The work and

organization that goes into a city's creation and evolution, the constant shifting and adaptations and the sometimes hidden history of these changes, and a city's dependence on civilian cooperation are things I like to think about. Reflecting this interest, burgeoning cities have begun to fill in the voids in my paintings. As in life, with a sort of trial and error, some efforts work better in making the whole precarious heap hum. I am consistently fascinated by the resilience of life and our ability to keep going in the face of sometimes horrendous or ridiculous circumstances. My paintings celebrate this fascination and my love of the urban landscape.

Surrounded - image courtesy of Amy Casey & Zg Gallery, Chicago

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Vienna Impressions of a city From 13 - 17 April, fifteen Urbanism students travelled to Vienna, Austria to experience and analyse the city and its famous city ring road. Under guidance of Leo van den Burg they toured the Ringstrasse, and in themed groups the elements of the Ringstrasse were analysed. Later on in the trip there was also time to reflect.

Vienna seems to be a relatively safe and calm city, despite the amount of car traffic. Overall it has a relaxed atmosphere with little rushing in the metro system.

There are no real ghettos and even in lower class neighbourhoods the buildings are still fairly well maintained. There is a high degree of social control to compensate this, as there are signs everywhere banning all types of activities.

Residents of these buildings seem to be extremely fond of their home within this type of planning. There is an overload of adornment on many of the buildings as well, giving them a very sculptural and cosmetic look. The buildings share similarities with typical Parisian and eastern European constructions. However, most blocks are very large, and together with a very open city layout of wide streets and few alleys, this leads to a lack of cosiness and variety in the city.

Furthermore it lacks identity outside of the palaces, and the weight of history cannot be felt clearly anymore.

Pedestrian traffic is greatly hindered by the large scale infrastructure throughout the city and there are very few car-free zones. The Naschmarkt (a popular daily market) is in the middle of two roads, which hinders the functionality of it but also boasts its popularity and position in the city. In contrast to this, it has a high quality public transportation system.

The excursion was very educational and gave an intense and thorough experience of the city. On the return journey by train an enjoyable few hours were spent in Cologne. If only for the warm weather, the one element that lacked in Vienna.

Figure 1. City centre of Vienna in 1873 (Lechners Vogelshau Plan 1873)

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We begin to plan a new trip when the schoolyear recommences. We do not yet know the destination, but input is always welcomed by e-mail. bigexcursions@polistudelft.nl

The Viennese Danube as a new cultural center

Erich Raith

This interview focuses on the developments along the Danube river front in

Prof. Erich Raith studied architecture at the

Vienna, showing both the history and the future plans for the city and the

Technical University of Vienna, where he

region. Robin Boelsums, TU Delft exchange student in Vienna visited Prof.

now teaches at the department of urban

Erich Raith of the Urbanism department at the TU Wien to get some insights

morphology (Stadt- und Siedlungsmorpholo-

into these developments. With the new developments going on in Transdanu-

gie), which was set up by himself.

bia and in-between Vienna and Bratislava, the Danube area could become the new centre of the city.

Can you explain a bit about the history of Vienna?

Vienna is a typical European city. Among others this means that the first development phase had its roots in the Roman Empire, in the form of a military base.

The Viennese Danube was at the border of this camp, and was part of a defence structure that continued all across Europe. Today the Danube is still a wild, rapidly flowing river, but until 150 years ago it was not just one river, but an entire landscape existing of hundreds of rivers without any possibilities for roads or bridges. The beginnings of Vienna were on the south side of this Danube landscape, called Cisdanubia (figure 1). The Danube played an important role in transport and trade, but it was hardly possible to cross to Transdanubia, on the other side of this landscape. So back then, the river landscape functioned as an actual barrier between the two sides.

Until recently people have always turned their back to the river, even fearing it.

This fear was the result of the many high water catastrophes that have taken place. At the end of the eighteenth century the population of Vienna rose, and the city developed strong connections to the east, to the regions downstream. In the nineteenth century Vienna became an important industrial city. In that time Vienna’s population grew from 1 million to over 2.2 million inhabitants. It developed inside the city walls, which is now the city centre inside the ring.

Just outside the walls there was a circle of empty land, and beyond that the suburbs started, which at first were separate cities. This history is still clearly visible, legible, and people are still aware of the history that took place there. This time was very important for city development, it also asked for drastic regulations of the Danube.

It was the first time that the river was so radically changed. With manpower and animals a new tideway was dug out, thereby reducing this enormous jungle landscape. This landscape could be used for new developments, also on the northern side of the river. Still, it was not fully protected against high tides, and still Vienna was with its back to the water.

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Figure 1.

Old aerial photo showing the Cisdanubia area near the Danube

Vienna Transdanubia Bratislava

Figure 2.

Trans- and Cisdanubia region Cisdanubia

in between Vienna and Bratislava

After the First World War most European cities grew rapidly in population. In Vienna however, the population decreased. Where before the war over two million people lived, now there were only 1.6 million people. This change made it possible for Vienna to not think about how to handle the growth. Instead they had the opportunity to plan for urban renewal.

What is the current situation of Vienna in relation to the Danube?

At this moment a magical, dramatic phase for urban development has started. Over the last three decades Vienna has finally begun to lose its fear for the Danube. Big developments are taking place at the northern side, in Transdanubia. The river is regulated by different channels, like the old Danube and the new Danube. Still the high water tides are visible, for instance in the Wienfluss that leads to the Danube. For most of the year it is a very small stream, but the water level can rise several meters in just two or three hours. I have seen it rise almost catastrophically high about once every ten years. The waterways in Vienna are still a concern for people.

The Danube is not a border anymore, and I think it could even be a cultural centre for the city. Take for instance the Donauinselfest on the island in the Danube where a lot of people come together, mainly from the east. During this festival the Danube functions as a cultural space.

How can Vienna develop further?

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The Danube as a cultural centre is a very interesting scenario. The developments in Transdanubia are on-going, which makes that the focal point of the city’s shift. When the densities on both sides of the Danube become equal a new centre can arise. At present there are already a lot of special functions and landscapes situated along the water. At exactly this place the new urbanism of the 21th century can be defined. Vienna could again be a mid-European metropolis. This time with the Viennese Danube as its centre.

What will happen with the current centre?

In this scenario it might become a huge museum or even a theme park for tourists. The current Viennese renewal plan focuses on the establishment of a new twin city ViennaBratislava (figure 2). This approach has radically changed, because in 1994 – the previous city renewal plan – the municipality strictly focused on the area within the political borders. These two European capitals that are geographically close to each other can function as two magnetic poles that attract new possibilities for the land in between.

The Danube landscape has been a border for thousands of years, but can now function as a central park. There is a lot changing at the moment, for instance the radical change in attitude towards the river, which creates a lot of great opportunities. The Viennese Danube can become the cultural centre of Vienna with new urban forms, and the Danube landscape at the centre of this twin city can be a central park with new possibilities. (RB)

The Ringstrasse

leo van den burg

Urban form and social structure.

The development of the Viennese Ringstrasse began and ended with a revolution. In 1848, Europe was under the spell of a series of uprisings aiming for the replacement of centralised state power by more liberal and democratic forms of governance. It was this pursuit to which the Netherlands, for example, owes its constitution. In the Austro-Hungarian Empire the riots led to the fall of the government, the abdication of the emperor, a new constitution, the establishment of parliament and indirectly, but very closely related, the construction of the Ringstrasse.

Leo van den Burg is Assistant Professor at the Chair of Urban Compositions in Delft, and is currently working on a PhD entitled “Aspects of Urban Design in Inner City.Transformations in Dutch cities, from the Fifteenth to Eighteenth Century”

Already in the thirties of the nineteenth century, central Vienna had to contend with a great lack of space. The historic inner city and the suburbs were separated by a wide zone containing the city walls that was a popular place for Sunday walks, but otherwise hindered traffic. It was an open secret that the walls should be torn down to relieve some of the spatial pressure. The events of 1848 initially reinforced the belief that for military reasons demolition was not a good idea.

At the same time, it sparked off a process that sealed the fate of the walls. A new state had to be built, with all the necessary institutions: the new emperor was honoured with a church, the army wanted new barracks and all Viennese wanted a new opera. It was unthinkable that buildings like these could still be accommodated in the inner city. Planning began, but without coherence, direction or consultation.

It took nine years before the Emperor put an end to the uncertainty. It is my wish, he said, that the extension of the Viennese city centre is embarked upon as soon as possible, taking into account that appropriate connections are made with the suburbs and with due concern for the layout and beautification of my residence and imperial capital. The emperor gave permission for the demolition of the ramparts and the development of what became known as the Ringstrasse area. The emperor’s phrasing has great political significance.

At a time when many tried to weaken monarchic power, the emperor boldly calls Vienna the capital of his empire. He takes the initiative in the tumult surrounding the fortifications, supplies everyone with sufficient space and thus secures his own position. His utterances are not met with great resistance. On the contrary: “Ganz Wien war dadurch in freudige Aufregung versetzt.” The Emperor divides and rules. This closely links the construction of the Ringstrasse to the development of the Austrian state.

The Ringstrasse became the arena where the major powers after the revolution reached a necessary social compromise. The Ringstrasse helped shape the bourgeois-monarchist society of which she herself became the centre. The town hall, the parliament, the palace, the stock market, the university, museums, theatres, the opera, the art academy, a public park, but also speculative housing, everything found a place along the ring. She is the nineteenth century in a nutshell.

Figure 1. The Ringstrasse and its public buildings, from: Mollik e.a.,’Planung und

If the Ringstrasse is the embodiment of a social compromise, should we then call her form a compromise too? The course of events following the dictates

Verwirklichung der Wiener Ringstrassenzone’, 1980

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“If the Ringstrasse is the embodiment of a social compromise, should we then call her form a compromise too?”

Figure 2. Altnerative plan Adolf Loos, from: Rukschio en Schachel, ‘Adolf Loos: Leben und Werk’, 1982.

of the emperor gives reason to fear the worst. First, a design competition was organised from which no clear winner sprang.

The jury then drew up a plan herself based on the three best entries. This plan was changed several times in the following decades. A site visit raises many questions too: is this a street at all, or is it a zone? Is it a barrier or a connection? Is it a series of spatial incidents along a road? It takes no great effort to identify weak spots. In oversimplified terms: the Votive Church is too far back, the Burgtheater too far forward, the square in front of the town hall is too big, the palace lacks a wing and all these institutions are so loosely connected that it is indeed hard to call much of the Ringstrasse a proper street (should anyone care).

But these are all incidents.

Let us rather ask whether the main structure is clear. My experience is that with difficult questions like these, one can always fall back on Adolf Loos. And sure enough, also in this case the oracle of Vienna has some good suggestions. As late as 1912, his studio produced an alternative plan to the Ringstrasse, more than fifty years after issuance of the competition (figure 2).

Strikingly, with Loos, the ring road is projected much further outward than in the executed plan. This places all the representative buildings on the side where they belong, namely that of the inner city. In the case of the 38

built Ringstrasse, these buildings are located on both sides, which results in much cross traffic and turns the street into a barrier. Many central institutions now face the old town, instead of being a part of it. In Loos’ plan a number of major streets are resolutely extended into the inner city, reducing even the significance of his ring road. The built plan lacks these cross connections. One of the reasons why the ring road area is such a prominent feature of Vienna – for better or worse – is because old and new are not so much connected, but permanently separated by this autonomous body.

I began this article by saying that the development of the Ringstrasse is framed by two revolutions. The Ringstrasse was the result of an emerging national consciousness.

The same nationalism was the driving force behind the first World War. In June 1914, shortly after the last major buildings were finished along the Ringstrasse, the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian crown prince in Sarajevo plunged the world into a thirty year crisis that completely destroyed the society that created the Ringstrasse.

The social structure behind the Ringstrasse is gone forever, but the street itself still stands. A visitor of the Ring Road will see many beautiful things today, but what do they mean? What is really missing on the Ringstrasse is not some formal resolution. What is missing is something that makes the historic weight of these forms tangible.

Generative tools for flexible urban design josé beirão

Cities are non-linear systems quite difficult to manage and even more so to design. They are complex open systems involving unpredictable behaviour generated by local and global agents. Suggestions found in expert literature for dealing with this complexity point towards developing design tools and methods structured under the concept of flexibility. They demand a design practice for dealing with change. Flexibility is the ability of a system of adapting or responding to changes in the environment. Ascher (2001) proposes as a strategy for new urbanism the development of an urbanism of devices for negotiating and elaborating solutions instead of designing fixed layouts.

This article will show the main concepts underlying the development of urban design tools and methods to address the production of flexible urban designs. The term ‘flexible urban design’ is defined as: a set of urban design solutions for a specific urban design problem formulation expressed through a set of interrelated design rules instead of the traditional fixed plan. The main concept is designing systems of solutions rather than a single solution.

The research shown in this article is part of a larger

research project called City Induction and refers to the development of the generation module of an urban design tool for formulating, generating and evaluating urban designs (Duarte et al., forthcoming).

Urban design is practiced with an extensive support of analytical tools which allows us to capture some of the properties of the urban context. There are many kinds of analytical tools for such purpose (Gil and Duarte, 2008) (Stolk and Brömmelstroet, 2009). The most common examples are based on geographic information systems (gis) which allow for several kinds of spatial data analysis involving different types of data: morphological, social and economical.

The analysis of topological characteristics of the urban space can be enhanced with space syntax techniques (Hillier, 1996) or route structure analysis (Marshall, 2005). These analytical procedures improve the designers’ awareness on the characteristics of existing urban spaces or proposed design solutions. These methods can be applied to the design context before designing or to a solution integrated in the context for evaluating of the design solution. In the beginning of the design process they enhance the designer’s awareness on the existing

Figure 1. Model A – toolbars and several stages of a design process

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contextual conditions and at the end of the design process they allow to measure some properties of the urban environment already updated with the proposed solutions. The tangible meaning of the measurements obtained from these methods is a subject for expert interpretation but constructs a clearly improved awareness on the characteristics of the urban environment before and after designing.

It is common practice to confront a design proposal with other types of information related to it. The book ‘Spacematrix’ (Berghauser-Pont and Haupt, 2010) dedicates its first half to understanding the role of density measures in urban design and planning and the second half on understanding the tangible meaning of density measures and derived properties in regard to morphologic characteristics of urban fabrics.

In this research a model for developing a generative urban design tool was developed using as generative formalisms compound forms of shape and description grammars. Shape grammars (Stiny and Gips, 1972) are rule based formalisms to compute designs. Rules start from an initial shape applying shape transformations step by step to generate designs. Description rules apply to other characteristics of designs such as function, material or other aspects which semantically enhance the description of designs (Stiny, 1981).

In the proposed design system designs are obtained by arranging typical urban design moves called urban induction patterns (UIPs). UIPs are organized in a common structure following a design pattern structure (Gamma et al., 1995). The UIPs contain generative algorithms based on compound forms of shape and descriptions grammars which replicate design moves that urban designers recurrently use in their practice. For instance, they can draw main streets, a promenade, an orthogonal grid or a radial grid (Beirão et al., 2011).

A complete design is obtained when a complete arrangement of design moves addressing all the requirements of the urban programme is selected. Informal applications of these concepts for urban design education can be found in (Beirão and Duarte, 2009).

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Figure 2. Model B – several different visualizations of design manipulations and output interface

“These analytical procedures improve the designers’ awareness on the characteristics of existing urban spaces or proposed design solutions.”

2 models – rule based versus parametric Using the developed theoretical model, during the research two types of prototype tools were developed based on distinct design platforms.

Model A – developed in AutoCADCivil3D using the VBA programming interface (Beirão et al., 2010). In this model a set of new commands for AutoCAD were created and arranged in thematic toolbars: data inputs / composition axis (main streets) / grids / transformations / urban units / public spaces / function / building height / others. Each command corresponds to an urban design move which an urban designer can easily recognize by name. The commands follow the formal definition of UIPs adapted to the VBA programming language and they generate representations of design moves adapted to the design context. The representations are output in formats that can easily be inserted in the AutoCADMap platform. Point, line and polygon representations are stored in separate thematic layers. Simultaneously, the rules store information related to the design in a database which can also be accessed in the GIS platform. For instance, geometrical descriptions of streets are stored along with a hierarchic classification and attributes obeying a pre-defined ontology structure (Beirão et al., 2009) (Montenegro, 2010). Therefore the model is capable of producing design solutions and related quantitative and qualitative data. (figure 1) Model B - developed in Rhinoceros using the Grasshopper programming interface (Beirão et al., 2011). This model produces parametric urban designs for a district area. The model works with a set of geometrical inputs divided in 4 types: site (defined by polygons); composition elements which are subdivided into main streets (defined by lines and curves) and focal points representing the location of the neighbourhood centre, local squares, public buildings and city objects in general; a vertical parameter defines the maximum number of floors; and a set of grid types (rectangular, radial and recursive). Each of these geometrical inputs has a set of associated parameter inputs. For instance, a main street has an attributed street width. The elements can be replaced or moved at any time during design exploration and the geometrical model is immediately updated. At each

update the system calculates density measurements and derived properties following ‘Spacematrix’ density indicators. This capacity of the model allows the designer to grasp in a very interactive way the relations between the proposed morphological approaches and density properties with very straightforward visual interfaces. (figure 2)

Acknowledgements J. Beirão is funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (fct), Portugal, with grant sfrh/bd/39034/2007.

J. Beirão is a member of the City Induction project also funded by fct, Portugal (ptdc/aur/64384/2006), hosted by icist at tu lisbon and coordinated by José Duarte. Model A was developed in the context of the city induction research project. Pirouz Nourian is co-author of model B. References Ascher, F., 2001. Les nouveaux principes de l’urbanisme:[la fin des villes n’est pas à l’ordre du jour], Éd. de l’Aube.

Beirão, J.N. and Duarte, J.P., 2009. Urban design with patterns and shape rules. In Model Town, Using Urban Simulation in New Town Planning. SUN, Amsterdam.

Beirão, J.N., Duarte, J.P. and Stouffs, R., 2011. Creating Specific Grammars with Generic Grammars: Towards Flexible Urban Design. Nexus Network Journal, pp.1–39.

Beirão, J. et al., 2010. Implementing a Generative Urban Design Model. In eCAADe 2010 Conference: Future Cities. p. 265.

Beirão, J. et al., 2009. The city as a street system: A street description for a city ontology.

SIGraDi 2009-Proceedings of the, 13, pp.132–134.

Beirão, J., Nourian, P. and Mashhoodi, B., 2011. Parametric urban design: An interactive sketching system for shaping neighborhoods. In Proceedings of the Conference eCAADe 2011. eCAADe 2011. Ljubljiana.

Berghauser-Pont, B. and Haupt, P., 2010. Spacematrix. Space, Density and Urban Form, NAI. Duarte, J.P. et al., forthcoming. City Induction: formulating, generating, and evaluating urban plans. In Digital Urban Modelling and Simulation. CCIS Series Communications in Computer and Information Science Series. Springer-Verlag.

Gamma, E. et al., 1995. Design patterns: elements of reusable object-oriented software, Addison-wesley Reading, MA. Gil, J. and Duarte, J.P., 2008. Towards an Urban Design Evaluation Framework. In Architecture in Computro-26th eCAADe Conference Proceedings, Antwerpen. pp. 257–264.

Hillier, B., 1996. Space is the Machine, Citeseer.

Marshall, S., 2005. Streets & patterns, Routledge.

Montenegro, N., 2010. Building a Pre-Design Ontology Towards a model for urban programs.

Stiny, G., 1981. A note on the description of designs. Environment and Planning B, 8(3), pp.257–267.

Stiny, G. and Gips, J., 1972. Shape grammars and the generative specification of painting and sculpture. Information processing, 71, pp.1460–1465.

Stolk, E. and Brömmelstroet, M., 2009. Model Town: using urban simulation in new town planning SUN., Amsterdam.

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On The Cave hans teerds

There is a nice tradition of newspapers and magazines publishing lists of books to take with you on vacation. This year the Dutch newspaper Trouw published a series of maps of the world, Europe and the Netherlands with corresponding lists of books for each popular destination, separated by genre. I have always liked the idea of reading a novel related to the place I am travelling to – you really get a better feel for the place this way than from burrowing through Lonely Planet all day.

In this article I would like to draw your attention to The Cave, a novel written by the Portuguese writer José Saramago (1922-2010). This novel is not about a specific city or country, but is a must-read for architects and urban designers alike.

The themes of the novel are actually quite pessimistic.

Like other works by Saramago, there is an exploration of the dark side of the human condition. Although it is easy to disagree with this pessimism, it certainly provokes the reader. And that is the power of literature – it expands our horizons on life, it feeds our understanding of current developments and our experiences; moreover, it addresses our understanding of what it is to be human.

In The Cave, Saramago confronts an old potter with the emerging power that is the shopping mall he is producing for. Saramago simply refers to it as ‘The Centre’; a huge company housed in a gigantic building. It slowly but surely absorbs all of the urban activities of the surrounding streets. Small shops in the neighbourhood close down, as they cannot compete with The Centre. Ordinary people move inside, since it is so comfortable to live there.

Employers of The Centre are obliged to move in as well.

And since it is by far the biggest employer in the city and still growing, it will eventually swallow the entire city in the future, except from a huge Industrial Zone where the products sold by the Centre are produced. In-between The Centre and those zones there is an emerging slum where people live who cannot enter The Centre. “Here, every now and then, and in the name of the classical axiom which says that necessity knows no law, a truck laden with food is held up and emptied of its contents before you can say knife.”1 The story makes it clear that The Centre, because of its size can only deal with generic produce, which is continuously judged on its quality and perfection. As a supplier of the Centre, the potter’s products have to pass its stringent 42

standards. But since he is a craftsman producing all of his pottery by hand, none of these are the same, let alone ‘perfect’. The Centre cannot deal with this lack of uniformity and terminates his contract, leaving him with no chance to make himself a living in the apartment of his daughter and son-in-law within The Centre itself.

It is quite clear that the potter in this novel symbolises a life that is closely connected with nature, the earth and its traditions, while The Centre symbolises a life dominated by an economic worldview and modernity. The novel can be seen to be about the struggle between natural life on the one hand and artificial life on the other. It is about cherishing craftsmanship, the personal and the unique over the mass-produced; it is about the grounding of specific traditions and local geography versus modernity and its placelessness; about authenticity versus artificiality and about the unexpected and unplanned versus the planned, controlled and the mouldable.2 According to the book, this is an unbalanced struggle: modernity is always at the winning hand. The climax of the book is the unmasking of life within a condition of modernity as a soulless one.

“They work together on this single goal, the success of the Centre - because in its success is also incorporated into their own success and future.”

You don’t have to agree with the pessimism of Saramago to recognize the threat for society of the emerging importance of security and control, as well as the temptation of entertainment in our daily lives. Life in The Centre moves ‘inwards’ because of the importance of security and control and the longing for entertainment. Since the outside world is dangerous and dull simultaneously, the life in the interior is controlled, secured and organised. Everything you need, even everything you didn’t know you needed, is around. It is the place to be where everything is perfect. No politics are needed anymore. Nothing has to be improved or organised; economic laws control everything. No personal opinion is needed either – there is only the need to consume. Saramago’s critique is clear: a life, only lived in privatised terms is soulless.

There are semi-public spaces inside of The Centre: terraces, the beach, cafés, restaurants, cinema’s, casinos, gardens, churches, and pools. These spaces only serve one goal: the (economic) success of The Centre – and everything that disturbs this goal is abandoned. Within the Centre, there is no real room for developing your own opinions or expressing your individuality; no room for striving for personal goals or participating in issues that are ‘bigger’ than your own life – politics is not possible.

Just be happy in your apartment with all the possibilities that The Centre delivers you. If the Centre is a success it can deliver more possibilities and become more and more pleasant to its residents and visitors. Thus workers and residents, owners and visitors are one happy family: they work together on this single goal, the success of the Centre – because in its success is also incorporated into their own success and future.

buy products that are not durable but need to be replaced again and again. The durability of the objects that surrounds us is, according to Arendt, of upmost importance.

Only in a stable world (where, we, as individuals can fit in to the flow of history) can politics be sensible. The human artifice is an important element of this world.3 In The Cave this striving for perfection leads to a decline of craftsmanship (how paradoxical that actually sounds). It leads to the proliferation of generic objects and a decline of connoisseurship and the durability of things. The novel thus simultaneously is a plea for interest in and the quality of tradition, craftsmanship and authenticity – a plea that finds its echo in some recent, seminal publications as well.4 The third reason is that it becomes clear that the threat of shopping malls, gated communities, and all of these contemporary new urban typologies based on the aim of security and control, in its essence is not the lack of diversity (or plurality, to use a more Arendtial term), the accessibility or spatial continuity an sich, but that it is about the attitude of the inhabitant and user of these spaces; an attitude that is fueled by personal experiences, and thus by our daily environment.

“We do not, after all, experience the city blankly, and much of what we do absorb from daily life in the city (be it the long drag of the commute, the jostle of subway crowds, the blandness of the shopping mall, the elegance or grandeur of certain forms of urban architecture, the panhandlers on the sidewalk, or the peace and beauty of an urban park) surely has some kind of influence on how we are situated in the world and how we think and act politically within it.”5

There are three reasons that I consider this book as an important novel within the fields of architecture and urbanism.

The first lies in a literal reading of the text: the extrapolation of what it would mean for the human condition if our lives played out in a shopping mall-like environment.

It is a threat for political action and social involvement.

1 José Saramago, The Cave, London 2002, The Harvill Press Ibid., p.4

The second reason is not so literally mentioned, but is quite important for those who design the human artifice.

What strikes me in The Cave’s critique of modernity is the way in which Saramago intertwines the changes in our daily environment (as the context of our lives) and (the way we produce) the objects surrounding us. This is a connection that was also made by the philosopher Hannah Arendt. Fifty years ago she criticised the mechanism of a dominating economical worldview that urges people to

2 in Dutch: ‘het maakbare’. There isn’t a sufficient translation of this notion, maakbaarheid, but what is meant can be described quite well as believe that you can make’ or even ‘mould’ the future. This notion, which was at the heart of modernism, is questioned in postmodernism.

3 Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition, Chicago 1994 (2nd), Chicago University Press, Chapter iv 4 As for instance in Richard Sennett, The Craftsman, New Haven 2008, Yale University Press; Sharon Zukin, Naked City: The Death And Life of Authentic Urban Spaces, New York 2010, Oxford University Press 5 David Harvey, ‘The political Economy of Public Space’, in: Setha Low and Neil Smith (eds.), The Politics of Public Space, New York/London 2006, Routeledge pp.17-18

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Building community forms Samantha Salden

Samantha Salden is a professor of architectural design and the history of urban form at both Bachelors and Masters level at Notre Dame University. Her work and teaching focuses on traditional cities, twentieth-century cities, urban ideologies, innovations in New Urbanism and the civic responsibility of the architect and urbanist in contemporary society. In May she gave a public lecture at TU Delft on New Urbanism and its importance today.

What is Notre Dame’s ethos regarding architecture and urbanism?

It is about seeing architecture as part of a living tradition and a living language. We see architecture and urban design really as part of one language. It’s about applying the same principles but at different scales and different levels. We see ourselves and our students as servants of the community rather than servants of ourselves. So it’s really about, ‘how do we build a good community form that’ll support the culture that will inhabit it?’ − not just for now, but for future generations. We study Western Classicism as a foundation but then we go into more vernacular and local traditions, looking at proportion and other things as well.

Our students look at how historical solutions to climate, cultural issues and so on meld with critical analyses of new materials, new methodologies and so on. So in terms of experimental work, for us it’s not just about doing the conceptual side but to also look at financial structures, legal issues and other things to make a sustainable city more possible.

and not car based. So while Delft is a fantastic place for pedestrians and cyclists, this is unfortunately not the case in many urban areas in the US which has a huge problem with urban sprawl that has been exported to too many parts of the world too.

The goals of New Urbanism are to create walkable places, buildings that work with one another to form public space – as opposed to singular, object-like buildings – that act as a framework to support the street as a place for human interaction, to make cities more economically viable by creating a variety of housing types, making a greater social justice through good design. For example, by creating opportunities for people to live in the neighbourhood they work in.

How does New Urbanism operate at the regional scale?

A main focus is on connectivity – siting neighbourhoods along good routes of transportation. But we’re not talking about a super highway but rather trains, ferries, those sorts of things. Connectivitiy also in the sense of creating fine grain neighbourhoods, which means creating multiple ways to get from point A to point B. Another key focus for the regional scale is preserving the natural environment – looking at climate, topography, water issues and so on.

At the regional scale, density isn’t there for density’s sake.

There’s a common mentality in the States for everyone to have a little bit of their own nature, their own back and front yard. But if everyone has their own yard, no one has

“If you and I are not speaking the

What is New Urbanism?

It’s a design approach for cities that is based on the regional scale, urban scale, neighbourhood scale and building scale, and recognising that all of these are interrelated. It’s based on the belief that cities should be walkable

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same language we're not doing well as a community.”

nature because there’s none of it left. So New Urbanism at the regional scale is about allowing natural land, agricultural land to be preserved while creating mixed, walkable neighbourhoods at a variety of scales where people hopefully don’t have to drive.

The Charter of New Urbanism specifies constraints on the maximum size and density of neighbourhoods. So what happens when New Urbanism is applied to major existing cities?

New Urbanism happens in Manhattan all the time. Not all of Manhattan is a forty storey building. Typically New Urbanism is practiced at four to six storeys. This is based on how far people are willing to walk if a building has no elevator - you can walk ten storeys but do you really want to? If you go to Boston, Manhattan, Chicago and other great American cities they’re typically three and four storey neighbourhoods except for a core of skyscrapers. New Urbanism doesn’t prohibit skyscrapers but they shouldn’t be the main fabric of the city. So if I’m new to a place I should be able to intuitively move from, say, the train station to the town centre. I should be able to identify the church, the town hall, the train station as opposed to the supermarket. They shouldn’t be interchangeable.

What happens if a neighbourhood is thriving and reaches its maximum allowed size and density?

Then we look at cellular growth. At a certain point we move to a new neighbourhood. It’s based on the ancient Greek model whereby a new settlement is built elsewhere once the polis has reached a certain size, typically of ten thousand people.

Leon Krier has a wonderful diagram about urban growth - it shows a human form that can grow and grow, but of course we don’t do that - we reproduce. With each new neighbourhood there’d be a new neighbourhood centre with shops, offices and so on that come together to form a new city.

Does each neighbourhood therefore possess the same programmatic mix?

There might be a neighbourhood theatre, but in your neighbourhood you might have the main church, so they’re not all in one place. But typically the mix of uses in a typical neighbourhood would include things like the grocery store, the post office, the hairdresser, the pharmacy - the basic needs of daily life. Most people should be able to work in their local neighbourhood and to walk their kids to school. But if I need to buy a new couch or dining table, maybe I can’t buy that down the street - I might have to go down to your neighbourhood to find the store I want, so not every need is sup-

ported in that radius, but most of our daily stuff will.

Does New Urbanism specify a maximum distance for something that is constituted as walkable?

The typical physical measure is a five minute walk in any direction, or a circle of about eight hundred metres.

Is New Urbanism becoming pervasive in the United States and is it a part of government policy?

Not as much as we would like but it’s getting there. There is the LEED program in the States that is becoming required by many municipalities and government agencies and institutions - universities and so on. One aspect of LEED is location and neighbourhood development and the Charter of New Urbanism is one of the main contributors to that legislation. Unfortunately, it hasn’t become pervasive in terms of financial and legal structures - say, as a bank loan for building a community or building or even buying a house. The system is still largely based on constructing fairly disposable buildings that you’ll pay off for thirty years with your mortgage before it is then reconstructed as that is as long as that building will last. It’s also largely based on the trend that, as we are becoming an increasingly globalised society, we tend to move every five or yen years for work or school instead of staying in the same community as our grandparents did. We have this very mobile mentality that leaves people asking ‘why should I invest in a place if I’m not going to live there very long or my kids won’t benefit?’ We tend to almost litter our buildings from one place to the next.

Are there some principles in the Charter regarding urban and architectural form that try to combat this prevalent attitude of disposability?

The Charter addresses durability in both a cultural and physical sense. While it doesn’t prescribe specific materials and so on, it recommends the use of local materials in order to minimise energy and transport burdens. But also in many cases, local materials tend to work with our climate better. There’s a reason why you build with adobe in the southwest desert or with wood in New England and so on. It encourages us to build objects that will last more than one generation.

Do these principles conflict with existing building codes?

Right now, a wonderful small town or city centre like Delft is illegal in the US because of parking requirements.

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Depending on the municipality you might have anywhere between one and two and a half parking spaces required per dwelling unit. Requirements like these are preventing traditional urbanism in some of our greatest cities. So in Chicago, you couldn’t rebuild Lincoln Park again because it’s illegal based on the number of parking units required for that neighbourhood. Now, if you’re going there by car for a dinner party on Saturday night, you’re cursing the lack of parking spaces, but that’s why we have public transit, so we shouldn’t have to go everywhere by car.

We’re not trying to eliminate the car – I love my car and I like to drive – but going to the grocery store to buy a gallon of milk or mail a letter shouldn’t require me to get in my car every time.

Are there any specific guidelines in the Charter with regards to building form or is it more qualitative?

The Charter talks far more about qualities than about dimensions and physical characteristics. It talks about cultural issues, sustainability issues, streets that foster gathering and legible, hierarchical spaces within a city. It’s when we apply these principles to a particular region that we often add a layer called a pattern book or regulating plan.

Nevertheless, there seems to be a prevailing image of the architecture of New Urbanism as these dreadful pitched roof wedding cake houses...

The pattern book is something that is locally calibrated and in many cases it’s based on the vernacular tradition of the area. So for the midwest, the architecture may take inspiration from the typical farmhouse, but in a more urban setting you can have a very dense commercial storefront, sometimes with flat roofs as well (although ideally pitched roofs with a gutter) - they can be brick, they can be adobe, they can be wood. The image you mention is indeed one image of New Urbanism, but it’s one of many.

Can New Urbanism developments accommodate the iconic starchitect building?

Generally a strong urban fabric can withstand most things, it just can’t withstand everybody having their own idea. The idea of New Urbanism is that buildings should be good neighbours, they should be able to talk to one another.

If you and I are not speaking the same language we’re not doing well as a community. Similarly, if our buildings can’t talk to one another or be understood as interrelated it’s going to be a problem. Having that object building, that unique inset within a larger fabric, that can happen, absolutely. Ideally that would happen more as an institutional element - the museum, the theatre or the church, as opposed to each of us creating our own icon for our house.

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But won’t this desire for a visually interrelated urban fabric ultimately lead to the homogenisation of entire cities and regions?

Unfortunately there is a cookie cutter mentality among developers right now, whereby a suburb in Georgia looks exactly the same as one in Massachusetts, so the homogenisation is already there. The goal is actually to pull back from this and say that every house shouldn’t have the same vinyl cladding with the same size lot in every neighbourhood across the country and across the world. The goal is to lessen homogenisation and promote local coherence and legibility by referencing the local vernacular.

With the way that New Urbanism adopts traditional building crafts and vernacular stylistic traits while largely ignoring advancements in building technology, could it not be argued that it is a rather nostalgic and backward looking way of building?

The argument for using traditional building methods is one of sustainability. The vernacular building is typically a more durable and well functioning building. The vernacular developed out of local materials and of natural responses to climate issues. For instance the plantation house with the big porch from the Old South of the US is not just a cultural affectation - the height of the rooms inside isn’t because we’re fancier than the neighbours - it was because the climate is hot and humid - high ceilings allow heat to rise, triple hung windows allow the air to pass through, the porch cools the air as it enters the house. We’re not trying to tame mother nature, we’re trying to deal with her in a way that doesn’t require a lot of fossil fuels.

How does the vernacular deal with new building typologies that weren’t there hundreds of years ago - for instance, how do you do a vernacular airport?

I think that for airports, train stations, that’s where you do push the envelope. The goal is not to make people feel like they’re being shoved into a factory but should be part of a great civic experience - spaces like Eero Saarinen’s airport terminal and Grand Central Station make us feel elevated.

For these kinds of structures we may need to deal with new kinds of materials, different spans to relate to the scale of the aeroplane, the train. Although they might be much bigger, there should still be an emphasis on hierarchical elaboration - so the train station doesn’t become perceived as more important than the town hall. This can be done through scale, proportion, location in the city and so on. (MY & SHL)

Open specificity The Western Garden Cities are being transformed with little regards for the original qualities of the modern city.

The open structure of the initial General Extension Plan of Amsterdam is replaced by a defensive form of urban planning that sources its ingredients from the pre-war city. The result – a patchwork of gentrified enclaves – may be filling the indeterminate open space of the original city, but is incapable of accommodating new forms of collectivity. The brief for the August Allebé Square offers the opportunity to formulate an alternative strategy for the ‘problematic legacy’ of the modern city that failed to respond to demographic developments. This must be a strategy that sees the open city and its diverse population not as a problem, but as a chance to forge new types of collectivity and urbanism.

The design proposes a new spatial and programmatic composition that opens up radically on the levels of both neighbourhood and network city. The potential of the square’s strategic position between the regional axes (A10, metro and train) and the major thoroughfare (Postjesweg) is capitalized by spanning the square in between these different axes and by introducing programs that are relevant on both regional and local levels.

shift architecture and urbanism

the square, while at the same time safeguarding its openness, a new type is introduced: the so-called ‘pleingebouw’ (square building). An amalgam of building and public space, the square building adds programmed mass as well as charged emptiness to the square. In dialogue with the existing buildings and/or embedded within the infrastructural network, a sequence of different square buildings will enrich the open space: the podium, the colonnade, the canopy, the plan oblique and the frame.

The explicit programming of the masses and their specific design imply the use of adjacent public space without fixing it. There will still be room for improvisation, spontaneity and appropriation by different groups. The result is a square-within-a-square-situation, where one is constantly reminded of the presence of parallel worlds, of ‘the other’.

Design: Shift Architecture Urbanism Thijs van Bijsterveldt & Oana Rades in collaboration with Harm Timmermans and Gustavo van Staveren www.shifta.nl

In order to program and differentiate the larger space of

photography: Daniel Nicolas

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4

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1. parking 2. delivery 3. storage 4. commercial space 5. supermarket 6. metrosquare 7. platform 8. housing

1. shopping collonade 2. commercial space 3. office floor 4. parking

1. parking 2. delivery 3. commercial space 4. supermarket 5. community centre 6. housing 7. social arena

Metro square

Collonade

Podium

3

The coexistence of different groups and activities transforms the square into an urban “coulisse landscape” where one is reminded of the existence of “the other”

The specific design and explicit programming of the masses imply the use of the adjacent public space without fixing it; view from the colonnade on a market day

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1. parking 2. covered event plaza 3. culture cafe 4. tearoom 5. film house 6. mosque 7. skylobby 8. eventcentre

1. foodcourt 2. commercial space 3. hotel 4. housing

1. parking 2. dressing rooms 3. wet floor 4. wellness 5. dry floor 6. dinette 7. terrace 8. oblique plane

Table

λ

Oblique plane

The car parking and logistics is reorganized and topped with a social arena

The Tabletop accommodates halls to be rented out by the neighborhood

The square is announced and physcially linked with the Postjesweg through an urban antechamber

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The metamorphosis of Coolsingel, or the benign demolition of the City explore lab/archiprix 2011 nominee

Urban context

Plan of Coolsingel: the alienating metamorphosis (runway and planes) embedded in the centre of Rotterdam.

Beurstraverse and landing strip

Section Cityhall area

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Post office terminal

lieke van hooijdonk, elsbeth ronner, lilith van assem

Studio:

Explore Lab 7 (MSc4 Thesis)

(www.lilithronnervanhooijdonk.nl)

Tutor:

D. Somers E. Van der Zaag M. Van Dorst D. Sijmons

Urban context

Plan of Coolsingel: the contemplative space after the airfield disappears

Prospect of the newly generated space in the centre of Rotterdam: circus at Coolsingel

Sculpture garden in the former post office

Architecture has the habit of arriving too late and staying far too long.

singel, the boulevard alters from a highway to a runway. To make

This final-year project steps off from the paradox between the slow-

a space for the planes, the area around Coolsingel transforms into

ness of what is built and the transience of use. The metamorphosis of

an airport. When the planes leave the city Coolsingel will return

Coolsingel, or the benign demolition of the City examines the essence

in a new guise.

of architectural metamorphosis. It uses metamorphosis to confront the consequences of a pointless hypothesis in an urban setting that in

The rebirth of Coolsingel gives it the guise of a contemplative

turn burdens us with the question of architecture’s autonomy.

space. The beauty peculiar to the newly created space lies in the paradox between the wholesale clearance of the street and the

Metamorphosis is the poetic equivalent of transformation. Unlike

compaction of the built fabric round about. The facade’s explicit

transformation, metamorphosis marks the onset of a seemingly

formal idiom with its openings for gateways and loggias reconsid-

pointless change. In this project the subject of metamorphosis is

ers the characteristics of an architectural urbanity not designed to

Coolsingel in Rotterdam. By extrapolating the essence of Cool-

a specific programme.

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Roadshow Lectures Polis symposium on sustainable urban design With the statement “Every movement starts by foot” Laurens Tait kicked off the second edition of the Roadschow Sustainable Urbanism – the Next Step.

This traveling forum is devoted to sustainability, liveability and mobility and this edition was held at Delft University. Multiple lecturers from different disciplines propose their view on actual and future mobility topics. This article brings you an overview of this enterprising day.

Martin Dubbeling

Martin Dubbeling is a senior consultant, urban planner and urban designer at SAB, a multi-disciplinary office active in the fields of spatial planning, urban planning, landscape architecture and the environment in Arnhem, The Netherlands. He is bureau member of ISOCARP and co-

Vertical transportation

chair of the comity on sustainable urban

Tait, engineer at ARUP, reasons that every step in the mobility chain can be effectively influenced by small means. If reasoned from the point of perspective of the pedestrian, countless possibilities open up, according to Tait. He illustrates this with examples in Brussels and Toronto. There the application of subtle improvements to the bicycle and pedestrian networks is encouraging city travelers to take different means of transportation from the car.Tait argues that the adaptation of a historic city to a car-free environment encourages the use of other transportation modes, while simultaneously improving vibrancy, livability, sustainability and mobility. This principle has been common in European cities but now starts to invade other world cities as well, cities that are very much willing to invest in car-free zones. Besides the classical horizontal movement, ARUP is also working on the optimization of vertical transport. This is especially topical in Asia, where undulating areas continue to be urbanized in a high-rise manner. ARUP speculates on how escalators, elevators, cable cars and even funicular railways can link service areas with other activity nodes in the city. Things as such literally add a new dimension to mobility and urban development.

design and planning of the Netherlands

City Regions Professor Joost Schrijnen and Nanet Rutten from Delft University pierced the myth that the opportunities of our increasing digital society and everything internet has to offer reduce the demand for mobility. Despite telecommuting, video conferencing and software such as Skype the demand for mobility continues to increase. Apparently we keep on moving albeit with different motives and to different destinations than before. Keeping travel duration limited is crucial to the success of the entire mobility chain.

Schrijnen and Rutten compared metro and light rail connections in the cities of the Randstad, Stockholm, San Fransisco Bay Area and Greater London. Strikingly, the transportation system of the Randstad barely fits together and serves a much wider territory than in the other regions, where there are more coherent transportation systems and much shorter travel durations.

Transit Oriented Development Research into six transportation regions in the Netherlands shows that there is still a lot to gain in improving the use of nodes and connections for highly qualitative public transport. Already in the Southern Wing 80 percent of the specified new city program can be realized around the stops of the Randstadrail, the light rail connection between The Hague and Rotterdam. This 52

professional organisations of landscape architecture and urban planning and design.

Martin Dubbeling is one of the authors of the publication “Sustainable Urban Design, Perspectives and Examples”.

transport link holds potential as a precedent for a comparable copy in the Northernwing of the Randstad.

With the draft of the structure vision ‘Infrastructure and Space’ in mind, Schrijnen proclaimed that highways between urban areas can easily be doubled. However, the car will ultimately jam the supply routes that feed traffic to the city. Light rail connections will prove highly necessary to ensure mobility and liveability in the city.

The next step According to Martin Dubbeling, urbanist at SAB, the future holds many innovations for the field of transportation and mobility. Not only will cars get cleaner, more intelligent and mostly electric-powered, but cities will also be able to oversee the numbers and location of parked verhicles. Cities are succesful and sustainable if they continue to adapt to ever changing circumstances, specified Dubbeling. For the coming decades these circumstances are by no doubt the interconnected topics energy, water and climate change.

Dubbeling heads the BNSP+NVL Working Group on Sustainable Urban Development and is one of the authors of the book Sustainable Urbanism ‘The Next Step’. While working on this book he noticed that the six incorporated projects are complex inner urban projects, totally omitting the larger expansion areas of the Netherlands. It seems that market parties are more willingly to invest in well accessible inner urban areas than in places outside the city.

Cycling re-invented In the past decades about 20 towns in France built new light rail systems. Traffic enginer Bas Govers of GoudappelCoffeng indicated the significant improvement of public spaces along the route of these new reail systems. Value of property around tramlines and tram stops has increased more than in any other city area. Another benefit of sustainable transport such as light rail is the fact that it contributes to the reduction of both co² emissions and the use of fossil fuels. The transportation sector worldwide produces 15-25% of the co² emissons and 30-35% of the total fossil fuels demand.

But why build expensive rail systems if we can fit our bikes with electric motors? These bikes will go faster and therefore have a much greater range than traditional bikes. For short journeys electric bikes are already quickly gaining a position as an alternative to the car and public transport. Govers expects that this trend will rise. However, in order to make the use of electric bikes a big hit the existing cycle network needs to be expanded with bicyclehighways, charging points and storage facilities.

Parking re-invented According to Ernst Bos the quality of car and bicycle parking facilities in inner cities is poor and much needs to be done to improve them. A parking facility is often the first and the last impression a driver or cyclist gets when visiting a city. Ernst compared the parking garage to the lobby of a hotel or an office, a place that should make you feel welcome. Although Ernst struggled to get his message for better parking solutions across to the audience, he did show a wide variety of succesful and less successful parking solutions throughout the Netherlands.

He furthermore proclaims that parking facilities should get a righteous place in the mobility chain, when it comes to the improvement of the availability, quality and safety of an urban area. More opportunities should be sought in future parking garages. Engineers should tackle issues such as combining storage of cars with the storage of heat, cold air, rainwater or energy. Perhaps the batteries of electric cars even could help to collectively power a city.

Throughout all levels of scale Moderator Machiel van Dorst of Delft University concludes the second edition of the Roadshow with the observation that mobility involves all levels of scale: from regional design to the design of public spaces to the design of the parking stand. Alternating between levels of scale is more necessary than ever before. The quest for the shortest possible travel duration (Schrijnen and Rutten), the implementation of smart changes and innovations (Tait) combined with the restructuring of inner cities and easily accessible locations (Dubbeling) all together require an integrated urban vision.

A strategic network of light rail and advanced network connections for fast and slow cylcing (Govers) and the qualitative storage of cars and bicycles (Bos) all contribute to an easily accessible, liveable and sustainable city. It is not about having to choose between car or bicycle or tram. It is mainly about the clever and sometimes visionary integration of these transport modes into the city and the city plan.

Martin Dubbeling

After the summer ‘The Roadshow’ will visit Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Tilburg and perhaps also Leuven and Ghent (BE). The second edition of the Roadshow is jointly organized and sponsored by CURNET, study association Polis, Faculty of Architecture TU Delft and the BNSP + NVTL Working Group on Sustainable Urban Development. For information about the Roadshows please contact martin.dubbeling@sab.nl. The next stages of the Roadshow will be announced on the website duurzaamgebouwd.nl, the knowledge network on sustainable building.

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Keeping track of yourself and your city explorative urbanism series #2 Stefan van der Spek

The Explorative Urbanism Series addresses new ways of dealing with the city through the use of new media and

What conclusions or outcomes can insight into pedestrian performance lead us to?

technologies. In this issue on Urban From we interviewed Stefan van der Spek. He is an architect, researcher and teacher at the Urbanism department of Delft University of Technology, and has conducted extensive research on pedestrian movement and the value of public space through the use of GPS technology. He has published in books as ‘Street-Level Desires’ (2009) and ‘Urbanism on Track’ (2008).

In November 2010 he and Pieter Schrijnen won a prize for the most innovative scientific report (CBS) entitled ‘The city of the near future: the origin of innovation.’ This report illustrates how the organization of the city and its

‘Gaining knowledge about processes of movement will extend our capabilities of designing. Behaviour can be manipulated by changing a movement pattern and offering a different set for the city program. However, mobility is a means to an end. The planned day to day activities and destinations are what it is all really about. This also involves the process of deciding what type of transportation is appropriate for the trip. The problems with the city expansion and the big logistic processes involved are stacking up. Whereas, if you try to keep things at a small scale and compact, you can work in a smarter way with smaller quantities.’

networks can facilitate the innovation of society.

How do you envision the use of geolocation data?

Will we ever fully understand pedestrian movement and behaviour?

‘Probably not. Because what makes pedestrians so complex, yet interesting, is that pedestrians react spontaneously to their surroundings. All kinds of little human impulses make up the behaviour displayed. These impulses involve many variables like whether people are somewhere for fun or for Christmas shopping. When place and time are linked a lot of information can be subtracted by datamining. However, data-mining is not a designer’s profession. As designers we cannot work on this micro level of detail in human behaviour. It is essential for designers to figure out what the effects of movement and behaviour patterns have on public space. The way that city centers are used, but also the direct living environment. Nevertheless, what we can do is frame certain aspects of pedestrian behaviour. For now pedestrian performance in relation to their context is mainly relevant. This involves all provided programmatic ventures within a city, which makes up the network of public space.’

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‘First of all the available technology for geolocation data analysis will be different and easier to access and use than in its current state. At the moment it is a tedious process to collect workable data. Ultimately we will benefit when electronic devices and services are interconnected.

Identical to the capabilities of TomTom, we will be able to get more information and recommendations based on our locations. This geolocation data might also be of

“Companies will be eager to invade and mine this digital facsimile of the physical self and the physical realm and will go unseen.”

relevance to people in terms of knowing how and where to find somebody else. This kind of media will become increasingly persuasive and important in our lives, despite the reluctance of people to accept and incorporate these developments into their lives. It can only be beneficial and essential to one’s own living environment in my opinion.

Everybody has already become accustomed to sharing data, mainly when it comes to social media. On the other hand we will be more cautious with the kind of data we share. In my opinion data sharing is secure as long as the type of data can be controlled or when the data is anonymous. Companies will be eager to invade and mine this digital facsimile of the physical self and the physical realm and will go unseen. For example, providing nonspace bounded experiences such as unleashing a coffee smell someplace in the city, while a personal digital recommendation pops up promoting an actual coffee shop just around the corner.’

ide meters, measuring the amount of face-to-face meetings and how much time someone spends in public space.

Real life social interactions will also become measurable.

Real life interactivity will always stay one of the things that catalyzes creativity in a city. Cities could also use these digital feedback models to offer alternative roads when a traffic jam appears, while at the same time checking the capacity of the newly recommended road.

However, societal processes change very rapidly. So people might again respond differently to their surroundings after a while, this is something we cannot immediately foresee. As a consequence we will always lag behind events with observations. Nevertheless interventions in the city can give rise to the un-thought of behaviour which can lead to new and unexpected innovations.

In the end it is a constant feedback loop which organically shifts and morphs. This is why long term planning is of utmost importance.’ (EH)

Can geolocation be used as a feedback mechanism?

GPS Scheveningen, Kernel Density Analysis, All Visitor Tracks

‘Activity pattern data is very relevant in giving feedback to its creator. Examples of implications could be carbon-diox-

Image by: T. Grubic, H. Velten, J.J. Wilbers Tracking Scheveningen © 2011 TU DELFT

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The spatial strategies of Posad For this issue we asked Posad to elaborate on their work methods, ideas and experience in the field. Posad has been active for five years now and works both on design and research, in a multidisciplinary setting, often working on different scales simultaneously.

Han Dijk and Boris Hocks, founders of Posad explain this through several of their design and research projects.

Posad: Knowledge is power. This simple principle also applies to urban design. This is partly the reason that Posad has its own research focus, aside from the commercial assignments we have. Research that creates opportunities for the future, but most especially research that delves into the areas that we deem of interest. Your own curiosity holds - perhaps unconsciously - great ventures for the future. Our research comprises four major areas: Transit Oriented Design, Urban Renewal, Production Landscapes and Urban Planning & Energy. These are still wide areas of interest, but at the same time they concentrate our own ideas.

Research takes time, time that is scarce in the world of commercial enterprise; yet we still persist. The results of our research are incorporated in our commissions, but also in the competitions we enter. Because competitions specifically operate on the leading edge of innovation, innovative research is extremely important. Whether it

Figure 1. Europan 10, urban renewal based on research and design

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is a street, a neighbourhood or a region; research into the substance and interrelationship is essential.

There is no competition, no commission and no research in which the difference between the various scales and their relationship to one another is not important. A design on one of these scales – from region to street – cannot exist without a statement on the influence of spatial context: a design on city level has consequences on a regional level and on the street and inhabitant. Vice versa a street profile may be fundamental for a regional vision. To make a regional plan tangible, this link to the human scale is a prerequisite. Posad works across all these scale levels, from street to region and back again. Effect and opportunity are exposed.

A number of the research projects we have worked on so far resulted in commissions, sometimes that principle is turned around; a commission may be occasion to dig deeper into the content of the question. The Atlas of the Southwestern Delta is an example of such a vice versa; a seemingly simple investigation into the regional aspects of Zeeland, the Zuidhollandse eilanden and the western part of Brabant turned into an in-depth examination based on data supplied by three ministries, three provinces, seven local water authorities and two world ports.

Extremely complex, but it also formed the basis for new ideas about the use of landscape, the future of the Zuid-

hollandse eilanden and the delta (figure 2).

Other research projects - all falling within the main themes described above, were:

Transit Oriented Development – infrastructure / spatial development Transit Oriented Development (TOD) describes a strategy for densification at nodes in a public transit network. The goal is to create mixed-use developments linked by high quality transport. TODs provide a diverse program and high location efficiency. These types of developments are a topic of ongoing research for us, as improvements in regional connectivity can transform the role of a city, neighbourhood, or node.

Neighbourhood research – spatial development/ quality of living Extensive examination of the development of urban neighbourhoods in Holland in the 20th century. From the time the housing law came into being in 1901, many neighbourhoods were built and renovated. This research project compares the characteristics, qualities and methods of these various types of housing and forms a solid base for new urban development.

Figure 2. The Rhine-Schelde Delta: a

Deltas – landscape and nature / spatial development

‘metropolis’ of over 3 million inhabitants

An inventory of 5 European deltas and 5 European estuaries. The basic and distinctive characteristics are described. To place the Dutch Rhine-Schelde delta within this context, we used this comparison as a starting point. The conclusion is that the Rhine-Schelde delta is not a classic example of a delta, but a combination of delta and estuary. Yet the areas that were researched can set the example for further development of the Rhine-Schelde delta.

around an estuary

co2040 – sustainability / spatial development By assignment of VROM (The former Ministry for Housing, Physical Planning and Environment) we searched for key projects which enable The Netherlands to be co2 neutral in the year 2040. As the result of our research, we formulated a proposition for a framework in which the key projects must be tested. Without such a framework, none of the projects can be developed to ensure that The Netherlands will be co2 neutral (figure 3).

Business parks – sustainability / mixed use In the Netherlands, ca. 35% of the workforce is situated at a business or office park. One in five of these parks suffer from aging and inadequate maintenance, fuelling demand for the construction of new parks. The goal of this ongoing research project on mixed-use business parks is to define new strategies for the transformation of these ailing areas into vibrant and sustainable communities for living and working.

All these research projects have at one time or another contributed to ‘regular’ assignments or competitions. Our day job really consists of two components: strategy and design. In the more strategic commissions, the first component is obviously - paramount, but of course design plays its own important role within these projects.

The other way around the same thing applies. Both in strategy and design the interconnection between the various scales remains of the utmost importance.

This is reflected in the projects we have worked on in the recent past.

Figure 3. co2040 Externalisation of emission and effects

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The Voorburg station area – street scale moving to region

Figure 4. Voorburg station area

The station area of Voorburg, which may be regarded as one of the important public transport nodes of Haaglanden, has been renovated extensively in the eighties. National rail tracks and the Utrechtse baan were elevated and the resulting space was used for parking and bus and tram stops. This may have improved the separate flows of traffic, but it divided the historic centre of Voorburg in two. Carel Weeber attempted to remedy this by designing the public spaces along the lines of the adjacent Huygens Museum Hofwijck, but increasing traffic and the lack of a connection to the Binckhorst ensured that a qualitative new approach was needed. We have designed a connecting corridor of natural stone which links the historic centre of Voorburg to Hofwijck, the station plaza, bus station and the Binckhorst. The existing overpass of car and rail is not denied, but celebrated, and the corridor brings a new balance to the various historic layers of the urban structure (figure 4).

Europan 10 – urban renewal based on research and design

Figure 5. Almere A6, the zone around the Weerwater

Winning the Europan 10 was a confirmation for the approach we take in combining research and design. We looked at the area with no prejudice - didn’t fall in love with the possible charms of an eighties neighbourhood, but instead looked at the possibilities that such an area presents in a pragmatic way. The solution had to come from within the dynamics of the area and with little expenditure a qualitative leap could be made. Our concept was rewarded. Winning Europan gave us an incentive to enquire further into these types of neighbourhoods: building styles, characteristics, local economy, value addition and the potential for change within a neighbourhood. It created the idea that as an urban designer you may be responsible for righting the wrongs of the past, as future spatial designers will have to take that same responsibility.

Both Europan and the station area of Voorburg are Posad’s idea of a design

Green shared space, cobbstones with grass

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Bikeshelter on the axis Bicycle along the water-arboretum

Bike guard, concierge, grocer

of the bicycle network

“Winning the Europan 10 was a confirmation for the approach we take in combining research and design.”

project with a strong strategic component. It may also work the other way round, in other projects. Our research into the Europan neighbourhood led to a new concept: the neighbourhood as a business enterprise. Together with Revier Architecture and the Schrijnen Group, we investigated the option of urban renewal that will finance itself. Every design intervention must break even or - better still - must finance the next stage of urban renewal. It remained a very theoretical concept, until we could test it in a competition.

New elan – design as a financial engine for urban renewal New elan was a competition aimed at finding design solutions for seventies and eighties urban areas. Our proposition consisted of redevelopment of the Mirakelsteeg in Leiden. The financial constraints especially made this a challenge of major proportions. By covering an enclosed square with a garden deck under which inhabitants can park, new value was created for the city; inner-city parking spaces which can be sold to residents paid for the deck itself and for initial other interventions which in turn returned revenue which could then be employed for other interventions. The strategy was a phased redevelopment consisting of small initiatives, aimed at improving quality and returning revenue.

IJmeerverbinding – Infrastructural motive for urban development

Figure 6. Bikefriendly borough, bike- and development strategy for Pendrecht

The IJmeerverbinding is a completely different story, on a completely different scale, yet again the main theme is quality and revenue. In cooperation with the American engineering company Jacobs and Dutch APPM, we are currently working on a new concept for the IJmeerverbinding. Our commission was to create a bridge connection between Amsterdam and Almere, with a higher number of travellers than the original government design returned and lower costs to realise it. The IJmeerverbinding then has to be integrated into the existing cities of Amsterdam, Diemen and Almere. Unfortunately, at this point in time we are not at liberty to discuss the details of the project, but the commission itself is a combination of economy, traffic and traffic modelling, concepts for station development and urban densification. This is a process in which you always have to remind yourself not to design but instead to create a logical concept.

At the same time, you may never forget that this is just a model, and you must always keep your designer’s perspective (figure 5).

Posad now consists of seven designers, overseen by Han Dijk and Boris Hocks.

At the end of this year we will celebrate our five-year anniversary. Our focus on research and execution, and on the combination of design and strategy, and the relation of these to each other and to the various scale levels we encounter - from street to region - has allowed us to grow in these past five years. Grow from an ambitious, driven and fun design office to an even more ambitious, even more driven and even more fun office.

2011 Start execution of stationarea design Leidschendam-Voorburg 2011 Selection IJmeer connection (with Jacobs en APPM) 2011 New Elan, Mirakelsteeg Leiden: first prize 2011 The co-op: a strategy for re-use of a decommissioned highway in Calabria (Italy) 2010 Europan 10, Den Haag: First prize 2009 Gouden greep – redevelopment of business park Goudse Poort: first prize 2009 Bikefriendly borough, bike- and development strategy for Pendrecht: first prize 2008- 2010 Atlas Zuidwestelijke Delta

School ‘de Hoeksteen’

Nature education

2007 – 2008 Atelier Almere 2030+, structuurvisie 1.0

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Epilogue: Definitions of Form In this section at the end of each Atlantis we look back at the contents of the issue to summarize, reinterpret and add some final new insights to the discussion. In an extensive interview with Taeke de Jong, professor of Technical Ecology and Methods at Delft University of Technology, we looked at the importance of a proper framework before discussing the issue of Urban Form.

Three things in particular come to light; the role of technology, the importance of scale, and the understanding of shared suppositions underlying any knowledge. We hope this epilogue will give a solid backdrop to reinterpret some of the key aspects laid out in this issue.

It has become clear throughout this Atlantis that Urbanism is (on the verge of being) in crisis. If we do not relearn our tasks as urban designers we will be taken over by architects and technical specialists. ‘Already a decade ago we saw that the influence of the urban designer in the field was declining. At that time I wasn’t very satisfied with the contents of the urbanism education here, because it was mainly history. The difficulty of this faculty as a whole, already for forty years, is that most of the professors don’t have lecture papers. So they don’t know from one another what they teach. There’s also no proper plan that excludes the different teachers’ fields, with the result that they overlap. Concerning education there were a lot of difficulties. There are some good examples of lecture papers, like the three books by Han Meyer, but there is still a lot missing, since we currently don’t teach more than 10% of the key concepts of architecture and urbanism, according to my research. This is, in my opinion, why in the field we lost battle to landscape architects, real estate managers and so on.

Here in Delft urban design is mainly inspired by precedents. There’s a lot of history, but there’s no future. The urban body has been the same for many centuries, and yet, after the industrial revolution, the mobility revolution

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Taeke de Jong

with the car in the sixties, facilitated that civil engineers took over and made important decisions. My experience in the field was that I made a plan, went on holidays and when I came back the plan was completely changed by civil engineers, because they said the traffic had to be like so and so, etc. We concluded that we should have more technology, urban technology.

Nevertheless, nobody here has that awareness. Even the teachers don’t have any skills in mathematics, so they lose that battle, because history is less convincing than a calculation. You should not make all the calculations yourself but you should understand their hidden suppositions. So, urban design, sure, but not the kind of urban design where you make four bridges more than required, because the bridge is the most expensive part of the plan. When you make these kinds of mistakes you lose your influence.’

Education

It starts with education, and understanding the wide range of aspects that influence the design. ‘If you do not properly distinguish the levels of scale and layers that are important, then you can never make a good educational task division preventing teachers from overlapping in what they teach. If you then look at urban design, what does that suppose? If that only supposes a proper implementation of references from history, without having a proper economic layer in the design; or a technological layer or an ecological layer, including demography and so on, then the design is very poor and will not be very convincing in practice. An understanding of levels of scale and layers, that would be the basis of my plan for the teachers’ task division in this faculty. “ Too often Urbanism focuses on the larger levels of scale, resulting in a planning approach, future scenarios, and a lack of intermediate design. ‘The focus in plans is gradually growing larger and larger because people think that

the larger the area is the more difficult the problems are.

This is not the case, it’s the other way round, because it’s very easy to say something about the future of the world, but it’s less easy to say something about the future of a continent. It is difficult to say something about the future of a country, and going on like that it is even more difficult to say something about the future of an individual. That is based on the fact that the smaller the scale is, the more context factors influence the future. So, the smaller your object is, the more complex your study is. But the general idea is that ‘oh, he’s going into regional planning, oh this is very difficult, that must be a smart man.’

Everywhere in the faculty: in Building Technology, in Architecture and in Urbanism, teachers fly into these higher scales. Because it has a better reputation and it is much easier; which is so difficult for people to understand.

There is a collective idea that it’s more complex, but it isn’t.

Because scale doesn’t only have an upper limit, it also has a lower limit. The grain, the resolution of what you see, as well as the legend you use. When you build a house you do not plan every molecule of that house, so there is a lower boundary of the scale; there is a range of scales between frame and grain.

That means that every scale has its own discipline, with its own categorization of the legend units, and its own categories of words used in that discipline. You can’t go lower. And now the idea emerges that you have to design through the scales, but how can you design through the scales if you don’t know the scales?

If we then take into account the levels of scale, and the layers involved, what does this suppose for the definition of Urban Form? ‘First, urban, it is just a question of density. A low density is rural, high density is urban. Well, what’s the boundary? That’s very difficult to say if you’re not clear on the level of scale. In my lecture papers I have distinguished some ten levels of scale, all with their own densities. If you don’t take the level of scale into account then you never will have a proper definition of density. For instance if you see the Spacemate by Berghauser Pont , it is clear that they have a level of scale with a diameter of 100 to 300 metres. But that doesn’t mean that a regional density, which is much lower is not density as well. When do you call something urban? I think that distinction has to be made at every level of scale again.’

Then on urban form. ‘Urban form is not the form of the boundaries of the urban area alone. However, that is an interesting question. If it is the dispersion of built up area for instance, and that is the legend you distinguish as form, then it is still different if you do that on the level of scale of the city with the radius of three kilometres or the district of one kilometre, or the neighbourhood with the radius of

three hundred metres. On all these different levels of scale, the grain, the lowest level you take into account, will also shift. So the categories you take into account will shift.

That is lacking in the urban theory, because on all these levels of scale they have only one legend, and that is the one of the topographical map; green, red, blue, etc.

But if you study how many types of legends you can in fact distinguish, then there are far more maps you can make with other legends of scale - hard soft, or light and dark, or windy and not windy, and so on. It is not only the built up area that makes the form.

Following that, you have to distinguish between concentration and de-concentration within a specific density, and then you can repeat it on different levels of scale simultaneously. It would be interesting to find the hidden suppositions about scale in the different texts.

Urban design

Design is becoming increasingly important, as we have seen in some of the interviews and articles. But what is still unclear is the relationship between design and research, and how that is changing. ‘Design is not so difficult to define; it’s a search for possibilities, while empirical research is a search for probabilities, and politics is a search for desirabilities. I have made a scheme for that, which clarifies a lot but it is not popular because the main strategy of the university is to include design. But if you understand that what is probable is always possible, but not all that is possible is also probable, then design should include research. Instead of the other way round. The mistake is that when you look at the possibilities from the perspective of the probabilities you only make predictions, not designs. And of course research is a part of that, but it’s more; it’s the study of possibilities, not probabilities only.

If that is design, then I come to the part about using design to connect, within a given scale, all the aspects that must be taken into account. For that you have to know these aspects, and that’s where it fails. Because it’s just based on historical developments, not having the insights that are common in this university.

Of course science is divided in so many disciplines, which is the difficulty of science nowadays; not only for us designers that have to include all these things. It’s a disaster in science itself, because we have ten thousand scientific periodicals and the effect of that is that people restrict themselves to their own field. But by restricting themselves to that field, they share a lot of suppositions together that they don’t discuss anymore. And that means that paradigms are developing and people, young students for instance, that doubt these things are told, well, first study this library before you criticize us.’

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‘A simple design solution can often be very good, but in another context the same solution can be very bad. How to generalize this, that is our problem. And for me the solution is that you should properly study the underlying suppositions. The context is a set of suppositions, culture is a set of suppositions, and you always have to become aware of them and doubt their self-evidence, even if everybody takes them for granted without discussion. That’s difficult because a fish doesn’t know what water is until it is pulled out of it. We don’t even know what our own suppositions are, which means that we now have a vocabulary together that is inaccessible for the rest of the world. If you then see the languages of the other faculties, they don’t understand what we’re talking about.’

of quality between recognition and surprise.’

Perhaps this is the level on which architects are supposedly taking over urbanism. ‘Architects like to make something different and contrasting. The next architect as well, and so on, with the result that within a hundred meters there is homogeneity, because it is a homogenous mixture. So then we have a maximum of surprise between the buildings, but where is the recognition? You can’t just have recognition on one level of scale and diversity on another level, because within each level of scale there should also be some recognition. It’s about a gradient between recognition of what you have just passed, and surprise in what you are about to meet. Making this gradient is the most difficult design object there is.’

Practice

These are all aspects that apply to education, but how can you apply this in practice?

‘The city is a very young organism, in its infancy, and it is still extraordinary stupid. I think a lot of development which could be done. However, what we have reached in a technical sense is impressive; that we can manage so many people, giving them clean water, sewage, and all the technical things that are needed. But then the question arises; is this beautiful, is this worth to live in, is it liveable?

Diversity is extraordinarily important here. In ecology, which is the profession which I’m supposed to teach here, homogeneity is war, it is competition rather than cooperation. Cooperation is only possible if there are differences, worth for cooperation. Specialisation is the art of being different, otherwise you never would cooperate.’

‘I once made a visual quality plan for de Baarsjes, a district in Amsterdam. The assignment was; it should be a very specific district in the range of interbellum districts, but it should also have the characteristics from that period.

It should be different from Amsterdam as a whole, and Amsterdam as a whole should be typical within the Netherlands. Within the district every neighbourhood should be typically Baarsjes, but also have something different, and so on. That was the main assignment.

That means every level of scale has its own variables, so if you make the neighbourhoods different in their use of trees, plantation, then within a neighbourhood you can change the use of material, for the street pavement or something like that. On every level of scale you have to search for other differences and that is, in my opinion, quality.

For me quality is nothing more than a function of diversity. If there is too much diversity there is chaos, if there is too little diversity it’s boring. In between you have an optimum which is changing between recognition and surprise.

Well, that is absolutely not apparent in our cities, that kind

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Concluding, it’s essential to have a clear framework including clear definitions of the terms. ‘I think there is a great difference in the wideness of the definition of form, so if you see the definition of Calabrese, then we are also talking about economy and society. If we speak about form, let us as much as possible not speak about society, and not about economy, and not about landscape.

I think we have had a lot of topics in this discussion until now that may be essential; level of scale, the definition of form, and the form of what - that I would call the content.

The discussion on form can be very disturbing if you don’t define the content. If you say this is the form of the built up area, then it’s clearer.

Because you can be talking about the same thing, about urban form, forever. But if you don’t actually agree in the beginning on what you exactly mean by that the dialogue is not productive. And sometimes there are a lot of meetings and people can be talking for hours, giving the appearance of work, but I don’t think it’s any actual work.’ (JW)

Taeke de Jong has been professor at the department of Urbanism since 1986, at the chair currently named Technical Ecology and Methods. Aside from this he has published a numerous amount of articles and books, among which are Ways to study and research urban, architectural and technical design (together with D.J.M. van der Voordt) and Sun wind water earth life living, legends for design in 2008. De Jong teaches in both the bachelor and master program at the faculty of Architecture, and has chaired over 400 PhD sessions on behalf of the rector. His current research focuses on philosophy and the study of suppositions.

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Announcements

Calendar

New office!

Globalisation exhibition

We are proud to announce that Polis has a new office!

The great efforts of the chairman of the Urbanism department, prof. Maurits de Hoog with cooperation from FMVG led to the creation of a new office inbetween the Urbanism studio and the corridor on the first floor. Polis is really happy with this new place which makes us more visible and gives all kinds of new possibilities to interact with students and staff. The new office will be officially opened on September 8th, please check the calendar for an event announcement and we hope to see you then!

Research on the Urban Impact: Buenos Aires June 24th to September 8th Urbanism atelier, Faculty of Architecture, TU Delft

Daring Design In terms of design, the Netherlands and China seem to be another’s opposite: the small pioneer for conceptual design versus the economic superpower. But daring designers live and work in both countries.

July 1st to November 20th NAI Rotterdam

Atlantis Archive The Polis magazine Atlantis has a great history of already more than twenty years. Unfortunately, due to the Faculty fire, we don’t have a full archive. After a request on the Polis LinkedIn group a lot of former (board)members supplied us with their personal archive, that now gives us the possibility to create a digital archive on the new website. Atlantis issue 22.1 is already there, and more will follow soon! Please visit: http://polistudelft.nl/atlantis/

Polis Office Warming Come along and celebrate with us the opening of our new Polis office!

September 8th, 17:00 to 19:00 01west350, Faculty of Architecture, TU Delft

IX Biennial of European Towns and Town Planners September 14th, 09:00 to 22:00 Genova, Italy

Exhibition On the outside of our new office, in the corridor at the first floor, Polis has a great place to exhibit all kinds of Urbanism and Landscape Architecture work. In the last few months this place was used for exhibitions of the best Urbanism Q3 work, the Blame the Architect project and from Landscape Architecture.

This summer we are exhibiting the outcome of the Complex Cities elective ‘Globalisation, research on the Urban Impact: Buenos Aires’. A joint studio for students of TU Delft and the University of Buenos Aires.

Urbanism Week 2011: SO, YOU ARE AN URBANIST?!

The theme of Urbanism Week 2011 is: SO, YOU ARE AN URBANIST?! This is an open question, sharply reflecting on the importance of the urbanism discipline, looking back, but even more looking into the future.

Visit www.urbanismweek.nl for more info!

September 26th to September 30th Faculty of Architecture, TU Delft

Ecological design of urban and rural environment November 24th to November 25th ArtCentre Delft

Join us We find it important to work on the continuity of Polis’ existence, regardless the fact that board and committee members come and go. Although normally January is the time for a new board we are already looking for our successors. Are you interested in becoming active for Polis and develop your professional skills and enlarge your network? Please visit us in our new office or contact us by mail!

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IFoU Barcelona 2012: TOURbanISM-toURBANISM OURbanISM-toURBANISM is the title of the 6th Conference of the International Forum on Urbanism that will take place from January 25th to 27th, 2012, at the Catalonian Politechnic University (UPC) in Barcelona.

January 25th 2012 to January 27th.