SHIFT, OVERLAY, INSERT, HIDE, FRAME, FOUND, CONNECT, ARRAY, ADD
IMMANENTE OBJEKTE
Seminar AK Wohnbau Wintersemester 2017/18 · bc. Karolina Langnerová Wintersemester 2017/18 · Assoc.Prof. Dr. Andreas Lechner · Institut für Gebäudelehre · TU Graz
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AFTER-SPRAWL SUMMARY Idea of Sprawl as an issue in urban planning was first mentioned by Peter Blake in 1964 and was considered rather a latent and unclear topic since then. It didn´t fit into existing partition of urban landscape - neither a countryside nor the city - and it was perceived from the neg-ative point of view, as it stood for chaos and lack of structural planning. There is a high level of unpreparedness when it comes to approach to Urban Sprawl, yet this phenomenon is unavoida-ble since landscapes are being reshaped, swallowed up by some city functions. On the other hand, we mustn‘t consider sprawl just a negative occurrence. It has been there in the past, maybe not in such wide measure and nowadays it´s being naturally encour-aged by economical, political and demographic situation and it also brings some alternative strengths to different areas. After Sprawl strategies were inspected on samples of urban structures from „Blue Bana-na”, highly urbanized area in Europe, aiming for several specific centres such as: London ag-glomeration, Randstad in the Netherlands, Belgium - the Flemish Diamond, Ruhrgebiet in Swit-zerland and finally Veneto, Northern Italy. In those areas the countryside is simply blurring into a mild city structure not concentrated around a strong city core, but it continuously shifts among different points of focus. Public life is no longer tied to one place. However, this form is not a strictly uniform mash, it is not compact and continuous structure, it changes its density, organises itself along voids (or as we call them later in the text - negative spaces) and also includes some other special elements. Nevertheless, from those few samples from the „Blue Banana” area we could tell that various parts of sprawl are very differ-ent, they aren´t homogenous at all and each of them has special character and its owl logic. Interesting element, that makes us able to approach the topic is presence of so called „Negative space”. This observation allows us to split the map of every urban area into several layers based on contrast between the urbanized space and negative space, then it is also possi-ble to draw out the infrastructure, natural elements, water surfaces, agricultural areas etc... Doing that we can see that over 60 percent of the area is still left as open space landscape. Another observation is that negative space is usually subordinated to urban structure and infrastructure. But maybe based on negative space arrangement we could possibly intro-duce the strategy for specific situation.
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For example, London serves as typical example of concentric structure where the scale and intensity of negative space increases from centre to periphery. Randstad is a ring of urban structure enclosing central negative space, also characterized as „Green heart”. The Flemish Diamond (agglomeration of Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent and Leuven) is typified by big cores at its corners with very fragmented negative spaces in the middle. The Ruhrgebiet and Veneto are both samples of urban structures dependent on the infrastructure grid, organised alongside the grid of motorways and roads but the Veneto grid is more strict and orthogonal for it doesn´t have to follow the topographical situation as Ruhrgebiet area does. What is also interesting, planning of the built structures today may be sometimes very difficult and it might have a little impact on their inhabitants since they are also powered by economic and individual interests which often results in chaos. But it is the negative space that is considered rural, natural and worth of saving and it is being formed by several still essentially untouchable elements: biotopes, parks, rivers, valleys but also individual negative spaces: gar-dens and so on. The thing is that our perception of city and rural landscape has been changing drastically for last centuries and only statement that is still true is: Everyone wants a healthy green habi-tat to live in. That gives us opportunity to approach the negative space in After Sprawl different-ly. I mustn‘t be just a strictly protected, exclusively natural, agricultural piece of land, but it also has to be used as a new collective space. This is the way to create a spatial quality in Urban Sprawl by effective introduction of greenery as an active element to otherwise freely evolving structure. Question is how to make this statement a functional reality. Due to this, there were sev-eral experimental projects based in Flemish Diamond area, that somehow intervented the specific condition. They work with different scales, landscapes and strategies how to organise the negative space, so it benefits the structure and connects the urbanity with public space.
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ANALYSIS
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STRATEGIES
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Move or cause to move from one place or position to another
SHIFT
It is a change to infrastructure where the old one stays while the new roads serve to render the negative space and to open it to the surroundings. It could be a shift of texture, viewable qualities or accessibility which improves functionality of neighbourhood.
Lay or place over or upon something else
OVERLAY
There is a grid of negative space introduced that organizes the structure in order to stop further fragmentation. Negative space (for example grid of dikes) is a generative instrument to keep an order a rearrange selfgrowing urban organism.
Place, fit or incorporate something in something else
INSERT
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Problem of Urban Sprawl found along ridges and valleys is serious fragmentation and partition into small isolated pieces. There is a need to render strict differentiation of built development, infrastructure and negative space buy creating monumental negative space areas to reinforce each element separately by their relation.
Put or keep out of sight, conceal, camouflage
HIDE
Hide strategy works with type of village with unattractive core (vacant houses) and villas spreading out of the area. In first phase it develops new dwellings closed in clusters and hid by rings of negative space around the core. In second phase the damaged houses retreat central area for a new collective negative space in the middle of village.
Place in a frame, surround so as to create a sharp or attractive image, formulate
FRAME
In this solution we separate the land into 3 types: first is the area, where urban sprawl is already established so it is left to continue developing. Second is the area of still rarely touched natural landscape where all the urban processes are freezed and those 2 areas are divided by a boarder of unspecified land surfaces complemented with negative space elements.
Establish, plan and begin the building of, base on a particular principle or concept
FOUND
Very specific is introduction of grid of trees as an orientation tool which unifies the area. It is introduced to all residual spaces as well as public areas (streets, squares) except for large open areas. It is arranged in Fibonacci series rhytm and it supports uniformity and links elements visually. It´s very effective on local level.
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CONNECT
Bring together so as to establish a link, join together so as provide access and communication, relate The concept alludes to the „central park“ idea. It embraces big open spaces, significant to the landscape however bit hard to understand. This is why they should be connected by a spine, a backbone (e.g. river) and there is a „soft infrastructure“ grid introduced (paths, cycling routes, local trains...) which make the open space useable and functional.
To arrange in order, compile, display or arrange in neat or impressive way, align
ARRAY
ADD
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This strategy is almost brutal in its intransigence. There is a new layer of negative space established in the form of grid of squares. Their function can vary (agriculture, park, fallow land, forest...) but what is important, space in the squares is strictly organised in contrast to outer space, which has no restrictions. Squares also function as a infrastructure.
Join to or put with something else, increase in amount, number or degree. It is common problem with urban sprawl areas that their structure has no spatial identity, no orientation points. There is a possibility of adding new significant element of negative space to create that identity. As it happened in this case (middle region of Flemish Diamond area) a mound with woodlands and a new artificial lake with grass areas were introduced to the landscape.
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KALSDORF
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KALSDORF ANALYSIS
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buildings
infrastructure
negative space
water surface
agriculture
trees
cycle paths
gardens
open space
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KALSDORF EXPERIMENTS
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SHIFT
The grid of roads, paths, cycling routes even some lines between fields is taken and renders new net of soft infrastructure that connects negative spaces.
OVERLAY
Negative space is an element that brings new structure to the landscape and the builded up urban space can be managed in some way.
INSERT
A huge circular park crossed by road and river in the middle creates several quite places to live in majestatic surrounding.
HIDE
Square shaped groups of houses are hidden in safe also square pieces of neative space hiding them from the surroundings. From outside it looks like probably artificial but still natural landscape.
FRAME
Negative space here creates sort of smal sockets for house groups and densifies in the centre to later boarder an oval open space crossed by river which is common space for all the neighbourhood to be in touch with nature.
FOUND
A new structure based on Fibonacci series using squares is introduced to the land. It is not obvious at the first sight but it creates centre in other way uniformly spreading sprawl.
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CONNECT
A light system of new walking and cycling paths creates a new spine to the neighbourhood and connects the landscape.
ARRAY
Big squares of negative space are introduced to the landscape which brings some order to free sprawl. Houses naturaly densify towards the negative space.
ADD
Piece of land is inverted - field turns into forest, woodland to the open space, which brings neighbourhood closer to the river and also creates new visual dominant in the landscape.
KALSDORF STRATEGY · ADD
Join to or put with something else, increase in amount, First, slope of the hill rising slowly gives citizens opportunity number or degree. to build their settlements in terrace-like structures (which gives them each possibility to enjoy unspoiled view...). The The area on the edge of Karsdorf desperately lacks a spatial form of hill also closes the landscape and creates certain identity, there is just a sprawl reaching out across the fields dynamics, tension which helps to create identity and feeling towards the wall of trees and a highway. of privacy and certain intimity. Other, the meadow, with connection to the riverbank, beautiful space bond to the The solution in this case following a strategy called „add“ tries natural element, framed by the line of woodlands. to introduce new element to the new structure which would easily and naturally organise housing tendences. Piece of Strategy is examined with example of typology by Christian forest close toGrundriss the river is extracted and flipped to the open Kerez. Double sided house benefits from view to the forest landscape andGrundriss a low hill as a central viewpoint in the area is from bedrooms and private zones and view to the open created. This creates a few new types of spatial quality here: space from kitchens, livingrooms, places, where we share... Grundriss
[015] Christian Kerez Burenweg [015] Zürich (CH) Christian Kerez Burenweg [015] Zürich (CH) Christian Kerez Wohnfläche Burenweg 117,8 m² Zürich (CH) Außenraum Wohnfläche 0,0 m² 117,8 m² Individualräume Außenraum Wohnfläche 1 m² 0,0 117,8 m² Orientierung Individualräume Wohnfläche: Außenraum Ill 1 0,0 m² 129,0m2 Orientierung Individualräume Ill 1
Außenraum Orientierung 12,0m2 Ill
Individualräume 4
Morphologie · freie Formen Christian Kerez · Burenweg · Zürich 58 58
AK Wohnbau / ss2017 WOHNMODELLE
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AREA SKETCH
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From the private rooms you can enjoy a scenery of your garden, orchards, wall of trees of the woodlands but more important is, tah you can feel safe private and surrouned by nature. No one is watching you.
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Who woudn´t enjoy eating dinner, having chat with their significant other in the living room or just simply listening to music after long day when he can admire the landscape that is opening right behind the window surface...
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Walking from the centre of the town to the new area is highlighted by a stress on a horizontal. The houses on the edge of urban area are not hanging in the middle of nowhere but lean towards a strong barrier.
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Space closed in the embrace of nature between trees and river, overlooked by the hill creates almost idylic environment just few steps from classical urban sprawl ...even though it also is just another sprawl area...
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GRATWEIN
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GRATWEIN · GRATKORN ANALYSIS
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buildings
infrastructure
negative space
water surface
agriculture
trees
cycle paths
gardens
open space
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GRATWEIN · GRATKORN EXPERIMENTS
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SHIFT
Thin layer of soft infrastructure creates more connection and possibilities to move also in both directions passing barrieres made of negative space.
OVERLAY
Grid of green, negative space creates set plots for housing and brings system to the landscapes that tries to follow direction of the river.
INSERT
Majestic park which contains several yards with building plots has very rigid and monumental structure and adds one special diagonal axis that connect direction od railwaystation and crosses the river.
HIDE
Organic groups of buildings are closed in green „arms“ of nature which makes it safe environment and also closes it so only greenery is seen form outside. The squere in the middle creates 360 degrees view to the green landscape while still beeing in the middle of living area.
FRAME
This strategy creates an artistic frame to the piece of land with the bridge over the Mur river in the middle, an open space with vivid corssing on one side and forest with ponds on the oposite. This is very interesting landmark to build and live next to it still not destroing its integrity.
FOUND
Grid of trees following the Fibonacci spiral introduces certain pattern to the neigbourhood which is not seen at the first sight but still creates vibrations of rhytm in the landscape.
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CONNECT
Banks of the river are connected by the net of small paths and cycling routes and it is framed by small pieces of negative space so it creates an orientation line in the landscape.
ARRAY
Grid of very small groups of negative spaces create very strict pattern in the landscape which is beeing freely filled with housing structures.
ADD
The importance of the pond area (on the right side) is enhanced and underlined by creating a mild hill on the oposite side of the river. The sloap is slowly pushing the space towords the village creating more dynamic space carved by railway, river and the hill peak.
GRATWEIN · GRATKORN STRATEGY · HIDE
Put or keep out of sight, conceal, camouflage Simple and not very breakthrough „HIDE“ strategy works with groups of dwellings organized in certain clusters, which can densify over time. Strategies including clusters and intensive urbanisation is quite popular in last decades in european city planning. That doesn‘t mean, there is nothing to examine further here. In most existing examples I didn‘t find the main element of „HIDE“ strategy, the actual „hiding mechanism“ which in this case is simply the negative space or just the vegetation.
It´s a sollution choosing to lie to the observer - he feels like Grundrissty in the middle of a natural landscape with just fiew paths and roads here and there yet he is in highly urbanized area. The houses are just covered with trees. From the other side of the green wall can people see the safe border that is guiding their enclave. Chosen typology type by Shigeru Ban reaches out to the greenery with large opened terraces.
[006] Shigeru Ban Lake Yamanaka Yamanashi (JP)
Wohnfläche 108,0 m² Außenraum 24,5 m² Wohnfläche: 108,0m2
Individualräume 2
Außenraum 24,5m2
Orientierung IV
Individualräume 2
Offenes Wohnen Shigeru Ban · Lake Yamanaka · Yamanashi AK Wohnbau / ss2017 WOHNMODELLE
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AREA SKETCH
This is a shared terrace in the semi-detached dwelling with also shared garden closed at the end by the wall of green...
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...or you can have a private terrace but still share it with your friends...
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...„It´s a sollution choosing to lie to the observer- he feels like in the middle of a natural landscape with just fiew paths and roads here and there yet he is in highly urbanized area“...
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