RE-THINKING NON-PLACES IN THE MALTESE SCENARIO
A dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Built Environment in part fulfilment for the Degree of Bachelors in Engineering and Architecture, B.E.&A. (Hons), at the University of Malta
Matthew Sciberras June 2010
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In memory of the late Tamara Psaila, a true friend who lost her life at twenty-four, after losing consciousness in the water when taking part in a charity dive in aid of Dar talProvindenza.
May God grant her Eternal Rest
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STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICITY This is an original and unpublished study carried out by the undersigned. It is being presented to the Faculty of the Built Environment for the first time in part fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Engineering and Architecture at the University of Malta.
MATTHEW SCIBERRAS June 2011
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ABSRACT Name: Matthew Sciberras Dissertation Title: Re-thinking Non-Places in the Maltese Scenario
The “non-place”, a term coined by writer Marc Augé, describes a space that is not a destination in itself, but instead a transitory space. Augé critically states that in this inbetween space an individual undergoes subconscious alienation. Since these intermediate spaces are typically designed with significance placed only on the function of the activity they house, in many cases there is no opportunity for the transient to engage-in-a-spatial experience. This thesis charts the spread of the non-place from spaces of transit in the modern city scenario, to spaces that completely devoured the urban realms of traditional towns.
To understand the non-place phenomenon as a space of transition, this thesis seeks to comprehend the non-place’s typology, instead of condemning the non-place as a place gone astray. By investigating the structures of power that are manifested in the architectural prototype of the non-place, we understand the emergence of the detachment sensed in the non-place. To find a solution for the alienation and tensional crises of the non-place, first this thesis explores how users perceive and interact with space. The reactions to space are then translated in architecture to create a successful space, rather than accidental space. Finally this thesis actively re-thinks and proposes alternative solutions for non-places in the Maltese scenario.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are people in life who truly inspire others. In the preparation of this dissertation I have been lucky enough to have benefited from the assistance and suggestions of many such persons. To all of these, I am most grateful for their help and interest. In particular, I would like to thank Professor Denis De Lucca and Professor Alex Torpiano for their continuous help and guidance throughout the course. I would also like to thank Mr. Lucien Stafrace for his precious advices. My sincere appreciation is expressed to Perit Joseph Galea, my very obliging tutor, for the time dedicated to reviewing the draft of my dissertation, his constant availability and invaluable advice. His encouragement allowed me to work on a topic of great interest to me and continuously pushed me to make what turned to be the right decisions, not only for this dissertation, but also throughout the last three years of the course. Last but not least, I would like to show my deep appreciation to Dr Paul Gauci, for the invaluable moments throughout the course and his constant help and availability.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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LIST OF FIGURES
FIG. 1: PROJECTING SPIRES OF LINCOLN CATHEDRAL [SOURCE:WWW.LINCOLNCATHEDRAL.COM]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% )! FIG. 2: CCTV CAMERAS ARE PRACTICALLY EVERYWHERE IN A NON-PLACE [SOURCEHTTP://WWW.BIGBROTHERWATCH.ORG] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ;! FIG. 3: DANCERS PERFORMING ON A ZEBRA CROSSING OVER A BUSY STREET IN JAKARTA [SOURCE:WWW.TELEGRAPH.CO.UK]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% +! FIG. 4: OXFORD STREET’S TYPICAL STREET LAYOUT [SOURCE: WWW.THISISLONDON.CO.UK] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% $-! FIG. 5: INTERIOR OF WAGAMAMA, ST. JULIEN’S [SOURCE: WWW.MALTAFOODANDWINE.COM] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% $-! FIG. 6: OUR LIVES OUR NOWADAYS DEPENDENT ON SIGNAGE [SOURCE:WWW.CREATIVEPRO.COM] %%%%%%%%%%%% $$! FIG. 7: PEOPLE IN A QUEUE RESEMBLE THE PROCESSING OF TUNA CANS [SOURCE: FIS.COM/ TELGRAPH.CO.UK] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% $$! FIG. 8: UNIVERSAL SIGNAGE [SOURCE: WWW.STANFORDS.CO.UK]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% $&! FIG. 9: MCDONALDS MUNICH AND OUR LOCAL MCDONALDS AT BUGIBBA LOOK PRACTICALLY THE SAME [SOURCE: WWW.PHOTOGRAPHERSDIRECT.COM/WWW.FLICKR.COM] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% $'! FIG. 10: LE CORBUSIER’S CITY FOR THREE MILLION INHABITANTS [SOURCE:WWW.CITTASOSTENIBILI.IT]%%%% $)! FIG. 11: AERIAL VIEW OF 'ASA SUL', BRASILIA (THE ' SOUTH WING OF THE 'PILOT PLAN') [SOURCE:WWW.BRASILIABSB.COM] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% $*! FIG. 12: THE LABYRINTH LAYOUT OF VENICE [SOURCE: WWW.DSI.UNIVEG.IT] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% $;! FIG. 13: THE TOWN OF QRENDI HAS A TRADITIONAL TOWN LAYOUT [SOURCE:GOOGLEEARTH] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% $+! FIG. 14: PEDESTRIAN FOOTWAY OVERLOOKING WIED BABU [SOURCE:WWW.CALLEJA.COM.MT`] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% &-! FIG. 15: PIAZZA MEDJATRICI, !ABBAR [SOURCE:WWW.PANORAMIO.COM]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% &$! FIG. 16: THE OLD AND NEW PJAZZA TA’ MARSAXLOKK [SOURCE:WWW.PANORAMINO.COM]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% &&! FIG. 17: SANTA LUCIJA [SOURCE:GOOGLEEARTH] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% &'! FIG. 18: ITALIAN ARCADES [SOURCE:WWW.DELIVERY.SUPERSTOCK.COM]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% &(! FIG. 19: PJAZZA TIGNÉ MULTIPLE FUNCTIONAL SPACES [SOURCE: WWW.THEPOINTMALTA.COM] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% &,! FIG. 21: SANTA MONICA PLACE: AN OPEN AIR MALL [SOURCE:WWW.JASONHOOPAI.COM] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% &;! FIG. 20: PEOPLE PLANTING EDIBLE FOOD IN THE VICTORY GARDEN [SOURCE:WWW.CIVILEATS.COM] %%%%%%%%% &;! FIG. 22: FARMER’S MARKET IN A PLAZA [SOURCE:WWW.SERIOUSEATS.COM] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% &+! FIG. 23: CORRIDOR LINKING OFFICES [SOURCE:WWW.CHICAGOCENTERS.COM] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% '$! FIG. 24: WORKSTATIONS OPEN TO A COMMON AREA [SOURCE: WWW.ZEOSPOT.COM]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% '&! FIG. 25: PROMENADES AT MARSASCALA AND BUGIBBA [SOURCE:WWW.LEMONANDLIMEPUB.COM/HTTP://WWW.MALTAONLINE.INFO/] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ''! FIG. 26: CHINATOWN IN LONDON [SOURCE FROM HTTP://BLOG.OTEL.COM]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% '(! FIG. 27: NEUE MITTE STATION IN OBERHAUSEN CONTRASTS MORE WITH ITS SITE THAN SHEPPERTON TRAIN STATION [SOURCE:WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/HTTP://WWW.SURREYPROPERTY.COM] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ')!
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FIG. 28: ENTRANCE TO LASCO SUPERMARKET COMPARED TO ENTRANCE TO LIDL SUPERMARKET [SOURCE: AUTHOR] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ')! FIG. 29: SOU FUJIMOTO’S COLLECTIVE HOUSING [SOURCE:WWW.INSTABLOGSIMAGES.COM] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% '*! FIG. 30: TRENUE TOWER RESIDENTIAL SKYSCRAPER [SOURCE:WWW.ARCHITERIA.COM] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ';! FIG. 31: AN UNINVITING UNDERPASS IN FLORIANA [SOURCE: AUTHOR] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ';! FIG. 32: LOEWENHAUS STATION AND CONGRESS STATION [SOURCE: THOMAS MAYE] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% '+! FIG. 33: THE PUBLIC SQUARE OF EINDHOVEN AS A TYPICAL NON-PLACE BEFORE INTERVENTION AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION [SOURCE:WWW.VIRTUALTOURIST.COM]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% (-! FIG. 34: SEATING INTEGRATED IN THE DESIGN OF THE ENTRANCE TO THE UNDERGROUND PARKING [SOURCE:WWW.DESIGNBOOM.COMX %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ($! ;IG. 35: ILLUMINATED PAVING OF THE SQUARE [SOURCE:HTTP://EC.EUROPA.EU] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ($! FIG. 36: A WAITING-AREA AND CORRIDOR THAT OFFERS NO STIMULATION TO ITS USER %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ('! FIG. 37: PARK AND RIDE, FLORIANA [SOURCE: GOOGLEEARTH]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ((! FIG. 38: BRISBANE DOMESTIC TERMINAL CAR PARK [SOURCE:WWW.ARCHITECTURE-BUZZ.COM]%%%%%%%%%%%%%% (,! FIG. 39: PIANO STAIRCASE [SOURCE:WWW.INNOVAPEDIA.ORG]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ()! FIG. 40: LOHRING UNDERGROUND STATION [SOURCE: WWW.HESS.EU] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% (*! FIG. 41: ARTISTIC RED ENAMEL WALL AND SEATING ELEMENT [SOURCE: WWW.HESS.EU]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% (;! FIG 42: LIGHT INSTALLATION IN YORKDALE SUBWAY STATION [SOURCE: WWW.BLOGTO.COM]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% (;! FIG. 43: OVER STIMULATIVE OFFICES THAT ARE UNSUITABLE TO CONCENTRATE IN [SOURCE:WWW.HOMEDESIGNING.COM/HTTP://HITDECORS.NET/]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% (+! FIG. 44: HAPTIC EXPERIENCE IN A PLAYGROUND [SOURCE:HTTP://NIKEMUSINGS.BLOGSPOT.COM/] %%%%%%%%%%% ,$! FIG. 45: HEATHERWICK STAIRCASE (SOURCE: HTTP://MARTINCAWOOD.BLOGSPOT.COM) %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ,&! FIG. 46: OBSERVATION TOWER ON THE RIVER MUR [SOURCE:WWW.DEZEEN.COM] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ,'! FIG. 47: USE OF TEXTURE IN THERME VALS [SOURCE: WWW.ARCHDAILY.COM]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ,(! FIG. 48: CHANGE IN TEXTURE IN STREETS [SOURCE: WWW.WORLDCHANGING.COM] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ,,! FIG. 49: THE TWO DISTINCT PATHS IN VILLA SAVOIE [SOURCE:HTTP:/WAICHUARCH1201.BLOGSPOT.COM/],)! FIG. 50: ‘STRAMPS’ – A COMBINATION OF STAIRS AND RAMPS (SOURCE:HTTP://DATA.GREATBUILDINGS.COM] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ,*! FIG. 51: GEHRY’S ADDITION TO THE ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO [SOURCE: WWW.AGO.NET] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ,*! FIG. 52: NORTH ATLANTIC CULTURE HOUSE [SOURCE: WWW.BIG.DK] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ,;! FIG. 53: ICE HOCKEY RINK IN UMEA [SOURCE: WWW.BIG.DK] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ,+! FIG. 55: DIAGRAM A PIAZZA SAINT GEORGE BEFORE THE 1900S [SOURCE: FLICKR.COM]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% )$! FIG. 55: AERIAL VIEW OF DINGLI STREET, SLIEMA [SOURCE: GOOGLEEARTH] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% )&! FIG. 56: JUNCTION TO DINGLI STREET [SOURCE:AUTHOR] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% )'! FIG. 57: IT-TLETT SIGRIET, JUNCTION [SOURCE:AUTHOR]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% )(! FIG. 58: DIAGRAM A HOUSES IN THE ART .NOUVEAU STYLE %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ),! FIG. 59: MODERN DEVELOPMENT IN DINGLI STREET![[SOURCE: AUTHOR] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ))! FIG. 60: ZAMMIT RESIDENCE [[SOURCE:AUTHOR]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ))! FIG. 62: PROFESSOR MANCHE’ RESIDENCE![[SOURCE: AUTHOR]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% )*!
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FIG. 61: DINGLI CIRCUS![[SOURCE: AUTHOR]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% )*! FIG. 63: AERIAL VIEW OF DINGLI STREET AND THE SIDEWALK![[SOURCE: AUTHOR]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% );! FIG. 64: HOUSES OPEN UP TO DINGLI STREET![[SOURCE:AUTHOR]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% )+! FIG. 65: FLOW OF CARS IN AND OUT OF DINGLI STREET![[SOURCE: AUTHOR] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% *-! FIG. 66: JUNCTION OF DINGLI STREET TO TOWER ROAD [SOURCE: AUTHOR]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% *$! FIG. 67: THE TWO RED NO ENTRY [[SOURCE:AUTHOR]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% *$! FIG. 68: WOONERF IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS [SOURCE:WWW.GREENCASCADES.COM] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% *&! FIG. 69: KENSINGTON HIGH STREET [SOURCE HTTP://LDF-CONSULT.RBKC.GOV.UK] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% *'! FIG. 70: NEW ROAD INTERVENTION IN BRIGHTON [SOURCE:HTTP://GEHLARCHITECTS.FILES.WORDPRESS.COM] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% *(! FIG. 71: ASHFORD SHARED SPACE [SOURCE:WWW.FBE.UNSW.EDU.AU] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% *,! FIG. 72: ‘FLUME’ SCULPTURE [SOURCE:WWW.FBE.UNSW.EDU.AU]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% *,! FIG. 73: PROPAGATION OF THE SCHEME![SOURCE:WWW.FBE.UNSW.EDU.AU]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% *)! FIG. 74: LIGHTING COLUMNS AS VISUAL CLUES [SOURCE:WWW.FBE.UNSW.EDU.AU] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% *)! FIG. 75: RUMBLE STRIPS BEFORE A BEND [SOURCE:HTTP://OPS.FHWA.DOT.GOV/] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% **! FIG. 76: PROPOSED LAYOUT OF STREET [SOURCE:AUTHOR] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% *;! FIG. 77: ANALYSES OF HISTORICA HOUSES IN DINGLI STREET [SOURCE:AUTHOR] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ;-! FIG. 78: PROPOSED LAYOUT OF DINGLI STREET [SOURCE:AUTHOR] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ;$! FIG. 79: SECTIONS OF DINGLI STREET![SOURCE:AUTHOR] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ;&! FIG. 80: MINIMAL BENCHES AND BUSTOPS %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ;(! FIG. 81: THE PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY INSPIRED FROM A CIRCUIT![SOURCE:AUTHOR] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ;(! FIG. 83: ‘WIRES’ BULGING OUT OF THE PAVEMENT FORMING SEATING AND BUS-STOPS![SOURCE:AUTHOR];,! FIG. 83: SEATING CREATING HAPTIC INTERACTION WITH THE FABRIC OF THE STREET [SOURCE:AUTHOR] %% ;,! FIG. 84: PROPOSED DAYTIME VIEW OF DINGLI CIRCUS [SOURCE: AUTHOR]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ;)! FIG. 85: PROPOSED NOCTURNAL VIEW OF DINGLI CIRCUS [SOURCE: AUTHOR] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ;*! FIG. 86: PRESENT AERIAL PERSPECTIVE OF DINGLI STREET [SOURCE:AUTHOR] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ;;! FIG. 87:!PROPOSED AERIAL PERSPECTIVE OF DINGLI STREET [SOURCE:AUTHOR] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ;+! FIG. 88:!PROPOSED NOCTURNAL AERIAL PERSPECTIVE OF DINGLI STREET [SOURCE:AUTHOR]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% +-! FIG. 89: PROPOSED CONNECTION OF DINGLI STREET WITH TOWER ROAD AND PROMENADE! [SOURCE:AUTHOR]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% +$! FIG. 90: THE OVERALL LAYOUT OF THE PEDESTRIANISED AREA [SOURCE: AUTHOR] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% +'! FIG. 91: PROPOSED AERIAL VIEW OF THE PEDESTRIANISED AREA [SOURCE: AUTHOR] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% +(! FIG. 92: PROPOSED AERIAL NOCTURNAL VIEW OF PEDESTRIANISED AREA [SOURCE: AUTHOR] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% +,! FIG. 93: THE POND OF LIGHT![SOURCE: AUTHOR]%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% +)!
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Chapter One
INTRODUCTION
When a citizen is travelling through an urbanized area, the act of watching, understanding, and appreciating his surroundings has gradually crumbled into numbness and longing to reach his destination. The increase in networks of everyday transportation saturated the remaining space left in a city with identical non-places that seem to communicate nothing more than a feeling of estrangement to their users (Kurokawa, 1994).
1. 1
What is a non-place?
In physical terms, non-places are places of transit, of communication and consumption, where one enters and leaves without leaving a single trace and without the need to create any social bond. (Augé, 2000). These include motorways, restaurants, service petrol stations, supermarkets, car-parks, underpasses and airports. Marc Augé introduces the idea of non-places as being the spatial dimension of ‘supermodernity’ as a culture of ‘excess’. Non-places are the results of the excess of time, excess of space and excess of ego resulting in the ‘overabundance of events’. (Augé, 2000, p. 36) The vagueness of the term non-place implies deficiency when compared to the traits of place, which Augé identifies as anthropological place. An anthropological place is directly tied to identity, history and relationships and it grows through the relation with its users, as a product of the cultural context of a place. “If a place can be defined as relational, historical, and concerned with identity, then a space which cannot be defined as relational or historical, or concerned with identity will be a non-place.” (Augé, 2000, pp. 77-78) A negative expectation of loss is naturally induced when the alienation felt in the non-place is compared to the nostalgic experience of traditional public place. In fact, in the solitary arrangement of non-places, one experiences community in isolation overlooked by CCTV cameras and shielded by identity checks, which in turn create safety as well as loneliness and alienation. Since these conditions are experienced over and over each day, individuals have become numb to their surroundings. (Augé, 2000) !
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IntroductIon !
A common uncertainty that arises when the non-place is defined is the actual definition of space. A common village playground is defined as a place, however it is the setting of children playing in the playground that renders it a space. Michel de Certeau also differentiates between space and place. Certeau defines a space as the intersection of shifting bodies, while he interprets a place as a zone geometrically shaped by planners (Certeau, 2002). Yet, despite de Certeau’s definitions, the distinction I make throughout my dissertation is between a place and a non-place. Hence, from my point of view the word 'space' has its usual meaning, and it can be activated into a place (as per Augé definition in page 1.) or a non-place. Non-places and Places never exist in pure form and are not mutually exclusive. In fact, “the first is never completely erased and the second never totally completed; they are like palimpsests on which the scrambled game of identity and relations is ceaselessly rewritten.”(Augé, 2000, pp. 78-79) Contrary to Augé, Michel de Certeau’s idea of non-place allows the possibility for places to change into non-places. Hence, when a space is not occupied it is not activated into a ‘place’. This concept of non-place also implies that any place could be simultaneously a nonplace (Augé, 1994). A case in point is Malta’s International Airport, which is the only airport on the Islands. Although belonging to the category of non-places, until recently the airport was regarded as a place where people often gathered socially. The reason behind this phenomenon might have been the uniqueness of the restaurant it used to house, overlooking the runway.
1. 2
Objectives
With the scope of uncovering something deeper, more remarkable and thrilling, this thesis first analyses the non-place phenomenon and investigates its nature, functionality and relations with the city. Since non-places are embedded deep in the Western world’s culture, this thesis does not aim to propose an alternative to the non-place. Instead, the study aims to explore plausible !
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IntroductIon !
ways that could ameliorate the experience of its transients, inspiring individuals to become aware of their place in the transitory path. By exploring how a designed environment can change and effect the experiences of individuals in a state of transition, this thesis aims to visualise architectural solutions that could break the non-placeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s numbing and alienating affects. ! Hence, this study proposes that the non-place becomes an agent of connectivity, both with its users and with the surroundings, shifting the nature of non-places from controlling human behaviour to accommodating existing and stimulating new human behaviour. After exploring the nature of the transitional spaces in the Maltese scenario, this thesis utilises the knowledge acquired to re-design and hence re-propose Dingli Street in Sliema as an architectural agent of connectivity and identity, which turns the alienation into an experience for the transient user.
1. 3
Method
To materialise the above objectives, this study required exploring works of influential individuals that already studied and put forward their opinion on the argument in question. The Literature Review is thus required to provide a solid backbone that is later used to support my intervention. Even though analysing literature is beneficial, the above objective need to be explored through various Case Studies, both foreign and local. The different scales of these case studies work to support the theoretical basis of the concepts gathered form the literature, and reveal their success or failure in reality. The nature of the local scenario is explored through the choice of a particular study area. Background knowledge about the context within the local case study is obtained through (a) Physical Analysis of the area, which is needed to assess the nature of that particular area from the topicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s point of view (b) a Qualitative Discussion with a Professional directly involved in the topic. Finally through Drawings and Diagrams, an architectural re-design of the chosen area is proposed. !
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1. 4
IntroductIon !
Dissertation Breakdown
Chapter 2 seeks the roots of the alienation experienced in the non-place. It explores how Governments apply their techniques of control over their citizens to regulate the prospect of change. This Chapter also investigates how the standardised design of the non-place effects the flow of its users, describing ways and means how the lifeless architecture of the nonplace communicates action to its users. Chapter 3 studies the non-place from a wider perspective. In fact it investigates the reasons behind the emergence of the non-place in the city scenario. The Modernist city and its street layouts are compared with the Traditional ones to acquire a deeper understanding of the repercussions brought by vehicular traffic. It also looks into the local scenario to understand how the introduction of roads affected the urbanism of our townscapes. Finally this chapter proposes ways how our Participation and Personalization can preserve the remaining urban realm and inspire for its expansion. Chapter 4 This chapter investigates how the configuration of a space affects its users. It investigates how our Perception is based on mental maps that interpret new information to guide actions. Finally it explores how we can utilise the ideal characteristics of places to improve upon non-places. ! Chapter 5 focuses on ways that could resolve the desensitization in the non-place. It delves into two modes of possible conscious perception of place, varying from monotony and repetition to sensory variety. Additionally it explores how through all five senses, Simultaneous perception helps us to experience our surroundings. This chapter demonstrates how the haptic sense is able to induce spontaneous action towards the architecture, motivating a choreography of active relationships amid the individuals within their domains. Finally this chapter highlights the importance and sensitivity of historical urban realms when intervening on the fabric of our town and cities.! Chapter 6 analyses the typical nature and characteristics of a local non-place. Dingli Street in Sliema is chosen as a study area and is studied both at a macro and micro level. The macro level concentrates on the connection of Dingli Street with the remaining fabric of Sliema. The
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IntroductIon !
micro level focuses on the architectural fabric of the street, the streets layout, and the functionality of the street as a thoroughfare for both vehicles and cars. By implementing the knowledge obtained from the previous chapters, Chapter 6 proposes the re-design of Dingli Street, as a new type of transitory space. An environment that, by its very configuration, encourages individuals to connect with their surroundings and to have a conscious understanding of their location in space and along their path. Chapter 7 is the concluding chapter, and seeks to bring together the knowledge acquired from this research, aiming to indicate a way forward from the perspective of this study.
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Life in the Non–Place !
Chapter Two
2. 1
Bearing Life in the Non-Place
Introduction
The non-place tends to communicate a disturbing sense of lack, and in effect creates a process of alienation that makes us completely numb to our surroundings. Marc Augé asserts that in a non-place an individual is exposed to the community in solitude, retreating into the self and denying contact. This greatly differs to the nostalgic life experienced in traditional public places (Augé, 2000). Augé also argues that the non-place helps to generate a sense of individualism by “offering a kind of anonymous space that cannot be owned, that cannot be invested in emotionally”. Ironically, this solitude is neither feared nor regretted, since we have been taught to welcome the inhuman and feel at home in its realm (Buchanan, 1999). This chapter aims to answer the following questions: Why do we experience this alienation and sense of lack, feeling completely detached from our surroundings? Are non-places consciously designed in such a way as to induce this alienation?
2. 2
Authoritarian Control
History shows that urban architecture has always been synonymous with power and social control. The heights of the churches’ spires, visible from every point in town, acted as a constant reminder of God, and indeed the local priesthood’s all-seeing gaze. This served as a means of enforcement to keep people’s behaviour in check (Zanetti, 2009).
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Fig. 1: Projecting spires of Lincoln Cathedral [Source:www.lincolncathedral.com]
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Life in the Non–Place !
Through his studies, Foucault asserts that authorities have always feared any potential threat that could possibly bring their power to an end (Dreyfus & Rabinow, 1982). In France of the 1800’s, for example, when Emperor Napoleon III commissioned Georges-Eugène Haussmann to renovate Paris, good aesthetics and upgrading the infrastructure were not his only aims. In fact, Napoleon backed the design of Paris’ wide boulevards, since they would facilitate the movement of troops to repeal any possible uprising (Zanetti, 2009). Since Modern life became limitless and therefore more susceptible to change, nowadays authorities use more technologically advanced ways to root themselves deeper in the fabric of the city. In fact, the infrastructure of the city is nowadays designed in a way that facilitates and maximizes authoritarian control over the citizens. Within these infrastructures, authorities are concealed in a network of complicated procedures and regulations that appear to serve as security measures. Instead they inspect, supervise and monitor all levels of society. This process creates these non-places that are “unavoidable in the course of daily life because cities today are structured around them” (Buchanan, 1999). Do such techniques of control give rise to the abstraction and sense of emptiness experienced in the non-place? Is there something specific to non-places that makes it impossible to experience them in the same way that so-called places are experienced? The next subsection tries to answer these questions.
2. 3
The Panopticon Bentham conceived a semi-circular prison in which each inmate was placed in an individual lit cell visible from a tower located at the center of the semicircle. The high tower had windows from which a possible surveillant could watch every cell. Thanks to an ingenious design of these windows, no prisoner was able to ascertain if he or she was actually being observed or even if there was anyone in the tower. (Foucault as cited in Vaz & Bruno, 2003, p.275)
The above environment of the panopticon gives an idea of the atmosphere that an individual experiences within a typical non-place. It demonstrates that the feeling of unease germinates from the non-place’s high security measures, manifested in security guards and surveillance cameras.
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Life in the Non–Place !
The UK is famous for its number of CCTV cameras in the streets and buildings around the country. It has 4.5 million cameras, which translates to one CCTV camera per fourteen individuals. Disguised as public safety, CCTV cameras monitor and record each and every single action of citizens (Zanetti, 2009). Unfortunately, the exponential growth of technology will most probably result in an increase in number of CCTV cameras around, aggravating the present tension in our nonplaces. Apart from these typical security measures, in particular
non-places
where
security
is
paramount (airports and hotels), an individual ! !
techniques of control demonstrate that ‘the user of the non-place is always required to
Fig. 2: CCTV cameras are practically everywhere in a non-place [sourcehttp://www.bigbrotherwatch.org]
!
undergoes multiple identity-checks. These
prove his innocence’ (Augé, 2000), therefore he is somehow assumed to be guilty until he proves otherwise.
This perturbing sense of tension and the high-security measures, especially after the 9/11 attacks, suggest a possibility of risk, attack or even terrorism (Sharma, 2009). The 9/11 disaster influenced individuals in a way as to never make them feel completely safe when surrounded by strangers, who could be potential terrorists (Caluya, 2009). Consequently, this fear will furthur supress relations within the non-place and increase the alienation and the disembodiment of individuals from physical space.
A few_security_guards_can_control_thousands of people in_a mall, but_hundreds_of police_are needed at any football match. (Gregory, 2009)
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Life in the Non–Place
2. 4
Action and Flow
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In the non-place there is no room for spontaneous action. Actions that infringe the nonplace’s protocol or impinge on its efficient flow are not permitted. Good examples would be jogging on a by-pass, climbing up escalators the wrong way, blocking the flow of people, passing through emergency exits or stopping traffic to dance on a zebra-crossing. Yet you are free to do everything you want out in the street, at the square and along the promenade (except actions that break the law). (Wood as cited in Gentile, 2009, p.14)
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Fig. 3: dancers performing on a zebra crossing over a busy street in Jakarta [Source:www.telegraph.co.uk]
! Non-places involve a limited range of human action, being and engagement (Coyne, p. 6) ! and “thought is not encouraged beyond the limits of the space’s own particular cognitive ! project, typically limited to wayfinding, getting crowds from A to B” (Fuller, 2002) The planning and architecture of a non-place derives from its use, but most importantly from the requirements of an efficient system. Efficient flow is a functional requirement for most non-places, including stations, airports, supermarkets and roads. Continual fluidity is achieved by the strict controls and mechanization mentioned above (Gentile, 2009). These instruct and separate intersecting moving bodies, and at one point gather them in groups.
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Life in the Non–Place ! A typical example is the street layout, where pedestrians on pavements are separated from vehicles on the street. Traffic lights or zebra crossings signal the two flows of a potential momentarily intersection of the flows. The business class and economy class in airplanes function on the same principle. (Fuller, 2002). ! ! ! Fig. 4: Oxford Street’s typical Street layout [Source: www.thisislondon.co.uk]
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Ironically, the most efficient non-places, are those in which individuals spend as little time a possible. This efficiency is proportional to all the factors that characterize the non-place i.e. dynamics of mechanization, security, technology and meticulous control (Gentile, 2009). A good example would be the design of many fast-food restaurants. A case in point is the interior of the new branch of Wagamama in St. Julian’s. The canteen-like layout of the restaurant is designed in a way as to ensure customers will not occupy a table for long, !!!!!!
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thus making space for new arrivals. In fact, tables are located one next to the other,
Fig. 5: Interior of Wagamama, St. Julien’s [Source: www.maltafoodandwine.com]
ruining any possible privacy round a table, and the seating does not support your back, which feels uncomfortable when sitting for long.
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Life in the Non–Place !
Instead of depending on the traditional and historical meaning that characterises places, non-places are profiled with prohibitive and informative signage. These signs are written “in the supposedly unambiguous language of the propositional clause (“wait here”)”. Gentile (Gentile, 2009, p. 14) argues that signage is a must, since the lifeless architecture of the non-place does not communicate any action, when compared to general places like a church. Signage is designed to become a script
for
performance,
generating
a
! Fig. 6: Our lives our nowadays dependent
navigation system that tracks the movements
on signage [Source:www.creativepro.com]
of bodies in space.
Hence, the architecture layout and all the techniques of control, transform the apparently innocent aesthetics of the non-place into a machine that processes individuals like identical tuna cans, without taking into account their individuality.
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Fig. 7: People in a queue resemble the processing of tuna cans [Source: fis.com/ telgraph.co.uk]
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2. 5
Life in the Nonâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Place !
Private life and Familiarity
If you do travel, then such spaces [non-places] seem to be the only kind you see: you travel to the airport along the freeway, or by train, you embark and disembark the plane at the airport, while you are away from home you stay in a hotel, you do your duty free shopping in the hotel mall and (perhaps relieved not to have to experiment with local cuisine) you might even get a quick bite to eat at the local KFC (Buchanan, 1999).
Fig. 8: Universal Signage [source: www.stanfords.co.uk]
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Traveling from work to living to leisure reduces our private life within our homes to a minimum. As a result we use modern gadgets to carry our private life out of our homes into places of transit. These gadgets aid to lessen the monotony and sense of reject experienced in the non-place. This temporary retreat to a personal techno-sphere will further detach users, hence keeping public spaces inactivated. Examples include people talking through their mobile phones while others listen to their conversations, people reading, listening to music and sleeping (Dijkgraaf, 2008). In a non-place, an individual can experience one of the most striking features of contemporary life, i.e. recognizing a space even though he has never been there before. This weird feeling, which is attributed to the stereotyped design of non-places, induces a sense of familiarity in an individual who is experiencing the space for the first time. Even if an individual gets lost in a mall or a large terminal in China and cannot read the signage, he will still be able to follow a familiar itinerary out (Buchanan, 1999).
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Life in the Non–Place !
On the other hand, this lack of identity makes non-places appear as cheap reproductions of each other. Worst, visual order and repetition do not communicate direction, as all directions look the same. With no distinguishing elements, it is harder to find the way around. Menzies (as cited in Sharma, 2009, p. 133) states that non-place philosophy always tries to ‘minimize these moments of locality’ but contrarily, it privileges sameness. She insists that this also affects service staff within the non-place, as they give the impression to be faceless machines ‘everyone has nametags but they might as well be nameless’
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Fig. 9: McDonalds Munich and our local McDonalds at Bugibba look practically the same [Source: www.photographersdirect.com/www.flickr.com]
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Whether experiencing the non-place for the first time or not, a traveler is already accustomed to all the usual standardised services the non-place provides and their quasi-standardised locations in the space. Consequently, this tactical design will always provide the perfect environment for a traveler (to spend his short time in) (Gentile, 2009). Hence, the unoriginal design of non-places, with its unnoticeable customary and sensorial characteristics, will not trigger passengers to initiate a corporeal relationship with the fabric of the space. In most cases, they only familiarise themselves with the location of the commodities within the non-place (Gentile, 2009).
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2. 6
Life in the Nonâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Place !
Conclusion
Since we are living an ever-increasing proportion of our lives in these non-places, and since we are aware of our limitations in them, we need to try and destabilize the non-place and its techniques of control. To find a solution for the alienation and tensional crises of the non-place and generate cultural growth, this thesis visualizes architectural solutions that could reinvent the non-place and break the presiding formations of such spaces. Hence, we need to actively think and propose new forms of living together and come up with architectural solutions that promote freedom (Rumpfhuber, 2010). In the next chapter, this thesis moves the focus from the non-place per se to the non-placeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relation with the remaining fabric of the city. The chapter investigates how the emergence of non-places affected Modern cities and Traditional towns and how this effected the lifestyle of the citizens.
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The City of Non–Places !
Chapter Three
The City of Non-Places
the irony of contemporary life is that just when we are in reach of a truly global society, everyone seems to be in retreat from collective life. (Buchanan, 1999, p.393)
To understand non-places, it is important to trace down their historic origins and to try and understand what circumstances led to the introduction of such architectural statements that revolutionised our cities.
3. 1
The emergence of the Non-Place
In the 20th century, advances in transportation, fuelled by the industrial revolution, led to efficiency in mobility, which permitted individuals to travel out of their towns more easily. This revolution in transportation needed cities and towns to adapt to the new means of transportation; vehicular traffic. This authorised modernists to get rid of the chaotic and natural layouts of traditional towns and opt for a visually simpler solution. Designers decided to zone the city and eliminate the places where life’s complexity takes place, sacrificing the richness of the living city for straight-forwardness. As cities expanded new typologies were implemented on new city projects. This fragmented the city into zones reached solely by car. (Mumford, 1968) Governments planned to strengthen the impression of suburbia as a place of safety, away from social problems of the city. This ruined the plurality of the public realm, as rich people moved out of the city into the suburbs, while the working class remained segregated in the new public apartments in city centres. (Mumford, 1968, p. 219) Le Corbusier, one of the most influential architects of the 20th century said that “The existing urban enclosures with closed vistas, such as streets and squares, were to be demolished in favour of vast open spaces which provide a setting for a free and flexible location of buildings” (Le Corbusier as cited in Madanipour, 2003) The concept of movement underlays the vision of the Modernists, that gives priority to the fast movement of cars across the urban space and thus creating underused spaces only to be watched, either through car windows or from the top of high-rise buildings (Garvin, 2002).
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Fig. 10: Le Corbusier’s City for three million inhabitants [Source:www.cittasostenibili.it]
! ! The consequences of functionalists, who ended up with their contemporary cities structured around non-places, could only be evaluated years later, after the effects of this built environment had killed the life within their cities. “People abandoned cities” and “Pedestrianism, city life and the city meeting places have all been cancelled” (Gehl, 2010). Social relations were neglected in the design of modern cities; as a matter of fact, Sennet believes that public space was reduced to the point as to force people out of the public realm. The new centers were gradually abandoned and sociability died out because spaces were not designed to generate encounters (Sennett, 1976). Consequently, this decline in public life led individuals to retreat to their domestic private life. Due to the transfer of social and civic functions to the privacy of the house, people did not need public spaces anymore (Carmona, 2010). In fact, squares and streets were increasingly substituted by the suburban living room.
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3. 2
The City of Nonâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Places !
Contemporary cities in contrast to tradition towns
The highly planned geometrical cities are easily read from above and appear to be more rational when compared to traditional towns. However, although traditional towns are liable to appear disordered, they turn out to be less confusing than geometrical cities (Alexander, 1997). In fact, with their distinguishing spatial signs, traditional towns are ordered in a way that facilitates living and moving through them (Hillier, 2007). The city of Brasilia for example, shows the disadvantages of a modern city built around large avenues and designed with specific zones for everything, including accommodation. Because there are hardly any landmarks, an individual has to locate himself in reference to the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shape, instead of following memorable landmarks (Epstein, 1973).
Fig. 11: Aerial view of 'Asa Sul', Brasilia (the ' South Wing of the 'Pilot Plan') [Source:www.brasiliabsb.com]
! Contrastingly, old cities and towns grew organically in response to various factors, including the established need of its habitants to meet and conglomerate for the purpose of business, worship, etc. This pedestrian-orientated approach facilitated the flow of people out of their house, to meet and gather in squares and streets (Krier, 1997). Pedestrian traffic was given a priority because the role of the street as social space and as a connection promoted public life. (Carmona, 2003)
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In the seemingly visual chaos of moving bodies in a city, the pedestrian redefines the spaces he accesses with no pre-planning. The pedestrian has an infinite number of ways how to progress through the city and so his movements appear to be random. Yet by taking shortcuts and diversions he selects possibilities and dismisses others in an everchanging choreography of movements (Certeau, 2002). A good example would be walking in Venice, where a pedestrian loses his orientation and sense of direction due to its labyrinthine layout. A pedestrian will automatically begin to collect visual memory cues in his trip, getting to know the city. Depending on the pedestrianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choice of paths, this experience of connection and unravelling of the city, strengthens day after day (Bourgeois, 2009).
Fig. 12: The Labyrinth Layout of Venice [Source: www.dsi.univeg.it]
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3.2.1 The Street as a Transitory Place
In the traditional city “the buildings and the streets are inseparable; they define each other” and because “of their well-defined characteristics of felt volume and their interdependent mix of elements and functions, these streets tend to act both literally and metaphorically as exterior rooms in the city” (Ellis, 1978). Here the streets seem to have been formed by carving through a solid mass, making them the primary focus of city building. The resulting streets are inevitably three-dimensional spaces, with volume being their basic spatial characteristic, acting as the exterior rooms of the city. Within the streets themselves, the separate elements exist interdependently of one another, and with them also their corresponding functions. Thus, the street acts both as a place and a link, with activities relating well to the interior volumes of the buildings. This people-sensitive environment functioned as a meeting-place, connection space and marketplace. “Numerous people of all ages were on the streets and squares to take part in city life” (Thompson & Travlou, 2007)
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Fig. 13: The town of Qrendi has a traditional town layout [Source:GoogleEarth]
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3.2.2 The Street as a Non-Place We see today formerly urban squares as traffic nodes by the fact of weakening its civic usage possibilities: anyhow they have been lost its functions one by one and then appeared as “void” that filled either by new buildings or by traffic (Velibeyoglu, 2006)
With the accommodation of cars in traditional cities pedestrians lost their priority in the streets. “Increasing car traffic has swept city life off the stage or made travel by foot totally impossible” (Gehl, 2010, pp. 25-26) The effacement of social space by movement space killed the interaction of people in the streets. Urban spaces were often “sliced up, degraded, and eventually destroyed by . . . the proliferation of fast roads”. (Carmona, 2003) People within their private cars are closed off from the pedestrians on the streets, killing off any chance of interaction. Buchanan (cited in Carmona, 2010) argues that the remaining public space itself is too often dominated by traffic and as a result it has lost its social function. Thus, even when the number of car users is greatly exceeded by the numbers of pedestrians using a street, the space given over to road space far exceeds that dedicated to footpaths. Although
such
sometimes
placed
developments within
are
landscaped
settings, these landscapes are typically designed to be experienced from the car and
rarely
(Carmona,
attract
pedestrian
2010).
This
“automobility…dominates
is
how
traffic why
non-car-
users inhabit public spaces” (Urry, 2000). A good example would be the pedestrian footway overlooking Wied Babu in Zurrieq. ! Fig. 14: Pedestrian Footway overlooking Wied Babu [Source:www.calleja.com.mt`]
!
Although recently renovated, its vehicle orientated
design,
does
pedestrians to walk the road.
&-!
not
attract
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Inhabiting the car enables seamless journeys without the need to step out of your vehicle. Furthermore, technology permits specific services that are available without the need to leave the car, in a drive-through manner. These include drive-through banking and car washes. Such convenient systems will further encourage people to opt for their almighty car, instead of walking (Urry, 2000) In the local scenario, the accommodation of cars also affected the streets and squares of our traditional towns and cities. Vehicles were granted access to nearly every street and piazza and due to their potential danger, people began to keep away from them. Since roads fragmented the once holistic and responsive urbanism of the town, crucial nodes could not be accessed anymore and ended up as non-places. A case in point is Piazza Medjatrici in the city of !abbar, which has been lined with very active roads. This killed all the activity on the square since now it is fully detached from the remaining fabric of the city.
! Fig. 15: Piazza Medjatrici, !abbar ! [Source:www.panoramio.com]
! The square and the old main pedestrian roads of Marsaxlokk suffered a worse desertion than the one at !abbar. To cater for the cars of the residents, the square and its adjoining streets where completely made into thoroughfares and hence surfaced with ‘tarmac’, leaving no public space for the locals. Fortunately, this failing system was amended, and the public space was recently integrated back into the town’s fabric. Residents can again access and park their vehicles in the square with the aid of a quasi “Shared Space Scheme”.
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Fig. 16: The old and new Pjazza taâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Marsaxlokk [Source:www.Panoramino.com]
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3. 3
Contemporary life
In a suburb, the focus of life is on the house, not on the street or the neighborhood. Any task outside the house needs a car due to the long distances from city centres. This segregation results in fewer encounters in the street. (Brodin, 2005) Automobilityâ&#x20AC;Śsplits homes and business districts, undermining local retail outlets to which one might have walked or cycled (Urry, 2000, p. 3)
A suburb, with its ideal conditions and clean, safe and quiet streets, makes the space ideal to bring up a family. Suburbs, slowly became dormitory communities based on similarity and each house became an enclosed world on its own. Consequently, this retreat to domestic space replaced the outdoor public life with the suburban living room. (Carmona, 2010). Home based entertainment and internet-related services, made sure that, progressively, individuals started to prefer the safe sphere of their houses (Velibeyoglu, 2006). In Malta, the housing estates are the equivalent of suburbs in larger countries. A case in point is Gebel San Martin, a housing estate part of Zejtun. Yet in Malta there are also modern towns designed on suburban concepts. An example is the town of Santa Lucija, which has a quasi grid-like layout, practically dedicated solely to housing.
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Fig. 17: Santa Lucija [Source:GoogleEarth]
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3. 4
The New Public Space; Shopping Malls.
If the private realm is a space enclosed by walls and is closed off, then the public realm should be vice-versa; a space completely open. Yet this definition does not always apply because private and public are merging into one. In this grey area where both realms are interwoven, Manuel de Sola Morales saw the emergence of the collective space (Dijkgraaf, 2008). Seen from above, the mall resembles an ungainly pile of oversized boxes plunked down in the middle of an enormous asphalt sea, surrounded by an endless landscape of single-family houses. (Crawford, 1992, p.4)
In the suburbs, surrounded by a wasteland of parking lots, the interior space of the shopping mall provides a desperately needed social gathering space, as a remedy for the lack of urban place in suburbs. From an economical perspective the store is evidently private, but for the citizens the mall has a deeper significance. The mall is relatively conceived as a public space, where the private-public interface is somehow blurred. Although privately owned, it is still accessible for nearly everyone. For teenagers malls often replace social centres. Yet, the very truth is that malls do not accept everyone within their walls. With their surveillance cameras and security, malls forbid vagabonds and any other activities that are not concerned with consumption (Dijkgraaf, 2008).
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The City of Nonâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Places ! Like the front boundary of a house in a suburb, the mall looks inwards and declines any relation with the street. Despite the fact that malls were advertised as marketplace typologies, they
concealed
their
absolute
chariness towards urbanity. This is ! !
contrary to Italian arcades or Islamic Bazaars, which help to strengthen
Fig. 18: Italian Arcades [Source:www.delivery.superstock.com]
street structures.
In these confined and climate-controlled interior spaces, one never meets any challenge There is no opportunity for spontaneous action or interaction between individuals because malls cater for a singular function - shopping. The Mall amasses individuals to buy goods in a comfortable and sealed world, put up by a corporation, insulating individuals from anything that might disturb their mood. It is not a space for spontaneous action, but rather for passive entertainment. Individuals are spectators or just another face in a department store scrutinizing goods (Crawford, 1992). Inside the mall, zigzagged escalators and glass elevators reproduce the features of the city. All the familiar tricks of a mall design: restricted entrances, escalators located at the extremity of corridors, fountains and seating carefully placed to tempt customers into stores, restrict the flow of clients through the repetitiveness of corridors in shops. (Rubenstein, 1992) Conformity simplifies individual tastes to a common few modalities, saving corporations the trouble to cater for the needs of individual customers. Consumerism and technological progress affect who we are and how we act in this imposed world. Consumerism patterns supersede bodies of identity, where the more we consume, the faster we are supposed to reach the ideal life. (Crawford, 1992) Over time, the mall stretched out into the city. Malls started to include spaces for recreational and social purposes, where the complexities of daily life were being addressed.
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The City of Non–Places !
The mall engulfed the remaining urbanism left in the city within its walls, including the inbetween non-places of waiting and travelling. On the other hand, suburbs became increasingly urban because large number of jobs moved to the suburbs, rendering them new metropolitan regions (Crawford, 1992). In the local scenario, strategic spaces that support multiple functions are being included in the design of new shopping malls. Such places trigger interaction between users and attract more people in the mall. A case in point is Tigné’s ‘The Point’ at Sliema and its adjoining Pjazza Tigné, where one finds multi-functional spaces. These spaces support a variety of activities including live bands, choirs, catwalks, mini-musicals and even a temporary ice-skating rink.
! Fig. 19: Pjazza Tigné multiple functional spaces [Source: www.thepointmalta.com] !
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3. 5
The City of Non–Places !
Towards more sensitive Urban Spaces
As discussed, modernism gave birth to these ultra modern non-places that are fragmenting and swallowing up the remaining urban fabric. In addition, existing urban fabric is slowly becoming privately owned. The privatization of the urban space questions what is the function of a public space and who does it cater for. Private interests and owners exercise their power and influence public-space management, design and policy. This will favour affluent users, with less freedom for the public in general. (Francis, 1989) How could privately owned malls and business that are swallowing our public spaces, provide for a more sensitive and connected urban realm? In order to preserve the remaining urban realm and inspire for its expansion, we need to reinstate the sense of belongingness back in our citizens. Can greater user control contribute to bring life back into these spaces?
3.5.1 Participation and Personalization Meaning is of crucial importance because it can create an attachment to a public space, which can occur at multiple levels; at the individual level (for example, a person will always link an accident to the street where it occurred), at group level (the local group “bocci” club ) and at national level (meetings at “il-fossos”, Floriana) (Francis, 1989) Control is the ability of an individual or group to gain access to, utilize, influence, gain ownership over, and attach meaning to a public place. Control is an important goal of participation and sense of ownership that shapes up the urban environment. It can be physical as in the case of teenagers who claim their spot on the street, or symbolic, such as the case of groups that take responsibility to manage a site. Symbolic ownership creates a needed psychological bond between individuals and public places. On the other hand “lack of control can foster a sense of neglect or disregard”, as it always happens in the typical non-place (Francis, 1989).
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The City of Non–Places !
Participation cannot be successful without contribution to the decision-making process that influences environmental fairness. To increase the end-user control, it is essential and fully beneficial to integrate the user in the management and design process. Local councils could in turn set up workshops, participatory mapping, user consultancy, and surveys to induce people’s participation. Furthermore, participation is instrumental in the negotiation and persuasion of contrasting groups, which usually have conflicting values (Francis, 1989). Apart from direct participation in decision-making, control is also manifested in Personalisation, which gives the ability to change or modify a public space. Reasons for Personalisation vary from the need to improve the aesthetics of a space to the need to communicate. The threshold between home and street is usually designed for residents to personalise (Biddulph, 2007). Personalisation is not a random concept; people only personalize space over which they feel they have control. Personalization can be extended with objects or plantings placed immediately along the buildings’ edges. All measures of personalisation increase the sense of control and belonging (Bentley et al, 2003). Yet the zone of Personalisation, has the potential to extend out of the individuals’ street to all public spaces in the city. Designers can come up with solutions that induce and permit, if not encourage physical manipulation and control. Examples include opportunities for individuals to garden areas in a public plaza or the ability to relocate and modify furniture in the park to find a comfortable spot in the sun. Apart from that, workers trapped in their offices or other ultramodern non-places like stations, could be granted the chance to garden or create other activities in common plazas. This conveys a sense of concern to people on the street and will help to lower maintenance costs for the owner. Events could also be organised, bringing more people to the area and therefore revive the urban realm, with the consequent advantages for businesses, who only care about their profits (Francis, 1989).
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Fig. 20: People planting edible food in the Victory Garden [Source:www.civileats.com]
! A good example is the installation of an edible food garden in front of the City Hall in the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden project (Naomi Starkman, 2008). Town trails can also be used to maximize the citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sense of control in streets, a mechanism that is used in Britain. Streets serve as teachers of local history with an interpretive trail marked through areas of historic interest. School children, tourists, and local residents utilize the urban trail system to discover local architectural and cultural history (Goodey as cited in Francis, 1989, pp. 169). Since malls are the replacement of past open market spaces, it is important that their internalized planning is shifted to an externalized one. By opening up to their surroundings to include open-air plazas, the new generation of consumers could today stroll uncovered walkways. This creates the opportunity of merging the urban realm with the mall. (Crawford, 1992)
! Fig. 21: Santa Monica Place: an open Air mall [source:www.jasonhoopai.com]!
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Re-integrating the concept of market places in cities is crucial. Markets dedicated to farming products can be introduced in public realms located in city cores. This gives citizens the chance to be in full control of the quality of foods they buy. A good example is the integration of a farmers’ market in the plaza of a major reconstruction of Copley Square in Boston (Francis, 1989).
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Fig. 22: Farmer’s Market in a Plaza [Source:www.seriouseats.com]
! It is necessary that the creation and management of public spaces be a transparent democratic procedure, taking in consideration all the suggestions and prepositions of the stakeholders and especially the public arena. This is the only way for our urban realm not to degenerate into a non-place, but instead be an integral part of our super-modern public culture (Francis, 1989).
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Configuration of Space !
Chapter Four
4. 1
Configuration and Perception of Space !
Introduction
Technology is continuously advancing to accommodate our super-modern fast lives, which are time-dependant and based on efficiency. From the threshold of his residence, to the place of employment and later to a momentary destination, an individual is in a state of transition (Dijkgraaf, 2008). For this reason, one of the factors that make the whole system successful and saves time in transit, is the non-place. Therefore we need to be extremely sensitive when we picture alternative solutions for these spaces. We simply cannot make decisions that impinge on their efficient nature. Hence, the scope of this thesis is not to propose the creation of places out of non-place, places that are an end goal for the user. The non-place has to keep its efficient transitory nature to cater for the voluminous amount of people using it. Yet, although our goal is not to convert non-places into places, we can still utilise the ideal characteristics of places to improve upon non-places. To visualise the non-place anew, and create a better transitory experience, this chapter explores how the setting could be designed in a better way to positively impact on the experience of individuals in a state of transition.
4. 2
The configuration of space
To create the ideal environment for a non-place, it is critical to be aware how the physical configuration of a space could affect its users. The design of a space can influence individuals either to participate more in public life or towards total privacy (Carmona et al, 2003). Public space is meant to bring us together, yet in the case of non-places, it can isolate us. For example, when vehicles are granted access into (Vega, 2007)a pedestrianised street of a traditional city, the street will not allow multiplicity of
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Configuration of Space !
tasks in the space anymore. The space will most probably degenerate into a thoroughfare for vehicles. Static elements of a space construct the basic space that is available for relationships between users to occur (Motloch, 2001). Therefore in our case, it is important to explore solutions that can reinstate the possibility of relations to occur again in the architecture of the non-place. Plain and rigid walls create rigid boundaries and stiffen relationships, resulting in a poor social life. Since the layout of a space effects an individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s movement through it, it also affects the awareness individuals have of each other. If space is designed in a way as to cut off the interaction of people from each other, there will be no hope for individuals to be collectively present (Carmona et al, 2003) A typical example is a layout of individual offices located side by side along a corridor, where the corridor is only a transitory space, as seen in Figure 21 below. This configuration forces an individual to go from office to office to meet someone. If the offices were designed to open onto a common area as the architectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office in Figure 22, a natural meeting space will be created and could possibly be used instead of private offices for certain interactions. The former layout prompts isolation while the latter inspires collectivity. Since we all know how to read a space, we tend to predict a certain type of interaction with other individuals. Therefore our behavior is dependent on the spatial configuration of the environment. A space can either stimulate collective relationships or solitary action (Brodin, 2005). Therefore, the non-placeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mechanical and strict compartmentalised layout will immediately communicate a sense of general detachment that leads to solitary action.
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Fig. 23: Corridor linking offices [Source:www.chicagoce nters.com]
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Fig. 24: Workstations open to a common area [Source: www.zeospot.com]
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4. 3
Memory Influence
Perception is a process that enables us to become aware of the varying stimuli offered by our surroundings. Perceptual space is in turn a space that has meaning and content, a space that cannot be disconnected from intentions and experiences (Lipovac, 1997). Perception is based on memory, because one “cannot perceive a phenomenon that is not in part associated to past experiences” (Smith, 2002) The psychological aspect is very important when designing spaces. Inside a space an individual uses the process of “way-finding’, a process built upon his mental picture of the world. The product of both the immediate sensation and the individuals’ past experiences will create this mental picture, which interprets new information and guides action (Gibson, 1986).
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4.3.1 Behavioral Setting Theory Different observers may have remarkably different mental images drawn in their mind. For example, a particular person may find no trouble to locate objects on what, to others appears to be a messy desktop. Behavioural Setting Theory links the environment with cues ad symbols, which form part of our leaning, as well as memory recall patterns. Through conditioning and socialism, we come to learn rules about our environment. An environmental cue prompts an action or reaction. Because of the association of specific environments and environmental elements with learned behaviour, environment serves as a cue to behaviour. (Popov, 2010) Hence, a space seen for the first time may be identified and related to, not because of its individuality but because it conforms to a stereotypical mental image already constructed by the observer. The space prompts the user to experience it in a certain manner. (Lynch, 1960) This can be seen in the stereotypical design of promenades round the coast of Malta. As show in figure _ below, the layout of the promenade at Marsascala is practically identical to the one at Bugibba.
! Fig. 25: Promenades at Marsascala and Bugibba [Source:www.lemonandlimepub.com/http://www.maltaonline.info/]
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Action will only be instigated by identifiable artifacts within the space, which prompt the user to specific passive routines, routines he can do without the need to think. For example traffic lights or zebra crossings indicate a safe spot where a pedestrian can cross the road. If the pedestrian needs to cross, he acts in a specific routine; stop, wait, look right and left, and cross safely. By time and repetition, these actions lead to desensitization, which detaches the user from the fabric of a space (Smith, 2002). Although every individual creates his own image, it has been shown that there seems to be significant agreement among members with common parameters, such as age, sex, culture and family. (Lynch, 1960) Evidently, this is reflected in the way Chinese emigrants erect new Chinatowns wherever they settle. Being accustomed to their totally different culture, they rarely feel comfortable to adapt to new cultures. Instead, they opt to integrate their Chinese traditional architecture and culture in their new environments. This demonstrates that the typical placelessness experienced in the non-places is insensible to cultural differences.
! Fig. 26: Chinatown in London [Source from http://blog.otel.com]
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Furthermore, Canter states that inceptive judgments towards people we interact with are directly related to the setting; we project our conception of a space onto the people within it. Thus the obscurity and sense of negation experienced in non-places will be automatically reflected on the interactions generated within the space. Hence people end up detached from each other and never interact. (Canter, 1977)
4. 4
The Spirit and Experience of a Place
The experience of a given place is never constant: oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s knowledge, past experiences and emotional attachment are those most easily understood. To re-think the non-place means to consider all the aspects that could ameliorate it. Thus, it is important to investigate how the Physical factors (location, scale, and boundary) and how our social characteristics create the Spirit of a Place (Lipovac, 1997). If these properties do not impinge on the orderliness of the non-place, then they could help to achieve our goal.
4.4.1 Location Location relates to the geographic position of the space and the relation to the surroundings. A space can be designed to harmoniously integrate in its environment or inversely, to contrast with its environment. Locational impact on the spirit of some place is more potent when the key feature of the setting is in strong contrast to its immediate surrounding (Johnson, 1994). When compared to Minimal solutions, a Deconstructivist solution will most probably be more suitable to erect a building to contrast with its immediate environment (Salingaros, 2007). The finished appearance of buildings is characterized by a stimulating unpredictability and a controlled chaos. In fact, this architecture aims at attaining a state that effectively impacts its users.
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! Fig. 27: Neue Mitte Station in Oberhausen contrasts more with its site than Shepperton Train Station [Source:www.wikipedia.org/http://www.surreyproperty.com]
! The location of a space will directly influence the access to the space. If the space is difficult to reach, it will drastically minimize the number of people using it. Access is very crucial because it directly affects the efficiency of its flow. Access can make or break a space, especially an introverted non-place, which has very weak visual connections to the outside and so it solely depends on its access (Lipovac, 1997). A case in point is the difficult access to Lascoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Supermarket at Zejtun. To unload a shopping trolley to a car, a person needs to first go down a steep ramp at the doors of the supermarket, then cross the busy road to the parking area. This impossible access contrasts strongly with the design of the many of the Lidl Supermarkets in Malta, where one finds himself immediately in the parking area on exiting the store.
Fig. 28: Access to Lasco Supermarket compared to entrance to Lidl Supermarket [Source: author]
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4.4.2 Scale and Size
The Scale and Size of a particular element and the relationship to the rest of its environment create a unique effect, which can be experienced in the spirit of the place. The experience of a space is thoroughly dependent on its scale. In architecture, scale refers to the size of elements relative to the human scale (Johnson, 1994). A good example is the Collective Housing designed by Sou Fujimoto Architects, which is made up of rooms of prototypical house shapes. Climbing up, each residence is realized by the experience of two rooms.(Naveen, 2001)
! Fig. 29: Sou Fujimotoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Collective Housing [Source:www.instablogsimages.com]
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Configuration of Space ! In stark contrast to this, modern citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; housing in skyscrapers (see Fig. 30) and never-ending relation
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Fig. 30: Trenue Tower Residential Skyscraper [Source:www.architeria.com]
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4.4.3 The Boundary of a Space Another very important physical factor in creating a spirit of place are boundaries. Buildings are boundaries between interior and exterior spaces, where the relationship between the two is brought together in the threshold of the building. Therefore the design of this threshold, which outlines a space from its surroundings, determines the success of this relationship and the success of the street itself. The importance of the threshold also applies to open spaces like streets/roads. If we take an example of an underpass with an uninviting threshold, a pedestrian will most probably avoid it and find an alternative safer route.
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Fig. 31: An uninviting underpass in Floriana [Source: Author]
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This “in-between space” is essentially where opposing spaces come together, where they visually and functionally overlap. It is a complex spot that has both in-between and insideoutside qualities (Gehl, 2010) Alexander et al. (Alexander et all, 1977) emphasized that this edge is so important that one has to “treat the edge of the building as a “thing”, a “place, a zone with volume to it, not a line or interface which has no thickness. Crenellate the edge of buildings with places that invite people to stop”. By being symbolically clear, the boundary is identified; creating the necessary distinction that attracts people in (Lipovac, 1997). Zaha Hadid implements this philosophy in her design of the four entrances to the Nordpark Cable Railway. The Nordpark Cable Railway connects the Austrian city of Innsbruck with the hamlet of Hungerburg. The sculptural structures that cover each of the four stations respond to their surroundings in an exceptional way; they mimic the glacial environment that is used to identify each area. Ironically, the vibrant designs of the exterior do not reflect the sterile interiors of the stations. In fact, as the user advances inside the station, he gradually loses stimulation due to the sterile interiors. Therefore, the user will fall numb to his surroundings. Since the eye-catching designs of the portals give identity to their location, they eventually became landmarks (Arcspace, 2008).
! Fig. 32: Loewenhaus Station and Congress Station [Source: Thomas Maye]
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A building edge that allows easy visual and physical access to the different activities inside creates a street that is stimulating to the senses. The design of the edge should allow a (Dezeen, 2010)variety of functions to coexist in close physical proximity with a variety of outdoor public activities. One must keep in mind that there are different situations with different needs, which hence require a different treatment of the edge. One should first analyze the nature of the activities housed by the building, and consider if these activities benefit from a close interaction with the outside public space, (as is the case in commercial environments) (Carmona et al, 2003) By the subtle design of its edge, Massimiliano Fuksas managed to connect a Bicycle Parking Area to the activities in the public square of Eindhoven. To re-integrate the square of the bike-friendly city of Eindhoven as an urban space and avoid the square to cluttered with locked up bikes, this underground parking for bikes was introduced. To access the underground parking, two tunnels channel smoothly into the square in a very appealing way. Apart from the fact that users are attracted to the sculptural entrances, the glass clad tunnels invite users down. This ingenious design makes a worker enjoy going down the tunnel to park his bicycle underground (Archtracker, 2010).
Fig. 33: The Public Square of Eindhoven as a typical non-place before intervention and after the intervention [Source:www.virtualtourist.com]
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! Fig. 34: Seating integrated in the design of the entrance to the underground parking [Source:www.designboom.comX!
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! The sprouting entrances to the tunnels do not interfere with the other public functions of the square. On the contrary, seating is integrated within their design. At night, because the parking is roofed over by the square, glass covered slits in the ceiling that light up the parking area, will in turn marvelously illuminate the square.
;ig. 35: illuminated paving of the square [Source:http://ec.europa.eu]
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Through his design, Fuksas managed to go one step further than simply remove the parking area that was cramming the square. While still keeping the functional integrity of the parking area, through his design Fuksus succeeded in transforming a typical alienating experience of a parking area into a stimulative one. Apart from that, he reinstated the square as a place.
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4. 5
Configuration of Space !
Conclucion
By going a step forward and create more stimulative environment, “the perceptive and familiar observer could absorb new sensuous impacts without disruption of his basic mental image” (Lynch, 1960, p. 10). Thus, inducing an individual’s attention and participation, the sensuous engagement with his surroundings would be prolonged and intensified. Hence, The next chapter investigates how an environment could be designed in a way as to stimulate and engage a user in a deeper experience of a space.
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Stimulation in Architecture !
Perception and Stimuli in Architecture Chapter Five
The first hundred years of modern architecture have been principally devoted to the expression of technological revolution and new aesthetic intentions. There are welcome indications that the next hundred years of architecture will consider the act of experience, both communal and individual, as a primary generator of significant form (Greene, 1976)
As already discussed in chapter 3, life in a metropolis underlines the existence of desensitization, which is a residue of the rhythmic repetition, monotony and homogeneity that characterise the non-place. This redundancy forces a user to try to find a focal point, a stimulus, to achieve a changing conscious cognitive state (Canter, 1977). A change in sensory perception is required to keep the stimulus actively affecting the user. If one stares at an object without changing perspective input to a relatively gained conscious cognition, it will rapidly fade into the background and assume a non-stimulant state. A scene that does not offer a stimulus for change in perception is prone to lack readability, resulting in a system stress (Canter, 1977).
Fig. 36: A waiting-area and corridor that offers no stimulation to its user [Source: www.accurateresearch.com]
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On introducing the influential book People Places, Cooper Marcus and Francis (Cooper Marcus & Francis, 1998) allude to two modes of possible conscious perception of place. The first mode is a result of monotony and repetition, and may also be a result of an unchanging behavioural circuit, such as lack of significant stimulation. This results in a system stress and a toned-down level of environment cognition, which decreases the individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s availability to accept and partake in social interaction. This lack of stimuli is portrayed in a typical Maltese road or open area, bounded by parked cars. A case in point is the vast Park and Ride parking area in Floriana. After parking, one has to walk up to the stop and catch a van to Valletta. This boring walk in between parked cars is deficient in stimulation and alienates an individual.
Fig. 37: Park and Ride, Floriana [Source: GoogleEarth]
A second conscious perception of place is achieved by the connection between a person and a somewhat unpredictable setting offering sensory variety. For this to happen, an individual has to first perceive the data that the place is sending to the observer, and then processing the data to get a real image of the place.
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This enhances the total experience of architecture, as an individual will become aware of the particular features of the place at that particular moment. This awareness can be due to different colours, sounds or even odours. Such situations are known to improve balanced hormonal levels and human interaction resulting in a noticeable reduction of personal stress levels (Lipovac, 1997). When compared to the Park and Ride facility described above, the Brisbane Domestic Terminal Car Park (an eight-storey kinetic parking area) is a breath of fresh air. Kahn, who incorporates natural elements such as wind and light in his artworks, teamed up with UAP and BACâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to design the 5000 Sq.m. kinetic facade of the car park. Seen from outside, the facade appears to ripple by the wind currents passing in between thousands of aluminium panels. The walls inside the car park, project complex motifs of shadow and light as sunlight is filtered through the moving facade. The permanent, permeable artwork is also utilized for interior ventilation and shading purposes of the car park (Architecture Buzz, 2010).
Fig. 38: Brisbane Domestic Terminal Car Park [Source:www.architecture-buzz.com]
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Stimulation can also take the form of a playful interaction between the space and the user. A Staircase at the Odenplan Subway Station, Stockholm was changed into a piano to motivate people to take the staircase instead of the escalator. As expected (seen in Fig.39 below), the installation of the piano stairs allured 66% more people to opt for the stairs over the escalator (The Fun Theory, 2009)
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Fig. 39: Piano Staircase [Source:www.innovapedia.org]
5. 1
Simultaneous perception
For many decades, architects were only able to communicate through the visual element and generated visual experiences for the user. Yet, communication happens through all five senses, displayed through materials, sounds, rhythm, light etc (Bloomer & Moore, 1977) Hiss (Hiss, 1990) proposes the notion that a level of sensory perception seems to operate continuously on all perceptive levels, even when our attention is focused on a particular task, thus disregarding most input. It is known that when our attention is focused on a particular task, the mind simplifies the extra input of sensations so as to make it easier for us. What is interesting is that the ‘extra’ sensory input is not lost; on the other hand, it forms part of what Hiss defines as an all-important simultaneous perception. Simultaneous perception helps us experience our surroundings and our reactions to them, and not just our own thoughts and desires. The idea of introducing a perceptive complexity in our architecture questions the increasingly controlled environments we are living in. If the totality of the experience of place is appreciated, the inclusion of stimuli outside the obvious visual one will prompt a deeper experience in the non-place (Hiss, 1990). In the design of the Lohring Underground Station in Bochum, Rübsamen+Partner opted for a multi-sensorial interior environment. Since every element within the station was planned as
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a piece of art by itself, the architects teamed up with artists and sound engineers to construct the best possible multi-sensorial experience. (Winkler & Volker, 2007) The installation of a floating glass floor that runs the full length of the platform is the principal illuminator of the tunnel. At its end, the designers opted for a large red wall with an illuminated cross.
Fig. 40: Lohring Underground Station [Source: www.hess.eu]
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In the space, the attention is focused on two delicate bands of light attached to the ceiling of the tunnel. These bands, designed by the artist Eva-Maria Joeressen, create an appealing contrast with the luminous floor and the linearity of the tracks. The artistic red enamel wall, which acts a landmark, accurately illustrates the form of the intersection of Wittener StraĂ&#x;e with Lohring, located above the station.
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! Fig. 41: Artistic red enamel wall and seating element [Source: www.hess.eu]
The individuals waiting for the train, will hear weird and sinister sounds coming from nowhere. These sounds are generated by a real time sound installation by composer Klaus Kessner. Microphones, installed at different points of the station, pick-up voices and other sounds generated by the road and trains. These sounds are computer transposed into an everchanging sound, transmitted through the wall-concealed loudspeakers (Winkler & Volker, 2007). Stimulative environments are not a new concept in architecture. In fact, Arthur Ericksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Yorkdale Subway Station in Toronto, designed in the late 70â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, is an early example of such environments. This station had a light sculpture composed of arches of multicoloured light tubes that lit up sequentially as a train entered or left the station. Unfortunately the visual ! kinetic art work is no longer operating. Fig 42: Light installation in Yorkdale Subway Station [Source: www.blogto.com]
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Although it is ideal to be stimulated for parts of the experience, we need to create readable spaces that are sensitive to the remaining urban fabric without confusing the user. It is still possible to experience our movements in space and in relation to ourselves in more subtle environments.
Fig. 43: Over stimulative offices that are unsuitable to concentrate in [Source:www.homedesigning.com/http://hitdecors.net/]
5. 2
Haptic Systems and Choreography within Architecture Experiences of architecture/urban settings that are designed to activate more than only the visual sense have a stronger sensual impact and thus the transition between yourself and your environment will be much stronger (Dijkgraaf, 2008, p. 8)
Since an individual can become accustomed to the stimulation of a space, at times sensorial stimulation is not enough. This particularly happens when the space is treating the user as a spectator and is not engaging him to participate. Historically, architecture has been thought of and materialized through static arrangements, which tend to communicate permanence and immobility instead of displacements and dynamics. It is now the time for these static archetypes to evolve into a new sensitive approach that produces creative ways for a user to interact with his environment. Architects are to push themselves forward from the traditional space configuration and design spaces territories that are more sensitive to movement (Vega, 2007). This approach paves the way for the activation of a greater architectonic sense, the Haptic sense.
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5.2.1 The Haptic Sense The Haptic System comprises the sense of touch that affects the whole body rather than simply the hands. When one senses haptically, he enters into a relationship with an object, for instance by climbing a mountain rather than just looking at it. The haptic system includes sensual detection, which involves physical contact both inside and outside the body. This is the only sense that deals directly with the three-dimensional world and it offers the possibility of altering the surroundings in the process of perceiving it. Only Haptic systems can engage feeling and doing simultaneously, â&#x20AC;&#x153;you see and hear figuratively and at a distance, but you touch the actual thingâ&#x20AC;? (Bloomer & Moore, 1977)
5.2.2 Movement within Architecture We dwell in places that are an expression of our haptic experiences.
Whether we are
conscious of this process or not, our bodies and our movements are in constant dialogue with our buildings. However, it seems that individuals barely notice this, especially within the estrangement of non-places. (Bloomer & Moore, 1977) Although intricate spatial configurations allow for complex human movement, the prevailing activity is movement in one plane, such as running and walking. Even though we are capable of an infinite range of movements, we still design spaces that limit us to a narrow range of our possible spectrum. Actually, three-dimensional movements like helical motions are somehow rare (Bloomer & Moore, 1977). Obviously the built environment is one of the critical factors that limit us to this shortage of free movements. Therefore, we must not think of architecture as a conception grounded on the properties of the body, but as a conception that engages the body. (Vega, 2007)
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5.2.3 Architecture as a Stimulus for Movement It is a fact that technology permits architecture to be boundary-less in its geometries and capabilities. Therefore, far more than simply providing stimulation, architects should imagine haptic environments that engage their users in a temporal, textural and kinaesthetic experience of a space (Bloomer & Moore, 1977). Hence, a space does not only have the potential to generate movement, but by its very design configuration, it can activate us haptically. A very good example of a complete haptic experience is the playground. Whether climbing up or sliding down timber and metal structures, the playground offers a complete haptic relation with its user. These structures are designed with multiple entrances/exits to maximize flow. Usual configurations consist of staircases, slides, firemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poles and rope nets as the main circulation elements. These elements entice a variety of bodily movements in a specific order, like jumping, climbing and sliding. Moreover, different bodily movements require an everchanging speed and rhythm. The materials also hint at the required body movements; the smoothness of plastics indicate complete contact with the material (example: sliding down), while the harder steel indicate stability (example: climbing up). Actually, the materials and their structural arrangement generate a kind of spontaneous action towards them.
Fig. 44: Haptic experience in a Playground [Source:http://nikemusings.blogspot.com/]
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Normally we never notice a change in movement while advancing in a building. Yet, the right choice of volumes and materials can engage us in new haptic relations with the architectural fabric. Like a child in a playground, these new stimulations will induce spontaneous action towards the architecture, making us aware of our movements. It is almost impossible not to notice and impulsively climb up the irresistible staircase at Longchamp Soho, designed by Heatherwick Studio. This dramatic installation flows and cascades majestically down the second level of the shop. The staircase is made up of metalcored timber strips that split and connect to create a unique topography. Actually, these strips form walkways, landings and an alluring vague idea of risers and treads. The success of the staircase is reflected in the way shoppers barely realise the inconvenience of getting upstairs (Longchamp, 2006) The contours of his magnificent staircase are not the only elements that stimulate the user. In fact, up the stairway one is aroused by the dainty glass balustrade, that billows and shimmers like transparent fabric. Heatherwick did not settle on common flat sheets of glass, which are very rigid and unreflective. Conversely he chose the stimulative fluidity of bent glass.
Fig. 45: Heatherwick Staircase (Source: http://martincawood.blogspot.com)
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5.2.4 Motion and Surface Textures Through movement, architecture has the capacity of modulating space in various ways, constantly transforming our bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relationship with it and its environmental context. Corridors generate flow, whereas larger spaces offer an opportunity to bring individuals together. Diagonal motion is harder to predict than that of vertical or horizontal motion. In fact diagonal motions appears to be related to quick change or a short cut (Vega, 2007). The power of the diagonal can be seen in the design of the Observation Tower on the River Mur by terrain: Loenhart & Mayr. The aluminum-clad structure is composed of a double staircase that curls at angles on itself. The sculptural diagonal elements invite a visitor up, when the structure is seen from below. This joyful haptic interaction intensifies as one goes up the tower, enjoying rotating views of the surrounding landscape at different heights. Additionally, on their way up visitors are engaged in a choreographic relationship as they meet and pass those on their way down (Dezeen, 2010).
Fig. 46: Observation Tower on the River Mur [Source:www.dezeen.com]
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Our haptic sense also effects the movements of our bodies within and around buildings. Apart from aesthetical, the tactile qualities of the surfaces and edges affect movement. It is through our feet that we continuously make contact with spaces, therefore the texture of horizontal planes is crucial. Carpets feel warmer and softer, while granite feels colder and harder. Yet, texture is also important for the contact of our upper body especially when we need to touch, example to open a door. Change in texture is also very useful in low visibility or to facilitate the way for blind-people. In general, smooth surfaces provoke close contact, whereas rough textured materials such as hammered concrete generate movement away from the material. When rough materials are used in corners, it generates wide radii movement rather than turning the corner next to the wall. Textured materials in corridors induce careful movement through them. Changes in texture often signal special events and can trigger slowing of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s speed (Urwin, 2003). Yet texture can also be used to imitate or create a specific environment. In his Therme Vals. Peter Zumthor wanted to create a natural cave-like structure. In order to do so, he opted for a textured stone, for the user to feel the texture and warmth of stone (O'Grady, 2009).
Fig. 47: Use of texture in Therme Vals [Source: www.archdaily.com]
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In roads, white lines are usually used to visually create lanes. Yet, button humps are at times installed at curvatures to produce vibrations that alert drivers, when their car deviates from their lane. Rubble strips, road humps, speed cushions and change in texture in SharedSpace schemes are other Speed-reducing elements to slow or reduce traffic. (Urwin, 2003).
Fig. 48: Change in Texture in Streets [Source: www.worldchanging.com]
5.2.5 A Choreographic Relationship
The body has to be conceived as a medium that affects a space through its performance. Hence, from a simple volume that contains the body, the perception of space improves to a stage of performance (Vega, 2007). Architecture can motivate choreography of active relationships amid the individuals within their domains. For example, cascades of stairs over and under one another in diagonal relationships challenge one’s sense of order and orientation. This sense would induce an awareness of one’s movement as well as one’s spatial relationship with others. Being particularly on the alert, one can respond and participate more in the building. The senses are heightened and bodily responses are quickened. (Bloomer & Moore, 1977)
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In his Villa Savoie, Le Corbusierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s curiously provided two vertical circulation paths next to each other; a rectilinear ramp that rises in an anticlockwise fashion (covering two full lengths for a floor) and a spiral staircase that rises in a clockwise fashion. These are related at 90° to each other in a way that provides one point of near tangency. One could question the need of these two neighbouring volumes that more or less have the same function. However, these are designed to create two distinct paths, designed to provoke an everchanging interaction between two moving bodies (one using the staircase and one using the ramp).
! Fig. 49: The two distinct paths in Villa Savoie [Source:http://waichuarch1201.blogspot.com/]
! Moreover, the zone of near tangency of the two paths corresponds to the mid-level of the stair path and the full level of the ramp path. Thus, by an exceedingly skilful arrangement of otherwise simple architectural elements, Le Corbusier has generated a periodic pattern of space-time relationships, experienced haptically through body movement. It is most exhilarating when one can sense movement in relation to a person on the other path; catching and losing sense of that other body, one is made aware of periodic relationships between the participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; movement. The architecture takes on more life and gives more as it becomes a stage of movement (Bloomer & Moore, 1977).
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Fig. 50: ‘Stramps’ – a combination of stairs and ramps (Source:
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bodies as the one at Villa Savoie. Another similar example is the spiralling staircase and the winding ramp in Frank O Gehry’s addition to the Art Gallery of Ontario.
! Fig. 51: Gehry’s addition to the Art Gallery of Ontario [Source: www.ago.net]
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Architectural firms like BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) are pioneers in creating innovative haptic design solutions. These haptic relations are usually triggered when the team of architects uses their signature multi-layered approach in their projects. This approach is not merily used only for staircases, but to transform whole buildings into ‘stages of performance’, that usually merge with the urban realm. Some examples are, the North Atlantic Culture House in Copenhagen and the Ice Hockey Rink in Umea, Sweden (BIG, 2009). In their former design, BIG opted for a site responsive solution that embraces the harbor related public activities on the front, instead of erecting another private block. The saddle– shaped roof creates two distinct public spaces; an underneath exhibition space, and a roof plaza. The fully accessible stepped plaza invites its users to climb up and experience the views from different levels and angles of the plaza. This will make the users aware of their movements in space and their location in relation to other users (BIG, 2009).
! Fig. 52: North Atlantic Culture House [Source: www.big.dk]
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The Ice Hockey rink was designed in a similar fashion to the former Culture House. This time the interior landscape is designed as an extension of the exterior. The modified landscape again creates a variety of multi-level recreational spaces that haptically unite the users in their â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;performanceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; within the fabric of the space (BIG, 2009). !
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! Fig. 53: Ice Hockey Rink in Umea [Source: www.big.dk]
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Time over Architecture There is universal agreement that the values lost to our period must be restored: the human scale, the rights of the individual, the most primitive security of movement within the city. Behind this desire stands the unchanging constancy of human life which demands fulfillment. In earlier periods it was relatively simple to create settlements in which man was not too far removed from his need for contact with the soil. Today nothing is harder than to fulfill the simplest needs of life. The heavy weight of mechanization and all that follows in its train have entailed enormous complications that make it almost impossible to adopt any simple lines of direction (Giedion, 1982, p. 34).
As explored in chapter 3, the road networks that were forced in our towns and cities to cater for vehicular traffic, ruined the urban realm that existed in historic streets and squares. Any new interventions that could improve the state of our urban realm must enable the legibility of memory and layers of history. These are an imperative characteristic of an urban realm that is able_to_sustain_its_validity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The longer the space lasts, the more it becomes part of the identity of the city and community. This will affect the intellectual and emotional needs of the citizenâ&#x20AC;? (Heijne et al, 2005, p. 115). Nonetheless, the legitimacy of the historic fabric form is also to be questioned and should undergo-reflexive-thought (Maccreanor, 2005). Being rooted does-not-necessarily require-elements-of the past. Contemporary views insist that a replica of the past is not a justifiable intervention; the right approach demands a deeper evaluation. An intervention needs not only clarity, but also sincerity and individuality. If one wishes to respect symbolism and replicate past interventions, one must keep in mind that today, the intervention would be viewed through the historic eye. To plan sensitively we need to first understand what has gone on in the past and then envision what is needed for the future (Giedion, 1982). Therefore, to try to ameliorate our non-places, especially the ones infiltrating our historic fabric, we need to find a balance between the original historic fabric and our modern requisites. To find a perfect balance, this contemporary solution has to work within the framework of the historic fabric, the appropriate material use and current technology.
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In the course of history, Pjazza San !or" in Valletta has undergone drastic changes. Its major change occurred when the open space was ripped off its urban space function as a piazza and degraded into a parking area. Due to the history, uniqueness and location of the open space, the space was later re-instated back as a piazza. Although some may find certain elements in the piazza like the lighting system and the design of the seating, out of place, the introduction of other subtle elements like the fountain, created a successful contemporary solution.
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! Fig. 54: Diagram A Piazza Saint George before the 1900s [Source: flickr.com] Diagram B Piazza Saint George as a parking area [Source:georgepullicino.com] Diagram C The Piazza after renovation [Source:flickr.com]
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