Urban Design

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Figure 6.20 Los Angeles Grand Park, by Rios Clementi Hale Studio, landscape architects.

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Figure 6.21 A: Manzaneras Park, Madrid, Spain, by West 8; B: Parc Bercy, Paris, France.

Urban design is another term with a broad definition with significant implications for the life and health of cities. It is the art and science of creating and giving shape to cities and towns—both large and small. Urban design, through the consideration of a complex range of subjects that work together, establishes a physical framework that organizes streets, blocks, and land uses. Urban designers also establish building groupings and densities, the location of public and private spaces, and all the physical elements that generate place-making or urban form where people live, work, or recreate. One can gain specialized academic preparation in the discipline of urban planning and design. The academic curriculum involves a range of subjects that includes economics, sociology, transportation planning, real estate development, government policy, and something broadly called urban design. In practice, urban design blends architecture, landscape architecture, city planning, and engineering.

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Figure 6.22 Boston Fort Point Master Plan: A: Transportation planning; B: Layering of planned components; C: Master plan. Images provided courtesy of Except Integrated Sustainability.

Landscape architects, by a combination of education, training, and experience, are major players in urban design projects, particularly in areas of the design or redesign of streets and public infrastructure, public use areas, or waterfront improvements for public use. Urban design now considers ecosystem restoration (such as wetlands), and emerging areas related to improving urban environmental quality. The aim is to develop urban plans that not only indicate the optimum layout for blocks, streets, and buildings but will also reduce energy consumption, improve air and water quality, and in general improve the health and quality3 of living in urban environments.

The project in Figure 6.22 is an example of a typical, comprehensive urban planning project. The project was headed by the Netherlands firm of Except Integrated Sustainability and includes recommendations for the redevelopment of a historic section of Boston, MA, to improve the transportation network, introduce substantial public open space, and increase useable building floor space for the district, while considering sustainable strategies of construction.

Figure 6.23A is an example of an urban design project involving the design of a series of interconnected public use spaces for a dense office and commercial complex located in downtown Los Angeles. The public use spaces are accessible by a sequence of circulation routes and public spaces connecting to a nearby cultural arts district and a governmental complex. A dense high-rise residential development is afforded access by the same circulation system. Figure 6.23A is a central open space (Water Court) serving restaurants with public seating enjoyed at noontime by office employees in the neighborhood. The space includes a stage for music and other performance programs. The design includes several levels of terraces for circulation and outdoor uses. The terraces contain vegetation to provide visual interest and shade as well as reduce glare from the adjacent buildings. The stairway and ramps that provide access from the street are shown in Figure 6.23B. A fountain in the lower-level plaza greets pedestrians. This lower plaza by POD4 and Sasaki Associates then continues through a breezeway lined with shops and restaurants between

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Figure 6.23 California Plaza, Los Angeles, CA: A: Water Court; B: Lower plaza access, by POD and Sasaki Associates.

the office buildings to the Water Court. The design is a successful fabric of interconnected, comfortable people spaces and building levels. It is a popular destination for visitors and office workers from the surrounding complex of buildings with comfortable pedestrian access. The two public plazas (see Figure 5.2 on p. 89 and Figure 6.24) are further examples of reimagined public park spaces created with the effective installation of art and imaginative water features. Both projects are makeovers of public spaces that had been transformed into heavily used open spaces serving adjacent dense commercial areas with design involvement of landscape architects. Landscape architects design projects on undeveloped sites as well as work to create new designs to breathe new life into and enhance economic activity for existing built areas. The Shanghai office of SWA was asked by their client to reimagine and come up with a more pedestrian-oriented urban space in a dense residential and commercial neighborhood of Shanghai. Golden Street (Figure 6.25) is the result. A previous, heavily trafficked urban street was transformed into a pedestrian-friendly Figure 6.24 Shinsaiwaibashi Office building and the inclusion corridor of gardens, fountains, and event spaces of art in a public space, Tokyo, Japan. with the removal of vehicles except for the occasional service vehicles that have access to make deliveries to businesses along the street. A dense planting of trees provides needed shade for the comfort of visitors. Great masses of shrub planting provide seasonal visual interest and serve to define and provide needed separation from various functional areas such as outdoor cafés, children’s play area, and other spaces created for small groups to meet or evening dancers who come to exercise. Figure 6.25 Golden Street, Shanghai, China, by SWA Group. Figure 6.26 Jin River Park in Harbin, China, by Harbin Institute of Technology, Design & Research Institute.