ONE SQ. KM. / SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE

ONESQKMSustainability and Social InfrastructureMCGILL SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTUREARCH540 / 2015

CIVICCENTERS

DRAFT (2015 04 13) SUSTAINABILITy AND SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE: A Compilation Introduction Part One: References from the Discourse on Social Development Part Two: Examples of Civic Centers Part Three: The Pattern Language Part four: The Chinese 1000 persons Table Introduction

What is the meaning of sustainability?

“Sustainable architecture. Sustainable planning. Sustainable construction. Sustainable tourism. The “S” word appears almost everywhere, but what does it mean? The use of the adjective to describe many built environments and other activities where efforts are made to reduce the impact of human activities on the environment denies or ignores other important and essential dimensions of a more sustainable life. It overlooks the wider socio-economic and equity dimensions identified in the context of general human development….”1

What are these “wider socio-economic and equity dimensions identified in the context of general human development”? And, how do we apply these “dimensions” to the planning and design of human settlements? To understand better these wider socio-economic and equity dimensions we looked at some selections from The Discourse on Social Development. 1 S.R. Curwell and M. Deakin, Building Research & Information, Special Issue, Sustainable Urban Development: BEQUEST, volume 30, No. 2 March-April, 2002, p.79.

ONE SQ. KM

Sustainability and Social Infrastructure

McGill University

School of Architecture

ARCH 540: Selected Topics

Winter Term: 2015

Instructor:

Joe Carter, B.Arch (McGill) www.townsnet.cn

Participants:

Omar Alameddine, Elizabeth Caron, Marie-Yan Cyr, Mei Yi Chen, Eadeh Attarzadeh, Charles Gregoire, Andrew Grant, Khai Le, Luke Sunghun Lee, Katie Lee, Raphael Monnier, Dominique St-Pierre, Patrick Zhang,

This book records our exploration of some aspects of social sustainability and how they might impact physical planning and design. In particular, we looked at the question of civic and community centers as nodes that support community life.

This book is a loose collection of parts: a compilation, research papers, preliminary efforts at a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) design, and notes of discussions. It’s a record that students, and others, could use in future research. We recommend reading it in conjunction with last term’s book, “One Sq. KM: A comparative Study Using Sustainability Criteria”.

ONESQKMBEIJING&MONTREAL

a comparative study using sustainability criteriaMCGILL SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTUREARCH521 / 2014

PART 1 REfERENCES fROM THE DISCOURSE ON SOCIAL DEvELOPMENT

PART 2 ExAMPLES Of CIvIC AND COMMUNITY CENTERS

1. ANYANG: SUNGHUN LEE

2. AGORA: KATIE LEE3. BOGOTA: KHAI LE4. CHANDIGARH: DOMINIQUE ST-PIERRE5. ISLAMABAD: ELIZABETH CARON6. MAGNITOGORSK: PATRICK ZHANG7. MALMO: EADEH ATTARZADEH8. NEW ORLEANS: CHARLES GREGOIRE9. PIAZZA SAN MARCO: MARIE-YAN CYR10. ISTANBUL, SULEYMANYYEH KULLIYESI: OMAR ALAMEDDINE11. UTOPIAS: RAPHEAL MONNIER12. ZHAOxING DONG vILLAGE: MEIYICHEN

PART 3 A PATTERN LANGUAGE

PART 4 TOD PLANNING fOR THE ASSOMPTION METRO STATION

PART 5 THE fUSED GRID AND THE “GOOD” SUPERBLOCK

1

8

166

171

183

TABLE Of CONTENTS

TABLE OF CENTENTSONESQKM CIVICCENTERS

Part I REFEREncEs FRom THE DIscouRsEon socIal DEvElopmEnT

4

11

169

174

186

This investigation started with the question, “What is the meaning of sustainability?”

“Sustainable architecture. Sustainable planning. Sustainable construction. Sustainable tourism. The “S” word appears almost everywhere, but what does it mean? The use of the adjective to describe many built environments and other activities where efforts are made to reduce the impact of human activities on the environment denies or ignores other important and essential dimensions of a more sustainable life. It overlooks the wider socio-economic and equity dimensions identified in the context of general human development….”

We asked what are these “wider socio-economic and equity dimensions identified in the context of general human development”?

To understand better these wider dimensions we looked at some selections from The Discourse on Social Development. Part One of our book is a brief compilation of some relevant texts from this discourse. They frame development in a dynamically-balanced relationship of economic, social, and spiritual dimensions. It points to the existence of under-recognized and under-utilized human social capacity, and anticipates a marked increase of citizen participation in community life and governance. It questions the prevailing development paradigm with its over-emphasis on economic development, and its assignment of passive roles to the protagonists.

Below are a just few references from this discourse, a mini-compilation, grouped in themes. Here is a rich vein of concepts and insights that invite response from planners and architects.

Social Ecology

“Work without social utility is intrinsically meaningless in any larger social or moral context and necessarily produces an alienation that is only partly eased by monetary rewards. Alienation from, and lack of participation in, a larger ‘social ecology’ characterized by ‘civic friendship’, results in meaningless work, restless competition, a self-centered life, a split between the ethos of family life and the brutally competitive work place, and education focused on careerism with neither ‘personal meaning or civic virtue’.” 2

1. S.R. Curwell and M. Deakin, Building Research & Information, Special Issue, Sustainable Urban Development: BEQUEST, volume 30, No. 2 March-April, 2002, p.79.2. Bellah, Robert, et al, Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life, New York, Perennial Library, 1985, p.288.

Participation

“Higher levels of knowledge across an ever-expanding range of disciplines, increasing international mechanisms that promote collective decision-making and action, and increasing ability to articulate their aspirations and needs,” make “it increasingly possible for citizens to become active participants in the conceptualization, implementation, and evaluation of public programs and policies,”3

“Future generations, however, will find almost incomprehensible the circumstance that, in an age paying tribute to an egalitarian philosophy and related democratic

3 Science, Religion and Development: Some Initial Considerations, Prepared by the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity

Participation

“Higher levels of knowledge across an ever-expanding range of disciplines, increasing international mechanisms that promote collective decision-making and action, and increasing ability to articulate their aspirations and needs,” make “it increasingly possible for citizens to become active participants in the conceptualization, implementation, and evaluation of public programs and policies,”3

“Future generations, however, will find almost incomprehensible the circumstance that, in an age paying tribute to an egalitarian philosophy and related democratic

3 Science, Religion and Development: Some Initial Considerations, Prepared by the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity

Part 1 references from the Discourse on social DeveloPment

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ONESQKM CIVICCENTERS

Part One of our book is a brief compilation of some relevant texts from this discourse. They frame development in a dynamically balanced relationship of economic, social, and spiritual dimensions. It proposes the existence of under-recognized and under-utilized human social capacity and anticipates a marked increase in citizen participation in community life and governance. It questions the prevailing development paradigm with its focus on economic and material development, and the passive roles assigned to its protagonists.

If the direction indicated by this discourse is correct, then what are the implications for architects and planners? Can we anticipate cities in which individuals and communities are much more involved, pro-active, and responsible for their development? In Part Two we look at social infrastructure, in the form of “Civic Centers” or community centers; as an important intersection of the physical “outer” city and the social “inner” city. Have Civic Centers in the past, or could they in the future, provide incubator venues for community-building and citizen participation? Could the social and cultural institutions that comprise Civic or Community institutions (municipal offices, schools, kindergartens, seniors centers, health clinics, etc,) be in clusters, in proximity to each other, to enhance opportunities for their mutual support and synergy? Would such clustered infrastructure, apportioned at the city, district, and neighborhood levels improve the organization and management of the city?


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Participation

“Higher levels of knowledge across an ever-expanding range of disciplines, increasing international mechanisms that promote collective decision-making and action, and increasing ability to articulate their aspirations and needs,” make “it increasingly possible for citizens to become active participants in the conceptualization, implementation, and evaluation of public programs and policies,” 3

“Future generations, however, will find almost incomprehensible the circumstance that, in an age paying tribute to an egalitarian philosophy and related democratic principles, development planning should view the masses of humanity as essentially recipients of benefits from aid and training. Despite acknowledgement of participation as a principle, the scope of the decision making left to most of the world’s population is at best secondary, limited to a range of choices formulated by agencies inaccessible to them and determined by goals that are often irreconcilable with their perceptions of reality.” 4

Training for Participation in Development

“...the training that can make it possible for the earth’s inhabitants to participate in the production of wealth will advance the aims of development only to the extent that such an impulse is illumined by the spiritual insight that service to humankind is the purpose of both individual and social organization. 5

Governance

“If governing institutions do, in fact, provide for the meaningful participation of citizens in the conceptualization, implementation and evaluation of public programs and policies, then a community’s capacity to effect and manage change will indeed be greatly enhanced. This is true whether the institutions operate at the village or international level”. 6

3. Science, Religion and Development: Some Initial Considerations, Prepared by the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity4. The Prosperity Of Humankind, A Statement Prepared by the Bahá’í International Community’s Office of Public Information, Introduction.5. The Prosperity Of Humankind, A Statement Prepared by the Bahá’í International Community’s Office of Public Information, end of Part IV.6. Science, Religion and Development: Some Initial Considerations, Prepared by the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity.

principles, development planning should view the masses of humanity as essentially recipients of benefits from aid and training. Despite acknowledgement of participation as a principle, the scope of the decision making left to most of the world's population is at best secondary, limited to a range of choices formulated by agencies inaccessible to them and determined by goals that are often irreconcilable with their perceptions of reality.” 4

Training for Participation in Development

"...the training that can make it possible for the earth's inhabitants to participate in the production of wealth will advance the aims of development only to the extent that such an impulse is illumined by the spiritual insight that service to humankind is the purpose of both individual and social organization.5

Governance

“If governing institutions do, in fact, provide for the meaningful participation of citizens in the conceptualization, implementation and evaluation of public programs and policies, then a community's capacity to effect and manage change will indeed be greatly enhanced. This is true whether the institutions operate at the village or international level”.6

The Centrality to Social Well-being of the Role of the family and the Community 4 The Prosperity Of Humankind, A Statement Prepared by the Bahá’í International Community's Office of Public Information, Introduction. 5 The Prosperity Of Humankind, A Statement Prepared by the Bahá’í International Community's Office of Public Information, end of Part Iv. 6 Science, Religion and Development: Some Initial Considerations, Prepared by the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity.


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The Centrality to Social Well-being of the Role of the family and the Community

“The classical economic models of impersonal markets in which human beings act as autonomous makers of self-regarding choices will not serve the needs of a world motivated by ideals of unity and justice. Society will find itself increasingly challenged to develop new economic models shaped by insights that arise form a sympathetic understanding of shared experience, from viewing human beings in relation to others, and from a recognition of the centrality to social well-being of the role of the family and the community. Such an intellectual breakthrough - strongly altruistic rather than self-centered in focus - must draw heavily on both the spiritual and scientific sensibilities of the race, and millennia of experience have prepared women to make crucial contributions to the common effort. 7

Community

The community is “….a comprehensive unit of civilization composed of individuals, families and institutions that are originators and encouragers of systems, agencies and organizations working together with a common purpose for the welfare of people both within and beyond its borders; it is a composition of diverse, interacting participants that are achieving unity in an unremitting quest for spiritual and social progress.” 8

Service

“...serving others is a basic principle around which women’s lives are organized; it is far from such for men....Obviously people have to serve each other’s needs, since human beings have needs. Who will serve them if not other people?

8. The Universal House of Justice, The four Year Plan, pp.34-35

"The classical economic models of impersonal markets in which human beings act as autonomous makers of self-regarding choices will not serve the needs of a world motivated by ideals of unity and justice. Society will find itself increasingly challenged to develop new economic models shaped by insights that arise form a sympathetic understanding of shared experience, from viewing human beings in relation to others, and from a recognition of the centrality to social well-being of the role of the family and the community. Such an intellectual breakthrough - strongly altruistic rather than self-centered in focus - must draw heavily on both the spiritual and scientific sensibilities of the race, and millennia of experience have prepared women to make crucial contributions to the common effort.7

Community

The community is ….“a comprehensive unit of civilization composed of individuals, families and institutions that are originators and encouragers of systems, agencies and organizations working together with a common purpose for the welfare of people both within and beyond its borders; it is a composition of diverse, interacting participants that are achieving unity in an unremitting quest for spiritual and social progress.”8

Service

7 The Prosperity Of Humankind, A Statement Prepared by the Bahá’í International Community's Office of Public Information, end of Part v. 8 The Universal House of Justice, The Four Year Plan, pp.34-35

fig.5: The Principle of Service

"...serving others is a basic principle around which women's lives are organized; it is far from such for men....Obviously people have to serve each other's needs, since human beings have needs. Who will serve them if not other people?


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Women and Cooperation

“Despite the competitive aspects of any society, there must be a bedrock modicum of cooperation for society to exist at all. (I define cooperative as behavior that aids and enhances the development of other human beings while advancing one’s own.) It is certainly clear we have not reached a very high level of cooperative living. To the extent that it exists, women have assumed the greater responsibility for providing it. Although they may not label it in large letters, women in families are constantly trying to work out some sort of cooperative system that attends to each person’s needs. Their task is greatly impeded by the unequal premise on which our families are based, but it has been women who have practiced trying.“.......until recently, few opportunities for simultaneous self-

development and service to others have existed; there were virtually no social forms in which this combination could be put into operation.... for men the prospect of combining self-development with service to others seems an impossibly complex proposition. for women this complexity is not so great.

“Women do have a much greater and more refined ability to encompass others’ needs and to do this with ease. By this I mean that women are better geared than men to first recognize others’ needs and then to believe strongly that others’ needs can be served - that they can respond to others’ needs without feeling this is a detraction from their sense of identity.9

“Men are more burdened with the more adolescent attitudes and habits of competition and control. Maturity for a man is autonomy and separation from others, independence and individual achievement. A concern with relationships, and co-operation appear as weaknesses. 10

fig.5: The Principle of Service

"...serving others is a basic principle around which women's lives are organized; it is far from such for men....Obviously people have to serve each other's needs, since human beings have needs. Who will serve them if not other people?

9. Dr. Jean Baker-Miller, Towards a New Psychology of Women, Beacon Press, Boston, Second Edition, p.62-3.10. Carol Gilligan, In a Different voice, Harvard Press, 1982.


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fig. 6 Professor virginia Held


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Part 2 ExamplEs oF cIvIc anD communITy cEnTERs

Part 2 EXaMPLES oF CIVIC and CoMMUnIty CEntErS

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Responding to these references from the discourse on social development we considered social infrastructure an important intersection of the physical “outer” city and the social “inner” city. In particular, we looked at “Civic Centers” or community centers - loci where the material and social-spiritual meet – as a good place to investigate/build a city’s inner-outer relationship.

In our survey, we asked, “Have Civic Centers in the past, or could they in the future, provide incubator venues for community-building and citizen participation?” “Does the clustering of social and cultural institutions that comprise civic or community institutions (municipal offices, schools, kindergartens, seniors centers, health clinics, etc,), in close proximity, enhance opportunities for mutual support and synergy?” “Would such clustered infrastructure, apportioned at the city, district, and neighborhood levels improve the organization and management of the city?”

In the limited time-frame of a one-term seminar, we ask the above questions more than answer them, but, we believe the examples we chose represent conscious or unconscious positive responses to these questions, and indicate the importance and promise of civic and community centers.

We examined twelve precedents from various cultures and time periods. The examples we studied were composed mainly of government, religious, cultural, judicial, educational, and sometimes health institutions. Their scale varied; some served the whole city and even the nation, others served city districts, and even smaller ones served neighbourhoods. In the case of Chandigarh, Islamabad, and Bogota, a nested set of civic centers was

used as an organizing planning principle.

While not precluding commercial use; this was not their primary function. In some examples, such as the satellite town of Seoul, Anyang, in Korea, the district level Civic Center was distinct from the CBD (Central Business District), but both functions are laid out in adjacent bands that stretch across the width of the town. In Islamabad, the markets were distinct from, but were not far from, local civic centers. Above all, the convenience of the residents was considered.

Part Two: Examples of Civic Centers As a response to these references from the discourse on social development we considered social infrastructure an important intersection of the physical “outer” city and the social “inner” city. In particular, we looked at “Civic Centers” or community centers - loci where the material and social-spiritual meet – as a good place to investigate/build a city’s inner-outer relationship. In our survey, we asked, “Have Civic Centers in the past, or could they in the future, provide incubator venues for community-building and citizen participation?” “Does the clustering of social and cultural institutions that comprise civic or community institutions (municipal offices, schools, kindergartens, seniors centers, health clinics, etc,), in close proximity, enhance opportunities for mutual support and synergy?” “Would such clustered infrastructure, apportioned at the city, district, and neighborhood levels improve the organization and management of the city?”

fig. 7 Synergy: The Whole is Greater than the Sum of the Parts In the limited time-frame of a one-term seminar, we ask the above questions more than answer them, but, we believe the examples we chose represent conscious or unconscious positive responses to these questions, and indicate the importance and promise of civic and community centers.


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fig. 8 Patrick Geddes

Institutional Synergy-Proximity Example 1

Jurrien, 20, shows Anton Groot Koerkamp, 85, how to use a computer at the Humanitas retirement home in Deventer, eastern Netherlands, on Oct. 22, 2014.

The example of the Kotoen kindergarten-seniors center in Tokyo (See Institutional Synergy-Proximity Example 2) is telling evidence that proximity of institutions can have powerful synergistic effects; that physical planning can impact social relations. An early advocate of the importance of Civic Centers was Sir Patrick Geddes (1854 – 1932), called by some the father of urban planning and the father of sociology. He strongly recommended institutions be in proximity to enhance “sympathetic cooperation”.

Referring to them as a modern-day Cultural Acropolis, he said,

“Civic Buildings should be grouped together……” “It has too often been the case, in the history of cities, that their Cultural Institutes have been postponed until adequate sites for them are no longer obtainable. Modern cities (British and American especially) are thus discovering their needs when too late adequately to supply them at great expense, and then in too scattered locations.’

“His point is that it was vital to ensure the proximity of these institutes, so as to prevent their mutual forgetfulness, which in time hardens into exclusiveness, and thus to failure of usefulness all round: and just when duly intelligent and understanding and sympathetic cooperation are most required. This condition of proximity, and for mutual interaction, is fundamentally necessary.’ 11

Patrick Geddes

11. Helen Meller, Patrick Geddes, Social Evolutionist and City Planner, Routledge, 1990, p.280.


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Jurrien, 20, shows Anton Groot Koerkamp, 85, how to use a computer at the Humanitas retirement home in Deventer, eastern Netherlands, on Oct. 22, 2014. Denise is one of several students residing at the retirement home in exchange for 30 hours of work per month. (AfP / Nicolas Delaunay)

Published Sunday, December 7, 2014 1:18PM EST DEvENTER (AfP) - Ninety-two-year-old Johanna beams at the 20-year-old stepping into her room -- not a visiting grandson, but rather a housemate at her retirement home.Town planning student Jurrien is one of six who have chosen to live in the yellow-brick home in Deventer, in the eastern Netherlands, as part of a unique project that benefits everyone.The university students pay no rent and in exchange spend at least 30 hours a month with some of the 160 elderly who live here, doing the things professional staff cannot always do -- such as just hanging out.


Kotoen: Kindergarten and Home for the Elderly, Edogawa District, Tokyo.

“We found that once the two facilities were joined together, the children begin learning how to care for others by talking and being who her older co-residents. We could see that through this experience the children were growing into warm and compassionate human beings. for the elderly, we realized that through her association with the children, They were becoming more alive and their health was improving. Seeing these aged people, many of whom I thought had forgotten how to laugh or even express their thoughts, holding the children and happily talking with them, brought home how important a touching relationship can be between two caring people” Maeda Takumi, Kotoen Director

fig. 8 Patrick Geddes


Jurrien, 20, shows Anton Groot Koerkamp, 85, how to use a computer at the Humanitas retirement home in Deventer, eastern Netherlands, on Oct. 22, 2014.

Denise is one of several students residing at the retirement home in exchange for 30 hours of work per month. (AfP / Nicolas Delaunay)

Relaxnews Published Sunday, December 7, 2014 1:18PM EST

DEvENTER (AfP) - Ninety-two-year-old Johanna beams at the 20-year-old stepping into her room -- not a visiting grandson, but rather a housemate at her retirement home.

Town planning student Jurrien is one of six who have chosen to live in the yellow-brick home in Deventer, in the eastern Netherlands, as part of a unique project that benefits everyone.

The university students pay no rent and in exchange spend at least 30 hours a month with some of the 160 elderly who live here, doing the things professional staff cannot always do -- such as just hanging out.



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The Kotoen: Kindergarten and Home for the Elderly, Edogawa District, Tokyo.

“We found that once the two facilities were joined together, the children begin learning how to care for others by talking and being who her older co-residents. We could see that through this experience the children were growing into warm and compassionate human beings. For the elderly, we realized that through her association with the children, They were becoming more alive and their health was improving. Seeing these aged people, many of whom I thought had forgotten how to laugh or even express their thoughts, holding the children and happily talking with them, brought home how important a touching relationship can be between two caring people” Maeda Takumi, Kotoen Director

Kotoen Kindergarten and Home for the Elderly

THE CIVIC CENTRE OF THE CITY OF ANYANG, SOUTH KOREA: BASED ON EBENEZER HOWARD’S GARDEN CITY IDEA

sunghun (luke) LEE

THE CIVIC CENTRE OF THE CITY OF ANYANG | SUNGHUN (LUKE) LEEONESQKM CIVICCENTERS

Fig. 1: The Social City from To-morrow (1898)

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THE GARDEN CITY

In 1898, the British urban planner Sir Ebenezer Howard in-troduced a utopian concept of city planning method under the term “Garden Cities” in his book To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Re-form. Later, the book was republished as Garden Cities of To-mor-row (Anderson 173).

A garden city is an idealized city design to bring healthier living conditions, less dense population, and economically self-suf-ficient social structure. The idea was initially introduced in response to overcrowding, unsanitary living conditions, and deterioration of social structures in major cities, especially Greater London area.

“He wanted to build wholly new cities in the midst of un-spoiled countryside on land which would remain the property of the community as a whole. Limited in size to 30,000 inhabitants and surrounded by a continuous ‘greenbelt,’ the Garden City would be compact, efficient, healthy, and beautiful. It would lure people away from swollen cities like London with their dangerous concentrations of wealth and power; at the same time, the countryside would be dotted with hundreds of new communities where small scale coop-eration and direct democracy could flourish” (Fishman, 8).

Later, Howard’s garden city concept profoundly penetrated urban planning methodologies, such as, satellite cities, garden sub-urbs, Radburn, greenbelt town, and so on. Satellite cities, in partic-ular, were successors to Howard’s garden city idea, especially with two realized garden cities, Letchworth and Welwyn.

“The term ‘satellite’ came to replace ‘garden city’ in later the-

ory; it was coined by an American planner, G.R. Taylor, who offered the satellites of St. Louis (Granite City), Birmingham, Alabama (Fairfield), and most extensively of Chicago, as examples” (Rykw-ert 171).

Satellite cities started emerging after the pre-World War I era, especially in America, and its planning concept have been em-ployed by a number of countries around the world.


Fig. 6: The Social City from Garden Cities of To-morrow (1902)

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The development pattern around Seoul resem-bles Howard’s idea in his diagram “The Social City” (figure 6).

“A diagram which appeared in To-morrow showed six Garden Cities arranged in a circle around a larger Center city. The plan had the cities connected by a circular canal which provided power, water, and transportation. In the 1902 edition, the canal was re-placed by a more sober-rapid transit system” (Fishman 50).

Even though the satellite cities were planned to encourage their own industry and employment, they are partly incorporated into their adjoining mother city Seoul. A significant number of workers are still based in Seoul and commute from their cities to Seoul on a daily basis.


Fig. 2: Seoul and Gyeonggi Province

Fig. 4: Early Satellite Cities in the Late 60s

Fig. 3: Greenbelt around Seoul

Fig. 5: Expansion of the Satellite Cities

Anyang

Anyang

Anyang

Anyang

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SATELLITE CITIES

A good example of satellite city planning, in re-lation to Howard’s garden city concept, in East Asia can be found in South Korea.

After the three years of Korean War following 35-year Japanese colonial era, most cities on the Ko-rean peninsula were left brutally destroyed.

As the country started rebuilding itself again, there was a huge influx of population into the capital city Seoul in the 60s. Due to the housing issues for the continuous influx of population, South Korea decided to develop satellite cities nearby in order to decentral-ize Seoul.

The satellite cities started being planned and constructed outside the greenbelt along the perimeter of Seoul in the late 60s, such as Anyang, Gwacheon, Suwon, Seongnam, Incheon, Bucheon, Uijeongbu, and so on, and radially extended over the next few de-cades. The satellite cities are mostly located within 25 kilometres from the mother city Seoul and are organi-cally connected by the public transit system.


Fig. 7: The City of Anyang, Gyeonggi Province

Fig. 8: Greenbelt & Rivers

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Anyang is one of the earliest satellite cities planned in the late 60s and is located below the moun-tain Gwanaksan, which belongs to the greenbelt that surrounds the capital city Seoul.

The city centre is located at the South East side of the city area and shows the significant city planning design in relation to the civic centre design of Howard’s garden city idea.

The total area of the city is 58.46 km2 (5846 ha). The population of the city is approximately 614,687 people, and the population density is 11,000 per square kilometre. There are 224,501 households currently living in the city of Anyang, and the floor area ratio (F.A.R.) of the urban area, excluding the green-belt area, is 3.6 (The study site can be found on the next page).

The city is surrounded by three mountains; Gwanaksan Mountain in the North, Surisan Mountain in the West, and Cheonggyesan Mountain in the East. Even though the city is densely populated, compared to Howard’s garden city models, the city still brings the nature and healthy living environment into the city.

There are also two rivers going across the en-tire city. These elements promote the nature-associat-ed activities and amenities for the residents of the city.

TOTAL AREA: 58.46 km2 (5846 ha)

POPULATION: 614,687 PEOPLE

POPULATION DENSITY:11,000/km2

HOUSEHOLDS:224,501

F.A.R. (excluding Greenbelt):3.6


Fig. 9: Anyang’s Civic Centre Area

LAND AREA: 500 ha

F.A.R: 3.6

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The urban area of the city is laid on a rigid grid plan. From North to South, the area is mostly occupied for the residential purposes, and the central public park is located at the centre of the site.

The yellow coloured blocks in figure 9 belong to the government and public administration; the city cen-tre is located on the central city block. The purple co-loured blocks are dedicated to major commercial and entertainment purposes. The narrow strip of the block between the city hall and the central public park is de-signed as a sports park and consist of two basketball courts and in-line skating rink.

This organization of land use is quite relat-ed to the civic centre design of Howard’s garden city concept. At the centre of the Central Park, Howard arranged a concentration of government, cultural in-stitutions, and a hospital. In Anyang, the government and public administration area is central. “There are two cohesive forces that bring the residents out of their neighborhoods and unite the city. The first is leisure. The centre of the town is a Central Park which provides ‘ample recreation grounds within very easy access of all the people.’ Surrounding the park is a glassed-in arcade which Howard calls the ‘Crystal Palace’: ‘Here manufactured goods are exposed for sale, and here most of that class of shopping which requires the joy of deliberation and selection is done” (Fishman 43).

GovermentPublic Administration

Public Park

CommercialEntertainment


Even though there is no physical presence of a crystal palace in Anyang; however, the commercial and entertainment blocks in relation to the government and public administration are and the central public park brings a similar quality.

Two arterial vehicular roads run North-South on each side of the central public park block, and another one goes horizontally in between the yellow and the purple zones.

The arterial roads are 45 to 50 m wide and con-sist of 6 to 10 vehicular lanes. The subway line goes right underneath the blocks on purple zone as well.

Due to the heavy volume of traffic as well as a large floating population, this area serves effectively as a civic and commercial centre of the city.

Arterial Road

Subway Line

Fig. 10: Arterial Roads and Subway LineFig. 10: Night View of the Commercial Area

LAND AREA: 500 ha

F.A.R: 3.6

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The remaining city blocks in the North and South are mostly dedicated for residential purposes. The size of these ‘super’ blocks is 420 m long by 320 m wide in general, and their area is around 13 ha.

One to two parts of the each superblock area belongs to one or two schools; the schools are either elementary, middle, or high school and accommodate all the students from the neighborhood area within the city.

The rest of each superblock area is for resi-dential purposes and is built by two to three different developers; one developer does not seem to occupy more than one quarter of the land area within each su-perblock.

Middle School

Church

Elementary School

Residential

High School

Restaurant

Fig. 11: Residential Area & Schools

LAND AREA: 500 ha

F.A.R: 3.6

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Most of these superblocks do not have any ve-hicular through roads but do promote pedestrian and bicycle activities. In addition to the vehicular street net-work, there is another layer of street network that is laid on the top of city block surface areas.

The light green coloured thin lines drawn on the diagram (figure 13), represent pedestrian and bicycle only streets.

They are approximately 10 to 15 m wide and stretch both horizontally and vertically across the en-tire block area. These particular streets are connected by the pedestrian bridges between each city blocks so that pedestrians and bicyclers can safely travel without any interference from the vehicles on the roads.

Pedestrian & BicyclePath

Fig. 13: Pedestrian & Bicycle Street NetworkFig. 12: Pedestrian & Bicycle Path Photograph

LAND AREA: 500 ha

F.A.R: 3.6

21


At the centre of each superblock, there is a community park which consists of children’s play-ground, basketball court, and tennis court.

From early morning to afternoon, many elder-ly people come out to take a walk and socialize with others, and students spend joyful afternoon with their friends and family after school.

“There are two kinds of centres in the Garden City: the neighborhood centres and the (one) civic cen-tre. The neighborhoods, or ‘wards’ as Howard called them, are slices in the circular pie. Each ward compris-es one-sixth of the town, 5,000 people or about 1,000 families. Each said Howard, ‘should in some sense be a complete town by itself’” (Fishman 43).

This type of quality of living environment quite resembles what Ebenezer Howard envisioned in his project.

Community Park

Fig. 15: Community ParkFig. 14: Community Park Photograph

LAND AREA: 500 ha

F.A.R: 3.6

22


Fig. 16: Anyang’s Land-Use Mix Mapping

Goverment & Public Administration

Public Park

Commercial & Entertainment

Middle School

Church

Elementary School

Residential

High School

Restaurant

Pedestrian & Bicycle Path

Community Park

Research & Industrial Facilities

Agricultural & Marine Products MarketLAND AREA: 500 ha

F.A.R: 3.6

23


Fig. 17: Aerial View of the Anyang Central Park

24


Fig. 18: Satellite View of the Superblocks

25

THE CIVIC CENTRE OF THE CITY OF ANYANG | SUNGHUN (LUKE) LEEONESQKM CIVICCENTERS STREET HIERARCHY & BLOCK SIZE | SUNGHUN (LUKE) LEE

26

Works Cited

Anderson, Larry. Benton MacKaye: Conservationist, Plan-ner, and creator of the Appalachian Trail. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. 2002. Print.

Rykwert, Joseph. The Seduction of Place: The History and Future of the City. New York: Oxford Unversity Press Inc. 2000. Print.

THE AGORAKatie LEE

AGORA | KATIE LEEONESQKM CIVICCENTERS

28

Athens,GreeceinitsClassicalera(5thCenturyBC),flourishedwith2centersatitscore:theAcropolisandtheAgora.WhiletheAcrop-oliswas thedesignatedarea for the religiousandarchitecture lifeofAthens,thepolitical,administration,andculturalareawasfocusedintheAgora. Itwas foundedapproximately in the6thCenturyBC.TheapproximateareaoftheAgorais120hectareswithitsoriginalfunctionrootedmainlyasaculturalandpoliticalgatheringspace.The“archeia”(publicoffices) iswhat theareawasknowntobecalledanddespitebeingopentoallcitizensofdifferenteconomicclasses,themanycere-monialandpoliticaleventsheldwerenotinclusivetotheslavesandfor-eignerswhosupportedtheeconomyofAthens.Thepopulationservedwas1000-1500outof150000inthegreatersurroundingarea,asthewealthyminoritycouldonlyaffordthetimetoleisurlyaccessandpartic-ipateintheactivitiessurroundingtheagora.

TherewereseveraliterationsoftheGreekAgorabutperhapsthemostwellknownwouldbetheAgorafromthe5thand6thCenturyBC.Hereseveral of theAgora’smost important civicbuildingswerecreatedandbecauseofthis,itallowedAthenstobecometheculturaland educational center of the Mediterranean. It’s architecture andplanning was shaped by its participatory democracy with plenty ofopenspacesandenclosedonestohostmaynpublicevents.Theopenspacealsoservedasaplaceformoreseriouspoliticalactions,suchasostracism,aswellasartisticandculturalperformances.Thespacealsoprovidedareasformultiple interactions,serendipitousmeetings,andtheeaseofpubliclyobservingoneanother.

However, this openness and its large volume in both,spatial and auditory terms, created a sense of chaos at theAgora.Thereneededtobesmallervolumesthatcouldhouseaspaceforone

Fig. 1: Satellite Image of Greece

Fig. 2: Satellite Image of the Agora

Fig. 3: Perspective View of the Agora from the Acropolis. The open space allows for interactions


29

Fig. 4: Site Plan of the different major centres and gateways in the centre of Athens

DipylonGate

ArchamianGate

DiocharesGate

ItonianGate

Piraean Gate

Agora

Acropolis

TempleofZeus

Odeon

TheatreofDionysus

Areopagus

TempleofHephaestus

Graveyard

0m 250m 500m

speaker, rather thanmany.TheTholosandBouleuterionallowed forthoseactivities thatcalled for thatquieterspace (seeNo.8andNo.11 inFig.5).Aspacewherethecouncilmencoulddiscuss importantdecisionsaswellascreate theagenda for thecitizens todiscussatlarge. WhenlookingattheGreekAgoraTimelineitisclearthattheAgora’sgrowthwaspartlyduetoitshistoricalcivicfunction,asagath-eringspace,andwasfurtherexpanded;

1600-1100B.C:Usedprimarilyasacemetery(50gravesfound)1100-700B.C.:Continuedusageasagraveyard(80gravesfound)withsomehouses600B.C.:PrivateprogramstoPublicwithfirstpublicbuildings(likeSouthFountainHouse,AltaroftheTwelveGods)508B.C:NewdemocracycreatedwhichledtotheconstructionoftheOldBouleuterion,theboundarystones,andtheRoyalStoa500-400B.C.:newbuildingstoaccomodateAtheniandemocracywerecreatedsuchastheStoaPoikile,Tholos,NewBouleuterion,StoaofZeusEleutherios,SouthStoa,Mint,andLawcourts300B.C.:AthensbecametheculturalandeducationcenteroftheMediterraneanwithitsphilosophicalschools200B.C.:LargestoaswerebuiltincludingMiddleStoa,SouthStoa,andStoaofAttalos267AD:AgorawasthecenterofAthensuntilitwassackedbytheHeruliwhichheavilydamagedthebuildingsinthearea600AD:Agoraceasedtobeanartisticcentre.StoasandTempleslinedthestreetsandwasevenexpandedasacentralmarket.Theareabe-camenolongerthedominantspacefor‘voice’


30

The5maingatesofAthensallowed for thoseoutsideof thecity to enter.These gateways lead to streets that converge towardstheAcropoliswhichcanbeseeninFigure4.ThePiraeanGateleadstoPiareaus,anurbanregionofAthensandtheItonianGateleadstoPhalerum,theportofAthens.TheAgoraexistsinbetweentheDipylonGateanditsconnectiontotheAcropolis.Thisareawasknownasthe‘potter’squarter’whereceramicswouldbemadeandsold; thisareacontainedalargecemeteryaswell.

Asmentionedpreviously,theAgorawasinitiallyusedasacem-eterysitebutperhapsitflourishedduetoitssituationinbetweenaveryimportantcivicgatetothehighlyreligiousAcropolis.FromthemapitseemsthequickestpathtotheAcropoliswouldbetoextendoneselffromthegate,throughtheAgora,anddirectlytowardstheAcropolisonthePantheneaWay.TheAgorabecomeslikeacrossroads,withcon-stantpasserby’sandinterest.

This is especially prevalent in the architecture with areas ofopennessfordiscussionandcoveredareas,suchasthecolonnadedwalkways,thatprovidedlightandfreshairaswellasprotectingthemfrom thesun,wind,and rainofvariousseasons (seeFigure5).Thelargeindirectlydefinedspacesallowedforeaseofvisibilityandcreateareasforperformancesaswellasimpromptudiscussions.Thequieterbuildings, like theTholosandBouleuterionaspreviouslymentioned,allowedforpasserbysto listentotheon-goingsof thebuildingby itsloweredcolumns.

TheAgoraisanongoingarcheologicsite.BecauseofGreece’smanyhistoricwars,muchoftheAgorawashighlydamagedandmanyoftheevidenceofitsuseswerelost.However,itsinfluencewasgreat;aseriesofRomanbuildingsencroachedtheAgora,suchastheOde-

ion,whichblockedtheotherbuildingsoftheoriginalsite.TheRomanstooktheAgoraastheirownandimplementedtheirownusestoeachbuilding.

However, recent excavations from the1950’sallowed for thereconstruction of the agora in certain areas, such as theHellenisticStoaofAttalos.Todayit’spurposeistoserveasamuseumandstoragefortheexcavationteamwhotillthisdayfindmoreandmoreartifactsaroundthearea.TheAmericanSchoolofClassicalStudiesatAthensandtheFoundationoftheHellenicWorldhaverecentlyembarkedonavirtualreconstructionoftheAncientAgora,preservingitsoriginalinten-tionsthroughcontemporarytechnologies.


31

Fig. 5: Agora 5th Century Plan with Building labels and Functions

1

2

3

45

6

7 8

1112

1314

15

17

16

18

19

20

PanetheniaWay

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

PeristyleCourt

Mint

Enneakrounos(9SpoutedFountain)

SouthStoa

Aiakeion

Strategeion

AgoraiosKolonos

Tholos

AgoraStone

MonumentoftheEponymousHeroes

OldBouleuterion

NewBouleuterion*

Hephaestion

TempleoftheApolloPatroos

StoaofZeus

AltaroftheTwelveGods

RoyalStoa

TempleoftheAphroditeUrania

StoaofHermes

StoaPoikile*

Shops

9

21

10

Gre

at D

rain

EridanosRiver

ToDipylonGate

ToAcropolis

3278

956.5

127

1208

925.6

438

288.2

491.4

481.9

600

485

Thesecourtshadthefinalsayastothelegalityandinterpreta-tionofanylaw.Theyrepresentthesovereignpower.201-501people.Northernhalfwasacourtyardwiththerestcontainingfurnacesandsmallstorageroomsuseforbronzecoinage.

Fountainhous,oneoftheearliestpublicbuildingsintheAgora.

ContainedDiningRoomsandwasusedasacommercialspace.

Usedforthestorageanddistributionofsubstantialamountsofgrain.

Meetingroomofthetenleadersofthetribesdiscussingmattersoffinance,politicsandforeignpolicy.

Meetingplaceofthecraftsmen

Servedastheheadquartersoftheexecutivecommitteeofthesenateof500.Seventeenspentthenightinthebuilding,avail-abletodealwithanyemergency,whateverthehour.

MonumentalStone

InformationcenterfortheancientAthenians,itwasusedasamonumentwhereproposedlegislation,decreesandannounce-mentswereposted.Dailymeetingplaceforthesenateof500topreparelegislationforthemeetingsoftheekklesia(assemblyofallcitizens).

Atheaterwith12rowsofseats,seatingcapacityofgreaterthan500.

TempleofHephaestus

TempleofApolloPatroos

Monumentalbuildingusedasapromenadeandplaceofrendezvous.

Zeromilestoneorcenterofthecity.Theheartofthecity.

ItservedastheheadquartersoftheKingArchon,2ndincom-mandoftheAtheniangovernmentandtheofficialforreligiousmattersandthelaws.Here,inscribedcopiesofthefulllawcodeofAthenswereondisplay.WTempleofAphroditeUrania

CoveredaccessfromtheForumtotheAgora

Atruepublicbuildingusedasapopularhangoutthatattract-edhugecrowdsentertainedbyjugglers,sword-swallowers,beggars,andfire-eaters.Shops

Area(m2)Building Function

MonumentalorStorage

Political

SomebuildingswerebuiltinlatercenturiesandarenotdepictedinthemapbutwereimportanttotheAgora

Commercial

0m 250m 500m

Legend


32

PanetheniaWay

Gre

at D

rain

EridanosRiver

ToDipylonGate

ToAcropolis

Fig. 6: Agora Street sizes study. Notice the 10 m difference between the smaller streets to the large connecting street that leads to the Acropolis or to Dipylon Gate.

15m

5m

6m

74m

0m 250m 500m


33

Fig. 7: The Peristyle Court had the final say to any interpretation of the law and could host 200-500 people.Lawcourt (Square Peristyle) at the northeast corner of the Agora, ca. 300 B.C., n.d. drawing, viewed 15 February 2014,<http://agora.ascsa.net/id/agora/image/2008.19.0030>.

Fig. 8: The South Stoa had a collonade that protected its user from the elements.Restored perspective of the South Street, looking east, showing the 2nd story of South Stoa I., William B. Dinsmoor, Jr., n.d. draw-ing, viewed 15 February 2014,<http://agora.ascsa.net/image?type=full&id=Agora%3ADrawing%3ADA%202708>.

Fig. 9: The Tholos of EpidaurosRestored perspective of the South Street, looking east, showing the 2nd story of South Stoa I, Crysanthos Kanelopoulos, n.d. drawing, viewed 15 February 2014,<http://s259.photobucket.com/user/red_hand/media/tholos1.gif.html>.

Fig. 10: The Old Bouleterion hosted 500 of the Senate that prepared legislation for the general assembly. Restored perspective drawing of the Metroon., n.d. drawing, viewed 20 February 2014,<http://agora.ascsa.net/image?type=-full&id=Agora%3AImage%3A2002.01.1908>.

Fig. 8: Altar of the Twelve Gods, originally dated 522/1 B.C., with later rebuildings. One corner of the sill only is visible, just south of the modern Athens–Piraeus railway.WWilliam B. Dinsmoor, Jr., n.d. drawing, viewed 15 February 2014,<http://agora.ascsa.net/id/agora/image/2008.20.0011>.

Fig. 9: Stoa Poikile was known for the loot obtained from wars as well as its paintings. Stoicism was also taught here by Zeno of Citium.Looking North at the Stoa of Poikile n.d. drawing, viewed 20 February 2014,<http://www.hist-chron.com/k/Kahl_kirche-d/003-Stoa-saeulenhalle-poikile.jpg>.


34

Fig. 6: Perspective Drawing of the Athenian Agora A.D. 150

Athenian Agora, n.d. drawing, viewed 10 February 2014,<http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Maps/Agora1.jpg>.


35

References AthenianAgoraExcavations.ASCSA.PackardHumanitiesInstitute(PHI), Website,02.18/2015. <http://agora.ascsa.net/research?v=default>.

Mck.Campii,John.PictureBookNo.16:TheAthenaianAgora.NewYork:American SchoolofClassicalStudiesatAthens,2003.Website. <http://www.agathe.gr/Icons/pdfs/AgoraPicBk-16.pdf>

RichardLight.TheAgorafromAthenstoAtlanta:PublicSpaceasMarketplace,ParkandCenter ofUrbanLife.Planetizen.02/11/2015,<http://www.planetizen.com/node/43801>.

Scranton,RobertLorentz,1912Monumentsintheloweragoraandnorthofthearchaictemple. Princeton,N.J.,AmericanSchoolofClassicalStudiesatAthens, 1951.

TheEditorsofEncyclopaediaBritannica.EncyclopaediaBritannica.Encylopedia.02/10/2015, <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/9404/agora>.

Thompson,HomerA.andWycherley,R.E.(RichardErnest).TheAgorAofAthens:TheHistory, ShapeandUsesofanAncientCityCentre.TheAmericanSchoolofClassicalStudies atAthens.1972,Print.

about Jose Sert, Bogotákhai LE


37

ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to investigate how Jose Luis Sert’s vision illustrated in fig. 1 can be used as a model for planning new neighborhood and new cities. Although Sert worked on many large scale master plans, this study will focus on his work at the scale of the neighborhood.

Jose Luis SertJose Luis Sert was a Spanish architect born in Barcelona in 1902. Upon his graduation in 1929, he moved to France and worked for Le Corbusier in his Parisian office. He came back to his hometown the following year to start his own practice and also created the Grupo de Artistas y Técnicos Españoles Para la Arquitectura Contemporánea (GATEPAC), the Spanish branch of the Congrès Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne (C.I.A.M.). Between 1929 and 1937, he designed many buildings and also worked on a master plan for a leisure city on the Mediterranean coast near Barcelona. In 1939, after the fall of the Spanish Republic, Sert exiled himself to New York City where he co-founded with Paul Lester Wiener, the Town Planning associates. The firm was contracted to work on many master plans in South American countries including Peru, Brazil and Columbia. In 1953, Sert created the world’s first urban design program and became the Dean of Harvard Graduate School of Design.

The harmonious relationship between the urban fabric and the natural environment is one of the most important characteristic of Sert and Wiener’s master plans for Cidade dos Motores in Brazil (1945), Chimbote in Peru (1948) or Medellin (1949) and Bogotá (1953) in Columbia. The city core, and more specifically the civic center, is another important theme heralded by Sert and Wiener. These preoccupations were an evolution from ideas conveyed by the C.I.A.M through the Charte d’Athène. Another important theme heralded by Sert and Wiener was the elementary school and the neighborhood unit. Bogotá’s master plan is one of the best example that showed how Sert and Wiener planned a neighborhood sector around the elementary school.

BogotáSert and Wiener’s master plan was based on Le Corbusier’s pilot plan for Bogotá which was completed and approved in 1950. It was also Le Corbusier who recommended the two associates to elaborate the master plan of Bogotá. However, a few months before the plan was adopted, the elected government of Colombia was overthrown by a military coup fomented by General Gustavo Rojas (Palacios: 1995). Finally, after many technical and political challenges, the master plan became official in 1953, under the new government. However, even if the plan was officially accepted by the military junta, the guidelines proposed by Sert and Wiener were never followed (Mumford, 2010).

JOSE LUIS SERT | KHAI LE

ONESQKM CIVICCENTERS JOSE LUIS SERT | KHAI LE

38

Fig. 1: Sketch of a conceptual organization of a city by Jose Luis Sert (source: unknown)

(Neighborhood type A)

(Neighborhood type B)

(Neighborhood type C)

The Neighborhood Unit

The starting point of this research is a sketch (fig. 1) made by Sert representing his conceptual vision of the ideal city. That drawing illustrates a series of settlements that Sert refers to as neighbourhood units. Each neighbourhood unit should be at least 125 acres (50 ha) to a maximum of 500 acres (200 ha). The density of these neighbourhoods are also variable but should be between three and a half dwellings per acre (1.4 dwellings / ha) and six dwellings per acre (2.4 dwellings / ha). As the size and the density of each neighbourhood unit are variables, the number of households also varies from 1180 to 3000 families. One of the most important feature of Sert’s neighbourhood unit is the elementary school which is no further than half a mile (eight hundred meters or ten minutes of walk) from any house of that neighbourhood. Another important idea expressed in the sketch is the number of students in every school that varies from 475 to 1000. Other public amenities identified are the play fields and the nurseries. Sert did not specify the exact quantity required but it should be noted that these amenities are accessible to a population within a radius of a quarter of a mile (four hundred meters or five minutes of walk). In summary, Sert’s vision of the ideal city is composed of small neighbourhood units, where the elementary school, nurseries and play fields are structuring every local community. These neighbourhoods are small in scale, pedestrian friendly and community services are accessible by foot. However, traveling to other part of the city, beyond the limit of a neighbourhood, requires the use of a motorized vehicle. Table 1 is a summary of all the information extracted from the sketch in fig. 1.


39

Table 1:Ideal city in number (from sketch in fig. 1 by Sert)

Column1neighborhood unit 1

(minimum)neighborhood unit 2

(ideal)neighborhood unit 3

(maximum)area (acre) 125 500 500area (hectare) 50 200 200diameter (mile) 0.5 1 1diameter (km) 0.8 1.6 1.6dwellings 1180 1700 3000gross housing density (per acre) 9 3.5 6gross housing density (per hectare) 23.6 8.5 15residential building area (hectare)* 35 140 140net housing density (per hectare)* 34 12 21number of children 475 600 1000children per family 0.4 0.4 0.3size of household 2.4 2.4 2.3number of residents 2835 4000 7000gross population density (per hectare) 57 20 35net population density (per hectare)* 81 29 50

* net value based on estimated 30% for reserved lands for other uses (street, parks, other buildings)

Neighborhood type A Neighborhood type B Neighborhood type C


40

Fig. 2: Book cover for the book Can our Cities Survive?

Can our Cities Survive?The ideas expressed in the sketch (fig. 1) are further developed in Sert’s book, first published in 1942, Can Our Cities Survive? This book is a complement to the Charte d’Athène (1957), the founding text of the C.I.A.M. led by Le Corbusier. The Charte d’Athène, which was a reaction to the plight and chaos of the industrial city of the 20th century, recommended the separation of the city into different zones of activities (residential area, work area, recreational area). All these different zones are to be connected by a network of high speed roads dedicated to the automobile (Le Corbuser, 1957). Sert, who was also a member and president of the C.I.A.M. from 1947 to 1956, adhered to the principles proposed in the Charte d’Athène. The C.I.A.M, which was under the presidency of Sert (1947-1956), suggested new themes and ideas such as the city core, the civic center and city life at the neighborhood scale (Sert, 1942).

The neighbourhood plan in fig. 3, was produced by Sert for the city of Dessau, Germany and was used in his book Can Our Cities Survive? (1942) to illustrate his concept of a neighbourhood unit. That plan showed a neighbourhood where all the services and amenities are within walking distance of every dwelling. The houses are built in a green and luscious environment and a network of automobile dedicated thoroughfares define the outer limit of the neighbourhood. While many amenities inside the neighbourhood are accessible by foot, the car is the preferred mean of transportation to travel to other sectors of the city. All the ideas expressed in the neighbourhood plan of Dessau are similar to those in Sert’s sketch in fig. 1.


41

Fig. 3: Plan for the city of Dessau, Germany by Jose Luis Sert (source: Can our Cities Survive?)


42

0 100m

Fig 4: Prototype of a middle-cost housing development (source: Bastlund, 1967:74)

LEGEND

Total area 140 900aa

Patio house 34 000 m²

Elementary school 3 000 m²

Play field 2 600 m²

Tot lot 3 800 m²

Green space 74 000 m²

Road 23 500 m²

patio house24% Elementary

school2%

Play field2%

Totlot3%

Green/pedestrian space52%

Road/parking17%

0 100m

Fig. 5: Prototype of a low-cost housing development (source: Bastlund, 1967: 75)

LEGEND

Total area 208 800 m²

Patio house 101 000 m²

Elementary school 3 400 m²

Play field 2 700 m²

Tot lot 4 700 m²

Green space 69 000 m²

Road 28 000 m²

patio house49%

Elementary school

2%Play field

1%Totlot

1%

Green/pedestrian space33%

Road/parking14%

The plans in fig. 4 and 5 was made by Sert’s while he worked on the master plan of Bogotá. Residential buildings are located in a very green environment and playgrounds for children are evenly distributed throughout the area. Cars have a limited access to the core of the neighborhood but outdoor parking spaces are allotted to every residential buildings. The elementary schools in fig. 4 and 5 are both located in the physical center of the neighborhood and are accessible to every residents by foot. Density and road pattern are different in both neighborhoods. The low cost development (fig. 5) is much denser and cars circulation is restricted to the periphery of the neighborhood. The middle cost development (fig. 4) is less dense

and is designed in a greener environment. A few small streets cut through the fabric of neighborhood, allowing cars to park closer to every residence. These plans, while expressing many ideas promoted by Sert, remains theoretical and should not be used as a model to be literally copied. For example, there are no other functions or amenities, such as community centers, nursery, shops or work spaces planned in these examples. Furthermore, the size of the neighborhoods are much smaller than what Sert suggested in his sketch in fig. 1. Therefore, the residential density would need to be extremely high to be able to support an elementary school.


43

Fig. 6: Satellite photography of Bogotá (data source: Google Earth)

City center

Case study

The case study: the city of Bogotá


44

1

3

5

4 6

2

Fig. 7: Satellite photography of the case study in Bogotá as built today. master plan as illustrated in fig (data source: Google Earth)

LEGEND

Neighborhood sector limit Neighborhood limit

The city of Bogotá did not follow Sert and Wiener’s recommendations. However, the main street pattern of the neighborhood sector master plan of the case study (fig. 14 & 15) can clearly be recognized in the satellite picture of the studied area. In the following section, neighborhood 1 and 2 will be analyzed in detail. However,

neighbourhood 1 neighbourhood 2neighborhood 3

0 500mn

neighborhood 3 will not be analyzed because it lacks the functional diversity of a complete neighborhood.


45

The following section summarizes Knud Bastlund (1967) description of Sert and Wiener’s plan of Bogotá.

The hierarchy of roads proposed for Bogotá’s master plan followed a classification developed by Le Corbusier for the city of Chandigarh (Bastlund, 1967:68).

V1: Regional roads linking the city to the region

V2: Main traffic roads within the city

V3: Linking V1 and V2 roads and defining the different sectors of the city

V4: local Main Street (shopping center of the sector)

V5: Service Street of the expressway

V6: Local Service Street

V7: Pedestrian Street

The sectorsThe neighborhood sectors of Bogotá are planned to serve a population that varies from 25 000 to 75 000 residents. Each sector, are built around a civic core but larger sectors may have several civic cores. The civic centers are not necessary located at the physical centers of the neighborhoods. However, these civic spaces are accessible to every local residents of the neighborhood at a walkable distance. Most neighborhood sectors are mainly residential. Mixed uses components such as light manufacturing, offices, shops are located at the fringe of the neighborhood. (Bastlund, 1967:68).

Network of parksA Network of continuous park was included in the master plan. Sert and Wiener took advantage of the specific features of the site, such as the slopes of the nearby mountain or existing small streams where natural areas are preserved and parks a built.


46

Fig. 8: Boulevard Caracas is a V3 type road. It is used to define the sector boundary. There are 2 lanes on each direction with 2 reserved lanes for public transit. This street is characterized by low and mid-rise commercial buildings. (Image source: Google Street View)

Fig. 9: 1 De mayo. is a V3 type road. It is used to define the boundary of the sector. There are 3 Larges lanes on each direction separated by median. This street is characterized by low-rise mixed use, commercial and residential buildings. (Image source: Google Street View)

Fig. 10: Calle 1s. is a V3 type road. It is used to define the limit of the sector. There are 2 Lanes on each direction separated by planted median. The street is characterized by low rise, mixed use buildings with commercial on the ground floor and dwellings on second floor. (Image source: Google Street View)

Fig. 11: Carrera 10. is a V4 type road. It is an large road that could be considered a V3 type. However, this road does not separate 2 sectors but define the boundary between 2 neighborhoods. There are 2 Lanes on each direction and 2 reserved public transit lanes. The street is characterized by mixed uses buildings, commercial, institutional and residential on second floor. (Image source: Google Street View)

Fig. 12: Carrera 7b. is a V6 type road. The street is narrow and used for local residential traffic. The street is characterized by low rise single family attached houses. (Image source: Google Street View)

Fig. 13: Carrera 7b. is a V6 type road. The street is narrow and used for local residential traffic. The street is characterized by low rise single family attached houses. (Image source: Google Street View)

1 2 3

4 5 6

The pictures below is a sample of the streets of Bogotá within the case study area as it is today. These pictures illustrate the existing condition and how it is compared to Sert and Wiener’s sector plan (fig. 14). These pictures are referenced on the map in fig.7

Observations:The studied sector is well defined by the V3 type roads (fig 8, 9 and 10). The smaller residential V6 roads within the sector (fig.12

and 13) are also compatible with Sert and Wiener’s vision. On the other hand, the V4 type road (fig.11) is too large and seems to establish the boundary of two different sectors rather than two different neighborhoods. However, there are small residential buildings, small shops and a school along this street which makes it well integrated to the neighborhood.

Generally, the streets in the sample are consistent with Sert and Wiener’s master plan.


47

Neighborhood 176 Ha

Neighborhood 2103 HaFig. 14: Walking buffer

School

Civic center

0 400m

5 minuteswalking buffer

10 minutes walking buffer

LEGEND

14

00m

1480m

Shops

Sport and recreational facilities

n

Neighborhood 354 Ha


48

block size 115X230m

block size 80x80m

Fig. 15: Land use

School use

Residential use

Commercial use

Sport and leisure use

Park use

Mixed residential/commercial

Institutional use / Community services

Legend

0 400mn

Neighborhood 176 Ha

Neighborhood 2100 Ha

Neighborhood 354 Ha


49

Observations plan fig.14: Walkability

The plan in fig.14 illustrates the walkability of the neighborhood. Schools, parks, recreational facilities, shops and the neighborhood cores are all within 5 to 10 minutes of walking distance from every house. The longest distance from one end to the other of neighborhood 1 & 2 are around 1400 meters or twenty minutes of walk. Therefore, walking from the periphery to the core can be done under ten minutes. The block sizes, which is also a good indication of walkability, are on average less than two hundred meters long. Small block length increases pedestrian permeability as it allows a change of direction every two or three minutes of walk. Finally, small block size can also control automobile traffic speed as it is restrained by the street intersections.

Observations: Land Use

The land use plan (fig. 15) further illustrates Sert’s theoretical ideas applied to a neighborhood sector of Bogotá. The sector is defined by an important network of peripheral roads. The core of the sector is mainly residential while the outer fringes are either commercial, institutional, recreational or mixed uses. These functions serve as a buffer zone to the residential area from the noise generated by automobile traffic of the peripheral roads. There are two community service cores located along a linear park that follows an existing stream. This indicates that there are two neighborhood units incorporated into one neighborhood sector. A sport and recreational area are planned for each of the neighborhood units but they are not adjacent to the sector cores. In addition to the linear park along the stream, there are smaller ones forming an evenly distributed network of green spaces throughout the neighborhood. Many commercial areas are planned in the sector. However, they are not located near the institutional core but rather on the fringe of the sector, along the arterial roads. Finally, many areas are reserved for school uses but they are also not located near the neighborhood core. Their position seems to be in relation with green spaces and accessibility to the residential area.


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School use

Residential use

Commercial use


Park use


Institutional use

Legend

0 400m

Total land area: 76 HaResidential area: 23 HaCommercial area: 13 HaRoads: 11 HaParks: 8 HaSport: 7 HaMixed use 6.5 HaInstitutional: 5 HaSchool: 3.5 Ha

residential30%

commercial17%

roads14%

parks10%

sport9%

mixte8%

institutionnal7%

school5%

Chart Title

Fig 16: Plan of land use for middle-cost housing neighborhood - Neighborhood 1

mixed 8%

Fig 17: Land use distribution for middle-cost housing neighborhood - Neighborhood 1

institutional

Neighborhood 1


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School use

Residential use

Commercial use


Park use


Institutional use

Legend

0 400m

residential50%

commercial1%

roads17%

parks17%

sport6%

mixte3%

institutionnal2% school

4%

Chart Title

Neighborhood 2

Total land area: 100 HaResidential area: 52 HaCommercial area: 1 HaRoads: 18 HaParks: 18 HaSport: 6.4 HaMixed use 3.2 HaInstitutional: 1.5 HaSchool: 4.4 Ha

mixed

Fig 18: Plan of land use for middle-cost housing neighborhood -Neighborhood 2 Fig 19: Land use distribution for middle-cost housing neighborhood - Neighborhood 2

institutionalNeighborhood 2


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Sert’s idea to place the elementary school at the heart of every community and his intention to create a pedestrian-friendly environment where all amenities are accessible by foot are undeniable in this case study. However, it is not possible with the available information to quantitatively confirm that Bogotá’s 1953 master plan follows Sert’s theoretical model presented in fig. 1. However, it is possible to evaluate the number of residents living in the sector of Bogotá illustrated in fig.15 based on the numbers given in sketch of fig. 1.

Neighborhood 1Since neighborhood 1 does not exactly correspond to any model proposed by Sert in his sketch, neighborhood type A, which is the closest model, will be used as a reference. Assuming that the number of dwellings shown in table 1 is proportional to the available land, and if a neighborhood of 50 ha is planned for 1180 families, then the number of families for a 76 ha neighborhood = New neighborhood size x given number of families / given neighborhood size

76 ha X 1180 families / 50 ha = 1800 families

Neighborhood 1 can accommodate 1800 families at the density of 23.6 houses/ha in a neighborhood of 76 ha.

Furthermore, if there are 0.4 children per family, then the school must be designed for (1800 families X 0.4 children) = 720 students

And the total number of residents in this neighborhood is

Number of families X size of household

1800 families X 2.4 family member = 4 320 residents

Neighborhood 2Since neighborhood 2 is much larger, the largest model, neighborhood type C illustrated in fig. 1 and table 1, will be used:

If a neighborhood of 200 ha is planned for 3000 families

Then the number of households for a 100 ha neighborhood = New neighborhood size X given number of families / given neighborhood size

100 X 3000 / 200 = 1500 families

Neighborhood 2 can accommodate 1500 families at the density of 15 houses / ha (table 1) for a total area of 100 ha

Furthermore, if there are 0.4 children per family, then the school must be designed for (1500 families X 0.4 children) = 600 students

And the total number of residents in this neighborhood is

Number of families X size of household

1500 X 2.4 = 3 495 residents


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Both of these scenarios produced neighborhoods that can hold a population of about 4000 individuals which is near the median neighborhood population proposed by Sert. The same operation can be tested using different densities to reach the desired neighborhood population. This could be useful in a case when certain neighborhoods are planned to meet the needs of a specific demographic. An average dwelling size can also be used to estimate the actual residential land use to accommodate the targeted population. From that information, it will be possible to design the urban form of the neighborhood by taking into account the FAR (actual building foot print, unbuilt lot space, and building height).

Application for a T.O.D. in Montreal

The residential density recommended by Sert in his sketch (fig. 1) varies between 15 to 24 dwellings per hectare while the density recommended by the C.M.M. (2012) for T.O.D. varies between 60 to 150 dwellings per hectare. During the 50’s, traveling beyond the limit of the neighborhood was centered around the use of the automobile and not public transit. Therefore, the model proposed by Sert is not be directly applicable for the design of a T.O.D.

However, other elements from Sert’s model, such as school size, neighborhood population and walkability can be reused and adapted to a T.O.D. project in Montreal. Furthermore, Fig. 15 representing the distribution of land use, can also be useful as a starting point

for the design of a new neighborhood. Sert’s low density dwellings would be replaced by multistories collective housings to meet the requirements of a T.O.D. In conclusion, Sert’s principles are relevant when planning a new town or neighborhood today. However, the criteria and objectives must be adapted to meet the requirements of each new project.


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Bibliography

Bastlund, Knud. 1967. José Luis Sert; architecture, city planning, urban design. New York: Praeger.

Communauté Métropolitaine de Montréal. 2011. Plan Métropolitain d’Aménagement et de Développement (PMAD).

Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM), AECOM. 2012. Guide D’aménagement Pour Les Aires de TOD (Transit Oriented Development)

Le Corbusier. 1957. La charte d’Athenes. Paris: Editions de Minuit.

Mumford, Eric Paul, Hashim Sarkis, and Neyran Turan. 2008. Josep Lluis Sert: the architect of urban design, 1953-1969. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Mumford, Eric Paul. 2010. “Josep Lluis Sert: the CIAM Heart of the City and the Bogotá Plan: Precursor to Urban Design, 1947-1953.” Maria Cecilia O’Byrne Orozco, ed., Le Corbusier en Bogotá. 1947-1951. 2 (Bogotá: Ediciones Uniandes, ):240-249.

Palacios, Marco. 1995. “Entre la legitimidad y la violencia. Colombia 1875-1994.“ Bogotá: Norma.

Sert, José Luis. 1942. “Can our cities survive?: An ABC of urban problems, their analysis, their solutions.“ Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

CHANDIGARH, INDIADominique ST-PIERRE

ONESQKM CIVICCENTERS CHANDIGARH | DOMINIQUE ST-PIERRE

56

Fig. 1: Map of North IndiaSource: Google Earth

Fig. 2: First Master Plan by Albert MayerSource: https://quadralectics.wordpress.com/4-representation/4-1-form/4-1-4-cities-in-the-mind/4-1-4-1-the-ideal-city/

CHANDIGARH, INDIA

Chandigarh is a city in the North of India (Fig. 1). It is the capital of the province of Punjab. In 1947, Pakistan became independent from India.1 Punjab was created to make a link between the two countries. The government of India wanted to be seen as a modern country, so they planned this ideal city. This project is an example of induced city planning, that is to say that it had been planned from urban to architectural scale by developers and governments. This concept of ‘new city’ was seen in various countries at the same time. A ‘new city’ was an autonomous entity approximately 60km from a major city center. These project aimed to organize the expansion of city while protecting the existing landscape. For Chandigarh, it was also a social experiment. They aimed to create a city where individual rights where respected and where there was equality within the population. We can say that this project was successful in a sense that Chandigarh has the third highest income per capita in India.2

The first proposal was done by the American architect Albert Mayer. The master plan of the city was divided in 59 sectors and had an organic shape (Fig. 2). 3 They were numbered from 1 to 60, avoiding sector 13 as a superstition. Unfortunately, Mr. Mayer died in a plane accident. The client then mandated the modern architect for this modern city: Le Corbusier. This paper will first analyze Le Corbusier’s masterplan project to then concentrate on the different scales of city centers: the capitol sector (no.1), the city center (no.17) and a typical sector (no.18).


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Fig. 3: Map of Chandigarh, Le CorbusierSource: https://landlab.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/qt8-chandigarh-la-martella/

City Center: Heart

Capitol: Head of the city


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CHANDIGARH, LE CORBUSIER, 1952

Chandigarh is the only project of urbanism that Le Corbusier realized. It was planned for a population of 500 000 people. His masterplan is similar to Mayer’s proposal, but the geometry is more rational and orthogonal (Fig. 3). The plan is composed of 59 sectors of 800m x 1200m. Corbusier thought that the organic shape was a waste of space. Therefore, there is a strong influence of CIAM’s functional ideas. There is a separation of ‘living’, ‘working’ and ‘care for body and spirit’ areas.5 The architect saw the city as a metaphor of human body and is planned at the human scale. The city becomes a living machine. The capitol is the head of the city, where the provincial decisions are taken. The City Center sector is the heart, where most of the working and commercial activities take place. At the west is the University campus and at the east is the industrial area. These act as the limbs of the city.6 The plan consciously integrates existing landscape elements, like the major water stream that takes source from the north lake to the south. All the sectors are also crossed by continuous green spaces that acts like the lungs of the city (Fig. 4). A pedestrian can walk from south to north by using them.

Finally, another principle of the CIAM used for this project is the segregation of circulation. The streets acts as the arteries for this living body. They are separated into seven speeds. V1 is the interstate road, and V7 are the pedestrian paths in the green spaces.

LEGEND 7 SPEEDS 7:V1 - Fast roads connecting Chandigarh to other towns;V2 - Arterial roads.V3 - Fast vehicular roads;

V4 - Meandering shopping streets;V5 - Sector circulation roads;V6 - Access roads to houses;V7 - Footpaths and cycle tracks

DENSITY

F.A.R: 1,2 to 1,5 (approximately)

Total Urban Population (2001): 808 515 persons

Density (2001): 7,900 person/sq. km.4

Planned density for sectors 1 to 30: 40 persons / hectare

Reality (2001): 64 persons / hectare 5


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Industrial: Limb

University: Limb

Fig. 4: General zoning and green spaces of ChandigarhSource: http://www.nclurbandesign.org/architecture/chandigarh-le-corbusiers-master-piece/


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Fig. 5: Plan of Capital SectorSource: http://citiesandstories.blogspot.ca/2013_02_01_archive.html


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Fig. 6: Parliament Building of ChandigarhSource: http://www.indiaonlinepages.com/chandigarh/business/index.html

THE CAPITOL SECTOR

The first sector is the capitol complex and acts as a civic center. It is the Northernmost area of the city and isn’t part of the regular grid. All of the most famous buildings are found in this area: the High Court, the Secretariat, the Assembly and Parliament (Fig. 6), all done by Le Corbusier. One can access it by driving on the principal road of Chandigarh, from the south. This creates a monumental approach to the civic center, emphasizing its power. This center is not used that much by the inhabitants of Chandigarh, but mostly diplomats, politicians and tourists. The link between the buildings was planned very carefully, by integrating gateways and water elements. Today, this sector is fenced and the buildings are deteriorating.8


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Fig. 7: Analyzed sectors. From left to right: sector 16, sector 17 (city center), sector 18Source: Google Earth

16 17 18

0

50m

100m 500m

250m

1000 m

Fig. 8: Commercial Plaza, Sector 17 (City Center)Source: https://architectureoftravel.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/chandigarh-the-city/

CITY CENTER (17) AND TYPICAL SECTORS (16 & 18)

These sectors have been chosen because they show typical cases. (Fig.7) Sector 16 that is crossed by the major stream. Sector 17 is the major City Center of Chandigarh. No.18 is a typical residential sector. Only sectors 17 and 18 have been chosen for the analysis of the built areas and the distribution of programs.

Sectors 17 and 18 are very different in the distribution of programs, but they both have a city center of different scale (Fig.9). Sector 17 acts as the City Center of Chandigarh (Fig.8). It serves the whole population of the city and even beyond the boundaries. It is a major public plaza with generous exterior public places. Therefore, the amount of construction is not very dense. Around 25% of the space is taken by buildings and they are between four to five stories high. This sector is the center for work, economic, commercial (shopping) and transport activities. This sectors also contains a lot of cultural and gathering places like restaurants or cinema. There are two gas station at the north boundary and the bus terminus at the south. The only residential programs are hotels and they are mostly along the left road, which is the major artery that connects sector 17 to the Capitol Sector. It seems that there is a clinic, but it is not said if there is a hospital.


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Fig.9: Built areas, distribution of programs

SECTOR 17 SECTOR 18

0

50m

100m 500m

250m

1000 m

Sector 18 is a typical residential sector. These sectors are at neighborhood scale. They all contain the same kind of facilities.9

Sector 18 is denser than 17, with 30% of land area occupied by constructed spaces. The major program is residential that takes 26% of that 30%. What distinguishes the typical sector to the City Center is that it has a semi-public core that acts like a small scale center. Every sector has schools in this core, surrounded by a large green space. We also find daycares and clinics. Every typical sector is crossed by a commercial street (orange on the diagram) which also contain small hotels and a religious space (brown). Usually, the typical sectors has some work spaces at its perimeter. This small scale center brings autonomy to the sectors. The size of the sectors are good for walking through. The shortest size (800mm) takes approximatly 10 minutes to walk. So every house is at a walking distance to these facilities.


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Fig. 10: Street Pattern

Road to Capitol

Commercial Street

V2

V4

V4

V4

V3 V3

V3

V3

V6

V5

V4Commercial StreetCITY CENTER

SECTOR 16 SECTOR 17 SECTOR 18

0

50m

100m 500m

250m

1000 m

STREET PATTERN

Every sector is separated by principal roads at its perimeter and there is a roundabout at every corner to ensure a fluidity of traffic (Fig.12). We really feel the hierarchy of speed, the 7 Vitesses of Le Corbusier. Because Sector 17 is the City Center, the roads surrounding it are faster (V2) than the ones at the perimeter of the residential sector (V3). One can access the residential areas by four entry points. The residential sectors are seperated in four parts by principal roads of a V4 speed (Fig. 10). These are commercial arteries 10. The further you enter the residential sector the slower the cars get for safety (V5 and V6). The pedestrian paths are not shown on the diagram, but they are concentrated at the core of every district (V7). The total ratio of roads for Sector 16 is 10% and for Sector 18 is 17%. The area of public parking in the residential sectors is very low. It takes around 1% of the space. That doesn’t include the residential parking. One can access the City Center (sector 17) by eight major entry points. This sector is designed as a pedestrian plaza11, so the amount of parking is a lot higher (10% to 15%) and there are fewer roads (around 8%).

Fig. 11: The segregation of circulation is often seen physically in Le Corbusier’s project. This picture shows an elevated street. The pedestrian can easily walk under it. Source: http://benbansal.me/?p=2857

Fig. 12: This is an example of roundabout between the sectors. It is an opportunity to create nice landscaping elements. The picture shows that there is a good bus service in Chandigarh.Source: HÖGNER, Bärbel,’Chandigarh: Living with Le Corbusier’, Jovis Verlag, 2010, p.136


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Fig. 13: Green Spaces

Cricket Stadium

SECTOR 16 SECTOR 17 SECTOR 18

0

50m

100m 500m

250m

1000 m

GREEN SPACE

As explained in the first part about the master plan, every residen-tial district is crossed by a strip of green space. This is one of the best aspects of Chandigarh, because every district has a green and public core. These becomes small city centers within every sector. Sector 16 is special because it is crossed by a stream, creating a major park that takes 44% of the total area. In addition to the other small parks, more than 50% of this strip of sector is composed of green spaces. This certainly increases the quality of life of its inhab-itants. Chandigarh has a lot of different thematic gardens (Fig. 14). In the 16th, there is a rose garden. There is also a cricket stadium on the south-east part of this sector. Sector 18 is more typical than the 16th, and has a smaller, but still generous, green core that takes 16% of the space. In addition to the other smaller green spaces, a typical sector of Chandigarh is composed of around 25% to 30% of green spaces. The City Center (17) has less green area because it is mostly a paved plaza with multiple public spaces (Fig. 15). The total green area in the city center is around 12%.

Fig. 14: Zakir Hussain Rose Garden, sector 16

Source:http://places-to-visit-inZchandigarh.blogspot.ca/2015/01/zakir-hussain-rose-garden-chandigarh.html

Fig. 15: Example of public space in sector 17. Source:http://wikimapia.org/15874429/shopping-complex-sector-17-plaza#/photo/1510587


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Fig. 16 Proposal for a coherent system of bicycle and pedestrian pathways by Henrik Valeur, sector 19Source: http://www.henrikvaleur.dk/hv/projects.php

Finally, Chandigarh was first plan with good social and spatial intentions. The idea of equality and individual rights could have made the city an example for other developments. The masterplan has elements that could still be relevant if we had to design a new city center. The mix of programs creates a small scale center within each sector, making every sector more autonomous. The great amount of green space and integration of landscaping elements is crucial to increase the urban quality of life.

Despite this, Chandigarh was heavily criticized. What went wrong with this project? Some say the planners and developers didn’t expect the exceptional growth of the city. The rationality of the plan makes it inflexible and is unable to adapt to the changes of density. Therefore, there is no more space inside the city and slums started to emerge around it. That rationality of the plan also makes it hard for orientations because every district look the same. The equality of the sectors is good, but maybe it is important to create landmarks on each of them for orientation. In addition to that, the hierarchy of speed is good, but separating pedestrians and vehicle have already created some problems. We should instead try to create roads that combine car traffic with safe pedestrian and bicycle lanes. Chandigarh is a city where people want to stay. There is now some projects in the air to improve the flexibility or the quality of life of certain area. This pictures (Fig. 16) shows a proposition for a car-free sector. The streets have been transformed into pedestrian green streets. 12 There is four major parking lots at the four entry points. This promotes pedestrian and bicycle circulation, releasing space for greener spaces. This means that for them, the perfect sector has a mix of programs within it, provides a lot of green spaces and the principal way of circulating is by walking from one building to the other.


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Fig. 17 Superposition of plan and actual mapSource: http://chandigarhurbanlab.org/

SOURCES1 Newcastle University, Chandigarh: Le Corbusier’s ‘‘Master Piece’’, [online], http://www.nclurbandesign.org/architecture/chandigarh-le-corbusiers-master-piece/, (Consulted February 9th, 2015)2 GOA, Per Capita Income: Chandigarh 3rd, http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/per-capi ta- income-chandigarh-3rd/943793/, The Indian Express, 1 May 20123 Quadralectic Architecture, ‘The ideal City’, [online] https://quadralectics.wordpress.com/4-representation/4-1-form/4-1-4-cities-in-the-mind/4-1-4-1-the-ideal-city/ (Consulter February 9th, 2015)4 Chandigarh Administration, ‘About Chandigarh’, [online] http://chandigarh.gov.in/knowchd_general.htm (Consulted February 18th, 2015)4 Chandigarh Administration, ‘Demographic Profile of the City’, Chandigarh Master Plan [online] http://chandigarh.gov.in/cmp2031/demography.pdf (Consulted February 13th, 2015)5 Newcastle Univsersity, Chandigarh: Le Corbusier’s ‘‘Master Piece’’, [online], http://www.nclurbandesign.org/architecture/chandigarh-le-corbusiers-master-piece/, (Consulted February 9th, 2015)6 HÖGNER, Bärbel,’Chandigarh: Living with Le Corbusier’, Jovis Verlag, 2010, p.22 7 Architecture of Travel, Chandigarh: A Modern Indian Social Experiment, [online] https://architectureoftravel.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/chandigarh-a-modern-indian-social-experiment/, (Consulted February 11th, 2015)8 FIELD, Gabriel, ‘Chandigarh, The Capitol Complex’, [online] http://citiesandstories.blogspot.ca/2013_02_01_archive.html,Jaipur, February 1, 2013

9 Chandigarh Administration, ‘About Chandigarh’, [online] http://chandigarh.gov.in/knowchd_general.htm (Consulted February 18th, 2015)10 Chandigarh Administration, ‘About Chandigarh’, [online] http://chandigarh.gov.in/knowchd_general.htm (Consulted February 18th, 2015)11 HÖGNER, Bärbel,’Chandigarh: Living with Le Corbusier’, Jovis Verlag, 2010, p.2212 VALEUR, Henrik, ‘‘Car-Free Sector (in Chandigarh), [online ] https://henrikvaleur.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/alternatives-to-the-automobile-in-chandigarh/, The Global Urbanist, April 9th 2013

ISLAMABAD - PAKISTANelizabeth CARON

ISLAMABAD | ELIZABETH CARONONESQKM CIVICCENTERS

69

Fig. 1: Location of the city of Karachi and the new capital city

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN

Pakistan was founded in 1947 and the City of Karachi was made its capital. However, it rapidly became overcrowded and problems arose, such as lack of buildings, facilities and difficulties in com-munication with other cities. Just about 10 years later, in 1959, the Federal Capital Commission was appointed to choose and recom-mend a site for a new capital city. In the search and study of poten-tial sites the aspects of location, climate, logistics and defence were of key importance (Prentice 58).

The selected site, as illustrated in Fig. 1, was much further North than the existing capital, in a region climatically more comfortable. The Upper Punjab is less humid and not as hot in the summer. Logistically, it is located near the railway that links Pakistan’s west-ern limit and Karachi, as well as being next to the existing city of Rawalpindi, which would provide for facilities during construction (Prentice 58). Location-wise, it stands at 1800 feet on the edge of the Potwar Plateau and at the foot of the 1500 meters high Marga-lah Hills, 600 meters above sea-level. It is in proximity to Margalah National Park, providing lush green space (Prentice 58).


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Fig. 2: Original plan made by Doxiades, 1965. (Imran, Maria 2.)

Fig. 3: Islamabad zones

In 1960, another commission was implemented to plan the new capital. The Greek town planner, Doxiades was selected (Prentice 58). His master plan, as illustrated in Fig. 2, comprised the met-ropolitan area of the existing city of Rawalpindi, the National Park and the new capital city of Islamabad, merged together as what he called a “dynapolis,” a dynamic metropolis that would provide for growth (Imran, Maria 2). However, the master plan made by Dox-iades was never carried in its original form as revisions were made in the following years. The Greek planner’s initial plan that merged Islamabad and Rawalpindi into one large metropolitan area was split into two independent works due to decisions of different gov-ernments (Imran, Maria 4-5).

The plan that was finally executed is the one from 1991 in which zoning regulations were altered (Imran, Maria 5). The master plan was divided into five major zones (see Fig. 3). Zone I was com-prised of a mix of residential, educational and commercial sectors, zone 2 as private housing development, zone III was Margalah Hills National Park, Islamabad Park and rural areas in zone IV and some more private housing in zone V (Imran, Maria 5). As of the present, zone I is the most developed and which was closely constructed according to Doxiades’s master plan.


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The plan for Islamabad consisted of a narrow and linear city run-ning along the feet of Margalah Hills (Prentice 59). The design is based on a grid-like pattern of squares surrounded by large arterial roads (Imran, Maria 2). Particular to the master plan are the various land use zones that aimed to provide different purposes, as seen in Fig 4.

The Greek planner arranged for 8 zones which would be located in an optimal fashion one in regards to the other, with consideration of the existing landscape. The zones consist of the administrative center, commercial district, educational institutions, industrial sec-tor, diplomatic enclave, residential and rural areas as well as allo-cated green space. Such a concentration of activities was sought to give cohesion and prestige to the new capital city (Yakas 69). For example, the administrative zone is at the beginning of the main axis of the city in the North-East, with the diplomatic enclave and cultural zone placed next to it in order to form the heart of the new capital (Yakas 67).

The entire area of Islamabad City is around 910 km2 with a popula-tion of 950 000. Doxiades had ingeniously considered growth in the master plan of the city as there was great allowance for increase in size (Prentice 61). The Greek planner visualized the city to ac-commodate 2 million inhabitants. However, it is important to note that expansion can only occur unidirectionally as the Himalayan mountain chain in the north and National Park in the south prevent to do so (Prentice 61).


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Fig. 4: Original master plan of Islamabad, 1960. (Imran, Maria 3).


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Fig. 5: Numbering of sectors in Islamabad

The sectors are identified by a letter and number, as well as num-bering for each sub-sectors. As of today, the horizontal sectors F and G are the most developed. In terms of size, each sector is approximately 2km by 2km with arterial roads running along the perimeter. The city block would provide for a population of about 11 000 (Prentice 59). The square grid pattern selected was considered ideal given it gave a uniform way for multidirectional traffic crossing (Yakas 67). In addition, it is in the Islamic tradition to use pure geo-metrical form for structural works. The Islamic culture is based on pure geometry as is exemplified in the great mosques and squares of large palaces (Yakas 67).

As the grid pattern of Islamabad is similar in regards to its configuration, I will analyze a typical city block in detail. The selected area of G-8, as illustrated in Fig. 5, is located in the middle of the master plan, in a well-developed area, that presents a variety of social infrastructure.


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Fig. 6: G-8 Sector planning

residential

health institutions

green space

commercial (markets)

government offices

industrial & trade

educational institutions

parks

Table 1: The estimated percentage of the different infrastratuce in G-8


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As seen in Table 1, the social infrastructure in G-8 is allocated an estimated 8.4% of the total area of 4km2. Within this total, the PIMS health institution is the most area consuming, given approximately a quarter of the city-block is designated for a major hospital complex (see Fig. 7). Moreover, according to the following table, that which is not social infrastructure has the greatest percentages. The residential area accounts for 20.7% of the space, 21.8% for green space and 30.2% for the street network (see Fig. 8).

Fig. 8: Appartment flats

Fig. 7: PIMS Hospital center


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Fig. 9: G-8 Sector and Subsectors

A city block is divided into four subzones with the main market in the center, as seen in Fig.9. The idea was to create small commu-nities grouped around a larger core of services (see Fig.10). These communities consist of a mix of different social classes and income groups, mixed together across different residential clusters. The dwellings are mainly single-storey residences with a few apartment buildings as well (Prentice 60). The main purpose of the central shopping hub in the center was to slow down traffic (Imran, Maria 2).


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Fig. 10: Subsector Division


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Fig. 11: Main marketplace

Fig. 12: Local mosque

Fig. 13: Local school for boys

These communities of 3500 to 4000 people would be provided with the basic social infrastructure such as markets, schools and mosque and in turn, served by a larger core with a greater variety of services like banks and medical establishments (Prentice 60). The different social infrastructure, as in Fig.14, is well distributed within each subsector in regards to mobility from one another. Mosques are situated approximately 250-350m apart whereas the schools are about every 200-250m meters from each other.

There is a close proximity between the different infrastructures as mosques are mostly either directly next to a market or within 150m of schools. It creates clusters of social gathering space for people to exchange. The scattering of clusters around the city block provides for accessible spaces as residential areas are within walking distance to each social infrastructure.


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Fig. 14: Social infrastructure distribution

commercial

educational


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Fig. 15: Main marketplace Industrial & trade

Government offices

Other than educational, commercial and religious activities, the city block is also comprised of a section allocated for industry and governmental offices. These activities are linearly clustered at one edge of the city block most probably for functionality. They stand independently from the rest of the city block as large roadways separate them from the residential neighborhoods.


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Fig. 16: Aerial view of arterial road

In regards to the street network, within each city block is an orthogonal plan, with uniformly straight streets (see Fig.16). There is a hierarchy to the street network as the arterial roads are approximately 55 meters wide, the secondary roads about 30 meters wide and the tertiary roads 20 meters in width. As illustrated in Fig.17, a large arterial road runs around the city block for high speed traffic and travel to and from the different city blocks, as well as inner boulevard ring for circulation within the city block itself. Additionally, small local roads serve the neighborhoods. The width of the different roads was purposefully planned in order to accommodate for increase in traffic and to facilitate rapid traveling (Yakas 3). Such a configuration of straight road ways intersecting at right angles is also economic (Yakas 66).

Interestingly, social infrastructure is mainly accessible from the local roads within the neighborhoods, with exceptions such as the main market. As seen in plan, this configuration may act as a source of segregation between the four sub-sectors as neighborhood life is orientated interiorly, discouraging displacement from one sector to another. It looks away from Doxiades’ idea to have a well-mixed community.


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Fig. 17: Street network and hierarchy

arterial roads

secondary roads

tertiary roads


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Fig. 18: Lai Nullah River that cuts across the neighborhoods

Concerning the landscape of Islamabad, even though the grid was planned as rectilinear, the original topography of the site was taken into consideration. For most areas, the grid aligned straight, however other areas called for a break in the dictated pattern. Areas that proved costly to excavate and fill were worked in with the landscape. (Imran, Maria 3). As seen in Fig.19., the natural bed of the Nullah River was left untouched and the infrastructure configured around the natural paths. There is no break in the flow of the rivers except for roads. Moreover, the rivers have even shaped some of the buildings themselves, as illustrated below (see Fig. 20.). In a sense, the river subdivides the four subsectors into greater numbers, creating smaller communities within a larger set.


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Fig. 19: Infrastructure shaped by the natural river flow


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Fig. 20: Local park

Fig. 21: View of the highway onto Margallah Hills

In addition, large areas of green space are left bare along the river, which provides the different residential blocks with access to lush greenery within walking distance (see Fig. 20). There is no hierarchical division of social order to have access to green space and the river itself. Therefore, the city of Islamabad is a symbol of a modern and dynamic metropolis for a new nation. It is an example of a comprehensive and thoughtful master plan that took in consideration the existing landscape, social equality and growth. It was planned to provide its inhabitants a healthy atmosphere, large green spaces and abundance in water.


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Works Cited

Maria, Sajida Iqbal, and Muhammad Imran. "Planning of Islamabad and Rawalpindi: What Went Wrong." ISoCaRP (2006). Prentice, Anne. "Islamabad: A New Capital City." Geography 1.51 (1966): 58-61. Yakas, Orestes. Islamabad, the Birth of a Capital. Karachi: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.

Images

Fig. 1: Location of the city of Karachi. Google mapsFig. 2: The location of the new capital city. Google maps.Fig. 4: Islamabad zones. http://manahilestate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Islamabad- Zones.png.Fig. 8: PIMS Hospital complex. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Pims.jpg. Fig. 9: PHA colony flats. http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/22781451.jpg. Fig. 10: G-8 sector and subsectors. Google Earth.Fig 12.: Main market place. https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSkfkuyXR DskL0wyEaaYXe9Pb2zMoWJw7fh02DhuioyRx3-l111Gw. Fig.13: Local mosque. http://photos.wikimapia.org/p/00/01/96/27/04_big.jpg.Fig. 14: Local school. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-yp7WCTcnUwo/UlWdpL4I8UI/ AAAAAAAAAFo/Qpng847P3KY/s250-c-k-no/2013-10-09. Fig. 17: Aerial view of arterial road. http://nativepakistan.com/wp-content/uploads/A-Road-in- Islamabad.jpg. Fig. 19: Lai Nullah River that cuts across the neighborhoods. http://www.mejb.com/upgrade_ flash/October%202014/Waste%20dumps%20along%20Lai.jpg.Fig. 21: Local park. https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3328/3278148289_995f25d7d9.jpg.Fig. 22: View of the highway onto Margallah Hills. http://nativepakistan.com/wp-content/uploads/ A-road-in-Islamabad-Margalla-Hills-at-the-back.jpg.

MAGNITOGORSK, RUSSIAPatrick ZHANG

MAGNITOGORSK | PATRICK ZHANGONESQKM CIVICCENTERS

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Fig. 2: Master plan proposal that was adopted for the development of Magnitogorsk

Fig. 1: A ideal plan if the industrial zone was move away from the riverbank, allowing both residential zone and the industrial zone to be placed on the east side of Ural River.

MAGNITOGORSK

Magnitogorsk is a Russia industrial city located 1400km east of Moscow, in a remote piece of land by the upper reaches of the Ural River. The city was named for the Magnitnaya Mountain that is almost pure iron.

The city was commissioned in 1929 as a part of Stalin’s first Five Years Plan to industrialize the Soviet Union. With the help of a group of American experts, a massive complex of steel mills was built. By that time it was the largest and most advanced steel mill in the world, and it is still the largest steel mill in Russia.

During the city’s early years, the priority in construction was given to the steel mill located on the east bank of the Ural River. As a result, rows of temporary housing, or ‘barracks’ were built adjacent to the steel mill site. By 1930, over 100,000 workers were living in such barracks.

In 1930, the German planner Ernst May, having just built a successful workers housing complex in Frankfurt, was invited by the Soviet Government to collaborate with Soviet architects to develop a master plan for the city. Ernst May attempted to apply a linear city model in the master plan, which focused on short home-to-work commutes. The general idea was to develop a plan in which a central city strip with one major artery boulevard aligned parallel to a strip of factory production.(Fig.1) The two would be separated

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Fig. 3: Other scheme with residential zone to the south of the steel mill

Fig. 4: The present-day Magnitogorsk with steel mill in the east bank and city in the west.

by a greenbelt that would keep the noise and pollution of the factory from the housing.

However the geography of the site made it difficult to develop the linear idea. The location of the mill was already set by the soviet planners to be on the east side of the riverbank. Ernst May was left with the option to place the city across the river and to the west of the industrial land.(Fig.2) This design would provide the city with the greenbelt, but not with the easy access to work because the river separates the two. The building of the city was delayed because when the plan was realized, there was already over 100,000 workers living in barracks on the east bank near the steel mill. By the time Ernst May left the Soviet Union in 1933, the construction of the city had just begun. It followed the outlines set out by May. The linear city configuration, however was adopted into a loop variant to optimize the commute route. The loop has a strong spatial gesture in a form of wide boulevards, cutting the city fabric into 1km wide strips with secondary streets connecting the parallel boulevards. This further dissecting the fabric into blocks about 300 to 500 meters wide. During the communist era, many of these boulevards were underused because of the low automobile ownership in the city. However, a well organized and extensive tram system was setup in the boulevards and became the major means of transportation for the citizens. Tram lines were built next to each blocks and feeds the main bridge that across the river to connect with the industrial zone.

The majority of the housing units would be located in large

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Fig. 5: An OSA Settlement

apartment blocks with micro-royans or “micro-regions”. Ernst May’s early design for the micro-royan consists apartment blocks parallel to each other. This design was soon proven to be flawed as the cold winter wind would gust through the straight rows of apartments as if they were a wind tunnel. This was remedied in later housing developments by organizing the buildings into squares with internal courtyards. A typical apartment slab would be about 14 meter wide, 65 meters long, and 4~6 stories high. Most of them are topped with pitched roofs. In the Soviet era, the supply of housing units was always unable to meet the demand. As a result, families with multiple generations often lived in one unit. The population density in one micro-royan can be as high as 30,000~40,000 people per sqkm. Even though FAR is around 0.5~0.7.

In terms of social infrastructure, amenities such as schools, parks and clinics are spread evenly among the micro-royans. There is no significant concentration of amenities in one area. Some large institutions such as universities and hospitals often occupy a street block within the urban fabric. The size of the block varies for different institutions. This even spread of amenities within a residential block was promoted by the early Soviet modernist group OSA.

The city has a strong focus on education facilities. Almost all micro-royans has a elementary school or high school, sometimes both. These schools were either located on the boulevards, or on a secondary street. Instead of being placed in groups, the schools


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Fig. 6: Model of an OSA Settlement

Fig. 7: The city fabric, apartment blocks and boulevards

are placed approximately 400 meters apart from one to other, forming a network of schools. It means that most apartment blocks have access to schools within walking distance. Higher education institutions such as Universities and technical colleges are located on the boulevard and accessible via trams. Educational opportunities in Magnitogorsk are relatively good. Roughly 1/3 of the population of Magnitogorsk has been to some form of higher education.

During the Soviet Era, the daily shopping routine for the residents was particularity difficult. This is mainly due to the lack of consumer goods within the troubled Soviet economy, as well as the remote location of the city. The result is a lack of sufficient shopping facilities and people usually have to travel a great distance to get to stores. The monolithic apartment slab arrangement also means that it is difficult to add new shops into the micro-royans. In other words, the rigidity of this particular housing complex design proved to be difficult to adapt to mix-use programs.

Just like schools, hospitals were placed among the residential blocks as well. Due to the pollution of the steel mill, public health became a major issue for the city.

Religious buildings were not planned to integrate within residential fabric. They are instead place in the riverside greenbelt.


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Tram line

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Fig. 9: Aerial photography of modern day Magnitogorsk


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Fig. 13: The boulevard and the tram line

Fig. 10&11: Housing in the first block of Magnitogorsk, early 1930s

Fig. 12: School in the first block in Magnitogorsk, early 1930s

Bo01 cITy oF TomoRRoW, malmÖ eadeh aTTaRZaDEH

Bo01 cITy oF TomoRRoW | EaDEH aTTaRZaDEH

Fig. 2: 100 years ago, the Western Harbour (in white) did not exist. Land was gradually created using fill masses in the sea, with the final filling taking place in 1987, which created the shape of the land as it is

0 1500m

Fig. 1: Malmö facing onto the øresund Strait, showing øresund Bridge, connecting the city to Copenha-

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CONTEXT

Malmö is Sweden’s third largest city, located at the South of the country with a population of over 250,00. The city was one of the earliest and most industrialized towns of Scandinavia. However, the former industrial city had fallen on hard times in the 1970’s. The recession in Malmö left an abandoned strip of industrial and dockland along the coastline of the city, including the area of Western Harbour, the reclaimed land.

The 1990’s saw the city’s future in crisis, notably because of an increase in job loss and a number of environmental disasters due to industrial practice. After the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and the new political interest in issues of sustainability, the city leaders wanted to see Malmö shift from being a working city to a modern city. “The disappearance of traditional industries was so fast and so complete that we had nothing to be defensive about. We simply had to come up with a new approach. And we decided that the way forward was to create a modern city which was at the very top when it came to environmental issues” (Anders Rubin, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Urban Environment).

In an attempt to become a major centre for IT-business and knowledge, Malmö took a strategic decision to construct the Øresund Bridge (opened in 2000), connecting the city to Copenhagen, Denmark. In addition, with the vision of developing an entirely new district overlooking the Øresund strait, the city built a campus for Malmö University (opened in 1998).

Alongside this vision, the City of Malmö wanted to develop a new area that inspired creativity, developed further knowledge and


Fig. 3: Birds eye view on Bo01 and the Turning Torso


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stimulated economic growth. The result was the redevelopment of the brownfield docklands as a sustainable extension of urban Malmö - Bo01 City of Tomorrow.

Bo01 represents the first step in the process of transforming the industrial estate and port area. One of the goals of this project is to create an inspiring symbol of a new waterfront enhancing the quality of life for residents and visitors, and generating badly needed employment and tax revenues. The project was built and completed for the European Housing Expo in 2001, with funding from the State of Sweden, the City of Malmö, the European Commission and private developers.

Today, development is continuing. Eventually, 3,000 people will live and/or work on the 160 hectares landfill of Western Harbour. It will be a place surrounded by parks and beaches, and a few existing office and factory buildings. The focus is on creating a sustainable society and environmentally sound neighbourhood, based on the lessons learned in Bo01.


Fig. 3: The Figure Ground Master Plan of Bo01 illustrates the seaside location and that the development is linked on every side with public open space. The Strait is on the left and the


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MASTER PLAN

The demonstration project, Bo01, is the first mixed-used development in Western Harbour undertaken by the city with the intention of encouraging an international reconsideration of the city and its place in the 21st century. It was the subject of an international housing exhibition that was intended to showcase sustainable planning and building technologies while delivering public spaces for social interaction and strong environmental values.

The city hired Klas Tham, an architect and planner, to create the philosophical basis for Bo01 and serve as its designer and director. His approach included the collaboration of city officials, departments and 20 developers. The area is approximately 9 hectares and is planned as a mixed district, including commercial and social facilities for its residents. The comprehensive physical planning of Bo01 incorporates a street network largely inspired by the traditional small-scale neighbourdhoods of Malmö. Careful consideration is given to the design of the grid because of its exposure to the sea. By placing bigger, taller buildings on the periphery, the buildings act as a wall sheltering internal streets and spaces from harsh sea winds. Also, in order to exploit the spectacular views on the sea and canal side, most of the apartments have West and East facing glazing.

The concept of Bo01 for a sustainable urban environment is based on the belief that an attractive area will encourages people to live and work there. The inclusion of aesthetics in the plan is key for achieving this concept, as well as spaces that promote social interactions for the city, neighbourdhood, and blocks.

Fig. 5: Perspective on a residential pedestrian street


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Water integrated into the site provides recreational and appealing opportunities. Quality integrated landscaping for the public realm offers engaging places for local residents to mix outdoors.

In addition, a lot of focus is given to guidelines for architectural quality, choice of materials, energy consumption and green issues. With the tight-knit complex of blocks, almost medieval looking, the urban structure involves multiple contemporary architects providing the urban forms. A unique character is given to Bo01 because it involved many architects and builders co-creating the area. The dispersed development parcels, leading to having no blocks identical to any other, creates diversity in architectural styles.

To this day, the Bo01 development offers an assortment of shops and cafes, which are well integrated with the residential buildings. It will eventually also be home to a new public school, day-care centres, offices and other local services.


Fig. 6: The Circulation Master Plan of Bo01 shows the hierarchy of roads. One of the main ideas with the area, was to create an exciting structural mix of individually designed streets,


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CIRCULATION

Bo01 prioritizes pedestrians, cycles and gas-fuelled buses over car users. Because of the short distance to the central district of Malmö, the neighbourhood is well served by paths dedicated to active transportation. A little more than five miles of bike paths extend from Bo01 through the Western Harbour. All residents of Bo01 are within 500 meters of a bus stop, which have high frequency passage. Also, the central train station is within 2.4 km from the area.

Planned as an impartial community with close access to goods and services, the area has practically no cars. Most residents park their vehicles outside the neighbourhood and then walk to their homes. Although the neighbourhood promotes a car-free lifestyle, car ownership is higher in Bo01 than expected. Because the 0.7 parking spaces per unit that was initially provided does not meet the demands, a parking garage was recently built at the edge of the development. Nevertheless, car ownership remains lower than in the city and residents of Western Harbour overall walk and bike significantly more than Malmö residents.

Bo01 cITy oF TomoRRoW | EaDEH aTTaRZaDEHONESQKM CIVICCENTERS

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MULTI-USAGE

Non-housing activity was vital to the development plan of Bo01. Some apartment blocks have ground-floor space suitable for small business or residential use with connections to the first floor to allow living over the shop. Shops and retails are mainly located along the seaside and the canal. The park and the promenade meet at Scaniaplatsen, which is to become the local town square and meeting point.

However, the neighbourhood does not include institutional, cultural, or community facilities. Residents living in the district most leave the area for educational or health purposes. The city does have the intension to include local schools, daycares, health services, and community centers in their future development plans of Western Harbour.


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Fig. 9: The local town square of Bo01, Scaniaplatsen, has become an important meeting point. It is located at 1.9 kilometers from the oldest


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Fig. 10: 1875 map of Malmö and its two oldest public squares, Stortorget and Lilla Torg

Fig. 11: Stortorget is the oldest square in the city and marks the center of the Old Town. It includes important buildings, cultural events and outdoor terraces of cafés and restaurants. The square was built in 1536 by former mayor Jorgen Kock. At the time of inauguration, it was one of the largest city squares in

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Fig. 12: Footprint plan around Stortorget and Lilla Torg


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HOUSING AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT

To help minimize heat lost from the buildings, the master plan placed taller apartment blocks at the northern and western edges of the development area, facing the sea. The buildings are five to seven-story perimeter. Their goal is to protect the two to three-story internal buildings and their enclosed courtyards from the cooling effect of the wind.

The housing development of this project invited 21 different architects for the design of the neighbourhood. By having diverse plot sizes and architectural requirements so that the scale and character of the buildings differ on every block, it moderates the aesthetic impact of high residential density. It also aims to create a high quality environment with an abundance of architectural expressions. The scale of the interior of the area takes its precedents from typical northern European cities; low, tight, intimate and efficient in the use of area. Moreover, Bo01 is composed of a diverse housing typology with a range of sizes and types. This encourages a mix of tenure options including rental, shared ownership and freehold, as well as student housing. All of the buildings, especially the tall ones, engage the street at the ground level. This helps to create a more human-scale environmental because the height of buildings feels more proportionate to the space they sit in.

Although the area includes a diverse housing typology, it is noticeable that there is presence of social segregation. Since the construction cost of the buildings were not considered in the plan, the population in the area is mostly composed of wealthy people. Moreover, within the area there is also segregation - the luxury freehold flats enjoy the major viewpoints and privacy facing over the sea and canal.


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FIGureSFig. 1: Google earth 2015Fig. 2: Google earth 2015Fig. 3: http://www.youngnews.it/2015/02/28/bo01-il-quartiere-che-non-inquina/Fig. 4: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjare/1418512104/Fig. 5: http://www.urbangreenbluegrids.com/projects/bo01-city-of-tomorrow-malmo-sweden/Fig. 6: Master Plan of Bo01Fig. 7: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=385219Fig. 8: Master Plan of Bo01Fig. 9: Google earth 2015Fig. 10: http://hotpot.se/malmo-kartor-1800-talet.htmFig. 11: http://lab3.se/event/stortorget-flygfoto-malmo-flygbilder/Fig. 12: Footprint planFig. 13: http://www.urbangreenbluegrids.com/projects/bo01-city-of-tomorrow-malmo-sweden/Fig. 14: Innovation in Sustainable Housing: Tango

reFerenCeSArchitecture and DesignScotland “What does good leadership look like? Lessons from Bo01, Sweden”

PDFCity of Malmö “Detaljplaner” «http://malmo.se/Stadsplanering--trafik/Stadsplanering--visioner/Detaljplan-

er.html»City of Malmö “Towards a sustainable city” «http://malmo.se/download/18.4a2cec6a10d-

0ba37c0b800012617/article_towards_sustainable_city.pdf»City of Malmö “Västra Hamnen The Bo01-area A city for people and the environment” «http://malmo.se/

download/18.7101b483110ca54a562800010420/1383649557450/westernharbour06.pdf»Journal of Green Building “Case study and sustainability assessment of Bo01, Malmö, Sweden“ «http://

www.collegepublishing.us/jgb/samples/JGB_V8n3_a02_Austin.pdf»ruble Yudell, Moore “Innovation in Sustainable Housing: Tango “ Published in 2005

Today, the gross area of Bo01, including the water area, is 22 hectares. While Malmö has a population density of 3.1 people per hectare, Bo01 has 17.4 people per hectare. There are over 70 buildings that offer 1,425 dwelling units in this project. The resulting gross density is more than 10.5 dwelling units per hectare.

CONCLUSION

Bo01 was a high-risk development stimulated by a city in crisis. The project supports human physical and psychological health by having direct access to open space, walkable neighbourhoods, and occasions for social interaction or solitude. However, there were missteps, such as the cost of units being excessively high to serve population with moderate and low-income. Another fault is the lack of social infrastructure which pushes the Bo01 residents to travel longer distances that are not always walkable to reach a school, daycare, or health service. Yet, the accomplishment of the development confirmed that high quality architecture, landscape architecture, and attention to public spaces were important factors related to sustainability.

There are many important achievements equal to the astonishing 100% renewable energy system. Although over half of the site is dedicated to open space, the population density is a positive example of a compact urban settlement that doesn’t reduce the residents’ quality of life for the sake of density.

Today, the city of Malmö has taken a holistic attitude towards sustainability. Political drive and leadership is strong, with goals set at a high level. In fact, the city has the most ambitious targets in

the world: by 2020, the city will be climate neutral; and by 2030 the whole city will run on 100 per cent renewable energy. In order to reach this, the city aims to use ecological development as a driving force for economic growth and social innovation. Most importantly, this is a challenge that includes and demands commitment from all actors in society.

The evoluTion of The CiviC CenTer in new-orleans from 1728 To 1883

charles GreGoire

ONESQKM CIVICCENTERS new-orleans | Charles GreoiGre

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Fig. 2: Map of Nouvelle-Orléan (New-Orleans) in 1728.

Fig. 1: Map of the North American east coast, in 1703

The evolution of the Civic Center in new-orleans from 1728 to 1883

The city of New-Orleans, Louisiana, stands as an incongruity in the American Deep South. Its streets ooze with iconic French heritage that stands as a reminder of the origins of the region itself. To this day, one can stroll through the historic neighbourhoods of the city and encounter Bourbon or Toulouse street, and enter the Café du monde. However the surprising thing about New-Orleans is that one does not find mere fragments of the long-gone French colony, but an entire neighbourhood, bringing forth a holistic French experience more than three centuries later. In fact, when Louisiana was traded from French to Spanish hands in 1763 and later to American Hands in 1803, Nouvelle-Orléan (New-Orleans) counted a mere 3000 persons: a fraction compared to its historical peak of 627,000 citizens in 1960. It is reasonable to have expected a rapid growth to erase the traces of the city’s foundation; not unlike Hausmannisation did with medieval Paris; i.e. destroy and build anew). The key to New-Orleans’ preservation might be found in its very early planning strategy. Before delving into the analysis of the city layout, we must first look at the historical context in which the city was founded and what future was envisioned at the time. Louisiana was first “discovered” by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier in 1682 in an attempt to seize and control the American mainland territory before the British colonies. The actual occupation of the region, newly named Louisiana (after the ruling monarch Louis XIV), came later with the construction of a handful of outposts and finally a fort, Biloxi, in 1698. In a second surge to colonize the territory, the French regime ordered the construction of a new settlement in 1718, one that would act as a true regional capital for Louisiana; Nouvelle-Orléan.

ONESQKM CIVICCENTERS new-orleans | Charles GreGoire

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Central Axis

Area Analysed

Area Studied 937,405 m2 100% Road Area 215,865 m2 23 %

Residential Area 614,630 m2 66 %

Public Service 34,687 m2 3.7 %Area

Retail + Industrial 74,048 m2 7.9 % Area

Religious area 13,079 m2 1,4%

School Area 2,870 m2 0.3%

Approximate population in 1883 5000


Residential Area 15,706 m2 3.6 %

Public Space 9,500 m2 2.2 %

Service + Retail 6,672 m2 1.5 %area

Religious Area 1,350 m2 0.3%

Unassigned 297,780 m2 68.9%

Approximate population in 1728 927 (1000)

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Fig. 3: Diagram of the various occupancies labelled on the 1728 map of Nouvelle-Orléam.

The first thing to note is the intention to create a capital, i.e. the centre of regional government and the home of representatives of the French monarchy. It is no surprise that the symbolically powerful central axis of the grid is occupied by institutions deserving of such importance, i.e. the clergy and the State. In the French Ancien Régime, the social classes were clearly labeled and identifiable: First State (clergy), Second State (aristocracy) and Third State (everyone else). Perfectly aligned on the axis, facing the public square and the river, the city’s church dominates and establishes the location of city center – and the center of the physical map itself. It is also the first building labeled on the plan, even the presbytery appears before the government’s offices. The importance of religion, both spiritual and institutional, is expressed in this predominant location and proximity of the public space. The services provided by the local authority (the Compagnie) to the settlers are arranged around this center, namely the Headquarters for the Compagnie, the forges, the barracks, the food distribution centre, the government’s employees pavilion, etc. It must be stated that education was provided via religious institutions, which implies that in the 1728 plan no school seem to appear. In other words, if there had been some degree of education provided in the city, it would be integrated in the city center along with the religious buildings. As a general note, the 1728 city center was both the civic focal point of the community and the literal geographic center – a mark of its importance symbolically and functionally. It needs to be remembered that the foundation of New-Orleans arrives more than a century after that of Quebec City, another regional capital of the French Empire. The capital of New-France exhibits an entirely different approach to urban planning. The grid-based layout here is non-existent; the roads seem to grow organically (in no identifiable pattern, or at least adapting to the topography of the Cap Diamant). Could it be that the main difference in the planning strategy of these two cities be ideologically motivated rather than physically contextual? The foundation of New-Orleans coincides with a time of intellectual revolution: the Enlightenment. The predilection for rational thinking brings an interesting variable in the problem that is urban planning and it would surely impose


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Fig. 2: (repeat) Map of Nouvelle-Orléan (New-Orleans) in 1728.


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Fig. 4: Map of Quebec City in 1744.


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Central Axis


Residential Area 614,630 m2 66 %

Public Service 34,687 m2 3.7 %Area

Retail + Industrial 74,048 m2 7.9 % Area

Religious area 13,079 m2 1,4%

School Area 2,870 m2 0.3%

Approximate population in 1883 5000


Residential Area 15,706 m2 3.6 %

Public Space 9,500 m2 2.2 %

Service + Retail 6,672 m2 1.5 %area

Religious Area 1,350 m2 0.3%

Unassigned 297,780 m2 68.9%

Approximate population in 1728 927 (1000)


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Meters

Fig. 5: Diagram of the various occupancies labelled on the 1883 map of New-Orleans. (note: the map and statistics only concern the illustrated part of the city. It does not concern the other neighbourhoods of the much bigger New orleans of 1883)

new considerations. After all, the rationality and convenience of the square city block would later be adopted by Le Corbusier and many other modernists for reasons extensively theorized: ease of circulation, repetitive and expandable matrix, orderly organisation, etc. The earliest city plan of New-Orleans displays an obvious grid-based layout. The few buildings drawn on the 1728 map illustrate the absence of actual construction on the plotted land and leave an unambiguous message: the city was planned for expansion and for accommodation of a much larger population. The block size also reveals a configuration better suited for higher density housing; the elongated piece of land is better suited for row houses. In fact, the area occupied by buildings is only 7.6% of the settlement; to make a capital city with this density would defy reason. The 1883 plan of New-Orleans confirms that intention, although planners seem to have taken a few liberties with the original division of the city block. There is also an absence of hierarchy regarding the size of the streets in both the 1728 and 1883 plans; no boulevard, no highway, only same-size streets and a few back alleys. The exception to this rule is the street leading to the heart of the city and defining the main city axis. This special road is the only one breaking the perfect order and geometry of the city blocks and provides additional (and ceremonious) access to the city center: another element reinforcing the symbolic and functional relevance of the civic center. Fast forward 150 years later, the 1883 plan of the city illustrates the dissolution of the city center per-say. Although the division of the land and the street layout remain identical (expansion in the harbour not withstanding), the density of building is incomparable to the previous 1728 map. Only the newly developed industries clash with their apparent segregation towards the rest of the community. Just like markets and shops, mercantile occupancies are mostly located on the waterfront where the river conveniently serves as the point of entry and exit of goods and resources. However “mostly” is quite accurate here: other factories and workshops of considerable size dwell among the residential units. Either those instances are simple “exceptions” in the planning of the city or the segregation of industrial and residential is the


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simple consequence of entrepreneurs establishing their industries as close to the harbour as possible. The answer to this question (in the absence of a definitive proof in favor of either conjectures) probably resides in a balance of both. Isolated structures disappeared for the benefit of row houses and other agglomerations of buildings that volumetrically define the square city block. One should also note the arrival of schools and academies as well as their location. They are no longer geometrically centered in the city and not evenly scattered either; they occupy the center and right section of the map. However the limited size of the city (approximately 1000 meters wide) diminishes proximity as a potential issue. This remark is also true regarding the public services. The area surrounding the public square and the church is now residential; the government buildings and other institutions are dispersed in the city with no identifiable pattern. This could be caused by the fact that only one service point is needed per service provided (i.e. only one single post office, one single state bank, etc.). The geographical center of New-Orleans is now essentially a church and its public space: a significant gathering area for the community, but definitely not a “civic” center. This could very well indicate that for a small population occupying a dense community, the “civic” center is no longer purposeful, or at least doesn’t facilitate access in significant manner that would be worth such a geographical restriction. But if that statement was proven to be true, then why was the 1728 plan regrouping its civil institutions in a geographical center in the first place if accessibility was never an issue? Perhaps this change in planning is reminiscent of a change in ideology (or governance) during the 150 years gap between the two plans. With New-Orleans in the hands of the Americans, it could very well be that the original intention of creating a capital city was set aside over time, and consequentially the need for a geographically and symbolically evocative civic center. In brief the historical evolution of New-Orleans may reveal less about the logistics of urban planning and more about the symbolic significance of the city center and the institutions that it regroups.

Piazza San Marco : St-Mark Basilica. Source: Wikipedia

pIaZZa san maRco,vEnIcEmarie-yan cyR


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piazza san marco | marie-yan cyr

Fig. 1: Please adjust this text field the same width than the image above and adjust the height to fit the text if needed. Caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption

Fig. 1: Please adjust this text field the same width than the image above and adjust the height to fit the text if needed.

Piazza San Marco is situated in Venice, Italy. This civic center is one of the most famous and the most represented in several mov-ies, The Italian Job, Anthony Zimmer, etc.; in several paintings made by Carpaccio, Canaletto, or even Guardi 1. and even stories like Casanova2. Actually people know more the Piazza San Marco as a touristic destination but it is important to mention that basically, its primary function was responding political, commercial, religious and cultural. In the time that it was build, Piazza San Marco had a vital role, in a political point of view, in the religion & in his trading crossroads. Piazza San Marco was a major civic center because of all its diverse functions.

Venice is unique mostly because of his environment, some people would say that Venice is in symbiosis with the nature because it is so beautiful but other would say it is the opposite and it is artificial because buildings invaded the water 3. I choose to analyse Venice for his singular relationship between water & building, and the rela-tionship with the water and inhabitants. I wanted to analyse Venice because comparatively to all the other cities, this one does not have regular streets, and highways, but waterways.

Fig. 2: Piazza San Marco with his Context. Source: Perocco, Guido ; Salvadori, Antonio. (1973). Civiltà di Venezia. Venezia : Stamperia di Venezia

Fig. 1: Piazza San Marco : St-Mark Basilica. Source: Wikipedia


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Fig. 3: Six Islands : San Marco District

San Marco

San MarcoSub-District

Venice is divided in six districts. Venice and its suburban area had 270 000 inhabitants in 2012. 4 But, the Venice historic city with 6.5 square kilometers has 58 700 people 5, the density is around 9000 people per square kilometer. There are 105 300 people if we add up residents and tourists. So the density is around 16 200 people per square kilometer. Piazza San Marco is only 0.127 square kilo-meters. 6.5 km2 (including rivers and unbuilt zone)5.2 km2 (without rivers, built zone) Estimate : 80 % of 4.2sq.km2 X 5 strories = 21 km2Estimate : 20 % of 1 sqk.m2 x 2 stories = 2 km2The FAR is about 3.5. The city is pretty dense because there is no vacant lot, and the streets are pretty narrow and almost no green spaces.

There are three majors civic centers in Venice, there is the Rialto, the Arsenal & the one that we will analyse, Piazza San Marco. It is important to mention it is the only one that is called Piazza, because there is a lot of other public place, but they are called Campo. In reality, Piazza San Marco is disserving only 4 700 people that live in San Marco. 6 Comparatively, there is about 17 millions tourists that visit Venice every year. 7 Piazza San Marco is situated in the heart of Venice, close to the Rialto Canal.

Population of Historic Venice, 1540 to 2015

Fig. 4: Islands of San Marco District : Piazza San Marco Sub-District

Fig. 5: Venice Population. Source: Venipedia.org.

Piazza San Marco | Marie-Yan cYrONESQKM CIVICcenTerS

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The three major civic center in Venice are the Rialto, the Arsenal & the Piazza San Marco.

Fig. 10: Three Majors Civic CentersSource: Perocco, Guido ; Salvadori, Antonio. (1973). Civiltà di Venezia. Venezia : Stamperia di


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Venice, Italy Piazza San Marco | Marie-Yan Cyr

Fig. 14.: San Marco in VeniceSource: Perocco, Guido ; Salvadori, Antonio. (1973). Civiltà di Venezia. Venezia : Stamperia di Venezia

500 m

Fig. 14.: San Marco in VeniceSource: Perocco, Guido ; Salvadori, Antonio. (1973). Civiltà di Venezia. Venezia : Stamperia di Venezia

500 m


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History : Even if Venice is such a beautiful and prestigious city, the beginning was not as glorious. Everything started in the 6th cen-tury, when the romans wanted to escape and find a safe place to live, so they decided to construct on the water. By settling down on the lagoon, it would not only push back their enemies but also provide a safe place. After settling down, it is important to mention that around the 9th century Venice was independent, it was consid-ered as a republic. Doges & procurators were managing the city. All these people had to meet and live somewhere, and this meeting point would take place at Piazza San Marco. At that time, Piazza San Marco had a political significance; it was the place where de-cisions were made. The geography and the location of Venice not only provided protection but also was the perfect place for trading. Unlike typical cities, the relationship is between water and sky rath-er than earth and sky, and this relationship has necessarily affected the way to circulate and to build a city. It is important to mention that Venice is not a real island, people were building on wooden stilts. I don’t know if in the city that we know today, is what was planned in the IX Century, if there was a urbanist that design a master plan but, I rather think it was build progressively, like a vernacular archi-tecture. It is more an emergent city than a indulced city. When we look at the city, the buildings are all different with different size and shape. Venice was constructed in 9th Century; at a time when cars did not exist. Still today, there are no cars moving on the 116 is-lands. The majority of the people walk or use boats to move through the city, which explains why the “roads’’ are narrow. Many people use the vaporreti, a bus-boat or the typical gondola.

The piazza includes: St-Mark’s Basilica, The Doge Palace that includes the Grand Council, a public library, the municipal palace and the prince apartment. When Venice became a Republic, they needed major construction: a courthouse and a procuratie. There is also a campanile, San Teodoro Columns, Loggetta, clock tower (Torre dell’Orologio), courthouse, library, stores, coffee shop, pi-azzetta and piazza. Fig. 6: Piazza San Marco

St- Mark

Doge’s Palace

Clock Tower

CampanilePiazzetta

Piazza San Marco

Procuratie

nuove

Library

Procuratie

Vecchie

Columns

napoleon Pavilion


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Fig. 7: Piazza San Marco from a Bird View. Source: Google Map.

Fig. 8: Section of typical buildings in Venice : Human Scale Source: Perocco, Guido ; Salvadori, Antonio. (1973). Civiltà di Venezia. Venezia : Stamperia di Venezia

Already in the 15th century, the city had 100 000 dwellers and it was starting to look like it looks today. Venice was prosperous. In 1554 there was a lot of major construction for the piazza or modifications, an old hostel was demolished to build the Marciana Library and Sansovino Library. In the 16th century, Venice lost it’s political power.

- The Piazza San Marco is interesting by its unconventional shape. The public place is shaped as a ‘‘L’’. and surrounded by buildings.

- From a bird’s eye view we can see, the piazza looks more closed and private from the pedestrian point of view, but really open and welcoming viewed from the sea. - The campanile tower is used as a landmark. All the buildings feel smaller. Even if the symmetry in the façade is present and the archi-tecture is monumental, it is a really welcoming civic center. This is also due to its café’s and other commercial function’s on the ground floor.

Fig. 9: Piazza : Human Scale. Source: Wikipedia.


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Fig. 11: Rivers and Canals. Source: Perocco, Guido ; Salvadori, Antonio. (1973). Civiltà di Venezia. Venezia : Stamperia di VeneziaFig. 11: rivers and Canals. Source: Perocco, Guido ; Salvadori, Antonio. (1973). Civiltà di Venezia. Venezia : Stamperia di Venezia


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- It shows there is not a lot of vacant space on the ground. Most of the un-built zone is public space, the campos and the piazza. We can see that the biggest public space is the Piazza San Marco.


- It shows there is not a lot of vacant space on the ground. Most of the un-built zone is public space, the campos and the piazza. We can see that the biggest public space is the Piazza San Marco.

Fig. 12 : The Unbuilt Zone Source: Perocco, Guido ; Salvadori, Antonio. (1973). Civiltà di Venezia. Venezia : Stamperia di VeneziaFig. 12 : The unbuilt Zone Source: Perocco, Guido ; Salvadori, Antonio. (1973). Civiltà di Venezia. Venezia : Stamperia di Venezia


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This plan is the rivers & the un-built zone.


This plan is the rivers & the un-built zone.

Fig. 13: The spaces not considered in the FAR calculation.Source: Perocco, Guido ; Salvadori, Antonio. (1973). Civiltà di Venezia. Venezia : Stamperia di VeneziaFig. 13: The spaces not considered in the FAr calculation.Source: Perocco, Guido ; Salvadori, Antonio. (1973). Civiltà di Venezia. Venezia : Stamperia di


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As you can see on the plan, parks are pretty rare in Venice the only one in the area is the one next to the Piazza San Marco. It is import-ant to mention that Venice is not a real island, people were building on wooden stilts. I don’t know if in the city that we know today, is what was planned in the IX Century, if there was a urbanist that de-

sign a master plan but, I rather think it was build progressively, like a vernacular architecture. It is more an emergent city than a indulced city. When we look at the city, the buildings are all different with different size and shape. 9th century, creating green spaces was not important It was not natural, if we want some parks we have to import vegetation. Housing was not important


As you can see on the plan, parks are pretty rare in Venice the only one in the area is the one next to the Piazza San Marco. It is import-ant to mention that Venice is not a real island, people were building on wooden stilts. I don’t know if in the city that we know today, is what was planned in the IX Century, if there was a urbanist that de-

sign a master plan but, I rather think it was build progressively, like a vernacular architecture. It is more an emergent city than a indulced city. When we look at the city, the buildings are all different with different size and shape. 9th century, creating green spaces was not important It was not natural, if we want some parks we have to import vegetation. Housing was not important

Fig. 15: Green Spaces & Parks

500 m

Fig. 15: Green Spaces & Parks

500 m


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The hospitals are not situated close to the Piazza San Marco.


The hospitals are not situated close to the Piazza San Marco.

Fig. 16: The Hospitals

500 m

Fig. 16: The Hospitals

500 m


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There are some schools, in proportion to the population.


There are some schools, in proportion to the population.

Fig. 17: Schools500 m

Fig. 17: Schools500 m


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There are many churches because religion was important in the time that it was built.

Fig. 17: religious Spaces 500 m


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There are many hotels all around the Piazza San Marco. There are almost the same number of tourists as residents.

Fig. 18: Hotels 500 m


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The FutureIn Venice, flooding is a real issue and every year it is coming back. Nowadays it is even more frequent with global warming. Every time there is flooding, the polluted water is ruining the brick and other materials. The other issue is that Venice is every year sinking, the seafloor have some issues to support the stilt. Since 15th century, Venice has not change.13 There is no more modification that can be made. It’s almost if the city was frozen in time. There is no place for the city to spread or extend. It is also protected by UNESCO 14, it is not possible to change the architectural heritage. It is al-most like a ‘Museum’’ city15. It doesn’t allow the city to expand or build something new because its trademark will be change forever. The population is migrating to two other areas next to Venice, were there is more job creation. The historic Venice population of almost 58 700 habitants, is increased by almost 46 600 tourist per day and increase of 79 % the population in Venice. This has consequenc-es, on the usage of the buildings, probably a lot of housing was transform into hotel to respond to a growing tourist demand. The future of Venice is precarious, because of natural disaster and the declining population.

In conclusion, Venice is a unique place by its rich history, by its architectural patrimony, by its natural context. Venice is a beautiful place because of its human scale, its relationship between water and sky. The fact that it didn’t change since almost six or seven cen-tury. The Piazza San Marco is one of the most important projects in Venice because it was a turning point between religions, politic, and trade. I think it is a really interesting civic center precedent & I

am probably not the only one who had an interest for it, if there is 17 millions tourists coming every year. Venice had one issue; it is victim from its own success. Venice is invaded of tourists & the pop-ulation is decreasing. Today, the Piazza is seen as a touristic place but it is sad that now, this place lost of its political, religious, and trading meaning. The major role of Piazza San Marco was basically to respond to the citizens of Venice, but it is sad that now is mainly responding the tourists. Is Piazza San Marco should return to his starting role? Being a civic center. If so, how can we still welcome the tourists but still being serve the citizen? But right now, probably Venice has no time to respond to these questions because there are other urgent concerns like how can we save Venice of sinking underwater?


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Venice, Italy piazza san marco | marie-yan cyr

References

1. Roiter, Fulvio; Tournier, Michel ; Pignatti, Terisio (1973). Venise : hier et demain. Paris : Chêne, p. 17

2. Idem p. 10


4. Wikipedia. (2015). San Marco, Venise. [online] February 1st 2015. http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Marco_(Venise)

5. Wikipedia. (2015). San Marco, Venise. [online] February 1st 2015. http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Marco_(Venise)

6. Wikipedia. (2015). Piazza San Marco. [online] February 1st 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_San_Marco

7. McInerney, Kieran(2013). Venice, Density [online] February 1st 2015. https://highdensityliving.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/venice-2/



10.Wikipedia. (2015). Venise. [online] February 1st 2015. http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venise



13. STEPHENS, Josh. (2012). [online] February 1st 2015. http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/city-museum-or-amusement-park-the-problem-with-venice


15. Stephens, Josh. (2012). [online] February 1st 2015. http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/city-museum-or-amusement-park-the-problem-with-venice


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Bibliography

Books

-Perocco, Guido ; Salvadori, Antonio. (1973). Civiltà di Venezia. Venezia : Stamperia di Venezia, 243 p.

Trincanato, Egle (1972). Le Palais des Doges. Paris : Grange Batelière, 64 p.

Samonà, Guiseppe ; Ballarin, Italo. (1982). Piazza San Marco : l’architettura, la storia, le funzioni. Venezia : Marsilio, 214 p.

Roiter, Fulvio; Tournier, Michel ; Pignatti, Terisio (1973). Venise : hier et demain. Paris : Chêne, 247 p.

-Roiter, Fluvio ; Fernandez, Dominique. (1978). Vivre Venise. Paris : Mengès, 125p.

Rossi, Guido Alberto; Masiero, Franco. (1988). Venice from the air. New York : Rizzoli, 144p.

Zorzi, Alvise; Guyader, Bernard. (1980). Une cité, une république, un empire : Venise. Paris : Nathan, 277 p.

Website

- Bellon, Liana. (2008). The Views of the Vedutisti - Piazza San Marco Seen Through Its Painters. [online] February 1st 2015. http://www.accenti.ca/news-archives-issue-14/feature-the-views-of-the-vedutisti-piazza-san-marco-seen-through-its-painters-liana-bellon

-Wikipedia. (2015). Piazza San Marco. [online] February 1st 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_San_Marco

-Wikipedia. (2014). Place Saint-Marc. [online] February 1st 2015. http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_Saint-Marc

-Wikipedia. (2015). San Marco, Venise. [online] February 1st 2015. http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Marco_(Venise)

- Wikipedia. (2015). Venise. [online] February 1st 2015. http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venise

- Stephens, Josh. (2012). [online] February 1st 2015. http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/city-museum-or-amusement-park-the-problem-with-venice

-McInerney, Kieran(2013). Venice, Density [online] February 1st 2015. https://highdensityliving.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/venice-2/

UTOPIAS: Social experimentationRaphael MONNIER

UTOPIAS: SOCIAL ExPERIMENTATION

UTOPIAS | RAPHAEL MONNIERONESQKM CIVICCENTERS

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ONESQKMMONTREALBEIJING UTOPIAS | Raphaël MONNIER

Fig. 1: “La Ville Verte” de LeCorbusier, residential space for “La Ville Radieuse”.

and freed the pedestrian level, leaving the city with more green areas, engaging the citizens in more interactions. The plan of “La Ville Verte”, the residential area of “The Radient City”, is a good example of such a thought process. The houses are clustered in a belt that meanders around public facilities and parks, creating semi-intimate conditions.


Utopias are an expression of a new social order, political system, human behavior experiment or satire. Architects, thinkers, philosophers and urban planners have all imagined utopian cities. Aristotle could be presumed the first to have published such ideas. The notion of Utopia came back in literature during the Humanist period in Europe. Utopias in general have had many similarities, they consists of a place, not geographically defined, setback from any existing urban context, very difficult to access and completely unknown from the rest of the world. In “Utopia” by Thomas Moore, his imagined world is isolated on an island. These hypothetical projects are aspirations to better live styles, and shaped reflexion for future architects and city planners.

In 1747, Voltaire wrote “Zadig ou la Destinee”. He imagines, in the short novel, that the protagonist enters El Dorado, a utopian city in Peru. In the description of the city, there are many public spaces: “Grandes places avec des fontaines (eau pure, eau de rose, liqueurs de cannes a sucres)” and “un marche orne de mille colonnes”. These “agoras” represent freedom of speech and political debate that was at the time lacking in France. The goal of this book was less about imagining a new city than criticizing the absolute monarchy.

Many of the projects I have chosen to explore use housing as a buffer between the city life and the rest of the world. The architecture is therefore framing the activities happening in the community. In many cases, this strategy was adopted consciously

for practical reasons such as surveillance and control. Moreover, we can observe that in many of these projects the public space is completely free for pedestrian movement, there are no boundaries like roads and the circulation has been made organic. This logic reminds me of Toyo Ito’s ideas on infinite circulation, where each person is free to take the path he desires.

These attemps to picture, as architecture expressions, ideas on society and beliefs on new social conducts and interactions have always fascinated architects. These subjective and imaginary representations of a new world are very often the basis of reflexion, the concept without restrictions of real projects that will later be built.

Many architects, such as Le Corbusier, Peter Cook (“Plug-in city”), Buckminster Fuller (“Drop City”), Yona Friedman (“Spacial City”) and John Ruskin have had ideas regarding utopian cities. The most inspirational project is the “Ville Radieuse” by Le Corbusier. Jacques Tati, in his movie “Playtime” stages a normal day in a modernist Paris. His hypothetical idea of a modern and efficient city started to attract attention when he related back to existing cities. “Plan Voisin” in Paris, the re-planning of Buenos Aires and Chandigarh in India were all designed according to the set of rules and notions explored in “La Ville Radieuse”. The hierarchy of different types of circulation was an opportunity for social sustainability in public spaces. The marginalization of cars underground opened up


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Fig. 1: “La Ville Verte” de LeCorbusier, residential space for “La Ville Radieuse”.

and freed the pedestrian level, leaving the city with more green areas, engaging the citizens in more interactions. The plan of “La Ville Verte”, the residential area of “The Radient City”, is a good example of such a thought process. The houses are clustered in a belt that meanders around public facilities and parks, creating semi-intimate conditions.


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Fig. 3: Master plan of a Phalanstery, original idea of Charles Fourier.

PHALANSTERY by CHARLES FOURIER

Capacity: 1620 people (400 families)

The design consists of three parts, the central and two lat-eral parts. The central part was meant for quiet activities such as reading, dining, meetings and studying. One of the lateral parts was reserved for noisy activities such as carpentry, forging, hammer-ing and children’s playground, while the other one was for danc-ing, meetings with outsiders. The actual building consists of private apartments and many social halls. The major difference with the “New Moral World” is that the Theatre and the Church were placed ouside; because visitors would have to pay a fee to get into the phalanstery, these two buildings were therefore considered as open to the public. This project has had a lot of repercussions, it influ-enced Jean-Baptiste André Godin in the building of the “Familis-tery” in Guise, France. It was a housing projects for the families of workers. Later, the concept of “Phalanstery” influenced Le Corbus-ier in the design of the “Unite d’Habitation” in Marseille.

1 - Great plazza for parades in the center of the Philanstery.2 - Winter gardens.3 - Interior court, servant space with trees, fountains and ponds.4 - Main entry to the domain.5 - Theatre.6 - Church.

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Fig. 2: Masterplan of the “New Moral World”.

NEW MORAL WORLD by ROBERT OWEN

Capacity: 2000 people

Thinkers such as Robert Owen, in his first attempt to create a perfect community called “New Harmony” in Indiana, United States, thought about interactions between people. He redefined the general conduct, starting by education, living standards, leisure, supervision, work environment, ownership and punishments. This project later failed because apparently the people who came to live there were poor human material for his experiment. His new social ideas, “Owenism”, could be considered as the first attempt at socialism. Robert Owen uses social infrastructure as the keystone in his latter design of the “New Moral World”. Placing social infrastructure at the center of the city emphasized the importance of interactions in a perfect community. The idea of ownership, currency, private space were all put aside; all facilities like the kitchen, dining hall were shared amongst everyone.

As we can see in the plan, public infrastructure is placed in the corners and the residential units along the four sides of the square. The symmetry of the master plan reminds me of the “Round Table” of King Arthur, the table was circular so that no knights end up in a corner, all were treating equally. Furthermore, the center of the project was reserved for public facilities, and at its midst a conservatory (place of expression and recognition). It can be con-sidered as a sort of gated community, outsiders are not the most welcome.

1 - Angle Buildings, occupied by the Schools for Infants, Children, and Youths, and the Infirmary; on the fround floors are Conversation-rooms for Adults.2 - Dining Halls, with Kitchens.3 - Library, Detached Reading Rooms, Bookbindery, Printing Office.4 - Conservatory, in the midst of the Gardens botaically arranged.5 - The Brew-houses, Bakehouses, Wash-houses, Laundries.6 - The Illuminators of the Etablishment, Clock-towers, and Observatories, and from the elevated summits of which all the smoke and vitiated air of the buildings is discharged into the atmosphere.7 - Museum, with Library od Desription and Reference, Rooms for preparing Specimens.8 - Theatre for Lectures, Exibitions, Discussions with Laboratory and Small Libraries.9 - Three story tall Housing units (80 units in total). For a Community of 2000 persons founded upon a principle Commented by Plato, Lord Bacon and Sir Thomas More.

1

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4

4

8

7

3

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Fig. 3: Master plan of a Phalanstery, original idea of Charles Fourier.

PHALANSTERY by CHARLES FOURIER

Capacity: 1620 people (400 families)

The design consists of three parts, the central and two lat-eral parts. The central part was meant for quiet activities such as reading, dining, meetings and studying. One of the lateral parts was reserved for noisy activities such as carpentry, forging, hammer-ing and children’s playground, while the other one was for danc-ing, meetings with outsiders. The actual building consists of private apartments and many social halls. The major difference with the “New Moral World” is that the Theatre and the Church were placed ouside; because visitors would have to pay a fee to get into the phalanstery, these two buildings were therefore considered as open to the public. This project has had a lot of repercussions, it influ-enced Jean-Baptiste André Godin in the building of the “Familis-tery” in Guise, France. It was a housing projects for the families of workers. Later, the concept of “Phalanstery” influenced Le Corbus-ier in the design of the “Unite d’Habitation” in Marseille.

1 - Great plazza for parades in the center of the Philanstery.2 - Winter gardens.3 - Interior court, servant space with trees, fountains and ponds.4 - Main entry to the domain.5 - Theatre.6 - Church.

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136136


Bibliography

“BEIJING The Nature and Planning of a Chinese Capital City” by Victor F. S Sit; University of HongKong

“Chinese Imperial City Planning” by Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt, University of Hawaii Press

“The Ancient City, New Perserpectives on Urbanism in the Old and New World”

“The Radiant City, Elements of a doctrine to be used as the basis of our machine-age civilization” Le Corbusier

The city was in precise alignment with the four directions, with an emphasis on the north-south axis. (皇轴 huangzhou, the empirial central axis) This city planning has served during the plan-ning of BeiJing, HangZhou and other large cities in China. The whole city was planned around the palace of the souvereign; in the original texts the palace is very well described, but the rest of the city is very vague. The palace, the center square in the plan, was reserved for aristocrats, concubines, servants, the emperor’s family, military officers, high ranking visitors and government offi-cials (高官 gaoguan). Public spaces such as markets, were spread around the city but kept distance from the center for odor purposes.


Fig. 4: Master plan of the “City of the Emperor”.

WangCheng in Zhou Dynasty; Kaogong Ji by ZhouLi

Capacity: 130,000 people

In many cases, through the plan of these cities, you can un-derstand the contemporary beliefs, social hierarchies and historical events. It is especially the case for “WangCheng”, The City of the Emperor during the Zhou Dynasty in a chapter of the “Kaogong Ji”, Records of Examination of Craftsman by ZhouLi. The city is divid-ed in a square grid with nine city gates. (9 is a special number in China that represents the emperor and the 9 sons of the dragon) The center of the city is the emperor’s palace as the most important spot. The overall shape of the city is a perfect square, representing the terrestrial condition, in comparison with the circle representing heaven. Because of the topography of Chinese vernacular domes-tic housing, (dominant place for family, very closed to the public) interactions would mostly take place in the street. Each of the nine subdivisions is divided into nine wards. The 30 meter wide roads leave plenty of space for commercial purposes, circulation and pub-lic life. If you continue zooming in, each ward consisted of about 300x300 meters or 90,000m2. These smallest partitions were left un-planned so that each neighborhood would be free to shape their plot. These fractal like subdivisions of the city allowed one to grad-ually make his way through public spaces and into more private spaces.

1 - Markets considered as less important2 - Ancestral Temple.3 - Hall of Audience.4 - Imperial Palace.5 - Altars of Soil and Grain.6 - Wards.

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Bibliography

“BEIJING The Nature and Planning of a Chinese Capital City” by Victor F. S Sit; University of HongKong

“Chinese Imperial City Planning” by Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt, University of Hawaii Press

“The Ancient City, New Perserpectives on Urbanism in the Old and New World”

“The Radiant City, Elements of a doctrine to be used as the basis of our machine-age civilization” Le Corbusier

The city was in precise alignment with the four directions, with an emphasis on the north-south axis. (皇轴 huangzhou, the empirial central axis) This city planning has served during the plan-ning of BeiJing, HangZhou and other large cities in China. The whole city was planned around the palace of the souvereign; in the original texts the palace is very well described, but the rest of the city is very vague. The palace, the center square in the plan, was reserved for aristocrats, concubines, servants, the emperor’s family, military officers, high ranking visitors and government offi-cials (高官 gaoguan). Public spaces such as markets, were spread around the city but kept distance from the center for odor purposes.

SÜLEYMANIYE KÜLLIYESI,IStANbuL omar ALAMEDDINE

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The Suleymanyyeh Complex is considered today among the most noteworthy works of Architecture to be produced by the Ottoman Empire. Erected during the reign of Sultan Suleiman I (1520-66), it is the result of a century of prosperity and conquest that extended the borders of the Ottoman Empire to reach Hungary and Georgia to the North, Algeria to the West, and Ethiopia to the South (Robert Hillenbrand, 1994). In order to immortalize his leg-acy, Suleiman commissioned Mimar Sinan (1490-1588), the chief Ottoman court architect, to design and supervise the construction of the Suleymanyyeh Complex. With the end of construction in 1557 marking sultan Suleiman’s 37th year on the throne, the Complex was to become one of the most important civic centers in the Capi-tal.

InanattempttounderstandtheoperationalconfigurationoftheSuleymanyyeh,thepaperfocusesfirstonabriefhistoryofOt-toman Rule that stretched from the year 1453 till 1566, also known as the peak of Ottoman Rule. A very distinct typology known as the küllyeh (the university) emerges during that period and is con-sistently adopted by Ottoman rulers to serve a range of civic func-tions.Finally,lookingspecificallyattheset-upoftheSuleymannyehComplex, it reveals a new type of urban space whereby religious, institutional, social and commercial functions overlap in a harmoni-ous fashion.

The year 1453 marked the fall of Constantine VI and the col-lapse of the Byzantine Empire. The Sultan, Mehmet II also known as “al Fatih” (the conqueror) invaded Constantinople and estab-lished an Islamic rule (Charles, 321-345). To honor his accomplish-ment, he commissioned architect Atik Sinan to design The Fatih

Complex: a composite of religious and civic buildings of unprece-dented size. Completed in 1470, it included a mosque, mausole-ums, eight theological schools (Madrasas), a hospital, a caravan-serai, a hospice and a library. The most prominent element of the Fatih Complex is the Mosque, placed at the center and surrounded on all sides by a U-shaped courtyard. The remaining buildings are then laid out around the courtyard and compose a rigid symmetrical arrangement. In terms of hierarchy, the mosque achieves primacy through its centrality and elevation. The eight theological schools (madrasas) occupy a large surface area and are oriented facing the mosque. The discourse that arises from these buildings is one of productive dialogue between the practice of religion and the edu-cation of religion (Kuran, 1968). The exterior courtyard separating these two presents itself as a space that promotes conversation between members of the community. Furthermore, the complex included independent institutions that helped maintain the project among which was the caravanserai equipped with rooms for mer-chants, baths for men and women, and a market with some 280 shops (These shops laid out at the edge of the madrasas). It also included a hospital and a hospice which were not meant to gen-erate income; these two charitable programs break the symmetry of the rigid composition and while positioned close to the mosque, they behave autonomously: the outer courtyard does not extend to reach these two buildings.

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Fig. 1: Aerial View of Turkey. (1) The Fatih Complex. (2) The Suleymanyyeh Complex

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(1) Mosque(2) Mausoleums of Mehmed II and his wife Gülbahar Sultan (3) Formal garden(4) Madrasas(5) Preparatory madrasas(6) Hospital(7) Guesthouse(8) Caravanserai(9) Hospice(10) Elementary school(11) Library

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Fig. 3: Aerial View of Suleymanyyeh Complex

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As the precedent from which many other küllyeh complexes are to follow, the Fatih Complex certainly presents an extremely diverse set of program that overlaps religion, academia, medicine and economic activity in a single center. Still, the number of ma-drasas and the central position of the mosque shows the increased importance of religion in the post-conquest Ottoman Empire. It can be argued that the Fatih complex served a double function of both public service and religious propagation. Additionally, half of the wealth required for the upkeep of the project came from outside of the capital through various taxes imposed on occupied villages (Okcuoglu, Cobanoglu, 2011). This suggests that the complex was not a loacally sustainable model for a civic center but intended as an empire-wide institution. Yet, Mehmet II’s successor Beyazit II fol-lowed along his footsteps and commissioned the Beyazit Complex inIstanbul.SodidSuleimantheMagnificent,inhiscommissionforthe Yavuz Selim Complex erected in the memory of his father Selim I, and the Suleymanyyeh Complex completed almost ninety years after the Fatih Complex.

The location picked for the Suleymanyyeh was Istanbul’s third hill. This was done so as to follow in the tradition of the Hagia Sophia, and both Beyazit and Fatih complexes. It also achieved sig-nificancethroughvisibilityandstatureinelevation.AswiththeFatihcomplex, it is comprised of a congregational mosque, six schools (madrasas), two mausoleums, a Koranic recitation school, a hos-pital, a hostel, a public kitchen, a caravanserai, a bath and rows of small schools (Okcuoglu, Cobanoglu, 2011). Programmatically, the two complexes share many similarities and overlaps in terms of theology, academia and economic activity. However, there


Fig. 4: Suleymanyyeh Complex Plan

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(1) Mosque, (2) Mausoleum of Suleiman, (3) Mausoleum of Hürrem, (4) Koran recitation school, (5) Public fountain, (6) Elementary school, (7) First (evvel) madrasa, (8) Second (sani) madrasa, (9) Remains of medical school, (10) Hospital, (11) Hospice, (12) Guesthouse, (13) Sinan’s tomb with domed sabil and empty plot of his endowed school and residence, (14) The janissary agha’s residence, (15) Third (salis) madrasa, (16) Fourth (rabi) madrasa,


Fig. 5: Exterior View of Suleymanyyeh Mosque

Fig. 6: Courtyard View of Suleymanyyeh Mosque

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are certain elements that distinguish the two; chief among them is their general layout. While the Fatih Complex adheres to strict sym-metrical composition, the Suleymanyyeh does not: It is argued that this is a result of the architect’s adaptation to the steep topography ofthesite(Rogers,2006).Theresultisaprojectthatfitsmorehar-moniously into the city’s fabric and improves upon the courtyard’s ability to infuse life and conversation into the area.

Furthermore, a major programmatic innovation in the Su-leymanyyeh is the proximity between the medical school and the hospital;thefirstofitskind,wherebystudentspracticedtheirthe-oretical training in the hospital much like modern medical training. This suggests that the complex layout was malleable. Finally, a key novelty of the Suleymannyeh lies within its central mosque. The architect, Mimar Sinan, in an attempt to further invigorate the outer courtyard placed water fountains along the exterior of the mosque (Okcuoglu,Cobanoglu,2011).Sincepurificationwithwaterisakeypart of Islamic prayer, the community was therefore forced to par-take in this activity on the outer courtyard; further enhancing the chances of contact and conversation with other members of the public community.


Fig. 7: Interior View of Suleymanyyeh Mosque

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The Suleymanyyeh achieves an improved version of the küllyeh typology and presents itself in the service of the public. While the study has focused so far on the relationship between the different building functions, it should not neglect the inner workings of each of the buildings. Since the mosque is at the center of the complex,itsspatialconfigurationiskeytoendorsepubliccommu-nication. In fact the two major spaces of the mosque are the interior domed space and the exterior open-air courtyard; both of which representopenspacesfitfortraditionalcommunalprayer.Thiscanresult in positive relationships growing through the interaction of the community before and after prayer sessions. The schools (ma-drasas)flankingthemosquealsopresentaveryspecifictypology.“The basic madrasa design consists of rooms arranged in a “U” pat-tern around a courtyard with arcades. The rooms, or cells, usually consistedofabedandafireplaceforonetutorandtwostudents.This model had existed since the middle ages, and Mimar Sinan did not alter it” (Bloom, Blair, 1997). The central courtyard served as a classroom. The inner working of the madrasa is then seen as a communal space of its own whereby teacher and students can share information. What is interesting to note here is that the typologyofthemadrasasomehowreflectsthatoftheküllyehasawhole whereby the central element: the courtyard represents the congregational mosque of the küllyeh.

AReflection:WhileSuleimanwasknowninEuropeastheMagnificent, amongOttomans,hewasknownas “Kanuni” (Law-giver) because he harmonized Islamic law and governmental ad-ministration (Robert Hillenbrand, 1994). As such, during his reign, religion informed law. It can therefore be argued, just as it was the


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case with Mehmet II’s Fatih mosque, that theological propagation and legitimacy were part of the commission of the Suleymanyyeh. In fact, the endowment deed to this complex says that “it was built to elevate matters of religion and religious sciences in order to strengthen the mechanisms of worldly sovereignty and to reach happiness in the afterworld” (Okcuoglu, Cobanoglu, 2011). Further-more, the proximity of the complex to already existing complexes such that it is only 1km away from the Fatih complex, 0.6km away fromtheBeyazitcomplexand0.4kmawayfromŞehzadecomplex;validates that such monumental centers served functions beyond the scope of the civic center.


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Bibliography

Aptullah Kuran, The mosque in early Ottoman architecture, Chica-go, University of Chicago Press, 1968.

CülruNecipoglu-Kafadar,THESULEYMANIYECOMPLEXINIS-TANBUL:ANINTERPRETATION,MuqarnasOnline,v3n1(1985):92-117

JaleErzen,SINANASANTI-CLASSICIST,MuqarnasOnline,v5n1(1987): 70-86

J.M.Rogers,SINAN,London,NewYork,OxfordCentreforIslamicStudies, 2006.

Jonathan Bloom; Sheila Blair, Islamic arts, London; New York:Phaidon Press, 1997.

Martin A Charles, Hagia Sophia and the Great Imperial Mosques, The Art Bulletin, v12 n4 (19301201): 321-345.

Robert Hillenbrand, Islamic architecture: form, function, and mean-ing, New York: Columbia University Press, ©1994.

Sheila Blair; Jonathan Bloom; Richard Ettinghausen, The art and architecture of Islam 1250-1800, New Haven [Conn.]: Yale Univer-sity Press, 1994.

Tarkan Okcuoglu; Ahmet Vefa Cobanoglu, Sultanahmet and Süley-maniye,London:Scala,2011.

ZHAOXING DONG VILLAGEMeiyi CHEN

ZHAOXING DONG VILLAGE | MEIYI CHEN

TheDongMinorityisoneofthe56ethnicgroupsofficiallyrecognizedby thePeople’sRepublicofChina.Thisethnicgrouphas itsown languageandverydistinctivecultural tradition.Dongpeopleliketoliveinsmallvillagesinthemountains,theylivemostlyineasternGuizhouandwesternHunaninChina.SmallgroupsofDongspeakersarealsofoundinnorthernVietnam.ZhaoxingvillageislocatedinthemostpopulousDongminorityautonomousregioninChina-GuizhouLipingCounty.ItisthelargestnaturalDongvillageinChina.Ithousesmorethan920families,about4,000peopleandcoversanareaof18hectares.InDonglanguage,theword“zhao”(肇)meansthebeginningorstartingpoint.Therefore,thenameofthisvillagereflectsperfectlytheveryfirstsettlementoftheethnicgroup in theGuizhou province in history. This areawas chosenforsettlementbecauseit isarelativelyflatareasituatedbetweenthemountains.Astreamrivermeander frommountains,weavingthroughtheentirevillage.Withthefertilesoilandpleasantclimatein the region, villagers had built terraced fields along the slopewindingfromtheriversideuptothemountaintopforricecultivation.Infigure1,wecanseetheZhaoxingVillageissurroundedbyriceterrace.

Thevillageinfrastructureisdominatedbyatightclusterofthree-storeyheighstilthousesthataremainlyconstructedwithfirwood.(Fig2)Thebuildingsaresupportedbypiles,whichcreateasemi-openspaceforstorageandpoultryonthefirststorey.Mostofthehousesareusedforresidentialpurposes;afewofthembecamehostelsandrestaurantsduetotoday’stourismdevelopmentintheLipingCounty. (Fig3)Comparedwith themainstreamurban life,life is relativelypeaceful and simplehere.Villagers’main source

Figure 1. Zhaoxing Village Rice Field

Figure 2. Zhaoxing Village Aerial View


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of income relies on agriculture and tourism. If we refer to thelandusemapof thevillage,wecannotice that thereare limitednumbers of public service facilities in the village. (Fig 3) Therearesomepublicfacilitiessuchasschool,hospitalandpostofficefostersocialinteraction,butthemostimportantinstitutionforsocialandadministrativelifeistheDrumTower.AnotherimportantsocialarchitectureistheWindandRainBridge.Thebridgeovertheriverarecoveredandhavingseatingonbothsides.Theyareexcellentplacsforrestingandcommunicating.Inthefollowingtext,wewillexaminethefunctionsofthedrumtowerandthereasonforwhichitisconsideredastheheartoftheDongvillage.

Thevillageisdividedintofivezones,eachzonebelongstoanimportantclaninthecommunity.Everytribehastheirowndrumtower,atotaloffivedrumtowerswerethereforebuiltinthevillage.ThefivezoneswerenamedafterthefivevirtuesinDongculture:benevolence(仁), justice(义), faith(信), ritual(礼) and wisdom(智).Thefivedrum towerswereconstructed in the lateQingDynasty(18thcentury), theywereoncedemolished in the1966’sCulturalRevolution,andwererebuiltinthe1980s.Ifweexaminecarefullythelocationofthefivetowers,wewillnoticethattheconfigurationofthefivetowersisintheshapeofaship.(Fig7)ThesternoftheshipistheFaithtowerlocatedonthewestsideofthevillage,withitsheightof28.9meters;it isthehighestamongallfive.Thehull

Shape level Height (m) Area (m2)

Benevolence Tower Octogone seven stories 21.7 60Justice Tower Octogone eleven stories 25.8 81.6faith Tower Octogone eleven stories 28.9 78.3

Ritual Tower Octogone thirteen stories 23.1 70.3 Wisdom Tower Octogone nine stories 24.8 77.3

oftheshipisthewisdomtower,whereasthetwomastsoftheshiparerepresentedbytheRitualandtheJusticetower.BenevolenceTowerwithitsheightof21.7misthelowestoneamongthefive,itrepresentsthebowoftheship.Theresidentsdescribethevillageasametaphoricalshipsailing in themountain:prayersare foraprosperousjourneyandsafesailing,therefore,fortheprosperityofthevillage.

Drum tower is a multi-functional architectural element; ithousesallthepolitical,economic,culturalandmilitaryactivitiesofthevillage.ItisconsideredastheheartoftheDongvillage.IntheDonglanguage,thereisaveryfamoussaying“notowernovillage.”It states that the towershouldbe thefirstelement tobuildwhenpeoplewant to settle anewvillage. Basedon the configurationoftheship,theentirevillage’slayoutisaffectedbythelocationofthe towers.The towers should stay in the center and should besurroundedbyresidentialproperties.

Figure 5. Ritual Drum TowerFigure 4. Drum Towers Size Table


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Figure 6. Zhaoxing Village Zones Division


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Figure 7. Drum Towers Configuration


SymbolofJustice

TheDrumTower’snameisgivenbecausea leatherdrumisplacedonthehighestlevelofthetower.(Fig8)Whenthereareimportantmatterstosettle,thedrumisplayedbythetribeleadertosummonthevillagers.Intheancienttime,thedrumwasalsoplayedwhentherewasanenemyinvasion.Thedrummingrhythmdifferstoinformresidentsaboutthenatureoftheassembly.Thevillagerswillheararapidrhythmwhenthereisgrievousnewsandamorejoyfulrhythmwillbeplayedforgoodnews.Thetowerisconsideredas the justicecourtof thevillage. In thepast,all themaleadultswouldgatherinthetoweranddebatetointroducenewregulationsandlaws.Therefore,theDrumTowerhasaverysolemnimageforvillagers;itwastheplacewheretheycanfightagainstinjusticeandmaintainsocialorder.Withsociety’scontinuousdevelopment,theoldvillageregulationsaregradually replacedby theAutonomousMinorityCountyLaws;andthetowerisnolongerusedasajusticecourt forcriminalcases.However, the leaderof the tribestillhasthepowertoresolvecivicdisputesinageneralassembly;thetowerremainsasymbolofjusticeforthevillagers.

EntertainmentandCulturalEducation

TheDrumTower isalsousedasanentertainmentcenterintheDongvillage.Whenthereisafestival,Dongpeoplewillputon their traditional costumes and theywill organize a drummingceremony toworship theirancestors in theDrumTower. (Fig10)They would dance, play wind instruments and sing the Dongopera. Often, villagers prefer to come to the DrumTower after

Figure 8. Location of the Drum Figure 9. Leather Drum

Figure 10. Drumming Ceremony


anexhaustingdayfromwork,astheywouldsimplysitaroundthecentral fire,playchessor chat.Youngpeoplealso like togatherinthetowerandsingantiphonalsong.YoungwomenintheDongvillagethinkthatantiphonalsingingisanimpromptuperformancethatcanillustratethewisdomandtalentofayoungman.Thereforeantiphonalsingingfor thevillagers isconsideredasan ingeniousmethods of selecting their future spouse.Aside from the youngadults,parents inDongvillagealso love tobring theirchildren tothetowerastheycanlearnhowtosingtheDongoperaandtoplaywindinstrumentswiththeelders.Sometimes,theelderswillsharesomestoriesoftheirancestorsorsomeknowledgeaboutfarmingtothechildrenthroughsinging.Thisway,thehistoryandcultureofDongminorityispropagatedintheDrumTower,throughthemouthandheart,passedfromgenerationtogeneration.

SenseofIdentity

Asmentionedearlier,everytowersymbolizesanimportanttribe in thevillage.All themembersof theclanaredescendantsof thesameancestor, theyareall distant relatives toeachotherand share the same surname.A tribe’s prosperity in a village isdirectly reflected by its tower structure and ornamentation. (Fig12)Forexample,themostrespectedtribesarethosethatpossessthe highest tower. The tribes’ ranking in a village is manifestedby theheightof thedrum towers.Every tribewillalsoaddsomeornamentationtotheirtowertoshowthewealthoftheirfamily.

WecanassumethattheDrumTowerisusedtorepresentthe social structure of the village. It provides a sense of identity

Figure 11. Wind Instruments

Figure 12. Drum Tower Ornamentation


andbelongingtoeveryindividualinthevillage,asitisaconcretearchitecturalelementthatsymbolizestheprosperityofthefamilyforwhichhe/shebelongs.Furthermore,eachmemberofthetribewillcelebrateatleastthreenamingceremoniesintheirlife.ThenamesofDongpeople changewith ageandmarital status.Onemonthafter birth, theparentswill host adinner in theDrumTowerandinvitetheleaderofthetribetonametheirchild.Thisbirthnamewillbeuseduntiltheageoftwelve,thetribewillgatheragaintorenametheir child.The second name is themost important one in eachindividual’slife;it iscalled“DrumTowerName”.Thethirdnamingceremonywilltakeplaceusuallyaftermarriage.Dongpeopleareverystrictaboutthenamingsystem;onlynamesgiveninthetowercan be recognized. The funeral for each member will also takeplaceinthedrumtower.Wecanconcludethatdrumtowerhasaverystrongconnectiontomembersofthetribeintheirdailylife.

SpiritualSymbolofDongCulture

TheDrumTowerhasareligiousconnotationinDongculture.Mostof thebuildings in thevillageareconstructedwithfirwood.For Dong people, fir is the best wood quality and is consideredastheGodofalltrees.DongpeopleworshipMotherNature,theyimagineeveryelementinnatureiscontrolledbyadifferentGod.AsthefirrepresentsGodoftrees,theywouldbuildtheirDrumTowerintheshapeofthefirtocreateadivineconnectionfromthecelestialto theirvillage.(Fig13&14)Noresidentialbuildingcanbebuildhigher than theDrumTowersas the tower represents the tallestarchitectureinthevillageandasadivinetreeprovidingprotectionto villagers. The architectural design of the tower also contains

manyelements,whichimplytheirrespectofthenaturalorder.Forinstance,thetowerhasfourmaincolumnandtwelvesub-columns.Thefourmainstructuresrepresentboththefourcardinaldirectionand the four seasons, whereas the substructure represents thetwelvemonthsofayear.

Inbrief,DrumToweristhemostrepresentativebuildinginDongculture,itprovidesasenseofidentitytothisethnicgroup.Itisconsideredasamultifunctionalcenterinthevillage.Withtoday’scontinuousdevelopmentandsocialprogressof thevillage,somefunctionsofthetowerhavechanged.Howeveritstilloccupiesanimportantpositionineveryindividual’ssociallife.

Figure 13. Fir Tree Figure 14. Fir Shape Drum Tower


WorkCited

Wu, Hong Yu. The Research on cultural connation and social function of the drum tower in Dong. Guizhou: Law School ofGuiZhouUniversity,2005.Print.

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oTHER ExamplEs oF socIal InFRasTRucTuRE


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OTHER ExAMPLES OF SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Many more examples of the Civic Center concept can be found around the world. Below is a very brief introduction to five which were not examined in detail: the Library Parks in Medellin, Columbia; the Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar; the Community of Ganeshnagar, Pune, India; and the false Creek Community Center, vancouver.

The Library Parks in Medellin, Columbia

Library parks are cultural centers for social development that encourage citizen encounter, educational and recreational activities, building collective approach to new challenges in digital culture. And they are also spaces for the provision of cultural services that enable cultural creation and strengthening of existing neighborhood organizations. The project of the Library Parks is ambitious and innovative in terms of commitment to official intervention in the city via education, culture, equity and inclusion of the poorest, most vulnerable and disadvantaged social classes of the community. (Wikipedia)

The Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar

Another Civic Center type, left unexplored for now, is the Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar. The institutions of social infrastructure, referred to as “dependencies”, surround a nine-sided, centrally-located temple. The dependencies are intended to “offer service to society through centers of education and scientific learning as well as cultural and humanitarian endeavours”.

This is an “emerging” example. In India, for example, the central temple has been built but the dependencies are not yet constructed. A full “suite“ of institutions is now in the planning stage for one in Papua New Guinea and another in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Baha’is see their “Civic Center” as “a practical instrument to facilitate and promote dynamic and disinterested service to the community”. Worship, in the temple, must be translated into service, through the dependencies.

Insert two page illustration of all our precedents Insert all our papers on Civic Centers Below is the last part of Part Two. Other Examples of Social Infrastructure Many more examples of the Civic Center concept can be found around the world. Below is a very brief introduction to five which were not examined in detail: the Library Parks in Medellin, Columbia; the Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar; the Community of Ganeshnagar, Pune, India; and the false Creek Community Center, vancouver. The Library Parks in Medellin, Columbia

fig. 9 The Library Parks in Medellin, Columbia

"Library parks are cultural centers for social development that encourage citizen encounter, educational and recreational activities, building collective approach to new challenges in digital culture. And they are also spaces for the provision of cultural services that enable cultural creation and strengthening of existing neighborhood organizations. The project of the Library Parks is ambitious and innovative in terms of commitment to official intervention in the city via education, culture, equity and inclusion of the poorest, most vulnerable and disadvantaged social classes of the community. (Wikipedia)

fig. 10 The Library Parks in Medellin, Columbia The Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar


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The Community of Ganeshnagar

In the early 1980s, the Ganeshnagar Community self-organized itself into nine wards, each represented by a committee of none residents. Each ward elected a delegate who was part of a committee responsible for the district as a whole. Their Civic/Community Center was at the lower left corner of Ward 4.

fig.11 Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar: Temple Surrounded by “Dependencies” Another Civic Center type, left unexplored for now, is the Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar. The institutions of social infrastructure, referred to as “dependencies”, surround a nine-sided, centrally-located temple. The dependencies are intended to “offer service to society through centers of education and scientific learning as well as cultural and humanitarian endeavours”. This is an “emerging” example. In India, for example, the central temple has been built but the dependencies are not yet constructed. A full “suite“ of institutions is now in the planning stage for one in Papua New Guinea and another in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Baha’is see their “Civic Center” as “a practical instrument to facilitate and promote dynamic and disinterested service to the community”. Worship, in the temple, must be translated into service, through the dependencies.

fig. 12 Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar: Temple in New Delhi

The Community of Ganeshnagar

fig. 13 Ganeshnagar Community, Ward Map

Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar: Temple Surrounded by “Dependencies”

Baha’i Temple in New Delhi


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fig. 15 Ganeshnagar Community, Pune, India: Civic Center

In the early 1980s, the Ganeshnagar Community self-organized itself into nine wards, each represented by a committee of none residents. Each ward elected a delegate who was part of a committee responsible for the district as a whole. Their Civic/Community Center was at the lower left corner of Ward 4. False Creek Community Centre, Granville Island, Vancouver, Canada Located on bustling Granville Island with access to the waterfront, false Creek Community Centre offers unique programming opportunities and events for all ages. Specialty programs and services include adult education, performing arts, licensed preschool and out of school care, a well-equipped fitness centre, plus canoeing, kayaking, and tennis. Our proximity to vancouver's seaside bicycle route makes us an excellent starting point for cycling excursions.

fig. 14 Map of Ganeshnagar Community, Pune, India Hand-drawn by Joe Carter, on site, in 1988.

Hand-drawn map by Joe Carter, on site, in 1988

Ganeshnagar Community, Pune, India: Civic Center


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FALSE CREEK COMMUNITy CENTRE, GRANVILLE ISLAND, VANCOUVER, CANADA

Located on bustling Granville Island with access to the waterfront, false Creek Community Centre offers unique programming opportunities and events for all ages. Specialty programs and services include adult education, performing arts, licensed preschool and out of school care, a well-equipped fitness centre, plus canoeing, kayaking, and tennis. Our proximity to vancouver’s seaside bicycle route makes us an excellent starting point for cycling excursions.

fig. 16 false Creek Community Centre: Examples of Programs

fig. 17 false Creek Community Centre: Examples of Education Programs

fig. 18 false Creek Community Centre







false Creek Community Centre: Examples of Programs

false Creek Community Centre

false Creek Community Centre (in lower right foreground)

false Creek Community Centre: Examples of Education Programs

Part 3 a paTTERn languagE

Part 3 a Pattern Language

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A Pattern Language12 does not say it is about sustainability, but, both in its content and method, it anticipates the “dimensions” and participatory process of social sustainability.

“the authors intend to give ordinary people, not only professionals, a way to work with their neighbors to improve a town or neighborhood, design a house for themselves or work with colleagues to design an office, workshop or public building such as a school.

“At the core... is the idea that people should design for themselves their own houses, streets and communities. This idea... comes simply from the observation that most of the wonderful places of the world were not made by architects but by the people”. 13

We went through the Pattern Language and first selected patterns we felt related to district and neighbourhood planning (Nos. 12 to 114). We then organized this selection according to the following four types: Social Infrastructure, Social Characteristics, Physical Planning, and Circulation. The fifteen patterns under our category “Social Infrastructure” and the six we called “Social Characteristics” resonate well with the concerns and viewpoints of the social development discourse and are all applicable to physical planning and design.

Our selections, in the four categories, are as follows:

SOCIAL INfRASTRUCTURE18. Network of Learning30. Activity Nodes 43. University as a Marketplace44. Local Town Hall45. Necklace of Community Projects47. Health Center63. Dancing in the Streets65. Birth Place66. Holy Ground68. Connected Play69. Public Outdoor Room73. Adventure Playground81. Small Services without Red Tape

Part Three: The Pattern Language

The Pattern Language12 does not say it is about sustainability, but, both in its content and method, it anticipates the “dimensions” and participatory process of social sustainability.

“the authors intend to give ordinary people, not only professionals, a way to work with their neighbors to improve a town or neighborhood, design a house for themselves or work with colleagues to design an office, workshop or public building such as a school.

"At the core... is the idea that people should design for themselves their own houses, streets and communities. This idea... comes simply from the observation that most of the wonderful places of the world were not made by architects but by the people".13

12 A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction is a 1977 book on architecture, urban design, and community livability. It was authored by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein of the Center for Environmental Structure of Berkeley, California, with writing credits also to Max Jacobson, Ingrid fiksdahl-King and Shlomo Angel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Pattern_Language 13 Christopher Alexander et al., A Pattern Language, front bookflap

fig. 20 Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein

We went through the Pattern Language and first selected those we felt related to district and neighbourhood planning (Nos. 12 to 114). We then organized this selection according to the following four types: Social Infrastructure, Social Characteristics, Physical Planning, and Circulation. The fifteen patterns under our category “Social Infrastructure” and the six we called “Social Characteristics” resonate well with the concerns and viewpoints of the social development discourse and are all applicable to physical planning and design. Our selections, in the four categories, are as follows: SOCIAL INfRASTRUCTURE

18. Network of Learning 30. Activity Nodes 43. University as a Marketplace 44. Local Town Hall 45. Necklace of Community Projects 47. Health Center 63. Dancing in the Streets 65. Birth Place 66. Holy Ground 68. Connected Play 69. Public Outdoor Room 73. Adventure Playground 81. Small Services without Red Tape 85. Shop front Schools 86. Children’s Home SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS 84. Teenage Society 40. Old People Everywhere 57. Children in the City

12. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction is a 1977 book on architecture, urban design, and community livability. It was authored by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein of the Center for Environmental Structure of Berkeley, California, with writing credits also to Max Jacobson, Ingrid fiksdahl-King and Shlomo Angel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Pattern_Language13. Christopher Alexander et al., A Pattern Language, front bookflap

Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein


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85. Shop front Schools86. Children’s Home

SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS84. Teenage Society40. Old People Everywhere57. Children in the City75. The family26. Life Cycle27. Men and Women

PHYSICAL PLANNING PARAMETERS12. Community of 700013. Subculture Boundary14. Identifiable Neighbourhood15. Neighbourhood Boundary21. four Story Limit29. Density Rings31. Promenade32. Shopping Street35. Household Mix37. House Cluster38. Row Houses41. Work Community42. Industrial Ribbon46. Market of Many Shops53. Main Gateways60. Accessible Green61. Small Public Squares64. Pools and Streams67. Common Land80. Self-Governing Workshops and Offices87. Individually Owned Shops88. Street Café

89. Corner Grocery91. Traveler’s Inn99. Main Building102. family of Entrances106. Positive Outdoor Space114. Hierarchy of Open Space

CIRCULATION PARAMETERS11. Local Transport Area16. Web of Public Transportation22. Nine Percent Parking23. Parallel Roads34. Interchange (for transport)49. Local Looped Roads 50. “T” Junctions51. Green Streets52. Network of Paths and Cars54. Bike Paths and Racks92. Bus Stop97. Shielded Parking98. Circulation Realms100. Pedestrian Street101. Building Thoroughfare103. Small Parking Lots


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The social infrastructure patterns advocate decentraliza-tion and community participation. Below are a few exam-ples:

Pattern No. 18, Network of Learning

“The city is a network of interconnected situations. Emphasize learning instead of teaching. To be creative & active individual as opposed to passive & unable to think for themselves. voluntary participation in society through networks which provide access to all its resources for learning. facilitate access for the learner; provide spaces in which peers and elders can interact. The educational system so radically decentralized becomes congruent with the urban structure itself; people all ages come together to offer a class about things they know and love. Decentralize learning system and enrich it through contact with many places and people of all over the city.

Pattern No. 30, Activity Nodes

Activity Nodes relates most directly to the idea of Civic or Community Centers. It talks about decentralization and the grouping civic buildings to allow for mutual interaction. “Individually scattered facilities do nothing for the life of the city. They are vital spots that need to be guided to form genuine community crossroads. Make public life available to the community. To create concentration of people in a community, facilities must be grouped densely round very small public squares which can function as nodes – with all pedestrian movement in the community organized to pass through these nodes.

54. Bike Paths and Racks 92. Bus Stop 97. Shielded Parking 98. Circulation Realms 100. Pedestrian Street 101. Building Thoroughfare 103. Small Parking Lots

The social infrastructure patterns advocate decentralization and community

participation. Below are a few examples:

Pattern No. 18, Network of Learning

“The city is a network of interconnected situations. Emphasize learning instead

of teaching. To be creative & active individual as opposed to passive & unable

to think for themselves. Voluntary participation in society through networks

which provide access to all its resources for learning. Facilitate access for the

learner; provide spaces in which peers and elders can interact. The

educational system so radically decentralized becomes congruent with the

urban structure itself; people all ages come together to offer a class about

things they know and love. Decentralize learning system and enrich it through

contact with many places and people of all over the city.

Pattern No. 30, Activity Nodes relates most directly to the idea of Civic or Community

Centers. It talks about decentralization and the grouping civic buildings to allow for

mutual interaction.

“Individually scattered facilities do nothing for the life of the city. They are vital

spots that need to be guided to form genuine community crossroads. Make

public life available to the community. To create concentration of people in a

community, facilities must be grouped densely round very small public squares

which can function as nodes – with all pedestrian movement in the community

organized to pass through these nodes.

Pattern No. 47 Health Centers


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Pattern No. 47 Health Centers

“Gradually develop a network of small health centers, perhaps one per community of 7000, across the city; each equipped to treat everyday diseases – both mental and physical, in children and adults – but organized essentially around a functional emphasis on those recreational and educational activities which help keep people in good health, like swimming and dancing.

Pattern No. 65 Birth Places

“It seems unlikely that any process which treats childbirth as a sickness could possibly be a healthy part of society. Build local birth places where women go to have children: places that are specially tailored to childbirth as a natural, eventful moment – where the entire family comes for dental care and education; where fathers and mid-wives help during the hours of labour and birth.

No. 66 Holy Ground

“In each community and neighbourhood, identify some sacred site as consecrated ground, and form a series of nested precincts, each marked by a gateway, each on progressively more private, and more sacred than the last, the innermost a final sanctum that can only be reached by passing through all of the outer ones.

“Gradually develop a network of small health centers, perhaps one per

community of 7000, across the city; each equipped to treat everyday diseases

– both mental and physical, in children and adults – but organized essentially

around a functional emphasis on those recreational and educational activities

which help keep people in good health, like swimming and dancing.


“It seems unlikely that any process which treats childbirth as a sickness could

possibly be a healthy part of society. Build local birth places where women go

to have children: places that are specially tailored to childbirth as a natural,

eventful moment – where the entire family comes for dental care and

education; where fathers and mid-wives help during the hours of labour and

birth.

No. 66 Holy Ground

“In each community and neighbourhood, identify some sacred site as consecrated ground, and form a series of nested precincts, each marked by a gateway, each on progressively more private, and more sacred than the last, the innermost a final sanctum that can only be reached by passing through all of the outer ones.

“Gradually develop a network of small health centers, perhaps one per

community of 7000, across the city; each equipped to treat everyday diseases

– both mental and physical, in children and adults – but organized essentially

around a functional emphasis on those recreational and educational activities

which help keep people in good health, like swimming and dancing.


“It seems unlikely that any process which treats childbirth as a sickness could

possibly be a healthy part of society. Build local birth places where women go

to have children: places that are specially tailored to childbirth as a natural,

eventful moment – where the entire family comes for dental care and

Part 4 ToD plannIng FoR THE assompTIon mETRo sTaTIon

Part 4 tOD Planning fOr the assOmPtiOn metrO statiOn

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In the final weeks of the seminar, we began to apply our research to the planning of a TOD (Transit-Oriented District) around the Assomption Metro Station in East Montreal. Our site area, at 85 hectares, is a walkable size; one sq. km. approaches the limit of a walkable territory. We formed three teams who prepared low, medium and high density schemes respectively. The gross fARs for the 85 hectare site we identified were: low (0.9), medium (1.2), and high (1.5). These were based on our research study in the fall 2014 Term where we measured the fAR of a sq. km. of the Plateau area of Montreal (property and streets included) and a sq. km of urban Beijing, and found them to be 1.17 and 2.2 respectively. We knew, then, that the fAR of a walkable neighbourhood should not be much lower than 1.0. We decided to use 0.9 as a low figure. We assumed Montreal would never accept a density that higher than 1.5.

Part Four: TOD Planning for the Assomption Metro Station In the final weeks of the seminar, we began to apply our research to the planning of a TOD (Transit-Oriented District) around the Assomption Metro Station in East Montreal. Our site area, at 85 hectares, is a walkable size; one sq. km. approaches the limit of a walkable territory. We formed three teams who prepared low, medium and high density schemes respectively. The gross fARs for the 85 hectare site we identified were: low (0.9), medium (1.2), and high (1.5). These were based on our research study in the fall 2014 Term where we measured the fAR of a sq. km. of the Plateau area of Montreal (property and streets included) and a sq. km of urban Beijing, and found them to be 1.17 and 2.2 respectively. We knew, then, that the fAR of a walkable neighbourhood should not be much lower than 1.0. We decided to use 0.9 as a low figure. We assumed Montreal would never accept a density that higher than 1.5.

fig. 21 TOD Location Map: Montreal City Plan

12. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction is a 1977 book on architecture, urban design, and community livability. It was authored by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein of the Center for Environmental Structure of Berkeley, California, with writing credits also to Max Jacobson, Ingrid fiksdahl-King and Shlomo Angel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Pattern_Language13. Christopher Alexander et al., A Pattern Language, front bookflap

TOD Location Map: Montreal City Plan

Assumed Boundaries of Assomption TOD

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fig.22 Assumed Boundaries of Assomption TOD

Montreal Assumption TOD_2015 03 20

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High 1.5 85 1,275,000 854,250 17,085 7,119 3

Middle 1.2 85 1,020,000 683,400 13,668 5,695 2

Low 0.9 85 765,000 512,550 10,251 4,271 2

Assumptions

Column 4. The gross housing area is 2/3 of the total gross building area.

Column 5. The average housing space per person is 50m2.

Column 6. The average dwelling unit size is 120 m2.

Column 7. Each neigbourhood will have 5000 to 7000 people.

fig. 23 Our Assomption TOD Planning Table

The assumptions we made about the amount of housing and the number of people living on the site are shown in the table above. We organized the TOD into neighbourhoods of 5000 to 7000 people.

We apportioned social infrastructure both for the TOD as a whole, and for each neighborhood, according to the Chinese 1000 Persons Table. (See Table on p.178.) The Chinese “1000 Persons Table”, is a normative standard that calculates the public services that should be provided in new residential districts. for every 1000 persons, the table gives hard numbers for the building and land areas required for each public service (schools, kindergartens, clinics, etc).

In the early 1990s, China embarked on the biggest urban development the world had ever seen. It is noteworthy that public services for residential districts were included

In that development. In a country with limited professional and administrative resources, and a social system that was relatively authoritarian and patriarchal, it is not surprising to find the implementation of this massive urban development, including public services, was delivered by means of “rules and regulations”.

Using this chart we identified the TOD-level Civic Center as a combination of a Middle-High School, Elementary School. The neighborhood level center was composed of a Kindergarten, a Culture/Community/Administration Center, and a small health center.

The total building area of a residential district depends on the fAR assigned to the site. for any development, the total building area includes the public services and the residential buildings. The number of dwelling units is multiplied by the average number of persons per household

Our Assomption TOD Planning Table

Assomption TOD Site


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(about 3.0) to determine the number of persons living on the site. The number of persons living in the development is then divided by 1000. That number is multiplied by the allocated land and building areas for each use stipulated in the table. The resulting areas are required to be built in the development..

Below the Chinese Planning Table are three scenarios, represented graphically (Prepared by Andrew Grant), drawn to scale, to illustrate how a residential district of a city might look using the required standards. The outlined areas represent total building floor area and the solid circles represent land area. We assumed the population was organized into neighborhoods of 5000 to 7000 people.. The residential area, in grey, is placed throughout, while different scales of civic (community) centers create a structure within it. The neighborhood center consists of a kindergarten, a health center and a community building. At the scale of the larger district, the civic center includes an elementary and middle school. Building and land areas for these centers are provided by the table.


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Garbage Disposal2 Public Toilet3 Bus Station4 Infrastructure Facilities5 Cable TV Station

New Residential Area Public Services: Area RequirementsBeijing New Residentilal Area 10,000 to 20,000 People


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The image on this page, and the two on the next, show our first efforts at our TOD design. There wasn’t time to develop the three schemes before the end of the term. We did, however, begin to explore the relationship between social infrastructure, neighborhood identity, and TOD planning. We recommend continuing this work using a whole term to do the schemes more carefully, with a closer examination of applications of Pattern Language. Also, the schemes need more accurate demographic information, local traffic information, and they need to be subjected to a financial pro forma.

fig. 24 Assomption TOD Scheme One: fAR 0.9, Two Neighbourhoods, Population 10,251

Assomption TOD Scheme One: fAR 0.9, Two Neighbourhoods, Population 10,251


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fig. 25 Assomption TOD Scheme Two: fAR 1.2, Two Neighbourhoods, Population 13,668

Assomption TOD Scheme Two: fAR 1.2, Two Neighbourhoods, Population 13,668


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Assomption TOD Scheme Two: fAR 1.2, Two Neighbourhoods, Population 13,668

Part 5 THE FusED gRID anD THE “gooD” supERBlock

Part 5 the Fused Grid and the “Good” suPerblock

184


On the last day of our seminar we discussed the fused Grid. The following text is based on that conversation.

The fused Grid14 embeds pedestrian-oriented residential neighbourhoods in a super-grid composed of bands of mixed-use land. These bands, shown in orange below, can include schools, parks, and commercial areas.

In most of the precedents we surveyed, civic and community centers acted as very clear “nodes”, not linear zones; and, these nodes are integrated into the city fabric radiating around them. Also, social infrastructure and commercial zones are usually differentiated.

While the fused grid creates a clear circulation hierarchy, social infrastructure is not embedded in the residential area, but placed in the bands, not delineated from other commercial uses, across an arterial road. The social infrastructure does not seem to have a clear identity as a neighbourhood or district community center. Our first thought was, “If social infrastructure could reinforce community life, and community form, should it not be more accessible, with a location more obviously belonging to a particular neighbourhood?”. In our survey of social infrastructure, most examples cluster institutions around an open plaza that holds a prominent place in its context. Also, the space with the most importance, the small square where two bands intersect, is the least accessible.

arterial road. The social infrastructure does not seem to have a clear identity as a neighbourhood or district community center. Our first thought was, “If social infrastructure could reinforce community life, and community form, should it not be more accessible, with a location more obviously belonging to a particular neighbourhood?”. Also, the space with the most importance, the small square where two bands intersect, is the least accessible. In our survey of social infrastructure, most examples cluster institutions around an open plaza that holds a prominent place in its context.

Fig. 28 "FusedGridDistrict" by Fgrammen - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FusedGridDistrict.png#/media/File:FusedGridDistrict.png We did look at one example that used “bands”. In Anyang, South Korea, two linear zones stretch the whole east-west width of the town. These two adjacent bands are located roughly in the north-south center of the town. The upper band is for civic use, and the lower one for commercial/office.

Part Five: The Fused Grid and the “Good” Superblock On the last day of our seminar we discussed the fused Grid. The following text is based on that conversation. The fused Grid embeds pedestrian-oriented residential neighbourhoods in a super-grid composed of bands of mixed-use land. These bands, shown in orange below, can include schools, parks, and commercial.

Fig. 27 The Fused Grid14

In most of the precedents we surveyed, civic and community centers acted as very clear “nodes”, not linear zones; and, these nodes are integrated into the city fabric radiating around them. Also, social infrastructure and commercial zones are usually differentiated. While the fused grid creates a clear circulation hierarchy, social infrastructure is not embedded in the residential area, but placed in the bands, not delineated, across an

14 http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/inpr/su/sucopl/fugr/index.cfm

14. http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/inpr/su/sucopl/fugr/index.cfm

“fusedGridDistrict” by fgrammen - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wiki-media Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:fusedGridDistrict.png#/media/file:fusedGridDistrict.png


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We did look at one example that used “bands”. In Anyang, South Korea, two linear zones stretch the whole east-west width of the town. These two adjacent bands are located roughly in the north-south center of the town. The upper band is for civic use, and the lower one for commercial/office.

Although “bands” are used, civic-social and commercial functions are distinguished, one band for each; these bands have positional importance; and they are part of a larger social infrastructure system.

In the upper, civic linear zone, the main government building is placed on a central north-south axis, giving the whole town a clear and strong center. To the south of the civic zone, the commercial zone was split in two halves by a central park located in front of the main government building. Both sides of the park also have civic uses. While the civic and commercial linear zones have their own function and identity; for convenience they are next to each other.

The social infrastructure hierarchy includes town-level institutions in the band that crosses the town; and locally-scaled social infrastructure (schools, kindergartens, clinics, etc) located within each of the pedestrian-oriented residential neighbourhoods.

These neighbourhoods are about 12 hectares in size. North and south of the twin bands are, respectively, six and nine of these clearly defined “superblocks”. The streets within them are for local traffic, bicycles and pedestrians. The central, residential portion of the fused Grid may be about this size. In our research last term, a city zone of 12 to 20 hectares emerged as a useful urban territory. (Some parts of that research are repeated below.)

fig. 29 Anyang, Korea, General Plan Although “bands” are used, civic-social and commercial functions are distinguished, one band for each; these bands have positional importance; and they are part of a larger social infrastructure system. In the upper, civic linear zone, the main government building is placed on a central north-south axis, giving the whole town a clear and strong center. To the south of the civic zone, the commercial zone was split in two halves by a central park located in front of the main government building. Both sides of the park also have civic uses. While the civic and commercial linear zones have their own function and identity; for convenience they are next to each other. The social infrastructure hierarchy includes town-level institutions in the band that crosses the town; and locally-scaled social infrastructure (schools, kindergartens, clinics, etc) located within each of the pedestrian-oriented residential neighbourhoods.


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Anyang, Korea, Distribution of Social Infrastructure

Goverment & Public Administration

Public Park

Commercial & Entertainment

Middle School

Church

Elementary School

Residential

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Restaurant

Pedestrian & Bicycle Path

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Research & Industrial facilities

Agricultural & Marine Products Market


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In the new residential areas of China, the superblock is a standard unit of urban expansion. It has two obvious characteristics: internally, they are low-traffic zones that are family and community friendly; they have a large, shared garden area with social infrastructure located conveniently in the center.

“In China, the default solution for accommodating the millions of new urban inhabitants, plus those relocated from less-dense neighborhoods slated for redevelopment, is Megablock development, a carry-over from the Soviet era Danwei-type urban development planning, and the Modernist’s housing block. The Megablock is the basic unit of urban planning and development

Superblock housing developments have, at least until recently, been built at a rate of over 10 completed each day. These large-scale residential enclaves are taking over the fabric of Chinese cities.

for us at China Lab, the Megablock is a critical point of engagement with the Chinese city. It is our primary research project, and one we feel deserves ample attention. The Megablock is both architecture and urbanism. When it is at its best it can provide the services, vitality and energy of a city yet promote notions of community and social and environmental sustainability. At its worst, its autonomy can disconnect the development from the urban flows of the city and create dehumanizing isolation. The Megablock always runs the risk of becoming an autonomous island amongst islands.

Fig. 31 Beijing, Nan Xin Yuan Housing District. Site Plan (1993)

Fig. 32 Beijing, Nan Xin Yuan Housing District. Google Image 2014.

“In China, the default solution for accommodating the millions of new urban

Fig. 31 Beijing, Nan Xin Yuan Housing District. Site Plan (1993)

Fig. 32 Beijing, Nan Xin Yuan Housing District. Google Image 2014.

“In China, the default solution for accommodating the millions of new urban

Beijing, Nan xin Yuan Housing District. Site Plan. Designed by Joe Carter, 1993. Beijing, Nan xin Yuan Housing District. Google Image 2014.


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Fig. 5 Barcelona: Superblock Mobility Model (http://bcnecologia.net/en) Nine blocks at 135m. x 135m. each are grouped to make a so-called "good" superblock, roughly 400 x 400 meters (16 hectares). The square grid street grid, undifferentiated, is too open. Part of re-urbanization is the re-tuning of the transportation circulation through the grid. The interior streets of the super-block allow cars to pass through, but only at very slow speeds; priority is given to pedestrians and bicycles. Presumably, there is an optimum balance between the needs of local residents and the needs of larger scale through-traffic. The key is restricted access. If the West shifts to a relatively porous, 12 to 18 hectare block; perhaps China should consider opening its superblocks to more (regulated) traffic. Cutting a typical Chinese superblock into quadrants of about four hectares each, instead of Barcelona’s (16 / 9 =1.8hectares) nine, would make it large enough to achieve the Chinese “residence + garden” type in each of the four quadrants, and small enough to allow managed traffic flow through and around the superblock. This physical transformation, however, would need to be coordinated with a corresponding change in the overall sense of security. Security would be enhanced by strengthening community life and self-management at the “superblock” level.

Barcelona: Superblock Mobility Model (http://bcnecologia.net/en)

What is the future of the Megablock? How can the Megablock be conceived as a successful model for future urbanization? for me, the IDEA or concept of the Megablock still has potential to inspire unique and radical urbanisms for the future. However, when it is deployed merely as a tool of efficiency, the Megablock offers a frightening future.” 15

The main criticism directed at the Chinese superblock is the lack of through traffic. While the superblock size and internal layout is similar to that of Anyang, Korea, the internal street layout of the Chinese superblock is more closed to the arterial roads that surround it. In the Korean example they are less gated and more open.

In Chinese cities, so full of newcomers, and at densities many times higher than western cities, it is not surprising that residents wish to manage the flow of pedestrian and vehicle traffic through their urban islands. However, the more an urban territory is protected, the more acute the traffic problems around them. How can the Chinese super or “Mega” block “inspire unique and radical urbanisms for the future” and not just offer “a frightening future?”

One option is the “Good” Superblock. An example is in Barcelona, where they are making nine smaller blocks of the Cerda grid into one larger block.

Nine blocks at 135m. x 135m. each are grouped to make a so-called “good” superblock, roughly 400 x 400 meters (16 hectares). The square grid street grid, undifferentiated, is too open. Part of re-urbanization is the re-tuning of the transportation circulation through the grid. The interior streets of the super-block allow cars to pass through, but

only at very slow speeds; priority is given to pedestrians and bicycles. Presumably, there is an optimum balance between the needs of local residents and the needs of larger scale through-traffic. The key is restricted access.

If the West shifts to a relatively porous, 12 to 18 hectare block; perhaps China should consider opening its superblocks to more (regulated) traffic. Cutting a typical Chinese superblock into quadrants of about four hectares each, instead of Barcelona’s (16 / 9 =1.8hectares) nine, would make it large enough to achieve the Chinese “residence + garden” type in each of the four quadrants,

1. “Jeffrey R Johnson, Director of the China Lab, a research unit at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation”.


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and small enough to allow managed traffic flow through and around the superblock. This physical transformation, however, would need to be coordinated with a corresponding change in the overall sense of security. Security would be enhanced by strengthening community life and self-management at the “superblock” level.

Whether the western city grid coalesces into a newly-scaled unit of community size, or the eastern community-size superblock becomes more porous; they both are approaching a similar unit of urban territory. In such a unit, it is easy to incorporate, as they do in China, social infrastructure. It seems logical to place that infrastructure within the confines of the superblock, not outside it, as is done in the fused Grid. finally, the issue is not so much which is better, the ‘good’ superblock or the fused grid, but whether there is under-recognized and under-utilized human social capacity, that will emerge as an increase of citizen participation in community life and governance, and what forms fit best these new (presumed) realities?”

Joe Carter, April 23, 2015

Thanks

Isabelle Dumas: Recently-retired Montreal City planner who helped us with our TOD research.Prof. Nik Luka: He attended our TOD planning review.ZhiYao Chen: Graphic DesignPatrick Zhang: Book Compiling and Editing