Public Provisions and Density

Public provisions within the city are vital to encourage interaction, activity and movement. Inhabitants of a residential area in a city have a variety of needs, including; need to purchase groceries and other items; need for education and childcare; need for work; and a need for leisure activities. A few specific needs or personal choice may require a resident to travel further using public transport or a private vehicle. However, most of these needs should be served within walking distance of the inhabitants dwelling.

The brief for the A101 Urban Block competition stipulates two densities at which a block can be designed; a lower density of 14,000m² of housing per block or a higher density of 28,000m² of housing per block. Lower density blocks may be a sensible location for public provisions as without altering the residential floor space of the block the volume can be increased, allowing the volume of these lower density blocks to be closer to that of the higher density blocks.

In order to develop a design, the grid in which the block design will be located must first be considered. The following diagrams were used to explore the various public provisions and densities possible within the given grid. The diagrams include 4 different options where the starting point of designating a primary public zone within the grid leads to various block densities and location of public provisions.

Option A

This option considers a horizontal public zone stretching through the grid. The three blocks to the top of the grid remain at a higher density in response to the adjacent highway whilst blocks immediately adjacent to the horizontal public zone are reduced to the lower density. Public space and uses feed off the horizontal public zone, creating a dominant primary street within the grid.

Speculation:

The dominant horizontal public zone re-enforces the horizontal emphasis of the blocks themselves. Similar to the Piraeus block example where the internal courtyards of the block go against the grain of the island this horizontal nature of the grid and public zone may provide the opportunity to create public spaces which will provide intrigue and surprise for the user.

Option B

This option considers a vertical public zone stretching through the grid. The three blocks to the top of the grid remain at a higher density in response to the adjacent highway, as do the blocks down the right of the grid furthest away from the primary public zone. The density of the four lower blocks, which lay either side of the vertical public zone, is reduced. Public spaces and uses then feed off the vertical public zone but only across the lower density blocks.

Speculation:

By deploying the public zone in this manner the public space and uses which can directly relate to the zone are reduced. This may mean than the public provisions may be insufficient to meet the needs of the resident. This reduction is due to two factors; firstly the length of the zone is reduced due the narrow nature of the grid and secondly due the higher density blocks at the top of the grid which offer less potential for public provision.

Option C

This option considers a dual axis public zone stretching both vertically and horizontally through the grid. The three blocks to the top of the grid remain at a higher density in response to the adjacent highway, as do the blocks down the right of the grid. The block to the bottom left hand corner furthest away from the public zone also remains at the higher density. The density of the three blocks immediately below and left of the public zone is reduced. Public spaces and uses then feed off the public zone into these three lower blocks.

Speculation:

This dual axis method is born from the Egyptian city patterns where one route would run from the place of worship and the other running from the royal palace meeting at a central public space. However, without these same values and important buildings it is questionable as to whether this approach would hold much appeal for a contemporary city.

Option D

This option considers a primary public zone, which takes over the central block in the grid. All of the blocks around the perimeter of the grid remain at the higher density whilst only the density of the central public zone block is reduced. Public space and uses are all accommodated with this central block creating an area hub.

Speculation:

Although this order suggests it may create a strong community centered on one communal public zone a solution of this nature may lead to an inward looking community, detaching the area from the rest of the city.

The Grid as a Generator

In the book Urban Space and Structures, the opening essay by Martin (1972) discusses criticisms that have been made of urban design or planning.


Martins begins by introducing the two major ideas upon which planning doctrine is generally based:


1. The visually ordered city
- total city plan is the inspired and all encompassing work of art.
- civic art must be an expression of the life of the community.
- works of art cannot be created by committee but only by a single individual.
(the above all make reference to ideals discussed by Camillo Sitte)
- the planner then is the inspired artist expressing in the total city plan the ambitions of society.


2. The statistically ordered city
- basis of those planning surveys in which uses are quantified, sorted out and zoned in to particular areas: population densities are assessed and growth and change predicted.


Opposition against the visual and statistic ordering of cities focus on the observations of organically growing cities. An artificial frame for a city does not exclude the potential for organic growth dictated by the patterns of human activity. New York is an example of where this the strict rectilinear grid of Manhattan has not prevented organic growth of the city.


Martin believes that:


"an organic growth without the structuring element of some kind of framework, is chaos... it is only through the understanding of that structuring framework that we can open up the range of choices and opportunities for future development."

Categories of Public Activities

In the book, The Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space, Jan Gehl Opens by saying:


"Greatly simplified, outdoor activities in public spaces can be divided into three categories, each of which places very different demands on the physical environment: necessary activities, optional activities, and social activities."


Necessary Activities
- activities such as going to school or work, shopping, waiting for a bus.
- a person is required to participate.
- these activities will take place throughout the year under nearly all conditions, and are more or less independent of the exterior environment.


Optional Activities
- pursuits that are participated in if there is a wish to do so and if time and place make it possible - are quite another matter.
- category includes activities such as taking a walk or standing around to enjoy life or sitting to sunbathe
- these activities take place only when exterior conditions are optimal, when weather and place invite them.


Social Activities
- all activities which depend on the presence of others in public spaces.
- activities include children at play, greetings and conversations, communal activities of all kinds and finally - passive contacts, simply seeing and hearing other people.
- could also be termed resultant activities because because in nearly all instances they evolve from activities linked to the other two categories.
- social activities occur spontaneously as a direct consequence of people moving about and being in the same space.

World Housing Shortage

The figure for the estimated housing shortage across the world according to the internationally recommended standards, (PPD 3.5) is 428,700,000 units. However this figure is more than double if it is calculated using the dutch standards (PPD 2.4); 1,088,219,000 units.


The above diagram considers the housing shortages and surplus in countries around the world. The diagram is taken from the magazine Volume 21:The Block


When considering the world housing shortage it is important to also consider the number of people living in inadequate conditions around the world. A UN figure in 2001 estimated a world slum population of 923,986,000.


Dwelling: a dwelling is a room or suite of rooms and its accessories in a permanent building or structural separated part thereof, and is intended for private inhabitation.


Household: A household includes all the persons who occupy a housing unit.


PPD: The PPD is obtained by dividing the national population by the total dwelling count. This can be interpreted as an indicator of the housing shortage. The higher the indicator value, the worse the housing conditions are.


Sources:
- National population and housing census (1995-2005)
- www.nationsencyclopedia.com
- www.esa.un.org

Proforma

Rules of an Urban Block

Masters thesis proposal, Rationalist Traces

Mark Butler

26-11-2010

1. Field of Research

For the Masters thesis I propose to consider urban blocks and the process by which they are designed within the contemporary city.

2. Project Summary

The project will begin with a period of research into cities and urban blocks. The research will primarily focus on urban block precedents both successful and unsuccessful, whilst also making reference to the formation of cities, their characteristics and the influences by which city patterns evolved. Through the research I aim to discover the key aspects that should be addressed when designing an urban block.

In the book the Modern City Revisited (2000) the issue of future development within cities is discussed:

“One thing is clear: that any way forward for contemporary urbanism will come from dedicated and idealistic architects, not from market forces. The challenge of providing cities for the new millennium will certainly come not from an uncritical revival of modernism but from a critical assessment of the successes and failures of what, and how Modern cities were built.”

From the research and the uncovered aspects I hope to derive a set of rules, by which the design of an urban block could be formulated. The rules will be established by finding common themes and solutions in the examples the research explores. Once a set of rules has been established, these rules could then be used by myself or by other architects as a guide for designing an urban block. By exposing the rules to different site situations and different architects variety will inevitably occur.

For the second part of the thesis I propose to implement the set of rules established during the research process to design an urban block. The block will be designed by applying the rules within the parameters set out by the brief of the A101 Urban Block competition (see page 3).

3. Key Words

Urban Block

Block City

Garden Cities

Collective City

Borneo Sporenburg

Spitalfields – Richard MacCormac

Ijburg

Georges-Hugene Haussmann

Public and Private

Trend of individualised design

Unite d’Habitation – Le Corbusier

4. Research Question(s)/Problem(s)

What are the rules for designing an urban block?

-        For what density should an urban block be designed?

-        What external space(s) public or private should be provided for individual dwellings and as a communal space for a collective number of dwellings?

-        What is the value of semi-public space in the context of the urban block?

-        What amenities should be available for residents within a block?

-        Where should communal amenities be located?

-        How should an urban block connect with the city?

-        Should a variety of accommodation types be offered across a city block?

-        What percentage of the city block should be dedicated to office and commercial space?

-        Should an individual architect design a project the scale of a city block?

-        Should the scale of new city development relate to the surrounding context?

-        Can and should a block be mass-produced?

The research period of the thesis will undoubtedly stimulate further questions.

5. Aims & Objectives

Through the thesis research I hope to broaden my understanding and knowledge of the contemporary city and the combining elements by which cities exist and are sustained. My aim is that this new knowledge will provide me with a solid foundation from which I will be better positioned to design an appropriate and responsible solution to a re-occurring urban issue.

6. Research Context

The Collective City

The International Architecture Biennale in Rotterdam in 2009 had the theme of ‘The Open City’. This theme gave the opportunity for Bart Goldhoorn and Alexander Sverdlov to introduce their ‘Collective City’ proposal and the Block City concept.

The concept is based on observations of the problems of urban design in contemporary cities and of the vast requirements for new and better housing around the world. The trend of extreme individualisation in European residential design is also noted and the proposal questions whether this is a sustainable means of design and if it offers better solutions than collective housing projects could.

The proposals’ main question considers how the benefits of mass-production can be integrated with the advantages offered by customization to produce high quality and affordable solutions.

Goldhoorn (2009) argues:

 “The Block city concept aims at combining the advantages of standard design with the qualities embedded in site-specific design. This is done by defining a standard for the plot size of the urban block. When this standard is applied both in the design of urban areas and in the design of housing blocks, it is possible to use identical projects for housing blocks, it is possible to use identical projects for housing blocks in different places while keeping their urban qualities. Since projects with the same size are interchangeable, any project that already has been developed for one site can be used in new standard-sized plots. This will lead to competition and result in better and cheaper housing design. Last but not least, the Block City concept offers the possibility to develop urban design projects and the architecture of the housing blocks simultaneously, thus speeding up the planning process.”

A101 Masshtab Urban Block Competition

A101 is a project for a new city of 150.000 people and 13 million m2 of housing near Moscow and the largest development of the Masshtab Company. The Masshtab Company is a land development company whose assets include over 30,000 hectares of land all within 20km of Moscow. The planning for the city as a whole was designed by an international group of urban designers headed by the Dutch office Maxwan.

At this moment the project has entered a new stage – the detailed design of part of the development. In the near future, 1,2 million m2 of housing will be constructed on an area of 154 ha on the basis of a master plan that is designed in competition by four renowned teams: MVRDV – The Netherlands; KCAP/Next Architects – the Netherlands; Hilmer Sattler Albrecht – Germany; EDDAE – Spain.

This master plan and the rest of the A101 project are based on the Block City concept that was developed by the competition’s curator Bart Goldhoorn. This means that 80% of the urban blocks in the project should have a standard size.

Simultaneously with the closed competition for the master plan the Masshtab Company has invited architects from all over the world to send in projects for an open competition for urban blocks that can be used in the A101 project. Since it is planned to build over 500 blocks, the result of the competition will not just be the choice of one winning project, but the creation of a catalogue of possible solutions that can be applied on different locations and in different stages of realization of the A101 project.

http://www.masshtab.ru/eng/competition/

7. Research Methods: Site(s) + Programme(s)

The research element of the thesis will be accompanied by model sets exploring aspects such as density and public space.

To create a consistent body of research and allow comparison, precedent studies will have to consider the same aspects. Aspects that will initially be considered are:

-        Population

-        Population density

-        Activities

-        Urban Fabric

-        Building height

-        Quality of living

-        Public space

-        Private external space

-        Transport

-        City connections

-        Live work ratio

-        Parking

-        Variety of accommodation

-        Orientation

As above, it is expected that the research will uncover further aspects to be considered.

8. Outcomes

The outcomes of the project will be communicated through a design project and accompanying texts.

9. Outline Project Plan

Modelling density

In Alan B Jacobs book, Great Streets there is a section which contains block plan drawings (as above) of various cities around the world. These drawings draw fantastic comparisons between the urban fabric of the various cities and also raise questions about the density of individual cities.


The below table charts the varying densities of 5 major cities:

The chart shows a surprising variation in density between cities. I wanted to communicate this variation in model form and attempted to achieve this first by creating a grid like model which would represent the density of various parts of an individual city.

However I found that without physically surveying each city I was unable to achieve this accurately. The above image is of a plaster model representing the changing density across the city centre of Rome. In order to create the model I had to make a series of assumptions and guesses in order to complete the model. As this was the case I decided that this was an inappropriate method and have simply decided to model the densities of cities in individual blocks which can then be compared.

masshtab urban block competition

A101 is a project for a new city of 150.000 people and 13 million m2 of housing near Moscow and the largest development of the Masstab Company. The planning for the city as a whole was designed by an international group of urban designers headed by the Dutch office Maxwan.

At this moment the project has entered a new stage – the detailed design of part of the development. In the near future, 1,2 million m2 of housing will be constructed on an area of 154 ha on the basis of a masterplan that is designed in competition by four renowned teams:

MVRDV – The Netherlands

KCAP/Next Architects – the Netherlands

Hilmer Sattler Albrecht – Germany

EDDAE – Spain

This masterplan and the rest of the A101 project are based on the Block City concept that was developed by the competition’s curator Bart Goldhoorn. This means that 80% of the urban blocks in the project should have a standard size.

Simultaneously with the closed competition for the masterplan Masshtab Company invites architects from all over the world to send in projects for an open competition for urban blocks that can be used in the A101 project. Since it is planned to build over 500 blocks, the result of the competition will not just be the choice of one winning project, but the creation of a catalogue of possible solutions that can be applied on different locations and in different stages of realization of the A101 project.

http://www.masshtab.ru/eng/competition/

Perhaps I could use this competition as a test bed for some of the ideas and rules that have emerged from the research I have done over the past month. In this instance the size of the urban block is given and must be adhered to, working with this may also help to form my definition of an urban block and help me in refining the area of study.