morphological dimension summary by arnav

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PUBLIC PLACES- URBAN SPACES

The Dimensions of Urban Design

Matthew Carmona, Tim Heath,

Taner Oc and Steven Tiesdell

Architectural Press

Chapter-4

MORPHOLOGICAL DIMENSION Summary

Arnav Saikia (2013MUD007)

INTRODUCTION:

Urban designs Morphological dimension deals with the configuration of urban form

and space, and the spatial patterns of infrastructure that support it. There are

essentially two types of urban space system one is where buildings define space;

the other where buildings are objects-in-space. This chapter is in four parts:

urban morphology

morphological transformation

third & fourth parts deals with aspects of contemporary reaction

URBAN MORPHOLOGY:

Urban morphology the study of

change in the physical form and

shape of settlements over time

focuses on patterns and processes of

growth and change.

Differences in street and block

patterns, plot patterns, the

arrangement of buildings within plots

and the shapes of buildings create

very different environments the

different patterns are commonly

referred to as urban tissue (Caniggia

& Maffel 1979, 1984).

| M o r p h o l o g i c a l D i m e n s i o n S u m m a r y

2 | A r n a v S a i k i a ( 2 0 1 3 M U D 0 0 7 )

Morphological Elements:

Four main morphological elements by Cozen to see how morphological structures

are composed of interrelated layers:

i. Land uses - Changes to land uses include both new uses coming in and

existing uses moving to other areas.

ii. Building structures - There has often been a recognisable cycle of building

development on each plot.

iii. Plot pattern - Cadastral units (urban blocks) are typically subdivided or

platted into plots or lots. These may be back-to-back plots, each having a

frontage onto a main street or circulation route and a shared or common plot

boundary at the rear.

iv. Cadastral (street) pattern - The cadastral pattern is the layout of urban blocks

and public space/movement channels between those blocks. The spaces

between the blocks can be considered to be the public space network.

Regular and Deformed Grids:

Regular or 'ideal grids :

characterised by geometric regularity.

they are typically planned and have some

degree of geometric discipline.

due to the ease of laying out streets, the

most basic planned layouts have generally

been rectilinear and many settlements with

regular or semi-regular grids exist.

'Deformed' grids:

characterised by apparent irregularity.

the cores of pre-industrial cities tend to

have deformed grids.

generally based on pedestrian movement

and strongly influenced by topography,

they were integral parts of the immediate

area, rather than through-routes, and

evolved and developed through use.

The Public Space Network:

When the principal modes of transport were by foot or horse, the realms of

movement and social space had considerable overlap. With the development of

new modes of land-based travel, the realms became more separated and

increasingly compartmentalised into vehicular movement space and pedestrian

movement/social space.

NEW YORK: Midtown Manhattan south of Central Park

COPENHAGEN: City features a car-free zone called the Stroget


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MORPHOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION:

This part discusses the transformation in the public space networks morphological

structure in the twentieth century from buildings as constituent elements of urban

blocks defining streets and squares towards buildings as separate freestanding

object-buildings standing in amorphous space.

Buildings Defining Space and Buildings in

Space:

In traditional urban space, the urban fabric is

relatively dense, and buildings are normally

built adjacent to one another and flush with

the street. Building facades thus provide the

walls of open space and also contributes to

larger systems of street and urban block.

The Road Hierarchy:

Accommodating different forms of travel has

been a historical evolution.

Sidewalks/pavements were for pedestrians,

while the centre of the street was for vehicles.

The Arteries:

A quasi-road hierarchical pattern was achieved by designating certain streets as

major roads with selective widening, waiting restrictions, turning prohibitions, one-

way routings and access limited to allow traffic to move more freely and quickly.


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The Cells:

By closing off intersections and side streets and

consolidating blocks, larger superblocks were

created, with the new perimeters of the

enlarged street/super blocks becoming large-

scale gyratory systems.

Pod Developments:

A transformation in the morphological

structure of urban areas from outward-facing

urban blocks to inward-focused complexes of

buildings served by an exclusive road

connection often referred to as pods. In

pod development, each use shopping mall,

fast-food outlet, strip mall, office park, apartment complex, medical centre, hotel

and convention facility, etc. is conceived as a separate element, surrounded by its

associated parking and usually with its own individual and

exclusive access onto a collector or main distributor road.

Residential Pod:

Residential cul-de-sacs are a particular kind of pod. In its

typical suburban manifestation, it is a relatively short, dead-

end street with a turning hammerhead or circle, serving

perhaps 20 or 30 dwellings.

CONNECTED STREET PATTERNS:

On the spectrum of connectivity, Marshall identified four broad street netwoek

pattern types:

Tributary deep branching with systematic use of cul-de-sac and/or layered

loop roads, and often associated with hierarchically based suburban

expansions of the second half of the twentieth century.


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Semi-tributary with some degree of layering and use of cul-de-sacs, but with

less division between minor and major access roads and use of T junctions,

found in older suburban neighbourhoods.

Semi-gridded referring to typical distorted grid systems with a variety of T

and X junctions, often found in inner areas or traditional settlements.

Gridded featuring a high proportion of X junctions and reflecting the type of

planned, regular layouts of grid-iron urban extensions or new cities.

Urban Blocks:

Reaction to object-buildings and pod developments saw new interest in the

conscious design of the space between buildings and in the creation of well-

defined, positive space. This has led to explicit attempts to compose and organise

the parts so that the whole the place is greater than the sum of the parts

(individual buildings and developments).

Typo-Morphological Approaches:

Colin Rowe described the Modernist citys spatial predicament as one of objects

and texture: objects are sculptural buildings standing freely in space, while texture

is the background, continuous matrix of built form defining space.

Urban Block Sizes:

Conceived as a public space network,

urban block structures open up

possibilities and in conjunction with basic

typologies/codes/rules about physical

parameters can provide coherence

and good urban form without

necessarily being overly deterministic

about architectural form or content.

The size and shape of urban blocks is also

important as it can control the

microclimate and issues of wind and sun

penetration and thus a balance must be struck within the design process between

environmental performance and urban form.

Rather than a single, repeated block size, a range of block sizes (including small

blocks) may encourage and facilitate greater diversity of building types and land

uses.

Small Blocks:

Small blocks are nevertheless often advocated for a variety of reasons including

vitality, permeability, visual interest and legibility.


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Large Blocks:

Larger blocks are likely to be perimeter blocks where the ribbon of buildings around

the edge of the block provides the public front to the development, with private or

semi-private space in the blocks interior.

Comparing Block Sizes:

Compared to small block patterns, larger block structures may be more efficient in

terms of the distribution of built form and open space because there is less

circulation space.

Two interrelated aspects of the evolution of the block and street patterns are of

particular interest their persistence and the size of the circulation meshes.

STREETS AS PLACES:

Instead of treating streets only as 'channel for efficient movement' they should be

considered as both social space and as connecting spaces; a multi-purpose public

space network, where social space and

movement space are separated if

absolutely necessary, but otherwise have

considerable overlap.

Designing for Cars or People:

The combination of vehicular movement

space and social space in the same

physical space tends to cause a variety of

problems:

major urban roads provide

obstructions to pedestrian

movement, creating problems of

severance and reducing

connectivity.

heavy traffic frustrates the social

use of streets.

From Arterial Roads to Streets and

Boulevards:

Cities around the world have sought to

change the character of urban roads

and to re-discover them as streets, avenues and boulevards, and to re-

conceive them as connectors rather than dividers.


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Shared Spaces:

At the more local level, careful design is required to reconcile and integrate the

needs and demands of different forms of movement: protecting social space from

the impacts of cars and creating areas that, while accessible by cars, are

pedestrian-dominant.

Shared space typically involves replacing conventional road priority management

systems and devices (kerbs, lines, signs, signals, etc.) and the segregation of vehicles,

pedestrians, cyclists and other road users, with an integrated, people-oriented

understanding of public space, such that walking, cycling, and driving cars become

integrated activities.

CONCLUSION:

Urban designs morphological dimension focuses on urban form and urban layout,

highlighting contemporary preferences for urban block and interconnected street

patterns. It has also focused on the public space network and the physical public

realm the physical setting or stage for public life.

morphological dimension summary by arnav

Documents

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o g i c

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public space network

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