TALES OF THREE CITIES (ARC 3113)
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Assignment 1: Ideas and theories in urbanism
In an increasingly urbanized world, there is growing international demand for urban design studies. This course work will equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to participate in this rapidly expanding profession and find your position as architects. Urban design involves shaping the physical setting for life in cities. Throughout the course you will learn the core skills and techniques of urban studies.
The course work aims to inspire the students towards fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to design and deliver better urban places. It is an exploration of both literature and reality. Cities of similar contexts (eg. South-East Asian, Great Britain contexts and so on) will be studied for
a) the historic social significance over urban planning and design,
b) the application of contemporary theories on to design and practice and
c) spatial experience being the student as an explorer in the city.
The process will enable the student to comprehend the translation from
a) a theory into design and
b) a design into spatial experience in the urban context.
The usage of X-space is effectively practiced in terms of debates, case studies and virtual games on urban design.
In the first Assignment the students are to acquire prior knowledge, from the literature on Eastern urbanism, before the case study visit. The students are to explore the various ideas/theories/social situations prevailed in the historical and contemporary times. Later in the Semester, the students are to explore the case study towns through visits.
Objectives
The objectives of the project are as follows:
- To explore various urban theories and ideas in the Eastern World
- To know how various social situations responded to spatial forms
- To acquire an holistic understanding about various historical phases of the case study cities
TASKS
In a group of 4-5, the students are required to choose a case study city and to explore the city in both historical or contemporary phases of:
a) Singapore,
b) Hong Kong and
c) Manhattan,
the three vertical and island cities of the world. The grouping has to be so strategic that entire class covers the historical and contemporary phases of all the three cities. Each group is to prepare digital presentations on salient and insightful ideas/theories/social situations that contributed the spatial form of the city of their study.
The analysis comes from two perspectives, namely, the historic context of the city and the conceptual translation of the urban design concept in the selected project, as outlined below:
i) The historical underpinning must answer the questions of
a) how does the city respond to modern and postmodern ideas and theories in urbanism and
b) what spatial structures constitute to the place making aspects in the city.
ii) The understanding of urban design comes from underpinning the theories into tangible urban structures of
a) Built form / open spaces,
b) Activity/Use and
c) movement patterns.
Hence the presentation should clearly specify such understanding under these categories. It is also important that the student understand how such theories merge with the existing context in the given city. Such contextual understanding comes from the understanding of
a) how the designer has woven the proposed design to align with the existing urban form, function and movement pattern and
b) the historical underpinning.
There will be class discussions on the debates on factors that drive the urban form, where the usage of X-Space would be effectively practiced.
Presentation is also key and an assessment criteria. The content, composition and way of writing should exemplify the above (urban design and contextual understanding).
PRESENTSTION SLIDE
