Urban design quality, a function of variety

Prof.dr.ir. Taeke M. de Jong R. Schmaeling conference

Rīga October 29th 2014

The domain of Urban and Architectural design

Imagine a school with elevators and corridors leading you through different spatial levels, time-spans, and layers of design.

A scale paradox, its factor 3

Any conclusion about space is scale-sensitive.

It can change into its opposite already with a factor 3 of scale.

Ten levels of variety to be explored

R={30, 10km} R=10km R=3km 1930 R=1km R=0,3km 1650

R=100m 1970 R=30m R=10m R=3m R=1m (2x2m)

Look for differences at any level of scale

A frame 100x the grain of a drawing representing a building

Any representation has an upper and a lower boundary:a frame and a grain.

Let us notate them as a ‘nominal radius’ R and r.

Boundaries of nominal R and r

A ‘nominal’ radius is a name for a range of measures.

‘R=10m’ is something between 3m and 30m.

Usual names fitting R=

10000km Global 30m Building complex 3000km Continental 10m Building 1000km Subcontinental 3m Building segment

300km National 1m Building part 100km Sub national 300mm Building component

30km Regional 100mm Super element 10km Sub regional 30mm Element

3km Town 10mm Sub element 1km District 3mm Super material

300m Neighbourhood 1mm Material 100m Ensemble <1mm Sub material

Object in Context (months, years)

Any object has impacts in different layers of context at different levels of scale.

A programme is simply a set of intended impacts.

Ten levels of variety to be explored

R={30, 10km} R=10km R=3km 1930 R=1km R=0,3km 1650

R=100m 1970 R=30m R=10m R=3m R=1m (2x2m)

Look for differences at any level of scale

Content diversifies space

Fig. 1 Example 6x6km 1930a

0├──────────────3km Ecology3km lifeless many species Housing3km attached detached Agriculture3km fields settlements

Technology3km energy information

Economy3km consumption supply

Meeting3km home work

Culture3km traditional experimental

Management3km laissez-faire initiative ... … …

Fig. 2 Example 2x2km

0├──────────────1km

History1km -300 000 000yr +10yr

Occupation1km natural urban

Network Density1km 0.7km/km2 7km/km2

Intensity1km 0hrs/yr 8 760hrs/inh*yr

Pollution1km clean contaminated

Routing1km points surfaces

Image1km homogeneous heterogeneous

... … …

a Bonnekaart(1929)

Some values of named variables may serve as legend units.

Form distributes content in space

Form = state of distribution

AccumulationDeconcentration

Concentration

Sprawl

States of distribution of 100 spots

Any shape appears between total sprawl and total accumu-lation

Concentration and Deconcentrationat 2 levels ...

… result in accumulation and sprawlat different levels of scale.

Structure stabilises form

Functions at different levels of scale

Intentions and expectations about the object in its context

Stakeholders, specialists and users can be located on scale and layer.Ask them to specify the intentions and expectations in their position.

Package

Intentions and expectations are different modes of thinking

What is spatial quality?

Quality as a function of variety

ÝVa10m

Va30m

Va10m

Va3m

Va1m

ÝRe10m

Re30m

Re10m

Re3m

Re1m

ÝVa10m

Va30m

Re10m

Va3m

Re1m

ÝVa10m

Va30m

Re10m

Va3m

Re1m

ÝRe10m

Va30m

Re10m

Re3m

Re1m

ÝVa10m

Va30m

Re10m

Va3m

Va1m

ÝVa10m

Va30m

Va10m

Va3m

Va1m

Variety in modes, orders, levels and layers

modes orders levels layersprobable intention … managerialpossible function 1mm cultural

imaginable structure … economic form 1m technical

desirable content 3m biological 10m physical …

Further reading