Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 6

The Future of Urbanised Landscape

NSL/ETHZ

15.1.2003

Phenomenology of urban space in new urban areas


Prof. Dr. Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani
Dr. Wolfgang Sonne

1.

Abstract
The aim of this research project is to discover possible forms of urban space in city extensions
and new urban areas. On the basis of existing and perceivable urban forms, an urban design
system is to be developed which facilitates the use of the rich experience gained throughout
the history of urban design. Special emphasis will be placed on urban space offering a high
quality of life and a clear identity, designed for the peripheries of large cities.
In order to enable the research to be applied directly to Glattal-Stadt, the focus of the overall
programme, this project will examine selected examples of city extensions whose starting positions contained comparable components and which have led to good examples of urban design. We propose the following city extension plans as examples for examination: Berlin according to the plan of James Hobrecht 1862, Hamburg under Fritz Schumacher in the 1910s
and 1920s, Amsterdam South according to the plan of Hendrik Petrus Berlage 1917, the Garden City of Welwyn according to the plan of Louis de Soissons 1920, and the development
around the Boulevard Priphrique in Paris in the 1920s.
Finally, those urban forms which may be appropriate for application in the context of the Glattal-Stadt should be distilled from the examples examined. An initial step will be to select a
catalogue of urban forms according to the specific scale of the Glattal-Stadt. As a second step,
the factors that have been instrumental in the development of these forms will be examined;
thus the formal analysis will be combined with an analysis of the political, economical, social
and other factors. Finally, we have to examine which political and other decisions will have to
be made in the Glattal-Stadt case in order to create the right conditions for the development of
quality urban space.
Creating added value by interdisciplinary exchange and/or ongoing synthesis, the project will
be closely contextualised with the projects

Landscape Architecture in Swiss urbanised Landscapes. Towards a new design approach


on the basis of exemplary empirical analyses

Strategies for the sustainable development of urban places

Limitation of settlement growth in Switzerland


more widely contextualised with the projects

2.

Mobility in the urbanised landscape

Goals, milestones and expected output


Considering that urban planning is a science which is based on experience, this research project tries to make the experiences of historical city extensions fruitful for the new urban area in
the Glattal-Stadt. The aim of this research project is to discover possible forms of urban space
which may provide a certain quality of urban life and a typical identity for the new districts of
the Glattal-Stadt region. On the basis of perceived urban forms, an urban design system shall

The Future of Urbanised Landscape

NSL/ETHZ

15.1.2003

be developed which facilitates the use of the rich experience gained throughout the history of
urban design.
In order to enable the research to be applied directly to Glattal-Stadt, the spatial focus of the
overall programme, this project will examine selected examples of city extensions whose starting positions contained comparable components and which have led to good examples of urban design. At the same time, the research will identify the factors responsible for the fact that
there are still hardly any urban areas with a clear identity in the Glattal-Stadt district. Finally, an
urban design strategy should be developed for the creation of areas with good quality of life in
this district. Here the combination of design strategies and planning approaches for sustainable
development may lead to new, convincing results.
The expected outcome is a method for designing an urban space with a clear identity for the
Glattal-Stadt. Some further design examples will be used to illustrate the method. Thus this
project seeks to add two important factors to the general research unit: firstly, the use of urban design history with its impressive and successful examples of urban extension designs;
secondly, the use of architecture with its capacity for creating specific city spaces with a clear
identity.

3.

Rationale for the proposed project and state of research


This project should contribute to the alleviation of the agonies of a predominantly technically
and sociologically oriented planning discipline, the failure of which is not only clear from the
unsatisfactory solutions of the majority of contemporary plans, but is also apparent in the signs
of internal professional disintegration observed worldwide.
The fact that the planning discipline of today has the described deficiencies is itself the consequence of the history of urban design. The propagation of radical new orders has its origin in
the avant-garde thinking which permeated the culture of design from the early 20th century
onwards. The limitation to technical and sociological questions was a consequence of the
functionalistic understanding of city design which predominated in the mid-20th century. Although fundamental criticism of these positions may long have had its place in architecture as
in other cultural areas such as art, philosophy or literature, town planning still carries with it
the early-modern baggage of a disregard for aesthetic qualities and historical achievements. The
present necessity appears to be to find a way of creating a distance from this attitude, but
without also throwing out the benefits of the Modern movement, in order to find solutions to
the urgent problems of urban design.
In so doing, the planners access to the rich experience of European urban design must be facilitated. Successful urban areas need not remain chance occurrences, as the experience of urban quality can be systematised and arranged. The main hypothesis of the research project is
that this new collection of examples of successful urban design cannot only be carried out under formal arrangements but also has to include the analysis of the principal factors which
shaped the urban form. Only such a new systematic collection of examples of planning experience from the history of urban design will enable the reintroduction of an urban design discipline which will lead to sustainable, generally valued urban areas.
The term city extension has been chosen consciously, for in the history of urban design this
term has come to encompass a range of successful examples of urban design, which emerged
in response to the problems of a growing city. In contrast, the mainly negatively charged term
periphery and the new term urbanised landscape place too much emphasis on the specific features of the edges of cities or peri-urban zones, thus implicitly hindering the transfer of
2

The Future of Urbanised Landscape

NSL/ETHZ

15.1.2003

urban qualities to the new-build areas. In contrast, this research project seeks to develop an
appropriate urban quality, which includes city extension areas. Thus it is assumed that future
Urbanised Landscapes must also display a perceptible difference between urban areas and the
surrounding landscape, if reasonable fulfilment is sought of the cultural requirements placed on
them.
Essential preparatory works for this research project include, on the one hand, the existing
monographs on the examples of city extensions referred to below. But as these do not examine the conditions of urban areas in a systematic and comparable manner, targeted subsequent
investigations are required, including on site, in the relevant archives. Other works which may
be considered references include urban design handbooks such as Josef Stbbens Stdtebau [Urban Design] of 1890, Werner Hegemann and Elbert Peets' American Vitruvius of
1922 and Rob Kriers "Stadtraum in Theorie und Praxis" [Urban space in theory and practice] of
1975, although these do not systematically place form in a relationship with its conditions.

4.

Detailed research plan


The focus of the research is on examining the interaction of urban areas, their cultural connotations and the lifestyles they are home to. In so doing, particular investigations should be
made into the conditions which led to the development of the urban areas. Finally, the analysis of existing urban areas should enable a set of basic principles for urban design plans to be
drawn up. The following methodical steps will be followed:
Selected examples of urban design from the history of the European city should be subjected
to an integral analysis, aimed at the aesthetic qualities, but which also examines the economic,
political, social, technical and cultural conditions. The application of the same criteria in analysing various historical examples should facilitate comparison of the examples with regard to
individual aspects.
On the one hand, the aesthetic analysis of the case studies plays an essential role. The basis
here should be formed not only by our own observations, but also a critical sifting of previous
urban area interpretations, above all as offered by the artistic genres of painting, photography,
film or literature. The illustrative strategies of the interpretative art form offer a particularly sharp
set of analytical instruments with which existing urban areas may be more clearly read and better understood. The heightened perception of the city, as has been developed in the interpretative arts, should be exploited for the design of urban areas and incorporated into the planning process.
On the other hand, it is also important to examine the conditions of the concrete urban form.
The method will follow the scientific standards in the humanities concerning historic research.
Where the necessary historical data has not yet been published in a considerable way, it must
be gained by the examination of source material in the archives. The essential conditions of urban form appear in the following thematic areas, forming the systematic instruments for the
analysis of every case study:

Geography: location and climate


Economy: creation of wealth
Politics: structure of society and lifestyles
Law: legal unit
Function: use
Aesthetics: perception
3

The Future of Urbanised Landscape

NSL/ETHZ

15.1.2003

Typology: continuity

History: development process


A systematisation of urban form is planned here, which above all should bring together the
possible forms of city extension arrangements, which are satisfactory from an urban design perspective. This new kind of composition is differentiated from existing urban design pattern
books, both by means of the consideration of the various influencing factors and the critical
examination of them, and by means of its categorisation according to problems and not according to formal analogies.
Finally, from the examples examined, those urban forms should be distilled which may be appropriate for application in the context of the Glattal-Stadt region. Moreover, those factors
which were instrumental in their development need to be determined, as do the not directly
planning-related decisions which will have to be made in the Glattal-Stadt case in order to create the right conditions for the development of quality urban space.
The individual researches on the selected historical examples are a central feature. In order to
ensure consideration of the widest possible variety of potential comparisons with regard to
politics, economy and urban space, we propose the following city extension plans as examples
for examination: Berlin according to the plan of James Hobrecht 1862, Hamburg under Fritz
Schumacher in the 1910s and 1920s, Amsterdam South according to the plan of Hendrik
Petrus Berlage 1917, the Garden City of Welwyn according to the plan of Louis de Soissons
1920, and the development around the Boulevard Priphrique in Paris in the 1920s. In addition, the Glattal-Stadt region should be examined to determine the factors which have shaped
it.

Timetable
1st year: analysis of the examples by studying secondary sources, collecting necessary data,
organising the research of primary sources in the various cities
2nd year: deepening of the analysis by research of primary sources in the various cities, including plans, reports, statistical data etc., formulation of a final report for each example considering formal qualities and the external factors (geography, politics, economy, law function, and
history)
3rd year: applying the examples to the Glattal-Stadt, examining the conditions in the GlattalStadt region (exchange with other projects), developing a formal strategy for the Glattal-Stadt

5.

Available resources for realisation of the project


The staff of the Chair of History of Urban Design, with its many years of research and academic
experience, is behind the project. This will be helpful not only in the evaluation and selection
of the examples, but also in establishing focal points in the examination of the case studies.
The existing network of contacts with other research institutions can be used without friction.
An essential basis of the work is a quality picture archive, an initial foundation of which is provided by the research project "Das Modell der Stadt 1750-2000" [The model of the city 17502000] by the Chair of History of Urban Design. It should be expanded both by new examples
and new genres; thus, for example, it is essential to include the depiction of urban areas by
4

The Future of Urbanised Landscape

NSL/ETHZ

15.1.2003

artists in paintings, photography and film. The resources of the new Institute of Urban Design
can be used as an in-house facility.
Similar support may be provided by the research project "Die Architektur, die Tradition und der
Ort. Regionalismen in zeitgenssischen stdtischen Strukturen" [Architecture, tradition and
place. Regionalism in contemporary urban structures], already approved and financed by the
Wstenrot Foundation. The information obtained here on the form of urban areas offering a
clear identity can be incorporated directly into the research project under application.
There will also be synergies with the Postgraduate Programme on "Stadtformen. Bedingungen
und Folgen" [Urban forms. Conditions and consequences] by the Chair of History of Urban
Design.

6.

List of own relevant publications


LAMPUGNANI, Vittorio Magnago (2002): Verhaltene Geschwindigkeit. Die Zukunft der telematischen Stadt, Berlin.
LAMPUGNANI, Vittorio Magnago (2001): Berlin Modernism and the Architecture of the Metropolis, in: Terence Riley (ed.), Mies in Berlin. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The Berlin Years
1907-1938, exhibition catalogue, New York, 35-65.
LAMPUGNANI, Vittorio Magnago (ed.) (2000): Die Architektur, die Tradition und der Ort. Regionalismen in der europischen Stadt, Stuttgart and Munich
LAMPUGNANI, Vittorio Magnago (1995): Die Modernitt des Dauerhaften. Essays zu Stadt, Architektur und Design, Berlin.
SONNE, Wolfgang (2000): Ideen fr die Grossstadt. Der Wettbewerb Gross-Berlin 1910, in:
Paul Kahlfeldt, Josef Paul Kleihues und Thurston Schemer (ed.), Stadt der Architektur Architektur der Stadt. Berlin 1900-2000, exhibition catalogue, Berlin, 66-77.
SONNE, Wolfgang (1995): La periferia di Berlino. Tradizioni e trasformazioni, in: Il centro altrove. Periferie e nuove centralit nelle aree metropolitane, exhibition catalogue for the Triennale di Milano, Milan, 282-290.

7.

Relevant publications of other authors


FEHL, Gerhard and Juan Rodriguez-Lores (ed.) (1983): Stadterweiterungen 1800-1875. Von
den Anfngen des modernen Stdtebaues in Deutschland, Hamburg.
COHEN, Jean-Louis and Andr Lortie (1992): Des fortifs au prif. Paris. Les seuils de la ville, exhibition catalogue, Paris.
FRANK, Hartmut (ed.) (1994): Fritz Schumacher. Reformkultur und Moderne, exhibition catalogue, Hamburg.
GEIST, Johann Friedrich and Klaus Krvers (1980-89): Das Berliner Mietshaus, 3 vol., Berlin.
STIEBER, Nancy (1998): Housing Design and Society in Amsterdam. Reconfiguring Urban Order
and Identity 1900-1920, Chicago.
WARD, Stephen (ed.) (1992): The Garden City. Past, Present, and Future, London.

The Future of Urbanised Landscape

8.

NSL/ETHZ

15.1.2003

Specific significance of the project to ETH and the scientific community


With this project we are seeking to give the discipline of urban design a new impulse to solve
the pressing problems of urban planning today. Considering the technical and functional success of planning strategies in the last decades, it is quite surprising how unconvincing the aesthetic results in the new districts are: a specific quality of public spaces which contributes to a
local identity is often missing. The ETH Zurich has excellent technical and functional planners
and also excellent architectural designers. This project seeks to combine both by providing an
underlying new method of historic research for current urban design.
Thus with this project, the ETH could develop a new branch of urban design and urban design
theory which would add to the high reputation of the D-ARCH and the D-BAUG departments.
As the planning discipline is in a worldwide crisis, there is the chance for the ETH to gain a
leading position in urban planning by developing a new and practicable way of solving urban
problems. This project hopes to contribute to this aim.

9.

Specific significance of the project to the non-scientific community


As the consequences of urban design are visible for everyone, this project has a great significance for the non-scientific community. In establishing better urban spaces at the periphery of
large cities it directly influences the life of the citizens. A specific target group will be the town
planners themselves who are dealing with these problems from the official side. As the contacts
are close the knowledge transfer will be direct and quick. Furthermore, young architects and
planners are an important group who will contribute new knowledge to future planning operations.
This project contributes to the problem of sustainability in urban developments in a specific
context: Taking examples from history which have had a long term success and are still appreciated today, it will lead to planning strategies and urban forms which themselves will have a
broad acceptance by the citizens and therefore will have a long life. Besides the aspect of not
having to be materially changed, these forms stimulate the identification of the citizens with
their district and will thus stabilise the changes in these areas. In the end this may be more important for a sustainable urban development than the installation of a number of houses with
solar energy supply.

10. Further information


The central aim of this project is to make the numerous experiences for new urban areas and
city extensions in the urban design history fruitful for contemporary development strategies.
The pressing problems do not allow the repetition of urban experiments which have already
proven their failure. Good examples of planned urban space with a specific identity exist they
should be used.

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi