Urban Design (Architecture)

High Life: Condo Living in the Suburban Century

by Matthew Lasner

Forthcoming from Yale University Press in 2012

Today, one in five homeowners in American cities and suburbs lives in a multifamily home rather than a single-family... more Today, one in five homeowners in American cities and suburbs lives in a multifamily home rather than a single-family dwelling. As the American dream evolves, precipitated by declining real estate prices and a renewed interest in city living, many predict that condos will become the predominant form of housing in the 21st century. In this unprecedented study Matthew Gordon Lasner explores the history of co-owned multifamily housing in the United States, from New York City's first co-op, in 1881, to contemporary condo and townhouse complexes coast to coast. Lasner explains the complicated social, economic, and political factors that have increased demand for this way of living, situating the trend within the larger housing market and broad shifts in residential architecture. He contrasts the prevalence and popularity of condos, townhouses, and other privately governed communities with their ambiguous economic, legal, and social standing, as well as their striking absence from urban and architectural history.

The Issue of Tokyo Bay’s Reclaimed Lands as the Origin of Urban Utopias in Modern Japanese Architecture

by Raffaele Pernice

published in: Journal of Architecture and Planning (Transactions of AIJ - Architectural Institute of Japan), Tokyo, No. 613, March 2007, pp. 259-266

This paper aims to investigate from a broader point of view as in 1958 the theme of development of Tokyo into the sea... more This paper aims to investigate from a broader point of view as in 1958 the theme of development of Tokyo into the sea by reclaiming lands of her coasts became the occasion for the productions on several projects which witnessed the innovative potentials and the talent of a new generation of architects, such as the members of Metabolist Group and Kenzo Tange, who had a great impact on the further development of the modern Japanese architecture. Those proposals were a mirror of their original vision of the modern city, which was mainly inspired by many cultural and socio-economical factors present at the time in Japan, such as the uncontrolled sprawl of the cities, the radical transformation of Japanese society and the massive alteration of historical urban landscapes due to post-war urbanism and economic growth, as well as the search for a new urban form and design methodology more concerned about the preservation of the natural landscape, and directly linked with the new possibilities offered by ocean engineering and new building technology.

New Urbanism: The Face of Toronto Suburbs?

by Christina Sgro

published in 'Urban Design Forum', 2010

The future of UK housebuilding

by Chris Goodier

Briefing: challenging lock-in through urban energy systems

by Chris Goodier

Adapting UK dwellings for heat waves

by Chris Goodier

Briefing: Heat-wave-coping measures for housing

by Chris Goodier

Transformations on the landscape in 20th century

by Xenia Mastoraki

Essays about landscape architecture ad urban design in 20th century

The rapid growth of human population, the ownership of the automobile, the rapid introduction of technologies and the... more The rapid growth of human population, the ownership of the automobile, the rapid introduction of technologies and the science and the global form of economic development have led to an outrageous rapid change of the earthy landscape and the way we behave against it. Thoughts about the reasons, the results and the challenges of the new era.

Modern Japanese Waterfront Developments - Global vs. Local

by Raffaele Pernice

Paper presented at IV Ajman Urban Planning Conference “Waterfront: New Trends in Urbanism and Architecture”, 29th-31st March 2010, AUST - Ajman University of Science and Technology, Ajman, United Arab Emirates

This study outlines the trend of waterfront (re-)development in Japan during the recent decades by presenting some... more This study outlines the trend of waterfront (re-)development in Japan during the recent decades by presenting some significant urban and architectural projects located in large cities, such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Kobe, and other local and regional centers. These projects, analysed and proposed as exemplary case studies, present a concise overview that is representative of the Japanese approach to the design of waterfront environments. This approach ranges from mega-scale urban projects with high international ambitions, typical of the sustained economic growth since the early 1980s, to a more limited scale that aimed to create friendlier and community-oriented environments.

2 Exhibitions in Paris (Cité de l'Architecture Palais de Chaillot): Social Housing 2 and Urban Transport (in Italian)

by Denis Bocquet

Published in: Il Giornale dell'Architettura, n.105, May 2012, p.27

A critique of two exhibitions at the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine (Paris, Palais de Chaillot):
- Vers... more A critique of two exhibitions at the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine (Paris, Palais de Chaillot):
- Vers de nouveaux logements sociaux 2
- Circuler. Quand nos mouvements façonnent les villes (Jean-Marie Duthilleul

Key Words

Edilizia sociale social housing circolare trasporti urbani transport transportation Jean-Marie Duthilleul Arep Sncf Jean Nouvel Cantal-Dupart Marcel Bajard Louis Dandrel Bernard Lubat Harvey Wiley Robinson Leigh Grand Paris Eiffel Raymond Lopez Mérignac Bordeaux Saint-Nazaire Lyon Lione Anne Lacaton Jean-Philippe Vassal Bègles King Kong King-Kong architectes Tank Tania Concko Rudy Ricciotti Lens Frédéric Druot équerre d'argent Dominique Perrault Groningen Bois-le-Prêtre Edouard François Champigny-sur-Marne utopie urbain urban planning

Educational Campus as a Paradigm for a Global Innovation – University of Nis Case Study

by Ljiljana Jevremovic

Co-authored with Petar Vranic and Dusan Zdravkovic
Published in Proceedings First International Conference on Architecture and Urban Design 1-ICAUD, Epoka University Press, ISBN: 9789928-135-01-8, pp. 845-854

This paper deals with contemporary discourse regarding urban revival, elaborating the Educational Campus as a paradigm... more This paper deals with contemporary discourse regarding urban revival, elaborating the Educational Campus as a paradigm for global innovation. The objective is to examine the significance and capacity of education and its spatial articulation for social incubation and overall urban development. Furthermore through case of the city of Nis it was demonstrated the possibilities for connecting capacities and priorities in order to build a theoretical ‘platform’ for systematic urban design package in respect to the local resource. The new needed identity for the city of Nis in the time of transition from former industrial into the modern competitive city, can take many forms. Here was argued that, while there is the absence of a formal response to neoliberal governance regarding the strategic urban development, new Educational Campus paradigm might be solution for urban revival. This paper has examined possibilities of formation of the University Campus within the city core as a plausible model for prosper urban transformation of the city. Particularly concerning positive outcomes for the city and the university, the revival and redevelopment of historically important but neglected urban area including city’s Fortress in the center of the city is given proposal that was used for model analysis through which some important issues was examined.

Apartment Blocks and Alienation: Tallinn’s Lasnamäe District in Autumn Ball

by Mari Laaniste

Co-authored with Leena Torim (Tallinn).

2010, Kinokultura: New Russian Cinema, Special issue #10: Estonia.

Tallinn's Lasnamäe district's urban environment, mostly consisting of late Soviet era apartment blocks, presented as a failed utopia in the film "Autumn Ball" ("Sügisball", 2007).

Daniel Libeskind in Singapore: Reflections on Reflections at Keppel Bay (in Italian)

by Denis Bocquet

Published in: Il Giornale dell'Architettura, 2012, n.105, p.12

On the occasion of the opening of the Reflections at Keppel Bay (architect Daniel Libeskind) gated community in... more On the occasion of the opening of the Reflections at Keppel Bay (architect Daniel Libeskind) gated community in Singapore, a reflection on the urban transformations at work in the city-State


Key words: Singapore, Architecture, Urban Planning, Daniel Libeskind, Keppel Bay, Keppel Group, Vivocity, harbour, cruise, casino, resort, tourism, gated communities, urbanity, Bishan Park, Dreisetl, PUB, Public Utilities Board, ABC Waters, Active, Beautyful, Clean, Ballang River, CH2M Hill Engineering, Emscher Park, Ruhr, nature, city, reverse engineering

(2011) Konsep Neighbourhood Unit

by Undi Gunawan

catatan pendek, tidak dipublikasikan

Creative spaces: movement, communication, play / Kūrybinės erdvės: jūdėjimas, komunikacija, žaidimas

by Jekaterina Lavrinec

Jekaterina Lavrinec
"Creative spaces: movement, communication, play", published in:
The History of the Museum. Part I". Vilnius: Modern Art Center, 2012, p.42-47 /
"Kūrybinės erdvės: judėjimas, komunikacija, žaidimai", paskelbta:
Vieno muziejaus istorija. I dalis.Vilnius: Modernaus meno centras, 2012, p. 42-47

Every object designed by an architect becomes covered by citizens' interpretations. By using city space, citizens... more Every object designed by an architect becomes covered by citizens' interpretations. By using city space, citizens broaden the functions foreseen by architects and designers for spaces and urban elements, and develop alternative scenarios for using them giving new meanings to localities and new, unofficial, names to various sites around the city. [..] In their turn, city objects and the organization of city spaces shape the choreography of city users: they influence movement trajectories, rhythm, the dynamics of glances and gestures [..] Seeking to appropriate new public spaces and to revitalize forgotten places, it is sufficient to develop urban ritual - i.e. a periodically recurring and collectively supported that is usually "embedded" in a certain place.

Urban and Architectural Design of the Piazza del Governo in Enna (2012)

by Cettina Santagati

Restuccia F, Galizia M., Santagati C. (2012) Urban and Architectural Design of the Piazza del Governo in Enna, in Proceedings: First International Conference on Architecture and Urban Design (1-ICAUD), Epoka University Press, Tirana. ISBN 9789928-135-01-8

Tall building policy making and implementation in central London: visual impacts on regionally protected views from 2000 to 2008

by Juergen Kufner

PhD Thesis

This thesis considers the processes of policy making and implementation of tall building development, as well as the... more This thesis considers the processes of policy making and implementation of tall building development, as well as the management of visual impacts on regionally protected views in particular, in central London between 2000 and 2008, from the initiation of the Greater London Authority to the end of Ken Livingstone's era as Mayor of London. During this eight year period, more than forty tall building projects were processed through the planning system. Regional and local planning authorities, private developers and heritage groups have diverse interests in tall building planning and hence conflicts result regarding policy and implementation processes. The case study of No.1 Blackfriars Road—part of an emerging cluster of tall buildings at Blackfriars Bridge, Southwark—provides a useful exemplar. It is not located in an area that was designated as appropriate for tall buildings and is situated close to central London's historic monuments and conservation areas.

I will argue that while a high degree of design quality in tall buildings has been achieved, a severe lack of conflict resolution has led to an upward spiralling of antagonistic interactions, uncertainty and the prolongation of the planning process. Moreover, emerging regional and local policy has strengthened the position of tall building supporters while gradually marginalising opposing heritage groups. Nor has planning policy and assessment methods provided a clear enough basis for decision making. The resulting ambiguity has been exploited by opposing camps which arrive at divergent conclusions regarding tall building projects. Furthermore, the involvement of private sector experts in governmental processes has led to perceptions by heritage groups of conflicts of interest. The thesis concludes by summarising the key aspects identified with regard to the translation of the urban renaissance agenda into tall building policies, the effectiveness of implementing these policies, and the impacts of planning processes on visual impact assessments.

Generative Structures in Cities

by Kinda Al Sayed

Co-authored with Alasdair Turner and Sean Hanna

Research in the area of Space syntax tends to be centred on static representations of the built environment and its... more Research in the area of Space syntax tends to be centred on static representations of the built environment and its embedded social logic. Lacking for the most part the element of time, this synchronous representation cannot capture the evolutionary dynamics of urban systems. In this paper, we argue that the abstract values of space-time as a dual dimension play a key role as generators of city systems. Hence, we explore the driving forces that help reproduce growing spatial networks and yet preserve their structural properties. In two case studies; Manhattan and Barcelona, synchronic states of the growing systems are analysed. The states are separated by a certain radius of time. The analysis leads to regularities that may outline a generative model embedded in the pattern of growth and marked by alternating periods of expansion and pruning. In periods of expansion, a positive feedback process operates and takes the form of exponential addition of elements. The emergence of patches on the edges follows high values of choice and is subject to the temporal configurations of the grid. Once we observe the long-term time dimensionality, we note a change in the trend of the system as it reaches its maximum boundary. Following this change, another process of reinforcing feedback is introduced to the spatial network. This process involves intensifying sparse grid structures that have witnessed high gains in centrality in prior states and a process of pruning of poorly integrated elements. Both processes aim to differentiate the spatial structure of a city hence matching that of an organic grid. The findings yield that even at events of large scale planning interventions; cities adapt the local configurations of the new uniform parts to deform in such a way as to reproduce natural growth. In this manner, cities embody the intelligent collective minds of individuals. They are trade-off products of individuals’ decisions and they adapt their behaviour by prioritising a maximum parts-whole relationship that optimises access in the spatial network. We introduce these feedback processes under a framework of a plausible generative model to simulate city growth. The model is expected to both provide a better understanding of city growth and to aid design decision making on urban and regional scales.

Modelling The Spatial Morphogenesis In Cities: The Dynamics of Spatial Change in Manhattan

by Kinda Al Sayed

Co-authored with Alasdair Turner and Sean Hanna

Applied studies in the area of urban growth have often focused on the apparent physical silhouette of urban form in... more Applied studies in the area of urban growth have often focused on the apparent physical silhouette of urban form in modelling and simulating city growth. This paper is intended to go beyond such limitations and present a model based on observed dynamics of change in urban structures. Thus the paper translates the spatial laws which govern the process of urban morphogenesis in cities into mathematical rules which represent the change in the configurational structure of street networks. For this purpose, a set of analyses will be made for the sequential development of urban street network in Manhattan. The change in the attributes of the elements under investigation will be judged according to physical and angular metrics. The objectives are to track any regularity in the bottom up growing system and detect the causal forces that took part in the rise of a distinguished structure in the planned uniform grid. The externalised model has the potential to be devised in computer aided design implementations and strategic planning development.

Isamu Noguchi's Utopian Landscapes

by Diana Witcher