Final Reflection

Final Reflection

This semester has provided me with better understanding of how a city works and how a city is even formed.  By understanding the context of a city, it helps us to better ourselves as architects, understanding the purposes of certain aspects in a city. The subject helps contribute to our learning of urban design and planning, how we can use these urban environments to our advantage. The development of cities was an exciting topic, how a city becomes a city, or how a space becomes a place, How a city can be designed differently depending on the context of both the landscape and users. These theories and concepts help me further my development as a student and can help me in the future.

By learning how to describe the city, it comes prominent that depending on the point of view you see the city, it can be different to everyone how they interpret it. Drawing up the maps and outlining different aspects of the city from a birds eye point of view gives you a different perspective on how a city works. By learning how to read the city, we can to terms on how the perspective of the user greatly influences how one views a city. I was doing the city walk with a few friends, and they were looking at different areas to what i was interested in. By reading the city, we can analyse aspects of the city and come up with similar theories on the urban context because of Lynch's theory of: path, district, nodes, landmarks edges. Learning to analyse the city was the most important aspect of this subject, as we based most of our assessment on the resources we analysed using those techniques.

The assessment pieces allowed me to utilise the knowledge that I had learnt in the subject to my maximum potential. However, given the city we were given, it was hard to provide in-depth analysis of the city as the information was hard to find. Given the circumstances, we came up with sufficient amount of material and even found a 3D representation of our city which greatly benefited our cause. The group worked together as a team and produced an extensive amount of material to present.

The final project was much more challenging to me, as it was an individual assignment. I went with the same city, so as i have previously mentioned, getting the information about the city was difficult. Once I determined the topic of interest (due to the lecture), I found interesting information and it became much easier to produce a project with decent material. By understanding the urban context of the city through the analysis from the previous project, it became much easier for me to provide insight on the type of city that luzhou was and has become.

Overall both the projects were a success. The learning process that was required to produce these projects allowed me to understand the city in an urban context much better. The lecture content also provided extensive resources to use and help us understand our cities more.

Project 3 Final

Project 3

Final Poster

The project theme was about the urbanisation of luzhou and how it affected it's way of constructing. The poster is well structured with an even amount of graphics and text. The project could be further improved with increased about of detail to the graphics, by adding maybe legends or arrows to help point out where each paragraph corresponds. However, all in all, the project was a success. 

The project helped me better understand urbanisation and how it is slowly effecting developing countries such as china. I could compare the differences in developing countries to countries such as our own, Australia. However, by researching about luzhou, I found that not all cities in china have begun developing as fast as Luzhou, and this gave me a better understanding of the world. 

Project 3 Development

Project 3 Development

I began my project by researching about Luzhou and how urbanism has had an impact on the city. I also learnt about how they tried to increase their country efficiency by introducing an economic reform. All this research lead me to develop my project based on urbanisation which has a close link to the increase in economic efficiency.

I drew up a sketch up model of the area of focus that i decided to analyse to help explain the effects it has had on the architecture and development of the city. The garden square in luzhou, near the area we did our project 2 was a prime example of the different typologies of buildings luzhou has used. By analysing these buildings we can see how Luzhou has urbanised the city.

3D Representation - image sourced from: luzhou.edushi.com

Sketch Up Model

Sketch Up Perspective Shot

Week 12: Big Buildings and Urbanism

Big Buildings and Urbanism

Peter Richard came back to provide us with insight on landscape and architecture. He began by mentioning the projects of the Bjarke Ingels firm, BIG. This firm has a special blend of landscape and architecture, which is hard for it to be built into physical form, however is it provocative.

Bjarke Ingel Projects - Image sourced from: http://big.dk

The two things pulling away from urbanism are: landscape and sustainability. The interesting thing is that sustainability is having a negative effect instead of a positive on urbanism. The most positive effect on urban design is orientation. By angling the buildings properly, placing the windows in correct places in the buildings, allow for the most efficient use of urban designs. Creating a building that both integrates landscape and urbansim will be difficult, as landscape has many constraints attach to it. When you throw sustainability into the equation as well, it becomes impossible to design a urbanised city, as the city is designed for the user efficient use.

Week 11: Architecture and Urbanism

Architecture and Urbanism

A lecture presented by Peter Richards on the relations between architecture and urbanism. Urbanisation is the growth in population in certain areas, usually is the result of small towns combining or rural migration. Urbanisation is the transformation of human society where rural culture is replaced slowly by urban culture.

Urbanisation - image sourced from: http://oneplanetsustainability.files.wordpress.com

When looking at urbanisation we have to consider the following: Walkability, diversity, proximity, connectivity, accessibility, legibility, community. The picture above provides a perfect example of urbanisation; a constant increase in population and buildings at a central point. 

Urbanisation has a significant correlation to my current project which intrigued me to develop my project 3. Urban design focuses on the city as a whole, instead of like architecture, focusing on each individual building. Which contrasts architecture and urbanism. So how do they link? All buildings require some sort of design, except in the case of urban design, it is on a much larger scale. 

Week 10: Eco Cities

Eco-Cities

Eco-cities are a way for humans and the environment to co-exist as one. It all begins with the founding of Urban Ecology that was founded in 1975 by architects who believed that cities and environment should be able to co-exist. The evolution of Urban ecology since then has provided solutions for better urban planning of cities, transport, and ways to create a more efficient city. In the lecture, Susan explored some of these concepts and how we struggle to turn them into reality. Eco-cities are a major change in design, compared to designing with respects to power or users. These cities provide many perks for the world and it's users:  it stimulates economic growth, provides an environment that reduces poverty, it organizes the cities in a way that increases efficiency and due to the merging with environment, it reduces chemical gas releases which improves health.

 Eco-city - Image sourced from: http://www.kepcorp.com

Eco-city - Image sourced from: http://hqinfo.blogspot.com.au

Week 9: Cities and Memory

Cities and Memory

For a space for become a place, John A. Agnew mentions that certain requirements need to be met: 

1. You need to be able to answer the question of 'Where?' Where is the location?
2. The locale of the space needs to be determined, what sort of characteristics the space has
3. A personal and emotional attachment people have to the space 

It is important that people have memories of a place, this gives the space a purpose, a meaning. This is how architecture thrives, through the users providing an emotional attachment to the place. Memories of a place can be created in various different settings and become physical form through various types of architecture. These could be squares or parks that relate to the urban environment of the city. On a more personal point of view, these could be schools, old street or house. However, it all comes back to having a memory of the space, without the memories then it is just your normal school or square. 

Cites and Architecture correlate to history and memories. Everyone has some sort of connection to places, and these places are usually linked to a history. The history of the place begins with the peoples emotional attachment to the space, which then in turn develops into architecture. 

Empire State Building - Image sourced from: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com

Eiffel Tower - Image sourced from: http://www.fanpop.com

More popular places usually are a place for people to create memories, as it becomes the memory of more and more people, it continues to become more significant to the people around the world. 

Project 2 Exhibition

Project 2 Presentation

The city exhibition was held on the 22nd of April, Monday. Everyone brought in their versions and area that they model up of their city and provided a nolli map to refer off. All of the techniques used to make the models were very high and every one produced something of an above average standard.

I have recorded photos of our own model and some example of others:

This model makes effective use of landmark. You can clearly see the monumental landmark stand out in this model which you can see they really focused on. 

The use of the black buildings really helps define the buildings in contrast to the landscape. 

Week 8: Project 2 Development

Project 2 Development

A figureground map was developed for the city of Luzhou. You can see how the city forms through the building layout. The city makes use of the river and builds around it. The river has contributed to most of the success in Luzhou as it is the main point of access through to the western part of Sichuan. 

 Figureground Map

Nolli Map

The nolli map shows the area of focus that we chose. This area was one of the most interesting areas in the city as it had both a historical landmark and had one of the biggest main streets in Luzhou. By analysing this area, we can see how luzhou has structured its city to the way it is, and how it made use of historical landmarks as a foundation for their building process. 

 Functional Analysis

It can be clearly seen that Luzhou has been split into 2 major districts by the river. The residential buildings are spread throughout the whole city of luzhou, however you can see that they all have access to a nearby school or hospital in their district. They have developed the city so that all the industrial work is done mostly outside of the main city, as can be seen on the map. 

 Historical Analysis

The main expansions on Luzhou are also based off the historical relics and landmarks that can be found throughout Luzhou. The Pagoda is the foundation to the city of Luzhou. In our analysis of the history, we found that the Pagoda is the beginning of the city expansion. As you can see on the map, the darkest red area is where the Pagoda is located. The building process continued to follow through around the river, as it was the primary use for transportation back in the days. 

Structural Analysis

Street Section

Urban Section

Week 8: Project 2 Reading the City

Project 2

A city is an organised form of social structure, enveloped by physical structures and populated by people. Throughout the centuries, cities have been constantly developing and evolving. Enveloping the world that we humans live in. City structures become more and more prominent as we continue to evolve, this is the process of 'urbanisation'.

What then is a city? When do we draw the line between a city from a town? In different places, cities are defined differently. When trying to define a city, some places use the physical attributes to describe it: an area or space that is continuously building up. Other places use population and economy to define the city: the richer and more populated the area, the more of a city it becomes. Some even include huge farmlands and rural areas into the definition of a 'city'. So when do we start calling a place a city and when do we stop?

By providing a critically analysing a city, we can analyse the different spaces and areas the place has used and form a thesis on how we define a city. 

Read the City

Paths and Perception

The roads in luzhou provide an outline for the city. The main highway of luzhou, frames the city, separating it from other places nearby. The roads are used by both pedestrians and cars. The main roads splits the city into different sections, providing an organised way of construction.

Districts

The districts are separated by the roads, however each district in Luzhou has its own characteristic which defines the area. You can clearly see from the image that the buildings have the same typology and they are all placed into the same area.

Landmarks

The landmarks in Luzhou are the foundation of the city. All of Luzhou's expansion began from these points of the city.

Bao'en pagoda

The Bao'en pagoda was built in 1148, in downtown Luzhou, during the Song Dynasty. It has been restored several times during the 20th century. It is an octagon 33.3 m high, built of brick and stone in a seven-tierd pavilion style.  The base is an octagon of 4.1 m per side, 4.5 m high; inside are 256 figures set in 90 niches. The pagoda is a historical relic is the under the protection of the government.

Spring and Autumn Temple

Due to its architectural style, this building has become listed under the protection of the government as a historical relic of Luzhou. Built during the Qing Dynasty in 1906. It was a temple for the Lord of Guan which was later changed to an assembly hall for Shaanxi salt merchants.

Week 7: Project Week

Project Week

As the titles states, we dedicated this week into producing most of our material for our project. The city that we chose to do was Luzhou, China. Compared to Chengdu and other major cities in China, this city can compete in terms of development. 

Aerial View

3D representation

We dedicated this week to do research on the city and found different material we could use to develop our project. We found many different sites and books that we could use, and the most useful one was Luzhou's government website. 

Image Sourced from: http://www.luzhou.gov.cn/english/map.html 

The website provided with details on history, industry conditions, just basic information on the city itself, and it also had perspective images of the city which helped us understand the layout of the city.

Luzhou is a city of the Sichaun Province. It is located on the south-eastern part of Sichaun. It is prime position, as it Luzhou is next to both Yangtzu and Tuojian River. It is also the communication centre for Yunnan Province, Guizhou Province, Sichuan Province and Chongqing Prefecture. Luzhou has the control over seven counties and districts. The prefecture covers an area of 11243 square kilometres and has a population of around 4.5 million people. The chemical, machinery, wine-making, and medical industries are the foundation of luzhou. Luzhou is a famous city for its long history and splendid culture.

  Baizitu Plaza - Image sourced from: ecard.luzhou.gov.cn

 Luzhou Skyline - Image sourced from: www.skyscrapercity.com

Bao'en Pagoda - Image Sourced from: www.panoramio.com

Confucius Temple - Image sourced from: footage.shutterstock.com

Week 6: Around the World in 8 Cities

Around the World in 8 Cities

In this topic, a list of cities were analysed, providing us with information about the landscape of the city and insight into different types of cities around the globe. All cities have their own cultural values which in turn are shown through its architecture. They all had their own climates and environment which that had to consider while constructing the city. By looking at the city from an aerial point of you, it can be seen how the city starts to form, whether it is organic or structured. Going through 8 different cities, you begin to see the similarities and differences. 

I decided to look at 3 different cites to see the contrast between them.

 Afganistan, Kabul

China, Chengdu

New York, Manhattan

The most prominent difference is the structure of the cites. While both China and New York have a structured way of building their city, Afganistan's city is placing buildings in all different directions. China follows a sort of circular building structure, while New York is very uniformed in its way of building. New York also has much more high-rise buildings than the other two as it is a more developed country and it can be seen through the maps. 

Week 5: Design of the City

Design of the City

We were presented with a perfect quote on how cities are interpreted and how they take form.

"The building of cities is one of man's greatest achievements. The form of his city always has been and always will be a pitiless indicator of the state of his civilization. This form is determined by the multiplicity of decisions made by the people who live in it." 

The formation of cities is purely determined by the inhabitants of the place. To design a utopia, you need to have the users who want to be living in utopia. The form is of the city and it's spaces, are dictated by how people occupy and use the space. So all in all, it is designed by the users, not be the designer. This is all so that the city provides for the users needs. 

Designing a city can also come with many other ways: utopian design, surburban design, designing with a planned grid, designing with respects to the view, designing with respects to power. 

Utopian designs do not correspond very well to the needs of the users. This is because utopian designs, design according to the most ideal arrangment of the buildings. The shaped each and everyone of the buildings to allow the most efficient way of building. It is critical to design according to the user, as they are the ones who are using the space, not the designer. 

image sourced from: www.mheu.org

Another interesting way of design is design with respects to power. The way a city would be designed would be according the the monarch of the area. The very core of the city would be where the ruler would be and everything would then be built outwards for the centre. This very idea intrigued me as it is designing for the user (the ruler), however it is also building with respects to the designer (which is also the ruler).

Week 4: Elements of the City

Elements of the city

To be able to differentiate the different elements of the city, provides us with an even greater understanding of specific types of cities and the relationship it has with the buildings within and its urban environment. There are a few elements that determine how it city is depicted:

• Streets
• Squares
• Parks
• Canals
• Urban Facilities
• Mobility Facilities
• Railways
• Urban Motorways
• Transport Facilities

Image sourced from: www.freeimageslive.co.uk

Streets aren't just streets, there are many different tpyes of streets and they all provide a different purpose for the city the dwell in. Streets are often shaped by the culture of the area and can change depending on the context of the environment. Streets are the foundation of the city, the pathing that intertwines the spaces within the city, the connecting lines to all different places.
Squares is a stand-still area that's main purpose is for congregation. As it is define as "public meeting space", it is appropriate to say that we have a sense of belonging when at one of these spaces.
Parks are similar to that of a square, however instead of a place of meeting, it is more of a recreational space.

                         Image sourced from: http://www.lapetitemortgallery.com
Canals are not very common in cities, however when they are present, the often act as a sort of street. It provides an alternative means instead of streets. It also gives the city a sort of symbol, the city would be more easily recognised with a canal, as they are uncommon. Venice is a prime example of canals.
Urban Facilities, these are just different types of buildings, often built around squares.
Mobility facilities is exactly as it sounds, any means of transportation throughout the city is in this category.

Week 3: Urban Analysis

Urban Analysis

To further our understanding of how Architecture correlates to City, the learning module produced tasks that would assists us in interpreting the urban environment through individual analysis.
The task was done using the city that was chosen for project 2, this will give us a better understanding of the city when producing our project.

Historical Analysis

The analysis helps you determine the starting point of the construction of the city. From there you can see how the city continues to expand and grow. 

Morpho-typological Analysis

This analysis helps up to determine the heights of the buildings in different area. From this we can differentiate the more central areas to the more suburban areas. 

Functional Analysis

The analysis shows the different categories of buildings, We can draw important information from this map as it tells us where everything is located and how it effects the urban context. 

Week 2: Walkshop

Walkshop

I began my walk following the guide that we were provided. Starting from QUT, we can already see very interesting structures like the one on William St, that had won an award for it's architectural design. 

This was the beginning of the walk and capture the buildings along with the clear skies. The weather can affect how you perceive a city. 

Following the road, i continued down onto Queen St Mall capturing this shot. This shot shows the city straight down to the bottom of queen street. You can see the different heights of the buildings change as you progressively make your way down. 

We come down to the commercial buildings, the buildings where people go to work. These buildings are usually high above our eye level and always tower over the shopping malls. 

We make our way down to the riverside where all the commercial buildings are angled towards the scene of the river. These buildings tower over the inner buildings, which also block the view of those buildings from getting a view of the river. The path that we followed, twists and turns until we meet the bridge. 

The howard smith wharf is where our destination ends. The walk provided an insight on the city. When i was walking, i took notice to look above eye level and looked at the towering buildings and the effect if has on the urban environment. 

Week 2: Image of the City

Image of the City

Image Sourced from: architectureandurbanism.blogspot.com

Kevin Lynch formed a theory that users envisioned the city in certain mental ways, and developed these theories and analysed them. There are 5 important elements that Lynch uses to analyse the urban environment of a city: Paths, Nodes, Edges, Landmark, Districts. By analysing these elements of the city, we can come to understand how users interact with their surroundings within a urban space. 

Paths are constructed linear spaces that allow the user to move through certain places by following this route.  These paths are frequently accessed by the users to move through to get from one point to another. Edges are a break between two different spaces, an element that creates a differential between one area from another when moving through a path. Nodes are a place of congregation, a spot were people will see and feel like they can stop here. A nodes purpose is to provide freedom from movement, a space for social purposes. A district is an area which is commonly recognised by a characteristic. A prime example of a district would be 'Queen St Mall', it is most commonly recognised as a large place for shopping and congregation. Landmarks are places that are recognised by a physical element such as statue, monument, etc. A landmark could also be meaningful to the user, the physical element doesn't have to be significant, but needs to hold some value to the user. 

For us to be able to understand the urban environment, we need to be able to differentiate between these different elements of the city and be able to create our own mental images of cities.