URBAN SPACE

BY ROB KRIER

BOOK REVIEW

URBAN DESIGN
ARC -425 SUBMITTED BY
AKSHATA HELKAR 191110042
VISHAD HARODE 19111OO43
ABOUT THE AUTHOR - AR. ROB KRIER
Rob Krier (born 1938 in Grevenmacher) is a
Luxembourgian sculptor, architect, urban designer, and theorist.
He is a former professor of architecture at Vienna
University of Technology, Austria. From 1993 to mid-2010 he
worked in partnership with architect Christoph kohl in a pint
office based in Berlin, Germany.
He published Stadtraum in Theorie und Praxis in 1975.This
book is a contribution to the establishment of an integrative
typology of urban spaces, and let him earn an influential position
in urban rationalist polemics.
Hisrationalism is based on the visual hierarchies proposed
by Camillo Sitte and related to buildings of human scale. He
considered that people have lost sight of the traditional
understanding of urban space in the modern city.
He is the older brother of fellow architect Leon Krier. Both
are well-known representatives of New Urbanism and New
Classical Architecture.

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 ABSTRACT

This gives brief review of book ‘URBAN SPACES’

By Rob Krier. This book gives an historical
summery of town planning & how it has been
miserable failure in the contemporary town
planning. Author want to bring in notice how
traditional concept of urban space & its structure
has been lost within modern cities.

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INTRODUCTION
The Rob Krier was born in 1930.He is known as
one of the most influential urban planners &
architects of the post modernism. In this book,
he considers art of architecture as a combination
of continuity & aestheticism. He feels it has lost
its way in modernism. The main purpose of this
book is to search how traditional understanding
of urban space has been lost within modern
cities. He has always considered historic
contents. He has explained the terms of urban
space & its structure. He also tried to find out the
reasons on which ground contemporary town
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TYPOLOGY OF URBAN SPACE DIFFERENT
FORMS & MODULATING FACTORS
Author has considered three basic geometric shapes-square, circle &
triangle. These three shapes are affected by modulating factors like
angling, segmentation, addition, merging, overlapping & distortion.

These factors can produce regular & irregular results of these spatial
forms. Another thing is large no of building sections which influence
quality of space. He has described ‘closed space’ that is surrounded
by buildings & ‘open space’ partially surrounded.

Scale is also considered one of the factor which plays important role
in all spatial forms. Different scale gives different effects on urban
scale

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MORPHOLOGICAL
ELEMENTS
He has illustrated different examples for morphology of urban
space. Range of possible form can be find from historic towns
He has illustrated it with different examples.

Hanover Square in London from 18th century

It has orthogonal regular ground plan with four central intersections

Piazza Novona in Rome

It is geometrically complex form. It is combination of several spatial
forms & many streets which enters the square.

Dauphine in Paris
It is regular triangular square. This is rarely seen in history of town
planning. The triangular Square can be formed generally by two
roads forking. Author feels- in town planning history, in our modern
cities these spatial forms are criminally neglected even though they
are obvious & common

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CONCEPT OF URBAN SPACE
The concept of urban space without imposing aesthetic
criteria, is compelled to designate all types of space between
buildings in town and other localities as urban space.

Space is geometrically bounded by a variety of elevations. It is only

the clear legibility of its geometrical characteristics and aesthetic
qualities which allow us consciously to perceive external space as
urban space.

The polarity of internal and external space is constantly seen in the

chapter since both obey very similar laws not only in function but
also in the form

Internal space, shielded from weather and environment is an

effective symbol of privacy. external space is seen as open,
unobstructed for movement in the open air, with public semi-
private, and private zones.

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THE SPACE
The typological & morphological elements of urban space. Urban space
can be described as an external space in a town. He has seen it as an
open unobstructed space for movement in the open air, with the public,
semi-public & private zone.

The concept of urban space has been elaborated as space between

buildings in towns and other localities. After taking into consideration
aesthetic criteria, he observes that urban space has been organized
according to its socio-political & cultural attitudes.

Urban space has been applied to interior spaces like corridors & rooms.
He has considered squares & streets as basic elements of urban spaces.

The only difference is the dimensions of the walls which bound &
characterized them. Square has been illustrated with grouping houses
around an open space & street. It is described as a product of the spread
of settlement when houses are being built along with the available space.
The square is the intersection of two roads, a fixed point of orientation, a
meeting place

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 THE STREET

The street is a product of the spread of a settlement once

the houses are built on the available space around its
central square. land and gives access to individual plots.
It is a more profoundly functional character than 6/15
square, which by its size is a most attractive to pass time
than the street, in whose confines one is involuntarily
caught up In traffic beings, automobiles, etc. It rarely
operates as an autonomous isolated space, for example
in the cases of villages built along a single street. It is
mainly perceived as a part of networks. inexhaustible
diversity of spatial relationships produced by such a
complex layout.

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 THE SQUARE

In all probability, the square was the first-way man discovered using
urban space. It is produced by the grouping of houses around an open
space. It is produced by the grouping of houses around an open space.
This arrangement afforded a high degree of control of the inner space, as
well as facilitating ready defense against external aggression by
minimizing the external surface area liable to attack.
This spatial model is admirably suited to residential use. In the private
sphere, it corresponds to the inner cOurtyard or atrium. The courtyard
house is the oldest type of townhouse. Despite its undisputed
advantages, the courtyard house has now become discredited. It is all
too easily subject to ideological misinterpretation, and people are afraid
that this design may imply enforced conformity to a communal lifestyle
or a particular philosophy.
In the public sphere, the square has undergone the same development
Market places, parade grounds, ceremonial square. Squares in front of
churches and town halls etc, all relics of the Middle Ages have been
robbed of their original functions and their symbolic content and in
many places are only kept up through the activities of conservationists

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INTERSECTIONS AND FUNCTIONS
Commercial activities certainly, such as the market, but above all
activities of a cultural nature. The establishment of public
administrative offices, community halls, youth centers, libraries,
theatres and concert halls, cafes, bars, etc. Where possible in the
case of central squares, these should be functions that generate
activity twenty-four hours a day. Residential use should not be
excluded in any of these cases.

All spatial types examined up to now can be classified according to

the types of street intersection laid out in the diagram opposite As
an example here we have a set of permutations for up to four
intersections at four possible points of entry.This chart should only
be taken as an indication of the almost unlimited range of possible
permutations of these spatial forms.To attempt a comprehensive
display here would conflict with the aim of this typological outline.

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INTERSECTIONS OF STREET AND SQUARE

The vertical columns of this diagram show the number of streets

intersecting with an urban space.Horizontally,it shows four possible
ways in which one or more streets may intersect with a square or
street:

1. Centrally and at right angles to one side.

2. Off-centre and at right angles angles to one side.

3. Meeting a corner at right angles.

4. Oblique, at any angle and at any point of entry.

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SPATIAL TYPES AND COMBINATIONS
We may summarise the morphological classification of urban
spaces as follows:

The three basic shapes (square, circle, and triangle) are affected by
the following modulating factors: angling: segmentation: addition:
mergin: overlapping, or amalgamation of elements: and distortion.

These modulating factors can produce geometrically regular or

irregular results on all spatial types.

These factors can produce regular 7 irregular results of these spatial

forms. Another thing is the large no of building sections which
influence the quality of space. He has described 'closed space' that
is surrounded by buildings & 'open space' partially surrounded.

Scale is also considered one of the factors which play an important

role in all spatial forms. Different scale gives different effects on an
urban scale.

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EROSION OF URBAN SPACE
The observation has been done regarding erosion of urban space
in 20th century. Erosion is ongoing process & it is with us for long
years with technological progress. This era has started with
invention of new military technology.
Progress in weaponry neutralizes the defensive systems of the
cities. As armies were allowed to walk into the cities for safety,
city walls acting for protection were demolished.
The need of protection had come up with new discipline on
every town. The activities like construction, rebuilding &
expansion grew in cities. Pressure for expansion of cities led
planners to think about rapid decisions.
Architecture was on lower priorities as decisions were rapid. The
influence of industrial buildings on urban planning was one of
the disasters. These things led to many misconceived
developments.
Control by concept of urban space & architecture had been taken
away by proposals from planners during 19th & 20th century.
Illustrations have been given by Krier’s thesis in which modern
town planning dominates over concept of urban space. This
domination led to disuse of urban space.

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REDEVELOPMENT OF THE CITIES

This is author’s view point for redeveloping city.

The example of Stuttgart is given. Various
possible approaches have been considered to
reconstruction of various parts of the Stuttgart.
During the Second World War the former
coherent urban structure of Stuttgart was
destroyed. The heart of city was broken up into a
large number of small islands battered by heavy
traffic. In this proposal, he tried make downtown
pedestrian friendly without excluding cars. He
tried to use redevelopment weld isolated areas.
Significance of pedestrian’s awareness was
eroded during the post war years because of
costly civil engineering programs & it was focused
1 72-17 9 Stages in the urban development
in Krier’s scheme. Particular attention was given of Stuttgart between the
14th and 19th centuries. Taken from
on restoring the continuity of spatial experience Karl Weidle Der Grundriss von Aft
within urban context. The streets, squares for Stuttgart Atlas E. Klett Verlag, Stuttgart
1961 . Scale 1 :25 000.
pedestrians were designed to keep harmony with The basis is an 1855 plan. on which
the various stages of growth are shown
existing structures. in black.

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THANK- YOU