6

Semester
URBAN
DESIGN

Module I
Scope, Objectives & scope of
urban design: Basic Functions
of Urban design, Scope &
criteria of Urban design
projects Value enhancement,
Aesthetics and conservation
History of Urban design
Examples of early Urban
design efforts in Classical and
pre industrial cities
Principle and Various theories
of Urban design
Elements of Urban design
CONTENTS
Module II Module III
Urban design projects in Urban Design Policies,
various scales: National, Formulation of Policies for
Metropolitan, City and various components like
project levels, landscape, infrastructure and
Case studies Surveying built forms
methods & techniques: Conservation and economic
Demographic surveys, considerations
Infrastructure surveys, visual Road Forms & Hierarchy, Road
survey: perceiving cities, pattern, Pedestrian areas,
surveying building use & Malls Urban elements, Open
condition, Space linkage & spaces & water front
mobility, Urban design development Legal aspects -
Principles - scales and mass, LA act & TP acts,
skyline studies, urban spaces Project preparation - Agencies
and their characteristics and involved, Project execution
circulation phases, schedules;
Principle of Organization - Role of Urban Arts Commission
Built forms
MODULE 1
 URBAN DESIGN

DEFINITION &
SCOPE
URBAN DESIGN - DEFINITION

Urban design is the collaborative and multi-disciplinary process of shaping the

physical setting for life in cities, towns and villages; the art of making places;
design in an urban context. Urban design involves the design of buildings, groups
of buildings, spaces and landscapes, and the establishment of frameworks and
processes that facilitate successful development. (Urban Design Group)

URBAN DESIGN PROCESS:

a)Define physical design principles.
b) Identify performance criteria.
c)Develop design options.
d)Evaluate the options in terms of design principles and performance criteria.
e) Develop the preferred option.
What do urban designers do?
• Developing ‘visions’ for places – using creativity and imagination to invent or re-invent the
environments we live and work in.
• Value Enhancement – Through transformation of precinct or a place through an insertion or
modification into a place with better visual appeal and functional efficiency.
• Designing built spaces – from whole towns and neighbourhoods to individual streets or
squares.
• Advising on the design of developments and regeneration projects.
• Researching and analyzing places and people – understanding the physical, political,
economic, spatial and psychological context of the places you work with and the people
who use them.
• Influencing people by using your skills and knowledge to help others make better decisions
and teach them how to make successful places.
• Developing guidance and policies relating to the built environment.
• Community consultation – helping the public to take part in planning and designing their
neighborhoods.
• Graphic representation – from sketching and technical drawing to using the latest
technologies and packages in visualization and computer aided design.
Value enhancement through urban design

Good urban design :

• Adds economic, social and environmental value and does not necessarily cost more or
take longer to deliver
• Delivers high investment returns for developers and investors by meeting a clear
occupier demand that also helps to attract investors
• Enhances workforce performance and satisfaction and increases occupier prestige
• Delivers economic benefits by opening up new investment opportunities and delivering
more successful regeneration
• Helps to deliver places accessible to and enjoyed by all
• Benefits all stakeholders – investors, developers, designers, occupiers, public authorities
and everyday users of developments
 URBAN DESIGNER URBAN PLANNER
Background
Essentially an architect Architect, Engineer, sociologist, geographer
Scope of work
Built form design Zoning regulations
Control of elevation treatment in terms
Of opening size, roofing style, colour Land use plan
Texture etc.
Building height regulations Building density distribution
Street sections design Road networking within the city

Public space/ buildings design Allocation of amenities

Preparing guidelines of built form Preparing guidelines for allocation of
characteristics Percentage area for various public uses
Scale & authenticity
Deals with smaller area of intervention Deals with Larger area of intervention
No statutory powers Statutory powers
URBAN DESIGN

THEORIES
PERCEIVING CITIES
Perception is a process that uses our previous knowledge together, and
interprets the stimuli that our senses register.
It is a constant process that operates between man and his environment.
The process of perception is responsible for selecting stimuli and arranging them
into meaningful patterns.

PERCEPTUAL SET
The framework of response to sets of stimuli is called the perceptual set.
Each individual has a personal perceptual set and with it a personal and unique
vision of what is out there in the environment.
However, groups within the society share features of the perceptual sets
It is this shared set that urban designers address.
PERCEIVING CITIES
COGNITIVE MAPS
Cognitive maps are the internal representations of the way our spatial
environment is arranged.
Cognitive maps are both analog and propositional in nature, (which means
that there is a picture like image of streets as also information such as turn left at
the next junction and that building is next to that brown building.)

•we think of places in terms of road route distance rather than physical
proximity.
•our mental maps are more regular or symmetrical than reality.
•our conceptions of space is different from our perceptions of space and
certain spatial directions are especially prominent in our thinking such as the
above or below, front or behind or left or right come later
VISUAL PREFERENCE SURVEY

A ‘visual preference survey’ obtains community responses to a range of images

and is used to develop an understanding of, and consensus on, the character of
a place or future development.
PRINCIPLES OF ORGANISATION: URBAN FORM
Urban form refers to that quality of the an urban precinct, place or a city defined
by the 3 dimensional distribution of volume of built environment, built & un-built
spaces, circulation networks and characteristic surface design of the built
blocks.

Examples of varying urban forms:

URBAN FORMS VARY WITHIN A CITY – Depending on land use, value, density etc.
URBAN MORPHOLOGY
Study of the form of human settlements & the process of their formation and transformation.
The study seeks to understand
the spatial structure and
character of a metropolitan area, city or town by examining
• Patterns of its component parts
• Process of its development.
This can involve the analysis of physical structures at different scales as well as patterns of
movement, land use, ownership or control and occupation. Typically, analysis of physical
form focuses on street pattern, plot pattern and building pattern, sometimes referred to
collectively as urban grain. Analysis of specific settlements is usually undertaken using
cartographic sources (map) and the process of development is deduced from
comparison of historic maps.

Factors Influencing Urban Morphology

•Site factors
•Historical and cultural factors
•Functional factors
•Government influence
•Social values
•Economic forces
THEORIES OF URBAN MORPHOLOGY

Concentric Zone Theory Sector Theory Multiple Nuclei Theory

By E.W. Burgess (1923) by Homer Hoy t (1939) by C.D. Harris & E.L. Ullman (1945)
URBAN MORPHOLOGY EXCERCISE
Urban Morphology Provides an understanding of the existing physical form and
structure of the urban environment at different scales, from individual buildings,
lots, street patterns and blocks. It is typically differentiated from urban design
audits by its focus on the past and present spatial patterns of a given urban
area.

USE OF URBAN MORPHOLOGY

Defining urban patterns and characteristics that create a unique sense of place.
It helps in the appraisal of successful and unsuccessful urban form, and can
examine the processes that shaped past change, or features that persist in the
present urban fabric.
It can define urban boundaries, inform development controls, and form the basis
for design guidelines for character and heritage areas.
URBAN MORPHOLOGY EXCERCISE
Characteristics of an urban area, such as its buildings, lots, blocks, street patterns,
open space, landuse activities and building details, are recorded, measured,
mapped and analyzed using existing and/or historical information.
At its simplest, the mapping of buildings and open space patterns or ‘figure-
ground mapping’ is where the building footprint is blacked out, with open
space left blank on a plan. With this technique, the open space and other
character features of the site can be analysed.
A ‘typological analysis’ classifies buildings, lots, streets, blocks or open space into
typical or atypical types.
Type is defined by a combination of plan, dimension and use characteristics.
This information can be used in character studies, design development and
urban design policy.
A ‘materials and components analysis’ is a detailed urban morphology study
recording building and material details. This can define the character of an
urban area, and inform design selection of future colours, materials and
components for the elements within an area.
SPATIAL DESIGN
THEORIES OF URBAN SPATIAL DESIGN
Figure and Ground theory is founded on the study of the
relationship of land coverage of buildings as solid mass
(figure) to open voids (ground).

A figure-ground diagram is a two-dimensional map of an

urban space that shows the relationship between built and
unbuilt space.
Each urban environment has an existing pattern of solid
and voids.
Figure -ground approach to spatial design is an attempt to
manipulate these relationships by adding to, subtracting
from, or changing the physical geometry of the pattern.
The objective is to establish a hierarchy of spaces of
different sizes that are individually enclosed but ordered
directionally in relation to each other.
This would clarify the structure of the space.
SPATIAL DESIGN
THEORIES OF URBAN SPATIAL DESIGN
A figure ground diagram comprises entities called pochés.
These are, in simple terms, groups of structures — or in even
simpler terms the black figures on the diagram.

A poché helps to define the voids between the buildings,

and to emphasize their existence as defined objects in their
own rights:
spaces that are as much a part of the design as the
buildings whose exteriors define them.
reverse figure-ground diagram, is a diagram where the
buildings are in white and the spaces black, to focus the
perception of the designer upon the space as an object.
This is helpful especially when there is lot of open space at
the ground in areas of high rise etc.
It helps to define and design the open spaces.
SPATIAL DESIGN
SPATIAL DESIGN
New Urbanism movement encourages densifying
metropolises rather than building on their
peripheries, thus, promoting infill and reclamation of
abandoned areas , which will increase the amount
of poche in the figure ground to achieve a more
continuous urban fabric.
Such density will foster more livable communities
with increased diversity of use and population,
better pedestrian accommodations, more public
spaces, and improved public transportation systems
.
SPATIAL DESIGN
LINKAGES THEORY
The linkage theory is derived from "lines" connecting
one element to another.
These lines are formed by street, pedestrian ways,
linear open spaces or other linking elements that
physically connect the parts of the city.
“The linkage is an act by which we unite all layers of
activity and the resulting physical form of the city .”
There needs to be comprehensible links between
discreet elements in the city , to create a
comprehensive urban form.
SPATIAL DESIGN
PLACE THEORY
Spatial design lies in understanding the cultural and
human characteristics of physical space.
It gives Importance to historic, cultural, and social
values in urban open space; It talks about the
context . Design should be highly contextual. For
creating truly contextual places, we must explore the
local history , the feelings and needs of the people,
the traditions of craftsmanship and indigenous
materials , and the political and economic realities of
the community. Yet, modern towns and new
developments have failed to create a concept of
place that responds to the social, cultural or physical
environment. One of the reasons in that often the
development proposals and designs are very rigid
leaving no scope of personalization by the individual
to accommodate his needs with time.
LAYERS OF BUILT FORM ANALYSIS

Built v/s open Public realm Land use pattern Network

(Open area (Accessible open (variety of
functions) connections
Analysis) space)

Typology, unit type Activity mapping

& evolution (nature of
(organization public realm)
principle

Visual experience
(urban form)
ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN
ELEMENTS OF A CITY : Kevin Lynch
(1) paths: routes along which people move throughout the city;
Streets, sidewalks, trails, and other channels in which people travel.
(2) edges: boundaries and breaks in continuity;
Perceived boundaries such as walls, buildings, and shorelines
(3) districts: areas characterized by common characteristics;
Relatively large sections of the city distinguished by some identity or character
(4) nodes: strategic focus points for orientation like squares and junctions;
Focal points, intersections or loci;
(5) landmarks: external points of orientation, usually a easily identifiable physical
object in the urban landscape.
Readily identifiable objects which serve as external reference points
ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN

EDGE LANDMARK PATHS NODES

DISTRICT
Methods & techniques in Urban Design MODULE 2
URBAN DESIGN

PROCESS
STAGE 1 - ANALYSIS
• Appraisal and gathering information.
• Identify Stakeholders through various methods ( surveys, meetings).
• Developing a mission statement, identification of goals, objectives, and forming a vision for the
project.
• Communicate the aims and objectives to all stakeholders, to ask for opinion.
STAGE 1 - ANALYSIS
a. Gathering of Basic Information

b. Visual Survey

c. Identification of hard and soft areas

d. Functional Analysis
STAGE 1 - ANALYSIS
b. Visual Survey
• The visual survey is a standard part of any urban design study.
• It is an examination of the form, appearance, and composition of a city or neighbourhood.
• To conduct a visual survey, one must have a basic idea of the elements of urban form.

• (The most prominent is the study of Kevin Lynch:

• Paths, Nodes, Edges, Districts and Landmarks as five basic skeletal elements of a city form)

Next, one must examine the city and describe it in terms of this vocabulary.
STAGE 1 - ANALYSIS
c. Identification of hard and soft areas

• The definition of hard (e.g. public parks) and soft areas (e.g. business district) helps to designer to
know what parts of the city can accommodate growth and change and what parts are essentially
fixed because they may be occupied, for example, by a historic landmark.
• Such information is of considerable value in the latter stages of the urban design process when
proposed plans must be evaluated for feasibility of implementation.
STAGE 1 - ANALYSIS
d. Functional Analysis

• The functional analysis examines the relationship of activities among the various land uses and the
way that relate to circulation systems.
• This study builds on the work of the land-use planners.
• However, the urban designer carries the study into three dimensions. (e.g. changing of building
heights to street width ratio over time.)
STAGE 2 - SYNTHESIS & DESIGNING
•In this phase, the data gathered and the analysis of the problem must be translated into proposal for
action.
•The first component of synthesis phase is the evolution of concepts that address the problem.
•Concepts are followed by the development of schematic design proposals.
•These proposals are more specific in nature. Schematics are followed by preliminary plans.

Synthesis and designing

• Provide feasibility, cost, social , legal, and political assessment.
• Think about involving the various stakeholders.
• Complete a list of options and alternatives, and refine them
• through community participation, stakeholder consultation,
• workshops, mapping etc.
STAGE 3 - EVALUATION
• Evaluation occurs at many levels, ranging from meeting technical demands to the ability to gain
public acceptance.
• After the design proposals are complete, it is essential that they be evaluated in the light of the
original problem or issue they were intended to address.
• One of the more complicated tasks associated with evaluation is determining what criteria should
be employed.
• There are two basic categories:
(1) how well the solutions fit the problem and
(2) how readily the proposals can be implemented

Evaluation
• Options and alternatives are evaluated against mission statements, goals, objectives and / or vision.
• Selection of options and alternatives
• Consult all stake holders about the assessment of options and alternatives.
STAGE 4 - IMPLEMENTATION
Implementation , Monitoring and follow up
• During the implementation, the strategy for actual financing and construction is formulated.
• Detailed phasing studies and tools are considered to realize the project.
• Communicate with the various stakeholders through reports, media etc..
• Establish a group to take over once the project is completed (Maintenance/ Monitoring)
URBAN DESIGN

SURVEYS
DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY
• Characteristics of Age, Gender, Family Size, Density and Distribution of the population
• Starting point of preparation of plans and policies
• Helps determine the likely future needs of the community
• Identify trends in existing and future population growth to formulate population policies.
• Population projection, density studies, Age-Sex Pyramid.
TRANSPORTATION SURVEY
• Transportation is a function of land use.
• It determines the location of activities and hence the land use.
• A transport impact assessment is an appraisal of the impact of landuse proposals on
transport infrastructure and services.
• It examines how a proposed development will function in terms of accessibility by all
modes of transport.
• Alternative, or similar, processes include: ‘transport assessment’, ‘transportation
assessment’, ‘traffic impact assessment’, ‘traffic impact study’ and ‘traffic report’,
although some of these may be less comprehensive in nature.

• Process: Surveys, Forecast , goal formulation, network design , testing, evaluation .

• Carefully delineate the area of the survey
• Draw the boundary of catchment and divide it into zones.
• Zones to coincide with demographic areas.
• Zones subdivided based on urban activities : Residential ,
• Commercial, industry etc.
TRANSPORTATION SURVEY
Origin Destination (OD survey)

• O , D Outside zone
• O , D inside
• O outside , D inside
• O inside , D outside

• Home interviews, Questionnaire survey , Traffic Count, Parking

• Survey, Plotting of Transport facilities, Travel habits, pedestrian, noise, space standards .

TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS:
• Traffic Management
• Banning Cars, New road Construction , Park and ride areas, parking control, separation
of traffic.
• Improvement of transport system.
• changing work times etc
LAND USE SURVEY
• Used for preparing base map.
• Final shape of a physical development plan also shows land uses.
• Land Use can be defined as a predominant use of land.

Location : Survey number , ward, door number, orientation.

Plot details : Length , width, area. Width of plot abutting roads.
Road: Width, foot path, on/off street parking.
Services : Drainage, Water , Storm water , Electricity ( LT / HT) , Gas ,
Telephone , Cable : Location , ducting , pit size , design details.
Building : Set back lines, Number of floors, height, parking, location / width of entry and exit
: Floor area, details of use of each floor, level of services in each floor, no. of toilets,
power consumption.
Materials: Construction and conditions of the structure.
People : Number of users , time of use, level of use.
Noise : Dust , effluents, garbage, pollutants etc.
VISUAL STUDY & ANALYSIS
The visual analysis has three main parts:
• A study of three-dimensional public space

• A study of the two dimensional surfaces

which enclose public space

• A study of the architectural details which

give to an area much of its special
character
A STUDY OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL PUBLIC SPACE:
Common tools: For recording spatial composition - camera & 3 Dimensional perspective drawn from
normal eye level, 3 Dimensional model making
For this form of analysis to be useful, the viewpoints must be carefully chosen along pathways through
the area. Particular views are chosen to illustrate dramatic changes in composition, such as the point of
emergence from a narrow passage into a bright and expansive public square.

It is argued that it is a series of such dramatic pictures as they register on the mind which makes a
pathway memorable. This technique because of the compositional nature of each view which is chosen
for the record is, of necessity, picturesque, exaggerating the charming aspects of the study area.
Useful techniques for spatial analysis are the aerial photograph, aerial perspective and the aerial
axonometric. The aerial photograph shows the relationship of the building forms to the surrounding
public and private open space at a given time.

This change of perspective concentrates the mind not on the buildings and their forms, but on the
spaces between the buildings, the anti-form. A basic visual analysis of the city should include - figure
ground studies - to highlight weaknesses in the enclosure of public space, points of weak connection
and the general characteristics of spatial composition.
A STUDY OF THE TWO DIMENSIONAL SURFACES WHICH ENCLOSE PUBLIC SPACE
A study of the existing surfaces enclosing public space presents the opportunity to develop strategies
for dealing with colour, materials, roofline, major junctions between elements and architectural
detailing. Most traditional cities exhibit a distinctive use of colour and a set of building materials which
form the bulk of the urban fabric.

Common tools: Colour palette, material palette of area

For colour study : Collect swatches of materials from the area. Using these swatches of predominant
colours, he prepares a colour range for use in future development.
Materials study: Preparation of lists of predominant building materials, noting the parts of the façade or
street pavement where each material is used. This particular study should analyse the subtle changes of
colour, material and detail from district to district, noting any characteristic features of path, node and
landmark.
One function of implementing a colour and material strategy is to enhance the clarity and distinction of
the five perceptual components by which the image of the city is constructed.
MASSING

Massing is the combined effect of the arrangement, volume and shape of a building or
group of buildings in relation to other buildings and spaces.

It is the three-dimensional expression of the amount of development on a given piece

of land.
SCALE IN URBAN DESIGN
Scale is the size of a building in relation to its surroundings, or the size of parts of a
building or its details, particularly in relation to the size of a person.

•Height determines - impact of development on views, vistas and skylines.

•To ensure a quality pedestrian environment is created, the scale of the built form and
the proper proportions are needed for the public realm (pedestrian environment).

•The public realm is defined by height as well as width; or, more accurately, the ratio of
height to width. It is therefore recommended that the height of buildings is in
proportion to the width of the public space (or right-of-way) to achieve a sense of
enclosure.

•The actual ratio depends on the type of street or open space being designed for; this
is a fundamental urban design principle. The height to width ratio is shown below in
both table and chart format.
APPLICATIONS OF SCALE IN URBAN DESIGN

• Scaling down:
– To reduce the perceived size of built mass in relation to the user / pedestrian.
– To reduce investment required in building up an urban precinct.
– To respond to sensitivity of humans to details.
– To reduce the width is to height ratio of road sections

• Scaling up:
– To create a sense of grandeur to the public space of higher order in the hierarchy.
– To accommodate larger number of pedestrians
– To create flexibility in accommodating multiple activities within the same public
space.
LEGIBILITY

A clear and simple development pattern within a city and neighborhood enables
residents and visitors to understand how an area is organized and to make their way
around.

In other words, the ability of a precinct or a neighbourhood or even a city in making

the users or commuters moving through them, comprehend with ease the structure and
way to move around without much assistance.
ACCESSIBILITY

The ability of precinct in allowing public access to the various points (facilities) within
with least effort – distance and mode of access

Various buildings or activity spaces within many urban precincts may restrict public
entry (except people of their acquaintance) making it difficult to use for the general
public.
Reasons can be many:
1) Physical barriers (Doors, gates, inaccessibility for disabled etc..)
2) Distance to access from their origin (work place or home or recreation)
3) Psychological barriers (feel of insecurity or fear implied on a user group)
4) Restriction of entry by law etc..( Government restrictions, military premises etc.)
PERMEABILITY

It is a measure of degree of accessibility within an urban precinct

The network map of an urban precinct gives us an idea of extend of accessibility of

each areas within it by accessible paths. Some of them culminate in dead ends where
public entry is restricted, whereas some of them cut through various zones within
allowing the public to seep through multiple routes to access various points in the
precinct.
DIVERSITY

Successful neighbourhoods within a city provide for diversity and choice through a
mix of compatible housing and building types and land uses.

Through these measures residents of a neighbourhood have the opportunity to age in

place; going through all of their various lifecycles without having to leave their original
neighbourhood and breaking the social networks they have formed.
CONTINUITY & ENCLOSURE

A continuous built form street frontage is needed throughout an area of the city or
neighbourhood to allow users to easily understand where they are, directions to where
they need to go and the purpose of the street (ie is the street a village mainstreet or is it
a residential arterial).

In doing this, development will assist in creating the proper enclosure of space and
delineate the private and public realms.
CHARACTER

A recognizable image can give its residents or visitors an identity to the city or
neighborhood.
This image can include, historic buildings, village precincts, buildings with a distinct
architecture, public art, parts of buildings, wall finish and public spaces to name a few.

Also, a development pattern created by a regular grid of streets and blocks reinforced
by buildings that form a continuous, enclosing street wall, creates a strong foundation
for establishing such a recognizable image.
A STUDY OF THE ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS WHICH GIVE TO AN AREA ITS CHARACTER
Features of the city which, to some extent, determine its
character, are the roofline, treatment of street corners
and the design of the pavement.
A visual study of the existing roofline is the first stage in
determining the parameters for building heights in future
developments.
The typology is a useful tool for the analysis of street
junctions in a particular study area : the typology should
be used to stimulate, not restrict, ideas.
The treatment of the ground floor and its junction with
the pavement is the part of the city street : the area of
exchange between the public and the private parts of
the street.
A lively and active city ground floor with many
entrances, shop windows, alleyways to internal courts, is
the essence of a vibrant city. A visual study of the ground
floor, consisting of elevational drawings or a
photographic series can indicate those areas of the city
which are popular with users and which work well. It will
also show those ‘dead’ areas without a frontage which
generates activity. Such areas are shunned by
pedestrians and are in need of remedial action.
MODULE 3
URBAN DESIGN PROJECT - STAGES

PROJECT DEFINITION

PROJECT PLANNING

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

PROJECT CLOSURE
URBAN DESIGN PROJECT – STAKE HOLDERS
Stake holders include individuals or groups of individuals that has interest or concern
in an a project and those who can affect or be affected by the project’s actions,
objectives and policies.
In a typical urban design project the stake holders include:
• Land owners – both private and public (mostly government land for Urban projects).
E.g.: Local Authorities like Municipal corporation, municipality etc.
• An agency who implements the project from its scratch (Design conception stage to
execution) who appoints various consultants or agencies for the various works.
• An urban design team (or some time in house department) which is responsible for
the conceptualization of the design to supervision of execution work and preparation
of further design guidelines.
• An execution team which executes the designs on paper made by urban design
team under the guidance of design
• A maintenance team which is responsible for maintaining the projects executed in
forms of construction including the regular cleaning, repair works and refurbishing
works whenever required.
• Public who uses the public space undergoing the design or transformation.
•Other individuals or organizations which may get affected by design intervention.
 URBAN
CONSERVATION
Definition
Urban conservation is an approach to planning that seeks to preserve and as often necessary revitalize
and transform the historic elements of cities into hubs of urban life and activity.
Urban conservation is a long-term commitment to maintain a city’s cultural and historic identity while
also accommodating inevitable transition, growth and new uses.
RELEVANCE:

1. Retain the visual identity of a place created by the presence of unprotected architectural heritage and sites

2. To integrate unprotected heritage and sites into daily social life by balancing their needs

3. Add to the experience and appreciation of the heritage

4. Adaptive reuse of historic buildings and neighborhoods in an economically sensible manner

5. Employment generation

6. Prolong the economic viability of traditional ways of building

7. Identify alternate and more economic strategies to meet contemporary design needs from historic examples

8. Deeper insight into judicious usage of locally available materials and building techniques and thereby
bridging the gap between modern and traditional planning and architecture
 UD
NEED FOR CONSERVATION
• Rapid urbanization threatening the sense of place and identity of communities

• Uncontrolled, poorly conceived and/or badly implemented urban development

• Intensity and speed of changes, resulting to grave environmental issues

• Unsustainable consumption of resources

• Exploitation of domestic and international tourism

• Increasing pressures for land conversion inside and outside the historic precincts

• Growing demands for local historic awareness

• To deliver high quality, locally distinct and valued built environments

Source: Paper Presented at UNESCO General Conference

DEFINITIONS
Conservation area: A Conservation Area is an area of special architectural or historic interest, the
character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance. They may vary greatly in
size, age, character and style.
Listed Buildings: Buildings listed on the statutory list are deemed nationally important and are
protected by law. They represent the best of the buildings of historical or architectural interest, and
can range from post boxes and water troughs to even royal palaces.
Locally listed buildings: A locally listed building is a building or other structure which is deemed to be
of local architectural or historic interest and is included on the Local List drawn up by the local
governing body. It is a local designation and completely separate from national listing which is
undertaken by the central government.
Trees on private property: Trees and hedges in private gardens, parks and streets needs to be
selected, and managed appropriately to make the most of their potential to enhance their
environment. Trees may be protected by Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) or other legal procedures to
make sure that they are not lost or damaged needlessly.
Heritage Assets: A heritage asset is a building, monument, site, place, area or landscape positively
identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions. Heritage
assets are the valued components of the historic environment. They are either designated heritage
assets or undesignated heritage assets.
Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs): Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) provide
detailed guidance to the policies and site specific guidance for the development of sites.
PRINCIPLES OF CONSERVATION
THE “3R” PRINCIPLE

The fundamental principle of conservation applicable to all conserved buildings, irrespective of scale
and complexity, is
 MAXIMUM RETENTION,
 SENSITIVE RESTORATION
 CAREFUL REPAIR - the “3R”s
Selective replacement should be considered only when absolutely necessary.
Total reconstruction goes against accepted international conservation practices.

When upgrading and adapting a building to new uses, the existing structure is to be retained by
strengthening and repairing the structural elements. Any alteration or strengthening to structural
elements is to be done in the most sympathetic and unobtrusive way, using original methods and
materials wherever possible.

Before any conservation work commences, a thorough research and documentation is to be carried
out on the conserved building to ensure that restoration work is faithfully carried out. At every stage of
the conservation work, the technical aspects and process of the various activities are to be
documented.
CONSERVATION PROJECT : PROCESSES

Diagram showing the six phases of

the built heritage conservation
process and their outputs
CONSERVATION PROJECT : PROCESSES
Is there a good reason or opportunity to What do we really have and what condition is What fundamental choices do we have?
conserve this site? it in?

PROJECT PHASES

How can we ensure the long-term sustainability How can we realize this project? How can we turn the best option into a final
of this cultural resource? project?
LEGISLATIVE TOOLS IN KERALA TO SUPPORT CONSERVATION
LEGISLATIVE TOOLS IN KERALA TO SUPPORT CONSERVATION
LEGISLATIVE TOOLS IN KERALA TO SUPPORT CONSERVATION
LEGISLATIVE TOOLS IN KERALA TO SUPPORT CONSERVATION
URBAN ARTS COMMISSION
The Delhi Urban Art Commission was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1973 to
"advise the Government of India in the matter of preserving, developing and
maintaining the aesthetic quality of urban and environmental design within Delhi
and to provide advice and guidance to any local body in respect of any project of
building operations or engineering operations or any development proposal which
affects or is like to affect the skyline or the aesthetic quality of the surroundings or
any public amenity provided therein“

The Commission with the approval of the Government has taken up important
City level projects indicated below :-
Site Specific designs for wards; Rehabilitation proposals for Unauthorized
colony/slums, One proposal in respect of vision for Delhi; High Rise
Development Proposals Along Metro Corridors; Rejuvenation of Delhi’s
Gardens, Preparation of design and prototype for high-tech public toilets,
Unified Building bye-laws for Delhi
MALL
MALL
 A quick reference for
URBAN DESIGN

HISTORY
AFTER INDUSTRIALISATION
CITÉ INDUSTRIELLE
CITÉ INDUSTRIELLE

 urban plan designed by Tony

Garnier
 published in 1917 under the title
ofUne Cité Industrielle.
 one of the most comprehensive
ideal plans of all time.
 it is not only an outstanding
contribution to architectural and
planning theories but also a sensitive
expression of thought and cultural
conditions of its day.
CITÉ INDUSTRIELLE
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
 landscape of city was altered forever
 more & more people were brought from countryside
into the heart of the city looking for work.
 over-population
 unrestricted urban growth
 led to slum housing, dirt, disease and a lack of
communal green spaces within the city landscape.
MODERN URBAN PLANNING AROSE IN RESPONSE TO THIS DISORDER.
CITÉ INDUSTRIELLE

Tony Garnier
• Tony Garnier was a French
architect born in Lyons in 1869
• it is clear that the city and
surroundings had a great
influence on him.
• Lyons was an industrial centre
for textiles and metallurgy,
• these two industries catered for
by Garnier s proposal for his
industrial city.
 Ideas for city
regionalism socialism
• the Cite was to represent one of a
federation of cities • Individual imitative is not stressed in
the City
• Local historical and botanical
museums for regional expositions • employment services and free hostels
as well as meeting rooms were
• a school of arts and industries created for workers' syndicates

• Local crafts were to be taught. • Many public facilities were provided

like slaughter houses, flour mills etc,
• Nearby water power was to be used.
• equality to both sexes in education
• Deliberate proximity of the Railway etc.
Station to the old town to make it
easy for the visitors
• City contains 35,000 inhabitants

• Zones
• Residential
• Employment
• Health

• Public Areas in the centre

• No police force or courts

Three rules for each residential unit:
• First Each bedroom must have at least one window
facing south.
• Second Any elements that are harmful to the light
and ventilation, such Example, courts and shafts, are
prohibited. All rooms have outside illuminated and
aerated.
• Third The walls and floors of each house of smooth
rounded material.
• The public area at the
heart of the city was
grouped into 4
sections:
• administrative
services
• assembly halls
• museum
collections
• sports facilities.
• Industries located
close to the river

• Educational
facilities set up
close to industries
to help train
• Health Institutions placed on a high ridge overlooking the city.
• The four main divisions
• Hospital
• Institute for Helio therapy
• Department of Infectious Diseases
• Disability Institute
CITY BEAUTIFUL
19TH CENTURY AMERICA:
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

 Urban economic boom

 Unpredicted urbanization
 Drastic urban population
increase
 Overcrowded cities
 Corruption
 Social unrest
 Violence
 Inefficiency in performance
 Labour strikes

 Poor living conditions

 Slums
 Insecurity
 Highly Unsanitary conditions
NEED FOR REFORMATION

Growing evidence of the need for urban reform, the City Beautiful movement began,
spanning from 1899 to the start of World War I.

Attempted to address urban problems through systematic urban planning and

beautification.

City Beautiful movement believed that well-designed and carefully-arranged buildings

embellished by public monuments and parks could keep the urban masses under control,
while at the same time improving the aesthetic tastes of the public .

Claimed that sculptures placed in public spaces could serve to improve the morals of the
people through the portrayal of uplifting and inspiring subject matter using classical style
and technique
NEED FOR REFORMATION

The ideas behind the City Beautiful movement gained

legitimacy among urban reformers with the example set by
the highly-successful World's Columbian Exhibition of 1893,
held in Chicago.

In an effort to present the best of American industrial and

cultural progress , the designers of the exhibition, led by
architect Daniel H. Burnham, created a small city with
buildings designed to compliment each other in style and
placement; with architectural sculptures and murals; with
fountains, public plazas, and monuments.

Daniel H. Burnham
Columbian Exposition and World Fair of 1893, Chicago
UTOPIAN PRINCIPLES : THE CITY BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENT
COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION AND WORLD FAIR OF 1893, CHICAGO

 Daniel Burnham; American urban designer –

spearheaded the City Beautiful Movement
 Frederick Law Olmstead; American Landscape Architect
 Transformation of society by implementing modern
foundations of Urban Planning and Design
Eg. Beaux Arts style
 Designed the fairgrounds to implement their principles -
replicated the Beaux-Arts style of Paris, which emphasized
the necessity of order, dignity, and harmony.
 Building painted white – Chicago was dubbed the “White
City”
Eg. The fairground
CITY BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENT

 Main emphasis : showy urban landscapes

 Drew on “Beaux Arts” tradition from France
 Aped classical architecture
 Iconography of and for the urban elites
 Moral diagnosis : people need to be civilized
 Orderly and clean living environment
 Aesthetics rather than social sensibility
 Grandiose and ambitious
CITY BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENT : INTENTIONS
 Promote beauty to create moral and civic virtue among the population
 Create beautiful, spacious, and orderly cities that contained healthy open spaces and
showcased public buildings that expressed the moral values of the city
 Beautification could promote a harmonious social order that would increase the quality
of life
 Maintain the importance of civic buildings in an era of increasing commercial
development
 Restore the pride of the city
 Maintain the central position of inner cities within expanding communities
CITY BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENT : INITIATIVES
 Construction of grand, neoclassical-style public buildings,
 Creation of civic parks and playgrounds
 Promotion of parks and boulevard
 Street paving and illumination
POSITIVES
Renewed public awareness through civic design
 Encouraged urban parks, civil beautifications , green spaces etc.
 Tried to improve the popularity of civic buildings and public friendly spaces in an age of
commercial buildings and activities.
NEGATIVES
Falsely assumed planning and style to be transferred from olden ages .
 MCMILLAN PLAN

An early use of the City Beautiful

ideal with intent of creating social
order through beautification was
the McMillan Plan, (1902)

Intent of making Washington

monumental and gardened like
the European capitals of the era
and creating a sense of the
legitimacy of government during
a time of social disturbance in the
United States. Axial plan of Washington, D.C.: the Reflecting Pool and Lincoln memorial
The essence of the plan
surrounded the United States
Capitol with monumental
government buildings to replace
"notorious slum communities".
The implementation of the plan was interrupted by WW1 but resumed after the war,
culminating in the construction of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922.
RADIANT CITY – Villa Contemporaine
utopian dream to reunite man within a well-ordered environment
RADIANT CITY/
Villa Contemporaine
• Developed by Le Corbusier in 1924
• People were to live in hygienic,
regimented high-rise towers set apart
from each other in a park like
landscape.
• He envisioned cities with large blocks of
park or grassland with many buildings
on that parcel of land.
• Each building would be extremely tall
and even be entirely self-sustainable in
terms of shopping, etc.
• Big scale – big buildings, big open
spaces and big urban highways
 •"'Recessed' apartment buildings
CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES in the Radiant City.

•Parks and schools in the middle.

•Elevator shafts spaced out at
optimum distances

•The floor directly above the

pilotis is given over to communal
services.

•Under the pilotis, pedestrians

walking unobstructed in all
directions.

•In the park, one of the large

swimming pools.

•Along the roofs, the continuous

ribbon of roof gardens with
beaches for sunbathing.
Negatives
• The vision was authoritarian, inflexible and simplistic.

• Residents of Unite’d Habitation complain they feel trapped within the

building and the building is an eyesore.

• Architect Witold Rybczynscki –

– standardization proved to be inhuman and disorienting.
– Open spaces were inhospitable, inviting crime and bureaucratically imposed plan was
socially destrcutive.
• Architecturally interesting but lacked human consideration: cities planned
more from an Architect’s view (ie, visually appealing, with clean lines and
concepts) than from the view of a Planner (ie; regards to human population,
economic strata, social interaction etc.); ignoring many complex
considerations of urbanism and instead simplifying it.
EXAMPLES

• Chandigarh, India
• Brasilia, Brazil
• Unite d habitation and
Cabrini green,
Chicago, United States
of America
Buildings built as per Radiant City concept
in Toronto

• Termed as 'super blocks'

because they have extremely Regent Park
high densities but barely any of
the buildings embrace the streets
or sidewalks.
• Buildings are set far from the
street and create no interaction.
• City designed on a city block
with a number of buildings on
the land and surrounded by
grass. Moss Park
• These super block communities
often become down and out
neighbourhoods and become
known for crimal activities.
Sociologists would say these
designs produce deviant
behaviours

St Jamestown
 Chandigarh
• The job of planning the new
capital was first allocated to
the American Albert Mayer;
but later events led to Le
Corbusier planning the city.

• Mayer's original, more organic,

master plan was modified;
Corbusier retained most of
Mayer's organizational features
but did away with its
adaptation to the landscape,
its allowances for unplanned
growth, and its use of native
Indian building types.
 Planning
• He replaced these with a rectangular
grid based on the metaphor of a
human body but totally divorced
from ideas of complex, vibrant Indian
cities. Matters were simplified.
• Governmental and commercial
buildings were placed at the centre
and on sides of city.
• The city was further starkly separated
into inward-looking sectors of 800 by
1200 meters, dimensions taken from
Paris, each considered to be a self-
sufficient neighborhood.
• A hierarchy of roads separated
pedestrian and vehicular traffic into
seven different road types, from V1
for the fast-moving inter-city traffic to
V7 for pedestrians within the sectors.
 Advantages
• At the time of building Chandigarh,
the Indian society was largely
unprepared to adapt into such a
modernist view.
• However it did succeed in providing
clean hygienic environments, ample
green open space, and the basic
amenities of civic life — schools,
hospitals, and parks
• In addition to this, the buildings of the
Capitol Complex, some of whose
murals Le Corbusier painted himself,
are undoubtedly wonderful pieces of
architecture and art.
 Disadvantages
• There was a general lack of
preservation of culture, leading
to opinions that the city is sterile
and lacking in soul.
• No shelter was provided for the
economically weaker sections
of society, leading to formation
of slums.
• The self-dependency of sectors
led to isolation of the same
from others, and places like the
capitol complex (which was
supposed to be vibrant)
became largely empty.
Brasilia
• The plot designated for Brasilia by the then-
government was huge; an area of 14,400
square kilometers in the central highlands of
Brazil.

• The city’s planner, the architect Lúcio Costa,

found the setting “excessively vast … out of
scale”, and addressed this by creating a city
whose own scale matched the site.

• City was made not in harmony with its

environment but with those modernist
utopian theories of the rational, sterile
“Radiant City.” Not organic, but fully
formed.
Planning
• Brasília was laid out in a precise geometry based upon LeCorbusier's Radiant
City Theory.
• Absent were the narrow streets and congested neighborhoods of the old
cities. Instead, there were clear, hygienic self-sufficient building blocks
specialized by function , separated by large tracts of open landscape and
connected by concrete superhighways.
• Brasília is divided into distinct sectors --- residential sectors (with people being
entombed in large apartment blocks known as superquadras), hotel sectors,
embassy sectors, banking sectors, commercial sectors, warehouse sectors
and so on.
LECORBUSIER – VILLA CONTEMPORAINE

City of Towers. Le Corbusier. 1923. “The towers are place amidst gardens and playing fields. The main
arteries, with their motor tracks built over them, allow of easy, or rapid, or very rapid circulation of
traffic.”
Gardens and playgrounds around the buildings. Simple facades with immense bays.
The successive projections give play of light and shade, and a feeling of richness is achieved by the
scale of the main lines of the design and by the vegetation seen against the geometric background of
the facades.
Obviously we have here, as in the case of the City of Towers, a question of enterprise on a huge
financial scale, capable of undertaking the construction of entire quarters. A street such as this would
be designed by a single architect to obtain unity, grandeur, dignity and economy.”
Performance
• The infrastructure is well- designed to meet modern needs, and the city is hygienic, with
green spaces and amenities.
• However, the specialization and disconnectedness of the various sectors poses a travel
problem. To access different services requires traveling to their respective sectors. Due
to the vast open spaces and hot tropical sun between sectors, it is difficult to travel by
foot.
• It is inconvenient to the point where most bureaucrats in the city work there for three-
four days in a week, then fly back to other cities (like, for example, the more organic Rio
de Janerio) for living in the weekends.
BROAD ACRE CITY
Frank Lloyd Wright

A Square mile sectio of what

was proposed to be a
continuous fabric of inhabited
landscape across American
continent
 FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
(1867-1959)
• A social revolutionary
• His belief: a system of personal freedom and dignity
through land ownership guaranteed social harmony and
avoid the class struggle
• Broadacre City a new social structure
 BROADACRE CITY
• A model of four square miles of a typical countryside
developed on the acre as unit according to conditions in
the temperate zone and accommodating around 1,400
families
PRINCIPLES
• Decentralization and redistribution

• Symmetry with rhythm, no standardization

• Architectural reintegration

• Free use of the ground

• Public utilities and government itself owned by the people of

Broadacre City (the architect is the agent of the state)
• Economic independence
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF
BROADACRE CITY
• Quality of the buildings is the same
• Coordination wherein all are employed
• All public utilities are concentrated in the hands of the county
government
• Materials used at constructions: fireproof materials, glass, copper
• Every citizen has his own car
 COMPONENTS
• houses – 4 types; farms; factories; markets;
• General park – a flowered meadow
• Traffic – multiple-lane highways; no grade
crossing; no signals or lamp-posts
• Trains only for long-distance; aerator
• Schools placed in the interior of the city; include
art galleries, concert hall, gardens, zoo, pools and
green playground.
NEIGHBOURHOOD
Principles: Conceived of as a comprehensive physical planning tool, to be utilised for
designing self-contained residential neighbourhoods which promoted a community centric
lifestyle, away from the "noise of the trains, and out of sight of the smoke and ugliness of
industrial plants" emblematic of an industrialising New York City in the early 1900s. The core
principles of Perry's Neighbourhood Unit were organised around several physical design ideals:
"Centre the school in the neighbourhood so that a child's walk to school was only about one-
quarter of a mile and no more than one half mile and could be achieved without crossing a
major arterial street. Size of neighbourhood to sufficiently support a school, between 5,000 to
9,000 residents, approximately 160 acres at a density of ten units per acre.
Place arterial streets along the perimeter so that they define and distinguish the "place" of the
neighborhood and by design eliminate unwanted through-traffic from the neighborhood. In
this way, major arterials define the neighborhood, rather than divide it through its heart.
Design internal streets using a hierarchy that easily distinguishes local streets from arterial
streets, using curvilinear street design for both safety and aesthetic purposes. Streets, by
design, would discourage unwanted through traffic and enhance the safety of pedestrians.
Restrict local shopping areas to the perimeter or perhaps to the main entrance of the
neighborhood, thus excluding nonlocal traffic destined for these commercial uses that might
intrude on the neighborhood.
Dedicate at least 10 percent of the neighborhood land area to parks and open space,
creating places for play and community interaction
NEIGHBOURHOOD
Size
A residential unit development should provide housing for that population for
which one elementary school is ordinarily required, its actual area
depending upon population density.
Boundaries
The unit should be bounded on all sides by arterial streets, sufficiently wide
to facilitate its bypassing by all through traffic.
Open spaces. A system of small parks and recreations spaces should be
provided, planned to meet the needs of the particular
neighbourhood.
Institution sites
Sites for the school and other institutions having service spheres coinciding
with the limits of the unit should be suitably grouped about a central point,
or common area.
Local shops
One or more shopping districts, adequate for the population to be served,
should be laid out in the circumference of the unit, preferably at traffic
junctions and adjacent to similar districts of adjoining neighbourhoods.
CLARENCE STEIN – RADBURN CONCEPT
System created against car oriented city grids for
safety & quality of living
•The cul-de-sac
• Specialized roadways & separation of vehicular
and pedestrian traffic instead of for all uses
•Neighborhood unit with an elementary school at
its center
•Superblock in place of the characteristic narrow
Rectangular block of neighbourhood concept
•The house turned around in its layout facing road
URBAN ARTS
Etam Crew Urban Forms Wall Lodz Poland
 Reference
• Kevin Lynch: Image of the city
• Ann Jacob: Conservation of Heritage
• Sairam, Prathamesh: Urban Conservation
• Narendra: Morphology study of Public spaces in Old Ahmedabad
• London Urban Design Council: Urban Design Principles