ARCH 4000

From:

Edmund N. Bacon
Design of Cities
Viking Press: New
York, 1974

“Involvement” pp.
23-­‐32
“The Structure of
the Square” pp.
95-­‐99
POINTS IN SPACE

Here is the excitement of points in space posi-

tioned freely, yet firmly established in the complex
spatial. geometry of the composition. Point reaches
to point across the void. Tensions are set up be-
tween them, and as the observer moves about in the
composition the points glide and moyen in relation to
one another in a oontinually chang- ing harmonie
relationship. This is one of the finest aspects of
many of the very great compositions. The plane of
the point at the top of the obelisk in the Piazza Na
vona relates tp the two towers and the donne of Sant’
Agnese and then dips down to the heads of the
sculptured figures in the tountains at each end. The
points at the top of the two donnes of the Piazza del
Popolo interplay with that Of the Sixtus V obelisk in
the center. With much of our modem building, we
have tended to lose the articulation of explicit points
in space, tbus robbing ourselves of many of the
dynamic possi- biIÎties for harmonie spatial effects.

RÉCESSION PLANES

Here.the bagic composition !is set’ back:: behinds

firm pylons which rise on: each :side of,.us acid:.séri'e
m a link between ourselves. and ,tire amhiteeturaf

the proscenium effeft, the.estaBlishment ofi :;fraœe

Of reference to gise.scale:and.nieâs*ie to the:ffirtns
behind. It was frequently used by the .Greeks,.whi›
skillfully placed their ptdpylaea to emphasize
depth and to define the approach .to their
temples
— even
JapdI1 the same purpoie was served. bY
aiuchin the. most isolated sites. In China
fT
atidI-Standing gateways. While we are unlikely !to
use triumphaî arches today, the creatioo of,' it setting
for a building, thy establishment o1 link- ages in
scale with objects in .the foreground, sucii.
<. 8agpoles; smilpture, or stairwayx; as a ineas '
r'
CONVEXITY AND CONCAVITY

Here we see the continuous interplay of two

forITlS, the positive and the negative, the massive and the
spacious, convexity and concavity. The forms
envelop us and involve us completely in their spatial
animation. In design of this sort, in- terrelationships
are established between parts at all levels. Design is
not .confined to forms that de- pend on the land as
the basic connector; it func- tions effectively in new
kinds of .relatipnships at
each level in space. It .is not limited to the manip-
ulation of flat planes but involves buildings freely
positioned in spatial volume. In our own day there
has been a resurgence of interest in the use of curved
forms, but all .too often these have been conceived as
isolated forms in space Architects have not taken
advantage of the full excitement of interplay that is
possible.

RELATIÔNSHIP TO MAN

ln this last view öf the drawing, we are con-

Ürried witli:tlie relatior iship.. of thé amhitect to tha
man..he ü seeking to house. The forms .are care-
fii1ly’süa1èd tö inïolve the people within the build-
ia8, :tö flow.‘ from that.. part .of nie structure !the
people:.can: see at close range, that.they eaux touch

when ,t.lie baser of a column towers. above the heads!öf

the people, the :columù here is set on ä. pedNtal
fithii riaeh of the people .passing by it. Tfie:;ioin(:
of Contact. of the Greck Doric ooI- umn...wiiÏÏ. the
märfile bloik of the temple fl‹x›r is in përfeét rêlatiönship
with the viewer.' Eten the
m mxumÿnta of WeÆasêœ4Roœæ work
wa „desijnoiÎ so that the bases ö t the columns were
within, ieach di tire hand. Today, ivith .thé towering-:
dimensions of so. many’ stni‹nurea, the designer
must devise new means fœ eotabliahing a
cönnoctiön between the building tte créatoa and
be’ realized through actual construction on .the
ground, the designer must reduce it to a two-di-
inensional, representational Guage which serves as
the’medium of communication to the builder, who
must .put it .back into three dimensions again. This
two-dimensional image also serves as the medium
of‘yommunication to the client and to the general
public, whose support may be necessary for its
construction. When a design is truly rich in its three-
dimensional aspect, to reduce it to a two-
dimensional image may destroy its most vital.
qualities and thus result in a most imperfect.proc-
ess of cömmuriication. This occurred in the case ei cause building design. was largely an oiitgmwth!of
thg winning design by Pedersen and Tilney for form produced. by scientific perspective,
thë.Frahklin De1año:Roosevelt Memorial .in Wash-
ingtoii; D.C. The essential nature of the design..was
totally. misunderstood thy many of its .critics be-
cause'it Was not reducible to a picture: plane..
The. r e n d problem occurs in.. the mind. of
the.
;lesigner himselt. This is so because his. work to summaiize thê interaction of.. appréhension,
is:
: ‹of. hÏstory. i have , put question marks iè'thè last
/1ilEited bÿ" the stoék of images, by the:: range pi the
*oéabulary ö1/üönceptüäi mödeÏs, :at\:.his éom-
mand;. just,'as ä: inatheinatician is limited Îïy, the
mathem’atiC'al .jymbols.. he usë i.. .In vast. threeÖ i-
metiàiönal. desigp probleme at the. séale
of .the
modern city,. !the .traditional range of two-dimen-
sional symbols has proved to be totally inadequaté
for the task at .hand.
In .the medieval era (see pages SS to 57) per-
ception .and apprehension .were often indiyisible,
and the representation or communication problem
was .greatly
simplified .because .the .designer :and:
the builder were often the same man. In
thë
.Renaissance .period the .buildings and their:mode
of representation were very much in hzrti oo y 6e-
Today our design problems.,ha*e espanded to
a’: degree of complexily that:is beyond. tlÏé. ciipacity
öf,;.perspëciivg:.to represent:. Thiis. iraditionäl. rep-
resentation. breaks. dowiL:as .a means,.ill conimuni-
cation, and, even more .important,. it fails.ter..pit-
vide. the. tange. :of .syrñbols .that ! the mqdern
designer. needs.ioi the' toï iülatioä of:his cöncepts.
Hm the ehart’below:an..attempt
representatioq;. has bèeii:’made
and realization ofer iöur periods
twp sections of !tlÎe moderD pgfÎod bCP•flU80
the
questions raised,in thèse areas are still uiireeolvTd-

The preéise; ob a-
individuel
 Sqñäre .onto a level. of
P l arge gigbt .oİ ’śteps.'The
the
ing .squares.in°Todi is such’ that the
: relationship with the
awhile. he ›s participating hit function as a ãiem-
its center, ö Ÿerloöks țhe
:śtätue ”of Ga ribaldİ!! ‘itt .öer oÎ the church or aš a member of. the polİtíGdl
rolliàg Umbriaii plains
• :count sidg. ințo the town. It .was coñimunity. piewhat the r dverse of..Michel-
*
șpare, wițh one corner overlapping Popolo, ängelo’s idea of cütting away the .super8uous ,m
.the"principal ceóter șquare, the Piazzä deì ble to..liberate the mass of the ștatue. wh
lßhi in Ìiis
thus Establishing ä small colleCtixe: iüirïd öf"
cial ințensițy aíid’im aét.. mind, the

Tlie. towers:. of. tire volumes ..of .thd' tWÓ. abstiäct entities,
Falàźzo" dci Prİöri,:.śhown on thê.'extreme ri,ght f,
::dehned ..the :ćöństruc-
the dtäwinğ abö ve, Ìlank: which
ipace ’and.. }3TO.. 'hóld döwn

íhe two cofner .pö ihts at the position .of gręaiest

intensity oł..:design. remarkablë, drawin g OÎ J. H. Aronson
inguenče d by m o d e m technology bUt
The! póSİtİOflS'..Oİ’the buİldİngs:rep reseiiting•țhe vnishing .points, attempts in a
țwo’!prinćipal!'f froni \Ïtat. of Lorenzetü
different
ized in ellow fdr thd ör and blue 1örJ e’ ąrch-
.bÒth ćity as 8 tOt&İlt .
y to present' tlie’ pİcture óf. the.
'bishopj are precisely determined in the desiğf t en- ø Stay intensify ”yoüt pleasure in this draw- through 360.-
in plan and in a vertical relatiODShİQ. inğ by sÎOWl ž’e ÔłVİßg.
Íhß. y
trances to both. the Palazzo, de :Pop° ° .and tothe
< public
cathedral :are raised above th*
 BASIC DESIGN STRUCTURE

Within the mnge of cities. built. in ltaly dur-

.ing the medieval and Renaissance perióds there:
emergen a recurring theme in which there is
a
.‘diréct and purposeful design entension from the
central square to an outward póitit where it claaips
.onto an expression of the forces ofi. 'the region.
.i'tesented on these pages are four exaúiples; dmwñ.
to a .common scale, all strikingÍy simüar. in thnr.
basic concept.

TODI:
The diagram emphasizes that the 'interlocking
squares are firmly positioned between vistas, one in
each .direction, across the Umbrian hills. The
!arcliitecturally contained center square,
@ affofdiflg
glimpses .of nothing but overlapping
façades fi
!buildings, establishes unequivocally the.urban chB*-
acter ot the city core, and makes oíôre drainatiC th’e
innish of the,countryside (shown.}n‘green)i
a:‹narrow, sharply fc›cused: channel on ,the ud*
:pJátfoim before the
catbedmli and: rá. a
The

erugia; anothcr. Umó:rian'.medieval'

flJQréSseS the :saóie desi n principles as docS! To&• Thé
central squard, witli :its :ancient and. be1ov&

'.>. trent. .the square overlooklng the

The. cathedial is :tumed so :that it ieóeives

. u/ nusual for :Gothic éathe.drals.

'At..ihe other end of‘.the

.building,