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URBAN  FORM  &  URBANSCAPE

compiled by Assoc. Prof. Dr. A. Ghafar Ahmad

 

Urban form

spatial network which channels public movement and makes public spaces, or
generally perceives in terms of paths which carry movement and nodes, which articulate the junctions between paths and provide meeting places
Urban forms can be categorized after the following archetypal periods regardless of their actual dates of development:
  1. Mediaeval: space perceived as warren of irregular channels cut out of a solid
  2. Renaissance: spatial axes to be seen in perspective from  a static viewpoint
  3. Baroque: built form relates to movement along a spatial axis – kinetic awareness
  4. 18th and 19th Century European: characterized by series of changing relationships between spaces and between built forms
  5. Grid system of North America: spatial quality subservient to urban management – infastructure provided to release land efficiently
  6. Modern: space defines building – buildings do not define space

 

Urbanscape

visual qualities of built form
urbanscape characteristics are in part dependant upon urban forms
skyline with a focal point eg. Church tower in the pre-rationalistic town
an object that terminates long visual axes in the Renaissance towns
Urbanscape can be determined by the following aspects:
  1. Vistas: landmarks (key buildings), major approach view, urban skylines
  2. Qualities of built form and vegetation: grain (massing of built form), texture (uniform or uneven depending on the consistency of the grain), density of built form, quality of enclosure (buildings or trees which are containing space)
  3. Material and details: common walling and roofing materials, floorscape (materials and details), street artifacts (furniture, signs, amenities)