burnham fb cs final 25sep09
DESCRIPTION
This presentation completes the arc between the City Beautiful movement of early 20th century and the current emphasis on place-making using North Michigan Avenue as an example.TRANSCRIPT
Image from the Art Institute of Chicago Burnham Centennial Website
Daniel Burnham: If He Only Had Form-Based Codes in His Time!
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Mahender VasandaniPresident, M Square | Urban DesignAPA Upper Midwest Conference
September 25, 2009
From Late 19th-Early 20th Century Beautiful Movement to…
Late 20th-21st Century New Urbanist Movement
In the Broadest Sense…
2
What I Will Talk About :
Focus on North Michigan Avenue (John W. Stamper, “Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue, Planning and Development, 1900-1930)
Burnham/Bennett Recommendations
Post-Burnham Plan Recommendations
What Was Actually Built
Highlights of Form-Based Codes
What Could Have Form-Based Codes Done?
Lessons We Can Learn from the City Beautiful Movement/Burnham Plan for Michigan Avenue
Specifically…
3
Burnham’s Inspiration
Champs Elysees, Paris
4
A Prime Beaux-Arts
Example of “CityAs Architecture”
North Michigan Avenue: Burnham Plan Recommendations
A Champs ElyseesFor Chicago
Images Courtesy of John Stamper, Author, Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue5
Burnham’s Inspiration
Rue de Rivoli:Haussmann’s“Street Architecture”
6
Lessons from Haussmann’sParis -- 1909
Michigan Avenue: Burnham + Post- Burnham Plan Recommendations
Image Courtesy of John Stamper, Author, Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue
NCBDA Plan 1918
7
North Michigan Avenue Today
Built Urban Form Radically Different from the Burnham Plan Recommendations 8
North Michigan Avenue (North of River): 1920’s
Built Urban Form Started toChange in 1920’s; Little RegardFor Plan Height LimitsBurnham Brothers, Inc. Architects: Central Life Insurance Bldg. 1923-24
9
Michigan Avenue: Post-Burnham Plan Recommendations
Urban Form Study,Andrew Rebori,
1918
Image Courtesy of John Stamper, Author, Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue10
Michigan Avenue: Post-Burnham Plan Recommendations
Image Courtesy of John Stamper, Author, Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue
Urban Form Study, Andrew Rebori, 191811
North Michigan Avenue: Buildings from 1920s
1921, 24
1929
1925
Michigan Ave. Bridge
Opened in 1920
12
“Corporate” Statements: North Michigan Avenue: 1920s
Tribune Tower Competition
1922
Wrigley Building1919-22
Medinah Club1925
13
Emphasis on Boldness And Beauty...But on Individual Buildings
North Michigan Avenue (South of River): 1920’s
Bell Building1924
Built Urban Form Started toChange in 1920’s; Little RegardFor Plan Height Limits
1909 Burnham Plan(Jules Guerin)
14
North Michigan Avenue (South of River) Today
Built Urban Form Radically Different from the Burnham Plan Recommendations
Bell1924
15
Michigan Avenue (South Water St): Post-Burnham (1921) Recommendations
Bold Parisian Ambitions:Sill Planning for UniformBuilding Heights after…
Image Courtesy of John Stamper, Author, Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue
South Water StreetFruit Market, 1890s+
16
Wacker Drive (South Water St) Today
Building Bulk and Form Different Today than Conceived in 1921 17
Based on An Adopted Community Vision
Mix Uses
Prescribe What is Desirable
Predictable Building/Urban Form (No F.A.R.s or Density Limits, But Bulk Limits )
Predetermined Vision Based on Public Support; Can Help Retain Existing Community Character
Architectural Standards (Also Landscape Standards/Roadway Design Standards)
Power of Place
Based on Abstract Zoning Requirements
Segregate Uses
Proscribe (What Not Allowed)
Unpredictable Building Bulk/Form
(Maximize F.A.R.s and Densities)
Unpredictable Character
No Architectural Considerations
No Sense of Place
FBCs Conventional Zoning Codes
Highlights of Form-Based Codes As Compared to Conventional Zoning
18
Adopted for a Specific Urban Area More graphic; More Easily Understood and Enforced
Includes Integrated Standards for: Thoroughfares, Frontages, Building Types, Public Space, Landscaping – All Linked to a Regulating Plan
Highlights of Form-Based Codes
19
If DHB Had Got a FBC Adopted in His Time to Implement the 1909 Plan:
Uniform Heights and Bulk, and “Street” Architecture; No Eclectic Architecture or Corporate “Statements”
( If Politically Feasible) 20
Fundamentally…Is Eclectic Architecture Better, Or Is Uniform Architecture Better?
It Depends…
… on How GoodIs the Architecture
21
Is Eclectic Better, Or Is Uniform Better?
An Ensemble of Well-Designed Buildings in Different Styles Can Work Well 22
Is Eclectic Better, Or Is Uniform Better?
Poorly Designed Buildings Can Neither Work as An Ensemble Nor as “Street Architecture”
Bottom Line:
Whether Eclectic or Uniform, Quality of Architecture Is Important in Establishing Character of a Place;
Form-Based CodesProvide Control Over Character in Place-Making
23
Character of a Place Is Defined By:
How Buildings Relate to the Public Realm at the Street Level
24
Character of a Place Is Defined By:
The Types of Uses Allowed in an Area
(Michigan Avenue was designed from Day One to be an Up-Market Street)
25
Character of a Place Is Defined By:
The Placement of Buildings in Relation to the Street26
Character of a Place Is Defined By:
The Type of Landscaping and How It Relates to the Buildings and Streets 27
Character of a Place Is Defined By:
And How the Landscaping Relates to Sidewalks28
Character of a Place Is Defined By:
The Way BULK and Height of Buildings Relate to Streets/Street Widths
29
Lessons Learned from Michigan Avenue
Daniel Hudson Burnham Inspired Architects and Planners of His Time and Subsequent GenerationsTo Think Big. And, to Emphasize Civic Beauty of a City .
About Paris, He Said:“…more beautiful, unified and efficient arrangement of all its parts,
all interconnected with handsomely landscaped streets and boulevards.Gracing this noble city would be noble (public) architecture…”
30
Lessons Learned from Michigan Avenue
While Uniform Heights were a casualty of successful businesses were creating unique identities, Beautiful Architecture –individual and civic – is a legacy of the Burnham Plan
Landscaped Streets and Boulevards are another legacy of the Burnham Plan
Over the years, in the spirit of Burnham, Chicago has made North Michigan Avenue into a world-class destination.
Many of the City’s design achievements (without a Form-Base Code) can be more easily achieved today by other communities with the help of FBCs.
31
Lessons Learned from Michigan Avenue for a Good Form-Based Code
1. Create Good Architecture – Private and Civic -- With Form-BasedArchitectural Standards (This is A Must)
2. Create Building Bulk and Building Placement Standards
3. Create Street and Sidewalk Standards
4. Create Streetscape and Landscaping Standards
5. Create a List of Permitted Uses (Typically not included in FBCs)
6. Create an Urban Design Plan and a Regulating Plan with the above Standards (This actually is the first step)
32
Daniel Burnham: If He Only Had Form-Based Codes in His Time!
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Thank You!
Mahender VasandaniPresident, M Square | Urban Design
T: 630.845.1202E: [email protected]