city as a diagram

8/3/2019 City as a Diagram

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HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OFCITIES.CITY SHAPED- CITY AS ADIAGRAM

SMITA HIRAPARAM-ARCH , SEM 1, CODE-07

Author Spiro kostofBook The city shaped-Urban Patterns and Meanings Through History

Year of published 1993Publisher Thames and Hudson LTD, London.

Dr. Spiro Konstantine Kostof(7 May 1936 - 7 December 1991) was a leadingarchitectural historian and inspirational teacher at the University of California, Berkeley. Hisbooks continue to be widely read and some are routinely used in collegiate courses onarchitectural history. Kostof's approach to architectural history emphasized urbanism as wellas architecture and showed how architectural works are embedded in their physical andsocial contexts. Commonly accepted today, Kostof's approach was a break with previousdirections in architectural history, which tended to emphasize the sequence of styles and tostudy architectural works in relative isolation from their settings. Kostof's textbook,AHistory of Architecture: Settings and Rituals (1985) embodied these ideas and soon becameone of the standard texts in the field. In 1993, following his death, the

Society of Architectural Historians established the "Spiro Kostof Award," to recognize books"in the spirit of Kostof's writings," particularly those that are interdisciplinary and whosecontent focuses on urban development, the history of urban form, and/or the architecture ofthe built environment.

Introduction of theauthor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Berkeleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architectural_historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Architectural_Historianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Architectural_Historianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architectural_historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Berkeley


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The City Shaped is a unique study of the city and the processes andparameters involved in its birth and evolution. It gives an idea of the

historical and cultural overviews of the city, and takes off to variouselements that make up a city, giving a detailed urban anatomy. The bookis organized thematically around the structural phenomena of cities primarily the birth, and the factors affecting the shape the city takes up.Amongst those explored are a city as a diagram, a city of defense, citiesformed due to religious factors, and cities as centers of power. It exploresthe customs, practicalities, and biases behind the elements of the verygenesis of a city.

Co

ntext of the book


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THE CITY AS A DIAGRAM

Circles and polygonArcosanti and

palmanovaUtopias and idealcities Specialized environment

RegimentationHoly cities

The political diagramLinear systems

Centralized systems-concentricorganisation-radial organisation

The functional diagramThe logic of defenceReforming urban societyThe planet and outer spa


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Arcosanti is an experimental town that began construction In1970, in the high desert of Arizona, 70 miles north of metropolitanPhoenix. When complete, Arcosanti will house 5000 people,

demonstrating ways to improve urban conditions and lessen ourdestructive impact on the earth. Its large, compact structures andlarge-scale solar greenhouses will occupy only 25 acres of a 4060acre land preserve, keeping the natural countryside in closeproximity to urban dwellers.

CIRCLES AND POLYGONS

ARCOSANTI


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Early Construction of the Vaults Arcosanti is designed according to the conceptof arcology (architecture + ecology), developed by Italian architect Paolo

Soleri. In an arcology, the built and the living interact as organs would in ahighly evolved being. This means many systems work together, with efficientcirculation of people and resources, multi-use buildings, and solar orientationfor lighting, heating and cooling.

Constructedbuilding blocks

Underconstruction

ARCOSANTI


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Thus arcosanti is not a model society. It is merely the workshop of oururban future. The form has to come first; slowly and incremently, they will

shape behaviour. Function follow form.Which means when the age of arcologies has at long last emerged,however, there will be no slums, no crime, no ethnic segregations.As social pattern is influenced, if not directed , by the physical pattern thatshelter it. In a one- container system are the best premises for a non-segregated culture. The care for oneself will tend to be care for the whole.

ARCOSANTI


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HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OFCITIES. CITY SHAPED- CITY AS ADIAGRAM SMITA HIRAPARAM-ARCH , SEM 1, CODE-07

In soleris native country, some distance south of venice, is a perfectlyshaped polygonal city frozen in its tracks for all of four centuries. The

medieval period Palmanova in Italy addressing the militaristic needs andideas.Using all the latest military innovations of the 16th century, this tinytown was a fortress in the shape of a nine-pointed star, designed byVincenzo Scamozzi. In between the points of the star, rampartsprotruded so that the points could defend each other and three large,guarded gates allowed entry.

But ultimately its a militaryarhitecture and thus, the townhas its ideal plan to show,

whereas it concludes that cityform in itself has neverbeen acompelling touist attraction.

PALMANOV

A


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PALMANOV

A

By their nature such cities often remain on a theoretical plane.There have been many more ideal cities on paper than onground.


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UTOPIAS ANDIDEAL CITIES

The town of Corona once laid claim to the title "Lemon

Capital of the World." A museum there presents the lemon'sformer role in the local economy. The city derived its name(and its nickname, The Circle City) from the curious layout ofits streets, with a standard grid enclosed by the circularGrand Boulevard, one mile in diameter. The street layoutwas designed by Hiram Clay Kellogg, a civil engineer

whereas Cotati's hexagonal plaza and street grid plan wasdesigned during the 1890s by Newton Smyth as analternative to the traditional grid. Dr. Thomas Page's barnonce stood where the plaza is today, and each of the streetssurrounding the plaza is named after six of his sons.


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Circleville was founded in 1810. It derived its name from the circularportion of a large Hopewell culture earthwork upon which it was built. Theoriginal town plan integrated Circleville into the preexisting land with astreet layout of concentric circles. An octagonal courthouse stood directlyin the center.Dissatisfaction rose with Circleville's layout, however, and in 1837, the OhioGeneral Assembly authorized the "Circleville Squaring Company" to convertit into a square. By 1856, this had been completed in several phase


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A utopia does not have to be a city. Utopias are no-wheres. Theyare outside specification of place and state and vague about the

kind of physicality their design codifies Whereas ideal cities existin context. They are often intended to clarify the standing of aruler in relation to his subjects and a wider circle ofcontemprories, they are dependent for their effectiveness onbeing fixed in place within a larger geographical frame and aprior cutural landscape.

The capital of utopia- tommaso campanellas and other citiesphilosopher their understanding of the cities is very innocent, actuallythey learn nothing at all just borrows the diagram of the cities whethercircular or square and then impliment to accompany their tidy systems.

Tommaso campanellas Bartolommeo delbene, the city of truth


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THE DESIGN OFREGIMENTATIO

N

The regimented behaviour of thepopulation brought the diagramatic

layout of some specialized communitieslike military camps, monastries andindustrial towns. Because of theroutines of their behaviour they rank inthe line.

It showed the

standardheadquarters plan,the junctions of thestreets leading tothe head quarters.

The Roman legionary fortress, Caerleon, Monmouthshire, in the 2nd century AD; byAlan Sorrell, 1939.

Encampment of assurbanipal


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The prisoners were housed in a disused brick factory, this factorys veryexistence was the reason for the establishment of a concentration camp inHamburg, which at the time had only temporary, small camps. And oneach side of the prisoners block where the manufacturies and workshopsprincipally a large brick field.

Concentrationcamp

Hamburg (germany),neuengammeconcentration camp .


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Industrial

Established in 1783, Hancock Village thrived as an active Shaker communityduring most of the following two centuries. Divided into six family groups

along north-south and east-west axes, Hancock was a typical Shakercommunity with communal dwellings, craft shops, a meetinghouse, andbarns. Like most Shaker communities, the design for the buildings at theHancock village were driven by function and utility. No extra materials ortime were wasted in their construction. Emphasis was placed on efficiency,and although architecturally conservative, at the same time they are quiteintriguing.

Hancock was able to define its organisation through the right anglealignment of landscape boundaries and buildings, the heirarchicalpositioning of the building according to the function, the distinctive shapesaccording to special function.


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The organiing principle of saltaire is an ascending straight street , milland church face each other across the street unequal in size but

clearly paired as a unity. Away from the town center is the line ofshops, set back from the streets are the factory school and instituteon the other side.

Saltaire was founded in 1853 by Sir TitusSalt, a leading industrialist in theYorkshire woollen industry.


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Holy cities

Since religion is the pre industrial society , all pre industrial cities, itcan reasonably be claimed as a sacred dimension.

Cities like mecca an jerusalem, where particular religion place theirorigin even as for example banaras and other cities where the kingseeks to anchor his reign.


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If the holy city affirms the centrality of faith and translates itself into amicrocosmic heaven, the ideal city for secular authority might use the

same diagrams to give visual primacy to the ruler and his military sheild.In the theocratic systems of the government , or in the regimes anxiousto exhibit piety and assimilate the religious establishment, the temple,the church or the mosque will never be far from the seat of power. Butthe politicaldiagram celebrates monocentric dominion: and its mostexpressive devices are the axis and the circle.

THE POLITICALDIAGRAM


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LINEAR

SYSTEM Depending upon cosmology, physical and cltural topography axialalignment is commonly used in association with an overall urban diagram.The 2 ancient schemes for chinese imperial capital : the palace at thenorth backed into the citywall, as in changan and the palace in the centerof the city as in beijing.


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CENTRALIZED

SYSTEMConcentricorganization

Edo grew in an irregular but purposeful pattern expressing thewarrior caste system typical of castle towns. By th early 17th centuryit was the seat of japan feudal government and with the population

of 1,000,000, probably the world largest city.Large granite stones were moved from afar, the size and number ofthe stones depend on the wealth of the daimyo. The wealthier oneshad to contribute more.The inner citadels of the castle were protected by multiple large andsmall wooden gates .The mansions were very elaborate and large,with no expenses spared to construct palaces with Japanese gardensand multiple gates. Each block had four to six of the mansions, which

were surrounded by ditches for drainage.


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4 of the town planning

mandalas described inancient hindu literature:circular form ofvastupurusha, swastika,dandaka and padmaka

Jaipur: nine square plan based on anancient mandala.


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RADIAL

ORGANIZATION

The famous round city of baghdad in the 8th century provides aclassic example of radial concentric scheme.The city's growth was helped by its location, which gave it control

over strategic and trading routes, along the Tigris. A reason whyBaghdad provided an excellent location was the abundance of waterand the dry climate. Water exists on both north and south ends ofthe city gates, allowing all households to have a plentiful supply,which was very uncommon during this time.


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HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OFCITIES.

CITY SHAPED- CITY AS ADIAGRAM


Sforzinda within an eight-pointed star of walls within a circular moat, whichformed the blueprint of the city. This plan was the first of many ideal star-shaped city plans that was the opposite of the crowded, irrational areas of thetypical medieval city. The ideal city to a human body when proposing that itshould function like a communal organism.

Heinrich placed the ducal residencein a peripherial location, at the

northeast corner but duke rejectedit and proposed the central locationfor the castle setting as an angle ofaxis for the main streets.


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THE FUNCTIONALDIAGRAM

LOGIC OFDEFENSE

Fighting around Philippeville didnot start, however, until 1554,after Henry II had succeeded hisfather on the throne. This areawas ideal for an attack as it wascovered with forests, sparselypopulated and divided among theCounty of Hainaut, that of Namur,by now part of Burgundy, and theBishopric of Lige. The medievalforts in the area were taken and

pillaged one after the other.The town, hitherto a small domestic trade portwith restricted trade, was granted extensiveprivileges including foreign trade. Finnish peoplesoon shortened the name to Hamina. Therebuilding of the town took place in 17221724.The star-shaped fortress and the circular townplan are based on an Italian renaissance fortress

concept from the 16th century.[6] Fortresstowns like this are quite rare, another exampleis Palmanova in Italy.


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TRAFFIC ANDRADIALCONCENTRICITY

The garden city philosophy is a method of urban planning that wasinitiated during 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom.Garden cities were intended to be planned, self-contained,communities surrounded by "greenbelts" (parks), containingproportionate areas of residences, industry, and agriculture.

Garden Cities of To-morrow begins by describingthe Three Magnets: Town, Country, and Town-Country. Howard explains why we are attractedto the best of both Town and Country aspects.Town-Country benefits have cooperation,

beauty, nature, green fields, green parks, goodutilities, good commerce, social opportunity,high wages, low rents, low price rates, and lowpollution!


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He describes inter-connected urban nodes. Central City is shown with aconstellation of satellite micro-cities (garden cities, towns, villages,

developments). Garden Cities at their heart have a central garden, withrings of dwellings, shops, roads, industry, fields, and farms. The orderedlayout is meant to improve biological, social, economic, and personal lifefor everyone.


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Howard considered some difficulties with analytic self-criticism. He saw theweak points in his plans, and how they might fail. This foresight can allow usto prepare for the worst problems, to better shape designs for the future. Hemaintained that human ideals are worth trying; quoting Darwin Selfish andcontentious men will not cohere, and without coherence nothing can beaccomplished,. Howard believed that Socialism and Individualism mustcome together in the future to realize a true, vital organic society and state.


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THE PLANET AND OUTER

SPACE The concept of Auroville - an ideal township devoted to anexperiment in human unity - came to the Mother as early as the1930s. In the mid 1960s the Sri Aurobindo Society in Pondicherryproposed to Her that such a township should be started. She gaveher blessings. The concept was then put before the Govt. of India,who gave their backing and took it to the General Assembly ofUNESCO. In 1966 UNESCO passed a unanimous resolutioncommending it as a project of importance to the future of humanity,

thereby giving their full encouragement.


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The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity in diversity.Today Auroville is recognised as the first and only internationallyendorsed ongoing experiment in human unity and transformation of

consciousness, also concerned with - and practically researching into- sustainable living and the future cultural, environmental, social andspiritual needs of mankind.


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Another example is the eight trigrams town -In the city ofTekesi, located in Xinjiang, the Uyghur autonomous region inthe Western part of China, there is a Eight Trigrams town. Itsconstruction started 800 years ago, when the famous taoistmonk Qiu Chuji met with Genghis Khan. It was renovated in1939 and is promoted as the "biggest Eight Trigrams city in theworld". It is completely built on the principles of I Ching andfengshui.


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In the middle of the town is theYin Yang park. There are 8main streets, which divide the

eight sides of the Bagua. Eachstreet is 1.2 km long.Within thefirst ring road, there are 8streets;within the 2nd ringroad - 16 streets;within the 3rdring road - 32 streets;withinthe 4rd ring road - 64 streets.No traffic lights in this city.They say that there is no needfor traffic lights. No matterwhich direction you choose tohead for , you can reach yourdestinations at last becausethe roads are closely linked toeach other".


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HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OFCITIES


- "In the end, all ideal city-forms are a little dehumanizing". Life cannot beregimented , it seems, in the ways they would like, except in totalityartificial units like monasteries and cantonments and concentration campswhere inhabitants submit willingly or are constrained without choice.- "The city as diagram, in the end, is the story of dreamers who want thecomplexity and richness of urban structure without the problems, tensions,volatility."

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city as a diagram

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