Parallel Sprawl » Kosovo

admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:39:57 +0000

Kosovo is a newly created country, formerly part of Yougoslavia. Although not being a rich country it is an very fertile land formed by a Midland encircled by mid rise mountains. After communism and years of war and due to a lack of regulation the country looks nowadays like a continuous urbanization with no properly legible and intelligible structure.

MAPS

admin — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 19:24:40 +0000

Urban sprawl

Main cities

Main roads

Kosovo's midlands

Kosovo as seen by Google Earth

LANDSCAPE

admin — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:42:57 +0000

The country has the shape of a square set up on one of its angle. The borders are formed by natural limits like mountains on the south-east and hills on north-west. The country is composed of two main plateau, one green an hilly serving for agriculture that includes Prizren and Peja and one lower, flat an mainly commercial that includes Prishtina. At the center of the country is a small hill. Countryside is extremely fertile. Mainly Crops and wheat is cultivated. Average plots are of a very small scale, long of around 300m and wide of only an average of 25m.

DENSITY

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 09:35:52 +0000

A single house in the fields.

Evolving house.

Family densified plot.

Multistorey densification.

Four brothers.

Density by family growth.

Traditional low rise high density.

What is the limit of density?

“To be densified” urbanism.

The built density makes a connection between the built mass and the space in which it is located. The built density can be numeric or perceived, it is both a qualitative and quantitative stake.

PUBLIC SPACE

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 09:36:47 +0000

Is the public square a landmark?

Abandoned infrastructure turned into a public space.

Programmatic shifts.

Communication infrastructure as a meeting point.

The road is a public space.

The void as a platform for public uses.

The private forecourt.

The kiosk is a meeting point for public affairs.

Public space is the space accessible to all social practice for individuals. It is also the space of the public sphere of the community, the space of the appearances and of togetherness.

STREETS

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 09:38:12 +0000

Agricultural path.

Traditional walled street.

“Donkey path” urbanism.

Suburban road.

The street is a commercial attractor.

The street allows informal uses.

Car unfriendly road design.

Multi-lane commercial street.

Brutal cut leading to the suburbs.

The street is a circulation space which handles the various flows such as networks, people, and infrastructure linking the buildings to each other. The street can be separated into several lanes of traffic.

THRESHOLD

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 09:39:25 +0000

Mineral public space.

Blurred limits between private and public.

Agricultural garden.

Imposing appearance yard.

Fine graduation from public to private.

No visible limit between public and private.

The garage as a Gate.

Tiny entrance in a blind wall.

A gate to pass through.

Small space that links between private space and public space. Sometimes called third space as it is between private and public, it allows a smooth transition between interiority and exteriority.

BUILDING LINE

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 09:40:11 +0000

Aligned blind buildings.

Buildings adjacent to an informal shared street.

Every house is a monument.

Unrelated elements.

Buildings are not turned toward the street.

“Copy-Paste” street design.

Activated buffer zone.

Disconnected urban elements.

Suburban front line.

The building line is one of the main rules of urban design. The morphology resulting from compliance or non-alignment gives masses of built urban space character.

PUBLIC BUILDINGS

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 09:41:11 +0000

Kiosk taking over the road.

Landmark out of the village.

Car owners meeting point.

Informal public transport as a public space.

The public building as a house of the village.

The village grocery shop is a public infrastructure.

Traces of history.

What makes it a public building?

Public building on wheels.

A public building is a construction – closed or not – built by and for a community. This is sometimes a landmark or a reference object known to all.

PRIVATE SPACE

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 09:42:02 +0000

Inside is outside.

Behind the gate.

Groomed space.

Monumental entrance.

Private space with a public atmosphere.

Imposing appearance space.

Private space allowing public activities.

Little Germany.

The orchard is an intimate agricultural land.

The private area is for a single user or a group of user. The boundaries are clearly marked and explicit. This space can be either inside or outside.

LIMITS

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 09:43:36 +0000

The fence as a symbol of wealth.

American village

No public space, life happens behind the wall.

Traditional wall separating public and private spheres.

Built / Unbuilt.

A shield toward the world.

The horizon is the limit.

How big is enough?

A filigree barrier between neighbours.

Between two spaces in nature or different use is a limit. It can make the switch, transfer or the link between these different spaces. The limit can be materialized or not, explicit or not.

TYPES

admin — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 14:19:06 +0000

DATAS

admin — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 12:24:01 +0000

POPULATION 2010: 2’190’000
POPULATION 1990: 1’930’000
POPULATION 1970: 1’220’000
POPULATION 1950: 764’000

AVERAGE INCOME
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 45.3% (2011 est.)

AVERAGE AGE 27.1 years
0-14 years: 26.9% (male 256,700/ female 236,975)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 636,804/ female 581,729)
65 years and over: 6.8% (male 52,357/ female 71,964) (2012 est.)

AVERAGE SQM/HABITANTS
AVERAGE TIME TRAVEL TO WORK
URBANIZATION

NET IMMIGRATION RATE –
EMIGRANTS

GDP PER CAPITA $6,500 (2011 est.)
agriculture: 12.9%
industry: 22.6%
services: 64.5%