Parallel Sprawl

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.

admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:31:28 +0000

Switzerland is a rich and prosper country, situated in the hearth of Europe at the foot of the Alps. It has been a farm and agricultural country for ages and has know turned to be an urban country where it’s Midland is a continuous urbanization. Although this changes urban planning is lacking in it’s mission to create a legible and intelligible land.

MAPS

admin — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 12:25:19 +0000

Urban sprawl

Main cities

Main roads

The Midlands

Switzerland as seen by Google Earth

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 — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:19:21 +0000

Swiss landscape is divided in three main regions, The Jura is a hilly and average altitude area, the plateau is the densest area and it is flat and slightly hilly. Agriculture and forest make it a very green zone where urbanization is more important every day. The third zone is the Alpine zone. This zone is of very low urbanization due to its topography.
Our research is focused on the plateau as it is the most built and sprawled zone. A wide range of vegetables and cereals are cultivated and stand next to small scale forest, giving an impression of a very green zone. This is of importance for the collective mental image of the country as it is perceived as an agricultural and green country and absolutely not as a built and infrastructured area.

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 09:34:23 +0000

A single house in the fields.

A low density group of villas.

A renovated farm cluster adjacent to the road.

Cluster of agricultural buildings.

Other form of a dense village.

Does density brings quality?

First generation suburban buildings.

It is possible to mix density and nature.

Densification without city.

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.

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 09:36:33 +0000

Is the parking slot the last shared space?

Public transport infrastructure as a meeting point.

Fenced collective playground.

Public space is attractive for commercial activities.

High level of design but no uses.

Informal public space.

Shared garden.

The street as a public space.

Suburban landscape architecture.

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.

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 09:37:54 +0000

The blind street.

Buildings and street are not connected.

Is the street an empty parking space?

Green street.

Suburban commercial street.

The bike lane takes over.

What is the space left to people?

Suburban promenade.

Car only street.

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.

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.

THRESHOLD

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 09:39:11 +0000

Constructed public-private line.

Vertical threshold.

Front door as back door.

Layers from private to public.

Commercial threshold.

Green semi-public access path.

Twin path to single family houses.

Is the car a sculpture in the garden?

Even the postman is not allowed in.

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.

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 09:39:55 +0000

Semi-private multi-levels building line.

No street alignment.

Large scattered blocks on a collective ground.

Picturesque village-like settlement.

Multi-purposes green buffer.

Autistic housing units.

Landscape is the monument at the end of the street.

Street without geometric rules.

Overdesigned infrastructure facing undesigned urban plan.

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.

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 09:40:49 +0000

With the new roads, the church is not the centre point anymore.

The shape of a house for commercial uses.

A public roof in a neighbourhood.

Is the public building acting as a landmark?

What makes it a public building?

A village restaurant for young and old.

Shine bright like a diamond.

Does a public building has to be different?

Signs of public activities in a private structure.

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.

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 09:41:48 +0000

Overdesigned external space.

The door is a showroom.

My front is your back.

Private jungle.

Behind the buttress.

Aseptic private lane.

Mini garden.

Specific activities toward the street.

Green island.

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.

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.