Urban design is more than just “urban design”

Danny Oswell who I found very interesting, gave us a presentation in the second week of the lecture class on the impact of economics in urban design including the following points:

SECTION 1

• Purpose of the lecture                                                                           

We understand that socio-economics is very important to urban design and is the basis for urban design, but more importantly we need to understand how different socio-economic conditions can be addressed through our design.This will create new designs to disrupt the past.

• Socioeconomics in urban design

Urban design is the art of creating space, but the main consideration when we design should be people, we need to understand people’s behavioural needs and use some tools to measure some factors.

SECTION 2

• The Economic Assessment Toolkit

We need to use a number of toolkit:

1.Demographics

Comprehensive demographics are necessary for urban design, so that designers can tailor healthy urban environments to different levels of the population.For example, the common problem of modern society, ‘ageing’, requires a large number of demographics to be investigated so that appropriate designs can be applied to accommodate and improve.

Huningue Home for the Elderly, France      

Dominique Coulon & associés

This is a senior retreat located on the banks of the river. In addition to the living spaces, there are also communal spaces such as a computer room, workshops, a botanical garden and a sports arena. The designer has used warm red terracotta tiles and wood. These warm colors and a homely feel promote the elderly to get out of their rooms and interact with others. The areas are also divided into simple materials that are easily recognisable to the elderly. However, while using simple materials to differentiate the areas, there are also many different types of interesting seating for the elderly to sit and talk. The individual rooms are made of simpler and easier to clean materials and the large openings provide plenty of natural light.

2.Income and Wealth

There should be different urban designs for different areas of economic development, which does not mean that the design is good or bad but rather that it is appropriate.

 3.Suochengli Library, China

Straightforward architectural design

Suochengli was formerly known as the Qi Shan Thousand-House of the Ming Dynasty sea defence, more than 600 years ago. Nowadays, it is a traditional historical district preserved in the city and one of the icons of old Yantai life. The Suochengli Community Library was converted from the courtyard attached to the nearly 300-year-old Zhang Family Ancestral Hall.A system of corridors is embedded in the courtyard The cloister system reshapes the order and hierarchy of the spaces entering the courtyard, transforming it from ‘one’ to ‘many’ and establishing a basic pattern of spatial use: a flexible outdoor area and four green courtyards.

4.Culture & Heritage

In urban design we need to fully respect local traditions and contexts. If we design for idealism the city will become more and more similar and people will lose the feeling of being ‘at home’.

5.Site & Location

It is also important to take into account the location of the site, the climate, the presence of mountains, rivers, etc.

6.Resources

When designing a site, local resources are also part of the design and it is important to learn to make full use of these resources, tangible or intangible, so that they can be integrated into the design, which will have a local character as well as reducing costs to play a sustainable role.

7.Market Potential

A good urban design can have a corresponding economic impact on the local area, and sometimes this impact is huge, which is the beauty of urban design, using the right design to make the city exude its unique genius.

I think that all these points can be felt and reflected upon in the following case:

Emei-Gaoqiao Town

Sichuan LEDA Landscape Design Co., Ltd.

Futian village, like tens of thousands of ordinary villages in China, was once distanced from the wave of urbanisation. The problems of population exodus, receding fields and forests, and the old and the young being left behind are obvious, but have been transformed into excellent examples of urban design.

After planning and integrating the existing resources, the site is reshaped from three main sections: fish ponds, farmland and streams, to create a native and natural “lake + fields + streams” rural landscape pattern, connecting the lost vitality of the space point by point, while the increase of supporting service points depending on the type of industry also brings opportunities for villagers to participate in the construction and operation of the site. The additional service points, depending on the type of industry, also provide opportunities for villagers to participate in the construction and operation of the site.

reference:https://www.gooood.cn/gaoqiao-town-emei-china-by-sichuan-leda-landscape-design-co-ltd.htm

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