presentation on town planning trends in Europe ...

1. HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE V B ARCH 21/09/2016
• IN THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD, AGRICULTURE AND OTHER TECHNIQUES
FACILITATED LARGER POPULATIONS THAN THE VERY SMALL COMMUNITIES
OF THE PALEOLITHIC, WHICH PROBABLY LED TO THE STRONGER, MORE
COERCIVE GOVERNMENTS EMERGING AT THAT TIME.
• THE PRE-CLASSICAL AND CLASSICAL PERIODS SAW A NUMBER OF CITIES
LAID OUT ACCORDING TO FIXED PLANS, THOUGH MANY TENDED TO
DEVELOP ORGANICALLY.
• DESIGNED CITIES WERE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE MINOAN,
MESOPOTAMIAN, HARRAPAN, AND EGYPTIAN CIVILISATIONS OF THE
THIRD MILLENNIUM BC (SEE URBAN PLANNING IN ANCIENT EGYPT). THE
FIRST RECORDED DESCRIPTION OF URBAN PLANNING APPEARS IN THE EPIC
OF GILGAMESH: "GO UP ON TO THE WALL OF URUK AND WALK AROUND.
INSPECT THE FOUNDATION PLATFORM AND SCRUTINISE THE BRICKWORK.
TESTIFY THAT ITS BRICKS ARE BAKED BRICKS, AND THAT THE SEVEN
COUNSELLORS MUST HAVE LAID ITS FOUNDATIONS.
• DISTINCT CHARACTERISTICS OF URBAN PLANNING FROM REMAINS OF THE
CITIES OF HARAPPA, LOTHAL, DHOLAVIRA, AND MOHENJO-DARO IN THE
INDUS VALLEY CIVILISATION (IN MODERN-DAY NORTHWESTERN INDIA AND
PAKISTAN) LEAD ARCHEOLOGISTS TO INTERPRET THEM AS THE EARLIEST
KNOWN EXAMPLES OF DELIBERATELY PLANNED AND MANAGED CITIES.
• THE STREETS OF MANY OF THESE EARLY CITIES WERE PAVED AND LAID OUT
AT RIGHT ANGLES IN A GRID PATTERN, WITH A HIERARCHY OF STREETS
FROM MAJOR BOULEVARDS TO RESIDENTIAL ALLEYS.
• ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT MANY HARRAPAN HOUSES
WERE LAID OUT TO PROTECT FROM NOISE AND TO ENHANCE RESIDENTIAL
PRIVACY; MANY ALSO HAD THEIR OWN WATER WELLS, PROBABLY BOTH FOR
SANITARY AND FOR RITUAL PURPOSES.
• THESE ANCIENT CITIES WERE UNIQUE IN THAT THEY OFTEN HAD DRAINAGE
SYSTEMS, SEEMINGLY TIED TO A WELL-DEVELOPED IDEAL OF URBAN
SANITATION
PRE-CLASSICAL
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
MESOPOTAMIAN

2. HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE V B ARCH 21/09/2016
PLANNING OF MILETUS
Medieval Europe
• THE GREEK PHILOSOPHER HIPPODAMUS (5TH CENTURY BC) IS REGARDED AS THE FIRST TOWN PLANNER AND
‘INVENTOR’ OF THE ORTHOGONAL URBAN LAYOUT. ARISTOTLE CALLED HIM ‘THE FATHER OF CITY
PLANNING', AND UNTIL WELL INTO THE 20TH CENTURY, HE WAS INDEED REGARDED AS SUCH.
• GREEK CITY-STATES STARTED TO FOUND COLONIES ALONG THE COASTS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN, WHICH
WERE CENTRED ON NEWLY CREATED TOWNS AND CITIES WITH MORE OR LESS REGULAR ORTHOGONAL
PLANS
HIPPODAMUSORTHOGONAL URBAN LAYOUT
• FOLLOWING IN THE TRADITION OF HIPPODAMUS ABOUT A CENTURY LATER, ALEXANDER COMMISSIONED THE
ARCHITECT DINOCRATES TO LAY OUT HIS NEW CITY OF ALEXANDRIA, THE GRANDEST EXAMPLE OF IDEALISED
URBAN PLANNING OF THE ANCIENT HELLENISTIC WORLD, WHERE THE CITY'S REGULARITY WAS FACILITATED BY
ITS LEVEL SITE NEAR A MOUTH OF THE NILE.
CITY OF ALEXANDRIA,

3. HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE V B ARCH 21/09/2016
Medieval Europe
• The Romans used a consolidated scheme for city planning, developed for civil convenience. The
basic plan consisted of a central forum with city services, surrounded by a compact, rectilinear
grid of streets. A river sometimes flowed near or through the city, providing water, transport,
and sewage disposal. Hundreds of towns and cities were built by the Romans throughout their
empire. Many European towns, such as Turin, preserve the remains of these schemes, which
show the very logical way the Romans designed their cities
• They would lay out the streets at right angles, in the form of a square grid. All roads were
equal in width and length, except for two, which were slightly wider than the others. One of
these ran east–west, the other, north–south, and intersected in the middle to form the centre
of the grid. All roads were made of carefully fitted flag stones and filled in with smaller, hard-
packed rocks and pebbles. Bridges were constructed where needed. Each square marked by
four roads was called an insula, the Roman equivalent of a modern city block
STREETS
INSULA
RIVER
ALLEYS
• Each insula was about 80 yards (73 m) square. As the city developed, it could eventually be
filled with buildings of various shapes and sizes and criss-crossed with back roads and alleys
600 years old Fortress town Elburg in The Netherland• The deep depression around the middle of the 14th century marked the end of the period of great
urban expansion.

4. HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE V B ARCH 21/09/2016
THE BASIC LAYOUT OF THE CITY :
• IS AN EIGHT-POINT STAR, CREATED BY OVERLAYING TWO SQUARES SO
THAT ALL THE CORNERS WERE EQUIDISTANT.
• THIS SHAPE IS THEN INSCRIBED WITHIN A PERFECT CIRCULAR MOAT.
• THE TALISMANIC POWER OF GEOMETRY AND THE CRUCIAL IMPORTANCE
OF ASTROLOGY, FILARETE PROVIDES, IN ADDITION TO PRAGMATIC ADVICE
ON MATERIALS, CONSTRUCTION, AND FORTIFICATIONS, NOTES ON HOW
TO PROPITIATE CELESTIAL HARMONY WITHIN SFORZINDA.
• FILARETE'S IDEAL CITY, BUILDING ON LEON BATTISTA ALBERTI'S DE RE
AEDIFICATORIA, WAS NAMED "SFORZINDA" IN COMPLIMENT TO HIS
PATRON; ITS EIGHT-POINTED SHAPE, CIRCUMSCRIBABLE BY A "PERFECT"
PYTHAGOREAN FIGURE, THE CIRCLE, TOOK NO HEED OF ITS UNDULATING
TERRAIN IN FILARETE'S MANUSCRIPT
RENAISSANCE EUROPE(1300-1600
FILARETE'S IDEAL CITY "SFORZINDA"
PALMANOVA OF ITALY
RADIAL STREETS
FORTIFIED CITY

5. HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE V B ARCH 21/09/2016
ENLIGHTENMENT EUROPE
• AN EXCEPTION TO THIS WAS IN LONDON AFTER THE GREAT FIRE OF 1666 WHEN, DESPITE MANY
RADICAL REBUILDING SCHEMES FROM ARCHITECTS SUCH AS JOHN EVELYN AND CHRISTOPHER
WREN, NO LARGE-SCALE REDESIGNING WAS ACHIEVED DUE THE COMPLEXITIES OF RIVAL
OWNERSHIP CLAIMS
• THE GRAND MODEL FOR THE PROVINCE OF CAROLINA, DEVELOPED IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE
GREAT FIRE, ESTABLISHED A TEMPLATE FOR COLONIAL PLANNING. THE FAMOUS OGLETHORPE
PLAN FOR SAVANNAH (1733)
• THE BASIC PLAN UNIT IS A WARD, 600 FEET TO A SIDE IN THE NORTH-SOUTH DIRECTION, AND 540
FEET TO 600 FEET IN THE EAST-WEST DIRECTION. STREETS AND BUILDING LOTS ARE ORGANIZED
AROUND A CENTRAL OPEN SPACE OR SQUARE. EACH WARD HAS A NAME. WARDS WERE
ORIGINALLY ORGANIZED AS URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS WITH DIRECT CORRELATION TO GARDEN
AND FARM LOTS IN OGLETHORPE'S EXPANDED REGIONAL PLAN SYSTEM.
• THE STREETS BOUNDING THE WARDS ALLOW UNINTERRUPTED MOVEMENT OF TRAFFIC.
INTERNAL STREETS ARE INTERRUPTED BY THE SQUARES TO CREATE A PEDESTRIAN-FRIENDLY
SCALE.
• AN EARLY MAP OF SAVANNAH, DRAWN BY JOHN MCKINNON CIRCA 1800.
• THE RESULTING PATTERN FEATURES EIGHT BLOCKS TO A WARD. THE LARGER FOUR BLOCKS ON
THE NORTH AND SOUTH SIDES OF THE SQUARE ARE CALLED TYTHING BLOCKS AND ARE FURTHER
DIVIDED BY EAST-WEST LANES.
• FOUR SMALLER BLOCKS FRONT THE SQUARES ON THE EAST AND WEST. THESE ARE CALLED TRUST
BLOCKS.
• TYTHING BLOCKS ARE SUBDIVIDED INTO LOTS 60 FEET IN WIDTH THAT ARE SOMETIMES FURTHER
DIVIDED INTO INCREMENTS OF 20 OR 30 FEET, THEREBY CREATING A DIVERSE PATTERN OF
BUILDING SIZES AND TYPES.
• NEW AND PERFECTLY ORDERED CITY, THE KING COMMISSIONED THE CONSTRUCTION OF BIG
SQUARES, RECTILINEAR, LARGE AVENUES AND WIDENED STREETS – THE NEW MOTTOS OF
LISBON. THE POMBALINE BUILDINGS WERE AMONG THE EARLIEST SEISMICALLY PROTECTED
CONSTRUCTIONS IN EUROPE.
OGLETHORPE PLAN
FAMOUS OGLETHORPE PLAN FOR SAVANNAH (1733)

6. HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE V B ARCH 21/09/2016
Eixample district of Barcelona
• THE EIXAMPLE IS CHARACTERIZED BY LONG STRAIGHT STREETS, A
STRICT GRID PATTERN CROSSED BY WIDE AVENUES, AND SQUARE
BLOCKS WITH CHAMFERED CORNERS (NAMED ILLES IN
CATALAN, MANZANAS IN SPANISH).
• THIS WAS A VISIONARY, PIONEERING DESIGN BY ILDEFONS CERDÀ,
• HE CONSIDERED TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORT ALONG WITH SUNLIGHT
AND VENTILATION IN COMING UP WITH HIS
CHARACTERISTIC OCTAGONAL BLOCKS, WHERE THE STREETS BROADEN
AT EVERY INTERSECTION MAKING FOR GREATER VISIBILITY, BETTER
VENTILATION AND (TODAY) SOME SHORT-STAY PARKING SPACE.
• THE GRID PATTERN REMAINS AS A HALLMARK OF BARCELONA, BUT
MANY OF HIS OTHER PROVISIONS WERE IGNORED: THE FOUR SIDES OF
THE BLOCKS AND THE INNER SPACE WERE BUILT INSTEAD OF THE
PLANNED TWO OR THREE SIDES AROUND A GARDEN; THE STREETS
WERE NARROWER; ONLY ONE OF THE TWO DIAGONAL AVENUES WAS
CARRIED OUT;
• THE INHABITANTS WERE OF A HIGHER CLASS THAN THE MIXED
COMPOSITION DREAMED OF BY CERDÀ. THE IMPORTANT NEEDS OF
THE INHABITANTS WERE INCORPORATED INTO HIS PLAN, WHICH
CALLED FOR MARKETS, SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS EVERY SO MANY BLOCKS.
TODAY, MOST OF THE MARKETS REMAIN OPEN IN THE SPOTS THEY
HAVE BEEN FROM THE BEGINNING
ENLIGHTENMENT EUROPE

7. HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE V B ARCH 21/09/2016
• THE INDUSTRIALISED CITIES OF THE 19TH CENTURY HAD GROWN AT A
TREMENDOUS RATE, WITH THE PACE AND STYLE OF BUILDING LARGELY
DICTATED BY PRIVATE BUSINESS CONCERNS. THE EVILS OF URBAN LIFE FOR
THE WORKING POOR WERE BECOMING INCREASINGLY EVIDENT AS A MATTER
FOR PUBLIC CONCERN. THE LAISSEZ-FAIRE STYLE OF GOVERNMENT
MANAGEMENT OF THE ECONOMY, IN FASHION FOR MOST OF THE VICTORIAN
ERA, WAS STARTING TO GIVE WAY TO A NEW LIBERALISM THAT CHAMPIONED
INTERVENTION ON THE PART OF THE POOR AND DISADVANTAGED. AROUND
1900, THEORISTS BEGAN DEVELOPING URBAN PLANNING MODELS TO
MITIGATE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE INDUSTRIAL AGE, BY PROVIDING
CITIZENS, ESPECIALLY FACTORY WORKERS, WITH HEALTHIER ENVIRONMENTS
MODERN URBAN PLANNING
GARDEN CITY MOVEMENT
• "GARDEN CITY" DERIVED FROM THE IMAGE OF A CITY BEING SITUATED WITHIN
A BELT OF OPEN COUNTRYSIDE (WHICH WOULD CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY
TO FOOD PRODUCTION FOR THE POPULATION), AND NOT, AS IS COMMONLY
CITED, TO A PRINCIPLE THAT EVERY HOUSE IN THE CITY SHOULD HAVE A
GARDEN.
GARDEN CITY THE THREE MAGNET
• (1) THE PURCHASE OF A LARGE AREA OF AGRICULTURAL LAND WITHIN A RING
FENCE; (2) THE PLANNING OF A COMPACT TOWN SURROUNDED BY A WIDE
RURAL BELT; (3) THE ACCOMMODATION OF RESIDENTS, INDUSTRY, AND
AGRICULTURE WITHIN THE TOWN; (4) THE LIMITATION OF THE EXTENT OF THE
TOWN AND PREVENTION OF ENCROACHMENT UPON THE RURAL BELT; AND (5)
THE NATURAL RISE IN LAND VALUES TO BE USED FOR THE TOWN’S OWN GENERAL
WELFARE.
• AT THE CENTRE OF THE CITY WOULD LAY A GARDEN RINGED WITH THE CIVIC AND
CULTURAL COMPLEX INCLUDING THE CITY HALL, A CONCERT HALL, MUSEUM,
THEATRE, LIBRARY, AND HOSPITAL. SIX BROAD MAIN AVENUES WOULD RADIATE
FROM THIS CENTRE. CONCENTRIC TO THIS URBAN CORE WOULD BE A PARK, A
COMBINATION SHOPPING CENTRE AND CONSERVATORY, A RESIDENTIAL AREA, AND
THEN, AT THE OUTER EDGE, INDUSTRY. TRAFFIC WOULD MOVE ALONG AVENUES
EXTENDING ALONG THE RADII AND CONCENTRIC BOULEVARDS
WELWYN GARDEN CITY
LETCHWORTH NEW TOWN

8. HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE V B ARCH 21/09/2016
• N THE 1920S, THE IDEAS OF MODERNISM BEGAN TO SURFACE IN
URBAN PLANNING.
• THE INFLUENTIAL MODERNIST ARCHITECT LE CORBUSIER PRESENTED
HIS SCHEME FOR A "CONTEMPORARY CITY" FOR THREE MILLION
INHABITANTS (VILLE CONTEMPORAINE) IN 1922.
• THE CENTREPIECE OF THIS PLAN WAS THE GROUP OF SIXTY-STORY
CRUCIFORM SKYSCRAPERS, STEEL-FRAMED OFFICE BUILDINGS
ENCASED IN HUGE CURTAIN WALLS OF GLASS.
• THESE SKYSCRAPERS WERE SET WITHIN LARGE, RECTANGULAR,
PARK-LIKE GREEN SPACES. AT THE CENTRE WAS A HUGE
TRANSPORTATION HUB THAT ON DIFFERENT LEVELS INCLUDED
DEPOTS FOR BUSES AND TRAINS, AS WELL AS HIGHWAY
INTERSECTIONS, AND AT THE TOP, AN AIRPORT.
• LE CORBUSIER HAD THE FANCIFUL NOTION THAT COMMERCIAL
AIRLINERS WOULD LAND BETWEEN THE HUGE SKYSCRAPERS.
• HE SEGREGATED PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION PATHS FROM THE
ROADWAYS AND GLORIFIED THE AUTOMOBILE AS A MEANS OF
TRANSPORTATION.
• AS ONE MOVED OUT FROM THE CENTRAL SKYSCRAPERS, SMALLER
LOW-STORY, ZIG-ZAG APARTMENT BLOCKS (SET FAR BACK FROM
THE STREET AMID GREEN SPACE) HOUSED THE INHABITANTS. LE
CORBUSIER HOPED THAT POLITICALLY MINDED INDUSTRIALISTS IN
FRANCE WOULD LEAD THE WAY WITH THEIR EFFICIENT TAYLORIST
AND FORDIST STRATEGIES ADOPTED FROM AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL
MODELS TO RE-ORGANISE SOCIETY
CONTEMPORARY CITY
CRUCIFORM BUILDINGS
CONTEMPORARY CITY
• MODERNIST PLANNING FELL INTO DECLINE IN THE 1970S WHEN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF CHEAP, UNIFORM TOWER BLOCKS ENDED IN MOST
COUNTRIES, SUCH AS BRITAIN AND FRANCE. SINCE THEN MANY HAVE BEEN
DEMOLISHED AND REPLACED BY OTHER HOUSING TYPES. RATHER THAN
ATTEMPTING TO ELIMINATE ALL DISORDER, PLANNING NOW CONCENTRATES
ON INDIVIDUALISM AND DIVERSITY IN SOCIETY AND THE ECONOMY; THIS IS
THE POST-MODERNIST ERA
LANDING FOR AIRPLANES