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Mediating the Spatiality of Conflicts: International Conference Proceedings
Get PDFConflict, when dislodged from its conventional understanding as a process and system of war and destruction exclusively, may be apprehended as an experimental method for analysis and synthesis, as a potent resource for pedagogy, for disruptive design and for the production of theory. In this sense, conflict produces more than the eradication of (the possibility of) life and its supporting structures: conflict produces transitional spaces at different scales, of differentiated material ecologies and site-specific meanings in relation to their global position. Conflicts are both locations and explanations of often ‘seductive’ images of destruction offered by popular (and other) media: ruined architectures, dead (or barely alive) bodies, forced migratory movements, impermanent infrastructures and settlements, as well as the tracing and construction of borders, real-estate driven post-war reconstruction processes, etc.
The emphasis on the mediatic aspect in the concept of conflict, may be seen as a way of triggering trans- and interdisciplinary discussions, conversations and encounters that serve as a negotiation between conditions of violence and new – or alternative – possibilities for everyday life. Artistic mediations could be as effective as violence in resolving conflicts, but operate through other means and through other channels, thus truly producing new power relations and alternative ways of political struggle. This exposing of conflict and violence through the artistic work is an activist act, but more importantly an artistic and technological mediation. The agency of the artistic work in terms of conflict, then, is situated in the capacity of visualising the conflict, creating awareness of its consequences, its side-effects, its collateral damage. And the creating of awareness and the becoming of fertile ground for protest and the creation of alternative realities.
At a three-day conference held at the TU Delft on November 6-8, 2019 researchers, scholars, activists, practitioners and artists presented individual papers that addressed the relationships between spatiality, mediation and conflict from a variety of perspectives. In addition to academic paper contributions, the conference welcomed other proposals in different formats and media: audio-visual material (film, video, photography), digital or physical archives, experimental design proposals, installations, performances, etc.
The thematic core of the conference explored new – or innovative – theoretical and methodological approaches and insights on: (1) Spaces of conflict as transitional spaces of material interactions between violence and everyday life; and (2) Spaces of memory as transformative space of violence)
Anchoring the design process: A framework to make the designerly way of thinking explicit in architectural design education
Get PDFThis thesis proposes a framework to address the design process in design education. Building upon the assumption that teachers, being professional designers, do not discuss the design process in the architectural design studio and do not have a vocabulary to do so, five generic elements or anchor points are defined which represent the basic design skills. The validity of the framework and the assumption is tested respectively in interviews with a variety of designers and in observations of dialogues between teachers and students. In the final test the design process is addressed in the design studio: the first experiences show that students’ understanding and self-efficacy may increase. The five elements enable teachers and students to address the designerly attitude. The way designers reason consist of: (1) experimentation; an experimentation-based way of thinking; how to explore and reflect, (2) the frame of reference; a knowledge-based way of thinking; how to work with common and proven ‘professional’ knowledge, and (3) the guiding theme; a value-based way of thinking; how to take a position in the design process. Next to that, (4) the laboratory is the (visual) language or set of means designers use to think designerly, and (5) the domains are the playing field of the designer, the product aspects s/he should address
Design with forms as well as patterns
Get PDFThe research investigates How can the morphological approach in combination with the pattern language approach assist urban designers to achieve historical continuity in urban design both on theory and application levels.
This research overviews the developments and applications of the two approaches worldwide with a special emphasis on the Dutch school. The Dutch morphological reduction technique and the Dutch interpretation of a pattern language are used in the case study–Wuhan, a Chinese city–to study the transformation of urban form and life style. The multi-scalar historical morphological analysis results in an atlas that consists of four series of analytical maps on three levels of scale as well as 13 spatial structuring elements of the city; whereas the public life study results in a pattern book consisting of 20 individual patterns and three pattern languages. The practical implications and relevance for -- the design of -- the future of the city are discussed.
The research is set up in a systematic and symmetrical manner for comparison of and reflection on the two approaches. It concludes that:
The morphological approach can be used to interpret first space (perceived space) and convey its information into second space (conceived space), whereas the pattern language approach can be used to interpret third space (lived space) and convey its information into second space (conceived space).
The morphological approach has a tendency to work from large scale to small scale and the pattern language approach tends to be built up from small scale to large scale, whereas urban design works with multiple scales at the same time.
The morphological approach and the pattern language approach provide means for urban designers to systematically recognize historical layers so as to distill the meaning in the physical and non-physical contexts respectively. Consirately adding another layer that contains the contemporary meaning (design intervention) to these recognized layers is the way to pass down and simultaneously generate incremental change in the tradition of the context. This results in historical continuity and thus in permanence in urban design.
The morphological approach, the pattern language approach, and urban design are processes in themselves and can be combined into one integrated process.
The morphological approach, the pattern language approach and urban design are characterized by reduction, abstraction, interpretation, and communication.
Some properties of the two approaches can be seen as counterparts, because the roles these properties play in the design process tend to be similar:
—— Individual homogeneous areas vs Individual patterns;
—— Structural homogeneous areas vs Anchoring points/ Structuring patterns;
—— Secondary connections in homogeneous areas vs Linkages between patterns;
—— ? / Typology of homogeneous areas vs Clusters of pattern
beyond the echo chamber: International Design Seminar 2019
Get PDFINDESEM - International Design Seminar - is a biennial with workshops, lectures and debate founded in 1962 and re-initiated in 1986 by Herman Hertzberger. This publication reviews and reflects on the 2019 edition of the seminar; explorations on the position of the architect in a rapidly developing, (digitally) connected society. Nowadays, the amount of available knowledge to designers is becoming sheer endless. Whether or not willingly, this forces designers, architects and urban planners to take position in a globalised changing world.
By whom or what are you influenced? What is the scope of your work? What message do you want to convey? Who is it precisely you’re designing for? In short, what defines the echo chamber wherein one operates? INDESEM 2019 forms a critical stage to confront students with their respective echo chamber, the extent to which it is perforated or segregated and to (re)define it, based on critical debate.
INDESEM 2019 has been contributed to by:
Winy Maas, Momoyo Kaijima,Laurens Jan ten Kate, Stefan Metaal, Studio Ossidiana, Alun Jones, Kees Kaan, Reinier de Graaf, Donna van Milligen Bielke, ZUS, RAAAF, Ma Yansong, Francine Houben, Eko Prawoto, Federica Sofia Zambeletti, fala atelier, Dick van Gameren, Nelson Mota, Thijs Asselbergs, Salomon Fausto, Mark Pimlott, Machiel van Dorst
African New Towns: An adaptive, principle-based planning approach
Get PDFSince the economic shifts of the 1990s, New Towns have become an increasingly popular approach to urban development across the African continent. While New Towns are not a new development model, their contemporary materialisation often targets middle- and highincome buyers, leaving no space for low-income residents. Strict regulations in these exclusive developments often impede spatial appropriations by the informal sector such as fresh markets, unregulated housing, street kiosks and ‘public’ transit options. As a result, this approach may exacerbate spatial segregation and increase the visibility of economic inequality.
This research addresses contemporary African New Towns as a group through the lens of urban design, identifying shared spatial challenges across a dataset of 146 New Towns. Through three case studies (Sheikh Zayed City, Egypt; BuraNEST, Ethiopia, and Kilamba, Angola) it takes a deeper look at the idiosyncrasies of individual New Towns, and the diversity of examples within this group. By bringing together wider trends with the case studies, this study translates challenges into potentials for future New Towns in the form of adaptive planning and design principles. Through a series of semi-structured interviews, transdisciplinary workshops and Research Through Design exercises, the principles are tested, refined, and validated by peer review.
The study concludes that these principles can be an effective starting tool for developers, planners, and decision-makers initiating New Towns in Africa. It also concludes that the principles must be adapted locally according to geographic, political, and social contexts and urgencies
Securing Healthy Circular Material Flows In The Built Environment: The Case Of Indoor Partitioning
Get PDFMulti-family buildings usually have a fixed subdivision in units with standard layouts. However, households are all different and change over time, as so do their needs and desires. With this in mind, the Open Building concept, which originated in the 1960s, proposed two levels of intervention and decision-making: the (collective) ‘support’ and (individual) ‘infill’. Although the Open Building approach has been embraced conceptually, with a new wave of interest in the Netherlands in recent years, it is remarkably overlooked in the actual design and construction of housing. The current attention for Circular Building puts, once again, the spotlight on Open Building. This renewed attention is due to the shared benefits around flexibility, and as such Circular Building and Open Building are two sides of the same coin. However, there is a big difference between accommodating unforeseen use of space and accommodating foreseen circularity-conditions for material management. Moreover, thus far little attention has been paid to residential user perspectives or the operational processes of Circular Building product and material cycles.
Securing healthy circular material flows in the built environment cannot be the objective of one industry, let alone one organisation, but reshuffles whole value networks. This doctoral research adopts multiple perspectives and cuts through different scales and disciplines to derive criteria for indoor partitioning, with an emphasis on user health and well-being, flexibility and circularity. Although focused on partitioning, the findings can be applied to other components, such as kitchen cabinets, furniture, stairs, or to the interior side-sheeting and insulation of walls and ceilings in energy renovations
Who shot Le Corbusier? The architect of the century and his photographers
Get PDFWho were Le Corbusier’s photographers? The question is seldom asked yet is germane to underÂstanding the architect’s work. Le Corbusier used photography to promote modern architecture in ways no others did. He directed the photography of his buildings, selected the images that he liked, cropped them, abstracted them, and placed them on the pages of his many books. He mediated the medium of photography maniÂpulating visual facts in an era when “the camera never lied”. Yet always he began with images that others provided him. Photographers and advancing photo-technology were essential and when they changed, his imagery changed, and between 1922 and 1965 both changed often. Once a craft practiced by skilled technicians with large-format cameras and glass plate negatives, by the mid-1930s, architectural photography had become an art that could be executed by amateurs with hand-held cameras, faster films, and superb lenses. This altered the nature of the photograph and subsequently Le Corbusier’s understanding of his endeavor. For him, photography never simply documented a completed building, it created a new one. He saw through photography.  
The Hidden School - EAAE Annual Conference 2019, Zagreb: Book of Abstracts
No full textThe EAAE Annual Conference of 2019 is titled ‘The Hidden School’, aiming to discuss an architecture school’s true character, the substance and the quality of architectural education in the broadest sense, and that which is beyond the stated curricula, yet – whether concretely manifested or subliminally perceived – embodies the culture of the school.
The Hidden School can be observed through a range of tacit aspects or conspicuous specificities which make the educational path a unique one. It is the content that can be embedded within the syllabus, learned informally, personified by educators, the attributes and activities of students, or the spaces it takes place in. Bearing this in mind, reading between the curricular lines is crucial in evaluation, but is it possible to develop tools for the assessment of the ‘hidden’? If the hidden school exists in parallel or as a background process, a self-generated search for fundamental answers, and its interpretation, manifestation or legibility has a multitude of facets, how can these aspects be captured?
The conference, hosted in 2019 by the Faculty of Architecture in Zagreb, focuses upon the subliminal quality of architectural education, that which is beyond the stated curricula and is hard to document through quality evaluation procedures. It can be observed through several indicative aspects, often contributing to the identification of what makes the ‘true’ spirit or substantial quality of the school and uniqueness or peculiarity of its educational path. It can also be the tacit meaning situated between the lines of the syllabus or generated by the students that contribute to it and the educators that personify it, the various shapes of informal learning, or the spaces it takes place in
Territories -in- between: A Cross-case Comparison of Dispersed Urban Development in Europe
Get PDFThere is an increasing body of literature suggesting that the conventional idea of a gradual transition in spatial structure from urban to rural does not properly reflect contemporary patterns of urban development and their potential for sustainable development. Furthermore, it is argued that large parts of the dispersed urban areas of Europe are neglected in urban and spatial planning policies. Such areas tend to be labelled simply as sprawl, though there is little evidence about whether such dispersed development is more or less sustainable than other forms of urban development. Moreover, evidence points in the direction that a large amount of dispersed urban development also asks for different planning approaches and instruments, which reflect the complexity and network structure of theses specific settlement patterns.
The research introduces the concept of territories-in-between (TiB) to address the issues surrounding dispersed urban development and to contribute to the understanding of sustainable urbanisation. TiB is an umbrella term that avoids the simple dichotomy of spatial structure into ‘urban’ and ‘rural’. It also avoids the notion of an urban-rural continuum, and is not limited by cultural connotations that come with some other terms like Zwischenstadt, Cittí diffusa or Tussenland, because those terms belong to a specific place and are not generic.
A cross-case comparison research design was chosen to avoid an approach that is too contextspecific and solution-oriented but which is able to develop methods and principles that can be transferred to other geographical contexts. Ten cases in five countries were studied with the aim to answer the following questions:
—— What spatial structures characterise dispersed urban areas in Europe?
—— Which morphological and functional structures of dispersed urban areas offer the potential for more sustainable development? If so, how can this potential be mapped and measured to inform regional planning and design?
—— Are there similarities and dissimilarities concerning potentials of dispersed urban areas in different locations, planning cultures, topographies and histories?
These questions were answered in detail in four papers, which are summarised below.
Beyond urban-rural classifications: characterising and mapping territories-in-between across Europe
Much of the physical territory of Europe does not fit classic ‘urban-rural’ typologies but can best be described as ‘territories-in-between’ (TiB). There is considerable agreement that TiB is pervasive and very significant. However, typologies of territory or spatial development continue to employ only degrees of either urban or rural. Similarly, spatial planning and territorial development policies rarely make use of the notion of in-between areas but tend instead to divide the territory into urban and rural zones. Questions have been raised therefore, about the lack of understanding of territories-in-between and the lack of attention given to them in planning policy. This paper contributes to a better understanding of TiB, by proposing a method for their characterisation and mapping. It asks if there can be a common definition of TiB that reflects consistent and distinctive characteristics across the great variety of spatial development contexts in Europe. It proposes spatial and demographic criteria for their definition, mapping and comparison. The comparison with widely used urban-rural classifications shows that the notion of TiB has three advantages: (i) it maps the complexity of the spatial structure of urbanised areas on a regional scale, and thereby helps to overcome the prevalent idea that urbanised regions are characterised by a spatial gradient from urban centre(s) to rural periphery; (ii) it emphasises the network structure of territories-in-between and the underlying connectivity of places with different functions; and (iii) it raises awareness that in some parts of Europe a settlement pattern has developed that cannot be understood as either urban or rural.
Towards sustainable territories-in-between: a multidimensional typology of open spaces in Europe
The improvement of ecosystem services provided by open spaces in dispersed urban areas is a crucial challenge for sustainable spatial development in Europe. The typology presented in this article illustrates the different potentials that open spaces in territories-in-between have across ten cases in Europe. Unlike other typologies, neither function nor form is used for the classification, but the potential interaction of open spaces with social, technical and ecological networks. Therefore, the typology informs regional spatial planning and design about the potential ecosystem services in networked urban regions. Consequently, the importance of territories-in-between, which are often neglected by mainstream spatial planning and design, for sustainable development is highlighted.
Comparing the landscape fragmentation and accessibility of green spaces in territories-in-between across Europe
The positive effects provided by green spaces on human well-being in dispersed urban areas is a potential advantage in urban development and a key challenge for sustainable spatial development in Europe. This article presents a methodology that allows for the comparison of the potential of green spaces in territories-in-between across Europe, in a way that crosses the fields of urban ecology and urbanism. The article adds to the existing knowledge and understanding of the relation between the spatial organisation of systems of green spaces and their accessibility to biodiversity and human wellbeing. First, it adapts a green space fragmentation index in a way that it can be applied to the specific spatial characteristics of territories-in-between. Second, it combines the fragmentation index with an indicator for the accessibility of green spaces in order to integrate aspects of ecology, human wellbeing and the spatial heterogeneity of the relation between them. The methodology is applied to ten areas across western Europe in order to inform decision and policy makers including urban planners, designers and environmental agencies. The approach enables assessment of the potential of the system of green spaces for biological diversity and human well-being in an integrated manner.
Territories-in-between: investigating forms of mixed-use in Europe’s dispersed urban areas
A large part of Europe’s population lives in dispersed urban settlements, much of it labelled as sprawl: monofunctional low-density urbanisation. There is increasing evidence though that this may be a too simplistic way of describing them, as some of these territories-in-between (TiB) urban and rural have undergone a process of densification and diversification. This paper investigates whether and how mixed-use appears in TiB. The paper uses data on the location of economic activities and the residential population at a 500 m by 500 m resolution. It concludes that in the eight cases in four European countries mixed-use is widespread and that more than 65 per cent of the area is mixed. Moreover, the paper demonstrates, by developing a multi-scalar typology of settlement characteristics including measures of grain, density, permeability and centrality, that local and regional settlement characteristics can explain the location and intensity of mixed-use areas. Although the building types and form of local urban tissue vary significantly in mixed-use areas, we conclude that across all four countries, the cross-scale settlement characteristics are similar.
Atlas of territories-in-between
The four papers are completed by an Atlas of Territories-in-between and a meta-analyses across all papers and cases. The Atlas presents a rich compendium of original maps illustrating the morphological, functional and relational properties of TiB, and the resulting potentials for present and future sustainability. The cross-case comparison of the ten dispersed urban areas across Europe uses 25 indicators to assess the current state and potentials for the future sustainability of these areas. The indicators cover the aspects of the provision of different ecosystem services, multifunctionality and mixed-use. The methods developed to assess the potential for future sustainable development combine both regional and systemic aspects with local and place-specific elements. It does so drawing on extensive modelling and spatial analyses of the settlement patterns, systems of built and unbuilt open spaces as well as on demographic and economic location patterns.
Conclusions
Do dispersed urban areas have distinct characteristics? In sum, the findings show that dispersed urban areas in Europe are quite distinct from urban and rural areas and that they share characteristics from one place to another. The findings also show that the well-worn notion of a continuum from urban to rural does not stand up to the evidence, and is a crude simplification of the complexities and socio-ecological systemic relations which characterise TiB. It follows that effective spatial planning for such areas needs to be built on a more careful analysis of characteristics and potential for sustainable development.
The research investigated three aspects of sustainable spatial development, the potential of multifunctionality, the provision of ecosystem services and the presence and potential for mixed-use. The potentials for multi-functionality in TiB go beyond the buildings. Especially grey open spaces provide a significant potential for multifunctionality. Greenspaces have an inherent potential through multifunctional use to not only lessen the negative impact of climate changes but also to provide a positive effect on the liveability of citizens.
The maps presented in this study show that the most common green spaces, but also significant parts of grey spaces in TiB have the potential for multiple ecosystem services. The form of the potential is very distinct according to the spatial relation of a specific open space to its centrality as a resulting characteristic of the street network, accessibility to and connectivity of services as well as densities of services, production and consumption.
Mixed-use, preferably integrated into a pedestrian-oriented environment, is a further aspect of sustainability. The research shows that TiB are more mixed than commonly referred to. The typology presented in this paper shows that mixed-use in TiB could be related to specific settlement characteristics. The characteristics investigated were: grain, density, permeability, centrality and closeness to transit stations and motorway entries.
This leads to a generalised conclusion: the networks of small towns and cities form a robust spatial structure that can facilitate multi-functionality, mixed-use and ecosystem services, on both local and regional scales. But these qualities are under pressure by one-dimensional planning approaches which tend to focus on densification only. There is a significant potential to develop green and grey open spaces along with the network of grey infrastructures to provide ecosystem services and also facilitate multi-functionality
The Privatisation of a National Project: The settlements along the Trans-Israel Highway since 1977
Get PDFThe settlements along the Trans-Israel Highway illustrate the privatisation of the national settlement enterprise. To understand this process, this dissertation focuses on the settlement production mechanism, which consists of the reciprocal interests of the government and various private groups to develop and domesticate the border area between the State of Israel and the occupied West-Bank - the Green-Line. Centring on the spatial privileges the state granted to diverse spatial agents, this dissertation examines the manner in which different favoured groups were given the power to colonise, plan, develop and market space as a means to enhance the state’s power over it. Investigating the gradual transformation of this production mechanism, this dissertation explores the increasing privatisation of the local economy and culture, as well as how this was manifested in the built environment. Examining the modifications in the architectural and urban products this mechanism produced, this dissertation analyses the materialisation of the privatised national settlement project and how it transformed together with the changing political and economic interests