Introduction
The city of Paris is famous for its obsession and its long tradition of designing its urban spaces, fact demonstrated from the large number of more than 450 designed public spaces (gardens, squares, parks, promenades etc.) included in its greater area. In the same time, many of the parisian gardens and parks seem to be heritage from its royal past or presents from previous presidents and mayors of the city and often tend to be ‘museumfied’.
An exceptional example between this plethora of designed urban spaces Paris has to offer is Jardins d’Éole. Designed in 2005 from Michel and Claire Corajoud and Georges Descombes as a “living space” or “space for life”, Jardins d’Éole distinguishes itself from the rest of the cases for several reasons; Firtsly, its location: Cour du Maroc (as the site’s name was before its redesign and rename to Jardins d’Éole), was a 4,2 hectars former rail yard stripe, placed near the center of the city between the 18th and the 19th arrondisement, in an interesting but complex urban area, between the built environment and the railway. The surrounding destrict is historically inhabited by a low-income, predominately immigrant, multicultural, underprivilleged and diverse community of users. The new park is a fruit of ten years of activism and environmental mobilization of its community ,represented by a neighborhood association, claiming the space as essential for the improvement of their everyday life conditions in the most dense area of Paris. Finally, the sucessful role of Jardins d’Éole as an inclusive urban space and interactive platform for its users, trying to reduce social and spatial inequalities make it an innovative examble of suastainable urban design.
History of the site...
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...he linearity of the site and introduces different recreational and interactive functions to its visitors combined with environmental issues. Entering from south east an open lawn meant for picnics and relaxing is located between a linear space of a swatch of gravel meant to be a wildflower garden and the large clay wallunder the viaduct. The clay wall is created by the artist Carmen Perrrin and
Works Cited
Newman, Andrew; Contested Ecologies: Environmental Activism and Urban Space in Immigrant Paris , published online, City & Society, Vol. 23, Issue 2, 2011 p. 192–209
Malcolm, Woollen; Les Jardins d’Éole: extending the picturesque, Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes: An International
Quarterly, 33:4,2013, p. 290-304
Jole, Michel; The public of parks: in between observation and action, Urbani izziv, vol. 19, No. 2, Ljubljana, 2008
The TD Centre is a landmark of Toronto. It is one of the most recognizable elements of the downtown core. It has gained this status for two main reasons. The first one concerns its historical significance: the complex was one of the first of many skyscrapers built in the international style. The second reason is personified by the individual behind the planning and realization of the project: Mies van der Rohe. The building was the last high-rise the world-famous modernist created and therefore it embodied all of his concepts and beliefs on the international style. The complex as a whole stands out in the multitude of high-rises of the downtown core because of its typical, recognizable and repeated style. The original three point configuration by Mies has been expanded during the years with three new buildings by architectural firm Bregman and Hammond. Those new additions are different in the relationship they create and extend to the original buildings. In approaching the complex a distinct feature becomes clear. The complex itself is an urban extension of the international style. When entering the area both by car and as a pedestrian an individual is not only witness to a number of remarkable buildings but finds himself immersed in a modernist urban space. In this short analysis it is important to pay specific attention both to the type of construction and to the materials used. All of those elements are important in recognizing how the development of the TD Centre in the 60s shaped the architecture of downtown Toronto and became a widely imitated example of managing the public space surrounding a building.
Palace of Versailles is a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy during the reign of Louis XIV. It had raised France to supreme power and has made France a richest country in Europe. The palace and the gardens of Versailles are recorded into World Heritage by ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) in 1979 and had become the ideal royal residence and government in Europe for over a century. The palace is significantly influenced by classical ancient Greek and Roman architectures and mythologies, particularly the surrounding gardens and decorative features including the sculptures and fountains. This essay aims to explore the garden designs and decorative features under the influences of Louis XIV, and how they are used to glorify the king and demonstrate the wealth and power of Versailles. Firstly, this paper will talk about the history of Louis XIV and how he has developed into an absolute monarch. Secondly, the essay will analyse how the site layout of Versailles and gardens are formed in relation to Louis as the Sun King. Lastly, within historical context, certain important features of the gardens will be discussed mainly on their purposes and how they are influenced by the mythology, politics and cultures.
...ss of urbanization, Mount Royal Park and its main street, Park Avenue, presented a Montreal version of the application of the principles of the City Beautiful movement since the year of 1873 when their construction began. Before the proposal of having a park in Montreal and during the design of the park, New York Central Park had provided an excellent example of how a successful city park being designed, constructed and operated which supported and expedited the creation of Mount Royal Park in the following years. Between the year if 1821 and 1855, New York City almost quadrupled in population. As the city became crowded and crowded, people were drawn to the few existing open green spaces, mostly cemeteries, to get away from the stressful, busy and chaotic life that is typical in a metropolis. Therefore, although Central Park is not in the Commission’s Plan of 1811,
Aesthetic control in the city serves a number of purposes. For one, the zero-sum logic of interurban competition incentivizes the purification of urban space and the presentation of ‘cleanliness’ for the purposes of city marketing. As transfer payments decline as a source of revenue for municipal governments, cities are desperately attempting to enhance their international reputation for the purpose of attracting tourism and capital investment. The cleansing of visible poverty from urban space is accomplished through police harassment and displacement of visible poverty and other ‘undesirable’ uses of space(Kennelly 9). The city’s adaptation to market logics also influences the way urban space is produced and presented internally, to its own population. For example, concentrations of homeless people are said to deter visitors and consumers from traveling to and shopping in those parts of the city [BY WHO]. Visible homelessness is also targeted by city authorities because it disrupts attempts to render the city as a landscape (Mitchell 186). Rendering the city as a landscape is a means of presenting the individual with an illusory sense of control and freedom in the complex urban environment where control in fact belongs to the totalizing economy and freedom for some comes at the expense of freedom for others. The illusion of control is in a sense the way citizens are alienated from the constitutive parts and production of the city. Instead of seeing the realities of capital relations, or the activities of labour reproduction required daily to renew the urban workforce, citizens are presented with a stage on which the daily dramas of the “pacified public” can take place (Mitchell 186). On this stage, a certain kind of “legitimate” citizen expects a broad freedom to move through space without resistance or disturbance, such as may come from encountering or being confronted by
Siciliano talks about how La Haine explores the lingering effect of French colonialism. She talks about the the influx of immigrants from colonies to Paris in search of employment after World War Two. Banlieues was introduced to meet the increasing demand for housing shortage. Many of these immigrant are low skilled industrial worker. During the process of French deindustrialization, those workers are unable to find alternative employment. Therefore, these workers and their children become trapped in the banlieues. Siciliano also points out that while many activists seek to fight the system of oppression using a notion of “ a collective French identity”, they fail to realize that to self identify as French for the immigrants is to identify
That’s why it holds the title of most filmed public park in the world. Awesome!
Built in the 16th arrondissment in Paris, the L-shaped plan lies along the south end and east side of a private cul-de-sac. The shape of the structure was influenced by the site. The larger portion follows the road, the main axis running through the site, whilst the smaller section sits perpendicular, crossing the axis. The two pieces are contrasting in design; the larger a more dominant and robust living block built to house a family in the Jeanneret house and La Roche’s private areas on the other side. The smaller feels more delicate as it has no ground floor and is raised on pilotis, housing only the light and airy gallery space. Both exteriors mimic the intended use of the interior.
Building from my background of art and architecture, I have developed an understanding for both creativity and the technical. Through the years, the analysis of artworks evolved my ability to look closer at elements of art to find the cultural influences and perception of the artist. I consider the city itself to be a living piece of art, which can be broken down into comprehensible list of elements similar to those used in analyzing artworks. In recent years, the architectural classes have offered me a more technical way to view the city and individual buildings. Learning about the int...
‘Composed from Westminster Bridge’ invokes a strong sense of nature into the reader. It is from this that we can see the beauty of Wordsworth’s London. One can argue that it is the purpose of this sonnet to highlight the power of nature and how civilization fits in around it. Primarily this can be seen in the linguistic choices of the Sonnet, particularly the role of personification, the function of phonological features such as rhyme and rhythm and the position of secondary sources. Using this methodology we should be able to explore the awe inspired respect of nature and how the city of London meshes with nature.
At the height of the Second Empire, Paris was one of the leading centres of capitalist culture in Europe during the mid-nineteenth century, made possible by the city’s reconstruction. The modernisation of Paris initiated an unprecedented method of urban planning under Baron Haussmann. It is this concept of modernisation that people immediately think of in terms of Paris and modernity. This focus on Haussmannisation, however, obscures the fact that Paris was already changing before Haussmann, as was evident in the arcades that sprung up during the 1820s and 30s. Plans of renovating the city were already being thought of in order to manage problems of overcrowding, diseases, social upheavals and infrastructure collapse. However, these plans were never realised; it was the small business owners—or the petit bourgeoisie—who saw to the creation of the arcades that drove the changes made within the urban landscape of pre-Haussmann Paris.
Dubai has received prodigious attention for its enormous and rapid urbanization. As one of the seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates, the city has strived to become the world’s most global city that attracted plethora of tourists and businessmen from all over the world. The construction boom that rendered emblematic architectural buildings, soaring high-rises, and artificial islands caught the whole world’s attention. While people often discuss about its experimental architecture and they talk very little about its public spaces. Public spaces serving as gathering spots and as transitioning pathways between buildings are as important as each buildings. This paper is about these public spaces in Dubai that are often ignored and intended to identify the reasoning behind this phenomenon.
The simple layout of a place can make a big difference in the quality of life of a person. In order to fully understand the significance of sidewalks and their importance to the city and people, there must be a clear definition on what type of interactions sidewalks promote. For instance, according to Jan Ghel the “physical environment is one of the factors that influences the activities to a varying degree… outdoor activities, and a number of the physical conditions that influence them” (Ghel, 610). If all the conditions are met than the results are evident when a good environment is seen. Having a good environment can alter the broad spectrum of human activity. A good environment can lead to social activities which depend on the presence of others in public spaces. Ghel states that social activities include greetings and conversations between people, communal activities, and passive
Paris is the undisputed heart of France, and one of the most beautiful and interesting cities in the world. Armed with tickets for the Paris subway, or metro, one can spend a day (or a lifetime) visiting sights ranging from ancient Roman baths to ultramodern Pompidou Center, or simply relax in one of the city’s many parks and squares. Even in the oldest parts of the city, however, a vibrant present is part of the scene. For example, the Serene Cluny Museum, which showcases medieval art amid Romans ruins, opens onto the Boulevard St.-Michel, known locally as the Boul’ Mich’, in the lively student quarter. And in the amazing courtyard of the former royal palace, the Louvre, there is a glass pyramid, designed by Chinese American architect I.M. Pei, which in 1989 began to serve as a new entrance to the museum.
The assignment had chosen a case study from Antoni Gaudi that called ‘Park Guell’. It was a public park system that had gardens and architectonic elements that was located on top of the ‘Carmel Hill’ in a Barcelona of Spain. The designed of the park was design by Antoni Gaudi, a famous architect and the place was representing a Catalan modernism. This park was built between 1900 and 1914, and opened to let people visited the park in1926. In 1984, UNESCO was showed up the park a World Heritage Site.
If there are more people, more, density, and a good mixture of uses, it will be a safer city... You cannot find a single city that does not wish to make the city center more vibrant or livelier.” This quote from Jan Gehl, the principal of Gehl Architects, illustrates the importance of having a sustainable city. The Central Park project has showcased to the world on how the landscape we design or occupy, can affect our daily activities and surrounding neighborhood. It sets an example of how design must be appreciated as a crucial factor in sustainability and emphasized on the fact the connection of people and nature should not be ignored. All in all, landscape architects are the ones to determine the physical characteristics of the public realm environment, to decide whether a city is attractive to people and whether people will choose to live in the city in the long