The City and the City | a study of urban topology

The City and The CityA Study of Urban Topology

2014 John K Branner Research Fellowship Rudy Letsche

© 2014 University of California BerkeleyCollege of Environmental DesignDepartment of ArchitectureJohn K Branner Travel Research Fellowship

The City and The CityA Study of Urban Topology

2014 John K Branner Research Fellowship Rudy Letsche

vi

acknowledgements

special thanks to the branner family for the incredible opportunity to travel and research this topic for a year, and to christina huang for helping to coordinate the logistics of funding, leave, etc. thanks to nicholas de monchaux, who furnished me with several local contacts and sources on ideal cities and other topics on urbanism. thanks as well to kyle steinfeld, who helped get me a foothold in these topics.

in addition to the one hundred plus new people i met on these travels, i benefited greatly from some key individuals. in barcelona journalist jerry lazar helped me as i tweaked methodology in the first few weeks, and the office of arriola and fiol gave me a warm welcome. in fez i was shown wonderful arabic hospitality from saida benfous and family, mohammed ezzymoussi and the dar rbab staff. in casablanca reda channane took great care of me and made sure I saw more of the city than i would have on my own. in rabat driss benabdallah and his family did the same. thanks to the university toulouse school of architecture for showing me around le miraile quartier, and to jean-henri fabre for sharing archival documents from the construction of the school. in jakarta bahrul wijaksana gave me a lot to think about from one short meeting. in singapore jenn celesia was my rock, while michael weiner of gensler, stefano schiavon of uc berkeley, and andres sevtsuk of city form lab gave me some great insights. in cusco, my time was made special and productive thanks to jean-pierre protzen, german benavente, and julio rojas-bravo. and a special thank you to eduardo for shuttling me to the clinic when we thought I was going to die (we were mistaken). last but not least, thanks to fannie cheung for her loving support and abundant patience.

vii

contents

abstract literary references

I. proposal & methodology

II. mediterranean region

III. equatorial region

IV. latin american region

V. compendium compressions traces installation

bibliography

viiix

11

16

176

210

244246248250

254

viii

abstract

it is impossible to simultaneously design an entity of complexity such as a city, because architectural space is created by three influences: the designers, the users, and time.

if the goal for our cities is to elegantly accommodate more residents, use resources more wisely, and brace against changing climate patterns, then it is crucial to understand the mechanisms at work. what in the city can be ordered and optimized, and what could be left to evolve naturally? where is the line between the ideal and the authentic? how does that line move with physical and cultural latitude?

while building codes guide development to some extent, they do not effectively guide collective building form. form-based codes assure density with a particular massing, but are often too restrictive and prohibit the natural evolution of the city.

architects must look to the space that is created by built forms - both inside and out - to understand how that space accommodates flows operating in larger networks or patterns. what bigger story are these mechanisms telling us, and how do we find them? some mechanisms like the grid are fairly obvious, but others are most evident in urban topology - where systems overlap or break. urban topology is where the city is changing or has the potential to change.

ix

by teasing the composed city from the emerged city, or vice versa, we can begin to map what was intended against what actually is there, and trace these differentials back to the flows they accommodate - people, energy, water, and capital. understanding urban topology is key to designing urban resilience.

therefore, a study of urban potential lies somewhere between the composed city and the emerged city - between the city and the city.

throughout this study i investigate how architecture engages the urban, how the urban engages the landscape, and how technology and data are being engaged to represent, create and enhance the built environment.

x

two cities actually occupy much of the same geographical space, but via the volition of their citizens (and the threat of the secret power known as breach) they are perceived as two different cities.

a denizen of one city must dutifully ‘unsee’ (that is, consciously erase from their mind or fade into the background) the denizens, buildings, and events taking place in the other city — even if they are an inch away. this separation is emphasized by the style of clothing, architecture, gait, and the way denizens of each city generally carry themselves. residents of the cities are taught from childhood to recognize things belonging to the other city without actually seeing them. ignoring the separation, even by accident, is called “breaching” - a terrible crime by the citizens of the two cities, even worse than murder.

the twin cities are composed of crosshatched, alter, and total areas. “total” areas are entirely in one city, the city in which the observer currently resides. “alter” areas are completely in the other city, and so must be completely avoided and ignored. between these are areas of “crosshatch”. these might be streets, parks or squares where denizens of both cities walk alongside one another, albeit “unseen.”

copula hall exists in both cities under the same name. rather than crosshatch, it essentially functions as a border. it is the only way in which one can legally and officially pass from one city to another. passing through the border passage takes travellers, geographically (or “grosstopically”), to the exact place from which they started - only now in the other city.1

1 mielville, china. the city & the city.

the city & the city

xi

invisible city: eudoxia“in eudoxia, which spreads both upward and down, with winding alleys, steps, dead ends, hovels, a carpet is preserved in which you can observe the city’s true form.

“at first sight nothing seems to resemble eudoxia less than the design of that carpet, laid out in symmetrical motifs whose patterns are repeated along straight and circular lines, interwoven with brilliantly colored spires, in a repetition that can be followed throughout the whole woof. but if you pause and examine it carefully, you become convinced that each place in the carpet corresponds to a place in the city and all the things contained in the city are included in the design, arranged according to their true relationship, which escapes your eye distracted by the bustle, the throngs, the shoving.

“all of eudoxia’s confusion, the mules’ braying, the lampblack stains, the fish smell is what is evident in the incomplete perspective you grasp; but the carpet proves that there is a point from which the city shows its true proportions, the geometrical scheme implicit in its every, tiniest detail. it is easy to get lost in eudoxia: but when you concentrate and stare at the carpet, you recognize the street you were seeking in crimson or indigo or magenta thread which, in a wide loop, brings you to the purple enclosure that is your real destination.

“every inhabitant of eudoxia compares the carpet’s immobile order with his own image of the city, an anguish of his own, and each can find, concealed among the arabesques, an answer, the story of his life, the twists of fate. an oracle said that one of the two objects has the form the gods gave the starry sky and the orbits in which the worlds revolve; the other is an approximate reflection, like every human creation. is the true map the carpet, or “the city of eudoxia, just as it is, a stain that spreads out shapelessly, with crooked streets, houses that crumble one upon the other amid clouds of dust, fires, screams in the darkness.”1

1 calvino, italo. invisible cities.

the difference between the emerged city (dense, traditional, low-rise and sometimes unnavigable) and the composed city (ordered, legible, sometimes sterile) is rich with architectural possibilities. through comparative studies of actual and ideal urban form at similar physical and cultural latitudes, i propose a hybrid form of urbanism that intelligently combines the idealized world of energy flows, circulation and infrastructure, and the real, living tissue of the city. in an era of sweeping, informal urbanization, diminishing resources, and environmental instability, i believe the answer lies not in the city as it is, or in the city as we might like to to be, but in the fruitful co-existence and cross-fertilization of the two - the city and the city.

12

proposal

13

the city emergedthe emerged city exhibits an urban texture that was created over a long period of time carrying embedded knowledge. these parts benefit from the patina of time - some boast a reclaimed or reused infrastructure that creates a space that is nearly impossible to create in a single, simultaneous design. informal activities and networks are part of this realm.

the city composedthe composed city exhibits symmetry or optimized geometry derived from performative requirements like traffic flow, defense, or finance. the modern era brought forth a new urban texture with larger, taller buildings standing alone, like pavilions in ever larger swaths of open land. the walking city gave way to the driving city.

the city intersectedwhere do the emerged city and the composed city coexist? where is one informing the other? where do informal networks and flows infiltrate ideal urban fabric? where is order amid a seemingly chaotic, formless city? where is disorder amid a seemingly ordered city?

14

topology in terms of design, usage, and time

what is the culture of space in a given city? : : variation between districts or neighborhoods? : : mechanisms that carve and hold space? : : measure for continuity | public-private | individual-collective-corporate : : architectural typologies created? : : courtyards | passages | enclaves | slums

what is the underlying structure or nature of the city? : : original settlement, axis, topography, hydrology how is the urban fabric changed? : : squeezed | stretched | ruptured | ripped | torn

research questions

15

formal & informal : : formal in informal | informal in formal : : formal to informal | informal to formal : : networks: physical | visual | aural light & shadow : : direct light | reflected light | blocked light

total & alter : : exculsive realms : : scale | proportion | material | texture

crosshatch & breach : : inclusive realms : : scale | proportion | material | texture

research themes

paris

lyon

toulousemarseille

barcelona

tetouan

rabat

fes

marrakesh

palmanova

venice

florencesan giovanni valdarnorome

naples

casablanca

16

spain: : barcelona

italy: : rome: : naples: : florence: : san giovanni valdarno: : venice: : palmanova

morocco: : fes: : casablanca: : marrakesh: : tetouan: : rabat

france: : marseille: : toulouse: : lyon: : paris

mediterranean [jan - may]

paris

lyon

toulousemarseille

barcelona

tetouan

rabat

fes

marrakesh

palmanova

venice

florencesan giovanni valdarnorome

naples

casablanca

17

18

spain : : barcelona

19

20

barcelona is a city with a few highly distinct districts, offering plenty in the way of urban coexistence and “breach”.

: : eixample is barcelona’s modern extension.

: : ciutat vella is barcelona’s old town.

: : barcino is the original roman settlement.

barcelona, spain

21

22

eixample means “extension” in the catalan language.

it was a very large urban project that connected several small towns by developing the plain between them with an autonomous system of isomorphic city blocks.

the eixample

23

24

a system of chamfered blocks with courtyards oriented to 45 deg optimizes exposure to daylight.

the city composed

25

26

every apartment in the entire district will experience this kind of light at some period of the day.

the city composed

27

28

each block was designed to have a communal courtyard, but the courtyards were gradually filled in as the city developed...

...with buildings that required larger footprints (like this skylit grocery store below).

the city emerged

29

30

these days, the city is actively clearing the courtyards to restore them to their original intention - green space.

several of these are publicly accessible, creating a network of courtyard parks to escape from the noise of the street, walk the dog, read a book, or play on the monkey bars.

the city emerged

31

32

ciutat vella means “old city” in the catalan language. ciutat vella grew in stages - here we see evidence of the city walls, moved outwards two times. the walls prohibited the city from spreading out, resulting in a hyper-densification. when density became too great, the walls were torn down and a new one built.

the heavy red lines indicate avenues that were carved out of the dense urban fabric toward theend of the 19th century.

ciutat vella

33

34

ciutat vella was not designed to optimize exposure to daylight, but there are some surprisingly well lit spaces.

reflected light is effective here due to the dense, low-rise fabric and the color of the exterior walls.

the city emerged

35

36

the effect is more powerful when the buildings pull back slightly to create a small square.

the city emerged

37

38

on the topic of squares, consider this one near a transition of the two fabrics (eixample + ciutat vella).

activated by many different itineraries, the space is set up with a break in the dense urban fabric by richard meier’s museum of contemporary art.

the city intersected

39

40

skateboarders, tourists, toddlers, strollers, and cafe loungers in a harmonious urban coexistence.


41

42

image: joan busquets, 2005.

the city composedbarcino is the original roman settlement, over 2000 years old.

43

the informal activity of roman armies setting up camp became more formal over time, and the layout concepts would become the basis for permanent town settlements throughout the roman empire.

characterized by two major cross streets, the decumanus maximus (east/west axis) and the cardo maximus (north/south axis).

the cardo-decumanus is a major intersection, where one would find the forum (town square) surrounded by the town’s most important buildings, like courts and temples.

44

the city composed

45

46

barcino illustrates two simple behavioral phenomena that help shape cities:

: : the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

: : sustained informal activities will acquire an architecture over time.

those shortcuts that have altered barcino from a grid of roman superblocks to a maze of winding medieval alleyways

the city emerged

47

48

the original roman forum temple had been used by medieval builders as structure for their own buildings.

until the 1990’s, some lucky people had these enormous capitals in their living rooms!

those apartments have been removed and the columns now enjoy a bit of air in their own hidden courtyard.


49

50

parts of barcino’s wall remain.


51

52

53

54

55

56

compressions

ciutat vella: ferran-princessa axis

57

eixample: gran via

58

one urban itinerary:

i mapped all of my own walks, runs, and rides in the city. they are shown here, colored according to the historical phase of the city.

transverse itineraries

59

60

italy : : rome

61

62

rome is perhaps the most layered occidental city.

: : the ancient city is marked by ruins unearthed at every major construction project.

: : in baroque times a pilgrimage network was made manifest by pope sixtus

: : in modern times, mousselini attempted a new city to the south as a catalyst to future growth southward.

the city composed

63

64

baroque rome provides an example of both city design (top down) and urban ordering (bottom up) approaches.

the classical city emerged from local rulesets, while in the 1600s, pope sixtus gave form to the christian pilgrimage between the seven votive churches by carving straight streets out of the dense urban fabric.


65

66

tension was a baroque spatial innovation using long, straight streets with a focal object on axis, drawing the eye up and out.

the catch here is that the tension network was acting on an emergent order, too - that of pilgrims moving between the votive churches.

sixtus merely reinforced what was already occurring by widening, possibly straightening the streets, and putting focal points at each church - the obelisks.

ow one can walk through the streets of Rome and overhear tourists saying things like, “It’s all about the obelisks.”

the city composed

67

68

piazza del popolo hosts three radials of the pilgrimage network. this symmetry is further expressed by two self-similar churches at the ends of the blocks.

the city composed

69

70

a line extending between the obelisks in front of rome’s two most important churches (san giovanni in laterno to st. peter’s) passes directly through the campidoglio, designed by michelangelo.

the city composed

71

72

to the south of rome’s center lies EUR.

it was supposed to be the catalyst for rome’s future growth to the south of the city.

today it remains a satellite of the city and serves as a business center akin to la defense in paris.

the city composed

73

74

EUR (Esposizione Universale Roma) was built in the 1930s under Mussolini, in the Italian rationalist style.

a pared down revival of classical architecture, fascist in that the planning is rectilinear and axial as was classical roman town planning, but scaled for the automobile.

though EUR never became a city, (it is a corporate office park with a residential component), EUR does provide a glimpse of what european cities might have looked and felt like if the other side had won world war two.

the city composed

75

76

EUR is architecturally ordered in plan, but at street level it is disordered and sometimes unnavigable.

cars clutter the streets. sidewalks end suddenly in a sea of cars, and the pedestrian is left to find his own way through.

the city composed

77

78




79

80

italy : : florence

81

82

like barcino, florence’s center was originally a roman settlement. unlike barcino, florence’s center has maintained the roman grid in large part, mainly thanks to a building type - the palazzo.

the city composed

83

84

florence’s center boasts an intact roman cardo-decumanus with forum-cum-square.

half florence’s town center maintains a superblock grid thanks to the palazzo building type.

in italy, the palazzo is a building with courtyards, generous proportions and symmetry.

the city composed

85

86

87

88




89

90

castelfranco

firenzuola

san giovanni valdarno

terranuova

several florentine new towns were built from scratch in the late 13th century as florence rolled out a strategy to organize its countryside.

the city composed

91

florence

scarperia

castelfranco

terranuova


firenzuola

92

castelfranco


the new towns were inspired by florence’s center, gridded as it was from the roman settlement. The central square was instrumental in bringing a group of disparate, uneducated country-folk together to become urbane over time.

some of the people from these towns went on to become influential citizens of florence.

comparison of town squares

the city composed

93

firenzuola

terranuova

94

italy :: san giovanni valdarno

95

96

the towns were modeled after the gridded center of florence, but exhibit even more design thought in their relational geometry.

the city composed

97

98

despite medieval origins, these towns mark the beginning of a renaissance of ideal town planning through relational geometries and proportions.

the city composed

99

100

the loggia of the church comes to the mid-point of the cross street.

the geometry is reinforced in the paving design.

the city composed

101

102

during sunday dinner, 3pm.

after sunday dinner, 5pm.

when i arrived sunday afternoon, the town was desolate. i thought i made a huge mistake coming here. by 5pm the town was buzzing with activity. the main street and the town square still serve as the gathering space for the town.

this convention is due only to the schedule adhered to culturally - the sunday afternoon italian family dinner.

the city emerged

103

104




105

106

italy : : palmanova

107

108

palmanova in northeast italy was built in 1593 to defend the eastern borders of the republic of venice from turkish invasion and austrian pressures. the choice of a nine-pointed star-like plan unites the influences of the renaissance cultural debate and the most advanced solutions of military engineering at the time.

the city composed

109

110

sforzinda, filarete’s ideal city of the late renaissance

square parks were planned at all radials at the second web, but either only a few were executed.

the city composed

111

112

the large central square was designed to host military assemblies. today, without its original function, the space feels vacant and oversized.

the city composed

113

114

the regular geometry of the street layout results in particular building form-types at various corners.

the city emerged

115

116

designed for 20,000 inhabitants, the maximum was only ever 10,000 people. 5,000 of those were military.

the abandoned barracks take up a lot of area, and have not yet been adapted to new use.

still closed to civilians, only after seeing this trace did i realize the barracks made up a large swathe of the city on which i never stepped foot.


117

118

morocco : : fes

119

120

: : 789 AD - fes el-bali (medina): : 1276 AD - fes el-jdid (extension): : 1916 AD - ville-nouvelle (new city)

fes was the capital of morocco until 1925. fes el-bali, the original city, is one of the world’s largest car-free urban areas. this is the area where i focused my study.

fes was a wealthy and noble place, steeped in a high culture of religion, philosophy, and education. fes has been called the “mecca of the west” and the “athens of africa”.

fassis, the name for people from fes, carry a reputation for shrewd business acumen and high culture. they are found all over morocco now, especially in casablanca, and also in france.

fes, morocco

121

122

: : 789 AD - fes el-bali (medina): : 859 AD - al qarawiyyin mosque

the al-qarawiyyin mosque-religious college was founded by fatima al-fihri in 859 with an associated school (madrasa), which subsequently became one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the historic Muslim world. It is the oldest existing, continually operating and the first degree awarding educational institution in the world according to UNESCO, and is sometimes referred to as the oldest university.

al-qarawiyyin itself is named after the qairaouan mosque in tunisia, the oldest mosque in the maghreb and the cradle of the muslim maliki rite.

notes (field):fes medina is labyrinthine and intense. the call to prayer here is haunting and arresting - the whole medina from hill to valley fills with a ghostlyl but commanding, cacaphonous wail. i’ve been offered hash, beer, and massage about 100 times in three days. i cannot take a walk without attracting a “guide” that would even follow me home, some helping me through the maze, some seemingly trying to get me more lost and confused in order to pick my pockets. there are usually enough “eyes on the street” to spot this and call it out. the scams seem infinite, but so far amusing.

fes el-bali (medina)

123

124

the al-qarawiyyin mosque-religious college is the epicenter of the city. surrounding the mosque itself are various madrasas (religions schools and colleges) that are associated with the mosque.

the next ring is made up of souks (open markets).

the next ring is made up of industrial uses - factories, crafts, and the like, the heaviest of which are situated along the river.

outside this ring are residential buildings, almost all of which are the riad typology.

the city emerged

125

126

outside the gates of the medina one finds informal markets. these markets represent the very phenomenon that began the islamic cities - commercial activity set up in tents somewhere in the desert. given a road, these activities would grow the city organically outward along the road.

this is exactly how fes grew from its beginning mosque-university complex and surrounding commerce, industry and residence, along the talaa kbira, acquiring architecture over time.

the city emerged

127

128

there is a definite fractal nature to the streets of fes, of which there are over nine thousand! no gates separate the public and private realms, but as the streets narrow, one feels there is some kind of threshold beyond which it is no longer open to non-residents.

as i approached these thresholds, locals would invariably tell me “no, this way the medina is closed” and instruct me to turn around.

the city emerged

129

130

extending from the main mosque, the attarine spice market lines the main street, talaa kbira. by day it is highly activated with all manner of townfolk. by night it is a lonely, harrowing place.

the city emerged

131

132

talaa kbira is a mixing realm, through which everyone in the medina at some point passes.

a dynamic street with open/closed conditions, different times yield different spatial expreriences.

the city emerged

133

134

fes streets take one through light and shadow, in a harrowing path to some unknown place.

some of these dark passages end in pleasant surprises.

the city emerged

135

136

derbs are dead-end alleyways, unless you are this man, who seems to have a key.

derbs narrow to a degree that indicates a threshold, beyond which is a more private realm.

the city emerged

137

138

as one follows the streets, some spaces emerge that are semi-public

and other spaces emerge that are semi-private.

the city emerged

139

140

the riad is the most prevalent building type in the islamic city. it is a private realm with rooms organized about an open courtyard, and a roof deck.

as the family grew, more bates (rooms) were built. this is how the city aggregated.

these interior realms are very private, with no exterior view windows, and the entrance jogs to prevent a visual connection from the street.

the city emerged

141

142

in islamic culture, the cafe is the man’s social, non-religious realm.

the rooftop is the woman’s private realm.

the city emerged

143

144

145

146

my paths over a two week period. a great amount of reporting from the upper left, where i lived, but the talaa kbira showing how important a street it is, leading to the mosque.


147

148

france : : marseille

149

150

marseille offers a glimpse into the past and would-be future. in the center of town, the proportions are human scale. in le corbusier’s unite d’habitation the scale is also human, but the urban surroundings are decidedly not.

marseille, france

151

152

in the ville radieuse, the scale is for automobiles. the human scale does not enter the picture until one comes into the building.

the city composed

153

154

155

156

inside the unite d’habitation, the children’s rooms and the hotel rooms are proportioned according to one modulor. i found the rooms to be quite comfortable, though the ceiling really need not be this low. adhering exactly to the ideal geometry is not necessary.

the city composed

157

158

159

160

ville radieuse, a city scaled with machines at the center

compressions

161

quai du port, a city scaled with man at the center

162

france : : lyon

163

164

lyon is an ancient city that started on the banks of the rhone river. it grew eastward, away from the hill, eventually occupying the confluence of two rivers.

the areas of study were early-mid 20th century social housing solutions put forth by tony garnier and morice leroux.

lyon, france

165

166

the quartier etats-unis was a realized version of the residential part of tony garnier’s cite industrielle.

being so remote from lyon’s center, it is a relatively quiet, unpopulated part of town. therefore the streets do not have a lot of life.

the layout is symmetrical due to the economy of the project. the public and private realms are separated by an open, linear courtyard. instead of a gate, there is a typical pergola that creates a threshold.

the city composed

167

168

the original design was four stories, which the government increased to six. in this picture one sees the original niche dimensions, designed to bring daylight deeper into the living spaces.

since the original had no elevators in the design, they have been retrofitted. this eats up a good deal of niche space that was meant for daylight.

the city emerged

169

170

a typical pergola serves as threshold between public and semi-private space.

as a non-resident i felt like a trespasser when i walked through the semi-private linear courtyards.

the city composed

171

172

173

174

175

singapore

jakarta

176

singapore: : singapore

indonesia: : jakarta

equator [jun - aug]

singapore

jakarta

177

178[sin] singapore

singapore : : singapore

179

180

singapore’s urban structure is fractal - the local neighborhoods with architecture and culture characteristic to southeast asia are like beads on a necklace of a global infrastructure.

from a distance it looks like a mix, but in reality the city is made up of very individual pockets, with almost a monoculture of ethnicities as denizens of their respective neighborhood.


181

182

little india a much more local story over here

marina baytop of the world - financially and spatially

the city emerged

183

184

the outdoor culture of the global and the local

the city emerged

185

186

the city intersectedthe scale differential between singapore’s downtown financial district and the neighboring shophouses on boathouse row is extreme.

some shophouses have lost their claim to a scalar mismatch with traffic arteries. this kind of scale juxtaposition kills street life.

187

188

the city emergedthe sunday gathering of the filipina maids on singapore’s main retail thoroughfare, orchard street.

little india’s population on the street far exceeds the capacity of the traditional five foot way.

189

190

self-trace showing the historic-cultural areas visited in color.


191

192

indonesia : : jakarta

193

194

jakarta is a very large city. i spent all my time in the center, though even the center is absolutely huge. it is not a city in which one can get around easily. i focused on two areas - bendungan hilr to the south, and batavia in north jakarta.

jakarta, indonesia

195

196

jakarta has a trans-city bus line with its own dedicated lane, which i use everyday and thank allah it exists. otherwise, there is no getting around efficiently without a scooter.

sadly, some developers are purposely choking the kampongs (local lane neighborhoods), in an effort to strangle the life out of them, and force the locals to sell their land. this has happened along the main roads, and the replacement product is glass-skinned office/residential towers on campus tissue, walled and gated to the surroundings, accessed by automobile.

in my experience, the kampungs offer all of the redeeming qualities for this city. they are fun, easily walkable, with local food options, and the people are just lovely.


197

198

local jakartathe wet markets are where to find kampong locals doing their shopping

global jakartamalls are a major part of the culture


199

200

global jakartawater is managed carefully in the rich neighborhoods ...

local jakarta... and not so well in the poor neighborhoods


201

202

local jakartainformal food and services sets up shop outside the walls and gates of...

global jakartagated walls of complexes - offices and residences


203

204

205

206

207

208

jakarta is an enormous city. areas of focus were bendungen hilir to the south and batavia to the north.


209

lima

cusco

210

peru: : cusco: : lima

latin america[sep - dec]

lima

cusco

211

peru : : cusco

214

cusco was the capital of the incan empire in the andean region of south america. it lies in present day peru, and is mainly a tourist attraction at the center, but outside the center is where the locals live.

cusco, peru

215

216

the incan city took the shape of a puma (one of the three most sacred animals in incan culture).

the historical center lies mainly inside this area, with the head of the puma a very sacred site, sachsaywaman, which was the equivalent of a citadel in incan times.

the puma shape comes from topography. there is a river flowing from the “front paws” toward the “tail”, another along the back. these rivers now run underneath the city.

the heavily touristed historical center lies inside the region shaped like a puma. the locals of cusco reside outside this area.

cusco, peru

217

218

“to understand what cusco used to look like, one must travel to machu picchu and ollantaytambo. upon seeing these wondrous places, you must then imagine - cusco was even better.”1

cusco means “naval of the earth” in the inkan language. it was the capital of the inkan empire in the andean region of south america.

at the naval of the puma (effectively the naval of the naval, as central as one could be in the inkan universe) was the inti wasi, or temple of the sun. from the heart of the temple extend seqe - datum lines distributed among the four provinces of the empire and along which sacred sites (wakas) were built.

i attempted to delineate the composed, native city from the imposed, spanish city and the modern city from the historic city.

1 rojo-bravas, julio. personal interview, sep 5, 2014.

the city composed

219

220

the most sacred site in cusco, the inti wasi, or temple of the sun, which later became the qoricancha, or palace of gold, now is the site of the santa domingo church.

the church’s nave is directly atop the most sacred part of the most sacred site of the incan empire - from this point all the seqe extend throughout the empire, aligning numerous other sacred sites, miles away.


221

222

spanish arches meet incan walls


223

224

arches of the santa domingo church were build right off an incan temple wall.

the cloister of santa domingo is built atop the most sacred site in cusco.


225

226

terraces like these used to cover the hillsides of cusco.

the terrace walls are still intact in some places, though later building has engulfed them or used them as structure.


227

228

right: a preserved incan street, now culminating in the plaza mayor, surrounded by european-style churches.

below: an incan doorway and an incan path culminating in a spanish-style courtyard.


229

230

some incan roads were closed by the spanish as they redesigned some of the city to their own liking.

some incan roads still exist inside preserved courtyards. they are inaccessible to the public.


231

232

some incan walls were covered by the spanish as they redesigned some of the city to their own liking.

some incan walls still exist behind spanish ones.


233

234

despite the original city and its partial uncoverings, the real cusco of the present day is located outside the heavily touristed historic center.

one must ironically head outside the original city gates to encounter the real cusco. on this side, goods are marketed for cusquenos, and sold to cuscquenos.

the city emerged

235

236

237

238

239

240

loreto: an incan street

compressions

241

pumacurco: a spanish street

242


i mapped all of my own walks and rides in the city. they are shown here, colored according to the historical phase of the city.


243

244

245

Compendium

246

mediterranean :: spain :: barcelona mediterranean :: italy :: rome

mediterranean :: italy :: florencemediterranean :: italy :: naples

as i traveled i used gps to trace my paths through each city. i did this for all modes of movement - car, train, biking, running, walking.

here those maps are printed at the same scale. it becomes evident those cities that require more automated transport due to their extents, and those that are very walkable, due to their density. it is counter-intuitive that singapore, one of the densest cities in the world, would be the most extensive mapping.

traces : : transverse itineraries

247

mediterranean :: italy :: palmanova

mediterranean :: morocco :: fez

mediterranean :: morocco :: casablanca

equator :: singapore :: singapore

equator :: indonesia :: jakarta latin america :: peru :: cusco

248

renaissance and modernist in marseille: quai du port (left) and unite d’habitation (images by author)

old and new in barcelona: ciutat vella (left) and eixample (images by author)

compressing time and spacethese images were taken every thirty paces with a 35mm focal length at the same horizon line, then overlaid. the idea is to challenge traditional opticality by compressing both time and space, highlighting rhythms and flows unique to a place. repetitive objects and spatial proportions are thus amplified, while subtle differences exhibit vibration. the following diptychs show sharp contrast of urban fabric from the same cultural and physical latitude. an old town and a new town, a renaissance arcade and a modernist loggia, a local neighborhood and a global district, a native street and a conquester’s colonial street.

compressions

249

native and colonial in cusco, peru: incan street (left) and spanish street (images by author)

local and global in jakarta, indonesia: kampong (left) and jl. sudirman (images by author)

islamic and french in fes, morocco: medina (left) and ville nouvelle (images by author)

250

the city and the city was installed for three weeks in february 2015 at wurster hall gallery, uc berkeley along with the two other branner fellows’ work.

installation

“the city and the city” branner fellowship installation, february 2015

251

“2014 branner fellows” gallery installation, february 2015

252

bibliographybacon, edmund n. design of cities. new york: penguin, 1974.

brown, g. z. and mark dekay. sun, wind & light. new york: john wiley & sons, 2001.

busquets, joan. barcelona: the urban evolution of a compact city. cambridge: harvard gsd, 2005.

busquets, joan and felipe correa. cities x lines. cambridge: harvard gsd, 2006.

calvino, italo. invisible cities. orlando: harcourt, 1974.

cohen, jean-louis and monique eleb. casablanca: colonial myths and architectural ventures. new york: monacelli, 2002.

curtis, william j. modern architecture since 1900. new york: phaidon, 1996.

de sola-morales, manuel. ten lessons on barcelona. collegi d’arquitectes de catalunya, 2008.

knowles, ralph. sun rhythm form. cambridge: mit press, 1981.

sanford kwinter. “wildness: prolegomena to a new urbanism.” far from equilibrium: essays on technology and design culture. barcelona: actar. 2008. pp. 186-193.

kostof, spiro. the city shaped. london: thames and hudson, 1991.

lynch, kevin. a theory of good city form. cambridge: mit press, 1981.

maki, fumihiko. investigations in collective form. st. louis: washington university, 1964.

mieville, china. the city & the city. new york: random house, 2009.

morris, a e j. history of urban form: before the industrial revolution. essex: longman, 1994.

253

The City and the City | a study of urban topology

Documents

branner family

productive thanks

ideal cities

formbased codes

collective building

codes guide development

great care

great insights