The Concise Townscape

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change of levelAny account of one's emotional re­actions to position must include thesubject of levels. Below level pro­duces intimacy, inferiority, enclosureand claustrophobia, above level givesexhilaration, command, superiority,exposure and vertigo; the act ofdescending, implies going down intothe known and the act of ascendingimplies going up into the unknown.There is the strange correspondenceof similar levels across a deep gap,near but remote, or the functional useof levels to join or separate the activi­ties of various road users. Thisillustration shows the graveyardbelow Liverpool Cathedral, a quiet,meandering footpath beneath theimmense weight of cliff and tower. environment: buildings, trees, nature, water, traffic, advertisements andso on, and to weave them together in such a way that drama is released.For a city is a dramatic event in the environment. Look at the researchthat is put into making a city work: demographers, sociologists, engineers,traffic experts; all co-operating to torm the myriad factors into a work­able, viable and healthy organization. It is a tremendous human under­taking.

URBAN DESIGN AND TOWNSCAPE Gordon Cullen Tribute (PDF) URBAN DESIGN AND TOWNSCAPE Gordon Cullen Tribute

In 1972 he was elected Honorary Fellow of the RIBA. In 1975 he was awarded with an RDI for illustration and Townscape. The following year he was awarded a medal from The American Institute of Architects. In 1978 he was appointed a CBE for his contribution to architecture from Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.The crowding together of buildingsforms a pressure, an unavoidablenearness of detail, which is in directcontrast to the wide piazza, square orpromenade, and by the use of suchnarrows it is possible to maintainenclosure without forbidding thepassage of vehicles and pedestrians.In this way the articulation of thecity into clear and well-defined partsis made more possible. In its ownright narrowness has a definite effecton the pedestrian, inducing a senseof unaccustomed constriction andpressure. Optics, or how we see our surroundings: In his description of serial vision, the town is described as revealing itself in “a series of twitches or disclosures,” always balancing the present perspective and the growing one. According to the author, serial vision is defined as the visual pictures that an observer encounters when moving from one location in an area to another. As observers record the image, it eventually transforms into a part of the recording area for them. The observer may usually tell that he is still in the same place because of similarities or a marker in the view’s parts. Mystery, surprise, and concealment: People are often drawn to scenes that evoke a sense of mystery – the promise of new possibilities and discoveries. This intrigue can be sparked by navigating through twisting turns, enclosed or defined spaces, or following deviations from the expected path. Such journeys can create a series of gradually revealed spaces, fostering curiosity and anticipation for what comes next. In fact there is an art of relationship just as there is an art of archi­tecture. Its purpose is to take all the elements that go to create the

The concise townscape : Cullen, Gordon, 1914- : Free Download

Simulating views at speed is critical for planning railways, highways, and other transportation systems. It is also useful for ascertaining whether reflective façades and other architectural details cause visual disturbances or interfere with the safety of nearby drivers. Serial vision simulation is also beneficial when assessing a new design proposal’s visual impact on the surrounding landscape. The pedestrian network links thetown together in a viable pattern: itlinks place to place by steps, bridgeand distinctive floor pattern, or byany means possible so long as con­tinuity and access are maintained.The traffic routes sweep along im­personally but the tenacious andlight-hearted pedestrian networkcreates the human town. Sometimesbrash and extrovert, it may syn­chronize with the great traffic routesor with shops and offices, at othertimes it may be withdrawn and leafy;but it must be a connected whole.

Faversham & Chipping Norton

Place: When buildings come together, the spaces between the buildings can take on a life of their own. This is the genius loci – which may be considered the “guardian spirit of a place” (Conzen 1975; Norberg-Schulz 1980). Cullen’s concept of ‘Place’ relates to our constant awareness of our position in the environment, and involves distinct, identifiable areas within the city that have their own unique character and atmosphere. Placelessness emerges when there is no defined space, when no beginnings and endings occur, and there is no structure to the outdoor public room. Gordon Cullen, Ceramic Tile Mural, 1958 — The Twentieth Century Society". C20society.org.uk . Retrieved 3 February 2018. The last section of this part of thecasebook is concerned with linkingand joining, which have already beentouched on in Netting. Today theenvironment is fragmented intoseparate pieces: separate houses,separate trees, separate zones like aseries of totally unrelated notes playedwith one finger on a piano. Thepurpose of this book is to try to bringall the parts of the environmenttogether into dramatic relationship sothat the same notes are used but arearranged to form coherent chords andsequences. And whereas the whole ofthis book is in effect a series ofexamples of linking and joining, justhere we are only considering thesimplest forms, the floor, pedestrianways and hazards.