THOUGHT FOR THE DAY FOR PLANNING MONTH
By Pete Pointner
CAN YOU DEFINE A METRIC FOR THE DESIGN OF PUBLIC SQUARES?
Can the lessons of European squares be translated into metrics? For instance, I saw on a blog that public squares should be no greater in width than a distance where you can recognize a face. Many elements of "context" should also impact the design of a square including the height and design of buildings that define it, the land uses on the ground floor, the role of the square as a part of a larger pedestrian circulation system and the function of the space, whether for display of public art, entertainment, markets, etc.
CAN YOU DEFINE A METRIC FOR THE DESIGN OF PUBLIC SQUARES?
Can the lessons of European squares be translated into metrics? For instance, I saw on a blog that public squares should be no greater in width than a distance where you can recognize a face. Many elements of "context" should also impact the design of a square including the height and design of buildings that define it, the land uses on the ground floor, the role of the square as a part of a larger pedestrian circulation system and the function of the space, whether for display of public art, entertainment, markets, etc.
Interesting challenge. For ideas on esthetics and urban design see my papers: Esthetics and Downtown Revitalization; The Lessons of Historical Architecture; Revitalizing Aggressively Ugly Commercial Corridors; On Being the Right Size; Defensible Design Review, and We
Need More Public Art via my blog
This free e-book elaborates on topics and follows the chapters of my book, “Planning Connections – Human, Natural and Man Made” which includes 19 case studies of approved and implemented projects.
See www.petepointner.com.
A free review copy of this book is available to libraries, the news media or teachers through my publisher, Author House.
No comments:
Post a Comment