Tales of Three Cities

ARC61003

The module is an introduction to urban design which emphasizes on ‘in-between spaces’ and the course work focuses on the cities such as Amsterdam and Singapore and Kuala Lumpur as case studies. We are to explore the relationships of intangible aspects or the content such as cultural, climatic and social situations/user-experiences to tangible aspects such as form, activity and movement pattern.

Assignment 01

Theorizing the connectivity

The city that we choose is Steigereiland located at Amsterdam as our case study. By analyzing the five elements mentioned in The Image of City by Kevin Lynch which are node, edge, district, landmark and path. From our research analysis, we found out that Steigereiland, Ijburg is actually designed using the collage city design theories. The theories merge with the existing context on site. The typology of urban form: built form / open spaces, activity and movement patterns; and on the intangible side: context, geography, demography, economy, culture and urbanity are also analyzed.

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Assignment 02

Mapping the townscape

The objective of this project is to experience the urban space and take part in urban life, to explore the potentiality of space, form and their relationship to aspects of use and cultural meaning. The site we chosen are Pasar Seni - Petaling Street. From our observation, we realized that the pedestrian circulation plays very important role in the city. We are tasked to characterize the urban forms, establish the significance of serial vision and test and illustrate the urban distinctive character.