Design Studio

Mohd Hamza Solanki

Semester III

Issues regarding the city

1. Designing for permanence rather than adaptability

The advent of modern material such as concrete, structures in the city became rigid and has minimum to
no flexibility for adaptation and disassembly without creating a large amount of carbon footprint. Cities
were designed to be centres of economic growth so the architecture of the cities were driven by linear
economy. Due to the rapid changes in city life, the structures do not cope up and they end up being
abandoned or demolished once it has run its course, which is a waste of resources and further add to the
carbon footprint. Instead of using the abandoned buildings for their materials and spaces we end up
creating more and more structures to the city which has limited lifeline and limited programmatic use.
According to Rem Koolhaas in his book ‘Junkspace’, he mentions we have built more than all previous
generations put together.

After the Industrial Revolution, there was mass production of products and the goal of the industrialist
was that the product be efficient, profitable, serves a certain amount of time till it gets replaced and linear.
Due to this reason, there was exploitation of materials and unaccounted creation of products. Designs
were always produced in isolation and never looked at the larger scheme of things. Recycling and reuse
were never the primary aim of the designs.

Linear
Economy
Take Make Use Dispose

Circular
Economy

Make Use Recycle

The construction industry being the largest consumer of raw material in the world, does not use the whole
potential of the material and these material ends up in landfills. The materials and the construction
techniques used in today’s time do not allow for the use of concept such as ‘Circular Economy’ or ‘Design
for Disassembly’.

The materials used today are not meant for recycle and reuse, as they are designed for linear usage or for
a definite period of time, so moulding them or forcing them into recycling is actually downcycling, as extra
amount of energy and efforts will got into ‘recycling’ it.
Research Reader: Cradle to Cradle and Junkspace
 Cradle to Cradle
1. Current materials cannot be recycled since they aren’t meant for recycling.
2. To stop ‘cradle to grave’ approach consumer should limit their consumption.
3. Buildings and products are designed in isolation
4. Due to Industrial Revolution, the growth of city was measured on its producing capacity
rather than the standard of living of people inhabiting it.
5. Industrial Revolution gave rise to the International Style movement, in which buildings
were created at a fast pace out of cheap materials with the focus on aesthetics rather than
liveability or adaptability.

Junkspace

1. Unaccounted construction due to availability of cheap materials have created junk on the
face of Earth
2. Spaces stay unattended once it runs its course or when there is no need of the program it
was built for.
(It cannot be adapted because it was not meant for adaptation or disassembly)
3. “Half of mankind pollutes to produce, the other pollutes to consume.”
In order to make the spaces of the past adapt to today we use more resources of today. In
the name of restoration or reuse, we abuse the original idea of the space.

Cellular Automata

In Cellular Automata or Conway’s game of Life the evolution is determined by the cells initial state,
requiring no further input. One interacts with the Game of Life by creating an initial configuration
and observing how it evolves. Beloe are the rules which determines growth or destruction of cell.
Time is the factor which changes the pattern on the grid.

Loneliness
A cell with less than 2 adjoining cell dies

Overcrowding
A cell surrounded by more than 3 alive
cells dies

Reproduction
An empty cell with more than 3 alive cell
comes alive

Stable
A cell with 2 adjoining alive cell remain
the same
 2. Cities are designed for vehicles and not walking

Invention of vehicles pushed the boundaries of cities and created centralised commercial, recreation and
residential areas. Cities started to be developed at larger scale and neglected the development of small
scale. As cities develop the human scale is not accounted for and is neglected in many urban level planning,
resulting in cities catering to the automobiles rather than the people who reside in it. Due to this the idea
of pedestrianism is getting diminished but also the idea of city as a social space, where people us the city
spaces as a mode of interaction and socialising is also getting threatened. For example the city planning
of Paris done by Georges-Eugène Haussmann, between 1853 to 1870, included creation of wide
boulevards for pedestrian and horse carriage movement and also created public spaces such as parks
and cafes around the boulevard which created a sense of safety and promoted a healthy environment.
For a creation of healthy, safe and sustainable city, pedestrianism should be given priority along with
traffic planning. Creation of mixed use urban areas in cities can help decentralise various activities and
bring in essential urban services within walking distance. Walkable spaces bring in more eyes on the street
making the street safe for the city dwellers.

Research Reader: Cities for People by Jan Gehl