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6000 Years of Housing (Group-5)
6000 Years of Housing (Group-5)
environment have shaped mankind's conquest in constructing shelter. A very comprehensive & generously illustrated work.
CONTENT: PART I - THE PRE-URBAN HOUSE PART II - THE ORIENTAL URBAN HOUSE PART III - THE OCCIDENTAL URBAN HOUSE
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Part 1: Time, anthropo-geographic and socio economic factors have equal contribution to development of architectural history. Even today many cultural tribes live in pre historic dwelling units. Beehive huts were after cave living and this was followed by sedentary living style. Caved preserved the paintings and enough proof of the pre historic world but beehive huts that were destroyed once the tribe group moves does not preserve any history
The circular plans of dwellings were always preferred and the concave shape is very inviting in nature in comparison to the rectangular shape (More thoughtfully devised). The restrictions with circular plan were that you cannot achieve larger spans and no material was strong enough to hold it in place. The evolution sequence depends on complexity of construction, building size- socio economic structure, size of viable economic unit. As more people moved to manufacturing and trading lesser people were left in the fields and this led to 6000 years of Housing
Evolution of Plan
Circle
Oval
Rounded
Rectangular
Part 2: Oriental Urban House: Favored housing for 200 years Inward looking, central open private space, court garden Source of light, air, rain Micro climate created that can be modified by user Offers exposure to 4 directions Rooms open into it so it becomes what people make of it Acoustical and visual privacy Private (Family) space was larger than the Public (Guest) space Each room is multifunctional (Specific to each person) Simple facade based on social values of the family Greek and Roman civilization Beneficial design of the house and streets should be adopted
The Oriental Neighborhood: Narrow alleys lead to a cluster of private homes, these are the semi private areas Main spine serves the residential requirements, this becomes the semi public realm Beyond the gates is the spine street which is the public realm The residential clusters vary based on common social, religious, occupational features; they do not represent homogenous income groups.
Occidental Homes:
Great Britain homes Outward looking units, facing public streets Courtyard is a Backyard Urban patio houses which are 1 or 2 storeys. Patio- neither garden nor court. More of an indoor room which is open to sky and the centre of family life. Showed status through pent houses and had no patio They dint have any protective screen walls Compact urban housing creates reasonable walling distances to community facilities and effective density and population for mass transportation systems.
After the collapse of Roman empire the economic base in europe became primarily agriculture & thus feudalism arose. It resulted into a 2-class society of peasants and warriors.
Monasteries: Many poor families sought the comfort of churches for peace & security, which led to start of people residing near monasteries. Usually they were smaller versions of walled cities with the church located in the north & dwellings surrounding it. Sometimes they were built on the ruins of other cities which provided material & later became towns & cities of Christian Occident.
Burghs: Walled enclosures of restricted perimeter circular in form & surrounded by a moat. They were stepping stone in the urban evolution of cities as craftsmen & merchants sought protection and were allowed to stay out of their walls in small communities which would be resulting in the nuclei of future cities.
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The Rise of Mercantilism: Burghs & monasteries led to trade & commerce with free citizenship. Jews played a role in development of self-governing communities that contributed to urban civilization. The cities that developed had one nuclei, church or monastery & developed organically around it.
The Early Medivial Urban Dwelling: Early urban houses were not even or aligned in rows & streets, they were more of organic in nature. They had thatched roofs & vulnerable to fire as they were made of wood.
Dwelling towers of middle ages were a natural adaption which looked liked tiny fortresses & were most evident in Italy, Bologna & Florence. They evolved for the survival of the inhabitants from continuous invasions.
First level was storage & entry from first upper level which included kitchen & hearth placed on a sloping site. They had several loopholes so that the building occupants could discharge missiles on any assailant attempting to scale the walls.
DUBROVNIK (RAGUSA)
A significant city before the end of 12th century, Dubrovnik occupied 40 acres of area by the end of 13th century. Located along the harbor, its city layout was a roughly grid pattern, but along north facing slope the streets became stairways. Older section of the city is more crowded & the upper storyes of several buildings bridge the lanes in a typical oriental city fashion. Dubrovnik has its unique features, but it is also typically Mediterranean and its picturesque street-scapes reveals many influences from the Orient style.
Church was a dominant visual element of the medieval cities but the combination of multitude dwellings with shops & workshops gave the city its indelible character.
Width of street frontage of a building indicated the wealth of the owner. From the beginning of medieval times, a place to live was synonymous to a place to work.
Climate & geographic conditions played an important role in the type of dwellings. For e.g; in northern part dwellings had more fenestrations then in the southern part & the same implied to the type of building materials used.
Marketplace in Hirschberg is an example of narrow arcaded urban house. Buildings didnt have shops facing facade but instead they had a huge main entrance & a side entrance which gave access to rear workshop & cellar. Upper-level space is used for dwellings where Diele was a double height traditional central family space.
The Arts & Crafts and Garden City movements brought a transition in domestic design.
Domestic Revival is characterized by simplicity, informal wholesomeness, good craftsmanship, honest use of building materials & respect for physical environment.
Free-style architecture: Charles F. A. Voysey, Baillie Scott, Charles Rennie Mackintosh & Edwin Lutyens.
Voysey: Low ceiling (2.36 m), enhanced comfort of rooms which made them cozier & larger, also easier to heat in winter.
Mackintosh: His buildings had steep roof, small windows and interiors were charming & reposeful, in sync with the spaces.
HAMPSTEAD GARDEN SUBURB: In harmony with nature. Cottage style domesticity, affordable to all. To design the street network of the community for benefit of those living there rather than for people passing by. Landscaped square of Hampstead with two churches & a large public building was conceived as the center of the community. Sensitive spatial forms were more effective rather than imposing dimensions.
Simple & useful houses in which children enjoyed growing up and remember later in their lives with fondness of homes.
A small house with lots of room in it, Frank Llyod Wrights design for Ladies Home Journal. These homes were unique as they had living rooms instead of parlors.
In absence of air conditioning, use of verandahs & sleeping porches during hot & humid summer months was quite common.
FLWs own house in Oak park (chicago suburbs) has many features resembling early American Shingle style & free style of British Domestic Revival. Servantless homes with open plan and workspace instead of kitchen.
First American planned garden suburb, to serve as a model community for families of moderate means, but also a business venture with an educational purpose.
The commercial center was also planned as a gateway & located to the railroad station.
Semidetached & rows of attached houses were built, these clustered houses brought charm and the variety of the street scenes in the community.
It is often cited as an example of high degree of social interaction, good management and neighborhood unit design concept.
MIXED-USE BUILDINGS
Mostly inner cities that are considered attractive, lively & safe either have residents living downtown or in close proximity to city center; hence making the streets animated throughout the day.
Zoning prescribing a single land-use for a particular area became popular during 19th century when life in cities were affected by industrial revolution.
FLWs Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, is a significant post WW-II example of an early mixed use development in North America. A 19-storey air-conditioned tower was considered the tree that escaped the crowded forest.
Price Tower, Marina City, a mixed-use building complex in Chicago introduced the concept of a city within a city. The complex includes apartments, offices, shops, restaurants, a television theatre, ice-skating rink and marina.
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MID-RISE HOUSING
At the turn of the century, multi-level medium rise apartment houses were common in most large cities since building height before the invention of the elevator was restricted to number of storeys people could climb. Medium rise apartment houses are socially, economically & environmentally advantageous than high-rise apartment buildings. Environmental considerations also favor mid-rise buildings because micro-climatic conditions adjacent to them are more favorable. They are better protected from wind & by-passed by air streams.