Ideas and theories in urbanism

Tales of Three Cities (ARC3113) March 2016

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SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & DESIGN

Centre for Modern Architecture Studies in Southeast Asia (MASSA)

______________________________________________________________________________________

Bachelor of Science (Honours) (Architecture)

Module: TALES OF THREE CITIES (ARC61003/ARC3113)

Instructor: Dr Sucharita Srirangam (603-56295460; [email protected])

Assignment 1: Ideas and theories in urbanism

Assessmen

ts Type LO

Mar

ks Presentation Submission

Assignmen

t 1 Group 1, 2 30%

Digital

presentation

Week 4, Friday

22 April

Introduction

In the first Assignment the students are to acquire prior knowledge, from the literature on

urbanism, before the case study visit. The theme of the Semester is ‘Tropical Cities’ and the

course work focuses on the cities in Malaysia such as Kuala Lumpur, George Town (Penang)

and Kuching as the case studies. The students are to explore the various

ideas/theories/social situations prevailed in the historical and contemporary times. Later in

the Semester, the students are to explore the case study towns through visits.


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Objectives of Project

The objectives of the project are as follows:

To explore various urban theories and ideas in the Eastern World

To know how various social situations responded to spatial forms

To acquire an holistic understanding about various historical phases of the case study

cities

Learning Outcomes of the Project

1. Develop formal attributes of a number of key examples on the design of the cities in the

East, during the historical and contemporary times.

2. Identify, discuss and critique various urban design theories and ideas.

Tasks - Methodology

In a group of 4-5, the students are required to choose a case study city and to explore the

city in both historical and contemporary phases. The grouping has to be so strategic that

entire class covers the historical and contemporary phases of all the three cities. Each group

is to prepare digital presentations on salient and insightful ideas/theories/social situations

that contributed the spatial form of the city of their study.

The analysis comes from two perspectives, namely, the contextual aspects of the city and

the conceptual translation of the urban design theory in the selected project, as outlined

below:

a) The historical/contextual underpinning must answer the questions of a) how does the

city respond to modern and postmodern ideas and theories in urbanism and b) what

spatial (urban) structures constitute to the place making aspects in the city.

b) The understanding of urban design comes from underpinning the theories into

tangible urban structures of a) Built form / open spaces, b) Activity/Use and c)

movement patterns. Hence the presentation should clearly specify such

understanding under these categories. It is also important that the student


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understand how such theories merge with the existing context in the given city. Such

contextual understanding comes from the understanding of a) how the designer has

woven the proposed design to align with the existing urban form, function and

movement pattern and c) the historical underpinning. There will be class discussions

on the debates on factors that drive the urban form, where the usage of X-Space

would be effectively practiced.

Presentation is also key and an assessment criteria. The content, composition and way of

writing should exemplify the above (urban design and contextual understanding).

Submission requirements:

Digital presentation in PPT or PDF

Visuals / Photos used in the submission must be clear and well communicated.

Referencing is compulsory

Assessment criteria

Theory to design understanding 18%

Contextual underpinning 6%

Presentation 6%

Total 30%


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Marking criteria

Marks shall be distributed as follows:

Power-point presentation -100%

Marks shall be distributed as follows:

Marking Criteria Marks %

Theory to design understanding (60%) 60

Holistic knowledge on urban form, activity and movement

pattern 30

Clear understanding of the relationship between the ideas and

the final design 30

Clear understanding of position of the city in its context 10

Presentation (40%) 40

Content and composition 10

Clear chain of thought 10

Peer review component (25% of the group marks)

Suggested References

1. Alexander, C., 1965 The City is not a Tree, Architectural Forum, no 122, April/ May, 1965

2. Broadbent G. 1990 Emerging Concepts in Urban Space Design, E. and F. N. Spon.

3. Bacon, E. 1969. Design of Cities. London: Thames and Hudson.

4. Low, K. M., 2010, Smallprojects, Adaptus

5. Teriman, S., 2008, Promoting Sustainable Urban Development in Fast Growing City Regions,

Practices from Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong, Subtropical Cities Conference

6. Urban planning authorities of Kuala Lumpur, George Town (Penang) and Kuching

Education

Ideas and theories in urbanism