THE VALUE OF THE CITY SQUARE ANTONIA FRONDELLA
ANTONIA FRONDELLA THE VALUE OF THE CITY SQUARE BA (HONS) ARCHITECTURE LEEDS METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY 2011
CONTENTS PAGE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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PREFACE
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INTRODUCTION
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CHAPTER ONE: THE PUBLIC SQUARE AN URBAN PLANNING TOOL
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CHAPTER TWO: PIAZZA DEL CAMPIDOGLIO
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CHAPTER THREE: POTSDAMMERPLATZ
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CHAPTER FOUR: ROCKEFELLA CENTRE
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CHAPTER FIVE: MILLENIUM SQUARE
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CHAPTER SIX:
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CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Fig.1: Fig 2: Fig 3: Fig 4: Fig 5: Fig 6: Fig 7: Fig 8:
Leonardo DaVinci, Plan of Imola Gobekli Temple, Turkey Malia Prehistoric Settlement, Crete Campus Martius, Rome Athenian Agora, Athens. The Theatre Shoreditch, London The Bath Assembly Rooms, Bath A multiple perspective drawing showing Piazza Del Campidoglio, Rome. Fig 9: Piazza Del Campidoglio, Rome Fig 10: Painting of the Piazza Del Campidoglio by Bernardo Bellot Fig 11: Piazza Del Campidoglio paving Fig 12: Own Drawings Fig 13: Photograph showing the star shaped PotsdamerPlatz Fig 14: Photograph of PotsdamerPlatz Fig 15: Photograph of PotsdamerPlatz, 1945 Fig 16: Photograph of PotsdamerPlatz Fig 17: Photograph of Renzo Pianos Master Plan Fig 18: Photograph of Renzo Pianos Master Plan Fig 19: Photograph of PotsdamerPlatz 2010 Fig 20: Own Drawings Fig 21: Drawing of Rockefeller Centre by John Wenrich,1932 Fig 22: Photograph of the Chanel Gardens Fig 23: Rockefeller’s annual Ice Skating Rink Fig 24: Own Drawings Fig 25: . Millennium Square Christmas Market Fig 26: Millennium Square Ice rink Fig 27: . Millennium Square at Light Night Fig 28: Own Drawings Fig 29: Own Drawings
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my tutor Tony Rees for all his support and expertise. I attended the lecture ‘City. Street. Seat’ by Neil Swanson and Martin Stockley to gain a deeper understanding about the subject. I have visited Rome, Berlin and New York and have gained an in depth and personal experience of these city squares. I would also like to thank my tutors Simon Warren and Des Fagan for organising the trip to Berlin and for their knowledge and enthusiasm during the trip.
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PREFACE At their very best, public squares are the epitome of city and urban life. Offering peace, ceremony, celebration and repose. Created for human interaction they are the place for worship and community. They are a reflection of a cities character.
Within this study I aim to establish the true heritage of the public square and how over the centuries it has adapted to modern day. I intend to analyse several urban squares and study the spaces within, compare them to each other and state what makes a successful public
square. How they affect to urban life, the symbolic meaning and the phenomenology. I will also analyse unsuccessful squares, and understand what factors need to be undertaken to make the public square the ultimate space.
In this study, a variety of city squares will be examined. The squares selected demonstrate different ways spaces can be contained and manipulated and investigating the successful squares and the unsuccessful. The cities are Rome, Berlin, New York and Leeds.
Furthermore I aim to establish a conclusion of the urban square as an urban planning tool, the importance it is to have a square with in a city. And the value and influence it has on human and urban life.
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INTRODUCTION: THE PUBLIC SQUARE The public square, a large open space within a city or town has always been an important factor in urban planning, intentionally designed for human activity. The square serves as a social hub for politics, art and religious events. Throughout antiquity the same tools have been applied from the earliest urban formations around six thousand years ago to modern day cities. The urban square has always had the same role. At first these large open spaces were founded at crossroads within the cities where traders could meet along their routes and exchange goods and also where political rulers could exercise their leadership in the form of large debates, parades and processions.
Fig.1: Leonardo DaVinci, Plan of Imola
.
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Does it take your breath away as you enter, and lift your spirits as you stroll around? Is it a place in which
you want to meet your friends and observe strangers? Is it the first choice for Community celebrations? Does it offer a sense of place, a feeling of historical continuity, a vision of what urban life should be? Is it maintained with respect or vandalized; does it serve as an oasis or for parking? ‘ (1)
Public squares boast many architectural qualities’, these qualities are intentional to sharpen our experiences as we enter the space and move around it. The square will have a threshold, a few entrances some that are visible and some which need to be discovered. The best squares use light as a key emotional device; light and shadow create rhythms with in the square that will change depending on the time of day and the time of year. Scale is an important factor; the scale of the square compared to the scale of the surrounding buildings determines whether it is an intimate space or a large tourist attraction. These qualities are what make being in the public space a
pleasurable experience. The urban square is a distillation of the cities character, the rhythm moves, synchronizing with the people who live with it and the programs of the day. ‘ The stillness of dawn, disturbed only by the pigeons fidgeting for a foothold on the ledges, is broken by the clean up crew with its mechanized sweeper, the clang of garbage bins and the clatter of bottles and barrels as trucks replenish restaurants and bars’
(2)
Furthermore the public square can be seen as the heart of the city which captures all of the
historic happenings the city has encountered. It is the place of importance; major places of worship are placed there, often statues or monuments to celebrate great rulers. Markets, courts and royal buildings were also placed within the city square to signify their importance.
These qualities of the urban square will help categorise each square from antiquity to the modern square and will highlight the depth and complexity of the square and how it responds to different programmes of each city.
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CHAPTER ONE: THE PUBLIC SQUARE AN URBAN PLANNING TOOL Public squares have always been the heart of any town or city, created at the very
beginning to house markets, trading, religious and political events. Over the years the city square has received brutal times during wars and conflicts which change their shape and their uses. In modern day life, the urban square is a place to meet friends, view art exhibitions, and dine out in or simply just to watch the world go by. Humans are social creatures and we need contact with others in our day to day lives. Modern day culture and regeneration of cities do not allow for these essential public realms, focused on controlling systems that constrain the
possibilities for variety in public spaces. Public realms allow for ‘ normal’ behaviour to take place, where children can play freely, to eat, drink , dance or sun bathe, to watch a music festival and view an art exhibition.
‘A public square should open up the city, invite people in and include them into different activities offering diversity and interest and hold no restrictions
’.(3)
In modern culture people
respond to spaces depending on the scale. A performance artist will not feel comfortable in a space too large; some spaces need to be intimate which enables mingling with strangers and socialisation on a more personal level. The quality of the space holds an important role into making a successful public space; people choose to spend time there for their optional recreation and are not forced. The qualities can be held in materials, light and activity. Public squares should allow normal behaviour to happen, offer interaction and interest ensuring that the pedestrian is king. 7
CHAPTER TWO: PIAZZA DEL CAMPIDOGLIO, ROME. ITALY The Piazza Campidoglio sits on the top of Capitoline Hill, in Rome it was designed by the architect, painter and sculpture Michelangelo. The Piazza was political rather than religious and emotional as Michelangelo’s work is usually known for. The piazza took over a hundred years to complete and consists of extraordinary architectural qualities that make this piazza arguably the most successful
public space achieved. Piazza Del Campidoglio was a commission from Paul III, Michelangelo was to create an honourable setting for the Emperor Charles V.
Michelangelo created an original design, which manipulated the topography and the existing buildings. The piazza was to be a stage for commemoration and to have a symbolic and visual link to the Forum ruins below. The existing buildings occupying the site before the piazza took shape were a medieval sanctuary and a fortress. Following the footprints of the existing buildings the piazza took a trapezoid shape.
Fig 8. A multiple perspective drawing showing Piazza Del Campidoglio
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Michelangelo wanted to create order with in the space, a sense of organisation. This was achieved by dividing the site longitudinally as this produced a sense of space. This square is not static and enclosed; the Campidoglio requires movement and only reveals itself through discovery. The staircase, Cordonata Steps, leading up to the piazza is an ordering device. The steps are widespread and shallow, they draw the viewers eye on and up into the piazza. The access into the space by the Cordonata steps represents the hierarchy of the space and buildings within, a sense of importance as your vista concentrates on the tower of the Roman Senate. The first stages of the piazza were the staircase, a fountain and the senate was reconstructed with a tower.
Fig 9: Photograph looking into the Campidoglio from the ramp that leads down past the Senate.
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The site has two contrasting staircases; one of them being Michelangelo’s Cordonata steps that lead you to the piazza, the other staircase takes you to the Santa Maria Aracoeli: meaning St. Mary of the Alter of Heaven. The two staircases contrast in design, the Aracoeli steps are steep treads which ‘represent the medieval concept of life as a weary pilgrimage, leading ultimately to heaven.’(4) The widespread and the shallowness of the Cordonata staircase is a physical representative of a mounted Emperor. The staircase was of great significance to urban planning, site and location and also the intensions of the design. The two existing buildings on the site were at first due to be demolished so Michelangelo could create his own designs, however this did not happen. A sense of respect was shown for them and instead they were restored with new facades.
Fig 10 Painting of the piazza in the 18th century by the artist Bernardo Bellot to.
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The geometry of the piazza is very carefully planned, and that makes being in this space extraordinary. Michelangelo’s radical solution to the problems of the trapezoid shaped square created by the new facades of the resorted buildings not facing each other squarely, the two facades are framing the medieval Aracoeli church which creates the trapezoid piazza, making the church a focal point to the viewer. Inside the trapezoid lies an oval paving, made out of white and black marble. Inset in the oval paving is a twelve- pointed star. This works as a connecting device, the fragmented pattern helps to reunite the separate buildings and creates a heart for the piazza. As you enter the square you are urged to explore the paving and it encourages circulation. For Rome’s smallest piazza measuring 237 feet deep by 126 to 180 feet wide (5) it is for sure the most energetic.
Fig 11. Looking onto the 12 pointed star paving.
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The paving is also slightly domed in the centre, this is thought to be representative of the hill it once was and to represent the importance of the buildings that circulate it. From the centre of the star paving you have a view looking straight down the Cordonata steps and views from the Senate looking onto the Roman Forum ruins below.
In present day the Piazza Del Campidoglio still remains a spectacle, untouched by graffiti that has invaded other piazzas. Free from traffic; it is a social hub, attracting tourists from around the world. It is a well used space, on Christmas day the piazza is flooded with locals exchanging greetings before the midnight mass, in the summer children play, artists draw and the tourists enjoy the view of the flood lit forum ruins and
visit the museums that inhabit.
The scale of the piazza is relatively small compared to the scale of the buildings that surround it; this is done on purpose to create a more intimate quality of space, the piazza then becomes a space of discovery and repose. The entrances to the piazza also provoke discovery and intrigue, there are three entrances to the space. The main entrance is from the dominating Cordonata steps which resemble a sense of hierarchy. The other two entrances are the either site of the Senate; these connections are more discrete and intimate in scale and offer a breath-taking reaction as you enter the space. It is a great pleasure discovering the piazza through these entrances. The three buildings that hold the piazza are now art and archaeology museums, one of which hold the original statue of the Emperor Marcus Alurelius, due to air pollution it was removed from the centre of the piazza and replaced with a replica.
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Piazza Del Campidoglio Fig.12
Summer and winter light study
Volumetric study of surrounding buildings
Birdseye view of city square
Solid and Void around city square
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CHAPTER THREE: POTSDAMERPLATZ, BERLIN.GERMANY Potsdamer Platz, named after the city of Potsdam, marks the point where the previous road from Potsdam intersects with the city wall of Berlin. Potsdamer Platz soon became the busiest Platz in Europe, heavily populated with traffic and businesses. Berlin’s five most famous and busiest roads make up the star shape of the Platz, these roads are ‘ Ebertstraße, Leipziger Straße, Stresemannstraße, Alte Potsdamer Straße and Bellevuestraße .’(6) These roads were littered with hundreds of bars and restaurants; the largest restaurant in the world seating up to ‘2,500 dinners’
(7),
designer clothes shops , cinemas, hotels, dance halls and
wine houses; Potsdamer Platz was the centre of Berlin’s nightlife and the wealthy.
Fig 13: photograph showing the star shaped platz
.
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The Platz marks the geographical centre of Berlin, creating a real sense of place and a heart for the city in its heyday in the 1930’s. With the major Potsdamer Bahnoff situated close to the square, made this an extremely lively area. World War II saw great misery for Berlin, Potsdamer Platz was the centre of the city and was targeted the most; the surrounding buildings and roads were destroyed to rubble from the air raids and heavy bombing. The Nazi government was situated close by to the Platz which made Potsdamer a popular target. After the war the platz was not a desired destination for the Berliners, it found itself lying on the boundaries of the British, American and Soviet sectors and as a consequence travel, was restricted to the platz.
Fig 14 : A demolished and empty Potsdamer Platz, 1962
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Fig 15 . Potsdamer Platz, 1930
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The Cold war saw the Berlin Wall, which was constructed on August 13th, 1961. Potsdamer Platz was cut in two. One half belonged to the East, the other the West. The
rubble of the destroyed bars, hotels, restaurants and dance halls were cleared and replaced by Boarder controls and an consecutive line of defence. Potsdamer platz, once the thriving city square of all of Europe was turned into no mans land, 600,000 empty square metres. After 28 years of pain and torture, the Berlin Wall was brought down. On July 21, 1990 ex- Pink Floyd member Roger Waters celebrated the end of the division between the east and west by performing a concert. The concert was held in the empty Potsdamer Platz, this was the start of the new life.
After the 1990’s, Potsdamer Platz was gradually becoming the popular place it once was and had received great interest from the city government. Due to its city centre location and the shear size of the square, the city government decided to split the platz into four, and sell it to a commercial investor, and new plans for the platz continued. At the time of construction, Potsdamer Platz was the ‘largest construction site in Europe’.(8) Now present day Potsdamer Platz
has little similarities to its pre-war appearance.
Sections were sold off to commercial investors including Sony and Daimler- Chrysler. Renzo Piano created a new master plan for the area.
Fig 16 . Potsdamer Platz, 1945
Fig 17. Renzo Piano’s new master plan for the Potsdamer Platz
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Fig 18. Master plan of Potsdamer Platz By Renzo Piano
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Renzo Piano had a large contribution to the new master plan of the platz; other architects involved were local Berlin architects Hans Kollhoff and Helmut Jahn and Richard Rogers. The new master plan models itself on the original Potsdamer Platz layout; the idea of constructing new buildings on top of the original footprints would create a historical link to the past and the present. Sections of the Berlin wall have also been kept and placed at points along where the wall would have ran, this acts as a memorial and a remembrance of the tragedies that occurred in the square. The new buildings that have been built here are a 40 screen cinema complex, a film museum, a film academy, Sony headquarters of Europe, prestigious law firms, hotels, restaurants and shops.
The new modelling of the platz has recreated the world famous square, Potsdamer Platz is again known world wide for housing superior buildings that are considered to be the finest examples of modern architecture in Berlin. Potsdamer Platz attracts over ‘70,000 visitors a day’
(9);
the square is
busy nearly all times of the day. Parts of the platz are green areas with planting, introducing green
space into the city and every winter the ChriskindlMarkt is held in the platz.
Fig 19. Potsdamer Platz, 2011
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The Potsdamer Platz is once again a thriving and social centre for Berlin, that although appears to have no connection to its previous self, it is the small subtleties that hold the history. It is again a place for human activity, learning and community. The square has a symbolic meaning, situated at the cross roads of the East and West side of the city, the platz acts as a connection between them both, it is a linking element that reconnects the two sides. This is done by attracting Berliners from both sides to visit the area, whether that being the shops, restaurants or the green spaces. The platz does not forget its history but tries to cover the wounds and re-establish Berlin as a great city.
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PotsdamerPlatz Fig: 20
Summer and Winter light study
Volumetric study of surrounding buildings
Birdseye view of city square
Solid and Void around city square
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CHAPTER FOUR: ROCKEFELLER CENTRE, NEW YORK The Rockefeller Plaza is viewed as the symbolic heart of New York(10), situated in midtown Manhattan is sits within a complex of nineteen commercial buildings. The plaza serves as an urban oasis in this mass concrete jungle, it is only then when you are within in the plaza you can appreciate the dramatic scale of the
complex and New York. The complex covers ‘89,000 square meters and lies between 48th and 51st Manhattan’(11). The complex consists of two large theatres, luxury shops and restaurants. The centre piece is the RCA building, 872 foot high art deco tower, used as studios for American television, offices, museum, restaurants and hotels. ‘ New York would seem incomplete without Rockefeller Centre. It’s sunken plaza is a must see on every visitor’s list’.(12)
John D. Rockefeller originally intended to build an Opera House on the site with a public square; he envisioned this would be the prestigious centre piece New York was waiting for. However this commercial development soon came to an end due to the stock market crash of 1929. Money was limited and so the Fig 21. John Wenrich’s 1932 drawing of Rockefeller Centre
opera board detached themselves from the project. Rockefeller had two choices,
to put an abrupt end to the new commercial development or to create an environment that aimed to attract and lure the extremely wealthy people, who had not been affected by the crash, in. His gamble paid off and there was to be a new complex in Manhattan, Rockefeller was the sole financial provider and the project began to take shape.
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As the project took shape so did the plaza, once to be the public square of the theatre, was developing along with the project. The shape changed from oval; to square as it purposes were adjusting. The plaza became sunken, to emphasise the sleek, slender RCA
tower. This new sunken plaza became the new entrance to the underground shopping arcades. The complex was designed to entice shoppers from streets to come into and explore the wonders and extravagance of what Rockefeller Centre had to offer. Enticing methods included the Channel Gardens(fig 20), creating a pleasant green walkway into the sunken plaza, the idea that this guides the pedestrian into the complex, a completely different typography to the then scruffy sidewalks. The 19 buildings also acts as a luring method, The RCA building takes dominance, accentuated by the lower surrounding buildings and the gardens, which staggered in sizes gradually becoming lower. This creates a visual walk way and does not suppress the pedestrian.
Fig 22. The Channel Gardens
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With the many attractions taking place on ground level, the sunken plaza became an unused space. An ice rink(fig
23)
was placed in the plaza in the
Christmas of 1936; this became an enormous attraction and has taken place
every Christmas since. The plaza has always been seen as a public theatre, rather than a square. It is a different type to the Piazza Del Campidoglio in Rome and the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, it was never intended to serve as a public realm. It has adapted and adjusted to modern day life, changing with the people and the pace of New York.
Fig 23: Rockefeller’s annual Ice Skating Rink
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The plaza is now a frequently used space, a release in the ordered New York grid system; it offers interaction to the highest quality. It hosts a year round series of events, offering ‘ice skating in winter, art exhibitions, plays, boxing matches, concerts and parades and acts as an alfresco dining hall in the summer’(13). The spectacular tree is erected here to mark the arrival of Christmas in Manhattan .The square is of a small scale compared to the buildings that surround it, given the plot- height ratio one should feel compressed within the space, and from above it suggests the space is intimate, 70 storey buildings surrounding it, it is almost a courtyard. However the buildings surrounding it, lowering in height to the east acting as the enticing method also create setbacks, ‘allowing sunlight to flood the entire plaza at midday’(14), as well as easterly winds that set the flags slapping. Rockefeller Centre is an example of successful urban design; the success is due to having the user’s needs in mind when designing.
The plaza also acts as a connecting tool, connecting all the surrounding buildings together and forms one large entrance, for commuters, workers, people interacting within the square that leads them to their next destination. The entrances of the surrounding buildings open up onto the plaza; it has changed from being a connection device for consumers to a destination, for consumers, pedestrians and tourists. The Rockefeller plaza proves the fact that good public spaces do not have to be large, if
they are well designed and attract interaction.
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Rockefeller Plaza Fig: 24
Summer and Winter light study
Volumetric study of surrounding buildings
Birdseye view of city square
Solid and Void around city square
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CHAPTER FIVE: MILLENNIUM SQUARE, LEEDS Millennium square in Leeds is an example of a modern day urban realm, built for the year 2000 it was to resemble the new millennium. The square has become a focal point for events in Leeds, hosting a wide variety of activities including ‘music concerts, theatre performances, civic ceremonies and markets’(15). The site is surrounded by the some of the most iconic buildings in Leeds, the Town Hall, Leeds City Museum, Leeds College of art, the Civic Hall and Leeds Infirmary. It is also bordered by many restaurants and bars that draw in the crowds. The square has a program of annual events; once a year in November and December the site is occupied with a German Christmas Market which is extremely popular, selling jewellery, food and drinks and handmade textiles. This market draws the largest amount of people into the square. A temporary ice rink is also constructed in the space throughout the winter months.
Fig 25. Leeds Christmas Market Fig 26: Millennium Square Ice rink
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Leeds hosts a range of civic celebrations and festivals which inhabit Millennium square; Leeds Gay Pride which is held on the first Sunday of August has been running since 2006 is held in the square. ‘The parade starts in Millennium square where music concerts and speeches take place and attracts over 17,000 people.’(16) Leeds Light Night is an annual event that celebrates art and design within Leeds, art exhibitions are
installed around the city, especially in the square, and this event is when the square boasts its qualities, people swarming around the space interacting with one another and the art exhibitions.
The summer months are when the space truly comes to life, tables and chairs from the surrounding bars and restaurants spill out into the square, people drinking and dining
out in the summer evenings and clusters of people socialising. A giant media screen looks over the square and serves as a provider for ,international events and news including the Wimbledon tournament, football tournaments, Live 8 and opera performances’(17) These are broadcasted into the square to inform to users, creating communal engagement and sharing experiencing celebration and remembrance. These annual events are what make Millennium Square a success, it is only when
these celebrations where the square gets a real sense of quality. Without them, on the days where nothing is scheduled the square has a lonely atmosphere, used as short cuts for students and commuters as they travel to their destination. Without a programmed schedule it is an empty unused space.
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Fig 27. Millennium Square at Light Night., Own Photo 2010
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Millennium Square Fig 28
Summer and Winter light study
Volumetric study of surrounding buildings
Birdseye view of city square
Solid and Void around city square
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CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION The form of city squares in antiquity reflected the religious aspects of urban planning, they symbolised the wealth and social culture of each city that conceived it. It could be suggested that the public space was initially a tool for urban development, a place for trading goods and political precessions. Modern culture has shaped these squares into spaces for human interaction and interest to enrich the lives of the people who live within it. However, due to the redevelopment of cities today streets and parks are becoming increasingly private domains and controlled environments with public restrictions. We need cities that allow pedestrians to have a rich range of interaction and to allow for ‘normal’ to happen.
Human behaviour on
interaction is an important element into designing a successful public realm, spaces must have interest whether that being in the buildings that surround the space: cafes, bars, art galleries and museums, the quality of the space; lighting and size and also what holds people there. Many public squares use annual programmes such as markets, ice skating rinks and temporary art exhibitions. Today people will choose to spend time for ‘optional recreation therefore will only stay longer in a place where quality is high.’ ( 18)
Modern culture has presented us with new types of public spaces; the internet and telephone have introduced new methods of interaction. The internet is expanding with social networking sites which enable people to have a connection with everyone in the world; internet interaction ‘has made it possible to replace active participation in spontaneous local social activities with a drive to see selected friends and attractions’(19) The online public space is expanding whilst the real world public space is shrinking. 31
In the gallery of city squares (fig 29), it is possible to compare each square discussed and conclude the most successful square through the urban experience they create.
The comparative drawings highlight issues involving, sunlight, volumetric issues, solid and void within the area and the distribution of open public space. It is reasonable to suggest, that those city squares do not disorientate and alienate individuals, whilst having plentiful sunlight permeate the space are the most successful instances of the city square. Cities which feature city blocks and high rise buildings which still provide easy navigation and create a level of urbanity, whilst not disengaging with the urban
landscape are too, profoundly successful.
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For me, New York's Rockefeller Plaza achieves all of these aspects. This jewel like square is a pleasant surprise as you discover it. The grand Chanel gardens opening up the space acts as welcoming arms into the space, personally I feel Rockefeller plaza signify’s the wealth richness of New York. What I find interesting is how the square has evolved from its original purpose, initially designed as the entrance square for an opera theatre has now adapted to suit the needs of the people and buildings in which inhabit it. The plaza breaks up the rigid, continuous blocked city grid and serves as an oasis. The space supplies interaction for all, commuters and shoppers use it as a connecting device to nearby buildings and blocks but it is the round year program of events that take place that keep this space alive with activity. Rockefeller proves that a city square does not have to be large in scale to achieve maximum enjoyment, and that more intimate spaces that allow a more personal interaction with interest are, for me, the most successful squares. Another aspect of this plaza that I find remarkable is the light study. For a small space with buildings towering over it from all angles one would assume this would be a dark place to inhabit. When designing the space, the architects purposely gradually lowered the buildings to the east to allow full sun penetration at midday; this is a spectacle and adds to the jewel like qualities. The plaza is a success in creating a rich urban experience within the city from a pedestrian perspective.
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My least desired square within this research and personal experience is PotsdamerPlatz in Berlin, once a thriving social and traffic hub of Europe is now a large estate of commercial buildings, aimed to attract people for advertising and money. I feel that the new platz is almost trying to compete with what once was there, but in turn it demolishes any recognition and resemblance to the original form. Personally I prefer city squares to have character, to reflect the cities ambiance and culture, I feel
that PotsdamerPlatz does not reflect the rich history of Berlin and acts more of a tourist attraction than offering a place for the local people. Comparing medieval public squares to the modern day squares realises how the architectural qualities shown in the old are less present in the new. Ancient public spaces were aimed specifically for human socialisation, acting as the cities living room, some modern squares have inherited the same qualities, taking into account the user and uses, with this in mind I feel Millennium Square in Leeds achieves most of the aspects. The square comes to life during the markets, the ice rink and in the summer. However I do feel that the main reasoning for the space being barren the rest of the time is due to it positioning within the city, people are not forced to be in the square which enables human interaction.
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To conclude I strongly agree that having public spaces within our cities enhance and add value to our day - to – day lives. For me the square is my favourite place in the city, a successful square unites the city, creating connections and relationships. Through my findings I have found the public space through antiquity interesting, how methods of creating these valuable space have changed over time. I feel we need to bring back
methods of Michelangelo and create spaces that boast extraordinary experiences.
‘ The design principles that support outdoor stationary activities at the residential level are applicable to a great number of other building arrangements and urban functions. Everywhere people walk to and from the city functions, or where the functions within a
building can profit from opportunities to stay outdoors, the establishment of good connections between indoors and outdoors combined with good resting places in front of the buildings must be a matter of course. Such an extension of opportunities for outdoor stays exactly where everyday activities take place will almost without exception be a valuable contribution to a given function to life, between buildings in the building project, in the neighbourhood, and in the city.’ (20)
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REFERENCES INTRODUCTION (1) Michael Webb, The City Square, Thames and Hudson Ltd 1990, pg. 12. (2) Ibid
CHAPTER ONE (3) Neil Swanson, City, Street, Seat Lecture , Leeds Metropolitan University. 2011.
CHAPTER TWO (4) Michael Webb, The City Square, Thames and Hudson Ltd 1990, pg. 131 (5) Ibid pg. 133
CHAPTER THREE (6) http://www.potsdamer-platz.net/index_english.php (7) Ibid (8) Mark R. McGee, Berlin 1925-1946-2000, 2000, Nicolai'sche Verlag (9) Ibid
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CHAPTER FOUR (10) Michael Webb, The City Square. Thames and Hudson Ltd 1990 Pg. 174 (11) http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/87002591.pdf (12) Michael Webb, The City Square. Thames and Hudson Ltd 1990 Pg. 173 (13) Ibid (14) http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/87002591.pdf
CHAPTER FIVE (15) http://www.leeds.gov.uk/ (16) http://www.leedspride.com/ (17) http://www.dontstayin.com/uk/leeds/millenium-square
CHAPTER SIX - CONCLUSION (18) Jan Gehl , Life Between Buildings Using Public Space, The Danish Architectural Press 2001. Pg. 175 (19) Ibid. Pg. 51 (20) Ibid. Pg 199
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BIBLIOGRAPHY : BOOKS Gehl Jan, Life Between Buildings Using Public Space The Danish Architectural Press 2001 Webb Michael, The City Square Thames and Hudson Ltd 1990 Whyte Iane B, Modernism and the Spirit of the City Routledge 2003 Mumford Lewis, The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformation and Its Prospects , New York :MUF 1961/1989 Castagnoli Ferdinando, Castagnoli , Orthogonal Town Planning in Antiquity . MIT press, Cambridge 1971 Smith Peter F, The Dynamics of Urbanism , Nelson Thorne's Ltd, 1975 Rowe Ian I, Guidance on designing for crowds : an integrated approach. London : CIRIA, 2008. Asensio Cerver, Francisco, City squares and plazas New York : Hearst Books, 1999. Gehl, Jan. New city spaces Copenhagen ; Danish Architectural Press, 2001.
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig.1: Leonardo DaVinci, Plan of Imola John A Pinto, ‘ Origins and Development of the Ichnographic City Plan’ in journal of ‘ The Society of Architectural Historians’ Vol . 35 , No. 1 1976 Fig 2: Gobekli Temple, Turkey http://www.missfidget.com/2010/03/16/worlds-oldest-temple-discovered-in-turkey/ Fig 3: Malia Prehistoric Settlement, Crete http://www.travel-to-crete.com/place.php?place_id=27 Fig 4: Campus Martius, Rome http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Campus_Martius.jpg Fig 5: Athenian Agora, Athens. http://www.greeklandscapes.com/greece/athens_agora.html Fig 6: The Theatre Shoreditch, London http://elicruells.blogspot.com/2009/11/first-proper-theater-as-we-know-it-was.html Fig 7: The Bath Assembly Rooms, Bath http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-bathassemblyrooms Fig 8: A multiple perspective drawing showing Piazza Del Campidoglio, Rome. Webb Michael, The City Square, Thames and Hudson Ltd 1990. Fig 9: Piazza Del Campidoglio, Rome Webb Michael, The City Square, Thames and Hudson Ltd 1990. Fig 10: Painting of the Piazza Del Campidoglio by Bernardo Bellot Webb Michael, The City Square, Thames and Hudson Ltd 1990. Fig 11: Piazza Del Campidoglio paving Webb Michael, The City Square, Thames and Hudson Ltd 1990. Fig 12: Own Drawings Fig 13: Photograph showing the star shaped PotsdamerPlatz http://www.potsdamerplatz.de/en/history/the-twenties/ Fig 14: Photograph of PotsdamerPlatz http://courses.umass.edu/latour/Germany/noverstrom/index.html Fig 15: Photograph of PotsdamerPlatz, 1945 http://www.lsg.musin.de/geschichte/Material/referate/lkg/berlin/potsdamer_platz_bis_1945.htm Fig 16: Photograph of PotsdamerPlatz http://www.essential-architecture.com/G-BER/BER-016.htm Fig 17: Photograph of Renzo Pianos Master Plan http://www.archsociety.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?1291 Fig 18: Photograph of Renzo Pianos Master Plan http://www.archsociety.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?1291 Fig 19: Photograph of PotsdamerPlatz 2010 Own Photo Fig 20: Own Drawings Fig 21: Drawing of Rockefeller Centre by John Wenrich,1932 Webb Michael, The City Square, Thames and Hudson Ltd 1990. Fig 22: Photograph of the Chanel Gardens http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Channel_gardens_rockefeller_center_NYC.jpg Fig 23: Rockefeller’s annual Ice Skating Rink Webb Michael, The City Square, Thames and Hudson Ltd 1990. Fig 24: Own Drawings Fig 25: . Millennium Square Christmas Market http://www.photographersdirect.com/buyers/stockphoto.asp?imageid=2590258 Fig 26: Millennium Square Ice rink http://www.yorkshiredailyphoto.com/2009/02/ice-skating-in-millenium-square-leeds.html Fig 27: . Millennium Square at Light Night own photograph taken at Light Night 2010. Fig 28: Own Drawings Fig 29: Own Drawings
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